Ch.5151. The Observer

In my estimation, the Watcher would possess strength equivalent to a 7th floor field boss.

‘Grade 2, huh.’

Of course, it wasn’t comparable to the top-tier Grade 2 monster, the Basilisk.

Moreover, from Grade 2 onward, the difficulty of subjugation often far exceeded the monster’s actual strength.

Even the Basilisk, judging purely by its physical capabilities, was only at Grade 3 level, and the Watcher’s actual specs were much lower than its perceived grade.

‘If I had to be specific, it’s probably a 6th floor field boss.’

About mid-tier Grade 3.

Even Grade 3 would be too much for us with our restricted holy power and nerfed Source, but we had to fight regardless.

“If that monster moves, Shiro and I will step forward.”

Everyone knew that holy power and Source were restricted.

The blue-robed mage, who didn’t use holy power, had his mana capacity returned to normal from what the Source had expanded, leaving him bedridden from mana exhaustion.

Right now, only Shiro and I were in relatively decent condition.

From others’ perspective, this was an inexplicable, strange situation, but the most important thing was clear:

Shiro and I.

We had to fight this battle together.

-Grooooowl.

And so, we stood before those eyes that silently gazed down upon us.

Kyle seemed displeased that he couldn’t participate in the battle.

“Captain Kyle, since we don’t know when your holy power will return, please be ready to fight at any moment. Until then, we’ll try to buy some time.”

“…Understood.”

I prevented Kyle’s participation with the rough assumption that ‘the holy power restriction might have a time limit.’

-Having mysteriously lost his holy power, he probably thinks that while others buy time, his power might return and he could slice through everything!

That’s probably what Kyle was thinking.

‘Of course, that won’t happen.’

It would be nice if holy power returned, but realistically, that wasn’t going to happen.

We couldn’t rely on someone else’s power.

Only I could resolve this situation.

Everyone’s lives depended solely on me.

“…Huff.”

Despite experiencing similar situations many times before, I still felt my breath catch in my throat when faced with one.

‘Still, I have to do this.’

I exhaled heavily, about to erase my emotions as usual.

“Adel.”

Shiro called my name as she stood beside me.

“You seem tense.”

“…A little, yes.”

The massive black eye staring down at us.

Though it showed no movement yet, it would soon turn this space red and unleash a barrage of attack patterns.

Maybe about two minutes left.

Fortunately, we had enough preparation time.

“Shiro.”

I approached her.

“Yes, Adel.”

“This might sound strange, but I know how this thing will move.”

Unlike with the Shade Predator, I had grown much closer to Shiro now.

And with the Watcher, not explaining its patterns would put our lives at risk.

I had to tell her, regardless of any suspicion it might raise.

“…I see.”

Shiro’s expression didn’t change much.

It wasn’t that she didn’t care about my seemingly nonsensical statement.

“So, what should I do?”

Her voice showed no trace of doubt.

She simply believed me because I said it.

“I’ll explain as quickly as possible.”

The Watcher’s patterns were relatively simple:

1. When it closes its eyes, you must stop moving.

The Watcher closes its eyes every time its health drops by 8%, causing the entire space to go dark.

The important point is that the entity the Watcher recognizes as an ‘enemy’ must absolutely not move.

The ‘enemy’ is the one who has dealt the most damage to the Watcher in the last 10 seconds.

2. After going through three blackouts, it enters a charging state.

When it starts charging, all its patterns stop.

In some ways, it’s similar to the Basilisk’s Poison Rain pattern, but charging has a significant difference.

The charging cannot be interrupted no matter what.

When the charging pattern ends, it summons numerous tentacles and minions to attack the ‘enemy.’

3. If you maintain eye contact with the Watcher for more than 5 minutes, you’ll be cursed with fear.

When afflicted with fear, you become incapacitated.

So when dealing damage, it’s best to either close your eyes or turn your head away completely, and generally, it’s better not to look at it.

4. Time limit.

This was the most crucial element in defeating the Watcher.

The space we occupied becomes increasingly contaminated with Demonic Blood as time passes.

If we don’t defeat the Watcher within 15 minutes, the entire space becomes saturated with Demonic Blood, and we die.

“-That’s roughly the strategy.”

“…I understand.”

Thankfully, I finished explaining to Shiro within the time limit.

I was grateful that she listened to me well, but watching her, I had some doubts.

She believed everything I said about knowing the strategy for a monster we were seeing for the first time, without a hint of suspicion.

I was about to ask her about this just before the Watcher awakened.

“…”

At the exact moment I was about to speak, our eyes met.

Her eyes held human emotion.

‘She trusts me.’

I didn’t need to hear her answer.

In life, there are times when you don’t need to rely on logic or concrete evidence.

-Ziiiiing.

As time passed, a ringing sound like tinnitus came from all directions, and the white space gradually turned red.

It meant the battle was about to begin.

‘Disgusting.’

The large pitch-black eye turned red.

The transformation, which started with just a few red lines, filled the entire eye in mere seconds.

It was as if every blood vessel inside had burst, making me feel nauseous.

“The monster’s color is changing! Be careful!”

The blue-robed mage shouted, but Shiro and I were already preparing to respond.

-Chazak, chak!

Shiro used the 3-star magic, Frozen, to freeze the sword in her hand.

Entities contaminated with Demonic Blood were treated as undead, making them extremely vulnerable to ice magic.

Therefore, when the Watcher was hit with attacks infused with ice properties, the damage was multiplied by 1.5.

“Shiro. Please get ready now.”

We waited for the Watcher to begin moving,

[The Watcher detects enemies.]

All white reversed to red.

“I’m going.”

-Boom!

I alone kicked off the ground and flew toward the Watcher.

Since the Watcher’s patterns hadn’t fully activated yet, there was nothing to hinder us as long as we closed our eyes.

‘I can feel it.’

In that brief moment, not even a second.

I detected the approaching aura of Demonic Blood,

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

I swung my sword.

-Slash!

With a sensation like cutting through thick paper, I stomped on the eye and created distance.

Upon landing on the floor, I found several tentacles from the creature’s body already pointing at me.

[The Watcher has designated an enemy.]

From now on, almost all attacks would be directed at me.

-Clang! Clang!

With the remaining power of hardening, I deflected several tentacles.

‘Damn, it’s strong.’

Heavy stone-like objects, probably over a meter in diameter, attacked me relentlessly.

Just one hit would cause at least a fracture, and they were disgustingly fast.

Without prediction, dodging was impossible, and blocking with my shield was the best I could do for now.

“Ugh-!”

Even lasting just one second required tremendous effort.

Tentacles erupting from beneath my feet would pierce through walls dozens of meters away.

After enduring for about 8 seconds,

“Shiro! Attack now!”

I shouted loudly.

Since all attacks would shift to her once her accumulated damage made her the ‘enemy,’ she had deliberately refrained from attacking.

But that didn’t mean Shiro was actually doing nothing.

“Okay.”

Since before the battle began, Shiro had been focusing solely on magic formation.

-Woooong!

A massive concentration of magical power was condensing above Shiro’s head.

The surrounding air trembled from the immense magical waves.

That overwhelmingly massive concentration soon transformed into multiple magic circles,

And the condensed magical power shot forward.

-Kwaaaang!

The monster’s solid eye was gouged out by several dozen centimeters, with fragments flying everywhere.

Even those black fragments instantly froze, becoming part of the blizzard that raged in all directions.

Despite the Source being adjusted to Grade 5, Shiro felt stronger than before.

‘Is it thanks to the mana sensitivity potion?’

While the mana sensitivity potion increases mana quantity and complex abilities, mana alone has its limits.

Shiro had grown on her own, without the Source or other external factors.

[The Watcher designates a new enemy.]

The irregular attacks directed at me suddenly stopped.

Now all those attacks would focus on Shiro, who had dealt massive damage,

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I leaped toward the Watcher.

-Boom!

A tentacle extended toward me, but I deflected it with my shield while twisting my body.

Thanks to that, I could kick off that solid pillar and fall toward the eye.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

This time I hardened my mythril arm guard.

It was a spot where strike damage was multiplied by 5.

This time I stared directly at it with my eyes open,

“Hup-!”

And struck down with all my might.

-Boom!

Unlike Shiro’s prepared magic, my attack left only a few centimeters of damage on the creature.

However, I inserted my hand into the dented gap.

The first blow was solely for this purpose.

-Clang! Clang!

I struck at only one spot.

Even with damage multiplied by 5, each blow was weak compared to Shiro’s, but.

-Boom!

Again and again,

Again and again and again.

-Boom! Boom!

I persistently struck the same spot repeatedly.

With my Source settings focused solely on physical power, and the strength potion I drank earlier.

With that overwhelming power, I targeted just one spot, and.

-Crack!

All this in just 4 seconds.

A huge crack formed on the monster’s face, and I was redesignated as the ‘enemy.’

‘Damn it.’

I muttered inwardly as I landed on the ground.

Fortunately, Shiro hadn’t been injured just now, but there was a problem.

[The Watcher closes its eyes.]

The real battle was just beginning.