Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

“How dare you! Die!”

Huff! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

The man swung his two-handed axe with surprising agility, creating gusts of wind in all directions.

But it was slow. Even without the trajectory prediction from Chaos’ Eye, I could easily dodge it with my eyes.

With Yeriel’s buff, my agility was four levels higher than his.

“The invisible hand that grasps the night.”

[Lugen’s Grip]

“Your pathetic magic is useless!”

Aaahhh!!

Perhaps due to his Magic Resistance Engraving trait, Lumia’s magic gripped the man but disappeared without a trace as he grunted.

[Carrix casts ‘Chopping Axe’.]

Whoosh!!

Unlike his previous attack, he swung his axe downward with a loud roar, like chopping firewood.

If I were hit, it would be a severe injury.

‘I’m not stupid enough to just stand here and take it’ I thought.

I sidestepped, avoiding the attack, and then spun and stepped back to evade the next strike.

As soon as he hesitated, I seized the opportunity and went on the offensive.

I took a powerful step forward and swung my greatsword downward with infused magic power.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Confident in my strength, I chose to block his attack head-on.

With my equal strength, Sword Dance, and enhanced power from the accumulation of killing intent, I forced him to kneel on one knee.

I loosened my grip on the greatsword and took a step back, and as his center of gravity shifted forward, I struck.

Boom!

I unleashed the magic power in my arm, bending my attack downward.

“Huff!”

I finished with a sweeping low attack.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

“Damn it. I underestimated him.”

Perhaps due to his Magic Resistance Engraving, he managed to twist his body and roll away, avoiding the attack on his back.

The attack had landed, but due to his Thick Skin trait, which increased his endurance and skin hardness, the wound didn’t seem too deep.

Boom!

As he rolled awkwardly, I quickly rushed towards him to finish him off.

“Aaahhh, Ron attack the enemy!”

[Ron casts ‘Slashing Cutter’.]

Damn it! I always get tunnel vision when fighting one-on-one.

I had lost sight of Carrix’s bearded swordsman companion, who had been waiting for an opportunity to strike.

He unleashed a powerful blast of energy from his sword, aiming for me.

“I can’t dodge this,” I thought.

Fortunately, I had a priest in my party, not just a mage.

“Holy Light’s Protection!”

[Divine Shield]

Boom! Crack!

“Nice one, Yeriel!”

A massive ball of energy flew towards me, but Yeriel’s well-timed shield deflected it.

[Carrix casts ‘Hurricane Axe’.]

“Damn it!”

Carrix, seeing an opening, gritted his teeth and charged towards me.

He spun and swung his axe in wide arcs, creating gusts of wind.

Clang! Clang!

I blocked his attacks, which were accompanied by gusts of wind.

“Damn it!”

Frustrated by his missed opportunity, he kicked me with infused magic power, but I anticipated his move and blocked it with my sword.

The result was that I took a few steps back.

In the distance, I heard Lumia’s voice.

“The sharp fangs of darkness.”

[Black Fang]

“L-leader! Huff!”

[Darguss casts ‘Shield Charge’.]

As Carrix stumbled, Lumia aimed her attack magic at his vital spot, and the last remaining adventurer, a shield-wielding man, rushed to defend him.

“You idiots! Don’t interfere when we’re not even fighting! Just go and capture those two in the back!” the man shouted, his face red with anger.

“We have a black mage and a priest, what are you waiting for? We can find another woman later, so just kill them quickly!” he ordered.

“Y-yes, leader!”

“Alright, I got it!”

‘I won’t let them get away’ I thought. “Lightning!”

Boom! Bang! Boom!

“Ugh!”

The swordsman and the shield-wielder were startled by the lightning and stumbled.

Zing!

“Ugh.”

I blocked their approach to the girls, but at the cost of a severe headache from the lightning’s penalty.

Carrix, seizing the moment, spat out blood and unleashed a powerful jump.

[Carrix casts ‘Jumping Strike’.]

Boom!!!

“Ugh!”

“Ugh.”

Despite my quick reaction, I was hit by the shockwave from Carrix’s jump attack.

Thud.

Carrix, with his E+ magic power, had overused his techniques and collapsed, spitting blood and twitching.

He tried to get up but kept falling, his strength sapped.

‘Damn it. I should’ve dodged that’ I thought.

‘I imagined him jumping somewhere, not jumping in place. Damn it, I should’ve been more careful.’

No, that’s just an excuse. I should’ve thought it through more.

My body ached from the shockwave, but I gritted my teeth and focused.

Step by step, I switched to my sword and approached them.

“Wait.”

Damn it! The other two!

As I quickly turned around, I saw…

“Ahren, don’t worry about me!”

Yeriel was preparing to face the charging swordsman.

“I told you, I want to be worthy of standing by your side!”

“Carrix is down? Fine, you’ll die too, you filthy healer!”

Clang!

“Haaah!”

Clang! Clang! Clang! Grunt.

“Damn it, he’s not an ordinary priest, he’s a monk!”

“Shut up and die, you trash! Piercing Arrow of Light!”

[Holy Arrow]

Swoosh!

A beam of light shot out from the end of Yeriel’s staff, which was entangled with the swordsman’s sword, piercing him.

“B-Boss! No!”

[Darguss casts ‘Shield Charge’.]

The bald-headed shield-wielder, who seemed a bit slow-witted, recovered and tried to charge towards us, but Lumia wasn’t going to let him get away.

“The black hand that grasps the night.”

[Lugen’s Grip]

“Ah, ah. Please spare me.”

“The sharp fangs of darkness.”

Whoosh!

…

I felt relieved and embarrassed at the same time.

I had been so focused on fighting alone that I hadn’t considered the abilities of my party members.

Even though I had admired their traits and praised their hard work, I subconsciously thought of myself as special and tried to shoulder the burden of the fight alone.

‘You idiot. Even though the last time, aside from Gospel, the rest were weak, they still managed to defeat three of them. After a few weeks of hard work, why couldn’t you trust them?’

If I hadn’t been so worried and had just used lightning, the fight would have been over much sooner.

I slapped my cheeks hard.

I approached Carrix, who was still lying on the ground, twitching.

“Are we all dead? Am I going to die here…?” he muttered.

Earlier, he had mentioned something about being a mercenary leader. It seemed like they were a party of adventurers from outside the city.

“If you couldn’t even handle these guys, where else would you die?”

“What kind of monster are you…?”

“Yes, I’m a monster. A monster that feeds on scum like you and grows stronger from the bottom up.”

Whoosh.

“Ugh.”

With his final breath, Carrix’s life ended.

Huh?

I noticed a grayish color in the center of Carrix’s body.

“Absorb.”

Whoosh.

[Ability activated.]

[Acquired trait: Magic Resistance Engraving.]

[Error… Unable to pay the cost.]

Oh, is it because my magic power is fixed at EX due to the Dragon’s Heart earring?

It’s better this way. If I had absorbed it directly, my magic power would have dropped below EX, which would have been terrible.

[Confirm. The trait is converted to match the user.]

[Acquired trait: Magic Devouring Engraving.]

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[Magic Devouring Engraving] [P]

The engraving, originally Magic Resistance Engraving, was transformed into Magic Devouring Engraving due to the user’s absolute advantage in magic power.

This engraving will make it difficult for mages who face the user in the future.

Showing this engraving to an engraving master will easily earn their favor.

________________________________________

When hit by a magic attack, the user’s total damage reduction is calculated, and their health is restored by a certain amount of the magic’s power.

The pain remains, so be cautious if your resistance is insufficient.

________________________________________

So, when hit by magic, you regain health?

But it’s useless if you’re killed or the damage is too high?

I’m not sure.

Since I have strong resistance to fire magic, it would be useful in situations where I’m hit by fire magic.

One thing is certain: relying on this trait and exposing yourself to magic attacks is a bad idea.

…Anyway, I finished checking the trait.

‘Reflecting on this battle, I realize I have a lot to improve upon’ I thought.

I need to stop being complacent and work on my shortcomings.

I need to get used to fighting in groups, and the only way to do that is through practice.

I must become strong enough to easily defeat groups of adventurers like these.

As I made this vow to myself, Yeriel ran towards me.

“Ahren!”

Thud.

“Did you see that? I did well, right?”

Yeriel jumped into my arms and wrapped her arms and legs around me.

“I can do that better… No, let go now. You’re tiring Ahren.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I looked at the two of them and spoke.

“You both did well. And I’m sorry. Even though I’m the vanguard and party leader, I didn’t trust you enough and tried to overprotect you.”

“Huh? No, no! In a normal party, it’s natural for the vanguard to protect the rearguard when they’re in danger, right?”

Yeriel waved her hands in denial.

“And I was secretly pleased to see you desperately blocking the enemies’ attacks.”

Yeriel stuck out her tongue and smiled mischievously.

“Hehe. That’s true, but what do you think of my new appearance? Isn’t it so cool that you’re falling for me? Like this, like this!”

Whoosh. Whoosh.

“Haha…”

I smiled at Yeriel’s playful staff movements and then turned to Lumia, who looked dejected.

“I’m sorry. I feel like this happened because I couldn’t find a party member, and now you’re stuck with me,” Lumia said.

“No, even if they had the same number of members, I think we could have won. Carrix wouldn’t have just passed by such beautiful women on the first layer,” I replied.

It was inevitable that we would encounter these adventurers in the shelter.

“Let’s figure out the party member issue later. For now, let’s reflect on our shortcomings and continue farming. Since we can’t stay here, we’ll have to head to the second layer.”

“Yes!”

“Alright.”

Oh, there was still something I needed to do.

“Keep farming. I’ll be right back.”

I approached the woman crouching in the corner of the shelter.

I squatted down to her eye level and slowly made eye contact.

‘She looks like she’s about to die. What should I do?’ I thought.

Yes, this would be a good idea.

“Can you speak?”

She shook her head. Was she unable to speak due to the shock of the battle?

Or perhaps she couldn’t speak from the beginning, when she tried to mouth the words ‘run away’?

“Then listen and nod your head to answer. The five men who were dragging you around are all dead.”

She nodded.

I took out the Blood-Red Edge from my backpack.

“If I give you this and let you dispose of their bodies and return to the city as you please, will you do it?” I asked, handing her the sword.

I looked into her trembling eyes as I gave her the sword.

“You can either end your life with this sword or mutilate their bodies. I’ll respect whatever you choose, but please decide now.”

1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes.

The woman, who had been shaking her head, nodded once and stood up.

She slowly walked towards the corpses.

Yeriel and Lumia had already finished looting the equipment and belongings, so the men were now in their plain clothes.

Whoosh.

Blood spurted out.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Splat. Splat.

“Haaah…”

Whoosh! Splat! Splat! Splat!

“Aaah!”

The woman, with a face full of hatred, wailed as she slashed, stabbed, and tore at the five corpses, leaving them unrecognizable.

I silently watched her for a while, and when the time came, I spoke.

“Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll help you reach the portal and send you back to the city.”

I didn’t even bother to check her status window, as I had already decided that our paths would not cross again.

“Let’s go. There’s no reason to stay here anymore. Let’s move towards the portal.”

We had won the battle, reflected on our shortcomings, saved a person, and severed the remaining grudges.

The portal was just ahead.

Let’s go to the second layer.