The Boss Is Too Weak (6)
The Boss Is Too Weak (6)
"One!"
""One!!""
Using muscles accumulates fatigue.
It's a truth that even superhumans can't escape.
"Two!"
""Two!!""
An hour. Two hours. Three hours.
Drive every muscle in your body without rest, and even a superhuman will eventually wear down.
"Three!"
""Three!!""
Those who could take turns had done so long ago.
Skin drenched in sweat that poured like rain was now parched from lack of moisture.
Limbs trembled, and every last person's gums were bleeding.
Their bodies had hit the limit.
"Going again! One!"
""One!!""
Even so, the people shoving the protective barrier didn't stop.
Their spirit had already pushed past the body's ceiling.
To survive. For a better tomorrow.
For everyone.
The belief that they were doing the right thing kept shoving them from behind.
And so, barely, one step. Another step.
Those tiny steps gathered into a stride.
And the strides gathered into a rush.
How much time had passed?
The swamp that had seemed infinitely far was suddenly right in front of them.
"Pushhhhhh!!!"
The protective barrier's fifty-meter march finally ended.
Splash!!!!
The spherical barrier slammed into the swamp with a wet roar.
"Gwoo!! Gwoooooo!!!"
The Minotaur thrashed, desperate to survive, but from inside it couldn't stop the barrier from sinking slowly into the swamp.
"Gooooooooo!"
When the Minotaur's cries finally faded.
"Kreup... Khu... I will release the seal. Keruk."
The Goblin Shaman gave a small wave of their staff, and the purple rope tying the staff to the swamp snapped.
"KERKA!"
This time he struck the ground hard with his staff, and a white flash burst with a bang.
Apparently the seal that took the shape of the spherical protective barrier was released as well.
"..."
"..."
"Keruk... Kehuk... The seal is released... Keruk."
Having poured out every last drop of strength, the Goblin Shaman staggered over to an empty tree stump and collapsed weakly.
"...Is it dead?"
A brief silence hung around them.
Everyone stared at the swamp, eyes strung tight.
And then, a little time slipped by.
Pop, pop, pop!
Out of nowhere, the crude sound of firecrackers popped.
-[Wonderful Achievement Notifier!]
-You have succeeded in defeating the Hidden Boss, 'Labyrinth Demon Minotaur'!
-There are no casualties! An Achievement Experience bonus is awarded!
-A special reward is given to [Choi Ji-won], the greatest contributor!
This was actually the first time a message had popped up saying I'd cleared an achievement.
Was it because the achievement was so incredible that a message appeared, or was this more of the Tower screwing around?
"..."
No special follow-up message came. The swamp stayed quiet.
Was it really dead? I could barely believe it.
That overwhelmingly powerful monster—we killed it with a method that, in a way, felt almost like a childish prank.
Still not quite grounded in reality, I stood there blankly.
About a minute passed like that.
"Jun-ho, my boy..."
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin came staggering over from the direction of the swamp.
It seemed he still had stamina left after pushing himself that much. He truly lives up to the name 'Iron Man.'
"Huff... Huff..."
He braced his hands on his knees and caught his breath for a moment, then lifted his head and raised a thumbs-up.
"...You're our hero."
Those words were the trigger.
""Waaaaaaah!!""
A thunderous roar filled with joy echoed all around.
Everywhere, people flung their arms around each other, tears of joy streaming down.
"We won! We won!"
"We're alive! Mom...!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
At the same time, positive emotions flowed into me from every direction.
Exhilaration.
Enjoyment.
Joy.
Gratitude.
Love.
Faith.
Relief.
-[Duplicate Trait level increases!]
-Awe [C] >>> Awe [B]
-Hero [F] >>> Hero [C]
Maybe because I'd absorbed other people's emotions and turned them into traits, the feelings poured into me vividly.
And that made a smile creep onto my face too.
"...We won."
Slowly. A deep joy welled up from deep inside my chest.
We'd killed a monster that wasn't meant to be killed.
Not a single casualty.
A perfectly complete victory.
And the way we won carried deep meaning too.
I hadn't abused the Regression trait God threw at me just to eke out a win against the Minotaur.
I hadn't become some hideous Overpowered Character and sliced the Minotaur down in one swing.
My plan was part of it, sure—but what mattered was different.
The shining will of humanity.
We gathered that noble will and seized the sweet fruit called survival.
A handful of humans. And one goblin.
The doomed won against God.
"Status Window."
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:13]
[Traits]
-Regression [EX]
-Awe [B]
-Hero [C]
The last Achievement Level I checked was 6.
Killing the Minotaur alone raised my Achievement Level by 7.
Ah, there was a no-casualty bonus too.
Looks like the level doesn't go up per achievement count—each achievement carries its own set amount of experience.
Makes sense, since we just took down a monster that couldn't be beaten by normal means.
Honestly, nobody would complain even if they gave out more than this.
"How are the people who pushed the barrier?"
"Everyone's still too weak to move... So we decided to support them and bring them over once they've recovered a bit."
"Hmm... Good work."
Everyone knew I was the architect of this operation.
Right now they were looking at me as some kind of hero and savior. The Awe trait must have played a part in that reverence.
"Everyone, calm down a little now... And could you please make some room?"
I passed through the celebrating crowd and approached the Goblin Shaman sitting on the tree stump.
"...Was it a success, keruk?"
"You worked hard."
The Goblin Shaman's face was loaded with smiles. His ugly face was heavily distorted by the grin, but I didn't find it unpleasant.
Thanks to this guy's active help, we'd killed the Minotaur without losing anyone. In a way, he was a benefactor to every single one of us.
"Now..."
I'll have to kill this guy and open the portal.
I wasn't planning to enter the portal, of course. I just wanted to end this cycle beautifully.
I wanted to remember it as the cycle where humans gathered their strength and won against God's malice.
I wanted to keep it as proof that humans can succeed—a badge of honor inside my heart.
"Keruk. Are you going to kill me, human?"
I could've lied here, but I didn't want to be that cruel to this guy.
"...That's right."
"I knew. Keruk. Anyway, my lifespan has less than ten minutes left. Keruk."
The Goblin Shaman accepted it calmly.
He rummaged inside the skull helm he wore and pulled something out.
"A stone containing my voice. Keruk. It holds what I want to say to the humans. I suggest you break it a little later, human."
"...Alright."
Was this some kind of memento?
My heart felt heavy, so I gripped the stone he gave me tightly in my left hand.
"...Hey! Didn't I say I'd come back alive?"
"We did it! We really did it!"
"Honey! Heu, heuheu... How was I?"
Voices rose from the direction of the swamp.
The heroes who'd exhausted themselves shoving the barrier were being helped back this way.
Choi Ji-won, her complexion pale, met my eyes from a distance and smiled, waving.
"..."
The people who had been shouting joyful cries until their throats went hoarse were now looking at the Goblin Shaman, eyes full of expectation.
Yes, so this is the end.
My heart seemed to have wobbled for a moment, seeing how devotedly the Goblin Shaman helped.
But I really have to kill him now.
"...Keruk. They all wish for my death."
The Goblin Shaman, who had briefly looked around, wiped the blood from their lips with the back of their hand.
"...Keruk. Everything went according to plan. Thank goodness. I am satisfied."
He handed me the pouch of golden orbs with his left hand, then slowly closed his eyes.
He accepted death calmly.
"..."
I received the orb pouch with the hand already holding the stone, and drew the sword from my waist with my free hand.
"...You worked hard, Goblin Shaman."
I'd built a bond with them through all the help they gave. The least I could do was let him go peacefully at the end.
"Farewell."
Thank you for everything.
Slice!
My sword cut the Goblin Shaman's neck.
"...Uh? Huh?"
The hand holding the sword trembled.
Something's wrong.
I didn't feel the sensation of cutting flesh.
It's like every hair on my body is standing on end.
Something is seriously off.
"...Kim Jun-ho. What is the meaning of..."
Choi Ji-won's voice trembled.
The Goblin Shaman, who had accepted death with eyes shut, was slowly fading and disappearing.
The texture of the pouch in my hand vanished at some point.
As if I'd been under some sort of spell.
"Ov-over there...!"
A woman who'd been cheering from behind let out a near-scream, staring toward the swamp.
I followed her gaze and turned—and saw the Goblin Shaman, the one who had definitely been right beside me, laughing far off in the distance.
"Kelkel... Kelkelkel..."
In one hand he held the pouch stuffed with golden orbs. In the other, his staff.
"Humans..."
On his face was a smile drenched in madness, stretched wide enough to split his mouth.
"Humans are stupid."
He... sank into the swamp.
-[Achievement Notifier!]
-You have defeated the boss.
-A portal will be generated at the location where the boss died.
"..."
"..."
Just a moment ago, everyone had been laughing and talking.
Now a chilling silence settled over everything.
"...The orbs?"
Firefighter Park Cheol-jin barely managed to open his mouth.
The orb pouch handed to me had been nothing but an illusion.
The real orb pouch was with the Goblin Shaman.
"...The portal?"
A portal generated at the spot where the Goblin Shaman died.
He died in the toxic swamp.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Without a word, I looked down at the stone in my hand.
We won against a mighty god.
And we lost to a goblin on the verge of death.