[You are now facing a boss monster over level 100.]
[Quest 'David and Goliath' is now activated.]
"It's here!" I bit my lip hard. The moment the 'Experience Quest Trio', known for giving massive experience points, became active had come!
Boom. Boom. Boom. Each step Mahat III took down the stairs of his throne shook the ground beneath.
Calmly, I drew a magic circle on the ground of the underground great chamber. A complex magic circle wasn’t needed here. I drew simple healing magic circles with minimal healing properties all over the place. The effect of the magical tool was indeed impressive. Even without drawing it clearly, the lines got adjusted with detail being added, merely by roughly defining them. Soon, 10 healing magic circles surrounded me. I didn’t activate them, but they were ready to be powered up with magic at any moment.
"My loyal subjects and soldiers have found a land of rest, yet you dare to disturb my deep slumber?"
"Well, Mahat, history remembers you as a tyrant! You initiated massive canal constructions, leading many of your people to labor and death, even burying their bodies as manure for the canals. Is that what you call your love for your people?"
"They were always ready to die as tools for me!"
"I didn’t come here to listen to nonsense, so shut up and fight. A dead bastard with even his balls rotted off is showing off like this."
I shot a sharp retort. Mahat III was one of the top three tyrants in the history of the Nas continent. A tyrant who lived long, even dreaming of eternal life at his deathbed, creating this tomb. He even placed a curse upon himself to mimic eternal life!
Besides the opportunity to level up and gain artifacts and loot, I wanted to judge his past stained with violence and murder.
"I shall mark you with painful torment."
At that moment, Mahat III fiercely hurled a dark red demon figure toward me. A debuff called Painful Brand that saps 1 health per second. My current health stands at 35. The moment it hits, my life turns into a 35-second countdown.
"......"
I waited as long as possible. Painful Brand is a homing skill. Moving prematurely serves no purpose since it follows me anyway.
Gulp. I swallowed dryly without realizing it, constantly reminding myself that this is reality. I know well that once you die, it’s over. This is not a world where death can be undone with retries or resurrection.
Aaaah! The demon's roar echoed in my ears. At the same time, the demon figure flew at me, just four steps away. I counted the beats.
"One. Hup, now!"
One and a half beats. Remembering the timing, I swiftly threw myself sideways with a haste spell. The next moment!
Pfft! The demon figure aiming at me narrowly hit the ground. It was right at the spot where I had drawn a healing magic circle.
"Good, now’s the time."
I immediately infused magic into it.
[Magic Circle – Minimal Healing]
As a result, the healing magic circles were activated, and the space outlined by 10 circles quickly dyed with a white aura. But that was brief. Ssssssss. The color of the healing magic circles soon turned black, transforming into a completely different form.
[Magic Circle – Painful Brand]
"It's done!" The magic circle that was meant to restore a small amount of health turned into a circle that sapped 10 health per second. Because the 10 circles were linked, the damage from the curse increased that much. It was a trick I often used, flaunting my seasoned wizard experience in <Paradiso>.
Since Mahat III's curse was a powerful trait of a boss monster, it had priority over normal buffs, thus altering the nature of the magic circle I had set up.
"Phew." I let out a hot breath, stepping back leisurely. Then, I drew another magic circle on the ground. A simple healing magic circle as before.
At that moment.
"For a rat who only runs away, a trap is fitting!"
Swoosh! Mahat III plunged the fierce black flames he created with both hands straight onto the ground. Instantly, flames spread throughout the underground chamber, covering 50% of the space.
"Damn, the challenge for a one-on-one fight came too soon." I scratched the back of my head.
I should have set up more magic circles beforehand, but His Imperial Majesty was too quick to ignite.
Thud. Thud. Mahat III began cornering me as if he was herding prey. I quietly kept retreating, waiting for his foot to step on a magic circle.
[Mahat III – Lv. 101]
[Strength: 99]
[Health: 525]
[Magic: 1988]
[Wisdom: 324]
[Agility: 29]
[Charisma: 59]
[Physical Defense: 29]
[Magical Defense: 29]
[Holds multiple artifacts. Press 'See More' for details.]
During a brief respite, I checked Mahat III's stats with my mind’s eye. A boss monster relying on explosive magic and curse attacks, having low basic defense. However, with high health, he could take hits well, and his high magic meant there was no fear of depletion. His high wisdom near-guaranteed the success rate of his curses.
In other words, he was a typical 'pumped HP' + 'one-hit kill' type monster.
"If you become my loyal vassal, I promise you eternal life and great power."
"What do you mean by eternal life? Can't die even after rotting away and clattering with your bony teeth!"
"Dare you insult me!"
Just then. Mahat III, adjusting his leg positions to turn towards me, stepped precisely onto a magic circle!
[Due to the effect of Painful Brand, you are losing 10 health per second.]
Simultaneously, the magic circle activated, burning black, and began wrapping around Mahat III’s legs.
"Now’s the time!"
It was a trap. The moment I had been waiting for!
During the prolonged battle. I saw hell. Each of Mahat III’s attacks had destructive power equivalent to 5th-class magic.
If it were hit-and-run or ranged skirmishes, I was confident. The issue was keeping Mahat III bound to the magic circle while attacking. In other words, it was about adding DPS (damage per second) through the brand magic circle to make up for my somewhat lacking damage output.
I needed to maintain close distance to keep Mahat III from leaving the magic circle. As a result, I couldn’t use long-range tactics with the Spatial Distortion clock, as creating more than 20 meters of distance was impossible.
Moreover, it was imperative to divert his attention elsewhere with relentless attacks, which forced me to go all out. Naturally, there was a price for going all out. I faced countless brushes with death. The top I was wearing had long burned away; my left shoulder suffered burns. On inspection, the wound appeared severe enough that even healing magic might leave a scar. Well, I could consider it a badge of honor.
Due to Mahat III’s relentless assault, my activity range had reduced to only 20% of what it was at the start of the battle. Consequently, I had to exert extreme focus to narrowly dodge—it was a matter of survival.
[*Warning: Your health is down to 20%. Urgent healing or magic or retreating from the battlefield is needed.]
The system offered impractical advice through a message. I would leave if I could, but if I exit without conquering this tomb, it would trigger a rampage. This means, due to Mahat III being awakened and the tomb activated, the terracotta soldiers in the underground tomb might rush out to the territory. Thus, the territory would be swept into an untimely disaster. The only solution to prevent that was killing Mahat III and inducing stabilization.
Thump!
"Gah!" At that moment, Mahat III, pouring out blood from his entire body, extended his hands to grasp my neck. Though withered and gnarled, his grip was immense.
[Health: 149]
[*Warning: You are taking 10 damage per second due to the effect of Painful Brand.]
"Huff, huff." Mahat III wasn’t in good shape either. At this rate, he would lose all health and fall within 15 seconds.
‘But I’ll die first, won’t I?’
Although maintaining a facade of calm, internally, I was in chaos. Meanwhile, Mahat III's grip strength almost doubled. My breath caught, and my vision began to blur, making it clear I would pass out before suffocating completely.
'Doesn't matter if it's a dirty fight, as long as I win.' I summoned the magical tool I had thrown back into my subspace. The 3-second delay that allowed me to use the storage trick was always handy, but at this critical moment, it was unbearable waiting for it.
"Ugh...ugh."
Involuntary groans escaped me.
"I will kill you and curse your body in all sorts of ways. You will live a life where even your soul cannot be liberated!"
“S---shut it.”
I wanted to retort, but my neck was being throttled, so I just uttered whatever came out.
'This 3 seconds feels endless.' It felt like experiencing the most precious 3 seconds directly. In the bathroom, even tensing my butt would make time fly by, yet this moment stretched endlessly like eternity.
“......!” I pulled back my right leg with all my might, then kicked forward.
The target was between Mahat III’s legs. I didn’t know why I aimed there, but it was the only place that came to mind.
Crunch!
When my foot connected, instead of a solid... it was the sound of a white, crumbled charcoal briquette. Secretly, I hoped for something ‘explosive’ underfoot. However, it seemed that even the once-conqueror of the continent had become impotent over time. There must have been a faint sensation left, as I felt the grip slightly loosen.
“Keuh.” As soon as the grip slackened, my right hand grasped the magical tool.
In the next moment. Without hesitation, I struck it into Mahat III’s right eye.
Squelch!
“Gyaaaaah!” It was not a baseless attack.
Mahat III was an existence that placed a curse upon himself, achieving a quasi-permanent mockery of eternal life. Therefore, he was in stark opposition to divine power.
I hadn’t used divine power until now to avoid revealing my attack repertoire. Showing a trump card ahead of time is just a poor tactic.
“I will not die!”
The next moment. Flames began surging from Mahat III’s hands. I didn’t know what exactly he was casting, but it had something to do with flames. Judging by the gathering speed of mana, it had 2 seconds at most. In 2 seconds, fierce flames would erupt from his hands, and my face would get roasted like a well-done skewer.
‘Holy Paralysis.’
I employed Saintess Ifnas' Ring's third option, deploying the Holy Paralysis spell, channeling it through the magical tool directly into Mahat III’s eyeball.
“Grrrr!”
Mahat III writhed in pain, yet despite that, the flames on his hands intensified, reaching a level that made my face feel hot. His grip did not relax. Once more!
Another more critical blow was necessary.
‘Holy Cleanse spell.’
I deployed the cleansing spell. The cleansing target inherently included a certain amount of demonic energy. Though not a dispel concept, it could burn some of the demonic energy.
Puff. Puff.
Then, inside Mahat III’s eye, bubbles began swelling violently.
Splurt! Splurt! Splurtsplurt!
Dark red blood started gushing out from his nostrils, mouth, and ears.
“Keuh.”
Finally, the force in Mahat III's hand diminished.
“Hah!”
With a shout, I pushed my hands aside with all my strength and leaped backward with all my might.
The flames were about to erupt.
Whoosh!
“Ugh, dammit!”
I dodged as best as I could, but the fire caught onto both my legs. I had no time to put out the fire, so I hastily tore off my pants. Though it might look a bit unsightly, there was no quicker way to escape the flames.
“Ugh. Ugh. Ughh.”
Being paralyzed by the paralysis spell and having his brain scrambled by the Holy Cleanse spell, Mahat III was rendered completely motionless. In the meantime, the magic circle's damage continued to accumulate, and eventually, his health reached zero.
“F-for me to... like this....” Mahat III fell forward without time to leave any proper final words, his breath finally ceasing.
It was the moment the two-track strategy using the magic circle trick shone.
And then.
[Quest 'David and Goliath' completed.]
[Level Up! Reached Lv. 12!]
[Level Up! Reached Lv. 13!]
[.......]
[Level Up! Reached Lv. 20!]
[Having reached Level 20, you have completed the quest ‘Second Limit Breakthrough’. You have received a wisdom of 20 as a reward!]
An explosive leveling occurred. It was a power level that took a full week of hard work in <Paradiso>, achieved in just a day, or rather, half a day!