Monster Hunt (3)
As I felt the wall of fire drawing near, I slowly made my way toward the center of the forest.
Before the first event had even started, I’d already found a bear cub and smeared myself in its blood.
To conserve as much stamina as possible, I’d chosen a method that made the very Mark of the Prey meaningless.
For the second event, I used the bastard I always relied on and took care of the hunters more comfortably. Then, during the preparation time before the third event began, I moved to the outer edge and, for the entire duration, kept to the perimeter to reduce the chances of running into other monsters or beasts.
I’d conserved as much stamina as I could.
Thanks to dying and coming back, I wasn’t even tired. Not a single wound on me. My body was perfectly fine.
Step—
“Haven’t seen you in ten hours.”
“Kuhooo……”
And yet, even though my body should’ve been in peak condition, why did I feel so heavy?
Rubbing at eyes that felt oddly stiff, I spoke to Behemoth standing in front of me.
“This ten hours felt especially long.”
As always, it started at one hundred meters.
It would take three minutes for the wall of fire to completely cover the forest.
“I bet I look like a piece of shit to you right now, huh?”
“……”
I smiled at the beast silently blocking the entrance to the cave.
From its perspective, I was probably a thing it was seeing for the first time.
Maybe it was a bit different because of the anomaly, but from what I’d felt through repeated attempts, it didn’t seem to recognize me at all.
“Go ahead and laugh all you want. It’ll be the last time.”
A tiny life form, barely a quarter the size of its own body.
To it, I must’ve looked like some insect-sized toy worth sneering at.
Thirty seconds passed.
Step.
I moved until I was exactly fifty meters away.
That was the line it wouldn’t cross unless it moved first.
“Nice weather, huh?”
I shot the laughing bastard the middle finger as hard as I could.
Its pupils trembled for a moment, like it was offended, but it still didn’t budge.
Because it was an absolute ruler.
Because it was the master of this forest.
“Kkuiik!!”
“Kkeung! Kiiing…!”
Crack!
Just like it would crush the animals that ran at it, unable to endure the heat, it was simply waiting for the moment it could crush me too.
For me to step into its range first.
One minute passed.
“Last time I checked, you seemed kind of scared of fire.”
On a previous run, I’d seen its eyes go wide as the wall of fire came crashing down on it.
I didn’t know whether that apocalyptic flame was treated differently from magic, or whether it just had no resistance to fire.
I did think about learning fire magic…
But I’d already spent all my TP buying mana stones.
And I judged it wouldn’t make much difference even if I did learn it.
Crack.
“Hoo, ready?”
Stretching once, I gripped my sword and smiled.
One minute thirty seconds passed.
From here on out, the monster hunt began.
Taht—!!!
“Kwoooooo!!”
The instant I kicked off the ground, it shouted and took a step forward.
The sky thundered, and the earth shook.
Seeing the blazing red parry timing filling my vision, I clenched my teeth hard.
“Hngh…!”
I couldn’t dodge the first strike.
Maybe I could have, but I didn’t even try.
To leave no variable at all, to guide its actions to match the previous run one hundred percent, I repeated the same route over and over, reducing the damage as much as possible and avoiding any pain that might slow me down.
Sssshhkk…!!
Thud…!!
“Hoo….”
At first, I’d been sent flying and smashed into a tree. Now I only got shoved back before slamming into one.
It hurt, but it was at least a level where I could move my body immediately.
Whoosh!!
I threw myself aside to dodge the boulder hurtling toward me.
I didn’t even need to look at Behemoth.
I remembered exactly when and where that stone would come from.
One minute fifty-one seconds passed.
Taht—!!
The beast that had hurled the rock swung its fist again.
I rolled to evade the blow, which didn’t carry nearly the same force as before.
“Hngh!!”
As it swept through the air, spinning with its fist missing its mark, the light of a parry flashed from its tail.
Thud—!!
It was another successful parry, one I’d repeated countless times.
I was shoved back a little by the impact, but it only staggered slightly too, so it didn’t matter.
Two minutes seven seconds passed.
“Kwoooooo!!”
A black circle formed around my body.
Strictly speaking, it was the shadow cast by the beast that had completely swallowed the space around me.
The giant hands of the thing that blotted out the moon gathered together overhead and came crashing down toward me at speed.
Boom—!!!
Because I’d parried perfectly before, I threw myself away in one fluid motion, dodging the attack.
As the earth shook beneath the impact, I sprang back up and immediately swung my sword, slashing across the back of its hand.
Slashhhhh—!!
“……!!”
“What, does that hurt?”
At its familiar expression of surprise, now already painfully predictable, I smirked.
Two minutes twenty-six seconds passed.
Thump!! Boom—!!
Retracting its hand, the beast slammed a foot into the ground as if in fury.
Then it lifted its left arm toward its right shoulder and tried to whip it out like a lash.
Taht—!!
I’d seen this one countless times already, so I pulled out a mana stone and plunged inward at full speed.
Retreating was impossible.
The distance had only just been narrowed. Behind me, the flames were raging.
So, by angle alone, the best option was to dash under its left arm, where I’d have the most time to work with, and I sprinted with everything I had.
Whoooosh—!!
Water Ball!!
At the same moment its arm swept down as if raking the ground, I hurled two mana stones at its eyes.
It resisted magic anyway.
Even if I drove a thunder spear straight into its eyeballs, the thing wouldn’t even flinch.
Slash!
“Kuhooo!!!”
But that didn’t matter.
I hadn’t intended to attack it with the mana stones in the first place.
Any creature that saw the world through its eyes would blink the moment something foreign got in there.
If a burst of water exploded right in front of its face and soaked its eyes, instinct would make it shut them.
Whether that gap was one second or a tenth of a second didn’t matter.
As long as it gave me time to slip into its reach, as long as it bought me the timing to raise my sword, it was enough.
“Hngh…!!”
I moved to the front of its giant foot and gripped my iron sword in a reverse grip.
With both hands, drawing in all the strength I had, I brought it down hard on the top of its foot.
Two minutes thirty-seven seconds passed.
Crack—!!!
“Kwoooooo!!!!”
Half the blade pierced through the top of its foot.
As it screamed and lifted the foot, I yanked the sword free and sprinted to the opposite side.
Boom, boom—!!
It wildly hammered the area with the bleeding foot.
The beast, writhing in pain, was smashing the nearby cliff with its fists.
Come on, come on, come on…!!
This part was pure luck.
Because it was flailing so recklessly, the chunks of stone falling from the cliff didn’t land in the same place every time.
If I looked left or up and tried to dodge, sure, I might get out of the way—but I didn’t have the time for that.
Leaving everything to luck, I stood behind its right ankle and gripped my sword tight.
Boom! Boom!
Rumble…!
I ignored the rocks whipping past my side and swung with all my strength at its Achilles tendon.
With everything I had left… no, not left. I’d never even had that much to begin with.
Anyway, I poured every ounce of strength into Royal Guard Knight Sword Style, Form Two.
Two minutes forty-four seconds passed.
Slashhhhh—!!!
“Kuherrrrrrr!!!”
Feeling the beast’s blood spray across my body, I immediately pulled back my sword and drove it down again into its calf.
Thud!
By now, it wasn’t even screaming anymore.
It was still thrashing to catch me somehow, slamming the ground and swinging its arms, and I dropped the sword and sprinted toward the wall of fire.
As it tore around wildly looking for me, I hurled two mid-grade mana stones at it with all my strength.
“……!”
Normally it wouldn’t have dodged, but after the repeated pain, instinct took over and it jerked aside.
The mana stones sailed over its head and struck the wall of fire instead—
Water Rain!!
Sssshhhhh—!!!
Steam blasted upward from the rain striking the barrier.
As mist spread thickly all around me, I moved again.
A dark night, with scarlet flames everywhere.
In the cramped space, its massive body blocked the moonlight, and the milky mist obscured its vision.
Thump!!
I slipped past the hand groping wildly, unable to find my position, and stopped in front of the left foot I’d cut down first.
Hurts, doesn’t it? I’ll make it sting even more…!!
With five low-grade mana stones clenched in my hand, I shoved them into the wound on the top of its foot.
Those hulking muscles, that thick skin, that maybe-existent magical resistance had all shrugged off my electricity before.
Let’s see if you can survive lightning exploding inside your own body.
I had just verified that this would work.
Two minutes fifty-four seconds passed.
Crackle-crack-crack-crack-crack!!!
“Kwooooooo! Kwoooorrrr!!!”
The lightning, loud enough to hurt my ears, scorched the beast’s blood.
Grinding my teeth at its screams of pain, I broke into a run.
“Kuaaah—!!”
As if it had had enough, Behemoth tried to bring its whole body down onto the ground.
This was why I’d failed on the thirteenth run.
In a place where there was practically no space left, there was nowhere to dodge that massive body. Only a tiny gap remained—one just barely big enough for a person like me.
“Hngh…!!”
I clenched my teeth hard and hurled myself toward the one and only opening I’d seen on a previous run.
Thud—!!
Boom—!!
Its immense body crushed the earth everywhere except for the tiny space where I was.
“……!!”
Realizing I was still alive, its red eyes went wide.
As it reached out again, I gave it a broad smile, almost tauntingly.
Riiip.
“The three minutes are up, you filthy beast.”
“Kwoooooooo—!!!”
Go ahead and wail like your bones are on fire.
I’d like to see you scream your lungs out now.