Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 5: Three Versus One

Why did the monsters have to be so scary?

I never realized how brave somebody had to be in order to fight constantly with these creatures, constantly delving into Gates in order to make a living.

Ahh...I just want to live quietly, maybe get a cubicle job like this and spend my life in peace.

But knowing this damn Pseudo-Player system, it wasn’t going to let me off so easily.

I barely managed to duck under one of the cubicles just before they managed to spot where I was.

’Don’t see me, don’t hear me, don’t sniff me out!’

But there was no one here to help me except myself, so I had to think of a plan. My only way to kill these things was to take them out one by one.

And the only Spell that proved useful so far was [Push], though there was still one I hadn’t used yet.

Even so...a three versus one was way too unreasonable.

If this was still a game, I would’ve selected [Attack], maybe throw a [Skill] in there somewhere and the enemies would politely wait for me.

’Maybe a surprise attack to even the odds could work.’

Very quietly, I managed to pull the communication device out to speak with Ruby.

"Hey, can you see from the camera in the administration room, on the fourth floor."

[Yeah, but there is quite a lot of static in between...]

"Good, relay me the positions of the wolves. Tell me when one gets isolated and comes my way."

[...Actually one’s coming towards you now. Five o’ clock.]

I turned off the device, focusing on its footsteps. It was approaching slowly, definitely trying to sniff out my scent from before.

Tap. tap. tap...

’Closer...’

I scrounged around the cubicle, managing to find a boxcutter that was just perfect to use as a makeshift knife.

Tap...Tap...

’Just a little bit more...’

Tap...

’Now!’

I sprung out from beneath the cubicle, putting one hand on top of the wolf’s side.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type Spell—]

[Push]

THUD—!

The wolf was blasted backward before it knew what even happened, smashing into the nearby desk and sending stationery into the air.

It tried to stand up, but the one second of confusion was all I needed to move in close and jam the boxcutter into its lower jaw, piercing its weak point and causing the wolf to go limp instantly.

I was going to have a little celebratory moment to myself for killing another Ironmane Wolf, and also a moment of sadness for not gaining any EXP.

But then I realized there were two others, already sprinting in my direction from the commotion.

[Nolan! They heard that!]

"I figured!"

I grabbed the boxcutter and tried to pull it free, but it was stuck deep in the wolf’s jaw.

"Come on, come on, come on—!"

However, the first wolf already rounded the corner, causing me to give up on the boxcutter entirely.

It lunged across the cubicle aisle, claws tearing through carpet and broken plastic as it came straight for me.

I couldn’t use any more cheap tricks or ambushes anymore, I had to face them head-on.

Loading the new sequence into my Spell Driver, I had to rely on this final spell to bail me out of this situation.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Physical Enhancement Type Spell—]

[Boost]

Blue particles surged through my legs, causing my body to shoot backward like someone had yanked me from the spine.

The wolf’s jaws snapped shut inches from my face, and the wind of its bite brushed past my nose.

"Whoa—!"

I slammed into the side of a cubicle, bounced off it, and nearly tripped over my own feet.

Being the dumbass that I was, I thought Boost made me better at moving, reinforcing my physical abilities, that kind of thing.

But no, it only made me faster, which meant I was now an idiot moving at dangerously high speeds.

The wolf twisted around, but I was already stumbling backward through the aisle. My shoulder managed to clip a desk, my hip into a chair, and my knee into a trash can.

[Nolan, behind you!]

"I know!"

[No, behind you behind you!]

"What does that even mean?!"

I got what she meant instantly.

The second wolf burst through the cubicle wall and just barely managed to miss me with its claws as I threw myself down on instinct.

Before it could recover, I planted both hands against the floor and kicked off with everything I had.

I practically flew across the office floor, straight at the second wolf who had now crashed after its failed attempt and was now in a vulnerable spot.

’Gotcha.’

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type Spell—]

[Push]

THUD—!

The wolf’s head snapped backward as its entire body flew across the aisle, crashing through three cubicle walls before slamming into a glass meeting room.

CRASH!

Glass exploded everywhere, which I narrowly avoided. But doing so caused me to land badly, rolling across the carpet and slamming into the leg of a desk hard enough to see stars.

"Urgh...!"

My legs hurt...actually scratch that, everything in my body hurt.

I seriously considered staying there. The carpet was soft enough to lull me into a deep slumber.

But the fact that the threat still remained caused me to stand up as best as I could.

[Nolan!]

Ruby’s voice crackled through the communication device.

[Nolan, answer me! Are you alive?!]

"I’m alright."

Okay, two down, one more to go. The problem was.

"Where the hell is it..."

[It’s still in the room. I can see it on the camera, but there’s too much static. It’s moving around the edge of the office.]

The last Ironmane Wolf stepped out from behind a row of broken partitions, intending to confront me head-on.

But instead of charging at me, its body started to shake.

At first, I though it was growling harder, like some kind of intimidation tactic. No, maybe it was injured?

Maybe it had finally realized it was fighting against the (fake) protagonist and decided to die politely? As if.

The steel spikes along its neck began to fall off.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Its mane dropped to the floor piece by piece, hitting the tiles with a metallic sound.

[What the hell is it doing...?]

I didn’t know either, but the answer came to me a second later, dragged out from useless corner of the game’s bestiary.

The Ironmane Wolves had a said iron-mane to protect their weak lower jaw from ordinary and badly aimed attacks.

But when cornered, it could shed those heavy iron spikes to increase speed.

In the game, it had just been a minor mechanic. A small line of text. A cute little speed buff before I clicked through the next turn.

[Ironmane Wolf has entered Frenzied State.]

But in real life? Well, it had literally just barreled into me so fast that all I could see was a blur.

"GAH—!"

Pain exploded across my ribs as I flew sideways and crashed into a cubicle wall. The cheap partition snapped under my weight, and I tumbled through the remains, barely keeping my head from hitting the floor.

[Nolan!]

The wolf was already coming again.

I threw my palm out on instinct, trying to catch it with a nice timing.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type Spell—]

[Push]

THUD—!

The blast tore through the office aisle, ripping papers and loose chairs into the air.

But the wolf wasn’t there anymore.

It had already leapt sideways, claws digging into the side of a cubicle partition before launching itself toward me from another angle.

’This bastard dodged?!’

Damn it, I wasn’t confident enough to use [Boost] again without ripping my leg off. And against something like this, I was just flailing around and hoping it would make a mistake.

It knew I could blast it away if it charged in, so it stopped charging in.

How thoughtful and intelligent...was what I would say if I wanted to die right then and there.

[Nolan, behind you!]

The wolf slammed into me from the side, jaws snapping down toward my shoulder. I barely managed to twist away, but its claws raked across my arm before disappearing again.

"Gghhk—!"

Damn it, I can’t just sit here like a piece of meat on a hook. I needed to stop it from moving.

But how?

Yet, my eyes managed to find the broken meeting room where the second wolf had crashed through.

The glass wall was open, leaving the outer window exposed and definitely vulnerable enough to crack from any impact.

The fourth floor...definitely high enough to kill something if it went down badly.

’This is kind of insane...but it’s all I’ve got.’

I backed toward the broken meeting room, stepping over glass but keeping my eyes on every gap between the partitions.

[Nolan...? What are you doing?]

"Something stupid."

[Please don’t say that.]

"Then something protagonist-like."

[What does that even mean?!]

As the wolf lunged at me, I moved forward just enough to dodge any of my vital organs from being hit.

Its eyes widened realizing this was a trap, or maybe I imagined it. Either way, its jaws came down on my left arm before I could fully regret my decision.

CHOMP!

"Gghhk—!"

It hurt.

It hurt so much that I almost forgot the plan.

The wolf’s weight slammed into me. But it was enough momentum that I managed to turn around so that it faced the window instead of me.

Now that it was stuck on my arm and couldn’t dodge, I placed my right hand straight on its face.

"Have a good trip."

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type Spell—]

[Push]

THUD—!

The wolf’s body shot backward like it had been hit by a truck. The cracked window behind it shattered instantly.

CRASH!

For a split second, the Ironmane Wolf hung in the air, red eyes wide, limbs flailing against before gravity took it.

It fell out of the building and disappeared into the darkness below.

"Grrghh..."

I lurched forward, but managed to stay on my feet, holding onto the arm that was badly injured where the wolf had bit me.

Thank god these things don’t have poison, or it would’ve been much worse.

"Ruby...I’m starting to think I can’t go from floor-to-floor, hoping to not run into any more of them."

[Well of course! But what other options do you have?]

"..."

"Ruby, can you try to find me where the backup generator is? Along with the location of the eastern elevators?"

[You aren’t trying to do what I think you are...are you?]

"I’m doing exactly that."

[Well...thankfully, the backup generator should be on this floor, and the eastern elevators seem to be okay despite everything.]

[The generator seems to be where the IT department works at, and the elevator is just near the executive office.]

"Thanks."

I limped toward the direction Ruby pointed me toward, but honestly I was surprised to even be alive right now.

Protagonists really do have the worst hardships...

But when I reached the IT department and saw the backup generator room door already ripped off its hinges, I realized something worse.

I hadn’t been the first one to think of this route.