The Masked Intruder
As we entered the boss room, Jeong Hayeon’s party was already there.
“Oh, you’re here?” Jeong Hayeon said, looking our way.
“...What? You haven’t taken down the boss yet?”
“Yeah. This boss looks ridiculously strong.”
Jeong Hayeon pointed at the boss. It was enormous. The boss had the form of a massive Minotaur, easily five meters tall at a glance.
“I think if we touch it, the boss will start attacking.”
“...So you were waiting to fight it together with the next party.”
“Yeah. Looks like everyone who’s coming is here now. Shall we get started?”
“Everyone, get ready.”
“Got it.”
At Jeong Hayeon’s words, Becaria raised his shield in front of him. Eden stood beside her, chanting a spell—probably a supporting magic to enhance her abilities.
More importantly, didn’t she notice that thing? A ring that looked completely out of place on a monster was wrapped around the boss’s finger. It was the real Crystal ring.
Ah... Well, it’s not surprising she didn’t recognize it. The ring had grown massively to fit the Minotaur’s finger size. That was one of its properties—automatically contracting or expanding to match the wearer’s finger.
“Hey, Jeong Hayeon.” I called out to her.
“What is it, Doyun?”
“Do you see that thing on the Minotaur’s finger?”
Jeong Hayeon turned her gaze toward it.
“That looks like the real Crystal ring we saw earlier today.”
“Huh? You’re right. I can even feel the energy coming off it. It’s definitely the real thing.”
“...”
“It’s really pretty, though. Seriously.”
Jeong Hayeon stared at the ring with sparkling eyes. I watched her. Once she cleared this dungeon and obtained that ring, she would gain the clue to her awakening. It was an artifact essential for her growth. The sooner she grew stronger, the more help she would be when the world’s destruction approached.
“Shall we begin, then? Jeong Hayeon, shoot your arrow at the Minotaur’s ankle...”
I started explaining the Minotaur’s weaknesses based on what I’d learned from playing the game. But at that moment—
['Setting Change' — Concerned that Jeong Hayeon's awakening timing is advancing too far, making the difficulty too easy. The Minotaur's weakness has been removed.]
“...”
Damn it.
“What? Weren’t you about to say something, Doyun?” Jeong Hayeon tilted her head.
“It was nothing.”
With things like this, the only option left was to charge in headfirst. Still, I felt uneasy. The Minotaur wasn’t a monster you could defeat without exploiting its weakness.
Jeong Hayeon drew her bowstring. Thwack— The arrow flew straight toward the Minotaur’s face.
Ting— But the arrow bounced off harmlessly. Even the face, where the skin was thinnest, boasted incredible defense.
Graaaah— Awakened by Jeong Hayeon’s attack, the Minotaur let out a roar. BOOM— It slammed its massive spear into the ground. The impact alone made the earth tremble. Its strength was terrifying.
The moment the Minotaur awoke, tension spread across the faces of Jeong Hayeon’s party members. They could sense it—this monster was no pushover.
Whoosh— The Minotaur swung its enormous spear straight at Jeong Hayeon.
CLANG— Becaria raised his shield to block the attack. CRASH— The collision between his shield and the Minotaur’s spear produced a deafening roar. Becaria was sent flying across the room and smashed into the wall. He couldn’t withstand the Minotaur’s raw power.
I swallowed hard. Becaria was a tank. His role was to absorb enemy attacks, and his skills were focused on defense. Yet even he, using his defensive skills, had been blown away in a single hit.
Jeong Hayeon broke into a cold sweat. Even if Becaria wasn’t among the top-ranked students at Elphon Academy, he had made quite a name for himself as a tank. Yet that same Becaria had been knocked out in one blow.
The Minotaur continued swinging its spear wildly. BOOM— BOOM— Its speed was incredible. We could barely dodge.
CRASH— The entire area began to crumble. Jeong Hayeon thought desperately. How could they turn this situation around?
The arrow she had fired earlier hadn’t even scratched the Minotaur. It had bounced off even the weakest part of its skin.
“Then the only option is to prepare the strongest attack possible.”
The only solution was to find a way to pierce the Minotaur’s skin in a single strike.
Thwack— CRASH— This time, Eden was struck by the Minotaur’s spear and slammed into the wall. The number of party members still standing was dwindling.
“Jiyun, can you buy me some time while I gather mana for my arrow?”
“....Yeah.”
Cha Jiyun nodded. Fwoosh— She began channeling her mana into her hands. Fwoosh— Soon, a blazing spear of flame erupted from her palm.
Thwack— The flaming spear shot toward the Minotaur. Cha Jiyun watched it silently. It was the most destructive spell she could cast with a short casting time. Longer spells seemed impossible against the Minotaur’s movements.
BOOM— The flaming spear struck the Minotaur’s ankle directly. That should’ve done some damage.
Grrr—
“!!!”
But the Minotaur’s ankle showed only a faint scorch mark. No real damage at all.
BOOM— BOOM— The Minotaur charged straight at Cha Jiyun. She had aimed for its ankle to slow it down, but the plan had failed completely. Cha Jiyun frantically began casting another spell, but the Minotaur was already upon her.
Thwack— The Minotaur swung its spear at her. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“....?”
But time passed, and she remained unharmed. She cautiously opened her eyes. A crack had appeared in the Minotaur’s armor—armor that had seemed impossible to damage. The Minotaur had been pushed back and was now staring at a single person. It was Nam Doyun. He stood with his hand extended toward the Minotaur.
Cha Jiyun let out a small laugh. So he had finally decided to go all out? In that case, there was nothing to worry about. He was hiding the power to defeat even this Minotaur without breaking a sweat.
Hum— All of Jeong Hayeon’s mana had gathered into her arrow. It glowed golden. Thwack— The arrow flew toward the Minotaur.
Thud— It struck precisely where the crack had formed in the Minotaur’s armor.
Graaah— Bright red blood spewed from the Minotaur’s mouth. The attack had definitely landed.
Graaaaaah— But the Minotaur’s eyes began to glow crimson with rage. It swung its spear even faster than before. BOOM— BOOM— The surrounding terrain collapsed in an instant.
“Huff... huff...” Jeong Hayeon panted. It still wasn’t over? She had poured every last drop of her mana into that attack. Yet instead of falling, the Minotaur seemed even more enraged.
Cha Jiyun carefully approached Nam Doyun.
“...It seems you’ll have to use the power you’ve been hiding now.”
Nam Doyun looked at her with a confused expression. After all, he had already used the only offensive skill he could copy—from Urbashi.
BOOM— BOOM— The Minotaur began charging toward Cha Jiyun and Nam Doyun.
“..You must fight now. This isn’t the time to hide your strength.”
Even so, Nam Doyun showed no sign of preparing an attack. Cha Jiyun tilted her head. Why wasn’t he attacking? He was definitely hiding his power.
Soon, the Minotaur stopped right in front of them. It raised its massive spear and swung it at Nam Doyun.
Thwack— The enormous spear hurtled toward him. But he didn’t even try to dodge. He stood there as if he couldn’t even see the attack coming.
Did I see wrong? Was he not hiding his strength after all? I still couldn’t be sure. But that wasn’t important right now.
“..You need to dodge. For now.”
Cha Jiyun spoke to Nam Doyun. He was her savior, after all. That much was certain.
Just before the Minotaur’s spear could strike Nam Doyun, a figure dashed past them.
Slash— The Minotaur’s head was severed in an instant.
Cha Jiyun and Jeong Hayeon’s expressions froze. They turned to look at the person who had beheaded the Minotaur. He was wearing a mask.
“Hello, kiddos?”
His voice sounded distorted, as if he were using a voice changer. Cha Jiyun stared at him with eyes full of tension. An indescribably immense demonic energy radiated from him. He was a monster on a completely different level from the Minotaur—someone they couldn’t possibly defeat.
“No need to look so worried. I only came here for this ring.”
As he spoke, the man removed the ring from the Minotaur’s finger.
“Well then, I’m off. Bye-bye.”
With those words, the man walked out of the boss room. Cha Jiyun let out a sigh of relief. Then she turned to look at Nam Doyun and Jeong Hayeon.
“...Huh? Where did he go?”
But when she looked, Nam Doyun was gone.
Jeong Hayeon spoke up. “...Jiyun. Nam Doyun just chased after the masked guy.”
“..What?”
“It’s probably because of me. Because I said the ring was pretty, Nam Doyun...”
Cha Jiyun couldn’t understand what she meant. Nam Doyun had gone after that man because of Jeong Hayeon?
“...Hayun. More importantly, you’re saying Nam Doyun followed the masked man?”
“Yeah.”
“...Ah. So that’s what it was.”
Only then did she understand why Nam Doyun hadn’t dodged the Minotaur’s attack or fought back. He hadn’t been interested in the Minotaur in the first place. His attention had been entirely focused on the masked man who had just entered. That was why he had been saving his strength—to fight him.
“..Hayeon.”
“Yeah?”
“...Don’t worry. That person is incredibly strong.”