Chapter 104: Moin’s King (3)

The massive obsidian throne began to split.

Crack— crack-crack— crack-crack-crack—!

Thousands and tens of thousands of cracks spreading like a spiderweb.

Black mist bursting from the fissures began to envelop the corridor.

At that moment.

“Urgh!”

A pain like something small and sharp scraping the nasal mucosa.

At the same time, nausea surged up.

Rotten meat smell, burning hair smell, the stench of blood pus mixed with feces, and more.

All sorts of repulsive and foul odors pierced through even a blocked nose.

Soon.

Boom! Rumble-rumble—

With a deafening roar, the obsidian throne exploded.

Black fragments scattering in all directions.

Whoosh— whoooosh—

As the thick, sharp obsidian shards assaulted the A+ rank hunters.

[Holy Flame Cradle]

Pure white flames rose, surrounding the hunters.

The White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek had deployed a divine protective barrier.

Soon, black meteors began pounding the divine protective barrier.

Boom! Crash-boom! Crash-crash-boom!

Through the thick mist, a massive shadow revealed itself.

Incomparable to the fake Maslow, a colossal monkey sat in a lotus position like a Buddha statue.

A body so enormous its head touched the corridor ceiling. Long arms and broad hands.

Black light emanated from the spiky, pitch-black fur covering its entire body, and its face was densely wrinkled like a 100-year-old man’s.

Its appearance, covered in glossy black fur, evoked a statue carved from obsidian.

The A+ rank hunters quickly assumed combat stances.

However.

***

Maslow didn’t budge.

Only its stiffly erect hairs wriggled like living creatures.

At that moment, Featherback’s journal flipped open.

Flutter—

<Abraham J. Maslow>

– Danger Grade: S

– Discovery Location: Maslow’s Tower

The great king of the Moin (Fur People) race and ruler of Black Rock Mountain.

Hundreds of years ago, a massive obsidian at the summit of Black Rock Mountain shattered, and a black monkey was born.

The monkey, with fur made of obsidian, became the leader of Black Rock Mountain based on its transcendent strength and intellect.

The black monkey called itself ‘Abraham J. Maslow’ and began merging the Moin, invading across the continent.

Countless kingdoms, empires, and mage towers were helplessly swept away before Maslow’s Moin legion.

When it had conquered half of the Lokpia Continent, Maslow and the Moin legion invaded the territory of the Magical Empire Morgue.

Around the time I read up to that point in the journal.

“Why’s everyone so tense?”

Ma Seokdong strode forward boldly.

His burly muscles turned metallic in an instant.

“First strike wins. If you’re just gonna stand there gawking, I’ll handle it!”

Ma Seokdong kicked off the ground and leaped.

Watching this, Lee Geuk urgently shouted.

“Fall back, Seokdong!”

But Ma Seokdong’s fist had already reached right before Maslow’s nose.

Clang—!

An intense shockwave swept through the entire corridor.

Shortly after, Ma Seokdong landed on the ground.

At the same time.

“Ku, kuugh!”

Ma Seokdong groaned, clutching his right arm.

The fist that had struck Maslow was mangled like a squeezed tomato.

Despite activating Indestructible Diamond Body, Ma Seokdong’s fist had been crushed instead.

At that moment, Maslow opened its eyes.

Pupils as dark and empty as an open mine shaft began to fix on Ma Seokdong.

Then, Maslow slightly moved its index finger.

Slash—!

A chilling sound echoed through the air.

Soon, a bulging object flew into the sky.

It was… Ma Seokdong’s right arm.

“Ku, kuaaaargh—!”

Ma Seokdong screamed, grabbing his shoulder.

Everything below his right shoulder had been cleanly severed.

Splash—

Blood pouring from the cut cross-section stained the ground red.

Like a child casually tearing off an insect’s leg.

A heavy silence began to flow through the corridor.

The A+ rank hunters took no action.

No words, no preparations for attack, nothing—they just stood there blankly.

When the threshold of surprise exceeds a certain level, humans become detached instead.

Even Ma Seokdong was curled up, swallowing his groans.

His always confident face.

Now stained with despair and fear.

At that moment.

“Ma… Ma Seokdong!”

The first to regain composure was the White Mage Tower Lord Yun Yeobaek.

Yun Yeobaek hurriedly deployed white mana.

Humm— humm— humm— humm—

Pure white sprouts emerged around, healing Ma Seokdong’s wounds.

Torn wounds, cuts, abrasions, bruises, lacerations, and more.

All injuries healed in the blink of an eye.

But.

“Why… isn’t the arm… healing.”

Yun Yeobaek’s pupils shook.

Ma Seokdong’s severed arm showed no recovery at all.

Each time healing magic tried to take hold, black substance flowing from the wound sucked up all the white mana.

Not only that, but the area around the cross-section was turning pitch black and rotting.

Soon, Lee Geuk approached with sword drawn.

“Seokdong, my boy. Bite down hard.”

Then, in an instant, he excised the rotten affected area.

Slash—!

“Urgh!”

Blood dripped from between Ma Seokdong’s clenched teeth.

Soon, Lee Geuk shouted.

“Everyone, be careful! Wounds from that thing don’t seem to heal!”

The A+ rank hunters hesitated and stepped back.

At that moment, the corridor began to shake violently.

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

Intense vibration making it hard even to stand properly.

But it wasn’t an earthquake or anything like that.

‘This is…’

I looked down at my trembling hands.

Not just hands, but muscles throughout my body were convulsing.

Skin to bone tingled as if electrocuted.

What was shaking wasn’t the corridor, but my body.

Shiver-shiver-shiver—

The cells constituting the body were screaming.

I took a deep breath.

‘The body is hard to control, but the mind is clear.’

Having raised mental strength stats considerably, my mentality doesn’t crack easily.

However, the other hunters’ conditions weren’t good.

“I-Is this S-rank.”

“Fight against something like this?”

“How can such a monster…”

“I can’t, can’t breathe…”

Reactions of those who hadn’t experienced S-rank before.

In contrast, those who had already experienced S-rank reacted completely differently.

Cheok Junseong spoke.

“Shin Sodam. Can you cast a 6th-circle spell?”

“One more time. That’s the absolute last.”

“That’ll be enough.”

Cheok Junseong turned to look at Lee Geuk.

“Seven one seven twenty-four seven three twenty-one seven four twenty-eight seven five thirty-five seven six forty-two…”

Golden aura surged along each segment of the Chiljido.

Cheok Junseong shouted to the A+ rank hunters.

“Match Master! Take it down with an all-out attack!”

A voice resounding through the corridor.

Only then did the A+ rank hunters regain their senses one by one and adjust their stances.

At that moment, golden aura condensed on the Chamyo Chiljido.

[Jeonju Lee Family Seven Branches Six Forms— Forty-Two Consecutive Chain Slashes]

Cheok Junseong shouted.

“Now!”

Lava comets, ice spears, and cement tsunamis.

A storm of blades split into hundreds enveloped them all and surged forward.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom~!

The storm advanced, devastating the corridor, and soon reached Maslow.

But at that moment.

Humm— humm— humm—

The projectiles stopped in midair.

Soon, a black vortex swirled before Maslow.

Rumble-rumble-rumble—

A black hole instantly sucking in the skills used by the A+ rank hunters.

As the black vortex closed, silence descended.

Seeing it, Han Seoha trembled and stepped back.

“It can’t be. A monster immune to 6th-circle magic can’t exist…”

It wasn’t blocked.

The skills themselves were completely annihilated.

…The combined strike pouring all the A+ rank hunters’ power!

At that moment, Maslow raised its arm.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—

The corridor’s ceiling, floor, and walls began to undulate like liquid.

Soon, they melted into gray cement and assaulted Maslow.

Mister Concrete, Jo Taekyung, shouted.

“If direct damage won’t work, just encase the whole area in cement!”

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom

Dozens of tons of cement swallowing Maslow took spherical form.

Thud!

A massive concrete ball dropped to the ground.

But only briefly.

Crack— crack-crack— boom-boom-boom!

Shattered cement scattered everywhere.

Inside, Maslow sat unchanged in lotus position.

Soon, a voice echoing like a cave resounded.

[…Boring.]

Pressure that felt like eardrums would tear just from hearing.

At the same time, a purple magic circle drew on the ground.

Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble—

Powerful gravity began crushing the body.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

No one could move even a finger.

Vision flickered on and off.

Like a fluorescent light switch flipping up and down repeatedly.

At that moment, Maslow spoke.

Hundreds of sharp teeth densely lining its mouth were visible.

[Unbearably tedious.]

Maslow’s long arms moved slowly.

Hands made of obsidian overlapped as if in prayer.

[Mind Projection]

A powerful mana wave burst forth.

Clang—

A sound like striking an iron temple bell spread everywhere.

A feeling of vibration from skin, muscles, blood vessels, to internal organs.

Soon, intense mana waves began emanating from the joined hands.

Humm— humm— humm— humm—

Bands of dark red waves spreading circularly like ripples on water.

Marble floors, walls and ceilings, plaster pillars, tables, red carpets, chandeliers, tin candlesticks, and more.

Like dirt washed away by soapy water, terrain features touched by the waves melted gooily.

Cries of despair from the A+ rank hunters echoed from various spots.

“Good heavens…”

“Are you kidding…”

“What the…!!”

Shin Sodam also bit her lower lip and muttered.

“Those association bastards. Even bringing all A+ rank hunters might not be enough…”

At that moment.

The ground shook with ferocious intensity.

It was hard even to stand properly.

But what assailed us wasn’t just an earthquake.

Whoosh—

A dry hot wind blasted.

Tiny fragments mixed in the wind mercilessly scraped eyes and skin, forcing us to close our eyes.

And shortly after, a completely different landscape unfolded before us.

Ground covered in glossy black obsidian.

Not only that, but countless sharp black spear-like mountain peaks rose everywhere.

Soon, Maslow’s voice resounded from all directions.

[Welcome to the homeland of the Moin, Black Rock Mountain. Climbers.]

The ‘true’ boss stage had begun.