Chapter 177
Chapter 177
Chapter 177: The Unexpected (2)
Translation: godtl
A thick cloud of dust billowed up.
Thanks to the half-destroyed fortress, perhaps.
Whoosh.
The wind that blew in swept away the dense dust in an instant.
The golden lion, about the size of a small apartment, seemed to enjoy the breeze as—
Thud.
It pulled its front paw out of the cracked ground, which was split like a spider's web.
Then.
Grr?
The lion tilted its head, examining the paw it had just freed.
The metallic stench of blood that had tickled its nose—
Not a single trace of its source remained. No red liquid, no flesh, no bones—none of the byproducts were visible.
Only.
Plop.
Fragments of shattered earth crumbled away like breadcrumbs.
Soon after.
Grrrk!
The cub's eyes narrowed fiercely.
It had spotted a deep hole in the center of the crater left by its earlier strike.
At the same time.
Crrrk.
From the ground not far away, Thorn Fiends burst forth.
And among them—
"Th-thank you."
A human who should have been reduced to a pitiful lump of flesh was hanging on.
Yuto.
The cub's ears, eyes, and mouth stretched back into a grotesque grin as it recognized him.
Grrrrrl!
The Nemean Lion Cub's massive face twisted with unmistakable irritation.
Then.
Boom.
A shockwave so heavy it was hard to believe it came from a mere stomp reverberated through the ground.
Despite its enormous size—
The Nemean Lion Cub dashed forward at terrifying speed.
In an instant, it closed the distance to Yuto and swung its paw.
Whoooosh!
A crushing sound, like a building collapsing, tore through the air.
"I won't fall for it twice."
Yuto stomped the ground.
Unlike before, he swiftly escaped the range of the cub's strike.
Then.
KABOOM!
A violent explosion erupted.
Perhaps the cub hadn't been aiming for Yuto in the first place.
Grrrk.
With an annoyed growl, the beast split its maw wide open.
And then.
CRUNCH!
A sickening sound of flesh being torn apart followed.
It had bitten down on the Thorn Fiends that had saved Yuto.
Next.
ROOOAR!
It let out a deafening roar, slashing its fangs and claws in all directions.
True to its size—comparable to a small apartment—
KRAKOOM!
The Nemean Lion Cub obliterated dozens of Thorn Fiends with each brutal swing.
These were Thorn Fiends, creatures capable of shredding even A-grade armor with ease.
CRUNCH.
Yet the cub chewed through them like they were nothing more than gum.
Gulp. Gulp.
The Nemean Lion Cub devoured them without hesitation.
And above its head—
SCREEEECH!
A piercing shriek, sharp enough to make the air tremble, rang out.
A dozen or so Blade-Screaming Bats—survivors of the siege battle—rained down ultrasonic waves.
The cub spat out the mangled remains of the Thorn Fiends and—
ROOOOOAR!!
Unleashed a furious roar at the bats.
In response.
SPLURT!
Blood gushed from the bats' mouths and ears.
Like hunted birds, they dropped from the sky one after another.
At this unbelievable sight—
"Wh-what the hell?!"
Yuto, who rarely showed shock, couldn't hold back.
And who could blame him?
'Even my Sword Aura-infused blade couldn't scratch them. And seeing how it chewed through Thorn Fiends, its defense must be insane...'
And now, even its howl had that kind of power?
What kind of monstrous specs were these?
Crrrrk.
The cub, trampling the fallen bats' corpses, turned its gaze back to Yuto.
Had it tasted blood one too many times?
The murderous glint in its large eyes was unlike anything Yuto had ever seen.
Thud.
You're next, it seemed to say.
With deliberate, unhurried steps, it advanced.
And so—
"Ah...."
Yuto's grip on his sword hilt trembled faintly.
Under normal circumstances, the shame of this situation would have driven him to seppuku. But—
Yuto couldn't move a muscle.
It wasn't just fear holding him back.
'Those eyes... Those eyes are restraining my body!'
The Nemean Lion Cub's large, sharp eyes locked onto him.
Some kind of ability was suppressing his physical capabilities.
Unlike before, those eyes now held a faint crimson glow.
"Guh... hah..."
Now, even his tongue refused to move properly.
'At this rate—!'
Just as Yuto strained every fiber of his being, veins bulging across his body—
"You've endured well, Yuto."
A serene voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Instantly, color returned to Yuto's face.
With a creak, he turned his head.
"Si... Si-mun!"
There, floating in the distant sky, was Si-mun.
The Lightning Qi and Fire Qi gathered in his hands radiated an unmistakably extraordinary aura.
Even the Nemean Lion Cub seemed to sense it.
Grrrr...
The beast hunched its body, unable to hide its tension.
Then—
KRAANG!
With a burst of speed unlike anything seen before, the cub lunged forward.
Each massive paw slammed into the ground—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
—sending violent tremors and deafening roars rippling through the air.
Yet, despite the creature—as large as an apartment building—charging at him like a maddened beast,
Si-mun's expression remained eerily calm.
But his hands, gripping Lightning Qi and Fire Qi, told a different story.
CRACKLE!
The Lightning Qi in his left hand flared violently.
Then—
Huuuung...
In an instant, the Lightning Qi stabilized into the form of a spear, erupting in a dazzling platinum radiance.
Its tip aimed unerringly at the charging Nemean Lion Cub.
Ars Magna—Fusion.
Promised Sure-Hit Lightning Spear.
The Platinum Spear shot forth without a sound.
As if its target had been predetermined from the start,
it flew toward the cub's forehead—without the slightest deviation.
KRRRAAAAAAGH!!
The cub unleashed an earth-shaking roar, powerful enough to split the very ground beneath them.
And then—
Uuuung...
The Platinum Spear wavered unstably.
'As expected.'
Si-mun gave the faintest nod.
'Only an Authority—or a power on par with one—can withstand it.'
Even in his past life,
unless one had a Backing Constellation or strength comparable to his younger brother, Kim Si-hyeok,
standing against a Nemean Lion had been impossible.
'Even as a cub, this part remains the same. Well, it makes sense—this is the Main Arena, after all.'
Of course, the Nemean Lion's Arena was uniquely dependent on the presence of an Authority.
But precisely because of that—
'If I can wield an Authority, clearing it becomes simple.'
With an Authority—or a power equivalent to it—
the strategy itself was straightforward for a Main Arena.
As if to prove it—
KREEEEEHNG!
The Nemean Lion Cub let out a cry unlike before.
A scream laced with pain and terror.
Perhaps due to the roar weakening the Authority's effect,
it barely managed to preserve its forehead from the Promised Sure-Hit Lightning Spear—but preserve was all it did.
KHEEEEEHNG!
Half of the cub's massive skull had been blown away.
It writhed in agony.
CRACKLE!
Platinum sparks erupted from the shattered remains of its skull.
The Lightning Qi of Astrapē, infused with Gungnir's Authority, continued to tear through its wounds.
GRRRR—
The ground quaked as if struck by an earthquake.
The cub thrashed in unbearable pain.
Then—
KYAAAAANG!
It suddenly lurched back up.
FZZZT!
Though platinum Lightning Qi still crackled across the ruined half of its skull,
it seemed to have realized—writhing in pain would only lead to death.
KRRRAAAAAAGH!
With its one remaining eye fixed on Si-mun, the cub charged once more, radiating murderous intent.
Si-mun nodded calmly.
'Right. No matter how much of a Hidden Boss it is, it's still a Nemean Lion Cub. It wouldn't die this easily.'
Even in his past life,
'Just die already, damn kitten!'
Hadn't it taken hours of desperate struggle just to barely capture it?
Swish.
As if he'd been waiting for this moment,
Si-mun extends the fiery energy in his right hand.
Strangely enough,
within the roaring flames
lay a single branch so clear and transparent
it might as well have been sculpted from precious crystal or glass.
Then—
[The Constellation Odin grumbles,"Ugh! That damn sword was annoying enough. Now this blasted branch too!"]
[The Constellation Zeus laughs,"Hmph. Should've chosen your wife more carefully."]
[The Constellation Black Goat cackles,"Kyaha! Zeus, you're one to talk!"]
The Constellations' reactions flood in one after another.
Si-mun lightly ignores them and,
guided by the great current flowing through his entire body,
merges the blazing flames with the surreal branch.
[Insufficient Transmutation Power to meet the required threshold for synthesis.]
[To compensate for the lack of a Philosopher's Stone in this Equivalent Exchange, 5,000 Achievement Points are required.]
[Do you accept? (Yes / No)]
A familiar message appears.
The moment Si-mun selects "Yes"—
Whoosh!
The flames surge violently before
taking the form of a sword—a blade of pristine crimson-white reminiscent of the earlier branch.
Gripping it, Si-mun
glances at Yuto, who stands dumbfounded in the distance, his mouth agape.
"Yuto. Brace yourself."
Ars Magna — Fusion.
The Sword of Extinguishing Flames, heralding the end.
He swings annihilation.
[Hidden Achievement:"Hidden Boss Hunt (6/?)" completed.]
[You have single-handedly defeated the hidden boss "Nemean Lion Cub."]
[You have earned a total of 10,000 Achievement Points as a reward.]
Messages cascade before his eyes.
'For a hidden boss tied to the Main Arena, the rewards are pretty generous.'
A faint smile crosses Si-mun's lips as he confirms them.
'I just used Ars Magna twice in a row, burning through 10,000 points in costs alone...'
5,000 points per use—10,000 total.
And since this wasn't even eligible for the Philosopher's Stone's rebate,
the Achievement Points were being drained raw.
Yet the hidden boss achievement rewarded him with a full 10,000 points?
'Well, I kinda expected this much.'
Truthfully, he'd half-anticipated this outcome.
Having lived a past life, he knew exactly what kind of value the Main Arena held.
Either way—
"Not bad at all."
A satisfied grin naturally spreads across his face.
Before him—
[The Constellation Zeus observes you, stroking his chin.]
[The Constellation Odin grumbles,"Why overthink it? Just trust this kid and you're set."]
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon smirks,"True. Zeus, seems you can stop worrying about Hercules now."]
[The Constellations Black Goat and Baal nod in agreement.]
The Constellations' reactions pour in once more.
'Hercules? Why is Hercules suddenly being brought up?'
Si-mun tilts his head in confusion.
And for good reason.
'Hercules never even existed in my past life... Wasn't he a Constellation that vanished ages ago?'
In his previous life, Hercules had never once appeared on Earth.
So why were they suddenly discussing him now?
But Si-mun's bewilderment doesn't last long.
Partly because the higher-ranked Constellations stop speaking,
but mostly because his gaze lands on a composed young man standing dazed in a corner of the dim subspace—the waiting area.
Si-mun walks toward him.
"Yuto. You okay?"
"......"
Yuto remains silent, blinking vacantly, his soul seemingly elsewhere.
And who could blame him?
-What the hell...
-What kind of magic was that just now?
-Since when does the screen glitch out like that?
-It wasn't a glitch—the arena just ended the moment the hidden boss died, right?
-Yep, that's definitely what happened.
Ars Magna, fusing Laevateinn and Mistilteinn.
The Sword of Extinguishing Flames, proclaiming the end—its power was enough to leave witnesses utterly stupefied.
-The hidden boss just instantly vaporized, lol.
I thought the screen went dark because the broadcast got fried lololol
The chat's on fire too. Look at this. The firepower is insane lol
I've seen that golden spear before, but the sword's new.
Doesn't it feel like an extension of the magic he's been using all along?
22 Bro keeps getting stronger, doesn't he?
The chat couldn't stop marveling at the sheer power on display.
Watching it through Arenia's broadcast was one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was a whole different world.
"Ah, my apologies, Si-mun. I was... lost in thought for a moment."
Yuto, who had been directly affected by the aftermath, barely managed to regain his composure.
Si-mun responded with a gentle smile.
"No need to apologize. If anything, I should be the one apologizing."
"Huh?"
"That last attack of mine. Lightning Qi is one thing, but Fire Qi still struggles to distinguish friend from foe."
"Ah."
Yuto let out a small sigh of realization and nodded.
"That crimson Fire Qi was definitely different from the platinum Lightning Qi earlier. It felt... wilder."
As he spoke, Yuto subtly clenched his left hand.
Between his fingers, his fair skin had turned a raw, angry red.
'I barely even raised my hand on reflex...'
It was human nature.
When something sudden comes at you, you instinctively raise your hands to shield yourself.
Yuto had done the same—just a momentary, reflexive motion.
'And yet, in that split second, I got burned.'
He hadn't even properly raised his hand to defend.
It was just a half-hearted attempt to cover his face, and yet—
'If the Nemean Lion Cub had held on for just one more second...'
Looking back at that inexplicable heat—
Even for a monstrous Hidden Boss, the assumption was absurd, but—
If the Nemean Lion had endured just a little longer—
Just a fraction of a second more—
'I would've been burned to ashes without a trace.'
Yuto let out a hollow laugh.
The sheer absurdity of the spell's power was one thing, but—
'Though, if I were stronger, that wouldn't have happened.'
His frustration at his own inadequacy weighed heavier.
'Hah! I thought I could at least hold my own against mid-tier Diamonds... How arrogant I've been.'
They say the heavens beyond heavens are vast.
He hadn't even been directly hit—just grazed by the residual force of the spell—and yet, this was the result.
The self-reproach was clear on Yuto's face as he closed his eyes briefly.
Then—
"Today... I truly learned a lot. Thank you, Si-mun."
Yuto bowed deeply.
When he straightened up again—
"Thanks to you, I've gained so much insight."
His usual cold expression was gone.
Instead, there was a relieved, almost content smile on his face.
Si-mun smiled back.
"The pleasure was mine. It was fun fighting alongside you."
With that—
"Then next time, I'll come back stronger."
The two logged out of the Arena.
Fwip.
A small flash of light, and Si-mun was back in the penthouse's research lab.
"Whew! First time using Ars Magna back-to-back like that."
Stretching vigorously, he rolled his neck with a satisfied crack.
'Feels refreshing... but what a waste.'
Sure, he'd earned 10,000 points for defeating the Hidden Boss, but—
Using Ars Magna twice and fusing four Mythic-grade weapons? The cost far exceeded that.
Still, Si-mun's smile didn't fade.
'The rewards are gonna pour in soon anyway.'
His contribution in the Siege Warfare would undoubtedly be top-tier.
And he'd just taken down a Hidden Boss in the Main Arena, hadn't he?
Even if the achievement was just for clearing the Hidden Boss—
There was no way he wasn't the first on Earth to access the Main Arena.
Additional achievement rewards were practically guaranteed.
But—
Before the rewards, something else greeted him.
Brrring.
The ringtone of his phone.
Si-mun's eyes widened slightly at the caller ID.
"...Uncle?"
Kim Mu-yeol.
A name he never expected to see flashing on his screen.
'Why the hell is Uncle calling me?'
Puzzled, Si-mun answered the call.
—"Kim Si-mun! Was this your doing?!"
His uncle's voice, unusually agitated, roared through the speaker.
"What are you talking about?"Si-mun replied calmly.
—"Don't play dumb! Hah... Of course. Only a madman like you would pull something like this."
Kim Mu-yeol took a deep, steadying breath before continuing—
—"Chairman Lee Sun-cheol has been assassinated."