What was 29th Escalon doing, showing up late to the party?
I still bore the wounds inflicted on me, but I looked pretty recovered.
Behind him trailed hundreds of Creeper Guards.
‘Just when I thought it was coming to an end… this is tougher than expected.’
Our numbers were limited, yet the enemies kept multiplying. At least, the number of Creeper Guards I had seen in the morning hadn’t increased.
Did the lower-numbered Escalons receive orders to stick to us instead of heading to the main body?
The fact that our casualties weren’t as high as expected was somewhat reassuring.
Thanks to the summoned creatures led by the castle.
‘We need to finish off Escalon to regroup and prevent a counterattack. What’s taking Maeng Seong-yong so long?’
Shockingly, he still hadn’t dealt with the 32nd.
According to Yeon-hee, the 32nd was cornered and had used its last resort, but whether the 32nd was impressive for withstanding that or Maeng Seong-yong’s group just couldn’t get the job done, I wasn’t sure.
The 32nd just seemed to be rolling around and wasn’t that special… I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.
Still, there were positive aspects on our side.
We had already taken down three Escalons, and Ma Gwang-jin was pushing the 24th to the brink.
‘Ma Gwang-jin’s fight is tough to intervene in.’
He had pushed it this far on his own. If someone else jumped in, it might lose its momentum.
“Ahh-ho-ho! Who-Gaaah!!”
The 29th Escalon spotted me and started sprinting my way, ramping up speed.
Its happy face looked like it had just met an old friend, but I had no intention of reciprocating.
However, I didn’t want to add any variables to our tightly maintained battle, so I would have to take action.
‘A one-on-one is out of the question. Let’s buy some time.’
I had soloed the 27th by accident, but that was thanks to Ran’s amazing abilities, not my own.
I wasn’t going to kid myself into thinking I could win against an opponent that had just fled in the morning after half a day.
[Chirp-chirp-chirp-]
‘Jim,’ who had been rampaging around me, also spotted the 29th and reacted intensely.
He almost got himself killed by it; those not-so-healed wounds must still sting.
‘Let’s go!’
Riding Jim, I charged at the 29th, and he was tense, but I had no intention of facing it head-on, so I calmed Jim as we moved forward.
We quickly passed by Yoo Min-jeong’s resting party.
– “Team Leader Yoo. Are you okay?”
– “Huh- Don’t talk to me. I don’t have the energy to speak.”
Yoo Min-jeong, who had taken down the 31st, and her companions were sprawled on the ground, catching their breaths.
– “Hah… my magic power is depleted again. I need some time. It would help if I could get moonlight! Ah- can we stop already? I took down two along with ‘Flame.'”
‘Flame… are they talking about me?’
Yoo Min-jeong had even given me a nickname by now.
But her wish to rest didn’t seem like it could be fulfilled any time soon.
– “Team Leader! A new Escalon is coming! There are tons of them trailing behind!”
– “Ugh… what a historically tiring day. Let’s just recover and head back.”
– “Yes!!”
‘She spots them quicker than expected. She has good companions.’
Yoo Min-jeong and her companions were like a beam of light in the chaotic battlefield.
They were standing out that much, and it seemed that the longer the fight dragged on, the more the group led by Maeng Seong-yong lost its presence.
Ma Gwang-jin, Yoo Min-jeong, and our White Alliance.
It’s no exaggeration to say these three forces turned the tide in our favor.
Of course, Hwa-ryeon and Shin Hee-won were also contributing, but the other hunters weren’t backing them up.
‘At this distance, Yoo Min-jeong shouldn’t notice me.’
The gap with the 29th had shrunk to just about 300 meters.
[Wall of Fire]
[Wall of Fire]
[Wall of Fire]
As we neared each other, I summoned the Wall of Flames dozens of times to block its path.
─?!!
The flames, stacked several times and reaching dozens of meters in height, filled the area in a fan shape, causing the charging group of Escalons to panic.
Woosh──
Of course, one of them didn’t care about flames or anything and jumped straight into the sky.
The 29th Escalon.
[Window of Darkness]
‘Please be something good, just something good.’
Seeing it fly high, I held my breath and drew a weapon from another dimension. I couldn’t even remember how many times I’d tried this; surely, by now, one should show up?
Bam──!
But when I pulled the weapon, I heard an enjoyable sound effect I’d never heard before, accompanied by a dazzling rainbow of light.
‘Oooh?! This feels different! Did I finally succeed?!’
Maybe my desperate wishes connected, or perhaps it was the intense situation.
This wasn’t the usual trash-quality weapon I’d gotten before.
It was a complete weapon, an artifact-level bow glowing with a blue aura.
Additionally, a unique arrow, decorated with several small orbs at the tip, floated in the air, enticing me to pull it back.
Having used a bow as a secondary class in my beginner days, I confidently grabbed it.
– “Skill [Window of Darkness] leveled up!”
– “You can now use the summoned weapon in various ways.”
– “The summoned weapon lasts for 2 minutes.”
‘Oooh… the requirement of needing to throw it is gone. Fantastic.’
– “Usage conditions met. (Strength 500, Agility 350, Magic Power 400)”
‘Wow- a weapon with usage conditions like this.’
I nocked the arrow and drew the bowstring without delay. The feel of my fingers curling around it was delightful.
Swoosh──!
-?!
The arrow, propelled by my draw, shot off at enormous speed, unexpectedly spinning as it arced over the Wall of Flames down at the 29th Escalon’s head.
“Ugh!!”
The 29th Escalon, brushing aside a mere arrow disdainfully with its club.
“─?!”
Boom────!!
Unexpectedly, as the arrow struck its attack, it triggered a massive chain explosion, accompanied by a thunderous sound.
Moreover, the little orbs launched high into the sky after the explosion rained down upon the Creeper Guards waiting behind the Wall of Flames, causing dozens of larger explosions.
‘Oooh?! This is insane! The explosions are just getting stronger!! Awesome!’
– “Uwaaaah!!”
– “What the hell? What kind of explosion is this?”
– “Is it another Escalon?!”
It was a massive explosion that even hunters far away couldn’t help but flinch at.
“Grab meee!!”
The Escalon hit by the explosion was sent flying backward, landing in flames.
Boom────!
As it fell into the inferno, a huge flame erupted, and the horrendous creature with a bull’s head staggered out, screaming in agony.
‘Seems like its health took a hit?’
Of course, I had sensed its movements beforehand and had already distanced myself.
[Root Chain]
Roots of bones erupted from beneath the feet of the wildly charging thing, striking it multiple times.
Thud-thud-thud─!
“Ughhh!”
It disregarded the blows as if they didn’t even tickle, but from that attack, it seemed it had caught [Paralysis] and was moving sluggishly.
At the same time, it got hit squarely by Jim, who had popped up a moment too late, sending the Escalon flying again.
Crash-bang-bang──!!
It was an unexpected attack; the 29th Escalon flew even farther than after the last explosion.
‘Haha, you can’t just focus on me. Idiot!’
[Chirp-chirp-chirp!!]
Jim, perhaps feeling pleased avenging himself, slithered back to me.
I grabbed onto Jim’s skin as we moved apart again.
While it would be more effective for me to fly alone instead of riding Jim while just thinking of fleeing, the Creeper Guards would also chase after us if I stayed with him.
As expected, the Creeper Guards chased behind us, sprinting to the opposite side of the battlefield.
“Uruuuaahhh!!”
The Escalon that had tumbled twice was evidently furious, as soon as it got up, it charged at me madly.
Its movement speed seemed a bit faster; the distance closed in gradually. The moment we entered its range, it swung the massive club.
Whoosh──
Dodging the horrific wind pressure of that swing, I flew into the air, summoning the minion ‘Gori’ behind Escalon.
“Beeeee——!!”
The summoned ‘Gori’ army of dozens swarmed Escalon’s neck and back, successfully drawing aggro, and I took that opportunity to soar higher into the sky, unleashing fireballs like a machine gun.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud──!!
The creature blasted away all the annoying ‘Gori,’ only to swat the falling fireballs away with its club.
An opponent who learned nothing from the arrow attack.
No matter how strong it was, it couldn’t help but accrue the [Burn] status due to fire damage. Whether it relied on health recovery or not, it seemed it completely ignored that.
“Clap Clap Clap!!”
“Uwoaaaahhh!!”
As I hovered in the air, sending fireballs and provoking it, the Escalon roared in frustration, not knowing what to do.
I had calculated the height it could jump accurately.
I fluttered just above that limit, drawing its attention.
It tried desperately to catch me, but ultimately, time just continued to drag on.
I provoked it for a solid twenty minutes, whittling down its health until the Wall of Flames finally cleared.
“Uoo?”
The 29th Escalon, which had been aimlessly swinging its club at the sky, finally looked around.
The numerous Creeper Guards it had led were now sprawled on the ground, becoming one with nature.
“Haha— what is it doing? That foolish creature.”
“Yeon-hee the Hunter’s summoned creature is really smart.”
“It can float too? That Armored Existence is truly an all-rounder. It must be so convenient to have one of those around.”
“I heard it’s called the Grim Reaper.”
“Isn’t there another real Grim Reaper?”
“If you’re talking about that person who’s one of the leaders of the evolved creature organization, I haven’t heard much about him lately. I have heard he’s been active in the special department though—”
Before I knew it, the hunters who had taken down all four Escalons and Creeper Guards were surrounding the 29th Escalon, stretching out their limbs.
“How about I take this one down too by myself?”
“Lord Majang-ro, perhaps it’s time for a break?”
“Haha, as if that were possible!”
– “Oh, that greedy person. One was enough with the 24th; why are you aiming for more?”
– “Shh! Quiet.”
Every hunter worked hard to get good rewards, so there was no reason to criticize that.
‘More than that, Ma Gwang-jin managed to solo the Escalon. What a monster. A full 24 at that…’
Confirming Ma Gwang-jin’s capabilities led me to raise my evaluation of the ‘Veil.’
‘Huh—thank goodness the Escalon was dumb. I wish the higher-numbered ones were just as dim-witted.’
Of course, that was likely a pipe dream.
‘Let’s finish this.’
[Chain of Flame]
“Entanglement of the Greenery.”
“Decline of the Surroundings.”
As if on cue, Yoo Min-jeong and Shin Young-ah activated their skills alongside mine.
While Yoo Min-jeong specialized in fully immobilizing opponents, Shin Young-ah’s skill focused on weakening the enemy.
‘If I had to choose, it’d be nice to be specialized like Yoo Min-jeong. Better than having awkwardly dual-purpose effects.’
Boom──!
“Uooooo!!”
As soon as the skills struck, the 29th Escalon slammed its head to the ground and howled.
With its incredible physical abilities, immense stamina, and ghastly resistance levels, it simply couldn’t hold on as various effects stacked on each other.
“Oh, this one looks like it has the best physique.”
“Ugh- Stop gawking and finish it off quickly! This is already the third binding again!”
“Whoops, right.”
The hunters with outstanding offensive abilities, including Ma Gwang-jin, started slicing the 29th Escalon to pieces.
Of course, even that meant Ma Gwang-jin’s swordsmanship was the only one hitting effectively.
Bam-bam-poof-!
The 29th Escalon stared at me, completely baffled, as if wondering how it ended up here.
What was I supposed to do?
‘It might be that intelligence stands out more than combat power with the number.’
Ultimately, it ended up as a shredded piece of meat.
I had casually spent time charging bombs and daggers.
– “You have defeated ’29th Escalon’!”
– “You have acquired the Rune of Vitality (Legendary)!”
– “You have acquired the Rune of Vitality (Hero)!”
– “Your level has increased!”
‘What?! So it counted as me defeating it?! And the rune is legendary grade?!’
I never once equipped a rune of such grade in my previous life; I never dreamed I’d acquire one in a place like this.
Even S-rank monsters didn’t drop runes at such high rates. What luck was this?
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