The Boss Is Too Weak (5)
The Boss Is Too Weak (5)
"...I never thought that goblin could speak."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin was the first to speak.
"Keruk... I can't see, and my hearing's nearly gone... only my sense of smell is sharp. Keruk. I didn't even know you bastards were here. Keruk."
"..."
So he noticed me because I smelled.
I hadn't been able to bathe since there was no river, but I'd wiped myself down diligently with water...
"So, we roll the Minotaur into the swamp?"
Choi Ji-won asked, arms crossed.
I nodded slightly.
"Under normal circumstances, it'd be impossible, but we're superhuman. We can't think in ordinary terms."
"If we do it right, it does seem plausible..."
Choi Ji-won shrugged once.
"Fair warning: everyone in the clearing is either low-level or has no levels at all, so they're no help whatsoever."
Choi Ji-won said it flatly. I already knew.
"To be blunt, it's a gamble. Realistically, the odds of pulling it off aren't high."
This time Firefighter Park Cheol-jin spoke with a grin.
"Still... I like it."
Evidently, the part about saving everyone without a single casualty sat well with him.
"Let's see... I'll gather people from our group, but there aren't many who focused their stats on strength."
"About how many do you think can manage it?"
"...Five. No more than that."
That made Choi Ji-won, Firefighter Park Cheol-jin, plus five from his group. I needed at least three more.
Why not count me? If I get near that swamp, I'll regress, so I'm out.
"First, let's gather people who aren't part of the clearing or Park Cheol-jin's group."
If the plan succeeded, I didn't want anyone starving to death somewhere, never even knowing a portal existed.
Rounding up the lone wanderers was a necessary step.
"And once everyone's gathered, we'll look for volunteers there."
Getting stronger players to cooperate from the assembled would be a bonus.
"...Hm. Finding the others scattered through the forest shouldn't be too difficult. One of my people has a detection-type trait."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin nodded.
Once again, the biggest advantage of this plan was that there would be no casualties.
If we succeeded, no one had to die. Everyone could live, and we could take down the Minotaur at the same time.
"All right. I'll guard the Goblin Shaman, so everyone spread out and—"
"Keruk... Human. Doing that would be a problem."
"What?"
Now the Goblin Shaman, barely clinging to life, suddenly slid in with a tackle worthy of a pro soccer player.
"If you roll the outer protective barrier around like that, the seal's mana structure will break down. Keruk."
"...Break down?"
"To be precise, it will explode. Keruk. About half the island will be blown away."
"..."
Then... the plan is pointless.
But the Goblin Shaman wasn't finished.
"But there is a solution. Keluk. Keluk. We simply reinforce the outer seal's mana structure. Keruk."
Thunk. The Goblin Shaman slammed their staff down with effort.
"I know that humans search for small gold objects imbued with a mysterious power. Keruk. That is what is needed."
"...Golden Orbs?"
The Goblin Shaman was demanding 'gold objects imbued with mysterious power.'
Clearly, what they wanted were Golden Orbs.
"Keluk, keluk... as you can see, I am dying. My strength is insufficient. I must borrow power from the gold objects. Keruk."
"How many do you need?"
"The more, the better. Keluk... time is short, human. I will die soon..."
"..."
The moment he said Golden Orbs were required, the risk of the operation seemed to skyrocket.
"...Hey. Isn't there another way? You said earlier you had a good method."
Wistfully, I asked the Goblin Shaman to tell me about another way, but.
"While keeping the internal seal binding the monster intact, I can release the outer seal about three seconds early. Keruk. You can beat the monster senseless for those three seconds. Keruk."
"...Wouldn't that require Golden Orbs?"
"No. Keruk. Gold objects are necessary for both methods."
In fact, the method the Goblin Shaman had intended to propose also needed Golden Orbs.
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin turned his head to look at me.
"Jun-ho... what should we do?"
We had reached a fork in the road.
Sacrificing Choi Ji-won was out of the question from the start.
Assuming we supplied the Goblin Shaman with the Golden Orbs...
Would we face the Minotaur directly with a three-second advantage?
Or would we gamble on rolling the thing into the swamp?
"The Golden Orbs are our last resort. Can you trust the goblin?"
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin asked.
"..."
Could I trust this goblin?
The consideration was brief, and my decision was swift.
There's a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
"Let's trust him. Let's roll it."
Besides, I was a born gambler.
The people who had been staying in the clearing.
The people who had been with Firefighter Park Cheol-jin.
And the people who had been roaming around in separate groups, then joined us after hearing our plan.
When we gathered them all in one place, there were roughly ninety to a hundred people.
Considering that two hundred had been summoned to the clearing at the start, the number had been cut roughly in half.
Far more had likely died than escaped by swallowing an orb.
"The orbs have all dried up anyway. This is the only hope left."
"Rather than survive over my friend's dead body... I'll bet on the chance that everyone lives."
What surprised me was how many people sympathized with the plan—more than I'd thought.
Quite a few formidable fighters were among them, too—mostly people who had been summoned to the tower with lovers or friends.
I'd thought... there are plenty of bad people, but there are also plenty of kind ones left in the world.
"Shall we shout a cheer before we go?"
"Sounds good. One, two, three!"
"""Fighting!!!"""
A united front had formed around a shared goal.
God must have fervently wished for our division, yet humanity had pulled tightly together regardless.
"Keruk... still not enough. Bring out more orbs. Keruk."
"...Hang in there, Boongboong-yi. We can't kill them."
Between Firefighter Park Cheol-jin and Choi Ji-won, they had over twenty Golden Orbs, but the Goblin Shaman kept whining that it wasn't enough.
Only after I produced two more orbs I'd been keeping did the Goblin Shaman give a small nod.
"...This should suffice. Keluk, keluk... everyone stand back. Keruk."
With a pouch bulging with Golden Orbs clutched in one hand, he raised the staff in his other hand and stirred it through the air.
"KUL, NAL, TAR, AR, AIS..."
As they chanted the strange words, the spherical barrier encasing the Minotaur slowly began to glow.
"Humans, now! There is no time! Keruk... keluk, keluk, kueeek..."
Perhaps from overexertion, the Goblin Shaman coughed up a bowlful of blood mixed with pieces of their insides.
"...Everyone, check your masks."
"Ready."
"Whew. You ugly bastard. You look mean as hell."
"Let's all survive together. I never liked this orb bullshit from the start."
The Tutorial Avengers rolled their shoulders and loosened up.
Since I'd warned them in advance that the air from the swamp carried a faint toxicity, everyone had crude scraps of cloth wrapped around their mouths as makeshift masks.
The effect wouldn't be great, but it was better than nothing.
As for me, I volunteered to guard the Goblin Shaman, since breathing in the swamp air would trigger a regression.
If someone lost their mind and killed the Shaman, we'd all be screwed.
"All right. On my count, everyone push with all you've got."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin stood directly at the center in front of the sphere, his expression extremely tense.
His trait was 'Iron Man.'
It hardened his body and dramatically improved his stamina.
"Guuuuuugh!"
The Minotaur thrashed, as if it suddenly realized the humans were about to try something.
"Keruk... I will hold it back! Now!"
The Goblin Shaman's staff emitted light, and.
"All right, here we go! One!"
"""One!!!"""
At Park Cheol-jin's command, everyone began pushing the barrier together.
Veins bulged on people's arms, and the ground sank beneath their feet.
"Nnnnghh..."
Choi Ji-won's face was bright red from exertion. I'd never seen her like that before.
Quiver.
"...Dammit."
The barrier around the Minotaur wobbled slightly, but it didn't move.
Even though we'd handpicked the people with the highest strength stats, was their power still not enough?
"Whew. Everyone, ease up. We'll rest a moment and go again."
"This... the ground keeps sinking, so it's hard to get a solid push."
A man spoke while kneading his stinging palms. Just as he said, the floor was giving way, preventing them from applying full force to the barrier.
"...I think I can solve that."
A skinny young man stepped forward from the crowd of people who had been cheering on the pushers.
"I've been hiding my trait, but it's Hardening. I can solidify the ground you're standing on."
The instant the man touched the dirt, the relatively soft soil firmed up.
"I'll... I'll help too!"
This time the one to step up was Short-haired Girl Baek Da-hye.
"I... have a buff ability! The grade is low, but... I'll do my best!"
"Oh, ohhh..."
As the energy radiating from her hands enveloped everyone's bodies, the faces of those who had been gasping for breath grew visibly more at ease.
"Me too...!"
"I've got a trait that can help...!"
Those with useful traits actively supported the people pushing the barrier, while.
"I don't have any powers... but I'll cheer you on!"
"You can do it! You can do it!"
"We're... going to survive! We'll survive this shitty tower!"
"Fighting! Amazing! Let's go!"
Those who couldn't help directly shouted encouragement until their throats were raw.
Not everyone was pushing the barrier, but everyone was united in one mind and one heart.
"Everyone... thank you, truly."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin sniffled slightly, as if overwhelmed by emotion.
"Let's... let's definitely survive! Let's survive together! Going again! Oneeeeee!!!!"
"""One!"""
Quiver!
"Two!"
"""Two!!!"""
Quiver!!!
"Three!!!"
"""Threeeeee!!!!!"""
Rrrrriiiip!
Maybe it was because everyone's hearts had come together?
The spherical barrier that had been firmly lodged in the dirt began to move with a thunderous roar.
"...Huff. Huff. Huff."
"Hah... hah... hah..."
People gasped for breath.
Some had clenched their teeth so hard a trickle of blood ran from their gums.
But this was only the beginning. The remaining distance to the swamp was about fifty meters.
"...Goblin. How much longer can you hold out?"
The Shaman's arms, holding the Golden Orb pouch and the staff, were trembling severely.
"Keluk... culuk... kurup... until I die, I think I can hold on. Human. How much longer do you think I have until I die?"
"..."
Time was running out.