Clown 3

An unexpected, sudden turn of events.

It was the only way to describe it, but it wasn’t enough to make him give up everything and fall into despair.

At least, that’s what Abet Necrapeto thought.

And why wouldn’t he?

「Field Effect – ‘Netherworld’ is applied.」

This was the Netherworld.

A place one could only enter by using a staff that was practically the ultimate weapon for necromancers—.

「Physical stats of all non-living entities in the area increase by 200%.」

「Physical stats of all living entities decrease by 20%.」

It was nothing short of a paradise for necromancers.

「Undead within this area do not perish.」

When undead creatures were defeated here, they revived after a brief delay.

[The character possesses a symbol]

[The Blessing of the Netherworld has been granted to the character]

A character who possessed the Staff of the Netherworld was treated as a “non-living entity” and could never truly die.

Well, there was a way to counter that too, but still.

Anyway.

“Psssit…”

Right, there’s no reason to be intimidated here.

Step

Even as the giant radiated an aura with the force of a freight train…

And even though he did not believe he could pierce the barbarian’s absurdly high defenses to deal any meaningful damage…

‘…If it’s just about surviving!’

At the very least, he was sure he could run. The barbarian’s defenses were absurdly high, but his speed was lacking, as Necrapeto had learned not long ago during the chase.

Of course, since his own mobility wasn’t great either, he had almost been caught back then, but….

“Oh, you’re laughing?”

The situation was different now.

His physical stats had increased significantly, and his summons were far stronger.

Analysing the situation calmly, he saw absolutely no reason to be intimidated by the barbarian.

So then…

“Why, is it wrong to smile? Pssit…”

As his confidence soared, his mind naturally found ease.

“Well, it’s not wrong. It’s just strange seeing someone who looked half-dead a moment ago suddenly act like this.”

“Half-dead? Nonsense… I was merely a bit surprised. Psssit….”

His body reflected his resolve as his hunched shoulders straightened and spread wide.

As the saying goes, positivity begets positivity.

Once he started thinking positively, he started noticing more and more advantages he had over the barbarian.

“Twenty-four hours… that should be enough.”

If twenty-four hours passed without anyone dying, everyone would be expelled from this place and returned to their original locations.

If 24 hours pass without anyone dying, everyone is expelled from the location and returned to where they came from.

However, there was nothing to worry about.

‘Until the Captain arrives.’

Before blocking Bjorn Jandel, he had heard news that the captain who had been waiting in District 4 had departed for District 8.

No matter how late it was, the captain would arrive by then, and that monstrous captain would surely be able to deal with that mysterious knight as well.

Anyone might defeat a labyrinth monster.

But defeating the captain was practically impossible.

If he managed to survive and return, the knight would be dead or gone, and the remaining members would be forced into a defensive stance as they waited for him.

Then, no matter how persistent that barbarian was—

Thud!

Hey now, a man is thinking here.

Barbarians truly had no manners.

Whooong!

A brutish, unsophisticated blow, devoid of any elegance.

“Psssit.”

With a slight step backward, he dodged it effortlessly and let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’re slow.”

The barbarian must’ve been taken off guard.

How did he dodge that so easily? He would have been hit for sure in the past.

‘Heh, as I thought, he has no clue.’

That foolish barbarian knew nothing about the Netherworld, and that gap in knowledge played directly into the necromancer’s hands in this terrain.

Right, so….

“Hmm… maybe I could even try taking him down?”

It was just a single dodge, but that one success gave Abet Necrapeto tremendous confidence, along with a hint of greed.

After all…

The Corpse Collector, Abet Necrapeto, defeating the giant Bjorn Jandel one-on-one. What an incredible story that would make—.

Psssssh!

Just then, green gas erupted from the ground between him and the barbarian, and the barbarian stepped back to avoid it.

Up to this point, he hadn’t thought much of it. After all, it’s a normal reaction to dodge unidentified gas suddenly erupting from the ground.

But, what was this now?

“Huh, why aren’t you getting hit?”

The man did not understand what the barbarian meant and tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”

“Wait, you don’t know? Wow. I mean, I don’t really want to be the one to tell you…”

It was as if the barbarian knew something about the gas.

Feeling that something was wrong, the man asked again to confirm.

“…Do you know where this place is?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You summoned it with that staff. The Netherworld. If I get hit by that gas, I get cursed and if you do, you’re blessed.”

“….”

At the barbarian’s concise explanation, Abet Necrapeto was left speechless.

“What? You really didn’t know?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t know the fact himself. Rather, he was shocked that the barbarian knew it so accurately.

His mind froze for a moment, but upon reflection, he realised there was no reason to panic.

“…That, that can’t be. Anyone might know a little about the Netherworld. It’s quite famous, after all.”

“Oh? Then shall we start again?”

As if he had no interest in further conversation, the barbarian let out a battle cry and charged again.

And then—

[Grrrrr!]

[Grrrrrrrr!]

Abet Necrapeto also pulled out the corpses he was most confident in from his subspace.

When he first saw the barbarian, his first thought was to flee, but he planned to trade a few blows first to gauge whether this was a fight he could win or not.

“Wow, it’s got the [Barrier] trait? How much did you modify this thing?”

The barbarian immediately saw through Trait No. 3, which the man had created through countless remodels.

And then….

“This guy’s weakness is here, so it’s easy.”

Crunch!

Despite its damage immunity, No. 3 was struck at its sole weak point and collapsed helplessly.

Of course, it would resurrect soon due to the field effect, but….

‘…H-how does he know?’

Abet Necrapeto’s surging confidence dipped slightly, replaced by a creeping anxiety.

Still, he tried to cling to hope.

“…The [Avenger] trait can just be tanked.”

Crunch!

“Right, the [Musician] trait should be dealt with first.”

Crunch!

That barbarian moved with ruthless efficiency, like someone who had mastered all the truths of this world.

“Oh, Netherworld Fire? Nice.”

The barbarian periodically slammed his hammer into the field monsters that amplified the dark attribute in the area.

He even struck the ground when it suddenly bulged upward.

“…Why is he hitting that?”

“Ah, you don’t know? My resistance goes up if I hit this.”

A hidden piece that even he, who had visited the Netherworld countless times, didn’t know about.

Boom!

After trying it himself, it really did feel like his skin became slightly tougher…

Badump!

The feeling that something was wrong continued to swell in his heart. Still, he did not give up. When the time was right, the man revealed his trump card.

“S-still, you won’t be able to block this!”

“Oh? Looks like it’s finally time for a big summon.”

“…What?”

“What, weren’t you about to pull out the Underworld King?”

“….”

That was right.

When someone wielding the Staff of the Netherworld entered the Netherworld and met certain conditions, they could summon a field boss.

That was exactly what he intended to do.

But—

Thump!

How did this barbarian know even that?

As if he had been here countless times.

“I-it doesn’t matter if you know! You can’t just block it like that!”

Ignoring everything else, he raised his staff high, targeted the moon overhead, and cast Call of the Netherworld once more.

And then—

[I sense the stench of the living.]

The transcendent voice echoed throughout the Netherworld.

Even knowing it was an ally, Necrapetto felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing the voice.

He vividly remembered how the Netherworld King had instantly killed the fool who dared challenge him during Orcules’ Ranking War.

Even so, it did not give him much confidence.

Bjorn Jandel.

A “Guardian” whose strength would be counted among the very best in the history of Raphdonia.

No matter how powerful the Staff of the Netherworld was, killing someone like that in a single blow was impossible.

But—

“He should be able to deal heavy damage.”

Necrapeto decided to observe just this one strike before making his final decision.

If it dealt significant damage, he would fight more aggressively and try to kill him.

But if the damage was minor—

“How could anyone possibly kill something like that?”

He would accept that it was impossible from the start and retreat, focusing solely on buying time.

So, what would the result be?

[Living one, I ask you.]

The Netherworld King defied the word large itself. Looking down on the world below, it spoke a single question.

[Why have you set foot upon the land of immortality?]

To the man, it was a pointless event.

No matter what answer the living one gave, the Underworld King would rage and strike downward—

Pshuuu—

…Or so he thought.

“What?”

At that moment, the barbarian suddenly stepped into the green gas erupting from the ground.

It was completely incomprehensible.

The Barbarian knew that entering it would curse him, so why would he step in willingly?

The answer came quickly.

[Perhaps I was mistaken.]

With those words, the Underworld King vanished.

“N-no! Lord Netherworld King! H-here! He’s right here! There is a living one here, so please come back! Come back…!”

Necrapeto shouted desperately at the sky, but the Netherworld King did not reappear.

“……”

An empty silence followed.

Pshuuu!

As the gas stopped erupting, the barbarian came out of it grinning widely.

“Didn’t know, huh?”

An absurdly calm question.

Necrapeto felt such disbelief that the back of his head throbbed.

“How could anyone know something like that?!”

The mere fact of knowing it was what made no sense.

He had never seen anyone avoid the Netherworld King like that before, nor had he ever read an account by a known wielder of the Staff of the Netherworld that mentioned such a thing.

“…H-how do you know everything?”

Necrapeto asked in resignation, and the barbarian shrugged.

“Why would I tell you?”

It was the usual teasing tone the barbarian used.

“Usually, you learn what you don’t know by getting hit.”

However, at the following words, Necrapeto instinctively realized.

Thump!

It wasn’t just a feeling that something was wrong.

This….

Thump!

Things had already gone horribly, horribly wrong.

***

Under a green-tinted sky, I was running across a barren plain.

Tadat!

Ahead of me, a modified four-legged chimera was carrying the Corpse Collector and fleeing from me.

‘Tsk, did I push him too hard?’

The fight itself had been incredibly easy.

Even with the Netherworld’s buff empowering his corpses, a necromancer was fundamentally a numbers-based class.

No matter how elite they were, the attack power of individual units would inevitably be low.

That kind of setup could never kill me.

A Shield Barbarian only grew stronger the more basic attacks he took.

On top of that, I had played a necromancer myself before, so my understanding of the class was high, and I had visited the Netherworld countless times, meaning there were no variables to worry about.

[The accumulated damage has exceeded a certain threshold]

The problem was that once I countered even the Netherworld King, his fighting spirit shattered and he immediately turned to flee.

I think… it’s time.

Of course, I had no idea how many stacks I had accumulated. Just from charging through the army of corpses and letting them hit me, I had probably built up a decent number.

“Guess it’s about time.”

Of course, I did not know how many stacks I had built up.

But since I had been charging through waves of corpses, taking hits the whole way, it should have piled up quite a bit.

‘Well, I’ll find out when I try.’

[The character has used [Aegis Dragon Armor]]

The moment I activated the armor’s active effect, a spirit warrior appeared behind me and charged forward.

It was nowhere near the Netherworld King I had seen earlier, but it was still more than large enough to shatter any sense of realism.

Right on cue, the guy glanced back and began to panic.

“…W-what is that thing?!”

Seriously, is he a kid or what?

Why does he keep asking to be spoon-fed answers every single time something happens?

‘I told you, if you don’t know, you learn by getting hit.’

Whoooooosh—!

The spirit warrior took a single step and swung its massive greatsword.

Given the overwhelming size of that blade, the distance between him and me was completely irrelevant.

Booom!

A cloud of smoke erupted as the explosion rumbled outward.

[Abet Necrapeto has cast [Momentary Immortality]]

Alright, that should take care of his invincibility skill…

Grin.

The Next one should kill him.

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