The Unfair Pattern
I redirected the fists coming at me from both sides straight into each other, then immediately leapt away. Boom! A chill ran down my spine at the thought that even a split second later and I would have been minced meat from the follow-up strikes. 'Can't afford to let my guard down.'
The reason golems were so tricky was that despite looking like living creatures, they weren't. If a fist the size of a construction container had slammed into your side, you'd normally be writhing in pain and unable to move properly. But because they were golems, as long as they weren't completely immobilized, they could keep moving exactly as before.
Creak, creak, creak. Like runaway locomotives that would keep going until their engines were destroyed. Even as Pertomba 1 and 2's sides caved in, they struggled to regain their balance and kept moving. 'They're still using Steam Emission too.'
Their logic was simple—like berserkers, they only needed to kill me. Hisssssss! Apparently deciding that this level of firepower wasn't enough, both Pertombas began spewing even fiercer steam, like pressure cookers about to explode. That sound, like an alarm signaling the rice was done, felt more like a desperate scream begging to end my life as quickly as possible.
'That's why I could endure it—because the extra weight made it possible. Without it, it would've been impossible.' I briefly considered ditching the weights strapped to my body to fight, since survival came first before Infinite Orbit or anything else. But to avoid being swept away by Pertomba's swings, the weighted bracelets on my limbs were essential. If I'd been at my normal body weight when I landed that cross-counter earlier, the sheer mass of those fists might have folded me in half.
"Pepi! Heal!"
"Got it!"
She immediately restored the arm I'd twisted while spinning away from Pertomba's punch. To keep aggro from shifting toward her, I charged straight at Pertomba 1's body. The moment my shoes touched the stone, a sizzling sound rang out, revealing just how intense the heat was. The thought of having to repeat this every time she healed me was horrifying. Ideally, I'd endure the remaining three minutes without needing another heal, but Pertomba's increasingly violent movements made that seem impossible.
Guoooooooh! Pertomba 1 and 2 let out thunderous roars and began slamming the ground like mad. 'They're really pissed.' A bug that should have been crushed by now was still hopping around and refusing to die—of course they'd be furious.
'Still, I can handle this.' Against any other Named Demon, this might have been different, but against Pertomba, I still had room to breathe. Even though they were Named, they were ultimately just enhanced golems, so their patterns were extremely simple. Aside from Steam Emission, every other move was basically the same as a regular golem's.
'The problem is...' They could learn.
Guoooooooh! Realizing it might have to play tag forever at this rate, Pertomba 2 suddenly leapt high into the sky. At the same time, Pertomba 1 began pounding the ground frantically, restricting my movement. One would collapse the terrain to hinder mobility while the other dropped from above to crush me in an instant—a deadly combination. If Hyunsoo or Tatakum had been in this situation, it would've been extremely dangerous.
'No, it would've been instant death.' A frontliner without any means of mobility was doomed against this pattern. This was exactly why Pertomba was called the newbie cutter. If the tank tried to hold aggro for a raid, they'd die here. If they switched to dealing damage instead, the tank would die before Pertomba even went down, leaving no one to deal damage at all.
'I've been waiting for this.' But I had desperately wanted this exact situation to happen. The moment when two Pertombas appeared together and used their newbie-cutting pattern was the only opening to take them down.
Shrrrrrrk. I wove my webs thick like ropes between the collapsing sections of ground, connecting them to Pertomba 2 as it descended to crush me, then climbed onto Pertomba 1's body. Hissssss! Multiple strands of web were supposed to resist burning quickly, but my body wasn't made of the same material. Already heated once before, the moment I landed on Pertomba 1, my skin began sizzling like roasting meat and showed signs of melting.
'I have to endure.' Pertomba 1, focused on destroying the surrounding terrain, left me alone on its body. I yanked hard on the webs connected to Pertomba 2, forcing it toward Pertomba 1. Every time a strand snapped, I fired another. Pertomba 2 plummeted like a meteor cast by a great mage. Its momentum was terrifying, as if it didn't care that its own body would be destroyed in the process.
'Either way, it'll be a pointless death.' There was only one reason I'd been dodging like a flea without landing proper attacks. "Aquaqua! The moment Pertomba collides with the other one, fire a Fireball right away!"
I had been enduring for five minutes.
Hissssssss! My flesh melted, my skin turning soft and clay-like. 'Not yet.' But I had to hold on. If I abandoned the webs and ran now, the lure might fail.
'As fast as they move, I have to respond just as fast.' The moment Pertomba 2 drew close enough to Pertomba 1 that changing its trajectory was no longer possible, I stopped pulling and immediately jumped off Pertomba 1's body.
"Aquaqua!"
"I know! Fireball!"
Perfect timing.
Boom! Pertomba 2's attack slammed directly into Pertomba 1, shattering it to pieces. Aquaqua's Fireball followed, smashing Pertomba 2's core. The moment the situation was over, Pepi poured every remaining heal she had into me.
'Somehow, it worked.' My brain felt like it was burning from overusing my body. The moment the tension faded, my entire frame began trembling uncontrollably. Heals only restored physical condition—mental fatigue couldn't be treated, so the aftereffects hit hard.
"Good work."
"...? It's over?"
"Yeah."
Only one golem remained in the temple. With all five of us gathered and fully recovered, clearing it wouldn't be difficult. 'Just as I thought.' When we actually went to the temple, the remaining golem was easily dealt with. Since the dungeon had no time limit, we simply waited for Aquaqua's Fireball mana to recover before heading in. We toyed with the golem by splitting aggro until the Fireball was ready, then finished it off. Dungeon clear successful.
'Glad it ended without any major issues.' There were some minor injuries, but Pepi's heals took care of everything. It was a smooth clear. The double Pertomba event was an unfair pattern that only affected players, so it was easier to just accept it and move on.
Rewards were automatically distributed based on contribution the moment they dropped in the dungeon, so there was no need to fight over them. 'They made this part surprisingly thorough.' Some aspects were sloppy while others were oddly meticulous. With those thoughts in mind, we headed toward the dungeon exit and emerged into the plaza.
"..."
We didn't get the chance to discuss what rewards might come from clearing the dungeon. There was no joy in victory, no camaraderie from fighting together—nothing.
"...You're back."
What greeted us was Gainard, looking relieved to see Jo returning unharmed while treating patients with visible exhaustion, and most of the cadets lying on the ground, severely injured and groaning in pain.
'What the hell is this?' Wasn't the unfair pattern supposed to only happen to players? The moment I saw the situation, I understood exactly what had occurred. Every injured cadet had burn wounds. The silver lining was that there were no fatalities, which suggested only one Pertomba had appeared.
'The unfair pattern appeared for everyone?' The probability of Pertomba appearing in all seven golem temple dungeons was less than 0.02%. Even that only happened when external factors were involved. The fact that it had actually occurred was hard to believe.
Pepi immediately understood what she needed to do and rushed in to heal the injured. Even after using all her remaining heals on us, she poured every ounce of strength she had left into treating them.
'...No way.'Final Destiny—a game where you forge your own destiny. What if that rule didn't just apply to players, but happened equally to everyone? What if, without exception, everyone faced the same unfair patterns in certain situations?
'That can't be.' The word "what if" had lost all meaning. The scene unfolding before my eyes proved it was real.
'I was too complacent.' I had to revise every plan. The idea of coasting through the early game and picking up the pace in the mid-game to reach the true ending—that kind of naive thinking wouldn't let me survive. 'I need to obtain the hidden skill as quickly as possible.'
I corrected my mindset. Party play? That was meaningless.
'I have to go alone. No matter what.' Solo carry was the only answer.