1-Second Invincible Player in the Game

16. The Mine (3)

As the assassin turned towards me, I hurled the lamp and sprinted backwards.

The lamp, struck by an explosive, scattered fragments and sparked flames.

Having drenched the surroundings with the lamp’s oil in advance, the fire swiftly transferred to the explosives, and a booming rupture echoed throughout the cave.

BOOM────

The explosion engulfed the assassin. There were still two more explosives planted. Naturally, they were close enough to the first to trigger a chain explosion.

Even if caught in the blast, I had calculated that I would be fine.

[1 Second Invincibility: Available]

Perhaps it was because I retreated just in case.

There was no need to activate the ‘1 Second Invincibility.’

But then, there was one oversight.

Thud──

The assassin, who should have been a ghost by now, was approaching me, staff raised high.

“A sorcerer, huh…”

The barrier unfolded around him.

The rock fragments that had piled on top of it slid off.

My heart shrank at the arrival of this formidable foe.

The minimum requirement to defeat a sorcerer was an aura capable of cutting through magic.

Isn’t this a bit much?

There should be a plausible sequence, the second assassin to appear should only be about 40 percent stronger at most.

If he had the skill to survive the explosion, opportunities should have been plentiful from the start.

Yet, here he was, attacking now, which was strange.

“With that level of skill, you could have attacked on the carriage, couldn’t you?”

“The mine is a place with many advantages.”

The tip of his staff turned into a pen nib, drawing geometric figures in the air.

“I have made thorough preparations to kill the young master known as the Immortal.”

RUMBLE─

The cave began to rumble as if an earthquake had struck.

I wondered if he intended to bury me alive, but that wasn’t it. The floating spell in the air was pulling the rocks together as if it were a magnet.

Boom──!

The clusters of rock slowly took on the shape of a human figure, as if sculpted from clay.

It was a golem.

Not a simple summoning spell, but one of the higher magics of the creation series.

Did you think I would just stand by and watch?

He’s currently focused on creating the golem, so he won’t be able to cast another spell at the same time.

Now was my chance.

I pulled out the dagger that had been sleeping in my pocket and addressed Donatan.

“Is the swordsmanship of your former master really reliable?”

“He could cut a rock with a roadside weed.”

But this guy’s bluffing is so severe that it’s actually making me nervous…

It’s my first real fight; I wonder if it’ll be okay.

Crackle─

The current stimulated my muscles. As I relaxed, my hands and limbs took shape independently of my will.

Thanks to Donatan’s guidance, a plausible stance was completed.

As I thrust the dagger forward, the assassin narrowed his eyes and said,

“I understand you’ve never learned swordsmanship, but that’s a no-frills stance you’ve got there.”

I charged, aiming for the magician’s greatest weakness: close combat.

Once within his reach, I unfolded Donatan’s officially precise and lethal dagger technique.

Clang─!

It was blocked by the swift swing of his staff. The second attack aimed at the neck, and the third trying to stab the spine from behind, were all thwarted just the same.

Each time the dagger was deflected, my wrist throbbed painfully.

“……”

I wondered if I was doing well.

As far as swordsmanship goes, I’ve only ever seen the motions wielded by characters in games.

I’m completely ignorant about swords.

Even to me, the dagger technique I’m displaying now seems… well…

Does it look plausible only because it seems so?

Of course, it’s better than my pure skill, but look at the results.

Even though he’s a magician, not a master of swordsmanship, it’s not working at all. Indeed, Donatan’s former master must have been a fake sword saint.

I took a step back, retreating with a backstep. He remarked as if something was off.

“Even by your movements, one can glimpse your achievement…”

“……”

“Why do you not wield your aura?”

It’s irritating.

It’s not like anyone’s flaunting it.

* * *

Chills ran down the magician’s back, a result of the desperate dagger techniques he had fended off.

‘It’s as if the swordsmanship is half a beat ahead, reading the moves…’

Precise yet fluid, the movements were devoid of any superfluous actions.

Even after the dagger was thrust, the trajectory twisted mid-flight, creating unexpected variables that repeatedly struck vulnerabilities.

Such altered attacks were so precise in targeting vital points that it almost felt like being sliced.

Had it not been for the experience of assassinating knights.

Had protective magic not been cast on the staff, even that would have been impossible to block.

The magician found this fact even more terrifying.

‘If he had released even a hint of his aura, my neck would be… But why didn’t he use his aura?’

For a moment, he doubted whether the other was incapable of using it, but it was a foolish question.

Whether it’s swordsmanship or magic, honing one leads to the growth of the other.

Someone capable of such swordsmanship couldn’t possibly have failed to master their aura.

‘Could it be, this was merely amusement before battling the golem…’

If he intended to kill, he would have done so already.

If he was nonchalantly engaging in close combat, it could only be seen as a pastime until the golem was complete.

The magician, who had prepared a strong insurance from the start, swallowed hard.

‘I was uncertain at first… but surviving in the mansion until now, it must have been for that reason.’

Clutching his staff tightly, the magician declared,

“I will attack with all my might. So that even when you close your eyes, you will be satisfied!”

Whether his sincerity was conveyed, Hershel glared fiercely.

* * *

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

All this, just with a single staff, what now?

He was undoubtedly a ruthless, mad sorcerer.

I glanced at the golem. It was about the size of a child now.

The golem’s formation was still in progress.

It seemed it would take some time.

But what now…

The sorcerer crafted a giant spear from rock. It hurtled towards me with ferocity.

Ping──

Donatan cried out a warning. I had no time to react.

“Don’t just stand there, move, Hershel!”

Kwaang───!

A thunderous roar as if the cave itself was bellowing.

The stone arrow shattered into fragments, scattering into the void.

[Physical attack detected.]

[Invincibility for 1 second activated.]

[Invincibility cooldown: 58 seconds]

Dust enveloped everything. Donatan wailed. I listened in silence.

“Damn it all! Am I to spend the rest of my life trapped here? To die in such a place, by the hands of this swine!”

It’s getting noisy.

“Who’s dying?”

“Huh? You, you… How are you still alive?”

I didn’t answer Donatan.

Because light was seeping through the rubble that the explosion had blocked.

Screech──

The afterimage created each time the aura-wrapped sword sliced through the stone.

It was the ‘Crescent Moon Slash’ effect I had seen countless times while playing Dellerger.

This damned slacker.

Finally, you’ve arrived.

The sorcerer’s brow furrowed at the appearance of Dellerger.

“You… came to interfere?”

The sorcerer swung his staff, creating another giant spear. It was launched like an arrow towards Dellerger, but it was merely sliced through by the aura-wrapped sword strike.

Click─

“It depends on your answer, young master.”

After Delger said this to the magician, he swiftly sheathed his sword. Sensing the magician’s formidable skill, he laid down his staff. It seemed he thought it better to observe than to provoke a fight.

I stared at Delger, dumbfounded.

“I thought about it, and I figured I should hear it first.”

“Hear what?”

“You never know. After all this work, what if the young master doesn’t tell me? Or maybe that’s all you know.”

I understood such doubts.

The information I had whispered earlier was deliberately limited to provoke him.

-Don’t you need a clue about those who destroyed the Ashen? If you hear an explosion, come back here.

It was good that Delger had come this far as intended, but it seemed he had no intention of moving at my whim.

“If you don’t want to talk, shall I just leave? After all, this is overtime.”

Delger feigned a languid expression. But I knew it was a facade.

I snapped irritably.

“If everything is too bothersome, then just give up on revenge. The traitors are living well, eating well. If you stay quiet, everyone else will be happy, won’t they?”

Delger glared at me as if he wanted to kill me. It was a natural reaction. What I had done was roughly tear at the painful memories he harbored.

“…What do you know?”

“I know it all. The one who deceived Redenick and dragged him to his death. The one who poisoned Redenick’s cup. The one who plunged a knife into Redenick’s corpse. All of them who made the Ashen Knights what they are!”

The Ashen Knights.

They were a mercenary group composed of knights from a fallen empire.

Redenick, the leader of the mercenaries, had picked up Delger when he was an abandoned infant, raising him like a father.

As Delger reached adulthood, Redenick met a gruesome death at the hands of traitors bribed by those who feared the Ashen Knights.

With their focal point gone, the mercenaries scattered and disintegrated, and Delger, having lost his family and home, vowed to find the fleeing traitors and punish them severely.

And the only one who knew of Delger’s background, having agreed to help him in his revenge, was Aria.

It was bound to be so, thus Delger’s eyes were filled with confusion.

“…Who are you, exactly?”

“Let me tell you one thing. If you don’t hear anything from me now, one of them will meet a peaceful death before your sword can even touch him.”

I issued a veiled threat, and Delger’s pupils wavered.

“Choose wisely. I could easily deal with such a man, but I’m giving you a chance out of pity.”

Delger narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge me, and watched me for a moment.

“…Redenick.”

And as if trying to gather his resolve, he closed his eyes and murmured the name like a sigh.

When he opened his eyes again, they were cold and detached.

Swoosh—

Dellorger roughly drew his sword. As the magician narrowed his eyes at the approaching figure, Dellorger’s blade sang through the air.

“…A foolish choice. If you insist on meddling, you’ll pay the price.”

The mention of a ‘price’ almost made me laugh.

The magician’s skills are strong by my standards, but could he even inflict a scratch on him?

Dellorger, among the playable characters, ranks near the top.

Born into a harsh world, he grasped a sword early on.

This meant that from the start of the scenario, his basics were already somewhat developed.

The magician fired spells rapidly with his staff. Boulders flew towards Dellorger from the front.

Tatatuk—

Instead of dodging, Dellorger created countless afterimages as he charged forward. The magician’s attack only managed to cut through the ‘cat’s footsteps’ afterimages in vain.

As if firing a machine gun, the magician conjured a massive spear of rock with his empty left hand. That same attack that almost pierced my abdomen earlier.

Sheeek!

The floating rock spear shot towards Dellorger with a sonic boom, but he simply tilted his head while running and dodged the spear effortlessly. Dellorger’s long black hair fluttered in the path of the spear.

“Kuh…”

As Dellorger closed in, the magician hastily raised his staff like a shield, a bluish aura clinging to it.

My dagger was treated like a toy, a fine defensive tool, but it was insufficient before Dellorger. He swung his sword, cutting the magician down with the staff still in hand. The ‘crescent moon slash’ wrapped in aura drew a red line across the magician’s neck faster than sound.

Swoosh—

It was almost anticlimactic how easily Dellorger dispatched the magician. So far, everything had gone according to plan, but now what?

I had boasted confidently, but giving away too much information could complicate the narrative. And if I feigned ignorance, that sword might swing my way next.

But why does it suddenly seem darker?

“Young master! Above!”

At Dellorger’s urgent shout, I looked up. It felt as if the ceiling was crashing down on my head. More precisely, a golem’s giant fist was plummeting towards me.

Had the golem been completed while my mind wandered?

It was too late to dodge.

[1-second invincibility: available]

…Well, it doesn’t matter.

“Shall I show you something interesting?”