Dungeon Boss Tsururuk

The grotesque, eerie sound of something slithering filled the air as it moved. Its glossy black exoskeleton resembled a pill bug or a beetle. From beneath it, moist tentacles wriggled out, each tipped with thorn-like teeth. Kiriric. The unpleasant cry made every hair on my body stand on end.

Fuck, we're screwed.

It was a special composite mutant. And one I'd never seen before. Well, that made sense. There had never been a mutant boss before.

"U-uhhh?"

"What the hell is that?"

"Ugh, it's disgusting!"

Men and women alike felt a primal revulsion at the bizarre creature.

Boom!

Chaos erupted from behind us.

"The door to the stairs has been breached!"

"Block it!"

"Stay calm!"

We had to do something. If that thing targeted the stairs, we'd end up fighting both the zombies and the mutant boss at once.

Grinddddd.

I summoned a Sling Tower as far from the stairs as possible. A stone flew in from the far end of the store and struck its shell. It didn't even leave a scratch, but it drew its aggro.

Kirik.

The massive body seemed to turn before curling up into a perfect sphere.

Rumble-rumble!

It then rolled forward at incredible speed and slammed into the tower.

'Dismiss summon!'

Bang!

I barely saved it right before impact. The moment I saw the special composite mutant, I knew. Normal attacks wouldn't even pierce that shell. The only thing that might work was Lee Hana's passive, Deadly Pierce. But when it curled up like that, there was no way to see its weak points. And even if I could, Lee Hana would be crushed to a pulp the moment she stabbed it. I had to find another way.

"Everyone except those blocking the entrance, scatter in all directions and lure it! Don't let it near the stairs!"

At my shout, the raid members who had been standing there in a daze began to run. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠summoned towers all around to draw its attention as well. At the same time, I summoned a Longbow Tower on the rooftop of the building next to the mart for reconnaissance.

In the distance, I spotted the humanoid mutant.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

Crunch! Crack!

The thing rolled around wildly, smashing the food section to pieces.

'Dismiss summon.'

I removed the Sling Tower it had been targeting and fired at the humanoid mutant with the Longbow Tower.

"Everyone, hold on just a little longer!"

"Aaaaaagh!"

"Fuck, help me!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

The humanoid mutant reacted instantly and charged. While I was preparing the same hunting method as before—

Thud! Shunk!

The member who had boasted about hitting every shot fired a heavy crossbow at the boss. The arrow embedded itself, but the shell was so thick it didn't seem to do any real damage. It only made the creature angrier.

Kiiik!

"Huh?"

The reason there hadn't been any casualties yet was because I had been luring it with constant summon dismissals and resummonings. The member called Manbal started running belatedly, but there was no way he could dodge that speed.

'Summon!'

I summoned a miniaturized Wooden Watch Tower to block its path.

Crack!

The tower shattered like a matchstick, but it blocked the creature's line of sight. Thanks to that, Manbal barely managed to avoid it. I immediately repaired the Wooden Watch Tower and dismissed it. Right after, I swung at the humanoid mutant climbing up the building wall.

Groooan— Thwack!

A home run with the Wooden Maul Tower. The mutant slammed into the ground faster than it had been climbing. Arrows and stones rained down on it. I switched my view back inside the mart and dismissed the Sling Tower.

Boom! Bang!

I was fighting in two places at once. Extreme multitasking. It felt like my brain was burning up.

Just one more level to 10!

Kirit.

I caught a glimpse of the boss extending its tentacles.

"Graaaaagh!"

"Kyaaaaah!"

"Uwaaaah!"

Even amid the desperate screams, I couldn't shift my focus. The humanoid mutant had just reached the rooftop again. The moment it leaped—

The six Longbow Towers that had been waiting. Five Heavy Crossbow Towers I had dismissed and resummoned. One Heavy Stone Bow Tower. Four Hunting Bow and Light Crossbow Towers.

All of them released their strings at once.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!

I set the results aside and switched my view back inside the mart.

'Lee Hana!'

Lee Hana was being chased by the boss. Whether it got hit by stones or not, the boss only pursued her.

Tap-tap!

When Lee Hana used a forward step to leap left, the boss nimbly changed direction to follow. But that step had been a feint—she immediately switched to a retreat step.

"Nice!"

At that moment—

And immediately—

"We need to lure it to the first floor!"

"Leave it to me!"

Lee Hana sprinted down the escalator at full speed. The boss crouched low. I could feel it instinctively.

'Summon!'

I summoned every tower I could—including the Wooden Watch Towers—along the straight path between her and the boss.

Grinddddd. Grind. Grind. Grinddddd.

Boom-boom-boom-bang!

Crunch! Crack! Snap!

They all shattered in an instant. Not satisfied, the boss smashed through the ceiling and climbed up to the first floor. Thankfully, because its speed had been slowed even a little, Lee Hana was unharmed.

There was barely a moment to catch our breath. The instant the boss tried to roll toward Lee Hana again—

Ziiiing—

A red laser beam stretched in from outside the mart window. It was aimed directly at the boss.

Bang!!

The sound of air being torn apart. At the same time—

Crash!

Glass shards exploded upward, and—

Thud!!

Crunch-crunch-crunch-crack!

As if struck by something massive—the black spherical boss was crushed and slammed into the corner.

"Huh? What the hell was that just now…"

"Lee Hana, get down here right now!"

"Huh? Okay!"

Fortunately, once the special composite mutant boss died, the zombies that had been revived collapsed again.

"Everyone, head down the stairs!"

But now the main zombie horde, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠having lost their mutant leader, was swarming in.

I repaired only the main towers first, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then summoned them on the rooftop of the DC Mart.

"Just hold out. I'll clean them up quickly."

"Yes!"

It was a relief that we'd already cleared out the surrounding zombies. No more would join them. The battle ended without further casualties. There had already been deaths during the boss fight, but that had been an accident. It wasn't the kind of damage I'd anticipated.

The raid members were in a somber mood. Those who had been close to the fallen clutched their belongings and wiped away tears. Honestly, I didn't feel much. But I understood with my head that they could feel that way. So—

"I'm raising the distribution rate of today's acquired supplies to 60%. Make sure to inform the team members. The deceased's share will be delivered to their families."

"Yes, understood!"

"Thank you!"

It was my own way of offering comfort and mourning.

At the loading dock outside the DC Mart, the raid members and second-class residents loaded supplies onto refrigerated trucks. The underground food section on the first basement floor had become a complete mess. Still, we managed to salvage more than half. And since there was plenty of stock in the warehouse, the losses weren't too bad. Most importantly, preserved foods like canned goods had survived mostly intact.

Besides food, we also swept up daily necessities, clothes, and more. A large mart really had everything. For weapons, there were sports equipment like baseball bats and golf clubs, camping axes, jungle knives—in other words, machetes.

'I didn't know they even sold machetes like this.'

They had appeared in WAW, but I never expected to see them actually for sale. Well, I guess you might need to cut grass or branches while camping. There were also plenty of things we could use as armor—sports guards, motorcycle helmets, leather jackets, and so on.

'The police station haul wasn't enough, so this is perfect.'

But more important than any of that, we obtained this.

It was a drop from the dungeon boss. A black leather armor in the form of a chestpiece that included the shoulders. The outer surface was hard, while the inner texture was soft yet tough. The person who needed armor the most was Lee Hana, since she fought in close quarters. So I offered it to her, but—

"Absolutely not! You want me to wear something made from that disgusting thing's skin?!"

"No, it has nothing to do with the boss."

Drop items actually had no connection to the specific monster. When we killed the humanoid mutant before, a dagger had dropped. So it really was just a coincidence. That it happened to be leather armor. That the surface was hard. That it was black.

'It really is just a coincidence, right?'

Even I was starting to doubt it.

"It's not glossy like that thing was."

In fact, it had a matte finish.

"Don't try to convince me. Really. Absolutely. Never. I'd rather die than wear it."

She shook her head violently, looking utterly horrified. Maybe it was trauma.

"That's right! Suhyuk-ah, you should wear it! The raid leader's safety is the most important thing!"

"If you really hate it that much, I'll wear it."

It would have looked great on Lee Hana. It was more elastic and thinner than the tight leather outfit she was currently wearing. Her model-like figure would have been clearly visible. The Skin of Mangjong had excellent comfort. You could wear clothes over it without any discomfort. It was a shame, but forcing her would only create resentment.

No items dropped from the other humanoid mutant. The previous drop had already been an incredible stroke of luck.

"We're heading back."

"Yes."

"Understood! Returning, everyone board up!"

"Board the vehicles!"

The line of vans, refrigerated trucks, large trucks, and vehicles carrying the raid members stretched on endlessly. It felt incredibly reassuring. With this much supplies, we wouldn't run short until the end of the first wave.

'Now what's left is…'

On the way back, I reviewed the plan again. The roads were quiet. We'd wiped everything out on the way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here.

"Raid Leader, survivors are blocking the road with vehicles."

So that's why these brainless idiots were showing up. There looked to be well over a hundred of them. I zoomed in with the Longbow Tower to get a better look. To see the face of the idiot who had lost his mind.

"What the…"

It was the representative of the Isan-dong Coalition.

'Perfect timing.'

This would save me some effort. I got out of the car and approached the Isan-dong Coalition representative.

"Representative of the Isan-dong Coalition."

"Ah, so it's Representative Kim Suhyuk."

Lee Jinseong, recognizing me, smiled as if pleased to see me.

"What are you doing blocking the road?"

I got straight to the point. I had no intention of beating around the bush. I wasn't happy to see him either.

"Oh, we're not blocking it. We just came out for reconnaissance and happened to run into you."

That didn't explain why he'd brought all his forces.

"By the way, Representative Kim Suhyuk. What exactly is this procession?"

"Do I have any reason to tell you?"

He must already know everything. Otherwise, there'd be no reason to bring out all his forces.

"Ah, not at all. But this is Isan-dong, isn't it? The residents are feeling anxious."

The Isan-dong representative gave a friendly smile.

"And?"

"We need to know what's happening if we're to save face, don't we?"

"Let's not waste time. What exactly do you want to say?"

"Hmm, I don't particularly enjoy conversations like this either, but…"

He paused for a moment at my retort, then continued.

"Resources in each area are limited, aren't they? You understand that, Representative Kim Suhyuk? So—"

He was trying to pull some bullshit.

"Ah, so you're claiming ownership?"

"Haha, not exactly—"

Whoosh— Thud!

A sniper shot from a building rooftop made the Isan-dong representative step back. What the Isan-dong Coalition representative was trying to say was simple. The resources in our area belong to us. We've brought the coalition's full military force, so if you want to avoid conflict, leave an appropriate amount behind. No matter how much he wrapped it up or danced around it, the essence didn't change.

"What the hell is this?!"

Lee Jinseong roared like a lion, then gritted his teeth.

"I gave you a justification, so go ahead and do what you were planning."

I had no intention of letting this slide with some 'let's all get along' nonsense.

"Is this how your faction conducts conversations?"

This was plunder disguised as dialogue and compromise.

"Sigh."

There was a limit to how much longer he could keep talking in circles.

"You wanna die?"

Lee Jinseong didn't answer easily. He simply clenched his jaw.