episode_0124

“···I have to run away.”

Those words involuntarily came out of Mars’ mouth.

That’s right.

Jeong Yushin’s party had never faced a large monster before.

Since life was only one, they couldn’t gain experience by headbutting.

Because it’s over if you die.

And the most miserable death was waiting. A monster’s meal with no dignity.

“…”

Instead of answering Mars’ words, Jeong Yushin narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the place.

Looking for the holy object.

Either way, it was the only key to stopping the Eldritch Wave.

Is it greed?

The box was nowhere to be seen.

Surely the Iron Mask gave the holy object to a human warrior named Matt.

He carefully observed the area around the troll for a while.

‘Shit.’

Jeong Yushin’s eyes twitched.

Matt’s plate armor was visible a short distance from the forest troll.

It was so crumpled and broken, it was almost unrecognizable as a lump of scrap metal. It wouldn’t have been if Matt’s severed head wasn’t rolling around next to it.

Suppressing the rising nausea, he looked around more.

‘Found it.’

The holy object was visible in the torn backpack.

Unlike Matt, the dark elf Hueris was nowhere to be seen.

‘Confirmed.’

Jeong Yushin gently patted Mars’ shoulder.

Mars was startled and turned his head sharply. His lips were trembling with how frightened he was.

‘Let’s go back.’

At Jeong Yushin’s gesture, Mars nodded like crazy.

Together, they carefully pushed through the bushes and arrived at a place where a large tree stood.

The Iron Mask and Kubo, as well as the dwarf and elf mages, were quietly waiting.

Jeong Yushin approached the people.

“I found a forest troll.”

The color drained from the party members’ faces.

Jeong Yushin continued to speak.

“The dark elf Hueris was nowhere to be seen. Matt is dead. A little while ago, I saw the troll tearing apart Hueris’ party members.”

“…”

The party atmosphere darkened.

Was it because they felt the fact that there was no way to survive on their skin?

People were silent for a while. It seemed like they were thinking about death.

“We have to fight.”

The female dwarf, who had been silent, finally opened her mouth.

“…”

Everyone was at a loss for words.

The elf mage crossed his arms.

“Durin, this is crazy. It’s best to retreat quietly. At least three parties are needed to subjugate a forest troll. This force is not enough.”

The others nodded in agreement. But Durin was stubborn.

“If the Eldritch Wave comes, it’s completely over. You can’t break through the 7th floor in 3 days and reach the transfer stone. It’s impossible.”

“Even if it’s an Eldritch Wave, aren’t they just human-faced centipedes? The poison is threatening, but I heard that an antidote has come out this time, so there’s not much to worry about.”

“No. You don’t know anything. The monsters of the Eldritch Wave are all different in each area.”

“What comes out in the forest area?”

“There’s no time to explain all of that now. Anyway, just know this. Human-faced centipedes are monsters that come out up to the 5th floor of the maze. Once you go beyond the 5th floor, the monsters that come out vary from area to area. It’s better to have a fight with the troll.”

“Who can stop the brute force coming out of that size? Someone has to stand in the front. A party that has just barely gotten rid of its novice status will take on the vanguard? Don’t say things that make sense.”

The elf mage shook his head and said.

“I will take the vanguard. I will try to draw the troll’s attention as much as possible.”

The female dwarf called Durin replied.

The elf mage widened his eyes.

“Durin, what are you talking about? The only chance we have is if you take on the attack.”

“I think I’m the one who can hold out the most among the vanguard. If you and that shameless dwarf priest cast support magic, things might work out surprisingly easily.”

Kubo frowned.

Jeong Yushin stepped forward.

“Durin, was it? I will stand at the forefront. You take on the attack next to me.”

“Why?”

Jeong Yushin glanced at the halberd hanging behind Durin.

“I’m the one wearing plate armor-like armor. And I also have Revenger and Venom Protection engravings. This is why I should fight in the vanguard.”

The dwarf stared at Jeong Yushin with wide eyes.

“You have a lot of good engravings. You are a lucky Barbaroi. I understand. But are you okay? Aren’t you afraid or scared?”

“I think it’s better for someone who is well-suited to do what needs to be done. And I’m from a monster dismantling center.”

I learned how to debone the flesh and bones of monsters before I saw the smiles of the people in the maze city.

Looking back, I sighed.

The first thing I did when I arrived in the maze city was monster butchery.

‘About a black-haired foreigner becoming a butcher knife in another world’s Majang-dong.’

The elf master taught me until my bones ached, but how could my roots go anywhere?

The butchery technique of freely wielding and separating the flesh and bones of monsters was the core of my own swordsmanship.

“You must have suffered a lot. I understand.”

The dwarf looked at Jeong Yushin with pitiful eyes.

‘The forest troll’s weakness is sacred fire.’

I remembered what the human warrior I met in the forgotten city of Engrave had said.

“Kubo, what is sacred fire?”

Jeong Yushin asked.

“···It’s a flame that contains divinity. At least, that’s what we who worship the fire spirit god think. But why?”

“How do you make it?”

“Usually, a high-ranking priest creates it with divine magic. A middle-ranking priest consecrates it with oil. Why?”

“I’ll explain it later. Do you have inferno oil?”

“I do, but… I can’t consecrate it yet.”

Kubo scratched his head, stammering.

“Weren’t you a mid-level priest?”

“How can I learn when I just became a mid-level priest?”

‘Shit.’

Jeong Yushin wrung his head.

Oil.

There is oil.

The problem is that it must be imbued with divinity.

‘Sacred Weapon.’

A plan slowly began to form in his head.

Jeong Yushin, who had been sitting still, clapped his knee!

“Let’s set up a plan before we go in. Listen.”

He gathered the people and explained it simply.

“···How is it?”

“Are you really crazy?!”

The rat beastman Mars tore at his hair.

“Is your liver sticking out of your stomach?”

“Isn’t it like putting a bell on a cat’s neck?”

People each spat out a word.

“I’m the one who puts the bell on the cat’s neck.”

When Jeong Yushin said calmly, the people became mute.

“Scar, it’s too dangerous.”

The Iron Mask warned.

“Iron Mask, someone has to do it. I’m the right person.”

The Iron Mask was silent, but he seemed unhappy that his party member had to do something dangerous.

Jeong Yushin got up from his seat.

“Let’s start quickly. Time is running out as we don’t know when the Eldritch Wave will come.”

He checked his plate armor and slung his longsword over his shoulder.

‘Uncomfortable.’

It was subtly caught on the shoulder side. There were more restrictions on movement than when wearing leather armor.

If I had known I was going to meet such a large monster, I would have dressed more lightly.

It was too late to regret it. If I survive, it’s a problem to think about carefully. He postponed it.

The 6 people gathered under the tree.

“…”

“Let’s go.”

Jeong Yushin slung his longsword over his shoulder and came out of the bushes.

The people maintained their formation and came out.

Feeling the presence of people, the troll sitting in the clearing turned its head.

Terrible stench. A bumpy face like acne. And spreading toxic spores.

It was a scary sight that would come out in my dreams.

But you can’t be afraid.

Engraving activation.

[Venom Protection]

Grabbed the sword.

A longsword made with Boron and Einhofer’s heart and soul.

Since the name is engraved on the blade, no separate epitaph is needed.

Just as the troll was about to reach the floor to get up from its seat.

Jeong Yushin ran.

A recklessly fast charge.

The people scattered and dispersed.

“Kuaaaaa!!!”

The troll screamed and raised his other hand to strike Jeong Yushin before he could get up from his seat.

Whoaaaaang!!!

The overwhelming weight tore through the atmosphere, creating a sonic boom.

‘Shit.’

The troll’s fist was bigger than two wardrobes combined.

Instant death if hit. He hurriedly twisted his body and rolled to the side.

Quaaaaaang!!!

As the fist slammed into the floor, dirt and stones scattered into the air, momentarily obscuring the view.

Thud!! Thud!

Stones hit the helmet and armor and bounced off.

In the dust and dirt pile.

Jeong Yushin, who rolled once on the floor, jumped out like a spring.

He grabbed the longsword with both hands and twisted his waist to the fullest.

The goal is the troll’s opposite hand. The hand that is on the ground to get up.

He swung his sword.

Tsuaaaaak!!!

The chilling blade cut through the troll’s wrist. The skin on the wrist cracked open and the fat layer was exposed.

Cheeeeeek!!!

Yellowish blood, mixed with pus, spurted out like a fountain and hit the armor.

‘Too tough.’

He tried to completely sever the tendons in the wrist, but it was not enough. But without stopping, he took out a dagger and immediately plunged it deep into the wrist.

The dagger rummaged through the reopened wound and stuck deep inside the wrist.

“Kuaaaaack!!!”

The troll convulsively swung its other hand.

At that moment.

[Slow Chain]

The elf mage’s chant erupted. The troll’s hand slowed down for a moment.

[Holy Fire Protection]

Kubo’s divine magic followed and wrapped around Jeong Yushin’s body like fire.

A magic that not only increases fire resistance, but also adds defense and vitality and inflicts reflected damage to the enemy when attacked. It was a technique that only priests who worship the fire spirit god could use.

“Hup!!!”

Instead of dodging the troll’s hand sweeping the floor, he dug in deeper.

Past the wrist touching the ground, to the back.

The sword flashed in an instant and four slashes cleaved the troll’s vertebrae. Blood splattered and the troll screamed.

“Kuaaaa!!!”

The troll’s gaze was fixed on Jeong Yushin.

‘Done.’

He definitely drew the troll’s aggro.

The troll staggered and finally got up from his seat and grabbed the wooden club.

It was too big to be called a club. To exaggerate a little more, it was like a tree.

If you get hit once, you’re done for.

‘Hoo. Now the real start begins.’

The troll, with reddened eyes, raised the wooden club high into the sky.

Whooooooong!!!

A tree being chopped down. Jeong Yushin hurriedly rolled to the side.

Bbeo-eo-eo-eo-eong!!!

The earth shook and swayed as if a bomb had exploded.

“Shit!!!”

Jeong Yushin, who had been thrown to the side, jumped up from his seat and grabbed the sword in reverse.

[Ice Spear]

A sharp ice spear flew and pierced the troll’s chest.

“Kkeueo-eo-eo-eok!!!”

The troll screamed and widened its eyes.

Pusheeeeeee.

Toxic spores on its back were released into the air and spewed out around it.

The party members maintained their formation and retreated.

Jeong Yushin abruptly stopped as he jumped forward.

‘Shit.’

The wound on his wrist was already healing.

I heard that its regeneration ability was excellent, but I didn’t know it would be this much.

The troll pulled out the ice spear and threw it at Jeong Yushin.

Whooooong!!!

He bent down and kicked off the ground to dodge it.

Following that, the wooden club coming down smashed the ground, and then the hand that came next swept the ground.

Jeong Yushin hopped around like a grasshopper, dodging every single attack.

A spectacle that would never have been possible without level-ups, buff magic, and insane guts.

‘I’m going to die.’

The smell of sweetness was already wafting from his mouth. His whole body was wet with sweat from running and rolling like crazy while wearing heavy armor.

The troll swung the club like crazy and chased Jeong Yushin.

Bbeo-eo-eo-eong!!!

Kwaaaaang!!!

The ground began to crack and become uneven as if it had been bombed.

At that time.

The Iron Mask and the dwarf, who had taken the antidote, rushed in and swung their swords and halberds.

The Iron Mask’s greatsword severed one of the troll’s fingers.

The dwarf’s halberd cut through the troll’s skin and blood vessels like butter.

Chwaaaaaak!!!

Blood gushed from the troll’s body and soaked the earth.

“Kuaaaaaaa!!!”

The troll screamed and writhed.

Jeong Yushin, who took a sigh of relief, shouted.

“Mars!”

Mars, who was supposed to find the holy object and bury it in the ground, had no news.

When he turned around in a hurry, Mars was staring blankly at the sky.

“What the hell are you doing?!!!”

Jeong Yushin shouted.

“The sky… the sky is strange.”

“What is that…?”

Jeong Yushin also raised his head.

The brown sky slowly pulsated.

Thump.

Thump.

It looked like a living heart was beating.

And it began to turn black, starting from one place.

“It’s the Eldritch Wave!”

The elf mage screamed.

“Shit!!!”

The change came in an instant.

The green bushes withered and began to twist, and a sweet smell, like that of a swamp, began to spread as if something was rotting.

The gradually changing environment shook people’s minds.

A single moment of confusion made the party’s coordination creak.

And once the connection was broken, it crossed a point of no return.

Taking advantage of the gap where the party members were scattered, the troll swung the wooden club.

Whooooong!!!

The dwarf widened her eyes. She belatedly turned her body.

Bbeo-eo-eo-eo-eok!!!

The club hit the dwarf.

“No!!!”

The elf mage screamed.

The dwarf, who had been flying through the air, crashed into the ground and rolled all the way to the elf mage who was far away.

“Durin!!!”

The elf mage shouted the dwarf’s name again and hurriedly ran over.

“Keoheoeok!!!”

The dwarf, whose bones were broken all over her body, vomited blood and began to laugh.

The sense of loss of losing a party member who had been through thick and thin together.

The excruciating pain from shattered bones and torn organs.

The despair that the Eldritch Wave was approaching.

All of that combined with the ‘laws’ of the forest layer and shattered Durin’s mind.

“Durin!!! Get a grip!!!”

The elf mage hurriedly took out a potion from his arms and tried to feed it to the dwarf. But it was in vain for Durin, who had been invaded by madness and had lost her mind.

The troll smiled triumphantly as it grabbed the tree trunk.

Currently, Jeong Yushin and the Iron Mask were standing in front of the troll.

It was obvious who it was aiming for. Wouldn’t it be the guy who cut off its finger?

Iron Mask.

The troll raised the tree trunk high.

In an instant, Jeong Yushin moved.

You have to protect the dealer. If even the Iron Mask collapses, the vanguard is over.

He instinctively jumped out and stood in front of the Iron Mask. The Iron Mask shouted something, but he couldn’t hear it.

[Sacred Weapon]

Characteristic assignment.

Half-Ogre Gauntlet.

He recalled the brute force of Half-Ogre Stone Fist, who fought together in front of the maze.

Based on vivid experience, he squeezed out mana from his whole body and created it.

Whooooong!!!

The tree trunk tore through the air and fell towards Jeong Yushin’s head.

Eudeudeuk.

He gritted his teeth and swung his sword to meet it.

“No!!!”

Mars screamed.

Scar’s appearance of standing in front of the Iron Mask and swinging a toothpick-like sword was the same as that of someone trying to commit suicide.

Jeong Yushin’s longsword and the troll’s tree collided.

Kwaaaaang!!!

An explosion erupted and the troll’s arm was raised high.

Jeong Yushin’s feet sank into the floor.

[Revenger]

Blue devil fire blazed in his eyes.

His knee joints ached as if he had gout.

Not only his shoulder blades but also his wrist bones were dislocated, and his muscles were torn.

The troll convulsively swung its left hand.

‘I can’t stop this.’

Pa-aaaaak!!!

Jeong Yushin’s body flew through the air and crashed to the floor. Without stopping there, he rolled and arrived next to Kubo.

“Scar!!!”

The party members screamed.

“Keuhaaaak!!!”

Jeong Yushin staggered and got up from his seat. The plate armor on his chest was dented. The shoulder armor was torn off. He couldn’t see where the helmet had flown.

The shattered chain mail tore through the underwear and dug into the flesh.

A state where it would not be strange to collapse and go crazy or die right away.

Nevertheless, Jeong Yushin stood tall in his seat.

“Kubo, inferno oil.”

Jeong Yushin spat out blood and held out his hand to the priest.

“No! Stop! Wait a moment! Healing magic!!!”

“No need.”

Jeong Yushin threw away the shattered plate armor.

It was just unnecessarily cumbersome.

He snatched the inferno oil from Kubo and poured it on his left arm. He also applied the pain relief cream he had received from the warrior he met in Engrave.

The black liquid flowed down his arm and wet his fist.

‘Sacred fire.’

Originally, he was going to summon Sacred Weapon, then apply inferno oil to it and light it on fire.

But time is running out. Mana has completely bottomed out.

If he squeezes it with all his might, he has enough left to use Sacred Weapon only once.

Kubo’s lips trembled as he looked at Jeong Yushin’s arm stained with black oil.

“S… Scar, are you serious? Are you crazy?”

Jeong Yushin took out a flint from his pocket and smiled. A dark energy surged like a wave inside his blue-burning eyes.

Kubo trembled like an aspen tree.

Jeong Yushin opened his mouth.

“That’s me.”

And he muttered quietly.

“Another world’s Majang-dong fire attribute swordsman.”