Shujinkou Janai! - CH 64
—————-Rex will challenge the trial.
When I hurriedly got up at that unexpected suggestion, Rex chuckled, seemingly embarrassed.
[We actually have no more time left because I have business with the Guild by afternoon. So, I will clear this in one go.]
Hearing his words, I gulped.
How many times have I failed and how much time have I spent until I reached the third trial?
And yet, Rex says that he will clear this in one go.
[You don’t have to make a face like that. I decided to come here for reasons other than training being difficult back in the city. To be honest, the trial here makes learning <Sword Saint> Skills here comparatively easier.]
Happily laughing, saying “Well, it may be a bit unfair”, he reached out to the central pedestal and got his magatama.
Then, not even holding his weapon, he walked towards the <First Trial>.
Lighthearted, as if he was just going on a stroll, it doesn’t look like he was about to challenge a difficult trial.
(……No. It’s not that he doesn’t look like it. For Rex, this trial probably really isn’t that much of a challenge.)
A trial that I had continuously struggled and despaired.
However, such a difficulty was something that this Hero could complete while humming a tune.
……Understanding this, I felt pride and a rather incomprehensible murkiness in my heart.
I’m not sure if he’s aware of these emotions I have or not, but Rex leisurely stepped into the trials, looking as if he was just about to conduct his lectures.
[The role of Active Skills and Arts are quite similar, but Arts have various advantages, such as the ability to arrange the movement of the technique if it’s manually executed, or the ability to use a technique that you originally haven’t mastered yet as long as you remembered the movements. However, some Skills have effects that can’t be substituted by Arts.]
With a thud, the stone statue knight landed in front of Rex and started running toward him.
However, the expression on Rex’s face didn’t change at all, as he continued explaining about Skills……
[The Skill I’m going to show you now is one of those useful Skills. This is something like a Sub-Technique of <Sword Saint Nirva>’s Unique Skill: <Flash Blade>, and from what I know, it’s the most user-friendly Counter Skill. Its name……]
Finally, the knight came within before Rex’s eyes, and just as the knight’s halberd strike was about to reach Rex……
[—————-<Body Flicker>!]
The next moment, Rex suddenly appeared behind the knight.
[Eh……?]
It wasn’t a matter of quickly moving behind the knight’s back or anything of that level.
The moment I thought the knight’s attack had hit him, Rex’s figure was gone and his body suddenly moved behind the knight.
The knight completely lost sight of Rex for that moment, and just as Rex pulled back his right arm……
[—————-<Thunderclap Palm Strike>!]
As a thunderous roar resounded, as if metal had been pierced with great force, the knight’s body was blown away, tumbling on the ground.
The fact that this was the result of a palm strike from Rex, who was behind it, was something I realized after the blown away knight fell to the ground about 2 meters away.
[That just now……]
When I asked in a hoarse voice, Rex simply answered.
[The earlier one was a Skill that can be acquired from the Class: <Sword Saint>, <Body Flicker>. The moment you are hit by an attack, you can instantly move behind the attacker. It’s difficult to use, but it’s powerful. The next move I used was <Thunderclap Palm Strike>, a Skill acquired from the Class: <Brawler>. It’s not very powerful, but its attack channeling speed and knockback distance are excellent. This is the first time I’ve used these in this trial, but I guess these can be useful.]
Rex happily smiled as he said this.
Thereupon, I noticed something even more unusual.
[Arehh? The knight…… isn’t getting up?]
The knight who was hit from behind by Rex’s offensive skill and blown away is still lying on the ground, and has stopped moving.
There’s no way that attack could have dealt a fatal injury, as Rex has said earlier that the Skill wasn’t very powerful, so this situation doesn’t feel right.
“”
[Yeah. When they’re moved out of the trial room, they end up standing still for some reason. If you pull them to the very edge and then push them out of the corridor, you can neutralize them for the duration of the trial.]
[So that’s how it is……]
I couldn’t wrap my head around all these surprises.
Even the question of where he had gotten this information hasn’t crossed my mind, making me think that it’s too late to ask that now.
Rex takes his eyes off the motionless stone statue knight, who has fallen to the ground, and returns his gaze to the goal of the trial.
[The other one can also be dealt with by using <Body Flicker> and <Thunderclap Palm Strike>, but that’s not very artistic now, right?]
Rex then exaggeratedly flicks the magatama to his left hand, and for the first time, pulls out a weapon from his inventory and holds it in his right hand.
In his hand though was an Iron Sword, his weakest weapon.
Wondering what he was gonna do with a weapon like that, Rex, holding his weapon at the ready, lowered his posture……
[Take a good look, Radd. This is the “other solution”!]
With such a proclamation, he fiercely pushed forward to the end of the passageway, swinging his sword.
(———-Fast!)
Seeing that speed made me wide-eyed in surprise.
If you just look at our ability values, Rex has an AGI stat of 200, while I have 238.
I should have slightly higher AGI than him, but if I were to believe Rex’s lecture from two months ago, the difference in AGI will only have a significant effect on a person’s movement speed up to when they have 100 AGI.
And if one reaches 150 AGI, your movement speed will be almost at the maximum, so I should be able to say that our conditions were practically the same.
And yet……
[————–<Gale Sword> <Typhoon> <Divine Thrust>!]
Rex weaves his speed-increasing Arts and runs through the passageway at a speed that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances, and one that I could never have achieved.
His speed completely left behind the reaction capabilities of the stone statue at the back, which finally started to move……
[And with this, goal!]
Just as the other stone statue landed on the ground with a thud, Rex was already holding the magatama in his left hand over the pedestal.
※ ※ ※
[As I thought, Nii-san’s Arts really are perverted.]
[Why the heck can’t you just honestly praise people……]
[Can you please not speak as if I’m twisted? I would never say this to anyone other than Nii-san.]
In front of Rex, who returned to the Central Room and exchanged banter with Resilia, my face stiffened.
I was both admiring and jealous at the same time of Rex, who had easily cleared the trial that I had struggled so hard in.
[How was it? Was it at least a little helpful?]
[That is……]
And so, when Rex approached me with a smile, I couldn’t help but sharply snap back at him.
[Old man’s technique certainly was amazing! However, something like that won’t work in the <Second Trial>! What are you going to do then!?]
I regretted reflexively getting belligerent at him.
I wondered if my words had somewhat offended him, but for some reason, the one who awkwardly moved his gaze away was Rex.
[Well, yeah, using the same method for the next trial is certainly not impossible, but it would be difficult…… but.]
When I raised my eyebrows at his strange, brusque words, Rex embarrassedly looked away and spoke.
[There is, in fact, an easier way to clear this trial.]
[……Eh?]
※ ※ ※
While Rex advanced down the passageway with a somewhat apologetic look on his face, the two stone statue knights close in with their weapons.
Even from where I stand, I could see the heavy weight of the two statues’ halberds.
If you get hit by such a thing, you will not get away with just a few bruises.
Well, that’s what I thought……
[……Seriously……]
Even when the two halberds were about to hit him, Rex didn’t move.
With only that apologetic expression on his face, he kept walking as if the knights hadn’t attacked him.
Naturally, the knights’ pursuing attack struck his back, but the result was still the same.
Seeing this sight reminded me of Rex’s earlier words.
[The surefire winning strategy is this.]
I’ll never forget what Rex pulled out of his bag as he said this.
The item that allowed us to clear the dungeon which brought about our impressive debut in Frelia, <Seven-Colored Lava Cave>.
<Barrier Ring>.
[The only condition for the magatama to break is that the person holding the magatama is just to have received damage. Therefore, if it’s only the barrier of the <Barrier Ring> that has received damage, the magatama will not be broken.]
I understood the logic behind this.
However, it’s strange how this barrier ended up being the winning strategy.
[However, the problem is that that thing has a durability limit, right? A barrier like that would break in a heartbeat…… Ah.]
[It seems you’ve also realized it. The barrier would usually be broken with a single attack. However, the enemies here only have 1 ATK. That’s why……]
[————-“As long as he has that ring equipped, their attacks will never reach him” huh.]
I repeated the line that Rex spoke earlier.
In the room of the <Second Trial>, the events went exactly as Rex said.
The four knights desperately attacked Rex, but their extremely poor attacks never got past Rex’s barrier.
As if he was treading through an empty field, Rex advanced through the trial room with ease, and with that apologetic look on his face, he easily held the magatama over the pedestal.
※ ※ ※
When I saw Rex return after completing the trial, that flutter I had in my heart wasn’t here anymore.
Seeing the earlier scene was just too much for me, and the envy I had earlier flew away.
[……Geez. No matter where it is, the old man will be the same.]
[The heck is with that.]
We exchanged the usual banters.
This time though, I feel myself smiling naturally.
(Come to think of it, it certainly has always been like this. I was attracted by this part of Master.)
He would do unimaginable things, blowing away people’s expectations and common sense.
I finally remembered that this was the true nature of the Hero I admired so much.
[But well, if this is the case, the final trial would be as good as finished huh.]
It’s true that the “Dragon’s Path” is troublesome, but without that knight’s interference, it would be nothing more than a troublesome obstacle.
It would take some time, but you would certainly be able to clear it with this.
[……No.]
However, Rex shook his head at my words.
[Only for the final trial that the <Barrier Ring> will be useless.]
[Eh? W- Why……]
[If you had seen what it’s like with <Inspect>, you would understand. Only that one in the final trial is different from the other stone statues. It has nearly 200 STR, and it has a powerful weapon. If you get hit by its attack, a barrier on the level of <Barrier Ring> will be broken in an instant.]
[Then…… What are you going to do?]
As I was feeling bewildered by the sudden fact, Rex gave me a reliable smile.
[I told you it would be fine. What do you think is the purpose of showing that technique back in the first trial?]
[Ah……]
Now that he mentioned it, that certainly is the case.
If he could have gotten through the trial with just the Barrier Ring, he wouldn’t have bothered using his skills there.
[From here on out, make sure you won’t blink. Watch me carefully.]
After saying this, Rex stood in front of the door of the <Final Trial> without hesitation, and held up the magatama in his right hand.
The huge door opens little by little, and from behind it, the final and most difficult trial is revealed in all its majesty.
[I’ve always been weak with narrow paths. That’s why, I’m going to take a short cut.]
Saying this, Rex held out a <Decoy Gun> in his left hand.
He then casually pointed it at the pedestal in the back and pulled the trigger.
(He’s going to distract it with a decoy? However, what would doing that……)
Leaving me puzzled, a decoy in the shape of Rex was generated just in front of the goal pedestal.
And then, right after that……
————Dodon!
With a dull thud of dropping stone, the stone statue knight descended to the central scaffold.
(I see!)
The decoy was created at the back, not to attract the attention of the enemy, but to fulfill the condition for the knight’s appearance and make it spawn in the central scaffold.
Thereupon, the spawned knight targeted not the decoy in the back, but Rex who was holding the magatama, widely brandishing its spear.
Rex, on the other hand, is completely unarmed, not holding a stance and had even put away the decoy gun he was holding in his left hand.
At first glance, the situation appears hopeless.
However, just as the spear thrown by the knight seemed to have caught Rex’s body……
[—————<Body Flicker>!]
Rex’s image flies behind the knight.
This is the strategy Rex has set up.
By daring to spawn the knight early and induce it to throw its spear, he makes a shortcut toward the halfway point of the Dragon’s Path.
And when he arrives behind the stone knight, he would of course use……
[—————<Thunderclap Palm Strike>!]
Immediately after, a flash and a thunderous roar resounded.
An offensive skill with a high knockback performance bursts into the back of the stone statue knight!
————–It’s true that these stone statue knights have infinite VIT and can’t be defeated by ordinary means.
However, that is only if the battlefield is a mere room.
No matter how much VIT they have, what will happen if they are knocked down into the bottomless abyss?
The answer to this question was about to be demonstrated by the Hero.
The knight who was struck in the back, defenseless, who was just pitching forward immediately after throwing its spear, was helplessly blown away……
[Wha!?]
I was instinctively surprised.
A normal knight just like those in the first two trials would have been pushed into the abyss no matter what.
However, this knight was able to brace itself and stay on its feet at the last moment.
Showing its determination as a Boss monster, it stuck its foot on the edge of the circular foothold.
However, its stance was already broken, and half of its body was leaning forward into the abyss.
It’s obvious that with just a little more, just one more push, that thing can be pushed out of the scaffold.
[Go, finish it off, Master!!!]
Before I knew it, all my doubts and fears, everything I held in my heart had been forgotten and I found myself shouting towards Rex.
Whether it’s my lack of ability or the outburst of anger I had, just at this moment, I’ll let it all go.
Showing me exciting new scenes, sights no one has ever seen, I shouted.
Then when I moved my gaze up, the sight I saw in front of my eyes……
There was Rex, completely off balance from the recoil of his own skill, he was about to fall off the Dragon’s Path.
[……Eh?]
Of course, even if he’s a Hero who has vast amounts of experience, there’s no technique that would allow him to return his body that had already been flipped mid-air back to the ground……
[U- Uwaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!]
And there, while Resilia and I attentively watched over him, Rex fluttered his limbs as he fell into the abyss.
Comments for chapter "CH 64"
NOVEL DISCUSSION
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
