Chapter 74
While Vladimir was spiraling into panic, Team Finger Man had begun a meeting.
"I see, so if you compress the explosion's energy like this, the collateral damage is reduced. Maybe I should've done this when I took down that metal monster earlier?"
Finger Man rubbed his fingers together, murmuring to himself under his breath while staring intently.
"Let's use 'Blasphemous Gaze' to check his remaining HP."
"Chii chii chii."
"Hmm-hmm. I see, I see. So that's how it is."
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Vladimir Bazarov
HP 4,229/19,412
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"So, 4,229 HP left, huh... Alright, then I'll tone it down a bit next time and finish him off."
"Gii."
"Ah, hey, Gii-san, if you climb on my hand like that, I can't snap my fingers!"
"You let your guard down, Finger Man—Causality Magic Sword (Sudipa-Quodenents)!!"
Exploiting a momentary lapse, he unleashed a flurry of twin-blade strikes on Finger Man.
Finger Man, holding the Mugen High-Load ver5.0 in his left hand and the Calamity Mollusk in his right, couldn't guard and was mercilessly slashed—16 uninterrupted hits.
While he had practiced Starburst Stream before, he never imagined he'd be on the receiving end of it.
The multi-hit attack—designed to counter defensive skills—powered through any resistance, loaded with 'Men Uchi Lv5', 'Sure Hit Lv4', 'Counter Slash Lv4', and 'Strong Strike Lv5', ignoring one or two blocked hits.
Each blow packed ATK well over 800,000, combining the physical capabilities and skills of the Giant of the Frozen Wastes, his dexterity and strength, and all the power he could muster.
With the combo finished, Vladimir was left panting heavily.
Finger Man adjusted his askew sunglasses and traced the blood running from his temple with a finger.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 156
HP 15,741/32,523
MP 4,103/5,743
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv6'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv8'
'Single Strike Lv6'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault Lv8'
'Blue Pulsation Lv2'
'Black Swamp's Severer'
'Super Catcher Lv4'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv3' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
'Mugen High-Load ver5.0' G4
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
'Metal Trap Room Lv2' G4
'EXP Lighter' G3
'Thousand-Style Metal Kit' G5
'Traces of a Dream' G5
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Finger Man glanced over his own status, but since he usually slacked on HP tracking, he had no idea how much damage he'd actually taken.
(Well, I mean, it's just a scratch on the temple, so I'm probably fine.)
Finger Man lifted his sunglasses with the pad of his finger.
He didn't say a word.
In truth, he was struggling to do the math to figure out how much damage he had taken, but to an outside observer, that silence appeared entirely different.
From Vladimir's perspective, he had just unleashed his full power.
And yet, Finger Man just seemed preoccupied with adjusting his sunglasses.
It felt like a harsh reminder of the difference in class between them.
"Gii."
"Ah, Gii-san's doing whatever he wants again."
Completely losing his confidence, Vladimir began retreating slowly and dejectedly.
From the floor between him and Finger Man, the Black Swamp monster emerged.
It seemed the Calamity Mollusk had used 'Black Swamp's Tragedy' to summon it.
"Huh? You want to see your employee fight?"
"Gii. Gii."
"Well, if you're gonna let me live, I don't really mind."
"Hey, Finger Man, are you seriously summoning such obviously evil underlings? Are you sure about this?"
The Calamity Mollusk used 'Black Swamp's Armament' to equip the Black Swamp monster with a naginata, then moved from Finger Man's hand to perch on the shoulder of its own employee.
Calamity Mollusk on Black Swamp monster—so to speak.
"Gii."
"Wait, oh—so this one's going to fight, Gii-san?"
"Gii."
"Finger Man, could it be that this slug is telling us to leave things here to it and go chase after Dr. Shita Chichigasky?"
"Chii chii chii (Translation: Junior, don't tell me you're going alone! I'll never forget you, Junior—chii!)"
A black tendril snapped out, grabbed the Calamity Beast, and yanked it from Finger Man's breast pocket.
"Ah, Gii-san just captured Shimaenaga-san..."
"Chii chii chii?! (Translation: Chii chii?!)"
"Gii (Translation: Senpai is this way)."
"I see. So Gii-san and Shimaenaga-san are going to handle that Kirito—er, I mean, the guy in black. Got it. I'm counting on you. Disable him, okay? If you kill him, I'm not sure if we'll get any experience points."
Finger Man gave a casual salute and took a detour through the corridor to chase after Dr. Shita Chichigasky.
"Huh? What about me?"
"Doctor, you can stay with Shimaenaga-san and the others."
"But I want to go with Finger Man!"
"You'd kinda just get in the way. If you're with me, I can't even run at full speed."
"Wow, you're brutally honest... At least try to sugarcoat it a little..."
As the Doctor looked like he was about to cry, a hand gently rested on his shoulder.
When he turned around, the Black Swamp monster was giving him a supportive thumbs-up.
"I'm really not feeling great about entrusting myself to such an obviously evil underling... Wait, he can summon two of them? Finger Man's slug is insane..."
One Black Swamp monster carrying Shimaenaga-san and Gii-san, and another guarding the Doctor.
Seeing this, Vladimir knitted his brows in annoyance.
"Finger Man, are you kidding me? Do you really think you can match Vladimir Bazarov with some pest bird, a creepy bug, an old man, and your mass-producible underlings? Don't insult me."
"Chii chii chii!"
"Gii!"
"Shut it, you little critters. I'll slice you to ribbons."
"Both of you, be careful. You only survived because you were with Finger Man—but that guy is an unbelievably powerful explorer!"
Vladimir spun his twin blades and aimed a blindingly fast slash at the Black Swamp monster's neck.
Gakiin!
A thunderous clang rang out, and crimson sparks flew.
The black naginata had deflected the magic sword.
"Gii."
"Chii chii chii!"
"These guys..."
Vladimir unleashed a relentless flurry of twin sword strikes, aiming persistently for the neck.
The Black Swamp monster skillfully parried with its naginata and even counterattacked with ease, sending chills down Vladimir's spine.
And it was no wonder.
The Black Swamp monster's potential far exceeded that of humanity.
"Tch! From a mass-produced underling, no less!"
"Gii."
Slipping through the chaos of the fierce sword clash, a black tentacle coiled around his feet and restrained him.
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Vladimir stumbled and lost his balance.
"Gii."
The second strike of the black tentacle slammed into Vladimir's back.
He coughed up blood and cried out in agony. It felt like a whip had lashed him, sending searing pain through his back.
"Gii (Translation: This human is pretty strong. He resisted the brainwashing. I think we'll need to beat him down once.)"
"Chii chii chii! (Translation: I'll do my best, chii! If I get good results here, they might cancel my two-month suspension, chii!)"
"Gii (Translation: But senpai didn't do anything...)"
"Ch-chii! (Translation: Don't sweat the small stuff, chii!)"
After that, Vladimir was drawn into a fierce battle with the Black Swamp monster, bean pastry, and slug using Black Swamp's Armament 1,000.
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——From the perspective of Dr. Shita Chichigasky
"You're saying Vladimir lost to Finger Man? After seeing that sword, how can you say that, Shirokko?"
"Because I sensed that Finger Man was one level above Vladimir, that's whyyy."
Shirokko, holding a Thompson submachine gun in one hand, ran down the corridor with Dr. Shita Chichigasky.
Suddenly, Shirokko came to a halt.
Dr. Shita Chichigasky bumped into Shirokko's back with too much momentum and grumbled, "What the! Why'd you stop?!"
The reason became immediately clear.
Up ahead in the corridor, he appeared from around the corner.
He stepped out silently, blocked the way, tilted his head slightly, and flashed a grin of white teeth.
"Found—you... (smooth voice)"
"Eek!"
Dr. Shita Chichigasky fell on his rear in shock.
Finger Man had caught up to them.