Chapter 749: Chapter 749: Guide (6)
I once saw war footage on the news. It was from a country in the middle of a civil war, and the footage was about missile strikes. The clip shown as reference was very short. There was a building that looked solid and well-constructed, the weather was sunny, and laundry hung out on the balcony gave off a peaceful atmosphere.
And then......
It only took one second. Just one second was enough for a missile to come flying in from the distance and blow the building apart. No more, no less—exactly one second, and after seeing that short footage, I felt a sense of powerlessness.
Even a top-tier athlete, a powerful figure guarded by dozens of bodyguards, or a veteran soldier who had fought on countless battlefields—none of them could react to something like that. Because really, how do you deal with something that flies in at that speed and crashes straight into a building?
Do you dodge it? Block it? The people inside that building probably didn’t even realize there was a missile until it exploded. Well, maybe they heard an air raid siren or something......
Anyway, that’s not what matters now.
"Son of a bitch......"
A missile was flying in from far away right now. It was moving at a speed that seemed to ignore perspective altogether, and its appearance felt so unreal it almost seemed fake.
But......
‘Get a grip.’
Unlike when I saw that footage, I didn’t feel powerless. This world was full of explorers who far surpassed the physical limits of ordinary humans—not just high-level athletes. Though at the same time, that thing—‘Urae’—was definitely no joke either.
"Everyone, get over here to me!"
I called the nearby comrades to my side. Of course, with over a thousand people in the force, there was no way I could cover everyone on my own......
But I could just tell.
Whooooom......!
That missile was coming straight for me.
"Hoo......"
There were two choices from here. The first was to use [Transcendence] and [Giant Form] in combination to enlarge my body as much as possible. Thanks to the effect of ‘Unity,’ Aegis’s Barrier would scale with my body, so if I could manage a proper ‘guard,’ it might be possible to block the strike without taking damage.
But......
‘...No good.’
Watching ‘Urae’ approach in real time, I quickly re-evaluated.
‘That’s not some regular bomb—that thing’s massive.’
Even if I could stack [Giant Form] multiple times, there was no way I could make myself large enough to guard against that.
So......
Only one option remained.
「The character has cast [Transcendence].」
「The next skill used will be enhanced.」
First, I activated [Transcendence]. Then I cast the skill that would benefit from its effect.
「The character has cast [Iron Fortress].」
「The skill’s latent ability is being unlocked by the power of the Transcendent.」
Normally, it’s just an active skill that boosts the effect of [Evolved Exoskeleton] by 1.5x. But I’d almost never used this skill in actual combat while enhanced by [Transcendence]. No—in truth, I’d only used it a few times out of boredom in situations that couldn’t even be called real battles. That was partly because once activated, it had a fatal flaw: it couldn’t be deactivated until all your soul power was drained......
「[Evolved Exoskeleton] is temporarily transformed into [Mutated Exoskeleton].」
And even worse, the resulting form is completely left up to chance.
「Physical resistance stat exceeds 750.」
「The character gains three special effects.」
As the skill activated, a storm raged across my entire body.
「Blessing of the Storm.」
「Incoming damage is increased by 70%, but you gain absolute immunity to all wind-type attacks.」
The first one was a dud. There’s no way that Urae would be wind-elemental. And not just a dud—this was the worst possible result, a demerit that dramatically increased incoming damage.
Ssshhh—!
Skin spiked up over the calluses on my fists, jutting out sharply.
「Fighter’s Blood.」
「Damage dealt with bare fists is multiplied by 15.」
That one brought back good memories. Tossing aside hammer and shield and pounding monsters bare-handed had been surprisingly fun, and my comrades enjoyed watching it too.
But......
‘Ha, this is nuts......’
What the hell was I supposed to do with this now?
Still, it was a hundred, no, a thousand times better than the first effect.
Anyway, time to check the last one—
"Yandel...? Y-Your head, there’s a horn...!"
The moment I heard Rotmiller’s words, I cursed inwardly. No need to check anything else.
「Demonic Devourer.」
「When slaying a demon-type monster, you temporarily absorb its abilities.」
Right. Another dud.
What the hell was I supposed to do with that in a city with no monsters, let alone inside a labyrinth?
‘Haa......’
Maybe this was exactly why I hadn’t used [Mutated Exoskeleton] until now. Each individual effect was powerful, and if the right combination came up, it could unleash absurd power—but that was only if the situation matched.
And you couldn’t count on that.
‘I’m screwed.’
It wasn’t just disappointment—my mind went blank. Sure, the second and third effects were manageable, but the first was the real problem.
Seventy percent increased incoming damage. I’d still held onto a shred of hope that maybe I could survive even if Urae hit me, but now, I couldn’t even say that with confidence.
Still, it had been the only choice. If I wanted to protect everyone around me, [Mutated Exoskeleton] was the only way.
Of course, under normal circumstances, I never would’ve gambled like this......
‘Damn those fate-manipulating bastards.’
A record stating that three comrades would die. If I wanted to interpret it optimistically, maybe it meant only three would die—no more than that.
And if that was the case, then wouldn’t ‘it’ appear, like fate? Considering the destructive power that had leveled the royal palace, there’s no way only three people would die when that thing hit.
Crunch—
But what could I do? If I couldn’t run, I had no choice but to face it.
Ssshhh.
I looked up at the incoming Urae one last time, then raised my shield like an umbrella to cover us from above. Beneath it were Rotmiller and several other comrades, and some from the rear still hadn’t made it to my side in time.
‘Please.’
With that final prayer, I braced my body for the impact to come.
‘Huh......?’
Suddenly, a pure white light erupted from somewhere.
When I checked, it was coming from the armor I was wearing. At first, I thought maybe one of the nearby comrades had used a spell or special ability......
Ssshhhaaaaa—!
But it didn’t take long to realize it wasn’t a spell or special ability at all.
‘Aegis Dragon Armor.’
The passive power of the armor—still not fully understood since I’d acquired it.
「The Noble Guardian has determined that the wearer’s life is in danger.」
I still didn’t know the condition.
「For 10 seconds, all resistance stats are multiplied by 10.」
Nor did I know the full scope of the effect.
But......
Shwaaak—!
Black wings sprouted from my back and spread wide. One of the hundreds of possible types within [Mutated Exoskeleton]—
「The character’s physical resistance exceeds 1,500.」
「The character gains a new special effect.」
It was the one I’d been hoping for.
「The Hanged Man.」
Its effect was simple.
「Soul power consumption increases 25-fold.」
「The character takes all damage in place of others.」
「The character’s HP will not drop below 1%.」
This special effect made it so I couldn’t die, no matter the injury.
And then......
「The character may now use [Domain Declaration].」
An active skill that could only be used once while the main skill was active. Obviously, I activated it right away.
‘Domain Declaration.’
The moment I gave the command inwardly, black ripples spread outward from me like waves in a lake.
SHWAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!
Where the ripples passed, all color drained away. The world became like a black-and-white film.
「The power of the Great Sacrifice permeates the area.」
「All damage within your line of sight is taken by the character.」
Relieved, I tightened my grip on the shield.
And then—
————————————!
At last, Urae struck the ground.
***
I couldn’t see anything. The world had turned into pure light. There wasn’t even any sound.
A white void. And within it, I didn’t exist.
There was no pain, no thought, no grief. I couldn’t feel the passage of time—so time didn’t exist at all.
「The soul of the Noble Guardian is losing strength.」
The white void, which seemed endless yet brief, gradually began to fade. The pure-white space slowly blurred into darkness, and faint sounds started to reach me.
"......! ......!"
"......!"
Someone was shouting. I couldn’t make out the words, but I could clearly feel the emotion in the voice.
Blink.
I opened my eyes. Or maybe I didn’t. I wasn’t even sure.
Anyway—
"......."
"......!"
Sensation began to return, just barely. The feeling of someone shaking me. The feeling of being carried, moving quickly. And then—
「The character has taken damage.」
「Damage is accumulating.」
「The character has taken damage.」
「Damage accumul—」
It didn’t feel like pain. It was just the ‘sensation’ of my heart bursting, my lungs ripping, my bones shattering, my muscles twisting.
You know that feeling? Like when a dentist pulls a tooth—you don’t feel pain, but the weird discomfort is unmistakable. It was exactly like that.
「The character has taken damage.」
「Damage is accumulating.」
「Damage accumul—」
But it wasn’t all destruction.
「Due to the (Highest Grade) Recovery effect, the body is regenerating extremely rapidly.」
「Due to the (Highest Grade) Recovery effect, the body is regenerating extremely rapidly.」
「Due to the (Highest Grade) Recovery effect, the body is regenerati—」
As fast as my body was being shattered inside and out, it was also being restored. Broken bones rejoined, the torn flesh of my heart reattached, and the blood that had spilled was being regenerated.
「The character has taken damage.」
「Due to the (Highest Grade) Recovery effect, the body is regenerating extremely rapidly.」
It felt like being dunked in boiling water and ice water thousands of times per second.
「The character’s soul power is below 10%.」
Still, as time passed, my consciousness gradually returned. Who I was, what I had done, what state I was in now—
All of it became clear without needing to concentrate desperately anymore. And that also included awareness of the outside world.
"...Over here!!"
I heard a desperate voice. But... whose voice was that?
I didn’t know.
KWAANG—!
I heard an explosion. Felt the sensation of being launched into the air. And then—
Thud-thud.
I tumbled across the ground.
I could feel all that, but just like someone who’s dead drunk, I couldn’t control my body at all—
"...Shit!!"
"Th-There’s no wound!"
"Pour more potion on him! Even if it’s not high-grade!"
They were really trying. Actually, no—this wasn’t just “trying.” This was all happening because of me.
‘Amelia......’
How would she react if she found out what I did?
Mm, yeah, no way she’d praise me.
‘...Better not tell her.’
Yeah, that’d be best. Even if I told her I had a good chance of surviving, even if I explained there was no other way to save everyone—it wouldn’t matter. She wouldn’t understand.
"...Yandel! Yandel! Yandel! Are you awake?!"
...Huh?
‘What the—why can I move?’
I opened my eyes. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but the only thing in my field of vision was one person.
"Th-Thank goodness..."
Brown Rotmiller. Scout of Team Half-Penny, my very first party, and a former comrade who had shared a precious time in my life.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Can you stand? We need to get out of here, fast!"
He looked at me and spoke urgently, and I slowly got up. I didn’t know what was happening, but things ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) clearly looked urgent. And my body had recovered well enough that I didn’t think I’d have trouble moving.
Yeah, so—
"Don’t worry. I can still mo—"
I was just about to say, “I can still move,” when—
「The character’s soul power is insufficient.」
「[Mutated Exoskeleton] has ended.」
All the changes that had appeared on my body vanished at once.
The swirling wind.
The horn that had sprouted from my forehead.
The warped, enlarged knuckles.
The black wings on my back.
The appearance didn’t matter at all. What mattered now was only one thing—
「The effect of The Hanged Man has ended.」
「Accumulated damage is now being processed.」
The “debt” I had been deferring was now being collected all at once.
"Ah......"
I’m screwed.
Pshhhhhhh—!
A violent sensation burst from every hole in my body.
Thud.
Still half-standing, I collapsed back to the ground.