Chapter 53 – District 1 (T2) (26)
8. District 1 (2 tracks) (26)
[Area 1 boss monster, 〈 Horror Hand 〉 has appeared.]
Fear hand.
The Long Terror boss monsters had a lot of fear in their names. Among them were the names of human organs. For example, the Hands of Fear, the Eyes of Fear, the Heart of Fear, and so on.
There was a setting that these guys were the servants of the highest rank who worshiped fear, and unlike other ordinary monsters, they were stained with more fear and received more power. That’s why it appears as a boss monster.
[The hearts of the warriors who felt the bizarre and overwhelming difference in rank are about to break.]
When I first saw this bastard, I thought, is it possible to live a daily life with those ignorantly big hands? Then I wondered what it had to do with the monster who couldn’t be called a human anymore, who was stuck deep in the dungeon.
It was a guy I’d faced countless times in the game. There were many times when that hand was torn to pieces, and there were many times when warriors were mercilessly crushed to death by that hand. However, as the play time increased and the number of games increased, it gradually became dull. Numerous experiences have made it possible to make statistical judgments even in roguelike games, and although not perfectly, it has become a level that can be expected and responded to to some extent. As long as he wasn’t hung up on clearing Nodes, he somehow managed to break District 1, no matter how ruined he was.
But.
It was literally a different story to see him finally fully revealed with his own two eyes beyond the 4th wall.
Crackle-
Teeth bumped against each other. I felt a chilling cold that cut through my bones. I barely turned my eyes to find the faces of my comrades. They were no different from me.
The two comrades who had promised not to succumb to fear anymore because I was there stood still. My body refused to move due to the overwhelming ‘gap’.
Before my mind was broken, my body was on the verge of breaking first.
Hard-
No voice came out.
In order not to kneel, I resisted desperately in order to move. He bit his tongue and gritted his teeth. The pain that made me lose my mind came belatedly along with the blood. Thanks to that, I was able to move a little bit more.
“Ka, hey… !”
It was just one word at best.
But.
That one word was like a lighthouse like a candle in the darkness where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Sigh-
Kaya’s armor screamed. I could see him forcibly moving his body, which had hardened like a stone statue. Her calm face was completely contorted.
“She-i—!”
As if hitting the baton in a relay race, Kaya shouted Shay’s name instead of me, who started resisting again. She, like me, had bitten her tongue as well, and her blood was dripping from her lips.
“Ouch… !”
Kaya’s call to resist reached Shay as well. With one knee half-bent, she held her claymore forcibly as her staff. To keep her knees from touching the floor, to no one but the goddess Justitia.
“Uuuuu!!”
And.
To protect the captain and colleagues who look up to him.
The fear and helplessness that continued to eat away at her body.
“Even if I tear and scatter dog shit, a bastard who is not even worth filth that even stray dogs will turn away from—!!!”
She blows away with Shay’s rants she never thought she’d hear again…
“At most, you bastard heretic, look down on us with those eyes from somewhere, this bastard will burst your eyes!!!”
The silver glow that radiated from her body and the pale green glow that radiated from Kaya’s body were not enough to resist the darkness, but to gnaw away the darkness.
“Volente LaElla.”
“Clemens benignitas et inexorabilis gratia.”
– Warm kindness and cold generosity
“Volente Justitia.”
“Stat lux caelum et justus justitia.”
– Light and fair justice all around
Standing fully up at some point, they gripped each other’s weapons, recited an aphorism that implied the path they had walked and their beliefs, and took one step at a time.
A crusader advancing from the front, emitting silver light where no light could reach.
In this place, which is no different from the origin of the cults that disturb the world, the combat nuns who support it by emitting a warm green light called death.
And behind them, their beliefs, their captain, who provided a sense of stability as an anchor that held the resistance steady.
“I told you that such an insignificant trick would not work.”
The period was short, but more than anything else, the HAT of the warriors, who endured hardships and trials that were dense and difficult, crossed the line of death, and finally led to a strong bond.
Despite the fact that there were two of them who were engulfed in fear, they succeeded in enduring the difference in rank.
[The warriors resist the blow of 〈 Hand of Terror 〉.]
[Intimidation roll]
[Heroes: 6]
[Hand of Horror: 5]
[The warriors withstand the pressure of 〈 hands of terror 〉.]
[You will not be intimidated.]
[God’s will whispers hope to the warriors for a while.]
[Shay Mentality +5]
[Eugene mentality +10]
With the message that the coercion roll was won, the darkness completely lifted.
“It’s quite the way. You unbelievers Indeed, having come this far is enough of that qualification…”
“Shut up, you bastard who can’t even raise a daughter. The head is just big.”
Where are you holding the poop pom on the topic that the baseline control has failed, bitch.
**
[Speed check]
Shay: 2
Kaya: 5
Eugene: 7
Terror Hands: 6
[Eugene’s turn comes first.]
‘Resistance to coercion’, which would have been a cutscene in a game, was safely passed thanks to the ‘miracle’ shown by the two colleagues. Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. Thanks to the rest, it got better, but the state of encroachment was still there, but I don’t know why I was able to generate such strength.
Like how Justitia-sama reacted last night, is it because the goddesses are really watching over Kaya and Shay? At least it could be a hidden element that wasn’t there in The Long Terror… In any case, this was a happy miscalculation. Miscalculations like this can happen any number of times, such a miscalculation.
Now the light has completely disappeared, but the effect has not disappeared either.
[Hand of Terror]
Stamina: 99/99
Attack Power: 5~10
Defense: 5
Speed: 6
‘Wow.’
Since it was Sunton, I had time to think for a moment. On turn 1, I will unconditionally brand it, but I checked the specs first. And swallowed the curse.
Area 1 monsters, which are mostly level 1 and rarely level 2, have a maximum attack of 10 and a defense of 5? Max HP is 99?
If you think about the corrections attached to the skills he uses…
‘Skills, I have no choice but to do it.’
Miss Laella. Miss Justitia. Thank you for watching, one more time.
First of all, before taking the brand, I remembered Raella and Justitia, and with a reverent heart, I shot holy water. Then, a message popped up saying that various resistances had increased. It’s a shame that things like attack and defense don’t go up, but shouldn’t we at least block cc and dot dem (continuous damage)?
‘Please, that pattern is the worst, and our attack is a critical hit.’
[Find a wanted criminal]
[Eugene branded the hand of fear as a wanted criminal.]
[Eugene deals 1 damage to the Horror Hand.]
[Remaining HP 98/99]
[Stigma lasts for 3 turns.]
[As long as the stigma is maintained, all physical damage is amplified by 25%.]
It was fortunate. The boss monster was more tolerable than other monsters and had various resistances, so I was nervous that I wouldn’t be stigmatized, but fortunately I was stigmatized. Even 1 dem was precious.
“It’s a stigma. It’s pretty low-key, so it’s unpleasant. One brand is enough for the longest fear.”
[Feel the fear]
“I will engrave the roots of your soul.”
[The hand of fear marks Eugene.]
[Hand of Terror deals 1 damage to Eugene.]
[Remaining HP 16/17]
[Stigma lasts for 3 turns.]
[As long as the stigma is maintained, all physical damage is amplified by 25%.]
[As long as the stigma is maintained, all mentality damage is amplified by 25%.]
[As long as the stigma is maintained, all resistances are reduced by 25%.]
“Uweeeee
“Leader!”
“Captain!”
The moment that goddamn hand pointed at me, the sensation that the whole world was randomly twisting and mixing and upside down hit me. The fear of falling into the abyss just by standing still. The fear that the world I see may not be the real world.
The moment I was branded, my body couldn’t stand the suffocating fear that came from beyond my perception.
“Heh, heh, heh…”
“Leader! Wake up, Captain!”
“Captain! It’s the captain-!”
“Okay, it’s okay. Because it’s okay.”
Okay. Aside from the headaches and nausea that couldn’t be calmed down, it was really fortunate that I, who had nothing to go crazy with and had increased defense and max stamina, was stigmatized.
“Sueup, whoops, whoops, whoops. Kaya.”
“Yes. Instructions.”
“… It is at its peak.”
“… Ha ha!”
[Kaya activates climax.]
[Kaya’s speed increases by 1.]
[Kaya’s maximum attack power increases by 1.]
[When Kaya’s attack hits, a random ally recovers 1 HP.]
“Ha ha, ha, ha…”
After drinking the holy water, Kaya also activated her climax. Her face blushed and she couldn’t do anything about her. In fact, except for the fact that Kaya’s underwear became very difficult during the battle, the climax was a fairly decent skill. The skill level is still low, so the number itself is incomplete, but it was a skill that took care of all three of speed, damage, and heal. Moreover, in The Long Terror, it was impossible to ignore just because it was 1.
‘Raise Kaya’s speed to 6 and aim for a speed roll with him on the next turn. And keep the deal tempo as much as possible with a random heal while hitting.’
Now, the efficiency of the Pure Healing skill has decreased. I was able to sacrifice the first turn or so to increase the sustain while crumpling the deal.
After Kaya’s turn was over, it was Shay’s turn. Once I told Shay to drink the holy water, I was in trouble. I was already at the crossroads of a choice.
‘Do you aim for fainting with the judgment of justice, or increase Shay’s staying power with the Tenacity of the Crusader?’
Shay’s current health is 13/17. It wasn’t full blood, and if you get a critical hit McDam…
‘Because it is in a state of encroachment, it goes directly to the goal without going through life-threatening situations.’
The moment I realized that fact, cold sweat began to flow from my body.
It was the winning point of the battle from the first round. The future could change depending on what kind of judgment I made here.
‘The judgment of justice is high risk high return. Crusader’s tenacity must be about a middle risk, a middle return…’
If the stun was successful with Justice Judgment, it was possible to delete that turn once, but if it failed, only damage was done and it was over. On the other hand, if Shey had Dot Heal and activated the Tenacity of the Crusader, which gave Shay a chance to counterattack, he had to endure the enemy’s attack unconditionally and definitely.
‘If it had been the Long Terror, I would have chosen the tenacity after much thought… It was because I thought it was worth taking the monster’s attack to some extent.’
I’m done worrying I didn’t want to leave a handshake at the end of the django.
“Shay.”
“Yes. Captain.”
“Go and show him Justitia-sama’s stern judgment.”
Following Kaya, Shay responded to my instructions properly. Instead of her usual reply of ‘Yes, Captain’, she looked at my face once more. I couldn’t figure out why. But instinctively, she nodded. Right after that, Shay ran towards the boss without hesitation, holding her claymore in an oblique line.
[Judgement of Justice]
A faint silvery glow shone from the raised claymore.
[A brilliant blow!]
[Shay deals 14 damage to the Horror Hand.]
[Remaining HP 84/99]
[The shining blow temporarily removes the fear in the hearts of the warriors.]
[Shay Mentality +3]
[Eugene mentality +6]
[The Hand of Terror succumbs to judgment.]
[The hand of fear is afflicted with a status ailment called ‘Stunning’ (1 turn).]
[Hand of Terror can’t take any action next turn.]
[The hand of fear is branded with the mark of judgment.]
[Stigma lasts for 3 turns.]
———-!!!
“Yes!!! Good job! Shay!!!”
The one who hated heresy more than anyone else smiled brightly against the background of the monster’s scream.
With a smile that rejoices more genuinely than ever.
