A tentacle shot in front of me as I ran with my spear raised.
SWIIIISH!
A black, pillar-like tentacle crashed down as if to impale me.
Watching the flying tentacle, my thoughts raced.
How to dodge, and how to attack after that.
It was as if time had slowed down.
Seeing that my body too had slowed, it was my thoughts that had sped up.
Before, I had been frantic just to dodge, but now I could watch the tentacles coming and form a plan.
Whether it was because my senses had developed further or because my skills had grown, I couldn't tell.
Either way, it was a great help to me.
When the tentacle came right up to my nose, I moved my head to dodge it.
SHWAAK!
The black tentacle brushed past right beside my ear.
Having dodged the tentacle, I kept advancing forward.
As I took another step forward, another tentacle struck down exactly where I had been.
THUD!
Had I remained there, I would have been hit by that tentacle.
If I had retreated backward, I would have had to keep dodging.
Instead, without any hindrance, I made it right in front of the monster’s body.
I thrust my spear toward the monster’s body.
CLANG!
‘As expected, is it impossible?’
I had expected it, but with my strength alone, I still couldn’t pierce the Scout’s hide.
SHWAAK!
A tentacle struck down where I stood, and I moved again.
CLANG!
I dodged the tentacles and tried attacking a different spot, but it was the same.
Even a spear reinforced by channeling energy into it was useless.
But I kept moving.
Dodging the striking tentacles, I stabbed my spear here and there.
‘Found it.’
In the end, I figured out where to stab.
From the recoil I felt each time I stabbed, I had found where the Heukseok was.
I hadn’t pierced the hide yet, but that was fine.
This was only the beginning.
The feeling of the ground beneath my feet gradually changed.
My movements also changed little by little.
Rather than taking large strides, I moved as if gliding.
How long had I spent dodging tentacles and thrusting my spear?
The monster that had been flinging tentacles swayed.
THUD!
It was because the tentacle legs supporting its body had all dug into the ground.
The ground had changed before I knew it.
Water had filled the dirt. The dry ground had transformed into marshy land.
This was the effect of the magic circle I had worked hard to prepare all this time.
This surrounding area was now saturated with water deep underground.
Not quite a swamp, but it had become a mudflat.
The reason I had altered my movements was to adapt to the mudflat.
It was a bit uncomfortable, but now I could move well enough.
The Scout monster was different.
The legs made by transforming tentacles were ultimately just thick pillars.
The waterlogged ground couldn’t support such pillars.
The monster’s legs had no choice but to sink into the ground.
GRIND.
The monster tried to pull out the tentacles stuck in the ground.
But it couldn’t pull them out right away.
The monster began to hastily transform its tentacles, and taking advantage of that opening, I latched onto its body again.
Before my eyes was the belly I had attacked many times.
Only marks remained on the monster’s belly where I had thrust my spear.
I channeled energy into the spear and recalled an image.
An image of the earth and air, of the world burning.
When I recalled the image, magic circles and formulas came to mind naturally.
Of course, it wasn’t magic that made the world burn like the image.
Still, I could make flames soar from the spear.
The magic that began at the gauntlet moved to the spear and lingered at its tip.
FWOOSH.
Flames soared above the Heukseok.
It was tremendous heat.
I immediately stabbed with the spear.
The place I stabbed was that very spot I had been attacking until just now.
It was the monster’s belly closest to the Heukseok.
BAM! BAM!
I relentlessly attacked that one spot.
Again, the hide didn’t break.
It was heated red, but the belly showed no sign of piercing.
I wasn’t disappointed.
It was still going according to plan.
[Water, rise up.]
Sop had been continuously casting magic as well.
Before, Sop couldn’t use magic while fighting this intensely.
I could definitely feel that things had changed from before.
The magic Sop cast moved the mud of the mudflat to climb up the monster’s body.
SLOSH.
The mud covered the monster’s body.
SIZZLE!
When the mud touched the red-hot belly, steam rose up.
Dodging the mud-covered tentacles again, I brought my other hand to the belly where steam was rising.
The gauntlet pierced through the steam and touched the belly.
Recalling a new image, I shouted loudly.
“Freeze!”
CRACKLE!
As expected, speaking aloud was effective.
The place where I had placed the gauntlet froze in an instant.
The monster’s belly, which had been heated red until moments ago, was now covered in ice.
Quickly stepping back, I spoke to Sop.
“Is this enough?”
[It should be enough. It’s a spell meant to be combined into one, but since you can’t use it yet, casting them separately is the right way.]
The explanation continued behind me, but I didn’t listen.
Anyway, having received Sop’s confirmation, it was time for the final attack.
Raising the burning spear, I pointed it at the monster’s frozen belly.
[But, you should know the principle itself. They say on the internet that heating and then freezing weakens the molecular structure and makes it break easily, don’t they?]
Using Sop’s nagging as background noise, I threw the spear with all my might.
The spear flew fiercely, wreathed in flames, and lodged precisely in its target.
CRACK!
The sound was different, but the black hide pinned by the spear shattered like glass.
The hide burst away, and the monster’s insides were revealed.
At last, I had pierced the hide.
The plan Sop and I had established hadn’t deviated an inch.
Moreover, Sop’s magic was still continuing.
The muddy water surged into the exposed insides.
Extending my hand forward, I dashed ahead again.
Tentacles flew toward me as I had retreated, but I had already arrived in front of the monster.
CLACK.
Catching the returning spear, I struck with my other hand with all my might.
Aiming for the insides where I had made a hole with my spear, I tensed my hand like a blade and thrust it in with all my might.
SHLUCK!
My arm pierced through the monster’s body and dug in up to my shoulder.
At last, I had pushed my arm inside the monster’s body.
I was caught by the monster too, but I wasn’t worried.
I was faster than the tentacles.
I shouted out the image rising in my head with all my might.
[Lightning! Maximum!]
ZZZZT!
The magic circles and formulas that had risen in my head transformed into magic and burst out beyond the gauntlet.
Electric current exploded inside the monster’s body.
From the insides covered in muddy water, blindingly bright sparks shot up.
The sparks didn’t just fly here.
The monster was already covered in muddy water. There wasn’t a single place where electricity couldn’t pass through.
The monster’s entire body, even the tentacles shooting toward me, all stiffened rock-hard.
The magic I was pushing in now wasn’t the weak electric magic from before.
It was proper lightning magic that I had secretly learned from Sop all this time and reinforced with the gauntlet.
I didn’t stop. I converted all the energy I had into magic and pushed it inside the monster’s body.
The smell of burning flesh wafted up, and smoke billowed.
My entire arm grew hot from the heat.
But I didn’t stop.
ZZZZT!
Smoke spread throughout its entire body.
Because of the powerful current, the monster couldn’t recover.
The tentacles spewed smoke and withered.
Eventually, the insides where I had inserted my arm caught fire.
Not just my arm, but even my face was hot.
The monster no longer moved.
My energy was almost depleted too.
I pulled out my arm.
Though I had protected it with magic, my entire arm was burning red.
It looked like at least a first-degree burn.
Raising my head, I checked the monster’s insides from where I had pulled out my arm.
At the end of the gaping hole, the Heukseok was faintly visible.
I needed to pull that out, but unfortunately, there was no time for that.
RUMBLE...
A giant tentacle was being newly created from the monster’s back.
It was a newly created tentacle made by abandoning all other tentacles and gathering all recovery power.
“To think it’s recovering here and preparing a final attack. As expected, it’s not an easy opponent.”
[If it were an easy opponent, there’s no way we would have suffered.]
Sop was right.
The mages who had been guarding the warehouse ruins had all died to a single Scout.
I had faced such a Scout alone.
“Still, I wanted to finish it with my own strength alone....... It’s a shame.”
There had been Sop’s help, but even so, I had wanted to catch the Scout without receiving external help.
But I still lacked energy.
[You’re greedy. This much alone is incredible.]
Listening to Sop’s consolation, I raised my spear.
The black tentacle was soaring skyward like a scorpion’s tail.
Soon, that tentacle would be launched toward me.
I aimed my spear at the monster.
The Heukseok attached to the spear tip shone brightly.
Energy flowed from the Heukseok and was absorbed into the entire spear.
The Heukseok grew dim.
[I’ll show you real heat magic.]
With those words, Sop cast magic.
[Pierce through, O Starlight.]
Light burst from the spear.
FHWAAAAASH!
It was light blinding enough to hurt the eyes. The surrounding air rippled from the heat.
The light shot in a straight line and accurately struck the monster’s insides that I had aimed at.
KABOOOOOM!
The light continued to dig into the hole I had made.
The insides boiled, and the monster’s interior began to burn.
FWOOSH.
The monster’s body swelled.
POP!
The tentacle falling down toward me exploded just like that.
What burst wasn’t only the tentacle.
All over the monster’s body, parts burst open.
White blood boiled up from the burst flesh.
GLUB GLUB.
Spear in hand, I watched the monster.
The monster no longer moved.
It didn’t create tentacles again, and nothing registered in my senses either.
Perhaps destroyed by the heat ray, I couldn’t feel the Heukseok either.
The Scout monster was definitely dead.
Looking at the smoke-spewing monster, I clicked my tongue.
“With this much power, it seems like you could have just shot it from the start.”
It was magic powerful enough to do so.
The magic Sop fired borrowing the Heukseok’s power was no different from the laser beams seen in sci-fi movies.
Sop’s thoughts were different.
[It only barely pierces the hide. It’s difficult to reach the Heukseok with this.]
Well, the monster before my eyes also had its hide intact.
What was burning and cooking now was the flesh inside the hide.
“Well, anyway, we caught it, so shall we head back soon?”
As if knowing the Scout monster had been caught, the city’s movements were changing.
Humanoid monsters were coming out of the city, and bloodied giant monsters were moving this way too.
There was no knowing what else would come from there.
Now was the time to retreat.
I looked at Sterling, comfortably passed out, and clicked my tongue.
Despite all that commotion, he was only covered in dust with no other injuries.
No matter how I looked at it, he was truly incredibly lucky.
“I can’t just leave someone this lucky behind.”
Since Magreta had even wanted it, I decided to take him as per the original plan.
I grabbed the leg of Sterling, who had collapsed face-down.
Since he had a sturdy face that had been fine even when moved by magic, he should be fine being moved like this.
I grabbed Sterling’s leg and began walking toward the base.
DRAG... DRAG...
The sound of Sterling’s face scraping against the ground continued.
Skill Reveal (?)