Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 27- Crossroads of Growth

—–CROW—– 

The strongest Lizardman I had ever faced was a low-ranking warrior with four white stripes.

Since the number of stripes signifies a warrior’s career, even a low-ranking one must have been a seasoned soldier with plenty of experience.

In fact, throughout the fight with that Lizardman, I got the impression that he was very accustomed to battle.

What is the difference in combat power between a low-ranking warrior with a lot of experience and an inexperienced mid-ranking warrior?

Like the relationship between a command sergeant major and a newly commissioned second lieutenant, surprisingly, the four-striped low-ranking warrior might be stronger.

But the high-ranking Lizardmen mixed in among them, with their weapons and size, looked very strong.

Damn, what should I do?

The reason I struggled against low-ranking Lizardmen was that I deliberately lowered my stats by wearing bad equipment.

But even if I switched my equipment now, I don’t think I can break through all those swarming Lizardmen.

I could set up a position inside the ruins and deal with them one by one, or wait for them to disperse.

The problem is that I’m currently poisoned. If I just wait, I might just drop dead.

Even now, the paralysis is getting stronger in real-time, making it difficult to move.

I don’t know how long I can last in this state. If I had experienced poison before, I would have a better idea.

Should I trust my vitality and wait for an opportunity, or should I fight my way out before my condition worsens?

“Damn it, damn it…”

I’m sweating cold sweat. I don’t even know if it’s because of tension or the poison. Damn it, my head isn’t working.

– *Clank! Clank!*

The fully equipped Lizardmen are approaching the ruins. If I stay here, I’ll be discovered. I have to choose quickly.

Damn it, I don’t know anymore. Whatever else, I don’t want to die sitting still.

I opened my inventory and quickly equipped my original gear that I had sealed away.

– *Dash!*

I rushed towards the Lizardman who was looking around at the entrance and started the battle.

**

Perhaps due to their numerous battle experiences, Lizardmen always tend to be on alert to some extent.

But the Lizardmen that gathered at the ruins seemed to be very off guard, perhaps because of their large numbers.

I quickly rushed out and, at the same time, took out a dagger from my inventory and threw it at the high-ranking warrior with a red stripe.

I was planning to take out the strongest ones first, but they weren’t that easy.

– *Ting!*

The Lizardman deflected the dagger I threw as if it had expected it.

It’s unlikely that it really expected it, so its reaction ability in battle must be incredibly outstanding.

The surprise attack was a complete failure. I quickly stabbed my sword at the nearest Lizardman.

– *Stab!*

The Lizardman quickly raised its guard, but thanks to the increased attack power from changing my equipment, I was able to pierce its neck in one go.

Seeing the red critical effect, I quickly rotated my body and slashed the Lizardman on my left.

– *Slash!*

The powerfully swung sword was able to penetrate the Lizardman’s armor and land a blow. Another critical hit.

I took down two in an instant, but there were still dozens of Lizardmen left.

– *Chirp! Chirp!*

The high-ranking Lizardman, who seemed to be the commander, shouted, and at the same time, a Lizardman thrust its spear forward.

Their situational awareness, combat transition speed, and the speed of the thrusting spear were all incredibly fast.

– *Clang!*

I raised my shield to block the spear and took a step forward, slamming my sword down on the Lizardman’s head.

But the Lizardman read the trajectory of my attack and dodged by shaking its head. The sword struck the Lizardman’s shoulder.

Damn it, my attack speed was slower than usual because of the paralysis.

Originally, I would have been able to split its head open.

No, the decrease in my physical abilities due to poisoning isn’t the only problem.

Even that clumsy attack just now would have hit a white-striped Lizardman.

The blue-striped mid-ranking Lizardmen are definitely stronger. There’s a clear difference in their basic reaction speed.

– *Clang!*

A hammer wielded by a Lizardman struck my shield. The difference wasn’t just in reaction speed.

Mid-ranking warriors also had stronger basic strength than lower-ranking ones. I roughly understood the criteria for the division of warrior ranks.

Even if the rank is low, the experienced ones are basically more skilled and technically superior.

The higher-ranking ones, regardless of skill, are simply physically superior.

Of course, this is not good news. There are those here who are both high-ranking and experienced.

“Damn…”

If the difference in rank was purely based on skill, I might have been able to do something.

Like I did on the 1st and 2nd floors, I could just push through with overwhelming stats.

– *Stab!*

“Ugh…!”

An arrow flew from among the Lizardmen and hit my shoulder. Damn it, how can an arrow be this strong?

Looking in the direction the arrow came from, I saw a Lizardman with three red stripes holding a large longbow.

Speak of the devil, a high-ranking and experienced one showed up right away.

Judging by the power of the arrow, it seems to have very strong strength, and its skill in accurately hitting my shoulder in this dense crowd of Lizardmen is also amazing.

– *Smack!*

I tried to advance by kicking away the nearby mid-ranking Lizardmen, but more and more Lizardmen rushed at me.

With 2-meter tall Lizardmen blocking the way in large numbers, it felt like facing a mountain.

And the Lizardman with the longbow was leisurely nocking and firing the next arrow from afar.

– *Whoosh! Stab!*

“Aaargh!”

Another arrow, aimed at a gap in my armor, struck me. It really hurts like hell.

At the same time, the poisoning symptoms are getting stronger, and now my vision is narrowing.

It doesn’t seem like I can overcome this situation no matter what I do. Am I going to die here?

[You have acquired the passive skill: Poison Resistance Lv.1]

**

I thought I was going to die soon, but maybe there really is something like awakening in the moment of crisis.

The battle that I thought would end quickly against dozens of Lizardmen was strangely continuing.

– *Slash, Slice!*

The neck of the Lizardman, which was trying to deflect my attack with its shield, was instantly severed. A critical effect appears.

[You have acquired the passive skill: Paralysis Resistance Lv.2]

The reason this fight could continue for so long was thanks to the unexpected acquisition of resistance skills.

As I gained Poison Resistance and Paralysis Resistance skills, the ever-worsening poisoning symptoms gradually subsided.

Of course, resistance is only resistance. As time passed, the poisoning progressed again and the symptoms worsened.

– *Chirp!*

In the meantime, the number of Lizardmen was gradually decreasing, and my external wounds were actually healing.

[+2 Vampire Demon’s Ring]

Defense +15

Intelligence +2

5% chance to recover 20% HP upon defeating an enemy.

Available Enhancements: 0

This was thanks to the effect of the [Vampire Demon’s Ring], a unique item I obtained on the 1st floor.

I didn’t have time to drink potions, but every time I defeated the constantly rushing Lizardmen, my HP occasionally recovered.

It seemed that the dozens I first saw weren’t all of them, as Lizardmen continued to be replenished and rush in.

But Lizardmen below a certain level were now no different than potions to me.

– *Stab!*

“Ah, damn it.”

If only I could do something about that archer Lizardman.

**

[You have acquired the passive skill: Intuition Lv.3]

I deflected an arrow aimed at my chest with my shield. This is the third time already.

I was gradually able to predict the timing of the flying arrows. Of course, I still got hit by more than half of them.

But the accuracy of my predictions was increasing, and at the same time, the level of my Intuition skill was growing.

As my Intuition skill increased, the battle became increasingly easier.

Now I could dodge the attacks of some clumsy mid-ranking Lizardmen without even looking. The growth of my skills wasn’t limited to this.

[You have acquired the passive skill: Battle Continuation Lv.9]

Perhaps it was because I continued to fight while poisoned, but the level of my Battle Continuation skill was noticeably increasing.

I was still sweating cold sweat due to the poisoning symptoms, and my vision was repeatedly darkening and brightening.

But somehow, I think I’m starting to understand how to fight in a bad condition.

At first, as the battle dragged on, I only became more anxious, but seeing myself growing in the midst of a crisis, I couldn’t help but laugh.

[You have acquired the passive skill: Paralysis Resistance Lv.3]

“Heh.”

It might sound crazy, but the pain of the poison that tormented my body was now rather welcome.

**

The seemingly endless Lizardmen in the ruins were apparently not truly infinite.

I had killed a tremendous number of mid-ranking Lizardmen, and the high-ranking Lizardman who was shooting arrows from afar was now right in front of me.

All that remained were four high-ranking warriors with red stripes, just like the archer.

– *Chirp, chirp! Chirp!*

They surrounded me in formation, holding heavy-looking weapons as if filled with rage.

I had never faced a high-ranking one head-on before. Naturally, I had never faced this kind of coordinated attack either.

But I don’t feel like I’m going to lose. This is not confidence that comes from high stats.

In a brief moment of extreme crisis, my skills had grown by leaps and bounds, and the poison that had been tormenting me had now completely lost its effect.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

I dropped the sword I was holding, opened my inventory, and changed my equipment again. Back to the high-durability trash set.

My skills had already grown tremendously, but I don’t think they’re perfect yet.

When else would I get a chance to fight four high-ranking ones at the same time?

“Alright, come at me.”

I want to grow even more.

—–CROW—–