Soloing the Lava Giant
Rumble—
The cave shook as if it might collapse the moment the giant moved its body.
Thud—
Once it had fully risen, the giant took a light step forward…
Sizzle—
The cave floor melted into lava, and a small lake of molten rock began to form beneath the giant’s foot.
Thud—
With every footfall the lava lake expanded. Accompanied by acrid smoke, the lake’s domain grew until it overtook the giant’s own strides and swallowed more than half the boss room.
KWAANG—!
The giant stretched an arm into the empty air and clenched its fist. The surface of the lava lake burst open and a pillar of fire erupted skyward. That pillar was seized by the giant’s hand and forged into the shape of a massive polearm.
“Huu…”
For something rated B-rank, the sheer size made the pressure feel crushing. Still, I steadied my heart and was about to raise my gun to face the giant when—
“…I’ll buy time. Haneul, take the others and run first.”
A small purple head stepped in front of me as if to shield me.
“…Huh?”
At my blank reply Chaea continued without looking back.
“If we all gather together we can manage somehow. So…”
Unlike usual, her voice was clear and measured—no stammering, no mumbling. Yet the hand gripping her dagger trembled ever so slightly.
Of course she was scared. Even I, who had walked in knowing what was coming, felt this pressure. How much worse must it be for Chaea, who had stumbled into the boss with almost no information? She was a timid kid to begin with.
…Which was why I could never presume to measure how much courage it had taken her to plant herself in front of me. She had steeled herself to throw her life away—for a friend she had known barely a week.
“…….”
Unlike jaded adults, children sometimes leap over the thickness of time and forge deep friendships simply because they share a classroom. But staking your life is another matter entirely.
I had risked my neck for Chaea more than once, yet my case was different. Having memorized the entire novel, I had already carried a full measure of inner affection for them long before we ever met. That was why I could tease and cling and act so familiar. Chaea was not like that. To her, Yu Haneul was simply a friend of one week—nothing more, nothing less. The same went for the two collapsed behind us.
Even so she willingly put her life on the line to protect them. It was less the week-old friendship and more the pure goodness she had been born with that drove the choice.
“…So leave this place to me for now, Haneul, you—”
I laid my hand on the small purple head that was still speaking. Through my fingertips I felt the faint tremor.
I had always wished this world were not a novel. That a novel would remain only a novel and mean nothing more. And yet…
“Th-this isn’t the time!!”
I loved their stories inside the novel. Chaea shook my hand off violently and raised her voice. I ignored her and roughly ruffled that small head again.
I loved the pure hearts they all carried, even when pain or defense mechanisms hid or twisted them. I loved the nobility they showed every time the world slid toward ruin and the basest parts of humanity were laid bare. I loved them. I loved the stories they wrote. Even knowing a way to abandon this world and flee, I still chose to stay at their side and live through the coming end together.
So… even if the path hurt, even if it was agony, I was already prepared to endure every last bit of it—so that we could laugh and chatter together in this world until the very end.
“Hurry up and—”
I let Chaea’s urgent clinging wash past me and moved my tongue.
Crunch—
The Ice Dragon’s Scale resting on my tongue. The moment I lightly bit down, the scale shattered and transformed into a vast surge of mana.
Sssss—
I drew a breath and pulled that freezing mana into my body.
“…!”
The enormous mana tore through my circuits in an instant; the fragile pathways could not withstand it and shredded apart. The searing pain was several times worse than the burning agony I had felt moments earlier.
“Khk—”
My vision flickered out and crimson blood began to leak from my lips, yet I clenched my teeth, endured the torment, and guided the mana to my fingertips.
Crack—
Frost bloomed across the sniper rifle in my hands and the sound of fracturing metal reached my ears, but I paid it no mind. I kept packing mana into the weapon and aimed at the Lava Giant.
Then I pulled the trigger.
KWAANG—!!
A roar closer to a cannon blast than a gunshot, and a piercing blue line of light lanced out, slicing across the Lava Giant.
GROOOOAR—!!!
The blue beam punched through, erasing the entire right shoulder that had held the polearm. Watching that, I squeezed the trigger again.
KWAANG—!!
The recoil slammed hard into my shoulder.
Crack—
Blue light began to leak from the fractures spider-webbing across the gun.
CRUNCH—!
Another blue line shot forth and wiped the giant’s head clean away.
KWAANG—!!
I fired once more. The rifle’s condition was growing critical, yet the latest shot punched a massive hole through the giant’s left torso and exposed its core.
One step left.
Crack—
“Haa…”
Determined to end it with this final shot, I scraped together every last scrap of remaining mana.
“Hup—”
Pain as if my body were being torn apart cell by cell. Blood streamed freely from my mouth. Through the dizzying agony I wrung every drop of mana from my entire being and poured it into the gun.
Crack-crack-crack—
Fractures spread everywhere; the rifle began to vibrate violently.
“Sss—”
I forced my trembling breath under control and pressed my eye to the scope. Beyond the shaking reticle, nestled between the giant’s rapidly regenerating flesh, the core was visible. With bloodshot eyes whose vessels had all burst, I locked onto it with perfect precision.
The instant the core and the crosshairs became one—
KWAAAAANG——!!!
A thunderous detonation that shook the entire cave; the gun exploded as it unleashed a thick beam of light…
CRUNCH—!
The giant’s core evaporated without leaving a single trace.
Crack—
The blue pillar of light punched through the giant and bored straight through the far wall. As that pillar faded, system windows began cascading before my eyes one after another, yet—
Solo defeated the Lava Giant…
Dungeon cleared…
Reward…
My vision blurred too rapidly for me to read them properly, and my consciousness blacked out on the spot.
When I next came to, I was lying in a bed.
“Ugh…”
Still aching, I groaned, opened my eyes, and looked around. The first thing I saw was—
“…….”
A purple head planted face-down on my bed, sleeping as if dead.
…Looks like we made it out safely. Everyone else should be fine too, right…?
I remembered how Yeon Hajin had shown off in the original story and made the damage worse, so even though I believed I had done my best, a residual unease refused to leave me. The fact that I was in a private room only made it worse.
True to its reputation as one of the world’s top academies, Inatium Academy did not settle for a simple one-room infirmary; it ran a full-fledged medical ward. The comfort was nice, but with no way to check on the others, worry after worry kept piling up.
“Haa…”
I shifted a little, and Chaea began to stir.
“Mmm…”
She slowly lifted her head, blinked, and met my eyes. Her pupils blew wide open.
“…Huh?”
“You’re awake?”
That blank look was so cute I smiled and asked. Instantly—
Whoosh—
Chaea flew into my arms.
“A-are you okay?”
I felt the small tremor against my chest. …She must have worried herself sick.
“Of course I’m fine~ Did Chaea worry a lot about me?”
I stroked her small head as I asked, and she gave a tiny nod. That little motion somehow warmed my heart. I pinched both of her soft cheeks and stretched them like rice cakes.
“Eya—”
“Thanks to Chaea protecting me I’m totally fine~ Just a little mana exhaustion, so don’t worry too much~”
My whole body still throbbed, but I didn’t show it. Playing with those squishy cheeks made me feel a bit better anyway.
“What about the others?”
“I don’t know…”
“Nobody said anyone got hurt or anything?”
“…Probably not?”
She was useless for gathering intel, so I pulled my phone from my inventory.
The “1” next to the message vanished almost at once. A call came through immediately.
“Hello?”
—Are you okay?!
“Ow, my ears…”
The second I answered, Chae Yujeong bellowed so loudly I had to yank the phone away from my ear.
—You’re in the ward right now, yeah?
“Yeah, with Chaea.”
—Stay right there.
The call cut off. …Does she even know which room I’m in?
I was still staring blankly at the screen when a rattle—bang!—sounded and the infirmary door flew open. I sat up and pushed the curtain aside. There stood Chae Yujeong in the doorway, and behind her were Han Yeoreum, Lee Hayun, Yeon Hajin, and even Baek Woohyun, whom I had never expected.
…That was fast. Not even a minute since the call ended…
The moment our eyes met they rushed over. Thankfully none of them looked seriously hurt; everyone seemed lively, and that eased my mind a little.
“Hey, are you really okay?!”
Chae Yujeong reached me first and started patting me down all over, checking for injuries.
“Yeah, I’m fi—”
Then the crazy girl tried to peek under my clothes, so I flinched and shoved her away.
“Wh-what the hell are you doing, are you insane?”
My face heated up and I snapped, but Yujeong ignored me and kept examining my condition.
“I said I’m fine! Get off!”
She kept clinging. My strength was no match for hers, so I shot pleading looks at Han Yeoreum and Lee Hayun behind her.
“Yujeong, calm down a little and let’s talk, okay?”
Only after Yeoreum soothed her and Hayun pulled her back by the shoulders did the situation settle. In the quieter atmosphere I finally asked the question that had been gnawing at me.
“Um… did anyone get badly hurt or… die this time…?”
I asked carefully. Yeon Hajin gave a bitter smile.
“A few people got minor injuries, but even those have all been treated.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. Except for the terrorists.”
I brightened at the news, and Yujeong added cynically from the side,
“Yeah, you got hurt the worst. You know that? You’re the only one who collapsed.”
“Haa… thank goodness…”
“What the hell is ‘thank goodness’ about that!!”
I ignored Yujeong’s loud complaining and simply lay back down on the bed. Hearing that we had safely passed the major crisis let the tension drain out of me; my body grew heavy and languid. I turned my head and saw the crimson sunset pouring through the window. Beyond it stretched the academy’s skyline of solid high-rises. Seeing them still standing, unbroken and whole, a quiet emotion welled up and I smiled faintly. Then Yeon Hajin spoke carefully.
“Also, I heard the academy is giving separate rewards to the main contributors of this incident. Did you know?”
At those words the things I had completely forgotten suddenly came back to me.
Ah, right. The rewards.
