Chapter 43: Albion Conquest (4)

I swing the warhammer, swing it again, and swing it once more.

From the back of the creature soaring into the sky, I attack while maintaining my balance.

I hear someone’s voice in surprise as they look at me, but I don’t pay attention.

The experiences I’ve already gone through in that other world have made it so I don’t slip easily.

[You insignificant creatures!!!]

I ignore Albion’s roar.

I avoid the occasional beams coming from behind.

All I need to do is keep doing what I have to do.

As long as the main force is holding up, my task is clear.

How much time has passed, I can’t easily say due to my intense concentration.

Then, as I swung the warhammer once more…

“…Huh?”

A blizzard blows, and I slip off the creature’s back.

The impact shakes my body with a loud thud.

It doesn’t hurt, but an unpleasant feeling runs down my back.

But there’s no time to think about that; I drink the last potion and rise to my feet.

Half of the party, including the vanguard, has already fallen, but the remaining members are pulling aggro from the gems according to my orders.

In this situation, there’s no time to lie down.

I dodge the flash of light.

I approach the creature.

I accelerate my movements and thoughts.

I recall the experiences from that other world.

I strike as much as I can into its body.

One second feels like ten seconds. Ten seconds feel like one second.

Even as I sense that strange feeling, I don’t stop moving.

And suddenly, I come to my senses and realize most of the Rebunds have already fallen.

[You insignificant creatures dare!!!]

With only 1% HP remaining, Albion spreads its wings again and soars into the sky.

The gems that had been tormenting us shatter, and the fragments start to be absorbed by Albion, gradually causing its chest area to swell.

Anyone could recognize it; it’s the typical magic that comes to mind when thinking of a dragon.

The prelude to its breath attack.

Looking at the remaining HP, it seems like this is a last-ditch effort.

Can I avoid that?

Probably not.

It’s clear it’ll get stronger in proportion to the number of gems left when it casts.

You can tell just from the visual effects.

1%.

With only 1% HP left, it’s frustrating to think we can’t finish it because of this final pattern.

“Ha…”

A sigh escapes as a feeling of emptiness washes over me.

I don’t want to say it, but all I can think is that it’s a waste of time.

How could this be called a good memory?

Can I even say that we fought well despite losing?

“Ha…”

And with a second sigh, Albion’s mouth spits out a silver breath, and my vision is flooded with white.

The ruler of the Nibrods, Albion, quietly descends upon the frozen mountain.

The insignificant creatures were no longer in sight.

It was only natural.

No matter how much they were blessed by the goddess, they were still insignificant creatures.

Even worse, it was the blessing of a defeated goddess.

So, Albion, thinking with a smile, knew that he, the true ruler of the Nibrods, could never be defeated by them.

As he watched everything sink into the raging blizzard, just as Albion was about to close his eyes,

something suddenly shot out from the pure white snow.

Wearing a full helmet and full-body armor that completely covered his face, holding a massive warhammer with both hands, he had pierced through the fleeting moment and was now leaping towards Albion’s head.

The speed was unimaginable for an insignificant creature.

[What?!]

It was right after Albion had poured all his energy into the attack.

His reaction was so slow that he couldn’t even cast a simple protective spell.

On the other hand, his mind was still sharp.

The countless experiences gained from another world had kept his focus unbroken even in the most extreme situations that lasted over ten hours.

“…It’s over, lizard.”

A blue light that seemed completely out of place with his pitch-black armor swirled around his body.

The blue light soon formed a trail and became a comet.

The comet fell vertically, piercing through Albion’s head.

Boom!

Albion’s head slammed into the ground with a deafening sound.

Already at his limit, Albion had no strength left to withstand that final blow.

And so, Albion…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even after falling, he lost consciousness while feeling his head being slammed into the ground repeatedly.

“Ah, that feels good.”

The last thing that reached his ears was the voice of an insignificant creature, filled with joy.

The party of ‘Inquisitor’ has been the first to defeat the ferocious ancient white dragon, Albion!

Their achievement will be eternally celebrated as the new legend of the continent!

〔System: The entry restrictions for Nibrods have been lifted from now on.〕

〔‘Albion’s Subjugation’ has been activated.〕 System: Raid

〔System: First achievement unlocked! The title ‘Conqueror of Nibrods’ has been activated.〕

“…We did it.”

As I said that, my legs gave way, and I slumped down.

It was a rare feeling of pleasant exhaustion, the sensation of all the strength leaving my body.

“Thank you for your hard work, Lene.”

As I sat there quietly gazing at the sky, I heard a man’s voice from behind.

Turning my gaze slightly, there stood the true MVP of this raid, the alchemist, Lebungi.

“…Thank you. You really saved us at the end. Thanks to you, the alchemist, we were able to win.”

“It was the others who held on until the end. I just added the finishing touch.”

“Still, thanks to you, we were able to win.”

Normally, Albion’s final desperate attack,

the breath, should have killed me, and the raid would have ended in failure.

But before Albion could unleash his breath, the alchemist, who was the only one still alive on the field aside from me, used a skill on me.

Eternal Light.

A skill that fixes the target’s HP at its current value for 5 seconds.

It might seem overpowered just by its specs, but it has definite penalties in several areas, making it quite difficult to use effectively in real combat.

If I hadn’t reached the HP threshold for Albion’s breath pattern, even with that skill, I would have been burned alive by the flashing lights from all directions, and it would have been the end.

If that had happened, this alchemist might have been criticized for not supporting the party more when it mattered.

But he trusted us and prepared Eternal Light.

He was ready to face the potential blame from those who didn’t know what was happening, all in anticipation of an uncertain future.

And because of that resolve, we were able to defeat Albion.

Thinking about it again, the MVP of today’s raid was indeed the alchemist.

“Really, everyone worked so hard!”

Other alchemists also shouted words of encouragement as they gathered around me.

I could sense various emotions on their faces, but given that the raid had been conducted overnight, fatigue was evident in their voices.

Of course, I was also tired.

I was so exhausted that I wanted to lie down on the bed immediately.

“…Everyone, how about we do the item distribution tomorrow and rest for now?”

Luckily, everyone agreed to that, and we decided to meet at the designated location after waking up.

It was time to let our weary minds rest.

I logged out of the game and immediately threw myself onto the bed.

‘I can’t believe this, it’s too much! Relying on a fake goddess like that!’

“Th-that’s not a goddess, it’s like the World Tree of the Elves…”

“I’m sorry….”

I dreamt of getting scolded by Iah.

[Lene Gallery ]

Title: Lene, You Cleared the Raid

[Posted by: 00]

It’s so cold, hurry up and start the stream, you f*cking idiot…

You told me to wait, so I’ve been waiting until now…

[Upvotes: 15 / Downvotes: 0]

NoLeNeNoLife◆: The gallery master went to sleep.

└Written by ᄋᄋ: ?

└NoLeNeNoLife♦:** Since everyone is tired, we decided to do item distribution tomorrow and then went to sleep.

└Written by ᄋᄋ:** No way, haha

└NoLeNeNoLife◆:** It seems like you weren’t even thinking about the stream, huh.

└NoLeNeNoLife♦:** Honestly, I just remembered that I was still streaming now, haha.

└Written by ᄋᄋ:** In that case, let’s use ‘Hal’ here.

└NoLeNeNoLife◇:** Please save me, teacher.

When I woke up, it was already 5 PM.

Hmm. It feels like I can actually hear the sound of my life pattern falling apart in real-time.

The only fortunate thing is

that today is a holiday, so Bora is spending time with her family at home.

Just in case, I had already contacted her beforehand, saying I probably wouldn’t be able to meet today.

Although still a bit dazed, I stretched and got out of bed.

The time I had promised to meet with my party members yesterday was clearly… 6:30 PM.

I had told everyone that we’d meet after I started the stream again.

Since the stream was scheduled to start at 6 PM, there was still about an hour left.

Realizing I had an hour of free time, I naturally sat down at my computer and logged into the gallery.

I expected that the alchemists would be celebrating their victory together.

What I saw when I logged in was:

[Lene Gallery]

Don’t click the floating text ᄉᄇ (3)

Title: No armband, huh? NSFW images incoming, haha (1)

Title: Is the gallery owner really a woman? You f*cking idiots.

Title: Is the owner actually gay? Is the voice changer real? (12)

Title: With that voice, it’s possible, ᄋᄋ, if you agree, upvote, haha (31)

Title: A real alchemist (formerly) is leaving the gallery, ᄉᄇ (12)

Title: Please, just leave… (22)

Title: Great, top 1 in the gallery (5)

Title: I think the gallery owner is a woman. Proof is here ᄋᄋ (11)

Title: How the hell did you clear Albion? ᄉᄇ guys (31)

Title: So what loot do you get from clearing Albion? (19)

Title: I thought it was a woman, but it’s actually a guy using a voice changer? (24)

Title: If you’re a true alchemist, upvote. Haha (25)

Title: So, when are you actually streaming? For real? (11)

Title: If you don’t start the stream now, I’m declaring war on you oo (18)

Title: I’ve heard the gallery owner’s real voice. Almost became a female… (41)

Title: Is the gallery owner a woman? (1)

Title: ᄉᄇ Stop keeping it to yourselves and share the patterns, you assholes (12)

Title: What the hell are the moderators doing? (12)

Title: NSFW images incoming in 3 seconds ᄋᄋ (9)

Title: This gallery used to be tiny until yesterday, haha (31)

Title: Please, Lene, send the gallery back to the beginning… I’m struggling… (21)

“…Huh?”

It was like the end of the world.

Now that I thought about it, I had turned off the stream in the middle of it yesterday.

I had completely forgotten.

“…I’m screwed, aren’t I?”