056. Tutorial Boss Battle (2)
056. Tutorial Boss Battle (2)
I steadied my eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
"Grrrrk—!"
"Shit! Hey! Do something, fast!"
"Fuck, all I've got is my backup weapon!"
"Then swing it!!!"
Monsters with dog-like heads and muscular bodies were chasing down the cadets,
while the reasonably well-trained second-year cadets clustered in small groups to fight back.
But since the vast majority were unarmed, no real resistance could be mounted.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they were overrun.
'Going by the book is out.'
According to the original scenario, it was supposed to be a few days from now.
When the third- and fourth-year seniors and instructors all left en masse for an overseas gate assignment,
that's when Choi A-ram was meant to set things off in the central plaza.
That's why the cadets were supposed to either flee for their lives or come back armed to fight the monsters.
And amid all that, you'd clear the stage by defeating the tutorial boss, Choi A-ram.
But the tutorial boss battle had erupted far earlier than expected, and the conditions were different too.
'This situation is even harsher than the game.'
Right now, this was a sealed space.
If that bitch launched an area attack here, things would get messy.
I racked my brain quickly and revised the clear conditions.
─ Rescue the senior cadets.
─ Eliminate the monsters.
─ Defeat the boss.
And all of it had to happen simultaneously.
In the end, it was a race against time.
I finished my calculations and turned my head.
There was Shin Se-hee, staring at me with a strangely blank expression.
"First off, Shin Se-hee."
"......Yes?"
She snapped to attention as soon as I called her name.
"You've got info on all the Healers among the second-year cadets, right?"
"Ah, yes, I do."
"Then you go gather the Healers right now and focus on recovering the injured."
"Ah, understood. I'll do that."
Shin Se-hee nodded and immediately left.
"And Lee Yu-ri."
"Yeah."
"Starting now, you're the sub-party leader."
"Got it."
Even with the sudden appointment as sub-party leader, Lee Yu-ri accepted it instantly.
"From now on, you, Kang Do-hee, and Im Ga-eul sunbae—the three of you need to hunt the monsters. With that trio, mob hunting should be viable."
"......What? Then what about you?"
But Lee Yu-ri's eyes went wide as she shot back the question, apparently unable to make sense of this order.
Kang Do-hee and Im Ga-eul looked at me too, as if asking what the hell I meant.
I threw my gaze toward Choi A-ram.
She was squatting down, propping her chin on both hands and leering in this direction.
"I'll hold that bitch off. If she launches an area attack here, it'll be a pain in the ass."
"......B-but!"
"I'm not suited for dealing with trash mobs."
I placed a hand on Lee Yu-ri's shoulder.
"You have to do this."
She bit down firmly on her lip. Then, a moment later, she nodded.
"Okay. I'll wrap it up fast and come support you."
I threw a glance each at Kang Do-hee and Im Ga-eul.
At that, Kang Do-hee clicked her tongue as if she didn't like it and turned her head away.
Im Ga-eul looked troubled, but she nodded too, apparently concluding she couldn't just leave her classmates like that.
Once the party members' roles were assigned,
I headed for the platform alone.
"Oh? You came by yourself instead of bringing everyone?"
Choi A-ram stood up and kicked the woman she'd been sitting on.
Thud-thud-thud—
THUD—
The woman with short black hair tumbled off the platform.
Choi A-ram narrowed her eyes as she looked at me, then suddenly opened them wide.
She pointed a finger and shouted.
"Ah! I remember you!"
"I'm honored."
"You're that damn boy who gave a Magic Stone to Im Ga-eul this morning! And then you told me I had no talent—you looked down on me!?"
That's one hell of a persecution complex.
I never looked down on her in the first place.
All I did was point out the fact that Im Ga-eul could use it and she couldn't.
And the only reason I said anything was because she did nothing but get carried while complaining the whole time.
I made a dumbfounded face.
Choi A-ram stared at me blankly, then suddenly pulled one corner of her mouth up crookedly.
"Looking at you now, you're quite a waste......? A boy who's strong, pretty, and, above all, shows interest in Im Ga-eul."
A glint of desire shone slickly in her eyes.
"Yeah. Yeah. That's right. With strength, money, power, men—everything can be mine, can't it......?"
She muttered to herself, then made a flower-cupping gesture with both hands and turned her head toward me.
"If you change your mind now, I'll let you live. How about it? Aren't I way better than a vermin like her?"
A hollow laugh escaped me at the sheer absurdity of the sight.
At that, she furrowed her brows and tilted her head.
"......You're laughing?"
"Yeah, 'cause even your bullshit is top-notch."
I pulled one corner of my mouth up.
"If you'd spent one more year at the academy, you'd have had more than enough time to learn how Demonized Humans end up...... Ah, but you got held back a year, didn't you, sunbae? So you couldn't even attend class properly?"
Her face went rigid at my sneer.
"......What did you say? You just......."
"And are you brain-damaged? You dare compare yourself to Im Ga-eul sunbae?"
"......!"
It seemed Im Ga-eul was a berserk button; sparks flew from her eyes in an instant.
"......This great power—"
"Knock off that cringy crap. It's painful to listen to, Pink Brat."
"You little, you bastard—! You—you're dead!!!!"
Choi A-ram convulsed and thrust her finger at me.
"Dieeee—!!!!"
Ping—
A black beam shot from her fingertip.
The moment she pointed her finger, I leaped sideways.
Tsseet.
I glanced sidelong at the spot I'd been standing in.
A pitch-black hole had formed there, white smoke curling upward.
'I can't give her time. Finish this fast.'
Even if she's a tutorial boss, she's normally an enemy meant for a full party.
To face an enemy like that as a solo Damage Dealer, there's no answer except cramming in as many attacks as possible in the shortest time possible.
Shhhhp—
I drew a low, long breath.
The musty smell of dust and blood seeped in.
My first battle with a Demonized Human.
Demonized Humans were a real pain in the ass.
Demons fed on humanity's corrupt emotions as their staple.
Those cockroach-like things gave humans power specifically to drive their emotions out of control and then devour them.
Choi A-ram looked momentarily dazed, as if she hadn't expected me to dodge, then twisted her face menacingly and spread both hands.
Ping—!
Ten lines of black beams shot out, aimed at me.
In an instant, Moonlight drawn from my waist traced a smooth arc.
Ting—! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!
The blade's song scattered in clear, short notes, batting away her attacks one by one.
'A powerful attack, but the weapon in my hands is no ordinary blade either.'
I singled out one of the attacks fired at me and sent it back at Choi A-ram.
Ping—!
Tsseet—!!
"Gaaagh!"
The black flash returned and struck Choi A-ram in the shoulder.
Not expecting her own attack to come back at her, she grimaced in pain and clutched her shoulder.
'An opening!'
Bam—!
A brief footfall sound lingered like an afterimage,
and a beat later, the air ruptured with a tearing boom.
The hilt, gripped tight.
Every sense in my body stood on edge.
A pale blue light spread across the blade.
A razor-sharp line of light cleaved the empty air.
Swoooosh!
The perfect single stroke I'd been honing all this time.
The straight line struck home above her shoulder.
CRACK—!
"AAAAAAH—!!!!"
Moonlight cut into her shoulder, but instead of the sound of flesh tearing, I heard the sound of something shattering.
Her shoulder was cracked, as if it were glass that had broken.
"......H-how."
Choi A-ram's eyes shook as a flustered look crossed her face,
but I began swinging my sword immediately, giving her no time to recover.
Swish—
At that, she covered her face with both arms and pulled up Mana.
Clang! Clang-clang—! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rain of swords showered down over her body.
Swinging.
Thrusting.
Stabbing.
Moonlight whittled away at her Mana.
* * *
Clang—!
The deep-blue sword traced an arc.
The blade's tip marked the empty air and crashed down in succession, then in a single moment, it slashed upward viciously toward her waist.
Ka-kah-ang—! Clang! Kah-gah-gang—!!
"Guhk—!"
Choi A-ram groaned as she frantically blocked the unrelenting blades raining down.
She couldn't hide her bewilderment.
'What the hell is this......! What is this!!'
Sword strikes that continued as if eternal.
On top of that, the sword's speed seemed to be gradually accelerating.
Crack.
Cracks began to form little by little on the body that was blocking the sword.
The question swelled.
A distant, profound shock seeped heavily into her head.
'Why on earth......?'
A revolting sensation, as if a viscous foreboding were crawling upward from her ankles.
Choi A-ram ground her teeth.
'H-how....... I definitely, I, I should've become stronger....... How, how is thiiis─!!!'
To become strong, she'd made a deal with a Demon, and in exchange, she'd gained immense power.
Hadn't she, in fact, succeeded in subduing Kim Su-hyeon—known as one of the strongest among the second-year cadets—in a single blow?
So how.
On earth.
Why.
Was she being pushed this far by a mere first-year cadet, a male one at that?
In the end, did it mean that even after becoming a Demonized Human, someone born as trash was still nothing but trash......?
"Fuck, this can't be happening....... This can't......!!!"
Choi A-ram bit her lip hard.
Inside her, the inferiority complex swelled monstrously, as if about to burst.
That was the moment.
【......Become a complete Demonized Human.】
A sticky voice reached her ears.