Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: A Different Kind of Boss
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"Healer! Where's the healer! Heal him now!"
The healer, who had been spacing out in the back, rushed over in a panic.
He was a healer the Association had mandatorily assigned to the guild, so he was used to just tagging along and passing the time. The sudden crisis made him drop the sandwich he was eating and sprint over.
"Heal!"
The healer, sweating profusely, channeled mana into Jang Dong-min's gaping abdomen.
But there was no way a hole the size of a soccer ball could be closed.
All it did was slightly slow the bleeding.
"A wound this severe..."
The healer's voice trailed off.
With his power, he could never save Jang Dong-min.
He didn't possess the magic to restore the vanished bone and flesh.
No, no healer could mend a wound this large.
Not unless they were the Divine Healer rumored to be able to resurrect the dead.
"Hah... Retreat..."
Jang Dong-min said in a voice that sounded like he was taking his last breath.
His organs were destroyed and blood flowed back up, trickling from his lips, but he was fulfilling his final duty as captain.
"Get the captain on your back!"
Someone shouted amidst the panicked crowd.
Just as Jang Dong-min had said, it was time to flee.
Once the boss room door opened, it wouldn't close again.
"We don't know when the next attack will come! Everyone, retreat at full speed!"
Park Hoo-shik said as he helped get Jang Dong-min onto Kim Jeong-shim's back.
The raid members instantly scattered and began to disperse.
As expected of people who'd cut their teeth in this line of work, their skill at fleeing was top-notch.
But one man stood motionlessly in the center of it all.
"Hmm."
A man staring at the door, his brow deeply furrowed.
It was Do-jae.
"Should I run?"
Do-jae, too, had clearly seen the light that shot from beyond the door.
The light that had pierced through a C-rank hunter's abdomen as if it were a thin sheet of paper.
"But what about the quest."
The quest, however, was on his mind.
He had explored the entire dungeon, but found nothing that seemed related to the quest.
That left only the boss.
No matter how he thought about it, Do-jae felt he couldn't just leave.
"Lee Do-jae! What are you muttering about! Hurry up and run!"
Park Hoo-shik, who was seeing to Jang Dong-min, the healer, and Kim Jeong-shim, shouted over his shoulder.
He thought Do-jae was frozen with fear.
Everyone else was running for their lives, and only Park Hoo-shik was concerned about Do-jae.
"Hey, kid, I know you're scared, but come on. Let's get out of here!"
Park Hoo-shik grabbed Do-jae's arm and pulled.
But what was this?
He'd pulled hard in his haste, expecting Do-jae to stumble, but the man didn't even budge.
'Did he dig up and eat some wild ginseng? He's not moving an inch.'
Park Hoo-shik pulled on Do-jae's arm again.
But there wasn't even a slight stir; it felt like wrestling with a giant tree.
"Sir, you go on ahead."
Do-jae said gently.
Park Hoo-shik found that resolute tone quite unfamiliar.
The Do-jae he knew wasn't like this.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'll stay here."
"Are you crazy? Even the captain was taken down in a single blow!"
"I'll manage somehow."
"Stop talking crazy and let's go. We can leave the rest to the Association."
Not knowing when the boss might burst through the door, Park Hoo-shik's legs were trembling.
Yet Do-jae just stood there staring blankly at the boss room, making Park Hoo-shik's insides burn with frustration.
*Thud. Thud.*
"Hey! Have you really lost your mind? I'm leaving. I'm out!"
*Grin.*
Do-jae offered a smile of affirmation.
Though to Park Hoo-shik, who had already decided Do-jae was a madman, it didn't look that way at all.
'I'm out. I've got a damn wife and a kid heading to college.'
Still, his conscience made Park Hoo-shik linger for about three seconds.
Then he turned and started running again.
***
*Creeak—.*
The massive iron door opened.
*Swish—!*
He swiftly dodged, but...
...nothing came flying at him.
"What the?"
Do-jae advanced slowly, his steps cautious.
*Thump—.*
The moment Do-jae's heel crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut with a deafening roar.
*Flick—!*
*Fwoosh—!*
One by one, torches began to light up in the dark room.
'Nice theatrics.'
*Ziiiing—.*
'Hm?'
A sound like radio waves buzzed in his ears.
It was similar to that time.
The feeling from when he fought the harpy in that desert-like place.
The feeling of being somewhere other than reality.
*Wuuuuung—.*
"Kurrrrrrrroooar!"
Something let out a roar so massive it shook the very ground.
Before he could even process the sensation, Do-jae frowned and took in the creature's appearance.
'It's a Kinggreydon, all right.'
Do-jae tilted his head.
He'd thought it would be something else, but there it was, a Kinggreydon, plain as day.
Kinggreydon.
Its rank was higher than a Mother Harpy and the same as a Cerberus.
However, like all greydons, its exceptionally tough hide and the physical power that came from its massive frame made it a boss monster considered a cut above Cerberus.
'What was that attack from before?'
Unlike the mind-shaking Mother Harpy or the flame-spewing Cerberus, the Kinggreydon had no special attacks.
It was the type to rely solely on its massive body, a brute-force brawler.
As an aside, this nature meant it unofficially served as a benchmark for ranking non-magic type hunters.
'There might be something else to it. I can't let my guard down.'
That attack, which had pierced through the raid captain's sturdy body—and his armor.
It made him doubt whether even his Golem Armor could withstand it.
Just then.
*Flash—!*
The very center of the Kinggreydon's forehead began to glow brightly.
"Kuwaaaaaaaah!"
*Fwoooooosh—!*
A beam of light erupted from its gaping maw.
It was the same one that had pierced the raid captain's stomach.
*Zip—.*
Do-jae dodged it easily.
But the moment he saw where the beam had passed, a chill ran down his spine.
*Sizzle—.*
The ground glowed red, boiling.
It looked as if magma had flowed there.
'A breath attack?'
A breath attack, the signature weapon of a dragon.
A torrent of mana exhaled in a single breath, said to be powerful enough to alter the very terrain.
No, to say it annihilated an entire area, turning it into a wasteland, better captured its destructive and brutal nature.
A few years ago, a dragon appeared in France and obliterated a quarter of the country before disappearing somewhere. Its breath attack was what had yielded such devastating results.
Thanks to that, France lost countless hunters and citizens, and was left in a state where it couldn't even function as a nation without the help of the European Union.
'It's like a breath attack, but its power is incomparably weaker.'
Fortunately, the Kinggreydon wasn't as large as a dragon, and the beam it fired wasn't as powerful as a true breath attack.
It was at a level where he could dodge it if he tried.
Unfortunately, his somewhat slower golems would likely have a hard time avoiding it.
If one took a direct hit, there was a high probability that even the magic stone, the core of the summon, would be destroyed.
'It's better to fight alone.'
Abandoning his plan to summon a golem to tie the beast down, Do-jae leaped into the air.
*Boom—.*
Do-jae's fist slammed into the Kinggreydon's shoulder.
"Krrrrrgh!"
The beast staggered slightly.
But it didn't seem to have much of an effect.
'Was the Kinggreydon always this strong?'
Over the past few days, Do-jae had bought up every dungeon that came onto the market.
As a result, most of them were E-rank and D-rank, so he hadn't experienced the same explosive growth as before.
But the process hadn't been in vain.
It had been time to adapt to his rapidly strengthening physical abilities and improve his use of the Golem Armor.
Like this.
*Grind—*
*Grrrind—*
As Do-jae's fist touched the floor, stones crawled up it.
Reacting to the magic stone in his hand, the stones layered themselves over his fist, swelling it to the size of a basketball.
'This is gonna hurt.'
After clenching his now-massive fist.
He reached the Kinggreydon's head in a single leap.
And just as he was about to give it a light flick on the head...
'Huh?'
A round, smooth, bead-like object caught his eye.
And in that brief moment of hesitation, the Kinggreydon threw its head back and opened its maw.
Change of plans.
Instead of a flick, he opened his palm wide and delivered a slap to its cheek.
*Smack—!*
"Kraaaaaaah!"
Its head whipped to the side, and it let out a piercing shriek, thoroughly enraged.
It fired another one of those breath-like attacks.
Compared to the last one, its power had diminished slightly.
'After a few more times, it probably won't be able to use it anymore.'
But even if the attack grew weaker with each use, it was meaningless if he couldn't land a decisive blow on the Kinggreydon.
Do-jae, facing the limits of his physical attacks, immediately opened his Subspace.
*Vwoom—.*
He plunged his arm into the Subspace, and as he pictured what he needed, he felt something long and hard materialize in his hand.
And when his hand emerged from the Subspace again, it was gripping a sharp longsword.
'A sword just feels more familiar.'
He hadn't had reason to use it while hunting trash mobs lately, but at times like this, the sword was a great help.
It was simply labeled 'Longsword' in the Subspace, so he didn't know its name, but its performance was outstanding.
'I should get it appraised next time.'
***
And so began the duel of offense and defense.
Scratches multiplied on the Kinggreydon's hide, and with them, its ferocity intensified.
Likewise, Do-jae was slightly flustered that his relentless attacks weren't landing effectively.
'This isn't a normal boss.'
Something had been bothering him.
That thing embedded in its forehead.
Do-jae sensed instinctively that it was a magic stone, the source of the Kinggreydon's power.
'I want to break it.'
But the beast didn't give him an easy opening.
It thrashed about so wildly whenever he got near its head that it was difficult to even approach.
This was as good as screaming 'This is my weak spot,' so Do-jae was constantly looking for a chance.
'No other choice. Come forth!'
The air tore open.
From the rift, a golem emerged.
His highest-leveled and strongest one.
"Krrrrk."
The Kinggreydon reacted to the suddenly appearing golem.
Do-jae threw the sword in front of the golem and leaped toward the Kinggreydon's head.
"Krrk!"
Just as expected, the beast, which had been about to fire its beam, snapped its mouth shut and turned its head.
Do-jae poured all his strength into forcing the creature to its knees.
"Now!"
The golem pulled Do-jae's sword from the ground and charged.
It felt so incredibly slow.
On its knees, the Kinggreydon fired its beam at the golem.
*Pshwaaaaaa—!*
A powerful beam of light swept over the golem's entire body.
Do-jae seized that fleeting moment and landed on the crown of the Kinggreydon's head.
"So you were scared of the sword, huh?"
The Kinggreydon had made a mistake.
Perceiving the sword as a threat, it had prioritized the golem over Do-jae.
In the end, the golem took a direct hit, but Do-jae now had the magic stone right before his eyes.
"Sorry, Number One."
With a brief moment of mourning, Do-jae slammed his fist down on the magic stone.
*Crack—.*
*Crrrack—.*
*Shatter—!*
The magic stone that had been glowing in the center of its forehead shattered and fell away.
Having lost the magic stone, the Kinggreydon's strength seemed to fail it, and it collapsed.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
Level-up messages appeared.
But he ignored the messages and trudged over to the golem.
"Good work."
The golem lay collapsed, its form barely held together.
Its exposed core flickered, on the verge of going out.
For some reason, Do-jae felt a pang of pity for the golem.
It was a golem that couldn't speak or show expression, but he had grown a little attached to it over time.
"This might be better for you."
After watching it for a long moment, Do-jae used a skill.
The Summon Dismissal skill.
The golem's form crumbled, returning to a pile of stones.
The magic stone left on top flickered a few more times, then lost its light completely.
[You have cleared the quest.]