Chapter 41

Not long after passing the treasure chest.

“Squeak?”

Three large conches blocked the two people.

Judging by the name “Large Conch with a Hard Shell” appearing in a color close to pink, it seemed there was a difference of about 5 to 10 levels between Carpe and them.

“Finally, they’ve appeared?”

Carpe’s voice was slightly excited.

This was the moment he had been waiting for to try out the item he had been eager to use.

The Legendary item, “Dragon’s Eye,” obtained after defeating Maides.

The moment Carpe decided to activate its power, the necklace emitted a faint light.

Ding.

[Target information acquired.]

Immediately, the monster’s information window appeared.

[Large Conch with a Hard Shell]

[HP: 100% MP: 100%]

[Skills]

-Armor Reinforcement (3-star)

-Body Slam (2-star)

-Stone Skin (2-star)

[Equipped Items]

-None

‘So this is how it works. It’s simpler than I thought.’

-Of course, it’s a monster, so it has to be this way. If you use it on a player, a bunch of skill and item information will pop up, making it incredibly complex.

‘Should I try it once?’

Fortunately, there was a suitable opponent right next to him.

However, when Carpe activated the Dragon’s Eye towards Hanjo, instead of an information window, an alert saying “Cool-down in progress (10 minutes)” appeared.

‘There’s a cool-down, huh?’

-Yeah, some items have that. Ten minutes isn’t that long, though.

Cheonma, thinking about the outrageous options, said it was actually a short cool-down.

“Huh. I’ll handle this.”

While Carpe was testing the Dragon’s Eye, Hanjo stepped forward.

“Haa! Haa! Haa!”

However, instead of charging at the monsters, Hanjo began making strange battle cries and peculiar hand movements.

After about three seconds, Carpe realized that this was the “seal” often seen in ninja anime.

“Summon Snow!”

With a cute effect sound “Pong!” white smoke rose, and a pure white weasel appeared within it.

“What do you think? This is Snow, my close friend.”

-Wind Weasel. A rare pet of Hero grade. You must have found it well.

‘But, does he really need to make those seal-like gestures to summon a pet?’

-Of course not. You can summon it normally. By the way, that “Pong!” effect sound is a paid custom skin, and the smoke that appears when summoning is also a custom skin.

‘…At this point, I’m starting to admire him. To maintain a concept, you have to go this far, huh?’

Carpe’s genuine admiration made Hanjo, who misunderstood it as admiration for Snow, say proudly:

“It won’t take long.”

As Hanjo charged towards the large conches, Snow’s magic activated.

“Kyaang!”

Air condensed in front of Snow and shot towards the conches at high speed.

-It’s an Air Cannon. A 3-star Wind attribute skill.

The Large Conch’s Armor Reinforcement and Stone Skin were both defensive skills that reduced physical resistance and damage.

Hanjo, who had already known this, chose magic attacks over physical ones.

Kabang!

The Air Cannon exploded among the large conches, dealing area-of-effect damage.

At the same time, the conches were flipped over, exposing their weak points.

The “Knockback” status effect from the Air Cannon had activated.

“Haa!”

Hanjo didn’t miss this opportunity.

He quickly slipped between the monsters and stabbed them with his dagger.

Zzzap!

“Squeak?!”

The large conch couldn’t even put up a proper fight before it stopped moving.

It was a clean attack, as if this was the standard way to hunt large conches.

“Indeed, he fights well.”

-Right. He used the knockback and magic damage effectively.

“That was a great battle. From the looks of it, your dagger has a lightning aura, so it seems you have a plan for elemental attacks.”

While the one player, one background spirit, and one doll were nodding in approval, Hanjo didn’t stop.

“True Lightning Blade!”

-That skill doesn’t exist in Lase. He just named it Lightning Enchantment.

‘Thanks for the kind and useless explanation.’

Before the knockback ended, Hanjo placed a lightning blade on the remaining conches, and the other two soon turned gray.

“Phew.”

“Amazing?”

“Haha. Too much praise. So, can I look forward to your battle now?”

“Of course I have to fight too… but why do you call me a ‘Fighting God’?”

“Didn’t you have that title in your previous life?”

“Please, just explain clearly.”

“I’m talking about Real Fantasia.”

“Huh?”

Before Lase, the world’s first virtual reality game, Real Fantasia.

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Carpe asked:

“Eh, did we meet there?”

“Yes. Among the experts in Real Fantasia, few would not know you.”

The Fighting God. Short for “God of Combat.”

A player who suddenly appeared in the arena, destroyed all the ranked players, and recorded the fastest rise to second place.

He then disappeared as suddenly as he appeared, becoming a mysterious legend.

“I fought you twice and lost both times. If I lose again here, it will be three times.”

-What? You didn’t make up the nickname ‘Fighting God’? It’s real?

“I’ve never heard of it…”

Without interacting with other players, he had no idea such rumors existed.

“So, it’s not strange for me to call you a Fighting God. If it bothers you, I can change it.”

“No, it’s not bothersome… but…”

While they were talking, new monsters appeared.

Three Mer-Men intoxicated by magic. Excitement filled Hanjo’s eyes.

‘Finally, I can see your skills!’

While Carpe was calm, the name of a Fighting God was not a light title.

His beast-like reflexes, delicate control, and machine-like gameplay were revered by many top players.

How could he not be excited to see this again?

Hanjo’s eyes widened, determined not to miss a thing.

However.

“Fragrance.”

“Squeak!”

At Carpe’s call, Mukhyang suddenly appeared from the shadows.

“Huh? A magic squirrel? You have a friend too?”

Surprised, Hanjo’s voice betrayed his shock.

But compared to what was about to happen, this was a minor emotion.

“Fragrance. Calling Thunder.”

“Squeak!”

As Mukhyang waved its front paws, dark clouds formed on the cave ceiling.

Kabang!

A bolt of lightning struck the Mer-Men.

[Your subordinate Mukhyang has defeated 3 Magic-Intoxicated Mer-Men.]

[Level Up! You have been granted bonus points.]

[Your subordinate ‘Mukhyang’ has leveled up.]

[Your subordinate ‘Tistania of Radiance’ has leveled up.]

“Oh! Another drop.”

-It was hard to find where to get this, but it dropped here.

In contrast to Hanjo, Carpe was having a blissful time in Lase.

The monsters were easy to defeat, the experience points were satisfying, and even dungeon upgrade materials were dropping.

As they quickly cleared the dungeon, Carpe and his subordinates leveled up again.

This brought Carpe’s level to 19.

They were almost at the point where they needed only one more level to reach the next skill pack.

“Hey, a fork in the road?”

“We’re almost there. Just go right here.”

“What’s on the left path?”

“That’s where the dungeon’s boss is.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t we go that way then?”

It was a reasonable question, but Hanjo shook his head.

“Our goal is to recover the pendant, not to fight the boss. The pendant is at the end of the right path, so there’s no need to fight the boss.”

According to statistics, 98% of players who took the Sea Cave quest skipped the boss monster.

This meant it was a monster players generally avoided.

‘Why? Is the reward not worth the strength?’

-No, it’s the opposite. The reward is better than other boss monsters.

‘Then why?’

-…It’s just crazy. I wouldn’t even fight it if I started over.

It was strange.

The Cheonma Carpe knew wouldn’t avoid a boss just because it was crazy.

If it was efficient, he would dive right in…

-Let’s just quietly pass this time. Ugh. Just imagining it…

“Fighting God. I respect you, but I oppose this. That’s not something we should face.”

“Now you’ve made me even more curious.”

Now, he wanted to go in just to prove a point.

“To thoroughly prepare for a boss monster hunt is the way. Coincidentally, we’re both backline classes.”

Hanjo was right.

Of course, both were skilled in close combat, but managing aggro was a different story.

Without a tank or knight, the party’s stability would be compromised.

But, that was just a general statement…

“What if there’s a knight?”

“What…?”

Before Hanjo could finish his sentence, Tina popped out from Carpe’s chest.

Poof!

With a short flash, Tina returned to her original majestic form.

“This is… a doll?!”

As a former top-ranked player, Hanjo immediately recognized Tina’s true identity.

“A doll! Fighting God, did you become a Puppeteer?”

“Something like that. Anyway, this should be fine, right? She’s incredibly strong.”

“She does look strong, but…”

Even at a glance, she looked formidable.

Her noble and dignified posture, as if the word “knight” had been brought to life, was enough to make one exclaim in admiration.

This is “real.”

Not a concept, but a “real” knight!

“What a jealous sight…”

“So, let’s start the boss raid. If you’re really unhappy, you don’t have to come. I can handle it alone. I’ll go first.”

“Wait! Hold on, Fighting God!”

Seeing Carpe walk left without hesitation, Hanjo hesitated but then sighed deeply and followed.

“Ugh…”

-Ugh, damn it. I knew this would happen. You’re a casual gamer, you jerk.

“What kind of monster is it…?”

Even if Cheonma was one thing, it was hard to understand why Hanjo, a battle enthusiast on par with himself, was also trembling.

Ssssssh.

“Huh?”

“Huh!”

The further they went down the left path, the more strange sounds they heard.

It sounded like… something was crawling.

And soon, the source of the sound was revealed.

At the end of the cave, a large hollow appeared, and the boss monster was sitting there.

“…Oh.”

-Oh no! Look at that. That’s why I didn’t want to come!

As Cheonma said, the boss monster was indeed crazy.

To be specific, its appearance was terrifying.

A bug.

A giant bug, 3 meters in size, with countless legs.

A flat, hard-looking bug was crawling on the ground.

“…Is that the fast one that lives near the rocks at the beach?”

-Shut up. I’m closing my eyes, so don’t describe it.

Cheonma, who looked tough but had a delicate sensitivity, was trembling.

Ssssssh.

The sound of the giant bug moving was horrifying.

…The word “grotesque” must be used for moments like this.

-Please, it’s not too late. Let’s turn back…

Just then.

The bug’s antennae suddenly twitched and stopped.

[Boss Monster ‘Giant Slaters’ has detected the player!]

In a confined space.

Humans freeze at the sight of even a thumb-sized cockroach.

Saliva involuntarily dripped as tension rose.

‘Please, just stay still, please’—while searching for something to grab, if the cockroach suddenly charged at you at a crazy speed?

And if it was 3 meters in size?

The human reaction is predictable.

The brain freezes, and a scream erupts.

“Ah!”

Carpe screamed.

-Ah!!!

Cheonma also screamed.

“Aaaaah!!”

A woman’s scream of terror also echoed.

As everyone panicked in unison,

Kabang!

A knight stood in front, blocking the Giant Slaters’ charge.

“So long as I am here, not a step closer to my lord!”

Tina’s silver sword flashed, and the boss raid began.

A 10-star player, strengthened by luck.