I Possessed a Game Where I Die If I Don’t Clear the Tower - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 45. Level 2 vs. Level 6
Two more days had passed.
Upon receiving notification that the duel preparations were complete, Vlad made his way to the Knight Order Training Ground.
The way they had dragged out the time suggested they were certainly scheming something.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Vlad was confident he could defeat anyone in this place.
That’s why he hadn’t bothered to find out who his opponent would be.
What intrigued him more was what expression that proud and arrogant lord would make when the stage she had orchestrated crumbled to pieces.
“Oh, oh, my opponent today is me, me!”
“….”
Even so, he hadn’t expected to be matched against someone barely the size of a bean.
Vlad regarded the lord while entertaining a thought so disrespectful that Nashu would have leaped in protest had she heard it.
“Are you really going to fight her?”
Camilia answered with a knowing smile.
‘This person is truly strange….’
Vlad muttered this to himself and calmly ascended onto the training grounds.
‘Good. The first move is in place.’
Camilia observed the boy and girl standing opposite each other on the training grounds with satisfaction.
Netanel, seated beside her, grumbled.
“Employer, I am a Priest of the Golden Scales, not a priest of some guide ship.”
He seemed quite inconvenienced at being forcibly summoned while working, but Camilia paid him no mind.
“Who will you wager on?”
“You’re even placing bets on the duel? Really now, what do you take me for….”
Netanel’s eyes gleamed as he pulled out his coin purse.
“What are the current odds? How much can I wager?”
“Nashu at seven, Vlad at three. For details, ask Io over there—he’s the vice-commander.”
The vice-commander, who had been busily collecting money, flinched like a frog before a snake the moment he felt Camilia’s gaze. The other knights instinctively shrank their necks as well.
Netanel withdrew gold coins from his purse and clicked his tongue.
“How have you been treating the Knight Order that they all stiffen like this whenever they see you?”
“I’ve treated them as they deserve.”
Camilia answered matter-of-factly, then gestured toward Nashu, who was loosening up her body while swinging a small silver shield and mace.
The girl came scurrying over and declared with a solemn expression.
“P-please leave it to me, my lord…! The honor of the Territory, th-the honor….”
Rohengreen, who had been serving as her daily coach, followed and whispered something quietly to her.
Nashu perked up her ears and hastily recited the words the commander had given her.
“To uphold the honor and, and return!”
“Good. You haven’t forgotten what I told you, have you?”
“No! I remember, I do!”
“Then that’s settled. Go and enjoy yourself.”
Camilia patted Nashu’s head once and sent her up onto the training grounds.
Rohengreen followed behind, apparently intending to monitor her condition until the very end.
Netanel Fragma whispered while glancing at the boy occupying the center of the Training Grounds, regardless of the noise around them.
“…Surely not the Knight Commander, and a mere junior knight won’t suffice?”
“No, there’s no problem.”
While a fight between Level 2 and Level 6 might appear to favor the latter, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
‘Nashu and Vlad have poor compatibility.’
Camilia glanced at Vlad’s character window.
[Flesh Tailor]
One cannot be called a true ‘tailor’ if one merely handles what drapes over flesh.
To achieve ideal ‘tailoring’, one must be capable of splitting, tearing, and cutting everything that exists beneath the skin.
-Identifies physical weak points of humanoid enemies.
-Converts all attacks that land on humanoid enemies into critical hits.
‘If the target is humanoid, weak point strikes and critical hits are guaranteed—no matter how many times I see it, it’s absolutely broken.’
That’s why whenever he executed an assassination combo, even seasoned warriors would be left tattered and on the brink of death.
But Nashu was different.
As a Half-Dwarf, his physical resistance was high, so even when weak point attacks landed, the damage was halved.
Moreover, Nashu’s trait Accident-Prone fixed all status abnormalities at 50%, drastically reducing the efficiency of critical damage.
Unlike when Shusu was spiritless, now his health pool was at an absurd level.
Camilia watched Nashu’s back as he entered the Training Grounds and smiled faintly.
‘This won’t be easy for him.’
“I’ll count to three, then the duel begins. One, two… three!”
The moment the signal ended, Nashu kicked off the ground.
There was no hesitation in his motion as he swung the halberd gripped in one hand.
But for Vlad, it was merely an attack he could dodge with ease.
‘The speed is nothing special.’
The boy sidestepped leisurely and drew the dagger at his waist.
‘The Priest is here, so as long as it’s not instant death, I’ll be fine.’
He thrust his arm toward the exposed nape of the neck between the armor plates.
Aiming for the blind spot, by the time he noticed, his throat would already be slit….
“Ugh!”
In that instant, as if he’d been waiting, Nashu struck him viciously with his shield.
The dull sound of flesh and metal colliding rang out as Vlad’s body was driven backward.
It didn’t end there. The halberd, swept across the ground, aimed for his ankles.
Dodging wasn’t difficult, but as a result, the distance between them widened too much.
Vlad reached for a throwing knife, then stopped.
A few knives embedded wouldn’t seem to cause real damage, and besides, the girl’s positioning was far too precise.
It was possible to land a hit, but if she charged in while taking damage, the distance was inescapable.
She maintained a spacing that was generous for a swordsman but rather tight for an assassin.
I’d thought her round, dull appearance meant she was nothing special, but she had skill.
That said, it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t win.
Even without an ambush or surprise attack, he had countless means at his disposal.
‘Shadow Stride.’
Vlad’s body was sucked into his own shadow in an instant.
His form passed through the dark, damp shadow realm in a heartbeat, emerging moments later through the nearest shadow.
Right behind Nashu Shumel’s back.
He immediately swung his dagger toward the nape of the neck, but once again, a shield flew up to block his attack.
‘What in the—’
There was no time for bewilderment. The girl, as if to make him regret his approach, abandoned her halberd and drove her fist straight into his ribs.
Crack!
A sound that shouldn’t have come forth erupted as their bodies collided.
Vlad was shocked.
Since he was still partially shadowed, the impact merely bruised him—but had he been fully corporeal, his ribs would have shattered. It was a terrifyingly powerful punch.
She looked like a dwarf rabbit, but inside dwelt the strength of a grizzly bear.
Vlad slipped back into shadow again, retreating to the edge of the Training Grounds.
Even after returning to his normal form, his ribs throbbed—it seemed the bone had cracked.
‘What exactly is that—’
As I stood frowning, watching Nashu Shumel still planted in the center of the Training Grounds as if inviting me back, someone spoke from beside me.
“Not as easy as you thought, is it?”
I recognized the speaker without looking—that elegant yet cold tone, somehow tinged with disdain.
Of all things, Shadow Stride had to activate toward the Territory Lord.
Vlad suppressed the irritation rising faintly and replied.
“…Just not bad, I’d say.”
The Territory Lord chuckled softly and mused aloud.
“Is that so? Then winning might be possible.”
I should have said yes, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come.
As if amused by my hesitation, the Territory Lord continued.
“If you surrender now, blood sausage and black pudding are waiting for you?”
“…My Lord, that’s… getting annoying.”
I’d meant to keep it measured, but it seemed impossible.
Just as Vlad was raising his dagger to slash his own palm, a familiar sound of footsteps echoed from afar.
‘Huh, that’s… Sister Mina’s footsteps…?’
His prediction proved correct.
Shortly after, Mina Alkes appeared at the Knight Training Grounds and let out a roar.
“Vlad, you absolute idiot!”
“Vlad, you idiot!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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