Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Go Mal-suk (3)
Translation: godtl
[Your team is the first among 10 teams to enter the 'Heart of the Evergreen Forest'.]
[Rewards upon clearing the Arena will be increased.]
First.
Those welcome words greeted Si-mun.
"Good, we're the first to enter."
His worry that another well-matched team might have entered before them vanished completely.
Regardless of Si-mun's reaction—
-? What do you mean,"good"?
-No way, did he actually think he wouldn't be the first to enter?
-Looking at his face, he really did.......
-Haha...... This guy, he's a deceiver inside and out, huh?
[I Am Gold has donated 500 AP.]
=His way of thinking is completely different from us deep-sea Players.
The chat exploded, even continuing with donation messages.
It was only natural.
The Evergreen Forest was an infamous dungeon—an external map where Magic Class Vegetation Keepers appeared.
And this Evergreen Forest—
-Dude, isn't that a bit much? Pushing through all the way here alone!
-This guy's solo kill count is already in the dozens lol.
-For real. And Go Mal-suk tore through a few on her own too.
-I have another stream open, and they're getting toyed with by three Vegetation Keepers right now lol.
To worry about being the first to enter after breaking through the Evergreen Forest with just the two of them?
But Si-mun wasn't the type to check the Arena chat often.
And the viewers knew that well.
-Chill, guys. This stream was never about common sense to begin with.
-22. Just go with it. I've been watching since his first stream—he's already transcended.
-For real, he must be some guild's rising star. Even with no info, it's impossible to be this clueless.
-I'm so curious about Go Mal-suk too? What kind of trait lets her tear monsters apart bare-handed?
They flared up and cooled down among themselves.
Unaware of the chat's uproar—
'Hmm. Since this is the Silver-rank tier...... the boss must be that thing, right?'
Si-mun tapped his chin with a finger as he surveyed the surroundings.
Like a scene from a fairy tale.
A field stretched out before them, filled with the pleasant chirping of birds and vibrant flowers and grass.
Among them, two things stood out.
One was an unnaturally clear, blue pond on one side of the field.
And the other—
'A withered, ash-gray tree, parched to the bone. No doubt about it.'
A towering ash-gray tree stood tall on the opposite side.
As Si-mun scanned the area—
Rustle.
The sound of footsteps crushing lush grass reached his ears.
Si-mun hastily shouted.
"Go Mal-suk! Wait!"
Without realizing it, Go Mal-suk had already moved ahead of him.
And of all places, straight toward the suspicious ash-gray tree.
"What? Gotta get first place. Let's hurry up and beat the boss."
Go Mal-suk turned back with a pout.
Right above her head—
Whoooosh!
Something massive tore through the air with a deafening sound.
Thud.
The next moment, it slammed into the ground with a heavy tremor.
Only after the thick dust, petals, and blades of grass settled did the shape of the thing become clear.
It was—
Creeeak.
The ash-gray tree they had seen earlier.
"Pah! Pah! What the hell is this?!"
Had she narrowly dodged the ash-gray tree's ambush?
Covered in dust, Go Mal-suk spat out dirt and shook herself off.
A sigh-laced voice reached her ears.
"What do you think? It's the boss."
"The boss?"
"Yeah."
At that, Go Mal-suk turned her head—
Ruuumble.
Watching the ash-gray tree 'rise' with a tremor.
"Damn, it's huge......."
"Withered Bark—one of the bosses of the Evergreen Forest."
A sharply defined eye and mouth sat in the center of its parched, withered body.
Withered Bark finally stood upright after retracting the arm it had just slammed down.
Easily over 30 meters tall.
"Anyway, it's dangerous to stay close, so keep your distance. That thing is impossible to deal with unless you follow the strategy......."
Si-mun couldn't finish his sentence.
The reason was simple.
"You're a sneaky bastard for something so damn huge! You're dead!"
Go Mal-suk was already charging toward the ash-gray tree—Withered Bark.
"Haa."
An involuntary sigh escaped him.
'She did say she lived a lone-wolf life before meeting the Heavenly Demon, but still.'
I hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Yet Si-mun's sigh soon twisted into a faint smile.
'Still, it's good that she hasn't changed.'
Even when he'd first met Go Mal-suk before the regression, she'd been exactly like this.
And if she was still the same now, it meant—
That Go Mal-suk herself was unchanging.
Which, in turn, meant—
"Trying to stop her would be pointless."
Si-mun settled onto a flat rock nearby.
—Oppa, aren't you going to step in? Even with the Heavenly Slaughter Star, a corrupted tree spirit should be too much for her, right?
'I know. I'll step in eventually.'
Just not right now.
Si-mun leisurely observed the battle—if it could even be called that—between Mal-suk and the Withered Bark.
'Withered Bark has considerable resistance to physical attacks.'
Of course, high-level players—
Those at the peak of Gold-rank or with Platinum-tier specs could deal enough damage to break through if they went all out.
'Most players at that level would be capable of Manifestation of Qi.'
But this was Silver-rank.
Even with the Heavenly Slaughter Star, she shouldn't be able to achieve Manifestation of Qi yet.
Which left only one answer.
'She'd have to strictly follow the raid mechanics...'
The Withered Bark was a boss with specs far beyond Silver-rank in the first place.
For Silver-tier players who generally couldn't manifest qi—
The only way to break through that overwhelming physical resistance was magic or equivalent items.
But the cost of such items or scrolls was beyond what most Silvers could afford.
Meaning unless matched with a Magic Class player—
There was no solution outside the official raid strategy.
'No wonder Magic Classes are treated like nobility.'
That's why the Galaxy Arena had provided a clear strategy.
Namely—
"W-water...... need......"
"You bastard! S-stop! Why won't you stop?!"
"Th-thirsty......"
The Withered Bark's movement pattern was fixed.
Unfazed by Mal-suk's relentless punches, Si-mun silently watched as the Withered Bark trudged toward a small pool of water.
'Once awakened, Withered Bark always heads straight for that pool.'
And once there, it greedily gulps down the clear water.
But—
'It's a corrupted tree spirit.'
Meaning that clear water acts as poison—
Purifying the ashen greatwood's body piece by piece, just like purifying undead or demons.
Including its overwhelming physical resistance.
Attacking it there was the standard raid strategy.
'Looks like it'll reach the pool soon.'
Judging by Mal-suk's bloodshot eyes, the Heavenly Slaughter Star had activated, but—
Thud! Thud!
Even with fists imbued with the star's energy, she couldn't deal the slightest damage to the Withered Bark.
The only encouraging change was that tiny splinters now flew with each hit, unlike before.
'But that's nowhere near enough.'
Without the power of Manifestation of Qi or magic—
There was no way to damage the Withered Bark before it drank.
Yes.
That's how it should have been.
"Gyaaaaah! Stop, you fucking bastard!"
Boom!
A viscous curse—and the Withered Bark staggered.
—?? What just happened?
—Holy shit! Did she just make Withered Buck stumble with bare fists?
—Not bare fists. Look at her red eyes—must be some berserk trait or something.
—Berserk is still physical damage lol. Without Manifestation of Qi, it's the same shit. What's the diff?
—Leave her. She's probably from the deep sea or something.
Forget the chat erupting—
Si-mun's eyes widened into saucers as he witnessed that strike.
He couldn't help it.
'Was that... the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?'
The fist Mal-suk had just thrown faintly carried the essence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
'Otherwise, there's no way Withered Bark would've staggered...'
His prediction was dead-on.
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon erupts into booming laughter, loud enough to make space itself tremble.]
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon modifies the quest 'Find a Disciple' to target 'Player Go Mal-suk.']
[The Constellation Heavenly Demon earnestly pleads,"I've become a man who can't live without that lass! My friend! I beg of you!"]
The Heavenly Demon was reacting passionately.
'I didn't expect him to modify the quest itself.'
Well, I was planning to make Mal-suk his disciple regardless of any conditions anyway.
"By the way......"
Pushing aside the Constellation's message, Si-mun turned his gaze forward.
"I didn't expect Mal-suk's attack to actually land......"
Originally, he had assumed they'd be fighting for about a minute after the creature drank water and revealed its weakness.
That's why he'd planned to join the battle around that time.
'This complicates things.'
Snap.
Si-mun immediately transmuted [Black Panther's Body Tissue] across his entire body and dashed across the field.
The reason was simple.
"Water......"
The movement pattern of the Withered Bark—its only vulnerability—could be disrupted under one condition:
"Prevent it... from drinking?"
Before the Withered Bark could drink water,
it had to receive an attack substantial enough to be recognized as a valid strike.
"You......"
The upper portion of the ashen giant tree contorted like an enraged face.
The moment crimson light flickered in what could be assumed to be its eyes—
"I'll kill you."
KWAANG!
A deafening explosion.
The Withered Bark's arm, as large as a house, came crashing down with speed incomparable to before.
One.
"That was close."
Instead of the battered Go Mal-suk, a clear voice rang out.
Si-mun, who had yanked Mal-suk by the nape of her neck, now stood beside the Withered Bark's descending arm.
"W-what? When did you—?!"
"Get out of here. Even you can't handle this situation now."
"Kyaak! What the hell! Didn't you see that bastard staggering from my punch?!"
"Oh?"
Si-mun raised an eyebrow slightly.
Then—
"Fine then. Just don't die."
With the nimble movement characteristic of felines, he retreated lightly.
"What kind of nonsense—"
Before Mal-suk could voice her confusion—
CRACK!
A massive cluster of ashen roots slammed into her side.
The Withered Bark had kicked.
Mal-suk was sent flying through the air without even a scream.
Si-mun shrugged as he watched her.
'With Heavenly Slaughter active, she won't die.'
It couldn't be helped.
Mal-suk was stubborn, but more importantly,
Heavenly Slaughter was a trait that pursued nothing but killing intent, even at the cost of one's own life.
There was no way to pacify it leisurely like before.
Snap.
With a flick of his fingers—
Rustle.
A cushion of transmuted grass and soil gently caught the falling Mal-suk.
—Oppa, she's alive. Her arm's broken, though.
'I know.'
It was only an instant,
but with his superior stats and full-body [Black Panther's Body Tissue] active, Si-mun had seen it clearly.
'Didn't expect her to assume a defensive stance in that split second.'
Mal-suk had raised her arms in guard and leaned back to minimize the impact,
just as the Withered Bark's foot struck in a surprise attack.
"You... damn... bastard...!"
Perhaps shock therapy worked.
Instead of Heavenly Slaughter's characteristic growl, what reached his ears was breathless cursing.
'Seems she's regained her senses.'
Si-mun smirked faintly and immediately stomped the ground.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave erupted beneath him.
The Withered Bark's step.
'Withered Bark is a boss with fixed aggro on the first attacker.'
Normally, highly intelligent bosses don't have fixed aggro,
but the Withered Bark, being Silver-rank and corrupted beyond reason, was programmed to focus solely on the first attacker.
'Fortunately, its physical resistance is high, but its actual HP isn't that impressive.'
The aggro wasn't on him.
A boss that could only use non-physical attacks would be too easy.
Therefore—
'This is an opportunity.'
"You... I'll kill you...!"
Ignoring Si-mun, who had closed the distance in an instant,
the Withered Bark charged only toward the distant, fallen Mal-suk.
Si-mun clenched his fist.
"Mal-suk, watch closely."
His boiling Transmutation Power surged,
spreading through his body in an instant, awakening his senses.
Snap.
With a finger snap, [Ogre's Body Tissue] and [Black Panther's Body Tissue] simultaneously achieved full-body transmutation.
"That punch earlier......"
Oomph.
The physical prowess of a non-human race, incomparable to that of a human,
the peerless martial arts that elevated a mortal to the status of a Constellation,
and the Demonic Energy stat of 33 and 18 from ten level-ups in the last Special Arena—
"This is how you use it."
The moment he gathered all of it into one fist and struck—
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Strike: Tyrant Emperor Break.
The colossal ashen tree—
KWAZUUZUKCHUK!
—shattered.