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Chapter : 10. After Ending a Life of Swords, I Begin Life (8)
Kuwoong. Kuwoong.
The massive body of the boss goat shattered the ground as it charged toward me.
‘Did the dungeon rank measurement malfunction?’
The appearance of the boss goat—called the King Slime—meant this was no longer an F-rank dungeon.
An F-rank hunter soloing an F-rank dungeon… with a boss present, the dungeon had effectively been upgraded to E-rank.
It wasn’t unheard of, but it wasn’t exactly common either.
‘Is it because the goat’s mana is weak, so even with a boss present it was still classified as F-rank?’
It was a plausible explanation, but I couldn’t understand why something like this had happened to me.
Still, the situation wasn’t entirely negative.
“So I get to encounter the material for creating the Heart of Mana again… what an overly scripted coincidence.”
Along with the “Hestios,” known as the Flame of the Goddess, another material—the “core of the boss goat”—had appeared right before me.
“Even bringing your underlings with you?”
The problem was that it was approaching with two ordinary goats as escorts.
‘I can’t kill it recklessly. What do I do?’
Destroying the boss goat’s core would clear the dungeon and open the escape portal.
‘Then the material for the core will be gone for good.’
But this was the difference between becoming an average human mage and becoming a great mage with power comparable to demons.
‘I must obtain the boss goat’s core no matter what.’
Kuwoong. Kuwoong.
Even though I still had no idea how to deal with it, the massive body kept approaching steadily.
Now that I saw it up close, I realized another problem.
‘My jungle knife won’t reach it.’
The blade of the jungle knife—shorter than a longsword—would not reach the core inside the massive boss goat’s body.
Whoosh.
In an instant, I heard something slicing through the wind and the surroundings darkened.
Looking up, I saw the enormous body of the boss goat above me.
It had leapt high into the air to crush me.
“You crazy monster!”
There was no time.
I had to escape the shadow cast on the ground.
I ran for my life—this life I had barely regained could not end here.
The shadow of the boss goat shrank as it fell, but I still hadn’t escaped it.
Whoosh.
The sound of its massive body cutting through the air slammed into my ears.
“No!”
I threw myself toward the boundary between the shadow in front of me and the grassland.
Kwaaaang!
Its enormous body crashed into the ground, destroying it.
Thud.
I rolled once across the ground, landing in an ugly heap—but I had avoided being crushed.
Now wasn’t the time to think about obtaining the goat’s core.
If I were crushed by that body, I would die instantly.
Whoosh.
It leapt again.
The desire to live erased all fatigue from my body, and my legs kept moving endlessly, allowing me to escape death again and again.
“Haa… haa…”
I was out of breath.
I steadied my breathing and watched its movements carefully.
Then I remembered—it wasn’t alone—and shifted my gaze to the two ordinary goats behind it.
‘There’s no other choice. I’ll kill those two goats and raise assimilation to 10%. There must be a way then.’
Since defeating an E-rank monster like the boss goat with Shin Hyun-woo’s current body was impossible, I had no choice but to take a gamble.
A life-risking bet.
Whoosh.
It leapt again.
This time, I ran forward instead of backward.
My target: the two ordinary goats watching the battle from behind.
I sprinted at full power, narrowly avoiding the boss’s falling attack and reaching them.
“Become my mana!”
Shwik. Shwik.
Slash. Slash.
The sword technique of <Full Moon Slash> cut through the goats’ cores.
“Spirit Absorption Conversion!”
I quickly absorbed their souls.
Ding.
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Goat (F).]
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Goat (F).]
[Mana has slightly increased.]
[Assimilation rate has slightly increased.]
[Current assimilation rate is 10%.]
[Due to reaching assimilation stage 1, the body has been greatly enhanced.]
[As a result of reaching assimilation stage 1, the sword authority <Super Sensory 超感覺> has been unlocked.]
[You begin to perceive things that you could not see, hear, or feel before.]
‘Just as expected!’
My prediction was correct.
10% assimilation was equivalent to the first awakening in <Devil Maker>.
Super Sensory was also one of the powers granted by the demonic sword “Veradion” to its contractors.
A transcendent sense that elevated human perception far beyond its limits as long as one held the sword.
But that wasn’t all I gained from increased assimilation.
My body, which had been slightly enhanced until now, had now undergone a significant boost.
My body felt lighter, and the fatigue I had felt moments ago was gone—it wasn’t just my imagination.
‘What about mana?’
I quickly checked my internal mana.
If I couldn’t defeat the boss goat with the jungle knife, there was only one answer: magic.
And to use magic, I needed to form a circle.
Whoosh.
Perhaps realizing its subordinates had died, the boss’s next leap seemed even higher than before.
I began running again to escape its landing point.
‘Light.’
A strengthened body meant improved muscle performance, allowing me to escape the impact zone much more easily than before.
Kwaaaang!
It landed, shaking the ground and raising clouds of dust.
I already knew from experience that it needed time before it could leap again, so I quickly focused.
‘I need to form a circle.’
First, I sensed the mana scattered throughout my body.
It flowed through my arms, legs, and abdomen—everywhere—and I concentrated to gather it into one place.
‘I need to send mana to my heart like blood flowing.’
I imagined mana traveling through my blood vessels toward my heart.
Not just imagination, but a will infused with intent.
For a brief moment, that strong desire moved the mana inside me.
Slowly, the mana began to move toward my heart.
‘Now, form the ring.’
It was time to bind the mana into a single circle.
A solid ring that could maintain its form even under intense rotation.
I layered my will once more onto my imagination.
And finally, it happened.
A ring revolving around my heart was formed.
Ding.
[A mana ring has been created.]
[You can now use 1-circle magic corresponding to your attribute.]
Even the now-familiar female voice confirmed I had become a mage.
Whoosh.
The boss leapt again.
Even while escaping the landing zone, I never took my eyes off its falling body.
‘I can see it.’
One of Super Sensory’s abilities was identifying weaknesses—and sure enough, I could see a glowing white area on its body.
Probably a region where the mana structure was weaker than the rest.
‘First, I’ll stop its movement.’
I accelerated the rotation of the circle orbiting my heart.
Mana surged from the violently spinning circle, materializing through my hands.
“Bright light. Power that halts the enemy. Heat that crushes the foe. Reveal yourself before me—Electric Sphere!”
Paat-tsu.
A yellow sphere formed before my hands as the chant ended.
Chanting was merely a method of focusing mana.
A process to shape imagination into reality, infused with will.
But for humans, it was still necessary.
“Go!”
I launched the sphere toward the boss goat.
Boom!
Though small compared to its massive body, it worked.
The boss goat, about to leap again, stopped.
‘Now!’
I rushed toward it and swung my jungle knife.
“Full Moon Slash!”
Shwik.
Slash.
A portion of its massive body split open.
I struck again into the gap.
“Full Moon Slash!”
My blade followed its path, carving deeper into the glowing weak point.
Soon the opening widened enough for a person to fit through.
A thought flashed briefly:
‘Should I abandon the core? No, I should take it.’
There was no time. Its body would regenerate.
“Piercing Crossing!”
I threw myself into the gap and thrust the jungle knife toward the core.
Guided by Super Sensory, my blade followed the path of weakness directly to the core, tearing through its body.
“Guh!”
Its body began crushing me from inside.
But I kept moving—swimming through its flesh like water.
I finally grasped it.
‘I’ve got it.’
But I was in trouble.
The body had already begun regenerating, and I was about to suffocate inside a space with no air.
‘First, stop its movement.’
It was trying to crush me, increasing pressure inside its body.
I activated the mana ring again.
“Lightning filling my hands—enter this body and fulfill my will. Electric Shock!”
Pajijik.
Mana charged with elemental power struck the core.
Immediately, the pressure vanished.
‘Now, escape!’
I raised my arm.
The monster resisted, but I swung anyway.
Full Moon Slash.
The path opened.
I forced myself through and swung again.
Full Moon Slash.
My vision blurred.
I was running out of oxygen.
Death was near.
But I kept swinging.
My will to survive protected me even now.
Slash.
Thud.
“Haa… haa… haa…”
Air returned.
My vision cleared.
My senses returned.
In one hand was my jungle knife.
In the other—what I had desperately sought.
A transparent blue orb.
Drip. Drip-drip.
The sound of something collapsing behind me filled the air.
The boss goat, now without its core, lost its form and collapsed.
‘Did I… win?’
The battle against an E-rank boss monster had been a life-or-death struggle.
Without the circle, Super Sensory, and my strengthened body, I would have died.
“Ha… hahahaha…”
A laugh escaped my lips.
Relief at surviving, and excitement at obtaining two key materials for the “Heart of Mana,” filled me.
It was time to leave.
“Spirit Absorption Conversion.”
Ding.
[You have absorbed the monster soul: Boss Goat (E).]
[Mana slightly increased.]
[Assimilation rate slightly increased.]
[Current assimilation rate is 10.5%.]
[Body slightly strengthened due to increased assimilation.]
Since this dungeon—home of slimes and goats that left no loot behind—was supposed to waste entry fees, that concern had been unnecessary.
I picked up the dropped White Ether from the ground and stepped into the escape portal.
A smile on my lips.
