Chapter 44: The War Mage’s Hunt

[As a summoned beast is forcibly unsummoned, the summoner takes damage.]

[You have obtained items held by the summoned beast.]

[You have obtained Mei’s wedding ring.]

A cascade of notification messages poured down before his eyes.

He hadn’t seen wrong.

The words written in the notifications unmistakably said ‘summoned beast.’

Levan, sensing something strange, immediately checked the quest window.

[Catch the Fake Thief Monkeys]

-Grade: Epic, Special, Unique, Linked.

-Condition: Catch 10 fake thief monkeys appearing near Pessna Kingdom or the surrounding area. (1/10)

-Reward: Rubix’s Epic Cube, Rubix’s Skill Cube Fragment, Rubix’s Treasure Cube Fragment.

‘Found it!’

Who would have thought that the so-called fake thief monkeys actually meant summoned beasts.

Truly surprising.

Just what kind of lunatic had set their summoned beasts loose in the field, pretending to be monsters?

But Levan decided to set aside that line of thought for now and focus on clearing the quest first.

‘Clearing the quest should provide an answer. If not, I can gather intel based on the stolen items.’

After an hour of hunting thief monkeys, he finally found a clue.

There was just one problem: the method to distinguish the fakes was rather tricky.

‘If the only way to tell the fakes apart is by the Boss Monkey’s roar, I’ll have to drag that thing all over the place.’

The key was to keep the Boss Monkey alive and drag it around, dodging real thief monkey attacks, while identifying and hunting down the fakes.

In short, he’d have to employ hit-and-run tactics, which meant the difficulty would be considerable.

But Levan grinned.

“Now this is what I call a game. Energy Bolt.”

[Energy Bolt is activated.]

Hit-and-run.

It wasn’t as easy as it sounded, but Levan smiled as he threw an Energy Bolt at the Boss Monkey.

---

“Cough!”

At that moment, somewhere in the Pessna Mage Tower.

There, a mage named Tona collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

“What the—? What’s going on?”

As Tona fell, his colleagues rushed over in alarm to check if he was all right.

Struggling to breathe, Tona gasped out a reply.

“Ugh, someone… my summoned beast…!”

“Your summoned beast? What about it?”

“I mean, it’s…!”

“Cough!”

“Urk!”

And then it happened.

Starting with Tona, his fellow mages began coughing up blood one after another.

Someone who witnessed the scene shouted.

“The Tower Master! Bring the Tower Master, quickly!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

At the senior mage Runen’s command, the youngest mage dashed out at top speed.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Runen’s face grew grave.

These symptoms were a type of backlash that occurred when a summoned beast was forcibly unsummoned.

But never mind the backlash—who would attack the Mage Tower’s summoned beasts?

This was an unprecedented event, something that had never happened before.

Just then.

After hearing the report, the Tower Master, Ratel, appeared.

“What’s the situation?”

“Tower Master!”

Runen’s face brightened at Ratel’s arrival. He quickly explained everything, trusting Ratel to resolve the situation.

As Ratel listened to the report, his expression grew serious.

Ratel spoke.

“Share vision! Quickly connect with the summoned beasts’ sight!”

“Yes, sir!”

Most lower-tier summoned beasts could share vision with their summoner. And, with a bit of skill, the summoner could even share that sight with others.

Ratel’s subordinates were all mages skilled enough to do that.

Soon, the vision of the thief monkeys who hadn’t been forcibly unsummoned was projected into Ratel’s mind.

Immediately after the vision connected—

“Hm?”

What appeared to Ratel as soon as the sight was shared—

It was none other than Levan, dragging the Boss Monkey around and selectively hunting only the summoned beast thief monkeys.

But what shocked Ratel wasn’t just the act of hunting summoned beast thief monkeys.

What shocked him was Levan’s method of catching the summoned beast thief monkeys.

‘That’s Energy Bolt and Hold? And he’s holding a Cube in his hand?’

Cube.

At that one word, only a single thought filled Ratel’s mind.

That word was—

‘War Mage!’

An emergency order was issued throughout the Pessna Mage Tower.

---

“Energy Bolt.”

[Energy Bolt is activated.]

Clack, clack!

Not even when he went to therapy sessions did he try this hard to solve a Cube.

But perhaps the saying was true: those who enjoy themselves become the best.

Unlike when he’d been forced to go to the hospital by his parents, he was now solving Cubes for the game, and despite having to roll and jump around, Levan pieced the Cube together as if possessed.

[You have completed Energy Bolt.]

‘Okay!’

He was even completing it faster than he ever had at the hospital.

With the Energy Bolt complete, Levan hurled it at the tenth fake thief monkey—the one that didn’t react to the Boss Monkey’s roar.

Vwoom!

The Energy Bolt flew from Levan’s grasp.

Dodging the relentless hail of rocks from the thief monkeys, the tenth Energy Bolt struck the back of the last fake’s head.

[Critical Hit!]

[Summoned Beast: Thief Monkey is forcibly unsummoned.]

[As a summoned beast is forcibly unsummoned, the summoner takes damage.]

[You have obtained items held by the summoned beast.]

[You have obtained Harlan’s Necklace.]

[‘Quest: Catch the Fake Thief Monkeys’ has been completed.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

As the last fake’s head burst, a cascade of the electronic notifications he’d been waiting for flooded his ears.

At that thrill, Levan couldn’t help but smile.

Then, spinning his body that had done nothing but run until now, he faced the dozens of monkeys chasing after him.

“Ha, these bastards had me doing so much cardio.”

Enough running away.

Now that the main dish was over, it was time for dessert.

Of course, it was a bit much for dessert, but didn’t people say there was a separate stomach for dessert?

Levan took out a bookmark and gripped it in his hand. Then—

“Smash.”

[Smash is activated.]

The moment he uttered Smash, he charged head-on at the mob.

Kiiiiiieeee!

As Levan, who’d only been running away, suddenly closed the distance, the thief monkeys instinctively stumbled backward.

Just as he expected.

Thanks to that, Levan bought a few precious seconds, slipped past the thief monkeys, and faced the Boss Monkey in an instant.

Kiaaaaaaa!

The Boss Monkey was a type of thief monkey too.

But the boss didn’t run.

Because it was the boss.

Unlike the other thief monkeys, the Boss Monkey remained, bound by a sense of duty, and faced Levan, roaring fiercely in a show of intimidation.

However—

[The Boss Monkey roars.]

[Due to the roar’s effect, you are briefly inflicted with Fear.]

[Mirror Ring uses Skill Guard.]

[The roar is nullified by Skill Guard.]

‘Nice!’

Thanks to the Mirror Ring he’d equipped in advance, the roar was negated.

Crash!

Using the opening, Levan slammed his Black Iron Mace square into the Boss Monkey’s face.

[Critical Hit!]

A dull, satisfying thud!

A headshot was always the right answer!

Levan felt a wave of exhilaration as he watched the Boss Monkey’s health bar plummet.

To make the feeling last longer, he immediately used Thunder Strike.

“Thunder Strike!”

[Thunder Strike is activated.]

[Critical Hit!]

Hitting the same spot again!

With another swing of the Black Iron Mace to the Boss Monkey’s face, another critical hit landed, making the health bar drop even more.

‘As expected of defense-piercing damage!’

Defense-piercing damage at its best.

But Levan’s damage cycle wasn’t over yet.

Thanks to the consecutive headshots, the Boss Monkey reeled for a moment, but it was still a boss monster.

It wouldn’t collapse or look pathetic from just this amount of damage.

Levan knew this, of course.

So, wielding the Rock Shield on his left arm, he swung it again at the Boss Monkey’s face and shouted.

“Rock Slam!”

[Rock Slam is activated.]

[The target is stunned.]

[Due to the level difference, the effect of Rock Slam is reduced.]

Because of the level gap, the stun would only last 1.5 seconds at best.

But that was more than enough.

As soon as he saw stars spinning in the Boss Monkey’s eyes, Levan raised the bookmark he’d readied in advance and shouted.

“Memorize, Energy Bolt!”

[Memorize is activated.]

[Energy Bolt is activated.]

No need to solve the Cube.

Levan had already memorized Energy Bolt into the bookmark.

Because with the Boss Monkey stunned by Rock Slam, now was the perfect time to land his best magic damage, Energy Bolt, with a 100% hit rate.

As he called out Memorize, a formless sphere of magical energy formed in his left hand, which held the shield.

Gripping it, Levan shoved the Energy Bolt straight into the Boss Monkey’s dazed face.

“Uraaah! Take this!!”

Bang, bang, bang!

Hitting the same spot again!

With that, three headshots landed on the Boss Monkey’s face in total.

[Critical Hit!]

[The Boss Monkey is critically wounded.]

All of this happened in an instant.

If it had all happened within a single second, he could have measured his DPS, but unfortunately, it took several seconds, so calculating DPS was out of the question.

But never mind DPS—there weren’t many players who could bring a Boss Monkey to this state in a single damage cycle.

‘At least, not at my level!’

The once-majestic mohawked gorilla, now a battered mess, staggered in a near-death state.

There was no Phase 2.

What kind of level 50 field boss would have a Phase 2, anyway?

Having unleashed a whirlwind damage cycle, Levan retreated like a thief monkey and began casting Hold.

Kiiiiiieeeeeee!!!

The Boss Monkey’s roar.

It grated like fingernails down a chalkboard.

The Boss Monkey was truly enraged.

But Levan didn’t care at all.

He even enjoyed the monster’s agony.

“Scream more! Louder! Is that all you’ve got?”

Kiaaaaaaa!

Did his taunt work?

Responding to Levan’s provocation, the Boss Monkey pounded its chest like a gorilla and charged at him.

Finally, as the Boss Monkey reached him and raised its fists for a mighty smash, Levan activated the Hold he’d prepared in advance.

[Hold is activated.]

Clang—!!

“……!!”

Veins bulged and burst on the Boss Monkey’s face as its bloodshot eyes blinked in shock.

Locking eyes with the Boss Monkey, Levan’s gaze curved into a crescent.

Grin—

With this, the game was over.

“Goodbye.”

[Smash is activated.]

Levan gripped the Black Iron Mace like a baseball player.

Then, like a clean-up hitter, he swung it with all his might.

Crunch!!

A chilling sound.

Levan’s Black Iron Mace smashed into the Boss Monkey’s forehead yet again, and then—

[Critical Hit!]

[You have successfully hunted the Boss Monkey.]

[You have successfully solo-killed the Boss Monkey.]

[You have obtained the achievement, ‘Boss Monkey Solo Hunter’.]

[You have obtained the achievement, ‘Monkey Hunter’.]

[You have gained experience points.]

[You have leveled up.]

A shower of notifications proving Levan’s victory cascaded before his eyes.