“Wh-what is that?”
A massive white tiger.
I had heard what it was, but now that it was actually before my eyes, my body had gone rigid.
It felt as if a tank were right in front of me.
The teeth revealed in its gaping maw, the claws planted against the ground.
It was so huge that the bear we had run into yesterday looked cute by comparison, and a primal fear welled up inside me.
Could we really beat something like this?
No, could we even survive it?
At that moment, the lord of the forest raised its claws.
A storm of death surged toward the people.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Screams burst out.
With just a single swipe, the formation we had prepared lost all meaning.
The fear of death gripped everyone.
“Get a hold of yourselves!”
The first to come to her senses was Emily, the leader of this raid party.
“All tanks, to the front!”
Stepping forward, she raised her shield and blocked the next claw attack.
“Kwagagak!”
A tremendous roar rang out as if the shield might split apart, but Emily did not fall.
She gritted her teeth and poured all her strength into holding her ground.
Seeing that, the others barely managed to regain their senses and moved forward after her.
Thanks to that, the remaining members were able to reorganize.
They treated the injured and moved to their positions, recalling the promises made during the meeting.
“Pour arrows and magic into it!”
“Melee damage dealers, stand by! Aim for the opening when the tanks stop its movement!”
Arrows and magic embroidered the sky.
All kinds of weapon skills pierced and slashed through the white tiger’s hide.
“Graaaaah!”
The white tiger roared as it thrashed in pain.
The players, having gained momentum before they knew it, drove the white tiger back without pause.
It was a magnificent sight.
Countless people were working together to push back a being that seemed impossible to defeat.
‘Good. We can win.’
I, too, swung my sword with all my might alongside the others.
At this rate, confidence swelled within me that we could liberate Area 1, which had been oppressing us for a month.
At that moment, something black rose from the white tiger’s shadow.
“Everyone, retreat!”
Sensing something strange, Emily held her shield forward and ordered the party members to fall back.
In that brief opening, the white tiger leaped high into the sky and roared.
“What is it? Something like Fear?”
In all kinds of games, there were skills that inflicted status abnormalities on players through a boss’s roar.
But nothing strange happened to anyone.
Was it just a simple roar?
Setting that question aside, we were about to resume the battle with the white tiger as it landed on the ground.
“Wait, the ground’s shaking?”
“Didn’t that tree just move?”
“Behind us! Something’s coming from behind!”
A fierce wind blew in from every direction.
Trees and leaves swayed wildly.
It was as if the forest itself were howling.
“Are those… bears?”
When the wind died down, what emerged from within the forest were Forest Bears.
But it was not just one.
No fewer than twenty black bears surrounded the people.
So this was truly the lord of the forest.
The start of Phase 2.
The white tiger was behind us, and a pack of bears charged at the people from the front.
“Each party, take two!”
Emily shouted urgently.
Even in such a dire situation, it was a fairly rational decision.
But the problem was the white tiger.
If it started rampaging in earnest, the party would collapse in no time.
Then Emily placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Ian, I’ll leave the boss to you.”
“…What?!”
“You just need to buy time. Please.”
“W-wait a second! Hey!”
Even Emily could barely hold out against that thing.
And now she was telling me to face the boss?
A monster two levels higher than me?
Fuck, that was basically telling me to die!
At that moment, the white tiger’s claws loomed over my head.
***
“E-Emily…”
Mugi looked at Ian, then at Emily, with worried eyes.
Even to her, the order Emily had given Ian was no different from telling her to die.
“It’s fine. That’s why I brought her.”
But Emily patted Mugi on the shoulder and reassured her.
Ian’s role in this raid was, in the end, to be a sacrifice.
That was why Emily had coaxed her into coming, even giving her an accessory to do so.
Moreover, in this world, when a player died, their belongings could be acquired by other players.
In other words, the accessory that had gone to Ian could be recovered.
If Ian’s death alone could clear the boss, Emily could drive her into a deadly situation at any time.
“So for now, focus on the enemy in front of you.”
Their opponents were two level 8 Forest Bears.
Judging by the level difference alone, they were not threatening enemies, but Emily calmly raised her shield.
“Kakak!”
After deflecting the claws that dug in fiercely with her shield, Emily shouted.
“Naira! Mugi!”
“We know!”
Naira’s bowstring was pulled taut.
The tip of her arrow was dyed green.
Basic Archery Skill, First Form.
Single-shot firing technique.
“Focus Shot!”
Her arrow flew at high speed and pierced the bear between the eyes.
Not missing that opening, Mugi’s staff shone purple.
Basic Magic Skill, First Circle Fire Magic.
Flame Projection.
“Fireball!”
A sphere of flame shot from the tip of the staff and burned the Forest Bear.
At that moment, the remaining bear charged, aiming for Naira and Mugi.
Emily lowered her stance and raised her shield forward.
Basic Shield Skill, Second Form.
One-way charge technique.
“Shield Charge!”
Emily cut off the Forest Bear’s charge precisely in the middle.
Naira and Mugi poured their skills into the defenseless bear.
After quickly taking care of the two bears, Emily scanned her surroundings.
‘Are the others not done yet?’
The party’s levels averaged between 8 and 9.
Unlike them, who had reached level 10, there were still quite a few parties dealing with bears.
The only fortunate thing was that the white tiger was not attacking the people.
‘Looks like she’s earning her keep, at least.’
But it would not be strange if Ian died at any moment.
Before that happened, they had to kill all the bears and reorganize.
Emily said to Naira and Mugi,
“I’ll support the left. You two help the right.”
“Got it.”
“Y-yes!”
With their support, and the help of the other party members who had taken down their bears first, the people were quickly able to drive off the pack of Forest Bears.
However, they were not given time to reorganize.
“A second wave?”
Because a new pack of bears emerged from the forest and charged toward the people.
There was no room to relax.
Emily checked Ian’s condition to the left of her field of vision and the white tiger behind her.
‘She’s holding out better than I thought.’
Even though the white tiger was moving threateningly again and again, Ian’s condition was not too bad.
If she survived here, Emily would want to keep her in her party.
But now was the time to withstand the second wave.
Emily raised her shield once more.
***
“Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to do?”
The white tiger’s claws kept slamming into the ground.
All I could do right now was dodge with everything I had.
But one thing was certain: if I failed to draw this thing’s attention, the people behind me would die.
There was no other way.
Either I died here, or I killed the boss and survived.
The white tiger’s forepaw came down over my head once again.
I quickly slipped inside the white tiger’s leg.
“Boom!”
A mound of dirt burst upward.
The ground where I had been just moments ago was caved in in the shape of the white tiger’s paw.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Considering the level difference, even one direct hit would mean instant death.
It was unreasonable, but to survive, I had to avoid every single attack.
The one saving grace was the difference in size between me and the boss.
Just as a person had difficulty catching a mosquito that moved quickly, the boss momentarily lost sight of me when I slipped into its blind spot.
Of course, I could not hide forever.
My mission, after all, was to draw the boss’s attention.
“Slash!”
“Graaaaah!”
A blue arc was carved across the white tiger’s leg.
The wounded white tiger howled.
At the same time, the moment it noticed my presence, it lifted its paw high.
But as soon as my attack succeeded, I ran toward its hind leg.
Because the only thing I could trust right now was the movement that came from my 17 Agility stat.
“Slash!”
This time, my skill struck its hind leg.
At my extreme hit-and-run strategy, the white tiger swung its claws wide, but they narrowly grazed past me.
“Haa, haa…”
But I could not keep using this strategy forever.
Arcadia Online was a virtual world, but just like reality, I grew short of breath and lost strength.
“When the hell are they coming… ngh!”
As proof, the white tiger’s attacks were slowly starting to catch up to me.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before I got hit.
And yet there was still no sign of anyone joining me, which was maddening.
They had no leeway either, with the second wave bearing down on them.
I had to find a way.
To find a path through, I wrung out every last bit of strength I had and moved my legs.
Then the white tiger’s empty back came into view.
A height I would normally never be able to climb.
But if the white tiger lowered its body just a little, wouldn’t I be able to get up there?
My hesitation was brief.
Since there was no proper method anyway, I had no choice but to trust my instincts.
I slipped beneath the white tiger’s belly.
Thanks to its enormous size, I could move around under it with room to spare.
‘I need to make it try to crush me like this.’
And if I attacked its belly, the white tiger would surely lower its posture to crush me.
I raised my sword vertically.
The basic swordsmanship skill Slash was a cutting technique.
It was not a horizontal slash skill.
Until now, I had mostly used it for horizontal cuts, but it could produce a vertical trajectory just as well.
“Slash!”
The wounded white tiger howled.
At the same time, I sprinted with all my might to escape.
“Thoom!”
Just as expected, the white tiger sat down to crush me.
I let my sword hang downward.
“Sword Rush!”
My body surged toward the white tiger like a bullet.
Entrusting myself to the momentum of the vertical sword strike, I rose into the air.
The white tiger kept moving, but its back was so wide that landing was not difficult.
Just like that, I drove my sword straight down.
“Kwajik!”
The white tiger twisted its body violently.
I gripped my sword tightly so I would not fall.
I quickly glanced at the health bar in the upper left of my vision.
‘My health is half, my mana is empty.’
Taking advantage of the moment when its rampage subsided, I bit down on a mana potion and dashed across the white tiger’s back.
My target was its neck.
No matter how much of a boss it was, as long as it was treated as a living creature, the neck was a weak point for anyone.
I leaped into the air and swung my sword at the white tiger’s thick neck.
“Shwaak!”
Blood spurted from its neck.
Of course, its neck was taller and thicker than I was, so I could not cut all the way through, but the white tiger began thrashing far more violently than before.
“Ngh!”
Because of its enormous body, its paws could not reach its neck.
So as long as I could hang on to its neck and withstand the shaking, it was safer than being below.
The problem was whether I could endure it or not.
Since I had failed to drive my sword into its neck, the only thing I could rely on was the white tiger’s white fur.
“Seriously, how long am I supposed to wait?”
They said I only had to hold out a little.
They said I only had to buy time.
But the others still kept their distance from the boss.
As if they had promised to move only after I died, they didn’t even support me with arrows or magic.
“Yeah, fuck. What was I expecting?”
Except for the first week, I had been playing solo the entire time.
I had chosen to walk this path despite knowing I couldn’t receive anyone’s help.
I knew it was insane.
I also knew that, in this death game, it was the wrong choice.
But this was the least atonement I could offer.
If so, there was only one thing I had to do right now.
“Let’s see who wins.”
Buy time?
That purpose had already vanished from my mind.
I drove my sword into the nape of the white tiger’s neck.
Once again, the white tiger thrashed wildly.
Still, now that I had a sword in hand, it was easier to endure than before.
Even if my feet slipped off, even if I accidentally let go of its fur, I could return to my position.
Of course, I couldn’t swing the sword in this state.
Because the sword embedded in its nape was my only means of survival.
But I had another sword.
A spare sword I had bought in case my first one broke.
I opened my inventory and took out the sword.
In my right hand, which wasn’t holding a blade, appeared the exact same sword as the one in my left.
Naturally, I couldn’t use skills in this state.
Because there was no such thing as a dual-wielding skill in this game.
However, that didn’t mean it blocked sword strikes swung purely with my own strength, without using a skill.
Skills only provided corrections to damage and posture, after all; swinging itself was left to the player’s freedom.
—Thud!
Hanging on like that, swinging with only one hand, the sword failed to reach the wound and bounced off the hide.
But as I kept swinging, once or twice the blade would dig into the wound and tear it open.
This, too, didn’t deal much damage, but it was enough to make the white tiger suffer.
The once-white fur was now drenched in blood.
My own body was soaked in the white tiger’s blood as well.
Even so, I did not stop.
My heart pounded as if it would burst, and my arms trembled, but I kept cutting into the nape of its neck again and again.
That was when it happened.
A sudden, fierce storm blew in, and I nearly lost my grip on the sword.
“What the hell is this?”
The abnormality did not end there.
The shadow that had been rising like a haze completely enveloped the white tiger.
Its pure white fur turned black.
A red glow burst from both its eyes.
It was clearly a sign of Phase 3.
The moment it transformed into a being on an entirely different level than before.
“Why the hell does the Area 1 boss have a Phase 3?!”
The strength left my grip.
I could feel malice, as if saying, You will never leave this place.
“No! Get a hold of yourself!”
I barely managed to cling to my senses.
Even though its appearance had changed, its wounds had not healed.
Blood was still flowing from its neck, and it wasn’t far from having its throat cut.
Right. The boss didn’t have much left either.
Phase 3 was nothing more than its final struggle.
Then what I had to do did not change.
I would stay here and swing my sword again and again until I severed its neck.
“Die!”
I cut.
The beast thrashed, and the storm raged.
Even as hot blood soaked my entire body, I continued to—
—Crack!
Cut and cut and cut and cut and cut and cut and cut!
Until my own breath ran out, I would not stop my hand.
Just then, a welcome voice rang out.
“Everyone, fire! It doesn’t have much left, so pour everything into it!”
I told them to hold on just a little, and they only came back after an entire phase had passed.
Still, the fact that they had returned felt like rain falling on parched earth.
Arrows and magic struck the boss.
“Tankers! Block as much as you can! Melee damage dealers, focus on the legs!”
Under the barrage of skills from swords, spears, axes, shields, and gauntlets, the boss’s body swayed heavily.
—Graaaaaah!
The boss roared once more.
But this time, the roar felt like nothing more than its final death throes.
Yes.
Even the lord of the forest had reached its limit.
“Push harder!”
Emily’s cry, nearly a scream, reached my ears.
Everyone attacked with all the malice and desperation they had.
And so did I.
“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
I squeezed out every last bit of strength and swung my sword.
—Slash!
Suddenly, the boss’s movements stopped.
The claws that had kept swinging, the raging wind—everything came to a halt as if it had all been a lie.
At that moment, the tiger’s body began to tilt.
Its fur, which had turned black, returned to its original color, and it collapsed to the ground, kicking up an enormous cloud of dust.
With no strength left to move, I rolled helplessly across the grass like a soccer ball on a field as the boss fell.
Blood filled my mouth, and dirt stung my eyes, but I was too busy gasping for breath to care.
Then a window appeared before me.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the boss!]
May 10, 2038, 4:42 PM.
Two hundred thousand players were liberated from Area 1.