Chapter 31: Boss Monster.
Chapter 31: Boss Monster.
The weather was clear. Bright sunlight, which we hadn't seen in the forest, now gently warmed our heads. It wasn't a bad feeling, but the fact that our party was walking in complete silence was, if anything, the only problem.
It had been about six hours since we left the cabin. In that time, we had barely spoken, save for a few necessary words. The atmosphere between Kim Hanbyul and me was chilly, but looking at the rest of the party, that wasn't the only reason for the silence.
In any case, despite walking for so long, we pressed on without a single break, as if we weren't tired at all.
How long had we been walking? Soon the Warp Gate came into view. More than half of it was visible—or rather, it looked enormous even though only half could be seen. The closer we drew, the more everyone, as if by unspoken agreement, kept their mouths shut. The only sounds were our soft, steady breaths. They were probably growing excited at the thought that the end was finally in sight.
It was good to press on with renewed vigor, but we couldn't afford to let our guard down. As expected, we hadn't encountered a single monster on the path to the Warp Gate. Perhaps because of that, everyone seemed to have unconsciously relaxed.
My mind was in turmoil. If the boss monster appeared, there would be no time to regroup or strategize. It would sense our location with uncanny speed and charge at us. I'd be lucky if everyone didn't just scatter in a panic. Even with me here, if I didn't reveal my true abilities, there was a high chance of casualties.
The Warp Gate was right before our eyes. A little further, and we would successfully complete the Rite of Passage. But to abandon the persona and plan I had maintained so far, with the goal just a short distance away, felt like too much of a waste.
I estimated the remaining distance. It seemed to be about 600 meters. Woo Jungmin had said his group was attacked 300 meters out, which meant we would likely encounter it if we went just halfway. I wanted to slow down as much as possible to organize my thoughts, but contrary to my wishes, the party's pace was gradually quickening. Ahn Hyun must have noticed it too, as he broke his long silence and spoke to Ahn Sol in an excited voice.
“Sol-ah. Let’s keep going just a little longer. Once we reach that huge oval structure up ahead, we can finally get out of this godforsaken place. Just hold on until then.”
“Okay!”
At Ahn Hyun’s gentle words, Ahn Sol nodded vigorously, her face bright. The occasional smile showed just how happy she was. I, who had been about to suggest a short break, immediately shut my mouth. No matter how much I thought, I couldn't come up with a good solution. I had no choice but to match their pace, and with every passing moment, the distance to the Warp Gate shrank.
Of course, I might have been worrying for nothing. Simply entering the Warp Gate without incident would have been the best outcome—a happy path where no one would be hurt or wounded. Yet the ominous feeling would not leave me. Something still nagged at the back of my mind. I had maintained the broadest and most detailed Sensing I had used since entering the Rite of Passage, but I could not sense the slightest trace of a boss monster.
We were now 500 meters from our destination. The Warp Gate gradually revealed its full majesty. A broad, level altar supported the massive oval structure, which was as imposing as a building in its own right. A huge opening pierced its center like a doughnut, and a pale-blue sphere floated within it. The thin blue currents it occasionally released made it clear that this was the magic sphere powering the Warp Gate.
The orb was beautiful enough that everyone’s gaze immediately turned toward it. Ahn Sol stared in open wonder, and even Kim Hanbyul watched with newly awakened interest, evidently taken with it. Lee Yoojung in particular could not tear her eyes from the orb’s brilliant glow, her expression almost entranced.
“It’s so pretty… I want to break it into pieces and make earrings. They’d be so beautiful dangling from my ears. I want it.”
“Unni. I just want to leave it as it is and look at it. I think it’s truly beautiful.”
As Lee Yoojung and Ahn Sol chatted, Ahn Hyun seemed to sink into thought, probably imagining Yoojung wearing the earrings. After a moment, he shook his head and spoke.
“Horrifying.”
“Oh? And what exactly does our Hyun mean by that…?”
“The thought of you wanting to wear them as earrings is just a little funny. They’d look much better on our Sol.”
“What was that?”
Ahn Hyun spoke with a nonchalant expression, and an indignant Lee Yoojung smacked him hard in the side. Ahn Sol, meanwhile, brightened at being told the earrings would suit her. She certainly did not look displeased; a shy smile lingered at the corners of her mouth. A guy with all the makings of a harem king having a sister complex—wasn’t that practically a tragedy in its own right? The ridiculous thought drew a faint laugh from me.
400 meters remaining. Looking around, the environment was quite similar to the clearing where we had started (the Starting Point). Patches of sparsely grown grass and clumps of dirt covered most of the ground. However, I noticed some clumps of dirt were unusually dark. When I stepped on them, they felt hard and solid, not soft like the rest of the soil. Had blood soaked into the earth and hardened it?
If so, the darkened soil was probably stained with the blood of prospective Users killed before reaching the Warp Gate during earlier Rites of Passage. I was likely the only one who had noticed, but I said nothing and continued walking.
300 meters remained. By then, we had almost broken into a run. Everyone’s face was radiant with the joy of having survived and made it this far. Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoojung, who had been growling at each other only moments earlier, exchanged smiles. Ahn Sol was openly beaming. Kim Hanbyul still wore her usual calm expression, but even she seemed quietly relieved.
Even after we passed the 300-meter mark, the boss monster didn't appear. It seemed Woo Jungmin's party had just been unlucky. With Ahn Sol and her 100 points in Luck on our side, I thought this might just be possible. After one last scan revealed nothing, I was about to relax and release my magic.
I didn't know it then—that we had celebrated far too soon.
Pzzzt! Pzzzzzt!
At the 200-meter mark, a noise that seemed to tear space itself reached my ears. The air around us changed, and the space before us distorted strangely. It was a phenomenon that occurred when a massive amount of magic was in motion. The others must have sensed the unsettling energy as well, because they stopped in their tracks. I quickly activated my Third Eye.
Sure enough, a sudden wave of magic was spreading around the clearing. At first glance it seemed to radiate in every direction, but a closer look showed it moving along a definite course. I calmed myself and began analyzing the pattern the magic was drawing, but then—
With a sound that resonated through the entire area, a massive formation began to appear in the middle of the path we had just walked. The moment I saw the pattern of the magic circle, my heart sank. It was a High-level Summoning Magic Circle. I quickly tried to send my own magic to disrupt the formation, but…
I was too late. The magic circle, now fully formed in the air, began to glow with a pale light as it activated.
So that was it. The boss monster appeared through a summoning circle. Before I knew it, the entire party, myself included, was staring blankly at the circle suspended in midair. The others could clearly see it as well, yet no one managed to speak. The circle was pouring out dense waves of wicked, ominous energy.
Wooooong! Wooooong!
At last, the summoning began. The first things to appear were the boss monster's face and fingers. Its face was the very definition of grotesque. The elongated head had no eyes, only a gaping, slit-like mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its fingers were as sharp as massive scythes, glinting in the light. A dark, carapace-like body that looked like it was forged from black steel emerged, followed by a long tail that shot out abruptly.
When the summoning was complete, the boss monster stood there, boasting a colossal body that easily surpassed five meters in height. The boss monster had appeared.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Gulp!
Its mouth was smeared with red blood, as if it had just finished a meal. Yet, it seemed it wasn't enough, as it smacked its lips while looking at us.
I quickly checked the others' faces. I had to give them credit for not screaming and scattering in every direction at the sight of it, but Lee Yoojung, Kim Hanbyul, and Ahn Sol were all frozen in panic. Their bodies were rigid like ice sculptures, unable to lift a single foot from the ground. They were completely overwhelmed by the creature's immense killing intent.
Only Ahn Hyun managed to speak, his face a mask of disbelief.
“N-No way… W-What in the world is…”
KEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!
Before Ahn Hyun could finish, the boss monster's ferocious roar struck our bodies. The sound wave, laced with killing intent, must have sent a paralyzing jolt through them. As if released from a spell, they began to move, but only managed a step or two. There was no more time to waste. I looked at everyone and spoke in a low but clear voice.
“Everyone, keep your heads. Don't panic. Stay calm and react accordingly.”
“H-Hyung… it’s impossible. This time, it’s really impossible. We can’t win. We have to run!”
Seeing me cock the crossbow, Ahn Hyun must have misunderstood what I meant. He answered in a trembling voice. The boss monster’s overwhelming presence had robbed everyone of the will to fight. Shouting or berating them now would only deepen the confusion. I had never intended to fight it alongside these kids anyway. I infused my voice with gentle magic and used it to soothe their rigid bodies.
“I’m not saying we should fight. Facing that thing would be suicide. Like you said, we’re going to run. But if we scatter in random directions, it’ll hunt us down one by one. We’ll run toward the Warp Gate.”
“R-Right. Let’s hurry…”
I sighed inwardly as I watched Lee Yoojung agree but still look completely lost. At least Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul were slowly breaking free from their fear. A faint, yet desperate, desire for survival flickered in their eyes. My magic soothing their bodies and my calm demeanor, which they had come to trust, probably made them think I had some kind of plan.
“From now on, everyone drop your bags and weapons. Make yourselves as light as possible and run for the Warp Gate with everything you’ve got.”
“W-What…?”
The boss monster roared again. We were really out of time now. A surge of frustration rose in me as I saw Ahn Sol still looking around in a daze. I walked over to her, forcibly pulled the bag off her shoulders, and spoke.
“Ahn Hyun, what are you doing?! Drop the sword and shield! You plan on running with that?”
“Y-Yes!”
Ahn Hyun, Lee Yoojung, and Kim Hanbyul all dropped their luggage and weapons. The boss monster was now charging towards us on all fours. Each time its feet hit the ground, a thud echoed, like a series of small earthquakes.
And with the first tremor as our signal, I grabbed Ahn Sol’s hand and started running. At the same time, our entire party sprinted towards the Warp Gate at full speed.
We ran. Ran and ran and ran. Even though everyone was sprinting with all their strength, the intervals between the thuds behind us kept shrinking. When Lee Yoojung started to glance back uneasily, I shouted at once.
“Don’t even think about looking back. Just focus on running forward.”
The boss monster had been summoned 300 meters from the Warp Gate, while we had 200 meters left to go. We held a 100-meter lead, but it was certain to catch up at least once. My goal was to survive that single attempt. The longer it ran, the more speed it seemed to gain; if I could force it to stop just once, I could erase all the momentum it had built.
Then it would have to start over, chasing us at a relatively slower speed, and we would use that gap to enter the Warp Gate. I gripped the crossbow mounted on my left arm tightly.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
180 meters remaining.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
160 meters remaining.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
140 meters remaining. The shrinking intervals between the sounds told me the creature had reached its full stride. We had no hope of shaking it off by simply continuing to run. The time had come. While everyone else was too busy running to notice, I channeled a measured amount of magic into the loaded bolt. An ordinary bolt could never pierce its steel-like carapace. When the transfer was complete, an aura twice as sharp as before poured from my left wrist.
My preparations were complete. It was now my turn to act. Any hesitation could lead to an irreversible disaster. I stopped running and let go of Ahn Sol’s hand, which I had been holding tightly.
As Ahn Sol ran past me, her shocked voice rang out, and everyone else seemed to instinctively feel that something was wrong. Before they could turn their heads, I barked out in a powerful voice.
“I told you to run without looking back!”
My angry voice, unlike anything they had heard from me before, seemed to make everyone flinch. Once I confirmed that their half-turned heads were facing forward again, I immediately spun around. The boss monster saw me stop and charged as though making me its first target. I swiftly raised my left arm.