Chapter 734: Chapter 734: Clown (3)
Unexpected sudden situation.
That’s the only way to describe it, but it wasn’t something to make him give up or despair.
At least Abet Nekrapeto thought so.
Because, wasn’t it obvious?
「Field effect — Underworld is applied.」
This place is the Underworld.
A realm only accessible using a staff considered the graduation weapon of necromancers—
「All non-living creatures in this area have their physical stats increased by 200%.」
「All living creatures in this area have their physical stats decreased by 20%.」
A necromancer’s paradise.
「Undead summoned here do not perish.」
Even if struck down, they revive after a short time as if nothing happened.
「Character possesses a symbol.」
「Character receives the Blessing of the Underworld.」
Characters wielding the ‘Staff of the Underworld’ are classified as ‘non-living’ and cannot die.
Well, there are counters to this, but still.
“Pssst...”
Right, no reason to be scared here.
Thud.
Of course, the giant approaching gave off the force of a tank.
Thud.
He didn’t really think he could pierce that ridiculous defense and land a fatal blow...
‘...But I can at least hold out!’
He judged that he could at least dodge around.
Because that barbarian, while having monster-level defense, lacked mobility.
He had felt that clearly in the recent chase.
Though he himself lacked mobility and was almost caught...
“Oh, are you laughing?”
The situation was different now.
His physical stats were greatly increased, and the summons were much stronger.
Coldly analyzing the situation, there was no reason to fear that barbarian.
So...
“Why shouldn’t I laugh? Pssst...”
It was natural to gain composure along with soaring confidence.
“Well, it’s not impossible... but it’s funny because until recently, you looked like you were about to die.”
“What dying face? I was just a bit surprised. Pssst...”
His body followed his mind, and his once hunched shoulders straightened.
There’s a saying that positivity breeds positivity.
Thinking positively, advantages came to mind one after another.
‘24 hours... should be enough.’
If no one dies within 24 hours, they’ll be expelled from this place and returned to their original location.
But there was no need to worry.
‘Until the captain arrives.’
Before blocking Bjorn Yandel, the captain waiting in District 4 had set off to District 8.
No matter how late, the captain would arrive by then, and that monstrous captain could easily deal with that mysterious knight.
A man can defeat monsters in a labyrinth, but beating the captain is nearly impossible.
If he just endured well and returned, the knight would have either died or fled, and the captain would be waiting in a siege formation.
Then even the stubborn barbarian—
Tat!
Hey, a man’s thinking here.
Typical rude barbarians.
Whooosh!
A crude strike devoid of any grace.
“Pssst.”
Dodging lightly by stepping back, he smiled and murmured.
“Slow.”
That must have startled the barbarian quite a bit.
How could he dodge so easily? A strike that surely would’ve hit before...!
“Haha, clearly clueless.”
That ignorant barbarian knew nothing about the Underworld.
Having that informational advantage doubled his odds.
So...
‘Hmm... maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try catching him once?’
Dodging just once gave Abet Nekrapeto huge confidence—and a bit of greed.
Because...
The corpse collector, Abet Nekrapeto, beating the giant Bjorn Yandel one-on-one?
What a story that would be—
Pshuuut-!
Green gas spouted from the ground between him and the barbarian, who stepped back to avoid it.
So far, no strange thoughts.
When unknown gas suddenly erupts, it’s normal to avoid it.
But what was this?
“Why don’t you get hit?”
...Huh?
He tilted his head, not understanding the question.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know? Well, I guess it’s awkward for me to explain...”
Like he knew something about that gas.
Though feeling something was wrong, he asked again for confirmation.
“...Do you really know where this is?”
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s the place you summoned with your staff—the Underworld. That gas curses me if I get hit but strengthens «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» your blessing if you do.”
“...”
Abet Nekrapeto was speechless at the barbarian’s simple explanation.
“What? You really didn’t know?”
Of course, he wasn’t completely ignorant.
But it amazed him how precisely the barbarian understood it.
His mouth froze briefly, but then he thought there was no reason to worry.
“...I-I might know a little about the Underworld. It’s quite famous.”
“Oh? Shall we start over?”
Without wanting a long talk, the barbarian gave a battle cry that sounded like neurosis and charged again.
And then...
[Grrrrrrr-!]
Abet Nekrapeto summoned the corpse he trusted most from his pocket dimension.
At first, fleeing had come to mind, but he planned to try a few tactics to see if he could hold ground.
But...
“Wow, [Barrier] trait? How much have you modified?”
The barbarian recognized the No. 3 trait, something that only appeared once after thousands of modifications.
And...
“This is its weak spot, so it’s not easy.”
Crunch-!
No. 3, normally immune to damage, got hit in its only weak point and collapsed powerless.
Sure, thanks to field effects, it would revive soon, but...
‘...How does he know?’
Confidence dipped slightly; anxiety rose somewhat.
Still, he held onto hope...
“...[Punisher] trait can just be taken head-on.”
Crunch-!
“Yeah, [Musician] trait is top priority.”
Crunch-!
The barbarian moved with an efficiency like he’d mastered every truth in this world.
“Oh, ‘Underworld Fire’? Sweet.”
He hammered every field monster that temporarily gained dark resistance after being killed.
He also struck oddly protruding parts of the ground.
‘...Why hit that?’
“Oh, don’t you know? Hitting that raises resistance.”
Having visited the Underworld countless times, even he didn’t know this hidden piece.
Boom-!
After trying it, he felt his skin had really toughened a bit...
Thump-!
A growing sense that ‘something’s wrong.’
But not giving up, he prepared a secret weapon.
“Th-This can’t be blocked!”
“Oh, looks like it’s time to summon?”
“...Huh?”
“What, weren’t you going to summon the Underworld King?”
“...”
Right.
A field boss that can be summoned when wielding the Staff of the Underworld in the Underworld after meeting certain conditions.
He planned to summon it now.
But...
Thump-!
How does this barbarian know even that?
Like he’d been here countless times...
“Oh, even if you know, it’s useless! You can’t block it like that!”
He raised his staff high.
Targeted the high-hanging moon.
And cast ‘Call of the Underworld’ again.
Then...
[The scent of the living is detected.]
A transcendent voice echoed throughout the Underworld.
Though he knew it was an ally, hearing that voice sent chills down Nekrapeto’s spine.
He clearly remembered the Underworld King who killed the challenger in the Orkulis ‘ranking war’ with one strike.
Still, he wasn’t completely sure.
Bjorn Yandel.
A ‘Guardian’ with skill known to all of Rafdonia’s history—one of the top handful.
Even with the Staff of the Underworld, killing him in one hit was impossible.
But...
‘I can deal a heavy blow.’
Nekrapeto decided to check this strike personally before making a final decision.
If the damage was severe, he’d fight more aggressively to kill him.
If it was minor...
‘How could I kill someone like that?’
He’d accept it was impossible and run without looking back to buy time.
Whooosh-!
[Living one, answer me.]
The enormous Underworld King looked down at the planet...
Or rather, the battlefield.
[Why have you set foot on immortal land?]
It was a pointless event to him.
Whatever the living answered, the king would get angry and slam his palm down—
Pshuuut-!
...Or not?
‘What’s this?’
Suddenly, the barbarian plunged into the green gas spouting from the ground.
An utterly incomprehensible action.
Knowing it curses those who enter, why step into it on your own?
The answer came quickly.
[I must have been mistaken.]
The king’s voice faded away.
“No! Your Majesty! He’s here! The living is here! Please return! Return...!!”
Late to realize, Nekrapeto shouted at the sky, but the king was gone and did not reappear.
“...”
A void silence followed.
Pshuuut-!
The gas ceased erupting, and the barbarian revealed himself with a sly smile.
“Didn’t know?”
A question so casual it almost mocked him.
Nekrapeto was dumbfounded, his neck muscles twitching.
‘...Then how do you know all this?’
It was weirder to know it.
He’d never seen anyone summon the king and dodge like that.
Even the memoirs of a necromancer who once owned the Staff of the Underworld said nothing of this.
“...H-How do you know everything?”
Nekrapeto asked resignedly; the barbarian shrugged.
“Why should I tell you?”
His usual teasing tone.
“You don’t really know; you learn.”
But from what followed, Nekrapeto instinctively realized—
Thump-!
This wasn’t just a bad feeling.
It was already way worse than that.
Under the green-lit sky.
Tat-tat-tat!
Running across the dry plains.
Tat-tat!
Ahead, a modified quadruped chimera carrying the corpse collector fled from me.
‘Hmm, maybe I pushed too hard?’
The battle itself was easy.
With Underworld buffs, corpses or no, necromancers rely on numbers.
Even elites have weak individual attack power, so none can catch me.
Shield Barbarian grows stronger with each hit taken.
Also, having played a necromancer, I understood the job well, and having been to this Underworld countless times, there were no surprises.
「Accumulated damage exceeded threshold.」
The problem was that the Underworld King seemed discouraged after being countered and started fleeing.
‘Time to try something.’
I didn’t know how many stacks I had.
Having taken hits running through my corpse army, I probably had quite a few...
‘Well, I’ll check soon.’
「Character used [Aegis Dragon Armor].」
No sooner had I activated the armor’s active effect than a spectral warrior appeared behind me and charged forward.
Not comparable to the Underworld King, but still large enough to feel unreal.
It turned its head just as I glanced back, clearly disgusted.
“...W-What is that?!”
Seriously, this guy’s no kid.
Why does he keep asking like he wants everything spoon-fed?
‘If you don’t know, learn by getting hit.’
Whoooosh-!
The spectral warrior took a step forward, swinging a massive greatsword.
For a greatsword that huge, the distance between him and me was no obstacle.
Kraaaaang-!
With a thunderous roar, dust and smoke billowed.
「Abet Nekrapeto cast [Momentary Immortality].」
Okay, so that took away the invincibility skill.
Grin.
Next time, I’ll be able to kill him.