Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 19
fire in the middle of the night (4)
!
The body of the chairman of the company, cut diagonally, fell to the floor. Dallen stared at it with sullen eyes for a moment.
“Now you can change the pattern at will.”
Dallen muttered, throwing the broken ax handle.
Sanghoeju’s last attack.
Dallen knew that this blow was to split the sword into two, targeting different vital points.
‘The two swords of Skanden.’
Basically, it is a skill that can be obtained by joining the Knights of the Southern Empire.
At the same time, it was also the special move of the boss mob Archalis Philenom.
‘It’s literally a special move that is kept as a secret move until the last moment.’
In existing games, it is an instant kill that is activated when there is little stamina left after a long period of exchange of attack and defense.
According to the system, if you are below a certain ability level, you cannot counterattack or defend. Conditional instant death, the only way to destroy it is to avoid it.
In fact, no matter how unbalanced the game was, it was rare for a boss mob to attack with such an instant kill while surrounded by enemies on all sides.
‘…It’s not like it doesn’t exist at all.’
When I thought about it, it seemed like quite a lot.
In any case, Dallen was able to feel it once again.
The fact that this world is a completely different place from the world of pixels and data seen on the other side of the monitor.
That variable could have delayed or suppressed the possibility of destruction in advance.
At the same time, it is possible to draw unexpected big or small inflection points regardless of intention.
‘Nothing has changed.’
Nevertheless, Dallon’s focus did not change.
No, it couldn’t change.
It’s already a tough world, but the world has added uncertainty.
Wouldn’t the right answer be to become strong enough to step on even that uncertainty?
Although this world is a living, breathing reality, paradoxically, Dallen is a being born in it with unrealistic advantages.
Not only did he not have the knowledge to foresee the possibilities that could trigger destruction, but the biggest variable, including status windows and successor options, was none other than Dallen himself.
It is too late to be afraid of changing the future we know.
Rather, things that could be twisted had to be twisted as much as possible.
In this world that is heading towards hundreds of destructions, if only we could deviate from that predetermined future even just a little bit.
‘Maybe it’s not impossible to survive in this world and have a chance to return home.’
Dallen walked away, leaving behind the cold corpse with its internal organs spilling out.
“Ugh.”
No, more accurately, I was trying to move it.
“Cough! “Wow!”
Patter.
Fresh blood rushing up the throat. A fishy scent that fills your mouth.
Pieces of crushed internal organs, along with blood, rose up the esophagus and once again coated the corpse-filled floor.
Cheeeee!
At the same time, the heart, which had been quiet until hundreds of monsters were killed, began to pulsate and spurt blood containing the dragon’s blood factor throughout the body.
“Wow! “Wow…”
Dallen could vaguely feel as his body was regenerating, spitting out pieces of internal organs and blood several times.
How extreme is your body’s imbalance?
***
The hemoptysis due to internal injuries stopped shortly.
The regenerative factor of Dragon’s Blood, which instantly healed the serious wound sustained in the sewer and withstood even the solo dance of the Silver Mask Assassin, did its job again this time.
There was a residual pain that felt like my internal organs were being scratched and the fishy scent of blood lingering in my mouth, but that wasn’t a big deal.
With steam blowing out of his mouth and nose due to the dragon’s blood’s regenerative factor, Dallon opened the status window to determine the cause of the problem.
‘Status window.’
――――――――
Name: Dallon
Level: 6
[Strength: 26] [Skill: 14] [Stamina: 13]
[Sense: 16] [Intelligence: 18] [Magic Power: 10]
Skill: Dehaman’s Armor Fighting (D) Night vision (E) Dragon’s blood regeneration factor (C) Leaping (E)
――――――――
Only about two weeks had passed since I finished the tutorial.
In normal play, overwhelming specifications that you would never see at this point are listed before your eyes.
All abilities are above average.
About half of them have surpassed human limitations.
But among them, there was one that was particularly high.
It is ‘strength’.
‘An ability that increases not only great strength, but also muscle durability, or defense.’
In the game system, if you increase your strength, both your attack power and defense power increase.
In addition, muscular endurance increased, and corrections were added to all tasks performed with strength, such as lifting heavy objects or breaking doors.
Morale-level abilities that improve all aspects of attack and defense, as well as various gimmick corrections.
That’s how strength levels were defined beyond the monitor.
‘That’s why, even when I evaluated my initial abilities, I didn’t focus on strength.’
Dallen scratched his chin.
However, in the real world, the excessive imbalance in abilities seemed to have quite serious side effects.
If you think about it, it was natural.
With his bare fists, he destroys the outer wall of the castle wall, and swings his weapon by squeezing his body as if ignoring the laws of physics.
Muscles are said to be fine even after receiving such a brutal shock, but what about other organs?
Even if the skill is corrected, it is impossible to hope for the same level of durability as the muscles in the skin, bones, and various internal organs.
“…….”
Maybe Dallen also vaguely knew.
His superhuman senses and perception abilities were due to the fact that his body was always under the realm of sensation.
So, even though he has always been close to a giant in terms of strength, he unconsciously put the brakes on his own body.
‘After obtaining the dragon’s blood regeneration factor, I lost a lot of self-control. I may have been overestimating my body’s recovery ability without realizing it.’
It’s not like I’ve been running around on rooftops or breaking down walls with my bare fists for the past two years.
If that were the case, he wouldn’t have simply stayed as a silver-plated mercenary.
And in this world full of superhumans, acting hastily to attract attention could be dangerous.
The only incident where I had no choice but to show off my strength was during the goblin attack that the Galios merchant was talking about everywhere.
After tearing the goblin apart with my bare hands due to unavoidable circumstances.
How many days did you suffer from subtle pain that wasn’t even muscle pain on the way up without a proper doctor?
Until then, I did not know the exact reason for the aftereffects, but it has become clear now that my strength level has increased even more than before.
‘I’ll have to be more careful from now on.’
Dallon made a promise. I should never, even unconsciously, use 100% of my strength, which has skyrocketed recently.
Actually, it wasn’t difficult.
This time too, the only problem was the reflexive final blow to Sanghoeju’s instant death.
In other words, all you had to do was not do something crazy where a part of your body momentarily broke the speed of sound.
At least for the time being.
‘The story would be different if other abilities were evenly balanced.’
As your skill level increases, your ability to handle tools and your body improves.
Physical strength is responsible for cardiorespiratory endurance and the body’s resistance and recovery.
Senses and intelligence needed no further explanation, and magic power was an ability with infinite possibilities depending on how it was used.
When using magic, when learning martial arts to the extreme, or when supporting physical ability itself, etc.
Because the uses for magical power were literally endless.
‘Instead, if you don’t use it carefully, it has the greatest side effects.’
In any case, the side effects of excessively high strength were a problem that could be solved by reinforcing low abilities.
For a while, it seemed like it would be necessary to pay attention to ability distribution.
Dallen collected the remaining blood in his mouth and spat it out along with his saliva.
And among the bodies of monsters piled up like a mountain, I found one gray corpse.
[Corpse of a wizard who uses a sword]
– This is the corpse of a wizard who was talented in magic, but devoted himself even more to swordsmanship. He once gained fame by being called a magic swordsman mercenary, but after meeting a miserable end at the hands of Archalis Philenom, the owner of the Telia Company, that reputation faded away. After being fatally wounded by a merchant, every single bone was eaten by hungry monsters.
Like the assassin who was increasing his strength stats, this character was one of his early attempts.
An episode in which the abilities of randomly appearing basic characters were extremely focused on magic.
At the time, Dallon thought.
I thought that if I combined this magical talent with swordsmanship through intensive training, I would see some improvement in this damn difficult game.
The plan was to hold on in the early stages of the game with his brilliant control skills, and then push up to his specifications by mastering both magic and swordsmanship in the latter stages.
Of course, the result was a huge failure.
Even his control could not compensate for the swordsmanship he learned due to his insufficient abilities.
‘I realized it around this time. It’s impossible to beat this game with control skills alone.’
Dallen stretched out his hand. The corpse becomes blurred and is absorbed into a handful of light.
Past attempts can feel like shoveling.
But even that past is now an invaluable growth engine.
[The body of the sword-wielding wizard has been recovered. The ability is inherited.]
[Inheritance Reward: Magic Power +2 Stamina +1 Flame Arrow (D)]
Chii…….
The stamina level increases and the residual pain remaining in the body is noticeably reduced.
Ugh-
the increased magical power extended from head to toe in the form of a strange, indescribable feeling of elation.
And a new skill.
[Flame Arrow (D)]
– ‘Ignel Lot’. The magic of the Ignella Magic Tower, the sacred place of pyromancers. It is a spell that uses magic as fuel to materialize the idea of a flame and shoots it like an arrow when necessary.
– Proficiency 2%
The knowledge of the first spell he had acquired since falling into this world was interpreted one by one based on his superhuman intelligence level and began to be organized in his head.
Sigh.
Dallen held out his hand.
Unlike usual, relax as much as possible and let your palms look quietly at the sky.
And I felt it.
A magical wind that cannot be felt in the form of touch, but at the same time tickles the skin with senses other than the five senses.
This world where magic exists.
In nature, the wind of magical power flows, and living beings can feel and capture the source of the change according to their magical power.
Woowoo –
The sensitivity and magic control ability derived from the magic power level catches a ray of wind passing over the palm of one’s hand.
With my eyes half-open, I tangle the strands, adding a slight twist to the realm of reality.
“Ignel Lot.”
A short chant gives imagery to the twist.
Good luck!
A fist-sized flame rising from the air above the palm of one’s hand.
Dallen grinned as he looked at the fireball burning with magical energy.
Now that there was no landlord to argue with, it was time to start playing with fire.
***
Whoop. Huh.
I’m out of breath. My whole body feels heavy, as if it were made of lead.
Slam! Slam!
The steel breastplate, which was normally so strong, is now just a burden weighing down on the shoulders, and the grips holding the spear and shield are gradually weakening.
“Huh huh huh!”
Nevertheless, Guard Palton gritted his teeth.
If he falls, his comrades die.
His fellow soldiers guarding his side must have been holding on with the same thoughts.
Big!
A monster rushes in. Palton raised his shield.
Quang!
A monster colliding with a steel shield. Even though his shoulders were shaking in shock, the guy didn’t know how to back down.
Oh my!
A wrinkled nose and red, bloodshot eyes come right in front of you. Palton threw out his spear.
The moment when the boring and arduous training that was repeated countless times shines.
Phew!
The nape of the neck was pierced by a wide spear blade.
Teuong!
After being hit by the shield once more and its head cut off, the monster was left lying on the ground.
“Huh! omg! omg!”
Palton raised his head, his breath rising to the tip of his chin.
Grrrr!
A five-story building not often seen in back alleys.
Telia Company’s warehouse was on fire.
“Keep pushing! “Don’t miss even one cult member!”
The platoon commander on horseback shouted loudly.
In fact, Palton could not understand this situation.
Don’t they start waiting at dusk under the pretext of preventing winter fires in back alleys that are not normally patrolled?
Strangely enough, at that moment, a warehouse in the distance catches fire and as many as 10 security platoons rush to extinguish the fire.
Just when they were questioning the fact that hundreds of troops were going to put out a fire in just one building, a group of masked assailants and monsters suddenly attacked the guards.
Even the commanders, as if they had been waiting, started shouting that they should punish the cultists and secure evidence of them.
‘Nimiral! I don’t know!’
A confusing situation where you have no idea what is going on.
Palton decided to just stop thinking about it.
A junior soldier can only follow orders. Probably all my fellow guards were thinking the same thing.
“All attack!”
“Ugh!”
“Father Powell!”
At the command of the platoon leader, the soldiers formed a line and advanced. With shouts and screams and cries to God.
There were already quite a few casualties, but the trained guards were holding on well.
The number of monsters was not large, and most of them were gangsters holding a sword or armed masked men.
Above all, enemies often ran at random or ran away, as if there was a screw missing somewhere.
These low-ranking soldiers did not seem to have a proper command system.
“Fuck you!”
At that time, a masked assailant ran towards me. The blood-stained golden mask glistened in the light of the guard’s torches.
“Kaaaaak!”
A fellow soldier stretched out a spear and stabbed the man in the shoulder, but the assailant screamed and pushed back as if that was nothing.
“Wow!”
A colleague falls down with the hand holding the spear cut off and a knife stabbed in the stomach.
Palton reflexively raised his shield and pushed forward, but was pushed back by the monster’s enormous strength.
“Keuheuk!”
A fleeting premonition of death. A monster’s sword flashing in the light of a torch.
The moment I closed my eyes tightly, sensing the end.
Nettle liquid!
Flutter!
There was a sound of something exploding and hot liquid splashed onto my face and body.
“……?”
When I opened my eyes in bewilderment, the first thing I saw was the body of the stranger with the neck above missing.
And beyond the slowly collapsing body, a human silhouette was seen on the fifth floor of the burning commercial building.
A large hole in the exterior wall of the 5th floor. A large man in a posture as if he had thrown something inside.
“……uh?”
Palton’s expression was filled with astonishment as he belatedly discovered the javelin that exploded the monster’s head stuck at his feet.
And after a while.
Kwajik! Kwajik!
Wedge- flutter!
Similar things started happening all over the battlefield.