Chapter 811: Hidden Story (3)

 

‘Memories of the End’. A hidden field accessible through Skull Island. Actually, this place was originally just meant to be the location where you defeat the ‘Beast,’ the boss of this island that I used to call End Island and that was all, but if you discover the hidden pieces, you can enjoy additional content.

 

For example……

 

If you leave the island and go to the Arta Secret Base, you can do the Sniktura raid. Then if you accept a quest, defeat boss of End Island, the ‘Beast’ and return you can get an additional reward. And if you refuse the additional reward, you can access the true boss raid, the mechanical monster Arta……

 

‘I was planning to skip the Arta raid anyway, so I don’t need to think about that.’

 

At this point, the only content left to do on this island is the second stage—defeating the Beast and getting the additional reward. Ah, of course, that would be true if it weren’t for this guy.

 

“Hmm, at first I thought it was due to the difference in magic power concentration, but now I see the nature of the magic power contained in the air itself is unusual. Normally, this kind of formation only occurs when it is artificially created……”

 

What exactly is this guy? Could there possibly be a hidden chapter on this island besides the final chapter where you fight the mechanical monster Arta? My gamer’s intuition tells me that there’s a high possibility. And because of that……

 

“To know for sure, I’ll have to return to my original timeline and locate the island at these coordinates. If the original island also has this formation, it could simply be a characteristic of the island itself.”

 

Since I couldn’t understand, I listened carefully to each of his comments. That’s usually how it works, right? Most hidden pieces in games often start from casual remarks from NPCs.

 

‘Well, in this case, I honestly don’t even understand what he’s saying.’

 

Magic power, formation, concentration… No matter what he says, someone like me who isn’t even a wizard couldn’t possibly understand. But I do know that taking him along and completing the ‘Beast’ raid first is the correct route. The reason is simple.

 

“The center! We must hurry to the center! Only by observing that place can I confirm the difference when I return—.”

 

HE keeps pushing for us to go there.

 

“Don’t be so impatient. It’s not like it appears right away just because we go to the center.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I’m just saying—.”

 

Just as I was about to say ‘keep that in mind’.

 

[GROOOOOOOOOOOOOO——!]

 

The Beast’s howling engulfed the entire island. A ferocious cry echoed from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.

 

[You have entered the radius of Song of the End.]

 

I quickly stopped moving and shouted. Although it’s much earlier than I had expected.

 

“Prepare for battle!!”

 

It had appeared.

 

***

 

The boss of End Island, the Beast. The method to summon it is very simple. If you remained within its territory for long enough, it would naturally appear. By the way, there were no other summoning methods. At least in the game I played, that’s how it was.

 

“Get in formation……!!”

 

That’s why I began to have doubts even as we quickly got into battle positions.

 

‘……It appeared as soon as we entered?’

 

The thing is, this never happened in the game. At the very least, you’d have to wander around its territory for one to two hours before it would appear. But it was summoned as soon as we entered.

 

“Oh……! Could it be that it has appeared?”

 

As expected… I guess it was influenced by this guy? Well, that’s not what I should be thinking about right now.

 

“Yes, so from here on, stay back over there.”

 

“Yes, understood!”

 

First, after sending Arta to a safe position in the rear.

 

Thump-!

 

With my body rapidly heating up in anticipation of battle, I headed to the frontline.

 

And……

 

“Whew……”

 

As always, I steadied my breathing, calming my body. It was like a ritual that athletes perform before a competition. For some reason, after taking a long, deep breath like this, I feel like I become little bit calmer……

 

Clench—

 

I believe. Even if it’s only a little, that sense of calm will increase my chances of victory.

 

Dddddddddd-!

 

“It’s coming……!”

 

Soon the ground undulated like waves, and with magma surging through the cracks, the ‘Beast’ revealed itself.

 

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!

 

From now on, every minute and second is crucial. That’s because its aura skill [Song of the End] has a very unique effect.

 

[All time is accelerated.]

 

It’s only a single-line description, but as anyone who’s read ability battle manhwa knows, the simpler and shorter the description is the more overpowered the ability is. And [Song of the End] is no exception.

 

[Time remaining until death: 22:50:43.]

 

From this point on, the remaining time of the status effect [Terminus] will decrease several times faster.

 

[You will take continuous fire damage and this fire damage will increase over time]

 

The field effect [Eternal Burning] was the same. Even with the ‘Orb of Fire,’ which halves the damage, the point where it will become unbearable will arrive much sooner. Therefore, in my original exploration plan, I set a strict time limit for this raid.

 

‘Thirty minutes.’

 

The maximum is thirty minutes and if it seems like it will take longer than that, then the raid will be considered a failure and we’ll run away without looking back.

 

‘…Though that probably won’t happen.’

 

The Beast is definitely a tough boss, but it’s far easier than the Serpent of the End, Sniktura. Ah, of course, that’s assuming you know the strategy.

 

“Oh… Bjorn!! Is it that monster?!”

 

Ainar shouted in a strangely excited voice upon seeing the Beast appearing before us. After seeing that giant skull on Skull Island, she kept saying she wanted to fight it and it seems those weren’t empty words.

 

‘Still, I thought she’d be at least a little intimidated seeing it in person.’

 

After activating [Giantization], I covered my upper body with my shield while observing the monster beyond it.

 

Its height is about 9 meters.

 

Even by monster classification standards, it’s more than enough to fit into the ‘super-gigantic’ category. Its skeletal structure was somewhat similar to the Lord of Chaos, Riakis. In the sense that it walks on two legs and has a large tail. From a modern person’s perspective, you might say it’s like a dinosaur.

 

[GROOOOOOOOOO-!!!!]

 

The monster lowered its upper body and lets out a monstrous roar. The vibration was so strong that you could feel the air trembling on your skin. Actually, this isn’t just a simple howl, but a proper skill.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Final Ultimatum. For 5 minutes, the physical stats of all characters within radius will gradually decrease.]

 

When hit by this skill, physical-related stats decrease for a period of time. Although it’s a wide-area debuff, the reduction amount is relatively small and the five minute time restriction is quite significant, so looking at this skill on its own its value isn’t that high, but……”

 

[All time is accelerated.]

 

When combined with the effect of [Song of the End], it rises to the level of a sufficiently overpowered skill.

 

“Ugh… What is this! The strength is draining from my body……! And I keep hearing weird noises……!”

 

What would normally take five minutes to stack fully now only takes one minute. Moreover, since it’s a skill with no cooldown, you can consider this effect to be constant throughout the battle. Well, it’s not like I didn’t prepare a way to counter it.

 

“Ughh… Do we have to fight like this?”

 

Geez, there she goes again. I swear I explained all of this during the briefing.

 

“Raven!”

 

At my short call, Raven cast the pre-prepared magic.

 

[Arua Raven has cast rank 5 curse magic White Noise.]

 

[Your hearing is temporarily paralyzed.]

 

As soon as the magic took effect, silence descended as if I was in a quiet room wearing earplugs. A state of perfect silence where not even rustling or my own breathing could be heard. The reason for casting this magic is simple.

 

[Final Ultimatum has been dispelled.]

 

When this magic is cast, it removes a debuff that can’t be dispelled by any magical tools, consumables, divine spells, or purification-type abilities. And surprisingly……

 

“……”

 

I actually don’t know the principle behind it either. After all, that’s not what’s important to a gamer, right? An efficiency-focused gamer doesn’t question things. If it works, they use it.

 

‘So it works in reality too.’

 

In the game, I discovered by chance that using this magic would remove that effect, and at the time I thought it was a bug. But after actually entering the city of Rafdonia and exploring the labyrinth countless times, I realized something. There are no bugs in the game.

 

‘Still, it feels pretty good.’

 

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t worried at all. If this hadn’t worked, we would’ve had to give up on the raid immediately and make a run for it.

 

Swish.

 

After entering silent mode due to the magic, we continued the raid by communicating through hand signals as we had agreed.

 

Like this.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Grudge of Ruin. Damage taken is greatly reduced for a certain period, and upon the end of the cast, stats are greatly increased proportionally to the damage received……]

 

If I clench my fist and raise it—stop attacking.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Predation.]

 

If I open my hand and wave it back and forth—everyone except me, dodge.

 

[Beleg Shucia di Tersia has cast Trumpet of the Soul. When Summons attack the same target, additional damage will be dealt.]

 

If I raise my index finger—ranged positions, attack.

 

[Ainar Fenelin has cast Focus Strike.]

 

[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast [Rupture]……]

 

If I raise both my index and middle fingers—everyone, attack.

 

And……

 

Swish.

 

If I raise just my middle finger like this.

 

——— ——— ——— ——— ———!!!!

 

———!! ———!! ———!!

 

——— ——— ——!!

 

Everyone uses their ultimate skills to unleash maximum firepower.

 

But……

 

‘Is it because I can’t hear anything?’

 

It definitely feels a bit boring, but the raid was progressing smoothly.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Earthquake.]

 

After the first phase ended.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Horn of the End.]

 

We safely passed the second phase where it summoned an almost army-like quantity of minions.

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Noble Species.]

 

There weren’t any major issues in Phase 3 either. If I had to pick a close call, I guess it would be when Ainar got struck by lightning and nearly got taken out while stunned?

 

‘18 minutes at this phase is pretty comfortable.’

 

And so, after 18 minutes of battle, we entered the final phase, Phase 4.

 

[The Ancient Beast’s health is below 20%. It will gradually recover its lost Authority.]

 

Phase 4 has two main characteristics, the first being that the ‘Authority’ that was sealed while sweeping away the island’s monsters gradually recovers over time. And the second is……

 

[The Ancient Beast has cast Authority of Annihilation.]

 

The first Power it cast was guaranteed to target the ‘Cursed One’……

 

‘…Wow, it’s using Annihilation first?’

 

Surprisingly, it used its most powerful Authority right from the start. A targeted instant-death attack with no casting time that’s impossible to dodge or defend against.

 

——— ——— —!

 

A formless mist emerged from the Beast’s body and silently drifted toward its target. Ah, as I mentioned earlier, that target is predetermined.

 

The one who gained the ‘Cursed One’ title after dealing the final blow to the boss on Skull Island was none other than……

 

The Guild Master, Illya Adnus.

 

Of course, I didn’t plan this raid intending to use the Guild Master as a sacrifice. It’s not like I’m just some ruthless barbarian, you know. Anyway, the first Authority’s effect isn’t that dangerous since it hasn’t fully recovered. Well, it will gradually become stronger as time passes.

 

“……!!!”

 

In any case, getting hit by that doesn’t result in immediate ‘instant death.’ It just causes something you possess to be ‘annihilated’……

 

“……?”

 

I wonder what it will be. What will the Guild Master lose after being hit by that?

 

His body’s ability to heal? Equipment? Or maybe even an essence?

 

As I hurriedly turned around to check on the Guild Master, I couldn’t help but let out a silent exclamation.

 

‘Ah……’

 

Lava, meteorites, lightning, etc. Maybe it’s because there were so many sources of light around? A cluster of light reflected like a mirror.

 

‘So that’s possible too……’

 

His hair was annihilated.