Chapter 24: Labyrinth of Shadows (6)
Time passed.
My eyes were droopy. My vision was hazy and colored red.
All the adrenaline was gone and what was left was the sheer willpower to not collapse.
[00:04:19_41]
[00:04:19_40]
[00:04:19_39]
Just a bit more. I just had to hold on for a while longer.
I was surrounded by a sea of ghouls and ran out of elixirs and potions long ago.
A human was not capable of such labor intensive tasks and did not possess the necessary endurance to last so long.
I was still holding on because I used almost all the resources I had on me.
The shield, invincibility amulet, potions, elixirs, and so on. I even enchanted my sword with the Book of Runes and it worked such wonders that with one swing, I could cut more than three ghouls.
Other than that, there was an important strategy that helped me last so long.
The ghouls were invading the town from one entry point—the large door on the outskirts.
Since the door was kept closed, the ghouls attacked it and tried to destroy it.
They would've succeeded had it remained closed, but I was quick enough to find this problem and correct it.
I made the townsmen open the gates partially and hold on to not let the ghouls slam it fully open.
The partial opening removed a lot of pressure from the door as the ghouls found a place to barge in from.
They were mindless creatures so they all rushed towards the only entry point available instead of breaking the door open.
This led to a steady influx of ghouls that could move swiftly, but with my sharp sword, I cut them all down.
I kept my sword in between the partially opened door like a barricade and as the ghouls tried to enter, they were beheaded instantly and got chopped like carrots on a chopping board.
I was happy with this strategy, but soon my sword's sharpness dwindled and it was unable to cut the ghouls as swiftly.
This let the ghouls put more force on the sword, and I had to eventually hold it tighter and stay grounded in one position.
My sword eventually couldn't take it anymore and I ended up enhancing it with the Book of Runes after telling the townsmen to close the door.
The closed door let me have a breather.
I took a leak during this time. This was one of the important things that no anime or novel mentioned.
How could those fucking protagonist train for thousands of hours in one single place? What about natural bowel and bladder movements?
There was hunger and sleep they needed to satiate too. How could they go on without it?
If the worldbuilding in those shows was done in a way where something was available to relieve all these mortal things then it made sense for them to train for multiple days. But usually, there was no such thing.
How could they all fucking go for all these hours without taking a piss!?
This was beyond me.
I was a normal human and I needed sleep, water, food, and had the urge to do number one and two like a normal person.
In any case, I went to take a leak, and when I came back, I found a few people from the town standing by the gate, holding wooden trays full of water and food.
"Hero, you need nourishment!"
"One cannot fight on an empty stomach!"
"Please eat this!"
This honestly baffled me more than it should've. These NPCs were acting in quite the realistic manner.
It was probably because it was in the Tower and wasn't actually a game made by mortal humans.
I didn't think much on this topic and focused on eating and battling.
The Book of Runestones was used and the sharpness returned to the sword along with strength and durability.
I could use it as a barricade again, but had a feeling that it would only hold on for a few hours extra before becoming blunt again.
When I had eaten enough, I had a strong urge to take a nap.
I was too tired and my body was starting to give up.
However, I knew I was doomed if I slept here.
The ghouls would break inside and kill me first, then the villagers.
Even if I didn't want to, I had to. So I got up and once again asked the people to partially open the door and fought.
The partial opening and closing was done multiple times. The frequency increased after a day had passed.
Before it was closing once every few hours, but then it became closing every hour, then every thirty minutes.
I was without sleep for a whole day and dead tired. I could collapse any moment, but I held on due to sheer will.
I had asked the people around me to do their best to hold on for as long as possible and keep the door closed.
I wanted to sleep. I really needed it.
They agreed with my request and kept the door closed for a solid 30 minutes.
I was woken up with a bucket of water splashed onto me. I asked the people to do this in case I did not get up.
My body was in shock from the cold water, but the shock was good as it totally awakened my senses.
I felt groggy and heavy. I did not want to battle. I did not want to do this.
I wanted to sleep.
It felt too tiring and my will was breaking up. I knew I wouldn't be able to last for long even if I tried.
I might genuinely die once again, and since death was inevitable, I might as well sleep and get killed in my sleep. It would be a painless and comforting death.
The sheer level of tiredness I had made me suicidal and think irrationally.
Thankfully, I was smart enough to be self aware and kept a stamina elixir handy.
I drank it and felt well rested and rejuvenated.
The suicidal thoughts were gone and what I instead thought of was:
If I die, I die. But I won't die a pussy. I'll hold on for as long as I can and use the resources properly.
With such a resolve, I held on till now.
However, everyone had their limits.
I was at my limits.
I have been fighting for almost 45-50 hours.
My body couldn't take it any more. I was swinging my sword on autopilot, not aware of what I was doing.
Now, when I felt totally out of it, I gazed at the last usable resource available in my inventory.
[Blood Dragon's Bone Elixir - Increases all physical attributes by 300% for 15 minutes but comes with a hidden risk.]
The last two words were the reason I did not use it yet.
The hidden risk could be anything and potentially life threatening. It was better not to use it.
However, given my circumstances right now, I had no other choice.
It was either to use this or collapse.
My eyes felt heavy and the vision dimmed. On their own, my hand holding the sword fended against the ghouls while the other hand had held a vial containing the elixir.
*Gulp*
In one go, I ingested the elixir.
A metallic taste and a rough texture spread on my tongue, then throat, and chest.
I felt my stomach get warmer, and warmer, and soon…
My vision went dark as my consciousness slowly seeped away…
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone