Break Out (1)

[Gonis Archive Life] was essentially a game that took the common background and clichés of hunter stories as they were.

Among them, the core element was the Gate.

It tore through dimensions and was placed between the cracks of space, acting as a conduit to a completely different world—a disaster.

Inside, a unique world called ‘dungeon’ unfolds, and hunters who have awakened their ‘Status Window’ use their abilities to subdue monsters, collect loot, and prevent the chaos of the world.

‘…You might ask why I’m repeating what’s already been said before.’

‘GAL’ was a collectible RPG game.

Therefore, every ‘Gate’ had an element of opportunity, which combined with the characteristics of the dungeon to produce unique ‘Events’ that needed to be completed.

Most of the time, things proceed exactly as predetermined.
Sometimes, shitty things happen, which were at quite low odds.

‘Like now.’

A phenomenon that occurs due to not regularly conducting ‘Gate Sweeps,’ leading to a high distribution of ‘monsters.’

The phenomenon where the concentration of mana within dungeons becomes stronger, and the ‘monsters’ that absorb it also evolve and become stronger.

It was precisely a [Break Out] event.

‘Break Out’ was considered one of the more difficult Events.
The dungeon’s grade increases by at least one to two levels at once, and rare monsters appear as common as pebbles on the street.

Moreover, naturally, a completely different ‘boss’ pops up, and the one right in front of us was such a case.

“…The leader Silverback.”

A creature famously rare in ‘GAL’.
The fact that such a creature appeared out of nowhere in a low level dungeon, and moreover, as a mid-boss, was clear evidence that the current dungeon was in a terrible state.

“Waaaaah!”

In an instant, Ma Hana, who had been diligently blocking Silverback’s attacks, let out a short shout.

A monstrous strength was exerted momentarily, along with a scream.

The ‘Defense Increase’ unique to the [Guardian] class had been activated, as a subtle blue light swirled around.

Bang!

It made Silverback step back.

“…It doesn’t make sense. Wh-why is that beast here?”

Moon Bora let out words of disbelief.
But the panic ended there.

Fitting of someone in the ‘leader’ position, she regained her composure within three seconds and her eyes turned cold and rational to find a way out

“Miss Ma Hana! Mr. Yu Seha! I will now take command role now!”
“…Okay!”
“Understood!”

“Kwoooooooh!”

However, before Moon Bora could say anything, Silverback made its move faster.

A jump based on the unique physical abilities of primates.

Immediately after, it clenched its fists like clubs and slammed them down onto the ground.

With a scream-like rumble of the earth, the atmosphere suddenly felt heavier.

It was the manifestation of what was called a debuff.

‘…It’s hard to keep my balance!’

My ears buzzed, and involuntarily, one knee bent down.

I felt nauseous, as if I were about to vomit at any moment.

“Miss Ma Hana! It’s coming from the right!”

While I was flustered with the sudden debuff, Moon Bora was diligently giving commands.

Predicting Silverback’s attack faster than Ma Hana could, Moon Bora identified the trajectory of the wildly swinging fists and informed us of the direction that would minimize damage.

“Euk!”

In response, Ma Hana gripped the shield handles with both hands.

Like me, she must have been hit with a ‘debuff,’ but she defended with the patience befitting a main tank.

Bang!
Bang!

Despite the thunderous noise and impact, she managed to hold her ground and defend herself.

‘...Phew! Stand up now!’

I can’t just stand by and watch the girls fight hard while being a man.

I clenched my fist and forcefully stamped down on my calf.
As soon as my paralyzed body loosened, I forced myself up.

And then, I stepped on one foot.

Naturally, I bent my waist to balance myself.
Gripping the hilt with my left hand and the handle with my right, I clenched them tightly as if to shatter the effects of debuff.

‘Focus.’

I aimed to seize the chance to land a hit on that disgusting monkey.

Meanwhile, perched upon Ma Hana’s shoulder and becoming one with her as they diligently countered Silverback’s attacks, Moon Bora thought.

‘…This is not a good situation.’

It wasn’t good.
It was very, very bad.
The opponent was too formidable.

‘…The alpha Silverback.’

Though its grade was between D-C, the actual feel of its defense goes up to B, making it an incredibly tough creature to take down.

‘The reason lies in that unique hide covering its upper body.’

A skin rough and rugged like rock, in a crude form.

It was known for a trait called [Stone Skin].

Because of that alone, the creature boasted a toughness that couldn’t be taken down with mediocre firepower.

“[Ice Pillar]!”

Right after defending, I thrust an attack towards the inevitably exposed gap.

The magical power that absorbed the moisture in the air instantly turned into a cold chill, forming a sharp ice pillar.

Crash!

“Kwaaaah!”

But that was it.
Regrettably, it didn’t quite affect the creature.

The effect of the [Stone Skin] trait was to ‘reduce damage taken.’

Thanks to the ability to reduce damage itself, regardless of physical or magical, proper attacks didn’t land.

‘…If only I weren’t in backup mode.’

If I wasn’t in this short, 2D SD state, but in my original form.

If it were my usual full strength.

I would have turned such a creature into an ice sculpture in an instant!

Moon Bora unknowingly bit her lower lip.

In fact, the lack of attack strength could be somewhat compensated with several attacks.

Just a little while ago, even the [Ice Pillar] could inflict significant damage if it hit the same spot more than ten times.

‘But now, even that’s not looking possible.’

The reason was simple.

“Huff, huff!”

It was because Ma Hana’s limits while defending were gradually being revealed to Moon Bora.

There was no significant damage yet, but the rough groans from her and the trembling of her limbs that reached Moon Bora’s ears let her intuit that her limit wasn’t far off.

“Miss. Ma Hana! It’s coming from the left!”
“…!”

Bang!

Ma Hana barely managed to block it, following my command.

‘…Strange.’

Yes. It was strange.
The person named Ma Hana whom she met today.

‘Why is she…’

So weak?

Moon Bora thought about Ma Hana’s status window, which she saw before entering this place.

Certainly, she was lacking in several areas.

‘But to be this exhausted just from exchanging a few blows with such a weak opponent…?’

Calculating in her head and deducing, it made no sense.

Especially since Ma Hana was a main tank [Guardian] class, she was good at steadfastly taking on the enemy’s attacks at the forefront.

It was nonsensical that she struggled with just a normal punch, and it wasn’t even a [Skill].

Then, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

‘Dark circles…!’

Ma Hana’s abnormal condition that I had carelessly overlooked.

Only then did Moon Bora realize that Ma Hana was far from her normal condition, suffering from poor health.

For hunters, managing one’s health was always a crucial matter that must be adhered to as an iron rule.

No matter how strong a hunter was, without proper sleep and nutrition, they could die to even an F-grade monster.

“[Ice Pillar]!”

Crash!

“Kwaaaah!”

‘…I was too complacent, too careless.’

Moon Bora bit her lower lip, scolding herself.

She was foolish.

As soon as the Transparent-tailed Monkey (D) was dealt with, they should have immediately returned.

‘…I was ignorant.’

Despite noticing the abnormal signs in the dungeon, she assumed everything would be fine.

Even as a [Backup], she arrogantly judged that they could easily defeat something like goblins.

Moon Bora clenched her fists until they were about to break.

She felt terribly sorry to the two of them.

Being a man and not having proper strength.
Or not managing one’s body well and being significantly weaker—those were secondary issues.

The most important thing in a dungeon is the leader’s judgment.

Naturally, this judgment included understanding the situation and making bold decisions.

Therefore, all of this was her own fault.

‘Calm down, Moon Bora.’

There was not a second to waste.

Instead of regretting like this, her party members were dying.

If you’re sorry, do your best.

Whether she wanted to or not, it was her responsibility as the ‘leader’.

‘It’s the weight of someone who carries the business card of a “Hunter”.’

First, she decided to send Yu Seha to a safe place.

Even if he was one of the strongest classes, [Sword Saint], he was ultimately a man.

Moreover, he was literally the newest of the newbies, revealing his ‘class’ for the first time today.

He must be trembling in fear at the sudden appearance of the Silverback’s majesty.

‘…Maybe he even ran away first.’

Considering that she hadn’t felt his presence since earlier.

Then, it was rather a good thing.

“…Miss Hana. Listen carefully. In a little while, I will forcefully launch a powerful attack. For a very brief moment, I’ll be able to freeze at least the lower half of that thing.”

Ma Hana gulped while panting.

“When I give the signal, run without looking back. Got it?”
“…Yes!”

Having finished speaking, Moon Bora hastily looked behind her.

“Mr. Yu Seha! If you’re still there, run away right… now…?”

She trailed off, staring blankly behind her for a second.

Question.

Perplexity.

Embarrassment.

A complex mix of emotions swirled through Moon Bora.

‘What…?’

Yu Seha. He hadn’t run away.
Nor was he shivering from afar in fear of the situation.

Instead, he was close by, assuming a posture with a calm gaze fixed in this direction.

And that distinctive stance.

‘…Sword Drawing?’

It was unmistakable.

Why he would attempt to use something like [Sword Drawing], typically employed by [Samurai] or [Swordsmen] classes, which was surely beyond his level, but it was definitely a preparatory stance of that.

‘…He is foolish!’

Moon Bora clenched her teeth at the unexpected variable.

The opponent was a ‘Silverback’ with the [Stone Skin] trait.

Not something he could beat with half-hearted skills.

‘Rather, he’ll get counterattacked and die!’

The [Sword Drawing] skill had high attack power, but after most activations, it inevitably required finishing in a ‘sheathing’ posture for the casting to end.

This unique vulnerability was a fatal weakness and would simultaneously take Yu Seha’s life.

“Mr. Yu Seha! Stop messing around and run away.”

Swish.

That’s when it happened.

The moment Yu Seha’s old iron sword slightly slipped out of its sheath.

Moon Bora unwittingly opened her eyes wide.

Chill!

“…!”
“…!”
“…Kwah?!”

The atmosphere changed in an instant.

The heat of the battle, which had been fiercely contested just moments ago, suddenly cooled down, exuding a chilly air.

‘What… is this?’

Moon Bora was startled by the cold sweat trickling down her forehead.

It was just a blade barely making its way out.

But… but this sense of oppression?

It wasn’t just her feeling this. Ma Hana, as well as the attacking Silverback, had frozen in place.

A rare sight where two ‘Hunters’ and one ‘Mid-Boss’ seemed to have made a pact to stop at the same time.

An action that should never be taken in a life-threatening fight, but it was unavoidably happening.

Because the sensation that these three were feeling now was ‘something’ far beyond the realm of their understanding.

“…Miss Bo-Bora! C-could it be that another boss has appeared behind us?!”

Ma Hana, the only one who resisted the urge to look back, shouted.

Trembling, she resisted in order to fulfill her duty as a tank.

“Ah, no… That’s not it…”
“Then, what the hell is it?!”

Moon Bora hesitated for a moment.
How should… should she explain this?

‘…Damn. I can’t control it that well.’

Is it because it’s been a while since I’ve held a sword?
A boiling-like murderous intent flowed as if surging within me.

‘Focus, concentrate.’

Didn’t that damned father of mine always say.
Stop putting murderous intent into weapons.
Are you a beast or what?

‘Sigh…’

I took a deep breath.
And I forcibly grab what’s trying to rise within me by the scruff and shove it down.

Then, I could clearly focus on the ‘power’ I was about to use now.

‘This is magic.’

A faint blue light blazed along with a fine vibration over my palm.

The unique flame surpassed the sword hilt, over the blade, and even the sheath, interlocking like gears in perfect harmony.

‘This is what a skill is.’

The preparations were complete.

Now, all that remained was hitting the enemy down.

“Meowi!!! Trust me and run this way!!!”
“…!”

Startled by Yu Seha’s shout, Ma Hana leaped back like lightning.

There was no further explanation given, but she knew that Yu Seha needed her at that moment.

She didn’t hesitate, trusting in that fact alone.

“…!? Kwooooooah!”

Reacting to the sudden escape, the Silverback charged again like a beast.

The creature had forgotten the fear from before, filled only with the desire to tear apart this foolish prey, showing her back in flight.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Silverback thought.
The distance was closing. Soon, the monster would crush the tiny girl and emerge as the victor!

However, the moment it saw the man blocking his view, it flinched.

The monster realized once again that the unidentified something that it felt a little while ago came from this man.

But it was already too late.

Yu Seha strongly stepped on the ground, breaking it apart, aiming at the Silverback within a sufficient range.

Swoosh!

A flash of light.
Following that, a chilling sound of cutting echoed.

Yu Seha’s sword was absolutely not suitable for the ‘Sword Drawing’ technique.

He used a typical Western-style longsword.

A weapon specialized not for agilely drawing and striking like a flash of lightning but for purely displaying swordsmanship.

However, even so, once held in Yu Seha’s hand, it became a medium for the Sword Drawing technique.

Swoosh!

Yu Seha flicked off the small amount of blood stuck on the blade and carefully sheathed the sword.

A quiet silence swirled as the Silverback’s head turned back.

That was the end.

In an instant, the Silverback felt its vision flip upside down.

Though it was nothing more than a monster with no proper intelligence, only physical strength, the Silverback could feel it cleanly.

This, too, was a spectacle to witness.

How could it not be?

Who could directly see their own back?

Especially while it was flipped upside down.

Thud. Roll.

The severed head rolled on the ground.

Boom!

Simultaneously, the massive body collapsed onto the floor, scattering dust.