Page 25

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Chapter 24: Relentless Attack

Boom! Thud!

The first floor of the Demon Dungeon: the Gray Forest.

Massive roots descending from the stormy clouds began burrowing into the ground of the Gray Forest.

“What the—what is that?!”

Seron’s voice rang out, trembling in shock.

Everyone else wore similarly alarmed expressions at the sheer scale of it.

But the real challenge had yet to come.

I dashed forward, quietly fixing my gaze on the center of the roots.

Craack!

Soon, a protrusion at the center of the roots began to open.

Drip—drip.

A thick liquid oozed out from between the opening buds.

Inside, there was a creature—a monstrous hybrid of human and insect, encased in gray tree bark.

The creature extended its insect wings from its back shell, slowly spreading them to dry.

If that thing manages to take flight, the situation will become a nightmare.

So, we had only one option.

“Everyone, spread out and sever as many roots as possible!”

“Are you insane? Cut those things?!”

Seron stared at the roots embedded in the Gray Forest with disbelief.

Even at a glance, the roots were absurdly thick.

It was obvious they wouldn’t be easy to cut.

But we couldn’t just leave them as they were.

The Gray Forest’s true Apostle, the Forest Keeper, absorbs all the life force of the Gray Forest.

Once drained, the Gray Forest turns entirely gray, as its name implies.

In other words, it becomes a debuff zone where stepping anywhere shreds your stamina.

“Scared already?”

Seron had been boasting earlier about delving into the Demon Dungeon.

I provoked her, and she bit her lip in frustration.

“Who said I can’t do it?!”

With a loud shout, Seron charged at one of the roots like a madwoman.

Ssshh!

Drawing her axe, a fiery explosion ignited as sparks flew.

Seron’s fire element gave her an advantage over the roots, so she should be able to handle it without much trouble.

“Aisha, you’re good to go too, right?”

“Of course.”

Aisha had already unsheathed her greatsword and begun swinging it powerfully.

Aisha, known as the Iron Knight, had the strength to sever the roots.

Her eyes gleamed fiercely, as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Foara, how many fire spirits can you summon?”

“I can bring out mid-level spirits!”

“That’s enough. Don’t summon the Lord yet—we’ll need it later.”

“Got it!”

With an enthusiastic response, Foara summoned a fire spirit.

Behind him, a massive flaming lizard appeared, opening its mouth to unleash fire on the roots.

“Saint, ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

Meanwhile, Sirmiel finished his prayer and raised his hands to the sky.

In that moment, a white light enveloped not only me but everyone else.

Life surged through our bodies.

Our movements became much lighter than before.

It was the Saint’s blessing.

As expected, my stats felt massively boosted.

“With this…”

I pushed off the ground, dashing forward until I reached the roots.

Up close, they were massive—reminiscent of a baobab tree.

No wonder Seron had been so alarmed.

“Normally…”

This part of the event would be relatively easy if Lucas and the protagonist’s party were here.

With them, the roots would’ve been removed effortlessly.

Especially Lucas’s Flame of Resolve—it was the Forest Keeper’s greatest weakness.

But there’s no use wishing for what isn’t here.

You have to fight with your gums when you don't have teeth.

I raised my hand, fingers sharpened like blades.

Thanks to my steel skin, my body was now a natural weapon.

With the Saint’s blessing enhancing me,

My body was now deadlier than most weapons.

‘Even if it’s not quite an aura blade…’

It could still achieve cutting power rivaling a masterwork sword.

Slash!

Swinging my hand, I sliced into the root and dug deep.

The root’s toughness wasn’t far off from that of an ordinary tree.

Maintaining my stance, I raised my other hand.

I began stabbing wildly into the root.

Like a mole digging into the earth,

I became an excavator, ripping apart the roots.

As I relentlessly tore through the roots, sunlight eventually peeked through.

Spinning in place, I continued to dig out more of the roots.

Crack! Snap!

Eventually, the middle section of the root connecting to the ground was hollowed out completely.

All around me lay the shredded remains of the roots.

There was no time to catch my breath.

As soon as I confirmed the root was completely severed, I pushed off the ground and sprinted again.

Heading straight for the next root, I extended my hand once more.

Using every ounce of strength, I began cutting through it as well.

Craack! Thud!

From a distance, the sound of roots snapping echoed.

It meant the others were holding their own too.

We weren’t the protagonist’s party.

But there was no difference in what we could accomplish.

‘If we stop the Forest Keeper here, we can take the most survivors into the next stage of the scenario.’

Even without Lucas, the protagonist,

We could make up for it by saving more students.

‘To turn a bad ending into a happy ending…’

I’ll do whatever it takes.

“Senior!”

Just as I severed another root, Aisha’s voice called out.

Ahead of her, along her path, was a lone root.

There were no other roots in sight,

Thanks to everyone’s relentless efforts to destroy them.

Despite the strain building in my arms from the relentless digging, I sprinted again.

Aisha spun her body, rotating her greatsword in preparation.

Once again, my steel skin sharpened my hands.

Slash!

Aisha’s greatsword and my hands struck the root simultaneously.

Together, we tore through the root ferociously.

Fragments of the root scattered all around.

The greatsword and my hand blades carved into the root in a frenzy.

Finally, after digging furiously, both Aisha and I burst through the root.

Thud, thud, crack!

The remaining roots couldn’t withstand the force and tore apart as they crumbled.

Aisha and I tumbled out, rolling through the debris of shattered roots.

We ran, avoiding the gray zones as much as possible.

“Ugh, my arms are gonna fall off!”

From afar, I saw Seron running toward us, her axe slung over her shoulder.

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Her red hair was smeared with fragments of roots, evidence of her desperate struggle to chop them down.

“All the roots have been burned!”

Foara shouted as he arrived, riding a flame lizard.

I quickly scanned our surroundings.

Thankfully, not all of the gray forest had turned into gray zones.

That meant we had successfully stopped the Forest Keeper’s appearance phase.

But the fight with the Forest Keeper had only just begun.

Crack, crack, rumble!

The Forest Keeper, which lay at the center of the roots, began cutting itself free from the remaining connections and rose to its full height.

Normally, it would have absorbed plenty of the gray forest’s energy and grown much larger.

But it hadn't reached its full size thanks to our swift actions in eliminating the roots.

In other words, it was weakened.

“Saint, can you channel some blessings to Foara?”

“Of course.”

The saint immediately acted on my request, beginning his prayer.

“Foara.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Prepare your Spirit Lord, and fire at maximum output as soon as the saint’s blessing takes hold.”

“Huh? Can I really do that?”

Foara looked startled.

It was clear he was hesitant about using the Spirit Lord, his trump card, so readily.

Of course, it was fine.

“Yeah, hit it with everything you’ve got.”

Hearing my words, Foara nodded firmly, his expression resolute.

“What are you planning?”

“Just watch.”

I replied to Seron and tilted my head back to look up at the Forest Keeper.

“Oh, God, please hear the prayer of your humble lamb.”

Meanwhile, Sirmiel finished his prayer.

Though we stood in the depths of a demonic forest, his prayer reached the heavens.

Soon, a brilliant radiance descended from above, engulfing Foara.

Foara’s abilities surged explosively.

The Spirit Lord is a being ranked just below a god, which means it is uniquely capable of receiving divine favor.

As a result, the blessing elevated Foara to a realm far beyond her usual capabilities.

Overwhelmed by the excessive concentration of power, Foara broke into a sweat as he clasped his hands together.

Spirit energy began surging from his body uncontrollably.

A radiant halo began to glow above him.

“Whoa!”

“This is incredible.”

Seron and Aisha couldn’t help but marvel at the overwhelming power.

The wind began to howl.

The gale was so fierce we could do little more than crouch down.

In the swirling gusts, the Spirit Lord—the ruler of the grand forest of spirits—slowly lifted its head.

Sparks crackled in the air.

A massive bird emerged from within the storm of wind and electricity, spreading its colossal wings toward the sky.

Its wingspan was so vast that it cast shadows over the land.

The Spirit Lord.

The pinnacle of what a spirit can achieve roared toward the heavens.

The sight was utterly overwhelming.

A Spirit Lord’s destructive power could rival that of an archmage.

Before such a colossal force, all resistance seemed futile.

A slow smile spread across my face.

The first phase of the Forest Keeper’s fight is riddled with frustrating mechanics designed to sap the players' strength and resources.

That’s why we brought Foara into play.

‘Burn through the first phase with pure firepower.’

A classic burst-damage strategy.

“Spirit Lord.”

Foara swallowed nervously amidst his cold sweat, then raised his trembling hands toward the Forest Keeper.

“Please, I’m counting on you!”

At Foara’s cry, the Spirit Lord swept its wings.

A vortex of wind and lightning spiraled toward the Forest Keeper.

Crash! Boom! Crackle!

The Forest Keeper let out a shriek as it beheld the oncoming storm.

It struggled desperately, flailing in an attempt to survive, but it was futile.

The whirlwind of wind and lightning tore through the Forest Keeper, shredding it into countless pieces.

Fragments of the warden scattered everywhere, leaving the massive roots of the gray forest utterly destroyed and unrecognizable.

“Ugh, haah...”

Exhausted from summoning the Spirit Lord, Foara collapsed to his knees.

He’d done well.

Watching in a daze, Seron asked,

“Did we even need all this?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I reassured her as I adjusted my shield.

Whizz!

Suddenly, small fruit-like objects spilled out from the shattered roots, scattering in all directions.

Thud! Boom!

The fruit-like objects cracked open like hatching eggs when they hit the ground.

From within emerged smaller versions of the Forest Keeper, these ones wingless but no less menacing.

Seron, staring in dismay, lowered her axe.

She, too, realized the battle wasn’t over yet.

“There’s still work to do.”

With the first phase dealt with through sheer firepower, it was time to tackle the second phase.

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