The Smartest Giant

Taking advantage of the moment his opponent blocked his ears, Tae-hyun ruthlessly targeted the Fallen Ancient Giant's ankle.

Ugh!

The recoil felt like striking a solid rubber ball! It was an absurd situation where Tae-hyun, despite delivering a powerful blow, was the one sent flying back, losing his balance.

Hesitating here is dangerous!

"Archisus's Charge!"

Tae-hyun used the skill without a moment's hesitation. In an instant, he vanished as if blinking out of existence, only to reappear further ahead. Left in his wake were bombs on the verge of detonating!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

With just a few exchanges, Tae-hyun realized exactly what kind of boss monster the Fallen Ancient Giant was. He also understood why Carbanog had warned him not to fight it!

What kind of broken cheat is this... It's a straight-up upgraded version of Smith?!

The Paladin class was famous for being incredibly tanky with massive HP pools. And Smith was the knight among knights! Armed with one of the most expensive equipment sets in the game and various Legendary Class skills, he could endure so much damage that anyone attacking him would end up cursing in frustration.

The story of three high-ranking rankers who had ganged up on Smith, only to fail to bring him down and be forced to retreat, was a legendary anecdote that always came up whenever Smith's name was mentioned. Although Cain was currently receiving undeserved praise as the "world's greatest tank" thanks to Tae-hyun, Smith's fans would have scoffed at the claim.

Yet, the ancient giant before him felt like an upgraded version of an upgraded version of Smith. In particular, that passive skill, Ancient Giant's Blood, was downright evil. It practically neutralized most skills.

What Tae-hyun didn't know was that he was still the player who had dealt the most damage to the ancient giant so far! Just moments ago, the players of the New York Lions had been wiped out without even scratching the beast.

I'm already running!

As Tae-hyun widened the distance, the ancient giant, in a fit of rage, chased after him... or rather, it didn't. Instead, it stopped and began to laugh triumphantly. Tae-hyun's heart sank at the sight.

Did it figure it out?

Had it realized he was acting as a decoy to protect the dwarven city? As expected of an ancient giant, its intelligence was high—

"You bastard of Archisus! You've laid a trap somewhere, haven't you? But I won't fall for it!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"......"

"Go ahead! If you want to catch me, come at me! I won't budge an inch!"

"...This is driving me crazy."

The opponent's intelligence was truly out of the ordinary. It was especially impressive that it had blocked its ears to completely shut out any conversation. That was surprisingly troublesome!

I never thought I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be flustered by a giant who just randomly plugs his ears...

Normally, he would have baited it with words, but seeing it stand there triumphantly, ignoring everything, left him at a loss.

My thoughts exactly.

Tae-hyun stopped overthinking and moved. If the opponent wanted to waste time, he would gladly accept the favor.

As Tae-hyun turned around and continued to widen the gap, the ancient giant snorted. It began talking to itself!

"Do you think I'll fall for such a cheap trick?"

"Come back here, you bastard of Archisus. I know you're trying to capture me."

"Hurry up and trigger your trap. It's supposed to go off when I walk over there, right?"

"...Why aren't you coming? I said, hurry up and come! I can wait as long as it takes!"

"...Kuaaaaah!"

Tae-hyun was not affected by any status ailments. In the first place, the ancient giant hadn't expected to catch Tae-hyun with just that. Its goal was to destroy the trap! However, there was absolutely no reaction.

"...Kuaah! Kuaah!"

Even after using its roaring skill several times, the passage remained dead silent! With a bewildered expression, the ancient giant took a step forward. Nothing happened.

"You bastard of Archisus!!!! You dared to trick me! You actually tricked me! Oho! Truly, you are worthy of being the follower of the God of Deception!"

Wow. That's actually pretty annoying.

The ancient giant had a strange knack for getting under one's skin. Of course, Tae-hyun didn't engage; instead, he sprinted like mad through the outer passage.

"But I am several steps ahead of you! I will devour you!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

With a deafening roar, the passage the goblins had dug out began to collapse and crumble. From beneath, the giant's head emerged! It was a sight straight out of a horror movie.

First objective: Success.

He had succeeded in luring the giant out of its lair. Now, all he had to do was lose it!

It doesn't matter. Now that we're outside, it'll be easy to widen the distance.

Tae-hyun summoned Yong-yong and immediately hopped onto his back.

"Fly straight up, no matter what!"

"I know, Master!"

Flying recklessly in a place like the Zaion Mountains was usually a terrible idea, as all kinds of flying monsters would swarm you. But with a monster like the Fallen Ancient Giant hot on his heels, dealing with a few wyverns was a much better alternative.

Screeeech!

"!"

The ancient giant put its fingers to its mouth and blew a sharp whistle. In the distance, a massive wyvern flew over and landed right in front of it.

"!!!"

Tae-hyun, who hadn't expected the giant to pursue him into the air, felt cold sweat run down his spine. This ancient giant was capable of land, sea, and now aerial combat!

"Master, I shall attack!"

Yong-yong immediately manifested lightning spheres in the air and began firing them indiscriminately. Compared to the ancient giant, the wyvern was relatively weak. Calling a wyvern "weak" felt a bit ridiculous, but...

But it's the truth!

Tae-hyun also focused his attacks on the wyvern that was starting to take flight from below. It was far easier than trying to take down the ancient giant itself!

"Summon Ancient Shield!"

However, the ancient giant seemed to have anticipated this. It immediately activated a magical barrier to protect the wyvern.

Damn it. To take it down, I have to get close...

Tae-hyun hesitated. He was confident he could melt the wyvern with burst damage if he got close, but approaching the ancient giant right now seemed far too risky.

"Heuk-heuk, Golgol-i! Take flight separately!"

Tae-hyun summoned the Death Knight Golgol-i, mounted him on Heuk-heuk, and ordered them to move to the side. A distraction tactic!

From behind, the ancient giant growled in annoyance.

"Enough of your tricks, you bastard of Archisus!"

With Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk splitting up, the ancient giant seemed briefly conflicted about whom to pursue. However, it was incredibly sharp.

"Did you think I wouldn't know that the dragon breed enslaved by Archisus is the Gold Dragon?!"

"!!"

Just the fact that it had plugged its ears the moment it saw Tae-hyun was proof enough of its high intelligence.

"The Black Dragon must be a fake! Die!"

"......"

Heuk-heuk, who was flying diligently, felt a sudden surge of indignation. While he was grateful not to be chased...

Who are you calling a fake?

A Black Dragon could be enslaved by Archisus too! What was with this dragon discrimination?!

The ancient giant was relentlessly persistent. It was truly terrifying that a boss monster with such absurd stats refused to give up.

Ah. Do I really have to drag this guy all the way to the Hunger Dungeon?

The Aykisus's Dungeon of Hunger built in his territory! It was the perfect place to dump a powerful boss monster. Of course, realistically, it was impossible. Leading it all the way there would be an ordeal in itself, and the path would be completely devastated. The fact that he was even considering it showed just how relentless the giant was!

Screeeech!

A flock of wyverns appeared. The moment Tae-hyun saw them, he threw a Shrapnel Bomb to stun them, then unleashed burst damage on those blocking his path.

If he had been given more time, he could have killed more, but he couldn't afford to. The ancient giant was roaring and flying right behind him.

Doesn't that wyvern ever get tired?

It was carrying that massive body!

"!"

The head of an ancient giant appeared over the mountain peak ahead. It was another ancient giant.

This is driving me absolutely insane.

Tae-hyun's mind raced, cycling through dozens of thoughts in a split second. Should I send Yong-yong elsewhere and head down to the ground? What about the Soul Reliquary authority? Should I transform into a Battle Angel and fly on my own? Or maybe pull out my motorcycle...

At that moment, someone leaped off the mountain. Lost in thought, Tae-hyun reflexively caught them on Yong-yong's back.

What the?!

If it was a player in this area...

"Old man?"

"...I don't know who you're referring to, but I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠definitely not him."

Of course, the player was not Chairman Yoo, but Lee Se-yeon.

"What?! Is this a trap?!"

"How could this be a trap?!" Lee Se-yeon shouted back, completely dumbfounded. She had cast Levitation and leaped down to shake off her pursuers, only to land right on him. How could this possibly be a trap!

He wanted to ask why she was here alone, but Tae-hyun didn't have the luxury. They were now sandwiched between two giants.

"Yong-yong! Dive down at maximum speed!"

Since they were surrounded from both sides, he planned to fly down into the valley to buy some time.

Crash! Boom! Crash!

"?!"

A sound echoed from behind.

"How dare you shamelessly trespass into my territory!"

"Did you write your name on this territory?!"

The two giants had thrown punches at each other the moment they crossed paths. With every single ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blow, nearby mountain peaks crumbled and massive boulders shattered under their monstrous strength!

"...Did we lose them?"

"...It seems so...?"

Tae-hyun stared blankly at Lee Se-yeon.

Why is she alone?

Lee Se-yeon rarely traveled alone like Tae-hyun did. First of all, her class was a Necromancer. It wasn't a class with high survivability like Tae-hyun's. Escorts were a necessity.

Lee Se-yeon was a meticulous player, and he knew she usually traveled with her guild members, not to mention her summons...

If only she falls, I'll be the Emperor of the Asvian Empire!

That is a very tempting idea.

Of course, it was completely unrealistic. Killing Lee Se-yeon wouldn't magically hand the Emperor's throne over to Tae-hyun.

And besides, she has magic, so dropping her probably wouldn't even kill her.

"Why are you here?"

"...It's a long story. Why are you here?"

"...Mine is a long story too."

It was too difficult to explain in just a sentence or two! Tae-hyun kept his guard up as he continued to steer Yong-yong. He still needed to put some distance between them and the giants.

I'm worried she might stab me in the back.

Infinite distrust!

Carbanog... do you trust Lee Se-yeon?

...Ah, right!

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was just worried you might harbor ambitions of getting rid of me to take the number one spot in the league."

"...I wasn't thinking about that at all?!"

Lee Se-yeon felt a surge of indignation. Actually, she had been thinking about something. She had been debating whether or not to say thank you. Here she was, quietly feeling grateful, and he was accusing her of this!

Any desire Lee Se-yeon had to explain her situation completely vanished. If she told him, this jerk would definitely...

"What?? Your party got wiped out and scattered by a single monster?? No way, are you really the great Lee Se-yeon?? You don't sound like her at all??"

...He would undoubtedly tease her mercilessly!

"So, what happened? Since you're hitching a ride on my summon, shouldn't you speak first?"

"......"

"Hmm. Seeing as you're silent, you must have run into an ancient giant and had your party wiped out. Were all your summons unsummoned too?"

"...!!"

He already figured it all out?!