I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error Chapter 72

Chapter 72 Lunatic. Lunatic. A noun meaning ‘madman’ or ‘lunatic.’ And as an adjective, it meant ‘crazy,’ ‘absurd,’ or ‘insane.’ When you cleared the hard difficulty in the game , a new difficulty appeared at the very top in red letters. Its name was, ‘Lunatic.’ From the tutorial stage itself, it was absurdly difficult. It wasn’t so much angering as it was laughable, because it looked utterly impossible to clear. The accepted belief was that Lunatic was created simply to play a prank on the players. ……Yeah, for a while. A few rankers, myself included, seriously knocked against Lunatic’s wall. After long efforts, we succeeded in conquering the first episode. From then on, the knowledge spread that it wasn’t in the realm of impossibility, and many players challenged the Lunatic difficulty. But as they went into the second and third episodes, the clear conditions became increasingly harsh. Even those who had been with me one by one gave up. In the end, I was the only one left attempting to conquer it. That was how notorious Lunatic was. ……And now, Verdi taking the Princess and fleeing fell under the content of the ‘Lunatic’ difficulty. ‘I feel like I’m going insane.’ This wasn’t a game, but reality. Lunatic was a difficulty we conquered one step at a time by dying hundreds, thousands of times while moving through the unknown world. ‘Only one life.’ This time, there would be no chance to retry. A one-coin game. ‘I must do it.’ In order for me to survive in this world. I had to clear it, no matter what. ‘Can I catch up with the truck?’ If I used Shurk’s power, I could sprint at a fast speed. But even that had its limits. Just running wouldn’t be enough to surpass the speed of a truck charging at full power. I needed a mount as well. ‘Then where?’ I looked around in all directions. Close by, I saw a vehicle with two wheels. ‘A motorcycle.’ That would be more than enough to catch up with the truck. The only flaw was that I had never once ridden one before. I went there, placed my hand on the motorcycle, and spoke. “Let me borrow this.” “……Huh?” The owner looked at me in bewilderment. He hesitated, but I didn’t have time to wait for an answer. I forcibly snatched the motorcycle and got on. Shaaa! As soon as my hand touched the handlebar, the darkness clinging to my body devoured it at a rapid pace. The white motorcycle turned black in no time. Vroom, vroom! Smoke rose from the exhaust along with the engine’s roar. When I gripped the handlebars firmly, the motorcycle shot forward with a loud noise. “Ah! Th-that guy’s stealing my motorcycle!” The owner’s belated shout faintly reached me, but I had no time to care. ‘This is my first time riding one.’ Yet it wasn’t difficult, as if the motorcycle had become part of my body. I fixed my eyes on the truck, which looked like a dot on the horizon. Whoosh! I overtook the knight order’s vehicles that were belatedly chasing after the truck. The speedometer needle had already gone past MAX and circled clockwise again. That must have been because Shurk’s ability pushed it past the limit. ‘I can catch up.’ A speed that surpassed the limit of a two-wheeler by far. The sound of the wind cutting past and the explosive exhaust noise rang loudly. Trees, the ground, the whole scenery blurred and flew by so fast it looked like a smeared painting. ‘Just a little more.’ The truck, once just a dot, soon became visible in detail. ‘Got you.’ Before long, I had reached right in front of the truck. I moved to the rear and decelerated to match its speed. Zing. With one hand on the handlebar, I stretched my other hand into the air and drew a sword out of subspace. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Thunk! As I slashed in a rectangle, a man-sized door formed on the container. I pressed the motorcycle against the truck without crashing and stood up on the saddle. Using it as a carpet, I leisurely walked into the truck’s container. Screeech! Rumble! Boom! Even without looking back, I could tell from the sound. The motorcycle, having lost its rider, wobbled, fell, shattered beyond recognition, and exploded. ……Sorry, motorcycle owner. Don’t worry too much, I’ll compensate you. ‘Verdi…… where is he.’ First, I looked around the container. This was McGrim’s dressing room. As it occupied most of the large truck’s space, it was quite vast. The walls and floor were filled with pure white. ‘The Princess is over there.’ Under a light in the right corner, Clara and Arlhardt lay unconscious. And on the left, in the shadows untouched by light. “……You’ve come.” Verdi’s hoarse voice. He was sitting on a sofa in the dark corner. He must have already known I was chasing him. And the fact that he hadn’t tried to stop me meant he was that confident. “You keep interfering from start to finish.” He looked at me with eyes full of weariness. The countless ghouls I defeated inside the barrier. The mid-bosses I had disposed of. The Banshee’s core I handed over to McGrim. The fatal wounds I inflicted on the boss so Ren could finish it easily. He seemed to believe I was behind all of it. “Who are you, really. With what sense of justice do you intend to stop me.” Verdi slowly rose from the sofa and extended his hand into the air. At once, a shield with a mirror attached appeared in his arm, and he inserted his hand into that mirror. From within, he pulled out a golden spear and spoke to me. “If you intend to interfere with me, you must be prepared. Come at me.” A special weapon unseen inside the barrier was now in Verdi’s hand. ‘So since he no longer maintains the barrier, he plans to pour all that vast mana into battle.’ Inside the barrier, when he fought Ren, he had only used about 20% of his mana. ‘But now…… it’s at 100%.’ Just like the strategy dictated. I silently gazed at Verdi. “……Then I’ll strike first.” Bang! Verdi kicked off the ground and leapt. His body was airborne, which revealed an opening. But if I attacked now, he would block with his shield and counter with his spear. ‘Dodging is the best course of action.’ I threw myself aside. Kwaang! I turned toward the sound and saw Verdi, who had pierced the spot I had just been standing in with his spear. ‘I must never get close.’ If I allowed him into close range, I would end up pierced through like that floor. I kept running away, putting as much distance between Verdi and myself as possible. “Are you frightened only now?” Verdi let out a sigh. As the commander of the knight order, he must have found me pitiful for only fleeing without even attempting a counterattack. “At this rate, there will be no outcome.” Chaak! He placed his left foot forward and pulled his right hand with the spear back. I immediately recognized that attack motion. ‘Finally, it’s here.’ The long-range attack where he hurled his spear like a bullet. In game terms, it was an unavoidable skill with a 100% ‘heart hit rate.’ So many players had despaired at this point…… But I smiled. ‘……Now.’ Ren had a skill he learned from Professor Ruber called ‘Reflection.’ It was a technique that reflected the opponent’s long-range attack right back. Of course, I had no such skill as Reflection. ……But. There was a way to ‘imitate it.’ Fwoosh! As Verdi swung his arm, a golden spear chased after me with indescribable speed. ……I made a small gesture near my chest. Swaang! The moment the golden spear touched my body. “……” ……My body was completely unharmed. “What?” Seeing his spear fail to pierce me, Verdi’s eyebrows twitched. Not only that, but the golden spear seemed to have vanished completely. “Phew……” I let out a sigh of relief. Yes, near my heart…… Ziiing! A subspace had opened. The golden spear had been sucked straight into it. I closed the door to the subspace. “……What trickery did you use.” Verdi sensed something strange. He and his weapons were one. As the subspace closed, he could feel his weapon completely vanish. “What in the world.” As he faltered at the disappearance of his weapon. This moment of carelessness was my chance. “If you want it so badly.” I spread my hand toward the air. “I’ll return it.” Ziiing! At the moment the subspace opened again. Fwaaaang! Golden light burst out of the darkness within. The spear that emerged shot at high speed straight toward Verdi. In haste, Verdi pulled a golden sword from the mirror. Clang! “Ghhk!” He barely blocked the spear, but it was too much for him. His arm went numb, and he dropped the sword. Verdi stared at me with eyes opened wide. ‘……Good.’ The attack method I had devised worked perfectly. The thrill of proving my theory right sent an electric chill down my spine. ‘Absorption and release.’ What the subspace preserved was not only objects. It maintained ‘everything’ that existed in this world. ‘For example, just now.’ The invisible ‘kinetic energy.’ Even that kinetic energy was stored within subspace without error. If Verdi hurled his weapon at my heart, I could absorb it into subspace and simply release it again. ‘The principle is different from Ren’s reflection technique…… but the result is the same.’ I had secured the basic means to counter Verdi. ‘……He’s coming again.’ As Verdi took up another golden spear and hurled it at me. Fwaaaang! I spread my palm into the air. Ziiing! ‘Absorb.’ The speeding spear was absorbed into subspace as it was. I closed the subspace and dashed toward Verdi. ‘This time it will hit for sure.’ I swung my sword at him. Clang! He calmly blocked my strike. But that was precisely what I was aiming for. ‘Release.’ Fwaaaang! As the subspace opened right before Verdi, he realized too late. “Ghhk!” He tried to dodge, but blood sprayed in the air. His abdomen was pierced through. “……You are quite skilled. I’ll admit it.” Even with a hole in his abdomen, his face showed little sign of pain. Kaaang! Verdi gritted his teeth and struck back at me. Realizing the golden spear would no longer work, he began pressing forward with his sword. ‘He didn’t climb to the seat of knight commander for nothing.’ His sword strikes came down like countless bolts of lightning. I had no way to counter. ‘Even against a Verdi with a pierced abdomen, I’m being pushed back.’ I judged it was impossible to keep blocking like this. ‘I’ll have to regroup.’ I retreated with a backstep. As I caught my breath and watched him, I noticed a strange sensation in my vision. ‘……The mask?’ Touching it with my hand, I felt several cracks had formed on the mask. Verdi answered with a chuckle. “Each time our swords clash and the mana waves brush against each other, I confirmed it was affecting your mask.” From the start, he had been targeting my mask. “Why don’t we see that face of yours and talk properly!” Fwoosh! Verdi pushed off the ground and hurled himself at me with high speed. Kaaang! Our swords collided, unleashing a violent shockwave. Clang! Unable to withstand the impact, my mask shattered into pieces. “……” Verdi, who had been smiling leisurely. It took him only seconds to become horrified. He stepped back a pace. “……You are.” Verdi’s eyes widened as if struck with great shock when he saw my face. “……Dedenkman?” With my face fully revealed, I only gazed silently at Verdi. “Why are you inside that mask……?” As Verdi faltered in confusion, I prepared to launch a surprise attack. Taratatataaan! The bright sound of a trumpet rang out, and a cutesy pink glow blocked me. Unbelievable. ‘At a time like this, something like this has to appear……’ I was dumbfounded. A sigh escaped me without thinking. Tutorial. Learn the fusion skill of Animal Friends! ‘……Fusion?’ At this sudden appearance, curiosity began to stir in me.