The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth

Chapter 8: The fat aristocrat fights the boss-fang

I’m fine.
I’m calm.

Mitrof was surprised at how strangely calm he was.

Ton-ton.

He stepped forward, using footwork to change his and his opponent’s positioning.

Mitrof adjusted his position to be beside the fang in the air, and slightly bent his knees.
He applied force to his center of gravity and straightened his knees.
His arms stretched out, and his sword pierced through the point and thrust forward.

There was a feeling of resistance.

Mitrof’s rapier had pierced through the fang’s head.

Mitrof quickly withdrew his rapier.

The fang, carried by its momentum, jumped over the spot where Mitrof had been standing and rolled on the ground.

Grace, with an arrow still drawn on her bow, watched the fang’s condition.

In the case of a wounded wild animal, that is when they are most dangerous.
Even if they were confident that they had taken it down, it was the hunter’s rule not to approach carelessly.

The passage was silent.

Then Grace slowly approached and confirmed the fang.

It was dead.

“Was it a single blow? — Impressive skill, Mitrof.”

“I was surprised too—even when facing goblins yesterday, I felt more panic and fear—but now I am very calm.”

“Is it different from yesterday? — Or have you become more accustomed?”

“Yeah.
It’s like I’ve become a completely different person from yesterday…Oh.”

Then it dawned on him.

“Is this the influence of sublimation?”

“It means not physical power but mental growth.”

Grace nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know much about sublimation, but if Mitrof feels that way, it could be possible.”

Mitrof didn’t feel any concrete increase in his power.

He had thought that sublimation would only cause such small changes.
However, Mitrof’s current calmness represents significant growth with a tangible impact on him.

The two of them stripped the corpse of the fang.
The fur, tusks, and some internal organs can be sold.

However, it is time-consuming to skin them, and disassembling is necessary to obtain the internal organs.

“For larger parties, they would hire specialized dismantlers and carriers, or even bring in carts to take everything away—but for us now, it would only become a burden—we can only take the fangs with us.”

“Dismantling would take only time and effort, and the rewards don’t seem to be worth it.”

After that, they experienced several attacks from fangs.

In most cases, Grace would spot them first and take the initiative with an arrow.
Sometimes she would take them down with just one shot, and if they were at a distance, she would take away their movement with two arrows and then finish them with one.

At the end of the passage, there was a small room where three fangs had formed a pack.

If you see a pack, run away.

The two of them had made that agreement beforehand, but the situation was bad this time.
They had accidentally stumbled upon the pack.

Running away was not an option, as they were too close.
It was a bad move to run away from the beast that had already locked onto them.

“Mitrof, there’s no escaping! — Let’s fight!”

Grace quickly made the decision.
Based on her experience as a hunter, she realized that they had no choice but to fight.
If so, they should take the initiative.

Taking two arrows in swift motion, Grace fired them in succession.
One hit the head, the other struck a leg.
One of the beasts fell, and the other backed away cautiously, as if on guard.

The remaining beast, the boss of the pack, was a full body size bigger.
Its movements were quick and imposing, coming at them in attack.

Grace fired another arrow, but the boss-fang avoided it.

With bared fangs, the boss-fang aimed for Mitrof’s arm as it glided low.

Mitrof watched its movements calmly, with enough composure to think about how to move his body.

To deal with the fang, moving to its side was the easiest option.

Using the battle movements he had acquired so far, Mitrof took a step and moved toward the fang’s face with a thrust.

but it was avoided.
The boss-fang jumped backward as if bouncing with its front leg.

“Mitrof, be careful!”

With his body leaning forward, Mitrof was caught in a lateral move, with the fang’s hind legs lunging toward him.

They were coordinated!

‘Got caught,’ Mitrof clicked his tongue.

The boss-fang never intended to kill Mitrof from the beginning.
Therefore, he easily avoided the attack and retreated.
While luring this side with an attack, the other fang pounced.

It was precisely like a pack hunting.

The fang opened its jaws and aimed at Mitrof’s arm holding the sword.

At that moment, when Mitrof resolved himself to be unable to dodge,

“Don’t move!”

Grace’s sharp voice

Thanks to the enhanced spirit through sublimation, Mitrof was able to obey Grace’s words.

The arrow grazed by.

The wind passed by Mitrof’s face.
The arrow that passed just above his arm, stabbed into the fang’s bloodied mouth that was about to bite him.
The fang spun around like his head had been knocked off and fell to the ground.

Thank God…!

Mitrof pulled his arm back and rearranged his posture.

The boss-fang was already dashing towards him for a counter-attack.

Would the boss-fang’s instinct as a monster living in the labyrinth be to choose fighting over running away?

Mitrof confronted the boss-fang head-on.

Swinging the rapier diagonally to the front right, Mitrof raised it before him, adhering to the aristocratic ritual of a duel.

aiming the tip towards the boss-fang, who had already leaped forward by that time.

Mitrof moved his legs.
His body remembered the movements taught to him when he was a child.
He dodged the attack and took a side position.

The boss-fang landed in the place where Mitrof had been standing a moment before.
As the claws of the front leg bit into the ground, Mitrof thrust his rapier.

——One stab.

It penetrated the boss-fang’s neck with the heavy sensation of penetrating through thick skin and tough muscles.

Mitrof was about to be pushed back.
If the boss-fang thrashed around, the thin blade of the rapier would break.

Therefore, the sword had to be pulled out with the same speed as it was thrust.

Mitrof pulled back his elbow.

The rapier returned from the boss-fang’s neck, spurting red blood.

Mitrof had cut the artery.
It was what he had targeted.

However, the boss-fang was still alive.

Gripping the ground with all fours and shaking its head, the boss-fang launched itself at Mitrof like a giant arrow or a cannonball.

Mitrof had no intention of avoiding it.
He realized that his own heavy body would make it impossible.

Digging his feet in and preparing himself, Mitrof thrust out his rapier.

The sword pierced the boss-fang’s mouth, its momentum unstoppable.
Even while impaled by the sword, the boss-fang tried to bite down Mitrof.

The fangs thrashed about, and the rapier shook violently.
Mitrof tightened his grip on the hilt in an instant.

A deep impact followed.

Mitrof stood his ground against the boss-fang’s charge, his right foot lifted off the ground.
He endured being thrown off, then stepped down hard on his right foot with a loud thud.

Due to the sword being pressed in, his right elbow was pulled into his chest.

A bright red mouth opened before his eyes.

Sharp fangs were piercing Mitrof’s shoulder.

That huge face, those eyes.
Mitrof stared at them intently.

Finally, with only a rough breath left, the boss-fang collapsed limply.