Chapter 32: Boss Monster. |
As the boss monster charged, its grotesque teeth spread wide as if to devour me, I aimed my left arm at its upper body. I could fire a total of three arrows in rapid succession. This time, my arrows were imbued with a sharp magical energy capable of piercing even ordinary steel.
I took aim and fired.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
With a sound far more powerful than before, the arrows tore through the air. Though released with a slight delay, I could see them heading straight for the center of the monster’s brow. However...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
My arrows struck with a harsh metallic sound and fell uselessly to the ground. They couldn’t pierce the boss monster’s hide. Of course, it wasn’t without effect. The boss monster flinched for a moment, as if it felt the shockwave of mana projected inward.
Even with just a small amount of mana, those arrows had twice the power of normal ones. And it withstood them with its hide alone? I wondered what was going on in the angels’ heads to place such a creature in the Rite of Passage, but it seemed I had achieved my initial goal. I had definitely succeeded in halting the creature’s accelerating pursuit.
The boss monster recoiled further, as if dazed from the impact. I decided I’d chew Seraph out for this later and immediately turned to follow my group.
Looking ahead, I saw the others running hard. Judging by the remaining distance, they would soon be within 100 meters of the goal. At this rate, it might be a close call for me, but the kids would certainly be safe.
Whoooosh!
My worst fear had become a reality. The boss monster was cunning and meticulous. It knew that if it kept chasing, it wouldn’t be able to catch a single one of them. Its recoiling posture wasn’t a reaction to the shock of my arrows; it was preparing for a massive leap.
A giant shadow fell over the clearing, engulfing my body. The boss monster was looking past me, at the group running ahead. An Hyeon was in the lead, with Han-byeol and Yu-jeong close behind. An Sol was also running with all her might, but her lack of basic stamina had caused her to fall behind. The other three might be safe, but An Sol was in a dangerous position.
Before I could even shout a warning, the boss monster, which had been soaring through the air in a long arc, landed with all its might right behind An Hyeon’s group. A tremendous sound rang out, shaking the ground to its core. The vibration was so powerful that even An Hyeon, who was running at the front, stumbled. Seeing that, my mind went blank, and all thought ceased.
And in that moment, a message appeared before my eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Potential Ability Mind's Eye (Tranquil) (Rank A+)
has been activated. The mind's eye that sees not the outward appearance, but the inner self of a target. It refers to the ability to introspectively observe oneself and perceive all things, or a phenomenon with a similar effect. A mind honed to its absolute limit can maintain composure even under S-rank or lower mental contamination magic.
...
...
...
"Hoo..."
The heat in my head cooled in an instant. My mind, which had been blank and thoughtless, filled with cold, hard reason. My previously narrow perspective widened, and I began to see things that had been invisible to me before.
And then, I laughed. I couldn’t help but laugh.
What on earth had I been worried about until now? What was a situation like this? I had faced far more difficult moments, more painful moments, more breathtaking moments, many times over.
I feel no fear, no dread. I won’t overexert myself. I will always draw a line at what I can do and give my best within that boundary. This was a motto I lived by during my first run in the Hall Plain.
Half-baked strength doesn't cut it in the Hall Plain. People who revealed their outstanding talents and abilities only to die before they could fully blossom... Seeing them, I vowed to never reveal my true self. I lived so completely in the shadows that no one knew that I, a Sword Master, had a mere 48 points in magic power. After ten years of activity in the Hall Plain, that attitude had become a kind of obsession.
Of course, I still believed I should act that way if necessary. But then I would be no different from my past self. The same methods will only yield the same results.
When I failed to protect my older brother, when I lost the Clan Lord I trusted, followed, and loved right before my eyes, I was filled with regret. I didn’t want to repeat that path, and didn't I return to change that fate? Now, I wanted to be different.
In a single moment, I analyzed the entire battlefield and calculated the optimal course of action. I precisely calculated the necessary mana, drew it forth, and sought the most efficient plan. I no longer intended to hide my true self to a suffocating degree. If it was necessary, I would act. Of course, getting caught could be troublesome, but the solution was simple: don’t get caught. I now had both the ability and the confidence to do so.
My analysis was complete in less than a second. I located An Sol and confirmed her survival. The first thing I had to do was draw the boss monster’s aggro. Its massive body was already blocking me from the group's line of sight anyway. I drew up as much mana as I could, gathering enough in my arrows to pierce its hide. This time, there was no need to pretend to aim; I drew the bowstring immediately.
Fwing! Fwing! Fwing!
Startled by the intense killing intent from behind, the monster flinched and turned its head. But the arrows flew at a speed on a completely different level than before, targeting the creature. With no time to react, the three arrows embedded themselves in the boss monster's chest. But there was more.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mana-infused arrows exploded like bombs, easily shattering its hide and burrowing inside. The effect was immediate.
"KRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Hurts, doesn't it? It must. Watching the boss monster let out a pained scream, I ran at full speed. My Third Eye confirmed that An Hyeon, Han-byeol, and Yu-jeong were still running, albeit stumbling. It seemed they hadn't noticed An Sol had fallen behind. Good. That actually makes things better for me...
Wait. An Hyeon stopped.
"Sol! Sol! Sol, answer me!"
I heard An Hyeon's desperate cries, as if he had just realized his sister was missing. I inwardly called him a fool and quickened my pace. The distance between me and the monster closed in an instant. The howling boss monster saw me approaching and raised its massive right hand high into the sky. Its entire arm trembled; it seemed thoroughly enraged.
I had intentionally weakened the attack so it wouldn’t die, but this ungrateful beast didn’t know that. Of course, it had no way of knowing my thoughts and swung its hand down at me without hesitation. The flashing claws on its fingers were like a well-honed reaper’s scythe, slashing fiercely toward me. A normal person would have been paralyzed with fear, but to my eyes, its speed was slow enough to make me yawn.
Maintaining my acceleration, I kicked off the ground with one foot and quickly bent my lower body, tilting it parallel to the ground. Its claws grazed past my face, and a few strands of my hair were cut, fluttering into the air. But I had successfully dodged the boss monster’s attack and slipped inside its guard. It was a clean slide. And in that direction, I saw An Sol, coughing with both hands on the ground.
"Cough! Cough!"
The air around her was thick with dust, likely kicked up by the monster’s landing. In the past, I would have comforted and reassured An Sol, but there was no time or thought for that now. I quickly helped her up and swept her into my arms in a princess carry. She looked startled, not expecting me to come, and then spoke in a trembling voice.
"Su... Su-hyeon oppa...?"
"Be quiet. Let's get away from this thing first."
As I finished speaking, I fired the three arrows I had nocked while running. Without checking the result, I started running through the dust cloud. I heard the creature's mournful scream again; it seemed I had hit another sore spot.
An Sol's face was a sight to behold. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at me, as if she were seeing her savior. An Hyeon, who had just been about to turn back despite Yu-jeong and Han-byeol's protests, saw me emerge from the dust and his jaw dropped.
The funny thing was the rapid-fire change in An Hyeon's expression as he looked at me. First, a blank face, then a relieved one, and finally, a tearful one. Seeing another guy look at me like that was unsettling.
Anyway, it looked like the siblings were about to have a joint cry-fest. Thinking they were being overly dramatic, I kept running.
Just then, I saw Kim Han-byeol shouting something at me with an urgent look on her face. A chill ran down my spine; as I expected, the monster wasn't going to let us go so easily. The boss monster's tail whipped back and forth like a lash, aiming to strike my back. If that writhing, flexible tail hit us, I might be fine, but An Sol wouldn't be able to withstand the shock transmitted through my body.
A thought suddenly occurred to me: I wanted to kill this thing. Defeating a Hall Plain boss monster that no one had ever beaten could be considered an achievement, and there might be some kind of reward. Beyond that, as a user, I just wanted to take down a boss monster. To do that, I needed to separate myself from An Hyeon's group for a bit. I decided to take the hit.
Soon, the monster's tail slammed into my back. With a dull thud, a massive impact surged through me. It didn’t hurt, but my body would be sent flying by reflex. The force was too great to ignore.
I summoned my mana to absorb the shock that had penetrated my body. The basic principle was inspired by the martial art concept of using four ounces to move a thousand pounds, but it was a technique I had modified to my own liking, allowing me to control and distribute internal force. It was originally a skill to mitigate overwhelming impacts by spreading the shock throughout the entire body, but I had used it in this way before.
I transferred just enough shock for An Sol to handle and then threw her forward, letting her fly ahead. I directed the remaining force as much as possible to the side and rolled my body away. Just before we were both sent flying, I whispered into An Sol's ear.
"The moment you get up, run straight for the warp gate."
Before An Sol could reply, our bodies were thrown violently. Me to the left, and she in the direction of the group. My useless(?) luck points must have activated at that moment, because An Sol's body landed precisely in An Hyeon's arms.
I, too, hit the ground and rolled, but I had to get back up immediately. This boss monster was clearly on a different level from the other creatures in the Rite of Passage. Recognizing me as a threat, it didn't pause to gloat after landing a hit but immediately leaped toward my position. It was exuding a thick killing intent from its entire body; it seemed I had its full attention.
KABOOM!
With the sound of a cannonball, the ground shook violently again. I had dodged, of course, but my body was still being rocked mercilessly. Even more enraged that I hadn't been hit, the monster began to stomp repeatedly where I had been standing.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Yikes. Eek. Yikes. Eek.
Whoa.
"Oppa!"
"Hyeong!"
Yeeeeeees? I wanted to reply, but I managed to keep my mouth shut to maintain the stoic older brother image I had built up. Normally, I would have waved my hand and smiled to show I was fine, but not now. I waved my hand to signal them to run away, but the group didn't budge. In the end, I had to shout at the top of my lungs again.
"Hurry and run! You idiots! Run to the warp gate!"
My words seemed to cause a brief commotion, and then I saw An Hyeon forcibly dragging a protesting Han-byeol away. Look at that guy. When An Sol was caught, he broke free to run back, but now he doesn't even pretend to. Just as I was about to click my tongue, I quickly jumped to the side. The monster's foot was stomping down again.
I was frustrated that I was just dodging a creature that was no match for me, but I held back for now. Since I had decided to kill it, I was planning to properly mess it up once the kids were gone. The area was once again shrouded in a cloud of dust from the monster's indiscriminate stomping.
To secure a clear line of sight, I used mana to erase my presence and moved behind the monster. My presence vanished in an instant. Lacking eyes, the boss monster's head whipped around frantically, desperately searching for me. I watched its tic-like movements with a bored expression before turning my head.
Fortunately, An Hyeon had managed to drag Kim Han-byeol away, and all four of them seemed to have just reached the warp gate. His hair was a mess, a clear sign of how much she must have struggled. To be honest, the sight was pretty funny.
As the group arrived, the warp gate began to activate. A translucent barrier formed around them, and the blue sphere of mana in the center began to vibrate. The transfer to the Summoning Room had begun. Seeing the faint blue light enveloping their bodies, I let out a sigh of relief. For the most part, my job was done.
Now, all that was left was...
Watching the dust begin to settle, I quickly dropped to the dirt floor. I figured I would get an earful later for not coming to the warp gate sooner. Han-byeol was quite good at arguing, so I was preparing an excuse: the impact from the tail was so great that I couldn't get up at the time.
The dust had completely settled by now, and I could see the group, their faint blue light growing more intense. Like their first transfer from the Preparation Room, their bodies were slowly disappearing from the feet up. Lying on the ground, I propped myself up slightly and waved at them. It had no special meaning, just a signal to say goodbye and see you later.
But then... suddenly, An Hyeon wiped his eyes with one hand, and Lee Yu-jeong collapsed to her knees (which was a little strange, since her feet had already disappeared) and burst into tears. Kim Han-byeol also covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking, while An Sol waved her hand in my direction, tears streaming down her face.
What... what is this? I really didn't mean to make them cry...
============================ Author's Note ============================
1. Typos fixed.
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