Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Regret
Normally, the level of an Orc Guard is 250.
Just looking at their level stats, it means that all of their stats are 250.
On top of that, they are good at fighting, as befits Orcs who love to fight.
‘Even these guys.’
They were much stronger than the ordinary guards he knew.
There was a reason for that.
The Orc Hero who was chasing Cedric.
Probably, just as that guy is incredibly strong, these guys also have some kind of buff.
‘Level 300? It seems like that’s about right.’
He lightly deflected the flying glaive with his sword. He received it with much less force, then immediately swung his sword.
The Orc, his eyes wide, hurriedly raised one arm.
Slice!
The sword lightly pierced the Orc’s collarbone.
A fountain of blood spurted out.
‘Pathetic.’
His stats had been greatly increased by doping.
However, his weapon was not good.
He had cut through the skin, but he had not been able to cut through the bone.
In the meantime, the glaive came crashing down.
He rolled on the ground, dropping his sword.
The guard, about to kick him in a fit of rage, staggered.
‘It wasn’t for nothing that I filled up my mana.’
The skeletons are summoned from the ground. The hands of the skeletons that rose up grabbed the guard’s legs tightly.
Crack!
The guard, his eyes red with anger, stomped on the skeletons.
The skeletons, overwhelmed by the level difference, shattered helplessly.
However, there were many more skeletons being summoned.
[Opening the Subspace Ring (Intermediate)!]
The equipment that popped out of the ring was scattered all over the floor.
The skeletons quickly grabbed their weapons and rushed in from all sides.
Even though the level difference was overwhelming, they wouldn’t be able to deal much damage even with their weapons.
Still, it would sting all over.
They stabbed him all over.
In addition, the skeletons grabbed the hand holding the glaive and held on tenaciously.
Before he knew it, Minwoo was holding a hammer that he had taken out of his inventory.
‘Let’s see you block this.’
He swung the hammer down on the Orc’s face with all his might.
The Orc instinctively raised his arm.
The sword was already embedded in that arm.
The hammer smashed the sword down.
Clang!
The sword pierced through and the Orc’s arm was cut off.
Normally, he would hold his severed arm and scream in pain, but this one-armed Orc was different.
Instead, his eyes turned red and he stepped forward, swinging his glaive.
He blocked the front with the hammer.
Clang!
Sparks flew and he was pushed back.
‘That’s why Orcs are tough.’
They don’t stop even when they’re injured.
‘But, I like it better this way.’
Their actions are easier to read.
The skeletons were already stabbing the Orc’s back with their weapons.
Since he was completely defenseless, the damage would be considerable.
Even so, the Orc’s gaze was fixed only on him.
He deflected several attacks.
‘Slowly.’
The one who rushes in battle loses.
Just like that Orc.
The Orc, who had charged like a bull, threw the glaive.
He twisted his face.
The glaive flew viciously, narrowly missing his head.
In the meantime, the Orc, with his arms spread wide, charged in with all his might.
It was a good decision.
He must have thought it would be difficult to fight with weapons. So he was probably going to try to grab him first.
‘But you see…….’
[Using Fear Gaze (F)!]
[Using Haste (F)!]
Just a split second.
The Orc flinched slightly at the gaze.
And then his own speed increased a little more.
That one split second difference decided the outcome. The gruesome claws missed him by a hair’s breadth.
He swung the hammer down on the Orc’s bewildered face. The blow was amplified by the inertia of his charge.
The Orc’s face was completely crushed.
‘I can read you like a book.’
You think I’ve only faced Orcs once or twice?
They’re a regular monster at the Gate.
And on top of that, Kim Minwoo is at his ‘best’ right now.
That terrible lack of talent is gone.
The skeletons swarmed over the Orc, who was crying pitifully. After a few attacks with their weapons, the Orc’s strength drained from his body.
[You have won the battle against an overwhelmingly powerful monster!]
[You have acquired the title, ‘Strong Hunter’!]
That was the moment.
Krrrrrrr!
[Orc Hero casts ‘Difference in Class (EX)’!]
[Overwhelming Presence!]
[Your soul is shaken greatly!]
Thud!
The bodies of the undead around him collapsed in an instant.
The bodies of the Death Knights and Liches faded.
Cedric, who had been struggling against the Orc Hero, staggered violently.
The body of the Bone Dragon crashed to the ground.
It wasn’t just the undead who were impacted.
Thump!
Kim Minwoo.
His heart was also racing like crazy. He was experiencing firsthand what it meant to have his soul shaken.
“This is insane….”
He couldn’t muster any strength in his body.
It was a skill that truly deserved to be called a difference in class.
“After the Dragon Lord, it’s the second time.”
A being using an EX-level skill.
Was there any connection?
***
Cedric.
He staggered and looked at the Orc Hero in front of him.
In a battlefield that repeats for eternity in his regrets, he doesn’t even remember how many times he has fought that monster.
The result was always the same.
He ends up defeated.
The spear in his hand trembled.
He was once a knight.
A common tale.
Betrayed and died.
Became undead for revenge.
Death Lord.
As one of the four generals under him, he roamed the continent.
He had no enemies for a lifetime.
Until they appeared.
Not even Death Lord could stand against them before their arrival.
The four generals were also thoroughly defeated one by one.
Cedric was no exception.
An Orc Hero.
He played with him like a toy and let him live.
Time and time again.
It’s not that they don’t have emotions because they’re undead.
It’s just that they are faint.
‘When did it start?’
When his ambition turned to fear.
He was overwhelmed by him.
The Battle of Hrungnir.
That’s where he met his end.
He regretted it until the very moment he closed his eyes.
What was a knight, a general!
He was nothing more than a coward who was desperate to escape.
But at the same time, he was also relieved that he would no longer be chased by him.
Unfortunately, his wish was not granted.
He woke up again at some point.
And then time repeated itself infinitely.
For an eternity.
‘Lord, why…….’
It wasn’t until the first participant appeared that he realized it.
That this hell, where he could not find eternal rest, was the arrangement of the Death Lord.
After that, participants would occasionally enter this battlefield of eternity.
The results were mostly the same.
They fail to hold on and die.
After that, their souls are stuffed into ordinary skeletons.
They are doomed to be swept up in this battlefield of eternity forever.
Very rarely, a participant would succeed in holding on.
Then they choose.
To stay on this stage, or to escape.
Even if they escaped, the battlefield continued to repeat itself.
But even if they stay…….
‘They die.’
Inevitably.
And their souls are stuffed.
He will fall to the Orc Hero again this time.
And at some point, he will participate in the battlefield that repeats itself again.
He cannot overcome it on his own.
Everything repeats itself as if the outcome is predetermined.
This place was no different from hell for Cedric.
The Orc Hero approached.
The glaive gleamed as if conducting an execution.
The inevitable end.
Cedric blankly stared at the orc’s weapon.
At that moment.
“Don’t give up! You bastard!”
A human charged in.
Swish!
The swung glaive barely grazed Cedric’s head.
His eyes widened.
* * *
Regret.
He finally thought he understood what Cedric’s regret was.
The EX-grade skill is certainly powerful.
But it wasn’t enough to prevent someone like Cedric from even resisting.
And yet he was so helpless.
As if he was crushed by fear.
‘That’s something to regret.’
Cedric was a strong knight.
He must have a strong ego.
He could tell from the moment they started talking.
And he must have been quite successful, as he commands a large number of undead.
But to die so pitifully like that?
To the point that he regretted it even after he died.
How could that regret be stopped?
One thing was certain.
The Orc Hero who is trying to execute Cedric.
He had to stop him first.
After all, you can only overcome regret if you stay alive!
‘For the love of all that’s holy, move already!’
[TL/N: A necromancer started Praying to God]
Even in the midst of the nausea-inducing dizziness, he desperately gathered his wits.
He struggled to move his body, which had stopped like a vegetable.
Just a little bit.
His lips trembled.
He moved his teeth and bit the inside of his lip.
The pressure gradually increased.
Blood began to ooze out from the inside of his lip. The salty taste woke him up a little.
His cold body gradually warmed up.
He was slowly regaining feeling in his fingers.
‘I can do this.’
The lack of talent that had shackled his body was long gone.
He concentrated.
A thousandth of a second.
A ten thousandth of a second.
Those fleeting moments.
It was because he had always been focused in every moment, only in the game, that he had been able to become the best. Even though this place was not a game, but reality.
‘That doesn’t matter.’
No matter the situation, he always cleared it.
That was the gamer Kim Minwoo.
[Indomitable Spirit!]
[Your soul begins to transcend your class!]
He took a step forward.
The second step was easier.
And finally…….
His body flew up.
Towards the Orc Hero’s glaive!
[Your soul never wavered for a moment!]
[You have acquired the title, ‘Indomitable Soul’!]
The glaive descended slowly, as if the Orc Hero was enjoying this execution.
So it was fortunate.
Clang!
[Weapon destroyed!]
Even though his sword was broken, Cedric was able to survive.
“Don’t give up! You brat!”
Creak…….
The hero’s eyes narrowed sharply, his pleasure interrupted.
“Even someone weaker than you can move like that, so you’re going to give up?”
***
Kim Minwoo remained silent.
The approaching Orc Hero.
‘This bastard.’
How many seconds could he last?
‘I’ll just avoid being killed instantly.’
The hero’s glaive swung down.
He saw it clearly.
And thought he had dodged it.
But then,
Splat!
A fountain of blood erupted from his chest.
Even though he could see it, he couldn’t avoid it at that speed.
He felt a searing pain.
[Armor destroyed!]
His sternum was sliced clean off.
It was fortunate that his heart was not pierced.
He barely managed to stay on his feet.
The hero, seeing this, tilted his head.
An insignificant bug.
He had tried to kill him.
But he didn’t die.
Tickle!
It felt like he was being tickled with feathers.
The skeletons were holding onto his body.
Thud.
With a single kick, they were all turned to dust.
In the meantime, Kim Minwoo hurriedly poured a potion on his chest.
The bleeding barely stopped.
His eyes met the hero’s.
The hero’s eyes became slightly serious.
―You.
He spoke.
Strangely enough, he could understand what the hero was saying.
―Warrior.
A single Orc Guard tossed his weapon to him.
―Pick it up.
This guy.
He was a real man.
He grabbed the glaive instead of his broken sword. He wouldn’t be able to receive the additional effects because it was level-restricted, but he should be grateful that he could use it as a weapon.
―Here it comes.
The glaive approached in an instant.
The trajectory was such that his body would be split in two.
‘Here I go.’
He twisted his body with all his might.
Thud!
The arm without the sword was severed.
In exchange, he cut off the bastard’s forearm….
Clang!
The glaive hitting the hero’s forearm sounded like it collided with steel.
Oh no…
The plan was to give him a bone and take some flesh, but the difference in stats seemed too severe.
“……”
His eyes met the hero’s.
Fortunately, the hero asked a question instead of attacking.
―Why?
The orc asked with a puzzled face, as if wondering why he was struggling so hard.
What a kind guy.
He decided to repay the hero’s kindness a little.
“I’m protecting something. Do you need a reason?”
Snick
The hero smiled, as if he understood.
The hero’s yellow teeth gleamed.
Then…
Boom!
Minwoo’s body flew far away from the hero’s kick.
[Orc Hero Mutakta uses ‘Strike of Destruction’!]
[You have suffered massive damage!]
[All equipment is destroyed!]
He hurriedly summoned skeletons at the landing point.
Kaboom!
Even then, his body was slammed into the ground with a tremendous impact.
“Ugh…!”
His chest, hit by the kick, was crushed. Blood trickled from his missing arm.
His body didn’t even twitch.
‘Potion…’
His vision started to blur.
[Warning!]
[You’ve suffered a fatal injury!]
[‘Indomitable Soul’ effect is activated!]
[The effect of ‘Indomitable Spirit’ is activated!]
[Soul points are decreasing!]
[Soul points (46/50)]
[Soul points (42/50)]
[Soul points (38/50)]
‘Am I… dying?’
It certainly seemed so.
When that reaches 0, it’ll definitely be dull.
Each moment felt agonizingly slow.
Before he knew it, the hero was approaching him, his glaive at his throat.
―Good. Warrior. Me. Mutakta. You. Name.
[Soul points (34/50)]
His lips quivered.
Jo… Joa.
[Soul points (30/50)]
―Joa. Remember.
[Soul points (26/50)]
Well, thanks.
The glaive approached.
Slowly.
Gradually.
[Soul points (22/50)]
Just before it touched him…
Thud!
A familiar spear deflected the glaive.
‘This bastard… .’
[Soul points (18/50)]
Cedric.
He finally took off his heavy armor.
―…Don’t touch him anymore.
[Soul points (14/50)]
The world turned gray.
In the frozen moment, a message appeared.
[Perfect escape condition!]
[Cedric has overcome his regrets!]
[He has obtained the heart of a legion commander of the Death Lord, once known as the Dragon Knight!]
[Cedric will now fight for you!]
[The power of the Death Lord, Summon Cedric (SSS), is activated!]
[You have acquired the titles, ‘Master of the Dragon Knight’, ‘Acknowledged by Mutakta’, ‘The One Who Stops Eternity’!]
[The Battlefield of Eternity fades away slowly.]
[You’ve left the battlefield.]
‘Ha, did I have to go through all this trouble?’
‘Originally, I just wanted to play around a bit.’
Can’t be helped.
‘You’re screwed once I summon you, really.’
He firmly made up his mind.