The Boss Is Too Weak (2) (Revised)
The Boss Is Too Weak (2) (Revised)
After bringing our food supplies to the clearing and exchanging names, I followed Park Cheol-jin into the forest.
'...Looks like I was right not to regress.'
Even though this is the first time I've made it all the way to Day 6.
In previous cycles, just sitting idle in the clearing never triggered an event like this.
Finding out someone actually located the boss is entirely new.
I have to treat it as a butterfly effect from dragging people into the clearing... but I can't tell which action altered the future.
"..."
"..."
Park Cheol-jin and Choi Ji-won walked in silence.
The mood was a little strained, but I decided to just ask what I wanted to know.
"How did you hear about us?"
Because I said "us," Choi Ji-won's eyebrow twitched slightly, but she didn't object.
It's worth noting that Park Cheol-jin left the clearing early on Day 2, while it was still light. Choi Ji-won didn't start distributing food until after he'd gone.
Meaning there wasn't much overlap between the two of them.
"...A man named Kim Gun-do told me."
Park Cheol-jin answered readily.
"And who's that?"
"Kim Gun-do."
"..."
No idea. Who the hell is Kim Gun-do?
It's like a stranger walking up and saying, "Oh? Jun-ho, right? Good to see you!"
"He came over from your group... but apparently you don't even know his name."
"Does he have any standout features?"
"He digs like crazy."
"Ah!"
So the digging old guy's name was Kim Gun-do.
"As I understand it, he'd originally planned to casually dig around the clearing for five days... but he said he couldn't stand how crowded and rough it got. He's with us now."
"...Ah-ha."
In the previous cycles, Kim Gun-do disappeared on the night of Day 5.
Looks like because I dragged so many people into the clearing, he left earlier than he usually would.
And somehow he ended up joining the firefighter's group.
Is this what they call the butterfly effect? Feels weird.
"We've arrived."
After who knows how long, Park Cheol-jin finally stopped walking.
"...Wow."
Three decent-looking log houses stood here. They were on the small side, but the craftsmanship was solid.
"Did you build these yourself?"
"No. We had a carpenter in our group. His trait let him shape wood easily. These are his work."
"Oh, what was his name...?"
"...Killed by a Mutant Goblin."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, when Park Cheol-jin left the clearing, he didn't trust the Status Window or the Tower at all.
He was a stubborn old-timer who insisted it was all someone's sick joke.
And now that same man casually says words like "trait" and "Mutant Goblin."
How much hardship must he have endured to accept all this foreign nonsense?
It weighs on me for no good reason.
"But where is everyone?"
The log houses were completely empty.
Traces of habitation, but no actual people — the emptiness gave the place an eerie vibe.
"..."
The mood turned chilly all at once.
What's this?
Wait... did everyone except Park Cheol-jin get killed by the boss? Did I just pull a Talulu?
"...They're hiding a long way off."
Not a Talulu. Thank goodness.
Still, that's a strange thing to say. Why are they hiding?
"...Hoo."
Park Cheol-jin slumped heavily onto a carved wooden chair, took a deep breath, then fixed a sharp gaze on us.
"...Before I show you the boss, I'll ask you honestly."
"..."
Choi Ji-won had been staring somewhere silently since earlier. I ended up responding.
"Yes, go ahead."
Park Cheol-jin still hadn't taken his eyes off us. He asked cautiously.
"How did the two of you... learn to use a sword?"
"..."
"..."
This time, even I was at a loss for words. Because I figured out exactly why he was so wary.
I'll say it again: today is the sixth day since we entered the Tower.
And Choi Ji-won and I both wield swords far too well for people who supposedly taught themselves in six days.
Honestly, in this day and age, who even picks up a sword? A gun, sure — but a blade?
"Where did you learn to fight with a sword?" is an extremely sensible question.
The same question I once had about Choi Ji-won now applied to me as well.
"...I'll go first."
Choi Ji-won spoke up.
"My father was a kendo instructor."
"...An instructor?"
...I see.
So there was a reason Choi Ji-won was so good with a sword.
When your father is a kendo master, it makes sense you'd handle a blade well.
Now that I think about it, Choi Ji-won never actually showed off any flashy sword techniques.
Meaning she never pulled out a "Choi Ji-won Style Form One!" or anything like that.
She's just this strong because her fundamentals are rock-solid, and her physical abilities are overwhelming.
"...I have connections in that world myself. May I ask your father's name?"
Sensing something, Park Cheol-jin asked, his tone slow and careful.
"...It's written with the characters 'Cheol,' for iron, and 'Soon,' for pure."
"...Ah."
Choi Cheol-soon.
Apparently it was a name Park Cheol-jin recognized.
"About your father's... situation..."
"It's fine."
Park Cheol-jin suddenly sounded apologetic, and Choi Ji-won answered calmly that it was fine.
What's this? What's with this atmosphere? Why are they sharing stories only they understand?
"...I take it I don't need to ask you."
"I can feel it."
After that exchange, which made no sense to me, a brief awkward silence passed.
"So... should I explain myself now?"
It was my turn.
"I... obtained swordsmanship after entering the Tower."
"...Obtained?"
"It's a trait. Swordsmanship. B-rank. Knowledge I'd never learned just sort of embedded itself in my head at some point."
"..."
Operation: "I Dunno," more or less.
The Tower gave me swordsmanship. I don't know how. Direct all further questions to the Tower!
Of course, the Tower doesn't operate a customer-service desk. Park Cheol-jin's mouth clamped shut, caught by the perfect excuse that only works inside the Tower.
"...Ms. Ji-won. Is this man's skill reliable?"
"...I consider him to be in the upper ranks."
"Fine. If you say so, I'll trust it."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin nodded after taking her word.
"If it were up to me, I'd love nothing more than to see Mr. Kim Jun-ho's abilities for myself, but..."
He sank deep into his chair and looked me straight in the eye.
"We don't have time. The situation is quite dire."
"...Dire?"
"You know about the message window that appeared about the boss, right?"
"Yes, well..."
<Tutorial Stage>
-Clear Condition 1: Swallow a hidden 'Golden Orb' somewhere in the forest to advance to the next stage. However, only 50 Golden Orbs exist.
-Clear Condition 2: Defeat the Boss, Goblin Shaman, to generate a portal that allows advancement to the next stage.
"Aren't you curious why we found the boss but didn't kill it right away?"
Thinking back, he was absolutely right.
If you kill the boss, a portal to the next stage opens.
And at a glance, Park Cheol-jin was a remarkably strong man. His huge axe, his muscles, the aura radiating from him — everything announced a powerhouse.
So why wouldn't someone that strong just finish the boss in one go, instead of trekking all this way to find us?
"...You'll understand the situation once you see it with your own eyes. Come."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin rose from his seat and started walking somewhere.
"...Shall we?"
"We'd better."
Choi Ji-won and I followed after him.
"Finding the boss was pure coincidence. Mr. Kim Gun-do discovered a goblin tunnel while he was digging."
The further we walked, the more a familiar smell hit me.
Musty, stale, and sharply unpleasant in a familiar way... the smell of a swamp. The swamp stench meant we were probably heading toward the edge of the forest.
"When we explored the goblin burrow... we found an exit to the surface. That's when we discovered this place."
I dragged people into the clearing, so Mr. Kim Gun-do escaped earlier than originally planned.
He started digging here, and that triggered a strange butterfly effect that led Park Cheol-jin to discover the boss.
"..."
But the room to dwell on that quickly shrank.
A prickling sensation on my skin. The hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
I could feel a presence. The thing was raging.
"Here it is. The Boss, Goblin Shaman."
Huff. Huff.
Just as he said, an old goblin stood there, breathing in ragged gasps.
The Goblin Shaman wore the skull of some unknown animal and held an ornately decorated staff; anyone could tell at a glance who they were.
The unusual part was that the boss looked to be in terrible shape.
Green blood dripped steadily from its mouth; it seemed like a light shove would knock it right over.
"...So if I kill this frail-looking thing, the portal opens?"
"That's right."
The Goblin Shaman stood atop a complex pattern, endlessly muttering something.
"...Well, this is tricky."
The problem wasn't the Goblin Shaman.
"Guuuurk... Gruuuurrrk."
Muscles rippling.
Eyes brimming with madness.
An unbelievably huge axe clutched in its hand.
A humanoid body, but the head of a bull.
The Goblin Shaman was struggling to hold a seal in place.
That seal was binding the monster that once obliterated me in a single hit — the Minotaur.