novelraw Chapter 20: Triumph Over the Enemy
Chapter 20: Triumph Over the Enemy
Fuck! It hurts!
I gritted my teeth, clutching my chest as waves of pain shot through my body. Even with Pain Tolerance, it hurt like hell. I coughed, the metallic taste of blood coating my tongue as I struggled to regain my bearings, shoving aside the debris pinning me down. It took a moment before I could finally push myself free and lay eyes on my attacker.
A towering figure loomed just outside the ruined tent. Its broad, hunched frame was wrapped in a tattered robe, but unlike the other thralls, this one was built like a walking slab of muscle.
[Abyssal Brute – Lv.26]
So this was what had crashed into me earlier.
“GRAAAH!” it roared as it took a heavy step forward, flexing its massive arms with unnatural strength. Of course. If the weaker thralls had noticed me, the stronger ones must have sensed me even earlier.
Shaking off the lingering daze, I forced myself upright. Even with the poison weakening it, there was no way I could win against this thing in my current state. It was too fast, too strong. The only way to survive was to invest my remaining attribute points and get as strong as possible. I had wanted to hold off on using them for later, but there was no other choice.
“You forced me!” I shouted, pulling up my status screen and dumping every free attribute point into my stats.
Strength: 9 → 19
Dexterity: 16 → 21
Stamina: 10 → 15
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 20/20 (EXP 579)
Rank: Aleph [1]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Novice
Title: The Unyielding Survivor (1)
Status: Slightly Injured
Strength: 19 + 5 | Dexterity: 21 + 3 | Stamina: 15 + 7
Mind: 8 | Magic Power: 5 | Luck: 14
Free Attributes: 0
Signature Skill(s): [@!$#%*?&]
Skill(s): [Basic Alchemy Lv.2], [Basic Spearmanship Lv.1], [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.1], [Fast Reading Lv.1], [Inventory], [Mental Tolerance Lv.1], [Negotiation Lv.1], [Pain Tolerance Lv.1]
As my stats improved, power coursed through my body. I could feel my muscles tighten, my movements sharpen, and the burning pain in my ribs dulled slightly. With this, maybe I had a fighting chance.
The brute stomped the ground and charged, closing the distance far faster than something of its size should have been capable of. Barely having the time to react, I threw myself to the side just as its massive fist came crashing down, obliterating what remained of the collapsed tent. Splinters and debris were scattered from the impact, but I didn’t have time to admire the destruction. Twisting my body mid-roll, I swung my sword on its back, piercing through its robe and into its flesh, but…
Tch. It’s too shallow… Even though my strength had improved quite drastically, I still had to put everything into my attack just to injure it.
The brute barely flinched, swinging its other arm toward me in retaliation. I ducked under the attack, feeling the force of the wind rush past my head as the monstrous fist grazed dangerously close. Just as I was about to counterattack, something in my peripheral vision made me hesitate and immediately jump backward on instinct.
The very next second, a dark, pulsating projectile shot past where I had just been standing, hitting the ground and exploding into a small eruption of abyssal energy. A sickening stench of decay quickly filled my nostrils.
My gaze turned toward the source, and I found two figures standing between the tents. Their tentacle-covered mouths moved as they chanted in that incomprehensible language.
[Abyssal Acolyte – Lv.23]
[Abyssal Acolyte – Lv.24]
This is not going to be easy, I thought with a frown.
It was important to note that other thralls had formed a loose perimeter around the area, making any attempt to escape difficult. Even though I had already killed about twenty of them, there were still more than a dozen left.
The situation had truly turned for the worse. The brute alone was bad enough, but if I let the acolytes cast freely, I’d be overwhelmed before I even landed a solid hit. While I could afford to ignore the weaker thralls since the poison had heavily weakened them, the acolytes were a different matter. They had to be taken out first.
[Desperate Willpower Lv.1] has activated.
Your overall combat power has been temporarily increased by 10%, and your resistance to pain and mind-affecting status effects has been increased.
Oh right, I still have ‘that.’ I swiftly took out the mug that had been filled with the mutant rat’s blood and poured it over my sword and spear. If just drinking contaminated water had weakened the thralls this much, then directly injecting it into their bodies would be even more lethal.
Also, I switched my title.
Title: The Unyielding Survivor → Foul Play
The brute might have impressive speed once it launched itself, but it fought purely on instinct rather than intelligence. If I couldn’t overpower it with brute strength, then I had no reason to play by the book. This wasn’t an honorable duel, after all.
While I did all of this in three seconds, the brute had charged again toward me with a thunderous roar. Gripping my sword tightly, I dashed toward the acolytes instead, ignoring their attack. With my improved speed, I closed the ten-meter gap in less than a second. How much faster am I now? It must be almost twice as fast as before.
The acolytes barely had time to react before I was right before their faces. I swung my sword at the nearest one, aiming for its torso. Different from the brute, the blade struck deep, and the poison immediately took effect. The acolyte let out a horrid, garbled screech as its body convulsed violently, black blood spilling from the wound. Even though these spellcasters had stronger bodies than regular thralls, they still weren’t immune to the rat’s blood.
You have hunted [Abyssal Acolyte Lv.23].
You have gained 33 EXP.
Before I could go after the second one, I noticed that the brute was only a few meters behind me, and both of its fists were raised high in a vicious hammer strike. Crap. Rather than risk a last-second dodge in open space, I threw myself into the nearby tent.
A split second later—
Boom!
The ground where I had just been standing shattered beneath the brute’s fists, sending a shockwave through the air. Loose debris exploded outward, tearing through nearby tents and knocking over wooden structures.
Inside the tent, I rolled onto my feet, heart pounding. That was way too close. If I hadn’t become this fast and dexterous, there was no way I could’ve dodged in time. Still, the attack had caused the brute to stagger in place, and the drawback from its own overwhelming force had left it momentarily vulnerable. Even better, the poison from the water was starting to take its toll, slowing its movements.
But I had no time to capitalize on that. Since the moment I steadied myself, I noticed that the second acolyte was outside, finishing a chant. I can’t let it finish casting the spell! I was pretty sure that it was likely casting a restraining spell—something similar to {Abyssal Restraint}. But this acolyte was stronger, and if it landed a spell while the brute was still looming nearby, I’d be in serious trouble.
With no other choice, I launched myself straight at the acolyte, bursting out of the tent and ignoring the brute while swinging my sword forward. However, I was slightly too late. Just as I closed the distance to two meters, the acolyte finished its chant. Instead of the restraining spell I had anticipated, a large, dark, pulsating projectile formed in its palm and shot straight toward me.
“Shit!” At this range, dodging was impossible. I was moving too fast to stop myself in time, and the attack was already upon me.
Rather than trying to do a futile dodge, I took out the old tome from my inventory and raised it as a shield. The moment the projectile collided against the tome, a wave of abyssal energy exploded outward. A violent force surged through my arm, sending a painful vibration up to my shoulder, but the tome held firm, absorbing the brunt of the impact.
Bearing through the stinging pain, I stabbed my sword forward. The acolyte had no time to react as my blade plunged into its chest, the poisoned steel slicing deep.
You have hunted [Abyssal Acolyte Lv.24].
You have gained 34 EXP.
Its body spasmed, and its tentacle-covered mouth twitched in a silent scream. Then, it collapsed, crumpling to the ground.
With that taken care of, I exhaled sharply, allowing myself a brief moment of relief, but I couldn’t let my guard down just yet. The other weaker thralls were creeping closer, and some of the stronger ones had begun chanting a spell. As dangerous as the brute was, the spellcasters posed a bigger threat. If I let them keep chanting, they’d bombard me with curses, restraints, or worse. I had to thin their numbers first.
And so, I dashed toward the nearest thrall before it could complete its incantation and sliced through its neck.
You have hunted [Abyssal Thrall Lv.12].
You have gained 12 EXP.
The moment its body hit the ground, I was already moving toward the next, killing one thrall after another. Their weakened bodies offered little resistance as my blade carved through them with swift, precise strikes. But when I had killed about seven of them, the brute was back in motion, and its massive fist came swinging toward me with terrifying force.
This time, I was unable to avoid it and had to raise my sword at the last second, trying to minimize the damage.
“Argh!” The intense force ripped the sword from my grip and sent me hurtling backward. My body crashed against the main altar, feeling the jagged surface pressing painfully into my back. With the altar behind me, my escape route was cut off.
The brute let out a chuckle upon seeing me cornered. It folded its massive hands together and raised them high, ready to bring them crashing down onto my skull.
But thinking I was unarmed was a huge mistake.
As its fists came swinging down, I immediately took out my spear from my inventory and thrust it upward. The spear’s poisoned tip drove straight into the brute’s open mouth. The momentum of its own attack worked against it, impaling the weapon even deeper.
I didn’t stop with that attack. Rolling to the side, I sprang into the air, gripping the old tome tightly before bringing it down onto the brute’s skull with all my strength. The impact sent a violent tremor through its massive body, and it stopped moving altogether.
With a heavy thud, the brute collapsed.
You have hunted [Abyssal Brute Lv.26].
You have gained 36 EXP.
Even though I had defeated it, exhaustion was beginning to weigh on me. My breathing was ragged, my muscles were screaming in protest, and my body was hurting all over. Still, I forced myself to keep moving. With what little strength I had left, I culled the last few remaining thralls, cutting them down one by one before my legs finally gave out beneath me, causing me to fall to the ground.
“Hah… No more… I can fight no more… Huff…”
I lay there, my chest rising and falling heavily. Luckily, my injuries were nothing serious, mostly just swelling and bruises. If the poison hadn’t weakened them, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. It was important to mention that I’d been forced to spend all my free attribute points, so I had no more trump cards that I could use in case of emergency.
As I was thinking of that, a translucent blue screen materialized before my eyes.
Desperate Willpower has leveled up
Basic Spearmanship has leveled up.
You have fulfilled the hidden criteria.
You have unlocked a selection of hidden classes.