Chapter 61
61. List Cut Syndrome
The injury happened to be on my neck, but it was by no means deep.
It hadn’t cut any major blood vessel like the carotid artery, so even if I left it alone without stopping the bleeding, it wouldn’t lead to fatal blood loss.
Besides, I have [Battle Healing], so a wound like this heals quickly as long as I leave it alone.
“You’re making too much of it. I’m not dying.”
I brushed away Lizmel’s hand as she offered me a potion with a worried look on her face. I have plenty of potions myself, and I don’t need one in the first place.
Lizmel probably knew at least to some extent that she was overreacting.
She couldn’t possibly not know that a wound like this wasn’t fatal. I’d even shown her that I had self-healing ability when we fought the Crystal Spider.
“I-I wasn’t worried or anything!”
Lizmel turned her head away in that obvious way again. I showed her the wound had healed and said we should keep going.
And so, five minutes later, the test in the darkness began again.
Even with my vision limited, I moved diligently and fought the dolls by relying on hearing and touch.
But after exchanging a few blows, I would always make one mistake. Even with the support of the Intuition skill, I was still like this.
And the problem was Lizmel’s constant meddling. The moment she thought I’d taken a solid hit, she’d rush over to check my condition.
“This time you really were hurt badly. Take a break for a bit.”
“Badly hurt my ass, I’m fine, so keep going.”
“Then where exactly is ‘fine’ when you’re bleeding that much?”
I just have no talent for physical things. I’m the kind of guy who can’t learn anything properly unless I roll around and get broken while doing it.
But whenever it looks like I might get thrown around or broken, Lizmel rushes in and stops the test to check my condition.
If it keeps going like this, it’ll never end. I can’t even begin to guess when I’ll actually be able to grow.
But even so, I can’t give up.
Honestly, I never thought I’d struggle this much just from having my vision limited. It was a weakness I’d never even imagined.
Starting with the lizardman shaman on the third floor, enemies that use magic have begun to appear little by little.
And as far as I know, black magic and curse-type spells are full of ways to interfere with an opponent’s vision.
The Dark Elves here who use shadow magic are no different.
Even though I’d sealed off hand-to-hand combat and the other weapon skills, I still ended up letting a mere doll land a hit on me.
Now that I know that, I have no other choice. I absolutely have to master the expanded senses Lizmel talked about.
“Mm, that’s incredibly good for a first try.”
Maybe my impatience showed on my face, because Lizmel suddenly said that.
“That isn’t something you can learn in a day or two. Even humans, who learn quickly, are no different.”
“If it can’t be learned in a day or two, then how long does it usually take?”
“If you train every day and get through the first stage—if it’s long, ten years; if it’s short, half a year. It took me half a year too.”
A familiar unit. The time I wasted on the first floor was about half a year, and I spent about the same amount of time in closed-door training on the third floor.
It’s definitely not so long that I can’t spend it. But if even the shortest case is half a year, that’s a different matter.
The standard interment period for ashes at the House of Remembrance is usually fifteen years at first, and it can be extended each time.
But for those without next of kin, I heard it’s ten years. There’s a temporary storage period of two years each time, but in the end, it’s twelve years.
Of course, if I tell the guild—which stays in contact with the outside through the graduates—they should be able to extend it somehow.
So it’s not that I’m thinking I absolutely have to get out within a few years.
Rather, I think it’d be fine as long as I can leave someday, even if it takes a few years. My goal has no time limit.
But I don’t trust myself.
I trust the effort and strength I’ve built up, but I never trust my will or diligence.
At my core, I’m still just a useless NEET deadbeat who used to live off my mom. I somehow started running, but once I lose that momentum, that’s the end.
If I spend a long time surrounded by Dark Elves who find humans cute no matter what, I’m sure I’ll stop again.
“Half a year?”
“Well, if you’re quick.”
Lizmel said that, then as if she had read something in my expression, hurriedly added more.
That I had plenty of talent, that humans are quick to learn to begin with, and that with enough time—even a year—I’d definitely be able to master it.
Yeah, I think so too. I could probably learn it in about a year this way. I just don’t intend to.
If a leisurely method takes a year, then an aggressive one should take about a month, right?
**
After finishing training with Lizmel and returning to the lodging, Eleanor was waiting again today.
“You’re back a little early today, my dear. Did practice end early?”
I gave Eleanor a perfunctory answer that I had something to do today and immediately started gathering my gear.
“How cruel, not even giving me a proper reply.”
Eleanor did sound a little disappointed at my cold attitude, but she didn’t bother asking where I was headed or try to stop me.
Though even if she had asked, I had no intention of answering properly. She definitely would have tried to stop me.
I opened the Open Community, brought up the map of the entire seventh floor, and headed for the place I’d marked in advance.
The destination was the field boss spawn area I’d barely touched because I’d been busy with faction quests.
[Cursed Altar]
This is the place you’d come if you chose the kingdom army faction, just as the Dark Elf faction has you carry out the extermination of Twilight Spiders.
The monsters that spawn here are humans who have lost their minds under the curse overflowing in this area.
Bandits, kingdom soldiers, knights, and the like who pass nearby and are afflicted by the curse appear as enemies.
-Enemy, enemy, kill the enemy.
-Fight, and protect our kingdom.
-Let’s wipe them all out, guys.
Facing the cursed humans approaching with unfocused eyes and weapons in hand, I drew my dagger.
The reason I was able to learn a variety of weapon skills in a short time on the third floor was because I threw myself into danger.
I stabbed poison arrows into my body and recklessly charged the lizardmen I knew I couldn’t beat.
By stimulating my survival instincts like that, I produced explosive growth.
This time, too, what I have to do is no different.
-Slash!
I slashed my own eyes with the dagger in my right hand.
Even without grand shadow magic, this should easily limit my vision.
“Gh, ngh, fuck.”
The pain is more intense than I’d imagined. I can’t even tell whether what’s running down my cheek is blood or tears.
On top of that, my heart is pounding at the sound of footsteps approaching from all around.
I cut my eye deep enough that even a potion won’t heal it right away. Now there’s no turning back.
It’s been a long time since I felt such an overwhelming sense of crisis. And this strange excitement is making my fingertips tremble.
“Hah, hah.”
The enemy isn’t a shadow doll that only uses dull weapons. Lizmel won’t be rushing over to stop me now just because I’m hurt.
I drew my sword and charged toward the direction of the footsteps.
**
This time I also took off all my armor, in order to lower my stats and make my sense of touch as sensitive as possible.
I’m not out here in just my underwear like in some game, but in terms of defense, it’s not all that different.
Because the weapons of these reason-lost humans are further strengthened by the curse, I absolutely can’t afford to let them hit me.
-Whoosh!
Relying on the faint sound of the wind, I dodged the incoming attack. My body already had four or five deep and shallow cuts carved into it.
But none of them were fatal. Dodging every attack was impossible, but at least when it came to fatal wounds, I could manage somehow.
I dodged the axe attack of the smelly guy I guessed was a bandit, surged forward, and swung my sword.
My target was the neck. I gauged the height of the weapon being swung, estimated the position of the shoulder, and drew my sword just above it.
-Slash!
The sensation of the blade tearing flesh and reaching bone came through vividly. I had definitely aimed for the neck.
I kicked away the bandit whose neck I’d cut, then evaded and counterattacked a spear from another direction.
-Squelch!
I can’t be certain because I can’t see, but that attack definitely felt like it triggered a critical hit.
That feel. The feel of landing a fatal blow.
The method of using the five senses that Lizmel taught me keeps flashing through my mind. The feel of dirt touching my cheek makes me smile.
I definitely heard the sound of a heavy hammer being dragged along the ground.
The dirt that flew at me just now was kicked up by that hammer being swung and striking its target. And that distinctive, heavy whoosh of air—the breath of the swing.
At the perfect moment, I raised my sword and cut at the bandit’s wrist as he swung the hammer.
I feel like an idiot for having estimated the situation based only on the sound of weapons swinging and footsteps.
When so many senses are telling me what’s going on around me, I was relying on something as meager as that.
-Slash!
When I cut down the last presumed enemy and slowly opened my eyes, my vision felt much clearer.
It looks like my eyes were restored by [Battle Healing] and an item effect.
And in front of my healed eyes, I saw several blue interface messages floating there.
[Passive Skill: Sensory Enhancement Level 1 has been acquired.]
Before I knew it, I’d acquired a new skill, and my Intuition skill had also risen a little. I did it.
“Heh.”
A grin slipped out of me on its own. Then another new message appeared.
[Great King of this land, why do you simply leave the altar of the evil mage unattended?]
[Why do you send no more soldiers or knights, and merely order us to seal off the surrounding area?]
[Are you so afraid of the dead who guard it? A warrior’s corpse that’s already rotten and decayed!]
What appeared along with the system message was a corpse wielding a sword, reminiscent of the zombies on the sixth floor.
[BOSS - Ancient Rotting Warrior]
Its weapon stance and bearing were anything but ordinary, but I smiled again and slashed at my eyes.
A leisurely method takes a year, and an aggressive one takes a month.
And my way takes half a day.
Yeah, this is the right one for me after all.