The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 18

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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 18

“Huh?”

Wait, hold on.
Did my magnificent pecs just ruin everything?

“You said you’ve been living in the Underground City all this time! Then you can rot in an underground prison now! You… you parasites who’ve lived your whole lives underground!”
“Oh come on, one wrong button and it turns into this-”
“That’s it, I’m calling the guards right now! Guards! Over here, guards-!”
“…!”

Clack!

[Ailin’s new trait, [Intermittent Madness (-)], is about to bloom!]

Ailin’s silver-armored arm had already swung toward the Iron Wood Sword.
Her breathing came in ragged gasps.
Her face was twisted out of shape, until she looked like a completely different person…

‘Oh, this is bad.’

Her eyes had completely gone off the rails.

“Ailin, wait a moment! You can’t bite!”

I darted forward and threw my whole body in front of Ailin, who was about to snap again and lunge at someone.

Damn it, she’s human, so there’s no muzzle or leash!

[Warning! – If combat breaks out in the city, civilian casualties may cause a sharp drop in Good-Evil Value…]

And on top of that, the battle-imminent alert.

‘…Charles, you’re the only one left!’

Ding?

My last hidden card.
Just as I reached for the soft, silky chinchilla tucked against my chest.

Crash!

The apples that had been piled on the fruit stall’s counter came pouring down onto the ground all at once.

‘Huh?’

Roll, roll, roooll-
Apples rolled cheerfully across the middle of the market street.

In an instant, every eye in the place turned toward them.
The fruit vendor, who had been shouting for the guards, was no different.

“Oh, goodness, goodness! What is all this! My apples! My apples!”

Crunch!
And then, from right beside me, came the cheerful sound of someone biting into an apple.

“Hm, maybe I was just mistaken?”
“……?”
“Terrorists are supposed to look grimy and menacing, right? But these guys are all neat and clean-cut. Guess I got it wrong, mister shopkeeper.”

The woman with black hair.
Hecate winked at us.

‘…Is she trying to help us?’

Or is she just trying to avoid a fight?
Either way, it’s a relief for me.

Hecate went on, pointing at Achilles beside her.

“And he’s going to pay for the apples that fell. He tripped over the display stand when he stepped back just now.”
“W-what? Me?”
“Bet this whole mess is because of those cursed heels of yours.”
“N-no way…!”

Achilles touched his heel a couple of times, looking bewildered, then opened his wallet and began counting out money for the fallen apples.

“I-I’m sorry, shopkeeper… It wasn’t on purpose! There’s a terrible curse on my heel, you see…”
“Oh, it was you? Goodness, my apples are ruined! I can’t sell the ones that hit the ground!”
“Would… would enough to fill three baskets do? I’ll deduct the price of the rotten ones, of course…”

While Achilles fumbled through his payment,
Hecate left the bruised apples lying on the ground and quickly filled her basket with only the unblemished ones from the display.

“Want one?”

Then, as if trying to make accomplices of us, she handed an apple each to Rian and me.

“And you, the lady with the fierce scowl!”

Last of all, she tossed an apple toward Ailin as well.

…Crunch!

Ailin’s silver arm squeezed so hard that the apple burst right there, spraying juice everywhere.

“Whoa…”

Hecate’s eyes flew wide open, like a startled cat’s.
Now that I looked closer, one of her eyes had a slightly different hue, a bluish tint. Heterochromia.

“Hey, the math doesn’t add up! And you took only the good ones! You little bastards!”

Searching for the two adventurers who had vanished without a trace, the fruit stall’s shopkeeper belatedly began to lament.

‘Now!’

Taking advantage of the opening, we hurriedly slipped away.
Perhaps because the shopkeeper’s attention was caught by the apples that had rolled everywhere in a noisy scatter, no one came chasing after us, thankfully.

.
.
.

[Your infamy is spreading throughout the Empire!]

“Have you heard? The ghost from the Underground City has made a pact with a demon, swearing vengeance on the Empire!”
“You mean that monster wielding a spear the size of a house? Three eyes, a jaw split into five jagged prongs, and the stench of blood clinging to every inch of him, so they say.”
“Sounds like he crawled straight up from hell. Supposedly the ugliest, most revolting creature you’ve ever laid eyes on!”

Ding!
Ding, ding!

[Your Fame is rising steeply.]

[Fame +1]
[Fame +1]
[Fame +1]
…
[Current Fame: 17]

[Warning! – If your Fame grows excessively high, unexpected special events may occur.]

* * *

We walked for a long while before we finally slipped out of the crowded shopping district.
Near the outskirts stood a towering, enormous tree with no one around, so we decided to climb up and stay there.
Lian was staggering, blood pouring from his mouth and nose, likely from the Mana Backflow, so I carried him on my back and hauled him up.

‘The leaves are so thick, they’ll have a hard time spotting us.’

The tree was so tall that the view stretched all the way past the City Wall, so the scenery was decent enough.

“Let’s rest here for a while.”
“…”
“…”

[The Heroes are under extreme stress.]
[Warning! – If a Hero is driven into a corner mentally, an Unexpected Event may occur.]

Anyway.
The state of the Party was beyond bad.

‘Barely any food, no sleep. Lost their homes overnight and then got massacred to a man…’

On top of that, they had watched a comrade get dragged off, tortured, and finally reach rest.
It was only natural that these guys were losing their nerve.

“Hang in there, everyone. Soon enough, we’ll get a chance to get out of here.”

Still, all we had to do was endure a little longer.
According to the original work, a major event was about to happen.
All I had to do was slip out of the capital in the chaos that followed.

‘So far, this has just been the prelude. I’ve only just opened the prologue, so to speak.’

Soon, the finale of Chapter 1 would begin.
From that point on, red-eroded contaminated zones would keep spreading across the Empire.
The Underground Dungeon, the very core and crown jewel of the roguelike genre…
The Red Labyrinth would emerge one after another across the Empire.
Only by clearing it would the red erosion spreading over the land finally stop.

That’s when.
The villains behind it all, the wicked remnants of Ailand who offered their souls to destroy the Empire, could finally be stopped to keep this world safe.
…
…That was the setup, anyway.

‘But it’s not like we did anything to them, right?’

And on top of that, that so-called villain Ailand is now my faction.

My head was spinning.
Still, this is supposed to be the grand finale that closes out Chapter 1.
Is it really fine to escape the capital without clearing the dungeon? Seriously?

‘Ugh, I just want to go home already…’

In that moment, I found myself picturing a soft bed, an ice-cold cola, and every digital distraction under the sun.

Kwudeudeuk!

Far beyond the City Wall, in the middle of the open plain.
Something like crimson veins began to tangle together and surge up out of the earth.

“Setanta! Something suspicious is showing up outside the city wall over there…!”
“…”
“The ground is swelling up!”

Kkeuduk, kkeudeuk…
A brief yet endless stretch of time passed.
Before long, it took the shape of a blood-red bud sprouting from the ground.

As if it had only just begun to beat…
Like a pulsing heart.

[Warning! – A powerful flow of mana has been detected nearby!]

For an instant, the sky turned red in reverse.

“S-Setanta, what, what on earth is this…!”
“What in the world is that thing…?”

Rian’s and Ailin’s faces came into view, both stricken with shock.
And then…

‘Oh, come on. Why is it that big?’

I was so startled I nearly tumbled out of the tree.
In the original work, the first labyrinth was the smallest, lightest version, wasn’t it?

Holding my breath, I stared out past the wall from my perch in the tree.
People were running around in utter panic.
Imperial knights in blue capes were drawing their swords and charging out…

Soon the city gates swung open, and the Imperial Army marched out in hurried formation.

Kwaaaaang!

Then, a massive magical sphere cast by the Imperial Court’s mages slammed straight into the red bud.

‘Uh-oh, they really shouldn’t have done that.’

And sure enough.
At the point of impact, an ominous red steam billowed up at the very same moment.

Pshuk!

Blood-like fluid sprayed in every direction, soaking the ground.
It looked as though a heart was bursting, healing, and bursting again.
It was a rather grotesque sight.

Then the screams began to rise.
The Empire’s soldiers who had been drenched in the liquid spewing from the red buds began to convulse, their bodies twisting into hideous shapes.

[Warning! Multiple demonic monsters have appeared nearby!]

‘I told them not to put low-resistance units up front…’

Still, the chaos had worked in our favor.
If we’re going to slip out of the capital, it has to be now.

“Ailin, Rian! Now’s the time. While the monsters have everyone’s attention, we need to escape through the city gates!”

I immediately led the two of them down from the tree.
The imperial capital, once again a scene of utter chaos, came into view.
Beyond the open gates, demonic monsters kept pouring in without end.

“This is a blind spot! Let’s wait a moment, and once the number of monsters thins out, we’ll make our move!”

I led the party up onto the railing above the alley and kept us hidden.
Beneath the red sky, the screaming didn’t let up.

‘There are more monsters than I expected. And some of them look seriously strong…’

The difficulty was completely out of control.
This is Chapter 1, so why is a scene like this, the kind you’d expect in the middle of the game, unfolding now?

“Setanta, how much longer do we have to wait? I think Rian’s condition has gotten much worse, maybe from all that running…”
“Give him here. I’ll carry him on my back when we run.”

I leaned my head out past the railing and roughly measured the distance to the city wall gate.
Hmm, this is borderline.

‘If I sprint all the way to the wall… no, the monsters are too fast. If I’m not careful, they’ll catch us.’

What do I do now?
Under these circumstances, it seems we can only escape if we get on a horse…

Pyuhik-hing!

At that moment, a small white horse caught my eye.
Its owner seemed to be nowhere in sight.

“Let’s ride that horse! Right now!”

I immediately dashed out with Rian on my back, Ailin at my side, and hopped straight onto the horse’s back.

Hiii-hiing!

The horse, suddenly saddled with three riders, thrashed about in a panic.

“Whoa, whoa…”

Once I had soothed it somehow.
Just as I was about to make a run for it.

“Wait, who are you people…?”

A woman’s voice came from behind us. When I turned around, Hecate was looking up at us with a baffled expression.
She was the woman who had been with Achilles at the apple stall earlier.

“Why are you riding our Jorangi…?”
“….”
“A thief? Are you thieves?”

She was supporting Achilles, who hung limply at her side.
He was bleeding freely from his ankle again, though I couldn’t tell where he’d gotten hurt this time.

‘Damn it… No wonder the mane color looked familiar.’

A horse with an owner.
So this was the horse of the woman who had helped us at the apple stall.

“Setanta, this one clearly belongs to someone! We have to give it back right now…”
“….”

But if I gave up the horse in this situation?
The capable Dark Mage who had carried us this far would very likely die.
My precious SSR Hero, who might be irreplaceable by anything else until the very ending.

[Caution! – Immoral choices will lower your Hero’s Good-Evil Value!]

‘What do I do with this?’

I hesitated for a moment.

“…Thanks for the apples! Giddy-up!”
“What?!”

I simply ignored Hecate.
And dug my heels in.

“Sorry, but I’m borrowing this horse!”

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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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