Children Of Thunder.

Unique Monster.

It’s the general term for special monsters imbued with a strength that is, as the name suggests, “unique.”

In the Dra-Chro series, they were existences closer to random obstacles; defeating them didn’t affect the story’s progression. Of course, there was a reward for the struggle—they dropped rare, high-value materials.

However, their strength was set to be exceptionally high. Even after defeating the boss of a given floor, you’d likely be sent packing if you tried to take one on. In the Dra-Chro series, it was a rite of passage: encounter one for the first time, challenge it out of curiosity, and get wiped out.

And now, the monster heading toward us was exactly one of those “newbie-killers.”

The behavior of the Terror-bird type “Gluttonous Dreadbeak” is supposed to trigger either when the player gets too close or when a large number of its kin, the Assault Birds, are defeated. This time, it was clearly the latter.

There was still some distance, but a quick look suggested its head was easily four meters high. It was like fighting a charging double-decker bus.

“There’s no way we can win…”

Even the regular Assault Birds had honestly made my knees shake. Seeing a giant Terror-bird in the flesh… there are no words for it other than “terrifying.”

But I can’t stay frozen in fear. At this rate, it’ll be here in about a minute. Before that, I have to call everyone and retreat—fast.

I looked down from the watchtower, and I froze once more. But it was unavoidable. Because the gaze of every single goblin was turned toward me.

“…Hey, wait a minute.”

No way. Are they expecting me to do something about this?

“If things get bad, we’ll run.” I wanted to smack my shallow self for saying something so reckless.

Abandon these guys and retreat to safety on our own? If I had the guts to actually do that, I wouldn’t be here in the first place. These goblins are just monsters; even if they die today, they’ll respawn tomorrow from the labyrinth’s mana. I know that.

But if it were that easy to be cold-hearted, I wouldn’t be struggling. I’ve already talked with them, traded with them, fought with them, and laughed with them.

Facing more than forty pairs of eyes staring at me in silence, I slowly exhaled a long breath. If I’m going to develop this floor anyway, I’ll have to fight this thing eventually.

Might as well be now.

…Besides, it’s not like I have zero chance of winning.

“Let’s do this.”

At my whispered mutter, the goblins’ wide mouths curled up even further. These guys are so opportunistic… and kind of cute.

Alright, no time to lose. I’m a man who learns from his mistakes. First, I opened the Ally list in the command menu to re-verify Yoru and Kuu’s statuses. They’ve successfully hit the big milestone: Level 20. Which means their specialties…

“Paula, they’ve increased!”

That was all I needed to say. The beautiful monster tamer turned around, glanced quickly at Yoru and Kuu, and gave a firm nod.

The level of a Unique Monster is typically two to three times that of the regular monsters on its floor. Since “Gluttonous Dreadbeak” is the first Unique encountered, it shouldn’t be set to be that strong. However, it’s definitely at least Level 30, which means it will have three types of specialties.

I hurriedly shouted warnings about the skills to everyone. Also, doing this sober is just too much. I rapidly transmuted “Happiness Water”—the mixture of Labyrinth Water and Fairy Dust—and threw the pouches down from the watchtower.

“To lift your spirits! Don’t drink too much!”

“Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee!”

Alright, preparations complete in exactly one minute. Our forces consist of the now-stronger Yoru and Kuu atop their two slimes. The reliable monster tamer Paula, the mages Mia and Hans-san. Yo the Fairy, Gob-tchi, and Imo-tchi, who fought hard to repair the fence. Plus, our new allies, the Assault Birds “To-chan” and “Ge-chan.”

And forty cackling goblin archers.

“It’s coming! Get back!”

The giant Assault Bird didn’t slow down at all, heading straight for the fence. It had already activated its first specialty: .

The goblins, laughing loudly, leaped down from the top of the fence in unison. A heartbeat later, the massive frame slammed into the structure, shaking the ground. A horrific sound of destruction rang out to the depths of my ears. In that single collision, the fence was blown to splinters.

Ah, maybe we’re doomed.

If I hadn’t drunk the Happiness Water, my heart would have snapped right then.

“Hah-hah! You fell for it, you stupid bird!”

To begin with, the fence was already at its limit because of the flock of Assault Birds. The only reason it had held was because of Imo-tchi. And now, the that had been spit out all over the fence was serving a new purpose.

The Great Caterpillar’s specialty, treated as a debuff-type magic, was incredibly effective against the Assault Bird, which has low Magic Defense. Its legs now tangled in fence fragments and silk, the Gluttonous Dreadbeak stomped the ground in irritation. It wasn’t completely immobilized, but its legs were significantly slowed. It wouldn’t be using again for a while.

“Ge-hyee!”

At Gob-tchi’s signal, the surviving goblins pulled their bowstrings back in unison. However, the level difference showed clearly here. Most of the arrows failed to pierce the thick plumage and fell to the ground. A few stuck, though, so at least it wasn’t zero damage.

But this arrow-cushion attack had another purpose. The moment the Dreadbeak’s attention was scattered by its surroundings, Sue the Blue Slime delivered a to the ground. The blue body bounced high into the air, and Yoru, using it as a springboard, reached even greater heights.

Spinning through the air, the beast-child landed brilliantly on the giant bird’s back. She spread her hands wide, extending her claws to their limit. After a massive shredding of the back feathers, the tip of her extended tail bit deep. The giant bird’s back was instantly corroded with purple.

But the Gluttonous Dreadbeak wasn’t going to let that slide. Its massive head swung around, its reddish eye fixing on the rampaging Yoru.

“Bad news, it’s coming!”

“Yoru! !”

In the next instant, the ball of fur vanished from sight. Then, Yoru abruptly appeared in the air a few paces away. Her short legs were wreathed in small, crackling bolts of lightning.

“Whoa! It’s like teleportation!”

This was Yoru’s new specialty: . It had a silly name, but it was clearly a lightning-based high-speed movement skill. Worthy of being learned at Level 20, it looked incredibly useful.

Left in mid-air without a foothold, Yoru began to fall. She bounced off the Blue Slime waiting on the ground and leaped high again. This time, Yoru thrust her tail into the giant bird’s leg. However, the purple-stained area returned to normal in less than ten seconds. The spot on the back was also already back to how it was before.

“It can even withstand lethal poison? You high-HP monster! Yoru, keep at it! It’s working!”

The poison had vanished, but that didn’t mean there was no damage. Indeed, the Gluttonous Dreadbeak’s body was starting to waver. As Yoru zipped around using , the giant Terror-bird let out a deep rattle from its throat.

“GYARARARARARAAAAA!”

Suddenly, the Dreadbeak’s movements changed drastically. The source of the ear-splitting roar was . Its second specialty, which temporarily buffs the entire flock.

“Now! Go, To-chan, Ge-chan!”

The skill buffs its own kind, but it was also effective on the two birds that had become our servants. The empowered Assault Birds launched a into the legs of their former boss.

Having suffered a cruel betrayal and new wounds, the Gluttonous Dreadbeak suddenly lifted its head and turned its face toward us. Being too loud was a mistake! The top of the watchtower is way too conspicuous.

The giant bird’s eyes instantly turned red—

Its third specialty was . If we didn’t escape before the eyes turned completely red, we’d spend the rest of our lives as stone statues. But there was nowhere to run in this narrow space.

“Then take this!”

I thrust out my right hand instinctively. Of course, that wouldn’t block a gaze. My eyes darted around, finding a certain item I’d gathered earlier just in time.

Make it!

Just before the Dreadbeak’s pupils turned fully red, a massive barrier suddenly appeared on the watchtower. It completely hid me, absorbing the entire petrifying gaze.

Phew, I’m glad I collected that: the Great Turtle Shell.

I was nearly crushed by the weight of the shell as it fell, but I hurriedly stored it back.

“Yeah, this works! Come here, Mia, Hans-san!”

“Whoa, scary! You called?”

“W-we are coming!”

I had the two mages join me on the tower to launch magical attacks from the high ground. Whenever the bird’s gaze turned our way, I defended with the Great Turtle Shell.

“Gobs, keep running!”

“Ke-he-he!”

The goblins ran throughout the settlement while loosing arrows. Yoru kept injecting poison with her , and the servant birds charged whenever a war-cry went up.

“Alright, we’ve got the pattern down.”

Just as I let my guard down, the tower was hit with a . It seemed the effect of the hadn’t lasted that long.

We fell to the ground, tumbling violently. The Dreadbeak’s leg came down toward us without mercy.

“Now, Kuu! Give it everything! , !”

“KOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Paula’s voice rang out sharply. Simultaneously, the sound of powerful wings reached my ears as I lay unable to move from the pain. Looking up at the sky while groaning in agony, I saw a small body rising in a straight line. Brilliant electric discharges were overflowing from the purple feathers mixed among the black.

Kuu reached the giant bird’s head in an instant. Then, at point-blank range, he spread his wings wide.

In the next moment, countless feathers wreathed in lightning became a storm, lashing against the Gluttonous Dreadbeak’s face. A cry filled with ear-ringing agony rose immediately. The electric current from the embedded feathers instantly scorched the giant bird’s face.

The air filled with a distinct smell, and the massive body began to sway violently from side to side. The eyes of the giant bird, which boasted peerless strength, lost their light, and its body lost its support.

A massive weight began to fall toward me. But it missed my face by a hair’s breadth, shaking the ground violently as it hit.

At that sight, I reached my limit too. Muttering one last irrelevant thing, my consciousness faded away.

“We won… I guess our Yoru and Kuu were the ones who were truly ‘Unique’…”