Chapter 200
Chapter 200
Translation: godtl
Turning his head toward the noise, Si-mun saw it.
"So it's you! The cause of this damned mess!"
Over 12 meters tall.
A giant in an inexplicably pristine white lab coat, towering like a modest building.
'That guy...'
Si-mun's eyes narrowed slightly.
It wasn't because of the grandiose title of "Hidden Boss."
Nor was it due to him being the largest among the giants that had appeared so far.
Of course, the sheer size of 12 meters certainly gave the impression of facing a building, but that was beside the point.
What truly caught Si-mun's attention was something else entirely.
"A Jotun?"
The chat window seemed to share Si-mun's thoughts.
Despite being muted, the speculation that it was a Jotun immediately surfaced.
And for good reason.
Jotuns were special even among the Giant race, already the pinnacle species in the Arena.
As if to flaunt this, the Jotun spoke.
"Keh! So you know of us Jotuns. Well, it'd be strange not to know of the great awakened giants."
Baring his yellowed teeth, the Jotun laughed smugly.
Chief Researcher Ingmar.
"But..."
His sharp eyes soon locked onto Si-mun.
"Who are you? What race are you, exactly?"
Ingmar's gaze was a mix of wariness, anger, and a hint of curiosity.
Like an appraiser examining an object, he scrutinized Si-mun.
"The aura and power I sense clearly belong to the Dragonkin, but..."
His eyes slowly swept over Si-mun's entire body.
"Even I've never seen a form like this. Closest would be a Dragonian? But the horns are usually from evolved... Well, there are plenty of Dragonians with horns too..."
Perhaps the title of Chief Researcher wasn't just for show.
Despite having labeled Si-mun as an intruder in his lab, Ingmar couldn't suppress his curiosity, muttering to himself.
"Living up to his reputation."
Only when Si-mun let out a soft chuckle did Ingmar snap back.
"You bastard! How dare you mock Ingmar?!"
His curiosity vanished, replaced by the fury from before.
Then.
Ingmar clenched his fists, each the size of a small house.
"Fine. As for your identity..."
His large eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
"I'll dissect you alive and find out!"
He immediately stomped the ground.
KOOOOM.
Just once.
A brief, intense tremor.
Simultaneously.
WHOOSH!
Ingmar's fist tore through the air, hurtling toward Si-mun.
A flicker of admiration crossed Si-mun's eyes.
'As expected. So this is a Jotun?'
With just one step, Ingmar shot forward like an arrow—a movement utterly unlike the simplistic, one-dimensional giants from before.
But.
Swish.
Casually flicking the platinum tail that had grown from his back, Si-mun didn't evade the house-sized fist.
Instead—
"This bastard?!"
He chose to meet it head-on with his own punch.
A brilliant decision.
CRACK.
"ARGH!"
A sickening sound of flesh tearing.
A scream to match.
Despite the collision being between a nearly 12-meter-tall giant and Si-mun, barely over 2 meters tall...
It was Ingmar whose entire hand shattered.
His elbow joint dislocated.
"Guh!"
Ingmar clutched his ruined right fist.
Gritting his teeth, he glared at Si-mun.
"How can such a rat-sized body...?"
Then—
"But! Don't think that's enough against a mighty Jotun!"
Ingmar twisted his mangled hand.
To be precise—
CRUNCH.
CRACK.
His ruined right hand contorted unnaturally.
Then, as if rewinding time—
His bones, muscles, and flesh reformed in sequence, restoring his hand to its original state in an instant.
'As expected of a Jotun. Already part of the Giant race, and now awakened—their regeneration is impressive.'
Jotuns.
Also known as Awakened Giants, they were like the Draconic among Dragonkin.
Born as Giants, they ascended to a higher tier through enlightenment.
Naturally, their innate abilities became even more formidable.
Si-mun observed Ingmar's regenerated hand with a more serious gaze.
'Thanks to Dragonoid, Dragon Power must have penetrated his body like Aura...'
The strength of Aura wasn't just due to the Manifestation of Qi.
It reinforced the body's circuits and muscles like Aura infusion.
On the contrary, just like the subtle principles of infiltration techniques, it could ravage the insides and even induce internal injuries.
This was one of the key differences in Aura manipulation that separated Platinum and Diamond ranks.
And now that Si-mun had acquired the Dragonoid form,
he too had gained the ability to wield Dragon Power in such a manner.
'And yet, he regenerated it so effortlessly.'
Chief Researcher Ingmar had completely disregarded Si-mun's Dragon Power and regenerated without issue.
One.
"Good."
Objectively speaking, it should have been an unfavorable situation,
yet Si-mun, on the contrary, seemed pleased.
He merely curled the corner of his lips leisurely.
Perhaps irritated by that—
"You bastard!!"
BOOM.
With a furious roar, Ingmar stomped the ground again.
But perhaps the earlier counter had left an impact?
This time, instead of charging recklessly, he dashed forward—
GRRRRR—
Sprinting across the ground, Ingmar raised his fist.
"Let's see you act cocky one more time!"
Unlike before,
his waist, shoulders, and stance—
all carried the refined techniques and subtleties of martial arts as he swung his fist.
Then—
HISS—
Unlike earlier,
pale steam began rising from various points on Ingmar's fist.
A glint of interest flickered in Si-mun's eyes at the sight.
'Right. He's a Jotun—why wouldn't he use it?'
But that was all.
Despite the glint in his eyes,
Si-mun threw a punch in the exact same manner as before.
The two fists, vastly different in scale, clashed in an instant.
CRACK—!
A fierce friction sound erupted.
Surprisingly,
unlike before, neither side suffered injuries as the two fists locked in a contest of strength.
But perhaps sheer size was an insurmountable factor?
GRRRRK—
Si-mun's feet carved grooves into the ground as he was gradually pushed back.
However—
"What the...!"
Despite clearly holding the upper hand in the contest of strength,
it was Ingmar whose face twisted in frustration.
And for good reason.
'He's even using the ability of Hardening! And yet, he's matching me?!'
The ability of Hardening.
A special power granted only to the awakened Giant race—the Jotun.
Though Hardening, along with Softening, was a basic ability bestowed upon all Jotuns—
'Whether it's strength or durability, it should be nearly twice as powerful as his previous punch!'
It had amplified his fist's power by almost twofold compared to before.
And yet, this tiny bastard was blocking it so effortlessly?
It was almost like—
'It's like I'm fighting another Jotun!'
It felt as if he were facing another awakened Giant.
Once that thought crossed his mind—
"Tch!"
Ingmar gritted his teeth hard.
Then—
"To think a puny little rat like you—!!"
A barrage of punches poured forth alongside his roar.
Like a boxer's Dempsey Roll—
HISS—
His two fists, wreathed in pale steam from the Hardening ability, swung relentlessly.
But—
CLANG! CRACK!
Each strike was met and blocked by Si-mun's own punches.
Realizing this wasn't working—
"Damn it!"
BOOM—!
Ingmar slammed his massive elbow into the ground and immediately retreated.
The aftermath of his destructive flurry sent clouds of dust sweeping through the Spirit King's Cradle.
Si-mun watched Ingmar withdraw, then—
"Hmm... His physical abilities are slightly below even the lowest-tier Jotun."
With an indifferent expression, he glanced down at his own refined and razor-sharp hands.
Both hands, covered in platinum scales like those of his tail,
resembled gauntlets forged from the scales of a Dragonkin.
"Then I suppose the stat assessment is about done..."
Muttering softly to himself, Si-mun—
Perhaps having heard him—
"You dare use me as a test subject, you insignificant little rat?!"
Chief Researcher Ingmar, who had widened the distance, bellowed in fury.
Instead of responding—
Clench.
Si-mun merely tightened his platinum-scaled fist slightly and curled his lips again.
"GRAAAAAH!!"
Ingmar's roar was so furious it made eardrums tingle.
"I'll grind you into paste, you damned rat!"
Veins bulged across his entire body as he stomped the ground.
HIIISSS—!
Like a steam engine in full operation,
thick plumes of smoke billowed from his massive frame.
Then—
"HYAAAAAH!"
With his hands clasped together,
Ingmar brought them down in a hammering motion.
WHOOSH—!
The twin fists tore through the air as they descended.
Perhaps because his already massive hands were now combined—
the attack, now twice as large, resembled a meteor crashing down.
Si-mun shifted his shoulders back slightly, adjusting his stance.
'Seems he's pushing his Jotun abilities to the limit.'
Though steam was pouring from his entire body,
his clasped hands were emitting an unusually intense amount.
It was obvious that those two fists were concentrated with abilities at their maximum capacity.
'With just this, it should be enough to gauge the Dragonoid's full combat prowess.'
The corner of Si-mun's lips curled further upward.
Following his motion—
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Strike Form: Tyrant Emperor Break.
Si-mun's fist, enveloped in a fierce, ink-black energy, also rose upward.
And then—
CRAAAAACK!
A deafening roar tore through the eardrums and shook the brain.
But it lasted only an instant.
The moment the two forces collided, the balance between them shattered in an instant.
And unbelievably—
CRUNCH.
Ingmar's two hands, incomparably larger than Si-mun's fist, were utterly destroyed.
No—
It wasn't just destruction.
CRUSH.
It was as if they had been smashed apart by a colossal hammer.
The two hands of Ingmar, which had resembled falling meteors, were literally pulverized.
However—
Even from such a devastating injury, Ingmar didn't let out a single groan.
Instead, his bloodshot eyes, nearly bursting, glared at Si-mun with pure malice.
At that—
'What the...?'
One of Si-mun's eyes twitched.
And through that eye—
SWOOSH.
A sound, completely out of place in this destructive battle, rang out as something long and flexible shot upward.
It was—
'A leg?'
A leg even longer than those massive arms.
Strangely enough—
WHOOSH!
Like a rubber band or a whip—
The Jotun's hardened leg stretched and lashed out with terrifying flexibility.
"Not bad, you little rat."
Reading Si-mun's expression, Ingmar grinned with a viscous smile.
"NOW DIE!!"
He brought his whipping leg down in a crushing strike.
"You're not bad either, Ingmar."
In response, Si-mun extended a platinum-glowing hand toward it.
Within his grasp—
HUMMM.
A black orb pulsed, emitting a clear, resonant hum.
BOOOOOOM!
The Spirit King's Cradle trembled violently.
The shattered remnants of the human transmutation facility, dark-toned leaves, and clumps of dirt scattered in every direction.
WHOOSH—
Only after the thick dust settled did the cause of this devastation become visible.
"......."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"...You little rat. Just now. That was—"
A voice, short but impossibly deep, rumbled.
"The first form of the Wave Form in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—Heavenly Demon Orb."
A clear yet decadent voice followed.
"Keh. Right."
At the epicenter of this cataclysmic explosion—
The face of Ingmar, once twelve meters tall but now reduced to half that, twisted slightly.
"You... bastard..."
Then—
"A Dragonkin... and a contractor of the Heavenly Demon...?"
Before he could even finish—
Ingmar slowly toppled sideways.
THUUUD.
Like an entire building collapsing—
Having lost his heart and everything on his left side, Ingmar bid farewell with a heavy tremor.
[Hidden Achievement: 'Defeat a Hidden Boss (8/?)' has been achieved.]
[You have single-handedly defeated the Hidden Boss 'Chief Researcher Ingmar'.]
[You have earned a total of 7,000 Achievement Points as a reward.]
A system window announcing his death floated before Si-mun's eyes.
Followed by—
[You have completed the mission from the Constellation 'Black Goat'.]
[You have earned 10,000 Achievement Points.]
A second system window appeared, confirming the completion of Black Goat's mission.
And though it didn't appear directly in Si-mun's view—
-.......
-Holy sh*t...
-What the hell was that power?
-Guys, is this for real?
The chat log embedded in the corner of Si-mun's vision was in complete chaos.
And rightfully so.
-Isn't that guy a Jotun?
-Jotuns are supposed to be mid-tier giants, right? LOL!
-Uh... Yeah, but why do I feel so... hollow?
-These guys are overreacting, LOL. No way that was a real Jotun.
-For real, LOL. A Jotun wouldn't get their limbs torn off and not regenerate in seconds.
-But we literally saw Hardening on his fists and Softening on his legs... That's all Jotun abilities, right?
-Hey! Pay attention!
A Jotun—
An Awakened Giant who once dominated the upper Diamond ranks—
Had been felled in a single strike.
Of course, Si-mun, unaware of this chaos—
'17,000 Achievement Points? Not bad.'
Could only smile in satisfaction at the rewards from the Hidden Boss achievement and Black Goat's mission.
Clearing the messages, Si-mun turned toward the center of the Spirit King's Cradle.
'Shall we wrap up this Arena now?'
He headed toward where the rainbow pillar had once stood.
The sudden appearance of the Hidden Boss and Black Goat's mission had been unexpected, but—
The original purpose of this Special Arena was to fulfill the quest condition from the High Elf Erpin:
To 'find the traces of the Spirit King.'
Plop.
A faint sound of water reached his ears.
Where the radiant pillar had stood, shallow water now pooled, barely reaching the soles of his shoes.
'That's definitely the Trace of the Spirit King, no doubt about it.'
Si-mun stepped toward the center of the waterlogged area.
There, he saw a flower bud—vibrantly multicolored, yet eerily similar to the four buds that had forcibly regenerated the spirits earlier.
Then—
Rustle.
Carefully, Si-mun unfolded the dazzlingly patterned flower bud.
"W-what is this?!"
His eyes widened in shock as the words burst from his lips.