Otaku Translation: I Really Must Control You Now C53

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Chapter 53: Mithra’s "Clever Touch"

Often, craftsmen would add their own clever touches to staves. Take the one held—it had all the basic functions of a staff: amplifying and reducing mana consumption. Beyond that, it could also serve as a melee weapon for close combat when mana was depleted.

But the craftsman could never have imagined his creation being used in direct combat against an .

The deadly tip of the staff blazed with blue light, resembling a brilliant, deep galaxy. It clashed, separated, and clashed again with the ominous crimson sword—like a prolonged musical composition.

This was another manifestation of . Within its domain, everything fell into a special "rhythm," becoming predictable—even the user herself.

The blade of light slashed across the informant’s abdomen, leaving a ghastly wound. Black blood flowed steadily.

"Ta... fa..."

Amid its agony, the informant seemed to regain a sliver of awareness, but the flicker of clarity vanished quickly, replaced by a roar echoing through the corridor.

Crimson arcs of electricity exploded outward, writhing like scarlet serpents. The fierce gusts forced everyone present to squint their eyes shut.

Viya raised her hand to shield herself from the biting wind, then closed her eyes entirely, focusing solely on the glowing figure of her enemy.

Boom! The informant vanished from its spot, reappearing instantly before Viya. Crimson swordlight rained down like a sudden storm.

The descending arcs traced perfect curves, the blurred afterimages solidifying, breaking through the boundary of illusion to become floating greatswords following their trajectories.

Three streaks of crimson swordlight expanded in Viya’s pupils.

Clang, clang, clang… She raised her staff to her chest, blocking the ferocious three-hit combo. She could feel the staff trembling violently under the immense force.

Electric arcs coiled around the informant’s decaying body. Each swing of its sword was accompanied by two phantom blades.

The three crimson streaks overlapped at times, dispersed at others, alternating between fast and slow, colliding fiercely with the azure glow.

"Mr. Paladin!"

Mithra gazed at the clashing lights in the darkness, gasped sharply, and suddenly called out to .

"What is it?"

Victor turned his gaze away. His eyes stung from staring too long without blinking. He could no longer discern the traces of the two lords’ battle, only catching glimpses of swift, fleeting flashes of light.

"Let’s kill ourselves! I have a painless suicide laureate!"

Mithra declared solemnly.

She didn’t sound like she was joking.

"No need." Victor choked slightly, surprised by the suggestion.

He shook his head.

"The are fair. If there are two nightmare-level lords, the difficulty in other aspects will be reduced significantly. So…"

Mithra paused, realization dawning. "So this is actually… a good thing? Our tasks don’t require us to kill the lords, just avoid them."

She noticed that since the arrival of the two lords, the surrounding shadows had thinned considerably. They’d been standing here for so long without being attacked.

"You’re right. The best-case scenario is that the lords fight each other to mutual ruin, and we can take advantage of the situation."

Victor glanced at Mithra, surprised. He had assumed she was the type to lose her cool and throw tantrums when faced with problems.

"But we can’t just stand here, can we?" Mithra asked.

They were caught in a dilemma.

Ahead were two lords blocking the way, and the cost of approaching had already been demonstrated by the mutilated shadow they’d seen earlier.

As for retreating, the was imminent. If they returned the way they came, they’d have to rush back to the safe room. Even if the lords didn’t pursue them, it would disrupt their exploration rhythm—a slow death.

"Forward. We must move forward," Victor concluded after a few seconds of thought. "The corridor has widened, meaning we can bypass these two battling lords and continue exploring."

This method was risky. No one could guarantee the lords wouldn’t turn their attention to them when they got close.

"Wait a moment. I have another idea!"

Mithra turned to look at the four flickering swordlights in the darkness. A faint green laureate appeared on her forehead, then vanished just as quickly.

"What was that?" Victor asked, puzzled.

"Healing the lords," she said with a hint of regret. "It’s a shame I hail from the and am not skilled in healing, but it should stall them for a while."

The logic was simple. The two nightmare lords were locked in a fierce battle, too absorbed to pay attention to anyone else.

But if this delicate balance were disrupted, they—the explorers—would likely become the next targets. harbored innate hostility toward all intruders; peaceful coexistence was impossible.

Therefore!

In this situation, the longer the lords fought, the better.

The only pity was that Mithra couldn’t tell which side had the upper hand, so she couldn’t target her healing to the weaker party.

"Your mind works quickly. You’re very talented. Have you considered working for the association after graduation?" Victor praised her.

He knew someone like her, who clearly came from a well-connected background, probably already had their future mapped out by family. Still, it didn’t hurt to mention it.

"Please allow me to decline politely." Mithra’s face paled slightly, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

She was only a . Healing lords across tiers was already straining enough, let alone dealing with one whose condition was abnormal and resistant to healing.

Combined, the strain was immense.

"Let’s go."

Victor scanned the surroundings cautiously, trying not to let the dazzling swordlights distract him but instead focus on the lurking shadows in the darkness.

Holding the light source, they carefully moved to the left. Shadows occasionally lunged at them, but Victor dealt with them swiftly.

Even though the lords on the right appeared deeply engrossed in their battle, they still moved quietly, slowing their sword swings to avoid drawing attention.

...

had come to terms with everything.

He felt indifferent about the boss entering its second phase or the map changing afterward—it was all part of the normal process.

After switching maps, he instinctively activated the , revealing two glowing humanoid NPCs. One silhouette resembled his teammate, leading him to expect a righteous team-up. Instead, his teammate stood frozen, unmoving.

At first, he thought the game had glitched, but the boss unleashed one combo after another—fast attacks, feints, everything accounted for.

That was tolerable. He and the boss duked it out one-on-one while the NPC cheered silently from the sidelines—an impressive sight.

What truly broke him, however, was—

When the boss’s health bar was nearly depleted, teetering in an unbalanced state and moments away from being executed, the teammate he called the "most useful NPC" suddenly sprang into action.

Lin Qi immediately understood. This must be triggering a cutscene for a flashy multi-person execution.

He was curious about what spell the teammate had been preparing during all that fidgeting.

Then...

A flash of green light erupted, and both his and the boss’s health bars ticked up slightly.

"..."

Lin Qi stared at the screen, watching the informant recover from its unbalanced state thanks to the healing. He then glanced at his own relatively healthy health bar.

He sank into deep contemplation.