Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 20

“I’ll defeat him here!!”

　The moment I made that declaration, I prepared myself and activated 《Madness Enhancement》.

　My HP was being whittled down by the repeated use of the 《Fighting Spirit》 skill. At this point, I only had 16 left.

　At this rate, if he received even one hit from the Goblin Knight, his HP would instantly be completely lost. Even if the girl behind him healed him with healing magic, it would be little more than a drop in the bucket.

　In the first place, I don’t know how long it will take to defeat the Goblin Knight. I want to use my HP for skills. Either way, if I get attacked, I won’t be able to maintain my 《Fighting Spirit》 skill, and I’ll be killed in that moment. All-fighting spirit

　So there was no way I could accept an attack, even if it meant just one hit.

　Therefore, the increased damage taken from the 《Madness》 skill is not considered a disadvantage.

　Power wells up from within my body, and a sense of elation fills my heart.

His 《Intelligence》 value decreased from “6” to “5”, and instead his 《Strength》 value jumped from “63” to “70”.

Combined with his fighting spirit, his original strength value of 35 was exactly doubled.

“–Let’s go, oraaa!!”

“――――”

　*Bang* I slammed my sword into the Goblin Knight’s shield.

　The power had increased compared to before, but it was still nowhere near enough to fatally disrupt the Goblin Knight’s stance.

　He decided that if he continued like this, he would just be wasting his time and energy, and that he would never be able to defeat the Goblin Knight.

　No — is that true?

　While attacking like a raging fire, I thought.

　If this were a game, there would be two effects to blocking with a shield. One is a large damage reduction. The other is complete nullification of damage caused by just parries.

　But this is reality, even with game-like stats. I’ll assume that the latter type of damage can’t be completely nullified. Or rather, there are only rare moments when an attack is perfectly parried, like a perfect parry, so I’d like to think that a small amount of damage is dealt otherwise.

　Unfortunately, with my current ability values ​​and skills, it will be impossible to break through the Goblin Knight’s defenses.

　However, if this defense was as assumed by the former–

“I’ll whittle down all your HP–!!”

“—-!!”

　You should be able to reduce the enemy’s HP even by attacking from above the shield.

　Although it’s a purely muscle-brained strong style, this is the strategy that gives me the best chance of winning right now.

　And in the very next moment, that was proven to be no mistake.

“-I’m going to heal!!”

　A voice from behind.

　Immediately afterwards, a faint ball of light was fired from Onee-san’s wand and hit me on the back. The light enveloped my entire body, slightly healing my physical fatigue. At the same time–,

《HP》8/61 → 40/61

　My HP was instantly restored.

　The Goblin Knight must have noticed this, which is why his behavior patterns have changed.

　Immediately after blocking my sword with his shield, he swung his sword forcefully, even though up until then, he had focused on defense.

　I counterattacked with my sword. I scooped it up and deflected the attack, causing the Goblin Knight to lose his balance slightly.

　It only lasts for a few moments, so pursuit is too late.

　But.

“—-!!”

「Hey hey you…!!」

　It was as if the Goblin Knight himself had proven that my guess was correct.

　In other words, he realized that since I had a way to recover HP, he would be at a disadvantage in a prolonged battle, so he went on the offensive.

　Even now, this guy’s HP is being whittled away little by little.

“It’s no good if you rush around!!!”

“—!?”

　The sense of futility and despair that I had felt until just a moment ago that I couldn’t win was blown away.

　Seeing a clear chance of victory, I intensified my attacks.

　He laughed, baring his canines, banged his shield violently, and shouted to his sister.

“Onee-san! If you still have MP, heal again in one minute!!”

“Y-Yes! I understand!!”

　Just slam your sword down on the Goblin Knight, making sure not to give him any chance to counterattack.

“—-!!”

　The Goblin Knight’s expression, hidden behind his helmet, is visible. His behavior and mood have changed. He is feeling anxious.

　That’s right.

　There was no way my attacks hadn’t worked from the start. After all, my attacks were four times as powerful. No matter how durable he was and how well he was blocking them with a shield, there was no way he could completely nullify them.

　The Goblin Knight’s HP was steadily being reduced.

　So—will the Goblin Knight die if his HP is depleted?

　The answer to that question is no. HP is nothing more than a mysterious energy, similar to MP. Normally, its strength is affected by 《Endurance》 and 《Spirit》, and it acts like an invisible shield that stretches across the body, mitigating external attacks.

　And sometimes, it is also consumed as energy to activate various skills.

　HP does not equal physical strength or life.

　So, is there no point in reducing HP?

　That’s not possible.

　When HP reaches 0, a certain phenomenon occurs. It is called “status shutdown.” In other words, the moment HP reaches 0, for example, an explorer like me, becomes in a state no different from being on the surface.

　And the same goes for monsters.

　The shields carried by the Goblin Knights are made of metal, but they are no better than those made by humans. They are probably inferior in performance.

　Even so, it has enough power to shatter even huge boulders, and the reason it hasn’t broken even after receiving my attacks multiple times is because of its HP and durability. Furthermore, it’s probably because of its defensive skills that its status has increased, increasing the durability of the shield.

　Therefore, if the status is no longer effective, the Goblin Knight will no longer be able to withstand my attacks. Even if they have a shield and metal armor, they will be nothing more than a cheap iron product.

　If that were to happen, it would even be possible to destroy shields and armor in the first place.

“Oooooooooohhhh!!!”

「――――!!」

　So– Die, die, die!!!

　I slammed my sword down repeatedly, so violently that I barely had time to breathe.

As long as my fighting spirit lasted, my ability scores were superior enough that I could attack the Goblin Knight one-sidedly.

　The Goblin Knight was certainly getting impatient, but he couldn’t find an opening to counterattack.

　–You can win! For sure!!

　This strong conviction accelerated my movements even further.

　And then the time came.

　Bang!!

　And it broke into pieces.

“—-!!”

“—!?”

　Not the Goblin Knight’s shield.

　My sword.

“–picture?”