chapter4 · 079-ep79

Episode 79: Double Unlock

I turned my back on that huge ogre and ran with everything I had.

"No, seriously, you're fast!"

The sound of its feet pounding the floor followed close behind.

When I'd seen that body, I'd just assumed it would be slower.

My fault for judging by appearances, sure, but still — this was way too fast.

I widened my focus with Interference Eye+.

Even running down the passage ahead of me, I could tell where the dense Magic pursuing me from behind was.

"I'm not pulling away at all..."

I'd boosted my Agility with battle armor too.

But right now I had one enchant each of Strength, Agility, and Endurance fixed in place.

If I stacked Agility a few times and fixed it again, I figured running away would be a little easier.

"I wanna change it, but..."

To do that now, I'd have to cancel Battle Armor Form first.

And then I'd lose the progress I'd already made toward that six-hour Achievement.

"That'd be such a waste."

No way did I want to redo the same six hours later.

Besides, the Achievement I was working on right now required me to escape for three hours in Battle Armor Form.

"Guess I gotta stick with this."

The moment I said that, the sound behind me closed in all at once.

"Whoa!"

I threw myself sideways.

A thick arm swept past right beside me and slammed into the rock wall.

With a tremendous crash, the rock shattered.

"I seriously have to do this for three hours?"

It had barely been any time at all since we started.

Still running, I looked a little way ahead with Interference Eye+.

The passage split in two up ahead, and the left branch narrowed sharply farther on.

"Left it is."

I ducked down it without hesitation.

I'd fit through just fine, but with that body, it should have a pretty hard time getting in.

I went a little farther in and looked back. A moment later, it reached the entrance too.

"All right."

Just as I'd thought, its shoulders were wedged against the rock walls.

I could catch my breath for a bit here.

"Phew..."

I was about to lean my back against the wall when it backed up a step.

"Hm?"

Why was it moving away?

The next moment, it kicked off the ground with all its strength.

"Huh? Wai—"

Its massive body crashed into the entrance, shattering the rock on both sides at once.

"You're allowed to do that!?"

It hadn't broken through in one hit.

But the opening was clearly wider than before.

Worse, it backed up a little again.

"You're doing it again!?"

I hurried off running.

A second impact rang out right behind me.

I didn't even have to turn around; with Interference Eye+, I could tell the passage had caved in.

Then that dense Magic came through into the passage.

"You're not gonna let me rest at all, huh!?"

I ran again.

Still, being able to stop for even a moment had made breathing a little easier.

"...Wait, could I use this?"

Apparently I couldn't hide away for three hours straight.

But if I got into a place it couldn't enter first, I'd have a little time before it smashed its way in.

Even one or two minutes where I didn't have to run would make a big difference.

Looking around with Interference Eye+, I spotted several places like that.

"That one next."

I headed for another narrowing passage.

This time, big rocks jutted out on either side of the entrance. It looked sturdier than the last place.

I went in and crouched down.

"Please hold up for at least a little while."

It arrived a little later and stopped at the entrance, just as I'd hoped.

It didn't charge in right away.

I looked at my watch.

Ten seconds. Twenty.

"Oh, this one's pretty—"

BOOM!

"I had to say it!"

The rock walls shook hard.

But they hadn't collapsed yet.

"Nice, nice. This one's solid."

The second hit only sent small stones falling.

While I caught my breath, I checked the Achievement.

【In progress: 13 minutes】

"It's going up."

The clock kept running while I hid.

At least for now, as long as I didn't lose sight of it myself through Interference Eye+, it seemed fine.

I had no idea what would happen if I lost track of it too.

"Let's definitely not test that."

Finding out after three hours of effort that the count had cut off halfway through would make me cry.

On its third charge, a huge crack opened in the rock.

"Ah, that's about to give."

I got up without pushing my luck.

Just after I slipped out the back, another crash sounded and a thick arm reached into the spot where I'd been.

"Whoa—!"

If I'd stayed any longer, it would've caught me for sure.

From then on, I searched ahead with Interference Eye+ for places I could rest while I ran.

I'd slip into a narrow spot and catch my breath, then move on when the rock started giving way.

Some spots nearly broke after one charge, while others stood firm even after it slammed into them again and again.

"The sturdy ones are jackpots."

Though it was kind of like opening a treasure chest and finding nothing inside but a break.

By the time I passed thirty minutes, I'd gotten a much better handle on it.

Avoid dead ends.

Check for a way out before going in.

Keep track of it with Interference Eye+ even while resting.

"Would this have been impossible if I hadn't gotten Interference Eye+ first?"

I didn't have the stamina to run for three hours straight.

And if I just hid normally, I'd lose track of where it went.

Now I could tell where it was even through a wall and find an escape route ahead of time.

"Mr. Personal Achievement, did you plan this far ahead?"

Nah, I was probably reading too much into it.

The timing was a little too perfect, though.

I was thinking that as I went into the next passage when the footsteps behind me stopped.

"Hm?"

I checked its position with Interference Eye+.

It was standing still a little ways away.

"What now?"

Right after I thought that, it drew a huge breath.

"Ah."

I had a bad feeling about this.

The next instant, an incredible roar came at me.

"Whoa!?"

It wasn't just a roar.

My body was shoved backward as if the air itself had pushed me, and I scrambled to brace my feet.

"So loud...!"

My ears were ringing.

Through Interference Eye, I could see Magic spread from its mouth lingering all through the passage.

"You can put Magic into your roar too?"

Apparently, if it couldn't get close, it would attack from a distance.

"You really can do anything, huh."

I was about to run again when it drew its right arm far back.

It swung its claws sideways.

"Huh?"

A slash came flying from their tips.

"You have that too!?"

I dodged to the side. The slash struck the rock wall and gouged a big swath out of its surface.

"Nobody told me you had two ranged attacks."

Not that I'd asked anyone.

It was my own fault for assuming from its looks that it could only fight up close.

From then on, if I got close it punched, and if I kept my distance I got roars and slashes.

"What a pain..."

But after dodging a few attacks, I remembered the Skill I'd just learned.

【Stagnation: Stockpile】

It converted an interfered force into energy and stored it inside me.

"Could I try it on those?"

Through Interference Eye, both the roar and the slashes showed up clearly as forces containing Magic.

Calling those energy made intuitive sense.

The problem was that I couldn't use Recoil.

"Sending it back would count as attacking, right?"

The Achievement I was after required me to escape for three hours without attacking at all.

If I sent an attack back with Recoil, I could easily fail it.

And I might even end up killing it, like when I'd taken down that armored Greyfish before.

"Definitely not doing that."

Running away for almost three hours and then killing the thing myself at the end wouldn't be funny.

Just then, it drew another breath.

"Roar, huh."

If I knew it was coming, I could prepare.

A Magic-laden shockwave spread toward me.

"Stagnation."

I stopped it right in front of me.

Up to there, it was the same as when I used Recoil.

But this time, instead of sending it back, I focused on the new Skill.

"Stockpile."

The halted Magic slowly lost its shape and flowed into my body.

"Ohh..."

It didn't hurt, and it wasn't hot.

It was a strange sensation I couldn't describe as anything but something coming in.

【Current stockpile: 6%】

"Six percent."

It really had built up.

"This is fun."

Though I still didn't know what I could use it for.

I tried it on the next slash that came flying too.

I stopped it with Stagnation and routed it into Stockpile.

【Current stockpile: 13%】

"That works too."

Roars and slashes alike seemed to end up stored as the same energy.

"Sounds handy, but I don't know what to do with it."

Well, I could figure that out after the three hours were up.

For now, escaping came first.

After that, I moved between places where I could rest, stockpiling only the attacks I had room to deal with.

I didn't try to catch them all.

Getting caught because I stopped running would defeat the point, so I dodged anything I could normally.

By the time I'd passed an hour, my body was feeling pretty heavy too.

"This is seriously rough..."

I was thirsty as well.

That reminded me of the supplies I'd left near the Gate.

All my water and food for the week were piled up there.

The place I'd arbitrarily decided to call my base camp.

"Should've brought at least one bottle of water..."

I'd planned to run for three hours, and somehow hadn't thought that far ahead.

Bit late now.

I looked widely around with Interference Eye+.

After all the running I'd done, normally I wouldn't have any idea which way led back to the Gate.

But when I traced the passages in my head, they connected all the way to where I'd left my supplies.

"Oh, I can tell."

I found the way back right away too.

"This is handy as well."

When I finished, water first.

Food next.

I'd just look forward to that for now.

I found another place that looked good for a rest and slipped inside.

It didn't collapse after several charges, so I figured I could take a slightly longer break.

"This one's a jackpot."

Letting my guard down because I thought that was my mistake.

On its fourth charge, part of the entrance collapsed and its arm suddenly reached all the way inside.

"Whoa!"

I pulled back, but I was too late.

The outside of its arm hit my shoulder and sent me flying sideways.

"Guh!"

My back slammed into the rock wall.

"Oww...!"

My shoulder and back both hurt, all right.

But not nearly as much as I'd expected.

"...Huh?"

I could stand. I could move my arm.

I hadn't taken the full brunt of that swing, but with a body like its, I'd expected a lot worse.

"Is this Hardiness?"

The Skill I'd only just gotten.

It made my skin, muscles, bones, and the like harder to injure.

"Already coming in handy..."

I'd have preferred not to be in a situation where it needed to, though.

And it still hurt plenty.

It came in through the broken entrance.

"I can be grateful later!"

I got to my feet and ran.

After that, I stopped pushing my luck even in the places I hid.

As soon as I'd caught my breath a little, I'd leave on my own before it broke through completely.

I'd look for the next usable spot with Interference Eye+, then rest there.

I only stockpiled roars and slashes when they were hard to dodge.

As I kept repeating that, before I knew it, not just one hour but nearly two had passed.

"Slash next."

It drew back its arm.

As predicted, a slash came flying. I had a little room to spare as I stopped it with Stagnation.

"Stockpile."

【Current stockpile: 58%】

"Over halfway now."

With that much stored, I was starting to wonder what would happen when it filled up.

"Come to think of it, I haven't checked my next Personal Achievement."

Now that I'd learned Stockpile, the next condition should already be up.

It wouldn't take long to open the list.

"...Eh, later."

If some weird condition showed up, I'd only start thinking about that too.

Three hours was keeping me busy enough already.

I checked my watch.

"Two hours and nine minutes."

Finally, less than an hour left.

"That took forever... I mean, it's not over yet."

My legs were pretty heavy.

My throat was dry.

Even so, running away had gotten easier than at the start.

After watching it so many times, I could tell what it did before each attack.

A deep breath meant a roar.

Drawing back its clawed arm meant a slash.

Those alone were a pain, and its charge was terrifyingly, abnormally fast.

Well, I had Enemy Observation too, so I could move with more leeway than at the start.

All that was left was not to push too hard, rest when I could, and let the time pass.

By the time I'd passed two and a half hours, I was checking my watch more than anything else.

"Twenty-seven minutes left..."

Run a little.

"Nineteen minutes left."

Hide and rest again.

"Eleven minutes left."

At this point, I didn't want to do anything extra.

I just wanted the Achievement.

If I could dodge a roar, I dodged it.

Same for the slashes.

Only when an attack came in a tight spot and was hard to evade did I stop it with Stagnation and route it into Stockpile.

【Current stockpile: 81%】

"Over eighty percent, huh."

More than I'd expected.

Full was coming into sight, but right now the three hours mattered more.

I kept running.

When less than five minutes remained, time suddenly seemed to stop moving.

"So loooong."

I looked at my watch.

Of course, almost no time had passed.

"Looking won't make it go faster."

I knew that, but I looked again anyway.

Just a little more.

As I thought that, a roar came flying at me.

I'd just rounded a corner, and it was hard to dodge.

"Guess I'll take it."

I stopped it with Stagnation and routed it straight into Stockpile.

【Current stockpile: 89%】

"Almost ninety percent."

I ran again.

There was barely any time left now.

No way was I failing this close to the end.

I searched out a wider area with Interference Eye+ and headed there.

Here, I could dodge whatever came my way.

"All right."

I was about to put more distance between us when it stopped.

It wasn't drawing a breath.

"A slash, then."

It pulled back its clawed arm.

The next instant, a slash bigger than any so far came flying.

"Whoa, that's big."

It wasn't too big to dodge.

But my stockpile was nearly at ninety percent.

"...If I catch that, won't it fill up?"

And the three hours were almost up too.

I got a little greedy.

"Well, I've stopped these plenty of times now."

I held out my hand.

"Stagnation!"

The slash stopped in front of me.

I sent it straight into Stockpile.

"Go on, get in there!"

The slash lost its shape, and more energy than ever rushed into my body at once.

"Ohh...!"

That was when it happened.

【Personal Achievement Unlocked】

"Huh?"

I looked at the sudden display.

【Fill the capacity of Stagnation: Stockpile to its maximum】

"That was the next one?"

Another display appeared over it.

【Current stockpile: 100%】

"Seriously?"

It was full.

And I'd gone and cleared the next Personal Achievement without even checking its condition.

Hold on.

What time was it?

I checked my watch.

"...Three hours."

Almost at the same moment.

Another message appeared in my vision.

【Achievement Unlocked】

【B: In Battle Armor Form, evade a monster whose Level is higher than yours for 3 hours without attacking at all】

"..."

So this thing really was a higher Level than me.

No, I was happy about that too, but still.

Personal Achievement cleared.

Three-hour escape cleared.

Even my stockpile filled up right on cue.

"...No, come on, seriously?"

Talk about plot convenience.