Chapter 58

The exchange of blows began in earnest as they launched into the full-scale battle against the boss.

As time dragged on, the pendulum of battle swung increasingly in Angramel’s favor.

Teoeong!

Jang Taeju shoved the roots away with his shield, closing the distance to pin the creature’s spear down with his mace.

While it was pinned, Seo Eunhyun flanked from the side, hacking apart the spear shaft and the creature’s arm.

Jin Baekseon darted in right behind him, driving his sword into the collarbone area.

Seogeok―!

The thin, razor-sharp blade sheared diagonally through the upper torso.

A momentary state of incapacitation. Jang Taeju and Seo Eunhyun didn’t let the opening slip by.

Mace and dagger crossed, completely pulverizing its head and chest.

A perfectly synchronized chain of attacks.

Yet, it yielded little effect.

Peogeok, peok!

“Keuak!”

“You crazy bastard…!”

The three men were sent flying backward, struck by roots erupting from the creature’s lower half.

Even while regenerating, it had shaken them off as dangerous elements.

The situation was dire.

Siyoon calmly observed Angramel.

The creature’s body, having repelled their assault, regenerated rapidly.

‘As expected, normal strikes won’t cut it.’

Siyoon’s narrowed eyes locked onto Angramel.

In his field of vision, a golden light shimmered across three spots on Angramel’s body.

It had been ambiguous earlier, but after watching it continuously, he was certain.

‘Path Finder’s weakness analysis.’

Destroying the collarbone area—one of the places where the light shimmered—on a trial basis confirmed it.

That specific part regenerated noticeably slower than the rest.

But slower was all it was; it still regenerated nonetheless.

‘Attacking like this will lead to an endless stalemate.’

The general picture painted itself after several exchanges.

While they were gradually sustaining injuries, Angramel restored all of its damage.

Ultimately, it would only end with their side exhausting all of its combat power.

He had to come up with a plan, no matter what.

Hwak!

Siyoon closed the distance to Angramel.

The creature’s gaze followed him, but in terms of instantaneous speed, he held a slight edge.

In that state, Siyoon scattered shell casings once more and detonated them.

An explosion at point-blank range.

Exploiting the gap created as the newly regenerated shield shattered, he thrust his knife-hand through the opening.

Kkudeuk.

His enhanced hand blade pierced straight through Angramel’s body.

This was not the end.

Siyoon operated the Wind of Horus to its absolute limit.

‘Angramel’s vital points are three in total.’

The collarbone, the abdomen, and the head.

He injected the finely condensed wind simultaneously, as if detonating it from within.

The wind, rushing like a drill, effortlessly pierced through Angramel’s vital points.

He had struck all the vital points confirmed by Path Finder.

Despite this, Angramel did not fall.

-Kkirik… kkiririri…

It merely repeated its regeneration, emitting grotesque sounds.

“Die!”

“Stop getting up so pathetically and just die already!!”

Before it could fully regenerate, Jang Taeju charged at the forefront.

Smashing through the erupting roots with nothing but his shield, he brought his mace crashing down.

Jin Baekseon, charging in right behind him, swung his sword upward in a diagonal slash.

The body that had been regenerating crumbled away once more from a single blow.

Swaeeaek!

However, roots and branches sprouting from the ground clung to the scattered fragments.

The moment they hesitated before the instantly restored body,

thorn-like, razor-sharp roots shot out like spears.

Kkeudeudeuk.

“What are you doing?! If you’re going to lose your focus mid-battle, get to the back!!”

“Damn it…!”

Jang Taeju gritted his teeth at the biting remark.

He continuously bashed the roots with his shield, crushing their midsections with his mace.

Despite such efforts, Angramel’s regeneration showed no sign of stopping.

‘Something’s off.’

Siyoon’s intuition sensed that something was terribly wrong.

Angramel possessed a Core, just like a typical plant-type magic beast.

And those vital points must surely signify Angramel’s Core.

But even after attacking all three marked spots, no Core existed.

‘What?’

In a fleeting moment, Siyoon’s brain accelerated to its absolute limit.

There was no way the skill was flawed.

Path Finder had never pointed him in the wrong direction before.

Besides, judging by its reactions, these were definitely its vital points.

Then what was it?

One hypothesis was that this Angramel was also a mutant.

But even so, the absence of a Core couldn’t be explained.

That was practically the very source of life itself.

Metaphorically, it was akin to a body existing without a heart.

Then, it happened.

A chilling sensation coiled around his spine.

Siyoon immediately distanced himself from Angramel.

He twisted his body, deflecting something rushing in from behind.

It was a movement driven purely by instinct.

Seogeok.

‘A sword?’

What had lightly grazed his forearm was a root shaped exactly like a sword.

He already knew the creature could alter its form.

But he never imagined it could change the shape of roots that had separated from its body.

“Keuk, what the hell is this now!”

“Watch out!”

The bad news didn’t end there.

Curses from his party members echoed from behind.

Glancing back, he saw roots and branches tangling together and swelling up.

A very familiar sight.

Just like what they had witnessed moments ago.

Before they could even react, it rapidly took shape.

Into the exact same appearance as the Angramel Siyoon had been fighting.

At the absurd situation, Seo Eunhyun, who had been waiting for an opening, spat a curse and leaped forward.

“Stop just watching and kill it!”

Seogeok.

His twin reverse-grip daggers crossed, slicing off Angramel’s head.

A swift judgment.

However, branches sprouting from the severed stump caught the falling head and reattached it.

“Crazy…”

Peok!

Angramel lashed Seo Eunhyun with a root.

Even in his panic, he reacted to the attack.

He blocked the direct impact with his daggers, but his body was sent flying far back, slamming into the wall.

“Seo Eunhyun!”

“Fuck, it’s not even a normal magic beast, the boss can duplicate?”

Anxiety crept onto the faces of Jang Taeju and Jin Baekseon.

This was the worst-case scenario.

A magic beast with such regenerative powers had multiplied into two.

The party members lost their composure and wavered.

Even though composure was the one thing they couldn’t afford to lose in battle.

Siyoon bit his lip hard.

‘Think.’

He calmed his burning heart and analyzed his surroundings.

Two Angramels were visible in his field of vision.

The duplicated one shared the exact same vital points.

Jjeoeong!

Siyoon parried the branches and Angramel’s spear rushing toward him.

Simultaneously, he used the recoil to spin his body, crushing its head with the gun barrel.

That was one beat.

While the other Angramel’s gaze was turning, he stepped back again and continued his train of thought.

‘Given that it can duplicate, it’s right to assume there is no Core in its body.’

But this was also a problem.

How could it maintain its form, duplicate, and attack without a Core?

At that moment, he saw a wall woven from countless vines.

‘…What if the Heart of the Rainforest is a single entity?’

This was clearly inside the Heart of the Rainforest.

And Angramel was a boss generated after they entered this place.

‘The System’s conditions for clearing the dungeon are the destruction of the Core and the defeat of the boss.’

But while the System’s explanations held no lies, they were never generous.

Let’s twist the perspective a little more.

What if the destruction of the Core and the defeat of the boss were goals that had to be achieved together?

‘No way.’

In that instant, the chaotically scattered information aligned all at once.

The Core protected in the air of the massive ancient tree.

Angramel generated within the ancient tree.

The fact that it remained intact even after all its vital points were destroyed.

And… the series of movements that seemed as if it were trying to protect the ancient tree’s Core.

‘The boss of this dungeon, Angramel, was not a single entity.’

The ancient tree they had entered.

The Heart of the Rainforest.

That entire structure was Angramel itself.

* * *

It was a deduction, but still a hard-to-believe conclusion.

To think Angramel’s true identity was the massive ancient tree.

But this was a dungeon, and the final destination of the Hidden Route at that.

It wouldn’t be strange for any anomaly to occur.

Above all, the answer had become quite clear.

‘Continuing to fight those duplicated Angramels is meaningless.’

Attacking them would only result in more regeneration.

Dealing a meaningful blow was impossible.

Therefore, there was only one thing to do from here on out.

Destroy the Core floating up above.

Taang―!

Siyoon swiftly fired his sniper rifle at the Core.

At that moment, the Angramel attacking Jang Taeju moved to intercept it.

“Huh?”

“What just…”

They were bewildered seeing Angramel suddenly change its trajectory and leap to block the shot.

Siyoon spoke calmly.

“Fighting them is meaningless. The Core up above is its main body.”

Jin Baekseon’s face crumpled as he heard Siyoon’s words.

“So that’s why it wouldn’t die no matter how much I slashed it.”

“Damn it, I knew something was off.”

Seo Eunhyun, grinding his teeth, asked calmly.

“What’s the plan?”

“We’ll have to neutralize those Angramels first.”

Siyoon pointed at Angramel, which had blocked the bullet and landed again.

With two of them duplicated, destroying the Core by brute force would be difficult.

They would keep leaping in to block it like before.

“We can’t kill them anyway, so tying them down is the best option, but…”

“Easier said than done…”

“So we just need to keep them from moving as much as possible?”

“Yeah. And for the record, you’d better do it fast.”

Siyoon said.

“Since one has already duplicated into two, there’s no guarantee they won’t multiply further.”

“Hah, that’s… just imagining it gives me all the motivation I need.”

“Cut the bullshit and get to work.”

Perhaps spurred on by his words, a fire lit in the eyes of the three men.

That wasn’t his intention with those words, but it wasn’t bad.

Because the statement that they needed to finish quickly was the truth.

Kwajik!

The first to charge in was Jang Taeju.

Sheathing his shield and armor in a transparent barrier, he met the rushing spear head-on.

The wooden spear failed to pierce the skill-enhanced shield.

Papapapat!

Jin Baekseon followed up behind him.

He rapidly swung his thin, swift sword strikes, slicing the spear and shield to pieces.

As Angramel’s offense and defense were dismantled in an instant, the mace swinging diagonally upward struck it squarely.

Ttududeuk.

Just like that, Angramel’s head was severed.

At that moment, Siyoon fired his gun at the severed stump.

His current position was close to Angramel.

It was within the range where he could use Enhancement on distant objects.

Jin Baekseon had already moved away, and Jang Taeju had his shield raised, so the aftermath wouldn’t affect them much.

Siyoon attempted Enhancement before the bullet embedded itself into the stump.

Once it embedded into the body, it would be classified as no longer belonging to Siyoon, making Enhancement impossible.

But right now, it was possible.

[ Enhancement failed. ]

Kwaaang!

An explosion erupted fiercely, scorching the severed stump.

Shattered by the shockwave, Angramel’s charred remains collapsed on the spot.

‘That’s one down.’

Even in this state, roots writhed from all directions to regenerate.

A truly astonishing vitality.

Right then, a spear thrust inward from behind.

Kkikikikik!

Siyoon deflected the wooden spear’s trajectory with his gun barrel.

Simultaneously, he punched away the sword-shaped root that shot up, diving deeper inside.

The originally created one was definitely more powerful than the duplicated one.

It was far more adept at manipulating roots.

“Leave the front to me!”

Jang Taeju, who had rushed over at some point, swatted the roots away with his shield.

In the meantime, Seo Eunhyun and Jin Baekseon sprinted forward, slicing away all the roots sprouting from the floor.

With its means of attack mowed down in an instant, Angramel was left with only its main body.

-Kkirik, kkiiii!

It spewed out an indescribable, grotesque shriek and lunged at Siyoon.

Every time it kicked off the ground, roots and vines erupted from the floor, wrapping around its body.

It looked as though it had donned armor over its already hard body.

‘Does it think I’m the most dangerous?’

Angramel’s gaze was fixed solely on Siyoon.

Well, it was understandable.

He was the only one who had threatened the Core above multiple times, and he had even blown up a duplicate with an explosion.

Unfortunately, Siyoon was no ordinary shooter.

Siyoon swung his gun.

Timing it with the moment it thrust its spear deeply, from bottom to top.

He deflected the sharp spearhead with the muzzle, intentionally parrying its trajectory.

‘First, one.’

Hwirik!

When the attack didn’t land, the roots attached to its body rushed in, aiming for his neck.

If he didn’t block it, he would die.

So, as a chain action, he swung the gun barrel and knocked the root away.

But the creature, having learned from the repeated battles, didn’t stop there.

Roots sprouting from beneath Siyoon bound his ankles.

Sealing his movement—not a bad judgment.

However, Siyoon wasn’t their only combat power.

Seogeok.

Jin Baekseon’s blade swung a couple of times over the roots.

As the tightly bound roots were severed, Jang Taeju burst out from the side.

Utilizing his signature defensive power, he rammed his shield straight into the creature’s body.

Angramel staggered from the impact.

It belatedly tried to extend its roots and branches to attack, but…

Papapapapapat!

Seo Eunhyun, who had been waiting for an opening from the flank, didn’t allow it.

Amidst the debris sliced apart by the twin daggers, Siyoon clenched his fist.

The chance to end it quickly was now.

To not miss that chance, he repeatedly used Enhancement.

[ Overlaying Enhancement on ‘Hands’. ]

[ Attack power increases significantly. ]

[ Damage upon strike increases. ]

[ Overlapping Enhancement applied to ‘Arm’. ]

[ Immense power imbues the arm. ]

[ Strength increases significantly. ]

A total of two overlapping physical Enhancements.

Marked as +2 Enhancement.

That alone caused thick veins to bulge rapidly on the back of his tightly clenched hand and forearm.

Siyoon unhesitatingly drove his fist into Angramel’s upper torso.

Tteoeeong!!

The sound of air condensing and bursting echoed through the space in an instant.

Siyoon shook off his tingling hand and stared beyond the billowing dust.

Lying there was Angramel’s body, its upper torso completely obliterated.