IDWGT 7

Chapter 7

Monsters with names resembling those of humans are commonly called named monsters.

These named monsters are stronger than other monsters of the same level and drop rare items, so they could be considered roughly on par with boss monsters or semi-boss monsters.

But they were not the kind of creatures one could encounter easily, any more than boss monsters were. Most of the time, they were either hidden away somewhere secure or traveled with a large group.

I inwardly celebrated.

‘Looks like this one got separated from its group.’

Around it were only three rebel soldiers and one archer. It was a perfect opportunity to hunt a named monster.

‘Wait! No!’

Just as I had decided to watch the situation a little longer, I caught sight of Maximus, the rebel general, turning his back as if about to leave.

He wasn’t a creature that appeared often.

Letting him go now would be the same as throwing away a golden opportunity.

I had already eliminated the most troublesome patrols.

Without a second thought, I clenched my teeth and dashed out.

“Bloodstain Brand!”

And after using Bloodstain Brand, I ran straight for the rebel archer first.

The soldiers tried to block me in the face of my sudden appearance, but my movements were one step faster.

“Mad Tornado!”

[Skill ‘Mad Tornado’ is activated.]

[4% of HP is consumed.]

[In exchange for life force, the Mad Berserker’s tornado is formed.]

[Durability of equipped items decreases slightly.]

Mad Tornado engulfed the archer. It was not an attack that some archer holding nothing but a single bow could do anything about.

*Whoooosh!*

“Kyaaak!”

The rebel archer’s shoulder shattered under my attack, and he was flung into the air before being slammed into the ground.

I then unleashed Mad Tornado on the remaining soldiers as well, who were scrambling in confusion from the surprise attack, and my attack struck all three without a single inch of error.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

*Thud.*

I inwardly cried out in celebration once more.

It was an incredibly smooth start. Honestly, I hadn’t expected to deal with them this easily and create a one-on-one situation with the named monster. Going in with a strong skill from the start seemed to have paid off.

I gave a faint smile toward Maximus, who remained alone.

“I’ve been feeling down these past few days—maybe it was because I was meant to meet you today.”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps taken aback by my sudden appearance, Maximus showed no movement at all.

Keeping my smile, I examined his armaments.

‘The magnificent sword at his left is at least magic-grade, and that armor… good heavens, it’s one of the Sea Dragon set!’

The Sea Dragon set was known as top-tier rare equipment with tremendous bonus options when worn in full.

‘If I sell that, I could get at least half a year’s living expenses.’

I raised my sword, resolved to catch him no matter what happened here.

It was then that Maximus moved for the first time. He suddenly raised a hand and gave me a thick sneer.

And he was nothing but prey!

Filled with displeasure, I asked Maximus,

“Why are you laughing?”

“I wondered what kind of fellow it was, but you’re just a whelp.”

“What?”

“Come out!”

“W-what?”

*Rrrrrrumble—*

*Step step step!*

No sooner had Maximus given the order than the surroundings grew noisy, and in an instant I was surrounded.

‘Damn’ I thought, while looking at the group that had surrounded me.

Rebel Rangers.

It was a name I was seeing for the first time. But their presence was nothing compared to the rebel archers who carried the same bows.

A trap—a snare made up of a named monster and elite soldiers.

‘I’ve been properly had.’

I couldn’t tell their levels, but there seemed to be at least thirty of them.

Even if it weren’t them specifically, being surrounded by thirty archers would leave me no way out.

That thirty of them had been hiding without my noticing anything strange at all meant they had prepared thoroughly.

I hardened my expression. At the same time, irritation quietly welled up inside me.

‘Damn it! It was a chance to land a big hit.’

I probably wouldn’t be able to return safely from this place.

But what irritated me more than that was having to let the named monster in front of me go.

Maximus dug at my frustration even more.

“Strangely, the fellows who come here all charge at me desperately when I appear. You weren’t much different. I’ll make you pay dearly for killing my subordinates all this time.”

He just insulted me as an idiot, didn’t he?

Instead of answering, I raised my middle finger and spun my head quickly.

‘I want to catch that irritating bastard no matter what.’

Truly, letting the named monster go like this was far too wasteful.

While I was agonizing over this, I saw him slowly lowering the hand he had raised.

The atmosphere around us changed ominously—it seemed to be the signal to attack.

At that, I quickly made a decision.

‘Even if I die, I’ll take Maximus with me.’

The moment Maximus’s hand fell completely, I kicked off the ground.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

In an instant, arrows turned the spot where I had been standing into a pincushion, and several arrows I failed to dodge struck the back of my armor.

[HP has decreased.]

They hadn’t pierced through, but my back felt like it was going to shatter.

‘Damn it, to think I’d fall from just this!’

I clenched my teeth and kicked off the ground again. The distance between me and Maximus closed in an instant.

‘Good—if I’m this close, he won’t dare shoot blindly for fear of hitting his own man with a stray arrow, right?’

But I had to correct that thought immediately.

“Mad—kuh!”

Just as I was about to unleash my skill, an arrow embedded itself in my wrist.

Since it was a spot not protected by armor, the arrow pierced through skin and tore through muscle and flesh. My HP bar plummeted rapidly.

While I faltered briefly from the pain, Maximus leisurely stepped back a few paces.

‘These bastards—do they not care what happens to their captain? Or are they confident in their skills? What is this?’

What was clear was that neither option was good for me.

‘This time for sure!’

I charged toward Maximus once again.

Once again, arrows embedded themselves where I had been standing. But this time their number was absurdly smaller than before.

My extremely sharpened senses sent out a danger signal.

I drove my greatsword into the ground. Then, using the momentum of my body flying toward Maximus while gripping the sword, I rotated my body to the side.

Arrows grazed past me by a hair’s breadth.

It was an attack that had predicted my path.

‘These guys aren’t playing around!’

Before I could even let out a sigh of relief, another volley of arrows flew at me, and I had no choice but to retreat.

After dodging several more volleys of arrows, I found myself back where I started. I had been thoroughly toyed with by the rangers.

I was more angry than bewildered.

“All right, let’s do this, then!”

I roughly brushed off the arrows stuck in my body and leapt toward Maximus once more.

Even if it looked like a reckless charge, it was the best option available to me right now.

If I stayed still, I’d accomplish nothing and end up a pincushion.

*Clang clang clang!*

Several arrows blocked my path again, but I held my greatsword forward to deflect them without stopping.

Then arrows came flying at me from all directions.

‘Stop, is that it? As if I’d listen!’

*Swipe!*

I swung the hand holding the greatsword behind my back. Then, crouching as low as possible, I leapt forward once more.

*Clang! Clang! Thwack! Thwack!*

Most of the attacks aimed at my back bounced off my greatsword. A few arrows lodged in my back and side, but not enough to kill me.

And the attacks aimed at my front—I caught them all with my left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword.

Thanks to that, my left hand was left in tatters, but I had managed to close the distance to Maximus just as I’d intended. Right up to his face.

Maximus, apparently not expecting me to attack in such a manner, showed signs of panic for the first time.

That’s right—why did you act so relaxed against someone desperate like me?

Let’s finish this in one blow.

“Take this! Mad Cross!”

[Skill ‘Mad Cross’ is activated.]

[20% of HP is consumed.]

[In exchange for life force, the awakened Mad Berserker’s potential is focused into the Predator’s Demonic Nature.]

[Durability of the Predator’s Demonic Nature decreases greatly.]

*Wuuuuung!*

The greatsword let out a massive roar as it extended toward Maximus’s head.

I could see Maximus frantically trying to dodge, but I had no doubt the attack would land.

No one had ever dodged Mad Cross—the fastest and most powerful of all my skills—from within this range.

Then, an unexpected variable arose.

“Sea Dragon’s Roar!”

[You have been struck by ‘Sea Dragon’s Roar.’]

[Magic resistance failed.]

[Petrification process in progress. Movement is restricted.]

“W-what!”

Along with the message window, the speed of my greatsword began to slow—and by the time it reached right in front of Maximus, it had slowed enough that “stopped” would have been a fitting description.

Maximus caught my wrist. And he gave me a sinister smile.

Looking at that face, curses surged up inside me unbidden.

“Damn it!”

“I’ll stop playing with you here.”

*Thwack!*

“Keuk!”

Kicked in the abdomen by Maximus, I rolled across the ground.

I wanted to leap up and charge at him immediately, but my body wouldn’t move as I willed.

‘Kreuk! I almost had him!’

Before I could even lament, the kicks continued. But with my body not moving properly, there was no way to avoid them.

As if to show that a named monster was a named monster for a reason, my HP dropped steadily with each kick.

Even then, I hadn’t given up. But when I saw the rebel rangers aiming their bows at me in unison without letting their guard down, I had to despair.

‘It’s over. Even if I managed to get up somehow, there’s no way to deal with Maximus while fending off arrows at the same time.’

Meanwhile, my HP continued to drop, eventually reaching a dangerous level.

[HP has fallen below 20 percent.]

[HP is continuously decreasing.]

[Physical abilities are impaired.]

*Chaang!*

“Consider it an honor to die by my sword.”

At the point when I had little HP left, Maximus stopped kicking and drew his sword.

‘This is the end, then.’

I had no choice but to let go of the last thread of hope I had been holding onto. Even for someone like me who had been through countless battles, there was simply no way out in sight.

‘If only the rebel rangers weren’t here, I could manage something.’

It was exactly then that something completely unexpected happened.

[One of the activation conditions for Gigantes Dark’s special ability has been met.]

[Gigantes Dark’s special ability ‘Save the Master’ is activated.]

While I was unable to make a proper judgment due to the new message window, a small light opened above me as I lay there, and Dark burst out from within it.

[Kuu!]

Perhaps startled by Dark’s sudden appearance, Maximus stopped mid-swing of his sword toward me and hastily retreated.

But the one more startled was me.

“A special ability out of nowhere! You were supposed to be left behind—why did you have to show up now, of all times!”

But Dark didn’t answer my question; he looked around and then charged toward the rebel rangers.

‘What is that lump of baggage trying to do!’

“Heuk!”

In that moment, I swallowed a gasp. The suddenly appeared Dark was attempting a body slam against the rebel rangers.