“Hold out for 5 minutes.”
Leaving those words, Team Leader Choi ran off like the wind. Whether fortunate or not, the Hobgoblin Great Warrior didn’t give him even an ant’s worth of attention.
“It’s coming this way.”
People nodded blankly at my words.
“So it is.”
THUD THUD THUD!
“It’s running!”
“DEFENSE FORMATION-!”
Team members instantly took formation. I gripped my spear and moved according to instructions. Between the tanks and ranged dealers. Dead center is my position.
What the fuck, I’m just a porter…
Talk about life going sideways. They say unlucky people break their nose falling backward, but here I am meeting two mid-rank rare monsters for 300,000 won. This is breaking both nose and skull.
“KUWOOOOO!”
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior charged with a roar. Three meters tall, the muscular green monster was overwhelming by mere presence.
Why is that greatsword so huge?
Just thinking about that thing swinging at me makes me swallow involuntarily.
“Can we block it?”
“Gotta try.”
Im Kkeokjeong shouted as he fixed his tower shield to the ground.
“Archers! Don’t spare mana, pour it on!”
SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!
Mana-infused arrows fired in direct shots simultaneously. Enough force to pierce ordinary shields, but…
Thud thud thud.
All cut in half by the Great Warrior’s casual greatsword swing. Even if they’d hit, doubtful they could pierce that thick hide.
“Aim for vital points! Keep shooting to slow it down!”
That’s when the Great Warrior’s eyes glowed red. Drawing up magical power, its strength and speed were incomparable to before.
“KUOOOOO!”
The green giant leaped with a thunderous roar.
Im Kkeokjeong screamed:
“SCATTER!”
The moment everyone dove without time to think.
CRASH!
The massive greatsword shattered the ground.
The shockwave whipped up dust like a tornado.
“Kugh.”
“Cough, cough.”
Beyond the dust curtain, groans and coughs erupted. I thought while crouching low.
What kind of monster is this.
Can’t compare to that one from two years ago, but still sends chills down my spine.
An F-rank hunter like me is just baggage in this kind of fight.
Need to get as far away as possible in this opening.
Vision all clouded over. Now’s the chance when friend and foe can’t be distinguished.
I moved slowly, staying low. With spear in one hand, groping the air with the other, that’s when—
Thunk.
Something solid touched my fingertips. Very hard and damp.
Probably the cave wall.
Already?
Though I thought I was quite far, seems it was unexpectedly close.
Well, good. Now if I move along the wall…
Squish.
“…?”
What’s this now? I carefully felt along something unpleasantly squishy.
Has fur too. A person?
Might be someone’s head who passed out. I whispered as quietly as possible.
“Kkeokjeong hyung?”
No answer.
“Who’s there?”
This time there was an answer.
From right above.
“Grrrr.”
Just then, a wind from somewhere cleared the dust. Slowly looking up, I saw glowing red eyes.
“Kruuk.”
Lowered my head again. Between the pillar-thick, stone-hard thighs, my delicate hand was gripping something. I groaned softly.
“Ah, fuck…”
It was male instinct. Unbearable nausea and self-loathing. Next moment, strength naturally drained from my grip.
I saw my hand dropping limply and the greatsword rising powerfully.
“Kruuk.”
“I let go! Why are you still—!”
“KUOOOOO!”
Goddammit.
I started running with every ounce of strength I could muster.
CRASH! CRASH CRASH!
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior went completely berserk. Literally chased me like a madman, slashing everywhere with its greatsword.
SWOOSH-
“AAAAAH!”
That was really dangerous. The greatsword that just grazed over my quickly ducked head obliterated the wall.
“Tae-kyung!”
“Shoot!”
Team members diligently fired arrows and throwing weapons but…
“KWAAAAK!”
Not enough to draw the attention of the already enraged Great Warrior.
I rolled and rolled while lamenting.
Should’ve just crushed it.
Result of instinct over reason. A man’s heart wanting to let go of ‘that’ even a second faster.
SLASH!
The greatsword barely missed. Though clearly a series of crises, I hadn’t allowed a single effective hit against the C-rank Rare Monster.
Maybe because I went through so much hell in Murim.
Might sound crazy but it’s true. I can see its attacks. Moving half a beat faster was keeping me alive.
CRASH!
Of course, one hit from that and I’m dead.
“Tae-kyung, this way!”
I turned toward the voice. There, team members waited in defensive formation.
“Fall back!”
Im Kkeokjeong attempted a Charging attack at the Great Warrior chasing me. Blue mana overlaid on the tower shield held enough destructive power to shatter ordinary low-rank monsters.
“HAAP!”
Im Kkeokjeong passed me with a short battle cry. And the next moment.
CRUNCH. THUD-
With something breaking, he bounced back at high speed.
Im Kkeokjeong, who flew over ten meters to crash into the wall, spewed blood.
“KWEEK.”
Is this for real?
Unlike my dumbfounded state, the other members were grim.
“No, Kkeokjeong hyung!”
“We’ll buy time, get hyung out of here!”
That’s when the greatsword sent another tank flying, tower shield and all.
CRASH!
“AAGH!”
“Jongmin!”
“We’ll buy time, get Jongmin and hyung out!”
THWACK!
“AAAH!”
“Seokho!”
“…”
SMACK!
The sound announcing the team’s annihilation. The last member who charged with a dagger got flicked away and convulsed before passing out.
Thank god they’re all still breathing at least.
“Grrrr…”
Cancel what I just said. I fixed my gaze on it and shouted:
“Team Leader!”
An intense battle continued at the distant altar.
A tired voice came through the explosions.
“What!”
“How much longer? It’s been over 5 minutes!”
BOOM BOOM! WHOOSH!
Lightning struck and flames soared. Team Leader Choi screamed:
“Three more minutes!”
Someone who didn’t know better would think he’s a soccer referee. I was speechless at Team Leader Choi’s brazen declaration of added time.
“Karuk, karuk.”
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior approached slowly. A cruel smile stretched across its split mouth. I backed away in sync with its steps.
“Yeah, come on. Come on.”
No choice. Just have to run like hell and buy time like before—
“Kruuk.”
But the Great Warrior didn’t move according to my thoughts.
“Huh?”
Its protruding eyeballs rolled toward the unconscious team members. This doesn’t feel good at all.
“Don’t tell me.”
That ‘don’t tell me’ was right.
My heart sank watching it walk toward Im Kkeokjeong.
“Hey, hey you bastard!”
Complete ignorance was the only response.
Now I was the desperate one.
They’ll all die at this rate.
Had to draw its attention somehow. I picked up a stone from those scattered around and threw it at its head.
THWACK!
Direct hit.
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior turned to glare at me.
“Yeah, come here.”
“Grrrr.”
Narrowed eyes looked between me and Im Kkeokjeong. Then it started running toward Im Kkeokjeong.
THUD THUD THUD.
“You crazy bastard!”
At this rate, not just Im Kkeokjeong but all team members would be wiped out. Only I could stop it.
Me, stop that thing?
One-on-one with a C-rank Rare Monster.
It’s a fight I absolutely can’t win. But…
Ah, fuck it.
I was already charging toward it. Sometimes you have to fight even unwinnable battles. This is one of those times.
“Hey you son of a bitch!”
SLASH!
The moment I thrust my spear at its broad back.
“Kuruk.”
The green mass turned as if waiting for this. A triumphant smile on its lips. The greatsword swung horizontally, becoming a ray of light shooting toward my side.
So that was its aim.
My mind went white. Can I block that? Did I make the wrong call out of pointless guilt and heroism?
But the die was already cast.
Must endure.
There are times you have to fight with your life on the line. This was one of them.
Please!
I gritted my teeth and shifted the iron spear’s path. At the same moment, the greatsword struck the spear.
CRUNCH-
A thunderous sound. And immense pressure. The greatsword should have split me in half along with the spear…
“…Huh?”
Both spear and waist intact. My feet just shifted slightly, very slightly, from the force of the greatsword.
What is this?
“K-kruuk?”
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior’s face turned bright red. The withdrawn greatsword struck down on the spear again. Even in my confusion, I gripped the spear tightly to block.
CRASH!
My body moved back.
About 30 centimeters?
“…Eh?”
“…Kruuk.”
The Hobgoblin Great Warrior’s gaze met mine in mid-air. Feel like I’ve experienced this somewhere before.
Right. The duel with Lee Sogun. It was exactly like this.
Thought I was dead just looking at the level, but turned out to be a pushover—how could I forget that absurd moment?
But that had system backing.
While this is reality. I’m just an F-rank hunter without system or anything else.
How is this even possible…
Ding.
“Huh?”
I froze right there. In this moment, I could neither see nor hear anything else.
This can’t be. This is absolutely impossible.
Ding.
-Synchronization complete.
-All systems will be inherited.
But it actually happened.
“Heh, heheh.”
Laughter escaped like a madman. The Hobgoblin Great Warrior looked at me like I was crazy.
[Lv.45 Hobgoblin Great Warrior]
Right, that’s how it is.
“Don’t know how this happened but.”
I grinned at it.
“You’re dead.”
Gurgle.
Wrinkled hands clutched at the throat. But the old goblin had neither the strength to stop the blood flowing like a waterfall, nor time to spit out the spell lingering on its tongue.
“You were troublesome.”
With Team Leader Choi’s words, the light faded from the Hobgoblin High Priest’s eyes.
Tired.
But he turned immediately. He still had work to do. How much of a desperate fight would it take to face a C-rank Rare Monster…
SLASH-
“KWAAAAK!”
Team Leader Choi thought he was seeing things. That same Hobgoblin Great Warrior was screaming. It was stumbling back with one arm cut off.
Who on earth?
Team Leader Choi watched the fight, forgetting he should help. Ghost-like movements, spear blade flowing like water as it carved up the green mass.
Wait. Spear?
Only one person among today’s group used a spear.
The porter—no, Jin Tae-kyung?
Right. It was him.
The F-rank hunter who carried bags and skinned hides!
“What the hell…” Team Leader Choi’s mouth slowly opened.
“What is happening right now?”