99
by Afuhfuihgs
I heard the enraged Lizardman growl lowly. His yellow eyes gleamed as if he would pounce any second, clearly infuriated by Raellan’s provocation. But I felt nothing at the hostile gaze. I wasn’t pleased that I stepped forward as the leader, nor was I annoyed that the anger Raellan stirred up was directed at me.
…Was I always like this? I don’t think I ever dreamed of being a cool, jaded protagonist. Something felt strangely empty in my heart. It was as if someone had scooped out half of my emotions. I should feel lighter, but I don’t know why my heart feels so heavy and weighed down.
Whatever. It’s a problem I won’t find an answer to even if I think about it. With a sigh, I recognized the spatial coordinates and materialized my spear. The Lizardman, thinking I was ready to fight, shouted loudly.
“I’ll tear you to shreds and make the bastards hiding behind you beg for their lives while trampling on your flesh!”
He must be quite the talker, considering how long his tongue is. Wielding a massive scimitar the size of his torso, the Lizardman put strength into his thighs and charged like a shot. The ground vibrated violently with each step; he must weigh well over 300kg.
Is this what it feels like when a rhino charges at full speed? As a monster who has reached the realm of Transcendence, despite his enormous size and weight, his speed was the fastest and most threatening of any monster I had seen so far.
Silently waiting for the right moment, I used the Breath of the Void the instant the distance closed, and thrust my spear. It was an attack timed perfectly by calculating the enemy’s reaction speed and the speed of my space magic and spear.
Shwook―!
The Lizardman lightly dodged the textbook attack aimed at piercing his head by slightly tilting his head, and just as he was about to swing his scimitar to cut off my head.
Pow―――!
A spear blade that popped out of a dimensional exit created next to the Lizardman’s temple pierced his head, churning his brain. The Lizardman blinked once, collapsed in his charging stance, slid along the ground, and stopped when he touched my toes. My aim worked, but I didn’t feel much of anything.
Having reached the realm of Transcendence, the Lizardman seemed to move efficiently. No, I was sure of it. Anticipating that he would dodge a textbook attack with minimal movement, I created a variable with space magic from the start, considering that he would avoid the attack. No matter how fast he was, if I stole his timing with space magic, a counter could easily land.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell. Neither side expected the fight to end in one blow. The people who had been expecting an eye-opening battle between those who had reached the realm of Transcendence scratched their cheeks or touched their noses at the fight that ended so easily.
Come to think of it, it didn’t make sense for the monster to react to space magic he was seeing for the first time. Who would expect a spear blade to suddenly pop out next to their head after lightly dodging a spear? I simply wiped the brain fluid off the spear blade on the Lizardman’s hide and silently waited for the next opponent to step forward.
The monsters exchanged glances and subtly took a step back. The Orc, who had been blankly staring at the Lizardman, hurriedly tried to retreat, but the monsters pushed him forward.
“…This is bullshit.”
The Orc, cursing, gripped his sword and charged.
***
Was this a Captain’s Match, or should it be called an execution… Raellan thought as she watched the Captain’s Match from the sidelines. It wasn’t that she pitied the enemies. It was just that Ross’s detached demeanor, repeatedly killing his opponents in almost one blow, made Raellan think a lot.
When she met Ellie separately, she heard about Ross’s change due to Estelle’s death, but she didn’t know he would become this strong. Ross, who used to act emotionally and fight when Luna died, could now perfectly control himself. He didn’t hesitate to kill enemies, and he didn’t hesitate to kill those who were once his comrades for his own gain.
‘Roel was right. Nelson’s plan was also a success.’
Roel is someone who has watched Ross grow in many worlds. His conclusion was that Ross can only grow if he loses something. Like the saying that trials that don’t lead to death make a person stronger, Ross will become stronger as he loses more.
That’s why Nelson thought Luna was important. No matter how desperate he was and how much he wanted to die, Ross wouldn’t be able to die if Luna was there. Luna was a driving force and a sacrifice that allowed Ross to endure any hardship.
How strong can Ross become before reaching the 10th floor? After Luna’s death, Ross was growing faster than ever. Even Estelle’s death played a crucial role in Ross’s growth.
Looking into Ross’s blue eyes, Raellan could clearly see that he had lost something. Whether it was his humanity or a part of Ross’s soul, Raellan didn’t care at all. People are parts. Ross is the core that makes everything, completed by the parts, roll towards victory.
Use everything that can be used. Luna, Nelson, Estelle, even the Nabiye and Messiah club, everything. The idea that everyone around Ross must become a stepping stone for Ross’s growth for the sake of victory remained unchanged.
Like the saying that misfortunes overlap, the weight of the deaths of those around him was endlessly overlapping, pressing down on Ross. When he is freed from that weight, Raellan felt a sense of regret that it was still not enough when she thought about how freely Ross could move.
Raellan tilted her head and looked at Ellie, who was quietly watching Ross. Raellan had already noticed that she was secretly planning with Eunice. The fact that Lycan, who had promised to join before the dome was created, was delayed was definitely related to that plan.
They are creating a board. Ellie and Eunice may not be the only ones who designed that board. That’s why Raellan was genuinely enjoying herself. Overturning someone else’s board was the only pleasure that made Raellan feel alive.
Raellan just hopes that the ending of this whole story isn’t futile.
***
[98/100]
Difficult problems related to the spell appeared. Adventurers who had no knowledge at all left everything to the magicians and leaned against the walls of the dome, taking a rest. Just watching Colton, Valentine, Ellie, and Raellan put their heads together to dissect and redesign the spell made my head hurt.
Eventually, time passed and Ellie solved the problem. Although she had help from others, it felt like she solved the problem almost single-handedly. Valentine and Colton gave this brilliant genius envious and jealous looks. Valentine even tried to get close to Ellie’s chest like he did to me, but he was hit on the forehead by Ellie’s staff.
Knowing that the problem had been solved, the adventurers who had been resting got up and subtly approached me. They seemed to have naturally realized where the safest place was. Since even the guild leader, Derock, was sticking closest to me, everyone was approaching me without hesitation.
“…Haa, that was tough.”
Of course, they tactfully left Ellie’s fixed spot on my left empty.
“You worked hard.”
“It was so difficult… Thanks to that, I feel so accomplished. It was hard because they deliberately made the spell dirty to interpret. I thought overlapping was understandable, but deliberately mixing up the left and right to distort the direction itself and make it difficult to interpret was too malicious!”
Like the other adventurers, I didn’t understand Ellie’s words and just nodded. Ellie was excellent at matching the other person’s level in other conversations, but when it came to conversations related to magic, she was busy pouring out everything she knew. While I was letting Ellie’s grumbling go in one ear and out the other, the number above my head finally changed.
[99/100]
―――!
At that moment, everyone there simultaneously sensed a certain being. On the opposite side of us, in the area where monsters appear that we cannot invade, someone was standing. It was in the shape of a person. But that body was definitely not something that could be called a person.
Yes, that’s similar to a Chimera. The gray flesh was not something that could be called a single skin. Two large eyes were embedded in the back of its hand, and its abdomen was split open, revealing teeth. The wings on its back were folded like a cloak, and three mouths and numerous eyes were closed on its face.
“…Fucking, insane.”
Derock cursed without realizing it. The other adventurers couldn’t even curse. Just by standing there, it was overwhelming the presence of all of us.
That was similar to the presence of Roel, who tried to kill me in another world.
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