STGB Episode 487

Pilgrim (5)

“Pilgrims, hurry and block—!”

Crash!

I run down the passage, smashing the heads of any Imperial soldiers that appear in my path.

My stats still go up a bit for every five I kill, but at this point the increase doesn’t feel too noticeable.

Anyway, at this speed, I should arrive in about an hour…

Even though I’m rushing forward with all my might, my restless mind shows no sign of calming down.

“Bjorn… when on earth is Erwin coming?”

If even Aynar is this worried, I don’t need to mention how I feel.

“……”

Did something happen?

Could she be hurt, or… worse?

I’m so anxious it’s eating me up inside.

But there’s nothing I can do right now.

All I can do is trust that Erwin will arrive and keep running forward.

「The character has defeated 405 imperial soldiers.」

「All stats have increased by +1.」

「The character has defeated 410 imperial soldiers.」

「All stats have increased by +1.」

「The character has defeated 415 imperial soldiers…」

「……」

And so, time continued to pass.

Thirty minutes.

As the estimated time of Erwin’s arrival got closer, my worries grew.

Thud.

Without having stopped once until now, I suddenly came to a stop.

“I warned you, Pilgrim.”

“……”

“There’s only one way for you to leave this cave alive.”

The bastard was blocking our path.
***

There’s one thing I don’t understand.

He didn’t chase us from behind—so how did he get here ahead of us?

And our stats have increased, which means our movement speed should be even faster.

Did… he catch up to us somehow?

A feeling of unease crept up on me.

But, there were more urgent matters to address than resolving my doubts.

“Aynar, get ready to fight.”

As soon as I issued the command, Aynar carefully placed down versil’s body she had been carrying.

“…Rest for a while, mage.”

The Dreadfear bastard, who had been watching us, mocked us coldly.

“Fools.”

What’s he talking about? The reason we are not running the moment we saw him was because I thought we could take him on.

‘With my current stats, it’s definitely possible.’

I raised my shield to cover my upper body and lowered my stance.

Well, it’s just a habit. In front of a knight who can use aura, what good would a cheap iron shield do?

“……”

After a moment of silence in the standoff.

“The offer is still valid,” he muttered abruptly.

Is this guy really insane?

I can’t believe he’s still hung up on that.

However, since he seemed open to conversation, I decided to take the opportunity.

“…What happened to Erwin?”

The question and anxiety I had been carrying in my chest for hours while running.

He answered briefly.

“That female pilgrim? She’s dead.”

“Bullshit.”

“You’re ignoring the voice within.”

Ugh, I shouldn’t have asked.

Given the boss mob’s betrayer concept, it would be foolish to take his words at face value.

“Faith can never change the truth. No matter how much you believe in justice, you’re nothing but filthy traitors.”

There was no need to listen any further.

“Aynar!”

I shouted the signal and dashed forward.

As soon as the distance closed, he unleashed his aura and counterattacked.

So…

Tap.

I backstepped before entering his range.

Taking advantage of the opening when he swung his sword at me, Aynar closed the distance further.

And then…

“Bethel—Raaaaah!!”

As she swung her sword down with the force of a mountain, the bastard twisted his body to the side.

Crash!

The sword missed its target and hit the ground.

But it was too early to call it a failed attack.

Strike and retreat, break the enemy’s stance and stab into the larger gap – that was the essence of our tactic.

Tap.

The moment he dodged Aynar’s sword, I hurled my not-so-useful shield at his face.

And the instant his vision was obscured—

Tap, tap.

I rushed in and swung my mace.

Of course, he reacted again.

“…!”

His sword intercepted my mace’s path.

If they collided head-on, the cheap iron mace would definitely snap in two.

Swish

I forcefully twisted its trajectory.

Whoosh-!

The mace then cut through empty air without touching his sword, and at that exact moment—

Thud-!

Aynar’s thrust slammed into the bastard’s shoulder.

Okay, we’ve got the first hit.

Of course, I had no intention of being satisfied with just that.

There was no reason to back down and give him time.

Combat is basically a numbers game.

You attack.

Block.

Dodge.

In a split second, you have to choose one of those three, and it changes your next choice.

That’s why we meticulously limited his options.

Tap.

The bastard, now on the defensive, focused on blocking and dodging.

His risk increased, and the option to attack disappeared entirely.

But even the choice to block or dodge was not free.

‘Left.’

Right, with that stance, he’d probably move left.

Thwack—!

With a smooth, continuous attack, we threw him off balance. To avoid a worse outcome, he had to choose a sub-optimal defence.

As a result, it became easier for us to predict his next move, and he lost even more options.

A vicious cycle, in other words.

However—

“……”

No matter how hard we pressed him, we couldn’t afford to let our guard down.

After all, he still had that one trump card—aura. And in combat, variables are bound to arise.

Just like this.

Whiz-!

Even though I feigned an attack and changed the trajectory of my mace before it hit, the outcome was different this time.

“!”

As if anticipating my action, his sword moved with my mace.

Unable to risk losing my weapon, I forced myself to alter its course again, exposing a vulnerability.

Thud—

He didn’t miss the gap and kicked my abdomen. Up to here, there was no major damage, but the problem was what followed next.

While countering, he too had used a lot of energy.

Thud

Aynar’s sword pierced his thigh.

And at the same moment.

Thud!

A blade stabbed into my stomach.

“Ah, that hurts.”

I hadn’t expected him to come out so boldly from there.

Even though Aynar saw me get stabbed, she didn’t ask if I was okay or anything.

Like a veteran, she simply continued the attack.

“Haah!”

I quickly gathered myself and rejoined the battle.

After all, retreating wouldn’t stop the bleeding.

What mattered wasn’t how much I was injured.

It was whether I could kill this guy before I died.

If killing him ended the raid and allowed us to escape, then injuries were of no concern.

“Bethel—raaaaaaaaa!!”

So the intense battle continued.

Even though our stats had grown significantly, and we were two against one, it wasn’t easy.

Numerical superiority would soon vanish.

“For the empire…!”

Empire soldiers kept appearing out of nowhere, rushing at us like moths to a flame.

This increased the difficulty of the battle, but there was a silver lining.

Squeak!

I got a weapon refill.

Swiftly.

As soon as my mace was cut in half, I grabbed another weapon from a fallen soldier’s body and charged again.

Sword, hammer, or mace.

I didn’t care about the form.

As long as it was long enough to wield with force.

Crash!

Arm, leg, torso, shoulder, eye, ear.

As my body deteriorated, his condition also visibly worsened.

Whisk!

His sword that once radiated the aura of a knight gradually lost its momentum, and his movements slowed.

One of his arms dangled limply, and his left leg, which Aynar had stabbed twice, couldn’t function properly, causing him to limp.

‘Soon.’

We’ll win.

In this state, he’ll collapse before we do.

With that thought in mind, I swung my hammer at his temple.

「Captain Dreadfear’s health has fallen below 15%.」

An explosive shock erupted from his body, sending me flying into a wall.

The impact traveled through the back of my head, making my vision blur, but I quickly got up and checked the situation ahead.

“Fuck.”

I couldn’t help but curse.

「Captain Dreadfear has activated [Eternal Nightmare].」

「All health has been restored.」

In an instant, his wounds healed, and he walked out unscathed, speaking to me.

“My offer…”

“……”

“Still stands.”

Like hell it is.

I asked in return:

“Could it be…?”

“……”

“Your parents were parrots or something?”

He didn’t answer my question.

He just silently shoved his sword into my gut.

“Damn it, this game…”

And with that, everything went dark.
***
[The character’s health is below 5%.]

[[Narcolepsy] is activated.]

[Natural regeneration rate significantly increases.]

[The character falls into a [Stunned] state.]
***

In the darkness.

Floating on the flowing river, I think.

Dreadfear, the Lord of Fear.

How the hell are we supposed to defeat this guy?

The answer is simple.

It’s impossible.

I was mistaken to think that the increased stats gave us a chance, but it was just a trap.

This enemy wasn’t meant to be defeated.

That means…

“I was wrong.”

My judgment was wrong.

Instead of fighting, I should have run away at first sight and headed out of the cave.

“It was a game of tag from the start.”

The stat boost was just enough to give us a slight chance to escape from him.

A head-on battle was never the solution from the beginning.

So…

“Pant, pant…”

Now I’m paying the price for choosing the wrong answer.

[The character’s health is above 15%.]

[The [Stunned] state is adjusted to [Paralysis]

[The rate of natural regeneration is slightly reduced]

When I opened my eyes, I was being carried by Aynar.

“Catch them…!”

Behind us, I could hear the shout of a soldier as Aynar continued to run hard.

“Huh? Bjorn…? Are you awake?”

“…”

“Are you okay?! Can you hear me?”

I forced my barely moving lips to open.

“I’m… fine… Start by explaining the situation…”

“Ah, right…”

Aynar explained while running.

“You… collapsed, and then suddenly… the entire cave flashed, and he stopped moving. I took the chance to… pick you up and start running…”

He stopped?

…Was it the effect of the altar?

I don’t know.

It’s a hidden piece in the game, and without a system log, I can’t tell what’s causing what.

“How much… time?”

“I don’t know. 5 minutes? Something like that…”

I had been unconscious for about 5 minutes.

“But, how’s your body?”

“I’m fine… I just can’t move…”

What kind of situation am I in now?

After a moment of thought, something came to mind.

‘[Lethargy].’

A passive skill that activates when health falls below 5%.

At 15%, it changes to [Paralysis], and as health slowly recovers, the status effect is removed at 30%.

‘So I had… a skill too.’

Not just Vercil and Erwin, but I also had a starting skill.

It was a passive skill, so I didn’t realize it sooner.

‘Then… Aynar probably has one too.’

What could her skill be?

I don’t know, but there’s no time to calmly experiment and find out.

“Left… side…”

“Huh?”

“Left is… the way…”

“Ah…”

While giving directions from Aynar’s back, I tried to organize my thoughts.

As I did, I noticed a particularly loud sound.

“Gasp, gasp…”

It wasn’t just the sound of someone exhausted. It was different.

“Aynar… are you okay?”

“…I’m… fine…”

No, you don’t look fine at all.

“Just… can’t use my hands… so I got a bit hurt… Don’t worry about it…”

Her words made me wonder.

Aynar couldn’t use both hands because she was carrying me.

So how did she deal with the Imperial soldiers?

Did we just luck out and not run into any head-on?

The answer to that, I soon witnessed with my own eyes.

“…Filthy pilgrims!”

A group of soldiers appeared in front of the passage we were heading toward.

Aynar’s choice was simple.

She didn’t stop.

No, she actually sped up and charged straight at the soldiers.

Thud-!

With her arms behind, her body was wide open, and sharp weapons swung at her, but she endured, only protecting her vitals.

And the result.

Shoulder.

Arm.

Leg.

She suffered major and minor injuries in three places, but Aynar instantly broke through the soldiers.

The soldiers who were bypassed joined others and chased us, and Aynar’s breathing became even rougher.

“Gasp… gasp…”

Watching this from her back, I couldn’t say anything.

But maybe she was worried about me.

Aynar asked me,

“Bjorn… are you… hurt anywhere?”

“…Stop.”

This is too reckless.

In this state, it’s clear she’ll collapse before long, and even if we make it, how will he treat those injuries?

Without any potions?

It would be wiser to put me down, hold out until [Lethargy] wears off, and then move together.

But…

“I can’t… do that.”

No matter what reasoning I gave, Aynar stubbornly held her ground.

“Why… not?”

“Because… I saw the future… when you collapsed.”

“…The future?”

“It happened… when the mage died too. Back then, I thought it was just a hallucination… but I think this is my… ability.”

What did she see to make her act like this?

No matter how many times I asked, Aynar didn’t answer.

“I can’t… stop. So trust me.”

“……”

“I… won’t collapse… no matter what.”

As if making a vow, Aynar muttered those last words and continued walking silently, without responding further.

Thud, thud.

No matter if Imperial soldiers appeared ahead or not.

She never stopped, just kept moving forward.