Chapter 174 - Why Am I Struggling To Live? Huh, Isn’t It Obvious? By Buster

“Vuruoooooooooooh!!” (UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!)

“GIIIIIIIIIIIH!?”

Using his worn-out Greatsword which was imbued with fighting aura, he struck the head of the giant scorpion who had been preparing for another strike with its tail and cut through the hard exoskeleton and sent shards of its shell flying everywhere.

“Gih, GIGIIIIIIAAAAH!!”

“Gauh!!” (Tsk!!)

The shrieking giant scorpion imbued its left pincer with earth-type magic, and chills ran down Buster’s spine as he saw it powerfully thrust its claw into the ground and he clicked his tongue as he jumped to the side to avoid the attack.

The ground burst after a short delay and the earthen clods that shot out gouged Buster’s flank and the surrounding trees.

“Guu!? U, vaaruau!” (Guh!? Magic, huh!)

While Buster was holding his greatsword and spitting curses as he gritted his teeth from the pain, Lancer removed her injured left hand from the slashing spear she was holding and thrust it out as it glowed with a holy phosphorescent light!

“Kuruoaann, vuorufau!!” (Take this, Holy Blaze!!)

“KISHAAAAAAAH!”

As the bead of light was fired and burst into holy flames, the giant scorpion responded to the surge of magic power and thrust its stinger into the ground and used the earth from its “landmine” magic to shield itself from the attack.

However, even though it was slightly superior than its opponents in individual combat, it was unable to overcome the disadvantage in numbers as it faced off against the two highly-ranked Kobolds who were of equal strength.

“Gauh, voaon!” (Hah, there’s my chance!)

As he aimed for the giant scorpion whose tail was stuck to the ground and was pulling back its left pincer, the huge, black-armed Kobold who held his greatsword at his hip filled his limbs with power and struck the enemy with all his might!

“URUAAAAAAAH!!” (URRRRAAAAAAH!!)

“GIGIH!!”

Immediately after the great scorpion’s left pincer collided with the tip of his greatsword which emitted fighting aura, Buster’s blade cracked through its tough exoskeleton and pierced its eyes.

Then, without missing a beat, he further embedded the blade deep into its skull with the momentary burst of strength that flowed through his black-furred arms. 

“GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?”

“Uooooh!?” (Uooooh!?)

While the giant scorpion desperately screamed and thrashed about, Buster stayed vigilant when the stinger entered his peripheral vision and let go of the hilt of his weapon to gain some distance from it, but… the enemy struck and the tip of its stinger stabbed into his right arm.

“Uguh, uu…” (Uguh, uu…)

Under the influence of the fast-acting paralyzing poison, Buster dropped to one knee and narrowed his eyes at the fatally-wounded giant scorpion who had finally fallen to the ground as its life ran out.

“Ga, gaufu, a… u, u…” (I c-can’t… hang on much longer…)

“Vaarukua… kuruan?” (That was your last shot, wasn’t it… Are you okay?)

Concerned about her childhood friend’s slight twitching, Lancer warily poked the Alma Scorpius with the tip of her beloved spear to confirm if it wasn’t moving anymore, and went to her friend’s side and placed her white-tipped left paw over his head. 

“Guoaruguo kuaruou, uaonn.” (Clear all afflictions, Purifying Light!)

The concentrated holy magic which turned into light covered Buster’s huge frame and activated the cells in his body to neutralize the toxins circulating inside it, but at the same time, a different silvery light swallowed up his consciousness. 

……………

………

…

Then, a silver spiral staircase that had been built from the perpetual history of life appeared right before him.

In this place, perception reigns over existence, so one’s current state is determined by themself, but… It’s normal to be influenced by the state of your actual body when in this space.

“Guh, vuu garuo aaau.” (Kuh, I’m still feeling numb.)

While absently complaining about the discomfort that he still couldn’t shake off, Buster begins to ascend the final flight of stairs with a slow gait.

But as his appearance suggests, change is constant in living beings and it never stops.

When the capacity of the environment is lower than the reproductive power of living organisms, the struggle for resources is inevitable and optimization of the status quo is constantly required to achieve species preservation.

In this process, only those who struggle to survive and adapt to the environment leave behind offspring, weaving the spiral of life that is passed on from generation to generation.

But even though one does not know where they will end up…

(Well, it doesn’t matter what it is, I just have to move forward.)

The sudden surge of unknown knowledge that flashed through his mind was of little concern to the black-armed Kobold.

Archer had always viewed life’s constant struggle for survival as “either the creator being imperfect or simply evil”, but Buster did not think that way.

“Guorufaurua? Garuh, voaruwaoon.” (Why am I struggling to live? Huh, isn’t that obvious?)

The proud Buster stops in front of the relatively wide landing at the top of the staircase and his gaze is drawn to the hallway that leads to the adjacent spiral staircase.

Normally, he would not stray from the path that he usually takes, but… recently, there have been times when he has been thinking about it.

(With the current path I’m on, will I be able to truly win against the Chief someday?)

After a moment of hesitation, he walked along the corridor in search of new possibilities, and as soon as he crossed the eternally snow-white space and reached the new flight of stairs of the ultimate spiral staircase, his body became as heavy as lead and his consciousness became lighter as he was pulled back to reality…

Name: Buster (Male)

Race: Wolfish Kobold

Rank: Mixed Black Fur Werewolf

Skill: Arm Strengthening (Large / Effect is instantaneous), Intuitive Evasion, Paralyzing Claws, Diamond Blade (Specializes in Slashing with Fighting Spirit), Impact Reflex, Beastification, Humanization, Intelligence Improvement (Small / Constant)

Title: The Decisive Wolfdog

Weapon: Greatsword that has intense chips on the blade

Armament: Leather Armor 

“… Vuo, garuuoau oowaaan.” (… You changed again.)

“Wauh, ruaou rufa woruaaan.” (Yeah, my body feels more toned than usual.)

After being cleansed of the effects of the paralyzing poison by purification magic, Buster, whose developed fangs peeked out from his mouth, approached the giant scorpion with a sneer on his face and pulled out his greatsword that was stuck on it. After slightly swinging it and sending blood flying everywhere, he placed it back into the scabbard that hung on his back.

Lancer looked somewhat stunned as she watched the black-armed Kobold open and close his hand a few times to confirm the sensation of his developed muscles.

“Varua, kyuou varuuoaan.” (Anyway, let me heal you first before we head back.)

While insisting on healing him as she poked his bloodied left arm, Lancer concentrated “Healing Light” on her right palm and healed her injuries first.

Next, she pressed her paw against Buster’s flank that had sustained injuries from the earthen clods, and healed the wound with a warm healing light, after which the two Kobolds turned on their heels and disappeared among the trees.

This translation is brought to you by Nocturne Translations.

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T/N: Hello, I am sorry if I had been MIA since my last post in April since irl deadlines keep popping up and my schedule has been pretty hectic so far with language studies. I will be posting the remaining sponsored chapters for now (1/7). Thank you for all your support! -Nao