The Great Decapitation (3)

So, he made a plan.

He decided that if he were to buy an item in the future, he would focus all his attention on weapons.

Sky’s Delight was a sufficiently good weapon, but with enough money, he could get a much better dagger.

Kang-hoo decided to prioritize weapons to ensure more firepower in battle.

Even upgrading to a Grade 3 weapon would make a significant difference.

Because he did not overexert himself and steadily conquered the dungeon, Kang-hoo’s level rose steadily.

He had now reached level 37.

He allocated all the bonus stats from leveling up into health.

The special effect of ‘Proportional Health’ from the Soul Mate Gloves also increased steadily.

“Feeling a bit tired.”

Kang-hoo massaged his stiff shoulders, looking at the boss in front of him.

The black mage, Baltman.

To get into more detail, Baltman was a ‘health-type mage.’

That is, a mage with good stamina who could also cast magic.

He was capable of close combat due to his high endurance and could actively attack if needed.

Usually, mages fear getting hurt and avoid close combat.

But a health-type mage, confident in recovery and stamina, could go all out without looking back.

Baltman’s specialty was ‘Scorching.’

His primary ability was combustion, and thus the battlefield was also designed with fire elements.

Torches were lit at intervals of 3 meters across the battlefield, and not far away, lava flowed.

There was a chance of dying in the lava, not just from Baltman.

“Phew.”

He took a deep breath.

The priority was not just to defeat Baltman.

First, he needed to provoke Baltman’s special defensive skill.

Baltman often used a skill called ‘Consume by Fire’ to block the opponent’s skills.

True to its crude name, it consumed incoming skills with fire and swallowed them.

Doing so allowed him to absorb 50% of the mana invested in the skill by the opponent. A bizarre skill.

Kang-hoo planned to make Baltman use this skill on the Great Decapitation skill book.

Once the skill book was consumed by fire, the Great Decapitation skill was learned, irrespective of the user’s will.

Boss monsters, unlike hunters, didn’t receive penalties for learning skills of a different nature.

Therefore, if Kang-hoo killed Baltman, he could steal the Great Decapitation skill from him.

A skill with its penalty cleanly erased, maintaining its 100% effectiveness.

Chomp.

He bit into a stalk of Solarkium.

No matter how well he controlled his breathing in battle, it was impossible to kill someone like Baltman without an adrenaline rush.

So, he had prepared in advance.

“Insolent creature! Why not save yourself the trouble and turn back?”

Baltman was babbling from a distance, but Kang-hoo didn’t respond.

Some hunters foolishly charged in when provoked by such words, but that was the dumbest case. It was of no help.

Whoosh!

Instead of replying, Kang-hoo opened the battle by linking the leap and acceleration skills.

Leap was a skill in itself, a powerful skill that propelled one in the desired direction.

When combined with acceleration, it allowed almost instantaneous movement like lightning.

As the number of usable skills increased, Kang-hoo had been devising a combination of these two skills.

This was because he could activate the awakening effect – significantly reducing skill casting time – whenever he wanted.

“Burn.”

Baltman immediately responded.

Though startled by Kang-hoo’s incredible speed, Baltman seemed rather pleased.

Whoosh!

A giant wall of flames erupted from the spot Baltman pointed to with his fingertip.

The bright red, blazing barrier emitted heat like a small sun placed right there.

It was powerful enough that even Kang-hoo couldn’t ignore it and pass through.

Despite the fire right in front of him, Baltman himself didn’t flinch or feel the heat.

‘Creating an area that blocks vision works to my advantage.’

Rather than being surprised by Baltman’s quick response, Kang-hoo saw it as an opportunity to use.

So, he created a wall of fire that blocked vision, similar to Baltman’s, by infusing his protective barrier with fire attributes.

Since the protective barrier was an installable type, he could place it anywhere he desired.

Kang-hoo subtly extended his hand toward Baltman’s position, which he had noted earlier.

The skill he activated was ‘Abduction.’

Baltman, seemingly unaware that an unseen force from beyond the flames could pull him, was caught off guard.

“Ugh!”

Baltman let out a startled cry, flailing in mid-air as he was swiftly pulled in front of Kang-hoo.

Crack!

After ensuring Baltman couldn’t easily escape by twisting his collar, Kang-hoo relentlessly stabbed at his shoulder and chest with the dagger, using the ‘Bleeding Stab’ skill.

“Aaargh…!”

Despite Baltman’s groans, he used his right hand to execute another skill.

It was a proactive counter-attack before the situation escalated to death or severe injury.

Whoosh!

“Damn.”

Kang-hoo bit his lower lip and momentarily retreated.

Baltman protected himself with a skill called ‘Fire’s Blessing.’

He transformed his entire body into a massive flame, which was possible due to his absolute immunity to fire.

Certainly tricky.

Unlike other boss monsters Kang-hoo had easily dispatched before, Baltman’s responses were notably sophisticated.

But that didn’t mean Kang-hoo was without recourse. He had managed to inflict wounds just moments ago.

It was now time to assess the damage.

[Blood Flower]

Pop! Pop! Pop!

As he activated Blood Flower, explosions erupted simultaneously from Baltman’s shoulders, trapezius muscles, and upper chest.

This was Blood Flower’s power.

Leveraging the wounds he had created earlier as a medium, it dealt unexpected additional damage to the opponent!

Kang-hoo launched another attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

This time, he used ‘Shadow Step.’

Five shadows dashed forward, and with the awakening effect, Kang-hoo executed Shadow Step once more.

Crunch!

He bit into a stalk of Solarkium without hesitation, swallowing the juice that flowed out.

The onset of mana hypersensitivity was imminent.

When he created another opening in Baltman, he needed to strike relentlessly, without a moment’s pause.

“Burn everything to ashes!”

Baltman, seeing Kang-hoo’s scattered shadows, stretched his hand towards the sky in irritation.

Then, as if from nowhere, a rain of fire began to pour down like a shower.

Unable to target Kang-hoo specifically, Baltman decided to attack all targets simultaneously.

‘He’s not affected by his own attribute-based attacks, which allows for such aggressive responses.’

Kang-hoo inwardly envied Baltman.

As adept as he was with a dagger, being invincible to dagger attacks would have been ideal.

Pop.

Kang-hoo quickly switched places with one of his remaining shadows.

Baltman was not interested in the shadows; his focus was solely on Kang-hoo’s main body.

So, when Kang-hoo suddenly disappeared from his sight, Baltman’s pupils shook in panic.

Then, Kang-hoo, having approached Baltman from the closest position, gritted his teeth and stabbed him with the dagger.

Thrust!

“Argh! You…!”

Knowing Baltman’s ‘Fire’s Blessing’ skill from experience, Kang-hoo stepped back slightly before approaching again.

As he began to analyze Baltman’s response patterns, his movements no longer seemed complex.

‘After being tricked by Shadow Step, he wouldn’t want to fall for it again.’

Kang-hoo set a trap.

He deployed the Shadow Step skill again, this time sending a shadow overtly in front of Baltman.

Having previously experienced the switch between shadow and body, Baltman wouldn’t want to be fooled by the same trick.

At that moment,

Kang-hoo pulled out the Great Decapitation skill book from his pocket and threw it with all his might at Baltman.

While slightly adjusting the shadow’s speed, he timed it so the skill book would reach Baltman first.

Was it due to the anger boiling over from being dominated by Kang-hoo?

“Aaaah!”

Baltman, his face red-hot, unleashed a torrent of flames like a dragon’s breath.

He used the ‘Consume by Fire’ skill.

‘It worked.’

Whoosh!

The Great Decapitation skill book, caught in the ‘Consume by Fire,’ vanished instantly.

In its place, the contents transformed into a blue essence and slipped into Baltman’s mouth.

Normally, any skill consumed by fire would have replenished Baltman’s mana.

Unfortunately, Baltman acquired a strange skill he had no idea how to use instead of the needed mana.

The deed was done.

Now it was safe to kill Baltman.

He could now steal the Great Decapitation skill from him.

Realizing he had done something pointless, an enraged Baltman turned his hands towards Kang-hoo.

“I’ll kill you!”

A whip-like object materialized above his hands. It was the ‘Fire Whip’ skill.

It moved unpredictably, igniting upon impact—a highly troublesome skill.

Kang-hoo, undisturbed, used the Leap skill to get extremely close to Baltman.

Before the vicious whip could touch him, he sidestepped to get behind Baltman.

“Ugh.”

Kang-hoo grimaced.

His body ached from the continuous use of skills.

Even with the pain mitigation from Solarkium and the Tenacious Endurance Ring, he felt this much pain.

Without these aids, he might have been writhing on the floor instead of fighting.

He was grateful for these auxiliary tools.

Despite the drain on his health and the pain from mana hypersensitivity, he could still endure.

Thrust!

“Argh!”

He plunged his dagger into the space between Baltman’s waist and ribs from behind.

Given that Baltman was a boss monster of the mage class, the armor there was weak.

Kang-hoo gripped the dagger tightly and twisted it ruthlessly, as if opening a tightly sealed lid.

The act was hellish for the one enduring it—the pain of twisted skin, muscles, and even internal organs. It was abnormal to bear it even a little.

“Aaaaah!”

Baltman screamed.

Kang-hoo didn’t stop; he plunged the ‘Sight Steal’ and ‘Shallow Chaos’ skills into Baltman.

By robbing his sight and confusing his sense of space, Kang-hoo could ensure a final blow.

The Finale.

Kang-hoo had no intention of dragging out the battle.

There is no second chance in opportunity. No next time. No luck or fluke.

The first opportunity must be the last!

Kang-hoo was determined to end it here.