Real Combat (2)
"Mom! Mom!"
It had already been ten years, yet the memory remained as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
My mother, one arm already severed, entrusting me to the servants. I thrashed with everything my small body had, desperate to stay and fight beside her—but I was nowhere near strong enough to break free of their grip.
"It's all right."
Watching her back grow smaller and smaller, all I could do was cry out in helpless despair.
"Mom! Mom!"
"Ji-won…"
At my scream of a cry, she turned and offered me the gentlest of smiles.
"I love you."
Those were the last words she left me before she died.
"Min Ji-won!"
The sound of my name snapped me back to reality, and I jerked my gaze forward.
Right. That was it.
Yu I-jin had dropped us into this place, and when he finally showed himself, we had come within a hair's breadth of taking him down.
But I couldn't finish it.
Why? The question had barely formed when the reason for my failure let out a low growl and blasted hot breath through its nostrils.
A colossal fossil of pure bone. At a glance, the skeletal frame pieced together from fragments almost looked fragile—but I knew better.
I knew the true darkness hidden beneath that deceptively brittle exterior.
Claws and talons that could shred a person like paper. Jaws that could crumple a shipping container and grind it to scrap. A tail that could strike freely in every direction.
Every single part of it might as well have been purpose-built to kill. A living murder weapon of a monster.
An S-Rank, a B-Rank, and on top of that…
Yu I-jin himself.
The monsters alone were already a nightmare. Adding a human enemy to the mix made "surrounded on all sides" feel like an understatement.
At least the B-Rank wasn't an immediate concern. Monsters never willingly trespassed into the territory of a higher-ranked creature—that was the nature of their hierarchical turf wars. It was the same reason E-Rank and F-Rank monsters never charged in while D-Ranks held the front line in a dungeon.
I was still running the tactical breakdown when Yu I-jin spoke, folding up the black bundle that had been flapping open only moments before. He smiled brightly.
"There's no need to worry quite so much. It's not as though I can control an S-Rank—and that summoning just now drained my mana dry."
My brow furrowed before I could stop it.
"And you expect us to believe—"
"Well, even if you don't—"
KRAKOOM!
The Skull Dino attacked Yu I-jin standing right beside it. Its tail cracked through the air like a whip, thrashing in every direction, and the ground around them was instantly reduced to rubble.
Yu I-jin dodged the assault with the ease of someone who had fully expected it. Putting distance between himself and the Skull Dino, he drifted toward the darkness where no light reached.
"Min Ji-won."
Even as the Skull Dino immediately gave chase, his composed demeanor never cracked.
"When you overcome this trial, you will shine all the more brilliantly."
His form began to melt into the shadows, dissolving as though the dark itself were swallowing him whole.
"I truly look forward to seeing just how much your value will rise when that day comes."
With those parting words, he vanished completely.
BOOM!
The Skull Dino arrived a beat too late, tearing through the surroundings in a frenzy to find him—but neither its claws nor its tail caught hold of anything.
Grrraaaagh—!
It roared once, as if furious at its failure, then slowly turned its head. Its gaze settled on us.
Like a hunter settling for the next best prey.
Under that stare, my body locked up on its own. I shook my head hard from side to side, forcing myself to look away from the past that kept flashing unbidden through my mind.
Hoo…
I drew a small breath, clawing my way back to calm, and sorted the situation piece by piece.
The B-Rank monster has no intention of coming this way. And whether it's true or not, Yu I-jin has gone to ground—probably to recover.
Which meant the only thing that demanded my focus right now was—
Grrrrr!
—the S-Rank monster standing right in front of us. The Skull Dino.
I glanced back at my teammates, who had already fallen into formation behind me, and opened my mouth.
"From this moment on, we're hunting that monster."
The blunt declaration made everyone swallow hard.
"I overheard earlier… that's an S-Rank, right…?"
The spearman asked as if seeking confirmation, having clearly caught the exchange with Yu I-jin.
The longer we talked, the worse the fear would get. There was no point—and no time—wasting breath on a conversation that would only drag us down.
"No time for a detailed briefing. I'll tank. The rest of you hold your attacks and stay ready until I give the signal."
"What…? Why are you tanking?"
Park So-jeong, the triple-sword fighter, shot back indignantly.
I understood the objection. Tanking was a role that typically only came into play with parties of seven or more—and even then, it usually went to whoever was carrying a shield.
But in a situation like this, the complicated explanation boiled down to one simple truth.
"Because I'm the only one who can stop its movements."
With that, I sprinted forward.
Voices rose behind me, still arguing—but I ignored them.
Because—
GRRRAAAAGH—!
—the Skull Dino charged, as if declaring that there would be no more delays.
I had faced B-Ranks before. Anything above that was uncharted territory. And the gap between ranks only widened the higher you climbed. The difference between B-Rank, A-Rank, and S-Rank wasn't a matter of degree—it was a difference in kind.
I've seen it. I know it in my bones.
First priority—
Its attacks. If I couldn't even see them coming, tanking was meaningless. The fight itself wouldn't hold together.
SKRRRAAASH!
The Skull Dino's claws tore across the ground, raking toward me. Fast—but still trackable with the naked eye.
The problem was—
"Urgh…!"
—my reaction speed. I twisted my body as hard as I could and barely slipped past. It was razor-close.
And worse—
CLANG—!
Hard…
My attacks weren't landing. That was the real crisis. Those rattling bones that looked almost shoddy at a glance were as dense as steel plating.
CRUNCH!
The creature shoved its snout forward, jaws yawning wide before slamming shut—and the chunk of earth caught between its teeth simply vanished, melting away like snow.
I have to hold it!
I had told them to attack on my signal, but the truth was I had no intention of giving one. Our attacks couldn't damage the Skull Dino anyway. A reckless strike would only pull its aggro toward the team—and the moment that happened, it would charge straight at them.
Total wipeout.
I had committed to tanking. I had to keep it on me. But with the power I currently possessed, I had no real means of stopping it.
In the end, all I could do was endure—alone, however I could.
SLASH!
"Ghk…!"
A razor-sharp claw grazed past my arm. The creature let out a low sound—expressionless as a bare skull, yet somehow I could picture the cruel smile it would wear if it had a face.
Of course. Even Mom fell to this thing. How am I supposed to beat it?
My mother—who, even under heavy penalties, had taken down A-Ranks solo—had been brought down by this monster. There was no world in which someone who had only ever faced B-Ranks could win.
BOOOOM—!
I barely slipped past the Skull Dino's tail again. But there was no time to feel even a flicker of triumph—claws and talons came screaming in immediately after.
I dodged those too. The assault never stopped.
Attacks I could just barely track with my eyes. A body moving even more precariously than that. The moment my nerves frayed and my focus slipped—or my body simply gave out and froze for a single beat—it would be over.
And that moment arrived faster than I expected.
Thud.
So consumed with dodging that I hadn't watched my back, I slammed into a dead end.
Grrrk.
With nowhere left to retreat, the Skull Dino let out a soft, almost mocking cry.
So this is as far as I go.
I watched it slowly raise its claws, watched the swing begin—and closed my eyes.
SKREEEEECH!
"Min Ji-won!"
The sound of something striking steel, paired with my name being shouted, jolted my eyes open as if I'd been startled awake. The Skull Dino's claws whistled past just above my head.
Grrrrrk…
The creature turned its gaze behind it. Shards of something like ice glittered on the ground—an ice spike must have struck the Skull Dino and nudged the trajectory of its attack just enough.
"What are you doing?! Get out of there!"
Only at that scolding shout did I fully snap back. I swung my sword at the creature as it looked away and bolted free of the pocket formed by the wall and the Skull Dino's body.
CLANG—!
Fortunately, a single strike was enough to yank its aggro straight back onto me.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
My breath tore in and out in ragged gasps. When had it started? Sweat had soaked me through—this sudden shortness of breath hadn't come from nowhere.
My teammates swam into view at the edge of my vision, watching me and the Skull Dino, ready to strike at any moment.
And with them, a voice echoed through my mind.
You know what a leader has to value most?
A conversation I'd had with Park Yeon-chan not long ago.
Survival. Bringing everyone back alive.
And "everyone" includes—
—the leader. No exceptions.
Why were these words surfacing now?
Even as I scrambled to dodge the Skull Dino's attacks, the voice in my head refused to stop.
A leader sacrifices themselves to save the others? Don't give me that crap.
What about the teammates left behind?
Throwing yourself away without thinking about the aftermath—that's second-rate garbage.
The memory of his infuriating, crooked grin pulled a hollow laugh out of me before I could stop it.
If the leader dies so the rest can live, those people are going to carry that guilt forever.
A first-rate leader handles the aftercare too. No loose ends. Everybody walks away happy.
"What a load of nonsense."
It really was nonsense. How was everyone supposed to survive a situation like this?
Well, sure—the world isn't simple enough that the right mindset alone makes everything fall into place.
And yet—he had held up a finger, pressing on.
Everything starts with the right mindset.
He was right.
Just now, I had given up. I had decided my life ended here.
But that was wrong. If I died, the others would die too—no question. There was far too much left to throw everything away and simply accept death.
Once you've made up your mind—use your head.
First—
Read the attacks. Doesn't matter how strong the opponent is. If it doesn't hit you, you're fine.
The Skull Dino's attacks: claws that rake in fast; talons that slash the moment you close distance, paired with kicking motions; a tail that can thrash in every direction.
I broke down each part one by one, and its attacks began to resolve more clearly. I slipped past them.
Once you've dodged—
Counterattack.
CLAAANG!
I slipped into its guard at the perfect moment and swung with everything I had—but once again, it felt like striking steel. My blade couldn't cut through bone.
"Damn it."
A curse I never normally used slipped out, but I had no bandwidth to care.
Grrrk.
The Skull Dino swept its claws at me as if laughing at the pathetic sight I made. I put distance between us and dodged again.
Just because an attack doesn't work doesn't mean it's meaningless.
CLAAANG!
I dodged, found another opening, and drove my sword in with everything I had.
Sounds ridiculous, but monsters are living things too. Every one of them has strong points and weak points.
BOOM!
I slipped under a descending tail and closed in once more.
Attacks not landing? Then poke around. Hit everything. Eventually—
SKRITCH—!
"…!"
Not the sensation of striking steel this time. Something different brushed through my fingertips—a texture that wasn't the same.
"Found it…!"
There's always at least one spot that reacts.
I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from pulling up as I stepped in hard.
And after that? You already know.
"Beat the absolute hell out of that one spot!"
"Hah…"
Atop a stone pillar in the dungeon—the same vantage as before—Yu I-jin looked down on Min Ji-won's party and let out a dry laugh he hadn't meant to make.
Not only had a student forced him back, he had burned the black bundle meant to stage the scene just to defend himself. He was a mess.
He had never used the black bundle before this. He hadn't known the mana drain would be this severe.
Good thing I brought it.
A robe that erased both presence and appearance—something he had packed just in case. A top-tier relic, one Freedom held in high regard.
Gulp. Gulp.
Cloaked in the robe, he downed the last of his potions, and he could feel his mana recovering a little faster. Roughly ten empty glass vials lay scattered at his feet—a tally of everything he had already drunk.
That aside…
Yu I-jin's eyes took on a strange gleam as he glanced down at Min Ji-won's group.
"Truly remarkable, Min Ji-won."
Not a single word of it was a lie. Moments ago she had been so thoroughly outmatched that death at any second would have been unsurprising. Now she was gradually finding her balance against the Skull Dino, matching it step for step.
"Excellent. Yes. The higher the quality of your soul rises, the higher our success rate climbs."
He threw both arms wide, a mad grin splitting his face.
"And when your soul has fully ripened at last, we will finally achieve the wish we have so long—"
"Wish, my ass, you son of a bitch."
"…!"
Yu I-jin spun toward the voice that had suddenly come from behind him—but—
CRAAACK!
—there was no dodging the fist already flying at his face.
BOOM!
"Kh—! Cough…! Cough…!"
He managed to get an arm up in time, but he couldn't stop the shockwave tearing through his body. The impact slammed him into the wall, and it took everything he had just to push himself upright.
"I told you."
Thud.
He thought he had barely gotten to his feet—only to find his opponent already standing right in front of him.
"You're not dying clean."
Park Yeon-chan's deep blue eyes, dark and sunken with cold fury, locked onto Yu I-jin.