00007 [Part 1] [Return] ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
"Level 75...?!"
Aran's hand, which had been about to draw her bowstring, trembled violently. At this rate, far from hitting the enemy, she might end up hitting an ally instead.
But it was impossible not to understand why she was terrified. The monster glaring at them while brandishing a club right before their eyes was a whopping level 75. There wasn't a single person in the party who exceeded level 75.
A system error? What the hell?
Caron was thinking carefully while they stood in a standoff, weapons drawn. Grumal seemed to be gauging the strength of the six people pointing their weapons at him. No—perhaps the reason it hadn't budged for over ten seconds was that it was waiting to see how they would attack, or maybe it was waiting with the leisure of a predator.
It couldn't be a system error... What the hell. The monster's level had surged.
Just moments ago, on the first underground floor where they had been, monsters between level 50 and 60 had appeared. If the monster hunting ground was structured with gradually increasing difficulty, then it made sense that the second underground floor had stronger monsters than the first. However, if the hunting ground was operated stably, they wouldn't set up a level gap of more than 10 between floors. This was clearly an abnormal situation.
Had there been something I didn't know about? Or had a monster from deep inside the second floor wandered near the entrance? Why?
He racked his brains. But no answer came.
[Grrr.]
"Hie... Eek! Magic Missile! Magic Missile! Magic Missile!"
"Chocomint!"
Reacting to Grumal's growl, Chocomint panicked and unleashed her magic. Greenwind urgently tried to stop her, but the attacks didn't cease. It was an indiscriminate bombardment. Without distinguishing between enemy or ally, magic projectiles formed in the air and flew instantly. The dungeon echoed with booming sounds, and the surroundings were soon filled with dust.
"D... Did we get it...?"
She had poured out all her mana. Chocomint gasped for breath as she looked into the thick smoke. There was no sound. Soon, as the smoke slowly cleared, a collapsed silhouette began to come into view.
"We got—"
"...No."
Caron immediately dashed the others' hopes. When you took down a monster, experience points were bound to come in. He had checked his notifications the moment the bombardment ended, but there was no message about defeating a monster. In other words, the silhouette slowly revealing itself from within the smoke was—
—Neuritic.
"You.... Choco... Mint...!"
"Oppa...!"
As the bombardment began, Grumal had lifted Neuritic, who had been collapsed on the ground, and used him to take the attacks. Magic Missile was a guided attack spell, but it wasn't high-level magic that changed direction when blocked by obstacles mid-flight. At some point, the spells had designated Neuritic as their target, and he had ended up taking every single one.
"You crazy... bitch...! This fucking hurts!"
His head was burned pitch black. His once-handsome face was swollen and puffy all over. He had barely blocked the fatal blow with his sword, but the sword, having lost its durability, had completely lost its function as a blade.
"I didn't know...!"
"Do you think 'I didn't know' cuts it! My sword! Do you know how much this cost!"
"I said I'm sorry! Why are you making such a big deal out of it!"
"You, this sword..."
"Everyone stop! Now's not the time to fight!"
Greenwind stepped in to mediate, but once a dam bursts, it is hard to stop. Neuritic and Chocomint shouted in fury. Aggroman belatedly tried to intervene as well, but too many cooks spoil the broth.
"Everyone be quiet!"
"Shut up! What are you going to do about my sword!"
"Why are you getting so worked up over a game!"
"What? A game? You've got to be kidding me...! Just because I've been easy on you...!"
There was no stopping them.
Intervening would only turn it into chaos. Caron turned his gaze and searched for Grumal, who had hidden himself in the smoke. It couldn't have run away. It would be hiding in a blind spot, spying on their movements.
Well, not that he needed to search to know that.
"Aggroman, be careful."
"Huh?"
The party had lost their formation due to the emotional infighting. There was no way Grumal would fail to target that opening. Grumal, who had been hiding in the darkness, revealed himself behind Aggroman. Aggroman twisted his body instantly, but the club struck his side and sent him crashing into the wall.
"Kuk...!"
"Haah... Haah... What are you doing...! Attack...!"
"Demon Wind!"
Neuritic was in no condition to fight. As he squeezed out his voice and shouted, Greenwind drew her sword and charged at Grumal.
Four consecutive attacks. However, her sword couldn't pierce Grumal's armor. The moment her skill ended, an opening appeared in her stance, and the club fell straight toward her.
"Keuk...!"
One person died. With that, they completely lost their will to fight. Neuritic and Aggroman could only stare blankly with their mouths open.
[Grrr.]
"Kyaaaaah!"
Having witnessed Greenwind's death right up close, Chocomint stumbled backward. Grumal made a beastly sound and walked toward her, holding a club dripping with blood.
"Fireball...! Fireball...? ...Why won't it come out!"
She reached out, trying to summon a massive ball of fire, but nothing appeared. It was because she had exhausted all her mana with Magic Missiles. Thanks to a mage's passive skill, her mana was recovering little by little, but it was absurdly insufficient to cast Fireball.
"Don't come...! I said don't come...!"
This is a game. Because it is a game, it can be enjoyed. But could one say they could enjoy dying just because it's a game? With your body breaking into pieces right before death, while looking at the expressions of monsters that were no different from truly killing a person—because to them, this world was reality—could anyone possibly say it was enjoyable?
In this world, pain was extremely limited, but technology had not advanced enough to limit the terror of facing death. No, one would have to question whether a creature that did not know the fear of death could truly be called a living being at all.