Chapter 102: The Hunger Impulse Part 2
Chapter 102: The Hunger Impulse Part 2
Although my dagger bounced off like that, there was no need to panic. I still had the second dagger at the ready, so I was ready for almost anything.
The hammer-like claw came crashing down towards my location with almost unimaginable speed, creating a huge crack in the crystal floor, sending small crystal pebbles in every direction. At the very next moment the scorpion lashed with its long tail, smashing it into the place where I was currently standing.
I managed to evade the tail attack just in the nick of time and find myself some safe space amongst the rubble.
「First of all, let’s see how you like some attacks from above……」
Swamp Daggers were actually anti-weapons, which means that there were a myriad of ways in which you could use them, as well as they possessed good damage values and reasonable durability.
But I decided to change my weapons to Yuzuki. My reason for that?
Each time I attack with “Upper Fang”, there is a chance to score bonus critical hit damage.
And each time I score a critical hit with the “Lower Fang”, I would restore a small portion of my maximum HP.
I feel like the key to winning this battle will be more or less reliant on my ability to skillfully balance those two extra abilities of my weapons. Fifty-fifty would be ideal in this situation.
「Uhahahahaha! For some reason this is becoming more and more fun!」
I restore some of my HP with Yuzuki’s ability and then activate Nitro Gain again. Then I activate Hungry Wolf, which was already used at least several times, and then I activate the rest of my skills with the exception of one.
For some time I was using Empire Bee’s Swords to attack the scorpion’s tail, but I had to switch them once their durability started to sink dangerously low.
「Oh no you don’t! I won’t let you break them!」
The Mid-Air jumping and Skywalk turned out to be crucial during this battle. Thanks to that, I was able to jump over the golden scorpion and position myself right behind its tail where it was harder for the scorpion to attack me.
I could also use the momentum created during the jump to attack the base of its tail a few times. One, two, three….. Four hits. Nice. At the same time the scorpion was effortlessly trying to attack me with its claws.
From time to time it tried to attack me with its poisonous stinger, but each time I was able to evade it with my “Water Mirror Moon” skill.
Unleashing this skill would take the aggro off me and allow me to get some more free hits in.
「Sh*t, I got too ahead of myself……!」
The effect of spamming attacks and deleting my stamina bar to zero is just like it used to be. I had a skill that could mitigate it slightly, but for the price of being able to move I would take increased damage for a while, and right now it was something I would rather avoid having to deal with. In that case……
「Oh, for fuck’s sake…… “Transfer: INVENTORY”!」
Being out of stamina and open for attacks, there was no other choice for me right now. While being there, waiting for my MP and stamina to recover, I could feel my tension slowly fading away.
Even though it was not my actual body, mental tension was something that my real body could actually share with my avatar.
While fighting alongside Pencilgton and Katsu I thought I started to build a natural resistance to tension, but apparently that was not the case. Guess my skill progression in that particular case was really slow.
「Let’s go back…… Like hell I’m gonna let you do whatever you want!!!」
I then go out of “INVENTORY” and rush at the scorpion at full speed. I throw one of my knives forward and once I see it sink into the crack in between the crystal around the scorpion’s claw, I use Hand of Fortune to plunge it even deeper into its body.
I use the attack that was a lighter version of pile bunker with one of my daggers, hitting the back of the scorpion’s claw while simultaneously avoiding its attack.
「Give it a rest…… already!」
Then I turn my twin blades into one sword. This version of Yuzuki also possesses a special ability called “Moon Aura”. It is an ability that imbues the crescent moon-shaped blade with additional power that is unleashed upon a single blow. I direct that single blow towards the base of the scorpion’s tail, hoping to sever it once and for all.
And when I felt that the blade started to tear through crystal and flesh instead of bouncing off of it, I was suddenly confident that I managed to achieve just that.
「Alllllllllrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiigggggghhhhhhtttttt!!!」
The severed stinger flies high into the air, making a beautiful parabola while it was at it. It got stuck to the ground just a few centimeters from me, way too close for comfort.
「Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!」
In that moment, every single chart and battle plan that was in my mind disappeared. Stinger collection comes before anything else! As long as I can collect it, I’m fine with everything else!
Remembering the previous instance when the RNG Goddess fucked me over, I broke into a mad rush towards the severed stinger, probably setting a new record on that short distance or something like that.
Go get it! Go get it! Before it disappears or the scorpion manages to recover it!
「Got it!!」
I then proceed to place the golden scorpion’s stinger in my inventory with utmost care.
「Haa, what’s this, Fury Mode? But I feel like time began to flow once more.」
Each time my sword hits the golden crystal, I can see something like a small explosion occurring, and even the fragments of the golden crystal were so filled with magical power that there were sparks flying all over them.
Victory is…… Well, I’d say about twenty percent at best? Although it was nerve-wrecking, now I could finally get rid of all that tension that was filling me and begin collecting the materials. I shudder just thinking what would have happened otherwise, but that’s about it.
「That being said, whatever shall I do next time something like that happens…… No, no, no. When it comes to that, I’ll just have to be ready.」
The moon slowly begins to sink. The sky gets brighter with every second and before I know it the sun starts to peek out from behind the horizon.
I wanted to go home, but I was currently not in the mood for returning by death. What to do?
「Haa…… Wake up, you morons!!!」