[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 67: Nightmare (2)
"Jieun! Hold them off for one minute!"
"ː∑!"
‘That means she gets it, right?’
Whoosh-!
Jieun, who let out a strange sound, began gathering weapons from the fallen.
"Yeji! Hand over that &∏!"
"Kiyaa? Ack! You thief∮∃¡!"
...There was a bit of noise, but still.
【Prince of the Investigation Bureau' compliments the resilience of District 13's targets.】
【’The Raven of the Administration Bureau' acknowledges you as an ideal subordinate.】
Jieun, with her incredible resourcefulness, floated the gathered blades into the air, creating a wall around me and our group.
Now, while I have this moment...
[You are afflicted by hallucinations caused by the Fear of Nightmares.]
The system message says it's a hallucination caused by fear.
So, if I can just deal with the "Fear of Nightmares," it’ll be fine.
And conveniently, I have something in my inventory.
A mind-blowing stimulant.
▣ Elixir of Defense
Temporarily shields the user’s mind with a barrier, granting immunity to all fear- and disease-induced status effects. Duration: 3 hours.
This elixir grants immunity to all fear-induced status effects for three hours.
Shielding the mind?
It sounds more like a tranquilizer than a stimulant.
Anyway.
"Oh! That’s from the skeleton ШЯъ mission—"
"Right, the one I got after completing the skeleton mission. Drinking it should break the hallucination."
"¤! Perfect! Though it’s a shame we only have €‡ one bottle...."
Jieun glanced at Jaehyuk, who was hiccuping with his face planted in the ground, a look of pity crossing her face.
She must be worried about Jaehyuk enduring in this state until the mission ends.
In my hand is just one bottle.
Once it’s in my stomach, that’s the end of it.
But.
"It’s not just one bottle."
"ΦΨ?"
"We can share it."
"...?!"
Jieun, busy fighting monsters, briefly turned her head before snapping it back in surprise, baring her terrifying fangs.
▣ Diluted Fatigue Recovery Potion
-A fatigue recovery potion made from boiled herbs.
Diluted with plain water to increase quantity. It has limited effectiveness but seems useful for everyday fatigue recovery.
I got the idea from a diluted fatigue recovery potion sold at the very first stall—a lower-tier shop item.
If you dilute the potion with water, its properties remain the same.
‘The effect will be weaker, though.’
So, by adding a few drops of the elixir to leftover water bottles:
─ Ding!
▣ Elixir of Defense
Temporarily shields the user’s mind with a barrier, granting immunity to all fear- and disease-induced status effects.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Due to the reduced quantity, its effectiveness is limited. Duration: 10 seconds.
Thus, an elixir with a short 10-second duration was born.
【Prince of the Investigation Bureau' laughs in disbelief, saying it's absurd to discuss resilience in front of someone like this.】
【An anonymous observer admires target 'Lee Eunho’s' ingenuity with items.】
‘Diluting it reduces the effectiveness, and dividing the dose shortens the duration.’
In other words, I can either dilute it to stretch the supply or split it to use the full 3 hours in parts.
Diluting has risks, though.
So.
─ Drip!
I poured the elixir into the water bottle I had prepared earlier in the morning.
One, two, three... ten.
─ Ding! Ding! Ding...
The 3-hour elixir was now split into ten 18-minute elixirs.
Now, I’ll take one first.
Gulp!
I held the cool liquid in my warm mouth before swallowing it.
It wasn’t water or gas, but a strange energy flowed down my throat.
Then.
[You consume the 'Elixir of Defense.']
[The fear within you dissipates.]
[A defensive barrier is formed. Remaining duration: 17 minutes 59 seconds, 58 seconds, 57 seconds...]
Whoosh!
As the energy spread throughout my body, the cold weight clinging to my skin melted away.
The tingling, soothing sensation flowed down my spine and finally dissipated below my waist.
─ Swish, tap! Tap! Tap!
My legs, once stiff as logs, felt light again.
They were no longer obstacles but tools I could use.
‘...I’m alive.’
It was suffocating, as if I had forgotten how to live until now.
Anyway, that leaves 9 bottles.
As I lined up the nine water bottles and fiddled with them, Jieun gasped in surprise.
"You’re going to share them?!"
"Huh?"
"Wow, Eunho, you’re really...!"
I felt a little bad for Jieun, who clearly misunderstood my intentions.
"No."
"...?!"
"It’d be wasteful—no, inefficient to share them all."
Oops. Almost said the quiet part out loud.
"Once we kill the Nightmare, the hallucinations will end anyway."
So the investment should be minimal.
Even just 1/10th of a bottle.
"Jieun, you can hold out with your mental strength, so you don’t need it. The rest should only go to those who absolutely need it."
This isn’t because I’m hoarding the potion.
It’s just about being efficient.
...
【'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' is pleased with your unstoppable progress!】
【500 Welfare Points Awarded!】
Was it because of the nightmares’ formidable power?
Or because I relentlessly targeted their cores?
Either way, the Nightmares themselves posed little threat in terms of brute strength.
"I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."
Around me, most people were either trembling with their heads pressed to the ground or blindly stabbing at anything, human or beast.
But even this horrifying nightmare was drawing to an end.
─ Thud! Thwack!
"Noona! This side is done! Need help?"
"Yes! Please!"
I glanced at Jaehyuk running toward Jieun, who was gasping for breath.
─ Scream! You fiend!
A blood-red Nightmare charged, trampling over the corpse of its comrade.
It was the size of an adult male, with eyes so upturned they reached its temples, jagged teeth protruding grotesquely, and a blood-soaked mouth that sent chills down my spine.
But—
「31.7%」
This creature, too, relied on a head, heart, and blood to survive.
When pierced or slashed, its health would deplete just like ours.
There was no need to fear.
Thinking so—
─ Slash!
「19.2%」
I cut off its left arm.
「6.2%」
He severed the right leg.
And then—
─ Kiyaaaahhh...
As the fading groans subsided and the number above its head reached zero:
「0%」
[You have defeated the Nightmare!]
[You have earned 200 welfare points!]
A message confirming the creature's death appeared.
This was already the 28th such message.
"Finally, the last one."
Out of the thirty, only two were still alive.
Excluding the one the other two were dealing with, the one before him was the last.
And when all of them had fallen—
Flap! Flap—!
A new figure appeared.
This one was a head taller than the other nightmares, with bat-like, shriveled wings twitching across its armpits and back.
The spear it held was easily over 2 meters long and thick enough to require both hands to wield.
This thing—no matter how you looked at it—
"Is it the boss?"
As I muttered, suspecting it was different from the others, the creature bared its teeth and let out a screech.
─ Kiyahhhh... insolent human...!
Thud!
The massive monster, which had been lurking in the shadows, finally revealed itself after most of the nightmares had met their demise.
I didn’t want to drag this out.
Dodging the whip-like attack of its iron tail spike, I leapt forward in one swift motion.
Thunk!
The crimson neck, now inches away.
I drove my sword deep into it, twisted, and sliced upward.
─ Gahhh...!
From the collarbone to the nape, the flesh split and fell away.
From the gaping wound, instead of blood, thick black smoke began pouring out, as though hacked open by an axe.
It was a fatal wound, anyone could tell.
Ready to end it, I charged forward—
[Duration expired.]
[The elixir’s effect has worn off.]
Thunk—
My body stiffened.
Specifically, my entire right leg below the waist froze, rigid like stone.
[The fear of the abyss seeps into you due to the lingering effects of the Nightmare.]
The 18 minutes granted by the elixir were up.
But—
"Die."
─ Thwack!
With the creature already within arm's reach, there was no need to move closer or flee.
All I had to do was stretch out my arm and end it.
[You have defeated the 'Abyssal Nightmare.']
[You have earned 500 welfare points!]
Stagger!
The weight of the sword embedded in the creature pulled my center of gravity forward.
Right—this was it.
Without support, I couldn’t even lean forward.
The sensation, which I had momentarily forgotten, brought a bitter smile to my face—
Clap!
Jieun grabbed my right arm.
"Eunho! Are you alright?"
Clap!
"Hyung! You saved my life!"
Jaehyuk grabbed my left arm.
"......"
"Did you take care of all of these on your own? Wow..."
"Hyung, I bet you could’ve handled all thirty even without us!"
Looking at their faces, I couldn’t help but feel a little better.
As Jaehyuk spoke proudly and Jieun marveled in amazement, I was about to respond when—
Thunk! Roll, roll—
From the gas spewed out by the Nightmare, something suddenly dropped.
"Huh?"
Under the sunlight, it sparkled with iridescent hues—a transparent orb.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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