Chapter 93: Pushed To The Brink
Leonard’s mind raced. He kept a firm hold over the wound on his neck, his bloody hand feeling the vitality that seeped between his fingers, robbing him of his strength.
’What can I do at this point?’ He pondered, rendered immobile with no way to escape.
Valor did his best to hold off one of the Rotten Crows, his silver armor fractured in multiple places and pushed to the brink.
Joker tried to stop the monster that neared his master. Yet whether he took the form of a wolf, an orc, or even assumed Leonard’s form in an attempt to trick the creature, each attempt and strategy was rendered meaningless.
Unwilling to give up, Leonard gritted his teeth and extended his free hand forward.
[Fireball activated!]
[Fireball activated!]
[Fireball activated!]
He didn’t bother to conserve his mana any longer, sending one Fireball after the next in a fiery rain.
Caw!
The Rotten Crow screeched as if mocking his useless attempts. Each Fireball collided with the monster’s features and was extinguished on impact, leaving not even a single mark.
Leonard tried hurling his axe and the silver javelin, but because his wounded state didn’t allow him to assume a proper throwing form, each throw missed its mark by a large margin.
Feeling his mana run low, Leonard chugged one of the mana potions he had brought along.
With this being the third potion he had consumed in a short time frame, he began to feel lightheaded as the side effects of overusing them came into play.
In a last-ditch effort, he conjured several Fireballs overhead, dislodging the stones from the mountain wall.
The falling stones hit the monster’s head, yet served no other purpose than to enrage it further.
’Is this how I am going to die?’ Leonard wondered.
He hadn’t made a mistake, or at least he didn’t believe so. When faced with such fierce monsters, he had deployed everything in his arsenal, but it had all proved insufficient.
Perhaps... His mistake was ending up in this situation to begin with. If fighting against the Rotten Crows’ flock would have always killed him, he should have made different choices up until now.
For example, choosing to engage the ogres rather than run from them. Or storing their bodies faster, not letting their stench attract the Rotten Crows to them. Even not allowing himself to be captured by the Level 50 Griffin and be brought to the Death Zone.
’Still, it would have been unrealistic to foresee the future with such accuracy.’ He chuckled.
’Alas, such is life. One can make no mistakes and still end up on the losing end.’
The Rotten Crow reached him, its towering frame casting a shadow over his body. The monstrous bird aimed its sharp beak toward Leonard’s head, about to go for the killing blow.
However, it never managed to strike. A mutated creature intervened in the last possible moment and collided with the bird.
The Rotten Crow screeched in surprise. Its thin legs weren’t able to withstand the blow, and it was hurled into the mountain wall like a ragdoll.
ROOOAR!
Leonard gazed at the walking corpse, which had just saved his life, and recognized it immediately. It was the undead that had been sent to rescue them from the Grade 2 dungeon.
Its arms were elongated, reaching all the way to the ground.
There was no hesitation on the corpse’s part. With a leap, it landed upon the bird, raised its arms high, and brought them down like a gorilla, tearing into the monster with merciless brutality.
The fight lasted only a few seconds. Once its adversary was finished, the walking corpse shifted its gaze toward the bird Valor was fighting.
After killing it as well, he raced toward Elizabeth, its stamina seemingly endless as it left a trail of blood from its enemies in its wake.
Suddenly, a male voice echoed beside Leonard, making him shift his gaze from the sight.
"Junior, that very serious wound... you did a good job surviving until now."
Leonard’s eyes landed on the man with square glasses, the same one he had seen walking with the corpse from afar.
Since the man had called him junior, Leonard could guess that he was his senior, likely in his second year or higher.
"I... got lucky. That’s all there is." He spoke slowly.
"I disagree. Few would have survived long enough for help to reach them. Don’t undermine your achievement by calling it luck." The man adjusted his glasses and crouched down to examine Leonard’s injury.
"My name is Karson, a second-year scholar and a member of the Academy Council. I’ve been sent to retrieve you and Scholar Elizabeth."
Karson explained, splashing Leonard’s face with a potion.
[Hemorrhage has been closed!]
At last, Leonard found breathing easier, with the bleeding stopped.
"Thank you."
He tried to get up, only to stumble to the ground. The large amount of blood loss had made him dizzy.
"Be careful, junior. Your injuries have been healed, but the same can’t be said about your lost blood." Karson said. "It would be wise to conserve your strength from now on."
With a nod, Leonard stood up more slowly and called Valor and Joker back into his soul.
Soon after, the walking corpse returned with Elizabeth walking by its side.
Her hair looked ruffled, and her icy eyes were tired. She, too, had been moments away from dying before being saved at the last moment.
"Junior Elizabeth, it’s a relief to see you alive and well." Karson exclaimed. "Let’s get away from the dungeon as fast as possible. Even the corpse by our side can easily get overwhelmed by some of the monsters here."
She barely acknowledged her senior’s words, her exhaustion palpable.
But when her eyes settled on Leonard, they momentarily widened in complete surprise.
Although he had been healed by now, one side of his body was drenched in his own blood, while his face looked ghostly pale and his eyes sunken.
"Are you... all right?" She went over to his side to check on him.
"..."
Leonard met her gaze. He couldn’t remember seeing her display such concern about anybody else.
"More or less." He replied. "Right now, all I want is to leave this place and not come back for a while."