Chapter 184: Second Ordeal (6)

Chapter 184: Second Ordeal (6)

Pack, was known as a large Demonic Creature, but it actually couldn’t be considered as that in terms of size.

Of course, those wolves were still as big as a family house, but considering how most of the large Demonic Creatures I had encountered so far seemed like they would be able to undertake a siege whenever a couple of them gathered, it felt like a reach to put Pack in the same category as them.

Still, these punks were categorized as such for a reason. Because they always worked in groups, their combat power was beyond that of medium-sized Demonic Creatures.

They were natural hunters, perfectly fitting with their wolf-like appearance.

Their claws could easily tear up even hard steel. They were swift and durable enough to chase their pursuers until hell froze over. Not only that, they had a strong sense of smell that could easily locate their hiding prey.

To fight against these things while my abilities were fucked over by the Nullifying Shroud wouldn’t be easy.

“Kill me gently—!!”

Not to mention that I...

Was rushing into them naked.

To those Demonic Creatures whose staple food was human blood and flesh, I probably looked like a well-butchered meat served directly into their mouths.

“...?”

Because of the absurd situation, their eyes went blank for a moment, but they still ultimately followed their instinct.

System Message

[ A moment of danger has been detected ]

[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]

[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX-Grade. ]Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

Not long after, they showed their aggression. One of them, with yellowish saliva dripping out of its mouth, immediately charged at me.

Wearing a fierce look, it swung its front paw at me with a strong enough force that could smash rocks to pieces.

-!

-!!

Alright.

As I was smacked by its front paw and flew into the air, I let out a sigh of relief.

Half of my plan was completed the moment these fuckers were completely focused on me.

The worst case scenario here would be if they completely ignored me and ran toward the others. In that case, I’d need to retreat immediately or die after failing to.

This might sound strange, but, thank God I charged at their asses after taking off all my clothes.

If I was an ordinary person, I’d be split in two as soon as they hit me, but thanks to Desperation, my durability was increased significantly.

[ Mastery Info ]

Mastery: Iron Man 鐵人

Grade: Common

Proficiency: 0%

Description: Warriors of the Tribal Alliance repeatedly put themselves in extreme situations in order to constantly train their ability to react to such situations. It is very risky, but effective.

[ ■ Endurance to various injuries and pain is increased. Reduces the intensity of pain and allows for easier movement even when severely injured. ]

[ ■ Recovery becomes much better than when in a normal state. ]

[ ■ In cases of fatal injuries, sensation of pain are blocked, increasing survival chances. ]

[ ■ Effects are proportional to the Endurance stat. ]

System Message

[ Fatal injury detected. ]

[ ‘Mastery: Iron Man’ blocks the sensation of pain. ]

And there was also this Mastery.

Like I said, at the moment, Desperation enhanced my durability.

Unlike the others, Desperation and Mastery wasn’t considered as Special Power.

In other words, though I couldn’t use Law or Divine Power, I could still fight with my physical power.

“...Hmph!”

Also, all I needed to do was to hold on for as long as I could.

While deflecting the wolf’s attempt to strike again with its front paws, I took its attacks as ‘gently’ as possible.

If I continued to hold out for a long while like this, other Demonic Creatures would likely join one by one to help their comrade who seemed to be struggling alone.

And that was precisely what I was aiming for.

So that a bunch of them come at me all at once.

[...So, why are you doing this, again?]

No time to explain. Later!

[Is there even a way to survive in the first place?!]

“...”

Come to think of it, this person also had a side where what he said differed from how he actually felt.

On the outside, he might have seemed like he was criticizing me, but he was actually worried about me inside.

Of course there is.

I believed in this world.

Well, to be more precise, I believed in this world that was built upon the foundation of the game system that was Savior Rising.

Because both this world and the game always used the same ‘rules’, at least in the weird parts.

That was why...

My plan was going to work.

As I thought so, I looked at the Pack who was coming at me.

“...”

The longer I held on, the less parts of my body that retained its senses.

System Message

Because it wouldn’t be cool.

[...You crazy motherfucker...]

“...”

[I swear you’re the only motherfucker in this entire continent who’d risk his own life to make someone look cool. Seriously, are you actually just suicidal?]

“...”

[The worst thing is that you wouldn't even make her stand out that much. You’d gather all the attention, you crazy motherfucker.]

Wait a fat moment.

How the fuck would it even work out like that?

As I was flustered by what Caliban said,

Iliya, Talion, and even Faenol who were in front of me, looked at me in shock.

“...”

Why are you guys looking at me like that?

We succeeded, so it’s all good, isn’t it?

“Y-You know, last time I did this, I found out that...”

I blurted out, forcing a smile to liven up the bizarrely dark atmosphere.

“It was okay to be dead for 10 seconds in a state of cardiac arrest.”

This was something that I experienced a few times in the game. I learned that it could also be applied here when I was split into two by Yuria.

Apparently, even though my HP dropped to 0, I could come back to life as long as I could breathe before I died for real.

Since I survived this time, that rule had been proven once again.

“...So,”

Iliya said with a groan.

“Are you saying that it is A-OK as long as you don’t die? Even if you end up being no different from a corpse? What if, by a one in a thousand chance, something goes wrong?”

“Why would I even think of failure? It’s something involving you, you know?”

“...”

I put a thumb up while grinning.

“Even if I die, I’ll make it a success.”

“...”

Hearing me saying it as if it was a natural thing to say, Iliya grabbed her own head.

She looked like she was agonizing, not knowing where to start.

“...Excuse me, Teach.”

“Hm?”

“We have talked about how you used Lana like an object before, have we not?”

“...Yeah, we have?”

She approached me, who was staring at her confused, and held my shoulders.

“Sorry for what I said back then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your humanity hasn’t been worn away. You’re just a true lunatic who thinks that anyone who is capable enough could be used as an object like that.”

“...”

“If you are someone who believes that can somehow work and even willingly put yourself in such a situation, it’s reasonable to think that you would use others the same way. After all, if you can do it, why can’t they? I guess it does at least seem fair.”

“...”

I unconsciously stepped backwards in response to Iliya’s paradoxically murmured shouts.

Her eyes looked lifeless.

I felt chills run down my spine as I watched her firing off such words with blank eyes.

“...U-Um, f-first, why don’t you calm down?”

“No.”

“...”

“Teach. Have a seat.”

“...Why?”

“Because I need to knock some sense into you.”

“...”

“You need to realize how important you are to others, Teach. So, you need to fix that habit of yours, the one where you kept on saying things that put fire to people’s hearts. It makes me feel good, but hearing it at this moment is making me frustrated!”

“...”

Was that a compliment?

“Listen carefully. I’ll fix you.”

“...”

It did not seem so.

This was the first time I saw her speaking harshly to me like this.

Uh, could it be...?

I was being scolded by her?

[You are.]

“...”

[And hell yes, you deserve it. Actually, no, you shouldn’t just get scolded, she needs to make you shed tears until you’re on the verge of death.]

Seeing them like this, I could see why they were siblings.

Because by the time Iliya stopped her nagging, I really was almost on the verge of /genesisforsaken