Chapter 36 – Kutan Desert (3)

“Incinerate everything in your path! Fireball!”

Sungjin threw another fireball into a Sandworm’s mouth.

‘Boom’

Flames erupted from the Sandworm’s mouth, and the worm collapsed into a heap.

‘Geez, so much pain…’

Sungjin wiped the sweat off of his brows; he was throwing fireball in the midst of murderous heat. But at least the effects were good.

Spell attacks such as ‘Fireball’ was useful in taking out troublesome enemies like Sandworms from afar. And after using it a few times, Sungjin felt his mana starting to run low.

Sungjin’s Magic power was 1195, and MP was 6660. Fireball was a fourth circle spell, so it cost 4780; in other words, each cast consumed more than half the mana pool.

Due to its enormous mana consumption, after just a single cast of Fireball, Sungjin had to diligently cut away enemies using his ‘Moon Specter’.

‘Trading reusability for firepower…’

If the Magic power was too high, the spell power improved at the expense of mana cost. If Mind power was too high, the spells could be cast often, but at weaker effectiveness. Finding the proper proportion was important.

‘Mana… Got to refill mana…’

He pointed his left ring finger towards a flaming Sandworm.

“Lich’s Beckon”

The bones wrapped around his finger moved automatically to absorb mana on Sungjin’s behalf. While waiting for the mana restoration to finish, he held the magic Waterskin upside down over his head to take a shower.

Even though he had drenched himself, in just a minute or two, the water would evaporate off of him. After all, this was the desert.

“Ohh”

He had moved the waterskin to the back of his neck and involuntarily gasped to the rush of cold water running down his back. It was at this moment that the Operator gave an announcement.

[Caution!]

[Boss ‘Basilisk’ has appeared!]

“Mmm?”

Sungjin looked around in surprise, but he couldn’t locate the Giant lizard ‘Basilisk’. He asked the cube

“Operator, Raid progress?”

[75.8%]

The other Hunters must have pushed the raid progress past the 75% mark while Sungjin was busy cooling himself down. If that was the case, the boss had probably spawned close to the other Hunters.

Sungjin looked back at the direction he came from. The path was strewn about with corpses of Monsters he had killed, but he could see no sign of the other four Hunters nor the whereabouts of the Boss Monster.

If he lets this go unchecked, a similar situation to what happened in Grey Soul Cemetery could occur.

‘What should I do?’

Sungjin considered his options for a moment and came up with a solution.

“Cain, come”

Sungjin summoned Cain. Cain took a look around his surroundings; he seemed unaccustomed to the desert scenery. Sungjin spoke softly into his ears.

“Cain use everything you’ve got, smell or sound… find the Hunters. Got it?”

“Woof”

And within a moment.

“Woof Woof!”

Cain barked twice, looking off into the distance.

“So it’s that way!”

Sungjin looked towards the direction Cain indicated.

“Swift Paw!”

He deployed the wolf claws and prepared to run alongside Cain.

“Let’s go, Cain!”

Cain took two steps and stopped moving. Sungjin paused to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

Cain was in an unnatural state. Cain stared at Sungjin with his tongue hanging out.

“Ah…”

The cause of his behavior was obvious; even with Arabic clothing, drenched in water and with a turban over his head, Sungjin was suffering from the dreadful heat. For Cain, who sported a lush winter coat, it must be beyond the level of torture.

Forget running; he looked in pain just sitting there.

“Yeah I don’t think this is right. Go back Cain. Unsummon.”

Sungjin transformed Cain back into a wooden figurine. Then looking in the direction Cain had shown him, he began running. Alone.

*

The four Hunters quickly raised their weapons. The boss ‘Basilisk’ made its appearance in the distant sand dune.

It stood at an imposing height, double that of the other lizards. If ancient dinosaurs had still existed, it would have probably looked something like that.

“Kuuoo!”

It bellowed, and the whole desert reverberated with the echo of the boss’s cry. The Hunters exchanged glances. Igor spoke up.

“As you all saw in the information sheet, looking at the eyes causes petrification. Munir, you fight it from behind and don’t look at its face. Watch out for the tail.”

Munir nodded. Igor continued.

“Ralph… is zealot or whatnot ready?”

He had somehow taken the position of the leader among the Hunters, and they accepted it without question.

The three others were all skilled in their own ways, but after a few hunts they knew; Igor was on a different level altogether.

“It’s ready to go at any time. It’s just… once I use it, my HP drops to half. Look.”

Ralph raised his axe up for them to see.

Thorfinn – Zealot’s Axe

Heroic Axe – Strength S Dexterity C

Passive Skill

Rampage (II)

Each strike against the same enemy increases damage by 20%.

Max 3 Stacks

Active Skill

Zealot (II)

For 30 seconds, increases damage by 200% and attack speed by 200%

Once active duration ends, reduces current hp by half. 5 Minute Cooldown

Everyone read the information on the Axe

“As you can see… it’s quite a useful active skill, but in return when the timer’s up, it becomes extremely dangerous. So… Please protect me.”

Igor scanned the item one more time and replied

“I’ll give you a sign when I think it’s safe, or if there is a good opportunity to use it.”

Ralph bit his lower lip and nodded. Igor addressed the tank Bukitai last.

“Bukitai, try to keep its attention on you without looking at its eyes.”

Bukitai responded, blinking blankly

“But… how do I block the attacks without looking up?”

“Watch the ground. With that size, you should be able to predict its movement by watching the shadows.”

Bukitai dropped his shoulders in dejection.

“That’s easy to say…”

“Just try to survive. I’ll be helping as well.”

Bukitai nodded at his reassurance. Once the strategy meeting was over, Igor tilted his head towards the boss and said

“Ok then, let’s go”

Bukitai walked forward using his shield to block out the Basilisk’s eyes. After covering some distance

“Kuuwargh!”

The Basilisk let out a mighty roar, and the earth began to tremble, shifting the sands. Igor shouted out

“It’s coming! Brace yourselves!”

Bukitai tried to peek ahead of him. Upon seeing the Basilisk’s giant legs moving towards him, he tensed up.

‘Shadows… watch the shadows…’

But it was no easy feat trying to predict an enemy’s motion relying on nothing but shadows. He didn’t make any attempt to look up and kept his eyes glued on the feet.

Right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg. Soon its shadow covered the area surrounding Bukitai. The boss kicked using its right leg, and Bukitai positioned his shield to block.

‘Bang!’

The Giant Basilisk’s claws collided with Bukitai’s shield, and he was pushed back. Despite it all, he shouted,

“Quickly! Attack!”

From afar, Munir shot his Crossbow bolts

‘Sh sh ssh’

“Uryah!”

Ralph’s battle cry rang out. But Bukitai did not turn to look around, afraid that he might accidentally look into the Basilisk’s eye.

‘Woosh’

The Giant Lizard kicked him again. From the right, and then left, and then right again. Watching the shadows, Bukitai continued to block the Lizard’s attack. He shouted once again to the other Hunters.

“I won’t last too long!”

It was at this time.

‘Slither’

Something slimy and gross wrapped around his body, and lifted him up in the air.

Caught by surprise, Bukitai looked up to see. The elongated tongue of the Basilisk had wrapped around him.

“Wha…”

Once lifted up into the air, he began thrashing about to get loose. But by accident, he looked into the Basilisk’s amber eyes.

“Ack”

Bukitai instantly became rigid. He was still conscious, but he was like a vegetable.

‘Move… I’ve got to move!’

The Basilisk brought Bukitai closer to swallow him. Then,

‘Woosh woosh woosh woosh’

A round shield flew like a frisbee and struck against the Basilisk’s tongue.

“Kaaooo~!”

The Basilisk’s tongue was cut halfway through, and Bukitai dropped to the ground like a stone. Even after reaching the ground, he was unable to move.

But he could still see. The round shield which cut the Basilisk’s tongue continued to fly for a bit and returned back into Igor’s hands. It was a normal looking round shield, so Bukitai had no idea how such a feat was possible. Meanwhile

“Wa…”

He could speak again. Quickly, he tried to move his arms and legs and found that they were beginning to respond to his will. The paralysis lasted only about 3 to 4 seconds.

Bukitai lifted his shield up and tried to block the Basilisk’s legs again. But the Basilisk stepped out of the way and ran past him.

The Boss was now chasing Igor, who had cut his tongue. And meanwhile, there was an unintended collateral damage.

“Eek!”

Ralph had accidentally looked into the basilisk’s eye while slashing away at the monster’s side. Stunned in place, he was kicked and flung away by the Lizard.

And there was another casualty. Munir.

“Help! Save me!”

He was caught by the Basilisk’s tail and was hanging in the air.

‘It’s all my fault… I didn’t do my job correctly.’

Bukitai blamed himself as he made his way towards the Basilisk. But then, he heard a familiar voice.

“So, It wasn’t too late.”

Even before he turned to see, the speaker continued.

“Let me borrow your shoulder, friend.”

Someone stepped on his shoulder. Bukitai naturally gazed up. The missing member, Master Hunter Kei, stood on top of his shoulder and jumped off.

The Master Hunter leapt towards the Basilisk’s head. However, while Kei was in mid-air, the Basilisk seemed to have sensed something approaching and turned to face its assailant. The Basilisk’s eyes met with Kei’s. Bukitai shouted out in spite of himself.

“No!”

Looking into the Monster’s eyes was a death sentence. But Master Hunter got a full view of both.

“Damn it!”

Bukitai ran forward to rescue the Hunter. But he heard the Master Hunter shout

“Free Ark!”

And with the shout, Kei plunged his sword deep into the Basilisk’s eye.

“Kaaoo!”

The Basilisk shouted louder than ever before. Kei spun in the air and landed in front of the giant Lizard.

“Stupid lizard and your annoying beady eyes…”

The Basilisk reflectively used its legs to kick Kei.

‘Woosh’

It was an incredibly fast attack. But somehow Kei easily dodged it. Only sand remained in the place where he stood moments before.

While Bukitai was staring with his mouth wide open, Kei snuck to the side of the Basilisk. He raised his hands high and shouted an incantation.

“Incinerate everything in your path! Fireball!”

His eyes were facing towards the ground, but the Fireball from his hand landed squarely on the basilisk’s other eye.

“Kaaaa~!!!”

Basilisk cried out in agony. Bukitai took a look around. The Basilisk, now blinded, was thrashing wildly with its legs.

‘This should be easy now’

Bukitai was filled with newfound courage and charged towards the Basilisk. He heard Igor shout out as well.

“Ralph! Now!”

And from afar he heard Ralph’s voice.

“Kill… Kill! I will kill you fucking Lizard!”

He shouted strange things, but it was fine. The four hunters, no five now along with Kei who had been missing all this time, simultaneously poured their attacks against the blinded Basilisk.

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