Break Out (4)

“……”

Moon Bora slightly opened her mouth at the unexpected outcome.

No, let’s not deceive ourselves.

Perhaps she had thought that this could happen.

But when such a result actually materialized, Moon Bora couldn’t hide her dazed, shocked feeling.

“Great!”

The voice of a man, oblivious and happy, echoed in her ears.

Yu Seha. Naive and kind as he seemed, he was excitedly raising his hands.

Unaware that he was walking into a trap on his own feet.

‘…No. It’s impossible for him to not know.’

He voted in favor of it despite knowing.
Just for the girl beside him.

“…You.”

Moon Bora looked at Ma Hana, who was biting her nails so hard that they bled.

She sent a look that said, ‘Why make such a foolish choice…?’

Under that gaze, Ma Hana clenched her fist tightly and slowly opened her mouth.

“…Sorry. I really know… that this is my selfish desire to act like this.”
“…So someone who knows that has–”
“But! But! I can’t just let it end like this!”

At Ma Hana’s desperate cry, not only Moon Bora, but also Yu Seha, who had been blissfully ignorant, stiffened.

“Even if I’m criticized by everyone, humiliated, and pointed at… I can’t just end my dream. My end cannot be like this. Especially not in this way!”

Even if one day she had to give up her dream of being a ‘Hunter’, she hated the idea of it happening under the disgraceful outcome of being ‘expelled’.

“…Uh, um.”

Moon Bora, faced with the suddenly serious atmosphere, pushed aside Yu Seha, who was awkwardly hesitating like a fool, and sighed deeply.

“Miss Ma Hana…”
“I will… I will definitely try to stop it! I can do it! So please give me a chance!”
“……”

It was unreasonable.
At least in Moon Bora’s eyes, it was a futile plea.

The dark circles under her eyes were so deep, and her breathing was rough.

She wore this shabby leather armor, which didn’t show much, but her body was likely full of bruises and stark contusions everywhere.

Surely, the fatigue and injuries accumulated so far were evidence that they were consuming her body to its limits.

It was time to retreat logically.

But…

-Sister, I can do it too! So please don’t leave me behind!

‘Such unnecessary thoughts…’

Moon Bora brushed aside the old memories that surfaced in her mind.

Regardless of her own judgment, since the result already had two votes in favor, it would be wrong to force anything else.

“…I’ll trust you.”
“…Yes!”

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

With a sharp, piercing sound, something pointed deeply embedded itself in Ma Hana’s thigh.

It was this dull piece of metal, hardly worthy of being called a weapon.

“Ouch!”

However, even that was enough to cause significant harm to the exhausted Ma Hana.

The excited Transparent-tailed Monkey continued its attack.

But…

Swoosh!

It was bisected at the waist by Yu Seha’s furious strike.

“Meowi… Ah, no. Miss Ma Hana!”

“It’s… it’s okay…”

This was already the eighth attack.

Perhaps they realized that Yu Seha’s presence made it impossible to hide and attack.

The Transparent-tailed Monkeys aimed to push with numbers and somehow land one or two hits on them.

And indeed, this strategy of the monkeys was quite effective.

Moon Bora slowly poured the last potion bottle over Ma Hana’s wounds.

“It will hurt. Endure it for now.”

Sizzle!

Right after she finished speaking, this burning noise resounded.

“Argh!”

The potion was effective enough to heal the wounds immediately, but the pain was proportionately severe.
But only the physical wounds had healed.

“Huff, huff.”

They hadn’t restored Ma Hana’s stamina.

There was no helping it.

“Miss Hana, from now on, just lift your shield. Focus solely on protecting yourself.”

She no longer had the energy to move about and protect others as well as herself.

“Ha, but…”

Ma Hana conveyed with her eyes that this wouldn’t be enough to block the enemy’s attacks.

Moon Bora responded by flicking her fingers instead of verbalizing.

Suddenly, two [Ice Pillars] rose, targeting a monkey that was sneaking up.

“Ookieek!”

One pierced right through the monkey’s torso.

Clang!

The other acted like a barrier, defending against the monkey’s club.

“Miss B-Bora…”
“There’s no need to thank me. this is for everyone’s sake.”

Moon Bora responded gracefully, but in truth, she wasn’t feeling great either.

‘…Perhaps, I am finally reaching my limit as a backup…’

Deep inside her body.

She felt something that had been full now rapidly disappear, hitting rock bottom.

It was different from the energy that moved her physical body.

It was a more fundamental power related to what was called ‘skills’ or ‘supernatural abilities’.

Commonly known as ‘mana’, the depletion of this resource was imminent.

‘…Fortunately, though…’

Swoosh!

“Miss Hana! Miss Bora! I’ve dealt with them here!”

Yu Seha, unexpectedly.
He was doing his part perfectly and more.
Before long, over seven monkey corpses were strewn around him.

‘With this…’

Somehow, it would work out.
No, it must work out.

30 minutes later.

The three, covered in the blood and flesh of monsters that they had encountered, had reached the final area of the ‘Goblin Territory’.

It was the place where the ‘Boss’ should have appeared, as if it had been waiting for the party members to come.

Surprisingly, there was indeed a boss.

However, it was…

“Dead… isn’t it…?”

A large gray goblin lay dead with a massive puncture wound in its abdomen.

It was, indeed, a Hobgoblin.

“…It looks as if it was pierced by a drill.”

Moon Bora, who made the comment, looked towards where the green liquid, presumed to be the Hobgoblin’s blood, trailed off.

Right next to it, blood trailed like a line into a dark cave that seemed large enough to house a giant bear.

Purruck.
Purruck.

Focusing on the sound, the distinct breathing of a beast could be heard from inside the cave.

At the same time, she felt an abnormal flow of magical power swirling together like a vortex.

Surely, ‘something’ inside there must be the real ‘boss’ that defeated the Hobgoblin.

Moon Bora considered it a blessing in disguise.

‘At least it didn’t escape through an unexplored route.’

If it had, it would have been dizzying enough to make her tightly shut her eyes.

However, this situation was still not good, no matter how it turned out.

Still, she couldn’t afford to show any weakness.
Having come this far, she had to see things through, for better or worse.

“Get ready. Everyone.”

Having finished speaking, Moon Bora slowly brought her hands together and aimed into the cave.

“[Ice Pillar]!”

In an instant, the blue magic power flew and turned into sharp ice pillars, starting to enter like dominoes.

A moment later.
With the sound of ice breaking, a massive roar echoed.

“Mooooo!”

Bang!

What burst out of the cave wall was a gigantic rhinoceros, easily 5 meters in size.

Strangely, its entire body was covered in a metallic skin of coppery material.

Abnormally developed muscles on all four legs.

A lance-like sharp horn and the blood of a Hobgoblin clinging to its tip.

Lastly, the intense light of a magic stone radiating, as if glowing from deep within its body.

It was undoubtedly a special boss that appeared.

“…Damn it.”

Moon Bora unwittingly cursed.

Like the [Silverback], they had expected that a [Beast-type] boss would appear.

But why did it have to be Kappa Rhino, of all things…?

‘…The Kappa Rhino’s [Charge] skill is not that difficult to deal with, but it is a rhino monster coated in metal…’

Among the [Metal Rhino Series], it was the weakest among the Rhino monsters, but certainly not a level to appear in a D-class dungeon.

It was definitely a complete upgrade in every aspect compared to the [Silverback] they had faced earlier.

Its attack power, acceleration due to charging, and high defensive [Copper Skin] trait were perfectly synergized.

The creature’s notable weakness was fire.

However, no one here could wield fire-type power or skills.

“Moooooo!”

“Here it comes!”

The Kappa Rhino charged, cutting through my thoughts with a strange cry.

The final battle of this ‘Goblin Tribe Area’ had begun.

Dududududu!

Like riding the wind, the Kappa Rhino charged in an instant.
The blue magic that enveloped its entire body turned white, accelerating even further.

Its suddenly increased speed was compounded by its hefty weight.

An ominous tearing sound spread as thick trees struck by his single horn were instantly ripped apart and tumbled to the ground.

No matter how one looked at it, the small Ma Hana seemed utterly incapable of withstanding such force, even for one hit.

“…Mooooooo?!“

At that moment, the Kappa Rhino’s movement staggered.

The reason was the rough patch of ice that had formed under its feet.

“…Mooooooo!“

Predicting this, Moon Bora had timely set a trap that caused it to lose its balance and slip.

“Miss Ma Hana! Even if its power has diminished, there’s no chance if you take it head-on! I’m using all my concentration to cast [Ice Pillar]! It’s your role as the ‘tanker’ to decide where to block it to minimize the damage that you and the party take!”

Upon understanding Moon Bora’s shout, Ma Hana gripped the large shield she was holding as if it would shatter.

‘…3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second… now!’

With her experience, Ma Hana timed it perfectly and twisted her body slightly just before the rhino’s horn could touch her.

She avoided the point of highest impact.

Before the next attack could follow, she pushed ahead with her shield to block the impact.

“Mooooooo!!!”

Then she pushed with all her might.

Whaaam*!*

“Mooooooo!”

Even with just that, it was heavy.
The overwhelming difference in size and stats.

However, in the end, Ma Hana successfully stopped the Kappa Rhino’s [Charge].

Naturally, this exposed a gap in the Kappa Rhino’s defenses.

“Mr. Yu Seha!!!”

Responding to Ma Hana’s shout, Yu Seha, who had been hiding in the bushes, kicked off the ground.

“…Hoo.“

Yu Seha caught his breath.
He clenched both his hands.
He refined his experience and techniques of the Sword Drawing he had used several times on his way there.

‘…Control the power.’

He controlled his killing intent.
He was careful not to end up with the foolish result of attacking once and then retiring due to spreading muscle pain.

Bang!

Yu Seha, stomping the ground forcefully, swung his sword like lightning toward the side of the Kappa Rhino.

Clash! With a clashing sound, flashing brilliance unfolded the swift sword drawing technique.

A chilling, cutting sound echoed around.

Shwook!

Even the sturdy [Copper Skin] split like a sheet of paper.

The blade that dug in cleaves through the thick flesh, had sliced the organs within it.

“Mooooooo!”

A scream burst out from the Kappa Rhino’s mouth due to the intense pain it felt.

Its eyes turned bloodshot, and its eyes’ focus flipped.

Typically, in a state that fits the phrase ‘can’t see anything,’ the Kappa Rhino, with heavy breathing, turned around.

Drip.

Despite the flowing blood and clumps of intestines falling out, its eyes were perfectly focused on ‘Yu Seha.’

Seeing this, Yu Seha stepped back sharply, sweating coldly.

‘…Uh.’

Shit.
Why does it seem like I’m screwed?