Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: The Inferno Beholder
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We parted ways with No Hyoman's search party.
I usually try to end conversations on a good note, but I couldn't tolerate him acting like he was my superior.
After leaving the factory, we turned our steps toward the tower known as Mechaenia's control tower.
To avoid running into giants on the main roads, we stuck to narrow alleys.
The acrid stench grew thicker the closer we got to the tower. Even covering my nose with a handkerchief, it stung.
"……Get down."
I pressed myself flat against a building. Everyone following in line did the same, hugging the wall.
We stopped and held our breaths.
Footsteps echoed from not far away—heavy footsteps from a lifeform even bigger than an ogre, too massive to be human.
Thud. Thud.
It seemed smaller than the orc giant from the fifth round.
The ground shook less than that one did.
I peeked out from the building to scout around.
One giant…. No, a monster, I guess?
It had a humanoid shape, but its entire body was white—a one-eyed freak.
Its gaunt frame with elongated arms and legs made it look ghostly.
'……A Beholder.'
The lowest-ranked monster among the giant species.
I gripped the handle of my scythe tightly and warned everyone.
"Giant sighted. Its health bar puts it way above any orc. Stay sharp and hold position."
Jeongwoo infused his axe with aura and asked me.
"One on one? We could take it easy with our current setup."
"……Think so?"
Thud.
I glanced at the approaching Beholder again.
Its health bar was a blue I'd never seen before.
Meaning we'd have to whittle it down three times.
Monster health bars usually go blue → green → red.
This change, which starts in the tenth round, showing up in the sixth?
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
This is bad.
"……Let's go."
Whoosh!
We split left and right and charged.
Jo Youngki shouted.
"Earth Spear!"
A massive stone spear flew in and smashed into the giant's head.
Boom!
-Kieeeek!
Its head snapped back.
Ma Jeongwoo rushed forward and swung his axe at the giant's left shin.
Swoosh—crack.
So tough that even a full barbarian swing barely cut it.
Despite the aura-infused strike, the blade just embedded in the giant's bone.
Crack!
Jeongwoo yanked the axe free from its leg and yelled at me.
"Kim Cheonjae!"
I charged straight in, aiming for its neck.
Whooosh—
My scythe whipped around in a spiral and slashed down on the giant's neck.
Crunch!
'……Too shallow.'
I figured I'd sever it since the neck's relatively weaker.
No chance.
As the giant lifted its head slightly, its neck bone clamped down hard on my scythe.
-Kyaak!
It wouldn't budge in or out. I tugged hard to pull it free, but nothing.
"Get off!"
The giant shook its upper body wildly to shake me loose.
Balancing on its shaking shoulder like a rodeo bull, I gripped the scythe handle.
"Quit it, you bastard."
Michael, unable to watch, fired his pistol to draw its attention.
Bang! Bang!
The giant's gaze shifted to Michael.
"Genius Kim! I'm on aggro!"
"Got it!"
Michael kept shooting to bait the giant while Jo Youngki hurled stone spears at openings.
Even with everyone's all-out assault, the Beholder's health bar barely budged.
We'd fought for ages and hadn't even halved the blue bar.
"Damn."
Yoo Sora burst out from between buildings and shouted.
"Cheonjae! Ready the syringes?!"
Gripping its ear for balance, I replied.
"Yeah! Two red, one blue!"
"Got it!"
Yoo Sora ducked back into the building. Kim Yeonhui, waiting beside her, sprang into action.
"I'll fight too!"
Lightning Flash
With cat-like agility, she zipped to the giant's front and leaped up to chest height.
Lightly airborne, she spun two quick rotations and slashed her dagger at the Beholder's solar plexus.
Clang!
The blade bounced off.
"Ow!"
Kim Yeonhui crumpled limply to the ground.
Thud.
"Ugh…. Kim Cheonjae! Why didn't you say it had Iron Skin!"
Iron Skin?
I glanced at the giant's shoulder. My shoe had dented the skin.
If it was Iron Skin, it'd be steel-hard.
"……Not Iron Skin!"
"What?"
"Not Iron Skin. It just has sky-high defense!"
The giant clapped its hands into a massive fist and slammed it down.
Boom!
The ground quaked like an earthquake.
-Krahak! Where'd you worthless punks come from!
It bellowed like it was yelling into a mic. The Beholder leaped high and landed.
Thud!
Ma Jeongwoo and I got flung off.
Flop.
"Ugh…."
We hadn't let our guard down.
Everyone gave it their all, and still.
Losing to the weakest giant in the sixth round.
"……We're in trouble."
The giant glared at us one by one, eyes bulging.
-I'll kill you all….
Where did it go wrong?
The weakest giant in the sixth round shouldn't be this strong.
As I mulled it over, I recalled the system message from before coming here.
'……Right.'
The system had bumped our group event difficulty to 'Inferno.'
I'd cleared up to Nightmare, but Inferno was blocked by the devs, so I'd never tried it.
-Krrr, you mere humans dare!
[The 'Beholder' uses Earth's Wrath skill.]
Like a gorilla, it pounded its chest with both fists, then swung wildly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each punch hit like a bomb. The area around it turned to rubble in seconds.
"Everyone, hide!"
At my shout, we all ducked into nearby building alleys.
Getting caught in that would pulverize our bones.
What now?
All the Beholder weak points I knew were sealed.
Legs, solar plexus, neck.
In the PC game, targeting those wrapped it up easy.
"……Ah!"
Does Inferno mode mean hitting THAT spot?
I yelled at Jeongwoo.
"Ma Jeongwoo!"
He scowled back.
"What!"
"Draw its gaze for me."
"Gaze? Michael's on aggro."
"No, not just aggro. Stop its movement cold."
"……What? You want me to die?"
"Yeah! Get in front and yell for it to kill you. Okay?"
Jeongwoo's face hardened at first, then lit up as he got it and grinned.
"Ah…. That's what you meant."
"Sora! Syringes?"
Yoo Sora dashed to my side.
Pat-pat-pat-pat-pat!
"Ready!"
She spun the syringes and jabbed the needles into my armor gaps.
Sizzle.
Heat surged through my body. Power boiled from deep in my chest, breath quickening.
Veins swelled like they might burst through my skin.
Muscles bulged like post-workout pump.
[Received red blood transfusion from player 'Yoo Sora.']
[The power of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who received the spirit of the giant boulder atop Flower-Fruit Mountain, activates.]
[Activation time: 60 minutes]
"Get ready, Jo Youngki!"
* * * * *
Ma Jeongwoo charged the giant.
It swung a fist at him.
Jeongwoo ignored it and sprinted straight ahead.
Just before the fist connected, Jo Youngki's stone spear nailed its face.
Boom!
-Kweeeek!
Jo Youngki yelled.
"Kim Cheonjae, like this?!"
I shouted back while running at the giant.
"Yeah!"
Safely in front of the giant, Ma Jeongwoo flipped it the double birds.
"Eat this!"
[Barbarian's Roar]
Boom!
The air shook violently, staggering the giant.
For a moment, its movement froze perfectly.
Hit dead-on by Barbarian's Roar, it's fully groggy for 3 seconds.
I leaped up its spine. Grabbed the scythe handle lodged in its neck and yanked.
Crack!
'This power pulls it free.'
Then I swung at its face.
"No way this is tough!"
Crunch!
My blade flashed.
By the time the Beholder recovered, blood streamed from its eye.
Spot on.
The giants' fatal weak point known to few.
The eyeball.
Even knowing it, it's brutally hard to hit—especially against one this strong.
-K. K. K. K……. Aaaagh!!
The Beholder screamed.
The direct hit dropped its health bar from blue straight to green.
I hammered the handle deeper into its eye with my fist.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Each blow drove the blade further into the orb. Its health plunged fast.
Green bar shot down to red in moments.
As it thrashed, Jo Youngki chanted.
"Earth Field."
The ground surged up, encasing its feet and hands. The Beholder couldn't resist.
I gripped hard and pulled the scythe from its eye.
The giant's eye split slowly like pudding.
It gasped violently in death throes.
Krahhhh—!
"……Not an infected."
If virus-tainted, it'd leak green or purple fluid.
Clear liquid oozed from its eye.
I touched the fluid on my scythe.
Sticky like snail slime.
As the health bar neared black, everyone gathered in front of the Beholder.
Ma Jeongwoo tapped its neck with his axe and asked me.
"Why's this Beholder punk so damn strong?"
"……Ma Jeongwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Remember, our group's event difficulty got set to 'Inferno.'"
Jeongwoo's eyes widened as he recalled the system message.
"Ah! Son of a bitch! That's why."
I patted the giant's forehead and replied.
"Exactly. But…. Inferno? No big deal."
15%, right?
['Reaper's Scythe' activates.]
[Beholder's soul is obliterated.]
Crunch!
The giant's head came off.
[System Message]
[Congratulations! You've become the first player to slay a giant at 'Inferno' difficulty.]
[Rewards adjusted for the increased difficulty will be granted.]
[Reward: 1 Giant's Essence]
"……Giant's Essence."
The giant's corpse flashed and vanished, leaving a flask spinning before me.
I snatched the Giant's Essence flask and chugged it.
Gulp, gulp.
Cool relief washed down the dust in my throat.
[Body adapts to Mechaenia's polluted air.]
[Breathing becomes comfortable.]
[Movement returns from <Slow> to <Normal>.]
Everyone followed suit after I drank.
Breathing eased, and faces brightened.
"Whew! Now I can breathe."
[Acquired title 'Giant Hunting? Piece of Cake.']
[Summon level +1!]
[Summon level '9' achieved]
[Subordinates' attack power, defense, and health slightly increase.]
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Cheers erupted suddenly.
Looking around, Mechaenia residents who'd hidden and watched our fight crept out one by one.
-Th…. The Opener. The Opener's here!
-No way. Isn't the Opener just a fairy tale?
-God…. Thank you…. Salvation at last….
The residents gathered before me and started bowing.
'……Who the hell are these guys.'
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