Chapter 13 - One Mountain After Another
[Poisoned Blade (Lv.1) - Assassin Exclusive Skill]
[Applies poison to the blade. The types of poison you can use increase as your proficiency rises.]
[Currently usable poison: Paralysis Poison]
[Paralysis Poison: Temporarily paralyzes the nerves.]
The first skill I tested was Poisoned Blade.
Experience was essential to know if it would work on monsters, if it would paralyze them completely, or just momentarily stiffen them.
"Awrl!"
I deliberately stabbed it, avoiding the neck.
The startled Murloc turned, but it was too late.
The Murloc stiffened rigidly.
The only things that could move freely were its eyeballs.
"The effect is solid, isn't it?"
"You can handle poisons, too?"
"A little."
"If it works this well on a Murloc, it will probably work on other monsters to some extent. Murlocs are monsters that use poison too, called hallucinogenic poison."
Monsters that handle poison have high poison resistance.
Since this technique worked on such a monster, it meant it would work in most situations.
"What about against Rankol?"
"It would probably stop it for a moment."
"That's more than enough."
The next skill to check was the strongest one I currently possessed.
"Dagger Storm!"
[Dagger Storm (Lv.1) - Assassin Exclusive Ultimate Skill]
[Daggers rage like a storm. The number of raging blades increases as your proficiency rises.]
"Keuk..."
I immediately felt a strain on my heart.
As an ultimate skill, it seemed the mana consumption was significant.
But the effect was just as potent.
Dozens of daggers made of blue energy materialized.
Daggers that rushed forward truly like a storm.
They tore the Murloc to shreds.
'This is incredible.'
It wasn't an easy skill to use.
It drained my mana and took a long time to activate.
So long that it was better not to use it unless I had a perfect opening.
But its power was immense.
The Murloc was dead before even five of the dozens of daggers had struck it.
A crater had formed where the Murloc had stood.
Though they looked like daggers, their destructive power was clearly more than that of a simple dagger.
"Aworl! Kroo-orl!"
"Keer-orl!"
A few Murlocs swarmed in at the noise. But neither Mosilian nor I were afraid.
"If they had just stayed put, they would have been better off."
"Tell me about it."
The swarming Murlocs fell faster than they could gather.
"Phew, at this rate, the other kids must have leveled up a bit, right?"
In many ways, it was a good thing Rankol was gone. If Rankol had been there, a few of the heroes of the goddess might have died or been seriously injured.
On the other hand, the Murlocs were much easier to hunt, and the experience they gave was decent, so it was a profitable venture.
'Wait, much easier than Rankol?'
Suddenly, a throbbing sensation passed through my heart. To repeat, I didn't think any of this was a coincidence.
The fact that we started our adventure in a village far from the demons. The fact that the first thing we met was a weak goblin.
But was passing through the swamp without a fight really the only thing that had been set up incorrectly? Was this swamp, which we were told never to enter, really only at this level?
Then, I remembered what Mosilian had said.
"Mongshil-i."
"My name is Mosilian."
"Right, Mongshil-i. You said even Rankol doesn't enter this swamp?"
"Yes. It doesn't even come near here. That's why we tiptoed around the edge of the swamp to shake off Rankol… huh? Where are you going, Hero? Hero?"
"We have to get out of here right now."
It was just a hunch.
Rankol, the strongest in this vicinity.
A land that even Rankol wouldn't enter.
But what actually exists inside are Murlocs, who are like children compared to Rankol.
Then why didn't Rankol enter this land?
Just because it was damp?
That was a possibility, but it was too optimistic a conclusion.
As a rule, assumptions and conclusions should always be based on the worst-case scenario.
Perhaps there was something in this swamp that I didn't know about, something that would make even Rankol afraid.
At that moment, the ground began to shake.
It wasn't the tremor of something heavy falling.
The tremor beat like a heart.
"F*ck, are we too late?"
No matter how early, regret is always too late. As soon as the ground shook, I felt an intangible something. Something that was suffocating and made my skin tingle.
"We have to run. We have to run right now..."
Mosilian felt the same thing.
Mosilian, who had been as lively as a pesky little cousin just moments ago, was now deathly pale.
"Get a grip. If we stop here, we're dead."
"What? Yes. Yes, yes..."
I immediately ran back to the other kids.
***
"You're doing great, everyone. If we keep hunting like this, we can all return safely!"
Kim Hong-seop commanded everyone from the front line. It drained more of his mental energy, but he was feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Until that bizarre event occurred.
Rumble.
The ground shook.
It wasn't a simple earthquake.
The ground trembled at regular intervals, creating a sense of dread.
At the same time, a far greater number of Murlocs than they had faced so far swarmed towards them.
"Everyone get ready! They're making their last stand!"
"Something's strange. Those things."
"Joo-hye, what do you mean?"
"Look at their eyes. They're not trying to fight."
Joo-hye's judgment was correct.
The Murlocs weren't attacking the humans.
With panicked expressions and not a shred of fighting intent to be seen, they were, in fact, running away from something.
Thump, thump.
The ground's trembling intensified.
At the end of the path from which the Murlocs were fleeing, a bizarre existence that could not be ignored came into view.
'What is that...'
A being that was half-exposed white bone and half-rotting flesh.
Whether to call it a monster or a demon, something between an alligator and a lizard that was impossible to classify came into sight.
In that instant, a warning of a form they had never seen before appeared before the heroes.
[Warning - The ruler of the swamp, Cursed Crokes, has appeared.]
[This is an enemy you cannot handle at your current level.]
[You must leave this place as quickly as possible.]
[Quest (Emergency) - Escape the swamp and head to Carroty Village.]
Crimson letters flashing on a blue screen.
A cloying sense of crisis.
Crokes raised its half-rotten arm.
"Run!"
It was the loudest shout Kim Hong-seop had ever made in his life. But instead of running, he charged toward Crokes.
Though it had only been a short time, his senses, which had grown since becoming a hero of the goddess, were screaming a warning. If he dodged now, everyone would die. The method with the highest chance of survival was to block the attack at its source.
That's why Kim Hong-seop rushed at Crokes and knocked its giant arm aside.
His senses were not wrong.
The force of the blow Kim Hong-seop deflected was unleashed not on the hero of the goddess, but on the Murlocs. And the Murlocs vanished. Without leaving a trace of their existence, let alone a corpse.
Where Crokes's blow had passed, there was only blackened, dead earth. Death itself had swept by.
It didn't end there. As Crokes raised its arm, the shredded, bloody remnants of the Murlocs were pulled towards it.
The white bones were covered, and the rotten flesh began to fill out. Only then did the heroes realize. Crokes wasn't rotting away; it was regenerating.
"Th-this is..."
Crokes's eyes slowly fixed on Kim Hong-seop. It seemed to have recognized the only being obstructing it as an enemy.
An oppressive aura he had never felt before stiffened his entire body, and his legs trembled like reeds.
"What are you doing, you idiot? What are you doing just frozen there! We have to run now!"
"If we run, everyone else will die. Our friends, and Carroty Village… I didn't come here to sacrifice a village. This second chance I was given with such difficulty… I will change my life."
"It's all over if you die!"
"I won't die. I will protect them. I'll show you I can!"
Once the initial tension subsided, he could move his body. Kim Hong-seop charged at Crokes.
Joo-hye bit her lip. A Kim Hong-seop like this would never back down. She knew that better than anyone.
"Fine, f*ck it. Let's do this."
What signaled the start was Joo-hye's arrow. Her accuracy now astoundingly high, Joo-hye's arrow flew towards Crokes's black eyeball.
Of course, high accuracy didn't solve all problems. Crokes didn't dodge or block. The arrow simply dissipated. Before it even made contact.
"Let's see if you can ignore this too! Power Arrow!"
A blue arrow once again aimed for Crokes's eye. This time, Crokes swatted the arrow away.
"Now!"
Hong-seop rushed in. He delicately swung the sword he had honed until now, pouring out his skills and mana without restraint.
But what human can remain whole before a catastrophe? The more one struggles, the more one feels helplessness, and all that comes is despair.
It was an enemy impossible to defeat alone. Even with Joo-hye joining in. That's why he needed the help of the others.
"The kids… huh?"
Kim Hong-seop could never forget the emotion he faced in that moment. He fought with his life on the line. For everyone. But everyone he had protected was no longer behind him.
Most of them were running away, having thrown him up as a shield, and the remaining kids were just watching, not stepping forward. Even in the face of this great evil, they just left everything to Kim Hong-seop.
'I have to do this…'
Kim Hong-seop bit his lip. The burden he had to bear alone was far too great.
"Damn it, what the hell is that thing!"
A rough voice, and at the same time, a violent act that pushed Crokes back. It was Hyung-seok.
"What the hell is that crazy bastard doing? What are the other guys doing, just sitting around?"
"You know. They're useless."
"Don't say that. They're probably doing their best."
"Even in a situation like this, you..."
"Let's just do what we can. Hyung-seok, you can help, right?"
"It's not like we can run away anyway, is it?"
Crokes took in the three beings. It would never let them escape. Because that's the kind of being Crokes was.
But it was better than before. Hyung-seok, his comrades, and a few others who had been standing still had joined the fight. It wasn't even ten people, but it was much better than before.
"Leave the front to Hyung-seok!"
"Don't try to end it in one go. We have to chip away at it as much as possible."
"We can do it. We'll stop it here!"
They believed they were doing well. Hyung-seok was somehow managing to block Crokes's attacks, and their swords and arrows seemed to be wounding it.
They were stronger than ever before, and they felt their teamwork was better than ever, so predicting victory wasn't just a fantasy.
However, in this world, there was a difference in specs that could not be overcome no matter how hard one tried.
"Kuoooooh!"
In an instant, Crokes unleashed its aura. With just that, all the kids who had swarmed it were sent flying and thrown into the swamp.
At the same time, all sorts of profane energy and rotten flesh gathered in Crokes's mouth. A disaster, a calamity, a colossal power that could only be described with such words.
Kim Hong-seop felt it instinctively. If he didn't do his best, and more, right now, he would die.
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
A brilliant light swirled around Kim Hong-seop's sword. It was the most brilliant light he had seen so far. But doing one's best doesn't always bring the best results.
Kim Hong-seop's sword tried to slice through the breath of death. But even the desperate strength he had squeezed out was not enough to block the breath completely.
"Ah..."
Death approached so suddenly. As Kim Hong-seop unconsciously tried to close his eyes, he heard a small mumble.
"Dagger Storm."
A low voice, from who-knows-where. In the black sky that had been dominated by death, ten daggers were shining like meteors.