That's Not How You Catch a Boss
That's not how you catch a boss. Do I have to clean this up myself? Boss rooms in gates don't activate unless someone enters them. In other words, the boss just sits there quietly if you don't mess with it.
'But if the gate collapses, it'll come bursting out without fail...'
By then, the boss waking up wouldn't even be the problem. Anyway, to put it simply, the moment the boss room opens, the boss awakens. And if there's no interference, it comes charging out of the boss room to roam the gate's space.
'Which basically upgrades the gate's rank.'
Not knowing where the boss might pop up plays a part, but the real issue is that boss-grade monsters absorb magistones from the other monsters outside and get even stronger. If a C-rank hunter barges into the boss room all cocky and fails to clear it, that massive snowball comes rolling straight at us.
...Honestly, I didn't want to lose out on the loot either. But I didn't feel like clashing with that foul-tempered C-rank hunter again, so I'd wait until he entered the boss room.
"Alright, everyone, hurry up and follow me."
"Pardon? Didn't you say that was the boss room...?"
The conversation between the C-rank hunter and the civilians he'd been protecting was pretty shocking. Taking powerless civilians into a place crawling with dangerous boss-grade monsters? Unbelievable.
"Who else here can fight monsters but me? What do you plan to do if you run into monsters while I'm busy with the boss?"
"Th-that's..."
Hmm. I turned to look at Seol-ah. Her face, leaning against me, showed complete trust and reliance. If I went into the boss room, there'd be no hunter left to protect her. Even if that C-rank hunter offered, I wouldn't entrust her to him in a million years.
The fact that the number of civilians under his protection kept dwindling said it all.
'That hunter doesn't give a damn about people's lives...'
To clear the boss while protecting Seol-ah, I'd have to take her into the boss room with me. In a way, it might be the next best option. But in the end, Seol-ah would be the one in danger, and pushing forward without her consent would make me no better than that C-rank jerk.
"Seol-ah."
"Yeah? Why so serious all of a sudden?"
"Can you trust that hunter?"
"Uh... no? He seems like a jerk, and his attitude sucks."
"Good, then listen up. What that hunter's about to do could screw over the entire gate."
"Uh... why?"
What? Didn't Hunter Association staff know this?
"Don't you know what happens if you open the boss room in a gate and just leave it?"
"I'm not from gate management—I'm in monster research. Never heard about that stuff."
Come to think of it, she did say she wanted to see all kinds of animals...? I felt like a crappy pseudo-big-bro for not even remembering what my close little sis did for a living, but I scratched my head awkwardly and launched into a boring, pedantic explanation.
Seol-ah seemed to grasp the situation from my words.
"...So, going in together might actually be safer."
"Yeah, but a boss-grade monster is on a whole other level from regular ones. If you want, we can head back to the hideout together."
"And if that grumpy hunter fails the clear?"
"The gate turns into a boss monster den, but it might still be safer than going into the boss room."
Of course, rescue teams would form, then reform into stronger ones to handle the escaped boss... and only after they cleared it could we get out. But the choice was entirely Seol-ah's.
Someone with power like me couldn't truly feel the weight of those options.
"...Let's go."
"To the hideout?"
"No, to the boss room. That guy's got zero reliability. He'll probably just cause a ton of trouble and bail."
Seol-ah's tone was light, but her eyes burned with resolve. I quietly opened the door to the boss room where the C-rank hunter had already entered and slipped inside.
True to its sealed space, the boss room was pitch dark. I'd already told Seol-ah not to approach me once we entered. Our current distance was about 15 meters. Whether I enlarged my tiny wings to dragon-form size and flew, or used Body Enhancement on dragon-form legs to leap—it was a range where I could reach her in an instant, no matter what.
At the same time, it was an awkward distance where attacks coming at me wouldn't hit her. The best precaution in this dangerous space.
Shortly after entering, I sensed a commotion ahead. The C-rank hunter was already facing off against the boss.
The boss lived up to its name—a massive plant-type monster that covered an entire wall of the boss room. A huge flower at the front faced the C-rank hunter like a face, while countless vine tentacles lashed at him.
"Watch how a real fight's done!"
The C-rank hunter charged boldly at the vine-formed boss. I quietly observed the battle from a distance.
'He's fighting it for me? Sweet.'
Scouting before engaging was key, no matter what. The C-rank hunter sliced at the incoming vine tentacles, timing his strikes for vital hits. I'd pegged him as a flashy thug with no substance from his attitude, but his combat style was surprisingly showy.
Each swing of his blade severed the vine boss's tentacles in chunks.
"Whoa... he's pretty good."
Even Seol-ah started watching in admiration.
"We'll put our faith in you, Hunter!"
"Please take it down!"
With the civilians' cheers joining in, the C-rank hunter began attacking the boss with even flashier moves, showing off his agility.
The boss was huge, so I wasn't sure if his stamina would hold until he chopped it all... but if he was doing the prep work for me, no reason to stop him.
"Danger!"
The moment a civilian shouted, the C-rank hunter's swinging blade got caught by a vine tentacle.
He tried to reclaim his snatched sword, but it was hopeless.
'Oh no... guess I have to step in...!'
He'd only cut a few vines so far—no clear weak point yet—but I couldn't just stand by. The guy had a solid build, but without a weapon, his attack power tanked—
"Gaaahhh!"
As I stepped forward to polymorph, the C-rank hunter grabbed a nearby person's neck and hurled them straight at the vines. The motion was fluid, precise—like he'd done it dozens of times.
Without hesitation, I partial-polymorphed, dragon claws slashing the vines near the wrapped civilian.
Ku-gu-gu-gwak—!
The vine boss's fibers were tougher than expected; even my dragon claws struggled to sever a tentacle in one hit.
'If my claws hadn't connected properly...'
We almost lost an innocent civilian. At this point, I couldn't stay quiet anymore.
"Are you insane?! Throwing people as monster bait?!"
I knew freelance hunters often lacked a sense of duty, but this was too much. Feeding people to monsters? That's a crime.
But the C-rank hunter just shrugged like it was nothing and spouted nonsense.
"If I die, you're all dead anyway. Sacrificing one life to save everyone—sounds good to me, right?"
"What the—?!"
"More importantly, didn't I tell you not to interfere? Gotta punish disobedient brats myself."
"Huh?"
The C-rank hunter shoved me roughly with one hand—straight toward the boss. He was trying to use me as bait too.
'As if.'
I applied dragon form to my back wings, spreading them to at least 3 meters wide, and twisted mid-air to evade. Sticking with that guy would ruin everything. I was seriously thinking of beating him senseless until he learned some manners when I saw him already charging at the boss again.
From the boss's actions so far, this vine boss couldn't attack multiple spots at once despite its tentacles everywhere. He'd probably hoped I'd get tangled and distract it.
But since I'd evaded into the air, the C-rank hunter was charging solo. It didn't take long for the undivided vine boss to ensnare him.
"Grahhh!!"
He hadn't expected it, failing to react to a side vine. It wrapped his whole body and began crushing him with immense strength.
"Aaaagh! Why are you just standing there! Someone—anyone—help! You think you can escape this gate if I die?!"
Writhing in agony, the C-rank hunter moved with familiar gestures—reaching out, flailing as if grabbing a collar. Desperate thrashing to use someone as bait. But after his earlier stunt, no one lingered near him.
Seol-ah and the civilians were at a safe distance. He'd already betrayed their trust.
His wandering hands lost freedom to the vines too...
Crack.
Crack-crack—!
Finishing its attack, the boss doubled down on the pressure. It was beyond what the C-rank hunter's durability could handle...
Kwaduduk!!
"..."
The C-rank hunter slumped lifelessly, light gone from his eyes. The vine boss tossed the ragdoll ex-hunter aside like trash.
"K-Kid. You're a hunter too, right? Can you fight?"
"Just get us out, and we'll do anything! Please...!"
With things like this, the people who'd followed him started begging me. I didn't want to hear it, so I stepped forward before they could approach.
'Ah... my turn now?'
I'd have preferred knowing the weak point first. After some quick stretches, I polymorph-ed into dragon form without hesitation.
-Thank you God thank you God thank you God
Some weirdo was muttering... probably just overwhelmed with gratitude. Anyway, everything in this world has an immutable weakness.
'Plants burn easily in fire.'
Dragon Breath was a fire-spewing skill to begin with. Nothing matched this matchup better. I unleashed it straight at the vine boss without a second thought.
Kwaaaaang—!
Detected decrease in wearer's mana.
Charging mana from surrounding air.
Current air status: Very low mana density
The breath shot out with tremendous force. The burning smell meant it landed successfully. Kinda feels bad for the C-rank hunter dying for nothing now...
Whatever. Self-inflicted.
"What? Why isn't it burning?"
Contrary to expectations of an easy clear, the vine tentacles were still wriggling alive. The breath-hit parts were charred and wrecked, but not dead.
Kwak—!
To make matters worse, the boss now fixated on me as the threat, relentlessly swinging tentacles my way. The problem? Breath's effective area was limited per shot. Plus, low ambient mana meant almost no recharge.
Breath spam wouldn't cut it. Kwaang—!
"Eek...!"
No choice but to dodge with insane reflexes while observing the boss. Even as a boss-grade monster, it was still a plant. It had to be affected by the breath somehow.
To find the weakness, I needed info—and info came from observation.
'Something... some difference...!'
I scanned frantically for changes in the vine boss. Flower, vine tentacles, stems, high humidity...
"...!"
The tentacles hit by my breath had dried to a yellowish hue. And suddenly, the air felt a tad more humid. The breath's heat had evaporated the boss's moisture.
'Enough heat, and I could cook this vine boss!'
The boss room mimicked a swampy terrain—a sealed chamber with no ventilation. If filled with steam?
'A natural steamer.'
Hit parts weren't moving, confirming the strategy. After soothing my throat from the ordeal, I murmured lowly toward the vine boss.
"Guess it's time to boil some veggies today."