Surviving without God

Levain didn’t wait for Gunther’s answer. He was certain Gunther would follow the order and run. In the instant when death takes on clear contours and stands right before your face, few people choose to stubbornly remain in the danger zone. Especially for comrades you’ve known for only a single day.

Of course, Levain didn’t blame him for it in the slightest.

“...Even if he’s a rookie, he has to survive.”

The annihilation of the 4th Platoon. Perhaps that outcome had been predetermined from the moment their previous leader died—the one who had been like a guardian deity to the 4th Platoon.

“Damn it, in the end I still couldn’t protect them. I’ll be ashamed to look you in the eyes.”

Levain clenched his teeth hard. His gaze flicked for an instant to the cold corpses of his comrades, then froze again, aimed forward. Rage and resentment were choking him, but now wasn’t the time to give in to feelings. Because from this moment on, it depended on the two of them... what price would be paid for these bitter deaths.

— Parco, move!

They didn’t need words to understand each other’s intentions. In the very moment Levain launched himself forward and sprinted—

— Go, Levain!

Thuduh—

Parco snatched out several poisons and potions. He swallowed them indiscriminately and injected them straight into his body. The goal was simple.

Positive effects—to Levain. Negative—to the enemies. No matter how high the resistance coefficient was, the side effects promised to be monstrous, but right now he didn’t care at all. Because he was going to die here.

— Have fun to the fullest! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Crunch—

The next moment, Levain’s running body vanished for an instant and appeared right in front of the Younger of the “Table Companions.” The dagger in his hand shot toward the opponent’s neck with perfect precision.

Bam!

At the short impact sound, the Younger flew backward. His eyes narrowed for the first time.

— Hmm-m, you got a bit tougher?

But that composure didn’t last long.

Wh-shhk—

Suddenly, an icy and unbelievably sharp sword swing stabbed into the Younger’s blind spot. The opponent’s lounging expression froze at once. Levain was no less stunned.

“Gunther...?”

Movements whose level was radically different from everything Gunther had shown up to now. Gunther easily evaded the rapier’s thrust and left a long gash along the enemy’s side. It was a clean hit... but Levain didn’t have time to rejoice.

— Khah!

He saw Gunther roll across the ground, caught by the Younger’s follow-up counterattack. There was no trace left of that strange, honed maneuverability.

“Was that some one-time skill?”

This was bad.

Thum—

Trouble never comes alone. Seeing that the Younger was wounded, the Elder “Table Companion,” who until then had only been watching, surged forward.

— How dare you!

Despite his massive build, he was astonishingly fast. The ground trembled under his run. A single glance at him was enough for Levain to feel it in his skin—this opponent was the worst possible matchup for him. No matter how many times he drove his dagger into that heaving mountain of flesh, it wouldn’t die. But if that heavy butcher’s knife so much as grazed him once, Levain would be cleaved in half.

— Parco! Back!

On top of that, the enemy was crafty enough to choose Parco as his first target. Parco had his own trump cards, and he wouldn’t go down so easily, but he likely wouldn’t last more than a minute.

Clang!

Grinding his teeth, Levain blocked the Younger’s path as he rushed Gunther again.

— ...You incorrigible idiot! I told you to run and call for help!

His voice was sharp. But in it, there was less reproach than bitterness that Gunther’s valuable life would be wasted for nothing. Gunther answered calmly:

— That’s impossible.

— ...What?

— Right now we have no choice except to fight together.

Of course, Gunther understood perfectly that fleeing was the most rational choice. Moreover, the price of death this time was incomparably higher than before.

*If the debt is not repaid, in each new life a new debuff will be applied.

*A compound interest rate of 12% is applied.

*If Karma reaches -3000 or lower, the “Judge’s Pursuit” branch is activated.

Twelve percent annual interest on Karma, and a random debuff. The risk of dying had risen to unprecedented heights. Fighting here together with them was an extremely dangerous gamble that could cost him several more death counters.

But—

Psh-shhk—

[Mapping of the surrounding area complete... Location and number of approaching enemy forces detected]

[Gunther, the situation is critical. The enemy is approaching quickly. It looks like they have a high-class Arcane Runner on their side]

— Sounds like there’s no chance of a successful escape.

[...They are negligible]

[Even if your comrades hold out, Gunther’s strength won’t be enough to break through the encirclement in time. The probability of being trapped is extremely high]

The situation had already warped beyond any chance of recovery. The snowball rolling from the delay caused by the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ “Restructuring” had finally caught up with them.

“........”

Gunther’s brain was operating at its limit. Having gone through death more than ten times, he maintained icy composure even in such a crisis... and managed to reach a conclusion.

“I will die here.”

The moment he accepted it, his mind cleared. Gunther let out a quiet breath.

“To be precise, I simply have to die.”

The situation had already hit bottom. Even if a miracle happened and he escaped, only a bitter outcome awaited him: the annihilation of the 4th Platoon and the failure of the first mission. To untangle this cursed knot... he needed a reset through return.

“I’ll take responsibility. In my own way.”

If death was inevitable, then what did he have to do now?

Clang!

Gunther barely knocked aside the rapier aiming for his throat, and thought.

— A-a-a-argh!

From the corner of his eye, he saw Parco fly away from the Elder’s blow. His neck was twisted at a strange angle. Levain lunged madly at the Younger, but his strength wasn’t enough.

“Groundwork for the next life... A chess piece so I can die as little as possible...”

Gunther was sure of it. Since he had been assigned this mission in the Labyrinth, a clash with the “Table Companions” was inevitable. He didn’t know what other threats awaited ahead, but without defeating these creatures, completing the task would be impossible.

Which meant that right now he had to hold out as long as possible and find a way to bring them down. Just like in Act 1, Chapter 1, when he died endlessly and learned through battle against the paladin.

“Maybe this time I won’t have to die as much.”

Gunther’s gaze shifted to the message that had been blinking in the corner of his vision for some time now.

Boom!

— Consider it an honor to become a dish on the table of the great Jean Daet.

The Elder, having killed Parco, was already standing in front of Gunther. Levain was still pinned down by the Younger; without treatment, he was on the verge of death from blood loss. The Younger’s delighted laughter rang incessantly in Gunther’s ears.

Grit!

The Elder raised his butcher’s knife. The muscles in his huge forearm bulged and twisted.

That feeling in the face of inevitable death. It had been a while.

But, strangely enough, Gunther felt all his senses sharpen to the limit.

Thump-thump—

His heartbeat echoed clearly in his ears. He took a deep breath and assumed a high guard.

...He wasn’t going to accept death meekly. That wasn’t his style. He would struggle with everything he had, hold on even if it looked pathetic. If in this world death was counted in numbers, then he had to squeeze the maximum benefit out of it.

[...Do you wish to “read” the target?]

Wh-shhk—

The butcher’s knife crashed straight down onto the crown of Gunther’s head.

.

.

.

***

[You are dead]

Gunther opened his eyes in a dark, cool space.

[Counting death records]

[14/99]

It had been a long time since he’d been here. The only noticeable difference from last time was the number and variety of floating messages.

[Life cycle reset detected]

[Use of the unique characteristic skill “Godslayer” — “Deicide” has become available]

[Use of the unique characteristic skill “???” — “Reading” has become available]

...Reading. For a moment, Gunther recalled the instant when he “read” the Elder. Without a doubt, it was a colossal ability, worth every single unit of Karma spent. However, using it in the heat of battle was still difficult.

“If I can master it a little better...”

It could very well become a trump card that surpassed both “Tyrant’s Eyes” and “Deicide.” With those thoughts, Gunther began to wait for the next message.

[#14 A life that could have been better]

[Gunther, because of your bad luck and the decisions you made, you’ve reached a dead end. In the next life, you’ll try not to be a burden to others, right?]

It had been a long time since he’d seen those snide, goading messages. But this still wasn’t what he was waiting for.

[Calculating Karma...]

The message output froze for a moment. Gunther recalled the moments before death. The horrifying sensation of a blunt butcher’s knife tearing through his body surfaced in his memory—and vanished.

“...They were stronger than I thought.”

In that moment, he once again realized the true scale of the Luthien Theocracy. Even though the “Table Companions” were named enemies, they were only the tip of the Cult of Abundance—the most insignificant of the seven cults. Not the pope, not a saint, not even an archbishop.

Only two out of twelve had come for them. And even with Levain and Parco’s help, they couldn’t handle them.

“Unless... the 4th Platoon had been at full strength...”

Truly, a great state that had seized half the continent. Their fanaticism, backed by an enormous number of people, wealth, and countless sacrifices, was their strength. He had known before that this was David versus Goliath, but now he’d felt the difference on his own skin.

“...The road ahead is long.”

He needed to become stronger. Though he was growing fast, the game’s scenario kept throwing more unpredictable variables at him. So he couldn’t relax; he had to accelerate. And the key to that lay in the status-window messages that were supposed to appear right now. If he failed here, he could forget about growth altogether.

[Karma calculation complete!]

Gunther, as if offering a prayer, fixed his gaze on the slowly emerging letters.

[311 units have been repaid from the debt of -2133 Karma]

[Current Karma balance: -1822]

[Compound interest rate of 12% is applied!]

[Current Karma balance: -2041]

*If the debt is not repaid, in each new life a new debuff will be applied.

*If Karma reaches -3000 or lower, the “Judge’s Pursuit” branch is activated.

A restrained sigh slipped from his lips.

— ...Good.

Thanks to the fact he’d diligently gathered Karma, he managed to reduce the debt a little even after the blow of the 12% interest. But it was too early to relax. Gunther swallowed.

[Because the debt has not been repaid, a new debuff is applied]

[Debuff for this life...]

In the game , there existed an endless variety of debuffs. Some didn’t merely lower stats—they literally broke the character. If he got one like that, then in the next life he would die without managing to do anything. Then the debt would grow in geometric progression, and soon he would enter the “Judge’s Pursuit” branch—whose name alone inspired terror.

— Please!

His shout spread through the space in a booming echo.

.

.

.

Ting!

[Debuff list updated]

— Twisted Fate — Masochism (New!)

— Ah.

Gunther began his 14th life together with “Masochism.”

Pa-bah!

And at the same time, a red signal blossomed in the sky, announcing danger.