Chapter 22: [Arc 1] Chapter 16: Conclusion of the fight

*CRASH!* 

Whoa, too close! Damn it, why does this guy get to have a protagonist-like power up?! Give me some of that! Not the berserk-part though.

"GWHAAA!!" - Berserker

*CRASH!!*

Okay, okay, you can have it for yourself!

Hii, this was a bad idea. Lesson learned, never pick a fight again. Never!

"Take this!" - Spear user

Oi, that's dangerous! While making a mental comment to the spear user, I threw an elastic thread to the ceiling and used it to jump away from the spear attack.

"Wha?! First, that crazy speed, now the threads, what's wrong with that slime?!" - Spear user

That's because I'm a demon, not a slime. And that 'crazy speed' as he puts it, is [Free Movement] working full throttle. If I only could use it to hide in the darkness of the dungeon. Not that there are any dark spots in this intersection anymore. The remains of the fireball attacks that the mage used are still burning, lighting up the whole place. 

It still good that I have this skill. Or maybe not, since the skill is partly the reason for me being in this crisis. That, and me being too confident for my own goo-wha!

*CRASH!*

Can't you stop that for like two seconds?! And why haven't the spear user being taken out with those attacks yet? Don't come and tell me that he can still see between enemy and allies while going crazy like that! Wait, he got that class due to raising a skill to some level. Eh, what was the name, rage? Something like that.

If he didn't get that skill from his main class, then he must have obtained it through the skill shop or something similar. In any case, he obtained that rage skill or whatchamacallit on his own, despite the risk of getting the Berserker-class. No one would want a skill that you into an unstoppable mon-yikes!

*CRASH*

See! That's what I'm talking about! And here comes the spear again!

*Swish*

"Tch, again?" - Spear user

Yup, I jumped above you again. Too bad, try again. NOT!

Bad jokes aside, even if the berserker has some smarts left, they cannot attack me at the same time. The berserker's attacks are too huge for the spear user to join in, forcing them to attack in waves. 

Due to that, I was able to survive so long, but I don't have a chance to win like this. As long as I focus on dodging their attacks, they won't get a hit, but I won't be able to strike back since I will get killed the moment I stop focusing on dodging! Unless they stop their attacks for a moment, I won't be able to counterattack.

The whole situation is like a war of attrition, where a single misstep leads to death, but only for me!  The berserker got crazy stamina, and the spear user got potions to cover his. I don't have a way to recover mine, so I need to finish this quickly.

Damn it. Why did I think I could take on the whole world and get away with it, just because I was getting some good skills and somewhat decent equipment (not really). Well, the morning stars were a flop, but thanks to the skills I'm barely holding out here.

I need a plan! These guys know how bad my threads are, so they are either blowing it away with the force generated from the bastard sword or moving them away with the spear. 

I don't think they have cached on how well I can manipulate my threads. I only used [Thread Control] to boost the strength of my throws. They don't know the true worth of this skill yet. That's one of the key points to survive this fight. But how should I use it?

If I try to cut the throat of one of these guys, the remaining one will finish me off. I need to knock one of them off balance to take out the remaining one. Then I can finish off the first one. But how?!

*CRASH*

Okay, screw 'one of them'. The berserker is the one that needs to be stopped. I can't imagine winning a one-on-one against this guy. In that case, I need to distract him, then kill the spear user before the berserker recovers.

Then is the question: how to distract this mass of violence? Ah, spear.

*Swish*

I dodged by running through the spear user's legs. I wanted to cut off his legs like this, but the spear user guessed and jumped before I managed to cut him. As a bonus, the spear user tried to stomp me as if I was some insect.

After side-stepping the stomp, I readied myself for the next blow from the berserker. Isn't there anything that can stop that thing? Uhm, poison? Would just be blown away. Threads? Same as the poison. Daggers? Will break upon contact. So I have nothing at all?! Eiih, whatever!!

In half desperation, I threw all the contents of my [Demonic Storage] at the berserker.

*CRACK* *SPLOSH*

"GYAAAA!" - Berserker

"Tryf! What the heck is that?!" - Spear user

Eh? What's going on? Isn't that... it is! The container with poison! 

Amongst all the stuff I threw out of the storage was the poison I had created while I was trying to make tools with my new skills. I had taken with me the poison container since I had more place left in my storage. When the berserker attacked with his sword, the container was broken from the slash and he got covered with poison all over him. No surprise, since the container had room for around 2-liter poison.

It is working wonders, or maybe it's better to say 'nightmares'. The berserker is burning where the poison hit him. Is it poison in that container? Cause that looks more like acid or maybe a curse. No wonder it was listed as 'Vengeful Poison'.

Geh, this isn't the time to space out and comment! The spear user is freaked out by the berserker taking so much damage.  This is the chance I was hoping for! [Cutting Thread], FULL POWER!! Aim for his neck and finish him off! 

*SWISH*

"Gah!" - Spear user

GOT HIM! The thread cuts deep into the spear user's neck, more than halfway through the whole thing! If that didn't kill him, nothing will. No level up announcement though. I could need the extra power up for finishing off the berse... here he comes!

"GWAAAHH!" - Berserker

*Crash*

Hah! The idiot forgot to pick up his sword. The handle is covered with poison so he couldn't use it anyway. Now he's crushed his own hand... or not?! Some kind of aura is covering the berserker. Something from his new Berserker-class? But how does he endure the poison? Oh crap!

*Crash*

The reach and power is nowhere the level when he used the sword. The mental damage I take is a different case. What mental damage? I'm talking about the berserker's face; the poison has burned off part of his face, like his lips, cheeks, and eyelids. Some of the poison had entered his left eye, making it blood-red and unusable. He looks more like a raging undead than a human adventure no- IIK!

*Crash*

Yikes! Okay, it's decided. I'll run away! No shame here, that guy's too scary to fight against! Exit, exit, where is an exit...

*Crash*

Geh! He crushed the pillar by one of the exits. The tunnel entrance collapsed, blocking one of the 5 exits. Only 4 more tries again, no wait, 3. One of the tunnels goes back to the camp. No way I'll take that way. The berserker can just pick up a new weapon if we run through it. If I want to survive this, I need to take this guy out for good.

Damn it, that aura armor (tentative name) is in the way. If it can negate the impact of those explosion punches, then there is no way my cutting threads are gonna work. Where did he get that anyway? [Appraisal], [Appraisal], hey! His SP is barely going down! Then his skills are... there are two new entries. And one of them is [Poison Resistance]?! Crap, his skill points are lower than when I first appraised him, but to take this skill of all things! It's understandable, but still!

He must have taken it when I was busy with the spear user. And the other skill is [SP Lessen Consumption(Small)]. And it's already at LV11! That's shouldn't be possible during the short amount of time we have battled. The skill does just as its name says, reducing the SP needed to perform actions. Must mean not just skills, but regular actions like walking and running that uses stamina. Kinda want that.

By the way, [Poison Resistance] has reached LV5 due to the Vengeful Poison. Wait, screw that last part. It's LV6 now. 

And one more skill level increased now. [Monstrous Strength] has become LV4 hmm? 'Strength', as in power? That's it! That aura armors (tentative name) true identity must be [Monstrous Strength]! And here comes said monster! He probably expects me to jump over him again, so let's try another way.

*Crash*

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And, slipping through his legs. I tried to cut his Achilles' tendons, but the aura generated from [Monstrous Strength] blocks it. 

"Huh?" - Berserker

Oya? That's the first understandable words he has spoken since gaining the Berserker class. Guess he didn't think I would dodge his attacks like that. Or maybe it was my attempts to strike back at him that surprised him. But more importantly, didn't the aura around him weakened a little there?

So he must stay berserk to maintain that [Monstrous Strength] aura. I learned something good there. Then, how to return him to sanity... that idea could work. But to do that I first need this.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Acquired skill from Skill Shop: [Parallel Thoughts LV.1]

It used 2 skill points to obtain, but now I'm ready for anything. Without this skill, I wouldn't be able to execute my plan since I need to do many actions at the same time. Now, I just need to wait for the next attack, then I have a chance. If I mess this up just a little, I'm as good as dead. Now, come at me!

"GWWAAHH!" - Berserker

And here he comes! First off, I throw a white thread up towards the ceiling. Since I did this before the berserker came to close, to make him think that I'll dodge his attack by jumping. Yup, he's grinning now. A scary sight with the half-burned face.

While doing that, I also made a thread in the same color as the dungeon floor, firing it towards the spear user. It went unnoticed by the berserker since he was distracted by the white thread to notice the second thread. 

Now, the berserker is right in front of me. While going for another one of those explosion punches, he's also ready to jump up if I try to dodge that way. He's probably thinking of doing a body blow if I try to run under him again. Well, too bad for you, but I'm sick of running anymore! I'm at a single digit of both MP and SP anyway, so like it or not, this is our final clash!

Just as the berserker was going for the strike, I let go of the white thread, making it bounce up towards the ceiling.

*BOING*

"What?" - Berserker

You thought I was aiming to escape the attack by jumping up? Sorry, but that thread is only a distraction. I made it with the same elastic properties as when I use my threads to climb on stuff before I had obtained [Thread Control]. The surprise is short-lived, as the berserker got himself together and continued with his punch.

Then, as to follow up the rubber thread surprise, I initiated the second part of the Berserker-take-down operation.

Through [Shape Change] I transformed the tentacle hand I had used to hold the rubber thread into a monster mouth. I'm talking about a real horror-type monster from some of the few movies of that genre which I remember from my old world. The mouth has several tentacle-like extendable fangs as teeth, like those a spider has. The inside of the mouth has several regular fangs as well to add some extra horror factors. 

... isn't this a real Lovecraftian monster? I haven't evolved though.

I got the idea when I was thinking of strengthening [Poison Bite]. The result is what I call the Horror Poison Bite. Since he was gonna punch with his right fist, he's making a huge wind-up, positioning his left arm in front of him and open for attacks. Therefore, thanks for the grub.

*Chomp*

"UWAAHH!!" - Berserker

Ouch! The poison left on his arm stings, even with my resistance skill! It's not enough to throw me off, but it still hurts.

I'm not planning on eating him for real, the damage is diminished due to his [Monstrous Strength] aura. That wasn't what I was aiming for though. Now that he's freaked out, time for the operations part 3!

While chomping on the berserker's left arm with my right... hand? Mouth? While chomping with the transformed right side of my body, I pulled the second thread after confirming that I had the catch that I was aiming for. 

"Get... off... me-ghwaf!" - Berserker

Half-way back to normal, the berserker was hit in the back of his head by the spear that the spear user had used. He wasn't stabbed, but the spear crashed into him from behind like a rake from old cartoons. Who could do such a horrible prank as to him? Just joking, it's me.

I used the second thread to get the spear that was left behind by the other adventure. I couldn't get the dagger because it's lodged into the skull of the adventure, but the spear was just for the taking. The spear would be too weak to penetrate the berserker's aura with me wielding it, but as a blunt weapon, it worked wonders. Not so much in damage though, but for snapping the berserker completely out of his berserk-state, it was plenty.

Last part. I let go of the second thread and made a new, shorter one. Then, I made use of [Cutting Thread] to lash against the berserkers now un-protected neck. I also used the Fatal Blow Art to boost the attack. The result: I managed to cut half of the berserker's neck.

Letting go of him, I jumped back a little, in case of the berserker thrashing around in pain. I don't want this to end in a draw after all this. Should I use some threads to confirm that he's dead?

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Karma Value has dropped significantly.

Nameless individual, [Grey Demon], has reached LV10.

0.2 skill points acquired.

Nameless individual, [Lesser Grey Demon], has reached its maximum level.

2.0 skill points acquired.

Individual [Grey Demon] can now evolve.

Number of evolution options: 7

Acquired title: [Pinch Breaker]

Through the title [Pinch Breaker], acquired skill: [Battle Continuation LV.1]

Oh, thanks. That helped a lot. I didn't want to get closer to that guy than I needed. 

---

I survived. And I learned an important lesson: NEVER PICK A FIGHT WITHOUT A PLAN!!

What was I thinking?! They were only humans, yes, but that doesn't mean they won't have special powers to fight against monsters! Humans have all kinds of cheating ways that monsters don't have, like items, classes, and intelligence.

Sure, I also had those parts, is what I thought at the beginning, but the humans had more knowledge of their classes and experience. Their items aren't DIY-works of an amateur like mine either. I can't even say I'm that intelligent either after this event...

Another advantage the humans had was numbers. If I just used my head a little, I would have retreated after killing the leader, then take another one out the next time I visited. Why did I go for a frontal assault like that?! Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!!

Eh, why I'm punishing myself so hard? That's because this skirmish ended in breaking my treasure! My Berry Box was broken with the rest of my inventory when I did the full storage ejection against the berserker! The berserker ended up getting poisoned, which ultimately made me come out of the fight alive, but to break my treasure! 

You are the true MVP in this fight, Berry Box. Huh, the Vengeful Poison is the MVP? NO WAY!! There is nothing that can convince me that my Berry Box is less important than some poison I cooked up as a mistake.

Hah, guess I'l scavenge the human camp. Their items were the main reason for challenging those humans. 

If I didn't get sidetracked from the information [Appraisal] gave me... no, that's just shifting the blame. The information I'm talking about is that all the other humans sans the leader were afflicted with the Weakened condition.

You are affected by the Weakened condition when you are in an active state without resting. Like, taking 3 all-nighters without any rest to complete a report would give you Weakened (heavy) or (big) or whatever it's called.

The condition will cut all of your STR, VIT, MAG, RES, SPD, and DEX values at worst in half, at best around 30% is what the appraisal tells me. As an example, here is what the berserker's stats were before he gained his new class:

INT: 92

See! That's how weak all the humans where. Only the leader was somewhat stronger with his already higher stats and that he was only afflicted with Weakened (Small). Maybe he was eating better than the others? Guess I'll never know.

The point is that I was arrogantly thought that I could beat the humans since they were literally weakened, only to get the tables turned against me. That's a life lesson I'm gonna remember for a long time. 

Let's hope they have some fancy items, or had is a better way to say it, with them being dead now, and all that. Not that it's gonna compensate my Berry Box. Emotional value, you know *sniff*. 

I'll collect anything interesting, get the hell outta here and find a safe place to evolve. Mustn't forget to collect some food in case the MP and SP get drained due to the evolution again.

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