Their blood sprayed and their flesh went flying.
“Ah, ah, aaaggghhh!”
“Gruh, h-hah-brah!”
You couldn’t even call their sounds yells or screams anymore.
The two men became lumps of raw meat in an instant.
†
Shinobu Iijima
For better or worse, this was the final phase. If this didn’t work, then all we could do was wait for death to take us.
I gathered all my magic in my palm and announced the name of my super large-scale explosion spell to the giant monster.
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
A spell that converted all of one’s magic power into a life force explosion. I’d follow it up with a Recovery Orb, an item I’d gotten with each level up, and fully heal myself to evade death.
An endless cycle of death and revival.
This move boasted the greatest amount of attack power in the game and was the sole tactic for ganging up on an enemy. It had served me well during the tutorial and in the 13 Floors to Agartha. People knew it as something you’d spam in difficult positions. The situation I was currently in was, undoubtedly, a hugely difficult position.
I was walking a tightrope, because if I got the timing for the Recovery Orb wrong, it would be insta-death.
But this is my only chance!
“Gabriel! Tsukuyomi! Cerberus!”
My soul was linked to my summons. This suicidal move had become even more powerful than before since their lives were also being exchanged for explosions.
I used a Recovery Orb the second one cast of the spell finished.
“How do you like that?!”
If this didn’t work, I’d be out of cards. I looked up at the dryad, half praying.
Nice, it worked! Its HP bar moved a few centimeters this time!
I’d say it did about sixty percent of the damage Tsukuyomi’s Toy Box had done.
I had roughly sixty Recovery Orbs left, meaning I should still have plenty left over by the end of this. There were two possible scenarios: either the Ancient Flower’s HP bar would run out, or I’d mess up the timing and end up killing myself and all my summons at once.
I’d never wanted to use this tactic ever again, but I was set on it this time.
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
Release my magic, then recover.
Release my magic, then recover.
Release my magic—then recover!
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
Once more, release my magic, then recover.
In the video game, all I’d had to do was tap the screen at the right time. But in this world, one mistake meant immediate death.
I put my heart and soul into focusing, aiming for those tight few seconds, and using my Recovery Orbs perfectly. This maneuver only lasted a moment, yet each time felt like an eternity.
Once my clothes were drenched in cold sweat, I finally noticed that the dryad’s HP bar had been reduced to just a few millimeters.
“This is the end! Grade 3: Suicide!”
The few millimeters of blue shrunk from right to left. I balked when they disappeared.
The color of the whole bar then changed to red, and once again, all the way to the right, a tiny bit went away.
“No way... It had a second HP bar?!”
However, the color behind the damaged part was clear. This time for sure, if we made it through, we’d win.
I only had twenty-something Recovery Orbs left. The Ancient Flower’s HP bar required over forty of them, so it didn’t take much calculation to figure out that I didn’t have enough.
Well then, what are my options?
For a moment there, I considered not using the Suicide tactic anymore.
I clicked my tongue and cursed. A few kilometers up in the sky flew a score of Ancient Ice Dragons. They were probably here to see what all the ruckus on their turf was about.
God, they couldn’t have picked a worse time.
They were the rulers of this part of the northern territories, and their Recommended Level was around 50. I could see about ten of them. If the Ancient Flower took advantage of me resting for a moment, it would suck the Dragons’ life forces and grow even faster. I’d be officially screwed if that happened.
Then what are my options?!
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
I continued my cycle of self-destruction magic and recovery.
You bastards leave me with no choice but to spam this!
But what about afterward? Once my Recovery Orbs ran out...
Release my magic, then recover.
Release my magic, then recover.
The attacks just wouldn’t stop. The number next to my Recovery Orbs kept going down.
The Ancient Flower’s HP bar went down at the same speed as ever.
It was obvious. I was going to run out before defeating it.
Death.
As the reality of that word began to dawn on me, it felt like an icy hand was squeezing my heart dry.
Shit.
Shit, shit shit shit shit!
Realistically, my only option was to use normal attacks to get its HP down once my Recovery Orbs ran out. But would I really be able to do that while dodging the heavy blows from the vines? Especially after the Flower sucked up the Ancient Ice Dragons’ life forces and got stronger?
“Fuck thiiiiiis!”
Half out of desperation, I self-destructed even more.
That’s when the inevitable came to fruition.
The red of the Flower’s HP bar had gone down to about sixty percent, while the number next to my Recovery Orbs had gone down to 1.
“The final blow... Grade 3: Suicide!”
My final recovery ended, and the light of the final explosion settled down.
The only thing left in my vision was the giant monster, calmly standing there.
Yeah... I’m dead.
As I looked around me, Gabriel shook her head. “Master Shinobu, it may be pointless to do so, but I, Gabriel, will now use my last resort.”
Is she really planning on sacrificing herself?!
“Not that—anything but that!”
I couldn’t hear the end of my sentence over the mechanical voice that played in my head.
—You have dealt a set amount of damage to the enemy, therefore you have leveled up!
...Huh? Leveled up? What?
Level ups are only supposed to happen after an enemy is defeated.
Wait, does it work differently for raid bosses? I mean, I really did bring down its HP all at once. Am I getting EXP for that?
—You leveled up!
—You leveled up!
—You leveled up!
The level up announcements just wouldn’t stop.
The number of Recovery Orbs grew greater and greater.
Before I knew it, I was level 99, and I had sixteen Recovery Orbs.
I have no idea what’s going on, but I’ll take it.
My stats rose too, so the explosions from here on out should deal more damage. In that case...
Spam! Spam! Spam!
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
I did everything the same as before, except this time with significantly more firepower.
Nice! Its HP is lowering way faster than before.
But it was only just barely enough. Would my Orbs keep up? The only road for me was to push through.
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
Release my magic, then recover.
Once more, release my magic, then recover.
“Grade 3: Suicide!”
Releasing magic burst after magic burst, then recovering myself.
The final spurt was upon us. Just a few millimeters of the HP bar left. As for my Recovery Orbs—just one!
“This is the eeeeeend! Grade 3: Suicide!”