Volume 2 - CH 9

“UWOAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The Mythril Golem glared at Luce, then it started moving to try and catch hold of her.

With the huge damage it received from the [Dice Thrust], it seems to have decided that rather than me, she is the one it needs to be most wary of.

Luce being targeted is a serious problem, but naturally I prepared for this possibility.

I quickly stepped on the Mythril Golem’s shadow and activated [Shadow Stomp].

However, due to the massive difference between our stats, the Mythril Golem was actually able to drag my foot forward instead.

I crouched down and stabbed my Black Steel Sword into the ground, forcing myself to come to a stop with that.

“Good, I managed to stop it, but….”

Giving up on shaking itself free from my [Shadow Stomp] with pure strength, the Mythril Golem swiftly turned back and lunged at me.

“Having its attention focused on me constantly is also troublesome. From the pan into the fire.”

I released my [Shadow Stomp] and jumped backwards.

I don’t forget to check the terrain first with a backwards glance.

The ground around here is quite uneven, so if I keep jumping backwards there is a chance I might trip and fall because of it.

The Mythril Golem kept vigorously swinging both of its arms, demolishing the walls as it pursued me.

It managed to close in on me fast, then it tried to grab me with its giant right hand.

I managed to barely divert its grab and slide its fist into the ground by using the surface of my shield.

The body of the Mythril Golem pitched forward, on the brink of falling over.

“Now!”

I activated [Shadow Stomp] once again and stepped on the Mythril Golem’s shadow.

Then I used all my strength to drag my foot on the ground and pull the shadow towards me as much as I could.

The arms of the Mythril Golem are built for heavy bludgeoning attacks, which means they are quite hefty, which may disrupt its center of gravity depending on its posture.

Now that it missed with a large swing and its center of gravity was disrupted, it was the best chance for me to trip it up.

I intentionally led the Mythril Golem to this place where the footing is bad, to take advantage of this weak point of it.

The Mythril Golem fell forward, ending up on its knees.

It was just a single moment of weakness.

Yet, it was more than enough for one hit to land.

“Go for it, Luce!”

“[Dice Thrust]!”

Since Luce was right behind the Mythril Golem’s back, she was able to thrust out with her knife right away.

Once again the knife pierced into the large mythril back.

The number that appeared in the air….was a 【3】.

“Uuugh….I missed….”

“UOOOOOOOOOOH!”

The Mythril Golem twisted its body to throw Luce off its back.

Using that momentum she leapt away, kicking the wall to flip around, then when she landed at a sufficient distance away she swiftly took a ready stance with her knife once again.

Missing like that can’t be helped.

I did not count on her to keep rolling one 【6】 after the other with [Dice Thrust] to begin with.

However, here comes the critical part.

After the Mythril Golem manages to get back on its feet, we most likely won’t be able to get it down to its knees again.

That means that before we could hit it one more time it will be able to recover its HP with [Automatic Recovery], so even with another [Dice Thrust], we won’t be able to take it down in one go.

That would mean the end for our chances of defeating it.

So I need to use everything I have to keep that Mythril Golem on the floor… until Luce is able to roll another 【6】 with her [Dice Thrust].

If it manages to stand up, that would be the end of this.

I need to go in fast and hard on this.

Attack straight on and be prepared to take a hit.

In that case, I should activate [Life Shield] to avoid collapsing even if I get hit once.

“[Life Shield]!”

――――――――――――――――――――

〈Life Shield〉【Normal Skill】

It takes 20% of your maximum HP to activate.

A shield with the same durability as the HP deducted covers the entire body.

――――――――――――――――――――

My life force manifested and covered my body in a radiant membrane.

――――――――――――――――――――

【Elma Edvan】

Class: Heavy Knight

Lv: 46

HP: 47/110

MP: 27/45

――――――――――――――――――――

I paid 【22】HP and deployed the [Life Shield].

I charged at the Mythril Golem right away.

The Mythril Golem reached out with its hand and prepared to intercept me.

But before that, I hit its nearest arm with my sword and rushed in close to it.

I need to keep up my heavy assault here.

I have my [Life Shield] on, so even if I were to get hit once I will be able to keep going.

I activated [Shadow Stomp] again, then rammed it with [Shield Bash].

Due to our stat difference, my body was sent back quite a distance again.

Next, I crouched down, determined to keep my foot on the ground….on the Mythril Golem’s shadow at all costs.

Due to the momentum provided by the [Shield Bash], the Mythril Golem’s shadow stretched out quite a bit.

Getting constantly pulled by its shadow, the Mythril Golem’s movements stopped.

Since it was getting pulled into my direction, it couldn’t turn towards Luce, who was coming up behind it.

It’s a bit of a stretch, but I can use the [Shadow Stomp] this way by bumping myself back with a [Shield Bash].

Luce launched her third [Dice Thrust].

However, the number that came up was a 【4】.

“Why did it have to fail twice in a row now, in a dangerous situation like this….!”

Luce grumbled.

“Luce, keep at it!”

I charged at the Mythril Golem once again.

Using the tension in the shadow to increase my momentum, I rushed at the Mythril Golem.

It readied both of its arms facing my direction.

It didn’t reach out carelessly anymore.

It seems it wanted to make sure it could intercept me.

Just when I got near enough, its right hand finally shot out towards me.

I jumped to the other side of the Mythril Golem’s arm, then I struck the back of its hand with my sword.

“[Parry]!”

My hand went numb.

Its monstrous strength could be felt even through the sword.

With a [Parry] that barely succeeded, its right hand was deflected into the wall, greatly shaking the whole cavern.

It was a coin-flip whether or not it would succeed, but it worked….!

However, I can’t put any strength into the fingers I’m gripping my sword with.

The left hand of the Mythril Golem reached towards me right away.

I can’t dodge it….!

I pulled up my shield and tried to make my body smaller.

The Mythril Golem’s outrageous strength smashed straight through my [Life Shield] without any fanfare.

The strike continued and also hit my shield.

A truly terrifying attack power.

I could only take that due to the double impact dampening effect of my [Life Shield] and my actual shield.

The Mythril Golem is obviously starting to get used to my movements too.

It’s not just that it stopped thoughtlessly extending its arms anymore, but it even started showing signs of it being wary of my [Shadow Stomp].

I’m slowly running out of tricks here.

I don’t think I will be able to use that tactic another time after this either.

“This time….I’ll be ending this! [Dice Thrust]!”

The fourth [Dice Thrust] was launched.

Cracks started running through the Mythril Golem’s surface, then finally the giant body crumbled down.

I saw the number 【6】 floating next to Luce’s hand.

【You have gained 1343 experience points.】

【Your level has increased from 46 to 49.】

【You have gained 3 Skill points.】

We finally took down this Mythril Golem, a rare monster.

“Nice! You did good, Luce!”

“Thank goodness…. When I missed twice in a row, I kept thinking ‘why would it do that only in a situation like this’….”

Luce let out a sigh of relief, then listlessly crouched down to the floor.

“Rolling a 【6】 twice out of four times is plenty lucky, you know….?”

Even with Luce’s high Luck, I was prepared for her to need five or even six [Dice Thrust]s, depending on how the luck went.

With this not only we managed to get some mythril….my level went up by a lot too.

I managed to get some leeway with my Skill points.

I will soon be able to fight like a Heavy Knight from Magic World.

Although it’s not easy to choose between increasing [Smoldering Fang of Madness] for more explosive power and putting points into [Vow of the Heavy Armor] to stabilize [Smoldering Fang of Madness].