Ch.141140. Journey (9)

# 140. Journey (9)

As soon as I approached, the King Snake responded as if it had been waiting for this moment.

A tail befitting such a monster.

That tail was covered with countless spines.

‘If I get pricked by mistake, I’m dead…’

Those spines contained venom potent enough to cause death from mere contact.

I moved in a direction to avoid those spines.

Then, while evading the spines, I wounded its tail.

-Slash…-

However, due to the King Snake’s slippery yet tough skin, I couldn’t inflict any meaningful damage with my dagger.

In such a frustrating situation, I wanted to transform my weapon into a greatsword immediately.

But I couldn’t do so easily.

‘That would be quite dangerous…’

Not only was it dangerous, but there was also no guarantee that changing forms would allow me to inflict wounds.

Yet I couldn’t just remain as I was.

‘Then I have no choice but to trust.’

I had no option but to rely on her supportive abilities.

I trusted her and changed the form of my sword.

-Woong!!-

An energy far greater than the dagger from moments ago.

That energy, which startled even its master, frightened the monster.

The intimidated King Snake distanced itself from me and continued to eye my sword warily.

It seemed that being a high-level monster made it sensitive to strong energy.

“You can just go in.”

Her voice reached me in that situation.

Hearing that confident voice gave me courage I didn’t have before.

“I was planning to do just that.”

I closed the distance that had widened, and afterward, I targeted only weak points like the tail and chest.

As soon as I narrowed the gap, that tail approached right in front of me.

I raised my sword and struck the tail forcefully.

-Thud!-

Despite wielding a massive greatsword with increased strength, I still couldn’t penetrate its skin.

But it was much better than before.

Of course, that wasn’t what mattered now.

‘Here it comes.’

An opening created while attacking.

The monster precisely targeted that opening, and dozens of spines flew toward me.

However…

-Clang!-

A barrier appeared before my eyes at that moment.

That barrier blocked the dozens of spines flying toward me.

‘It just blocks them… thank goodness..’

Indeed, perhaps because it was her magic, even the King Snake’s spines couldn’t penetrate it.

Still, knowing it wouldn’t hold for long, I quickly moved positions.

-Crack!!-

Just as I expected, before long, a large hole formed in the center of the barrier, and venom-coated spines were passing through it.

‘But this is good enough.’

The barrier didn’t shatter instantly and held for at least 5 seconds on average.

And 5 seconds was more than enough time.

After that, trusting in her barrier, I continued to advance forward, and that action led to meaningful results.

-Kieeeek!-

Angered by the continuous attacks, the King Snake moved even more vigorously, and the number of spines it shot increased compared to before.

But such changes weren’t problematic.

Rather, as time passed, I became accustomed to its movements and gradually gained composure.

‘This time, to the right…’

Predicting that the spines would fly to the right, I turned my body to the left.

-Swish!-

As expected, the spines flew to the right, and since I had moved in anticipation, no additional measures were needed.

And even if my prediction had been wrong, I would have dealt with it using the Abyss.

Thanks to this, she, who had been focusing solely on support, could now put strength into her attacks.

The sword she created with [Ice Magic] and my sword simultaneously pierced the monster’s tail.

-Stab!!-

Finally, my sword penetrated the monster’s skin, and red liquid flowed from the wound.

Even the skin that initially wouldn’t even get scratched eventually gave way, and the severely wounded monster writhed in pain.

-Kieeek!!-

Losing its senses due to the sudden pain, the monster threatened me with its vicious fangs.

To use its weapon, the monster moved its head, its biggest weakness, toward me and opened its enormous mouth to bite me.

But that decision was a mistake.

“Your mouth is disgustingly huge.”

In response to that action, I immediately imbued my sword with the Abyss.

Then I thrust my sword into that massive mouth.

-Stab!!-

At that moment, the Abyss contained in the sword stirred inside the mouth, gradually eroding the space.

If it were anywhere else, it would have been blocked by that tough skin, but the mouth was an exception.

That place, filled only with pure flesh, was excellent prey for the Abyss, and the Abyss enjoyed a brief feeding time.

In such a situation, the monster couldn’t move properly, creating a huge opening.

And I quickly exploited that opening.

-Slash!! Slash!!-

The defenseless monster had no choice but to endure without any resistance, and I didn’t miss this golden opportunity, unleashing as many attacks as possible.

Even though it was inside the mouth, I couldn’t devour everything.

After that brief moment, which was all too short, the Abyss returned to me after finishing its meal.

‘Just… this much.’

In truth, the damage inflicted by the Abyss wasn’t that significant.

But the damage I inflicted during that time was by no means negligible.

Having suffered major damage, the King Snake began to guard itself after that time ended, and its movements became sluggish.

Of course, from our perspective, this was more challenging.

It was because it didn’t readily allow openings.

However, judging by her movements, she didn’t seem to mind.

‘I guess that’s enough.’

She, who had been supporting me from behind since the start of the battle, suddenly used [Haste] and rushed forward urgently.

Using her remaining mana to spam [Haste], she arrived in front of the monster.

Then, pointing her staff at the monster, she quietly murmured.

“[Absolute Zero].”

With that cold voice, a small light detached from the tip of her staff.

From that light, an overwhelming magical power surpassing Rachel’s [Two Suns] could be felt.

That blue light, which even made the Abyss that had finished its meal react.

That light touched the monster.

-Crack!!!-

The King Snake’s skin where the light touched.

Starting from that part, the monster’s body began to freeze gradually, and eventually, its entire massive body froze.

A gigantic ice sculpture as if touched by a master’s hand.

Looking at that sculpture, I said:

“Really… that’s a cheat skill.”

In the case of living beings, if their vitality drops below a certain percentage, it can instantly kill them—a legendary cheat skill.

[Absolute Zero].

Memories of being on the receiving end of that skill once before came flooding back.

“Cheat? It’s such a hassle. I have to pay attention to vitality, say cringy things…”

“Ah… so you have to do that.”

I thought she was doing it because she wanted to.

“I can use it without doing that, but its power decreases.”

“The fact that such power comes from just that is already cheating. But last time, it wasn’t particularly powerful, was it?”

Come to think of it, I was hit by [Absolute Zero] last time but was unaffected.

I just felt extremely cold and couldn’t move.

Of course, that was fortunate.

“That’s because of vitality.”

“It’s definitely a tricky skill. So, is this thing dead now?”

Although it was frozen solid without the slightest movement, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“Probably?”

And that response made it even more impossible to relax.

I chuckled at her ambiguous answer.

“Probably?”

“Yes.”

“But at least I don’t feel any energy…”

The energy of mana that all living beings possess.

Fortunately, unlike before, no such energy could be felt from this ice block.

“…anymore.”

However, a different kind of energy from before was felt nearby.

Energy approaching this place at tremendous speed.

If I detected it, she must have known about it already.

“But do you know who it is?”

“At least it’s not a monster.”

Clearly human energy, and in my case, energy I had experienced once before.

So we waited for that person in our current position, and before long, that person appeared before us.

‘It feels like it’s been a really long time…’

Since I had seen her during the midterms, it wasn’t particularly long ago, but it felt like at least a year had passed.

The elf I met again seemed at a loss for words as she looked at me, her, and the ice block behind us.

As Luna stared at us with a blank expression, she spoke to her first.

“Hello?”

The most awkward greeting ever, which made the surrounding atmosphere awkward as well.

Seeing that peculiar scene, I burst into laughter involuntarily.