Chapter 101: Boss Supervision (2)

The Ice Castle was completed before long.

The exterior, at least.

The Demon King roamed through the interior, shaping and refining each space.

The first room he finished resembled an audience chamber, complete with a throne.

He sprawled across the throne of ice, resting his chin on one hand.

For a while, he sat in silence, surveying his surroundings as though savoring the sight. Then, without warning, he muttered,

“There are no vassals here.”

‘Excuse me?’

What was this sudden nonsense about vassals...?

The Demon King remained seated on the throne, doing absolutely nothing until his allotted time ran out.

Once I regained control of my body, I hunted in Zone 5 for a while before leaving the Tower.

When I checked the Communication Channel, a single Whisper was waiting for me.

[Mountain Range: Greetings, Person123. It has been some time since I last contacted you. On behalf of the Security Corps, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for clearing Floor 7 and extending the Time Limit by another year.

...To get straight to the point, the Security Corps will soon be cooperating with the Black Star Society to challenge the Zone 3 boss, which is expected to appear shortly. At the risk of imposing, there is something I would very much like to ask of you...]

It was a lengthy Whisper from Alex, the chief of the Security Corps.

In essence, he was asking for my help in defeating the Zone 3 boss.

At present, the Zone 3 Boss Gauge had reached 99.1%.

Just as the cadres of the Security Corps and the Black Star Society had supervised the battles against the Zone 1 and Zone 2 bosses, they wanted me to take on the same role this time.

I replied immediately.

[Person123: Understood.]

There had been no need for him to ask.

I had already planned to watch the Zone 3 boss battle.

That was why I had yet to attempt the Hidden, despite several days having passed since I cleared Floor 7.

I wanted to help these people first.

It was not as though the Security Corps had never shown me consideration.

True, I had ended up killing it alone, but when I first went to fight the Zone 3 boss, the Security Corps had stepped forward to help me as well.

And really, there was no need to weigh debts or favors.

It was simply the right thing to do.

A boss in the Level 60 range.

One wrong move, and a great many people could die.

All I had to do was watch over the Boss Battle and make sure no one did.

***

Media outlets across the world flooded the airwaves with coverage of the upcoming Zone 3 Boss Battle.

A large number of high-level climbers would be taking part, so it was only natural that the public’s attention would be fixed on it.

Then one additional piece of breaking news drew even greater interest.

[Knight King: Is it true that Person123 is helping with the Zone 3 boss fight?]

[Tov: It’s true. I’m in the Security Corps, and apparently they got a reply.]

[Kukakaka: Then it’s already over lol]

Governments around the world were able to breathe a sigh of relief as well.

Until now, they had been on edge.

This was a Boss Battle in which, with a single misstep, their most valuable high-level climbers could be wiped out in a catastrophe.

But if Person123 was involved, victory was already all but assured.

Casualties were unlikely as well.

He would not allow them.

The day of the decisive battle drew near.

As planned, the Security Corps and the Black Star Society filled the gauge to the very brink before gathering at the agreed meeting point.

Now they would fill the remaining 0.1% together and move to kill the boss.

They already knew where it would appear.

They had seen it when Person123 killed it.

[Zone 3 (100%)]

[The Zone 3 boss has appeared.]

With that, the gauge filled completely.

The Security Corps and the Black Star Society made their final preparations.

“Now we finally go to kill the boss.”

The minimum level among the climbers participating in this Zone 3 Boss Battle was 40.

The highest belonged to Alex, at Level 64.

Having cleared two floors over the past two years, he was now the top record holder on Hard difficulty and, aside from Person123, the highest-level climber in the world.

“There’s no need for any of you to be too nervous. I’ll be fighting at the very front.”

Alex encouraged his men.

Even without his reassurance, however, no one seemed particularly tense.

They all knew.

Person123 was watching over this Boss Battle.

If a truly dangerous situation arose, he would intervene.

That single safeguard was enough to put their minds at ease.

Of course, the ideal outcome was for there to be no need for him to step in at all.

Person123 had killed the Zone 3 boss alone back when he had only cleared as far as Floor 4.

Nearly two years had passed since then.

For this many climbers to gather, only to make a pathetic spectacle of themselves struggling against a single boss, would be genuinely humiliating.

Waaaaah!

The climbers roared.

After raising their morale one final time, the Security Corps and the Black Star Society set out toward the Zone 3 boss.

They reached their destination.

The boss came into view.

A red Wyvern lay stretched across the summit of a small rocky mountain in the distance.

Just as expected, it was even more enormous than they had imagined.

The climbers swallowed hard.

Alex exchanged a glance with Li Zeyan, the leader of the Black Star Society.

The two sides had agreed only to fight together without interfering with one another.

They had not devised a joint strategy or coordinated their movements against the boss.

Doing so would have required both groups to disclose information about their skills without reservation.

No matter how much relations between the two camps had improved lately, asking them to go that far was unrealistic.

From this point onward, each group was on its own.

The Security Corps would fight according to its own preparations, and the Black Star Society would do the same.

‘Person123...’

Had he arrived yet?

Alex glanced around.

The Communication Channel could not be used inside the Tower, so there was no way to contact him.

“Ah! Over there...!”

Just then, one of the Security Corps cadres pointed to the left.

On the Land of Fire, not far away, stood a masked figure.

“It’s Person123!”

The climbers who spotted him erupted into excited murmurs.

For a moment, the sheer presence of the boss had overwhelmed them, but their morale quickly surged again.

Just as promised, Person123 had come.

Alex grinned as well before turning his attention back to the boss.

The information they possessed about the Zone 3 boss was limited.

It was a flying-type monster, and it attacked by spewing flames from its mouth.

That was all they knew.

Thinking back to Person123’s fight against it, the boss would most likely take to the air and unleash a breath attack if they drew too close...

The Security Corps’ plan was for a handful of its highest-level cadres, Alex included, to approach the boss first.

Before they could properly attack it, they first needed to bring it down to the ground.

Their reasoning was that the boss could not remain airborne forever, attacking solely with its breath.

At some point, it would have to descend.

Otherwise, there would be no way to kill it.

Alex and the cadres intended to endure its attacks and evade them until that moment, then strike its wings.

Once the boss was grounded, everyone else could rush in and overwhelm it.

Alex glanced toward the Black Star Society.

Li Zeyan stood at its head, with another man at his side.

That man was none other than Ye Tianwei, the true power behind the Black Star Society.

Just as Taylor had joined the Security Corps’ side, the Black Star Society’s own Nightmare Clearer had naturally appeared as well.

At that moment, Ye Tianwei looked over.

His eyes met Alex’s, and he flashed a grin.

With Person123 watching, the fear that the Black Star Society might attempt something underhanded had also diminished.

The only question left was which side would bother moving first—

“...?!”

Without warning, Ye Tianwei shot toward the boss.

Li Zeyan and several other climbers, visibly startled, hurried after him.

The Black Star Society had charged ahead without any of the expected jockeying for position, leaving the Security Corps members momentarily wrong-footed.

“...Let’s go!”

Alex immediately led his cadres into a sprint toward the boss.

Whatever skill Ye Tianwei was using, his speed was extraordinary.

He raced ahead of everyone and reached the foot of the rocky mountain where the boss was perched.

Kraaaaah!

The boss roared and beat its wings, attempting to rise into the sky.

At that instant, something resembling a beam of light shot from Ye Tianwei.

A volley of luminous beams pierced clean through the membrane of one of the boss’s wings.

Its ascent faltered, and the boss landed unsteadily.

The climbers rushed it all at once the moment it returned to the ground.

Seeing the boss open its maw wide, Alex shouted urgently,

“It’s a breath attack! Dodge!”

Flames tore across the earth in a straight line.

The climbers of the Security Corps and the Black Star Society split to either side, evading the attack before closing in again.

Alex was the first to leap high into the air and drive a skill into the boss’s head.

Crrack!

Next, Taylor, who had clung to one of its wings, severed the tip with her Sword Aura.

Li Zeyan and the other cadres also focused their attacks on the wings, determined to prevent the boss from taking flight again.

Krrgh!

With both wings wounded, the boss stopped beating them.

Thoroughly enraged, it began rampaging across the ground and lashing out at the climbers.

The remaining fighters rushed in after the cadres and swarmed the boss.

“Get in close to the body!”

While the cadres drew the boss’s aggro toward its head, the relatively lower-level climbers closed in around its body and attacked.

The Security Corps members moved swiftly in accordance with Alex’s orders and hand signals.

The Black Star Society did the same.

“...It’s using its breath again!”

The boss spewed fire once more.

Only cadre-level fighters were engaging its head, and because the attack had a clear tell, avoiding the breath was not especially difficult.

The climbers quickly adapted to the boss’s attack patterns and struck from their assigned positions.

Some remained at a distance, using Mental Concentration to cast magical skills.

Taylor and Ye Tianwei were particularly impressive.

The two of them unleashed a wide array of skills, slicing through and shattering the scales around the boss’s neck with their blades.

Their skill was worthy of the Nightmare Clearers who stood closest behind Person123.

The battle was proceeding fairly smoothly.

But—

‘Damn thing is tough as hell...!’

A boss was still a boss.

Its vitality was tremendous.

The cadres had concentrated their attacks on its head and neck, yet the monster was still going strong.

Person123 had killed something like this alone?

The absurdity of it struck Alex all over again.

Then, in the middle of the battle, his eyes widened.

One of his men had broken formation and suddenly charged toward the boss’s head.

“...That idiot...!”

It was Vince.

As usual, he had refused to listen to anyone.

Before they could stop him, he leapt directly toward the center of the boss’s head and thrust his sword at the spot between its eyes.

But the blow barely connected.

The boss shook its head violently.

Unable to break away, Vince was hurled to the ground.

“Khuck...!”

The cadres were forced to retreat.

The boss opened its jaws toward the fallen Vince.

A breath attack.

Disaster was about to strike.

KABLAAAM!

The boss’s mouth snapped shut, and its head was driven into the ground.

“...!”

A figure had appeared without warning and struck the boss across the snout.

It was Person123.

With a single punch, he buried the boss’s enormous head in the earth.

“...”

For a moment, everyone stopped attacking.

The boss lay collapsed and motionless for several seconds before twitching and forcing itself back upright.

Person123 pointed a finger at it, as though telling them to continue, then vanished once more.

Alex came to his senses and shouted,

“...What are you all doing? Attack!”

Everyone resumed their assault.

That final blow must have dealt devastating damage.

The boss could no longer properly recover and staggered weakly beneath their attacks.

The climbers were able to concentrate their strikes far more easily than before.

Thud.

The boss thrashed for a while longer, but its strength finally gave out.

Before long, it collapsed once more.

[The Zone 3 boss has been defeated.]

The message appeared.

Everyone stared at the dead boss in a daze for a moment.

Then they erupted into cheers.

“Wha... waaah!”

The Zone 3 Boss Battle.

Zero casualties.

Time taken: approximately ten minutes.

A clean victory, achieved without incident.