Chapter 129: The Battle Against the Simulated Sub-Boss
Liam’s vision was completely blurry.
For several seconds, he couldn’t make out anything at all.
Everything around him seemed to have turned into streaks of color blending together, while a strange buzzing echoed inside his head.
He couldn’t feel his body.
He couldn’t feel the weight of his arms or the ground beneath his feet.
Then, little by little, the blurriness began to fade.
The shapes started to come into focus.
The ground.
A rock wall.
And several bodies lying on the ground.
Liam blinked.
Or, at least, he had the sensation of doing so.
He had made it.
His consciousness had finally reached the small copy of Lydia she had left attached to the body of one of the hunters who had gone with Duncan and Ivy.
’Honey?’
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Lydia: Are you okay?]
[Lydia: Did you make it to me?]
Liam let out a sigh of relief.
Even though he didn’t have a body at the moment, he could feel perfectly well that the connection was working.
’Yes. I’m here.’
His voice didn’t come from any mouth.
He simply responded through his consciousness.
[Lydia: You did it!]
[Lydia: I’m so glad.]
Before Liam could answer, he heard something.
BOOM!
A powerful impact made the ground shake.
Then came a roar.
One that sent a shiver down Liam’s spine.
GRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!
’Where are we?’
[Lydia: We’re inside some kind of simulated cave.]
[Lydia: There are rocks everywhere.]
Liam looked ahead again.
A massive rock blocked most of his view.
But then he noticed something strange.
In the reflection of a puddle of water, he could see a small slime stuck to someone’s back.
Lydia.
The small slime raised one of her tentacles.
A tiny eye appeared at the tip.
Lydia took the eye and brought it to one side of the hunter’s head.
Then Liam understood.
’Wait... you’re stuck to her?’
[Lydia: Yes.]
Liam immediately recognized the woman.
She was the same hunter who had helped during the battle against the Ancient Forest Giant.
Her awakening produced the slippery liquid she had used to make the giant fall.
’Good thinking.’
Lydia wiggled her tiny body slightly, as if she were proud of herself.
[Lydia: Thank you, honey.]
Another impact.
BOOM!
Liam focused on the sounds of the battle again.
’Show me what’s happening.’
Lydia moved the tentacle holding her eye and slowly turned it toward the front.
The image shifted.
Now Liam could see beyond the rock.
And his eyes widened.
’What the hell...?’
A massive creature stood in front of them.
It looked like a werewolf.
But it was far larger than any of the ones they had faced so far.
Its body was covered in bones.
Some protruded from its shoulders and back like armor, while others seemed to form a sort of protection around its chest.
Its arms were enormous.
And its claws...
They were monstrously large.
The creature raised one of them.
Duncan barely managed to block the blow.
The impact sent him staggering several meters backward.
"Duncan!"
Ivy was behind him.
Dozens of vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around the werewolf’s legs and arms.
"Now!"
The vines tightened.
The creature was restrained for barely a second.
Then...
CRACK!
It broke them.
All of them.
As if they were nothing more than dry branches.
"Damn it!"
Ivy shouted.
Duncan took advantage of the moment and lunged forward.
His fist struck the creature directly in the face.
The blow turned the werewolf’s head to the side.
But it didn’t seem to care.
The creature turned its gaze back toward Duncan.
And disappeared.
"Huh?"
Duncan barely had time to react.
The werewolf appeared beside him.
A claw narrowly missed his body.
Duncan ducked.
But another claw appeared in front of him.
This time, he had to leap backward.
Despite its enormous size, the monster was incredibly fast.
Liam watched.
Duncan was strong.
But even his attacks didn’t seem to do much damage.
Ivy used her vines again.
She tried to restrain one of the monster’s legs.
The creature simply pulled on it.
CRACK!
It broke them again.
’This isn’t good...’
Liam narrowed his eyes.
Then Lydia spoke.
[Lydia: If you can see clearly...]
[Lydia: There’s something behind the werewolf.]
Liam shifted his gaze slightly.
Behind the creature was a stone structure.
It looked like a small altar.
And on top of the altar...
Something was glowing.
A faint light.
Blue.
Liam felt his expression change.
’That must be the core.’
[Lydia: They think so too.]
’Then we need to sneak over there and destroy it.’
Lydia remained silent for a few seconds.
[Lydia: That was the plan.]
[Lydia: But it hasn’t worked.]
Liam frowned.
’What happened?’
[Lydia: Every hunter who tried to approach the altar was attacked.]
[Lydia: At first, Duncan and Ivy managed to distract the sub-boss.]
[Lydia: But whenever someone got too close to the core...]
Lydia paused briefly.
[Lydia: The werewolf changed.]
Liam looked back at the battle.
’Changed?’
[Lydia: It entered a second phase.]
[Lydia: It became much faster and stronger.]
[Lydia: And it attacked the hunter who tried to approach.]
Liam watched Duncan strike the monster again.
BOOM!
The werewolf staggered back one step.
But it immediately lunged at Duncan again.
Lydia continued.
[Lydia: Also...]
[Lydia: We have the impression that Duncan and Ivy’s attacks make it stronger.]
Liam was completely stunned.
’How?’
[Lydia: We don’t know.]
[Lydia: But every time they hit it too hard, it seems to react that way.]
Liam looked around the entire cave, trying to understand the situation...
’A sub-boss that gets stronger when it’s attacked...’
’A core that’s directly behind it...’
’And a second phase that activates when someone tries to approach it.’
Liam began thinking.
They had to find a way through.
They couldn’t simply defeat it.
Maybe they didn’t even need to.
Perhaps...
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Liam raised his gaze.
Footsteps could be heard.
Many of them.
Someone was running down the passage behind them.
"Looks like we found it!"
a voice shouted.
"There’s something glowing up ahead!"
Lydia quickly turned her tiny eye.
Five hunters came running into view.
Liam immediately recognized one of them.
Dark hair, an intense gaze, and that short-tempered expression he had already seen several times.
’Archie...’
It was the boy from the Fire Skull Guild.
There were four other hunters with him.
Liam recognized three of them almost immediately.
A young woman with reddish hair.
A calm-looking girl.
And a young man who, despite his age, had a presence completely different from everyone else.
’Ruby Red.’
’Lilly Russell.’
’Maxwell Masters.’
If he remembered correctly, they held fourth, second, and first place in the ranking.
The three strongest hunters in the entire trial, along with Ruby.
Duncan recognized them as well.
"Max! Lilly! Ruby! Hurry up and give us a hand!"
The three didn’t hesitate.
Maxwell was the first to advance.
Ruby ran behind him.
Lilly also charged into the battle.
Archie gritted his teeth and ran alongside them.
The fifth hunter, however, was different.
He seemed somewhat older than the others.
He stopped for a moment and looked at the enormous werewolf.
"Be careful,"
he warned.
The other four continued forward.
Liam remained watching.
The situation had just changed completely.
It was no longer just Duncan and Ivy trying to contain the sub-boss.
Lydia moved her tiny eye slightly.
[Lydia: Should we do something?]
Liam thought for a few seconds.
’No.’
’Not yet.’
’I want to observe.’
[Lydia: Observe?]
’Yes.’
Liam kept his gaze fixed on the battle.
’Wait for the right moment.’
The small slime didn’t respond immediately.
After a few seconds, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Lydia: Understood, honey.]
Liam looked back at the sub-boss.
There were now more hunters standing before it.
And that meant that, sooner or later, the monster would have to reveal something else.