Chapter 19
His heart went cold.
The mage was struck in the back by a bolt and collapsed.
Jeong Yushin turned his head and looked at Dito.
Dito was still clutching his crossbow, huddled in a corner and trembling.
Friendly fire.
‘First, emergency treatment.’
Rather than grab and shake the senseless gnome, treating the mage came first. If the party’s primary source of firepower went down like this, surviving the next battle would be difficult.
An enraged howl echoed from beyond the ice wall.
He approached and tore open Kelton’s robe. The mage was wearing thin chain mail beneath it. The bolt had pierced the chain mail and lodged in his back.
Del approached Jeong Yushin.
“How is Einhofer?”
“I’m fine. It only grazed my neck.”
Del examined the wound and sighed.
“This is Dito’s handiwork. Damn it, if I’d known this would happen, I never would have brought him along.”
“Is the Fear Engraving really that serious?”
“It’s one of the Engravings an explorer must never have. If you acquire it, you should have it erased at the temple or retire.”
At Del’s answer, Yushin clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Can you treat him?”
“Yeah. It looks like it’ll take a little time.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“If you find any arrows that are still intact, bring them to me. I’m running short.”
Del pointed to the goblin corpses strewn around them.
Jeong Yushin got to his feet and approached the goblin corpses, pulling out the arrows.
Most of the arrows were lodged in eyes, throats, or hearts.
As he pulled them out easily, one after another, like radishes, Einhofer approached. His neck was wrapped in bandages.
“I’ll help.”
“Yes.”
He searched among the goblin corpses for arrows.
After pulling out and gathering most of them, he was about to take them to Del.
The ice wall shook violently with a loud rumble.
Boom!!
Everyone in the party turned their eyes toward the ice wall.
A goblin three times the size of a hobgoblin stood there.
“...A Hobgoblin Warrior!!”
Del’s voice trembled.
The Hobgoblin Warrior struck the ice wall again.
Boom!!
Crack.
A fissure appeared in the ice wall.
“How is a monster that should be on the fourth or fifth floor here?!”
Del clutched his head.
“Calm down. Amateur.”
Kelton, who had regained consciousness, opened his mouth. He was still lying facedown on the ground, but his voice was clear.
“Kelton! Can you use magic?!”
“It’s difficult. My mana circuits are tangled. I was hit squarely by the bolt while casting. Amateur.”
“Damn...”
Del let out a despairing groan.
A dwarf with terrible stamina.
A gnome driven mad by fear who had fired a bolt at an ally.
A wounded mage who couldn’t move.
At least Del was doing somewhat better. He was a goblin and on the verge of panicking, but still.
The situation was bleak.
‘They’re truly a bottom-tier party. Fuck.’
Even if this was an anomaly none of them had ever faced before, could they really be this useless? It was impossible to believe they were mid-rank explorers.
In the middle of thinking, Jeong Yushin slapped himself across the cheek.
‘Shut up. Don’t blame others. Think only about what needs to be done.’
What he could do. What he had to do.
‘Think. Think!’
He looked around.
Boom!!
Fragments of the ice wall scattered. It looked as though it would break soon.
“Barbaroi. Amateur.”
Kelton called out to Jeong Yushin.
“What is it?”
“Check my bag. There should be a scroll inside. Amateur.”
Yushin rummaged through Kelton’s bag. He soon found it.
A rolled piece of parchment was sealed with a red stamp.
“What is this?”
Kelton chuckled.
“It’s holy magic I happened to obtain while traveling through the western continent. It isn’t anything impressive. Use it when the hobgoblins swarm in, then escape while you have the chance. Amateur.”
“Why do we have to run?”
“We can’t defeat a Hobgoblin Warrior. We may be able to hurt it, but that’s all. Amateur.”
“So we can kill the remaining trash hobgoblins. If we kill only the Hobgoblin Warrior, we can survive.”
“....”
Kelton fell silent at Jeong Yushin’s calm statement.
“A Hobgoblin Warrior is an elite-class monster notorious even on the fourth and fifth floors!! A mere novice explorer has no chance against it!”
Del had completely panicked and shouted.
“Weren’t you a mid-rank explorer?”
He was so dumbfounded that he slipped into informal speech.
“Del is a rear guard. He has trouble trusting novice vanguard explorers, so cut him some slack. Amateur.”
Kelton cut in.
Kuuung!!
The ice wall shook. Cracks spread across it, and it looked as though it would shatter completely with one more blow.
Jeong Yushin picked up the scroll.
“Should I use it in front of as many hobgoblins as possible?”
“That’s right. Remove the seal. Amateur.”
Jeong Yushin turned and stood facing the center of the entrance.
Einhofer stood beside him, holding his half-broken axe.
“Protect Del and Kelton.”
“Understood.”
Einhofer readily complied with Yushin’s order and fell back.
The Light spell Kelton had cast gradually faded.
The shelter slowly began to sink into darkness.
The magic’s radiance gradually disappeared, leaving only the torch, shining alone in the center of the shelter.
Sounds came from beyond the ice wall.
The laughter of a monster certain of victory.
A cry filled with malice, promising to tear them limb from limb and kill them.
Kwaaaang!!!
The ice wall shattered, sending fragments flying.
Boom!!
A huge goblin stepped into the shelter. It held a massive club in one hand.
As the Hobgoblin Warrior entered, dozens of goblins began pouring in behind it.
“Kieeeek!!”
“Kikikiki!!!”
Dozens of hobgoblins came charging madly, froth bubbling from their mouths.
Jeong Yushin did not move an inch.
“Use it!! Use the scroll!”
Del shouted from behind him.
He ignored him. You don’t listen to the ranged DPS.
The hobgoblins came right up to him. He could clearly see their gleaming eyes and mouths stretched wide.
“Skaaaa!!”
Del’s despairing cry rang through the shelter.
Yushin tore off the seal. A brilliant light began to shine from the unfurled parchment.
[Solar Smite]
The spell echoed in his mind.
Sunlight filled the shelter in an instant. Even the sound was swallowed up.
The radiance was so intense, incomparable to Kelton’s Light, that Jeong Yushin briefly closed his eyes.
When the light disappeared, so did the sounds of the hobgoblins.
When he opened his eyes, he saw dozens of hobgoblin corpses, charred black and stuck to the floor.
But one remained.
The Hobgoblin Warrior was shielding its face with both arms. Steam rose from its body, and it clearly wasn’t unharmed.
Now was his chance.
He threw away the parchment, drew his arming sword, and charged.
The Hobgoblin Warrior lowered its crossed arms and met the eyes of the charging Jeong Yushin.
“Kieeeek!!”
With a powerful battle cry, it swung its massive club.
Yushin ducked low to avoid it.
Whoooosh.
The heavy club swept past above his head.
‘Ankle!’
He swung his sword. Blood splashed, and a scream rang out.
‘Knee!’
He drove his sword into the knee and twisted. The Hobgoblin Warrior lost its balance and staggered.
Whoooosh.
The club came crashing down as though to split his head open.
Jeong Yushin dropped his sword and rolled to the side.
Kwaaaang!!
The floor shook. The charred goblin corpses shattered, and fragments flew into his helmet.
“Ngh.”
When a hot fragment slipped inside his helmet, his eyes squeezed shut.
That was why he failed to see the club swung by the Hobgoblin Warrior.
Bang!!
The massive club struck Jeong Yushin’s body.
Jeong Yushin went flying through the air and slammed into the wall.
“Skaaaa!!”
Del fired an arrow. It lodged shallowly in the Hobgoblin Warrior’s body. His exhausted arm had reached its limit after firing dozens of arrows. The Hobgoblin Warrior pulled out the arrow, gripped it, and snapped it in two as though it were nothing.
Einhofer charged in wielding his half-broken axe.
The single-edged axe sliced through the air and bit into the Hobgoblin Warrior’s arm. Blood splashed. The half-severed arm dangled uselessly.
The Hobgoblin Warrior let out a scream of pain.
“Kreeeeek!!!”
Bang!!
Struck by the club it swung spasmodically, Einhofer fell. The single-edged axe briefly flew through the air before falling to the ground.
With an enraged cry, the Hobgoblin Warrior brought the club down again.
Bang!!
Einhofer’s helmet caved in. Blood flowed from the gaps in it.
Del shouted and fired arrows madly, but the giant goblin paid no attention.
In the end, Del charged in with a dagger.
Bang!!
Struck by the club, Del’s arm bent at an unnatural angle, and he went flying before slamming his head into the wall and collapsing.
“Aaaaargh!!!”
Unable to contain himself, Dito finally ran toward the shelter’s entrance. The Hobgoblin Warrior swung its club, but it missed Dito. Dito’s body passed out of the shelter and vanished into the darkness.
The Hobgoblin Warrior growled in frustration but did not pursue him. Instead, it turned and met Kelton’s eyes.
The old mage was panting.
‘Is this where it ends?’
Watching the Hobgoblin Warrior approach one step at a time, Kelton squeezed his eyes shut.
He thought bitterly that he had made it this far while bearing such a shameful Engraving.
He only wished for the club’s first blow to send him to the afterlife.
A rustling sound came from one corner of the shelter.
“You son of a bitch.”
The goblin and Kelton turned their heads at the same time.
Kelton’s eyes were wide open.
“...Ska. Amateur.”
Jeong Yushin threw off his crushed helmet and swept back his blood-soaked hair.
It felt as though every bone in his body had been crushed.
Even so, he stood up.
Because if he couldn’t stand, he would die.
He saw the half-broken single-edged axe lying on the floor and picked it up.
He also saw a dagger. It was the one Dito had dropped. For some reason, it looked familiar. He picked that up too.
He held the dagger in a reverse grip and slung the single-edged axe over his shoulder.
Jeong Yushin staggered toward the Hobgoblin Warrior.
His eyes burned redder than the torch.
The Hobgoblin Warrior let out a roar and swung its club.
Whoooosh!!
He ducked at the waist and drove the dagger into its abdomen.
“Kreeek!”
The Hobgoblin Warrior’s body jerked. Jeong Yushin did not stop there and swung the axe.
Slaaash!!
The hobgoblin’s dangling arm was severed, and blood spurted from it.
Baaang!!
Struck by the club it swung spasmodically, Jeong Yushin rolled across the floor. The arm that had held the dagger was broken and hung uselessly.
The pain was horrific. But he gritted his teeth and stood up again.
The Hobgoblin Warrior charged at him and swung its club wildly.
Bang!!
Bang!!
With his broken arm dangling, he ran and rolled madly, somehow dodging the blows.
Whenever he saw an opening, he swung the axe like a demon.
Blood splashed, and screams and shouts rang out.
He knew instinctively. The axe wasn’t enough. He needed some decisive weapon.
‘Engraving!’
The thought flashed through his mind.
Sacred Weapon.
But it took a long time to create.
Using it once also left his body so exhausted that he could barely move.
‘I have to! If I can’t, I’ll die.’
He steeled himself. He had only one chance.
Seeing Jeong Yushin standing motionless, the Hobgoblin Warrior raised its club high with a sinister laugh. Perhaps it thought he had run out of stamina and couldn’t move.
Fwoooosh!!!
The club came crashing down, tearing through the air.
At that moment, Jeong Yushin threw the axe. The club collided with it, throwing off its trajectory. He exploited the opening and slipped into the Hobgoblin Warrior’s reach.
‘Now!!’
At this life-or-death moment,
The mana spread throughout his body gathered in his hand in an instant.
The completed dagger of light pierced beneath the Hobgoblin Warrior’s chin and churned through its brain.
Pshooook!!!
“Kkek!!”
The Hobgoblin Warrior collapsed with a death rattle.
It died instantly.
Jeong Yushin rolled across the floor, then lay facedown and gasped for breath.
He had done it. And he had won.
“Huff. Huff. That nothing of a monster... and it still gave me such bullshit. Ptooey!”
Blood rose from inside him and pooled in his mouth, so he spat it out.
He felt strangely refreshed.
He didn’t know whether he could survive on the Great Labyrinth’s second floor, but he had won for now.
With his consciousness fading, Jeong Yushin looked at Kelton.
“Are you all right, amateur?”
“Please stop calling me amateur.”
“My apologies. Amateur.”
“I’m going to rest for a moment.”
“Understood. Amateur.”
A murmur came from beyond the shelter’s entrance.
“Over here!!”
“Hurry and get people!”
Had someone arrived?
He couldn’t tell. Jeong Yushin’s eyes slowly closed. Darkness descended.