Chapter 92 — Defense of the Wall (Part 2)

Chapter 92 — Defense of the Wall (Part 2)

I looked at the battlefield. Rem’s golems were easily destroying the monsters, and Sherial’s arrows were killing them by the thousands with each shot.

And I was just standing there doing nothing, not getting any experience points at all.

And that idiot… what was his name again? I don’t even remember. Some captain in charge of this wall.

Why the hell did he call us at such a bad time? What was even the point? We were going to fight here anyway.

Pointless. Just distracted me.

I walked to the edge of the wall.

Ah, screw it. These are only fourth-rank monsters. I want more experience points. A few more levels—and I’ll reach the sixth rank.

I simply jumped down, landed, and quickly headed toward the monsters.

I leaped over Rem’s golems and found myself right in the middle of the monsters.

Fast sword swings. No need for any special technique. Just very fast strikes—each swing destroys one monster.

Considering how much I’ve trained with a sword, this was very easy. But unlike training, this felt really good.

With every swing, I gain experience points.

This… well… feels incredibly satisfying.

Much better than training.

I didn’t even realize it, but it seems I activated the Berserk skill.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

No, it does matter.

It’s even better this way.

I started pushing forward, deeper into the stream of monsters, farther away from Rem’s golems and Sherial’s arrows. I want more monsters, to kill more monsters, and gain more experience points.

I kept destroying monsters at the maximum speed I was capable of.

But somehow, I managed to keep a bit of my sanity, even with Berserk activated.

Even with Berserk active, I occasionally teleported into the Training Room when the scratches I received from monsters became too numerous and interfered with my movements.

And finally, I saw the system messages I had been waiting for.

I teleported into the Training Room and deactivated Berserk.

It felt like all the tension left with it… along with the pleasure I had been feeling.

But what I was about to do next…

Berserk would only get in the way, so I needed to think clearly.

I opened the status window.

[Status]

[Name: Alisar
Level: 175
Experience: 11,072,374 / 80,000,000,000

Rank: 5

HP: 15,314,630 / 15,314,630 (+11,520)
MP: 1,078,150 / 1,078,150 (+11,520)

Strength: 508,043 (+384)
Defense: 506,087 (+384)
Speed: 517,333 (+384)

Intelligence: 5,998 (+384)
Magic Power: 5,993 (+384)
Magic Defense: 65,450 (+384)
Free Attribute Points: 397,711 (+13,711) (+384,000)

Skills:
Swordsman (Rank 3)
Berserk (Rank 2)
Poison Resistance (Rank 5)
Reinforced Stomach (Rank 2)

Special Skills:
• Training Room (Rank 4)
• Alchemy (Rank 3)
• Ascensio (Rank 3)]

Finally, level 175. Just one more level—and I’ll reach the sixth rank.

But damn it… 80 billion experience points!

At level 175, it was 10 billion, and now—an eightfold increase.

Well, that makes sense, since level 176 is already considered the start of the sixth rank.

Considering how much experience I get from killing a single fourth-rank monster, I just need to kill around fifty thousand of them.

I think I can manage that.

Alright, for that I need to allocate all my free attribute points into physical enhancement—speed, strength, and defense.

Yeah, it would make sense to spend some on mana capacity, but right now, in the middle of battle, I don’t really need it.

Considering how many free attribute points I expect to gain at level 176, physical enhancement is the priority right now.

Alright, decided.

I allocated all my free attribute points into boosting physical stats.

Oh… that warm sensation spreading through every part of my body.

I think this is one of the best feelings you can experience when becoming stronger.

Alright, now I need to focus on killing monsters.

For now, my goal is to kill 50,000 monsters.

I activated Berserk and immediately teleported back to the battlefield.

The fun continues.

—

I kept fighting, not knowing how much time had passed. Even though I was doing the same thing, I didn’t get bored.

And honestly, after allocating my free attribute points, fighting became even easier.

I started missing the monsters’ attacks far less often.

Damn, why didn’t I allocate my free attribute points every time I leveled up? Why did I wait until level 175?

Alright, I’ll be smarter next time.

I’ll allocate my free attribute points every time I level up.

[Skill “Berserk” upgraded. Rank 2 → Rank 3]

My Berserk skill increased in rank.

It feels like, considering how much effort it usually takes to rank up a skill, Berserk is the easiest one to level up.

At least, that’s how it seems to me.

With Berserk upgraded, I started killing monsters even faster. And the pleasure I get from it increased as well.

If this continues, I might one day not want to turn off Berserk and keep it active forever.

No, that’s stupid.

But whatever. Until the end of the battle, I can enjoy it while the monsters last.

What the hell? Something unexpected happened.

The seemingly endless stream of monsters ended. In other words, all the monsters around me were all that remained.

Damn!

In the distance, I could see Rem’s golems destroying monsters. And Sherial’s arrows too. And some magical attacks. And ballistae as well.

Damn, they’re all stealing my experience points.

Alright, faster! Faster!

I tried to speed up and kill monsters even faster, since I only needed a bit more experience to level up.

After a couple of minutes, I managed to kill the last monster before the others could.

Damn… just a little more and I would have leveled up.

Just a couple hundred more monsters—and I would have reached level 176.

I looked around, hoping maybe there was still one monster left somewhere.

No. None left.

I looked at Rem’s stone golems.

Maybe I should destroy them?

Maybe destroying them would give me enough experience to level up.

No.

I can’t do that right now.

But I really want to…

Damn, I need to turn off Berserk.

I deactivated Berserk, and my urge to destroy the golems disappeared.

But the disappointment of not leveling up remained.

Alright, it’s not a big deal. I think more monsters will appear soon. These were only fourth-rank monsters, and the dungeon should still be full of fifth-rank ones.

I headed toward the wall.

When I reached it, I jumped up in a single leap.

"That was cool," Sherial said.

"And stupid," Rem added.

Well, I guess they’re both right.

And I noticed something strange.

The people—adventurers and soldiers—were keeping their distance from us.

No… more like from me.

I could see fear on some of their faces.

What the hell?

Why are they afraid of me?

I looked at myself.

Damn…

Even though my armor was barely damaged, it was completely soaked in blood.

I took off my glove and touched my face.

Damn, my face was completely covered in blood too.

And my hair.

Right… it’s my blood.

Dungeon monsters don’t have blood—they just disappear.

Looks like when Berserk is active, I don’t notice a lot of things.

Well… I guess I need to wash up.

"I’ll be back," I said, jumping down from the other side of the wall.

I needed to quickly find a deserted place, teleport into the Training Room, and clean myself up.

I can’t walk around like this.

And honestly, the dried blood feels unpleasant even to me.

—

POV: Lily

Lily hid behind Jonathan, trying to stay out of sight of the one who had just jumped onto the wall.

Yes, calling that adventurer a monster was wrong… but Lily couldn’t find another word in her mind.

After seeing how he fought against the dungeon monsters, it was hard to believe that a human could do something like that.

"Damn, he’s awesome," Jonathan said. "Let’s go take a closer look."

He took a step toward the adventurer, but Lily stopped him.

"No, you’d better not go near him," Lily said in a firmer voice. "Don’t be stupid."

"What, are you afraid of him? Yeah, he looks… fights like some kind of monster, like a god of war, you could say, but… he’s human. Just a high-rank adventurer. He won’t do anything to us," Jonathan said.

"Maybe you’re right, but… you’ve already seen this adventurer. We’ve met him before," Lily said.

"What? We’ve seen him? When? Where?" Jonathan asked, trying to remember.

But it seemed he couldn’t immediately figure it out.

"We met him recently, when we were promoted to D-rank adventurers. We went to a restaurant to celebrate, remember?" Lily said.

"Yeah, of course I remember…"

"And that day you bumped into a man carrying large bags and gave him a lecture about being careful and how an adventurer should behave," Lily continued.

"And what are you trying to say…?" Jonathan began, but suddenly fell silent.

He stopped, and from his expression it was clear that he understood.

"You mean… that guy?.. That same guy?" Jonathan asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Lily replied.

"Damn… what have I done? I hope he didn’t take offense…" Jonathan began muttering nervously.

Lily calmed down a little. Now this idiot Jonathan definitely wouldn’t go up to that adventurer. And she hoped no problems would arise because of his past behavior.

"Alright, guys, let’s go while we still have time. I need to talk to that adventurer," Darmon suddenly said and headed in his direction.

"Damn, what is he doing…?" Jonathan whispered.

"I don’t know," Lily replied quietly.

"Hey, why are you standing there? Let’s go," Darmon called out to them.

Lily let out a heavy sigh and followed the group. But Jonathan’s state was even worse—he moved as if he were being led to execution. He kept glancing around, as if ready to run.

Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him along, afraid that this idiot might actually try to escape.

Suddenly, their group stopped.

"Looks like we’re not in time," Darmon said. "Let’s go back."

He turned around and led the group back to their previous position.

Lily looked toward where the adventurer should have been standing, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Looks like he had gone somewhere.

She let out a breath of relief.

"That was close…" Jonathan said quietly, clearly relieved that he wouldn’t have to meet him.

"Did you say something?" Darmon asked, turning to Jonathan.

"No, I didn’t say anything," Jonathan replied quickly.

"Alright… I guess I’m just tired," Darmon muttered and continued walking.

Lily, still annoyed by Jonathan’s behavior, suddenly grabbed his arm and pinched him hard.

"Ow!" Jonathan jerked his hand back. "What was that for?.."

He said it quietly, in an offended tone.

Lily just shot him an angry look and continued walking after the group.