“Haa… Hah.”
After rushing in urgently, I threw the bottle to grab the old man’s attention and checked on the injured in the meantime.
One man with both arms severed and Noah.
For now, it seems like there are only two visible.
The man’s injuries were so severe that rehabilitation was impossible; he might not survive at all.
No matter how much magic exists, we cannot bring the dead back to life.
Noah looked a bit gloomy, but there were no noticeable injuries on her.
“What about the others?”
“They’re in another place…!”
“Thank goodness.”
It wasn’t too late.
With that fact, my racing heart began to calm down, but at the same time, seeing the old man in front of me made my hands tense again.
‘Why is that bastard here?’
I thought there would only be monsters, but the bishop I had encountered earlier in the doomsayers’ church was standing right in front of me.
[Ninth Bishop, Colinia]
And the old man was looking at me.
“Why… are you there? No, before that, what was your intention in throwing the bottle at me?”
It seemed the old man couldn’t comprehend that I was clearly protecting Noah.
However, the weak killing intent emanating from him was enough to make cold sweat run down my body.
“You agreed to be with us back then, didn’t you?”
“People change, old man. Ah, did you forget that in your old age?”
“····.”
The old man fell silent.
I considered stalling for time or making excuses, but since I’m not good at lying, it would become obvious quickly anyway.
So I decided to hurl some insults first.
Swoosh.
As for usable weapons, I only had gloves.
I wanted to bring some alcohol while on the way, but unfortunately, there were no convenience stores inside the Academy, and even if there were, they wouldn’t sell alcohol.
Moreover, going home and coming back would have taken far too long…
I just grabbed a glass bottle I found in a trash can and threw it.
If it had been filled with alcohol, it might have been enough to solve this situation.
“Heh heh…”
“Uh… are you serious? I don’t understand how you’ve loosened your loyalty towards that person…”
“Eh… Aesha! Run away! That person is…”
“I’m alright, senpai.”
I focused on the enemy in front of me, leaving the worried her behind.
A little.
The old man raised one hand over his shoulder, waving his fingers this way and that.
Crack!
And red thorns began to emerge from his body.
“Ah, I see… Now I understand why that person hastily sent me too.”
“·····.”
“You are… a dangerous element.”
As his eyes glowed red, the thorns converged and flew towards me.
“Crimson Thorn”
Power Release… I used that earlier, so it’s not available now.
But…
Whoosh.
I barely evaded his attack and readied my fist to strike the old man.
Crack!!
Realizing I was about to attack, the red thorns withdrew and surrounded the old man.
In this situation, even if I hit, the damage would be greater on my side, so I widened the distance and monitored the situation.
However, I realized something.
‘There’s a pattern.’
Normal student NPCs or monsters in the Dreaming World generally attack chaotically without any pattern.
However, main characters, significant enemies, or NPCs of a certain level tend to exhibit a somewhat structured pattern.
Even though the order changes each time, it can be anticipated to some extent.
[Current drunkenness: 5%]
I still haven’t figured everything out, but it’s worth testing a little.
The patterns I know for the bishop are a total of 32.
They are used randomly and continuously pressure the player…
‘Well, I’ve cleared enough end content to be a seasoned player.’
If things are the same as in the game, I might be able to perform like the typical reincarnators and possessed players.
To do that, I need to provoke the old man first.
Knowing his personality, he would easily take the bait with even a light provocation.
Typically, you’d think people get wiser as they age, but he clearly proves that there are exceptions.
“Are you scared?”
“I should have certainly checked then… that was my mistake. Ah… end, forgive me.”
A calm voice echoed within the Archive.
Crack!!
Then the old man removed part of his armor and wrapped it around one hand, charging towards me.
The patterns of the Ninth Bishop can be divided into two types.
A melee charge pattern with armor and a ranged pattern that launches thorns.
Naturally, there’s no reason for me to use range, and he knows that it would be far more advantageous for him.
If he solely used ranged attacks, he would undoubtedly tear me apart without me being able to retaliate.
That said, trying to think of why he’s coming in for melee…
“Are you angry?”
“····.”
A slight tremor visible behind the mask.
I parried the rapid thrust aimed at my head, delivering a solid blow to his chin.
Bang!!
“Kuh…”
Despite being a bishop, he quickly regained his composure and swung his sword with a fast motion.
Swish!!
“Heh…”
With my dodge and the patterns I already knew, I landed a direct hit on the bishop with overwhelming force.
“Guh!”
And one thing became clear: he behaves the same way as the patterns in the game.
If a player were thrown in front of a dark fantasy boss, they would normally get crushed by the greatsword instead of parrying, but I’m at least familiar with the mechanics and strategies.
Also, with the existence of Drunken Fist’s dodge, I assessed that the chances of losing were low.
“You…”
His burning gaze radiated a strong desire to rip me apart with his own hands.
Truly dangerous creatures don’t bark; they silently glare.
This old man has likely resolved to kill me for sure.
“Go ahead. You crazy bastard.”
“I will kill you… Absolutely… Definitely!! I will rip out your eyes, entrails, heart, pancreas, lungs, and uterus… burning them all…!!!”
The fact that I currently possess a female body makes the mention of the uterus a little awkward, but his enraged state was entertaining enough for me to overlook it.
Crack!!!
Wearing blood armor studded with thorny spikes, he charged at me.
He probably thought that widening his range and increasing pressure could catch me.
However, since I was already familiar with his patterns…
I dodged as if I were dealing with a rodeo bull.
“…Blood Sword.”
The old man trembled and transformed his full-body armor into a greatsword with one hand without even looking at me.
[Phase 2]
And the moment that heavy sword was swung from his frail body, the space around us momentarily distorted.
Slice… Crash!!!
Every structure within the range of that sword was neatly split in half.
The second combat form of Colinia, the Ninth Bishop of the doomsayers: the Blood Sword.
It’s a strike that could easily instant-kill an unsuspecting player due to its overwhelming cutting power, despite his seemingly fragile body.
I had died thrice to that attack in the past.
However, now I was too familiar with it to take a hit.
As I threw my body to respond…
My eyes caught sight of Noah and the man who still hadn’t moved much from earlier.
I had thought they would be long gone by now.
Before I could understand why, I barely evaded his strike and shifted my direction toward Noah, pushing her away.
Boom!
Fortunately, I escaped unscathed by a small margin.
“Senpai! Why are you still here…?”
But why hadn’t they run away yet?
It couldn’t be that the man was too heavy given she had barely moved like she was crawling.
I soon discovered the reason.
“My leg…”
Blood was already pooling on the white floor.
And due to the broken lighting in the Archive, I hadn’t been able to see her left leg properly earlier.
Now that I looked closely, it became apparent.
Drip.
Several large thorns were embedded there, preventing her from standing or exerting any force.
“···.”
“I’m sorry, Aesha. Even now, you should run away…”
Her face was clearly exhausted and in pain.
Despite groaning in agony, she quietly moved, not wanting to hinder my fight, and conveyed her apology while urging me to flee.
And, of course…
That wasn’t an action I would take.
“Please don’t say that.”
“···.”
The moment I had someone to protect, the range of what I could evade became limited.
In the game, the moment combat started, I only needed to focus on the opponent, but now, I also had to consider Noah, who could be attacked because of the aftermath.
The hierarchy between having someone to protect and needing to indiscriminately kill swiftly flipped.
“····.”
But I had no intention of giving up.
If I had thought that way in the first place, I wouldn’t have come to a place like this.
“Phew.”
For now, I’ll change my strategy.
All my actions up until now had been to buy time for whoever the professors were before coming here, but now, I had to definitely take down the bishop.
If I couldn’t do that, I would die alongside Noah while trying to protect her.
However, in my current typical state, I couldn’t defeat the bishop.
Rustle.
I felt four remaining chocolates in my pocket.
If I eat them all at once, I might just reach the next level.
If that happened, not only could I withstand the bishop more easily, but there was also a chance I could take him down.
But what worried me was my mental strength right now.
It was one thing to reach 10%, but the question was whether that mental strength could endure until then.
It was like trying to cast a spell with a mana cost of 10 when your maximum mana is 9, making it impossible to use.
I still didn’t have a clear understanding of this ‘drunkenness,’ but I knew that my mental stat needed to increase to reach a higher percentage.
“How…”
At that moment, something caught my eye.
The goat-shaped mask the old man was wearing glistened in the sunlight.
Unlike the mask I had previously received and hung in my room… this one appeared to be a bit more luxurious.
A gamble immediately came to mind.
What if that was a separate object from the one I had received?
And what if it possessed a similar effect to that mask?
“·····.”
“Aesha…?”
…The target was set.
