Solo Clear – Chapter 17: Battle in Front of the Ruin.

The quality of this 2:2 battle wasn’t anything exciting.
One of my arms was useless right now and the Slime didn’t have any offensive skills.
Since I couldn’t escape, the only thing I could do was take them down.

“Grrrrrrr.”

The way that the soldier crouched made it look like they were going attack at any moment.
It was safe to say that their agility level was similar to mine.
On top of that, since it didn’t have any muscles, their movement was very flexible.

Since my arm was cursed, I couldn’t wield anything due to the lack of strength.
I can’t believe I had to fight without my left arm.
I felt the curse from my left arm spreading throughout my body.

“Grrrrrrr.”

The soldier placed a shield in front of them and changed their tactics to protecting the archer.
It’s a technique that’s usually used to decrease the number of opponents.

The archer grabbed an arrow and aimed it towards us.

Fwoosh!!

The arrow was shot not that far from us.
The speed of the arrow increased as it flew, it was impossible for an ordinary human to sense the arrow.

Before the arrow was released, I grabbed the Slime that was in front of me and stretched it like a rubber band.
Its slimy skin was stretching so smoothly.

Bloop!!

It sounded as if a pebble was thrown into a lake.
The arrow that the archer shot didn’t go through the Slime’s body, but was sucked into it.

“Grrrrr.”

Bleh!!

As if it didn’t taste good, the Slime ended up spitting out the arrow that was sucked into its body.
The skeletons that saw this looked pretty surprised because they looked at each other with a confused expression.

“It all depends on how you use it.”

Out of all the C rank soldiers that were weak, Slime was treated as the weakest of them all.
A soldier’s rank is determined based on the total points of their offense, defense and special skills.
Its offense points were close to zero.
It was also weak to fire and lightning.
But, this weak soldier had a special ability.

It was resistant to physical attacks.
The weapons that the skeletons had weren’t exceptions.

Fwoosh!! Fwoosh!!
Bloop!! Bloop!!

Maybe it got angry by how the Slime easily blocked its attacks because the archer started shooting multiple arrows.
Every time an arrow flew, the Slime would use its body and block the attacks.

“Grrrrrr!!”

As if the soldier couldn’t take it any longer, they suddenly started running towards us.

“Block them for me.”

The Slime didn’t have ears or eyes, but I could tell that it understood my command.
Since its body could change forms, the Slime transformed into a wall and protected me from the attacks.

Clank!!

I grabbed the axe that was on the ground and clashed with the soldier’s sword.
A high-pitched metallic sound filled the place.
The soldier probably knew that they had the advantage, so they kept on attacking.

Pant!! Pant!!

As my breathing became heavier, I knew that I was walking on thin ice.
I barely dodged the sword as it came down.
They cut my waist once and the cut was so deep that the blood didn’t stop flowing out.

Crack!!

“Grrrrr.”

For the first time, I managed to injure the soldier.
I felt good, which caused a smile to appear on my face.

Sense – E rank -> Increased to D rank.
It’s the experience that you earn when you go up against an opponent that’s stronger than you.
The experience that was built-up within me finally increased the rank.

It happened when I was fighting against the Troll.
That was when I was sure of the fact that I had skills when it came to combat.

Maybe I could do it now.

While trying to chop down the tree several times, there was one time when a light appeared.
I could’ve chopped it down by cutting it several times, but with that light, I was able to chop it down with one swing.
It happened so suddenly and in order to see it again.
The training lasted longer than it should’ve, but I ended up wasting time by trying to build-up my energy.
But, it could be possible now.

Swoosh.

The wind suddenly started blowing through this still forest.
No, it wasn’t the weather that changed.
A blue energy was starting to circle around me.
Since my concentration was at its peak, the energy was starting to gather into one place like I had hoped for.

Mana Enhancement E rank.

It was an active skill that strengthened an item or the body through mana.

Despite of the fact that my mana level was increasing, I had no way of using it.
Most of my skills were either passive or could only be used in certain situations.
But now, I earned a skill where I’ll be able to use the mana that’s been overflowing.

With Mana Enhancement, my axe’s offense points suddenly increased.
The blue light made the skeletons take a step back as if they had the ability to feel emotions.

Boom!!

For the first time in this battle, I made the first move.

The distance between us shortened.

“Grrrrr!!”

The skeleton was shocked and it reacted too late.
In order to block the attack, they raised their sword, but I brought my axe down on them.
Their strong bones were shattered into pieces.

Crack!!
The axe hit their left shoulder and ended up cutting through their ribs.

“Grrrrrrr!!”

The skeleton released a white breath.
The sword and shield fell to the ground and they lost their balance, causing their body to collapse to the ground.
As if they couldn’t believe that they lost, the skeleton started patting the broken bone.

Drizzle.

Taking out the Holy Water from my inventory, I poured it over its head.
The soldier slowly stopped moving.
There was only one remaining.
Before taking them down, I drank a HP potion to restore some of my health.

When I turned around, I noticed that arrows were stuck to the Slime’s body.
The Slime shook its body as if it was challenging the archer to shoot more arrows at them.
The Skeleton Archer wiped its forehead as if they were sweating.

“Grrrrrrr.”

After realizing that their comrade was taken down, the soldier took a step back.
I knew the soldier was going to try to run away.
As soon as I saw the back, I started running towards it.
I was aiming for the spine.

Crack!!

The archer’s neck detached from its body and rolled on the black dirt.
The body that lost its head was running really fast and ended up falling forwards.

Drizzle.

I poured the Holy Water on them too.
Their red eyes disappeared.
I threw the axe that I barely had the strength to wield like it was trash.

“Ah……”

I’m tired.
I felt the exhaustion come at me all at once and I was on the verge of passing out.
My entire body was aching.
If I passed out now, I feel like I would see my life flash before my eyes.

Why am I suffering like this?

Did I really have to survive in this hell-like place every day?
Damn it…I want to get comfortable already.
I’m getting…sleepy.

“Ack!!”

I became wide awake after being enveloped by something cold.
The Rainbow Colored Slime suddenly enveloped me as if it was a blanket.
As if they were trying to be cute, it stuck to my body and started trembling.

“I know, I know, I’m alive thanks to you.”

I wasn’t sure how to pet it, so I just petted a random spot on its body.
Maybe it felt happy because its body trembled even more.

“Let’s get the item first.”

Red Skeleton’s Bow (Rank 9)(Dropped Item)
The Red Skeleton Archer that protected the ruin used this bow.
This bow is special because it’s made out of bones instead of wood.
It doesn’t look flexible and may look like it lacks power, but it’s very flexible.

Red Skeleton’s Sword (Rank 9)(Dropped Item)
The Red Skeleton Soldier used this sword.
The skull that’s embedded at the hilt makes the item stand out.

Red Skeleton’s Armor (Rank 9)(Dropped Item)
The armor is made out of bones and was worn by the Red Skeleton that protected the ruin.
It’s lightweight and its defense is excellent.

Red Skeleton’s Red Eyes (Special Utilization Item)
Despite of losing their life, the eyes don’t lose its red light.
It can be consumed and it will have a fishy taste.
Once consumed, it will raise your mana level.

Key of the Ruin (Special Utilization Item)
The key you can use to enter the second stage’s ruin.

There was a lot.

I thought they were strong monsters, but the items they dropped were pretty good.

I was pretty satisfied with the bow and armor.
I thought I made the right decision by not purchasing any armor from the store prior to coming here.

But, my happiness only lasted for a moment.
There was still something I haven’t taken care of.
My left hand was still decaying.

Despite of drinking the Release Potion that I purchased from the store, it didn’t make it any better.
It was decaying slowly though.
I needed to heal this as soon as possible.

“…Let’s cut it.”

Other than that, I couldn’t think of another solution.
If I don’t cut it, it’ll spread to my organs.

I’ll no longer be human.
The guidebook only explained what kind of curse it was.
It didn’t explain how it can be healed.

If I do it now, I can keep my shoulder and bicep.
The more I hesitate, the more parts I’ll lose.

After raising the axe, I lightly placed it right on top of the decomposed part.
I wasn’t this scared when I was fighting the Skeleton Soldiers.
I had injuries all over my body.

Do I need to do this in a different way?

I didn’t have any idea.

This was my first time, so there was no reason to nitpick about it.

I hope it falls off with one strike.
I didn’t want to strike my twice.

Swoosh!!

“Ack!! Cough. Cough.”

Thankfully, the axe was really sharp so I was able to cut it off with one strike.
After seeing the blood seeping out, I drank the Health Potion and the Blood Recovery Potion.

“Damn it. Gahhhh.”

Tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.

The largest scar that I earned from the stage just happened to be the one that I gave myself.
It was painful.
But, I somewhat felt sad.

I ripped off my clothes and wrapped it tightly around my arm.
Thanks to the Blood Recovery Potion, I didn’t lose that much blood.

Despite of the fact that I acquired the key, I couldn’t go in there in my current condition.
I had to return to the fortress.

“No. 1 and No. 2 might faint.”

Thankfully, the torch that was placed on the tree didn’t go out.
Even though the door of the ruin was right in front of me, I didn’t have any choice but to leave.

<Battle in Front of the Ruin> End.