The Monster Is Too Versatile
The monster was so ridiculously versatile that I genuinely believed the Transcendent’s power would finally put an end to it. Drdrdrdr──! “Huh?!”
But my prediction shattered in less than a few seconds. The creature’s colossal body suddenly floated into the air, then sprouted two stubby little legs beneath its torso.
?!
It planted those newly formed feet on the ground and bounced in place several times, as if testing their durability.
No way, that insane monster… Just how many phases does this thing have?!
Kuuuung─!
Kuuuuung─!!
Each leap sent a wave of dread through me, as though the world itself might collapse.
“What the hell is that thing doing?”
The monster that had been generating earthquakes suddenly spun around and began to flee.
“Whaaaaat?! T-that thing!”
“Stop it!”
“Is it trying to break out of the barrier? No! We have to catch it!”
“But nobody attack it!!”
Kim Seon-min and every hunter present scrambled to block its path, but the creature bulldozed forward with its overwhelming mass, steadily picking up speed.
The bizarre spectacle of a giant black slime frantically scurrying away on nothing but lumpy legs nearly made the hunters laugh in disbelief, yet none of them dared lower their guard.
“Damn it! It’s going to escape the barrier!! Bind! Bind!”
“Debuffers, hurry!”
We were following right behind Kang Yeonsu. At her shout, the supporters synchronized their breathing and unleashed every debuff they had, binding skills included.
Crash──!
The creature that had been hopping hundreds of meters in seconds was struck by the barrage and face-planted straight into the dirt. Not that it actually had a face.
The fallen monster was finally pinned in place, but I noticed something alarming: the instant the magic hit, its body had grown subtly larger.
This…?! It wasn’t only absorbing attack skills?
The other hunters clearly realized it too. Their voices erupted in panic.
As the monster moved, Kim Seon-min’s control began to falter. More than half the insects that had been covering its massive body had already vanished.
“Hup—!”
Scratch, scratch—
The Insect Sorcerer Kim Seon-min reached out to the remaining bugs and muttered something. The insects immediately began spitting out long threads, anchoring the monster firmly to the ground.
Crazy… He transformed the bugs into an entirely different species?!
He had changed the form of tens of millions of insects and even altered their properties.
He’s the real monster here. Compared to that thing, this guy is far worse.
While I stood there blankly staring at the Transcendent, Yeonhee carefully observed the situation and whispered to me.
……
I nodded.
Yeonhee’s words struck me harder than I expected.
I see…
I thought I trusted her abilities, yet at some point I had gone back to hovering around her protectively.
“Clack clack.”
(Something feels really off.)
I nodded again. My gut feeling that this wasn’t over was proving correct.
The monster had absorbed the binding skill and was now curling up, preparing something. We couldn’t tell whether it was about to explode or simply readying its next move, so everyone was on edge.
“There’s no hole this time! It’s not firing those shells!! What should we do?”
Everyone threw out suggestions, but no unified plan emerged. As the hunters grew more chaotic, Kim Seon-min suddenly cried out in alarm.
“Th-this can’t be…?! It’s trying to absorb my insects too?!”
““?!””
Kim Seon-min’s mana was uniquely alien, and it had been working perfectly until now, so we were genuinely shocked.
“I’m pulling the skill back!!”
Kim Seon-min quickly canceled his ability. Thankfully, the monster didn’t absorb any more power. But the sticky threads that had been binding it were swallowed into its body.
Now the creature could flee again at any moment.
“Hoo— Hoooo— Pulling my power back midway is tougher than I thought.”
Kim Seon-min spat out a glob of bodily fluid along with a ragged breath.
It must be exhausting… Mana, body, and space. Being under three separate constraints and still doing this much is already something to be grateful for.
Gratitude aside, the Transcendent’s impending withdrawal was clearly bad news.
“I’ll help from the rear as long as I can. But I’ll soon have to retreat into my own domain.”
“Just what you’ve done already is an enormous help, senior!”
Park Yong-hwan answered firmly. Thanks to the Transcendent, they had flipped the battle and gained the upper hand. We could only be thankful.
Kim Seon-min even offered advice to Park Yong-hwan, who carried a heavy burden of responsibility on his shoulders.
“If my senses are correct… that thing still has more power hidden. The ability it just used to absorb my insects clearly wasn’t possible a moment ago. It may look slow on the outside, but it’s evolving rapidly. It’s definitely hiding something deep inside. Be cautious.”
“Yes…! Thank you!”
That single piece of advice was decisive. The hunters gathered once more to discuss strategy, but no one could offer anything better than Kim Seon-min’s warning. In the end, they decided to surround the monster again and wait for reinforcements.
Hundreds of camera drones could be seen flying in the distant sky. This battle could decide the fate of the nation’s capital. The entire country was probably watching.
The hunters continuously shared the current situation with those waiting outside the barrier and urgently requested additional Transcendents.
The only responses they received were variations of that same message.
The monster was still gathering strength. Its gradually shrinking body felt far more ominous than before. Until a moment ago I could sense clearly inside it, but after it curled up it seemed to have blocked my perception entirely.
Who would’ve thought taking down a single monster would be this difficult.
In my previous life I had been unfortunately swept up in a Great Calamity’s ability along with Hyeon Jung-gil and trapped inside a labyrinth. By the time we escaped, the tide had already turned in the hunters’ favor. Since I was a non-combatant, I couldn’t participate in the fight and could only watch Hyeon Jung-gil’s heroics from afar like a movie.
Yet this creature was clearly far weaker than that previous Great Calamity, and still we were struggling this much. The future looked bleak. I wondered if this world was even meant for humans to live in.
Still, the marks are intact. It seems it can’t absorb those. Or maybe it simply hasn’t noticed them? It took a while for it to notice Kim Seon-min’s insects too.
Five small, flickering flames of my mark still burned atop the monster’s giant body. Whenever I tried to approach, it reacted and clearly showed awareness of me.
This is going to be difficult. At my current level I can barely dodge its close-range attacks. In the end, this is all I have… and it’s nowhere near enough.
I pulled out one of the tiny daggers I had crafted from bone whenever I had spare time. It was honestly too small to call a dagger; it was closer to a stiletto or throwing knife.
After my class change, the Flame Mark sometimes attached itself to bone attacks. The four daggers I had thrown at the monster earlier hadn’t left a single mark, but this was the only thing I could rely on right now.
“Looks like this is going to drag on much longer than expected…”
“Clack…”
Time flowed endlessly. Night fell, the long dawn passed, and the standoff continued into the next morning.
Yeonhee kept dozing off, leaning first against my knee, then my shoulder, constantly shifting positions. Arin, who had been struggling after being released from the sub-space, had finally recovered. With the monster that could wake at any moment right in front of us, we were all slowly growing exhausted.
“Sigh… How long do we have to keep doing this?”
“The monster is still quiet… but if it falls asleep like that, won’t it be even worse?”
“Exactly. Remember what happened in China. The region where ‘Necrosquall’ fell asleep was completely sealed off. The damage was catastrophic. At least that was one of their smaller provinces. This is our capital.”
“Right…”
“Ugh… Damn it! This is driving me insane!”
Kang Yeonsu, who had been holding it in, finally exploded, saying she had never seen anything like this in her entire life. Yeonhee gently comforted her and helped her calm down.
“By the way, you two looked awfully cozy last night. Don’t flirt so openly in front of a single person like me, okay?”
“I agree completely!”
“Huh? Ah, th-that’s… um…”
“Pfft— I’m joking. Why are you getting so flustered over a little teasing?”
“Ah… Y-yeah. Hehe—”
We passed the time exchanging silly jokes and chewing on jerky as a substitute for breakfast when a voice suddenly boomed from the loudspeakers. Kang Yeonsu reacted first.
— The White Knight Guild’s leader, Jo Giman, and the Ilseom Guild’s leader, Hyeon Jung-gil, will be providing support shortly. Please hold on just a little longer—!
The news was met with thunderous cheers.
……So they’ve finally come. Nothing has changed about him showing up late and acting like the main character.
The moment I had been expecting had arrived. I tightened my nerves to their limit.
One of the reasons I had tried to run away in the first place was the fear that the situation would escalate and Jo Giman would get involved. Yet here we were, facing him anyway.
Fortunately, Kang Yeonsu was beside us, and Hyeon Jung-gil was coming too. The worst-case scenario probably wouldn’t happen.
Exactly forty minutes later—at a time when we would normally be preparing to enter a dungeon—Jo Giman arrived on site first.
“Ugh… Jo Giman…”
Yeonhee rarely showed such open hostility. She glared at the distant figure with sharp, axe-like eyes.
I had been suppressing my presence as much as possible since earlier, trying to erase my existence.
I don’t know how much this will help, but I hope it does.
I could only pray that the Lesser Cognitive Inhibition I obtained from killing the monster ‘Bogle’ would have some effect.
Step. Step.
He was walking toward us. Those long, slit-like eyes. That face that somehow wore a smile while looking utterly expressionless. The confident stride, the slightly raised shoulders. For someone as tall as him, looking down on others came naturally, and his every action revealed an unpleasant personality that truly saw himself as superior.
The instant Jo Giman appeared, every hunter’s gaze locked onto him.
He had once been an F-rank hunter who struggled for years. Then one day he underwent a second awakening and began growing explosively. He was hailed as a genius who possessed the qualities of the strongest by several Transcendents. In just a few short years, that genius had become the leader of one of Korea’s representative guilds and a supreme powerhouse that even Transcendents hesitated to challenge.
It was only natural that envy, jealousy, fear, and competitive spirit poured out toward him all at once.
Does it feel good to be cheered for, you bastard? You son of a bitch… You deceived Yeonhee.
I tried to suppress my emotions as much as possible, but the moment I saw that bastard, uncontrollable rage boiled up inside me. The sensation of the dagger he had driven into my head still felt vividly real.
Jo Giman, basking in the cheers, for some reason walked straight toward us first.