Chapter 758: Cloudy Night Sky: A Crucial Red Illuminates the Sky
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───Devouring Great Crimson Clad.
A bizarre entity as red as blood, as red as fire. A red plague of locusts that devours life, knowing no retreat, for it would perish if it did not continuously multiply.
I haven't heard any talk of a second subjugation being achieved yet, but if I were told to defeat that thing again, I have no confidence I could definitively pull it off.
Because that battle was something I could do absolutely nothing about on my own. It's frustrating to admit, but it was precisely because Deep Slaughter was there, because Tottori was there, because the Elves were there...... and because he was there, that we were able to grasp victory.
In the eastern part of the New Continent lies an untamed Great Sea of Trees that continues to repel human pioneering efforts.
There are good-boy players who sleep late at night, but precisely because it's late at night, there are also players who log in cheering, "Woohoo, all-nighter!" Therefore, this quietness is a sort of miracle.
Flying from Rabituza to the frontline base, I ran through the sea of trees for twenty minutes. The northern part of the sea of trees...... the great wilderness bordering the northern frozen soil where the full picture is still unclear, meaning most of those who challenged it were killed by incomprehensible means...... is where he was.
"Yo."
Six pupils capture my figure. A dark red even deeper than the crimson running across its entire body...... in other words, my encounter with the Draculus Dinocerberus "Scar-red" was a quiet beginning where only our gazes intersected.
"It's been a while, brother...... let's brawl."
I won't do anything as cheap as respawning and challenging you over and over. If I lose this battle, I won't ever challenge you again; I'll defeat you with that level of resolve.
I never expected any fraternity or bonds from "Scar-red" to begin with. The terrifying dragon with three heads slowly turned to face me head-on, glaring at me with six eyes, opening its three mouths to let out a triple-layered echoing growl...... and then, it gnashed a number of fangs so high it was a pain to even count.
I came here fully intending to hunt this guy down from the start. And "Scar-red" is welcoming me with the full intention of violently murdering me without a shred of mercy...... nice, what an ideal Player vs Monster scenario! This is exactly how PvM should be! It's way more likable than some shitty snake relying on Raid specs to pull off a literal sneak attack!
"Even so, die!!"
Bring the fire! I've got a shitty boss-rush waiting for me after this, involving a shitty snake, some Kingdom authority, an event boss for enhancing Areadbhair that I don't really understand, and above all, a serious Lycaon!!
"I ain't got time to struggle against a Rare Enemy that isn't even an Exordinary!!"
That's right, he's neither an Exordinary Monster, nor a Raid Monster, let alone a Unique Monster. But the logic that a mere Rare Enemy can't rival those special monsters doesn't exist in this game. I heard a rumor on the wind that you apparently outlasted the "true" Exordinary of this Great Sea of Trees...... the Draculus Dinocerberus "Scars of a Mortal Struggle." What are you, a monster?
"Tch...... he's tough as shit......!"
Its basic attack pattern is based on a Tyrannosaurus skeleton. If I had to point out a difference, it's that having three heads physically widens the instant-death range of its bites by two extra heads.
Even after slamming a critical hit from the Final Blade of Aspiration's End With the Hero into him, it seems my garbage firepower isn't even making him itch. His entire body flexes as if twisting...... a tail sweep!
"Tch!"
The rope for this double dutch is way too thick. Having leapt into the air by folding my legs up to the absolute limit as if kneeling mid-air, a massive tail—which felt like steel rebars wrapped in rubber and plated with iron—passed just beneath me.
A chance; any opening of three seconds or less is my turn to hammer in attacks. Slashing attacks are ineffective...... then I'll use blunt force!
"This fist won't lose even to a razor!"
Now that my main fists are lost...... no, precisely because they're lost, this Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea gets its moment in the sun! Even though it's night!!
The ability of the Cestus of the Crimson Lotus Sea mitigates damage to my fists, which means I can aim for places normally un-targetable!!
"Surge, Mutans! Eat this cavity-smashing punch and shatter!"
My target is the mouth of the left head, specifically the fangs lined up there!
An aim born from trusting in the high quality of ShanFro: what happens if you smash teeth with a hammer with all your might?
The answer is "it hurts like hell."
"GYAOAOAAAAA!!"
The strike I slammed into the left head's fangs delivers a solid response. While it didn't shatter them, it was surely vastly more damaging than punching its scales and muscles.
I don't know strictly whether this guy's identity is one entity or three, but at the very least, only the left head flinched. The remaining two heads, intending to obliterate the cheeky shrimp, opened their two mouths wide...... Hah,
"Your trick has already been exposed!"
A lump of mucus was spat out from deep within "Scar-red's" throats. I'd like to call it puke or phlegm, but unfortunately, those would still be better.
The moment the furiously burning left head clicked its teeth together with a loud Gachin!, the mucus lumps—ignited by the friction and impact—triggered a combustion phenomenon easily mistaken for an explosion. The reason this three-headed T-Rex is the strongest in nature: a napalm breath that incinerates even live wood!
"Hot......"
I caught fire a little. The troublesome part about napalm is that once that mucus sticks, the flames won't go out. Even Pioneers who have some resistance to poison and curses will die if they burn. Precisely because it lacks a DoT parameter, the "abnormal state" combustion—which is not a status ailment—is dangerous.
"Heh...... don't worry, I have 'water' to the point of rotting......"
Before a recovery potion is a recovery item, it's a liquid. Oral ingestion recovers the most, but splashing it directly onto a wound heals a decent amount too. The recovery gacha is...... a failure, huh? But the fire is out. Is it because it's not just regular water? Well, whatever.
"I can fight up to round 100...... but yeah, hopefully this wraps up by morning."
By the way, my longest login record is twenty hours; anything beyond that, I ran out of caffeine and got flagged by the VR health check.
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Sheets softer than fallen leaves; a bed fluffier than the dirt.
No monsters attacking, and no need to maintain an anxious slumber where you can't tell if you're asleep or awake.
Just like back then, all alone. Yet, the reason it feels much, much lonelier than back then is surely because I lost my precious friend.
"............"
I can no longer hear knocks on the door. I felt as though the loneliness was blanketing my body with an even deeper chill...... even though my body should be warm.
Knock, knock.
"............"
There was the sound of a knock. Is someone still on the other side of the door......?
No.
Knock, knock.
"Eh........."
The sound was coming from the window fitted with frosted glass.
Author's Afterword
・Burning
Unlike burns, it's not a status ailment, but naturally, people die if they burn.
A mass of toughness unleashing napalm in an environment inhabited by monsters with no fire resistance is obviously going to be the strongest.
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