Solo Max-Level Newbie
Chapter 370: Grey Forest (3)

Chapter 370: Grey Forest (3)

“Veteran Corporation? Pink? Yellow? What the heck is that?”

Cray Veratis tilted his head in confusion.

But there was no need to answer such questions.

Especially not to someone who would soon be dead.

“Yeah, that exists.”

The insignificant pests would be taken care of by the others.

Now it was time to take out the main threat and rescue Theresa and the players.

[Lv3 ‘Hellfire’ is activated!]

A blazing flame appeared in his left hand.

Hellish fire that could evaporate even stones.

And then.

[Unique ability ‘Black Tears’ is activated!]

Black liquid started to drip from the weapon, Barnard, in his right hand.

“You wanted to overwhelm me with sheer numbers, but that turned out to be a bad move.”

The end of that ridiculous magic power began to come into view.

Probably a necessity to trigger ‘Army Ants’.

Jinhyuk moved first.

Vroooom!

Hellfire gathered in his left hand lacerated the air.

“…Kieeeek!”

Realizing instinctively that he shouldn’t face it head-on, Cray Veratis quickly twisted his body to the side.

But it was nearly impossible to dodge the fast-approaching Hellfire with his enormous frame.

Boom!

“Kuaack!”

Along with the eruption of dark red volcanic rocks.

The gigantic body of the insect was flung backward.

The power was so immense that the bushes behind Cray Veratis were completely engulfed in flames.

Whoosh!

“Kiiiek!”

“Kueeek!”

The uncontrollable blaze spread rapidly.

Bugs caught nearby burned to a crisp on the spot.

“Bugs really do taste best when burnt.”

Jinhyuk took a leaping stance towards the writhing Cray Veratis in pain.

Intense magic power seeped into the Black Tears dripping from Barnard.

“Kieeek! Kieeeek!”

He saw the frenzied attempt to escape the flames.

With exaggerated movements, the location of its heart was clearly targeted.

Stab!

Jinhyuk initiated his attack in a flash.

With the enemy’s defense shattered by the Hellfire, this was the optimal moment to cut its life short.

Slide!

The dagger sliced through its outer layer and into its flesh.

Greenish fluid splattered as a long slash wound formed along the waist.

Screech!

[Due to the effect of the ‘Black Tears’, ‘Decay’ progress!]

[An additional +100 damage per second is stacked!]

The wound quickly discolored.

Black Tears were powerful in their own right, but they also possessed a special effect that worsened wounds.

Cray Veratis, having seen its flesh rot away with its own eyes, unsheathed its claws.

Not to attack.

But to survive.

To escape this horrendous pain.

The sight of it tearing its own flesh was grotesquely compelling.

“Kuh… To suffer such humiliation from a worthless human! I will never forgive you!”

A voice filled with desperate rage.

In that instant.

The concentration of magic power around changed.

Simultaneously, the Hellfire attached to the black carapace subsided.

[The master of the Grey Forest begins ‘Shape Transformation’!]

Phase 2, as it’s called.

A trait only possessed by rare bosses among boss monsters.

The change in form leads to an increase in the quality of magic power as well.

Thus, a boss monster with Phase 2 must be seen as many levels higher than normal bosses.

Crunch… Crackle!

As its skeleton transformed, Cray Veratis’ body began to shrink.

By compacting its magic power and eliminating energy wasted elsewhere, its true capacity as the boss of Grey Forest was revealed.

“Damn. I was saving this to wipe out the Black Hill Tribe, but transforming like this feels rather exhilarating.”

It resembled a human in stature, but characteristically had five tails.

“You’ve shrunk so much, you look less intimidating than before, but sure you’ve become stronger, right?”

“Heh heh. Keep babbling. From now on, it’ll be hard even to look at me….”

Cray Veratis chuckled leisurely, scanning his surroundings.

Then, as if he’d made a decision, the corners of his mouth curled up.

“Alright. First, I’ll start by killing something you treasure.”

Bang!

Cray Veratis disappeared from the spot.

…So fast!

Jinhyuk’s gaze shifted to the right.

But.

“…!?”

Nothing was caught in his outstretched hand.

Cray Veratis had already moved out of range, madly dashing forward.

***

“Kuk kuk kuk! Kahahaha!”

Cray Veratis burst into maniacal laughter.

His field of view flashed by in an instant.

His body felt lighter.

And overflowing strength, too!

Everything was perfect.

The only regret was that he couldn’t use this power in the upcoming power struggle.

‘I should’ve fought in this form to strike at the Phantom Sect bastards and the Black Hill Tribe…’

It was painful to lose a trump card.

Especially since the Sect people are busy searching for something and the defenses at their home base have weakened.

It would have been the perfect opportunity to expand territory.

But if he could tear apart these detestable humans right before his eyes…

That would not be too bad either.

Ssssh!

Cray Veratis whizzed past the players in the blink of an eye.

Frey, who had been swinging his spear wildly, reacted a beat too late.

“Kuk!”

He missed.

The spear that only hit air pierced a tree and lodged into a rock.

“Damn it! What kind of speed is that…!?”

Cheon Yuseong also missed the shadow.

His ‘Soul-Reaving Sword’s third form swept the ground two beats too slow.

“Kahahaha! Do you see now? You may have gotten a little confident, but that’s only relevant to the lower levels of the tower! Comparing yourselves to us who fight life and death every day would be ridiculous!”

Overwhelming speed.

The high-speed movement comparable to spatial travel was too fast to see with the naked eye.

Clang!

A sharp arm grabbed the head of one of the female players.

It was a magic-type player standing close to Theresa.

“Huh?… Eugh?!”

“As only just now realizing you’ve been caught. Humans really are slow creatures….”

Whush!

The head was yanked off and blood spurted out like a fountain.

“One down.”

“AAAAH! You monster!”

Having seen the death of his comrade, a large man raised his siege hammer high.

Vrooom!

With a chilling sonic boom, the hammer descended toward the ground.

Bang!

But as expected, the body that evaded Frey and Cheon Yuseong’s attacks was not hit by such a sluggish one.

“Now, two down.”

Another blood fountain erupted from the cleanly cut surface of the armor.

Even armor layered with defensive magic could not withstand the Phase 2 strike.

Next was….

Cray Veratis immediately turned his gaze to Theresa.

The third prey was this human woman.

‘I wonder how he’ll react when he sees his most cherished one killed.’

Far off, Jinhyuk was charging toward them, but by the time he got here, the woman’s neck would have been severed.

“I won’t be taken down so easily!”

Theresa desperately gathered her magic power.

Her plan was to spread her divine power wide to react with the surrounding magic.

“But a futile struggle… could also be interesting.”

Swoosh.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Dodging the blade that cut through the air with a slight tilt of his head.

Attacks aimed at the vitals were avoided simply by moving his feet.

And then.

Crack!

Right on the timing for a neck strike.

He caught the blade with his fingers.

“Is it over?”

“You monster…”

Theresa’s face froze.

“Time to die.”

But just as his hand was about to touch her throat.

He felt a quick surge of magic power approaching from behind.

“He’s caught up already? You have a little confidence in speed too… Kuhp!?”

Boom!

Cray Veratis drew a deep breath as Jinhyuk was right in front of his eyes.

He was lucky to have swung his tails, or else he would have a big hole in his back.

“Ho. You did get faster with Phase 2. Just now, I planned to end it with that attack.”

“YOU…!”

“Ah, don’t be too heated. If you get too excited and end up dying in vain after shedding your skin, wouldn’t that be miserable?”

“You think I can be defeated by a mere human like you?”

Boom!

One of the tails shot out like a bullet.

A sonic boom occurred, and the sharp end pierced through Jinhyuk’s head.

Or so he thought.

Jinhyuk narrowly dodged the tail with a slight turn of his head, and smirked.

“Speed is fast, but your movements are too monotonous. Predicting the opponent’s path is no fun. Makes it too easy to dodge.”

“GRAAAH!”

Cray Veratis, enraged, whipped all five tails.

This time, not only the head but arms, legs, torso – it didn’t matter where, as long as it could inflict even a scratch.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Sparks flew chaotically.

The tail’s speed was nearly invisible to the eye, yet Jinhyuk moved and swung his dagger even faster.

“What about this!”

Boom!

Cray Veratis lodged his tails in a tree and vaulted into the air.

A tail strike from about 3 meters high had a different angle, making the speed and trajectory unfamiliar.

Yet again, Jinhyuk narrowly deflected the tail by mere paper-thin margins.

‘That’s somewhat annoying.’

Moving a few meters aside, Jinhyuk caught his breath.

Sticking the tails in trees for movement limited the use of the upper space.

Worse, he could freely change direction in mid-air.

So then…

Blue magic power condensed behind Jinhyuk.

He summoned.

[‘Memory of the World’ is unlocked.]

This is…

A battle suitable only for a Jack-of-All-Trades.

A power that enforces advantageous attributes against an opponent, superior to any unique ability in existence.

[Unique ability ‘Freakish Strength and Divine Power’ is activated!]

Six golden translucent arms emerged behind Jinhyuk.

Freakish Strength and Divine Power.

A close-combat unique ability used by Yaksha.

“What the…?”

Cray Veratis saw there were even more arms than his own tails.

Moreover…

“Be careful. It’s not just fast.”

Jinhyuk threw a punch forward.

Three sonic booms were created in the direction the fists were thrown.

Boom, boom, boom!

One punch.

Trees uprooted and the ground pulverized.

“GRAAAA!”

An outrageously fast force with inconceivable power made even Cray Veratis’ speed advantage seem futile.

But that wasn’t all.

True martial arts cannot simply consist of swinging fists.

Vroooom!

Magic circulated furiously through his veins.

Dark energy surged throughout his entire body.

‘Black Sky Demon Emperor Technique’.

‘With my magic power and…’

The Twelfth Form.

‘With Yaksha’s arms…’

One Pole In The Fusion.

‘I recreate the martial arts of my master.’

A massive tempest struck.

The strongest fist emitted from the six arms penetrated the atmosphere.

Crackle!

Tails were torn to shreds in the vortex.

Unable to dodge.

Unable to block.

Even without using ‘Army Ants’, it would have been difficult to withstand.

As the storm passed, nothing remained standing.

“Gurrr… Guuurrr….”

Pfft pfft pfft!

Cray Veratis collapsed into a ragdoll.

Simultaneously.

Ding!

[You have conquered ‘Grey Forest’, one of the giant forces on the 20th floor!]

[Your level has gone up!]

[Your level has gone up!]

[You’ve obtained ‘Random Skill Box(?)’!]

[Hostility and wariness from all forces against Veteran Corporation has reached their maximum!]

A series of prompts followed one another.