Chapter – 18
‘Let’s conserve as much stamina as possible.’
I can deal with monsters using my brute strength, but first and foremost, I am a healer. In the worst-case scenario, I can also use my skills to boost the others’ condition.
In a situation like this, the healer’s role is extremely important.
And so, for an hour, we each reorganized our condition inside the warehouse, preparing for the battle to come.
We replenished our depleted stamina, did simple stretches to loosen up our bodies. Throughout the entire process, we were especially careful not to let any sound leak out.
After that, we lightly inspected the inside of the warehouse, muffling our footsteps.
Seeing the sacks of flour, it seemed this building we had stumbled upon by chance was originally a food warehouse.
‘Now that I think about it, before the Creature Wave, wasn’t this area a survivor camp?’
This was also information I had gotten from ‘Sansan’.
A food warehouse.
In these times where securing food and shelter is the biggest challenge, a food warehouse was more important than any other place.
As such, they are built to be sturdy and not easily collapse.
The fact that this building alone has remained intact until now was no coincidence at all.
After roughly familiarizing ourselves with the warehouse’s interior layout—like where which obstacles were—we gathered in one spot again.
It was finally time to fight.
‘It’s still teeming with creatures outside.’
Their numbers had decreased compared to before.
After exchanging glances with my comrades gathered at the entrance, I confirmed that everyone was ready.
After taking a deep breath, Isis opened the door forcefully.
Keeeeeek!!
The cry of a creature resounded loudly.
* * *
A large creature charged at us the moment it spotted us.
Isis, who was at the front, stabbed a dagger coated with potent poison into the creature’s torso without hesitation. With a *splat*, green blood spurted out, and the creature stiffened and fell.
Beside it, a plant stem covered in sharp thorns stretched out. The stem unhesitatingly wrapped around one creature, squeezed it tight, and dug its thorns into the creature’s skin. Even as the creature, wracked with pain, thrashed about, the plant stem didn’t let go.
*Crunch.*
The creature was crushed beyond recognition. Only after becoming a bloody mass could it free itself from the plant stem.
*Whoosh!*
On one side, a spectacular fire show was unfolding. The creatures were instantly set ablaze by the hot flames, unable to even make a sound.
It was Jade’s Pyro skill.
Luka controlled his plant stems to throw the creature he had bound into the flames, then immediately grabbed the next creature.
Many creatures entered the flames that way.
And then…….
*BOOM!!!*
With a loud sound, one creature was sent flying into the air and landed far away. It then collided with another creature, knocking both out cold.
This was my handiwork.
My job in this warzone was really simple.
If I see a creature, I hit it.
If a comrade is injured, I heal them immediately.
After inputting just these two things into my head, I moved my body diligently. The creatures touched by my hands fell with dying screams.
Perhaps because it was dark at night, dealing with the creatures was much easier than during the day. Their reaction speeds felt slightly slower.
Before my eyes, Isis bisected a creature, then used poison to finish off the creatures I had knocked out.
Covered in sticky green blood, he immediately threw a poisoned knife, hitting a creature behind Luka.
Keeeeeek!
The creature, which had momentarily curled up, staggered and then collapsed.
Simultaneously, a *Bang!* sound and a small explosion occurred, blowing up all the nearby creatures.
An application of Jade’s skill: Detonation.
In an instant, over twenty creatures were killed.
‘And yet, I still can’t see the end.’
Right, if it were just twenty, we wouldn’t have had to hide like this. We had to deal with at least dozens, perhaps even a hundred creatures.
Some creatures, hearing the sounds of our battle, would probably come this way, so the number might increase beyond expectations.
It felt like we fought for a good while longer.
Hot flames, sharp plant stems, daggers coated with potent poison, and abnormally strong strength.
Utilizing each of our skills to 200%, we successfully hunted down the creatures.
The problem occurred just as the creature hunt was reaching its peak.
A very large creature with fluffy fur appeared with *thud, thud* sounds.
As the unusually large creature appeared, Luka immediately used his plant stems to block its movements, and Isis stabbed a poisoned blade right into the center of its chest.
And Jade thoroughly burned all the creatures around them that tried to threaten the two.
It was a clean pincer attack. There was no problem up to that point.
The problem was that the large creature that had been attacked, which should have died convulsing from the poison, was still standing there perfectly fine.
More than fine, the creature charged straight at the person in front.
Naturally, Luka, who had thought the creature was dead, was off guard. Caught by the unexpected attack, he was sent flying helplessly and fell to the ground.
*Crunch!!*
“Luka!!”
Startled by the horrible sound that suggested at least one bone was broken, I sent the creature I was fighting flying far away and ran to Luka.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh, near my ribs…….”
Ribs?
I immediately placed my hand on Luka’s torso and used a healing skill right away.
A warm-colored light enveloped Luka, and a lot of energy drained from me in an instant.
‘This… it doesn’t seem like it’s just his ribs that are injured?’
To be honest, I couldn’t really tell exactly where he was hurt. I had practiced my skills until now, but when a real emergency hit, my mind went blank.
More than anything, there was no time to deliberate.
There were far too many creatures nearby, and I couldn’t drag this out, treating him slowly.
In a situation like this, professional judgment was a waste of time. I urgently poured healing into Luka as if forcing my power into him.
After a few seconds, Luka’s body was completely healed.
Only then did the creature that had done this to Luka catch my eye.
Fluffy fur, a creature that resembled a bear.
[Sansan: Be careful, there’s a very large bear-type creature there! It’s so big that no matter how much you attack it, the damage seems low.]
It was definitely that creature ‘Sansan’ had talked about.
The creature that was unusually insensitive to attacks and didn’t take damage well even from strong blows.
It probably wouldn’t be easy to take down with simple attacks alone.
“Lariana…….”
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes.”
Even though the wound was healed, perhaps the pain he had experienced hadn’t vanished, as he grimaced and struggled to get up.
“More importantly, the creature……”
“It seems it’s not an ordinary creature, no matter how you look at it.”
Isis’s poison doesn’t work on it. It doesn’t seem to take significant damage from ordinary external injuries.
Just these two confirmed facts made it a difficult opponent.
An attack with more impact than the ones used so far was needed. For example…… something like an explosion?
Simultaneous with my thought, a *Bang!* explosion sound was heard. It seemed Jade had used his skill. Moreover, it looked more powerful than the explosion I’d seen before, probably with Isis’s ‘Buff’ skill applied as well.
This should do it……!
I stared at the creature with anticipation, but what returned was another shock.
‘What the, did it put on steel armor or something?’
Its skin was clearly red and heated, showing that the attack had indeed caused meaningful damage compared to the others, but it didn’t look like a fatal wound.
Isis launched another poison attack on the reddened skin. The creature staggered again.
Kueeeeeeek!
Another nearby creature cried out and loitered around them, so I quickly dashed over and swiftly threw a punch.
‘Right, the problem isn’t just that damn large creature.’
Even a rough look confirmed there were over twenty around us. How is it possible to deal with them *and* pay attention to that bear creature at the same time?
Not to mention, creatures are gathering in real-time, drawn by the sounds of battle!
Biting my lower lip, I scanned the surroundings. Wondering if there was something that could help.
‘……!’
My gaze fixed on the warehouse we had been hiding in, prompted by an idea that flashed through my mind.
An enclosed space, the sacks of flour that were piled inside, and…… even the Pyro skill.
All the conditions fit perfectly.
