Chapter 94: Incarnation of the Battlefield (3)

HardboiledPC’s dropkick struck the skeleton chef’s ribs with pinpoint accuracy.

Hundreds of cracks spread through the bone joints.

Crack—crunch~! Snap!

At the same time, the ribs and surrounding bones bent inward.

Soon after.

Crack—!

The spine snapped, and the skeleton chef’s upper body shot out like a cannonball.

Boom!

The skeleton chef crashed into the towering ice wall.

Its skull shattered into pieces and scattered.

Crack—crackle—boom!

The massive ice wall collapsed, completely crushing the skeleton chef’s body.

<FIRST KILL!>

At the same time, a white glow emanated from HardboiledPC and Han Seoha’s bodies.

Ding-dong!

<LEVEL UP!>

<HardboiledPC>

-LV: 2(+1)

-Strength: 3(+2)

-Vitality: 2(+1)

-Agility: 3(+2)

-Intelligence: 1

-Mental Strength: 1

(※These stat increases apply temporarily only in the third stratum.)

<Blue Mage Tower Lord Han Seoha>

-LV: 2(+1)

-Strength: 1

-Vitality: 1

-Agility: 1

-Intelligence: 4(+3)

-Mental Strength: 3(+2)

(※These stat increases apply temporarily only in the third stratum.)

HardboiledPC’s stats rose in strength, vitality, and agility, which favored close combat, while Han Seoha’s increased mainly in intelligence and mental strength, as befitting a mage.

Soon after, HardboiledPC spoke up.

“Hmm~ My whole body feels all tingly~! Hasangie! Nice order, jagi!”

“Thank you. …But I’d prefer if you didn’t call me that.”

“Aww~ So cold. But that’s kinda charming in its own way? Playing hard to get is cute.”

At that moment, a message window appeared above the pile of ice.

Ding-dong!

<A special reward is granted to the faction that achieved first blood!>

‘This is a feature that wasn’t in the Spear Demon’s training ground.’

A dazzling light source formed above the ice fragments.

HardboiledPC reached out toward the orb of light.

His large hand was about to grasp the light source when.

Flash!

The brilliant glow vanished in an instant before HardboiledPC.

“!?”

The light source had been transferred right in front of me.

Ding-dong!

[Titan’s Heart Fragment-A]

-A fragment of the heart of Titan, the god of giants.

If you fully restore the heart fragments divided into three pieces, you can release the seal on the Titan statue.

“Oh!”

Something that looked incredibly impressive had appeared.

Even digging through my memories, this was a system I hadn’t seen in the Spear Demon’s place.

It seemed like Maslow’s originality started from here.

That aside.

‘What is the Titan statue?’

I looked around the temple area.

The massive statue I’d noticed as soon as we arrived here.

It wore a sharp-shaped helmet on its head and gripped a huge sword with both hands.

Ding-dong!

[Titan Statue]

The leader of the giant race defeated in the Gigantomachy.

After having its heart ripped out by the gods, its body was cursed to turn to stone.

It possesses immense power, capable of reshaping the terrain with a single swing of its arm.

‘So if I collect all the heart fragments, that thing becomes an ally.’

After sorting out the situation, I turned my gaze to HardboiledPC’s screen.

The skeleton chef was completely dead.

‘We’ve taken down one, so now there’s a personnel gap. If we solidify the victory based on this….’

At that moment, an unexpected message appeared.

<The defeated enemy will revive in 30 seconds.>

Isn’t this a bit too much? It even has a revival function?

‘Does that mean if our side dies, we can revive too?’

As if answering, a system window popped up.

<Entities that die in Maslow’s Canyon will revive after a certain time. However, the body revives unhealed as an undead.>

Undead revival.

In practice, it’s a function our faction can’t use.

A one-sided demerit.

Either way, dying was never an option from the start, so it doesn’t change much.

I looked at the screen and gave the next instruction.

“HardboiledPC, return to the jungle, and Han Seoha, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Okey-dokey. Leave it to me~!”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

Han Seoha swept away the goblins in the mid lane with an expressionless face.

Her personality isn’t the best, but her skill is worthy of an A+ rank mage tower lord.

Alright, now the next target is…

‘I need to do something about the bottom lane.’

The personnel assigned to the bottom lane were Mrs. Luddite’s combat robot LDX-3021 and White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek.

Their opponents were the Pierrot devil and Cherochero Fly.

The problem was that LDX-3021 and Yun Yeobaek’s synergy was the worst.

Since LDX-3021 was a robot, Yun Yeobaek’s white magic didn’t work on it at all.

In other words, it was a combination that couldn’t draw out the White Mage Tower Lord’s full power.

At that moment.

Ding-dong!

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

<WARNING!>

Red warning lights began flashing on the minimap.

At the same time, a siren blared fiercely.

Soon after, messages flooded in.

Ding-dong!

<Ally ‘White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek’s’ HP is low!>

<Ally ‘White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek’s’ HP is low!>

<Ally ‘White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek’s’ HP is low!>

<Ally ‘White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek’s’ HP is low!>

I checked the situation in the bottom lane.

“…!”

Blood poured like a waterfall from Yun Yeobaek’s left arm.

A chunk of flesh had been torn out from her shoulder to the outside of her arm.

It was a severe injury that could have severed her left arm if it had gone any deeper.

Beside her, LDX-3021 was engaged with the Pierrot devil.

A pointed dagger slashed at LDX-3021’s exoskeleton.

At the same time, an identical dagger sliced at the back of LDX’s head.

Two Pierrots surrounding LDX-3021.

‘A clone skill.’

LDX-3021 was fighting two Pierrot devils at once.

A dangerous 2 vs. 3 situation.

The combination synergy was bad, and now numerical inferiority piled on.

Yun Yeobaek was originally a combat support type.

Her main role was to enhance allies’ combat power through heals and buffs.

But LDX-3021 was a robot. Enhancement buffs didn’t work.

And a healer couldn’t just buff herself and fight.

It was a so-called dilemma.

At that moment, purple gas spewed from the Cherochero Fly’s proboscis.

Whoosh——

The purple gas spread rapidly on the wind.

Flies, maggots, and corpse beetles throughout the cemetery began dropping dead one by one.

In that instant.

Slash—!

Yun Yeobaek cut her own palm with a dagger.

Red blood flowed down her fingers.

Not just her hand, but her arms, palms, and even thighs.

Yun Yeobaek’s body was covered in self-inflicted wounds.

It seemed she was enduring the Cherochero Fly’s sleep gas by self-harming.

At that moment, Yun Yeobaek’s voice came through.

“I’m using resistance magic, but, ugh… it has no effect at all. It seems that sleep gas nullifies resistance magic.”

The Cherochero Fly’s anesthetic fluid was a vicious solution that had even neutralized Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam.

The Pierrot devil that ravaged opponents with bluffing and the Cherochero Fly that disrupted mental focus.

They were opponents with compatibility so bad it was extreme against Yun Yeobaek and LDX-3021.

If this continued, both Yun Yeobaek and LDX-3021 would be annihilated.

But at that moment.

Rumble~!

HardboiledPC began charging through the jungle with terrifying momentum.

HardboiledPC dashed toward the bottom lane, destroying the jungle foliage.

‘Oh? Good situational awareness? As expected from the third-ranked hunter…!’

…Or so I thought, when HardboiledPC bellowed loudly.

“I will never forgive you, you utterly wicked scum~!”

Not his usual sleazy voice, but a deep and resonant one.

HardboiledPC’s face, twisted in rage, looked almost like a demon.

His speed was much faster than before.

HardboiledPC charged forward, colliding with trees and toppling them.

“How dare you do that to Yeobaekie!? I won’t forgive yooooou-!”

HardboiledPC kicked off the ground and leaped.

Boom!

Just from kicking the ground, HardboiledPC soared dozens of meters into the air.

At the same time, HardboiledPC’s muscles swelled moment by moment.

Pop—pop!

His reddened muscles expanded, tearing through his clothes.

Finally.

Rip—riiiip!

His Hawaiian shirt and shorts burst completely.

HardboiledPC became fully nude in the sky.

His muscles compressed as if about to burst.

It was like a creature sculpted from muscle was flying through the air.

Soon after.

Boom!

With the sound of compressed air exploding, HardboiledPC’s body plummeted toward the ground.

In the blink of an eye, HardboiledPC reached the ground.

At the same time, a heavy straight punch slammed into the Cherochero Fly’s abdomen.

Boom!

With a heavy explosion, a large hole was punched through the Cherochero Fly’s abdomen.

[Kee, kee, keeeeek~!]

The Cherochero Fly trembled and staggered back.

But HardboiledPC’s attack had only just begun.

“Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraaaa~!”

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

A relentless barrage poured out without pause.

Dozens of holes were punched through the Cherochero Fly’s plump body.

HardboiledPC clenched his fist tightly and shouted.

“FREEDOM…! RIDER…! SMASH-!”

An uppercut slammed into the Cherochero Fly’s jaw.

<Enemy defeated!>

The Cherochero Fly was hurled high into the sky, soon vanishing from sight.

At the same time.

Ding-dong!

<Team member ‘HardboiledPC’ has defeated enemies in succession!>

<Acquired Titan’s Heart Fragment-B!>

The second heart fragment arrived, emitting a golden flash.

I looked at the screen and said.

“Alright, now one left.”