Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Ashurek's Escalation
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Jeong-hyeon tumbled across the ground from Ashurek's punch but managed to half-rise and assess the situation.
"Kiieeaaah!"
The beast was still roaring ferociously.
"Hap!"
"Ugh!"
Su-chan and Yeon-hee attempted an attack,
Boom—
but they couldn't achieve any real results.
"Cough—"
Su-chan's massive frame soared through the air.
Ashurek simply swatted away Su-chan's shield with a fist, deeming it the only real threat, and took Yeon-hee's attack head-on.
Jeong-hyeon himself had only managed to inflict proper damage after enchanting with neutral magic.
It was natural that desperate orders to attack yielded no effect.
"What kind of skin is that...?"
Yeon-hee, who had never failed to wound anything with her A-rank trait, looked flustered.
"One more time!"
Jeong-hyeon sprang up and enchanted her legs with neutral magic.
He should have done this from the start, but panic had clouded his judgment.
But it was too late.
Thwack—
Ashurek's thick tail whipped out fiercely, sending even Yeon-hee flying.
Ji-hee's magic followed toward the beast, but it was already too late.
"What...?"
"Nature's Power."
Jeong-hyeon had always thought of it as a natural way to describe magic enchantment.
Magic enchantment fundamentally utilized the four elements of nature, so the connection made sense.
But no one had ever confirmed that Nature's Power was magic enchantment.
"Nature's Power... isn't magic enchantment?"
Jeong-hyeon couldn't easily comprehend what he was seeing.
It wasn't the effect of a trait.
But if that wasn't Nature's Power, then what was?
From the scattered Lizardman corpses, the blood-soaked ground, the earth beneath, and the trees filling the land.
Mystical glowing energies flowed out, converging on a single point: Ashurek.
Fresh flesh rapidly filled the half-torn thigh, covered by glossy scales.
The green scales, like other Lizardmen's, gradually turned red.
Whoosh—
Ji-hee's magic arrived next.
Ashurek glanced at the fireball briefly.
Crackle—
Then he extended a hand enchanted with water attribute and snuffed it out like grabbing a toy.
It was a simple motion, but it carried clear meaning.
A completely different monster from the previous Ashurek had been born.
"This is insane..."
Yun-ho, who had watched the sequence, collapsed to the ground, legs giving out.
Honestly, he hadn't even expected to take down the Lizardman Warrior Chief.
He thought they had barely survived thanks to Jeong-hyeon and Ji-hee's valiant efforts.
But what was this situation now?
The boss monster, nearly driven to death, suddenly absorbed energy from its surroundings and came back even stronger.
Even in a Mission Gate where anything could happen, there were limits.
This clearly exceeded them.
"Man, this is so bullshit I can't even."
Jeong-hyeon felt much the same as Yun-ho, though the degree differed.
When he thought Nature's Power was magic enchantment, the difficulty was tolerable.
The world felt unfair, dumping all the hardship on him, but with his EX-rank trait, he could rationalize it somehow.
But no matter how he looked at it, this was too much.
They were already clearly outmatched before it absorbed whatever that was, and now he had no idea how to win.
"What the hell are you, some super final boss?"
His spirit utterly broken, nonsense spilled from his mouth.
No matter what he did, they'd die anyway.
So he'd do whatever and die.
That was the decisive difference between Jeong-hyeon and the other party members.
Crack—
Gripping the pickaxe, Jeong-hyeon charged at Ashurek.
The beast stared at him calmly, without even assuming a proper stance.
Jeong-hyeon's mood soured.
It was as if its entire body screamed that no stance was needed to block him.
'Let's see about that!'
He poured neutral magic into the artifact to its limit.
The familiar vibration transmitted through his hands.
Whatever Nature's Power did exactly, it surely couldn't enable Jeong-hyeon's unique privilege of neutral magic.
Finally, Ashurek entered Jeong-hyeon's attack range.
Whoosh—
The pickaxe swung widely, aiming straight for the beast's chest.
Boom—
And a thunderous crash.
Ashurek's claymore had precisely blocked the pickaxe's blade.
A clash of immense powers.
Sparks flew fiercely from the point of contact.
'What the hell... why are there so many cheaters in this world!'
But inwardly, Jeong-hyeon was screaming.
It looked evenly matched on the surface, but the reality was entirely different.
Jeong-hyeon was pushing with all his might, while Ashurek merely adjusted to keep his greatsword steady.
If it wanted, the situation could flip anytime.
"Urk!"
Like right now.
Tendons bulged briefly on Ashurek's thick arm, and the seemingly balanced standoff collapsed.
Jeong-hyeon was flung skyward, still gripping the pickaxe.
And as always, being airborne meant utter vulnerability.
Thud—
Ashurek leaped after him immediately.
Its greatsword plunged toward Jeong-hyeon's head like a bell clapper.
He hastily twisted the shaft horizontally to block, but the violent impact shook his body.
"Gah!"
Jeong-hyeon's body slammed into the ground.
The weight difference between greatsword and pickaxe was already huge, and with Ashurek far stronger now, resistance was futile.
"Kek!"
Ashurek's eyes gleamed.
It straightened the greatsword, point down, and dropped.
Seizing the moment Jeong-hyeon was dazed, it aimed to finish him.
Boom—
But at that instant, Ashurek took an unexpected hit and landed far off course.
"Kieeek!"
The enraged beast roared.
It was Ji-hee's magic.
But she hadn't prepared just one spell.
Boom— Boom— Boom—
Magic similar to the one that blasted it midair exploded repeatedly around it.
Visually, it resembled Jeong-geun's Air Bomb used against the Grand Mantis.
But while Air Bomb was a mere disruption spell with little destructive power, Ji-hee's version—fire attribute—boasted immense explosive force and accompanying heat waves.
In other words, it was no laughing matter for Lizardmen, inherently weak to heat.
"I'll help!"
Ji-hee shouted to Jeong-hyeon, who had barely risen.
She didn't look great either.
The second stabilizer's effect was nearly gone.
From the third, side effects were inevitable, and even without, the prolonged battle was grueling.
Even a healthy S-rank would struggle.
But since Jeong-hyeon hadn't given up, neither would she.
The other party members watching them were dumbfounded.
'Why don't they give up?'
It was a blatantly hopeless fight.
Ashurek, empowered by surrounding forces, had reborn as an impossible foe, while Jeong-hyeon and Ji-hee were pushed to their limits by successive battles.
But if they voiced such doubts, Jeong-hyeon would reply:
What's a hunter's reason to give up against a monster?
Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—
Jeong-hyeon charged Ashurek again.
No attacks that would land easily, but he unleashed everything he had.
Fire, water, wind, earth—followed by neutral.
Five magics flickered wildly over his body and weapon, cycling through attributes.
Ashurek leisurely countered, matching each attribute.
It looked like a close attribute battle, but Jeong-hyeon was clearly at a disadvantage.
Knowing this, Ji-hee gathered mana to support with magic.
"Save your mana!"
But at Jeong-hyeon's urgent cry, she hastily dispersed the collected mana.
"Wait for the decisive moment! I'll hold out somehow!"
He'd lowered his voice unconsciously, but now wasn't the time to care.
He probably gauged her state and told her to gather mana.
But his order presupposed one thing.
As he said himself, Jeong-hyeon had to somehow endure the exchanges with Ashurek.
If he couldn't, no one could last even a second against it, mana or not.
'This bastard... it's toying with me.'
Of course, Jeong-hyeon had his own thoughts.
Currently, Ashurek wasn't going all out against him.
Otherwise, the fight would have ended already.
He didn't know how long it would continue this playful bout, but he had to buy time until then.
The only slim variable was Ji-hee's magic.
Understanding, Ji-hee closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.
Her way of maximizing mana gathering.
Flash—
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon leaped far from the party members and threw daggers.
Three daggers, each with different attributes, flew at Ashurek, their paths meticulously altered.
Blocking all was nearly impossible.
Clang— Thunk—
As if aware, Ashurek didn't even try.
It only swatted the fire-enchanted one with its greatsword, taking the rest on its body.
Daggers embedded in shoulder and arm.
Even then, it subtly twisted to avoid vitals.
One could call it the first damage since gaining Nature's Power.
Pluck— Pluck—
'Man, this fight sucks.'
But the wounds closed rapidly as it pulled them out.
Considering the enchanted daggers, it was absurd natural regeneration.
Next came close combat, naturally.
Boom—
'Huh?'
But on the first clash, Jeong-hyeon sensed something off.
The force behind the sword had subtly increased.
Clang— Clang— Clang—
With each subsequent exchange, doubt turned to horror.
'What the fuck!'
The increased power wasn't imagination.
And that power grew stronger with every sword-pickaxe collision.
Endlessly.
Clang— Boom— Crack—
Jeong-hyeon's furrowed eyes caught Ashurek's face.
Utterly relaxed.
As if saying:
'Playtime's over.'
Just six exchanges in, Jeong-hyeon's arms reached their limit.
They trembled, on the verge of dropping the pickaxe.
Jeong-hyeon wasn't the strong-arm type to begin with.
Blocking that greatsword this long was already impressive.
Whoosh—
For the first time, Jeong-hyeon dodged instead of parrying Ashurek's claymore.
His instinct warned that taking another hit would break his arms.
'This is bad...'
Naturally, there was a reason he hadn't dodged until now.
With that power and speed, dodging wasn't easy for him.
Uncertain evasion often led to irreversible consequences.
Slipping into a no-escape bind or falling into the enemy's trap unnoticed.
But regardless of Jeong-hyeon's calculations, Ashurek's claymore grew relentlessly faster and stronger.