Chapter 53

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At the very moment Lee Hyun-wook ordered the "Sky Opening," a variable occurred.

Roo-oo-oo-oo-oom—!

Before the portal was created, an unidentified roar began to echo from the sky.

In response, all players and monsters on both sides raised their heads.

And at the point where their gazes met, something strange happened.

Red letters appeared in the sky.

- Attention! Due to the remarkable achievements of the players, a is granted.

"…That, it's a global announcement!"

Among the players preparing to snipe from the apartment rooftop, a man shouted.

This was not a 'system message' visible only to players,

but a message floating in 'real space' visible to the general public as well, usually appearing as enormous letters in the sky.

In other words, the content would be visible to all survivors in the Wave Zone.

"What the hell is happening now?"

"Damn… It can't possibly be something good."

Nine times out of ten, a disaster follows a global announcement.

That was a self-evident fact proven by history.

At that moment, the message in the sky began to change gradually.

- Attention! A is expected to appear within the Wave Zone.

"A, a World Boss Monster—!"

Everyone was shocked.

"Damn, this can't be… It seemed to be going well, but what is this…"

"Has… something like this ever happened before?"

World Boss Monster (World Boss Monster)

It was the most powerful and terrifying existence among the many types of boss monsters.

World Boss Monsters typically appear after the 'erosion' of a Wave and become the ruler of the area.

Notable examples include the 'Agent Red Drake' in California, USA, and the 'Orc King' in Shanghai, China.

However, now, such an existence was said to appear on the second day of the Wave.

It was an illogical event, like having the final boss appear in the first stage.

"We need to run, right now!"

A man shouted and stood up.

Then, a man who seemed to be his companion grabbed his arm.

"Sir! The hostages haven't all escaped yet!"

"Shut up and follow me! Can't you see the situation?"

"…Yes?"

"Still don't get it? What's inside that writhing egg is not an ordinary being!"

The man said this, and the snipers' gazes turned to the rooftop of the department store, to the black altar.

Gurgle—gurgle—

On top of it, a grotesque lump of flesh, surrounded by a pulsating membrane and blood vessels, was moving more violently than before.

It seemed as if something inside was about to burst out at any moment.

"Damn! That's the Chimera! If it hatches, we're all done—!"

His words were convincing.

Others were not unaware of the power of a World Boss Monster.

Everyone remembered the failure to eliminate the 'Agent Red Drake' in California three years ago, which resulted in the unprecedented loss of 30 spots among the world's top 100 players in a single day.

In other words, this entity was a monster that the players present could not handle.

"Then, I'm sorry, but I'm going too."

"Right, we need to survive first…"

The sniper players began to choose to flee one by one.

Choi Tae-yong and the Steel Platoon members could only stand there, unable to act, watching their backs. They knew very well that there was no retreat without further orders.

And still, no further orders came.

In other words, the Steel Platoon's operation would continue.

"Lee Hyun-wook, Sergeant… What the hell…"

Their gazes could only be directed at Lee Hyun-wook, who stood alone on the rooftop.

***

"…I expected it, but it's still a big deal."

Lee Hyun-wook muttered, looking up at the sky.

While everyone who saw the message was in despair, Lee Hyun-wook, standing closest to it, smiled. He knew exactly what the message meant.

'World Boss Monster, the Chimera, is about to hatch. However, it will hatch two days earlier than originally planned…'

There, on the altar made of black bricks, the writhing lump of flesh, the egg sac, was visible.

The cursed monster, the Chimera, created by black magic, human sacrifice, and that terrible ritual…

It was originally supposed to be born on the fourth day of the Wave, two days from now.

The barrier and monsters here were all mechanisms to safely raise the Chimera.

However, after the aerial bombing and the influx of numerous players, the 'Multiracial Black Magic Society's' original plan was inevitably disrupted.

They likely judged that it was too early, but it was dangerous not to hatch it now.

In other words, they were hastily summoning the Chimera, which was still incomplete.

'If it had fully matured and resurrected two days later, it would have been impossible to deal with, but now it's like a premature infant.'

In other words, it was a golden opportunity to easily hunt a creature of immense value.

- Click— Should we proceed as planned?

A somewhat tense voice, using formal language, came from the mana messenger.

Naturally, it seemed they were greatly flustered by the message floating in the sky.

"Regardless of what happens, we will proceed as planned."

- Click— Acknowledged, casting the Link Magic immediately.

Immediately, the mages of the Steel Platoon, lined up in the parking lot of the department store, began casting.

Lee Hyun-wook watched this scene and then turned his head forward.

Graaaah—!

Dozens of monsters were charging towards him.

Lee Hyun-wook extended his left hand forward and swung it from right to left.

Swish—crack—!

The greatsword Mogulay cut through from right to left, splitting five orcs in half.

Gurk—?

The tremendous force made the following monsters hesitate.

Indeed, it was a scene that could make anyone fear.

As Lee Hyun-wook took a step forward, the monsters took two steps back.

However…

Graaaah—

The eyes of the monsters suddenly turned red, and they began to drool.

'This is the black mage's frenzy spell.'

Lee Hyun-wook looked at the 'altar.'

Around it, creatures wearing red robes were gathered.

Most of them were injecting some dark energy into the Chimera on the altar, while a few were extending their hands towards him, casting the frenzy spell.

"Useless effort."

When affected by the frenzy spell, they forget fear and charge like mad.

However, even without fear, they couldn't block Mogulay.

With just a few gestures, Lee Hyun-wook swept them away and moved forward.

Suddenly, a massive shadow blocked his path.

Thud—thud—thud—thud—

It was a troll, an orc, and other such creatures that couldn't stop him, so they sent out this green giant.

The troll wielded a massive axe, the head of which was larger than a human torso.

Graaaah—!

The troll roared and raised the massive axe towards Lee Hyun-wook.

At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook gripped Mogulay with both hands and reinforced his entire body with hardening.

Clang—

His strength increased dramatically, and he imbued the tip of Mogulay with all metal control. He then swung the greatsword with all his might towards the incoming axe.

Clang—!

Two massive chunks of metal collided, creating a powerful shockwave.

"Grk—"

Lee Hyun-wook's legs slightly left the ground and were pushed back 30 cm.

'Grk! I'm not strong enough to face a troll yet.'

However, he never intended to defeat such a giant with brute force.

Crash—!

As the two chunks of metal collided again, sparks flew.

Lee Hyun-wook used the sparks as a smokescreen and shot a Pale Note at the troll.

The troll couldn't react in time, and the Pale Note pierced its left eye.

Plop—!

Instantly, the troll lost half its vision and staggered.

'Now!'

Lee Hyun-wook ran to the troll's left, out of its field of vision, and swung Mogulay low.

Crack—!

The troll's left ankle was severed, and it lost its balance and fell forward.

Thud—

With the troll now defenseless, Lee Hyun-wook brought down the reinforced Mogulay on its neck.

Crack—! Crack—! Crack—!

It took only three strikes to split the thick neck.

"Huff…"

Lee Hyun-wook caught his breath and walked past the troll's corpse.

At that moment…

Clang—!

Black beams of light began to rise from the altar.

Simultaneously, the egg sac burst, and crimson blood gushed out like a fountain.

The Chimera, it was being born.

"Right, I'm grateful if you come out one by one."

The black mages on either side used long poles to peel off the blood membrane, and a crimson lump of flesh slid out and rolled down from the altar.

Graaaah—

- World Boss Monster 'Chimera' has appeared!

It was a monstrous creature, about 7-8 meters long, with an indeterminate form.

Its body was covered in tentacles, making it look like a giant mass of tentacles.

Among the tentacles, a head similar to that of a newborn bird was visible.

It had rough, pink skin, large eyes, and a beak-like structure.

Graaaah—!

When the Chimera let out a powerful roar, its beak split into four directions, and eight tongues shot out.

'Sure enough, it's a far cry from the form in my memory.'

As expected, being born two days early, its form was not yet fully developed.

- Click— Link deployment complete—!

At that moment, a welcome announcement came.

The beams of light shot by the Steel Platoon's mages converged in the air above the department store,

and a massive portal opened with a thunderous roar.

Finally, the sky was open.

"That thing, it's going to taste some bitter medicine right after being born…"

Lee Hyun-wook smiled.

- Click— Platoon armory portal deployment complete! Effective time is 3 minutes!

"Good, now… I'll give this monster a birthday gift it will never forget!"

Lee Hyun-wook shouted, reaching towards the portal and closing his eyes.

Inside the portal, the cold metal objects in the platoon armory could be felt.

He began to pull them out one by one.

Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—!

Hundreds of weapons rained down on the rooftop of the department store.

The frenzied monsters watched this scene with a dazed expression.

Crash—! Crash—! Crash—! Crash—! Crash—! Crash—!

When the steel rain struck, dozens of monsters guarding the altar fell.

It was a powerful blow.

'But it won't affect the Chimera.'

Several spears were embedded in the Chimera's body, but it didn't seem to take much damage.

It simply pulled them out with its tentacles, as if they were a nuisance.

"But this time, that's not the main event."

Mixed in with the steel rain were some 'massive things.'

- You can obtain the 'Master Authority' of the corresponding Living Armor.

Indeed, a total of 12 Living Armors were falling with the steel rain.

They were falling helplessly like articulated puppets,

but when Lee Hyun-wook extended his hand and imbued them with metal control…

Hum—

The eyes of the 12 Living Armors lit up simultaneously with a deep blue light.

Just before hitting the ground, they adjusted their posture.

Thud—thud—thud—thud—thud—thud—!

It was a stable landing.

Creak— creak—

The armored commandos stood up.

Graaaah—

Startled by the impact, the Chimera let out a roar and stood up.

Though it wobbled, unable to move normally due to its recent birth,

it seemed annoyed by the Living Armors invading its territory and began to lash out with its tentacles.

"But no, it's not over yet. The real gift is still to come."

Lee Hyun-wook's hand