Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Unstoppable Growth - (4)

Before thinking about why he encountered a boss monster here, Sanghyun first thought about the Grabber.

It was not an unfamiliar monster.

Its shape was similar to that of a human.

However, its arms were somewhat long, resembling the structure of a gorilla's or an orangutan's arms.

There was a clear distinction between the roles of its left and right arms.

First, the left arm was solely responsible for using grab-type skills.

Like Shin Taeri's Shadow Grab, it would pull in the target hit by the skill right in front of it.

Then, the right arm would carry out its role.

Rather than an arm, it was closer to having a sharp sword attached to it.

The typical pattern was that once the target was grabbed, the Grabber would hold them down and mercilessly slash them with its blade.

Just as he was about to explain the Grabber to Lee Sehwa, who was tilting her head in confusion—

"Sehwa-nim, for now... Ugh!"

Sanghyun was pulled in.

He had forgotten that one of the Grabber's grab-type skills had an absolute summoning effect.

Absolute summoning meant that, regardless of reason, the target would be forcibly pulled in.

Previously, Sanghyun had once brilliantly blocked Shin Taeri's Shadow Grab using Recovery. Even she had been surprised.

He had exploited a loophole in the system, which classified the moment of grabbing as a status effect.

However, the Grabber's skill, which had absolute summoning, unfortunately could not be resisted in the same way.

Sanghyun used more than half of his total mana—200—to protect his body with an extreme defensive measure.

It was a boss monster, after all.

There was no way it would just stab him lightly a couple of times and stop. If he was unlucky, he could die instantly.

[Die, die!]

A voice filled with chilling madness echoed vividly in Sanghyun’s mind.

It was the Grabber’s voice.

There was no way it could fluently speak Korean, so it seemed to be transmitting its will telepathically.

The message naturally translated and filtered through his mind.

Puhk! Puhk! Puhk!

"Ugh! Ugh! Khh!"

Even Sanghyun, who had excellent durability, groaned at the impact. The Grabber's attacks were powerful.

Each hit felt like being slammed into by a heavy car. The impact was that immense.

"You bastard!"

Having lost a significant amount of stamina from the flurry of attacks, Sanghyun cursed as he swung the Sword of Fighting Spirit.

Even in such a state, his aim was precise. The tip of his greatsword sharply targeted the Grabber’s eyes.

[Tch!]

The Grabber, instinctively fearing the loss of its sight, unconsciously released Sanghyun.

Sanghyun quickly retreated using Back Step in midair. It was a brief but unpleasant experience.

"Damn it."

In just a short moment, he had lost half of his stamina. The left arm, aside from pulling, also had the ability to drain life energy.

[You’re quite skilled!]

The Grabber extended its left arm again.

However, this time, as soon as his body started to be pulled, Sanghyun used Recovery to break free from the force pulling him.

As a result, only the surrounding air was sucked toward the Grabber with a whooshing sound, and the situation ended.

‘Just like how I have to wait ten minutes between using Weakness Amplification and Swift Purification, that thing must have a cooldown too.’

The absolute summoning skill likely had a separate cooldown period.

Lee Sehwa’s voice rang out.

"Sanghyun-nim! Are you okay?"

"I’m fine! But there’s one thing you must remember!"

"Please tell me!"

"You must always stay in a blind spot where the Grabber cannot see you through me!"

Sanghyun shouted with force.

Grab-type skills, unless extremely special, usually target enemies directly in front of the user.

Sanghyun figured that even if he was grabbed again, he could find a way to escape like before.

But Lee Sehwa was different.

Even though she was overwhelmingly strong in long-range combat, she would be nothing more than a paper doll if caught by the Grabber.

If she survived, it would be lucky. More likely, she would be instantly torn apart and die in agony once caught.

"Understood!"

Lee Sehwa didn’t ask why.

It was the same as Kim Miso, Shin Taeri, and Jo Jinho not questioning Sanghyun’s words.

He always spoke the truth or provided the right answer. He never made baseless assumptions or incorrect claims.

In the meantime, Sanghyun immediately entered Over Psychedelic mode.

As the Grabber reached out again, Sanghyun created a clone that looked exactly like himself.

It was a monster that consumed both stamina and mana, but right now, he needed a guaranteed reversal tactic.

Flash!

The clone rushed forward.

At the same time, Sanghyun ran behind it, perfectly overlapping their movements.

He used his skill to erase his footsteps with meticulous precision.

Puff!

The clone was caught in the Grabber’s skill and dispersed into a hazy mist.

It had sacrificed itself in place of the real body, buying precious time for Sanghyun.

With Acceleration active, Sanghyun gathered all his strength into his legs and leaped, aiming for the top of the Grabber’s head.

"Wow."

Lee Sehwa could see it.

Sanghyun had flipped exactly 180 degrees in midair, positioning himself above the Grabber with his head facing downward.

The leap itself was impressive, but the way he momentarily disrupted the enemy’s vision and then gained a strategic advantage was astonishing.

Stylish.

That was the word Lee Sehwa thought of.

The battle had started in a way no one could have predicted, and Sanghyun could have died the moment it began.

However, he had analyzed the Grabber’s characteristics faster than anyone, giving detailed feedback to Sehwa to stay in the blind spot.

Now, he had already seized a counterattack opportunity. And all of this had happened in just a few moments.

‘Damn, if only I had more mana.’

Meanwhile, at the peak of his aerial maneuver, Sanghyun bit his lip.

Weakness Enhancement had already stacked up to four hits, so if he could just use Crushing Blade, it would be the perfect timing.

He could not use it due to excessive mana consumption earlier.

Since his mana was below 45% of the maximum capacity, the skill activation condition was not met in the first place.

So, he chose the skill that could exert the most pressure.

Normally, Knockback Burst was used horizontally, but this time, he shaped it into a downward strike.

As the five strikes of Weakness Amplification pressed down along with the knockback effect in mid-air.

Kwa-deudeuk!

[Uaaagh!]

A sound like walnuts cracking rang in his ears as both of Grabber's shoulders were crushed.

At the same time, Sanghyun, who had reached the peak of his trajectory, landed stably behind Grabber.

"Phew."

Raising his body immediately, Sanghyun did not let Grabber out of his sight.

He briefly considered the possibility of Grabber targeting Lee Sehwa at that moment, but it was an unnecessary worry.

Lee Sehwa had already positioned herself behind Sanghyun, in a blind spot to Grabber.

Along with Sanghyun’s counterattack, she had also adjusted her position swiftly and matched her breathing in sync with him.

‘No words are needed.’

That made things easier.

Lee Sehwa kept pace with Sanghyun’s thoughts and calculations from beginning to end.

It was a coordination that required an effort to understand each other and a necessity to grasp everything from one to ten.

‘If he moves away, I’ll pull him back. If he gets close, I’ll angle my attacks and strike. What a troublesome bastard.’

With some distance now between him and Grabber, Sanghyun narrowed his eyes.

A direct confrontation with Grabber was tricky. The title of a boss monster was not given without reason.

If it had been an ordinary monster, the previous attack would have been fatal.

However, Grabber had only sustained minor injuries on his shoulders.

‘A battle of attrition would be better.’

Sanghyun saw his biggest advantage as having a powerful player like Lee Sehwa providing support.

Grabber was alone.

The Player Union and Eden Guild players, having confirmed Sanghyun and Grabber’s battle, were holding the front lines.

Giant-type monsters, including Giant Orcs, were emerging around them, but the passage was blocked.

"Ha!"

With a spirited shout, Sanghyun charged at Grabber once again.

Hoping to take down a boss monster in a single blow was greedy.

Right now, he needed to exchange numerous attacks and steadily chip away at Grabber’s stamina.

At that moment.

Hwaeak!

Grabber activated his complete summoning skill again and pulled Sanghyun toward him.

"Damn……."

This was not going to be an easy fight.

Thirty minutes passed.

With Grabber’s appearance, monsters surged across the battlefield, significantly expanding the front lines.

Kim Miso’s group, who had planned to quickly subdue the surrounding monsters and assist Sanghyun, had no breathing room.

Sanghyun, too, had no time to support other battlefronts, focusing entirely on Lee Sehwa and Grabber.

"Huff. Huff."

His breathing became rough.

Even as he tried to regulate it, his stamina had been pushed to the limit, making it impossible to hide his heavy breaths.

Lee Sehwa had also momentarily lost concentration and was nearly dragged by Grabber.

Fortunately, she only suffered an injury to her side that was within manageable limits.

‘In the end, I'll have to go berserk.’

Seeing his steadily decreasing stamina due to continued bleeding, Sanghyun let out a bitter smile.

Just as his stamina, which had been barely maintaining at 30, dropped to 29.

The Frenzy skill, which had never activated since he acquired it, finally came into effect.

Using the Skill Reset he had saved, he overlaid Over Psychedelic on top.

For the entire battle against Grabber, he had been using Over Psychedelic every 30 minutes as soon as its cooldown ended!

However, since he had used it just ten minutes ago, a reset was essential to immediately benefit from Frenzy.

"This is the power of Reset……!"

Having experienced the effect of Skill Reset firsthand, Lee Sehwa marveled at the now completely refreshed skill window.

Even though she had seen it before, experiencing it again was still incredible.

A perfect reset!

In the midst of this grueling battle, where they were wearing each other down through a war of attrition, the exhilaration of reequipping a finishing move was overwhelming.

It was like wielding a sharpened blade while the opponent was stuck with a rusted weapon.

Above all else, Lee Sehwa wanted to continue teaming up with Sanghyun, if only for the Skill Reset.

‘Time is slowing down.’

Sanghyun locked eyes with Grabber, who was glaring at him while exhaling hot breaths.

Even though Grabber’s breathing was ragged, time seemed to slow down fivefold as the situation changed.

‘I can feel the air currents, every particle.’

And his senses heightened to the extreme.

He could even detect the faint scent of flowers and grass carried by the wind brushing past his ears.

Standing in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by the blood spilled by both him and Grabber.

"The taste of blood. An irresistible temptation."

A twisted smirk curled onto Sanghyun’s lips.

Frenzy!

Sanghyun, consumed by bloodlust, was about to go on a rampage.

"……."

Lee Sehwa’s face darkened as she watched the black-red aura rising behind Sanghyun.

It was something she had never once seen in Sanghyun before!

The very essence of darkness itself.