Chapter 59
“We can whittle Deatharmed’s HP all the way down, right?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded at Luche’s question.
In a world where death meant the end, I didn’t want to rely on a risky, all-or-nothing strategy, but there was only one way to defeat Deatharmed.
Running away would lead to the same result.
With this much of a level gap, there was no way we could escape it.
Even if we could, unleashing Deatharmed with 〈King’s Wandering〉 would leave us with no idea how many people might be killed or injured.
Deatharmed’s absurdly high HP, sturdy armor, and overwhelming regenerative ability.
To break through all that, I had no choice but to land a Heavy Knight’s blow—the class known as the game breaker of 〈Magic World〉.
If I poured my remaining Skill Points into 〈Smoldering Frenzy Fang〉, I could recreate the Heavy Knight’s extraordinary firepower in this world.
I’d planned to put it off because the risk was too great for now, but there was no helping it anymore.
“I-I’ll do it, Elymas-san! What should I do?”
Luche must have been anxious, too, but she spoke even louder than usual, as if trying to cheer me up.
“...Thank you, Luche.”
I recalled the terrain here and simulated how we could succeed.
At our level, there weren’t many opportunities to attack Deatharmed without giving it a chance to fight back.
We had only one chance.
“I’ll launch you with 〈Shield Bash〉. Quickly move from its back onto the boulders... then land a single blow on its tail.”
“A-a single blow to the tail... Understood!”
Luche readily agreed.
She probably wanted to hear more about the plan, too.
There was no way she wasn’t worried.
I’d thought I should take more time to explain, but when I saw how decisively Luche answered, I decided to trust her and keep it brief.
“Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!”
Deatharmed charged toward us, crushing the boulders in its path with its massive jaws.
Luche kicked off the ground and leapt up.
I raised my shield and pushed her upward.
“〈Shield Bash〉!”
Luche’s body was launched high into the air.
Luche kicked off Deatharmed’s carapace, then used 〈Acrobatic Footwork〉 to climb the rocks and race toward its tail.
“Bzz!”
Deatharmed’s eye turned toward Luche.
I quickly took out one of Smile’s earth-element magic stones, infused it with Mana, and hurled it at Deatharmed.
The magic stone began to glow, and countless earthen needles sprouted near Deatharmed’s face.
An attack using a magic stone was nothing more than an inferior imitation of a magic Skill.
Especially against Deatharmed, whose level was higher than mine.
There was no way a Heavy Knight’s magic-stone attack could deal any real damage, and I couldn’t even scratch its carapace... but I did succeed in drawing its attention.
Deatharmed had slowed as its attention wandered to Luche, but it quickly turned back toward me.
After that, I just had to somehow buy time until Luche attacked its tail... even if it meant risking my life.
“〈Life Shield〉!”
I shouted while thrusting my sword upward.
My life force took physical form... and a wall of light enveloped my entire body.
――――――――――――――――――――
〈Life Shield〉【Normal Skill】
You spend 20% of your maximum HP to activate it.
A shield with durability equal to the HP you spent covers your entire body.
――――――――――――――――――――
Twenty percent of my maximum HP...
I paid 【HP: 24】 and activated 〈Life Shield〉.
――――――――――――――――――――
【Elymas Edvaughn】
Class: Heavy Knight
Lv: 54
HP: 21/128
MP: 12/53
――――――――――――――――――――
And now, the activation condition for 〈Deathline Rampaging Dragon〉 had been met!
――――――――――――――――――――
〈Deathline Rampaging Dragon〉【Trait Skill】
When your remaining HP is 20% or less, your Attack and Speed increase by 100%.
――――――――――――――――――――
My Speed had doubled.
Deatharmed was overwhelmingly larger than me, but its massive body was hard to maneuver.
I should be able to buy at least a little time.
I dashed toward the gap between a massive boulder and the wall, where Deatharmed would have trouble moving.
“Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!”
Deatharmed chased after me, scraping away the cliff wall as it came.
Even in this state, Deatharmed was still faster than me...!
I couldn’t let Deatharmed get close.
When players got close to its body, Deatharmed would thrash its legs violently to knock them away.
At our level, we couldn’t handle that, and even a glancing blow would be fatal.
Light from a magic circle spilled from behind me.
Deatharmed’s magic Skill... 〈Death Needle〉.
It sent sharp, poison-coated projectiles flying.
They were fast, came in rapid succession, and hit hard.
What made it more terrifying than the Rock Centipede’s 〈Rock Blast〉 was that Deatharmed moved too fast for me to hide behind cover.
Against that rapid-fire attack, the protection of 〈Life Shield〉 was useless.
But... just before it fired, Deatharmed’s body and jaws slowed down.
I immediately spun around and closed the distance to Deatharmed.
I thrust my shield forward and charged at its face.
“〈Shield Bash〉!”
The shock of Deatharmed’s charge came through my shield.
The durability of 〈Life Shield〉 reached its limit, and the barrier shattered.
With 〈Shield Bash〉... if you’re outmatched in both Attack and Defense, you’re the one who gets knocked back.
Needless to say, Deatharmed, a high-level 〈Dream Lord〉, was overwhelmingly superior in both.
I took the impact of 〈Shield Bash〉... and was sent flying backward.
That movement let me dodge 〈Death Needle〉 cleanly.
“All right...!”
And because I’d adjusted the angle of my shield, I managed to land safely on top of a boulder.
“Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!”
Deatharmed glared at me in frustration...
“〈Dice Thrust〉!”
Just then, Luche, who had reached Deatharmed’s tail, unleashed 〈Dice Thrust〉.
Its bodily fluid sprayed from the tip of Deatharmed’s tail.
A normal attack would have been enough here, but it seemed she’d landed a critical hit with a six.
“Giiiiiiii!”
Deatharmed roared in anger.
Deatharmed’s tail wasn’t a weak point.
But it had no armor, was soft, and was long and slender.
On top of that, unlike its torso or legs, it couldn’t launch a proper counterattack with its tail.
Deatharmed’s tail was, so to speak, what enraged it most.
Our positioning was perfect.
Both Luche and I were at the exact coordinates I’d first imagined.
And we’d succeeded in enraging Deatharmed.
With that, everything was perfectly in place for defeating it.