Ka-ga-gak!
My sword clashed against the monster's machete. Just as I collided head-on with the monster, something sharp sliced through the air behind me.
It was Kwon Taehyuk's blade, following close behind to assist me, pressing the monster harder.
Krrrgh!
The monster, forced to block my sword with its only machete, had no choice but to expose itself to Kwon Taehyuk's attack. It growled with clear irritation and struck my sword back with force.
Ka-kang!
"Urgh...!"
I was hurled backward and gritted my teeth as I rushed to close the distance again.
Pain tingled through the arm holding my sword, and a dull ache clouded one side of my head from the fatigue, but now wasn't the time to let myself drift.
An S-rank monster was never an easy opponent. Unlike lower-ranked monsters, S-ranks possessed intelligence and varying combat styles, which made them that much more troublesome.
If this were a dungeon, I could leave it to Kwon Taehyuk. But we were in the middle of a city where ordinary people lived. We didn't have the luxury of taking our time hunting down an S-rank monster that could bolt in any direction at any moment.
My role was to hold the monster's attention. I had to keep it locked in place so that Kwon Taehyuk could attack more easily. That was the only way to take it down quickly.
'What a fate...'
Hoo, I swallowed a hot breath and continued swinging my sword.
Ka-gak, gak, chaeng! Each time our weapons clashed, my shoulder grew heavier and the blade trembled more.
My lack of strength meant my sword had to absorb that much more impact. It was an S-rank sword, so it wouldn't break easily, but if I kept going like this head-on, I'd either drop it or damage the blade.
'I need another way.'
If I had my own skill, things would be easier. As always, I pushed aside the regret and shouted to Kwon Taehyuk.
"Lend me a weapon!"
"What?"
"A weapon!"
Thud! I dodged a machete swing by rolling along the ground and called out again with full confidence. Kwon Taehyuk gave me a stunned look.
"Hurry!"
There was no time to be stunned. I shouted again, this time with some irritation, and Kwon Taehyuk reluctantly sent one of the swords flying around the monster toward me.
Unlike my regular longsword, which had a handle and a long blade, the weapon Kwon Taehyuk used had a central grip and sharp, pointed edges on both ends.
I grabbed the flying blade with my left hand and slashed quickly. Shwik, the blade sliced through the air and across the monster's face.
Kaaak!
The monster screamed as a deep gash ran from its left cheek across the bridge of its nose to the right side of its forehead.
Compared to my right arm, which had been fighting the whole time, my left arm was still relatively fresh—naturally making it less burdensome. I was right-handed, so wielding the weapon with my left felt awkward, but the speed was much faster.
The monster clutched its bleeding face as thick black blood gushed down, snarling as it swung its machete even more wildly in rage.
Boom, bang!
Dodging the axe-like blows that slammed into the ground, I raised the corner of my mouth.
Even if it was more intelligent than other monsters, in the end, it was still a monster. Especially these humanoid ones—aggressive and easy to provoke—were perfect targets for taunting.
'If I keep provoking it, its movements will get bigger and leave more openings.'
Seeing it respond exactly as I hoped, I thought maybe this would end more easily than expected.
Grinning with confidence, I ducked low to avoid an attack and swung Kwon Taehyuk's blade horizontally again.
"...!"
Shraakk, black blood splashed as the monster's flesh was split open. That was fine.
But... because I wasn't used to using my left hand, the strike landed lower than I had intended.
Kyaaaaargh!
The monster let out a wretched scream and dropped to one knee. I also froze as I realized exactly where I had just struck.
Kwon Taehyuk, who had been running over, also stopped when he saw what had happened.
"......"
"......"
I'd aimed to slash the monster's lower abdomen—but the blade had struck somewhere far less fortunate.
A strange silence settled between us, the monster still groaning in pain between us.
Standing behind the monster, Kwon Taehyuk looked at me # Nоvеlight # with an expression of pure discomfort. That look practically accused me of being a heartless bastard, so I quickly tried to explain.
"That was an accident."
"What was?"
"It really was. I'm right-handed, so..."
Krrgh, KRAAAARGH!
Before I could finish my excuse, the monster suddenly sprang up and let out a thunderous roar with its mouth wide open.
Its entire body twitched as its muscles flexed, skin turning a deeper shade of red. Saliva dripped from its protruding fangs as its murderous eyes locked onto me with bone-chilling intent.
The hatred radiating from it was so intense, so focused solely on me, that my shoulders instinctively flinched.
'Shit... I pushed it too far...'
Just as I began to back away from the shifting atmosphere—
Rumble... A thunderclap rolled across the sky from above. It didn't come from the rift.
Reflexively, I looked up to see pitch-black clouds filling the entire sky.
Bzzzzt!
Dark lightning crackled between the clouds. A horrible chill ran down my spine just as Kwon Taehyuk shouted.
"Get back!"
CRAAACK!
A pitch-black bolt of lightning struck down right in front of me, interrupting Kwon Taehyuk's shout. That was just the beginning—lightning began raining down endlessly from the sky.
Thoom! Bam! BOOM!
With thunder shaking my eardrums, the power of the lightning tore up the ground. Nearby hunters who had been fighting other monsters panicked and fled in terror.
In an instant, the street turned into total chaos. Who would've thought the monster's skill would be something elemental—lightning, of all things?
'You've got a lion's mane and this is your skill?!'
I kept running, dodging lightning bolts that exploded behind me with every step.
The barrage of lightning was relentless, filling the air with dust and debris. Roads cracked apart, buildings collapsed.
No matter how hard I looked around, I couldn't spot Kwon Taehyuk through the thick dust and rubble.
'This is bad.'
I was going through hell trusting only in Kwon Taehyuk—and now he was gone?
I'd succeeded in making the monster focus on me, but now I had no idea where the guy who was supposed to kill it had gone.
Grinding my teeth, I tried to stay calm and sense his energy. He knew we shouldn't be separated—he couldn't have gone far. I just had to find him and then...
"Huff, ngh!"
My thoughts were interrupted by a wave of killing intent that pricked my skin. Instinctively, I raised my sword.
Ka-ga-gak! Something slammed into my blade hard. Since I'd been running, I couldn't brace myself—I was thrown backward.
Thud!
"Gah!"
I was helplessly flung into a wall. The impact knocked Kwon Taehyuk's blade from my hand, and it clattered far across the ground.
Groaning from the pain spreading through my back, I lifted my head to see the monster approaching with its machete.
Grrrk!
It growled low in its throat and swung the machete at me as I sat there.
I twisted my head just in time and rolled sideways. I tried to counterattack immediately—but the monster was faster.
"Ugh...!"
Its massive hand clamped onto my leg and yanked me violently. As I was dragged toward it, the machete came down at my neck—but I barely blocked it with my sword.
"Kwon Taehyuk!"
Clang, clang. The sword trembled violently as it struggled to hold back the machete.
The more strength I lost, the closer the machete came. The monster hovered right over me, panting with rage, its bloodshot eyes locked on my throat.
"Kwon... Kwon Taehyuk...!"
I couldn't hold on. Just as I was about to lose my grip entirely, I used every last bit of strength to shout his name.
And then—
KWAJIK!
"...!"
A blade flew in from somewhere and pierced the monster's head in an instant.
As I gasped, two more blades followed and embedded themselves into the monster's body.
Grrk...
With a grotesque groan, the monster slowly collapsed to the side. Clang, the machete slipped from its lifeless hand and hit the ground.
"Haa... haa..."
Once I confirmed it was dead, I slowly pushed myself upright.
I couldn't even take off my mask—I was panting hard, breath caught at my chin. Through the thinning dust, Kwon Taehyuk appeared.
"...You found me."
"You were yelling that loud—how could I not?"
Despite his annoying tone, Kwon Taehyuk reached out to help me. I wasn't in any shape to refuse, so I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up.
As soon as the monster died, the dark clouds in the sky vanished like a lie. Looking up, I noticed something else welcome.
Like the clouds, the rift had also begun to shrink, its entrance slowly closing.
[Main Quest: Survive the second rift. (Time remaining: 6 hours 08 minutes)]

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