Chapter 80: War Against the Insect King (1)

Ding-dong!

<Boss of the Physical Safety Needs Section is appearing!>

<The final Monster Wave begins!>

The ground began to tremble.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-!

Something enormous was moving far beneath us.

It felt like the pulse of the earth itself was being transmitted through the soles of my feet.

BOOM! WHOOOOOOSH—!

The desert near the temple exploded, sending sprays of sand raining in every direction.

Sinkholes began forming all across the surrounding sand desert.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH-WHOOSH—!

The sand swirled into vortices as it was sucked downward, widening the sinkholes even further.

Then.

THUD!

Something massive brushed past inside one of the sinkholes.

GRRRRRRRRRR—

The sound of hard objects grinding and clashing against one another.

Hairline cracks spread across the marble floor of the temple.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR—!

The vibrations traveling through my feet grew steadily stronger.

At that moment, Professor Park Ahjeong shouted urgently.

“Everyone, get away! To the corners!”

I immediately leaped out of the temple.

Professor Park Ahjeong and the other survivors scrambled outside as fast as they could.

But not everyone reacted quickly.

“Huh?”

One survivor in the center of the temple stood frozen with a blank expression.

Only then did he hurriedly try to move.

But.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

It was already too late.

The temple floor exploded, and from within it, a colossal shape shot upward.

A long body covered in pitch-black carapace.

Dozens of pairs of sturdy legs sprouting from both sides.

Yellow-green venom dripping from its venomous fangs.

A creature that always appears when people speak of the Insect King.

A super-giant centipede reared its body high into the sky.

Flap—

<Giant Centipede>

– Danger Rank: A+

– Discovery Location: Maslow’s Tower

Boss of the Physical Safety Needs layer.

A super-sized insect monster that inhabits the Angelus Desert of the Lokpia Continent. 

The carapace enveloping its massive body is as tough as hundreds of layers of steel plating.

From its two protruding fangs spews a powerful paralyzing venom that can coagulate a creature’s bodily fluids in seconds.

The Giant Centipede that had reared up began moving its mouth.

CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH~!

Every time its massive mandibles moved, crimson blood poured down like a rainstorm.

One hunter who saw this began trembling like an aspen leaf.

“T-t-that’s… an A+ rank monster…!”

He must have had a mana detection skill.

As soon as the monster’s rank was revealed, the other survivors began to panic.

“A+ rank? No way…”

“Of all times, now…”

“Ah… Aaaah…!”

Despair and terror filled the survivors’ faces.

Excluding the hunter who had just died, only nine remained.

Most of them were already combat-incapable due to accumulated fatigue and injuries.

The number of people who could actually fight…

Including me, five.

At that moment.

“I have an idea!”

A mage in a brown robe raised her hand.

She pointed at the sand on the ground and said,

“I’m a Brown Mage. As everyone knows, brown magic manipulates earth and stone, and that naturally includes sand! For a very short time… I can control the sand like a carpet and let us escape!”

The Brown Mage pointed triumphantly at the sky.

“With my mana, I can fly for about five minutes. We can evacuate to a safe place and just hold out until the monster wave ends! Let’s see, how much time is left… ah…”

The Brown Mage’s pupils began to shake.

Her gaze was fixed on the red letters floating in the gray sky.

<Time remaining until Monster Wave ends: 00>

<The final Monster Wave ends only when the boss of the Physical Safety Needs Section is defeated!>

Unless the boss was killed, escape from this place was impossible.

Fleeing into the sky or hiding somewhere was meaningless.

Another short sigh escaped the group of survivors.

The Brown Mage collapsed to the ground.

“We’re… we’re all going to die… I don’t want to die… not here…”

At that moment, Professor Park Ahjeong shouted at the survivors.

“Stop acting like children! The path to survival only opens when you struggle with the resolve to die. There are countless people out there who can’t even struggle despite wanting to live!”

Her spirited speech caused the hunters frozen in fear to gradually regain their composure.

Professor Park Ahjeong grabbed the Brown Mage by both shoulders and continued.

“You take the injured and get as far away from here as possible.”

“B-but… what about everyone else…?”

“An A+ rank monster isn’t something you can fight while worrying about others. The injured leaving the battlefield is actually helping us.”

Professor Park Ahjeong turned her head toward me.

“Hasang-gun…!!”

She flashed a bright smile.

“You’ll stay with me, right?”

“Yes.”

I never intended to run in the first place.

This was the perfect opportunity to test how far my power could go against an A+ rank monster.

Professor Park Ahjeong beamed.

“Of course! I knew Hasang-gun would stay! Everyone, evacuate quickly! Before that thing notices us!”

The Brown Mage began chanting with a resolute expression.

Soon, a sand carpet lifted the injured into the air.

“I pray… that all of you stay safe.”

With those words, the sand carpet carrying the Brown Mage and the injured swiftly flew away.

I checked the remaining personnel with Professor Park Ahjeong.

Frontline: an A-rank warrior wielding a massive axe, and a B-rank hunter using daggers and a bow.

Backline: one B-rank Red Mage, and A-rank Healer Professor Park Ahjeong.

The party balance isn’t bad.

Professor Park Ahjeong looked at me and said,

“From what I saw earlier, Cha Hasang-gun is… a mage type, right?”

“I can also stand on the frontline if needed. I can at least draw aggro.”

“Good heavens. Is there anything you can’t do? Then, Hasang-gun, will you take the vanguard?”

A warm sensation touched my back.

Professor Park Ahjeong placed her hand on my back and whispered,

“Hasang-gun, just charge forward. I’ll support you from behind.”

“That makes me feel safe.”

“Right? If you enter graduate school, you can have a reliable professor like me as a permanent ally. How about it? Interested?”

“…”

Professor Park Ahjeong smiled meaningfully and began chanting.

HUM— HUM— HUM— HUM—

Brilliant white mana flowed into my entire body.

“…!”

My body suddenly felt incredibly light.

The fatigue pressing on my shoulders, the muscle pain in my legs, the dryness in my eyes, the scratchiness in my throat from the sandstorm—all of it vanished as if washed away.

Attack power, defense, stamina, agility… every stat had increased several times over.

No wonder White Mages are treated like royalty.

Even for me, the boost was this massive; I couldn’t imagine how much stronger an A+ or higher hunter would become.

Well then, shall we test it out!

I kicked off the ground and charged.

BOOM—!

The earth shattered beneath me as my body shot forward like a bullet.

Professor Park Ahjeong’s voice rang out from behind.

“W-wait! The others haven’t received their buffs yet! Hasang-gun! It’s dangerous alone!”

I ignored her and kept running.

I wanted to test my performance before the others joined.

With every step, the distance to the target shrank rapidly.

At that instant.

SWOOOOOSH~!

The giant centipede’s head lunged at me in the blink of an eye.

Its dripping yellow-green venomous fangs rushed straight at my face.

But.

Whoosh—

I twisted my body counterclockwise and easily evaded the attack.

That strike would have been too fast for a normal person to even react to.

Yet to my eyes, the giant centipede’s movements looked like slow-motion.

Reaction speed and dynamic vision have increased too.

I immediately climbed onto the centipede’s body.

Then I began sprinting toward its head.

[KIIEEEEEEEE—!]

The giant centipede roared and writhed violently.

BAM! BOOM! BAM!

Every time its body thrashed, pieces of the temple flew apart.

I didn’t care and kept running without pause.

Ding-dong!

<Activating item skill ‘Slime Secretion’ from the Brackish Boots!>

“Twist all you want for a hundred days.”

Thanks to the sticky adhesive slime, I couldn’t fall even if I wanted to.

Soon the centipede’s head came into view.

The giant centipede charged with its massive pair of fangs spread wide on either side of its maw.

The sharp mandibles rushed at me once more.

But this time, I had no intention of dodging.

“Come on! Grit those teeth!”

Ding-dong!

<Activating skill ‘Super Strength’!>

I threw a punch straight at the fang.

A soft sensation, like punching tofu, reached the end of my fist.

At the same time.

POP!

A sound that could hardly be called an impact exploded outward.

It was closer to the roar of a cannon.

Soon, dark-red carapace fragments began pouring down like hail.

Plink— Plink-plink— Plink-plink-plink~!

The giant centipede’s head had burst with a single blow.

And that wasn’t all.

CRACK— CRACK-CRACK— CRACK—

From head to tail, cracks spread across the entire body of the giant centipede.

Even if it’s thanks to the buffs, to one-shot an A+ rank…

The giant centipede’s body collapsed limply to the ground.

Tap!

I leaped down to the ground before its body hit.

Professor Park Ahjeong muttered with wide eyes.

“Cha Hasang… student?”

The other hunters wore the same dumbfounded expressions.

“He took down an A+ rank monster… alone…”

“Who is that guy? Isn’t he an A+ rank hunter?”

“No, I’ve never seen that face in the A+ rank profiles…”

But at that moment.

WHOOOOOSH—

Pure white powder erupted from the centipede’s exploded head.

The white powder tangled like threads and stretched outward like white branches.

Then…

…Twitch!

The limp giant centipede slowly began to rise again.

Ding-dong!

<Hidden boss of the Physical Safety Needs Section is appearing!>

<Final Monster Wave Phase 2 begins!>

Along with an ominous message.