Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

Not long after we all ran together, Shurika’s figure became clear.

‘Damn!’

She had left the fallen circus members behind and was trying to break the neck of the Mystical School magician.

“Stop her!!!”

[Berthold casts ‘Gray Wolf of Madness’.]

A gray wolf appeared behind Berthold, or rather, the barbarian.

He broke away from the formation and stomped on the ground with tremendous force.

-Auuuuu!!!

It was just a howl of magic power, but it seemed to have an effect on Shurika, making her hesitate for a moment.

Kwaaaaa!!!

Thanks to this brief moment, Berthold was able to charge at her with all his might and push her away.

Surprised by the ambush, Shurika flew weakly through the air.

“Gasp. Gasp.”

The Mystical School magician, whose neck had been almost broken, coughed and gasped for breath as he lay on the ground.

I remembered reading in a book that not all barbarians were the same. There were various tribes in the northern part of the continent.

Tribes that worshipped beast gods or ancestral spirits.

Tribes that believed in physical strength and trained their bodies to survive.

Tribes that valued communication with spiritual beings.

And many other types of tribes.

I remembered reading about this in a book and being impressed.

‘Is he from the beast god tribe? Anyway, it’s a good thing Berthold was there. If he had been a little later, not only the magician but all the circus members would have been burned to death.’

“Are you okay? Can you move?”

“Cough! Cough. Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to survive. It seems I’m not ready to die yet.”

I followed Berthold to where the circus members were lying on the ground.

The paladin checked on the Mystical School magician, whose neck was bruised.

Similarly, several adventurers took care of the other circus members.

“Over here! The monk is unconscious! It’s almost like he’s dead…”

“The director is also unconscious. He’s not moving at all! We need to move a few of us to a safer place, but we don’t have any more potions, and the priest over there can’t use any more sacred techniques?”

That’s right. We had already distributed all the potions to the injured people.

On top of that, the only priest nearby was the one who had cast the large-scale buff and couldn’t use any more sacred techniques.

“What are you hesitating about? Just go if you’re weaker than most of the people here! Don’t be embarrassed, just go!”

As he spoke, Berthold shook off his burned skin.

Several adventurers looked at him for a moment, then raised their hands.

“I’ll go. Compared to the others, I’m nothing.”

“Me too. When people left earlier, I followed because I thought there were too few of us, but I think I should be over there.”

I’m weak. I think I don’t belong here. I’ll go and take care of the people.

About ten people with average ability ratings in the mid-to-low D-grade range carried or supported the circus members and retreated to the rear.

It’s okay. Those of us who remain here are enough.

Kwaaaaa!!!

“Someone, stop me. No, just kill me! Please, I beg you!!!”

Shurika, who had flown far away, was now engulfed in flames, and a pillar of fire shot up from her body.

________________________________________

[Shurika Blaze]

[Strength: B] [Agility: B+] [Endurance: C+] [Stamina: B-] [Magic: A-] [Luck: F]

[Possessed Traits] (Collapse)

Awakened Bloodline
Advanced Spirit Magic
Intermediate Sleight of Hand
Pure Magic Power
Dry Kindling Fire Affinity
Consumed Flesh
Soul Corruption

________________________________________

[Awakened Bloodline (B)] [P]

A half-elf, born to a lowly family in the great forest, the Blaze family, who had contracted with spirits and dealt with fire for generations.

She had been subjected to harsh treatment because of her lowly birth and human-like appearance, and had fled to the Labyrinth City.

There, she grew and awakened her dormant bloodline…

• Her magic attribute is fixed to fire.
•
• She receives a bonus to all fire-related things.
•
• She takes additional damage from cold attacks.
•
• Her magic power increases by three levels.
•
• She rarely suffers from burning pain.
•
________________________________________

‘Huh, an elf? A half-elf? I didn’t know that.’

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

Her ability scores and passive traits provide a solid foundation.

She doesn’t have any active traits, but she seems to have replaced them with spirit magic, including spirit fusion and spirit unity.

Looking at the status window confirmed this.

She was an opponent we had to bet our lives on.

Step. Step.

She’s coming.

The spirit master, consumed by despair and black tears.

The spirits, consumed by the contractor’s emotions.

“Here she comes! Front-line defenders, forward!”

Someone shouted and raised their shield, and the battle began.

Kwaaaaa!!!

Shurika, who was emitting flames from her entire body, charged at us with great ferocity.

Bang!!

The first person she targeted was the shield-bearer who had shouted first.

She charged as if she was going to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but her initial attack was a whip.

The problem was that the whip was on fire, and if it touched the ordinary iron shield, it would melt and stick to it.

“Gasp. Gasp.”

The shield-bearer’s shield was warped and melted, and he was pushed back by the whip’s attacks.

After enduring a few lashes, he stepped back and dropped his shield, falling to the ground.

“If you stop me, everyone will die… if you can’t kill me, just run away!!!”

Before the shield-bearer was knocked out, the other adventurers didn’t just stand there.

“What are you talking about, you bitch!!! If you’re not going to run, then what the hell are you doing?!”

Berthold, who had cursed, led the way as several adventurers used their techniques and cast magic.

‘Lightning!’

“Shoot. Spear of Ice!”

[Berthold casts ‘Beast Strike’.]

[Gregory casts ‘Holy Strike’.]

[Riena casts ‘Phantom Throw’.]

[….]

[….]

“Kyaaaahhhh!!!”

After being zapped by lightning, her leg froze, and she was hit by an ice spear.

An arrow grazed her cheek, and boiling blood dripped as she was hit by various attacks.

Boom!!!

She was cut by a sword imbued with divine power, stabbed by a thrown dagger, and hit in the stomach by a heavy two-handed weapon, and was sent flying.

“Huh? It’s not as bad as I thought.”

‘Who was that guy?’

Because of the idiot who said that it was manageable,

Before they could follow up on the flying Shurika, the situation was reversed.

-Hiiing!

-Pwoo!

“Save me!!!”

“Gasp. Damn it.”

Kwaaack!

The back kick of the horse and the stomp of the elephant’s foot shattered several bodies.

Not only those two, but…

Whoosh!!!

A small fireball thrown by a monkey and a dog spitting fire.

There was also a cat that tore people apart with its hot claws.

Damn, when they first charged in formation, I thought it would be manageable, but dealing with a spirit master turned out to be more difficult than I thought.

We inflicted massive damage on Shurika in exchange for the life of one front-line defender, but the spirits didn’t just stand by and watch as their contractor was hit and flown around.

Except for the lion, which was in a state of fusion, the cat, dog, monkey, horse, and elephant all took revenge on the adventurers who had made their contractor bleed.

‘They’re not just strong animals. They’re all fire-attuned spirits, so it’s hard to get close to them without fire resistance or some kind of resistance!’

Even though we started the battle with several dozen people,

Due to various factors, the spirits, which were originally strong enough to rival mid-level adventurers, gained even more strength.

As a result, our numbers were rapidly dwindling.

“Gasp. My arm is melting…”

Thud.

“No, no… Guys, please… Don’t do this… Just go back to the spirit realm…”

Shurika cried pitifully, but it was just absurd, as she herself was whipping her whip around, contrary to her words.

“Gasp. Damn it. I have to do this! I’m the only magician here, and I’m the only one who can turn this situation around!”

In the midst of the chaos, a blue-robed magician, who had been in the rear, gathered everyone’s attention with a loud voice filled with magic power.

“Everyone, listen to me!”

“I’m already exhausted, what else do you want?”

“Just 10 minutes! I’ll show you a spell that transcends the hierarchy, even if it damages my insides, so protect me for 10 minutes!!! A 6th-tier area-of-effect spell will definitely work!”

As soon as the magician finished speaking, Berthold and the paladin, who had been marking Shurika, turned their heads.

Their shining eyes were filled with the blue robe.

“No, no, no! Stop me!”

Damn it.

Seeing Shurika’s desperate attempt to control her body and desperately begging to be stopped, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

I instinctively felt that I should never have anything to do with anything related to the Evil God.

Thud! Clack!

I swung my sword without rest, striking away the claws and hooves that flew towards me in the midst of the short battle.

How many minutes had passed? I exhaled a heavy breath and felt a surge of killing intent within me.

‘Release the killing intent!’

The red killing intent surged from the sword.

Just in time, I spotted a lion jumping with all four legs and slashed at its wide-open belly.

“Haaah!”

Kwaaakakakakak!!!

I inflicted massive damage by releasing the accumulated killing intent, enough to tear its belly in half.

“Meow…”

As the lion writhed on the ground and was recalled, I took out a scroll from my backpack.

I needed to distract the spirits to get to the front.

Riiip.

[Use Scroll ‘Rockfall’.]

A 4th-tier rockfall magic scroll.

I didn’t expect it to have any durability below D-grade.

My goal was to distract the spirits with the fragments!

As I tore the scroll in half, a rock the size of several adult men appeared in the sky without warning.

Kwaaaaa!!!

As soon as it fell to the ground, it shattered with a deafening roar, creating large fragments that flew in all directions, capturing the spirits’ attention.

Thud!

Without missing the opportunity, I jumped towards Shurika with my magic power.

10 minutes?

Apart from the monkey and dog that had been recalled, and the cat that I had finished off, the only remaining spirits were the horse and elephant.

On our side, there was a magician who was casting a spell and a useless priest.

And two archers, a rogue, and four front-line defenders, including me, excluding the barbarian and paladin.

I was sure that without the barbarian and paladin, we couldn’t stop the horse, let alone the house-sized elephant.

‘I think it’s better to switch roles.’

Clack!

After joining the battle and striking away the whip, I quickly spoke to the two who were recovering.

“Did you hear what the magician said? I’ll stop her, so go to the back and stop the spirits! If the two strongest ones stay here, we’ll all die from the spirits!”

The barbarian with the two-handed weapon and the paladin with the sword and shield were wasting their time here, and they couldn’t stop the elephant covered in flames.

Berthold, whose entire body was covered in whip marks and burned by the fire, glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

“You ignorant bastard! It’s because of me and this guy that we’ve lasted this long. Why don’t you get the hell out of here?!”

Bang!

Clack!

Another whip attack was aimed at me, and I gritted my teeth and struck it away.

‘Yes, it’s clear that I’m no match for her, as my anti-personnel ability is only C-grade, compared to their average B-grade ability after the buff.’

But I have things that they don’t.

The strong fire resistance attached to the Hyenx’s earrings.

The constant cold that I can emit, even though it’s still weak.

And the increased defense and dense forest resistance from the doping, as well as Chaos’ eye.

It was clear that I was better at blocking or avoiding attacks and buying time than they were.

‘What’s the point of stopping Shurika if the rest of us die and the rear is breached? Sena might not even come in time!’

“The fire resistance attached to my equipment, and the opposite trait…”

Just as I was about to calmly explain,

Whoosh!

“Damage!!!”

Shurika’s warning, and her mane glowed red as she waved her arm, and three streams of fire tried to slash at me.

Pat. Ppak!

Fortunately, I was able to dodge the attack because I saw its trajectory, but after overcoming the crisis, I was angry at this situation.

“You bastard! The rear is about to be breached, so go and help! I came here because I thought I could handle it, so what the hell are you talking about? Traits, items, I’m better than you at enduring this situation, do I need to explain that? Huh?!”

Even if I die and buy some time, it’s still buying time, right?

“Go. As he said, it’s meaningless for us to stay here if everyone else dies. Just hold out for 10 minutes in the back.”

“…”

“Huff. You arrogant bastard. Don’t die.”

I turned my back on them and looked towards the front.

Shurika was almost delirious due to the ongoing loss of control over her body.

‘I’ll hold out until the magician finishes casting the spell. Let’s do this.’

Heinse’s rockfall was a 4th-tier spell, but he was casting a 6th-tier area-of-effect spell. It was definitely not a joke.

From the direction where Sena was, the ground-shaking roar continued without stopping.

The opponent was also a follower of the Evil God, so they were fighting a battle that we couldn’t even imagine.

It was clear that we couldn’t just wait for Sena to come.

I glanced at the watch on my wrist.

The confident magician had asked for exactly 10 minutes.

There were about 5 minutes left.

I raised my sword.