Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Chapter 22: Party Play (2)
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A bald head round like a monk's tonsure.
Gray, glossy skin.
Distinctive crimson eyes.
And then, seeing those arms dragging along the ground, I was certain.
It was the same species as the hazardous entity I'd seen in the bunker.
‘How much resistance does it have?’
From 3- or 4-star evolved beings onward, magic doesn’t work well.
They had some level of resistance, at least.
For some reason, injuries from them didn’t heal easily either.
Recalling the battle from two weeks ago, I hurled a fireball at it.
Six fireballs flew in simultaneously from different directions, and it couldn’t dodge them all.
In the end, the fireballs engulfed the evolved being and exploded.
But it emerged through the flames as if nothing had happened.
‘Not even a scratch from basic elements?’
To withstand magic conjured with Rank-2 mana meant its resistance was at least Level 2.
Just as I grimaced at the unwelcome result, the first clash followed.
I thrust my spear to check its advance, and it swung its long arm like a whip to threaten me.
“Hup!”
Our attacks ended up meaningless.
It bent at the waist, and I leaned back, both escaping the other’s range.
But if I had to judge the outcome, it favored me less.
‘Its reach is longer than I thought.’
Longer even than mine with a spear.
Unlike the hazardous entity, its claws were intact, which seemed to be why—but it wasn’t anything to panic over.
‘It’s not my first time dealing with this.’
The monster I’d encountered upon first entering a Level-2 mission had a similar long reach.
A tongue back then, an arm now—that was the only difference.
Having been through it before, I didn’t falter when I saw its arm whipping toward me.
Boom.
The clash of spear and arm produced a thud hard to believe.
I gritted my teeth, bracing to hold my ground without being pushed back.
‘Damn, it’s heavy.’
Heavier than the ones from two weeks ago—enough to bend my spear shaft.
Just as I sensed the battle’s difficulty,
Thud!
The evolved being kept swinging its arm as if to press me relentlessly.
No room to hide my hand or play for a war of attrition.
I immediately resorted to attribute mana.
Each time we collided, blue light flashed in the forest where snow hadn’t fully melted.
“Kuaaaah!”
Each time, the acrid smell of burning flesh wafted through the air. Its movements slowed slightly too.
But it wasn’t enough for me to seize the advantage.
‘Tch.’
Dragging this out would just waste my mana.
To turn the tide, I couldn’t just block—I had to take the initiative.
First priority: break its relentless pace.
The moment I blocked its arm with my spear, I swung it upward.
Thwack!
The spear butt rose from below, smacking its jaw.
Then, ducking to evade the descending arm from the other side, I channeled mana into the spear tip.
‘That annoying arm first!’
Crimson mana densely enveloped the blade, solidifying firmly.
Coalescence—a step above condensation, requiring greater focus.
Before I could even blink, the mana formed a smooth, glass-like shape.
The result of my training while getting pummeled by Shamell.
Deep inside its reach, I gripped the spear short and thrust.
“Kraaak!”
I spun the spear in a circle, and black blood sprayed as its left arm severed.
A solid hit—I’d wounded it.
Yet I was the one surprised.
“Hup!”
The severed arm, falling through the air, suddenly swelled grotesquely and whipped toward me.
At the same time, its intact right arm came flying at me too.
Even one hit would crack or shatter bones, forcing me to take an injury.
‘I can’t block this.’
No time to recover my spear.
My center of gravity was already forward, making evasion difficult too.
The instant I realized it, I activated Sensory Expansion.
Time in my cognitive field slowed, buying me thinking time.
‘Barrier would just shatter.’
This thing’s power wasn’t something low-grade magic could block.
If the spell broke and mana backlashed in this situation, it’d be dangerous.
So, what defense options remained?
‘Spatial magic.’
Depending on how it was used, it could serve as defensive magic for safety.
Knowing that well, I kicked the severed arm away and drew out Ahhel’s mana from my fully charged storage magic tool.
Then, I twisted the space to my left, where its right arm was lunging.
Unless its magic resistance was Level 3, the moment it touched the warped space, it would shatter, distort, or tear.
In some form, the twisted space would alter its shape.
Preparing for any mishap by wrapping mana around my body, I also pulled back my spear.
Fortunately, I soon saw its skin and bones twisting grotesquely into the warped space.
Having recovered my spear while casting, I planned to sever the right arm too.
But before I could swing again, mana concentrated behind me, carrying a sweet scent.
Only one kind of mana carried a scent like that.
‘Lure!’
If Detection was the most basic Rank-1 spell for ranger or dealer classes, Lure was at the bottom of the tank skill tree.
Did it absorb mana from the surrounding Meseo?
Evolved beings and even regular field monsters always reacted to mana shaped in their specific forms.
Lure was a low-grade spell made to exploit that trait.
A type of taunt spell that drew aggro.
Indeed, the monster’s attention, fixed on me, scattered.
Its gaze shifted past my shoulder, and even its arm lost some strength.
‘Tch.’
I’d neutralized both arms and planned to snap its neck next.
But with Yang Tae-ho intervening, I had no choice.
If I let it slip or pushed it back, Yang Tae-ho could die.
‘I’ll end it now.’
No need for long thought.
I cut off the mana forming the spatial magic.
Instead, I chose Acceleration—a spell implementable with just Rank-1 mana.
Regular price: 110,000 mana. But maxing Sensory Expansion’s proficiency allowed purchase at 50% discount.
Using it let me momentarily surpass my body’s limits in performance.
‘Of course, it strains the body and can’t be sustained long.’
But enough to seize a split-second opportunity.
Before the monster’s gaze returned to me from over my shoulder.
Before its arm, relaxed from divided attention, moved again.
‘It’s over!’
Crackle, crackle—!
Lightning coursed through my body, gathering solidly at the spear tip.
It writhed endlessly like a living thing, emitting eye-searing light.
My Acceleration-boosted body moved about three times faster than usual.
Sizzle.
The spear slashed down hard, precisely from the nape to the chest.
A fatal wound no sane logic could survive.
But if such common sense existed in this world, the severed arm I’d cut off earlier wouldn’t have moved.
Unsatisfied, I cleanly decapitated the evolved being.
Then stabbed the rolling head on the ground.
Even that wasn’t enough—I hurled a fireball.
Fortunately, no illogical nonsense happened this time.
Still, I didn’t relax easily.
“Whew.”
Only after absorbing a hefty amount of mana and seeing the black dot vanish from the map did I release the tension from my body.
The moment I did, a groan escaped.
“Ugh…….”
Acceleration’s aftereffects made my body tingle numbly.
That was why I rarely used this spell despite owning it.
Even a silver badge player’s body took considerable strain from Acceleration.
Using it frequently in battle would leave aftereffects crippling my movement.
I only ever used it for finishing blows.
‘Wondered why a low-grade Rank-1 spell was in the silver tab.’
Using it with copper badge mana would’ve torn my muscles.
While I groaned through the aftereffects, Yang Tae-ho approached cautiously.
“You alright?”
I’d never asked for his intervention.
But it had helped, so I decided on a thank-you.
“Yes, thanks to you. Appreciate the assist.”
“Heh, I was just fidgetin’ around nearby, but glad it helped.”
Yang Tae-ho laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head.
“Man, you’re somethin’ else. Couldn’t even follow it proper. Felt like a blind man every time ya clashed—heart poundin’ fit to burst?”
He approached the evolved being’s corpse as he spoke.
“But where’d these guys come from all’a sudden? Thought there was a 4-star contamination zone nearby or somethin’…….”
I answered his question nonchalantly.
“Not necessarily.”
“Huh?”
Before a full explanation, I talked about the contamination zones.
“The 1- and 2-star zones revealed to players are left abandoned.”
But higher ones were different.
‘They’ve artificially gathered Meseo there.’
Meseo in one place expands the Hole’s size, and a bigger Hole draws more mana.
Result: stronger evolved beings spawned there.
“My personal take…… like factories producing evolved beings?”
From 3-stars on, they were closer to deliberately bred combat troops.
And those troops guarded the Meseo site like a fortress.
‘Protecting it so it doesn’t get destroyed.’
A obsessive drive to produce more evolved beings.
Most 3-star contamination zones fit this.
When they grew to a certain scale, they got classified as 4-star.
‘That’s when they start wandering outside.’
Judging they had enough kin to guard the Meseo, they slink out.
2-stars don’t stray far from Meseo, but 4-stars range wider.
‘Even so, a 4-star evolved being wandering here is weird.’
Player-revealed zones guaranteed minimum safety.
They were areas where mana-illiterate soldiers and mercenaries used to purify.
4-star zones were watched by past resistance, now cultists.
Several slipping past to here was realistically impossible.
‘Should’ve been detected.’
Same in the bunker earlier, same here.
“Dunno why a 4-star popped up outta nowhere but…….”
Gazing briefly at the corpse, I let out a long sigh.
“Feels like something’s up.”
Another black dot appeared on the map, in the same direction the dead evolved being had come from.
“Huh? What’s that mean all’a sudden?”
Two repeats suggested something there.
‘But going myself would be reckless.’
I wanted to investigate properly, but it was beyond my level.
Smarter to alert the outpost troops.
For that, wrap up and move fast.
‘Gotta head back by tomorrow anyway.’
I decided on return over further probing.
“No way, more comin’?”
“Yeah.”
Answering shortly, spear raised, I eyed Yang Tae-ho steadily.
Recalling how he’d jumped in uninvited earlier.
Normally, I’d have sidelined the copper badge and handled it solo.
‘But I won’t fight alone forever.’
Might as well sync with Yang Tae-ho now.
‘Build some real combat experience too.’
Crackle—!
Lightly swinging my spear, blue lightning writhed around me.
“If we’re doin’ this, best brace to burn all your mana in one go.”
This time, instead of falling back, push forward.
Yang Tae-ho nodded immediately, as if he’d been waiting for me to say it.
The real party play began.