Chapter 47

Chapter 47.

 

Ha-kyung grabbed the little tree monster by the back of the neck.

Then he yanked it right in front of his eyes.

“Say that again. What did you say?”

—You killed th—

CRUNCH!

Ha-kyung’s fist slammed into the little tree monster’s face.

It was not Heaven-Shattering Fist, but it was still a sufficiently powerful punch.

After all, it was a blow imbued with his rage.

Abyss Energy burned with terrifying intensity.

Then Ha-kyung tilted his head.

‘Wait. Have I ever seen a monster that could talk until now?’

There had only been one creature that had spoken to him.

The Abyss Ruler.

And yet he had encountered something like this in an Unknown Grade dungeon.

Ha-kyung could not help but find it strange.

Of course, curiosity was curiosity.

And what had to be done still had to be done to the end.

Ha-kyung raised his burning fist and said,

“I will give you one more chance. Go on. Keep running your mouth.”

—......

Perhaps because it had been beaten so thoroughly, the little tree monster shut its mouth tightly.

Then it violently shook its head.

—Aaaaaah! I cannot endure this any longer!

“What are you going to do if you cannot endure it?”

—You will face the wrath of the Divine Trees. Just like your companions, who have all died!

“Stop spouting nonsense. They are all alive and well.”

Even now, the Great Sage’s voice was still coming through the Whisperer.

The situation seemed favorable.

And yet this thing was saying they were already dead.

Naturally, Ha-kyung thought it was absurd.

Of course, a faint uncertainty still rose within him.

He did not know the Raid Party’s situation exactly.

So he turned his head without thinking.

At that very instant,

the little tree monster smiled wickedly.

—Kihihihi! You fell for it.

SPLURT!

Ha-kyung felt a sharp sting in his left arm.

At the same time, he quickly released the creature.

Then he threw himself backward.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he checked his left arm.

The flesh had turned pitch-black.

As though it had been soaked in a powerful acidic solution.

Burning pain surged through him, but Ha-kyung’s expression did not change.

[Cloak of Command activated]
[Tyrant’s Bracelet activated]

It was because he activated his artifacts and healed the injury in an instant.

The only damage was that part of his Reactive Magic Armor had melted.

Ha-kyung immediately drew his karambit.

‘I was planning to find out more by testing this and that... but it seems this thing is the boss.’

The basis for that judgment was simple.

The opponent’s body was growing larger and larger.

It was absorbing the surrounding tree monsters.

Eventually, even the creatures that had been surrounding the Raid Party began flocking toward this place.

Soon, it transformed into a monster of unimaginable size.

[You have encountered the boss of the Abyss dungeon, the Green Warden]
[Remaining Time: 9 minutes 54 seconds]

The boss had finally appeared.

Ha-kyung hurriedly grabbed the Whisperer and shouted,

“If you come straight up this way, you will reach me! Follow the direction I flew in earlier!”

—Confirmed. We are coming immediately!

He heard the Great Sage’s voice, but the Raid Party still was not in sight.

It was because Ha-kyung had come out too far.

In the end, he had no choice but to fight the Green Warden.

It was too late to retreat.

And his opponent was far too persistent.

—Gwooooooooh!

Perhaps because it had transformed into its true body,

the Green Warden seemed to have lost its ability to speak.

It only let out repeated grotesque cries as it unleashed a furious offensive.

For Ha-kyung, it was enough to drive him mad.

“No, if you were that much of a monster, you should have told me in advance. Then I would have killed you long ago.”

—Kraaaaaaagh!

At Ha-kyung’s provocation, the Green Warden grew even more enraged.

It seemed that even if it could not speak, it could still understand him.

He had only tested it just in case.

But Ha-kyung immediately regretted it.

‘Ah, I should not have provoked it.’

The Green Warden’s attacks were fierce beyond imagination.

It swung hundreds of vines as thick as massive trees.

And each one held terrifying destructive power.

If even one of them landed, he might truly be sent straight to his grave.

BOOM! BOOM!

Even so, he could somehow dodge them.

Ha-kyung had Wall-Walking Steps and Crosswind, after all.

‘I am glad Crosswind has a short cooldown.’

In a way, that was only natural.

It merely created a small repulsive force beneath the soles of his feet.

Would it not consume less energy than something like the Tyrant’s Bracelet?

Ha-kyung ran across the Green Warden’s vines with Wall-Walking Steps.

Then he endured by kicking off the air with Crosswind.

As time passed like that, the Raid Party finally arrived.

“What on earth am I looking at right now?”

“Why are you all just standing there instead of drawing aggro?”

“Mr. Lee Ha-kyung is performing a circus act against the boss monster.”

“What? What does that even mean... No, what the hell? It is true?”

The team members simply stared at Ha-kyung in a daze.

Even the Great Sage, who was supposed to be giving commands, wore a stunned expression.

That was how captivated they were by Ha-kyung’s insane movements.

After all, when people saw something incredible even in a desperate situation, their bodies reacted before their minds did.

Then the Great Sage was the first to come back to their senses.

—E-everyone, focus. We must support Mr. Lee Ha-kyung at once!

“Ah, right. This is not the time for this. Move quickly!”

The front line strode forward to close the distance.

Soon, Taunt Skills flew out.

The person wildly swinging a flail at the very front was John.

He was the Main Tank of the Raid Party Ha-kyung had formed.

It was a rather unusual decision.

In a raid of this scale, the role would usually be handled by an authoritative veteran.

After all, raids went smoothly only when communication worked well.

However, John shattered everyone’s worries in an instant.

“Hey! Hey! Ffffucking shit! Man! Are you not holding the line?”

“Oh, my! Sorry!”

Thanks to his fluent Konglish, everyone understood him well.

Moreover, since he was a foreigner, it was difficult to guess his age.

If one merely glanced at him in passing, he even looked like a First-Generation Awakened.

Perhaps because of that, everyone easily accepted John’s command.

In any case, thanks to the Raid Party’s support, Ha-kyung finally had room to breathe.

‘Now this is survivable.’

To others, he had seemed relaxed, but in truth, his insides had been burning dry.

He had felt the threat of death more than once or twice.

For now, Ha-kyung tried to fall back as far as possible.

He had drawn far too much aggro until now.

If possible, it would be best not to catch the boss’s eye.

However, his opponent was far more persistent than he had expected.

—Gwoooooaaaaah!

Ignoring the Tanks, the Green Warden charged forward.

Its gaze was fixed squarely on Ha-kyung.

Even the taunt enhancement of the Titan Flail John swung was useless.

After breaking through the front line, the Green Warden extended hundreds of vines.

[The Green Warden activates Verdant Recoil]

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

The ground began to vibrate as though an earthquake had struck.

Because it happened so suddenly, everyone fell into confusion.

They were busy staggering and trying to keep their balance.

As a result, the attacks briefly stopped.

Amazingly, the vibrations also stopped only then.

It seemed to be a skill that shook the ground violently in proportion to the attacks landing on the Green Warden.

In the meantime, the creature had already rushed right up to Ha-kyung.

—Kyaaaaaaah!

BOOM! BOOM!

The endless three-shot burst of vine attacks resumed.

Ha-kyung forced his exhausted body to move from place to place.

Just then, the attacks of the Ranged Damage Dealers poured down.

At that, the ground’s vibrations also resumed.

THUD-THUD-THUD! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

“This is insane!”

Ha-kyung had no choice but to curse.

He had barely managed to get away from the Green Warden.

Yet the same hairbreadth circus had begun again.

As he ran along the vines, Ha-kyung felt relieved inwardly.

‘Thanks to Wall-Walking Steps, the earthquake affects me less. It was a good thing I raised it to S-Grade.’

Originally, Wall-Walking Steps had been a skill that consumed a considerable amount of Mana.

However, after Ha-kyung began handling Abyss Energy in earnest, and after the skill grew to S-Grade, its burden had been greatly reduced.

Now it had become an economical skill, to the point that he could use it freely.

In any case, the crisis was not over.

Moreover, the Time Attack was also nearing its end.

[Remaining Time: 5 minutes 15 seconds]

They had to defeat the Green Warden within five minutes no matter what.

Looking only at the current raid situation, it was absolutely impossible.

Every time they attacked, an earthquake occurred, preventing everyone from fulfilling their roles properly.

Ha-kyung immediately grabbed the Whisperer.

—I will tank it, so pour on your attacks. Tanks and Healers, join the offense too!

Aggro was meaningless in this situation anyway.

Perhaps the Great Sage also knew there was no other way.

An order immediately fell.

—Let us do as Mr. Lee Ha-kyung says. Attack with full force!

Then, a sudden shout erupted from behind.

“Let us gooooo!”

As though they had been waiting for this moment, the Healers rushed in.

Of course, they did not come all the way to the front line, but they were still close enough. It could not be helped.

Healers were a position that could only attack at mid-range.

Just like the Executioner, Choi Su-ho.

Soon, the Tanks also began attacking.

John, in particular, stood at the very front and swung his flail like a madman.

“Forget the line and just smash it! Take it out!”

“Take what? Are you a grandpa?”

“It is English, you lunatic!”

“No matter how I hear it, it does not sound like English.”

“Hey! Who was the bastard who just talked back?”

“......”

When John’s eyes rolled fiercely, the front line fell silent in an instant.

It was because that Foreign Worker uncle looked as though he might hit his own allies too.

In any case, at Ha-kyung’s request, the Raid Party launched an all-out offensive.

However, the vibrations of the ground grew even stronger.

Everyone rolled here and there, but they did not stop attacking.

However, Ha-kyung suddenly realized it.

‘Because of the earthquake, they cannot attack properly. At this rate, the raid will fail.’

Moreover, the Green Warden was also rushing at him even more fiercely.

It seemed beyond furious that it still had not caught Ha-kyung.

Eventually, it even went so far as to use its Ultimate.

[Green Warden Ultimate activated: Lockdown Field]
[An unstoppable wave of Abyss Energy is detected]

VWOOOOONG—!

For an instant, silence descended upon the Dark Forest.

It was because the shockwave spreading outward in concentric circles stopped everything.

Ha-kyung, who had been running around by stepping on vines and air,

the Healers who had approached in order to attack,

and the Tanks who had ignored defense and taunts while swinging only their weapons,

all of them froze completely.

Ha-kyung sensed death.

‘Damn it. It is not a curse, so Curse Breaker is useless. I cannot dodge like this.’

To think it could stop everything within its range.

It was nothing short of a fraudulent ability.

Of course, Ha-kyung’s fighting spirit had not yet broken.

‘After I take one hit, the Green Warden’s Ultimate might be released. I can recover with the Tyrant’s Bracelet and fight again.’

He had a plan in his head.

However, no matter how long he waited, the Green Warden’s attack did not follow.

Ha-kyung moved his eyes as far to the side as he could.

Then the stiffened Green Warden entered his view.

It had stopped just like the team members.

At that moment, Ha-kyung realized it.

‘So you are caught by it too?’

In that case, he would not be hit immediately.

There was only one problem.

[Remaining Time: 2 minutes 11 seconds]

The Time Attack was imminent.

He had to defeat the opponent in just over two minutes.

And it was the boss of a Massive Unknown Grade dungeon.

Ha-kyung struggled to move his body.

When he clenched his teeth and fought with all his might, his arm began to tremble.

At that very moment,

Ha-kyung’s eyes met the Green Warden’s.

Within the red glow, a mocking face briefly appeared.

—Kkikikikikiki!

The little tree monster’s laughter sounded faint and distant.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘Did it use its Ultimate after calculating the remaining time?’

If so, now was the moment to make his decisive move.

Ha-kyung bent his wrist and changed the direction of his karambit.

Then he pulled his arm with all his strength.

So that the blade pointed toward his own chest.

SSSSSSSS!

The instant the powerful energy of Abyss Refinement touched his breastplate,

Ha-kyung’s entire body burst into Dark Red flame.

[Reactive Magic Armor activated]
[Impact is converted into Mana]