Tower - Chimera (Part 4)
Lee Suyoung’s Water Sphere Shot and Fireball, along with William’s three magic arrows, struck the exact center of the lion head’s forehead.
“What?! It didn't break?!”
The heavily armored climber, Jonathan, who had been standing at the very front with a shield the size of his own body, drawing the Chimera’s attacks with his ability, gasped in shock at the pristine gem.
“No! It’s not completely fine!”
At Diana’s shout, everyone looked closer. Fine cracks had indeed formed on the gem embedded in the lion’s head.
Sensing that its weakness had been targeted, the Chimera grew even more ferocious. It backed away, glaring at Lee Suyoung and William, who were keeping their distance.
“Didn't you say that Asian guy shattered the gem on the goat's head in one blow?!” Jonathan demanded, glancing back at Diana.
Diana stole a quick look at the goat head and replied, “That’s probably because Han Jiwoo’s attack was stronger than theirs... Watch out!”
While Jonathan was briefly distracted, the two climbers handling the tail lost their grip on it. Seizing the opening, the tail launched a surprise attack from Jonathan’s blind spot.
The snake-headed tail bared its glistening, venomous fangs, lunging to swallow Jonathan whole.
I rushed forward, slicing through the snake’s neck before it could bite.
“Ugh!”
I was sent flying, coughing up blood as the Chimera’s tail whipped me.
The snake head wasn't completely severed, but because the cut went more than halfway through, the momentum of the swing tore it completely off.
“Jiwoo!” Diana called out my name in panic, but I immediately pushed myself up and waved her off.
Coughing up blood wasn't due to internal organ damage; my mouth had simply been cut.
The real problem was my left arm. I had instinctively reinforced my combat suit and blocked with it, but the suit couldn't completely absorb the impact.
Just as a bulletproof vest prevents penetration but still leaves deep bruises or breaks bones, my bracer was completely crushed, shattering the bone beneath.
The nerves in my arm were severed, and the sharp pain of bone piercing flesh made me break out in a cold sweat. I grit my teeth.
Fortunately, during my preparatory studies, I had learned how to seal acupoints.
Striking acupoints was only possible starting from the 2nd-rate realm. Coincidentally, in the 2nd-rate realm, when it came to internal cultivation, I was an even greater genius than the Heaven's Martial Body.
I struck the acupoints on my left arm, blocking all sensation from it.
It’s my first time actually sealing acupoints, and I didn't expect my own body to be the testbed. Still, I'm glad to see my studies didn't go to waste.
“Keep attacking!” I yelled to Lee Suyoung and William, telling them to keep aiming for the forehead as I charged back at the Chimera.
The tamer climber fighting alongside me seemed to have a special ability to buff his wolves. He fought well but had already lost one wolf.
I wondered if he'd be fine with just one wolf, but he pulled out another flute from his pocket, blew it, and summoned another.
It seemed his limit was controlling two at a time, but he kept multiple tamed beasts stored in his pocket.
Did he buy that flute from the Tower Shop? Or was it created by an ability? Can it only hold monsters? If it can hold objects too, it would be incredibly convenient.
I suppressed my chronic curiosity and slashed at the Chimera’s front leg.
With the snake head severed, the tail could no longer move independently, making its movements much simpler.
We had to face the lion head, which now had full control of the body, from the front while also dealing with the tail. But the werewolf, Bogard, and the metal climber fighting from the rear seemed to have a much easier time.
With its backside constantly being poked, the lion head couldn't focus entirely on killing me.
Lee Suyoung and William’s attacks kept targeting the exact center of the lion’s forehead. William’s magic arrows occasionally missed and hit the lion’s face, but Lee Suyoung’s Water Sphere Shots and Fireballs hit dead center every single time.
“You said you learned archery, and you weren't kidding! Incredible!”
“Ehehe, *ahem*! This is nothing!”
Lee Suyoung beamed at William’s praise before clearing her throat and trying to look serious.
She seemed to love being praised. I noted to give her some compliments later.
While Jonathan used his ability to draw the Chimera’s attention, I delivered a deep slash to the Chimera’s left front leg.
“Your left arm...!” Jonathan gasped, noticing my left arm as we fought side-by-side.
“Focus. We’re still in the middle of a fight.”
As I sliced the front leg, the Chimera glared at me obsessively again. I used my lightfoot and footwork techniques to dodge and slash with everything I had.
I felt my proficiency in lightfoot techniques rising faster in this single battle than it had during years of training. Of course, this was because I was focusing with my life on the line, drawing out all my accumulated experience, but it was undoubtedly a priceless experience.
Indeed, people perform best when pushed to the brink.
The tail whipped toward me again. I leaped high, instantly swapping my sword into my inventory for a handaxe, and threw it straight at the center of the forehead.
Though it wasn't as powerful as when I had reinforced it with internal qi while suspended in mid-air to finish off the goat head, it still carried plenty of force.
The Chimera, perhaps traumatized by the handaxes I had thrown earlier, hurriedly twisted its head to dodge, but the handaxe struck it directly in the right eye.
“Roaaaar!!”
“Ugh!”
The Chimera let out a pain-filled shriek and lashed out with its right front leg in a rage. I used my Double Jump Anklet to leap once more in mid-air, dodging the attack.
However, I couldn't dodge the tail that followed.
“Cough!”
This time, it hit my torso directly without any guard, making me spit blood.
“Gurgle...”
Seeing blood bubbles rise as I breathed, it wasn't just a cut inside my mouth; a broken rib had likely punctured my lung.
Unable to move due to the pain, the Chimera saw its chance and whipped its tail at me again.
Clang!
But the Chimera’s tail was blocked by Jonathan and Diana, who had rushed over.
“Are you alright?!”
“I'll heal you right away! Oh my god! Your left arm!”
I grabbed Diana’s hand as it reached for my left arm and pulled it toward my chest. My chest injury was far more critical.
Seeing me spit blood, Diana used her silver divine power to heal my chest.
It wasn't just a simple healing; I could feel my bones sliding back into place and knitting together. Feeling the sensation meant I also felt the agonizing pain of the bones moving.
Though it was brief, I was drenched in cold sweat from the pain.
As expected, divine power could heal.
“Now, your left arm...”
“No, *ptui*!” I spat out the blood remaining in my mouth and said, “We're still fighting. Save your strength.”
In truth, Diana’s divine power seemed to be about half-depleted after healing my chest. Since her hardening ability also cost divine power, consuming more of her strength was dangerous.
“We have the alchemist, and even if we didn't, I have potions.”
Of course, I had no intention of using potions. I could just recreate my avatar to fully heal, so why waste valuable potions?
With the two tanks who had been blocking the Chimera’s attacks at the front line sticking to me, the other melee damage dealers couldn't hold out.
In the brief moment they looked away, three more wolves had died, and the tamer was fighting with just one wolf and a fragile goblin.
“Aaargh! My arm!”
The metal climber, despite turning his entire body to metal, couldn't withstand the Chimera’s raw power, and his arm was bent in a direction it shouldn't bend.
The werewolf seemed to be holding out, but how was metal weaker than fur?
“Your opponent is me! You profane beast!” Jonathan roared, using his ability to draw the Chimera’s attention.
As the Chimera turned its head, I threw another handaxe, aiming for the exact center of its forehead.
Seeing the handaxe fly, the Chimera swatted it away with its right front leg this time.
But because I had more time to prepare, it didn't end with a mere scratch; the axe deeply tore the flesh of its front leg.
“Roaaaar!”
As its injuries accumulated, the Chimera tried to take flight and escape.
“Where do you think you're going?!” Camilla, the Druid climber who had been holding down its hind legs to restrict its movement, extended more tree vines and roots, binding its wings as well.
“I can't hold it for long! Hurry!”
The Chimera’s gem was already riddled with cracks.
Lee Suyoung, William, and I attacked simultaneously.
The Chimera tried to turn its head to dodge, but Camilla’s vines reached up to its neck, temporarily freezing its movement.
Thanks to that, my handaxe, Lee Suyoung’s Water Sphere Shot, and William’s magic arrow struck at the exact same time, completely shattering the Chimera’s gem.
The lion head’s eyes lost focus, and its massive body collapsed to the ground.
“Phew, it's over.”
Now, we just needed to distribute the mana stone in the Chimera’s chest.
The distribution method was simple. One person would convert the mana stone into points at the Tower Shop, and they would take turns shaking hands to transfer the points.
One might worry that the person distributing could lie about the mana stone’s value, but they could easily have everyone check the appraised value before converting it.
A monster of this size would surely yield a massive mana stone, worth a substantial amount of points.
Of course, once split among everyone, the payout probably wouldn't feel worth the sheer struggle of the fight.
But they hadn't fought for the points in the first place, so it didn't matter.
As the climbers gathered, a warm, friendly atmosphere filled the air as they congratulated each other.
“Great job, everyone. Especially you, Han Jiwoo. I didn't expect you to fight so aggressively even after taking such injuries,” Bogard praised, starting a wave of compliments directed at me.
In particular, Jonathan, the heavily armored Black climber, cleared his throat and spoke to me.
“Ahem. I apologize for calling you rash before the fight. And thank you for blocking that snake-headed tail when it tried to ambush me. I owe you my life. That left arm... you got that saving me, didn't you?”
“No, don't mention it. I practically dragged you all into this Chimera hunt anyway, so it was the least I could do. Besides, my left arm doesn't even hurt that much.”
At my reply, Jonathan looked at me as if I were absurd.
“It's swollen to twice its size, and you're saying it doesn't hurt?”
I wasn't lying. With my acupoints sealed, my pain receptors were completely blocked.
Outside the Tower, it would be an injury requiring immediate surgery, but inside, it wasn't that serious.
As long as a limb wasn't completely severed, paying shop points or credits at the 10th Floor Cathedral would have a priest or clergyman heal it with divine power.
The cost was proportional to the injury, but they wouldn't refuse treatment just because a climber was short on points.
Apparently, if you lacked shop points, your balance would simply go into the negative. Still, it was generally better to keep a buffer of credits and points.
Of course, for me, who can just recreate my avatar to heal, none of this matters.
However, the warm atmosphere shattered the moment we began distributing the Chimera’s materials and mana stone.
(To be continued in the next chapter)