WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 016

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Freud’s Fang (4)

…For the first time, I escaped by my own power.

To others, it might just be an escape, but for me, this escape was a giant leap.

The proverb that one can survive even if dragged into a tiger's den, as long as one holds onto their sanity, was entirely true.

With that, I set my goal on the Altar of Lamentation and left the Labyrinth of Fissures.

“….”

Suddenly, wondering if Maeve might follow, I looked back at the labyrinth.

…I still feel like I see her desperately reaching out.

Maeve will live forever under the delusion that I was eaten and killed by the Giant Serpent Freud.

“…Let’s not worry about it now.”

With a subtle sense of relief at having escaped the constraint I couldn't relax from for a moment, I turned my head and continued on my way.

When moving, I twisted my path as much as possible to avoid overlapping with the route I had taken.

This was to completely cut off any possibility of meeting Maeve again, starting from the chance of encountering other NPCs.

I moved unhindered through places that, when I played it as a game, were blocked by invisible walls and impassable.

“…I should probably change my clothes soon.”

My uniform, which had seemed new, was now heavily stained.

Since my body was never intact, the condition of my clothes quickly turned ragged.

“Ha.”

The thought of becoming like a primitive person living in the wild crossed my mind, and I let out a chuckle at the random idea.

In the past, I would have walked the path like a zombie, without even these useless thoughts.

Feeling that my mental fortitude had recovered significantly, I carefully walked along the uneven dirt path, trying not to stumble.

Avoiding shoe wear as much as possible, I primarily moved on smooth terrain.

Since the altar was about a day's walk away, I planned to walk for a few more hours before finding a spot to rest.

“Shall I rest here for now?”

Applying the knowledge Maeve had taught me about camping, I made a makeshift bed under a large tree as night fell and concealed myself.

The night air was ambiguously cold, but I didn't light a campfire.

It was due to the fear that if I lit a campfire, Maeve would see the light and find me.

…That night, I had a nightmare.

It was a dream where my eyeballs were gouged out, all the tendons in my wrists were severed, and I weakly tried to escape, only to have my head crushed and die.

“…Gasp. Gasp…. Ugh…”

Waking up at an ambiguous time before dawn, I vomited gastric acid.

As gastric acid refluxed and a stinging pain was felt, only then did I realize that this place was reality, not a dream.

I had hoped that after sleeping, I would wake up again in my cozy studio apartment bed, but as expected, that didn't happen.

I had hoped for a more energetic today than yesterday, but....

Powerlessly, I got up to erase the traces of camping.

Clatter-

At that moment, a sensation as if something caught on my leg was heard simultaneously with the sound of something heavy being pushed.

Wondering if it was just branches blown by the wind overnight, I subtly pushed the leaves with my foot.

“What…? Why is this here….”

A brass dagger, which at first glance gave the illusion of being rusted, was conspicuously lying there.

Its serpen-like blade was particularly noticeable.

Freud’s Fang.

This was the weapon I had aimed for, but had given up on, blocked by a wall.

The dagger, which transforms into a whip-sword when fed blood, had suddenly appeared overnight, inexplicably.

“…No way?!”

Wondering if Maeve had visited me in my sleep, I picked up Freud’s Fang and quickly searched the surroundings, but no traces of anyone having been there could be found.

…I can't understand it.

Why on earth did Freud’s Fang appear by my side?

Freud’s Fang belongs to the special weapon category obtainable by defeating a boss.

But I died as soon as I encountered the Giant Serpent Freud.

“….”

The brass-colored blade reflected my face.

Whatever the reason, I had acquired the Freud’s Fang I had aimed for.

I now had my own weapon, one I had yearned for so much.

Swallowing dryly in tension, I pointed the blade towards my palm.

Soon, as I made a shallow cut on my palm, blood welled up.

Blood touched Freud’s Fang.

Indeed... would it transform into a whip-sword?

I worried that it might not transform due to insufficient stats.

Fortunately, as blood began to seep into the blade, Freud’s Fang started to change its form.

The short blade became layered and elongated, and the hilt also lengthened to be easy to grasp.

Thus, Freud’s Fang perfectly transformed from a kris dagger into a whip-sword.

When I took a stance and swung Freud’s Fang, the blade instantly separated into several segments, extending long like a whip.

As if possessing its own will, it accurately targeted the path I envisioned and shot out, embedding its blade brutally into a tree.

Shlrrrp-!

When I thought I wanted to shorten the one that had shot out in whip form, the weapon, as if reading my thoughts, tore through the tree and reverted to its longsword form.

Even after repeating the attack several times, the blades moved exactly as intended.

It could grab and pull a high branch far away, and it was also possible to twist its path as much as possible to deliver multiple attacks.

Overwhelming reach to engage enemies more than 5 meters away, and versatility to deal with close-range foes.

Understanding why the community had inexplicably chosen Freud’s Fang as the strongest PVP weapon, I calmed my surging breath.

With this weapon, I would no longer have to be helplessly murdered by NPCs.

Not only that. I could also hunt demon beasts with this weapon to raise my level.

A refreshing sensation, as if a blocked path had burst open, circulated throughout my body.

My shoulders, which had been hunched from starting the day with a nightmare, straightened, and my eyes regained vitality.

“…Let’s not get complacent. I’m still only Level 10.”

Still, I shouldn't be complacent.

My level is only 10, and the levels of the five NPCs targeting me will surely be much higher.

Since merely acquiring one weapon made it nearly impossible to overturn the overwhelming level difference, I would have to focus on leveling up as much as possible from now on.

Of course, I had no intention whatsoever of hunting people like I did in the 1st Playthrough.

Unlike in the past, now that I had knowledge of all equipment, I knew that high-performance equipment only dropped from defeating bosses.

“Shall I go to the Altar of Lamentation for now?”

With steps lighter than before, I headed towards the Altar of Lamentation.

Since the checkpoint was still fixed at the Labyrinth of Fissures, I sped up to create a more stable situation.

《 Checkpoint designated ▶ Altar of Lamentation 》

Moving along the shortest route, I was able to return to the Altar of Lamentation around midday.

Upon entering the uniquely musty and damp interior, a window popped up indicating the checkpoint had changed.

It seems that entering a designated area naturally changes the checkpoint.

I considered closing the massive open door, but decided against it, as it would make the interior too dark to see anything and might trigger my trauma, so I left it open.

I carefully descended the circular staircase.

In the past, I had poured all my efforts into climbing these stairs, but now I was descending them by my own will.

Feeling new emotions about the distinctly changed present, I arrived at the altar at the bottom of the stairs.

“…You look like you’re in a good mood.”

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard, and I quickly turned my body.

Chillingly luminous red eyes, light red hair.

“…!”

I was once again face-to-face with Carmen, the being who had instilled an unforgettable terror in me, at the Altar of Lamentation.

I silently held Freud’s Fang and aimed it at her.

Since it had reverted from whip-sword form back to dagger form, I hastily cut my palm to feed it blood.

As the dagger instantly changed form into a whip-sword, I attacked Carmen without hesitation.

As the blade, separated into dozens of segments, surged like a whip, she dodged the attack by placing her hand on the floor and spinning once, as if dancing.

Carmen, having skillfully evaded the attack, kicked off the ground, and with a sound like bursting air, her figure reached me.

“Kugh…!”

I quickly transformed Freud’s Fang into a longsword and blocked the punch Carmen swung.

My entire arm tingled.

I felt certain that if I blocked one more attack like this, both my arms would break.

As I swung the longsword, Carmen put a foot of distance between us, moving out of range.

To further increase the distance, I sped up my sword attacks.

As Carmen barely dodged the continuous attacks, the blade grazed her cheek, leaving a shallow hairline crack.

Flinch.

At that moment. Carmen’s body, which had been evading all my attacks, completely froze.

“…Huh?”

Status effect: Paralysis.

She had been afflicted with a status effect just by being grazed by the blade.

She was clearly struggling to move her body, but it was absolutely impossible for her to do so.

Shlrrr-

The time limit expired, and the whip-sword in my hand reverted to dagger form.

“…Haa. Haa….”

I had clearly won the fight, but strangely, I was the one who had experienced the most physical exhaustion.

“Kugh….”

Even while paralyzed, Carmen displayed formidable monstrous strength, moving her body ever so slightly.

As I recalled, paralysis only lasted for 30 seconds, so I had to finish her within that time.

Thus, I staggered towards Carmen and raised the dagger.

“…!!”

Her eyes, drenched in terror, closed tightly.

Freud’s Fang plunged down.

———

Carmen did not die from this.

Because I stopped my hand just before the blade touched her.

Though I had been brutally murdered by Carmen countless times and was filled with hatred.

Strangely, the hand clutching Freud’s Fang would not descend further.

As much as I wanted to kill her.

I wanted to save her.

It was due to a complex emotion, difficult to explain with a trivial feeling like pity.

I thus let my arm, holding the dagger, drop dejectedly.

At my action of giving up the attack, Carmen doubted her own eyes.

She must have thought Dean would surely have killed her without hesitation.

…But I was different from that guy.

Unlike the me of the 1st Playthrough, the current me is alive and breathing in this very spot.

“…Why on earth.”

After the short 30 seconds passed and the paralysis wore off, Carmen cautiously opened her trembling lips.

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