Chapter 129: The Ruined Site (Part Two)

Familiars are immensely mysterious, highly unique, and extraordinarily powerful existences.

If anyone still lacks a thorough understanding of this, the Elite Ghoul’s [Physical Immunity] trait right now will surely provide them with a profound realization.

To put it frankly, on Earth, familiars are like absolute cheating entities. Their bodies are entirely constructed from network energy, yet they manifest as digitized informational modules. This often grants familiars traits akin to monsters in a video game, which can be an immense headache for humans.

Following the cataclysm, everything changed. Humanity discovered that all objects, including themselves, now possessed informational prompts, among which attributes were an inevitable "existence." Currently, ten known attributes exist: [Wind], [Lightning], [Water], [Fire], [Light], [Dark], [Mind], [Physical], and [Omnipotent]. Much like any game, an entity possessing a specific attribute might suffer heavy damage from a counter-attribute, or be immune to damage from a certain attack type. For instance, a [Wind Attribute] entity is countered by [Lightning] attribute attacks. However, an attack of the same [Wind] attribute would deal negligible damage or even be directly negated.

The current Elite Ghoul is no different. As a mid-tier familiar, it is not actually exceptionally powerful on its own. In fact, aside from [Physical Immunity], this type of mid-tier familiar has nothing particularly remarkable about it. Furthermore, its resistance to magic-based attacks is remarkably poor. In online gaming terms, if a mage were present right now, every hit would be a critical strike, and a single combo of five fireballs would be enough to send it straight to the afterlife.

Yet, as Madeline stated, its specific attributes are an absolute nightmare for Faren and the others.

Both Faren and Eruca rely on physical-attribute attack patterns. Madeline is also specialized in physical combat while dabbling in auxiliary skills. Much like the Elite Ghoul, Madeline possesses her own traits: [Physical Evasion], [Lightning Nullification], and [Light Resistance]. Compared to the Elite Ghoul, Madeline boasts even more traits. Moreover, Madeline’s [Physical Evasion] is just as cheating a trait as the Elite Ghoul’s [Physical Nullification]. The so-called [Physical Evasion] means that any physical attacks Madeline encounters inflict zero damage to her physical form. Whether it is bullets, axes, boulders, or even an entire mountain crashing down, it is utterly impossible for them to hit Madeline. Even when she attacks an enemy, any recoil force generated is merely brushed off her body, transferring instead into the air or other objects Madeline is touching, as if her physical form does not truly exist at all.

This defies all known science, but who bothers with science nowadays?

Unfortunately, when it comes to attribute-based attacks, Madeline only knows a single spell: [Lightning Strike]. Most of the skills she has mastered are healing and defensive auxiliary types, which offer little help in this scenario. As for whether her lone lightning strike can defeat the enemy... at least judging by the cat-eared maid's words, she clearly lacked confidence.

"Why would a familiar suddenly appear here?"

Although the current situation was extremely tricky, Faren showed no signs of retreating. They had encountered far more troublesome entities in the past. In Faren's memory, the most headache-inducing familiar he had ever faced was a high-tier Shinigami, whose traits included [Physical Nullification] and the reflection of all attributes except [Wind]. This was even more absurd than nullification or absorption, meaning it was utterly impossible to attack it with anything other than [Wind Attribute] skills; otherwise, the attacks were either ignored or reflected back to strike the caster.

Any trait tied to [Reflection], [Nullification], [Absorption], or [Evasion] is a nuisance. When prefixed with the word [Physical], it practically acts as the ultimate nemesis for most humans. The only stroke of luck now was that the enemy possessed [Physical Nullification] rather than [Physical Absorption]. If it were [Absorption], Faren and Eruca's attacks not only would fail to inflict any damage on the Elite Ghoul, but would actually heal it in return.

The more they fought, the more energized and comfortable the target would become... That would mark the beginning of a vicious cycle.

What puzzled Faren even more, however, was why a familiar had appeared here in the first place. If this familiar had been lurking within the research facility all along, the Caesar Legion and that caravan ought to have been wiped out by it long ago. Yet, according to the intelligence obtained from the Fortune Society, they had found no trace of any familiar at the time. Otherwise, the Caesar Legion wouldn't have been scavenging about so happily.

"Perhaps it wandered here by accident, or perhaps it was drawn by the commotion of the Caesar Legion's battle and decided to take up residence. You know how it is, Master—a familiar's reasoning is always bizarre and defies generalization."

"That is true..."

Hearing Madeline's reply, Faren abandoned the thought of investigating the cause further. As Madeline said, a familiar's mindset is perpetually eccentric and cannot be generalized. Perhaps it had been slumbering inside until the arrival of humans awakened it, or perhaps it had simply stumbled upon the place by chance. Regardless, since matters had already reached this point, there was no need to dwell on such details anymore.

The only thing Faren needed to do now was simple... Find a way to defeat it, or...

"Madeline, hold it off! Eruca, let's move!"

"Yes, Master!"

Hearing Faren's command, Madeline immediately acknowledged it. The cat-eared maid then lifted the hem of her skirt, drew a spiked club from within, and gazed at the ghoul before her. With a soft cry, she raised the club and charged straight at the creature. Facing the oncoming cat-eared maid, the ghoul let out a furious roar, raised its right arm, and smashed it downward toward Madeline with all its might.

"Thud!"

The spiked club collided with the ghoul's swinging fist, producing a muffled impact. The immense force, capable of sending a train flying, left no visible effect on the ghoul's body. Meanwhile, facing an impact capable of easily shattering a thick concrete wall, Madeline’s body swayed slightly, and the earth beneath her feet instantly fractured and collapsed downward.

[Physical Nullification] versus [Physical Evasion]. The first round ended in a draw.

"Eruca, strike!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Prompted by Faren's order, Eruca instantly adjusted the laser rifle in her hands and unleashed a barrage upon the ghoul. Countless laser beams shot from the muzzle, striking the ghoul's massive frame.

Although, in terms of attributes, laser beams condensed from energy did not fall under the category of [Physical Nullification], human-made firearms were still not pure attribute-based damage sources. Consequently, facing Eruca's assault, the ghoul didn't even bother to dodge, and the damage inflicted by the lasers striking its body was negligible.

To put it in online gaming terms, the damage each laser beam dealt to the ghoul was likely in the single digits.

Regardless, Eruca's flying barrage provided excellent cover. Seizing the opportunity, Madeline dashed forward in a single bound, raising her spiked club to smash it forcefully against the ghoul. Accompanied by her movement, a bolt of lightning materialized out of nowhere, roaring downward to strike the ghoul. This time, the ghoul finally showed a reaction—its massive body was knocked backward by the powerful lightning strike, and scorch marks appeared across its paper-thin skin.

The attribute was wrong!

Seeing this, Faren couldn't help but frown. If the ghoul's weakness were [Lightning], Madeline's lightning strike just now should have been enough to paralyze it. Yet, the strike failed to induce paralysis; the ghoul merely paused for a brief instant before recovering instantly. This indicated that while Madeline's attack had indeed dealt damage, it wasn't particularly severe—at best, falling well within the normal range.

At this rate, defeating this creature would prove exceedingly difficult.

"Roar————!!"

Just as Faren was deep in thought, the ghoul seemed provoked by Madeline's lightning strike. It let out an angry roar and suddenly raised both arms high into the air. Seeing this, Madeline froze for a fraction of a second before immediately looking toward Faren and Eruca.

"Master, Miss Eruca, get out of here immediately!"

"Fall back, Eruca!"

This was not Faren's first time battling a familiar. The moment Madeline issued her warning, he activated [Shadow Dash] and sprinted backward at top speed. Eruca, however, was a fraction slower. By the time she reacted and attempted to retreat in Faren's footsteps, the ghoul's raised fists had already slammed down hard into the ground.

"Boom!!"

The immense force caused the entire terrain to shake violently. At the same time, Faren felt the air momentarily condense into a solid entity, transforming into a surging wave that rushed toward him.

Area-of-effect attack!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"

At that moment, Faren pushed [Shadow Dash] to its absolute limit. Like a phantom, he darted rapidly through the corridor, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he shifted his position, resembling a surfer dodging towering swells atop a roaring ocean wave. The invisible, powerful shockwave brushed right past Faren's body. The slightest miscalculation would have dragged him into the roaring torrent, reducing him to a helpless vessel amidst towering billows and sealing his doom.

Madeline, naturally, had no need to worry about such hazards. All of the ghoul's attacks were physical; even if she stood completely still and let the ghoul wail on her, its strength could never connect with an entity possessing the [Physical Evasion] trait. The same applied to the ghoul—even if it were made to catch a nuclear warhead bare-handed, it would suffer zero physical damage.

Eruca, on the other hand, was deeply unfortunate. She was still far too unfamiliar with familiars, especially elite ones of this caliber. Although she had retreated immediately at Faren's warning, she was still a beat too slow. The young girl's body jerked violently as she let out a cry of agony, flying backward like someone struck by a speeding sports car driven by a reckless driver, crashing heavily against the wall. Following the impact, Eruca coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed limply to the ground.

"Miss Eruca!"

"That idiot."

Witnessing this scene, Madeline and Faren moved anxiously to step forward. But the ghoul's reflexes were just as swift. Unlike mutated beasts that fought purely on instinct, familiars possessed intelligence. Their personalities might occasionally be eccentric, but not a single one of them was foolish. Seeing Eruca go down, the ghoul lunged forward in a flash, completely ignoring the spiked club Madeline swung from the side, and threw a heavy punch directly at the fallen girl.

Amidst a deafening explosion and a billowing cloud of dust, the vision of everyone present was completely obscured. (To be continued.)