Meteor? Just as the thought crossed my mind, I was hit by the impact—there was no time to dodge.
*BOOoooOOOMM!*
I’d just barely managed to raise my arms in time to defend against the damage. Could I get a round of applause, please?
Anyway... What was I thinking, stopping a gigantic rock plummeting out of the sky straight on?!
A bad move was just that—a bad move. I should’ve run like hell the moment I saw it. There wasn’t any other way to save myself.
Both my arms had been instantly vaporized. Yep, trying to stop the attack with my hands had proven to be utterly pointless!
Well, I guess that was obvious—that meteor and its insane amount of heat had been no joke! It hadn’t even given me time to form impressions, like how heavy it was or whatever. I’d simply been buffeted by the tremendous force of the attack.
At the moment, all of that force was being supported by my wooden body and my legs, and I was just barely maintaining equilibrium.
“GWWOOAARRGGHH!”
Somehow, I’d been able to take the initial blow. My body hadn’t instantly collapsed, thanks to the Crimson Rose.
But I knew it was all downhill from here. My body was already in rough shape—singed and nearly squashed—and I knew I couldn’t take much more.
Oh, and the land around me had evaporated. I could tell because I was sinking into the ground.
Dammit, what the hell?! How in the demon lord’s name am I supposed to get out of this?!
I would only last another handful of seconds. I was about to become a pancake under the meteor—it was a future that I could see all too clearly.
My vision grew dim as I was weighed down by a feeling of hopelessness—it was a lot like slowly sinking into magma, or being squashed by a cave-in deep inside a dungeon.
Dammit, I don’t need any similes! It’s pointless to resist this! Why not just accept my fate? It’d be much better to just let go and get flattened all at once—at least then I wouldn’t have to suffer. I’m just showing the world how much of a fool I am by trying to fight against this hopeless amount of weight! GRRRAHHH! DAMMIT! NO! DON’T FUCK WITH ME! I’LL NEVER GIVE UP! I’ll struggle until my last breath!
*Dingaling!*
As soon as I thought that, I heard a chime.
[You have gained the skill: Automatic Recovery +1]
Those words popped up in front of me.
Huh? Oh yeah, I didn’t actually have that skill. Apparently Crimson Rose has the ability to heal me, but I guess I can also do it myself now?
Suddenly, my situation wasn’t looking quite so hopeless.
The weight and pressure of the meteor hadn’t changed, but now that I was able to recover a little faster, my dents and burns were weighing slightly less on my mind.
*Dingaling! Dingaling!*
[You have gained the skill: Automatic Recovery +2]
[You have gained the skill: Automatic Recovery +3]
I see. So this is what they mean when they say it’s easier to awaken skills in a tight spot.
*Bwoop!*
My new healing skills meant I recovered faster than the damage I received from the meteor, so my arms grew back. It was kind of like pouring water onto a molten stone, but it was better than nothing.
It felt like the tides had started to turn.
Yeah. I’m alive right now, and that’s enough to break out of this deadlock somehow... It’s gotta be! I’m pretty sure that the meteor had the most power at the moment of impact, so whatever’s left is just residual momentum. We’re in a war of attrition.
“T-Take...THIS!” As a signal of my counterattack, I raised my right arm.
*Ftsss!*
My arm burned away again. Huh, they really are my weakest part. But that’s fine—I can just grow them again!
“Raaaggghhh!”
Right, left! Right, left! I continued to swing my arms upwards, heedless of what was happening to them. Of course, they vaporized as soon as they hit the meteor. Nothing was happening.
Damn! No good, huh? Do I really have no hands to play?!
*Thunk!*
The ground had melted all the way to bedrock, and I’d continued to sink into it all the while.
Hm, in that case...!
I kicked off the bedrock. The force from that traveled through my body and into the meteor.
*Kathwoom! Skrsshh!*
*Splrt!*
Nosebleed! I’m gonna get a nosebleed... Not that I have a nose!
But that wasn’t important, because I’d managed to strike a blow against the meteor!
Still, this plan wouldn’t work in the long run. That one blow had almost killed me. I’d taken stupid amounts of damage, and my automatic recovery couldn’t keep up. If I waited to heal, though, I’d be flattened.
Plus, it didn’t seem like my Automatic Recovery skill would be leveling up anymore.
Ahhh, dammit! Just when it seemed like things would work out! Suddenly, I came to a realization. Hey, I have items! But I can’t take them out like this... No, wait—my frame’s warped! There’s a gap now!
I retrieved a bottle and held it in my hand.
“Heal potion!”
I splashed its contents all over my body.
Good, I’m healed! Kick the ground! Potion! Kick the ground! Potion!
*Skrsshh, skrsshh, skrsshh!*
I couldn’t tell if that was the sound of my body getting crushed, or the sound of the meteor warping.
Aggh, I don’t care! This is my only way out! It’s a battle of guts, got it?!
*Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump!*
I stamped on the ground as much as I could, trying to force the recoil onto the meteor.
*Dingaling! Dingaling!*
[You have gained the skill: Stomp]
[You have gained the skill: Septuple Shooting Stars]
My tactics had gained me new moves, but I didn’t feel like using them at this point. Right now, I was focused on doing one thing—headbutting.
Yep, the treasure chest was my body, but it was also basically my head, right?
I kicked off the ground and used the force to headbutt the meteor. Then, I repeated that over and over like an idiot.
“DADADADADADADADADADA!”
Then, after who knows how many repetitions, there was a sound.
*Crack!*
That seemed to have triggered a reaction, as everything else came all at once. Fractures ran down the meteor, which all instantly widened into fissures.
*KerTHOOOM!*
And then, it shattered.
Uhhh...did I do it? I did it?!
The pressure above me disappeared, and it felt like my hips would give out. I wasn’t in a situation where I could relax, though—my surroundings looked like a postcard from hell. The surrounding forest had been charred to a crisp, and the ground had turned to magma. Even the air around me was burning.
Damn, I can’t believe I survived! Ugh, the ground is so gloopy! I’ve sunk in pretty deep... Anyway, I need to climb out. I can’t just stay here forever.
I slowly climbed my way out of the melted crater.
Man, that really hurt! I was recovering thanks to my skills and equipment, but I didn’t feel one hundred percent yet. Oh yeah, what about the monster barrier? I think they would’ve taken it down before Meteor was cast, right?
Garellia had told me that casters needed to be inside the walls to maintain it, but I doubted that they could’ve survived that giant hunk of rock. I figured they must’ve undone the barrier and left once the Meteor had been cast.
I finally managed to get out of the crater.
Yeeep, I can’t tell if the enemies or the barrier are still here at all!
I figured that I’d run into a wall soon enough once I started moving, so I did. That was when a voice called out to me.
“Did you really think this is over?”
“What?”
I looked around, but couldn’t find anyone. I knew that voice, though—it was Garellia.
“Norton was killed. I figured you might have survived.”
“Uhh...can you just stop being a sore loser and—”
“Meteor Shower!”
Those words sent a shiver down my spine, and I immediately looked up. A clear blue sky stretched over me, but points of light suddenly started to dot it all over. The whole thing gave me chills.
Welp. I’m dead. How the hell am I supposed to survive that?!