Chapter 5: Tiamat (3)

It was also a considerable number.

Judging by their appearances, they didn’t seem to have been dead for long. It was estimated that the incident had occurred more recently than expected.

I looked around thoroughly, but I didn’t see anything that could be a danger or be salvaged.

“They’re all dead.”

Whether human or monster, there were no survivors.

It was a tragic sight to understand, but it was a pity that there was no one to ask.

In the end, I had to rely on my own efforts.

The collision of humans and monsters. This was the most plausible hypothesis for the cause of the situation.

Then why did they collide?

The intentions of the human side were more important than the monsters’. What was the reason for so many people entering the deep forest?

“It seems like mercenaries, though.”

It wasn’t a difficult question.

Armed with leather armor, spears, and swords, they couldn’t be considered ordinary villagers. If they were mercenaries, there were plenty of reasons.

Simply for hunting, dreaming of making a fortune after knowing the monsters’ movements.

Or, they might have been commissioned.

Whatever it was, they came here and were ambushed and ended up like this.

The circumstances were roughly like that.

I turned my gaze to the most important place.

“A cave, huh? It’s like advertising that there’s a secret inside.”

A sense of foreboding was felt from the entrance.

Ironically, the large number of monsters and humans lying in front of it. They were clearly telling me the answer.

It wasn’t something I couldn’t understand.

Because the world was a game from its origin.

Or, could it be a quest someone made directly?

“If I had known, I would have worked hard to participate.”

It wasn’t for a day or two, and how would I know who made what?

Even if I had been there 24 hours a day, I wouldn’t have known everything. There were so many minor settings that weren’t made public.

These eccentrics.

The enemies inside the cave would surely not be ordinary existences. I knew well enough that I wasn’t weak, but there was no need to take a risk.

“Ah.”

While pondering whether there was a way, I came up with a good idea. I beckoned to the Gapsan Monsters.

And, pointing downward, I gave instructions.

“Burn it.”

Krr-krr- The Gapsan Monster, which seemed happy, brandished its flames. The firepower was weak, but a unique flame that could be used without restriction.

Soon, the flames spread and caused a large amount of smoke. The smell of burning corpses rose.

My face involuntarily wrinkled.

Instead of covering my nose, I stared beyond the flames.

I didn’t have any fantastical expectations that the monster would suffocate by burning the oxygen, but this much smoke would be enough to stimulate the monster.

Even more so if it was the monster that I had lured.

I didn’t want to fight in its home ground without knowing its power. The response soon returned.

A strange cry that shook the entire cave.

The sound of a huge footstep accompanied by vibration got closer at an amazing speed.

At last.

• Kuuueeekk!

It revealed itself, groaning similarly to a pig. The body was at least several times larger than the monster I had seen before.

Covering the black body were something like boils, and it was scattering polluted magic, which was as disturbing as its appearance.

The grass trampled by its hooves turned black and died.

A considerable amount of fire was positioned in front of the cave, but it wasn’t enough to stop the monster’s onslaught.

The Gapsan Monster, which had passed through the fire barrier, was sent flying after hitting the monster’s body.

Keeekk- It was a sorrowful cry.

This much difference even with a blind attack. I shouted as I ran.

“You shoot arrows from behind!”

It was a mutant monster.

If the difference from an ordinary monster was this great, it wouldn’t be strange even if it ruled as the boss. The monsters around it must have gathered because of this guy.

To put it in a metaphor, a boss monster.

The boss pig, which had noticed that I was the source, charged at me.

“Tch.”

I couldn’t even think of blocking it head-on like before. I threw my body to the side just before impact.

Landing on one foot and rotating my body, I raised my magic at the same time.

My kick struck the monster’s back.

• Kueeeek!

A groan with obvious pain.

That gave me courage. There was no reason to retreat if the attack was effective enough.

The boss changed its direction and charged at me again.

I did the same thing.

Avoid, and hit.

“It’s not that fast, is it?”

Compared to its size, it was excessively agile, but there was a limit in the end.

On the other hand, I was much smaller than it, and my flexibility and agility were much better. If I kept landing effective hits without taking damage, the winner was determined.

It seemed that it realized it just now.

The boss changed its strategy.

It let out a very angry cry, and the boils on its body swelled up.

“No, hey. Are you serious…?”

I showed an expression of disgust at the very grotesque appearance.

I put force into my ankles to prepare for the move. Soon, a counterattack, just as expected, raged.

Black lumps were fired out after the enlarged boils burst.

The black mass was fast and powerful.

Kwang-! Kwaaang-!

The ground hit directly was shattered, and earth and dust flew up. There were several of those.

I wasn’t completely safe either.

Scratches were engraved all over my body in exchange for barely avoiding them. It would have been dangerous if I hadn’t been prepared.

“Is this a new pattern?”

Based on the standards of the game, it was basic for a boss to have several patterns.

The black magic had a great risk, but its destructive power alone surpassed pure magic. Even if it were a game, it would have been classified as a technique that must be avoided.

This setting, which gave off an ominous atmosphere, and the grotesqueness of the boss’s whole body.

I knew who had created it.

“Oh, really. Fashion Nerd-nim…!”

There was no one else among us who would make this kind of thing. It’s not something I can say, but this guy isn’t normal either.

A small village on the edge. Planting a monster like this in a place like that.

It wasn’t an existence that could be dealt with at the Juleng level. Although the priest was dispatched, he was just one apprentice priest.

Could he have solved this situation?

He was likely to become one of the corpses around.

“You should be bowing down to me, Naelun.”

I spat it out and jumped again.

A large hole was dug at the spot where I had been until just before. The situation had changed.

It was disadvantageous for me to go on in a war of attrition.

I had to reverse the flow. Running and rolling, I headed to one side. A sword that someone had dropped.

I quickly grabbed it and ran.

• Kueeek!

The boss’s gaze briefly turned away from me.

In that direction, there was a Gapsan Monster hiding behind a tree, aiming its bow. It also seemed that it had attached fire to the arrow.

Its arrow had annoyed the boss.

I approached it quickly without missing that gap.

I drove in and cut the tendons of its legs.

It was tougher than expected.

• Kweeeek!

I jumped to avoid it as the boss rotated to knock me away.

There are certain weaknesses in general boss monsters. But there didn’t seem to be time to look for it leisurely.

“We have to go for the weakness everyone knows.”

Dropping the sword vertically, I fell down.

Gravity gave it acceleration, and I could fall to the point of impact in an instant.

The center of the head. Thanks to the acceleration, it pierced through smoothly despite my worries.

The pig-like scream resounded.

• Kuuweeeeeeekk!

While wrinkling my face at the eardrum-shattering sound, I calmly created magic.

The blue energy that lingered on the blade.

At that time, an unnatural energy arose and circled around it, as if supporting him. Something red, contrasting with the magic.

I instinctively realized what it was.

‘Yoryeok? There was also something like this.’

In Cosmic World, there was a special ability in addition to the eight basic stats.

Yoryeok was an ability attached to the ‘Immangryang’ characteristic, and it was a special ability that I had created.

You can see it as a stat only for Tiamat. Yoryeok, which can only be raised in a special way, was a stat that drove Tiamat, who used summoned beasts as her main force.

Even so, it seemed to be usable for attacks. It was only a supporting feeling for magic, but it was much better than nothing.

“I’m lucky. You, on the other hand, are not. Now, let’s end this.”

The energies of blue and red cut through the monster’s head with the sword.

There was no mercy in my hand. I ruthlessly butchered it with the feeling that there would be no next time.

Blood and screams. The chaotic flow of disgusting, viscous liquid, at the end of which, the heavy body began to quiet down.

The weakened resistance meant that the attack became easier.

The monster, which had been staggering, collapsed without strength.

There was no more chance for the great pig (大豬) lying on the floor to get up.

“Bingo.”

I didn’t worry about the possibility that it wouldn’t die.

Because there was too much clear evidence rising before my eyes.

Quest completion notification.

I had defeated a variant monster, the boss, which had lured the monsters. It seemed that removing the cause of the movement was the condition.

One stat point had increased.

I waited for a while, but there were no new notifications. However, there was one more change that was not revealed.

“My Yoryeok went up.”

Special abilities can’t be raised with stat points.

Each has to meet a specific condition, and in the case of Yoryeok, it was the defeat of a strong enemy.

Did the great pig meet that standard?

I glanced at the huge corpse. The ground around the great pig, whose head was split and was spilling impure liquid, was boiling.

It was the result of the corrosion caused by the boils that had melted as it died. After reviewing the battle, I nodded my head.

It was definitely a formidable enemy.

“It was a boss that would have appeared in the middle of the campaign.”

There was an original story, a campaign, in Cosmic World, which was famous for its crazy freedom.

A difficulty made in the mild flavor to satisfy the majority of users. No matter how I looked at it, the world we had made didn’t make sense.

It’s a good thing I strengthened Tiamat; if she was a basic character from the campaign, she would have become fertilizer in the previous battle.

I became sane after experiencing it directly.

It was a belated regret.

“Rather, what should I do with the stat point?”

The abilities were divided into eight categories: Strength, Agility, Stamina, Endurance, Senses, Magic, Mental Strength, and Divinity.

Tiamat’s basic physical abilities were superior to those of other characters thanks to her characteristics. On the other hand, her divinity was close to zero.

There was no reason not to raise her physical abilities, as the difference was small even if she was superior.

Of course, it would go up with the characteristic level… Then, should it be Magic or Mental Strength?

The importance of magic didn’t need to be explained.

It wouldn’t be a loss to have it. Mental strength was also an essential ability in this world where there were many beings who possessed a different ‘class’ and used mental interference magic.

I made a decision after a moment of thought.

To postpone it.

“I can raise it whenever I want.”

Rather than investing immediately, it would be better to adapt flexibly to the situation.

Next, I checked the experience points.

What was insignificant until just now had noticeably increased. It was thanks to defeating the boss.

It was a joyful thing, but it was hard to be happy.

In other words, even with this kind of achievement, I barely leveled up once.

It was also the time when leveling up was the easiest.

I let out a breath filled with regret, worrying about the future. I quickly threw away that emotion and lifted my gaze.

I had overcome a big battle and confirmed the rewards.

Now I had to examine the most important place.

“It’s not impossible that there’s something more. For example, an enemy.”

I looked into the cave where the great pig had appeared.

There was no response.

I looked around the interior of the cave closely, but I couldn’t see any traces of magic or traps.

Before entering, I gave an order to the Gapsan Monster.

“If someone approaches, don’t fight and call me.”

Kerr-r-r- A boisterous response returned.

Smiling, I stepped into the darkness.

Even if it was pushed out at first, it was a pretty good guy, considering that it had survived that battle.

It also looked promising, firing fire arrows on the spot.

If you continuously maintain the summoning of one individual, knowledge and experience are accumulated.

That was the problem because it was difficult, but I wondered how long this guy could go.

“It’s surprisingly empty.”

The inside was quieter than expected.

I thought that at least a few monsters would pop out, but I couldn’t even see the tip of a nose.

Was it designed to be a place for the boss only? There were such places.

They only appeared in cutscenes and weren’t accessible in reality, or even if you went, it was just an empty polygon.

It was in the midst of feeling the opposite emotions of relief and disappointment.

The smell of blood brushed my nose.

“…A smell of blood.”

The scent of blood. It was undeniable.

I quickly turned in that direction.

Then, new clues were revealed one after another. Collapsed stone walls, traces of sword marks and magic marks on the walls. Weapons scattered on the floor and torn clothes, etc.

It was a trace of battle.

However, it was subtly different from the outside.

“One side is overwhelming. The other side seemed to be trying to resist rather than counterattack.”

If the mercenary group was defeated outside, the owners of these traces would have been dragged in.

If I inferred like that, it was understandable, but another question was derived.

Dragged in? Then who was the culprit?

I couldn’t think that it was the act of a low-intelligence monster.

Above all, the battle pattern was human versus human, not human versus monster.

Some clues were floating around as if they would be caught.

As I turned the corner, the scent of blood, which had intensified, and one door came into view. The moment I grabbed the handle, a strange pattern appeared and emitted light.

Immediately after that, a sharp pain ran through me.

“…!”

A magic trap. It was also a deadly formula.

It was because of my high physical ability that I didn’t die.

Furthermore, due to magic resistance from the characteristics. Nevertheless, it was dangerous if I stayed still.

I amplified my magic and gathered it at one point on my palm.

It wasn’t very efficient since my sensory stats were low, but the effect of a mass attack was certain.

Wo-do-deok. The sound of the doorknob being torn off.

Since the formula was on the spot, I could get away from the influence of magic if I left it as it was.

But I didn’t do that.

Instead, I put even more force. Destroying the will of someone who had made me uncomfortable.

Eventually, after the magic circle was scratched and the glass shattered.

“It works.”

Without using the formula, the magic to release or destroy.

Even breaking the boundary magic with just the power of my body while wielding magic.

There was a function in the game, but I didn’t think it would really work. It wasn’t a deed I could do as I pleased back then.

Perhaps some kind of restriction disappeared as it became reality.

“Anyway, it doesn’t betray my expectations.”

The fact that this was hidden suggested a self-evident fact.

I grabbed the sword that I had brought with me just in case.

It was the sword used to slaughter the great pig.

The opponent this time wouldn’t be that big.

Bang! The door I had kicked open violently opened.

I immediately jumped in and mobilized my senses.

I put strength in my wrist so that I could swing it immediately if something approached.

“Hmm.”

There was no attack.

Instead, a scene that was hard to pass by was captured.

Men and women bound to restraints connected to the wall. Several tubes were connected to their naked bodies.

The small tubes led to the device on the other side, and a faint mana was flowing between them.

I approached the men and women.

On closer inspection, I saw that their chests swelled up and went down repeatedly.

There were pieces that seemed to be human bodies in the corner. It was like the experiment materials had been discarded after their use was over.

I seemed to understand the reason they had only left two people alive.

I moved my gaze from them to the tubes and then to the device. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what this was.

“Mana conversion device.”

As proof, the converted mana was gathering in the center of the device. Black mana.

The inky essence exuded a sinister energy. A human that could make such a thing.

“Maybe a black mage.”

That’s when I said what came to mind.

The notification window blocked my view.