"Graugh!"
A nearby Bugbear let out a feral roar and lunged.
"<Acceleration>!"
I shouted the command, activating the skill I had just acquired.
Instantly, the world shifted. It felt as if time itself had slowed to a crawl.
It was incredible. The Bugbear’s movements looked like they were in slow motion.
Whoosh! The Bugbear’s fist slammed downward.
I slipped past it with ease.
Until now, I hadn't even been able to track the creature's movements with my eyes. With this skill, however, I could evade its attacks with absolute certainty.
From there, I successfully danced through the relentless onslaught of the ten Bugbears.
I moved like a butterfly, effortlessly dodging every strike they threw at me.
Of course, being able to dodge indefinitely didn't actually get me anywhere.
As I darted across every corner of the room, my suspicions were confirmed: there was no exit.
This place was a completely sealed chamber.
Presumably, I would have to slaughter every single Bugbear to earn my way out.
If that was the case, evasion alone was a dead end.
It was time to fight back.
"Graugh!"
I stepped to the side, evading a Bugbear’s swipe.
Then, I drove a punch straight into its face.
The blow landed perfectly. For a split second, the Bugbear staggered back.
Crack. A sickening sound echoed through the room.
"Ah..."
The bone in my right arm had shattered.
Apparently, my body couldn't withstand the impact of a punch delivered with the force of <Acceleration>.
And there was another, even greater weakness.
The moment I attacked, I left myself completely wide open.
There was no way the Bugbears would miss an opening that large.
"Agh!"
A different Bugbear struck from my blind spot.
With a choked groan, I was sent flying, slamming into the wall with enough force to kill me instantly.
Death had reset the clock once more.
◆
"Dammit."
I spat the word out with pure vitriol the moment I came back to life.
I had finally made progress, only to be forced back to square one.
Still, I saw a glimmer of hope.
Learning that <Acceleration> allowed me to evade the Bugbears was a massive step forward.
My offensive capabilities were a concern, but if I could keep dodging, I was bound to find an opening eventually.
Alright, the plan was set.
I would pick <Acceleration> and find a way out of that room.
Of course, first I had to actually reach the Treasure Chest again.
"Graugh."
The Bugbear at the starting line killed me before I could even move.
◆
Attempt number 225, give or take.
"Finally... I’m back."
I had reached the room with the Treasure Chest once again.
Getting here was an ordeal in itself. I’d died at least five times just trying to make it back to this room. I wasn't keeping an exact tally, so my count was likely off, but the frustration was very real.
"Now then... <Acceleration>."
I opened the Treasure Chest and selected <Acceleration> from the Skill List without a moment's hesitation.
"GROOOOOOOAAAAAR!!"
The ten Bugbears materialized, their roars shaking the room.
Time to go to work.
◆
"Dammit! Why won't this work!?"
I screamed in a fit of rage.
Attempt number 300, approximately.
Sixteen of those attempts had been spent fighting with <Acceleration>.
On this sixteenth try, surrounded by a wall of fur and muscle, I finally let my frustration boil over.
At first, I had been optimistic. I thought that with <Acceleration>, I’d eventually find a path to victory.
But the more I tried, the more the impossibility of the task weighed on me.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
My breathing was ragged, my shoulders heaving.
The fatal flaw of <Acceleration> was its sheer drain on my Vitality.
I could only maintain the skill for about three minutes before hitting my limit.
In those three minutes, I had to take down ten Bugbears.
And yet, I hadn't managed to kill a single one.
The problems were numerous.
First and foremost was the fact that moving faster with <Acceleration> didn't actually increase my Attack Power.
I’d assumed that the added speed would translate into force, but every time I landed a blow, my own bones shattered under the impact. I couldn't keep up an offense if my body broke itself every time I swung.
My next strategy had been to target their vitals.
Thanks to the skill, my Thinking Ability and Dynamic Visual Acuity were enhanced, allowing me to strike with surgical precision.
I tried to gouge their eyes out.
The blinded Bugbear would scream and writhe in agony, but that was it.
It didn't actually lose its sight, and once it managed to endure the pain, it would just come right back at me. Eyeballs weren't a fatal weakness.
I tried getting behind them to choke them out, but even if I managed to lock my arms around one's neck, the other nine would tear me apart while I was occupied.
I struggled. I reached for any possible solution.
I tried again and again and again.
Looking back, I think I was just terrified to admit the truth.
I didn't want to accept the reality that even with an S-Rank skill—the pinnacle of power—I was still completely helpless.
If I couldn't clear this with an S-Rank skill, did I even have a chance of escaping this dungeon alive?
That fear drove me to keep picking <Acceleration> long after it was clear that it wasn't working. I kept searching for a breakthrough that wasn't there.
But it was time to face facts.
No matter how many times I picked <Acceleration>, I couldn't kill the Bugbears.
That was the conclusion I reached on my 300th attempt.
I had to start over from the very beginning.