The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 66



Only Krnovel

Episode 66. There is no devil for old people (2)

An amorphous liquid giant covered in transparent light.

So to speak, the enemy that appeared this time was like that.

The liquid rising from the pit did not pour out, but formed a magnificent seal as if it were contained in a frame. Gentle waves arose from the transparent skin that clearly reflected the background. It had no facial features and was only covered with a halo of light like fabric, making it look like a personification of a lake bathed in midday sunlight.

‘After the wooden giant, this time it’s a water giant… … .’

Kadim let out a bitter laugh. Although their essence and specific appearance were different, I thought so because their size and shape were similar. Are we destined to meet all kinds of giants one by one by attribute in the second round? Then, sooner or later, lava giants, rock giants, and ice giants will appear.

But leaving such distracting thoughts aside, I became at a loss when I thought about how I should actually fight. As you can see, that liquid mass is not cut by iron. Fishermen who encounter storms are often described as fighting the water, but I was in a situation where I had to fight the water without any metaphors… … .

Thud! Hoong, hooong, whoosh, tuck!

Kadim retrieved the axe and looked at the giant closely. Even though the shamans of the wilderness are twisted people, they do not give them trials that are impossible to solve. Usually, such amorphous enemies have a ‘nucleus’ inside them. I was looking closely at its body to see if I could find it and attack it… … .

The giant did not give him time to observe leisurely.

Swish, swish – !

A strong wave rose from the thigh to the sole of the foot, from the shoulder to the fist. In the dim light of the torch, it looked at first like a wave of blood. The giant crouched down, then jumped up high, and threw himself down with a grandiose fist.

――――― Kwakwakwakwa – !

The shattering foam of light was too powerful to be laughed at as a water fist. The fist, accelerated by the wave, gave an impact strong enough to crush the flagstone and echo through the ceiling. Immediately after, it flowed down to the liquid body and transformed into a strong wave that swept around.

Kwarr, kwarrrrrr… … .

He quickly jumped up and smashed the ax into the wall. The waves that crashed once again returned like the ebb and took on the shape of a giant again. Kadim took that opportunity to scan every part of his enemy’s body.

And then I realized something ridiculous.

‘… What, there’s no nuke?’

The giant’s body consisted only of sparkling lights and transparent liquid, and had no contents. A deep wrinkle appeared between Kadim’s eyebrows.

Gurruruk, gurrurururuk – !

As soon as he regained his form, the giant continued to attack. His fists, accelerated by the torrent, crashed into the wall.

Kadim didn’t dodge this time. He dropped the axe handle and jumped up, holding the hilt of his sword, spinning around and clashing the fist with a whirlwind of blades.

Kwagwagwagwagwagwa – !

The water splashed like blood and split his arm in half. However, the split water stream did not disperse. Instead, it changed into two streams and rushed toward Kadim fiercely like a poisonous snake.

Kurrurur, kurrurur – !

The suffocating water engulfed the savage’s body. Kadim immediately tried to swim out of it. However, the vortex held his limbs tightly, making it difficult to escape. He continued to struggle in vain, and water droplets bubbled from the corners of his mouth.

Without any choice, Kadim concentrated his mind. Soon, a bright red light bloomed from the upper part of her chest.

The moment the hot blood seeps in, a fierce swordsmanship that releases the twisted muscles.

――――――― Kwaaaaaaaa – !

A fierce shock wave instantly shook off the surrounding waterway. The liquid of light exploded and scattered, creating a strong spray. However, the liquid that was pushed away was assembled into a human figure again, ready to attack. Kadim opened his reddened eyes wide and swung his sword like a storm, unleashing a curtain of sword strikes.

― …

The sword seeped sharply through the current. The pressure of the sword scattered the torrent of liquid. Like the first time, even the blow that involved throwing one’s whole body was countered by swinging the blade widely. Khadim, who borrowed the power of tattoos, was able to engage in a fierce struggle with ‘water’, even though it was absurd to think about it.

Still, it was impossible to focus on meaningless defense forever. As he cut through the waves with his blade, Kadim carefully examined every corner of the room. Because the ‘core’ may be outside the giant’s body, not inside it.

But there was none. From the ceiling to the pit, there was not a single ‘core’ or anything that looked like it had any magical function anywhere in the room.

So, in the end, there was only one conclusion.

‘It looks like this guy was created to be a foot striker in some other way than a physical strike. For example, an attribute attack… ‘

The most certain way was to freeze it. If you solidify the liquid, it will no longer be able to flow. However, Kadim had no means of freezing the thing.

‘Melissa, if that guy was there, I would have used freezing magic right away… … .’

There was no time to regret the absence of colleagues. Kadim took the next best option. I put down the mosquito, took out the two hellfire daggers that were locked in the red iron sheath, and swung them.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Normal fire would have gone out as soon as it touched it, but hell fire was different. Even after being covered in liquid like a waterfall, it did not go out and showed off its firepower.

Pusheeeeeek – !!

On the contrary, the rushing water touched the prominence’s blade and vaporized into steam. As he struck the dagger repeatedly, the liquid evaporated into chunks and the giant’s size gradually decreased.

But that too soon reached its limit.

Hurrrrr, hurrrrrrr… … .

By the time the room was covered in a haze so thick that it was impossible to see even an inch ahead, and about a third of the giant’s body had been blown away, the firepower of the daggers had become noticeably lukewarm. This was because the endless waves and the moisture that clung to the blades had eaten away at the teeth of the flames.

In addition, the evaporated liquid was returning to the ceiling as dew. The giant’s body was restored to its original state with only a few torches extinguished. It was clear that burning the water giant was not the right approach to the solution.

The blood in the tattoo was slowly fading away. Kadim clenched his teeth in confusion. If the buff wore off, his limbs might be caught in the vortex again. He was thinking that he should drink the blood of another demon and buy some more time…

At that moment, a strange object caught Kadim’s eyes.

A fist-sized piece of wood was placed at the giant’s feet. It wasn’t there when I first came here. It was such a strange item that I couldn’t help but wonder why it existed.

“… … !”

Kadim soon realized why it was created.

And that realization led straight to a strategy for defeating the water giant.

Kwarrrrrr – !

The water giant charged forward with his fists again. Kadim did not avoid. Instead, he grabbed the ‘thorn’ he was carrying on his back, put it in his hand, and threw it away, aiming for the giant’s leg.

――――――― Iron – bang!

Wooden ‘thorns’ pierced the surface of the shimmering liquid. The white foam turned into sawdust, and a wood grain pattern slowly spread along the traces of the thorn tips. As the solidified liquid sank, the balance was lost, and the giant collapsed helplessly, unable to reach Khadim.

Grumble, rumble –

A thorn obtained from a demon of the plague species. A soldier of the disaster force cut one and brought it with him, thinking it might be useful.

The effect was outstanding, to say the least. The devil’s unique property contained in the thorn, ‘woodiness’, was activated without fail even if the target was liquid. Just like when he had previously solidified a puddle of water in the village into the texture of wood.

Kadim went across and retrieved the thorns, stabbing the giant repeatedly. The ‘woodenness’ spread to each area he stabbed, and the speed at which it hardened became uncontrollably fast. In an instant, the giant’s entire body turned into wood, and he could no longer control his body, and he collapsed heavily onto the stone slab.

thud! Kurrrrrrrr… … .

A piece of wood collapsing. A damp silence signaling the end of the battle.

“… … .”

Kadim wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was a difficult enemy to deal with due to its physical immunity. How on earth was I supposed to catch it if there were no thorns… … . But anyway, I won, so I took a breath and waited for the scenery to change.

But instead of the scenery peeling away, a questioning exclamation was heard.

[… … Hmm?]

Kadim narrowed his eyebrows and pounded on the wall. It means to stop fussing and move quickly. Following the brief silence, a stammering sound came from within.

[The proof is over, it is over. Come here, warrior of Atala… … .]

Tsk tsk tsk tsk… … .

The scenery was stripped away. As desired, the circular room disappeared and a cramped space appeared. Instead of the musty humidity and heat, there was a thick smell of dust.

Kadim coughed slightly and looked away. Passing through the subtle patterns and metal decorations, I reached the incantation camp scribbled without rules, and found an old woman with her face strangely contorted in bewilderment.

“W-what was it, Daejeonsa? What have you done? How on earth did you defeat the Guardian of the Spring like that? It’s not a trial designed to defeat the guardian like that… … .”

Because she had not shown her emotions for hundreds of years, the expressions the wilderness shaman made were extremely unnatural. Kadim asked back in a blunt tone.

“Then how did you leave it to me to defeat something like that? Did the whole room have to be destroyed? “That’s still too much.”

“No, didn’t you write down a clue on the way in? ‘When all the fear of the struggle that protects the warriors fades away, a harsh winter will come where even the starlight contained in the spring water will freeze!’ As you said, if you just extinguished all the torches on the ceiling, the guardian would have frozen and been able to pass the ordeal… … . Why did they use such strange means to defeat the guardian? … .”

“… … .”

Kadim frowned. Even if that nonsense was a clue, there was something he couldn’t help but point out.

“… … If there’s a clue, then you mean the fact that the walls and floor of the passageway were all written with the words ‘Ghost Development’?”

“Yes, that’s right! It’s a simple task to just find and read the ‘ancient letters’ between the patterns, but why… … .”

“Why did the clues have to be written in ancient script? “I don’t know how to read it.”

The priestess flinched and shook her wrinkled eyes. Then she gave me a suspicious look.

“What are you talking about? The blind priestess clearly told me that the great warrior must be able to read the ancient script, so the clues to overcome the ordeal must be written in ancient script! And the way you solve the ordeal… … Are you really the ‘Great Warrior of Atala’?”

“… … .”

Kadim laughed to himself. Now I felt like I knew what happened.

During the first session, he interpreted ancient texts that Cyril could not interpret on several occasions. However, this was not possible because Kadim was fluent in ancient script. It was only possible because of my prior experience with the game and by memorizing the ancient letters whose meanings were revealed during the story.

However, from Cyril’s perspective, it was easy to misunderstand that Khadim was proficient in ancient letters. So, he must have installed such a device to distinguish the qualifications of a ‘Great Warrior’. In any case, it was a headache for Khadim, who could hardly decipher the newly written ancient letters.

‘Tsk, this means that I will have to continue to overcome trials without any clues… … .’

My head was spinning for a moment, but I changed my mind.

But it didn’t matter. There was no law that said that you had to solve the problem with the set answer anyway. Didn’t you somehow deal with a difficult opponent like this? If you can’t use your sword, use your fists. If you can’t use your fists, use your teeth. If that doesn’t work, try destroying the room for real, or something…

When he raised his head, he saw eyes still staring at him with suspicion. Kadim unbuttoned his clothes to show his tattoos, and held up ‘mosquito’ and ‘salmon’ in both hands. Only then did the priestess of the wilderness lift her drooping eyelids and let her dry eyes shine.

“Those tattoos, no, those weapons… … .”

“It is a weapon forged with Atala’s blessing. I already met a shaman like you and got a tattoo once. And the real name of the ‘shaman with blind eyes’ is Cyril. “Is this enough to prove that I am a great warrior?”

“… … Suffice. But why are those names engraved on weapons? ‘Mosquito’ and ‘salmon’… … . They are not elves who serve Mother Nature… … .”

“… … .”

Kadim easily dismissed the criticism with one ear. The shaman opened her eyes, then slowly calmed down and calmed her voice. Then, she took out a brilliantly shining casting item, the ‘engraving needle’, from her arms.

“There are many things I want to ask, but I will put them off until after I have completed my mission. Since this is not my first time, I will omit the detailed explanation. Release the ‘devil’s blood’ that has the power you desire. “This needle will contain the energy of that blood and engrave an unwanted mark of power on your body.”

Kadim was finally in trouble.

I kept thinking about it as I came, but I still haven’t made a decision. It was a waste to tattoo the blood of a mid-level demon, so in the end, there were only two options.

Do you engrave the blood of a fascinating devil or the blood of a disgusting devil?

‘But I haven’t tried using blood yet for anaphylactic tumor… … ?’

I unintentionally used the blood of the fascist species, but it was not the blood of the repulsive species. It was a buff that could be used permanently, but it was impossible to make a decision without knowing the effect.

“Wait, can I try it out and decide?”

“… … hmm?”

At the moment the shaman gave a curious look, Kadim opened the bottle cap and poured a sip of the devil’s blood into his mouth. A foul odor like a mixture of her corpse’s pus and tree resin rose up, and her poisonous energy penetrated deep into her body along the esophagus.

And immediately a change occurred.

“… … !”

The shaman’s eyes opened as wide as a hamburger. Her sagging cheeks were slightly plump, and her forehead was wrinkled like a canyon. Kadim, on the other hand, was unfazed and only smiled crookedly. Yes, was this the effect?

“Not too bad. Let’s do this.”

As if he had found a drink that he liked, Kadim lightly offered the demon’s blood. However, the priestess who had witnessed the change right before her eyes could not maintain her composure. A turbid sigh reflexively escaped from her lungs, which were thickly covered with dust.

“… … Phew.”

For a priestess who had not seen a human in hundreds of years to handle, Atala’s great warrior was an eccentric and bizarre character.