I made Slei run diagonally.
It was to change position and bring the enemy into my field of vision.
But the humanoid species turned, refusing to let itself be seen by me.
The corpse shield kept moving so it always stayed in front of me.
A simple but effective countermeasure.
Now that Pigi-maru's tentacles could not be used, my range had shortened.
That meant I also needed to close the distance to get within effective range.
Field of vision.
Within range.
I had to secure both.
Bshuu!
From behind the corpse shield, a mass of light was fired into the sky.
Multiple sparkling particles of light burst apart.
Dodododododododododo—!
Lasers poured down from above like arrows of rain.
A heat ray grazed my shoulder.
But the wound was not deep.
The rest somehow managed to evade thanks to Slei's tight turns.
It must be detecting our position and movement by sound…
Still, with this rain, sound-based detection should have slightly lower accuracy.
In fact, those lasers did not have pinpoint precision.
But it had a rough grasp of our location…
"...…"
So that earlier laser attack was this guy's doing.
It had been pecking at us from a safe distance.
Moreover, last time it had also dragged in the other monsters gathered near me.
I see,
"Sometimes having weak camaraderie can work in your favor."
...
However, this was a rather bad situation.
The enemy had long-range attacks.
Attacks from outside the range of my status abnormality skills.
If things continued like this, I would just keep getting attacked one-sidedly.
What to do?
What about the [Berserk] I had leveled up earlier?
I checked the display again.
…Ah, that's right.
It seemed I could now designate targets other than "people or monsters."
For example, stones or trees could also be targeted, but—
"No…"
In any case, it was meaningless unless I could get them in my field of vision.
And the skill with the longest range still barely could not reach.
If I could not think of a way to close the distance—
"Shinshin nishinshinshiii— Iiiiin! N!"
Once again, light particles danced in the air.
Pouring lasers.
I somehow evaded them too, but it did not create an opening for a counterattack.
At this rate, I would slowly be worn down.
"Pigi-maru, sorry… Can I ask you for one last job?"
It was a bit dangerous, but.
"Pi!"
Tonk!
Pigi-maru poked my neck.
As if pushing me forward when hesitation had begun to appear.
The color of the protrusion was the green of affirmation.
"I'm in your debt, partner."
▽
For the third time, lasers were fired.
Right after,
Roll, thud, roll roll roll!
Something rolled vigorously across the mud.
The Fly King mask.
The humanoid species reacted to that "head."
"A head severed by the laser."
"—Shinshin!"
But there was an immediate change in the presence behind the corpse shield.
The humanoid species spun sharply.
It did not expose itself by being lured by the decoy "head."
However,
"Pigiiiii!"
The slime's cry continued.
Slei had already begun moving.
Yes,
To circle around to a position where I could visually confirm the humanoid species.
Creating an opening only needed to be for an instant.
But,
It was just a tiny bit too late.
The humanoid species's turning speed was just a tiny bit faster.
The bold plan of using the Fly King mask as a distraction to circle into the enemy's blind spot.
It did not reach the level of a comeback move.
"————[Paraly, ze]————"
"E!? Shi… N!?"
Even if it noticed now, it was too late.
—Crack, snap—
The real move was,
"Above you."
I had thrown the fake head as a decoy to make the humanoid species think.
It thought this was a plan to circle around from the side using the decoy.
But the plan had three layers.
Pigi-maru and Slei were the ones "circling around."
On horseback, there was no sign of me.
When I distracted it with the "head" of the mask filled with rainwater, I had released the foot fixation.
I had Slei launch me into the air.
The sound generated at that moment had been drowned out by Pigi-maru's cry.
Understanding appeared on the humanoid species's face.
"Did you figure it out—yes, that's right."
As expected, it was a smart one.
"You sealed my skills by refusing to let me see you."
But at the same time, that meant that while we were behind the corpse, it could not see what we were doing either.
"You couldn't see us either."
This had been high-risk for Pigi-maru and the others.
There had been a chance they would take the attack head-on.
But before that, I had been able to decide the match.
Berserk inducement—drop dead.
I released the finishing skill before landing on the humanoid species's head.
Bshuuuu!
Blood sprayed upward from below.
"——————"
Could it have been a feint?
I had defeated the humanoid species that used corpses as shields.
However, my consciousness had already shifted to the remaining two.
"—Tch, damn it…!"
What flew toward me was a spear-like projectile.
Its target—my landing point.
The moment of landing.
One of the moments in battle when evasion becomes most impossible.
Aiming for that was standard in combat.
A monster that had been hiding somewhere.
It must have come up with this attack the moment I leaped into the air.
I turned my arm toward the incoming direction and took a defensive stance.
I did not know the penetrating power of that projectile.
But here, I had no choice but to trust the Defense correction value…!
Thud!
Zudodododo!
Spears pierced flesh one after another.
"——————Slei."
The spear-like projectile was stabbed into Slei's flank.
He had instantly leaped up and become my shield.
Moreover,
"Bu… ruru… uuu… Grrrrraaaa!"
Was he trying to keep the monster away from me?
Instead of faltering, Slei released a roar of intimidation while falling.
I could not help but grit my teeth.
"..."
Blood threads trailed from the wound where the spear was stuck in Slei, mixing with the raindrops—
"HiyorimiiiIiiiSsssuuuuZoooOoo!"
It came from the completely opposite direction of the spear's flight path.
The remaining two—the other one.
With a distorted war cry, it burst out.
A wolf's body.
A giant wolf.
Only its head was human.
An angry-faced humanoid species.
It approached slowly, without even the sound of rustling leaves.
Not even the sound of rain being repelled.
I had vaguely sensed this one's presence.
I had also estimated the distance.
But—it should have been farther away.
I see.
It had closed the distance in a single leap.
In other words,
The remaining two had launched a simultaneous attack in this situation.
It had been a kind of three-way deadlock.
All three had been aiming for the timing that would benefit them most.
The one using corpses as a shield had probably run out of patience first.
"——————"
I shifted my gaze to check Slei's condition.
His red eyes were looking at me.
Eyes filled with strong will.
Eyes filled with strong trust.
And those crimson eyes clearly said,
Fight.
"Yeah, Slei… understood."
I fixed my gaze on the direction the spear had come from.
The idiot who hurt you—your end is here.
"—[Berserk]—"
I granted berserk to the humanoid wolf that leaped at me right after landing.
"HiyoriiiIiiiMiiiIiiiOgeeeEEEEE!"
I timed my jump.
I landed directly on the humanoid wolf's back.
"Go."
I desperately grabbed its fur to avoid being thrown off.
"[Berserk]."
The current [Berserk] could designate targets other than people or monsters.
Forward.
I designated a "tree" at the very edge of the range.
The moment we reached it, I would [cancel] [Berserk].
Immediately after, I would designate another "tree" ahead as the target—
This way, I could advance forward by using this monster's speed.
With this method, I repeatedly granted and canceled [Berserk] in short bursts.
I glared in the direction of my target.
"Your attack comes with risk—it's the same as a sniper. Once you fire, you reveal your own position… you fool."
The humanoid wolf I was riding.
A monster with leaping power and speed that could close long distances in a single bound.
...
Would the one that fired the projectile leave its position?
No.
I would not give it time to escape.
Wind sliced past us, and the scenery on both sides flowed backward in an instant.
"—It reaches."
Beyond the thin veil of rain, I saw a shadow.
"Gyo… e…!?"
I reached a position where I could clearly see the monster that had stabbed Slei with the spear.
It was a one-eyed monster.
It wore an expression of shock.
Because of the shock?
Its single eye was bulging like a peeled egg.
Four legs.
Medium size.
Its body had many organ-like holes for firing.
While shocked, it turned to counterattack.
Its eye began to glow red.
There must have been a charge time before the next shot.
It seemed to have finished charging.
The enemy's firing speed was—fast.
But,
I was already within [Berserk] range.
There was no other skill to choose.
Because I needed to designate the next target for the humanoid wolf.
If I did not designate, the humanoid wolf would attack the closest one—me.
I performed
the final [Target Designation Berserk].
"[Ber— 'Dos!' —serk.]"
The war cries and screams of two monsters.
The chaotic sounds violently mixed together.
The humanoid wolf bit into the one-eyed monster and gnawed it to death.
And then,
"—Tch… …"
A spear-like projectile was stabbed into my left shoulder.
It was the one-eyed monster's counterattack, released right before the final berserk inducement.
An attack that was originally meant for ultra-long range had been fired at this close distance.
I had also been in the middle of activating the skill.
There had been no room to evade.
"…Tch."
Gritting my teeth at the sharp pain, I pulled out the tip buried in my flesh.
Bshuu.
Blood flowed from the wound, but not as much as I had imagined.
Sometimes it was better to leave the projectile embedded…
But thanks to the HP correction, bleeding was suppressed.
Then I noticed.
What had happened to the HP correction value?
Come to think of it,
"I had turned off the display after releasing the connection with Pigi-maru."
The semi-transparent status display faintly obstructed my vision.
"Status open."
HP: +135 / 6051
My thinking had dulled more than I thought… Surprisingly, I had already been in the danger zone.
The correction had been on the verge of running out.
It seemed difficult to receive the benefits of HP correction any longer.
After confirming the one-eyed monster had died, I finished the humanoid wolf with paralysis and berserk.
[Level up.]
[LV 2017 → LV 2019]
The HP correction value began to move.
HP: +135 / 6057
HP: +156 / 6057
Unlike MP, it seemed to recover gradually.
When leveling up, it apparently worked like a "regen" effect.
I would have to wait a little longer to see how it affected the wound.
"..."
The presence of monsters had disappeared from the entire surrounding area.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, I noticed.
I looked at the status notification.
[Skill level up.]
It seemed [Paralyze] had leveled up here.
Now, what kind of additional effect—
"What?"
I put my hand to my mouth, furrowed my brow, and stared at the notification.
"So this is the 'superior' skill of [Paralyze Paralysis]…?"
[Superior skill unlocked.]
[Slow — Delayed Effect Grant]