Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The dull vibrations pounding through the ground traveled up Chaeho's knees and all the way to his jaw.

The Black-Mane Ogre was stomping the ground in fury after having its prey stolen right in front of it.

"GRRRAAAAAAA!"

Its roar, mixed with the disgusting smell of blood, thundered through the damp cavern.

Thick veins bulged from the back of its neck down to its chest.

The pressure it gave off was completely different from the C-rank monsters Chaeho had fought until now.

Every time the creature exhaled, clouds of thick dust were pushed away.

Whenever the steel pillar in its hands scraped against the ground, sparks scattered.

It wasn't simply large and powerful.

The density of mana flowing through its muscles was on another level.

Even being grazed by that absurd steel weapon wouldn't end with a few broken bones.

BOOOOM!

The ogre kicked off the ground and charged.

Despite its enormous body, it moved with unbelievable speed.

Chaeho saw its waist twist sharply.

At the same time, the huge steel pillar swept horizontally through the air toward his upper body.

Chaeho cut his breathing short.

He activated his skill.

[Time Slow].

The tightly stretched flow of time instantly became thick, as though the entire world had fallen into a swamp.

The violent pressure of the wind disappeared.

The path of the steel pillar cutting through the air broke into individual movements before his eyes.

Chaeho could clearly see how the muscles in the ogre's thick arms expanded and which leg its weight was shifting toward.

Because of its huge swing, its chest and neck were completely exposed.

If Chaeho wanted, he could slip into that blind spot and drive his sword straight inside.

But Chaeho stopped his foot and clicked his tongue.

It won't go through.

After examining the creature's hide and thick layer of muscles in the slowed world, his mind reached a cold conclusion.

His current strength wasn't enough.

Even if he put his entire body weight behind a perfect strike to a weak point, he didn't have enough power to pierce the hide of a B-rank monster and break through to the bone.

Worse, if he drove the sword in carelessly and the ogre's contracting muscles trapped the blade...

He would die immediately.

He had to abandon the idea of ending this by cutting through its neck in a single attack.

Without hesitation, Chaeho twisted his ankle and changed his route.

Instead of moving closer, he lowered his upper body until it nearly touched the floor and slid underneath the path of the steel pillar.

He deactivated the skill.

BOOOOOOM!

A horrifying explosion tore through the air directly above his head.

The steel pillar missed him and smashed into the dirt wall, shattering huge chunks of rock.

Chaeho rolled across the ground to avoid the debris before quickly getting back into position.

The monitoring room was as chaotic as boiling water spilling everywhere.

"Shortcut cavern in Zone Three! Red emergency flare confirmed!"

At the communications officer's urgent shout, the main screen immediately split into multiple sections and displayed the situation in Zone Three.

A horrifying disaster was unfolding through the thick dust on the screen.

"What's the condition of the injured candidates?"

"One has a compound fracture of the right lower leg with severe blood loss! The other has no external injuries, but he's in a complete state of panic. They're currently moving through the rear evacuation passage!"

"Who cares about the promotion exam right now? Send the emergency rescue team immediately!"

"They're already moving! The shortcut entrance collapsed, so they're taking the long way around!"

The supervisor of the control room shouted until the veins in his neck bulged.

Then someone pointed toward one corner of the main screen.

His voice was filled with shock.

"Wait! The candidate still there... that's Lee Chaeho! He didn't escape. He's facing the mutated monster alone!"

"What?! Has that crazy bastard lost his mind? That's a mutated B-rank monster! Tell him to retreat immediately through the field speakers!"

The supervisor was about to give the order.

But Moon Gihyeok, who had been watching the screen silently with his arms crossed, spoke in a low voice.

"Don't broadcast anything."

"What are you talking about, Evaluator Moon...?"

"If you suddenly make noise now, the monster's aggro might shift, or you'll break his concentration."

Moon Gihyeok's eyes remained firmly fixed on Chaeho's rapidly moving figure on the screen.

The staff looked at one another before turning their attention back to the display.

Chaeho was maintaining an extremely narrow distance from the ogre while avoiding its merciless attacks.

One hit would crush his body.

Yet there wasn't a single unnecessary movement in his footwork.

"He's going to die if even one of those hits connects... Why isn't he running? Why is he fighting it head-on?"

One staff member asked while sweating nervously.

Moon Gihyeok watched Chaeho hold his sword low and smoothly change direction.

Then he answered briefly.

"He's not fighting it head-on."

His eyes narrowed.

"He's slowly wearing it down."

Chaeho's breathing was gradually becoming rougher.

Every time the steel pillar smashed into the ground, the floor exploded upward.

Fragments of stone flew in every direction, grazing his cheek and arms and leaving shallow bloody cuts.

But Chaeho's eyes remained steady.

Instead of focusing on the destructive power of the ogre's weapon, he concentrated on the fatal delay immediately after every swing.

BANG!

The ogre raised the steel pillar with both hands and slammed it down.

The attack missed.

The ground collapsed under the impact, and the monster's upper body pitched heavily forward.

Its thick legs took an enormous amount of strain as they tried to support its massive, unstable weight.

At that instant, Chaeho kicked off the ground.

He didn't move toward the front.

Instead, he twisted around toward the outside of the ogre's right knee, where most of its weight had gathered.

Slash.

Using the rotation of his waist, he delivered a short and sharp cut into the joint behind the ogre's knee.

The blade couldn't penetrate deeply.

But it was enough to slice through the surface of the muscle that had been pulled tight under the strain.

"GRRAAAAGH!"

Blood sprayed from the ogre's leg.

It screamed with a mixture of pain and rage.

The creature instinctively swung the steel pillar behind itself to crush Chaeho.

But Chaeho had already slid out of its range.

He wasn't trying to force a decisive attack.

If he couldn't deal fatal damage, then he would destroy the monster's lower body and force it to exhaust itself.

That was the only path Chaeho had chosen.

The ogre turned and launched another furious assault.

Horizontal sweeps.

Vertical slams.

Wild charges as it pushed off the ground with both legs.

Chaeho activated his skill only when absolutely necessary.

For extremely brief moments.

He read the angle of the ogre's shoulders, the direction of its planted feet, and the shifting center of its weight.

Then he moved only toward blind spots the steel pillar couldn't reach.

And whenever the monster lost balance, Chaeho's sword struck without fail.

Calf.

Back of the knee.

Inner thigh.

His blade repeatedly passed through the muscles and joints supporting the creature's weight.

More than a dozen exchanges passed.

The entire cavern had been reduced to ruins.

Yet Chaeho had suffered nothing more than shallow scratches.

The ogre's lower body, however, was covered in bloody red lines.

Because of the wounds constantly building up, drops of blood fell to the ground every time the monster took a step.

The monitoring room had become so quiet that even breathing could be heard.

The staff who had been shouting in panic earlier were now staring blankly at the screen.

"Is that... even possible?"

The communications officer's trembling voice finally broke the silence.

"That's a mutated B-rank monster. Its speed and destructive power can't even be compared to a C-rank... How is he avoiding everything?"

Everyone looked toward Moon Gihyeok.

Moon Gihyeok had clenched his fist.

His eyes remained locked on Chaeho's feet on the screen.

There was more than simple surprise in his expression.

There was genuine shock.

"He's not seeing the attacks and then dodging them."

Moon Gihyeok's voice became heavy.

"He moves as if he already knows where the monster's weight will shift before its muscles even expand."

His gaze sharpened.

"And he isn't getting greedy. He understands exactly how weak his own firepower is, so he's only attacking the safest weaknesses."

Moon Gihyeok swallowed.

"That's beyond talent or instinct."

He stared at the screen.

"Even veterans who've risked their lives tens of thousands of times can't judge distance that calmly."

"GRRRR... GRAAAAGH!"

For the first time, clear exhaustion appeared in the ogre's roar.

It tried to stomp the ground but hesitated.

Its torn knee joint creaked under the weight of its huge body.

Its once-ferocious steps had become noticeably heavier.

Even its swings with the steel pillar were beginning to slow by half a beat.

It hadn't suffered a fatal injury.

But its legs were already reaching their limit.

Chaeho used the momentum from a roll to create a large gap.

He lowered the tip of his sword toward the ground and caught his breath while studying the monster.

His lungs burned.

The muscles in his thighs screamed.

Yet his mind remained as cold as thin ice.

He noticed the ogre's unstable center of gravity leaning slightly to the left.

Now that its lower body could no longer function properly, the creature would have to continue attacking using mostly the strength of its upper body.

Chaeho's gaze quietly settled on the gap between the monster's thick neck and chest.

Something in the enraged creature's movements caught his attention.

A cold light appeared in Chaeho's calm eyes.

"Finally. There's an opening."

Chaeho adjusted his grip on his sword.

Then he kicked low against the ground and rushed forward.