Ch.14Stat Farming! (1)

“Those guys are Apostles.”

Lilly’s voice, cold and detached, came from beside me.

There was no laughter, worry, faith, or relief in her tone.

Only anger, hatred, and disgust toward the Apostles filled her voice.

It was the same voice she had when she first met me.

At the same time, it was now a voice that would never be directed at me again.

‘What should we do about them…’

I briefly turned my gaze from Lilly back toward the Apostles.

I could see them gradually approaching from the distance.

They seemed to be engaged in conversation, not yet noticing Lilly and me.

There wasn’t much time left to think about how to deal with the Apostles.

How should I handle them?

I slowly examined each Apostle one by one.

First, none of them felt overwhelmingly strong.

Judging by simple intuition alone, they seemed just slightly stronger than me.

Of course, that’s excluding any special traits or skills.

I felt I could easily defeat them if I put my mind to it.

However, the problem was that there were three of them.

In a situation where I didn’t know exactly what abilities they possessed or how they would use them, being outnumbered made it somewhat awkward to charge in recklessly.

‘I won’t be able to get Lilly’s help in this fight.’

Lilly is incredibly strong.

Having lived for many years and possessing exceptional talent, this was only natural.

However, there were conditions required for her to use her power.

‘I could meet those conditions right now to face opponents of this level, but…’

The problem was that it would be too embarrassing to receive Lilly’s help against mere opponents like these.

As they drew closer, I could gather more detailed information about them.

A three-person party consisting of a warrior, an archer, and a mage.

The equipment they wore ranged from C-grade to B-grade.

Additionally, they had what they probably considered “hidden pieces” – cheap tattoos.

‘That’s terribly inefficient.’

While it might be better than nothing, from my perspective, it was garbage not even worth considering.

Truly, they looked less like Apostles and more like a party of beginners who had just started a game and followed some internet guide.

Of course, this was originally a game that didn’t support multiplayer in the first place.

As I was thinking this, Lilly, who was beside me, sat on my shoulder and spoke.

“If you’re tired, I can take over for you.”

My continued observation without taking action must have made her think I was too tired to focus.

As if to demonstrate that these opponents weren’t even worth her effort, Lilly created a small whirlwind in her hand.

It looked quite cute, but I knew that if she were to wave her hand like that, the Apostles ahead would disappear without a trace.

Regardless of that fact, the cuteness remained an undeniable truth, so I patted Lilly’s head and said:

“I’ll show you how strong I am.”

Hearing my words, Lilly still looked displeased.

Come to think of it, I had never shown Lilly how I fight.

We first met at the library, and afterward, we mostly meditated and chatted.

Especially today, all I had shown her was stabbing myself with a sword, so her reaction was understandable.

I smiled bitterly at her justified reaction, but only briefly.

I drew my sword.

The Apostles had approached within close range.

Close enough for an ambush at any moment.

Holding my breath and waiting for the right opportunity, I moved with a clear target in mind.

‘First, the troublesome mage.’

A clear target selection, perfect timing, and concise movement.

These three elements combined to create the best possible ambush I could execute right now.

Thanks to this, my ambush was carried out before any of the Apostles present could react.

However.

“Kyaah…!?”

Crack-crack-crack.

A shield that had been applied in advance activated automatically regardless of my ambush, protecting the mage.

‘Was it slightly insufficient?’

The shield commonly used by early-stage mages could stack up to six layers.

The shield I just destroyed had five layers.

And now, though still intact, I could see a half-broken shield before me.

It seemed like I could destroy it with just a little more force.

But I didn’t get greedy.

It wasn’t the right timing to be greedy anyway.

“Get away from Selena!”

An arrow from the enemy archer was already flying toward me.

I twisted my body to avoid the incoming arrow.

But the attack didn’t end there.

The warrior, who had somehow closed the distance, swung an axe at me, and I countered by clashing my sword against it.

Clang!

The sound of sword meeting axe echoed.

‘My strength is still a bit lacking.’

Though I pushed back the axe, it was my sword that was deflected.

I was satisfied with having repelled the axe and began to move my body in earnest.

* * *

Han Sang-woo, Selena, Wei.

Three Apostles who had received a quest and come looking for Frey.

They differed in profession, background, and preferences.

They fought so often that it would be faster to count the days they didn’t fight than the days they did.

Yet, there was only one reason they stayed together:

Their skill synergy was excellent.

Enemies they couldn’t defeat with their individual powers often fell before their coordinated attacks.

That’s why they thought this time would be no different.

And it didn’t take long for that belief to be shattered.

* * *

‘Fireball cooldown 5 seconds, Bash cooldown 4 seconds, Double Shot cooldown 17 seconds.’

At first, I had trouble keeping up with their smoothly connected attacks.

They covered each other’s weaknesses, filled each other’s gaps, and pressed on relentlessly.

But that only lasted for a moment.

I quickly adapted to their attack patterns.

‘The shield should be 3 layers now, 1 minute and 23 seconds until the next shield.’

Their fundamental skills were ones I knew all too well.

And their actions themselves were following those skills.

The mage used Bind to restrain my body.

0.5 to 1 second.

My body stopped for just a brief moment.

Simultaneously, the warrior activated Bash and the archer used Sniping to launch their attacks.

Their coordinated attacks flowed like water, but none reached me.

The archer’s arrow cut through empty air, and the warrior’s descending axe was blocked by my sword, which had moved a step faster.

“Ugh…! How…!!”

The warrior seemed unable to understand what was happening.

What couldn’t he understand?

That I had foreseen their attacks?

That his strength, which should have been greater, was starting to be pushed back?

Probably both.

“Your actions are too predictable.”

What good was perfect attack timing?

When I could clearly see what attack was coming, I just had to prepare my response in advance.

“Just get hit…!!”

I easily avoided a fireball flying from the side and swung my sword at the warrior.

Slash!

The warrior had strengthened his defensive stance to protect his vital points, but his body was already covered in numerous wounds.

“Arghhhh!!”

The Apostles continued their attacks in frustration, but nothing changed.

No matter what new combinations they tried.

No matter what different skills they inserted.

No matter how they changed the order…

They were all things I knew well.

They were stuck in a pattern, unable to break free and merely repeating themselves.

This must be how someone with foresight feels.

‘They probably would have done well if they had formed a normal party of three.’

I thought they might have been better off playing a normal game instead of this broken one.

Thud.

The first to fall in the ongoing battle was the warrior.

Though I had avoided his vital points, he had suffered too many wounds and lost too much blood.

“Wei!!”

“An opening.”

Perhaps they couldn’t bear to watch their comrade fall.

When the warrior called Wei collapsed, the other two reflexively exposed a large opening.

I didn’t miss that opportunity and moved immediately.

I grabbed the archer’s neck and slammed him to the ground, then destroyed all the mage’s shields and subdued her.

“Phew, that ended smoothly enough.”

“You kept them all alive? What for?”

As the battle ended rather anticlimactically, Lilly, who had been watching from behind, approached me.

She seemed curious about why I had spared them.

“I thought we might get something useful if we interrogate them.”

“That… isn’t a good choice.”

It wasn’t because of some weak reason like not wanting to kill people from my homeland.

The issue was simply that there was a mountain of information that needed to be investigated.

So I thought we might get something through interrogation or torture, but Lilly showed a skeptical reaction.

And as if to explain why, changes began to occur in the three people lying on the ground.

“I-I’m… n-not… d-done… y-yet…”

The three people, who until just now had proper communication abilities, suddenly acted like they had become mentally impaired.

They stammered and couldn’t even control their bodies properly.

Then they drank potions from their waists.

Were they trying to recover their bodies?

That question arose quickly and disappeared just as fast.

Because I could tell what they had drunk from the changes occurring in their bodies.