CHAPTER 112……………………………..
The sickle Seogogyeol held in front of my neck seemed almost aware of me, catching even the slightest movement.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you stayed still? Hm?”
I felt the sickle graze my neck, and blood trickled down along my throat.
“I’ll stay still, so please let go.”
Acknowledging that it wasn’t the right time yet, I stepped back toward the doorway. Only then did Seogogyeol seem satisfied and sheathed his weapon.
“What should I do with all these scratches? Should I just break a leg cleanly?”
I ignored the gazes of the Jupiter guild members and Seogogyeol’s words, nervously watching the screen. Whether he cut my leg or not didn’t matter—the situation of the guild members was what counted.
[After scanning around, there’s only one. Not a speck of dust anywhere.]
Fortunately, Ryu Jisoo, who I thought would charge first due to his personality, hadn’t immediately jumped into battle and had checked the surroundings. That was the right move; if a new enemy appeared in the middle of the fight, it would have been disastrous.
[Can we really take down something that big all at once? Its name is disgusting too… Elder Planariant.]
Kim Jun pouted, complaining after checking the species’ rank and name.
[If it splits like the other Planariants outside when attacked, that’ll be tough…]
Baek Sohyeok muttered quietly.
[That doesn’t seem to be the case.]
Kang Kwonhu, who had already fired a bullet, answered. Judging by the strength, he wasn’t really attacking sincerely but testing whether the elder would split. The elder had briefly winced in pain, but there was no sign of division.
“One gains one thing but loses another.”
Once an elder acquires great power, it no longer splits. More accurately, it had already transformed into its adult form, so splitting was impossible.
[First, we should paralyze it and find its weak points.]
Baek Sohyeok glanced at Kim Jun.
[This time, I can go first, right?]
Kim Jun twirled a sword similar to mine and tried to dash forward. Baek Sohyeok reached out to stop him.
[If you can transform, there’s another way. That sword doesn’t suit you well.]
Baek Sohyeok’s tone, which had been stern with Kim Jun, softened noticeably.
‘Well, it was strange for him to be excessively harsh with the kid before.’
[Isn’t this kind of sword cool? It’s like Woojin hyung’s.]
Baek Sohyeok shook his head, saying, “It’s not a weapon that suits you,” then whispered something into Kim Jun’s ear. The boy looked a bit disappointed but eventually nodded in agreement.
[I’ll give it a try.]
Kim Jun closed his eyes and began to focus. The elder, noticing this, seemed intent on unleashing a massive attack before the humans could act. Its body swelled, and a blue mass of magical energy formed above its head. The light accumulated rapidly, and even from a distance, one could sense the terrifying power.
‘Are we just going to watch that?’
It was somewhat reassuring that Kang Kwonhu was drawing his shield. If he could protect the guild members with it, serious injuries could be prevented.
“What is that kid trying to do?”
Spectators surrounding me spoke excitedly.
“I know he’s a poison user, but is he strong enough to bring him this far?”
“I don’t know, probably just worth keeping around. Otherwise, he’d be dead or abandoned by now.”
Unlike my own frantic worry, the Jupiter guild members were chattering excitedly like watching a drama. It frustrated me to hear them comment on Kim Jun and have to stay silent.
‘I need to endure it for now.’
The four armed members stood to the north, south, east, and west, facing my direction. Any strange movement would be a signal for immediate attack.
[Kim Jun, now.]
Only when the huge blue orb swelled as if about to burst did Baek Sohyeok signal. Nearly a hundred purple daggers fell from the air. Despite their small size, the elder didn’t think it necessary to block them, still focusing on the blue orb.
[Ughhh.]
Only after one or two daggers pierced its body did it seem to notice something strange, letting out a bizarre screech, like nails scratching a blackboard.
[Can’t move, huh? Big baby.]
Kim Jun, exhausted after using a wide-area attack for the first time, still tried to act tough. He was right—the elder was too late to respond. The daggers had merged into its body, spreading paralysis poison.
‘It was smart to inject poison throughout in the small dagger form.’
For such a large creature, it would normally take time for poison to spread. Injecting it omnidirectionally accelerated the process.
[Shhiiiiing.]
As the elder’s aura weakened, the blue orb floating above shrank rapidly.
‘Kim Jun is growing unnaturally fast. Was he talented from the start?’
The elder’s body slumped to the ground.
“What, already over?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s an elder.”
An unwanted commentary continued.
‘Right. It won’t end that easily. We can’t let our guard down.’
Experienced fighters wouldn’t relax after only one attack.
[So it doesn’t split, it transforms.]
The elder, seemingly down, squirmed, melted, and quickly reformed into an entirely different species.
[Huh…? That’s…?]
Kim Jun’s shock was understandable. The elder had transformed into a poisonous species, a Rezen. But the Rezen now before them was far larger and more dangerous than the one they had seen before.
[It transformed into a poison-using species. The paralysis will wear off soon.]
Kang Kwonhu twisted his neck ominously.
[The paralysis will wear off?]
[Rezen are immune to poison to some extent. Unless it’s stronger than their ability, it won’t affect them. So the paralysis poison will be easy to counter. Jisoo, you should study instead of just asking me.]
Surprisingly, Ryu Jisoo didn’t get upset but ignored the advice. Their relationship hadn’t improved after all.
[It’s tricky. It not only changes form or skills but adopts the traits and abilities of that species.]
Regardless of Baek Sohyeok’s analysis, Kang Kwonhu drew his greatsword, perhaps to attack before the paralysis fully lifted. The aura around his sword glowed darker and more threatening than usual. One could almost feel his anger radiating through the screen.
The Rezen-form elder judged it could move and began releasing poison onto the floor. Kang Kwonhu, unwilling to let it go, elegantly used the air to vault toward the ceiling.
With a thud, the sword extended from the Rezen’s center like dark thorny vines, wrapping and constricting it. The Rezen’s body dented along the glowing sword.
[Yaaah!]
Ryu Jisoo, armored, followed to deliver a finishing blow. But the fully recovered elder squirmed again, transforming into an even more liquid-like form. It was now a classic slime.
[This species is called Beta Slime. It has no offensive ability, but its defense and regeneration are high.]
Though still covered in dark energy, the slime’s body absorbed it, weakening its power incrementally.
[Stop stalling already.]
Kang Kwonhu clicked his tongue and descended. The marble floor couldn’t withstand his force, shattering into pieces.
[If it keeps transforming like that, can we even defeat it?]
Ryu Jisoo, unfazed by the elder’s new slime form, struck again, but the attack was absorbed.
[No creature is without weakness.]
Baek Sohyeok said bitterly. He was right; every species or monster has a method of strategy. But figuring out those weaknesses isn’t easy, especially against an elder changing forms constantly.
Still, Baek Sohyeok thrust his rapier into the slime without hesitation.
‘He’s not even using Hae’s swordsmanship… what’s he trying to do?’
[Weeaaah!]
The Beta Slime contorted grotesquely, creating a whirlpool.
‘No way…’
Baek Sohyeok had distorted space within the slime, using its liquid-like properties to suck it in like a vacuum.
‘If it continues like this, we could make the elder disappear entirely. That would be ideal.’
It would avoid a self-detonation. Baek Sohyeok’s furrowed brows showed the effort needed to pull in such a large target. I clenched my fists in encouragement.
After absorbing about a third of the slime, the elder began squirming again.
‘Another transformation?’
But this time was different. It took much longer, and the new form was smaller and more intricate.
“Could it… be trying to become human?”
