Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Oblivion, I didn’t know there would be someone who could completely resist it.

The creature, looking surprised, asked.

“What? How can you stand there so calmly?”

‘No, it’s not so much a question as it is just talking to itself.’

“Isn’t that irrelevant right now?”

“Ha, yes. You’re right, human. What’s important is not that you’re standing there, but that you’re blocking my way!”

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Charge Rush’.]

Hwaak!

Ephusio charged at me like a wild boar with its eyes rolled back.

Damn it, Leesia is still crouching behind me.

‘Don’t dodge, counter it!’

Kwaang!

“Kheuk!”

I quickly gathered magic power and swung my sword, barely blocking the creature’s lightning-fast axe attack.

‘If this continues, I won’t be able to retreat even a step, and the accumulated damage to my body will increase.’

So… I need to draw its aggro and change the battlefield!

I gathered as much magic power as I could into my sword and surrounded it with the killing intent I had been accumulating. Then, I swung my sword upwards towards the creature.

Kwaang!

The creature, with eight arms, raised the one holding a shield to block my attack.

‘Lightning!’

Jajajak!

I focused and split the lightning into smaller bolts, raining them down on the space in front of me.

The creature stepped back, laughing.

“Quite rough, aren’t you? Is that woman your lover or something? Haha! It’s funny how desperately you’re trying to protect her.”

Damn it. He’s so calm.

“You’ll regret laughing so much right now.”

I continued to run towards him, exploding the magic power gathered at my feet.

Pew! Pwaang!

Kaang!

The pain in my feet, like being pierced with needles, didn’t bother me at all.

If it’s not me, not only me but everyone caught up in this will die.

Only that fact weighed heavily on my shoulders.

Kaang! Kang! Kwaang!

“Uwaaaah!”

With relentless swings I reduced the space between the creature and me.

Pajik─

Following that, I embroidered the air with crackling purple lightning bolts.

Without thinking about the consequences, I pushed forward with my fierce attacks, leaving the creature with no choice but to defend and retreat.

“Arrogant!”

The creature roared as it blocked my attacks and was pushed back.

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Sprint’.]

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts ‘Bash’.]

[Ephusio of the Beginning casts…]

[Ephusio…]

…

Hwoong─

I desperately rolled my eyes in the slowed-down world.

Damn it. The creature has started to use its traits.

‘There are too many trajectories, but… I can react to them all!’

Most of the traits and techniques it stole were from F and E-rated low-floor adventurers.

The creature had eight arms, but that didn’t mean it could cover all directions with its attacks.

Instead, there were unnecessary movements and overlapping attacks, making it manageable.

One. Bash, a straightforward downward slash aimed at bisecting my body. I immediately sidestepped to avoid it.

Two. Sting Dagger, aimed at stabbing my neck. I dodged by ducking.

Kwaang!

Three. Blunt Strike, aimed at hitting my stomach with a mace. I nullified it by striking down with my Bomb Sword Technique, imbued with magic power.

The creature, caught off guard, lost two of the consecutive trajectories, and hurriedly cast the next attack.

It wasn’t a technique, but… magic?

One of its arms held a wand, and a small gem at its tip glowed with flames.

‘I’ll take this one.’

One of the options on the Highnix earrings was strong fire resistance.

I trusted that and stepped forward.

Hwaruk! Pwaang─!

I took a fireball head-on but only suffered scorching damage, and in return, I gained an opportunity to counterattack.

“What? How?”

“I’m not the same person who used to roll around clutching burned legs!”

I swung my sword through the smoke from the spell.

Ephusio raised its shield.

I gathered magic power in my right arm and…

Paaang!

During the upward slash, I exploded the magic power gathered in my arm, striking the empty space that the shield couldn’t block with a sword strike.

Kwaak─!

‘Isn’t it made of flesh and blood?’

“Kkeuaaak!”

When I slashed at its waist, instead of the sound of tearing flesh, a cracking sound came from something breaking.

The creature stepped back and grabbed the broken area, and light seeped out from the crack.

“Kkeuk… You bastard!”

[Ephusio of Beginnings casts Rush.]
[Ephusio of Beginnings casts Single-Point Focus…]
[Ephusio of Beginnings casts Piercing Breakthrough…]
[Epuxio of Beginnings…]

…

Every weapon except for the spear in Epuxio’s hands dissolved into light.

Clang! Thud!

KABOOM—!

“Damn it!”

Had that thing loaded up on both charge-type and reinforcement-type traits?

It was coming at me with incredible speed, far beyond what I’d imagined, benefiting from all kinds of buffs.

Even though my agility, boosted and reinforced, was definitely above a C rank…

Its speed was exceeding that by a significant margin.

Rolling my eyes to assess the situation, I quickly began twisting my body.

‘At this rate, I won’t make it!’

Just because I could clearly see where and how the attack was coming didn’t mean I could dodge it in time.

It didn’t look like I could safely avoid it no matter what I did.

‘If I have to sacrifice something, it’ll be my left arm—’

As long as I could defeat the thing, I’d make do with healing and potions somehow. Accepting the bloodshed, I lunged to the right—

But then—

.

.

.

Dwoong─

I couldn’t stop my head from feeling like it was about to explode.

Forget.

Forget everything.

A strange voice whispered in my ear.

-My dear daughter, Leesia.

-Ray! How can you be so unruly, more so than your brothers? You’re just like him.

-Do you want to become an adventurer? …Hmm, blood doesn’t lie, I guess. I respect that. From tomorrow, you’ll participate in the morning training at the training hall.

Jjik.

“Kkeuk…”

-I’m Calliope! I heard you’re looking for party members. What about me?

-Oh, a noble lady as a martial artist? …That laugh, ohohoho, proves you’re a real noble.

-Wow! Ray, you’re so strong! It’s not just gold-plated, it’s real!

Jijik.

-Huh. Huff. Thanks to you, it ended like this. Thank you for saving me. I was right to choose you that day!

-Ray, I… I want to quit being an adventurer and get a job. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m just causing trouble.

I don’t want to forget─!

“Hwik, haa.”

My head felt like it was about to explode.

Who, who will stop this pain for me? Will it be easier if I just forget?

…No, no!

As soon as I gave in to that whisper, I knew I would no longer be myself.

The mental attack defense bonus from the Unbreakable Will trait.

I trusted in that and crouched on the ground, barely enduring the pain. That was all I could do.

“This is unexpected. The cost of strength is greater than I anticipated, and it will take some time to assimilate what I’ve absorbed.”

Jeobuk.

“Well, compared to the time I’ve been asleep, this is nothing. Now, no one can stop me.”

Jeobuk. Jeobuk.

“First, the martial artist. I’ll finish off the most annoying one first. Anyway, he won’t understand what I’m saying.”

‘No, I can’t die here…’

“I’ll kill you for resisting Oblivion. So, goodbye.”

Hwoong─

Chaeng!

‘Huh?’

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to come, but what I felt instead was the presence of a man firmly blocking my way.

“Do you want to kill her?”

Kwaang!

The man’s sword created a loud noise as he swung it, pushing the Tier Lord back.

“If you want to kill someone, you have to get past me first.”

Ahh─

What followed was a series of intense and desperate battles against the Tier Lord.

He was pushing the Tier Lord back and bravely standing up to it, all to protect me.

But what was I doing?

‘Move, move!’

Geug.

The trembling in my body gradually stopped, and the control over my limbs, which had been frozen in a crouching position, began to return.

Tuduk.

“Ga…”

I had to go to him. Right now!

“Overdrive.”

Hwaruk!

.

.

.

[Leesia casts ‘Overdrive’.]

[Stack: 1→0]

[All status effects on the user are removed.]

[The user’s strength, agility, vitality, and magic increase by two levels until canceled.]

[Endurance decreases by four levels. Increased damage taken is applied.]

Tukwaang─!

“Kheuk!”

“Hoo… What’s your name?”

Leesia, enveloped in a black flame.

She straightened her disheveled posture and turned to me, asking.

“Ahren, but when I saw you earlier, you didn’t seem to be in a good state. Are you feeling better now?”

“Oh—hohohot! Of course! I’m fi—huff.”

Wow, I never thought I’d witness a noble lady’s laughter in real life.

“Uh, no, I mean, I’m fine.”

Why is she trying so hard to hide it?

Anyway, her laughter isn’t the important thing right now

What’s important is her dramatic entrance, which saved me from losing an arm.

“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I might have lost an arm and been in even more trouble.”

“No, it’s me who should thank you!”

Goooh─!

The heartwarming atmosphere lasted only for a moment.

Ephusio, who had been knocked away by Leesia’s punch, roared and charged towards us.

Kkwak kkwak!

Leesia clapped her gauntlets together and started spinning her shoulders.

“Let’s go, I’ll take the lead and we’ll work together!”

I couldn’t help but nod at her confident, mischievous smile.

With Leesia’s arrival, the tide of the battle began to turn.

[Leesia casts ‘Tiger Strike’.]

“You almost killed me earlier, didn’t you?!”

Tukwang!

“Kheuk! Why did you suddenly get so fast─!”

True to its name, Leesia charged like a fierce tiger and struck the creature with a heavy blow.

It was an opening!

Kwaang!

The creature, unable to even take a defensive stance, was pushed back, and I followed up with a sword strike filled with magic power.

Jjeojjeok.

“Kheukha!”

The creature’s left shoulder cracked, and light seeped out.

[Leesia casts ‘Chain Strike’.]

“This is different from when you hit me earlier, isn’t it? Huh? Why aren’t you answering?”

Kwangk! Kwangk kwangk! Kwangk kwangk!

Jjeojjeok!

With Overdrive, Leesia’s punches seemed to scatter black flames, and her relentless attacks were like a storm.

Each of her movements carried powerful destructive power, and the creature, already suffering from significant damage, couldn’t easily block her attacks.

“Kkeuaaa!”

“Get back!”

Despite my order to retreat, Leesia, who trusted me completely, stepped back.

‘Lightning─!’

Kwaaang!

“Kkeooh.”

Kuddeuk.

‘Good, the last attack hit perfectly.’

The creature’s body was broken in multiple places, and light was seeping out from the cracks.

“■■■■!”

Ephusio’s body, which had been absorbing the adventurers’ traits, began to swell abnormally in various places, like before.

It seemed to have lost its sanity, as it grimaced in pain.

‘If I let it transform, it’ll become a headache!’

Jjing.

As I endured the headache and prepared to use my final move, Haynes appeared.

“The twisted earth will rise before the enemy’s eyes, Earth Heal!”

Yes, that’s right. Haynes was slightly weaker than Leesia, but as a mage, he might have a countermeasure against mental attacks.

He finally managed to recover and join us.

Kugugung.

The ground swelled up like a hill, thanks to Haynes’ magic.

Huh? Is that Victor on top of the hill?

“Go, Victor─!”

[Victor casts ‘Rock Breaking’.]

Victor, who had jumped from the hill, swung his greatsword with all his might, imbued with a yellowish magic power.

His target was Ephusio, who was still swelling and unable to regain his senses!

“This time, it’ll be different─!”

Kwaaang!

“■■■■■!”

His back exploded, and the light that made up Ephusio’s body gushed out.

The creature’s transformation, which had been causing its body to swell in various places, suddenly stopped.

‘Let’s go.’

I had been saving this moment, only using my attacks to slightly enhance my previous moves.

“Kkeuk… Kkeuaaa!”

I gathered all the killing intent I had been accumulating to its limit and…

‘Release Killing Intent!’

The red killing intent flowed from the grip of my sword, shaking the blade and forming a shape.

When the sword trembled so much that I couldn’t gather any more killing intent, I swung it towards Ephusio.

Hwoong─

Kkwak gagagak!!! Pwaang─!

As soon as it was unleashed, the attack not only hit Ephusio but also tore up the ground beneath him, causing an explosion of energy.

“Huff, huff.”

The backlash from the technique made my body weak, and I gasped for breath.

“Is… it over?”

Huh?

‘Victor, you bastard?’

That bastard ruined the moment by casting a resurrection spell flag.

Jjeojjeok. Jjeojjeok.

“■■■■… I, I can’t… I can’t be defeated like this, in such a place, by such creatures.”

Jjeojjeok!

“No! This can’t be! How could I be defeated, after being forced to sleep for so long!”

Fortunately, it seemed like the last attack had finished it off.

Leesia and I approached the creature, which was rapidly disintegrating.

I stabbed my sword into the creature, which was crumbling into pieces, and mockingly said.

“Among the things Isaac said before waking you up, there was a quite impressive one.”

Jjeojjeok!

“■■■■■■■!”

“I don’t care, you bastard. Just die already!”

Kwaaang!

…

…It was over.

“Hwaaah.”

Huh?

After Ephusio’s body was shattered into pieces, I removed my sword and saw a huge, white glass sphere-like object where the creature had been.