The moment the roach swings its scythe down, I dive forwards. The roach roars (howls?) and savagely chomps around in an attempt to grasp me with its fangs.
However, I utilise this momentary incapacitation to the best of my ability. I furiously slash at the ligaments connecting the scythe area to the rest of the leg.
The Guard once again roars in distress, and tries to pull its leg back. Using its momentum against it, I thrust down.
The ligament cracks, and the gaunt scythe part of the leg flings off, tearing.
On instinct, the Guard retreated after feeling pain and tried to pull its leg back towards its grotesque form. I utilised that opportunity, and used the roach’s high stats against it, effectively mirroring its power in order to rip the scythe part off. Haha! Marvel at the brilliance of the human mind, you stupid cockroach! Now you’re like me, one-armed and crippled! Except, my arm will recover when I level up, but you’re gonna die!
I break out into an ear-to-ear grin.
Good.
Now, things are looking very favourable for me. The roach only has one scythe left to attack me with. Moreover, the Guard has become cautious by god knows how much. Since it’s now paranoid, I don’t have to deal with ruthless onslaughts.
Although that might actually be a bad thing, depending on how you see the situation. I mean, that reckless attack was what allowed me to catch it off-guard! No pun intended. Sorry about that crappy joke.
But, here’s the most important thing; I’ve acquired one of the roach’s scythes! Meticulously cutting off any sharp shards or residue from the scythe, I rip off a piece of cloth and wrap it around the ligament section, making a pretty decent long-bladed dagger. I mean, this thing is at least twice the length of the current daggers I have on me! Although I described the ending of the roach’s legs as scythes, the only scythe part of it is, well… the scythe part of a scythe.
Okay, nevermind. That makes no sense at all.
Hmm… You know what the frontal legs of praying mantis look like, right?
I would describe those as total scythe-like. But the Guard only has the sharp, weapon-y part of the scythe.
And turns out it works well enough as a dagger. Both relatively and proportionately, it isn’t even that curved. More like the curve on a katana than the curve on a dagger?
Oh well, it doesn't matter.
To be honest, this scene kind of has the likeness to that of the Her-curly’s and the Nemean Lion story, right? I don’t know much about Greek mythology, but I’m pretty sure it went something along the lines of buff western dude fights lion with impenetrable skin, so buff western dude uses lion’s own claws against it and skins lion.
Well, that same underlying irony applies here, no?
I’ve got the upper hand, but I don’t think that instantly gives me the privilege to start carelessly blabbering without focusing on the fight.
No matter how cautious and ambiguous the roach tries to be, its moves are now significantly more transparent and predictable since it can only attack with one scythe-leg.
I manage to evade all of its strikes through a combination of squirming to different corners and parrying when the scythe gets too close. That doesn’t mean I’m totally safe, though.
Even just directing the scythe away from me is super difficult! Good thing I learned the art of angling one’s own blade to deflect an attack! (even if it was just on Skyl)—No way in hell could I block a head-on strike when the roach swings with such raw power.
Misdirecting its swings is the only realistic thing I can do.
In fact—Huh?!
The roach tilts further sideways until it reaches a precariously steep angle. And then it scuttles further inside the corridor, its right legs on the ceiling while its left legs bustle on the floor.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. I’m actually fucked right now.
What sort of stupid bug willingly enters a tight, confined space when its opponent has a decently ranged weapon?!
I can’t even retreat backwards.
Still, the Guard is seriously disadvantaged right now. Evidently, it can’t attack while crawling. Not when it’s sloping at a ninety degree angle, it can’t. It probably has to stop before attacking, vice-versa. It also moves towards me at an outstandingly… slow… pace.
…Was there actually no need to panic?
I prod one of the roach’s eyes with my makeshift fencing style—I can’t afford to get into the roach’s striking distance—and the Guard wails in response. Its eyes suddenly bulge outward for some reason, and the rotten odour eluding from the roach’s mouth only grows stronger.
Then, I hear the roach make an all too familiar grinding sound within its throat… T-that’s the sound old men make before they spit something out! That throat-clearing sound! It’s not going to spit at me, is it?!
The roach spits.
Some pink, gooey thing comes out of its mouth. Without context, it might look like a yummy dessert, but—
Guh? ACID?!
W-what? What the hell?
Flesh starts to peel. Boils form so fast that my mind doesn’t even process the pain yet. I feel my good arm burn hot. Very hot. Like an inferno. Yet, I feel a shiver up my spine, and my head feels surprisingly cool.
Something yellow—possibly pus—starts to seep out of the wound, followed by a gush of blood.
The roach opens its mouth and begins to gurgle once more.
No! No way in HELL will I allow you to fire that acid again!
The roach attempts to start once more, and it shoots out a second volley of deathly mucus—or at least it tries to.
With both of my arms incapacitated, I do the only thing I can—kick. I boot the roach’s lower jaw, clamping its mouth shut. The roach tries to squirm in protest, but I force myself to push past the pain, and I jam the long dagger into the soft part of the roach’s lower jaw that connects to its stubby neck. I grunt in the process, but manage to force the entire dagger in. The roach thrashes even more violently, and scrapes at the dagger with its legs.
Unfortunately, the Guard lacks dexterity, and fails to remove the dagger clamping its mouth shut.
Azure lifeblood drips out of the Guards eyes, and similarly, blood pools out through gaps in the roach’s mouth. With nowhere to go, the mucus must have eroded the inside of the roach’s mouth. Knowing firsthand how devastating the acid is, I can tell that it did significant damage.
I guess its stomach had resistance to the acid, but its mouth didn’t.
The roach, temporarily blinded and frantic from the pain, chaotically slashes around itself in a futile attempt to hit me.
I-I have to… I have to utilise this opportunity!
But I can’t use this chance. As much as it pains the efficiency-based part of me, one of my arms is lopped off, and the other is slowly deteriorating due to the acid. All of my muscles are already numbed.
But I can’t waste an opportunity like this!
I raise up my rotting arm and try to slice the roach, but my arm suddenly bends at an unnatural angle and convulses mid-swing. Then, my whole body begins to spasm.
F-fuck!!
I scream in pain and start rolling on the ground like a madman. The roach, equally—if not, further pained—locks eyes with me. It glares with such intensity that it makes me lose my usual swagger. Green pus, mixed along with navy-blue blood seeps out of its mouth, and I see the roach similarly spasm in pain.
Since its frame is so large, the surrounding walls capture its violent trembles, creating something like a miniature earthquake.
Yet, it still crawls towards me.
I can’t run. I can’t even think properly. I’m pitching and lurching like crazy.
Slowly, the Guard staggers forwards. Inching closer and closer, centimetre by centimetre. The roach and I haven’t broken eye contact since the initial locking. The two white, marble eyes—now dyed a gory blue—are ignited with such ferocity. I.. haven’t seen eyes like that for a long time. Not since my dad laid eyes on me.
After minutes that felt like days, if not, weeks, I finally fell into the roach’s striking distance. And for the last time, it brings its scythe down.
Yet for some reason, I can’t help but calmly assess it all. The roach’s struggling form. The heavy breathing from both parties. The lukewarm blood dribbling down my chin. The buckling of my legs, acting on intrinsic thoughts in an attempt to escape. All of it.
Even my death.
Hello, Reaper.
…
..
.
Then, right as the roach raises its scythe, it gives out one final feverish shiver. Its eyes lose the life inside them, and the raised scythe drops down lifelessly, mere centimetres from my battered chest.
A final trickle of thin, diluted blood spills out of its clamped mouth, highlighting battle-hardened scars on its way down.
And a blanket of froth erupts out, as if to shadow the odious sight.
All basic attributes increased.
Level-up proficiency acquired.
Proficiency has reached required level.
Skill [Slab Lv6] has become [Stab Lv7].
Proficiency has reached required level.
Skill [Slash Lv2] has become [Slash Lv3].
Skill Points acquired.
Combat Points acquired.
50% of max health recovered>
All basic attributes increased.
Level-up proficiency acquired.
Proficiency has reached required level.
Skill [Reparation Lv3] has become [Reparation Lv4].
Skill Points acquired.
Combat Points acquired.
50% of max health recovered>
All basic attributes increased.
Level-up proficiency acquired.
Proficiency has reached required level.
Skill [Resist Acid Lv2] has become [Resist Acid Lv3].
Skill Points acquired.
Combat Points acquired.
50% of max health recovered>
All basic attributes increased.
Level-up proficiency acquired.
Skill Points acquired.
Combat Points acquired.
50% of max health recovered>
Rena Shinohara has been gifted the [Underdog] title!>
Skill [Stab Lv7] has been fused into [Melee Lv1]
Skill [Slash Lv3] has been fused into [Melee Lv1]>
…What?
All my wounds begin to heal at a miraculous pace. The stumped ivory bone from my ‘amputated’ arm swells violently. Moments later, the bone suddenly surges forwards, accompanied by a procession of veins, nerves and capillaries. Some of the vessel’s warp in disquieting patterns. These twisted vessels lump, and large chunks of flesh grow unto them.
The bones keep on extending, until it violently jerks, splitting into five separate intervals. My fingers?
Probably.
Once all the bones, muscles and nerves fall into place, my lost arm suddenly stops healing—and it causes me to fall into a panic.
W-wait!
What about my skin?!
Hello?! Mr. System?! I think you forgot to give me my missing skin!!!
And after the brief pause, skin sprouts out.
…Really? That gave me way too much of a fright. But even with that aside?
I think I might need therapy…
I mean, it’s not every day you witness your missing arm suddenly sprout back out. Seriously, if this was the old, un-reincarnated me with no prior experience to gore, then I think that sight alone might’ve gotten me passing out and all.
I really thought I would go out dying a cool death and all, buuuut, since I’m still alive and all, we’re just going to pretend nothing happened. Just turn a blind eye… please?
Jokes aside, I hate that roach! I mean, really? Can’t you show basic human decency by respecting life? Why toy with it? And then, when you’re about to die, you glare at me?!
The audacity!
Stupid Guard, it deserved it for underestimating me!
Sure, its stats were probably higher by a significant margin, but it got cocky and willingly put itself into a disadvantageous situation.
I know how I act and all, especially since I’m so… emotionally expressive, but guys that play with life really tick me off, you know?
These roaches aren’t human so they don’t count, but even I’ve got a code of morals to follow!
- Don’t randomly kill people
- Don’t use life as a plaything
Sure, the list is a bit lacking, but at least I’ve got a conscience.
Setting that aside, …
Woohoo!
First off, I levelled up FOUR times! A whole FOUR levels!
Woohoo!
That means I can allocate an entire 20 Combat Points on whatever I like! Not to mention, I probably also got a truck ton of Skill Points. Maybe enough to purchase another skill?
Well, I have my priorities, much like anyone else.
First things first: Combat Points!