42 – 9 – I Also Had a Second Class Change – 2

―Contractor, a really strong guy is coming. Back the other people away right now!

“Everyone, get back from here—!”

The moment Lucy warned him in a sharp voice, Gi-jun immediately raised his voice and shouted.

The soldiers who had been cutting off the heads of the undead whose aggro had been drawn by Gi-jun immediately backed off upon hearing that shout, but the problem was some of the mercenaries who were distracted trying to claim the heads of the undead while mingled among the soldiers.

Those who had lost their reason and rushed in at the word that they would be given a bounty according to the number of monster heads they brought.

“What? Why are you suddenly telling us to back off? Surely you’re not trying to take all the guys here for yourself, are you?”

“You can’t even kill all of them. If that’s the case, let’s share amicably, huh?”

“I’ve already caught these guys, so what? Tell us to back off? I can’t do that!”

Thinking that Gi-jun was trying to back away the people gathered around him and cut off the heads of the remaining undead to claim them, they did not want to miss the opportunity to easily hunt enemies and earn money.

It was not incomprehensible.

Those who obsessed over every single monster head were people whose usual earnings were just that poor, and if they were the Summoned, they would need to play an active role in this quest all the more to secure points.

—Boom!

“Aaargh!”

Gi-jun understood them, but it seemed to be something that the undead, who had leaped over the walls targeting him, could not possibly understand.

A man among the mercenaries, who had been stubbornly holding out to somehow cut off the heads of the undead whose aggro had been drawn by Gi-jun, ended up having his body shattered after being crushed by a large, black, and heavy ball that fell from the sky.

Subsequently, an even larger shadow cast over the wall.

—Boom!

Everyone except for those who had already widened their distance to a safe zone, including the undead that had gathered around Gi-jun, was equally—turned into a handful of flesh and scattered.

Gi-jun wore a grim expression as he activated Adamant to block the thorns of black mana that surged in the area along with the undead’s landing.

It was a relief that he had recovered nearly half of his spiritual power and mana while fighting, but… no matter how much he thought about it, the opponent was too strong.

‘If only my level had risen.’

Thinking a pointless thought, he put strength into the hand holding the shield.

He looked around to see if there was any shield worth holding in his remaining hand, but—there was nothing quite satisfactory.

A wooden shield that would break easily could not withstand the power of Moonlight Blood Fangs, and a large iron shield would disrupt his balance, making it worse than not holding one at all.

—Are you looking… for a way, to escape?

A dreary voice, like wind leaking through a door crevice, seeped out of the ball rolling on the ground.

Only then did Gi-jun realize that the identity of the ball that had shattered the man at first was not a ball, but the head of the undead.

—There is… no escape. Because the Grim Reaper… has sentenced you, to death.

A huge shadow picked up the head rolling on the ground.

A headless knight mounted on a legless black phantom horse with only a torso was looking down at Gi-jun.

The majesty of the figure holding his head in one hand and a charging lance in the other was truly spine-chilling.

—The Dullahan Knight of Bloody Thorns has pronounced a sentence of death upon you. You cannot flee from battle, and the probability of receiving a fatal wound from the opponent increases. However, with Charm that has reached the legendary domain, this is almost completely nullified!

—[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

—Resistance Great Success. A positive modifier is applied to [Adamant (L)].

—The Dullahan Knight of Bloody Thorns has pronounced a sentence of death upon you. You cannot flee from battle, and the probability of receiving a fatal wound from the opponent increases. However, with Charm that has reached the legendary domain, this is almost completely nullified!

—[Unfailing Body Clock (L)] strongly resists physical and mental interference.

—Resistance Great Success. A positive modifier is applied to [Adamant (L)].

However, thanks to the guy kindly giving Gi-jun a buff as soon as he appeared, he began to feel a bit of familiarity toward him.

In addition to the influence of Charm that popped up here and there whenever he was about to forget about it, ever since it rose to the Legendary rank, he even had the Unfailing Body Clock, which did not just simply resist debuffs but converted them into buffs with a high probability, so he now even looked forward to the enemy casting debuffs on him.

But that was not the end of it.

—The effect of the title [The Last Hero (L)] has been activated, amplifying all abilities by 30%.

—The effect of the title [The Last Hero (L)] has been activated, amplifying all abilities by 30%.

He knew at a glance that the Dullahan was of the dark/evil attribute, but he was surprised that the guy was treated as a boss monster.

Perhaps the title effect of The Last Hero applied as long as they had a ‘boss-class’ status, and not just to simple boss monsters?

—What about Limit Transcender? It didn’t activate? Then the Dullahan must be a Rare-grade race.

‘Still, he cannot be taken lightly. I feel a presence much stronger than that of the Unique-grade Lizardman I met before entering this castle.’

Could a Rare-grade race be stronger than a Unique-grade race?

Of course they could. Gi-jun himself was a Rare-grade race, after all.

It was true that the race grade provided large modifiers to basic abilities and racial characteristics, but the advantage could be overturned at any time depending on title effects, stats, possessed skills, racial characteristics, and battle situations.

The Dullahan that had just appeared was highly likely to possess powerful titles as a boss-class existence, and accordingly, his stats were bound to be on a different level from a normal Rare-grade monster.

Moreover, a dense aura of death was currently widespread on the wall.

Normal mana lost its strength, and conversely, negative mana ran wild in high spirits.

This meant that it was the optimal condition for the Dullahan, who had appeared clad in darkness and death, to gain power.

‘But not only has my Adamant been strengthened, my power has been amplified by the effect of The Last Hero. Above all, since I can manipulate Light Mana, which is the polar opposite of darkness… it’s definitely worth a shot!’

As Gi-jun finished his thoughts and adjusted his posture, aggressively pointing the tip of the King of the Well, the head held in the Dullahan’s hand snorted.

—A human who doesn’t even know how to hold a shield properly. You are an insufficient opponent for the Knight of the Blood-stained Thorns to face, but it can’t be helped. I will quickly finish you off and fill this wall with death!

As if unaware that the sentence of death had not worked properly, the Dullahan shouted triumphantly and drove his phantom horse straight toward Gi-jun.

The tip of the giant lance held in one of the guy’s hands was dyed blood-red and extended long, flying toward his head slightly faster than Gi-jun could perceive—.

—Boom!

Along with a terrible sound of collision.

A brightly burning flame on Gi-jun’s shield formed a solid fang and deflected the lance head-on.

The astonished face of the Dullahan, who was flung into the air after failing to overcome Gi-jun’s strong power, passed by in slow motion.

The fang sprouting holy fire scraped deeply, with a screeching tear, into the flank of the phantom horse, which reared up in panic after losing its master in an instant.

—Screeech!

The phantom horse was fatally wounded as its torso was gouged by the light and flame that burned the soul, and it vanished just like that.

Looking at the Dullahan, who lost his horse in an instant and fell to roll on the ground, Gi-jun smiled bleakly.

“Now our eye levels match.”

―……! !

The furious Dullahan kicked off the ground with a heavy stomp and charged in.

Since he had already grasped Gi-jun’s strength, the lance thrusting toward him was much lighter, but in return, it was incredibly fast and agile.

Gi-jun deflected it with his shield again, but at that moment, his body was pierced not only by the lance but also by dozens of black thorns surging from the ground.

“?!”

― ! !

Was he seriously bragging about his second class change right now?

Thorns surged from all directions every time the enraged Dullahan swung his lance!

Gi-jun gritted his teeth and closed the distance to the Dullahan, deflecting them one by one, but it was naturally impossible to deflect every single thorn.

The Dullahan laughed in delight every time a new wound appeared on his body.

― ! !

“Shut up—!”

Gi-jun, who had cleared the black thorns by fiercely wielding the King of the Well burning brilliantly with flames, slipped inside the guy’s guard and kicked his arm hard.

What he targeted was not the guy’s lance, but the head held quietly in one of his hands.

―! , ! !

The head that had floated into the air spun around and rapidly fell, targeting Gi-jun’s head.

It was truly chilling to see black thorns sprouting in abundance as if the head had turned into a chestnut burr, perhaps because the guy’s authority was concentrated on it.

To counter this, Gi-jun gripped the shield with both hands, raised it, and shouted.

“, ――!”

—Kieeeek!

—I hate overexerting myself, but if we just take down this guy, our level will definitely rise!

Salutaris—the power of the Savior wrapped around his entire body and rapidly circulated his mana.

Using the spiritual power and mana that surged from him as fuel, the two spirits also poured in all of their might.

His body, which had been close to its limit, crossed the line in an instant and showed signs of collapsing, but.

At least at this moment, the mana and spirit power concentrated on his shield made it reach the legendary domain.

―……!

“Get lost, you empty can!”

The body, which could move independently of the head, rushed in clutching the lance, but he used the option of [King of the Well (U)] that he had saved for this moment, blasting wind to fiercely push the guy back.

And the next moment.

― , …….

“The one who is dying is you!”

—Crunch!

Gi-jun thrust the giant fang of light he was holding with both hands with all his might, completely piercing the Dullahan’s head that was falling toward his own.

He swung the shield just like that and slammed it onto the ground!

―, ……!

Crushed by the shield, the Dullahan’s head let out a pathetic groan, unable to bear the extreme agony.

With the resolve that he would gladly lose everything of his as long as he could kill the guy, Gi-jun drew out his full power once again, pouring light and flames onto him even more decisively!

―!

A brilliant holy fire soared spectacularly along with the Dullahan’s death scream.

While Gi-jun, who felt his strength draining as the cracks on his body grew distinct, was contemplating whether he should push himself a bit more, he saw the Dullahan’s body, which had been blown away by the wind, melting in the air without being able to approach him.

He had finally succeeded in killing the guy by targeting the head, which was the Dullahan’s core.

Immediately after, the reward for successfully hunting a boss-class existence arrived for him.

—You have reached Level 14, and your Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 1, Endurance (U) by 1, Light Mana (L) by 3, and Spiritual Power (L) by 2!

—Fire Spirit Arts (R) has reached Level 48, Slaughter (R) Level 5, Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) Level 3, Lucy (L) Level 4, Adamant (L) Level 2, and Salutaris (L) Level 4! Endurance (U) has increased by 1, and Spiritual Power (L) by 1!

—You have achieved one of the core objectives of the quest. Due to the great achievement witnessed by everyone, the quest’s reward will be greatly amplified!

—You have reached Level 14, and your Strength (U) has increased by 2, Dexterity (L) by 1, Endurance (U) by 1, Light Mana (L) by 3, and Spiritual Power (L) by 2!

—Fire Spirit Arts (R) has reached Level 48, Slaughter (R) Level 5, Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) Level 3, Lucy (L) Level 4, Adamant (L) Level 2, and Salutaris (L) Level 4! Endurance (U) has increased by 1, and Spiritual Power (L) by 1!

—You have achieved one of the core objectives of the quest. Due to the great achievement witnessed by everyone, the quest’s reward will be greatly amplified!

His body, which had been battered, was restored in an instant to a state beyond perfect condition as he underwent three consecutive level-ups.

Crossing limits made it easy to break, but overcoming them made one even sturdier and stronger.

The skills that had risen to the Legendary grade grew evenly, proving that fact once again.

—Don’t sugarcoat what was nothing but a gamble! I’m really going to get mad!

“Sorry, Lucy. But my body is perfectly fine now. Even if a scarier guy appears, I can deal with him safely.”

—Sigh, you really won’t say you will back off until the very end.

Lucy sounded frustrated as she watched Gi-jun overexerting himself to the end, but since she inwardly thought his figure finishing off the Dullahan was cool, she could not speak any more harshly and backed off.

At that moment, a shadow fell over Gi-jun’s head once again.

He raised his head, wondering what kind of guy it was this time, but unexpectedly, a knight clad all over in silver-glowing armor—Tolchi—was looking at him.

“ , . .”

“…… .”

“ .”

Perhaps having retrieved it from the spot where the Dullahan’s torso had died and collapsed, Tolchi held out the pitch-black breastplate that the guy had been wearing.

He had not even expected a full set of plate armor to drop intact, but among those parts, a breastplate was by far of high value!

Gi-jun was startled by the gain that surpassed his imagination as he accepted it.

At the same time, he naturally ended up lifting the shield that had been pinning down the Dullahan’s head, but for some reason, he felt a sensation as if there was still something underneath it.

“……?”

Gi-jun’s eyes widened upon seeing it.

“, .”

—Screeeeeeech!

However, Gi-jun was not given the time to examine his loot in more detail.

Beyond the wall devastated by the Dullahan’s rampage, black hair crawling up creepily seemed to encroach upon the ground before long.

― , ……! , !

An undead howling while shedding tears of blood with a heavily distorted face—

It was because the fairy banshee, said to lead anyone who heard her cry to certain death, had revealed herself.