novelraw Chapter 148: Under Our Combined Efforts
Chapter 148: Under Our Combined Efforts
On the way there, I checked my status screen.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 60/60 (EXP 7,633)
HP: 94%
MP: 724/1,103
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (8)
Status: Slightly Tired
Strength: 483 + 49 + 48 | Dexterity: 519 + 49 + 50 | Stamina: 443 + 45 + 44
Mind: 340 + 5 + 34 | Magic Power: 403 + 20 + 40 | Luck: 420 + 42
Plausibility: 761
Free Attributes: 0
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Gravity Magic Lv.4], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Assassination Arts Lv.3], [Basic Alchemy Lv.8], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.8], [Basic Dagger/Knife Mastery Lv.4], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.10], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.9], [Back Stab Lv.4], [Berserk Lv.4], [Blood-Fueled Frenzy Lv.1], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.8], [Divine Sermon Lv.1], [Echo Construct Lv.2], [Extraordinary Fortune], [Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution], [Fast Equip], [Fast Reading Lv.5], [Flaming Fist Lv.1], [Heavy Stab Lv.8], [Inspect Eye Lv.4], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.5], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.7], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.8], [Mana Sense Lv.8], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Negotiation Lv.7], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Phantom Blade Lv.4], [Phantom Slash Lv.6], [Poison-Paralysis Resistance Lv.4], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.5], [Reflection Counter Lv.1], [Shield Bash Lv.1], [Stealth Movements Lv.6], [Sword Intent Lv.1], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.5], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Frozen Icicle}, {Graviton Pull}, {Gravity Field}, {Gravity Launch}, {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Mana Shield}, {Mass Alteration}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
I was holding the Meteorite Spear, so my combat stats were boosted even further. Also, I still had a considerable amount of plausibility to use thanks to the cyclops’ corpse that I absorbed and the faith I had absorbed from statues the day prior.
Regardless, we needed to reach Erika fast. As we sprinted through the streets, smoke was rising in the distance. A dead guard lay slumped against a wall with his throat crushed. Then there were some dead civilians with their bodies twisted unnaturally. The carnage only worsened the closer we came. Finally, we reached the alley where Erika was located, and we froze on instinct.
Arlen and Liora’s bodies lay in a pool of blood. Seeing their grotesque corpses sent chills down my spine, and the others reacted with the same tightened expressions.
Up ahead stood Erika, staggering, holding only one katana while her left hand had decayed into something rotten and unusable. Dozens of gashes ran across her arms and legs. Her breaths were shallow and ragged, yet she still forced herself to remain standing—her eyes burning with defiant resolve and killing intent.
“Maxim…” she muttered as soon as she noticed us, though she never once looked away from her opponent.
Standing opposite her was the same masked figure from the ninth scenario. It was cloaked in crimson robes with bone pillars protruding from the ground around it like a ring of execution stakes. Its red eyes stared at us from behind the mask.
This was clearly not a normal opponent.
[??? – Lv.???]
Threat Level: ???
Lucian swallowed hard. “That’s… the thing you mentioned before, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I replied grimly. “And it’s even worse up close.”
The masked figure slowly lifted its arm, and fragments of white and crimson light converged into its palm.
“Keep your guard up!” I barked, raising my spear.
The masked figure thrust its arm downward. Black-purple energy erupted outward, twisting into tendrils that slithered across the ground like living curses. Erika gritted her teeth and sprang forward, her katana cutting through the nearest tendril. Yet even severed, the twisted energy crawled along her blade like it wanted to rot it away.
“Curse magic,” Lucian muttered, his body trembling. “Be careful. Even blocking it is dangerous.”
A sharp cracking sound accompanied the emergence of three armored undead warriors from the shadows, each one wielding rusted blades but radiating a chilling presence stronger than the elite gnolls. Along with them was a group of weaker undead.
[Death Knight – Lv.150]
Reanimated remains of corrupted champions who once served ancient tyrants. Fueled by plague mana and malice, they wield deadly blade arts and high-tier dark magic. Their strength rivals top-tier monsters, and they hold authority over low-rank undead creatures.
Threat Level: Very High
[Plague Ghoul – Lv.115]
A mutated ghoul infused with virulent curse mana. Its claws inflict rapid-spreading rot that weakens defenses and numbs nerves.
[Skeleton Knight – Lv.110]
Heavily armored skeletons once belonging to elite soldiers. They retain martial discipline and wield shield walls to block incoming attacks.
[Skeleton Marksman – Lv.95]
Undead archers that fire barbed, curse-laced arrows. Each hit will inflict various curses on the target and will gradually drain stamina and mana.
Just as I was about to rush ahead and face the three undead knights, a familiar blue screen flashed in front of my eyes.
The effect of Grant Plausibility has ended.
All stat and skill enhancements have been removed.
Crap! The buff’s out of time! Figures… it always ran out at the worst possible moment, though it was actually surprising that it had lasted this long. Still, there was no room for hesitation.
Michelle fired several explosive arrows into the shambling group, blowing apart two in an instant. But the gaps were immediately filled by more of the undead horde.
“{Mana Blast}!” Lucian gathered his mana into a condensed orb and unleashed a surge of pure energy that incinerated three enemies in a flash of blue light… yet more claws scraped free from the bone pillars surrounding the masked figure, swarming forward without hesitation.
It clicked instantly. Those bone constructs weren’t just barriers; they functioned like some sort of spawners. The masked figure was using them to spawn undead reinforcements continuously. If we didn’t stop it now, we would be drowned alive in a sea of corpses.
Tuilë fired her cannon next, and a compressed bolt of mana slammed squarely into the masked figure, forcing it to raise its arm in defense. However, it remained standing, completely unfazed. Its arm was still raised lazily in the same blocking motion as before.
This was a no-go. No matter how many undead we took down, more would just keep coming… If I wanted to survive and win, I had no other choice but to go all out.
“Fabled Vessel!” I shouted without a second thought.
You have activated Fabled Vessel.
Please select a divine hero or demigod that you want to possess.
[The Crimson Sovereign – Tyrant of the End]
[Voldrath the Eternal – The Lich-King of a Million Souls]
[Alric the Sword Saint – Hero of the Eternal Blade]
[Veyra the Thousand-Arrows – Huntress of the Stars]
[Selene the Moonlit Blade – Phantom of the Night]
…
“Uldrek the Blood Berserker.”
You have possessed [Uldrek the Blood Berserker].
Warning: Your current stats are too low to receive his full power!
Only 2.1% of Uldrek’s power is transferred to you.
Your stats have temporarily increased significantly.
Your close-combat and berserk-related skills have temporarily improved drastically.
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Berserker’s Instinct Lv.10].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Brutal Smash Lv.9].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Iron Fervor Lv.7].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Bloodthirst Aura Lv.5].
You have temporarily acquired a skill: [Crimson Rampage Lv.3].
A violent stream exploded through my veins, filling me with an insatiable thirst for carnage. My heartbeat thundered in my ears before settling into a cold, predatory rhythm. My muscles swelled unnaturally, veins tightening beneath my skin until I looked like someone who had overdosed on steroids at the gym. A faint crimson aura seeped from my skin.
Thanks to Calm Mind passive skill, I wasn’t swallowed by the bloodthirsty thought that I’d been subjected to the first time I used Uldrek’s power.
At last, the masked figure turned its full attention toward me. This was exactly why I had chosen Uldrek over the others. Granted, there were one or two that might be more counter-effective against something like this, but none among them could match Uldrek’s raw combat capability.
Without hesitation, I burst forward with Wind Rush, and Erika joined at my flank despite blood dripping from her wounds.
“I’ll cover you,” she said through gritted teeth.
The masked figure thrust out its hand—dozens of bone spikes erupted from the ground and walls, converging on us like a storm of ivory spears. My perception accelerated, allowing me to avoid most of them and parry those I couldn’t avoid, while Erika carved a path beside me with flawless sword arcs, slicing through several spikes in a single motion. Even so, one grazed my leather armor, while another grazed her cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
With only three meters left between us, I kicked off the ground and shattered the final spike with the Meteorite Spear.
“HRRRRAAAHHH! Brutal Smash!” I swung the spear downward in a brutal overhead smash.
The masked figure intercepted with a wall of bone tendrils, but under Uldrek’s borrowed strength, the impact obliterated the entire barrier apart, sending fragments flying like shrapnel. This sent the masked figure staggering for the first time.
Michelle took the chance and unleashed a skill I’d never seen before: “Explosive Rain!”
A volley of explosive arrows descended from above, detonating on impact and tearing through the undead ranks. Tuilë followed up with a concentrated mana shell that slammed straight into the Death Knights, disrupting their formation. Lucian extended both hands, chanting sharply as chains of pure mana burst forth and wrapped around the masked figure’s limbs.
“Maxim! Now!” Lucian yelled.
[Desperate Willpower Lv.8] has activated.
Your combat power has increased by 24%.
I lunged in, thrusting the Meteorite Spear straight toward its heart with Heavy Stab. The tip was a hair’s breadth from piercing the robes when the masked figure’s eye sockets flared a violent blood-red. Every bone spike in the area quivered, then an overwhelming wave of curse mana detonated outward.
Boom!
The shockwave struck us all like a train. Michelle and Tuilë were hurled into the nearest houses, stone walls cracking under the impact. Lucian’s mana barrier shattered as he was launched into the air. Erika collapsed to one knee, coughing blood as she struggled to remain upright. I myself was sliding back several meters, only managing to stop by jamming the spear deep into the earth.
A sickening chill crawled over my skin the moment I steadied myself as I realized that an invisible force sank into my flesh like rotting claws. A sharp, burning sensation spread across my arms and chest, and I felt my life force being pulled away in thick, painful tugs. My muscles weakened, my joints stiffened, and a cold numbness crept along my bones. It felt as though my body was beginning to decay from the inside out… and judging from the strained gasps around me, the others were being afflicted by the same curse.
You have been afflicted with {Withering Curse}.
Your life force is being drained.
All stats have been temporarily reduced by 25%.
Stamina recovery has halted.
Continuous damage will be applied until the curse is removed.
The masked figure stepped through the dissipating smoke completely unscathed, curse aura writhing around its body like a living storm.
It tilted its head slowly in my direction before uttering a distorted whisper. “…Berserker… vessel…”
So, it recognized Uldrek’s power. And more disturbingly, its presence, that suffocating pressure, felt eerily familiar. The filthy aura it emitted reminded me of an eldritch being…
I gulped a mouthful of saliva. Even with Uldrek’s power running through my veins and everyone else’s combined power, was it even possible to defeat something like this?