NOVEL WEB Chapter 14: Humanity’s Pathfinder
Present time:
Zyrus jumped sideways while swinging his spear at the charging ogre.
*Slash*
-0,-0,-18
*THUNK*
His spear dealt the first hit before the ogre managed to hit the empty ground. The ogre had a very high defense and HP similar to a boss monster. To keep the balance, AOE attacks and even some single target multi hit attacks were considered as multiple hits.
*Thrust*
-0
“Argh,” Zyrus hit the tree behind him after parrying the ogre’s blow. He had tried to pierce its thick skin by attacking its stomach, but unfortunately, it was his spear that got stuck instead.
That one-second delay cost him 20 HP.
‘Frontal attacks are out of the question.’
Zyrus wiped the blood on his mouth and dodged sideways,
*BAM*
The tree beside him exploded like a twig under the ogre’s club.
*Slash*
-0,-18,-0
‘Only critical hits work, huh.’ Zyrus deduced after looking at the ogre’s fingers. But it wasn't easy to deal critical hits on every move.
The only option left for him was to count on fixed damage and drain its HP. One hit kills by beheading and gouging its heart out were out of question.
He could barely reach its throat with his spear if he wanted to maintain a safe distance.
The damage calculation done by the sanctuary wasn’t always practical. For example, the ogre shouldn’t die if it was stabbed in the leg for a thousand times, but according to the fixed damage calculation, it would.
Even with a 10% crit rate, 100 of those stabs would deal 18 damage each time, leaving the ogre with only 30% of its HP.
It had its advantages as well. A monster with his arteries cut should die instantly, but it could live on so long as its HP hadn’t reached 0. That few more seconds can change the outcome of the battle.
Of course, in cases like beheading, its HP would be reduced to 0 instantaneously.
He could use the eye of annihilation to fight on even ground against the ogre, but he kept enduring.
‘I need an opening window.’ Zyrus once again dodged the ogre’s sweeping attack and stabbed its toe.
*Thrust*
-50
“Grrrrr”
“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?” Zyrus spat out blood from his mouth after ripping apart the ogre’s nail.
He kept provoking it, but only he knew how difficult this fight was. Even blocking an attack took out 10 of his HP.
‘At this rate, I’ll be the first to die from fixed damage.’ Zyrus calculated as he wiped the sweat from his eyebrows.
*Slash*
-18,-0,-0
He looked at the trolls who were moving behind the ogre with greedy eyes. With their snail-like movements, they were nothing more than exp bags for him.
The Bloodspine spear was a nemesis of their regeneration ability, and without their racial skills, they were easier to kill than a goblin.
*THUNK*
The ogre attacked once again, but this time it smashed the ground besides Zyrus.
‘Does it think that I’m a moron who couldn’t identify such obvious bait?’
Zyrus shamelessly ran away from the ogre and headed towards the forest. Courage wasn’t the only reason he succeeded in his previous life, he knew when to retreat and advance.
However, the next second he saw something that made him turn once again.
‘What a clever bastard,’ Zyrus laughed as he looked at Kyle running behind the trolls.
“Rush the center!”
“What? Why?” Kyle almost stumbled and fell.
“Did you forget what I told you about the bead?”
The poisonous beads were weak against fire. So when exposed to outside heat, they would decompose and release the accumulated poison inside them.
In addition to that, he had given them a plant to wrap them in. The plant had a special restricting property against the poison. As long as it covered the bead, the poison wouldn’t leak out.
“The orcs are the problem,” Kyle pointed at the orcs who were starting to group up.
*SWING*
Zyrus dodged the club flying over him as he rolled away. The ogre had already caught up with him.
“Protect Lauren and tell her to harass the ogre. Give me the essence and eat the plant,” he explained in a hurried tone after seeing Lauren approach.
“Huff.. Huff.. Okay, go,” Lauren pulled out the outer layer and threw the essence towards Zyrus.
*Slash*
-0,-0,-0
“Argh-”
After slashing at the ogre’s waist, Zyrus parried its club and with that momentum, he ran towards the beads.
“Let me use mine to disperse the orcs,”
*BOOM*
“Alright, I’ll cover Lauren till then.” Zyrus hesitated for a bit and then nodded towards Kyle.
*ROOAR*
The ogre was infuriated as Zyrus kept running away from the fight.
“Keep attacking from a distance and paralyze it,” Zyrus told Lauren and lunged towards the group of trolls. He didn’t give a fuck about ogre’s temper at the moment.
“Leave it to me,”
Zyrus didn’t have to look back to know how she was doing. When it came to kiting, she was better than Zyrus and Kyle combined.
Her rapid fire skill combined with poisonous knives were a pain to deal with already, and coupled with her high agility and feather boots, she was invincible on this battlefield.
‘She wouldn’t have a problem in running away from anyone in the first round,’ Zyrus thought as he plunged his spear into a troll’s neck.
*Thrust*
“keuk-”
-250
The runes on the spear gleamed as it absorbed the monster's blood. In just a second, the troll which was infamous for its regeneration ability was turned into a skinny corpse.
-50,-50,-50
Exp +510
The remaining dozen trolls shivered like wet dogs after watching the bloody scene. A healthy three meter tall troll had now become a dried pale green corpse.
“Hahaha… This is refreshing,” Zyrus laughed like a butcher and took out all his frustrations on the remaining trolls.
Meanwhile, Kyle had already delivered the ‘poison bomb’ to the group of orcs. At first they had ignored it, but once the outer layer was burned up, it was too late for them to regret.
Unlike the green plant, the inner layer of dried grass was lit up immediately. It wasn’t hot enough to release all the poison, but the amount it spread was enough to kill one-third of the orcs.
*ROOOAARRR*
The ogre screamed in rage at the orcs who were once again running around like headless chickens.
Although it might seem like a lot of time had passed, it had only been ten minutes since the fight started.
*Slash*
-250
-50,50
*Thrust*
-250
Zyrus didn’t have the time to completely drain the trolls as they charged at him one after another. They lost their lives like moths to the flame, and bit by bit, Zyrus was getting closer to level 9.
“I’ll take over here, what’s next?” Kyle shouted after decimating an orc.
“Keep the ogre away at all costs, I’ll take over the goblet of fire.”
“Will it be okay?”
Zyrus nodded at Kyle who was looking at him with a worried expression. Since things had gone completely awry, he had to become strong to deal with the current situation.
He could take the easy way out and run away, but that would mean giving up on the cube’s mission.
*Thrust*
-250
*huff* huff* Zyrus panted for breath after piercing the last troll.
*BAAM*
On the other hand, the ogre was going berserk after facing Lauren's harassment. It attacked everyone and everything around it, which only made Kyle’s job easier.
He dealt with the remnant orcs who were heading in Lauren’s direction. From the original hundred monsters, less than half were still alive.
-50
Exp +510
[Level up!]
[+1 to all stats]
Zyrus rushed towards the center after looking at the level up message. Despite the situation turning in their favor, he knew how fragile the current balance was.
‘The ogre will regain its sanity after losing a bit more health.’
He used the level up card while running, and after a purple flash he saw the sweet message once again.
[Level up!]
[+1 to all stats]
[Congratulations! You are the first human to reach level 10!]
[You have obtained the Achievement: Humanity’s Pathfinder]
[+5 SP]
‘To get this achievement when I’m about to become a monster huh, quite ironic,’
*KRRAAAGGHHH*
Just as he had expected, the ogre had regained its sanity and it was rushing towards the center.
But alas, it was too late to change anything. Zyrus had already arrived at the goblet of fire which was now deserted.
Without looking back, he knew that every monster in the area was rushing towards him.
“EAT THE PLANT AND RUN,” Zyrus shouted from the top of his lungs and threw the poisonous essence towards the red flame.
*Whissshhh*
It happened in an instant. After a popping sound, a white fog drifted out from the center of the camp.
Even after eating the plant, Zyrus had lost half of his remaining HP. It was apparent how the monsters were faring in this situation.
‘It’s stronger than I thought it’d be!’ Zyrus cursed as he gulped down two HP recovery potions. It was the most crucial moment now. With a deep breath, he took out the items from his inventory one by one.
Goblin’s and Kobold’s Blood essence which he got from Aurora, Seven headed Keliodus serpent’s core, and last but not least, the Shadowbloom.
“So long, Humanity,”
Just as he was about to proceed further, the space and time around him froze, just like on the first day of the tutorial.
“You’re quite something alright.” Aurora smiled at Zyrus and plunged down by flapping her butterfly wings.