Ch.69April, and the Dungeon (7)

“It’s been a while. Arigiri Shota.”

Kuuuuung-!!!

Jack, one of the executives of Apocalypse, landed directly on the ground.

He grabbed my legs as he broke through the surface, slamming me down to the floor below.

“Ah. Muscle man. We met once before.”

I got up from where I was.

‘Shit… why the hell is this bastard here…’

I tried to act calm, but right now I was fucking nervous.

He was supposed to appear in the middle of the game, when all party members had reached around level 30. Meeting him here was a major deviation from the original storyline.

‘Level: 30’

The number above Jack’s head exuded an overwhelming presence.

He wasn’t someone I could handle at level 10. I had to assume one touch meant death. Even if this was reality, it originated as an RPG game. The gap created by level difference was definitely apparent.

Clank-!!

Jack immediately took a charging stance.

Kigigik-!

Metal armor sprouted all over Jack’s body.

So that was the true form of Jack’s Psycho-Robo. It was a Psycho-Robo that wrapped around his entire body like a suit.

That thing… is disgustingly tough.

I immediately recalled the boss fight with Jack. Physical attacks were ineffective, and there was even a chance they’d be reflected. He couldn’t be taken down with physical attacks.

Magic was the way to go, but he had resistance to all elemental types. Only about half of normal damage would get through. That’s why the boss fight with Jack was so tedious. It dragged on because he was so damn durable.

The problem was that I couldn’t use anything besides physical techniques.

No matter how hard I swung my sword, those strikes wouldn’t do a thing to Jack.

‘If I could learn Flash Strike in the game… I could force slash damage through his resistance…’

Flash Strike. I could use it. I’d gotten a feel for it during our previous sparring match.

However, I couldn’t skillfully control when to use it. I hadn’t completely mastered it yet. I didn’t have the skill to use it immediately whenever I wanted.

Why am I explaining this so much? Simply put, I’m fucked.

“Sashiemong!!!!!”

I immediately tried to get Sasith’s help.

“Shota! I’m coming down right now!”

Sasith hurriedly tried to come down the stairs to the lower floor.

“Shota!! Just dodge for now!!”

Umi also came running with tremendous momentum.

“Shota!! Hang in there!!”

Taiga was about to throw himself through the cracked floor.

“Uhahaha!! Don’t interfere with a battle between men!!”

At that moment, Jack raised his fist high.

“The Colosseum!!!!”

The moment I heard Jack’s shout, I realized my mistake.

This was a special skill Jack used in the boss fight when his health was reduced to about half.

It created an arena in the field, forcing a one-on-one battle with a specific party member. Once caught in The Colosseum, no one from outside could intervene.

Shiiiiing-!!!

As flags sprouted from all directions, a circular arena formed containing only Jack and me. Barriers appeared around the flags.

“Tch!! A barrier?!”

Sasith frantically struck the barrier with his sword, but it didn’t even crack.

“Shota!!! What should we do!! Shota!!”

Umi pounded on the barrier with a tearful face.

“Damn it!!!”

Taiga tried to use his baseball bat as a lever to somehow lift the barrier. But of course, it had no effect.

Everyone looked devastated.

‘Well, that’s to be expected…’

They thought I, at level 10, couldn’t possibly defeat a level 30 enemy. To be honest, I was no match for him. Not only was there a level difference, but he was also a counter pick against me.

“You know, I never liked you from the beginning. A brat with such an attitude. Our boss seems to value you highly, but I know you’re just all talk.”

Jack smiled and pounded his fists together.

“Aren’t you all talk too? You got KO’d in 10 seconds in your MMA debut after running your mouth. It was quite famous, I heard.”

I smiled as I touched on Jack’s sore spot.

Twitch-!!

The reaction came immediately. A vein bulged on Jack’s forehead.

Jack had his own backstory. He was originally an MMA fighter. However, he never made it big during his career. The humiliation of being knocked out in 10 seconds spread across the internet, ruining his image as a fighter. Eventually, Jack left MMA and bounced around wrestling, professional wrestling, and other venues. But he couldn’t find success anywhere—that was his sad past.

Eventually, he drifted to the small city of Emoshita. The result of his ambitious first step in Tokyo was ultimately fleeing to the countryside like a defeated soldier.

At that time, he awakened to his Psycho-Robo ability as if by fate.

That gave Jack quite a power trip. Unlike the majority of ordinary people who either became incapacitated by monsters from the hidden world or couldn’t even perceive their existence, he had definite power.

He believed he was chosen, that he had talent. That’s what twisted him. That’s why he joined a terrorist organization like Apocalypse.

“Even if you hide behind that fancy armor, it doesn’t conceal your pathetic nature. You know that, don’t you?”

I said that, then drew my new sword, Tomato.

Actually, this was a line the player would say after the battle. With those words, Jack somewhat reformed. Though he was eventually eliminated by Apocalypse.

I hoped that if I said the exact same line, maybe he’d be persuaded right away. Honestly, I didn’t want to fight.

“You little shit… I’ll kill you no matter what it takes!!! And then I’ll fuck those pretty companions of yours!!!”

Jack raged furiously.

Uh… this isn’t right. Maybe it only works when the protagonist says it?

“Damn it…”

If that was the case, there was only one answer. I had to fight.

Clank-!!

I immediately raised my sword and took a stance. Tomato’s distinctive red blade reflected the dungeon’s lighting.

It was surprisingly light. Yet, at the same time, it had a certain weight to it. I immediately sensed it was quite an exceptional sword.

‘When you overcome a trial, you become stronger. But if you fail, you die.’

At that moment, Bluebeard’s warning echoed in my mind.

‘So this is what he meant…’

If I couldn’t grasp the ultimate form of Flash Strike here, I would be killed by Jack. But if I could master Flash Strike, I would cut down Jack and grow stronger.

Death or growth. An extreme binary choice.

“Come on.”

But it was a binary choice I liked. Simple, isn’t it?

“Ha!!! Let’s see how far that attitude takes you!!!”

Jack shouted, transforming the armor covering his body.

Whiiiiiiing-!!!!!

Blades all over Jack’s armor began spinning like mixer blades.

Clank-!

Right after, rockets sprouted from Jack’s back.

Kwaaaaaaang-!!!!!!!!!

Jack immediately fired the rockets and charged rapidly toward me.

“Shota!!! Dodge!!!!”

Sasith shouted loudly.

“Shota!! Don’t die!!!”

“Fuck!! We haven’t been dating that long!! Don’t make me a widow!! Please!!!”

Umi and Taiga shouted, tears streaming down their faces.

“Uryaaaaaaah!!!!!”

I let out a battle cry as I closed the distance toward Jack.

Chaaaaaaaang-!!!!

My sword scraped against the surface of Jack’s armor.

The moment I swung my sword, I felt an intense sense of disappointment.

‘Flash Strike… didn’t come out.’

I didn’t feel that distinctive sensation of cutting through tofu.

Chajajajajang-!!

The sword created sparks as it scraped against the armor’s blades.

“Uhahahaha!! Did you think that little blade would work against me?!!!”

At that moment, Jack transformed his hand.

Whiiiiiiing-!!

The gauntlet part of Jack’s armor transformed into a drill.

“Oh shit…!!”

“Die!!!!!!!!”

Jack immediately drove the drill toward my abdomen.

Pajijijijijik-!!!

“Ugaaaaaaah!!!!!”

With a sensation like my stomach was being torn apart, my body rolled hard across the ground.

“Kuhuk……!!!”

There was no wound on my stomach. This was a duel in the hidden world. Psycho-Robos are ultimately in the same category as monsters. They don’t physically kill people. However, the damage directly eats away at mental strength. If you take too much damage, you’ll either die from a heart attack or become a vegetable.

In other words, if I kept getting beaten up by Jack like this, I would die.

“Ha!!! So the future prediction was a lie!!! Pathetic!!! You’re pathetic!!!”

Jack burst into laughter.

“Yeah… enjoy this feeling of victory… something you never felt in your pro days.”

I said with a smile.

“You bastard…!!”

Jack approached me, intending to finish me off.

That’s when it happened.

Paaah-!!

Pinocchio appeared.

“Master! I’ll buy you some time!!! 3 minutes!! I can give you that much time!!!”

Pinocchio immediately charged toward Jack.

“Komu-Komu Gun!!!!!”

Then, Pinocchio started spouting lies mindlessly.

“I’m a strong Psycho-Robo!! The strongest Psycho-Robo!!!”

With Pinocchio’s shout, his nose extended at an incredible speed.

It truly lived up to the name Komu-Komu Gun. Wait… won’t this get us sued? Anyway.

Puuuuuk-!!!

Pinocchio’s nose struck Jack directly in the face.

It should have stung, but Pinocchio was a weak Psycho-Robo by nature. There was no way he could deal effective damage with a flick from his extended nose. Besides, Jack had physical resistance anyway.

“Komu-Komu Gun!!!! Komu-Komu Rifle!!! Bazooka!!”

Pinocchio desperately extended his nose and struck Jack.

However, that resistance didn’t last long.

Thud-!!

Jack grabbed Pinocchio’s forehead.

“A Psycho-Robo as weak as its master. Utterly inferior.”

Right after, Jack threw Pinocchio away.

Kwaaaang-!!!

Pinocchio crashed into a nearby wall.

“Mas…ter…..”

Pinocchio’s body became blurry. The damage was so great that he was being unsummoned.

“Ha! You said you’d hold out for 3 minutes?! You didn’t even last 15 seconds!! Uhahaha!!!”

Jack, after throwing Pinocchio, approached me.

“……15 seconds.”

However, the weight of those 15 seconds Pinocchio bought me was definitely felt.

Thank you, Pinocchio.

“That’s enough. I was able to meditate for 15 seconds. My mind is clear now.”

I stood up and held my sword.

“Huuuup… haaaa……..”

I concentrated all my focus on breathing. While breathing, I desperately tried to recall the sensation of when I used Flash Strike before. That feeling vaguely came back to me.

Thanks to Pinocchio’s valiant effort, I was able to completely catch my breath. My mind couldn’t be clearer than this.

“Ha!!! Do you think you can withstand my attack?!!!”

Jack was about to fire his rockets and charge at me.

“It’s fine. I won’t withstand it.”

Clank-!!

I held my sword in an upper stance.

I wouldn’t block, receive, or deflect. I realized that was the weakness in my resolve.

With this strike, I intended to cut down Jack. This was my “essence” as a swordsman.

“Then just die helplessly!!!!!!!!!!!”

Jack charged right at me.

Whoooooosh-!!!!!

The distance between Jack and me quickly became zero. At that moment, I swung my sword. This was my decisive strike that would determine my fate.