Absolute Cheat: I Clear Dungeons Alone

Chapter 4: Walking Through Walls

Even though the dungeon is considered a dungeon for beginners, that doesn't mean the boss is weak at all.

The general standard for defeating the boss (the werewolf) is six level 8 adventurers.

In other words, there is absolutely no way I can defeat the boss. In the end, I'm just a level 1 adventurer.

"Gwaaaaaah!"

The werewolf let out a growl and lunged at me.

"Gwaaaaaaaaaah!"

I screamed and moved my body.

To my surprise, I managed to dodge the attack.

Seeing this, the werewolf swiped with its long claws, attempting a follow-up strike. I dodged it with all my might.

Okay, stay calm.

I'm able to keep track of its attacks with my eyes because of my high agility. At this rate, I should be able to keep dodging its attacks!

Even though I don't have any way to attack, I can't defeat it.

So I just kept dodging the werewolf's relentless onslaught.

My defense is only 50. With defense like this, even a single hit could very well mean certain death.

"Haaa, haaa, haaa…"

My breathing had become ragged. That's bad, that's really bad.

The more I kept dodging these attacks, the more my stamina was slowly being whittled away.

Once my stamina runs out, even with my pride and joy—my agility—I… I won't be able to keep dodging any attacks anymore.

"Ughh…"

It didn't take long for my stamina to reach its limit.

My movements grew sluggish, and my concentration wavered.

There was no way the werewolf would let that opening slip by.

It swiftly swung its sharp claws, aiming to finish me off.

"(Dodge)"

I activated the skill.

For a split second, my body accelerated, moving on its own to evade the swinging claws.

I could tell from its expression that the werewolf had lost sight of me.

Immediately after missing its attack, the werewolf was wide open—exposing its side to me as if begging to be struck.

"But that doesn't mean a thing, though!"

I thrust my knife into the werewolf's side with all my might, but only a hollow "clang" echoed as the blade was blocked by its thick, bristly fur.

I felt as if the werewolf had smirked.

"Higg!"

Maybe it had realized I couldn't inflict any damage on it.

From then on, it seemed as if it was simply trying to delay its death.

It ran around the narrow area, trying to evade my attack. Occasionally, there were attacks that couldn't be avoided by simply moving my body, so in these moments I used 〈Evasion〉 to somehow dodge them.

"Haaa… haaa… haaa…"

I felt like more than an hour had passed since the fight began.

My limbs were numb, and my stamina had been screaming that it was at its limit for quite some time.

Even though I was at my limit, the werewolf showed no signs of fatigue. There was no indication that the speed of its attacks was slowing down.

"Fuuckkk…"

The longer time went on, the more frequently I had to use 〈Evasion〉.

〈Evasion〉 costs 5 MP.

Since my maximum MP is 90, that means I can use it 18 times only.

But for now, I feel like I've already used it 15 times.

So the number of times I can use 〈Evasion〉 now is extremely limited.

"Gyaaaaaah!"

The werewolf let out a growl. Drool was dripping from its mouth, and it had a slovenly expression. It must be completely off guard.

The werewolf must also realize that I can't use 〈Evasion〉 indefinitely.

All it has to do is keep attacking in a way that forces me to use 〈Evasion〉, and wait for my MP to run out.

It's as if I were a death row inmate.

Even though my death is certain, I'm desperately struggling to survive in a pathetic way.

Ah…

The moment I dodged the werewolf's attack, I felt a distinct change in my physical condition.

My vision went blurry.

Every time I lifted my leg, I could hear my muscles screaming with a "snap, snap," and every time I braced myself, my bones creaked and groaned.

I couldn't breathe properly.

For a while now, even when I inhaled, it was hard to exhale.

I can't die for my little sister's sake…!

Trying to steel myself, I recalled my mission, but perhaps because blood wasn't reaching my brain, my thoughts wouldn't come together.

Whoosh! Knowing I was staggering, the werewolf launched a wide-swinging attack.

With an attack like this, I could dodge it even without using 〈Evasion〉.

Thinking that, I moved my body, but…

That was a fatal mistake.

No matter how I looked at it, there was no way I could dodge this attack in my current physical state.

…I'm sorry, sis. Your big brother might die.

All I could do was apologize to my little sister in my heart.

After all, there was nothing I could do anymore. I'm already dead anyway.

Clang!

A sound like something shattering rang out.

When I looked, the knife's blade had clashed with the werewolf's claw.

In an instant, the blade shattered into pieces.

The werewolf's claws didn't sink into my body, but that was all.

The impact didn't disappear; my body was floating lightly in the air.

That knife was Dad's only memento.

Suddenly, I found myself thinking about something completely unrelated to the fight.

I'd sold all of Dad's other mementos to help make ends meet.

Ah, I wonder if this is how it felt when Dad died, too…

Maybe it's because this is the moment of death. For a while now, nothing but trivial thoughts have been flowing through my mind. Maybe this is what they call a "life review."

So, after thinking about Dad, I started thinking about my little sister.

She'd always been frail. I'd given her healing potions a few times, but even then, she'd only perk up temporarily before quickly falling ill again.

I haven't heard her voice at all since she fell into a coma.

What did her voice sound like again…

"Big brother, stay alive!!!"

Huh?

In an instant, my thoughts were snapped back to reality.

It was as if my little sister had called out to me.

But she should be asleep at home. So I immediately realized it was just an auditory hallucination.

Still, it was an undeniable fact that it was thanks to her that I regained consciousness.

I wasn't dead yet.

My body had been blown away and was flying through the air.

In a fraction of a second, my body would be violently slammed into the wall, and I would die.

The flashback I'd just experienced happened after I was blown away by the werewolf, so the time I actually spent watching it was less than a second.

Thanks to my little sister, I'd been snapped back to reality, but there was only so much I could do in my current state.

So I simply did what needed to be done.

"〈Evasion〉!"

〈Evasion〉 is a skill used to avoid enemy attacks. So if I activate 〈Evasion〉 when I'm not under attack, nothing happens.

For example, if I use 〈Evasion〉 while facing a monster that isn't doing anything, the skill gets canceled.

That's why, at this very moment as I was about to crash into the wall, I was certain that using 〈Evasion〉 would just get canceled.

After all, I wasn't being attacked by any enemy right now.

I thought I heard a soft "swish" sound.

The impact that should have come never arrived.

"Huh?"

Was my body sinking into the wall?

Looking at the scene before me, that's what I concluded.

Yes, my body which should have crashed into the wall was somehow sinking into it.

And my body, having sunk into the wall, didn't lose the momentum from being blown back; instead, it glided smoothly through the wall.

And before I knew it, I was on the other side of the wall.

Normally, in a boss area, you aren't allowed to leave the room until you've defeated the boss.

Yet here I was, on the other side of the room.

"Did I pass right through the wall?"

A phenomenon that could only be described that way had just happened.