The Boss No One Can Approach
Skeleton Master Chapter 111
The boss monster of the level 80 hunting grounds.
It was more than enough to pique his interest.
"All the rankers are gathering right now."
"No way. This is gonna be good."
"I'm heading there too. Name's Kalzekan or something? Anyway, I heard that attacking it ranks you. Word is, taking first place nets you insane rewards, so everyone's going nuts. But that boss monster Kalzekan is ridiculously strong—even the rankers are getting wrecked."
"No way...?"
"It's true."
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo exchanged glances.
With a nod, they stepped out of the mercenary guild.
"Let's go check it out."
"Logging back in ten minutes?"
"Yeah."
They needed to scope out the situation first.
Logout.
After climbing out of the capsule, he fired up his laptop and logged into the Illusion homepage.
No need to search.
The forums were already plastered with posts about the boss monster.
He scrolled through them one by one.
Most were exaggerated bullshit, but a few stood out with detailed accounts that felt legit.
They pinpointed the location, named the gathered rankers, and even described how brutal the fights against the boss monster were.
Then he spotted a comment and rushed to the video board.
There was a video uploaded just five minutes ago, titled
Play.
The video started.
Spotlight rankers and the boss monster.
Their fierce clash.
But for some reason, it cut off abruptly.
No real fight to see.
Did they die mid-recording?
His heart pounded anyway. Mu-hyuk closed the laptop and called Sung Min-woo.
"Saw the video?"
(Yeah, just watched it. No proper fight, but still badass.)
"Let's go now."
(Sounds good!)
"Logging in."
He ended the call and connected to Illusion.
Sung Min-woo joined right after.
"Let's move."
They hopped on a warp gate and headed to the Buk Kingdom at the southernmost tip of the Forma Continent.
"People... "
There were tons.
Even compared to the rush to the Weibra Empire when the tower first opened, this was no slouch.
Any Illusion player would naturally get hooked on an event like this.
But most couldn't even step out to hunt.
Especially the low-level newbies, who could only bitch and moan without doing jack.
"My friend died the second he went out."
"Can't you guys kill a few monsters for us?"
"Right?"
"Just 'cause you're higher level... "
"We can at least watch, can't we?"
The Buk Kingdom only had one exit: the north gate. And the monsters right at the entrance were level 60.
Anyone under 50 would get one-shot into oblivion.
If high-level players cleared them on the way to the boss, maybe—but most ignored the trash mobs and blew past.
From a high-level perspective, newbies were irrelevant.
Priority one: reach the boss before it died. That way, you could contribute and snag rewards.
"Think we can push through?"
"Hmm... "
"I can manage with my spirits at least... "
Mu-hyuk scanned the surroundings.
Buildings were haphazard in height, but none too tall.
That should work...
"Wind— just give me a boost."
"Got it."
Sung Min-woo summoned his spirits.
Only one Wind was needed, so he reverse-summoned the other three.
"Wind!"
The hovering Wind dove down at his call, gripped his shoulder, and lifted off.
Meanwhile, Mu-hyuk had scaled the lowest rooftop.
"Now."
Wind beat its wings hard.
Whoosh.
The gust enveloped him, lightening his body.
Wind Step.
He kicked off hard, activating the skill.
Fwosh!
He sprinted across the roof and leaped to the left building.
In the slowed world, his speed built terrifyingly fast.
He planted his foot at the edge and jumped.
The tall building rushed up. Easier than expected—he landed on its roof.
Full sprint again, then right this time. Three stories higher, but he stuck the landing.
Next: straight ahead. A story shorter—piece of cake. Hopping rooftops, he reached the north gate effortlessly.
"Whew."
A faint smile tugged at Mu-hyuk's lips.
More fun than I thought.
Wind arrived, dropping Sung Min-woo.
"Whoa, your jumps are insane!"
"It's a game."
"Think I could pull that off?"
"Once your strength ticks up a bit?"
Truth be told, Mu-hyuk needed Wind Step too.
With his current stats, anyway. As strength grew, sprint speed would skyrocket, jump height too.
Cross a certain stat threshold, and you'd leapfrog boundaries into a new realm.
That's where skill separated.
Still a ways off, though.
They dropped from the roof, shoved through the final crowd, and exited the north gate.
Still packed.
"Ignore 'em."
"Roger!"
Mu-hyuk was level 76, Sung Min-woo 74.
Entrance monsters? Laughable.
They booked it—until a monster respawned right in front.
"Shit."
No choice—dispatch it.
Trivial.
"Did you see that?"
"One-shot, easy."
"Gotta be a ranker."
Suddenly, a group blocked their path.
"Uh, sorry, but could you clear some monsters around here? And the ones on your way out too?"
"... "
Mu-hyuk didn't answer.
Time was gold. Someone was dealing damage to the boss right now.
That fed the rankings, which determined rewards.
He blew past them.
"What an asshole."
"I even apologized, and no response."
"Thinks being a ranker makes him nobility."
"Ugh. Lowbies should just log out and die."
Mu-hyuk smirked.
Not worth his time.
If he were low-level, he'd eye the boss but never go himself.
Better to grind exp instead.
They knew they couldn't contribute—yet came anyway.
Why? Chasing lottery odds?
Curiosity?
Their choice.
Can't see the show 'cause you're weak? Blame others and waste emotions? Also their choice.
No need for Mu-hyuk to react. Sung Min-woo, though...
"The fuck? Their attitude... "
He whipped around.
The blockers flinched under his glare. Silent now.
"Scram!"
Newbies scattered.
"Let's go—time's wasting."
Sung Min-woo turned back.
"Unbelievable."
"Forget it."
They hurried on.
Walk, run, tire—walk again.
Repeat.
*
About twenty minutes later.
"How much farther?"
"Ten at this pace."
"Damn, even moving this fast?"
"Yeah, it's a hike."
"Understatement."
Chatting, they scanned around.
Surprisingly many players hustling along.
"All pros, huh?"
"Likely."
The vibe was tense.
Some even smirked casually.
"Video made it look easy."
"Same here."
"Heh, let's hurry and climb the ranks for those rewards."
Confidence or arrogance? Hard to tell.
Most stayed silent, though.
The quiet movers looked stronger.
Cool and collected, maybe.
Sung Min-woo shut up to match.
Look badass?
Silly thought. Five more minutes...
"Whoa... "
Sung Min-woo's composure cracked.
Battle scars everywhere.
Deep, wide craters in the ground.
Bomb craters everywhere.
Step.
Worse ahead.
"Holy shit... "
"Didn't expect this bad."
Mu-hyuk's face hardened.
No way they're losing?
Over half the Forma Continent's rankers were here.
Losing to one boss?
Never crossed his mind. That's why he rushed.
If they were...
Serious trouble.
The whole hunting ground shuts down. Maybe the boss raids nearby villages or the kingdom.
Not his problem, though. Play it safe.
Dying stupidly hurts only him.
See it first, decide then.
How much farther?
Suddenly, air rushed in, slapping his face.
Massive tremor.
"Almost there? Jumping straight in?"
"Observe first."
Dots in the distance. One huge.
Small: players. Big: Kalzekan.
Clearer as they closed.
Over a thousand players ringed one monster from afar.
"... Am I seeing this right?"
"Yup."
But something was off.
Not the unease he expected.
Just absurd.
The battle was at a standstill.
*
Mu-hyuk held back.
Stalemate...
Grasp the situation first.
The weird part: Kalzekan wasn't attacking players.
Letting veterans keep distance.
"Why's it doing that?"
"Dunno. Watch."
Then—
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Fresh arrivals charged it.
"We'll tank—wipe it!"
No one stopped them.
They reached Kalzekan boldly.
Kroooaaar!
Kalzekan roared at the close players—and the ringers unleashed hell.
But only for a split second.
Soon—
"Wh-what...?"
The chargers' eyes widened.
"Fuck—insane!"
They bolted. Kalzekan pursued relentlessly.
Inexplicable: untouched by attacks, the runners collapsed mid-chase, forced logout.
"Ah... "
He got it.
"Get close, and HP drains?"
"Yeah, died way too fast."
Proximity kills?
In seconds?
Hence the stalemate?
Nah, more to it.
A minute passed.
"That's the boss?"
"Yep."
A new player stepped up.