Chapter 26 - The Boss Is Too Weak (6)

“One!”

“One!!!”

Using your muscles builds up fatigue. That was a truth that applied even to superhumans.

“Two!”

“Two!!”

One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

Push every muscle in your body without rest, and even Superman is bound to tire.

“Three!”

“Three!!!”

Everyone who could be relieved had long since been replaced.

Their skin, once drenched in sweat that poured like rain, had dried out from dehydration. Their arms and legs trembled, and by now, everyone's gums were bleeding.

Their bodies had reached their limits.

“Here we go again! One!”

“One!!!”

Even so, the people pushing the barrier did not stop.

Their spirits had transcended the limits of their bodies.

To survive. For a better future.

For everyone.

The conviction that they were doing the right thing drove them forward.

And so they struggled onward, one tiny step at a time.

Those tiny steps added up to a stride.

And those strides became a giant leap.

How much time had passed?

The swamp that had seemed impossibly far away was now right before them.

“Puuuuush!!!”

At last, the barrier's epic fifty-meter journey came to an end.

SPLOSH!

With a thunderous, wet crash, the spherical barrier plunged into the swamp.

“Graaagh!! Graaaaaagh!!!”

The Minotaur thrashed desperately to survive, but from inside, it could do nothing to stop the barrier from slowly sinking into the swamp.

“Groooooaaar!”

And finally, when the Minotaur's roars could no longer be heard...

“Krrgh... Khh... I will release the seal. Krrk.”

The Goblin Shaman gave its staff a small wave, and the purple rope connecting it to the swamp snapped.

“KERKA!”

This time, the Goblin Shaman slammed its staff against the ground, and a flash of white light burst with a bang.

Apparently, it had also released the seal that formed the spherical barrier.

“...”

“...”

“Krrk... Khh... The seals are released... Krrk.”

Having spent all its strength, the Goblin Shaman staggered over to an unoccupied tree stump and slumped onto it.

“... Is it dead?”

A brief silence hung over us. Everyone stared at the swamp with tense eyes.

A little time passed.

POP-POP-POP!

Suddenly, the cheap sound of firecrackers went off.

-[Incredible Achievement Notification!]

-You have successfully defeated the hidden boss, ‘Minotaur, Demon of the Labyrinth’!

-No casualties! Bonus achievement EXP will be awarded!

-[Choi Jiwon], the greatest contributor, will receive a special reward!

Actually, this was the first time I'd seen a message announcing that I'd earned an achievement.

Was it appearing because the achievement was so impressive, or was this another one of the tower's tricks?

“...”

But no special follow-up message appeared, nor did any suspicious sounds come from the swamp.

Was it really dead? I could hardly believe it.

Had we really defeated that overwhelmingly powerful monster with something that, in a way, amounted to a child's prank?

I stood there blankly, still unable to take it in.

Perhaps a minute passed like that.

“Junho...”

Firefighter Park Cheoljin came staggering over from the swamp.

Even after pushing himself so hard, he apparently still had some stamina left. He truly lived up to the name “Iron Man.”

“Whew... Whew...”

He braced his hands on his knees and caught his breath, then lifted his head and gave me a firm thumbs-up.

“... You're our hero.”

As though those words had lit the fuse—

“Waaaaaah!!!”

Wild cries of joy rang out all around us.

Everywhere, people embraced one another, tears of happiness streaming down their faces.

“We won! We won!”

“I'm alive! Mom...!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

At the same time, positive emotions flowed into me from every direction.

Elation.

Delight.

Joy.

Gratitude.

Love.

Faith.

Relief.

-[Duplicate traits are leveling up!]

-Awe [C] >>> Awe [B]

-Hero [F] >>> Hero [C]

Perhaps because I had absorbed other people's emotions and turned them into traits, I could feel everyone's emotions vividly.

That brought a small smile to my face as well.

“... We won.”

Slowly. A profound joy slowly welled up from deep within my heart.

We had killed a monster that wasn't meant to be killed.

There hadn't been a single casualty.

It was a complete and utterly perfect victory.

And the way we had won held great meaning, too.

I hadn't forced a victory over the Minotaur by repeatedly using Regression, the trait God had tossed my way.

I hadn't become some absurdly overpowered monster and cut the Minotaur down with a single stroke.

My idea had played a part, but something else had mattered more.

The shining will of humanity.

By bringing those noble wills together, we had won the sweet fruit of survival.

A number of humans. And one goblin.

Mortals had triumphed over God.

“Status window.”

[Name: Kim Junho] [LV:13]

[Traits]

-Regression [EX]

-Awe [B]

-Hero [C]

The last time I'd checked, my achievement level had been 6.

Just killing the Minotaur had raised it by a whole seven levels.

Oh, right. There had been a bonus for clearing it without casualties.

Apparently, each achievement awarded a set amount of EXP, rather than my level rising with the number of achievements.

Then again, we'd just defeated a monster that was utterly impossible to beat by normal means.

Honestly, no one would have complained even if we'd been showered with more rewards than this.

“How are the people who pushed the barrier doing?”

“They're all still having trouble moving... We agreed to help them back once they've recovered a little.”

“Hmm... Thank you for your hard work.”

Everyone knew I was the one who had devised this operation.

They were treating me as a sort of hero and savior. My Awe trait must have played a part in that reverence.

“Let's all calm down a little now... Could you make some room?”

I passed through the jubilant crowd and approached the Goblin Shaman sitting on the stump.

“... Did we succeed? Krrk.”

“You did well.”

The Goblin Shaman's face broke into a broad smile. It twisted its ugly features terribly, but I didn't find the sight unpleasant.

Thanks to its wholehearted help, we had killed the Minotaur without suffering any harm. In a way, we all owed it our lives.

“Now...”

I would have to kill it and open the portal.

Of course, I wouldn't be entering the portal, but I wanted this run to have a beautiful ending.

I wanted to remember it as the run in which humanity had united against God's malice and won.

I wanted to treasure it as proof of what humanity could do, a medal kept within my heart.

“Krrk. Are you going to kill me, human?”

I could have lied, but I didn't want to be that cruel to it.

“... Yes.”

“I knew. Krrk. I have less than ten minutes left to live anyway. Krrk.”

The Goblin Shaman accepted it calmly.

It rummaged inside the skull it wore on its head and took something out.

“This stone holds my voice. Krrk. I put what I wish to tell humans inside it. I recommend breaking it in a little while, human.”

“... All right.”

Was this a sort of keepsake?

My heart heavy, I clenched the stone it had given me tightly in my left hand.

“... Hey! Told you I'd make it back alive, didn't I?”

“We did it! We really did it!”

“Honey! Heh, hehe... How did I do?”

Voices came from the direction of the swamp.

The heroes who had exhausted themselves pushing the barrier were returning, supported by the others.

Pale-faced, Choi Jiwon met my eyes from a distance and smiled, waving.

“...”

At some point, the people who had been cheering themselves hoarse with joy had begun looking at the Goblin Shaman with expectant eyes.

Right. So this was the end.

The Goblin Shaman's devoted help seemed to have swayed my heart for a moment.

Now I really would have to kill it.

“... Krrk. Everyone wishes for my death.”

After briefly looking around, the Goblin Shaman barely managed to wipe the blood from its lips with the back of its hand.

“... Krrk. Everything went according to plan. What a relief. I am satisfied.”

The Goblin Shaman handed me the pouch of golden orbs in its left hand, then slowly closed its eyes.

It calmly accepted its death.

“...”

I took the pouch in the hand holding the stone, then drew the sword at my waist with my free hand.

“... You did well, Goblin Shaman.”

I'd grown attached to it after all its help. The least I could do was give it a peaceful end.

“Goodbye.”

Thank you for everything.

SWISH!

My sword cut through the Goblin Shaman's neck.

“... Huh? What?”

My sword hand trembled.

Something was strange.

I hadn't felt the blade cut through flesh.

Every hair on my body seemed to stand on end.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

“... Kim Junho. What's going on—”

Choi Jiwon questioned me in a trembling voice.

The Goblin Shaman, which had accepted death with its eyes closed, was slowly fading away.

At some point, the feel of the pouch in my hand vanished.

As though we'd been bewitched.

“O-over there...!”

A woman who had been cheering from the back looked toward the swamp and let out something close to a scream.

I turned to follow her gaze. The Goblin Shaman, which had definitely been beside me, was laughing in the distance.

“Keh-heh... Keh-heh-heh...”

In one hand, it held a pouch full of golden orbs. In the other, its staff.

“Humans...”

A crazed grin stretched across its face, wide enough to split its mouth.

“Humans are fools.”

It... sank into the swamp.

-[Achievement Notification!]

-The boss has been defeated.

-A portal will appear where the boss died.

“...”

“...”

Just a moment ago, everyone had been laughing and talking.

Now an eerie silence descended.

“... The orbs?”

Firefighter Park Cheoljin barely managed to speak.

The pouch it had given me had been nothing but an illusion.

The Goblin Shaman had kept the real pouch.

“... The portal?”

The portal had appeared where the Goblin Shaman died.

It had died inside the poisonous swamp.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Without a word, I looked down at the stone in my hand.

We had triumphed over a mighty God.

And lost to a goblin on the verge of death.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

I went ahead and wrote this just the way I like it.

I'm not sure whether you'll like it.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

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