Staring at the boss-level monster a hundred meters away—the Carnivorous Toad—an endless gloom settled over Xiang Kong's heart. Despair took root within him and, in the blink of an eye, grew into a towering tree.
No matter how hard he tried, the arm gripping his shield refused to obey. He glanced at the status bar in his field of vision, where the lower half of the bar-shaped icon was marked by a conspicuous lightning bolt.
Partial paralysis...
Just one blow against his shield had caused this. Xiang Kong was shocked by the Carnivorous Toad's strength, but even more shaken by the possibility that the Guard skill's impact-immunity effect had failed.
Could a huge gap in stats let one side ignore a skill's effects?
There was no time to investigate. The Carnivorous Toad's abdomen began to swell strangely again, and Xiang Kong could almost see the coldness in its lantern-sized eyes.
No. I can't just give up like this. How can I die here?
Xiang Kong screamed inwardly. Under the pressure of imminent death, he forced his eyes wide open and stared fixedly at the Carnivorous Toad's mouth. Suddenly, an electric current surged through his limbs. An indescribable feeling filled his chest. His eyes went blank for an instant, and his mind became crystal clear. The despair and fear that had taken root in his heart vanished without a trace.
His slightly contorted face relaxed in an instant. He gazed at the Carnivorous Toad with an empty stare as hypothetical scenes flashed through his mind like lightning...
Block the attack head-on—death!
Jump straight up—death!
Dodge left—death!
Dodge right—death!
Crouch? Hit the ground?
No. Then he wouldn't be able to avoid the next attack, and he'd still die. That left only one option: retreat!
He discarded the hypothetical scenes in which he died and reached a conclusion in a flash: retreat.
After the first attack, neither of them had moved. The Carnivorous Toad had attacked from so far away, which meant it needed that much distance to do so. So, if he leaped backward as fast as he could, he could dodge the next attack, then turn and run while the Carnivorous Toad was locked in recovery after missing. At the same time, he could open his item menu and materialize a Transfer Crystal, then use it immediately.
That's right. I can do this. This plan will definitely work! With the combined help of the first stage of the genetic lock and Kenbunshoku Haki, my cool-headed combat instincts will let me materialize the Transfer Crystal with steady, precise fingers.
But with my current Agility, I can't be sure I'll leap back fast enough to dodge the attack. Still, I have to survive. I have to live for the future I'm looking forward to. So I can't die here!
An intense will to live surged from within him. The muscles in his legs suddenly swelled, leaving his lower body out of proportion with his upper body.
The second stage of the genetic lock!
Xiang Kong looked down at his thickened legs in wild elation...
(Carnivorous Toad: "How much longer are you gonna keep this up, you ribbiting idiot? Do you think it's fun holding my breath? You wanna jump back and dodge, then jump back and dodge, but why the hell are you pouring in so much water? Who am I supposed to blame if I get a cramp holding my breath?")
"Now I can do it! Great!" Xiang Kong looked confidently toward the Carnivorous Toad a hundred meters away.
"Come on, let's make this my legendary flash! Flying Thunder God Technique! (I think that's what it's called.)"
Power surged through his leg muscles. Xiang Kong pushed off with both feet, and the force of his leap made it look as if he vanished as he sprang backward, instantly covering a great distance. That had to be spatial teleportation.
"I did it!"
Xiang Kong cried out in delight and looked ahead, only to see a blob of oily green liquid flying toward his face.
"Why wasn't it the tongue?"
Still deeply confused, Xiang Kong took the hit to the face. A foul stench filled his nostrils, and his vision turned completely green, but he ignored it all and stared blankly at the Carnivorous Toad a hundred meters away.
Why wasn't it the tongue? Damn it, are you messing with me?
His HP continued to dwindle at a slow, steady pace...
The Carnivorous Toad gave him a disdainful glance and sneered, "Ribbit ribbit ribbit...!"
(Is that how toads sound? Maybe it's a frog? But what's it saying? Where's the translator? Get the translator out here!)
"I never thought things would end this way... I'm so unwilling to accept it. I really am! I still wanted to meet you in the real world... I still wanted to be with you forever..."
A deep longing lingered in Xiang Kong's eyes. His body suddenly warped, then gave a muffled thud and shattered into countless fragments that fluttered through the air.
"Argo..."
In that final second, his longing—so deep it seemed impossible to dispel—became a soft murmur.
At that moment, a pinpoint of light, no bigger than a fingernail, appeared out of nowhere in front of the fluttering fragments. A second later, it suddenly burst into dazzling radiance. The light lasted for about five seconds before gradually dimming, revealing a figure within its glow.
"How sad..."
Yui floated in midair and slowly opened her eyes. She gazed at the fragments, still filled with longing, and her faintly gleaming pupils were full of sorrow.
She reached out a small hand. As if drawn by some force, all the scattered fragments gathered in her pale palm.
(Is this a resurrection arc? No way. How naive can you be, kid?)
"Xiang Kong!"
Argo stood not far away, staring blankly at the mass of fragments gathered in Yui's hand. She let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"How could this happen!"
Tears poured from her eyes, streaming down her face, but they could not wash away the pain in her heart.
"How could it happen so easily..."
Life was so fragile. In this merciless world, people struggled on, and death was as commonplace as anything else. One second, someone might still be laughing heartily; the next, they might be dead, their face frozen in shock.
"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."
Yui spoke sadly to Argo. Under Argo's despairing gaze, the fragments gathered in her palm gradually turned transparent, then disappeared...
After killing Xiang Kong, the Carnivorous Toad didn't continue attacking Argo, because Yui had added a subcommand to its AI.
After doing all this, she took one last look at the devastated Argo, then vanished into thin air. The passage fell dark once more.
The sudden death of the Blood Alliance's shield shocked many players, but as time passed, people stopped focusing on Xiang Kong's death. The Blood Alliance continued to lead the攻略 campaign alone, and a year later, on the seventy-fifth floor, they finally cleared the game!
The end!
I kept thinking about how to make Yui joining the protagonist feel reasonable. Sigh, sometimes it's hard not to make things too wish-fulfilling. I still can't decide. The only thing I'm sure of is that Yui can't appear just yet, because the protagonist still can't make it through the underground labyrinth.
Well, there should probably be a regular chapter after this one, but I'm utterly shameless, so I'm going to sleep.
Before you continue