CH 239

Episode 239 – Perfect Response

The jet black luster of its fur was at times mixed in with the vivid sheen of its golden fur. Despite the intimidating fur covering its entire body, the Peak Gorilla’s muscles were developed in an unusual way that made its body look clearly unbalanced.

On the other hand, I had used the Strength Potion, which finally put me on even ground with the Peak Gorilla in terms of strength. And since we were equal in regard to pure strength, the outcome of the battle would be dependent on who was more skilled. As a person who was trained by various masters, I was really itching to put my skills to the test in a head-on melee, but… the present situation didn’t allow me the pleasure.

Aruna was currently holding back the Canyon Monkeys in the rear, so that created a numbers advantage that I had no choice but to make use of. At the moment, I was already in a forward position, having already switched places with Rosalie. I furtively gave instructions to her by making hand signs behind my back and then closed the gap in one go.

The Peak Gorilla was just winding up its left arm as if it was waiting for me, but it seemed like it was planning to go for a left straight when the timing was right. I could feel the wind from the force of its spinning arm, and I felt my body unconsciously refusing the closer I got to it― so I paused for a sliver of an instant and looked up at the last moment to ascertain the Peak Gorilla’s moves.

It was gauging the timing until I entered the range of its swing, matching up with the timing of my movements. It unleashed its fist, and at that moment I immediately slid onto my knees and dodged it with a slide.

The slide also allowed me to get under the reach of the Peak Gorilla, so I went along with the momentum and slashed with everything I had. The Peak Gorilla had unleashed its fist with all of its might earlier, which had opened up a gap that allowed me to score an unavoidable clean hit onto it.

The response I felt in my hands was the best I had gotten from a slash in a long time. I could tell that I had torn straight through its flesh and reached bone. A deep gash stretched the length from its shoulder all the way down to its waist, and it began to back away as it let out an involuntary shriek.

I didn’t think I would be able to land such a serious blow on it on my first try, but I managed to get lucky. I was watching the Peak Gorilla backing up when Rosalie dashed in from behind me, crossing to my right side. I regained my footing and stepped forward one beat later, running towards the left to initiate a pincer attack.

Thrust, diagonal slash, reverse slash, horizontal cut, uppercut, ascending vertical attack.

Synchronizing my attacks with Rosalie, we began to repeatedly swing our swords, piling damage onto the Peak Gorilla’s massive figure.

The Peak Gorilla’s black and gold colored fur was gradually becoming dyed red with the color of its own blood, and it became a horrible sight to behold, but… the might of our never-ending barrage of blows didn’t wane until the very, very end. It wasn’t a long battle, and even though we had the numerical advantage, I was so exhausted that my whole body was drenched in sweat, as if I had stood underneath a waterfall.

“―Haaah, haah… Is it f-finally dead?” (Rosalie)

“Phew, haaah. N-Not yet. If it was dead, it would have turned to ashes! Rosalie-san, go for the heart. I’ll aim for its neck.” (Lewin)

The Peak Gorilla was completely still as it lay face up on the ground, covered in blood. But according to the system of the Dungeon, the monster wasn’t dead until it turned into ashes. The fact that it hadn’t meant that it was still on its dying breaths.

I held back from taking a break and moved in to finish it off. I ran towards the fallen Peak Gorilla with my sword raised high. The moment I was about to bring it down to sever its neck― its eyes, which had been closed up until now, suddenly flew open as it leveled an incredibly resentful glare directly at me.

It was different from the other monsters I had encountered in the Dungeon so far. It felt more like the Angry Wolves on Mount Cornello, or the Venom Troll I had fought in Seykoll, so my hands involuntarily stopped. But… I swallowed the words in my throat and swung down the sword that I had raised overhead with all my might.

After the battle against the Peak Gorilla was over, my concentration was suddenly broken, and a sharp pain gripped my body all at once. I had a severe cut from when I slid on my knee earlier and a deep cut on my cheek from when I had been grazed by the left straight that the Peak Gorilla had thrown at me. The Strength Potion also allowed me to use strength that was beyond my own capabilities, which had thrown muscular pain into the mix and had caused me to nearly topple over on the spot. I regretted sliding on my knees across the rocky ground, but I gritted my teeth and moved my feet forward.

“Let’s head over to Aruna-san. She’s still holding them back for us, so we need to hurry up and help.” (Lewin)

“You’re right. Let’s go!” (Rosalie)

“Aruna-san, we’re here. We managed to safely take down the Peak Gorilla.” (Lewin)

“So slow. I’ve almost used up all of my custom-made arrows, so pay me back later. Also… it seems that you didn’t defeat it completely ‘safely’, are you alright?” (Aruna)

“I’m fine. It’s just a light scrape. We’ll be relying on your cover again.” (Lewin)

“I’m also going in!” (Rosalie)

After reporting in Aruna, we vigorously charged towards the Canyon Monkeys. They numbered roughly 10 in total.

I was hurting badly, and my body felt as heavy as lead. Even so, I had no problem dealing with the Canyon Monkeys, which were on the level of Goblins, but with fur. Rosalie and I continued to attack incessantly while under Aruna’s covering fire, so we managed to eliminate the remaining Canyon Monkeys in half the time we had spent on the Peak Gorilla.