Episode 142 Awakening (5)
It’s been three minutes since Dwalki’s magical support was cut off.
Well, maybe it could be shorter.
Still, it felt like at least 10 minutes had passed.
“Admit it, Barbarian. You’re the first guy I’ve ever met in my life.”
I never looked back even once.
Whether he’s a scheming bastard or not.
Even if Dwalki is actually mentally unstable and in a state of panic.
I decided that nothing would change.
But did that make me feel boring?
“I will put your soul to good use. So, just die now.”
It seems like the fun ends here.
He takes a dagger out of his waistband and stabs it at me.
It came at such an exquisite angle that it seemed impossible to block or avoid.
At best, it’s a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.
Twist your body as much as possible to expose your lungs instead of your heart.
It’s probably a near-fatal injury, but don’t you still have some top-tier potions left?
After drinking this and being treated.
Let’s hold on somehow.
Misha and the dwarf will wake up soon.
Also, soul exhaustion won’t last forever.
It was a moment of planning and putting it into action.
A dazzling light poured down from behind.
Shh …
Dozens of magical spheres swirled around, emitting pure white light. The bastard was startled and stepped back, as if it was a heavy rain.
Just like the dwarf who stood up to Hana, Rotmiller, and Misha.
There was no meaningful response.
Wheeeeeek!
The arrows of light chased after the bastard, each step bending as if it had its own will.
Then the bastard stopped running and started shooting the arrows one by one with a small dagger.
It didn’t seem much different from the situation of pouring water from a river with a bucket… … .
‘crazy.’
Surprisingly, his actions worked.
Although he ended up like a hedgehog with his entire body pierced by arrows of light, he succeeded in protecting his vital points.
Thump.
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Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, and only then did I come to my senses.
Actually, I kind of expected it… … .
Dwalki stood behind me.
In simple terms, it means that the magic just now was also used by him.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. It took me a while to make up my mind.”
“Determination? More importantly, what happened—”
“That’s… Let’s talk about it after we take care of the author.”
Dwalki looked away as if avoiding an answer.
Looking at this, it definitely doesn’t seem like someone else…
‘What the heck?’
It makes no sense at all.
Even a barbarian with 0 magical aptitude could sense the dense magical power flowing out of his body.
And I wasn’t the only one wondering this.
“Wizard, what on earth have you done?”
The bastard asks even though blood is dripping from his entire body.
Well, if I were him, I would have just run away—
“You already know, yet you ask.”
What? You know?
When Dwalki looked at the bastard and recited a cold word, the bastard became dumb as honey.
What the heck, does he really know?
“I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time. I know I don’t have much time.”
What the heck? What the hell is going on?
No, but was he really this smart?
It’s been a long time since my head has been able to keep up with the situation.
But, still, one thing is judged.
It’s a very positive variable for me.
‘You can hear later how he did it… … .’
Focus on the situation.
Tadah.
And Dwalki said to me:
“Step back. You might get hurt.”
“Oh, uh. Okay.”
The character change was so difficult to get used to, but I just did what he said.
But what is this?
“Leol Warb Dwalki casts the 8th-grade attack magic [Ice Spear].”
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An ice spear is shot.
A huge ice crater that fills half the passageway.
Twice in a row.
Pishuuuuk-!!
It shoots out at him with a truly overwhelming wind pressure.
Hana, do you have much experience with magic of this scale?
The bastard calmly stared at the ice spear, then quickly pulled out the Arc Sword from subspace.
Pachi chichi-!
The sword spewed out sparks as if to reject the bastard’s touch. However, the bastard held onto it and swung it, his veins rising in his throat.
Kwaaang-!
As expected of an Archetype longsword with magical counter properties, the huge ice spear shattered into pieces and scattered with magical power just by making contact with the sword.
In that state.
Tadah.
The bastard kicks the ground again, closing the distance.
Judging by the slight wavering in Dwalki’s eyes, it seems that even he had not expected this situation to be like this.
But that time was not long.
“Leol Warb Dwalki casts the 7th-grade attack magic [Cold Storm].”
A spell that is cast and completed in less than a second.
Shh …
At this point, it’s not ice shards but small ice spears pouring down… … .
This time, that rotten Archetype longsword was the problem.
The figure of the thing getting closer and closer beyond the snowstorm.
When it became possible to confirm with the naked eye, the figure of the thing advancing was seen only striking large chunks of ice with its sword.
‘Yeah, it won’t be easy until the end.’
I let out a silent sigh and prepared myself for what would happen next.
There was nothing particularly special.
My life was far from being a life of raw food… … .
Isn’t it the tank’s destiny to protect the dealer?
“Behel—raaaaaaaah!!”
First strike, sure win.
He swings his mace at the moment when the bastard emerges from the blizzard.
But even in the midst of all that, did he even care about me?
Although it was a surprise attack, the bastard reacted quickly and blocked the mace with his sword.
A clash between the stage 1 material steel and the stage 6 material arc.
Crunch-!
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Regardless of thickness or density, the mace cuts through like tofu. But the bastard wasn’t satisfied with this and came for my neck.
However, at that moment.
Pachi chichi-!!
Sparks fly out of the sword like crazy and the guy flinches.
A hand that is red and steaming.
Could it be that his entire body was covered in burns because of that sword? I don’t know the details, but he must have decided that he couldn’t do it anymore and put the sword back into the subspace.
and…….
Tadah.
He drew his dagger again and clung to me.
It was so clear what he wanted.
Yeah, I was wondering why you were running through the magic so fast, so this is what you were aiming for.
“Bjorn, get away from him!”
This is a strategy similar to the Barbarian Water Ghost mode I wrote about earlier.
Using me as a shield to suppress Dwalki’s magic.
Wow, I didn’t know this would happen to me.
“Leol Warb Dwalki casted a 9th-grade curse spell [Slow].”
Instead of attack magic, curse magic is stacked on it, but it clings to you tenaciously and swings its dagger, making it difficult to shake it off.
thus.
‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’
Stab with the mace that has turned into a spear.
It’s not like you have to be hit by magic to die, right?
Phew.
Thanks to the ‘Slow’ that has been strengthened even more, it is not as difficult to deal with as before.
Additionally, Dwalki also supports small amounts of magical power by controlling it in detail instead of using ice spears or cold storms.
A situation that is clearly advantageous to me.
But that makes me even more alert.
‘I wonder if he doesn’t know that?’
He knew about the current situation that Dwalki was avoiding answering.
Still, he ran towards me.
Why would that be?
[I know that I don’t have much time.]
The answer is time.
There is little time for Dwalki to remain in his current state.
Maybe this guy knows more about the time left than Dwalki does.
“Dwalki, use Ice Storm!”
I made a decision.
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“… … !”
Looking at the bastard’s expression, I knew I was right.
However, Dwalki hesitated.
“but……!”
Even though it’s changed a bit, Dwalki is still Dwalki.
“Don’t worry about me, just write it!!”
With another shout, Dwalki cast his magic.
A cold air swirls around Dwalki’s grasp.
“Are you good at enduring the cold?”
“That guy is crazy.”
Oh, you’re giving me another compliment.
I raised my shield and put some distance between myself and the guy.
I was determined to somehow hold out, using my shield to block the ice chunks.
Shh …
Soon a blizzard filled the passageway where we were, freezing our skin.
But what is this?
The bastard thrusts his dagger through the blizzard that makes it difficult to see even an inch ahead.
Phew!
A sword blade about 20cm long that penetrated deep into the lungs.
“Keuhuk!”
I can’t breathe.
Meanwhile, chunks of ice were flying and hitting my body. The sharp crystals, like ice spears, passed through my skin.
But you can’t just live with it.
Phew!
The body reacted first and thrust the short spear that was the mace with all its might.
And at that moment.
Shh …
The snowstorm ends sooner than expected and visibility returns.
I quickly checked the surrounding area.
Surprisingly, in that short moment, three unexpected events occurred.
“… … .”
Dwalki was the first to kneel, blood gushing from his eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears.
“… … .”
The second time, a random spear pierced the bastard’s heart.
“The activation conditions for Regal Bagos’ [Second Heart] have been met.”
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The third was that there was one more number item that he had not yet used.
Ha, seriously, I was trying not to do this kind of double swearing anymore.
“You receive absolute protection until your character’s heart is restored.”
These dogs are crazy.
***
Something red, reminiscent of muscle, covers the creature’s body.
Looking at this, I thought.
How on earth do I kill this kid?
Are we really mortal beings?
I don’t know, but he vomited blood anyway.
“Kueeeeek! Kkekekeke!”
A heart-shaped shell that doesn’t even make a sound of corrosion even when covered in acidic water.
I turned my back without any hesitation.
No.3120 Second Heart.
A consumable number item that activates when instant death damage is inflicted to the heart.
At my current level, no matter what I do, I can’t break that barrier.
So, I guess I should get the things I need to do done first.
Thud, thud.
I slowly walk forward, my body barely able to breathe properly.
It’s fortunate that Dwalki is a cold attribute wizard.
If it hadn’t been a ‘frostbite’ ruling, blood would have already been gushing out.
“D, Walkie.”
The condition of Dwalki, unconscious and on his knees, was dire to say the least.
Blood flowed from every pore in his body.
When I felt his pulse, I could feel his heart pounding.
As if the speed limit was broken.
“My, foot… … hold on.”
Since there were no visible signs of trauma, I poured the highest-grade potion into his mouth.
Just half of it.
Because there are other people dying right now.
Thud, thud.
Walk as fast as you can.
Every time I walk, my stomach turns and I feel out of breath, but I use the short spear as a cane to actually increase my speed.
“Lot, Miller… … .”
Fortunately, he was alive.
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Yeah, at least for now.
He was running towards death in a completely different way than Dwalki.
A heart that beats faintly as if it might stop at any moment.
I sprinkled all the remaining top-tier potions on the wounded area.
Cheeeeeeek-!
A wound that starts to boil and heal.
I leaned against him and focused on my breathing.
I kept coughing and blood came out.
But all I could do was somehow endure it and wait for Rotmiller to recover.
Well, the two remaining potions are both in this man’s [treasure house].
Maybe about a minute had passed since then?
“Rain, Bjorn… …!”
The dwarf who had passed out with his head banged against the wall came to his senses.
“Where is Dwalki? Where is Dwalki?”
Oh my, I’m dying too.
First of all, your best friend comes first, right?
Not having the energy to speak, I pointed in the direction where Dwalki was.
“Oh, what on earth happened… …!”
He ran over and examined Dwalki’s details, then carefully picked him up and carried him towards us.
It was at that time.
“Ugh… … .”
Misha, who had collapsed about 4 meters away from the wall I was leaning against, raises her head with difficulty.
“… … Bjorn.”
“I’m alive.”
“Thank goodness… … .”
Yeah, after all, there’s no one else but you.
Misha struggled to get up, rubbing the area around her broken ribs.
And then he came to me and sat down next to me.
“Lot, Miller… … ?”
“Potion, gulp… … I fed it to you.”
Well, this isn’t a gathering of sick people or anything.
As I was trying to rest quietly, a dwarf who had finished transporting Dwalki approached me and bandaged my wound.
“Bjorn, what’s going on? What’s that strange shell over there?”
I didn’t want to explain.
I don’t have the motivation to do that, and what difference would it make if I did?
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Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
“I’m sorry. You must be tired too, so rest. I’ll figure out the rest.”
The dwarf apologized and went back to Dwalki to examine the details.
About a minute had passed like that.
“The soul exhaustion state is lifted.”
Finally, my stats returned to normal, and I was able to breathe a little easier. Even without the natural regenerative power, the physical durability itself changed.
I slowly opened my eyes.
“… … Hey, you! Hey, give me strength!”
“Rain, Bjorn… … ? Rotmiller is shaking, so, is he okay… … ?”
The line between life and death was being drawn.
