Chapter 50: Fear (3)
"Good luck."
Though it was faint I managed to hear it clearly. I wasn't sure why, but the sudden shift of her soft tone to pity caused my spine shiver.
It was weird at first, but I decided to let it go...
[You have died!]
[Respawning after 3 seconds]
I should have taken her words seriously
...
..
.
You wanna know what "Emotional Damage" feels like?
[Ding!]
[You've earned a new title!]
[Emotional Damage : Get spawn killed for thirty times!]
[Ding!]
[Since you have been dying continuously, the system has granted you immunity to "reduce attributes" for five more tries.]
=====
𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲: Saber
𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸: ?
𝗝𝗼𝗯: [Ruler of Calamity]
𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: [Lolicon, Emotional Damage]
[𝗛𝗣: 600/600]
[𝗠𝗣: 450/450]
𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀:
- [𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 (Level 3)]: A passive ability triggered in response to threats or the targeting of bloodlust.
𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀:
- 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵: 10
- 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 3
- 𝗔𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 6
- 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀: 9
- 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: 101
=====
If the birds annoyed me, this traumatized me!
I mean, the moment I respawned back to life, a knight would suddenly slash its sword toward my body. One time, I managed to dodge away, but I was immediately killed by a goddamn booby trap!
Now... I can understand why that faceless woman from earlier said "good luck" with pity earlier.
Although my attributes had been drained to almost their lowest, it wasn't all that bad because my [Invoke Fear] ability had leveled up.
Thanks to the fact that my [Invoke Fear] leveled up, I was able to inflict fear on them, causing their attacks to falter, giving me time to dodge.
But... What's next? All my attributes were reduced to misery. Is this Labyrinth torturing me or something?
[Respawning after 3 seconds]
No matter... I should probably stop this inner monologue and focus on avoiding their attacks at all cause.
"Let's get this started..."
[𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 had been activated.]
As soon as the ability kicked in, a familiar metallic sound echoed. Let's give it another shot, shall we?
[Welcome ba—]
—Fuuu!
The panel in front of me was sliced in half by an incoming sword.
There it was, the skeleton knight. Its skull covered in moss, indicating its age, and its armor with broken plates.
I narrowly dodged, a small bruise forming on my cheek.
"Die, you son of a bitch!" I plunged my sword with all my might, hitting its core and bringing it down.
...To the left!
I twisted my body 35 degrees and backflipped to avoid an arrow. It grazed my hair, but the danger didn't end.
Beneath my foot, a massive, bizarre worm creature emerged from the ground, almost catching me off guard.
Mid-air, pulling my sword from the vanquished knight, I used my free hand to redirect the worm's mouth and stabbed it from the side.
"Haaaaaa!"
I slid through its body along with my blade stuck in its skin.
"Ignite! Ignite! Ignite! Ignite! Ignite.....!" I yelled, draining mana in the process.
"Screeech—!" The worm monster screeched loudly, as if in pain. Upon touching the ground, I leaped away to dodge its falling body.
Thud—!
Just as I was about to catch my breath, I felt the rock beneath me shaking.
That's when I realized something was wrong.
"...I can't really catch a break, can I?"
[King Spider]
A panel rudely interrupted my view, and I sighed in frustration... Can't this wait until I've recovered my attributes?
Back in first floor, finding the first boss on the first floor was a whole ordeal. I'd have celebrated if this happened back then.
"I should've crafted more grenades before heading here...."
Well, those grenades were history after dealing with the first boss. If only I had them now, I wouldn't have died more than twice.
"How am I supposed to take down that monstrosity without anything?"
...That's it!
Seeing arrows lodged in the wall, a brilliant idea struck me as I looked up to where the boss had descended.
"Screeeeak—!" The King Spider's deafening noise forced me to cover my ears. It hopped my way, catching me off guard.
Quick reflexes saved me as I executed a backflip, narrowly avoiding a close encounter. It soared just above my face. I swallowed hard, beads of sweat rolling down my forehead.
"Screeeak—!"
After landing on the wall, the arachnid menace prepared for another leap.
Seizing the moment, I took advantage of its mid-air dance, snatching eight poison arrows lodged in the wall before making a swift getaway.
"Catch me if you can, you son of a bitch!"
Refocusing on what lay ahead, I hurled one of the arrows towards the wall, and it securely lodged itself.
I repeated the action, throwing arrows a few meters above the previous ones in rapid succession.
With just one arrow left, I deftly dodged the spider's incoming web by rolling forward while maintaining my sprint.
Reaching the arrows stuck in the wall, I used them as footholds, jumping to another set.
"...—!!?"
The final arrow slipped out of the wall, causing me to lose balance and tumble.
"Screeeak—!"
The monster celebrated, thinking it had won. However...
"Everything is going according to plan."
Just as it lunged to devour me, I held onto the last arrow and thrust it into its mouth. The arrow pierced through its chin, the body becoming visible from its gaping maw.
Crash—!
It smashed through the wall, causing the entire place to shake.
As it fell to the ground, I swiftly redirected myself towards the seventh arrow, using it as a foothold to leap towards the ceiling.
'If you can't kill it with your strength, just improvise'
Hanging onto a rock with one hand, I retrieved my sword from my mouth and thrust it into the ceiling.
Using my last bit of mana—
[𝗠𝗣: 56/450]
—I channeled magic through my palm, chanting.
"Ignite!"
Bang—!
The ceiling exploded, showering rocks and boulders, myself included. The explosion's force overwhelmed my current form, and I briefly passed out.
As for the boss below the ground, it had one of it's limbs stuck from the boulders, preventing it from escaping.
Tak—!
"...Ugh..."
Luckily, a small rock hitting my head jolted me back to consciousness.
"I... Can't... Sleep yet."
Mid-air, I continued spinning to increase speed and momentum. Holding my sword upside down, a reddish aura emanated from its blade. It drained my last bit of strength, but the sword's weight kept growing.
"....?"
Ignoring it, I pressed on.
Crash—!
...BAAAM—!
The moment I came crashing towards the spider, my sword struck it's head. The impact of my landing caused a huge crater below the monster to form.
"...haaaa."
As the fog dispersed, I stood on the spider's head, closing my eyes and lifting my head, utterly exhausted.
The reddish aura continued to emanate from my sword. Opening my eyes, I glanced at the distant group of monsters.
[𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 had been activated.]
***
The deafening explosion echoed, drawing the attention of nearby monsters—goblins, spiders, skeleton knights, and salamanders. The latter formed a group, intrigued by the disturbance.
As the dust settled over their strongest member, a blurry figure descended upon its head.
Curiosity led them forward, but a sudden sense overwhelmed them.
Crang...!
Shriee....!
Kriieek...!
What was it? They witnessed a figure with glowing white eyes looming above the fallen beast. Ready to approach, a shared sensation halted them.
"Kriieek!"
Panic ensued, yet a potent force compelled them to bow before the man. Attempts to resist were futile, and their heads instinctively lowered.
Some dared to glance at the man, only to almost regret their choice.
The intensifying red aura from his sword heightened the fear. His gaze, piercing through the reddish glow, scrutinized their numbers.
Did they truly comprehend the fear? Few were intelligent enough to understand.
The evolved skeleton knight was the sole exception.
It wasn't just fear—it was pure dread.
None of them knew the intruder's identity, but... they recognized one undeniable truth:
The "True Monster" had invaded their territory.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone