Chapter 21
#21. Hysterical Strength
A moment's misjudgment can bring death.
That's a phrase often tossed around by raiding challengers who challenge the Tower of Trials in hopes of becoming high-ranking hunters.
But the raiding challengers who say that rarely actually die from a single mistake.
Because in the end, they still play in parties.
With reliable comrades to cover their mistakes, one or two slipups usually aren't a problem.
But I'm being forced to solo, so one mistake really does put my life in danger.
There's a limit to how unfair things can be. This isn't solo play; it's a one-credit run.
-Crunch.
The werewolf's maw had sunk deep into my left shoulder and into my chest, and it easily shattered my armor.
A werewolf is still a wolf, no matter that it walks on two legs, so of course its teeth are far stronger than its claws.
With a gruesome crack, every bone near my collarbone was smashed to pieces. A red effect crackled and burst out.
The werewolf's bite had triggered a critical hit.
“Ugh, huhk.”
Where did things go wrong? What did I mess up?
Was it trying to block the werewolf's claws and forgetting I'd thrown my shield away?
Was it being arrogant, thinking this was just like the first-floor boss and that I'd win?
Was it the mistake of thinking I could ignore the kobold rider?
Or was it failing to predict that the werewolf would enter its berserk pattern this quickly?
It had to be the last one. I should've noticed when my attacks were landing better than I expected.
I didn't know I could deal enough damage to push it into berserk mode with nothing more than repeated dagger strikes.
If I'd just fought defensively once to size it up, I wouldn't have made such a mistake.
No, if I put it that way, then I had simply judged the situation wrong from the start.
I got into this mess because I rushed to clear the second floor for no reason. Fuck, I should've just stayed here a few more days, you dumbass.
-Grrrk, grrrk!
The werewolf's teeth dug in deeper and deeper. Its terrifying bite force crushed bone and sent blood spurting.
I never thought I'd feel so clearly the sensation of blood draining from my veins.
My senses slowly shifted direction. Pain pushed to its limit actually made me forget the pain and focus on something else.
-Thump, thump, thump.
My heart was racing. It was the first time I'd ever felt my pulse this vividly.
A vivid realization that death was drawing near.
Ah, if I was going to die like this, why had I struggled so hard?
It would've been better to just sit in my room, browsing the community boards, and quietly rot away.
I know how pathetic that is, but isn't that a better end than getting chewed to death by some bastard?
What was I even trying so hard for? I didn't even have a reason to begin with.
After Mom died, I thought a lot. In the end, I concluded that I had to clear this tower.
Why did I do that?
Mom was dead anyway. She must have died thinking I'd be trapped in this tower for the rest of my life.
Even if I cleared the tower and got out late, that fact wouldn't change.
I'd been holed up in my room for so long that I'd lost contact with my old friends ages ago.
Now that I was outside, there was no one waiting to welcome me. So why was I trying to clear the tower?
Ah, I remember.
I wanted to become a respectable person, light incense at Mom's gravestone, pour out a drink, and apologize.
I don't know if the afterlife even exists, but if it does, it's obvious I still wouldn't get to meet Mom.
A pathetic, unfilial bastard like me has nowhere to go but hell, and if I end up there, of course I won't be able to apologize to Mom.
So.
I.
Can't die in a place like this.
“Aaaaaaah!!”
-Grrip!
I let out a scream and grabbed the werewolf's maw that was chewing on my shoulder.
I grabbed the blood-dripping upper and lower teeth and poured every last bit of strength into wrenching its jaw open.
Its bite force was strong enough to crush my bones and armor at once; my half-dead strength didn't stand a chance.
But that didn't mean I could just die. I had to get out of this tower, become a proper hunter, and meet Mom.
“Ugh, ah, ah, ah!”
-Rrrrip!
I put strength into my shredded shoulder, ignored my screaming body, and kept forcing it. The embedded teeth slowly began to come loose.
The teeth that had been embedded came out with a drip-drip, and blood spilled from the holes they left behind. My head was getting more and more dizzy, and my vision was darkening.
Even better. If I squeezed out even the strength I'd need just to keep looking ahead, couldn't I rip this bastard's jaw off?
[Passive Skill: You have learned Combat Awakening Level 3.]
My vision was blurring, but my grip was getting stronger. Was this what they call the monstrous strength you get right before death?
[Passive Skill: You have learned Combat Awakening Level 4.]
[Passive Skill: You have learned Combat Endurance Level 5.]
[Passive Skill: You have learned Indomitable Level 2.]
No need to think about the principles. Right now, I just had to draw out this power welling up from my body and use it to the fullest.
I felt the teeth that had been crushing my bones slowly give way, and I felt the werewolf's maw opening wider and wider.
Gradually, sensation returned to my body, and my darkened vision slowly brightened again.
-Grrrk, grrgrrrr...!
My vision had brightened, but I still couldn't see much. The blood that had splattered out was physically covering my eyes.
Through that blood-red haze, I could barely make out the werewolf's eyes up close.
“Kkh, kahk, k, h, heh-heh-heh...!”
Either its pupils were trembling, or my vision was trembling. Probably the former.
What, were you surprised because you thought you'd already won? Did you think berserk mode was something only you had?
I realized it while gaining passive skills during the battle with the wolf: the Tower of Trials recognizes changes in challengers and grants them skills.
If that's the case, there'd be nothing strange about me gaining a skill like berserk right now. In fact, blue windows kept popping up one after another.
[… … … learned … …]
It's obscured by blood so I can't tell what I got, but anyway, I'm definitely learning something.
Maybe because of those skills, even the hand prying open the werewolf's jaws was getting stronger and stronger.
-Rrrrip, rip!
The vivid sense of death I'd felt just moments ago was forgotten. All that remained was the joy of growing stronger.
-Snap, snap!
Using my ever-increasing grip strength, I kept prying open the werewolf's already wide-open jaw.
My brain, soaked in the dopamine of growth, started making up words and spewing them out on its own.
“DIE, you son of a-!!”
[Passive Skill: You have learned All-Out Effort Level 1.]
-Crack!
My two hands tore the werewolf's jawbone clean out.
**
With a red effect signifying a critical hit, the werewolf collapsed.
Its muzzle had been torn in half, so it couldn't even make a proper sound as it thrashed on the ground. It was a beautiful sight.
The problem was that the ground the werewolf was writhing on was completely red.
“Holy shit.”
Is all that blood mine? Can a human body even lose that much blood?
They say you don't suffer fatal injuries until HP hits zero, and I guess this must be what that means.
There was definitely enough blood loss for me to die, but somehow I was still alive. That was a little different from not taking a fatal wound, though.
But I was really only just barely alive. My life was still hanging on, but I couldn't even move a finger.
Fuck, I think I need to make sure that thing is dead.
“P-potion...!”
I opened my inventory, but since I couldn't move my body, there was no way to take out a potion.
Damn, my arm had been moving fine just a second ago... Don't tell me that was really me pouring out every last ounce of strength I had.
Wasn't there some way? A way to take a potion without moving a finger... Ah, there was one.
-Crash!
Using the 'Drop' option, which I could control without my hands, I summoned a potion in midair and dropped it.
The fallen potion bottle shattered to pieces, spraying its contents across the floor, and it landed exactly within nose's reach if I lay face-down.
No exaggeration, it was literally a distance where my nose would touch it if I flopped down. I had dropped it exactly that far away.
“Hhup...!”
With my last ounce of strength, I leaned my body forward. My barely standing body collapsed face-first toward the ground.
-Thud!
Fuck, my nose isn't broken, right? Seeing glass shards stabbing into my face, the placement seems accurate.
-Lick.
I ended up licking up the potion spilled across the floor while sprawled out like an idiot.
Since I was still able to swear, at least my tongue could move.
It was a little ugly—no, just fucking ugly—but I managed to get the potion down somehow.
HP : 4/660
My HP, which had truly been moments from death, began to rise little by little, and at least a minimal amount of strength returned to my body.
I slowly got to my feet, and this time I took out a potion with my hand and drank it properly.
After recovering a little more, I took a straight sword from my inventory and finished off the thrashing werewolf.
-Puk!
[Congratulations. You have been the first to clear the 2nd Floor of the Tower of Trials.]
The clear message and reward details unfurled one after another.
I skimmed over them, then suddenly remembered something I'd forgotten and hurriedly ducked my head.
-Whoosh!
The last remaining kobold rider's halberd swept over my head. Fuck, it really was still there.
If you kill the boss, shouldn't the trash mobs disappear on their own as a matter of conscience? Why is this system so fucking-
[Passive Skill: You have learned Instinct Level 1.]
-Good, I knew I could count on it, damn it.