11
Normally, the Hexagon Snake should have been bound and unable to make any moves in the boss room. However, that very creature was now charging fiercely with hostility.
——–
[Player ‘Ihaesol’s growth rate is judged as ‘fast’. Therefore, a new ‘turning point’ different from the existing story mode will be added.]
◆ Magical Beast Hexagon Snake
Status: Sealed → Unsealed
——–
···Huh.
Wait, how long has it been since I started that you’re already assessing my growth rate? And you’re raising the difficulty level? Is this right?
“What kind of messed-up game is this…”
Swear words slipped out involuntarily, but that wasn’t important right now.
If only half of the body was bound, a completely unleashed hexagon was an extremely dangerous existence.
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Moreover, the remains of a snake that seemed like a youngling were tangled up in it.
That youngling, its eyes even turned back.
▶Warning: Due to prolonged starvation, the temperament of the Hexagon of Ma Su has become extremely vicious. Encountering it could be dangerous. We recommend fleeing.
“Flee?”
How do you escape from someone that fast? It’s better to escape while avoiding the train.
If you can avoid the train, fine, but that guy is coming after you with his eyes lit up.
More importantly, at this rate, I might be caught even before leaving the dungeon.
‘Then the only option is to catch it.’
If there was no way to be eaten meekly from the start, there was no choice. To be honest, it didn’t seem very likely that it would be easy to catch.
Thud!
I firmly pressed the snake skin onto the empty back of Eungaye and said,
“Eungaye, block it.”
“What? Are you crazy? How am I supposed to block that?”
“Release the gift to the maximum.”
“Do you think the gift is some kind of omnipotent power?”
“If you block it, I’ll catch it on my own.”
Eungaye looked at me as if I were ridiculous, but I was serious in my own way. Eungaye furrowed her brows.
“Really?”
“How many seconds can you block it?”
“······4 seconds? It could be shorter.”
“5 seconds.”
“Hey······”
“We’re out of time. Hurry.”
Kugugugugugung!
In no time, the hexagon had reached close proximity. The dungeon shook as if there was an earthquake.
“Ah, just try not to get caught.”
Eungaye grumbled, her short hair bristling.
When she completely released the gift, gravity, it was a phenomenon that occurred.
Eungaye’s body momentarily swayed greatly.
Rather than control, just releasing it seemed to strain her body.
But the result was astonishing. Gravity, like a foal let loose, leaped over Eungaye’s sword and attacked the hexagon.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
The dungeon shook, and the scenery crumpled. Rocks fell from the ceiling.
However, that destruction was only enough to push the hexagon back. And my goal was for the hexagon to be pushed back.
‘The magic power has weakened.’
The reason the hexagon was terrifying lay in the magic power it possessed.
A deadly venomous magic that dissolved everything it touched like a handful of poison.
However, that powerful weapon had been broken by Eungaye’s gravity. And Cheon Woo-jin didn’t miss that fleeting moment.
Cheon Woo-jin dashed forward quickly and leaped into the air. The piercing blue magic split the hexagon-shaped forehead.
“Kieee!”
Purple blood gushed out, and the hexagon screamed, echoing through the dungeon.
Like a flashing beacon, the horn on the forehead swung at Cheon Woo-jin.
As if he had anticipated it, Cheon Woo-jin effortlessly blocked it with his sword.
Then it happened. Dark magic surged out from the horn like a torrent.
“······!”
Black waves instantly engulfed Cheon Woo-jin. There was no time to react. Merged with the black magic, Cheon Woo-jin was slammed into the dungeon wall.
Chiiiiing.
A pungent smoke rose from the dungeon wall touched by the black magic.
“Hey, are you okay······”
“Ughhh······”
Doesn’t look good.
Fortunately, Cheon Woo-jin had wrapped his body in magic just in time, so his limbs were unharmed. It was all thanks to the snake skin he had attached. Nevertheless, it seemed like a long and tough fight was ahead.
“Tsk, I can’t let my guard down.”
I clicked my tongue as I saw the hexagon-shaped forehead wide open.
It seemed like one more solid hit would do the trick, but the wounds were healing rapidly.
At that moment, the hexagon’s bright yellow eyes, which were glaring at me, turned towards Eun-ga-ye. Without hesitation, a surge of magic poured out.
“Hup!”
Eun-ga-ye gritted her teeth, squeezing out the remaining strength to block the magic.
Chiiiiing!
Thick smoke rose from the snake skin she had tightly attached.
While Eun-ga-ye was barely holding on, Cheon Woo-jin regained his composure and charged at the hexagon again.
The sharp magical blade aimed for the hexagon. However, the hexagon deflected Cheon Woo-jin’s attack with ease using its horn.
Cheon Woo-jin’s sword couldn’t pierce through the magic surrounding the horn; instead, he was pushed back by the force.
Meanwhile, Eun-ga-ye was gradually being pushed back.
This was a dangerous situation for both Eun-ga-ye and Cheon Woo-jin. I had to do something.
I poured my remaining energy into Gram’s scabbard.
Vroom.
The scabbard, infused with energy, vibrated gently.
It seemed like it would have some impact, but it was a stretch to think it could inflict a blow on the hexagon with just this much.
Before I could strike, I would be repelled by the hexagon’s magic.
Adding Gram’s magic here didn’t seem promising either.
Fortunately, I had a weapon that surpassed all of these.
The ability contained in Icarus’s ring, Magic Nullification.
If I used that, I was sure I could penetrate even the hexagon’s thick magic.
I immediately activated the power of Icarus’s ring and infused it into Gram’s scabbard.
[Magic Nullification applied to Gram’s scabbard. Mental strength is consumed······]
“Ugh······”
In an instant, my head went blank, and my vision blurred.
The condition that nullifies magic is the consumption of my mental strength. However, this depletion of mental strength felt more unpleasant than I had anticipated. The feeling of staying awake for a day and a half?
In contrast, the amount of magic that could be nullified was minuscule. The unknown face of Icarus seemed to be mocking me.
“Let’s see who wins.”
Gritting my teeth, I forcibly began to pour my mental strength into the void.
[The nullification of magic in Gram’s void is applied. Mental strength is consumed…]
[The nullification of magic in Gram’s void is applied. Mental strength is consumed…]
[The nullification of magic in Gram’s void is applied. Mental strength is consumed…]
[The nullification of magic in Gram’s void…]
“Ugh…”
Blood dripped from my eyes and nose, my limbs trembled, but I did not stop using the ring.
It was when consciousness was fading in and out that a different notification popped up.
[…The nullification of magic has exceeded a certain threshold!]
[Gram’s void transforms into the Void of Exorcism.]
Whoosh!
In an instant, the void emitted a dazzling white light.
“It’s… done!”
Forcing my blurry eyes open, I surveyed the situation.
Cheon Woojin was still in a precarious standoff, and Eungaye was on the verge of being overwhelmed by the hexagram’s magic.
Without hesitation, I hurled the Void of Exorcism towards the hexagram’s fading forehead.
Boom!
The void flew emitting a dazzling light.
Startled by the sudden brightness, the hexagram hastily put up a magical barrier, but the Void of Exorcism effortlessly pierced through it.
And then.
Whoosh!
The Void of Exorcism plunged into the gaping forehead of the hexagram.
It was not a fatal blow, but it was enough.
The exorcism energy attached to the void suppressed the hexagram’s magic.
“Kieeek!”
As the hexagram went berserk, the dungeon shook as if hit by an earthquake.
His magic fluctuated wildly, and the exorcism energy was on the verge of breaking free.
“What are you doing? Kill him!”
“······!”
Startled by the unfamiliar scene, Cheon Woojin, who had only blinked in surprise, finally came to his senses at my shout.
With a swift motion, Cheon Woojin decapitated the hexagram.
Swish!
[…You have hunted the hexagram! Proficiency with the Gram Sword greatly increases!]
[…The level of the Gram Sword has increased!]
[…The level of the Gram Sword has increased!]
[…The level of the Gram Sword has increased!]
[You have mastered mental strength to its limit! Synchronization rate with Gram significantly increases!]
“Ah······”
Hexagonal windows that made the fallen Six-Sided Star dizzy with fear.
Confirming the end of the situation, I barely held onto my sanity and let go of the mental thread I had been grasping.
***
“Kim Jong-hak, 18 beasts!”
On the field, stacks of monsters hunted by Class 1 students were piled up.
Instructor Ha Jin-woo called out the students one by one, announcing the number of monsters they had hunted.
Of course, even without the announcement, everyone could confirm their ranking by counting with their own eyes. And Amelia was somewhat satisfied with her results.
【38 beasts / Amelia Romano】
‘Second place.’
As she pretended not to count the number of monsters hunted by the students gathered on the field, she concluded that her ranking was second.
Although it was a bit disappointing not to be first, this was merely a training exercise.
Since up to the fourth place received the same score, there was no need to exert all their effort.
Amelia glanced briefly to the side. There, monsters were piled up like a small meadow.
Nikolai stood surrounded by some students, his arms crossed.
Although the rankings had not been announced yet, the students all knew that Nikolai was in first place.
Just by a glance, it was overwhelming how many monsters Nikolai had hunted.
Nikolai and the students were engaged in a lively conversation.
“Nikolai, you’re really amazing. How did you catch all these?”
“It’s nothing special. I just caught everything in sight.”
Despite his words that it was nothing special, a slight smile tugged at the corner of Nikolai’s mouth.
At that moment, one student murmured, thinking of those who had not yet returned.
“By the way, they still haven’t come back.”
“Haesol made a bet with Nikolai. He’s probably trying to catch at least one more before the end, afraid of losing.”
The ones the students were talking about were Haesol, Cheon Woo-jin, and Eun Ga-ye.
Even though the end time was approaching, the three had not returned yet.
‘Where did they go?’
Amelia, like everyone else, was also clueless about Haesol’s whereabouts.
Haesol had disappeared without mentioning a specific destination.
That alone was intriguing, but the fact that Cheon Woo-jin and Eun Ga-ye followed Haesol made it even more interesting.
Both of them were top talents that Amelia had her eye on.
If those two were following Haesol out of concern, it meant Haesol had some kind of strategy. Amelia was very curious about what that strategy could be. No matter how she looked at it, Haesol didn’t seem to have a chance of beating Nikolai.
After all, the monsters at the beginning were all swept up by Nikolai as soon as they appeared.
This was a bet that Haesol clearly couldn’t win.
However, recalling the composure Haesol showed before leaving, Amelia couldn’t help but wonder if it was truly an unwinnable bet.
Just as Amelia was lost in unresolved questions, the surroundings suddenly grew noisy.
Unintentionally, Amelia turned her gaze.
In her eyes, Haesol, Cheon Woo-jin, and Eun Ga-ye were coming down the hill.
The school uniform was torn to shreds, as if they had rolled around somewhere, with injuries sustained.
In the hands of those three individuals, something resembling a beast’s carcass was gripped tightly. No, it wasn’t a carcass, but the massive head of something else.
Amelia, staring intently at it, slowly widened her eyes.
“······!”
The enormous snake head with hexagonal horns.
Amelia, realizing what it was, couldn’t help but exclaim without even realizing it.
“A, a hexa-?!”
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