The Deep Swamp Bog (4)

Puk, puk, puk!

“Kwoooorrr!”

The merciless pain felt from behind was accompanied by the roar of the <Stone Troll>.

The source of the pain was none other than Ju Na-young’s fists.

And they were not just ordinary punches.

Enhanced by [Combat], the 7th level [Rapid Strike] carried considerable power and range with each hit.

It didn’t stop there.

Fwoosh!
Ju Na-young’s arms tensed up.
A formidable amount of magic power swirled around them.
Soon, it transformed into a red flame, starting to engulf both her arms.

“Young-aaaaah!”

Kwa-kwaaang!

The impact sound, almost like an explosion, spread across the Stone Troll.

The [Burning Flames]-enhanced [Rapid Strike] began to flash at a fierce speed.

Normally, such a blow would leave any boss tattered, but surprisingly, the creature managed to endure it.

‘…So hard.’

The reason it was possible was because the wounds of the <Stone Troll> healed quickly enough to be seen with Ju Na-young’s naked eyes.

The <Stone Troll> was a boss species that focused on typical durability and most of its abilities.

In addition, it possessed the highly rare (Rare) grade skill [Powerful Regeneration].

This alone was annoying.

Over the regenerated wounds, rock fragments covered them like armor.

Similarly, it was a rare (Rare) grade.
It was a derivative skill of [Rough Rock’s Crevice], [Rock Solidification].

It increases defense in proportion to durability and temporarily hardens the body.

It was a capability that added wings to its already high durability.

The <Stone Troll> endowed with these two powers displayed a toughness that most tanks couldn’t even compare to.

“Kreuuargh!”

The <Stone Troll> writhed in agony.
Its murderous eyes glared at Ju Na-young.
It seemed ready to crush the annoying woman at any moment.

“[Majesty of the Central Pillar]!”
“Kwaaaa!”

However, it turned its gaze helplessly at the ‘Provocation’ skill shouted by Ryu Da-rae.
It attacked the innocent totem that appeared in front of it.

This was the power of Ryu Da-rae, the <Shaman Warrior>.

Despite being a tank, she possessed powerful utility through shamanism, enabling her to cast simple curses and even perform summoning spells like this.

However, it wasn’t without its drawbacks.
Having a lot of versatility meant, in other words, being mediocre at everything.

The <Shaman Warrior> was somewhat lacking in tanking.
And compared to the <Shaman> class, it falls behind as a specialized shaman.

The durability of the summoned creatures was particularly weak.

However, surprisingly, the [Majesty of Midstone] summoned by Ryu Da-rae was continuously provoking despite being hit repeatedly by the <Stone Troll>’s fists.

It wasn’t that the <Stone Troll>’s firepower was weak.

Currently, rock-like knuckles wrapped around the troll’s arms.
It was the derivative skill [Rock Fist] from [Rough Rock’s Crevice].

An excellent skill that increases firepower proportional to durability. With this activated, the <Stone Troll> could smash almost anything.

But no matter how much it pounded, the [Majesty of Midstone] showed no signs of breaking.

The reason was that a subtle blue barrier was blocking all attacks aimed at the totem.

“Agh! The shield is about to break!”
“Completed casting!”

The owner of the barrier was Hwang Ki-beum.
Her class was of the supporter type, <Barrier User>.

No significant recovery, no utility.
Nor did it have the ability to weaken the enemy or strengthen allies.

Instead, it was a class specialized in creating powerful ‘barriers’.

<Shaman Warrior> and <Barrier User>.

Both classes were not particularly welcomed in parties.

The synergy created when these two ambiguous classes combined was beyond imagination.

“Young-aaah!”

With the last burst of energy, Ju Na-young unleashed her firepower to the fullest.

It was the best time for her to attack without any interruption.

It made Ju Na-young’s already high attack power stand out even more.

Red scales and a dragon’s tail emerged along Ju Na-young’s body.

A diamond-shaped pattern was drawn in her eyes, and a formidable power enveloped her entire body.

The activation of a fraudulent ability even Yu Seha acknowledged.

Ju Na-young swung her fists like crazy.

The [Rapid Strike] landed with a sound like that of a machine gun.

“Kwoooaah!!!”

The [Stone Troll]’s eyeballs burst, blood flowing down.

The extreme pain from the damage exceeding the limit allowed it to temporarily ignore [Taunt].

The [Stone Troll] turned its body, interlocked its arms, and struck down at Ju Na-young.

“…! Na-young!”
“Ju Na-young, watch out!”

The voices of two worried people echoed.

However, Ju Na-young did not retreat.

On the contrary, she ended the ongoing [Rapid Strike] and withdrew her right arm.

Bang!
She stomped on the ground to break it.
The heat of [Burning Flames] wrapped around her shoulders beyond her arms.

Like a figure filled with wrath, the form of a dragon flowed through Ju Na-young’s body.

It gave her waist some flexibility.
Empowered by that, the outstretched fist transformed into its unique, heavy reverberation.

“[Collapsing Fist]!”
“Kwooo!”

Bang!

A sound like a bomb exploding erupted.
Dust spread thickly.
Soon, the smoke cleared.

The revealed scene was…

“Phew!”
“……”

Catching her breath, Ju Na-young extinguished the [Burning Flames], and the upper body of the <Stone Troll> had completely evaporated.

“We did it, we did it!”
“Good job. Na-young!”

Ju Na-young scratched her cheek at the actions of the two who were hugging her in joy.

It was a bit embarrassing.

‘…Yu Seha and Ma Hana hug each other without a care.’

How on earth do they control such emotions?

‘Hmm…’ Ju Na-yong pondered.
She roughly shook her head and smiled softly.
This is how we won.
But everything is not over yet.

“Na-young, it’s time to close it now.”

That’s right.

The match formally ends only after going through the perfect closure process.

Ju Na-young nodded and took out a round artifact from her bosom.

It was an item handed over by an employee dispatched from the Association before entering.

‘It’s quite large.’

An artifact clearly bigger than what Ju Na-young knew.
Although it was slightly different from what was used in the [Clan], she handed it over without caring.

As she infused the artifact with magic, it activated with a hum.

And this was…
Also the sound signaling the beginning of an anomaly.

“…?”

The dungeon remained quiet as time passed.

‘Why isn’t the closure proceeding?’ she wondered at that moment.

The artifact started trembling and then flew out of Ju Na-young’s hand, heading towards the <Stone Troll> on its own.

The three people were taken aback by the sudden situation.

In the meantime, the artifact clinging to the corpse soon shattered, revealing its contents.

“! Na-Na-young-ah, look!”
“It couldn’t be?!”

A black jewel with a purple hue like an amethyst.

The dreadful aura emanating from it was unmistakable.

It was undoubtedly a [Demon Stone] used by <Demons, Villain>.

And not just any ordinary one.
It was a highly pure item that could only be obtained through significant effort from a major Crime Clan.

*‘Why is that thing here?!’ *
That was her thought at that moment.

Ju Na-young was startled by a hand pushing her.

“…Ki-beum?”

Hwang Kibeum.
The delicate girl with the <Barrier User> class smiled awkwardly as if in trouble.

Thud!

At the same time, something heavy struck Hwang Ki-beum, sending her flying backward.

Bang, bang, bang!

The unguarded body of Hwang Ki-beum was thrown into a tree and then smashed against a rock.

“Ki-beum!!!”
“Ju-Ju Na-young… over, over there!”

At Ryu Da-rae’s trembling words, Ju Na-young finally realized.

The massive figure that had taken down Hwang Ki-beum.

“Krurururuk!”

The body of the [Stone Troll], which should have lost its upper half, was perfectly regenerated now.

The Demon Stone embedded in its chest was thumping like a heart.

As if it weren’t an ordinary [Stone Troll], its size grew even larger.

The rocky skin covering its body became even more solid.

“Kwaaa!!”
“Kraaa!!”

Finally, an extra piece of flesh grew around its neck.

Soon, it formed another identical head and began to scream in unison.

There was no doubt.

“…No way, a Twin Head…?”

[Twin Head Troll]

The king of mutated trolls barely making it to grade A.
Even if it was barely, A-grade was still A-grade.

The remnants of a different level of magic spread in all directions.

In a split second.

Ju Na-young remembered one of the dungeon’s mutation symptoms that the team leader unnie had mentioned.

―Miss. Very occasionally, the boss monster, through some trigger, breaks through its limits and progresses to a higher stage.

We hunters call that…

[Existence Evolution]

Everything froze in fear.
Ryu Da-rae shivered and wept, trembling all over.

Thud!

“…Na-Na-young?”

Ju Na-young, who had been catching her breath, stepped forward.
With a resolute determination in her eyes, she clenched her fists tightly.

Whoosh!

[Burning Flames] flared up, beginning to wrap around her arms as she willed.

“Da-rae, I’ll hold it off.”
“…! N-no, it’s too much! We should–”
“If it stays like this, Ki-beum will die. You need to go back and get treated.”

As Ju Na-young said, beyond the rock wall, Hwang Ki-beum, who had taken a direct hit, was coughing up blood.

It was evidence that internal injuries were causing accelerated bleeding for her.

At that sight, Ryu Da-rae gritted her teeth.
She had to judge calmly.

[Four-sided Warrior] was a tricky tank with various utilities using ‘spells’.

The downside was its mediocrity.
And its fuel efficiency was so poor that one battle would deplete her mana.

Currently, Ryu Da-rae’s mana was very low.

Calling the Professor quickly would be the wisest move.

After finishing her thoughts, Ryu Da-rae discarded her armor, shield, and sword on the ground and lifted Hwang Ki-beum instead.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Don’t you dare die, Na-young!”
“Who said anything about dying?!”

With those words, Ryu Da-rae ran out like a madwoman.
The ‘Twin Head Troll,’ excited by the sight, tried to chase after her.

Thud!

“Krrk?!”
“Your opponent is me!”

Ju Na-young, with a blazing fist, struck and then gained some distance.

In this situation, where she herself was in pain from the attack, she let out a troubled sigh.

The troll’s burning back, before she knew it, had healed completely.

The regeneration ability, incomparable to before, made her voice tremble.

This is just…

“…I said that to look cool…”

“Krrrrrk!!!”

Soon, she thought one last time.

Maybe…
This place…

“…Might be my grave.“

“Kwaaa!!!”