Chapter 26: The Boss is Too Weak (6)
“One!”
“”One!!!”
When muscles are used, fatigue accumulates.
This is a kind of truth that applies even to people like us.
“Two!”
“”Two!!!”
One hour. Two hours. Three hours.
When you exert all the muscles of your body nonstop, even if you claim to be Superhuman, it’s natural to get tired.
“Three!”
“”Three!!!”
Those who could alternate have already taken their turns long ago.
The skin, once drenched with sweat like drenched in rain, was now dry due to dehydration.
Arms and legs were wobbly, and now there wasn’t a single person whose gums weren’t bleeding.
Their bodies had reached its limit.
“We’re going again! One!”
““One!!””
Yet, those pushing the orb-shaped barrier didn’t stop.
Their spirit had surpassed the limits of their bodies.
To survive. For a better future. For everyone.
The belief that they were doing the right thing was pushing them forward.
Thus, with great difficulty, one step. Then, another.
Their small steps gathered to make one stride.
And strides combined to make a massive leap.
How much time had passed?
The swamp, which once seemed endlessly distant, was now right in front of them.
“Pushhhhhhhh!!!”
The 50-meter journey of the orb-shaped barrier finally came to an end.
Clunk!!!!
With a soggy thud, the orb-shaped barrier was embedded in the swamp.
“Gruhh!! Gruhhhhhhhh!!!”
The Minotaur was floundering to stay alive, but from inside, it couldn’t prevent the barrier from slowly sinking into the swamp.
“Roarrrrrrrrr!”
And so, soon the time came when the Minotaur’s cry was no longer heard.
“Kreeek... Huff... I will release the seal. Cough.”
As the Goblin Shaman gently waved his staff, the purple rope connecting the staff and the swamp snapped.
“KERKA!”
This time, the Goblin Shaman slammed the staff hard on the ground, and a white flash went off with a loud bang.
It seemed that the seal restricting the Minotaur had finally been released.
“...”
“...”
“Cough... Cough... The seal has been released... Cough.”
Having exhausted all his energy, the Goblin Shaman staggered, leaning against a barren tree stump, and then slumped weakly.
“...Is it dead?”
A momentary silence enveloped the surroundings.
Everyone was staring intently at the swamp with bated breath.
After a short while...
Boom!
Suddenly, a crude firecracker sound erupted.
Astonishing Achievement Alert!
-You have successfully defeated the Hidden Boss, ‘Demon of the Labyrinth’
-Another achievement alert — No Casualties! Bonus experience will be awarded for this achievement!
-A special reward will be given to [Choi Ji-won] for the most significant contribution!
Honestly, it’s the first time I received a message for an achievement.
Is the message popping up because it is such a great achievement, or is it just another prank from the tower?
“...”
However, there were no special follow-up messages, and no suspicious sounds were heard from the swamp.
Is it truly dead?
It was hard to believe.
Did we really defeat such an overpowering beast, in a way that felt almost like a child’s prank?
I still couldn’t believe it and stood there dumbfounded.
About a minute must have passed like that.
“Junho...”
From the direction of the swamp, Firefighter Park Cheol-jin walked with a staggering step.
Even after pushing himself to the limit, he still seemed to have some stamina left. Truly a man worthy of the title ‘Iron Man’.
“Huff... huff...”
He caught his breath for a moment, hands on his knees, and soon raised his head, giving a triumphant thumbs up.
“...You… are our hero.”
It seemed like his words lit the fuse.
“”Woohoooooo!!!”
The surrounding area echoed with the exuberant shouts of joy.
All around, people hugged each other, shedding tears of happiness.
“We won, we did it!”
“We’re alive! Mom...!”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
At the same time, I could feel a wave of positive emotions flooding in from every direction.
Elation.
Delight.
Joy.
Gratitude.
Love.
Trust.
Relief.
- You’ve received duplicate traits! Increasing Rank…
-Awe [C] >>> Awe [B]
-Hero [F] >>> Hero [C]
Perhaps it was due to my ability to absorb the emotions of others and convert them into traits; I could vividly feel everyone’s emotions.
This caused me to slowly smile.
“...We won.”
Gradually, profound happiness began to swell up from the depths of my heart.
We had slain a monster not meant to be killed.
And yet, not a single casualty occurred.
It was a complete and utter victory.
Moreover, the manner in which we achieved this victory held profound significance.
It wasn’t by abusing the trait of ‘Regression’, given to me by the gods.
Nor did one person transform into an overwhelmingly powerful figure and cut down the Minotaur in one swing.
Instead, while my idea played a part, something else was crucial.
The human will.
Gathering that lofty willpower, we seized the sweet fruit called survival.
Several humans. And one goblin.
Mortals had triumphed over a god.
“Status window.”
Name: Kim Junho [LV:13]
Traits:
- Regression [EX]
- Awe [B]
- Hero [C]
The last time I checked, my achievement level was 6.
Simply by defeating the Minotaur, my achievement level had risen by 7.
Ah, there was a bonus for clearing without casualties too.
It seems that the LV doesn’t rise based on the number of achievements but rather, each achievement grants a set amount of increase.
After all, we defeated a monster that was, by conventional means, unbeatable.
Honestly, even if the rewards were even greater, no one could refute it.
“How are the people who were pushing the barrier?”
“They’re still finding it hard to move... Once they feel better, we’ve decided to help them up and bring them along.”
“Um... Thank you for your hard work.”
Everyone knew I was the mastermind behind this operation.
They all saw me as a sort of hero, a savior. No doubt, the ‘Awe’ trait had played a part in this perception.
“Everyone, please calm down a bit... Could you please make some room?”
Passing through the jubilant crowd, I approached the goblin shaman sitting on a tree stump.
“...Was it a success, kekek?”
“You did well.”
The goblin shaman wore a smile on his face.
Though his ugly face was distorted by the smile, I didn’t find it unpleasant to look at.
Thanks to this fellow’s active help, we were able to kill the Minotaur without any harm. In a way, he could be considered our benefactor.
“Now...”
I must kill him to summon the portal.
Of course, I won’t be entering the portal myself, but I wanted to beautifully conclude this round.
I wanted it remembered as a round where, against the malice of the gods, humans united and triumphed.
A testament to human capability, something I wanted to cherish as a trophy in my heart.
“Cough. Are you going to kill me, human?”
I could have lied here, but I didn’t want to be so cruel to him.
“...Yes.”
“I knew it. Kekek. Anyway, I have less than 10 minutes left to live. Cough.”
The goblin shaman calmly accepted this.
Then, from the skull he wore on his head, he carefully took out something.
“It’s a stone that contains my voice. Cough. I’ve put a message I wanted to share with human in it. I recommend listening to it later, human.”
“...Alright.”
Was this some kind of memento?
With a heavy heart, I tightly held the stone in my left hand.
“...Hey! Didn’t I say I’d come back alive?”
“We did it! We really did it!”
“Honey! Huff, hehe... How was I?”
Voices came from the swamp’s direction.
The heroes, exhausted from pushing the barrier, were returning, supported by others.
Choi Ji-won, pale-faced, caught my eye from afar and waved with a smile.
“...”
The crowd, who had been cheering joyfully, was now, at some point, looking at the goblin shaman with anticipation.
Is this the end, then?
For a moment, I felt my resolve waver, looking at the weak goblin shaman.
However, I knew I must kill him.
“...Cough. Cough. Everyone wishes for my death.”
The goblin shaman, glancing around momentarily, barely managed to wipe the blood smeared on his lips with the back of his hand.
“...Huff. Everything went according to plan… I’m content.”
Handing me the pouch of golden orbs he held in his left hand, the goblin shaman slowly closed his eyes.
He accepted his death with calmness.
“...”
With the hand holding the stone, I took the pouch from him and unsheathed my sword from my waist with the other.
“...You did well, goblin shaman.”
There’s gratitude for the help he offered, but in the end, I must let him go peacefully.
“Farewell.”
I’ll always be grateful.
Swish!
My blade slashed through the goblin shaman’s neck.
“...Huh? What?”
My hand holding the sword trembled.
It’s strange.
I didn’t feel the sensation of cutting flesh.
A chill raced down my spine.
Something went terribly wrong.
“...Kim Jun-ho. What just...”
Choi Ji-won, with a trembling voice, asked me.
The goblin shaman, who had calmly accepted his death with his eyes closed, was now slowly fading away.
The sensation of the pouch I was holding also vanished at some point.
As if illusion.
“Th-there...!”
The woman who had been cheering from behind screamed, looking at the swamp.
I followed her gaze. The goblin shaman, who was surely beside me just moments ago, was now far off, laughing.
“Kelkel... Kelkelkel...”
With a pouch filled with golden beads in one hand and the staff in the other—
“Human...”
—His face wore a smile so manic, it looked as if his mouth would split open.
“Human is so foolish.”
Saying so, he... sank into the swamp.
Achievement Alert!
-You have defeated the boss.
-A portal will appear at the location where the boss died.
“...”
“...”
Just moments ago, everyone was laughing and chatting.
Now, a bone-chilling silence settled.
“...Where are beads?”
Firefighter Park Chul-jin finally spoke.
However, the pouch of beads the goblin shaman had handed to me was nothing but an illusion.
The real pouch was with him all along.
“...The portal?”
The portal was formed where the goblin shaman died.
But he died in the middle of a toxic swamp.
“...”
“...”
“...”
I silently stared at the stone clenched in my hand… and finally accepted:
We had achieved victory against the mighty god.
Yet, we were defeated by a goblin on the brink of death.
