The Armored Foe at Home
The creature rolled closer, stopping about thirty feet away as if assessing us. Then it suddenly split open, revealing its true form. It had been curled up like an armadillo. In fact, it looked almost exactly like one, only a bit larger. It let out a strangely cute cry as it stared at us.
Kiii… Kiiiiiik….
“Is that thing seriously a monster? It’s actually kind of cute,” Da-on said.
The moment the words left her mouth, the Mace Shell curled back into a ball. Spikes that hadn’t been there before sprouted all over its body. Now I understood why it was called a mace shell. Getting hit by that wouldn’t just hurt—it would straight-up kill you. Da-on quickly took back her comment.
“Yeah, I’m gonna retract that last statement…”
Luckily, it didn’t attack first. It just stayed curled up, completely still.
“What are we going to do?”
“It’s not even attacking. Can’t we just run? It’s level 11—it looks way too strong!”
“We can’t do that…”
The neighbor’s house was right next to ours. There was no way I could leave a dangerous monster like this so close to home. I couldn’t run away.
“This is our house we’re talking about. I’ll take care of this!”
“Oppa…”
As I stepped forward, Seo-rin smacked me on the back again. Hard.
“Ow! What the hell was that for?!”
“You idiot, what are you gonna do by yourself? …If you ask for help, I might give you a hand.”
“She’s right, Oppa! We came here because we have business at your house too. I wasn’t thinking,” Da-on added.
“You two…” I sighed. “Fine. Give me a little backup!”
“You got it!”
“Okay!”
Man, all that’s left is for us to start dating at this point. I shook off the weird thought and focused. Since the monster was staying still, I decided to strike first. Might as well test how tough it really was.
I thrust my spear with everything I had.
Clang—!
“Huh…?”
It sounded like metal striking metal. Like I’d stabbed a concrete wall. The impact traveled up the shaft and rattled my entire body.
“Ugh, what the hell is this thing made of?!”
The moment I attacked, the creature finally moved. Seo-rin cast her magic to keep it in check.
“【Fire】… 【Fire】! 【Fire】!”
It rolled in every direction, dodging every single spell.
“Hah… how is it so fast?”
I jumped in to help, but even together we couldn’t pin it down. All I could do was dodge its charges and flail around in front of it. The spear wouldn’t pierce its shell. There was nothing I could do.
“What the hell is this thing?!”
Just looking at the levels, it wasn’t an opponent we should be losing to. And yet we were struggling. It was similar to the orc fight—levels clearly weren’t everything. Just like we had Skills, monsters had their own special abilities. The orc had its strengthening. This thing had its insanely tough shell. Those abilities let them punch above their weight.
What now? We probably wouldn’t lose, but winning didn’t feel likely either. At this rate, we’d run out of stamina first and get wiped out…
I swung my spear again, but it didn’t even scratch the monster. Then, suddenly, it backed off and unfurled its body.
What?
Giiii… Giiiiii….
Was it… catching its breath? Right. No matter how monstrous it was, it was still a living thing. Its stamina couldn’t be infinite. Moving that fast while curled up had to burn a ton of energy.
I couldn’t waste this chance. No matter how hard the outside was, the inside couldn’t be the same.
“Oppa, now!”
“Haaaaah!”
My timing was perfect. I felt the spear tip sink into flesh. But the spear wouldn’t go any deeper. The Mace Shell had curled up again in an instant, clamping down on the weapon. It had been so close…!
“What the—?!”
I tried yanking it free, then pushing it deeper, but the spear was locked tight. The monster spun its body, and my cheap spear finally gave out with a sickening crack.
It had lasted longer than I expected, considering how badly I’d abused it yesterday and today. But why did it have to break now of all times?!
I barely dodged as it rolled straight at me. One of its spikes sliced my cheek.
“That was too close…”
“Oppa, are you okay?”
“I’m fine!”
We were running out of options. I’d have to buy a new weapon. The problem was this damn monster wasn’t about to give me the time. It couldn’t roll forever, but every time I tried to open the Coin Shop, it somehow knew and charged me immediately. It was infuriating.
I couldn’t ask Seo-rin to hold it off either. My Stats were the only reason I could even dodge its attacks like this. Just a little more time—that’s all I needed!
As I stamped my feet in frustration, a familiar voice called out from the side.
“Whoa, it really is you, Oppa!”
“Huh?”
Back at my family home.
“Do you hear people talking out there?”
My dad, sitting on the sofa and listening to the noises outside, suddenly spoke up. He’d been hearing constant thumping from the neighbor’s house, but now he’d picked up human voices mixed in.
“I don’t hear anything…”
“No, I’m sure that’s people talking!”
Mom denied it, but Dad was convinced. Just then, a young woman came down from the second floor. It was my little sister, Kang So-hyun.
“Mom, Dad, what’s going on?”
“Well, you see…”
After listening to Dad’s explanation, So-hyun said, “Then I’ll go check it out!”
“It’s dangerous! You saw what was next door!”
“I did, but we can’t just sit here forever. What if the person out there is Oppa?”
“…You think so?”
“Even if it’s someone else, they’re clearly fighting that ball monster. If we help take it down, it’s a win for us too! Don’t worry too much. I’ll come right back if it gets dangerous!”
“How can I not worry…”
“I’m stronger now, you know!”
“…”
It was my sister’s voice. I whipped my head toward the sound and saw So-hyun squatting on top of the wall.
“You… Kang So-hyun?”
“Hey, Oppa. Need a hand?”
“That’s Do-hyun Oppa’s little sister…?”
I looked at her. She seemed confident, like she’d already taken down a few monsters. Yeah, I figured you’d adapt quickly. So-hyun had been preparing for the police exam and was a black belt in multiple martial arts. It felt a little pathetic borrowing my little sister’s help, but I wasn’t about to refuse.
“Get over here, quick!”
“Is that how you ask for a favor?”
So-hyun jumped down, landing lightly right in front of me.
“Hey, if you come in like that—”
“It’s fine. I can handle it!”
The Mace Shell rolled straight toward her. So-hyun didn’t back down. She threw a punch.
“Power Strike!”
Her fist slammed into the creature, avoiding the spikes. I’d expected her to get knocked away, but she held her ground.
“How much Strength do you even have?”
“Pretty high, actually!”
She’d gone all-in on Strength. The Mace Shell seemed unable to break through her defense, so it retreated first.
It backed off on its own! This was my chance.
“Ugh, why is it so damn hard?!” So-hyun yelled.
“Hold it there for a second!” I shouted.
“Wait, what? Hey—?!”
While So-hyun kept the Mace Shell busy, I finally opened the Coin Shop. I had 5,500 coins. I searched for the best weapon I could afford.
“—This is it!”
“Oppa, hurry… my fists are about to explode—!”
“I’m ready!”
I stepped in front of So-hyun. As the Mace Shell rolled toward us, I swung my new spear and knocked it aside.
“Oppa, that weapon…”
It was the Artisan’s Spear. I’d spent a whopping 5,000 coins on it. The weapon even had a grade—Normal. My old cheap spear didn’t have any grade at all, so even Normal rank was a huge upgrade. The quality was on another level. It could take some rough treatment without breaking.
Unfortunately, my Stats and General Spear Technique hadn’t improved. I still couldn’t pierce the Mace Shell’s shell.
The stalemate continued.
“Damn it, this thing’s definitely getting tired too… I just need one good hit!”
“I’ll heal you!”
“Th-thanks… sis?”
Da-on used the opening to heal So-hyun’s bruised knuckles. The injuries vanished in seconds.
Seo-rin grabbed my arm.
“Wait, stop! I have an idea!”
“Really?”
I listened as she explained her plan.
Seo-rin, So-hyun, and I quickly huddled for a strategy meeting. We had no idea when the Mace Shell would recover and charge again, so we kept it short. Then we split up. So-hyun and I took positions on either side, creating a corridor in the middle. Only Seo-rin remained in front of the monster.
Normally I wouldn’t do something this risky, but I trusted her plan. If we did this, the Mace Shell would definitely target Seo-rin—the one who kept annoying it from the backline.
Just as predicted, it rolled straight toward her.
“Seo-rin—!”
“Shut up and focus! …【Stop】!”
After intense concentration, she spat out the word at the perfect moment. The fiercely charging monster froze in place, as if it had slammed into an invisible wall. Seo-rin said it could only hold for one second. We couldn’t waste this golden opportunity.
So-hyun moved the instant the countdown began. Seo-rin dropped to one knee, clearly drained.
“Ugh… dizzy…”
“Sister!”
The spell’s effect ended, but So-hyun had already grabbed the creature. It couldn’t escape.
“You’re weak when you can’t move, huh?! Haaaaaaaah—!!”
She grabbed the spikes and used raw strength to pry open the shell, creating a gap.
“Aaaaaagh—! Oppa, now! Hurryyyyy—!!”
“On it!”
She couldn’t open it wide, but I only needed enough space for the spear. With perfect aim and maximum speed, I drove the Artisan’s Spear into the opening. Deeper. Deeper still!
You have defeated the Mace Shell and acquired 3300 coins.
Huh? The coin reward was different once it passed level 10?
General Spear Technique has reached Level 2.
That too! It had been a tough fight, but the rewards were worth it.
“Hah, we did it!”
The tension drained from my body and I collapsed to the ground.
“We won, right? Not bad, Oppa!” So-hyun grinned.
“You worked hard, sis,” Da-on said gently.
“It was nothing… Haa…”
The girls were all smiling now that the battle was over. It really had been a brutal fight. The fact that no one was seriously injured felt like a miracle.
“Do-hyun… is that you?”
While we were catching our breath, more people arrived. I looked up.
“Mom?”
“Do-hyun?”
“Dad! Mom!”
“Our son—!”
Our family reunion ended safely after all.