Metro Labyrinth Chapter 133.i2.1: An Adventure Over Acorn 2

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　This was the fourth time I encountered the Wraith in my activities in Outsuka Metro over the past three and a half years.

　The first time was during a too bitter traumatic incident in the past. The second time was when I was in my 30s and suddenly attacked by the Wraith. I panicked and managed to escape by scattering as many mycelium balls as I could. The third time, a little after I reached level 50, I fought with determination and won the battle, albeit grudgingly.

　And now, for the fourth time, we faced him.

　But the opponent was no ordinary Wraith. The burn marks on its face are horrific – at least for me and Tamiko.

(There’s no doubt.) (Shuu)

(That guy from before.) (Shuu)

　A fateful encounter who carved the trauma of incontinence into both Tamiko and me. It’s still alive?

“–Buhbuh.” (Wraith)

　It was standing on a pipe higher than the others, looking down at us with its remaining right eye. It’s a rather unique feature.

“Buhbuh.” (Wraith)

　The low, mumbled voice still seemed to resonate in my gut. It sounds like a curse filled with resentment.

(No, I am not imagining it.) (Shuu)

(This one—does it remember us?) (Shuu)

　Does that mean that both of us can’t forget the other? Most of all, for me, it was a bone-chilling-terrifying memory, and the other seemed see is as anger or hatred filled memory (seeing that the normal right half of its face was distorted and twitching).

(Damn, this is scary!) (Shuu)

(I can’t be scared!) (Shuu)

(If just on level, the current me is stronger—) (Shuu)

“Abeshuu! That guy–” (Tamiko)

　Just before Tamiko could finish, I jumped back to the side. A white arm, stretched out like a snake, pierced the spot where I had been standing a moment ago.

(Damn!) (Shuu)

(I didn’t hear any sound!) (Shuu)

　It was the same with the unicorn, Old Man Uni, or the other wraiths that I had defeated. It’s a Fungal Skill that muffles the sound of movement. The surprise attack that I had just received was also a blow from this.

　I landed sliding on a pipe. Feeling the slickness of moss and vines on my feet, I backstepped to avoid the second blow, which came at me without a moment’s pause. Without looking back, I could see where the pipe was, and this time I stopped it by thrusting my hypha sword.

“–Tamiko, just now?” (Shuu)

“Oh, it’s… level 60, squeak! He’s stronger than you, Abeshuu!” (Tamiko)

“Hey, seriously!?” (Shuu)

　The Wraith jumped down from overhead and stood almost at the same height as me. It squinted its remaining eye as if to give a clear answer, let out a “Bo.”, and threw its arm towards me.

　Wraiths don’t seem to have territories or haunt spots like goblin villages or ogre meadows. Perhaps their populations are also quite small.

　In other words, they are rarer than other metro beasts, and are grim reaper-like monsters that appear and disappear in dungeons. How could I have survived so many encounters with such a thing?

　On our third encounter, with Tamiko’s assessment that the level of our opponent was “about the same as Abeshuu’s.” I decided to give it a shot.

　The result was a hard win. Although it was my first time to fight against it, I had the impression that it was much more difficult to fight than Ogre and Orthrus, which are at a similar level.

　Its main means of attack were blows and grapples using its long forearms. The difference in reach alone was a nuisance, but its power was as great as that of an ogre, and its agility was on par with that of an Orthrus, despite its large stature. In addition, it was difficult to grasp its behavior and timing due to its excessively quiet actions.

　At that time, I dodged an onslaught of relentless swings and jumped into the bosom of the enemy and brought them into an infighting. In the end, the fierce and bloody battle was finally won by Psycho.

　I remember well the sense of accomplishment and almightiness I felt at that moment. I had grown confident that I could beat it in a fight. Since then, I have become even stronger. If I fought normally, there was no way I could lose.

　–If it was a normal opponent and this was a normal place.

“Buu!” (Wraith)

　Without even a sound of ripping through the air, an extended arm attacked. The Wraiths that I had defeated had never pulled off such a rubber-like trick in the first place. If muffling is a race-specific ability, then extending arms is a unique ability of this individual.

　The moment I dodged it by stepping sideways, the other arm was released toward my head, which was in an unstable position.

“Ngh!” (Shuu)

　When the hypha shield caught it, its arm pushed me back from the momentum and flicked me off. As I was about to step off the pipe, I saw an arm swing out of the corner of my eye,

(Hey—) (Shuu)

　I caught a glimpse of Wraith’s arm, which had already been pulled back to its original length and was held in a raised position.

　The outstretched arm swung down vertically, and the pipe, which seemed to be about one meter in diameter, was bent into a V-shape. A rumbling sound of destruction echoed through the air, and dust flew around.

　I, who had kicked the scaffold just in time, landed on the pipe one step below, and at the same time, with a swing of my sword, released a burning ball from my fingertip.

“Buh!” (Wraith)

　The red sphere, which had once caused it pain, forced the wraith to dodged it by jumping back farther than I expected. With outstretched arms, it grabbed the pipe above its head, pulled itself up, and leaped with all its might into the air above the my head.

(Something is coming.) (Shuu)

(Something different.) (Shuu)

　From the position where its back was bent, its arms – and at the same time, its legs – were extended and released.

　Four streaks of white stabbing approach while undulating. I felt that it was dangerous and moved to dodge just before, but even so, the opponent’s left arm changed its trajectory and grazed my side.

“Abeshuu!” (Tamiko)

“No problem, just a scratch!” (Shuu)

　I said a line I wanted to say while landing roughly on the other pipe, but I was just being stubborn. My clothes was slashed down to the flesh and bone. It will heal eventually, but the pain and bleeding will still be terrible.

(Huh…) (Shuu)

(How unreasonable.) (Shuu)

　The arm extends and retracts so fast that I can barely dodge it. In addition, the range is far and the trajectory changes, so it will probably follow me even if I am more than 10 meters away.

(I mean…) (Shuu)

(Level 60 isn’t easy to reach.) (Shuu)

　The power and speed are different from the Wraiths I had defeated before. Just like the stray gargoyle and the Boss Slime, this one is a mature individual that has fought many battles in the past.

　The Wraith, as if proud of its victory, twisted the edges of its mouth into a grimace and let out an eerie voice, “Boo, boo, boo. It probably does not doubt the fulfillment of its long-cherished wish in the face of its sworn enemy whom it has met again. Surely it was not wrong, its level was higher, and in addition, the geographical advantage was also theirs.

“Abeshuu!” (Tamiko)

　I backstepped at the same time as Tamiko’s warning! A ball of flame, similar to mine but not was thrown towards me.

“Kikii!” (Red Goblin)

“Kiyiyi!” (Red Goblin)

　When I looked up, I saw that the Red Goblins from earlier had taken up positions overhead behind me before I knew it. Three of them in total.

“…no way…” (Shuu)

　An arm reached out from in front of me. The moment I was knocked back, I was hit by a flying object from behind me – a suicide attack by the three goblins themselves. And I dared to throw myself to the side, falling down, and retreating to the pipe a few meters below.

“Hey, wait a damn minute!” (Shuu)

　Before I can catch my breath, the wraiths’ arms and the goblins’ suicide attacks and throws come rushing in. No doubt, they are coordinating with Wraith’s attacks. While desperately defending and evading,

“Stop! Time out!” (Shuu)

　I threw out a smokescreen ball. The gray smoke disperses as if to push away the fog, and as soon as the vision is cut off, I hide myself behind a nearby pipe.

(Damn it.) (Shuu)

(Is it a team play between monkeys?) (Shuu)

　I had never experienced such a thing before, where several species of monsters attacked in parties like in an RPG. Even if they are the same species, or even related to each other, such as wolves or apes, they are rivals for survival if they are different species. Although they do not seem to engage in aggressive territorial battles, I often saw the higher-ranking species eating the lower-ranking species.

　However, these two species are clearly in league with each other, even though they are different species. In all probability, the Red Goblin is following the Wraith. It is by the power harassment intimidation of the boss that I could not escape with the beast repellent spores? Seriously, I hate black companies.

　Whether this is due to the unique ability of the Wraith or whether it is an agreement of servitude by force, I don’t know, and it doesn’t make sense to think about it now. What’s important is that the Wraith alone is formidable, and the harassers are coming in from above to distract me.

(Do we get rid of those guys first?) (Shuu)

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