Chapter 94

"......Unbelievable."

Who would have thought that a hidden monster would appear like this?

There was no trace of the majestic presence he had when he first walked out of the forest.

The sight of the giant tiger, larger than a container, squeezing its body into the narrow box... to be honest, it was a bit cute.

"No, how did you find such an unbelievable hidden piece?"

-There's a story behind it that can't be told without tears... I'll tell you if there's a chance later. Let's deal with that big cat first.

"Lord, I'll take the lead."

Tina stepped forward boldly.

She had already returned to her original form and was mounted on Mokhyang, who had completed his enlargement.

"This is an opportunity to try out the new power I received from Lord. Hyang, are you ready?"

"Chu chu!"

"Don't worry. I'll give you acorns after this battle as promised."

"Chu!"

"Then... let's go!"

Thud thud!

Mokhyang charged forward.

Thanks to Tina's 'Charge' skill effect, Mokhyang's speed increased, surpassing the maximum speed an animal could achieve.

"Roar?!"

The giant tiger, who had been growling lazily inside the box, was startled and jumped up from the box.

"Too slow!"

With the Charge buff, Mokhyang arrived a bit faster.

Tina skillfully swung her sword even while riding Mokhyang.

As Tina's sword grazed the giant tiger's neck, red blood droplets splattered into the air.

"Roar!"

But the giant tiger was also the proud boss of this hunting ground.

It instantly dodged Tina's surprise attack, only grazing it.

The enraged giant tiger let out a fierce roar and swung its paw at Tina.

"No way!"

But Tina easily dodged the giant tiger's attack.

When Tina nudged Mokhyang's side with her left leg, Mokhyang smoothly changed direction.

"Roar?"

Perhaps surprised that his attack could be dodged so easily, the giant tiger continued to swing its claws.

Thud. Thud.

Swish! Swish!

Following Tina's signals, Mokhyang easily dodged the attacks.

Their coordination was so perfect that it felt like watching a play.

Chenma and Carpe, watching the scene, exclaimed in admiration at the same time.

-Huh. Better than I thought. There's a reason for singing the Charge Charge song.

"Wow. Truly amazing. The moment the heart moves, the horse moves. This is the realm of man and horse as one! Truly, it's a horse riding skill that rivals the legendary warrior Lü Bu of the Three Kingdoms era!"

-...You've suddenly started using concepts you haven't used in a while. This is why you need to have good friends.

"...Master, Hyang is a squirrel, not a horse? If it were a horse, it would fight better. In the past, it was."

"Really?"

"Yes. Tina's best friend. A legendary warhorse. It existed. But not anymore."

"I see. So that's why..."

Her skill in horse riding and her dedication to the Charge skill were due to this reason.

While Carpe was exclaiming in admiration, the battle between Tina and the giant tiger was intensifying.

"Roar!"

"Grunt?! Not bad!"

Tina's sword and the giant tiger's claws clashed, sparks flying.

At first, the giant tiger was caught off guard by the dazzling movements of Tina and Mokhyang, but it soon adapted, and its attacks became sharper.

Tina could no longer dodge and had to block the attacks with her sword. Each time she blocked an attack, Mokhyang let out short cries from below.

This indicated the immense force behind the giant tiger's paws.

-I need to join in soon. No matter how epic Tina and Mokhyang are, they can't beat this thing at their current level.

"It looks that way."

Tina, who had defeated demons alone in the Luana region, now seemed overwhelmed.

This was a moment to realize again that the difficulty level skyrocketed once you left the beginner region of Luana.

Carpe quickly approached the two.

"Good job. I'll join in."

"Chirp. I'm ashamed, Lord. I showed a poor performance."

"No, you fought well enough. You don't have to solve everything alone. Haste and Striking!"

Ding.

[Haste has been activated.]

[The speed of the player and two subordinates has increased.]

[Striking has been activated.]

[The physical and magical attack power of the player and two subordinates has increased.]

With Carpe's addition, the tide of battle began to tilt sharply.

"Hyang! Now!"

"Chu!"

At Carpe's signal, Mokhyang let out a short cry.

A whirlwind then formed beneath the giant tiger, engulfing it.

This was the moment Mokhyang's newly learned 7-star skill, Wind Blast, was activated.

Whoosh!

"Roar?!"

The giant tiger lost its balance due to the strong magical damage and the wind pressure.

"Down!"

"Now!"

Carpe and Tina didn't miss this opening.

They instantly plunged into the giant tiger, aiming for its vital points.

Crunch!

[The magic embedded in the Demon Horse - Carpe has been activated.]

The 'Heat Spell' of the gauntlet activated, and magic circles began to float behind Carpe.

"Roar!!!"

Wind Cutters were launched from the magic circles, slashing the giant tiger's belly.

[The giant tiger has entered the abnormal state 'Bleeding'.]

It didn't end there. This time, Tina's sword accurately pierced the giant tiger's wound.

[A critical hit has landed! The giant tiger has entered a 3-second stun state.]

"Great! Tina, now!"

"Understood. Charge forward-!"

[The Radiant Tistania has activated her exclusive skill 'Radiant Command'!]

[For 30 seconds, the attack and defense power of allies will increase dramatically!]

With the buff notification, Carpe activated his ultimate skill.

"Permafrost!"

A wave of ice covered the giant tiger as it entered the stun state, leaving it no way to avoid the Permafrost.

Crack.

"Roar..."

The giant tiger's massive body froze instantly.

Crash!

Unable to withstand the burst damage, the giant tiger shattered.

[You have defeated the boss of the Mystic Forest, the Giant Tiger.]

The large cat, who merely loved empty boxes, thus made a lonely exit.

"Phew. Simple... huh?"

And in front of Carpe, who had defeated the boss, an item auto-loot notification window appeared.

[You have obtained the Giant Tiger's skin.]

"Giant Tiger's skin? Ah!"

-It's for room upgrade materials. This must be what it drops. The only thing left is the forest cat fur, right?

"Definitely."

Two materials were needed to upgrade the room to level 4.

Forty forest cat furs and the Giant Tiger's skin.

"The forest cat fur is obvious. We just need to hunt the cats here."

-That's right. This room upgrade quest is quite considerate. All the materials drop in the same area.

"Ugh. It's good to have some easy moments. Balance is the god of games."

After spitting out a conscienceless remark, Carpe checked the spot where the giant tiger had disappeared.

Two items had dropped there.

[Giant Tiger's Meat]

[Grade: Hero]

[Category: Cooking ingredient, special ingredient]

[While tigers leave their skin behind when they die, they also leave their meat. It can be used as a high-quality cooking ingredient. It is a material that certain monsters particularly love.]

-Luckily, it dropped in one go. We won't have to go through the trouble twice.

"Ah, is this the item to summon the Black Plague?"

-Yes. The Elder Snake can't get enough of that tiger meat.

"Wow. They really made a strange quest."

To summon the Elder Snake, you need the Giant Tiger's meat, and to summon the Giant Tiger, you need an empty box.

This made Chenma's ability to find such a well-hidden item even more admirable.

The other dropped item was also a material.

[Giant Tiger's Bone]

[Grade: Rare+]

[Category: Special ingredient]

[For ages, tiger bones have been used as precious medicinal materials. They may be usable as medicine after special processing.]

"Sniff. It's a shame there are no equipment items."

-The monsters in the Mystic Forest don't drop much in terms of equipment, so getting two materials is pretty good.

"There's no way to always get equipment items."

After all, his purpose for coming here was not to get equipment but to complete the quest. This was enough to achieve his goal.

Now that he had secured the Giant Tiger's meat, his target, it was time to go after the Elder Snake...

"Let's gather the room upgrade materials and then head out."

He went to hunt forest cats.

Thud!

"Meow?!"

[You have defeated the forest cat.]

[You have obtained forest cat fur.]

[You have obtained a Mystic Eye Stone.]

"Sorry. I'm sorry, human."

-...You say that, but your hands don't stop. Scary.

The forest cats looked almost identical to real-world cats.

If there was a difference, it was that their fangs were a bit sharper.

They were incredibly cute, so each time Carpe, a cat lover, defeated one, his heart ached.

"But being cute is one thing, and items are another."

And there was one more