Chapter 51: Outside the Gate
"Damn it—" he hissed before detonating a fireball at close range. Using the recoil of his fireball to gain distance was the only thing he could do.
Bouncing and rolling backward, Lian managed to move dozens of meters away. But he was at his limit; he could not withstand more self-inflicted explosions so easily, his body teetering on collapse.
"Damn it, Lian, think—" One gargoyle used an impalement spell to summon a spike from the ground, while the other was pushed back by the fireball’s explosion.
The gargoyles’ spikes were nothing like those of the golems. Though similar in size, their force was not.
Lian had taken a hit earlier that made him vomit the pancakes Seline had kindly offered.
"I can’t hold on anymore—" he thought, rolling on the ground to dodge yet another blow. Thanks to his recent advancement to Iron 3, combined with his mana-enhanced Bronze 2 body, Lian had lasted this long, but continuing was becoming impossible.
"Geometric Spell, Circle"
Drawing a quick circle in his mind, Lian launched another fireball to generate recoil. But this would be his last fireball. His body had reached its limit; he could not continue.
"So this is the end..." he murmured before closing his eyes. He was too exhausted to do anything else. He had tried every way to resist, but nothing worked.
He had never understood the difference in ranks. He had always fought conceptually weak monsters, winning against the odds. But this time, facing serious monsters, Lian understood.
He had always been a frog in a well, just as Sera always said. Memories of her calling him "froggy" were still vivid in his mind.
His thoughts drifted, awaiting death, but nothing happened.