Those subject to the Prey condition fell into a state of incapacitation. It was a kind of course, so to speak. The only difference was that Riakis's aggro was fixed on the Prey. In other words, we needed to increase the distance from him before he would wake up. Only then would our chances improve even slightly.
As we were hurrying to get ready to leave, McGrain saw Missha and asked, "Aren't you going to leave her behind?"
"Of course not."
Has you kidding?
When I laid at him as if his words were 't worth listening to, McGrain nodded, pleased. "It's an important virtue of an explorer to appreciate their companions. Are you sure you don't want to join our clan?"
"I'm sure."
"Even if we promise to help protect that woman?"
"I still refuse."
"Hmm, that's very bad. If you had been the one designated as Prey, you wouldn't have had a choice."
That was true. Missha wouldn't have been able to carry me alone for 15 minutes. In that case, I would have taken the risk of joining a clan to live. But I suppose McGrain was an explorer too, considering how messed up it was for him to say that to my face.
"Anyway, our deal ends here," he said. "Now we're leaving. Maybe we'll see each other in town someday."
"That is, if we come back alive."
"Well, if it's you, I have a feeling that's more than possible. It's my intuition."
Ugh, I wished he'd stop leaving those death flags. I thought I might be able to make some helpful suggestions, but it ended up being a waste of time.
"I hope this helps you on your journey. What are you doing? Begin." As McGrain shouted to his clanmates, light begin to sprout from here and there at just the right moment.
[Daniel Carmine has cast Blessing of the Wind. Your movement speed is greatly increased.]
[Tarrotes Fian has launched Journey. Your soul power will regenerate much faster than normal.]
[Aaron Deflain has cast Regenerative Flame. Your physical regeneration power is greatly increased.]
That was loyalty. Her MP must have run out during the escape, so she hadn't expected such kindness. They may have decidedly refused to protect Missha, but in times like these, a thank you was in order. "...Thank you."
"Just don't die. If you do, the bastard will come after us." After uttering the words of a true efficiency freak, McGrain prepared to leave with the clan members. After all, all I had to do was carry the girl and fix my backpack so it wouldn't fall, but for those guys it was a different story.
"Then we'll leave first."
"Sure. You go first and we'll go in the opposite direction." This man was truly logical to the very end.
There was no room to get angry anymore, so I smiled and started running in one direction, carrying Missha.
«Kwohhhhhh!»
Not long after, I heard a scream from afar.
***
They chased me while carrying me as luggage on the back of a barbarian. We were trying to escape from the Lord of Chaos, Riakis, or whatever his name would be.
«Hoo, hoo, hoo...»
My body was hot. Not metaphorically, but truly. Like oil being poured over a bonfire, I could feel the heat of its exhalations on my skin as I sprinted.
«Kwohhhhh!»
I couldn't move my stiff body to look back, but I could hear it. That trembling scream was getting closer.
«Bjorn, son of Yandel». Then I shouted his name. But I guess he didn't hear it because there was no response, so I called him a little louder. «Bjorn, son of Yandel!»
«Speak.»
«You can stop now.»
I knew my place was. What that monster was after was not Bjorn, but me. That's why everyone had looked at me with those eyes, even my own family. My existence was a burden.
«What do you mean?», he said. As if he didn't understand, as if he was wondering why he was bothering him with useless words, he spoke in his usual tone.
So, as usual, I tried to speak happily. «That's enough. If not, you will die too. We're not that close, don't you think?». There was no response, so I screamed a little louder. «If it weren't for you, I would have died by now! Plus, my lifelong wish has already come true!».
The answer came after a few seconds. «It's funny».
«... What?»
«Why do you say things you don't feel? I know you don't want to die». His voice was strangely cynical.
Feeling like I had made a mistake, I found myself making excuses. «That's not true, really...!»
«You're just afraid of being abandoned».
That surprised me. Was that why? My voice became even louder. «Why don't you listen to me! I don't want to cause any more problems».
«So those feelings are more important than your life?». I was speechless. He had felt it before, but why was this barbarian so eloquent? He responded, slightly annoyed: «Stop bothering me with words you don't mean. If you want to live, ask for help. At least then you'll have a chance to survive».
It was barbaric and monotonous vocabulary. Still, I thought I understood what he was trying to say. Since we were left behind in the Witch Forest, I had demonstrated with actions how to act and judge a situation in order to live.
That's why I must seem pathetic now...
He always said, do what you have to do to live. And what should I do now? I couldn't be sure, but it definitely wasn't complaining about my sorrows at being abandoned by my own family to someone who was risking their own life to help me.
«Bjorn», I called him again. Now he knew better what he had to do. «If you save me, I will help you for the rest of my life».
If I was really afraid of being abandoned, the right thing to do was to do anything that would help me prevent someone from abandoning me. Except...
«That sounds like something I've heard before».
Realizing my mistake in his answer, my head went blank. So what was I to say? I didn't have to think much. «If I come back alive, I will give you all the money I earned on this expedition! What do you think?»
Soon, he responded with a mocking smile. «Better.»
***
«I'm glad you like it...» A sigh of relief came behind me. I sighed for another reason and ran faster.
Good. This should be enough for mental attention... and that should prevent it from bothering me anymore. The problem is that from now on...
I turned my head just to look behind me. I could see hundreds of Chaos Spirits chasing me. Of course, these guys weren't the problem. They would follow an aggro to the end, but his movement speed was quite slow, unlike that bastard.
«Kwohhhhhh!»
We were at least two miles ahead, and the monster's form was already this close. At this rate, it would surely catch up with us in five minutes, assuming it maintained this speed.
[The duration of Blessing of the Wind has expired.]
[Trip duration has expired.]
[Regenerating Flame duration has expired.]
This was the biggest problem I was facing: The various power-ups that the Dzarwi had given me were coming to an end one after another. The vitality of my body was gradually depleted. My walking had slowed down noticeably.
Maximum three minutes.
I took this unexpected situation into account and reviewed the plan. Of course, there wasn't a big difference. After all, I only had to do one thing: run with all my might.
Tap, tap, tap.
As expected, after about two minutes it started to rain, proof that the monster was nearby. In fact, the number of Chaos Spirits blocking the path increased noticeably. But I didn't look behind me. I simply accepted that the time had come and took out what I had saved for this moment.
[You have launched Gigantization. Your threat level and physical value increase in proportion to the growth in your size].
The muscles and bones inflated in an instant. In proportion to this, my arms and legs also lengthened. Additionally, as my physical level rose, the overall combat power rating increased. But the important thing here was the increase in movement speed.
Boom! Boom!
As a strong vibration accompanied each step, my strides were wider than before. Unfortunately, this wouldn't last long. The power of my soul, MP, had hit rock bottom as I escaped from the Evil Hiatus.
In this state, it should last two or three minutes at most.
I calculated the remaining time using all my knowledge as a professional of this game. This estimate was only thanks to the improvement of Journey, which increased the recovery of soul power. Without it, it wouldn't have lasted a minute.
«Missha, time?»
When I asked dryly, Missha checked the prepared clock in her hand and answered urgently: «Uhh, it's 11:56 p.m.!».
«Exactly».
«196 seconds left!»
Okay, just over three minutes until this damn maze closed. «If you get bored, count the time on the clock».
«Okay! 190, 189...»
While Missha counted the numbers and acted as a stopwatch, I entered the final stretch and recited a scream that was already all too familiar to me. «Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!» As if my ancestors were pushing me from behind, my body moved quickly.
«170, 169...»
The more I clicked the seconds hand, the more rainwater fell and the more enemies blocked my path. With that, my task also changed. Until now I had focused on moving forward without caring what came behind, but now I also had to pave the way.
«This is going to sting a little».
Either Missha didn't hear me, or she prioritized her task more. Probably the latter. Either way, she didn't answer me.
[The Spirit of Chaos has been destroyed. This place will be eroded.]
The Spirit of Chaos that I struck with the holy water-coated mace exploded and spread its fluids. It would have also fallen on her skin, but Missha remained focused, reciting the numbers as if it were the only thing she could do.
«165!»
And so I did the best I could in my role destroying the Spirits that rushed like a tidal wave, or jumping on their heads with this giant body.
«Kwohhhhhh!»
I put all my energy into distancing ourselves a little more from that son of a bitch. Could that have been the problem?
«120. 119. 118...»
My right arm holding the mace was completely covered in mucus. He was starting to go numb. Damn, was it a Paralysis verdict? I made a quick judgment and changed the shield positions and mass.
«90!»
Suddenly, I felt a hot fire behind me. I didn't have to look to find out what it was.
It would be Breath.
Fortunately, there was no major damage. On the contrary, that pattern would have exploded many of the Chaos Spirits that followed me, but it was too early to rejoice. If the bastard had used Breath, it meant that I was within his attack range.
«75...»
One minute, 15 seconds left. After Breath, the first direct attack was sent towards me.
Bam!
A huge front leg descended where I had been standing. Thanks to the barbarian's heated fighting nerves I was able to dodge him in time, but when I looked ahead, I saw the bastard blocking my path.
«74...»
The oversized body reached 30 meters in height. Even the Orc Hero's Fighting Spirit was of no use against that gigantic body that could break the will to fight just by looking at it. After all, the Fighting Spirit was meaningful only to those who could afford to start a fight.
Thump-thump-thump!
My heart was beating like crazy, and rightly so. With or without expert knowledge, there was no way to guarantee our survival against that bastard in this state.
Instinctively feeling this, Missha stopped counting the numbers. «B-Bjorn. You can stop now».
That again? I thought you were done with the whining.
«Kwohhhhhh!»
Hearing the monster roar in my face, I immediately turned around and ran back. However, there was still noise behind me.
«You can't hear me! Hurry up, leave me and run away-»
I said firmly: «Enough. That's out of place. I have no intention of letting you die».
Leave you aside? Now? So who is going to pay for the Frost Spirit Ring I invested in you?
«Why... why are you doing this for me?»
Jumping over a group of chaos spirits, I briefly replied: «I already promised you».
An oath of camaraderie, a promise to help each other. At the very least, if he didn't grind it enough to make that ring worth it, he would suffer a huge loss.
»Promise»? Are you going to die just for a promise?!» Missha screamed as if she couldn't understand.
«Who said I'm going to die?»
He would live, reaping all the rewards he could reap as an efficiency geek, and return the city out of this maze. Of course, that would be a lot of work, but there was nothing particularly strange about it. For starters, I had never gotten what I wanted without taking some risk.
Bam!
A gigantic front leg descended above my head. I tried to avoid it, but it was a little late.
«B-Bjorn! Your arm!»
The arm holding the mace was gone. He wasn't hit by a toenail or something, but literally ripped off. However, there was something else to worry about now. «The time?»
«D-Leave me. No. You will surely die with me...» His voice trembled in a state of panic.
I ran forward with all my might and shouted: «Miss Karlstein! Tell me the time!»
«... 60 seconds! 60 seconds left!»
So, I just needed to hold on for one more minute.
Trusting luck would have to end here.
I stopped dead and turned around to look at that son of a bitch. My instincts told me I had to run right now, but I judged for myself that as long as the distance had narrowed so much, running away was impossible.
«But oh well. If I die, that thing...»
Even if he fled, it was within his attack range. Just look at what happened. If he hadn't run with his back to the monster, he could have avoided the attack without losing an arm. So I ran.
«Kyaa! W-What are you doing?!»
«If you have time to complain, you better count the time!» While I dismissed Missha's growls and hoped that the blessings of my ancestors would accompany me in my destiny, even a little, «Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!». I ran in the direction of the son of a bitch.
Just then, Missha had a change of heart and started counting again. «55...»
That giant son of a bitch spat a flame out of his atrocious mouth. It was the moment when my judgment was proven correct.
«54...»
If I had run away on instinct, the only thing that would have awaited Missha and me in the future would have been being roasted alive. But I didn't run away, so I managed to get out of the radius of the flame by sliding down his crotch in time.
»53! 52!»
Before I could even lift my body from the slide, the bastard lowered his hind leg and the axis of his center of gravity.
Boom!
Rolling sideways, I dodged it, but immediately the bastard backed away and scratched with his front paw.
«50...»
I crouched down and dodged. Observing the Dzarwi's movements earlier, he had memorized his attack pattern.
«49.»
Hit down. Dodge by jumping sideways like a grasshopper.
«30.»
Claw, lie down like an insect or roll on your legs to avoid it.
«26...»
The moving tail can be jumped with all your might. I repeated for hours the movements that the warriors of the Dzarwi clan made against the bastard. In fact, except for Breath and Dark Sphere, these three were all physical attacks he had. Once he killed the Prey, he would draw a new pattern.
«20.»
But not to mention.
«Kwohhhhhh!»
The bastard let out a loud roar. He was getting angry and his attacks were getting fiercer and fiercer.
«17.»
Maybe he wanted to make an anomalous attack, because he swung his tail once more.
«16.»
I jumped like I was jumping rope, but I guess I was missing some height.
Hit!
The tail caught my ankles and unbalanced my body.
«15... ahh!»
My body spun in the air and fell. I rolled on the floor and stood up nimbly, but my ankle was completely sore. Meanwhile, the bastard struck with his front foot. I rolled to the side once more, but at all times I felt it. He had taken a step too late. There was a chance he would really die.
Bam!
What the fuck? Surprisingly, that ominous hunch was wrong for the first time in a long time.
[The power of your soul is insufficient. Gigantization is over.]
At that moment, my body shrank in half. When I turned my head to the side, I saw a huge footprint in front of my nose. If it had been a second later, my head would have opened like a watermelon and spread here and there.
Dash!
Feeling my heart sink, I quickly rose from the ground. I felt pain in my left ankle, but I was able to ignore it.
Has it been 10 seconds already?
Missha seemed to have passed out after being hit by the tail, so I counted mentally.
9.
The situation was not good.
8.
Before I knew it, the Chaos Spirits had gathered and were reducing my radius of action. As if that were not enough, my ankle was sore, which made my body slow.
7.
I climbed on top of the front paw that was pushed down because it was clear that that bastard was going to shake himself to try to get it off my back.5.
With my remaining arm and my strong barbarian teeth, I held on tightly to the monster's skin. But of course this wasn't going to work.
Bam!
When the bastard hit me again, my body bounced back. To my surprise, he quickly grabbed me with his other foot while I was still in the air.
Pshhhhhhhh.
Finally triumphant in the hunt, he snorted happily. Its open jaws advanced rapidly. With those ruthless teeth, with or without lithinum armor, it would be over in one bite.
«You're too late, bastard».
This was a world of mazes, monsters and dead monsters disappearing, dropping objects.
[The maze is closed.]
The sight before me faded. Darkness rushed in instantly. Watching the monster blur in the center of my vision, I thought that Chaos Lord Riakis was definitely a tough son of a bitch like in the game. Although I hadn't even moved on to Phase 2, my current self couldn't do anything but let itself be pursued and defeated.
But... if the time came to see each other again...
«Kwohhhhhh!»
Then it would be different.
***
[You are transported to Rafdonia.]
***
When he opened his eyes, there was light. Although it was cloudy, the bright light could barely compare to the maze.
I'm alive...
Missha had her eyes closed as if she wanted to taste the warmth of the light, but she hurriedly sat up.
Bjorn! What happened to Bjorn?
He soon came to his senses in the Plaza de la Dimension, which had a different atmosphere than usual.
«Priest! Call the priest!»
«S-just wait!
You're back in town!»
There were injuries everywhere and cries for help.
«What the hell happened?»
«I don't know, I asked a guild member, but they were too busy to answer».
Those unaware of the situation buzzed and asked questions. It was something normal. It was not uncommon for an explorer to miraculously survive once the maze was closed, but there had only been a handful of occasions where so many were injured.
«Have you heard? It seems that the Lord of the Third Floor appeared».
«That? The Lord of the Floor?»
«...Then they must all be third floor scouts».
Missha lifted her body with a headache and began to walk slowly.
«Hey! It seems that you also come from the third floor. Sit back and relax-»
A male scout approached, but Missha pushed him away. «Move».
What relaxes me? What do they attend to you? That was all very well, but first I had to do something. And so, he wandered through the crowded Dimensional Plaza.
«That guy will die soon.»
«Even a barbarian in that state...»
Barbarian? With that word, Missha headed in that direction like a possessed woman. Leaving the gathered crowd to watch, he headed towards the center. As they had said, there was a barbarian.
"Bjorn..." Missha slowly approached him. One of his arms was torn off, his left ankle was deformed, and black mucus covered his entire body. She didn't have to guess what had happened since he'd fainted. It must have been a desperate struggle for life, as always.
"Don't get too close! The priest is coming, leave him alone—"
She could see why everyone was watching from a distance. Missha didn't answer and just put her ear close to Bjorn's chest. The snot stung her cheek, but she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Huff... huff.
Bjorn was breathing regularly like a sleeping baby.
"Ah, so you're just sleep. You scared me..." His arms and legs felt weak. Missha gathered her strength to wipe the snot from Bjorn's body with her hands so he could rest a little better. "The priest will be here soon, so don't worry and get some rest."
As soon as she wiped the snot from her face, she could see Bjorn's expression clearly. He looked very comfortable, as if he had finished all the work he had to do.
Suddenly, the words of a particular mage came to mind. "If Balkan, when they called the hero of the barbarian tribe, were to return alive, he would probably resemble him..." These were the words of a mage who had admired Bjorn as he had the way for them.
Of course, Missha had no idea who Balkan was, but... "I think I know what that magician mean." If there were a hero in this world, he would undoubtedly look like this.