NOVEL WEB Chapter 19
It was a perplexing situation.
They’re loosening up the dungeon exploration, and I’m supposed to just run into a wight right off the bat?
Isn’t the difficulty spiking a bit too high?
Wights are undead creatures that even party adventurers hesitate to tackle alone. They shouldn’t be lurking in some low-level dungeon but more like crawling around in mid-tier ones.
And, not just one, but three of them…
“Uh, this might be a bit tough.”
I sighed deeply as I stared at the wight dragging its ribs down the hallway.
The wight was a burdensome foe for me too. If it were Brunhilde—the monster slayer extraordinaire—she could take them down without breaking a sweat…
But I was merely using Brunhilde’s body, not her essence.
My strength was nothing beyond her physical specs and the instinctive swordsmanship I picked up while slicing through hundreds of people and monsters.
While that alone granted me recognition as at least a party-level skirmisher, it was ultimately just half-hearted strength.
Relying on instincts for swordplay was a clear sign I couldn’t utilize the unique ‘traits’ that the original Brunhilde possessed.
◆◆
Perhaps because the original novel’s setting was a game world, the protagonist Kim Seung-woo had a capability called ‘status window’, allowing him to check opponents’ data like in a game.
…But only Kim Seung-woo.
After fleeing from Gunther, I thought maybe I’d also have similar powers, but much to my chagrin, I had no status window.
Status window, status, skill window, info window… Heck, even ‘window of despair’—nothing worked, even after chanting every conceivable command in my head.
Isn’t this discrimination against possessors?
Anyway, ‘traits’ were just among the contents shown on that status window, summarizing the skills or abilities held by a character neatly.
Like [Spirit Magic], [Stealth], [Heroic Qualities], or [Magic Affinity].
In simpler terms, it’s like a type of skill window?
There were broadly two types of traits.
‘Skill traits’, representing techniques learned after birth, like swordsmanship or stealth, and ‘Innate traits’, indicating congenital qualities or blessings.
Naturally, Brunhilde also had her traits in the story.
The martial art of the Eisenstein family passed down through generations: [Eisenstein Spear Technique].
Brunhilde’s adapted sword technique, [Eisenwald Sword Technique].
The reason Kim Seung-woo extracted her heart, [Ice Heart], and the trait [Kangwan], which was essentially her damage dealing go-to.
Out of those four traits, the only one I could leverage was barely the Eisenwald Sword Technique.
And even that was not used properly, more like instinctively popping out.
If Kim Seung-woo checked my current status window, he wouldn’t find [Eisenwald Sword Technique: B] but rather an [Unknown Swordsmanship: D].
At least I could wield a sword somehow. But as for [Kangwan], I didn’t even have a clue on how to activate it.
Without using that trait, Brunhilde’s power was mere ordinary knight level. If she arm-wrestled with Kikel, she’d lose nine out of ten times.
So, while Brunhilde could scoff at and butcher a wight, I was stuck gulping nervously with my body stiffening from anxiety.
◆◆
After the wight scampered off, I turned to my party members to ask for their opinions.
We needed to discuss whether to charge in despite the risks or, sadly, retreat without any rewards.
“Hmm… If it’s just one, maybe we can ambush it somehow…”
Amy was lost in thought, running her fingers along her chin.
It seemed like she was contemplating whether we could take on the trio of wights with our current power, and if so, how.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
“Shh, be quiet when hunting.”
Kikel was trying to hold Bolton’s mouth shut to prevent him from bursting out, keeping him subdued as he twitched at the sight of undead.
It was oddly amusing how the guy who usually exploded at the sight of them was rendered mute, with his mouth muffled by Kikel.
“So… what now? Fight, or should we back off?”
“… Let’s give it a shot first.”
When asked if we should back off, Amy shook her head.
Desperate to remove her novice badge, she didn’t want to return empty-handed after coming down to the dungeon.
“Hilde, can you take on one wight? We don’t need to win, just hold it off.”
“Well… it’ll be my first time fighting a wight, so I can’t guarantee anything… But one should be doable?”
I replied honestly.
One-on-one wouldn’t be easy to defeat, but I thought I could endure. Maybe.
“If it warms up a bit, I could definitely do it!”
Kikel also seemed eager to fight, tapping his leather-shield like a drum, saying he’d have a chance if it got warmer.
So, is his current state weakened by the cold? Typical lizard thinking, really made me chuckle.
“Let the goddess punish…!”
Bolton didn’t need a reason to fight. Even if we all backed down, he alone was geared to continue brawling.
“Decision made. Well then, let’s give it a shot.”
I sighed lightly and nodded.
Honestly, I thought backing out was better, but with all my party members ready to fight, as the not-even-leader or client, I couldn’t go against the majority.
◆◆
“Everyone, listen up, I’ve got a plan…”
Right after our party decided on a combat strategy, Amy began explaining her method for dealing with the wights.
It wasn’t anything grand.
We’d ambush the one in the back and quickly take it down, then I’d handle one while the others would tackle the remaining one.
“Three of us will take one down. With a priest around, we have no way to lose!”
For some reason, those words packed a hefty amount of trust.
“Exactly! No way we’ll lose!”
“Ka-kak! Smart lady! Genius!”
Bolton and Kikel chimed in enthusiastically.
Their excitement was through the roof, making it hard to keep up.
Thus, the ‘Wight Extermination Operation’ was set into motion.
We hid behind a corner in the dungeon, waiting for the patrolling wight to come back.
A little while later.
Thud. Skitter. Thud. Skitter.
The distinct crawling sound of a wight pulling itself along, using its grasshopper-like front limbs.
“It’s coming. Get ready.”
I placed my right hand on the hilt, tensing my thighs to spring into action at a moment’s notice.
“……”
The stench of decay wafted past my nose.
The fiends were drawing near.
“Krrrrr….”
…One.
“Garactur… Kriiakhe….”
…Two.
“Tiinahaan….”
Three.
Now!
As I shot a signal with my eyes, Kikel threw a pebble he’d been holding at the third wight.
Very lightly. Enough for it to register but not enough to be seen as an attack.
Thud.
The pebble sailed through the air and tapped the third wight on the backside.
“Naah?”
The wight halted its crawling and tilted its head. A huge snail that was hiding in its throat suddenly emerged to look around.
“Keuu….”
The bizarre snail emitted sounds, scanning the surroundings.
It stood there for some time while the other two wights continued crawling without a care.
It was an opportunity.
Not just for me, but for the other three party members, too.
“Ignis Sagitta!”
“Elianel!”
Flames and divine light. Two arrows zipped through the air.
『Flame Arrow』 and 「Arrow of Reproach」.
Proving the lack of creativity among the people of this world, the names and forms were eerily similar.
As the wight spun around in shock, two beams of light slammed into its head and shoulder without mercy.
“Kahaack!”
“Haaat!”
Simultaneously, Kikel and I charged toward it like fired bullets.
Kikel jumped low and brought down his hand axe and spear like lightning, while I drew my longsword from its sheath and swung it with all my momentum.
“Kryaaaaak-!”
A wretched scream echoed against the dungeon walls.
The giant snail clinging to the wight’s head was engulfed in flames and incinerated, while the Arrow of Reproach exploded, nearly severing its shoulder.
“Haaap!”
Then, my longsword cut through the shoulder, deeply slicing into the neck while Kikel’s axe and spear cleaved the tail and pierced the spine.
An arm, a head, the spine, and the tail.
The wight became a mess of limbs in a blink, shrieking as it thrashed about.
Fwoosh!
The half-sliced tail and one remaining arm flailed like a whip.
“Kikel! Break the spine, the spine!”
I parried a swing from the wight’s arm with my sword and shouted. The impact sent a slight shiver through my shoulder.
“Understood!”
Kikel’s axe and spear bombarded the wight’s back with a hail of strikes.
“One more! Ignis Sagitta!”
As Amy released another flame arrow nearby, Kikel, aroused by the blaze’s heat, began to unleash a torrent of consecutive strikes.
“Yes! Now we can breathe!”
“Kriiyaaaaak-!”
He was like a master chef preparing vegetables at a cooking competition.
“Bolton! The snail! Get rid of it! It releases poison!”
The wight spewed venom from its abdomen. That was one of its primary attacks.
“Guooooh! Oh goddess, unleash your divine punishment on that foul creature!”
Bolton, chanting prayers with no effect, shot another beam of light at the sizzling snail.
“Kyaaak-!”
The wight twisted its neck in a panic to avoid the incoming light beam.
However,
“Not so fast!”
Taking advantage of that opening, I lunged forward with my sword, thrusting it directly into the snail’s body like a wedge.
The immobilized snail got hammered by Bolton’s「Arrow of Reproach」exploding into it like a bullet.
Boom!
With a small explosion, chunks of flesh flew in every direction.
“Guh…….”
The wight, headless and unable to respond, collapsed.
With a heavy thud, the putrid sludge and ash spread across the floor.
“We… took it down…!”
“Yes, we did.”
Before the oblivious Bolton could start chanting the resurrection spell, I quickly interrupted him by stabbing the fallen wight’s heart with my sword.
That was the end of it.
“See! That was easy!”
With the ambush yielding an overwhelming victory, Kikel chuckled as he twirled his axe and spear.
“I see that now.”
I had no intention of arguing. Sure, we caught them off-guard, but we surprisingly won way easier than I expected.
“Gahyacur…! Kriak!”
The remaining two wights wouldn’t fall as simply, however.
The Arrow of Reproach and Flame Arrow were both at their limit of four shots each.
Having used two arrows apiece to kill one, we were down to merely two shots left.
If we couldn’t take down the other two wights with those four magic shots, it meant I’d only have me and Kikel’s attacks for firepower afterward.
“Kyaoook!”
“Huapaak!”
Hearing the cries of their kin, the two wights turned back, rushing towards us with unidentifiable shrieks.
Their roars were brimming with an unfathomable hatred toward the living.
“Well, up to here, it’s according to plan. As for the rest—”
“It’s up to me now, right?”
I lightly twisted my wrist, waiting for them to come closer.
“Exactly, I’m counting on you.”
Amy nodded, flashing a faint smile.
I inclined my head slightly, then turned toward Bolton.
“Bolton, you said you could use「Blessed Sword」, right?”
The「Blessed Sword」was a representative strengthening miracle of priests, empowering the sword with divine energy to boost its durability and deal extra damage to undead or demon foes.
“Yes. Only twice a day, but…”
“Please, do it. Just one sword won’t be enough.”
I raised my dull longsword to emphasize.
Unlike when the four of us ganged up on one, I had to take on a wight alone now. No point in saving buffs.
“Of course, I’ll cast it. Just slice that maggot to shreds!”
Nodding, Bolton whispered a brief prayer and reached out for my sword.
Fwoosh!
In the next instant, brilliant holy light enveloped my rusty longsword.
It was so bright; it felt like I was holding a fluorescent light.
“Knuk…? elia, luxior…!”
The wight flinched, shaking its tail as it faced the luminous sword.
Did it realize this light was immensely unfavorable to it?
Seeing that made an ocean of courage swell within me.
“Are you scared?”
I grasped the blessed sword with both hands, tauntingly sneering as I launched myself forward.
“Ubooooo!”
Did it understand my words? The wight, enraged, charged toward me at astonishing speed.
Thus began the real struggle.