Translation: DarkHeartedAlchemist
Editor: Weasalopes
I switch my weapon from Capture Rod of Torture to Staff of Torture.
The lineup of my summoned monsters remains the same as it was.
Now then…
What is going to await us inside?
The inside of the castle is surprisingly wide.
The outer wall looks very thick, and there are watchtowers scattered with regular intervals throughout the whole thing.
All of them are in a state of crumbling though.
Thankfully the pa.s.sages are high and wide enough for a horse to go through them without any problems so I don"t have to get off of Zangetsu"s back.
There are no noteworthy abnormalities at the moment.
Everything is quiet.
Almost too quiet.
I crossed the inner wall without any interruption whatsoever.
The gate was opened just like that.
And beyond that gate was nothing but ruins.
The only thing that remained intact was the pedestal in the middle of the central chamber.
No, wait.
I used Sense Magic to scan my immediate surroundings, looking for anything even remotely abnormal.
Nothing
Volff and Helix are not detecting anything out of the ordinary either.
However, Ninetails keeps staring at the pedestal in the room.
There, huh?
Still riding on Zangetsu"s back, I approach the pedestal.
Ninetails"s gaze is still focused around it.
I, on the other hand, cannot feel anything with my Sense Magic.
But I trust Ninetails"s instincts as much as I trust my own.
Just to be on the safe side, I strengthen myself and my monsters with my spells.
If it"s for keeping us safe from danger, then I don"t mind that my MP bar gets depleted halfway through.
We reach the top of the stairs leading up to the pedestal.
Then suddenly, a spherical spirit appeared above our heads!
Just as I thought!
《Guest of ours.》
《Sing your praises.》
《And heed our words.》
《Ye who journeys forward without any wish to call thy own.》
《Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!》
Yeah yeah, abandon hope, you have no chances of winning, begone you mongrel, yada yada yada… man I"m so sick of hearing those pompous lines all the time!
Can"t we just skip to the point already?!
The voices were speaking in unison only at the beginning.
When some of them appeared in the air, some of them from the ground and some of them from the flames that spontaneously combusted out of nowhere, they gradually grew more discordant.
And all of the spirits were looking as bizarre as you might expect.
Mad Clown Lv3
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground s.p.a.ce-Time Attribute Light Attribute Dark Attribute
Fire-breathing Man Lv2
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground Fire Attribute
Pantomime Lv4
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground Water Attribute
Mad Bard Lv3
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground
Knife Thrower Lv2
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground
Beast Tamer Lv4
Event Monster Spirit Status: Enraged
Battle Position: ground Fire Resistance Wind Resistance Earth Resistance Water Resistance
Steppe Lion (Male) Lv4
Event Monster Beast Status: On standby
Battle Position: ground Earth Attribute
What a freakshow.
Freakshow no matter how you look at it.
And everybody is dying to start their performance.
One spirit puts a torch in its mouth and blows fire from it.
Another starts to juggle with daggers.
The one next to it puts a chair out of thin air and balances on it.
You name, they"ll do it.
Out of all of them, Pantomime was the most twisted looking, as if it was dragged straight out of some BDSM waking nightmare.
The spirit had a b.u.t.terfly mask covering its entire face and a full-body rubber suit.
And its lips looked as if they were colored with crimson lipstick.
And the worst part? The outline of the body showed that it was clearly a man.
Why was a man wearing such an outfit?! Why not a woman?!
「Multi-Targeting!」
I immediately select a spell that I deem most appropriate for the current situation and execute it.
What about the enemy?
I thought they were all going to gang up on me, hence my multi-targeting spell, but I was mistaken.
Where in the h.e.l.l are they going?
They all descended from the platform with the pedestal and disappeared between the rubble.
What the h.e.l.l?
Is that going to be it?
But their actual attack began in quite a surprising way.
With some kind of a strange song.
It was accompanied by a creepy tune of a string instrument, most probably a lute. A badly damaged one.
Its sound was so unpleasant that I wanted to rip my own ears off just so I could stop hearing it.
My HP bar was slowly getting drained. And not only mine.
As it turned out, the HP of my summoned monsters was also being drained.
It was very slow.
But I can"t just ignore it, or else we"ll be in huge trouble.
From now on, we have to fight these guys, and make short work of them!
Helix soars into the air, while I charge forward together with Volff.
Our target is that Mad Bard.
The song continues to poison my ears.
It seems that the longer it goes, the more HP is drained off of us.
Getting rid of it is our top priority, then!
A ma.s.s of fire hits us from one of the side corridors.
It"s the fire-breathing Man!
Don"t get in our way now!
The only ones. .h.i.t by the fire are me and Zangetsu.
Ninetails and Heather managed to get away towards Volff to move away from the attack"s radius.
Heather Supports.
Ninetails detects the enemy if they go invisible.
And Volff attacks them.
I will also help!
「Fire Heal!」
When we approached the Fire-breathing Man, a Pantomime jumped at us from the wall.
I jumped away to avoid that plunging attack, but it left me feeling surprised nonetheless.
So these guys are actually capable of working together with one another.
We chase after the Mad Bard.
They move in to intercept us.
Such a pattern continues for a while.
The terrain does not work to our advantage at all.
It"s very easy for us to slip on the rubble while they can just phase through it like it was nothing.
Mad Clowns, Knife Throwers and Pantomimes were also very agile, easily scaling even the highest of walls.
It"s annoying.
The ones we should be able to dispatch with relative ease should be the Beast Tamer and Steppe Lion, towards whom I charge together with Zangetsu while the Beast Tamer engaged Volff.
In the sky, Helix continued his search.
The enemies seem to come towards me from behind as I approach the Beast Tamer.
Using the opportunity that presented itself I whacked the Steppe Lion over its head with my Staff of Torture, and Zangetsu follows suit with a powerful kick.
Both of our attacks were effective, but Zangetsu"s did a bit more damage than mine.
「Storm Wave!」
I shot my spell at the spirits, and all of them were hit as intended, but the Beast Tamer and Steppe Lion protected one another.
I wonder if they were companions in life?
Aside from that, this lion was pretty tough.
I don"t remember any other enemy who would have survived so many of Zangetsu"s kicks.
Helix joined Volff in his a.s.sault, and just like that, the Beast Tamer was soon defeated.
Finally, we managed to bring one of them down.
But it didn"t change the fact that the song was still going on.
We"ll have to stop it by any means necessary.
And so our chase resumed.
We defeat more of them until there are only two remaining.
Mad Clown, Knife Thrower and Fire-breathing Man are no more.
It"s a relief since they were doing quite a lot of damage to us.
Now, I can finally afford to use a recovery spell.
The song is still going on.
Volff and Helix attack the Bard while I took on the last Pantomime.
The song finally stops since he"s unable to keep playing it while being under attack.
What a relief.
But the damage it did to us has been one serious hindrance.
The pantomime"s movements have changed.
Now it was going after me alone.
It rapidly climbed on the wall and jumped off it towards me.
I managed to avoid that, albeit barely, and I think that it"s next attack grazed me slightly.
Then it jumped from wall to wall in rapid succession…
Until it finally leapt at me with a flying knee strike.
The impact knocked me from Zangetsu"s back.
And I"ve let go of my weapon.
Oh, now you"ve done it!
I cannot see the b.a.s.t.a.r.d at all.
No, I actually can.
Its arms are around my neck.
And it squeezes it tightly.
We hit the ground, and it locks its legs around my torso.
Ohhh.
You have performed a joint lock technique on me?!
And quite a good one, in fact.
I try to lock its arm with my own right arm.
And to loosen the grip of its legs on my torso.
Hooking my feet around its ankles, I"ve completed a counter-joint lock technique.
How is it?
Feeling pain yet?
Looks to me like you do.
For just a moment, the power of its grip has weakened.
There, an opportunity!
Using this brief opening I managed to free myself from the Pantomime"s joint lock, but it"s too late for me to drop my guard now.
Now, normally I would let Volff finish this guy off, but he subjected me to a joint lock, so it"s only natural for me to return the favor.
We"ll settle this in a battle of grappling techniques, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, and my mind is made up!
I won"t let you come out on top!
We continue to fight each other in close range for a few minutes, but try as hard as I might, I just can"t seem to find a good opportunity to land a decisive blow.
After all, with my bare hands I can"t use my Bagh Nakh"s Ignore Defense effect.
Maybe it"s because I"m not all that good at lock techniques.
Probably because my body is rather soft.
So maybe I should go for something that maximizes the amount of pain the receiver feels as much as possible?
So I just dug my elbows into the thighs which are currently crushing my torso and persistently continued to do so, making the Pantomime give up slowly but steadily.
And a few elbow strikes later, I finally managed to break free of the leglock it was holding me in.
And for my counter, I chose a leglock which focused on hurting thighs and calves even more than the knees.
Finally, it worked.
Of course the Pantomime tried to resist, but I paid it no mind. I just focused on not letting it go, even though it tried to bury its foot in my face.
And now, time for my ultimate technique!
Knee Cross Lock!
I couldn"t have executed it better even if I wanted to.
Pantomime does not cry or scream in pain, but it was obvious that my technique was working flawlessly, as was evident by its HP bar dropping to 50%.
After that there was only my relentless barrage of punches, finished with a portion of good old school barehanded strangling.
《Guest of ours.》
《Sing your praises.》
《And heed our words.》
《Ye who hath overcome the trap of despair.》
《Go on without falter and leave this place!》
Then the event is finally over.
If you want my honest opinion, it was more annoying than it was fun.
《The Area Portal for the W4 area has been unlocked.》
《You have gained 3 bonus points. You have 24 points in total.》
So the reward is the opening of the new Area Portal, huh?
Well, it does not matter to me now, since the battle really tired me out.
It was almost 6:30 now.
I call Zangetsu and Helix back and summon Bunraku and Jean.
It is still relatively early, but let"s prepare dinner now.
I"ll use this chance to calm down after all that has happened.
Right now my MP bar is reduced to only 30% of its maximum value.
No surprises here since the battle with the Gatekeepers was both long and hard.
Now then.
Since I have some free time on my hands anyway, I might as well go back to where the pedestal was and do some work while my MP is recovering.
I haven"t used that many potions to heal myself after the battle, but I can replenish what I already have anyway.
Using my Alchemy skill I made six of them and then moved on with other things.
I have 2 Panzer Reins"s horns from previous encounters.
Maybe I should use them to make a spear or something along those lines?
Yeah, let"s go with that, but using a different pattern than normally.
For starters, let"s make another Staff of Torture.
Well, I say Staff of Torture, but for what I"m making even a drying stick would suffice.
I ate the dinner made by Bunraku and after I cleaned up, I proceed with the next stage of creating my new weapon.
Creating enchanted ones requires MP to be spent in the process, but the end result should be well worth it.
Next, I attached the horn to one end of the stick, and the Plains Lion"s fang at the other.
Well, let"s what kind of weapon I made.
【Weapon】Heavy Rhinoceros Spear Quality C+ Rarity 5
AP+19 AP+0 Attack Power 4+ Weight 3 Durability 220
Imbued with the Earth Attribute
A spear specializing in striking the weak points of heavy armor. There is nothing that its blade cannot pierce.
It is heavier than my Staff of Torture, and hardly does anything to amplify my INT stat.
For its enormous size it was relatively easy to handle.
Just like my Plains Lion"s Bagh Nakh, it was imbued with the Earth Attribute.
And the critical chance is……
…….. very high.
Amazing!
With this, my attack power and destructive potential will improve so much!
That"s so messed up!
Now the real question here is: Do I want to spend my points to learn the spear-wielding skill?
But wait.
If I use this, would I be able to make a Jousting Lance?
To tell you the truth, I"ve always felt uncomfortable with using it.
Why? Because both the size and the weight of it are outside of the comfort zone provided by the weapons I"ve grown accustomed to using.
I"m not confident I"ll be able to wield it effectively at all.
So thanks a lot, but I"ll just stick to my trusty Wand for now.
And as for that material, I"ll just sell it to someone for a nice profit.
I put the last 3 pieces of the heavy armor to my bag.
Even if I won"t use it myself, I"m sure that I can put it to good use after processing it.
The sc.r.a.ps will also prove to be handy.
I will be able to make better arrowhead with them.
Woodworking is such a fun skill to use. There are so many things you can make if only you have the right tools.
Not much of my MP has recovered.
But the scenery of the entire castle gradually began to change.
For some unknown reason, repair works were now in progress.
I wonder why is that?
I pull the World Map out and check if there are any changes to it.
This area where the Area Portal is located is apparently called 「The Castle of Dusk」.
What a subtle name.
Should I stay here and hunt for the remainder of the night?
But I feel quite spent after that last battle, so withdrawal would probably be a safer option.
I took a Return Home scroll from my pocket and went back to the Wind Village.
I want to go back.
I want to hunt some more.
But my MP bar does not look so well.
I decide to go back to the inn and log out for today.
If I just log in early tomorrow I"ll be able to do it again.
Yes, that sounds like a nice plan.
Protagonist Keith
Race Human Male Racial Lv15
Job Grand Summoner Lv10
Bonus Points Remaining 24
Skills
Staff Lv12 Punch Lv9 Kick Lv9 Joint Lock Lv9 Throw Lv9 Evade Lv9 Block Lv9 Summon Magic Lv15 s.p.a.cetime Magic Lv7 Light Magic Lv8 Wind Magic Lv8 Earth Magic Lv8 Water Magic Lv8 Fire Magic Lv8 Dark Magic Lv8 Ice Magic Lv6 Lightning Magic Lv6 Tree Magic Lv7 (↑ 1) Dust Magic Lv6 Lava Magic Lv6 Steam Magic Lv6 Alchemy Lv7 Pharmacy Lv5 Gla.s.smaking Lv3 Woodworking Lv5 Synergy Lv11 Appraise Lv11 Identify Lv11 Discern Lv3 Cold Resistance Lv5 Grab Lv9 Horsemanship Lv9 Precise Manipulation Lv11 Jump Lv5 Heat Resistant Lv5 Climb Lv5 Dual Wield Lv9 Disa.s.sembly Lv7 Physical Reinforcement Lv7 Mental Reinforcement Lv8(↑ 1) Speedcasting Lv9 Magic Effect Expansion Lv6 Magic Range Expansion Lv6
Equipment Staff of Torture ×2 Tonfa of Torture ×2 Capture Rod of Torture ×1 Enraged Pickaxe ×2 Silver Necklace+ ×1 Snow Leopard"s Bagh Nakh ×1 Plains Lion"s Bagh Nakh ×1 Battle Bull"s Leather Armor + Bracelet of Torture ×1 Rampaging Horse Belt+ Backpack ×1 Item Box ×2
Items:
Survival Knife, Woodworking Tools
t.i.tles:
Old Summoner"s Pupil
Guardian of the Forest
Man of the Middle Path
Spell Archive
Hand to Hand Combat Instructor
Monster Summons:
Volff Grey Wolf Lv3
Zangetsu White Horse Lv2
Helix Fighting Falcon Lv1→Lv2 (↑1)
DEX 12
AGI 26
INT 23
STR 13 (↑1)
VIT 12
SPI 14 (↑1)
Skills
a.s.sault Flight Feint Farsight Wide Area Exploration Surprise Attack Detect Danger Aerial Mobile
Obsidian Mystic Eye Lv2
Jean Black Bat Lv1
Jericho Mud Golem Lv1
Goki Demon Lv7
Senki Lesser Ogre Lv1
Rig Slime Lv7
Bunraku Wood Puppet Lv5
Mumyo Skeleton Lv6
Ninetails Red Fox Lv5
Heather Fairy Lv5
Tigris Tiger Lv3
Creep Viper Lv3