Chapter 46: A Lucky Day

Chapter 46

Kim Jinsung flew towards the central stem and used the ‘Draw’ skill with all his might. His sword, covered in black mana, sliced deeply into the central stem.

**Slash!**

With a deep cutting sound, green sap splattered everywhere. Landing on the opposite side, Kim Jinsung checked how much he had cut.

“…Damn.”

He frowned in disappointment. He had only managed to cut about one-third of the way through. The central stem was several times thicker than the plant stems, making it impossible for a human to cut through it in one go. But that was okay.

“It doesn’t matter if I can’t cut it all at once.”

If it couldn’t be done in one go, he would just cut it two or three more times until it was completely severed.

“The ‘Confusion’ skill lasts for 30 seconds, and only about 10 seconds have passed….”

**Roar…!**

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed from above. It sounded like a strong wind sweeping through a giant cave. Looking up, Kim Jinsung saw Forghinae’s head, the giant flower, facing him with its mouth wide open.

“What?!”

Kim Jinsung was startled by the unexpected situation. There was still time before the confusion wore off, so why was it already…?

He quickly realized the reason. Forghinae’s body was once again covered in thick green mana.

“The nullify effect has already worn off!”

This recovery speed was beyond Kim Jinsung’s expectations. He knew special boss monsters recovered from debuffs quickly, but this was too fast!

**Whoosh!**

Numerous plant stems flew towards Kim Jinsung. Instinctively jumping to avoid all the attacks, he started thinking again.

“Then I’ll look for another opportunity and try the same method again.”

Having succeeded once, the second attempt should be easier. If he used the confusion skill right away without the poison and petrification powder skills, he might be able to use the draw skill twice within 10 seconds.

“Which side did I cut before? The left or the right?”

Planning to cut the opposite side this time, Kim Jinsung looked at the central stem to check the wound.

“…What?”

He was shocked.

“The wound… is gone?”

The deep cut he had made in the central stem now looked perfectly healed. Upon closer inspection, only a faint sword mark remained. So it had been wounded, but it had healed. Could it be…?

“Does it have regeneration abilities too?!”

Kim Jinsung felt a sense of despair. If the monster had regenerative abilities like him, how could he possibly defeat it?

Stunned, Kim Jinsung failed to dodge the incoming plant stem attack. He instinctively raised his sword to defend himself,

**Thud!**

“Ugh…!”

But he felt a tremendous impact throughout his body and was sent flying backward.

—

[Player Kim Jinsung took a direct hit! He’s flying far away! …Ah! He regained his composure just before hitting the wall and landed on his feet!]

[It seems he didn’t take a severe hit.]

[But he still looks shocked! He keeps staring at the central stem. Could it be that he’s shocked by the wound healing?]

The commentators’ broadcast made the battle between Kim Jinsung and Forghinae even more thrilling. Perhaps that’s why the staff in the monitoring room were watching the fight with keen interest.

“He’s not badly hurt! That’s a relief….”

“Wow, but he managed to attack the central stem. It’s amazing that he even tried and succeeded.”

“But it looks like he won’t win. He seemed to have used all his cards in that last scene.”

“I agree.”

The staff shared their negative opinions about the battle’s outcome. Jang Seungwook thought the same.

“His mana must be running low by now….”

Kim Jinsung’s performance was impressive, but with limited mana, he couldn’t keep it up forever. The biggest threat to Kim Jinsung would be when his mana was completely depleted.

—

At that moment, Kim Jinsung was trying to attack Forghinae’s central stem the same way again. He used ‘Nullify’ and ‘Confusion’ in succession and then used the ‘Draw’ skill on the central stem. This time, he managed to land two successful attacks.

**Slash! Slash!**

Two deep cuts were made, but,

“Damn it!”

He still failed to cut it completely. Just as he needed to cut one-third more, Forghinae regained its senses, and the wounds began to heal rapidly. As soon as it recovered, Forghinae attacked Kim Jinsung with its plant stems.

**Crash! Crash!**

The stems struck heavily where Kim Jinsung had been standing. Reflexively jumping to avoid the attacks, Kim Jinsung almost fell into the central hole.

“Huh!”

He quickly twisted his body in mid-air to avoid falling.

“If I fall in there, it’s over!”

Forghinae’s full body wasn’t even visible to Kim Jinsung. Its root part was buried deep in the central hole, completely out of sight. Falling into the hole filled with roots would make the fight twice as hard, making victory even more impossible.

“But how much mana do I have left?”

Kim Jinsung instinctively dodged the stem attacks while checking his remaining MP.

…There was none.

Unlike his HP, which was consistently at 100% due to his vampiric trait, his MP was almost at zero.

“This is dangerous…”

Kim Jinsung quickly checked his belt. He had HP potions and status recovery potions, but no MP potions. He had already consumed them during the fight with the monster.

“No choice.”

Kim Jinsung launched himself towards Forghinae’s central stem. Forghinae, not in a state of confusion, immediately attacked Kim Jinsung with its stems. With a thud, Kim Jinsung’s body exploded. But instead of flesh and blood, straw from a scarecrow scattered in the air.

“Strategic retreat!”

Using the ‘Disguise Clone’ skill to distract Forghinae, Kim Jinsung, now using the ‘Shadow Hiding’ skill, climbed back up to the sinkhole entrance he had entered from. Forghinae swung its stems to attack the entrance, but Kim Jinsung narrowly escaped outside.

—

Most of the monitoring room staff breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Kim Jinsung emerge unscathed from the sinkhole entrance.

“Phew! He escaped safely!”

“Thank goodness. If he had died there, Group A would have been doomed for sure….”

“He’s alive and well, so that’s good. Plus, we got some great highlight footage, right?”

“With this much content, we can even split it into two videos for YouTube.”

As the staff celebrated the fact that they hadn’t lost the superstar of Group A, Jang Seungwook’s smartphone started vibrating in his pocket. It was a call from Baek Jun.

“Yes, sir. Did you enjoy the battle?”

– Yes. Keep the focus on the fight between Kim Jinsung and Forghinae for now.

“The battle is over, though?”

– It’s not over.

Baek Jun spoke with certainty.

– Remember how Kim Jinsung fought the Twin-Headed Ogre for over 20 minutes on the first day? He’s not one to give up easily.

“Are you saying he’s going back in?”

– Want to bet? I’d bet he goes back in.

“…No, thanks. I’ve never won a bet against you.”

Jang Seungwook quickly gave up. Baek Jun had an uncanny sense for these things, far better than Jang Seungwook’s. Even though Jang Seungwook was known among the staff for accurately predicting the future of participants, he was still a novice compared to Baek Jun.

“Alright, I’ll handle it. But if we keep showing the same battle scenes, the viewers might get bored, so I’ll adjust it appropriately.”

– Adjust?

“Yes. No matter how hard Kim Jinsung fights, he can’t defeat Forghinae, right? The outcome will be the same anyway….”

– Are you sure about that?

“…What?”

Jang Seungwook wondered if he had misheard.

“What do you mean… sir? Hello?”

Jang Seungwook checked his phone screen. The call had ended. He was left with a bewildered expression.

“Does he really think Kim Jinsung can defeat that monster alone? No way, that’s impossible….”

Even though Baek Jun’s intuition was usually better than his, this seemed impossible. Jang Seungwook was sure that this time, Baek Jun would be wrong.

—

“Heh… heh heh heh…!”

In a secluded spot on the mountainside, a participant in his 30s was covering his mouth with both hands to stifle his laughter. Once he managed to stop laughing, he looked ahead again.

“I still can’t believe it. I got the full set of items from the supply box…!”

In front of him were special weapons, armor, and a large bag, all from the supply box that had just landed nearby.

“Running away immediately after grabbing everything was the best decision of my life!”

If he had been even a little slower, he would have been caught in the crowd of participants who arrived late and either killed or severely injured. Even now, he could hear the sounds of weapons clashing and screams from where the supply box had landed.

“Most importantly, I won’t go hungry anymore!”

Although all the items were great, he was happiest about getting the large bag filled with food. As a former defensive soldier, he hadn’t eaten anything for two days since the losers’ revival round started. After checking his surroundings again, he opened the large bag first. Seeing the sealed lunch boxes, his smile widened to his ears.

“Today is really my lucky day!”

**Thud.**

“…?”

He felt a cold sensation on his neck and his eyes widened. A long sword had pierced through his neck and emerged in front.

“Oh. An MP potion.”

The sword’s owner, Kim Jinsung, immediately started taking the MP potions from the large bag. He also switched his weapons and armor.

“With these supply box items, it will be much easier to fight that monster.”

Muttering to himself, Kim Jinsung looked around for anything else to take, then disappeared into the shadows again. All that was left was the participant, dying with a sword through his neck.

“…I knew today was too good to be true….”

That was his last thought before he died.