Chapter 8 : Boss Monster (2)

At first, he thought he’d misheard.

But the moment he ran past Han Jihyuk to strike the King Slime.

“Wibble wibble. It huwts.”

His resolve faltered at the disarmingly cute voice.

Missing the attack timing, the King Slime, which had been stunned, began to wriggle and move.

Han Jihyuk, sensing this, grabbed Doyoon by the scruff of his neck and pulled him back.

“What do you think you’re doing, punk!”

Not the gentle voice he’d used so far, but a sharp reprimand that jolted him to his senses.

At that, Doyoon cleared his throat with a dry cough and reassessed the situation.

‘What voice was that…’

“Don’t hit me. It huwts. Wibble wibble.”

He heard it again.

“No.”

“Mr. Doyoon! Are you okay?!”

From behind, Jung Ahyun was looking at Doyoon with a worried face.

“What? Isn’t it poison?”

“I’ve never heard of the King Slime having poison.”

Why did he stop attacking?

At Doyoon’s strange behavior, Cha Yoonha and Cho Harin exchanged words amongst themselves.

“Ah. I’m fine.”

Actually, he wasn’t fine.

He was quite confused.

The mysterious voice he heard just before attacking.

It certainly wasn’t a party member’s, and it came with a string of strange onomatopoeia.

Doyoon’s gaze instinctively turned to Han Jihyuk.

More precisely, he could see the King Slime in front of him, just now resuming its activity.

“Wibble wibble.”

‘…No way.’

“Mr. Doyoon?”

An impossible assumption tormented Doyoon.

But the situation kept fueling his thoughts.

“..I can hear a voice.”

“What, a voice…”

“That boss mob. I think it’s talking to me.”

“…Yes?”

The three Hunters were simultaneously speechless.

It was a natural phenomenon. Even Doyoon himself would have reacted the same if he’d heard such a thing.

‘Am I really crazy?’

No. Perhaps he’d been crazy since the moment he obtained the Boss Mob Gallery.

Talking to the Tower’s bosses, exchanging all sorts of jokes with them–

And now, he could even hear the voice of what seemed to be the King Slime in front of him.

“Mister Hunta there. Can you heaw me.”

Should he answer that or not?

“Mr. Doyoon. What on earth are you saying.”

“It’s not a lie, I can really hear it. I think it’s the effect of a skill.”

“That, ‘Helper’?”

“Yes.”

“No. Even so, this is.”

Doyoon stood up from his spot.

He took a breath, then stealthily approached Han Jihyuk, who was still in a standoff.

“Doyoon.”

“Hyungnim. Just a moment.”

“…What?”

Before Han Jihyuk, startled by Doyoon’s strange behavior, could act.

“What are you.”

Doyoon aimed the worn-out sword in his hand at the core and asked.

“As I thought, you can heaw me. I thought you might, wibble wibble.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

“Hunta. Does it huwt? It shouldn’t huwt.”

Even at this very moment, it was worrying him with such a cute voice, making the common sense in Doyoon’s head feel like it was shattering.

And at that moment.

The King Slime shook its body once and charged at Han Jihyuk.

Han Jihyuk braced himself again and, with all his might, struck the King Slime with his massive shield.

“Wibble it hurts.”

“Crazy b*stard. Why are you suddenly attacking.”

“Doyoon! Are you really crazy?!”

Doyoon too wished he was in a state of madness.

Good heavens, to be able to hear a boss mob’s voice in real-time.

What Hunter would ever imagine such a moment?

If it hadn’t been Doyoon, who had adapted beforehand through the ‘Boss Mob Gallery,’ it would have been a phenomenon no one would

believe.

Doyoon felt anxious, trying to somehow make his fellow Hunters understand, and waited for the King Slime’s reaction.

“I can’t help this. The moment Huntas entew, I’m pwogwammed to attack automatically.”

“Then, why on earth are you talking–”

“I can talk to Hunta-nim. How can this be? I don’t know eithew. But it’s stwange, wibble wibble.”

Speaking so innocently with that murderous size, the sense of disparity was no joke.

“But I instinctively felt it.”

“I felt like I could somehow talk to Hunta-nim. Maybe it’s because of Hunta-nim’s magic powew.”

“Magic power?”

The moment the conversation reached that point.

-Tiring!

A status window popped up before his eyes with a clear notification sound.

[You have successfully resonated with the Boss Monster, ‘King Slime’.]

[Warning! Your mind has been contaminated.]

[Skill, ‘Magic Resistance (C)’ activates.]

[Resistance successful! You have become immune to mental contamination.]

“Harin! Ahyun! Get Doyoon away first!”

“…Yes!”

“Ah, alright!”

The two Hunters hurriedly approached and pulled Doyoon’s body back.

“What on earth have you been doing since a while ago?! At least explain!”

Jung Ahyun urged him so.

“Jihyuk ahjussi. Let’s clear it first.”

“I was thinking the same thing! Yoonha!”

“Yes, Oppa!”

From Cha Yoonha’s palm, an ethereal flame began to soar.

Magic.

Cha Yoonha’s palm aimed at the King Slime’s core, looking like it would burst any second.

wait a minute!

“It’s fine! We’ll hear the details outside!”

A fierce flame was about to erupt.

I instinctively rushed out and snatched Cha Yoonha’s arm.

“what are you doing!”

“Please listen to me!”

Impulse.

The moment he saw the word ‘resonance,’ an impulse seemed to push Doyoon’s body.

That’s why he risked danger to block Cha Yoonha’s strike.

These people were strong.

He hadn’t heard their exact experience yet, but they could probably defeat a 1st-floor boss mob hundreds of times without issue.

Therefore, Doyoon believed in them without a doubt.

“Doyoon! This isn’t a joke, you punk!”

Han Jihyuk glared at Doyoon as if he would explode with anger at any moment.

“I know that too!”

He picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground and ran towards the King Slime again.

“Wibble wibble. It’s stwange. You’re not going to kill me?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“That’s a shame. But I can undewstand. If I don’t kill, I die. That’s the Towew.”

The King Slime said so and wriggled its body again to break free from the stun.

“But if it’s Hunta you, I think I can give you something.”

“What is it.”

“This.”

[Resonating with the target, ‘King Slime’.]

[Due to resonance, you temporarily acquire the target’s skill!]

“…Huh?”

At that moment, white smoke billowed from Doyoon’s fist.

Startled by a bubbling sensation, he dropped the hilt of his sword.

-Chiiik….!

The old sword fell to the floor.

Following it with his gaze to the end, he found that the hilt area had melted.

-Drip. Drip.

The main source of the cause was in his own fist.

Doyoon looked down at his hand.

Something sticky was flowing from the surface of his skin.

“Doyoon, ah. That’s.”

Han Jihyuk, who was watching the phenomenon, was also too flustered to speak.

Suddenly, he gained a skill, and a deadly slime flowed from his hand.

His thoughts couldn’t keep up with the series of events.

‘I couldn’t control it.’

Gaining a skill meant he had the authority to control it.

He had panicked, used the skill recklessly, and even destroyed his own weapon.

-Grind.

Doyoon berated himself.

You f*cking idiot.
What kind of Hunter throws away his own weapon?

He focused his mind once more.

[Acidic Digestive Fluid (D)]

He felt he knew whose skill this was without even having to think back.

Hadn’t he seen the attack characteristic of melting on contact countless times in the gallery?

[But is it warm if you put your hand in a slime?]

[ㄴ Why are you curious about that]

[ㄴ Hold on, I have something to do for a sec]

[ㄴ Ah really, please]

[ㄴ Are you even human? Ah, you’re a monster]

[ㄴ Bob-avg;;]

[ㄴ Setting aside whether it’s warm or not, sir. It just melts, okay?]

[…Let’s stop looking into it]

“Is it done?”

The King Slime spoke amidst the chaotic situation.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Wibble wibble.”

“This is really driving me crazy.”

“…Doyoon?”

“It’s nothing, Hyungnim.”

Looking at Han Jihyuk’s expression as if he were seeing a madman, he raised the shield, his only remaining weapon.

He focused his mind once more.

[: When used, attacks the opponent using acidic solution.]

Uses. Acidic solution.

It wasn’t explicitly stated whether it could only be used on the skin.

That means–

-Chiiik…!

A viscous liquid began to drip from the shield.

Han Jihyuk and the other Hunters who saw it were horrified.

The thick liquid sticking to the floor melted the grass.

“Am I going to die now?”

“You have to.”

“Wibble wibble, I want to talk mowe. But I don’t want to huwt Hunta-nim.”

An unpleasant feeling stirred within him.

It seemed to be because of that carefree voice.

Holding the shield dripping with acidic solution, he headed towards the stunned King Slime.

And then, one blow.

He struck the solid body of the slime with his shield.

Due to the acidic solution, the massive body melted away at the point of impact.

“Hunta.”

One more time.

This attack drew closer to the King Slime’s core.

“See you next time.”

With that, he mustered his last strength and delivered the final blow.

The target was the clearly exposed slime core.

-Thwack!!

-Crack.

The slime’s fragile core was easily destroyed by the hard surface of the shield.

-Tiring!

[Challenger, ‘Kim Doyoon’ has defeated the Boss Monster ‘King Slime’!]

What remained was.

The remnants of what was once the King Slime, and the status window announcing the clear.

[You acquire the stage clear reward.]

“…Doyoon.”

A voice from behind.

When he turned his head, he saw the faces of his colleagues, looking as if their souls had left them.

“What on earth was that just now?”

[Title: So how did the newbie get in here?]
[- Our gallery isn’t some neighborhood marketplace]
[- It’s not like you can just waltz in because you want to ㅇㅇ.]
[- Even fellow Tower boss mobs find it hard to get in]
[- A Hunter, and a complete newbie who knows nothing at that, by what means?]

[ㄴ How would we know;]
[ㄴ This too must be the grace of the Head Admin…]
[ㄴ Is this season 3204226 of the newbie origin debate?]
[ㄴ Didn’t some, fate theory thing come up last time? lololololol]
[ㄴ ShortEaredElf*) It was an interesting theory~ A simple coincidence, or a device arranged by ‘someone’ for us to meet~]
[ㄴ I seriously believe in the newbie fate theory ㅇㅇ… For now, we are one]
[ㄴ This b*stard is a dangerous one]
[ㄴ Lowering the Bob-avg again…?]

[Title: What’s certain is that it’s not a coincidence]
[Nickname: PaperLover*]

[- He said he got in because of a ‘skill’ when he first came, right?]
[- In all my time as a Tower Master]
[- I never knew such an unheard-of skill existed]
[- Skills also have that ‘algorithm’ thing]
[- The newbie’s is just on the level of being completely newly created]

[ㄴ Skill algorithm lol]
[ㄴ Seriously, what kind of skill is it?]
[ㄴ “Boss Mob Gallery”]
[ㄴ Bob-gallery is so fcking cool, seriously]
[ㄴ AgedWine) Hoeee…! That kind of thing doesn’t matter! What’s important is that the newbie met us, and we can interact with each other!]
[ㄴ Wine-jwa is also on the fate theory train]
[ㄴ PaperLover*) That’s why it’s more interesting]
[ㄴ PaperLover*) If he can just reach a level where he can climb the tower smoothly, then really, for us too…]

[Title: Can we also dream of ‘graduation’~]
[Nickname: ShortEaredElf*]

[- I’ve only heard about it. Has any Tower Master here experienced it yet~?]
[- I too hope to see the newbie grow soon~]
[- That way, I’ll have a lot to offer him too~]

[ㄴ Graduation, that was a real thing?]
[ㄴ ㅇㅇ A few from this gallery graduated, didn’t they?]
[ㄴ Really?]
[ㄴ You must be new here. There were a few back in the day]
[ㄴ When was that ‘back in the day’?]
[ㄴ About a few hundred years ago?]
[ㄴ Sht, that’s too much]
[ㄴ lolololololol Come to think of it, it really has been a fcking long time]
[ㄴ Why is it so bleak?]
[ㄴ At this point, it’s like God summoned us to bring about the world’s destruction?]
[ㄴ For real lol]

[Title: Ah, we don’t want to be boss mobs either lol]
[- Did we beg to do it, or what?]
[- Woke up and found ourselves here, what are we supposed to do?]

[ㄴ Why is this bstard suddenly so sentimental?]
[ㄴ Digging his own grave lol]
[ㄴ Mod, leave this post up. We need to roast him for ages]
[ㄴ lolololololol]
[ㄴ For real lololololol We gotta suck him dry to the bone marrow]
[ㄴ OP) Fck]