Vol. 1 - Ch. 19 - Fight! Red Tower 10th Floor [Second Act] Part 1

Ash dodged the enemy's attack while keeping his stiletto in place, and then used his free right hand to grab something around his chest area. He took the object that was hanging around his neck and brought it to his mouth.It was the Bite Whistle.

He'd bought it, just in case, with the Duri he'd received for selling the Red Attribute Stone.

He breathed out, as hard as he could, while biting down hard on the flat tube.

A high-pitched sound, almost like a ringing in the ears, echoed through the hall.

The two Direwolves that were heading toward Clara suddenly stopped and turned their attention to Ash, just like the other monsters.

Ash had been skeptical about whether the whistle would actually work, but he was now certain that he had definitely gotten his money's worth.

Furthermore, it seemed like the whistle's effect didn't only extend to attracting attention. The enemies' attacks also became more relentless.

With both of Ash's arms injured, he wouldn't be able to fight back properly.

"I-I'm sorry... I... I messed up ag-"

"Leave that for later! For now use Heal on me!"

"O-Okay!"

Clara tended to the wounds on Ash's arms.

The pain eased, but there was no time for relief.

Even now, 16 Direwolves attacked one after another.

While concentrating on evasion, Ash ensured to slay them one by one.

He eventually managed to get their number down to ten, but then...

The Lord howled yet again.

Ash clicked his tongue as he intercepted the Direwolves, which increased in number again.

Rather than improving, their current situation was only getting worse.

If Ash was able to get to the Lord he'd surely be able to counterattack, however, the Lord was simply eyeing the development from a distance.

Ash couldn't do anything.

He regretted that he didn't push a bit more and kill the Lord before it summoned the first 10 Direwolves, but Ash knew there was no point in thinking about that now.

(Should we retreat and try again? No, that won't do. We can't escape with these numbers on our tail. In this case, I should at least try and get Clara to safety...)

Ash's vision narrowed, perhaps due to the frustration mixing with his thoughts, and he failed to notice a single Direwolf leaping at him from his flank.

Drooling, the ferocious fangs closed in.

Ash had no time to dodge.

(I can only sacrifice one of my arms...)

Suddenly, an arrow of frost pierced the side of the attacking Direwolf.

The Direwolf, which had been full of energy until just now, lost its momentum and crashed down.

Ash, with his eyes wide open, half unconsciously looked in the direction from which the arrow of frost had come.

He looked straight at Clara.

"I'm sorry for doing something unasked for! But--" Clara looked embarrassed, but then she shouted as if she had made up her mind, "I want to fight alongside you, Ash!"

At that moment, something clicked in Ash's head.

It was something that had been bothering him even before they'd entered the 10th Floor.

It was thanks to Clara that he was finally able to put his finger on it.

(How didn't I realize something this simple earlier?!)

He naturally burst into laughter.

His voice grew louder and louder, echoing throughout the hall.

Laughing hysterically while dealing with the Direwolves was the very definition of a madman, but unfortunately, Ash couldn't stop himself.

"H-Huh?! I'm being serious here! Why did you have to go ahead and laugh!"

"Sorry, sorry. My bad. I'm not making fun of you, Clara. I'm just laughing because I realized I was acting a bit foolish."

Ash thrust his stiletto into an attacking Direwolf while avoiding a fireball.

He vigorously pulled out his stiletto while repelling another enemy who was in pursuit with the swordbreaker.

"I'll draw their attention! Clara, you continue clearing out the mobs!"

"L-Leave it to me!"

Clara's face broke into a smile for a moment, but she quickly took on a serious look and assumed an attack position.

From her outstretched right hand, Frost Arrows were shot one after another.

Each arrows hit a Direwolf, rendering them incapable of fighting.

Ash and Clara desperately fought to reduce the Direwolf numbers.

Eventually, only 8 of them remained.

Four Direwolves, standing side by side a short distance away, shot fireballs at Ash.

Ash, however, threw a Direwolf that was lying at his feet and managed to deflect one of the fireballs. He then used the opportunity he'd created to slaughter two of the four Direwolves that had shot fireballs at him.

(Six left!)

Suddenly, the Lord took a big leap backwards.

"Like I would let you call your friends!" Ash declared while heading straight for the Lord while the rest of the Direwolves pounced on him to interfere.

Ash forced himself to push forward while avoiding them, but it took longer than he expected.

The Lord was already poised to howl, and the distance between it and Ash was about 10 steps.

(I won't make it in time.)

Suddenly, a Frost Arrow flew from the left edge of Ash's field of view and hit the Lord in the side of the head.

It did not penetrate its skin, but it managed to delay its howl.

Clara's voice echoed, "Please, take it down!"

Ash accelerated and leaped at once.

After spinning once in the air, he stabbed the stiletto right between the Lord's eyes.

The Lord lifted its head and began to thrash about in severe pain.

(I can't let myself be thrown off here. I'll finish it off!)

Clinging hard, Ash continued to stab the Lord in the head over and over again with the stiletto.

The Direwolves came to their king's aid, but before they could reach it, the Lord collapsed.

It then began to dissipate, and following it all of the other Direwolves disappeared, leaving behind only several gems.

(So it's set up as to where they disappear alongside the Lord.)

Looking around, Ash noticed that all of the enemies had completely vanished.

It was then that he finally relaxed his arms.

Rather than the joy of successfully conquering the 10th Floor, he only felt fatigue.

Ash calmed his breathing as he looked at the ceiling.

"We really beat it..."

When his breathing finally calmed down, Ash saw Clara collapsed down on the ground with the corner of his eye.

After tucking away his weapons he approached her.

"Good job. We really did it!" he remarked.

"W-We did. I-I'm sorry for attacking the Lord even when you told me not to..."

"Don't be. That decision was right on the money."

Their victory would not have been possible if Clara had not attacked the Lord at that time.

"Actually, I'm the one that's sorry." Ash said, bowing lightly.

Clara, in turn, was left completely shocked at the sudden apology.

"H-Huh?! Why are you apologizing, Ash? I'm the one that should apologize for dragging you down."

"I'm the one that told you that we're a team and that you shouldn't be taking in everything by yourself, and here I went ahead and ended up trying to do everything on my own." he explained.

Ash hadn't realized it until Clara had told him that she wanted to fight alongside him.

He understood that he'd been foolish and that if he had realized it earlier, they would have cleared the 10th Floor way sooner.

"I got stuck thinking that I had to do something myself, but that was exactly where I was wrong."

"You couldn't help it, Ash. After all, I really am useless. I'm sure you could've cleared it by yourself." Clara said.

"That's not the case." Ash denied it in a quiet but strong tone, and then continued, "We were only able to win because you were here Clara. Thank you." Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The moment Clara heard that, her expression changed.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes moistening as if she were moved to tears.

"I should be the one saying that... If it weren't for you Ash, I would've left without even challenging the 10th Floor." Clara said, rubbing her eyes.

Although it might have seemed like an exaggeration to some, this was a huge issue for Clara.

The feeling of clearing the 10th Floor was not the only one in her heart right now.

"Will you shake my hand? After all, I've only shook your staff until now." Ash asked, holding out his hand.

Clara roughly wiped her tears, looked up, and nodded with a wide smile.

"Of course!"