chapter 14
< 4. Worst choice (3) >
Seeing this, Marco hurriedly ran over. Pushing the Cameleos away, making a stab with both hands full of power.
The tip of the knife containing the cold air aimed precisely at the face and flew.
puck!
The strength was so strong that Cameleus was pierced by the sword and fell to the ground.
Marco trampled on Cameleus’ forehead and drew his sword without hesitation. The head was almost divided in half at the point where the blade was inserted. Even the most regenerative reptiles would not be able to regenerate these injuries.
The battle was over, but I couldn’t just rejoice. Andrea felt for the wound on her side. The wound was hot, as if being supported by heated coals.
‘Ah, it’s f*cked up.’
[Trial Level 19: Status abnormalities do not disappear even if you move to another floor.]
Because of the ordeal, even if you leave to another floor, the status ailments are not recovered. There were no antidote or recovery cards, so the only way to heal was to eat holy water or an antidote.
Marco came towards Andrea.
“My God, did I mention that the scythe is poisoned? Show me your wounds for a moment.”
Andrea lifted her coat with trembling hands. It was a wound the size of a fingernail, but the area around it was already swollen. Marco’s complexion darkened.
“Damn it, I need to suck the poison out. Lie down for a while.”
“That… it shouldn’t be. That’s how… it’s not a poison that can be cured… If you don’t care… even Marco… you might get poisoned, kkeuh. Rather, please support me…”
His facial muscles were stiff, making it difficult to speak. Andrea struggled with Marco’s support.
As the tension and excitement of the battle went away, there was no pain anywhere in his body. Not to mention his left hand, where the fingers had been cut off, and the stabbing pain lingered under both collarbones where the scythe had been stuck.
But still the most terrible pain came from the poisoned flank. The burning pain was gradually torn into many branches, turning into pain as if hundreds of ants had entered and gnawed through the body.
Andrea bit her lip and closed her eyes to keep from screaming.
‘I misjudged. I was so impatient that if I pulled out the spear, it would come out as it is. I should have left and left it to Marco…’
In other words, there was a possibility that when the spear was pulled out, it was missed by Cameleus. No matter what choice I made, there was a reason for it, so it was meaningless to blame myself.
‘Please, the next floor should be a rest area… but it’s already passed.’
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead and back. My stomach was throbbing and I was nauseous. It was a different feeling of vomiting than when I was seasick after being whipped. It felt as if a poke in the side would burst all the intestines through the wound.
My head was also getting dizzy. I had a headache since I lost a lot of blood, but now it hurts as if someone was squeezing my brain. As her thinking seemed to slow down, Andrea consciously continued to think about something.
‘First of all, you have to look at the reward… What if recovery or recovery, recovery or recovery… detoxification… detoxification is the same card… if it is the same card? Oh… it hurts so much… With that kind of card… I can get out of the crisis right away.’
“Your complexion is so bad. Is it really okay not to suck out the poison?”
Marco asked in a worried voice. Andrea’s face had gone from red to almost purple.
“It’s not okay… But still… you can’t suck the poison… You have to go quickly and open the treasure chest first. There may be an antidote or recovery card in it…”
When Andrea became increasingly sluggish and it was difficult to keep pace, Marco lifted him up. Climbing through the vines and leaving the hellish green jungle, they finally entered the passage to the next level.
Finding a treasure chest in front of the stairs, Marco first sat Andrea up against the wall. And immediately opened the treasure chest.
Brilliant light illuminated the dark passageway. A flash of pink light that spreads out like a firecracker and engulfs the shadows.
It was a unique card.
‘In the midst of this, a unique card comes out.’
Andrea let out a blank laugh, but had no strength to laugh.
His eyes were dazzled by the bright light emitted from the box. When the light faded, Marco reached into the box and pulled out the item inside.
“how? Is this what you were looking for?”
Andrea reached out with difficulty and took the gold and card from Marco. Andrea’s eyes widened when she saw the card.
‘[Unique] Indomitable Will (3 cost): Extinction, increases all stats by 10 for each enemy facing you during this battle.’
An illustration depicting a knight holding a sword and facing numerous monsters in a pink frame. Andrea was so ecstatic that she even forgot the pain for a moment.
indomitable will. A card with the most overwhelming performance among unique neutral cards that can be obtained in the early stages.
Even if you only deal with one monster, all stats increase by 10, and the increase multiplies as the number of objects increases.
Although it is impossible to use it repeatedly because it has a ‘disappearance’ keyword that disappears once used in a battle, it is a card that exerts an overwhelming effect with just one use.
There are many nicknames for this card. Low-level free pass card, Kingul’s Gadji, a card that doesn’t come out only for me…
But, above all, this was the most widely used nickname.
Early limited accumulation.
Contrary to its nickname, it is a card that shows excellent performance even in the middle. It’s just that in the beginning, when all stats were less than 10, the stats suddenly multiplied several times, and the impact of grinding a large number of monsters was so great that it was nicknamed like that.
There are 3 cost to the cost. It was a card designed to be used without any other mana pumping, considering that it usually starts with a maximum mana of 3 unless it is a level 25 ordeal.
‘But anyway… I can’t use it.’
It was a word with two meanings. One means that it cannot be used because it has a maximum mana of 1, and the other means that it cannot be used because it will die here.
‘In the end… there was no antidote.’
As soon as the excitement subsided, the pain returned. That card was a piece of cake. A fraudulent card that you won’t even use anyway, get it or not.
It felt like the dungeon was maliciously mocking itself. Well, here it is, the opener card you’ve been hoping for. No, but what about that? died from poison Then there’s nothing you can do about it, what? I’ll give it back to the next kid.
With that thought, the adrenaline that had subsided at the end of the battle began to secrete again.
‘No, f*ck. I can’t die because I’m unfair. It’s a card I got through hard work, but I can’t use it and die. If you die now, you won’t be able to close your eyes in the grave. When I die, even if I die, I will try it once and die.’
Emotions sometimes take over the body. Especially when it comes to well-motivated emotions like anger.
After putting ‘Indomitable Will’ into her deck, Andrea stood up against the wall. Seeing this, Marco came to me in surprise. Andrea hastened on Marco.
“Mr. Marco, let’s go downstairs. Ugh, there’s no antidote here… we have to hurry.”
Andrea even tried to walk alone, but it was too much for her, so she was put on Marco’s back again. Marco hurried his steps, remembering the old adage that a candle burns its strongest before it goes out.
“If you die… what will happen to me?”
Marco asked as they descended the stairs. The horse’s tail trembled very slightly.
“…”
“Am I disappearing too? Or… take the form of a card and be left alone in this dungeon?”
“I intend to see the end of this dungeon without dying. But if…if I were to die now…”
When the challenger dies, all cards in the deck are lost. However, it wasn’t completely impossible to leave the cards in the deck in the dungeon.
“Only Mr. Marco will take measures so that somehow I can remain in this world…. Don’t worry too much…”
“…”
Silent Marco. Since then, there has been no further conversation between the two.
In the meantime, we reached the 6th floor. Marco passed the aisle at near-sprint speed. Andrea lamented that she had become a prayer meta again and longed for it.
‘I hope a miracle happens and the rest area comes back. Or at least a store…’
Including the gold she just got from the treasure chest, Andrea currently has 205 gold. The antidote cost about 100 gold, so I was able to buy enough.
All Andrea needed was a minor miracle. A very trivial miracle like scratching a lottery ticket and winning 5,000 won.
When they reached the door, Andrea asked Marco to drop her off. Marco had to go alone from here because the summons would be canceled anyway.
Andrea sent Marco back with a card and struggled to open the door.
The miracle didn’t happen.
The vast room had no decorations other than gray bricks. A lantern hanging from the ceiling lit a lonely light. In the middle of the room lay a single large green cube.
Andrea leaned against the wall and sat down. Andrea knew what that thing was.
That was an elite monster.
Turn 1 has started. Andrea drew a card from the deck. The cards that came out are Attack, Defense, and Defense.
Andrea just threw all three cards on the floor.
Anyone who saw him would think he had given up.
But it wasn’t desperation. Andrea, on the contrary, had a faint smile on the corners of her lips. This was by no means a no-win fight.
‘It doesn’t matter anyway. Because the opponent is that guy…’
The surface of the green cube suddenly jumped up and down. It was like someone trapped inside trying to break out.
When I first encountered this monster in the game, it was a hunter character. I wasn’t overly surprised to see the green cube suddenly thrash about. Because of that, I struggled in vain, hitting cards and arrows.
‘That cube is invincible for 1 turn. I can’t just sit back and wait…’
As I sat on the floor, my consciousness kept blurring. Occasionally, the reason I came to my senses was because of the pain as if my internal organs were rotting away.
Andrea tried to forget everything and focus on the process of inhaling and exhaling.
A long turn has passed. The cube was inflated like a rubber balloon. Andrea covered her ears.
pop!
The cube exploded, revealing the monster inside. It was turn 2, when the full-fledged pattern began.
Andrea drew a card without even looking at the monster. The cards that came out are Fortitude, Defense, and Leap.
Again, Andrea discarded all the cards on the floor. But after hesitating, the indomitable will eventually picked up again. Of course, I can’t use it, but for some reason, just holding it in my hand made me feel energized.
Andrea lifted her head with difficulty only when she had finished preparing her mind.
Eyes that looked exactly like Andrea’s met him.
It wasn’t just the eyes that were the same. The face, the clothes, the color of the skin, even the left hand where the finger was blown off and the wound on the side full of blood.
The monster was a perfect replica of Andrea, who was completely flawless in appearance.
‘Let’s try to see who can last longer.’
Andrea looked at the elite monster doppelganger.
< 4. Worst Choice (3) > End