Chapter 104: Fooling The Boss
Elizabeth hesitated, her icy gaze locked onto the rapidly approaching snake, which was moments away from swallowing them whole.
"Teaming up is a sign of weakness. Besides, it will reduce our final points. There is no need to." She answered, spinning the scythe across her palm as she prepared to retaliate.
Leonard arched an eyebrow.
"Maybe, but even if they deduct points from our scores, we would still come out with a net positive if we managed to kill such a boss, no? Plus, the way I see things, you and, by extension, me are about to be eliminated unless we team up against that thing."
Leonard countered, feeling the mana surge through his veins. Fortunately, by now, his reserves had mostly recovered from the previous battles. He was able to go all out.
"It’s either losing some points or getting eliminated from the examination altogether. Choose."
Elizabeth’s eyes darkened slightly as she bit her lower lip. She knew he was right.
"Fine. We kill it." Elizabeth answered.
Her legs tensed as she dashed forward with staggering speed.
Leonard watched her figure as she fearlessly rushed toward the creature.
"Killing a Level 40 boss isn’t as simple a matter as she makes it out to be." He heaved a deep sigh.
The golden hue of his eyes intensified. He summoned Valor and ordered him to charge forward, while Joker took the form of a fog to reduce the creature’s visibility and stand ready in case he was needed.
Leonard first unleashed a War Cry, after which he used Dragon Slayer to conjure a silver javelin. Tearing the air in front of him, he sent it toward the snake’s left eye.
Sssss!
The Crimson Snake flicked its tongue in clear displeasure.
Its body moved with inhumane flexibility and effortlessly avoided the projectile, though the effects of War Cry still slowed it down to an extent.
Valor reached the monster. Pushing his body to the limit, he thrust forward with his greatsword, aiming the tip between the creature’s scales. His goal was to wedge the blade beneath them and break them off one by one, exposing a weak point in the snake’s massive body.
However, the giant snake was too slippery, and he was unable to pull off such a stunt. The most he managed to do was strike one of its scales head-on. The sword bounced off, unable to leave even a dent.
In retaliation, the Crimson Snake flicked its tail and struck Valor. Deep cracks appeared across his pristine armor as he was sent flying backward like a ragdoll.
Yet the summon was far from being done. He didn’t spend more than a second on the ground before rising to his feet and charging once more.
Thanks to Valor’s reckless charge, Elizabeth managed to sneak up on the creature’s side, her scythe blurring as she swung with full force.
SSSSS!
Faced with the chilly blade of her weapon, the snake’s scales gave in, another gaping opening appearing across its body.
Unrestrained hatred burned in the snake’s gaze. Opening its jaws wide, it prepared to swallow Elizabeth in one bite.
Leonard wasn’t about to let that happen. His arm muscles bulged beneath his attire as he hurled Titanic Oath toward the same eye he had failed to pierce earlier.
Since the Boss was too distracted by Elizabeth’s presence, it wasn’t able to move out of the way in time. Leonard’s Axe Mastery improved the accuracy of his throw, managing to drive the axe so deep into the creature’s skull that it blinded one of its eyes.
"Success!" His lips curled into a faint smile. Perhaps victory was really within their grasp.
Or so he believed until the snake’s hatred was redirected toward him.
After the monster recovered from the shock of having one of its eyes destroyed, it slid across the ground and shot toward Leonard with its mouth wide open, devouring everything in its path.
"!!!"
Leonard’s adrenaline spiked. The incoming monster was wider than a metro and moved too fast for him to escape.
Even using Draconic Eyes was futile. Regardless of how far into the future he was able to perceive, it was all useless unless he was actually able to react to what was coming.
"Leonard!" Elizabeth yelled in worry, her usually icy persona faltering.
She was powerless from where she stood. Unable to help him in time, she watched as the Crimson Snake’s jaws closed around his figure, devouring him in a single bite.
’He couldn’t be dead, right?’ She wondered, feeling her pulse spike.
Logically speaking, there were supervisors watching their every move and were supposed to intervene if something went amiss.
Yet the academy had already failed to deal with the Void Believers once. Could this be a repeat? Did the Level 40 monster prove too fast for them to save Leonard’s life?
The fact that the chances weren’t zero left her conflicted. They had already been part of the same party twice. She hated the very thought of him perishing.
Yet the next second, she was shocked to the core. Mist poured from the snake’s jaws and nostrils.
"Steam? No... That’s Leonard’s summon!" She realized in astonishment.
The snake had been too caught up in its rage to notice that, at the last possible moment, Leonard had made Joker take his place by recreating his form.
Making use of the blind spot he had created, Leonard had moved towards the snake’s gashed-out eye and dodged the lethal charge by a hair’s breadth, barely escaping with his life.
Elizabeth’s eyes darted across the empty field. A second later, she noticed that Leonard had gotten onto the snake’s body. Carrying Titanic Oath in his mouth, he scaled the massive creature like a mountain.
She needed but a second to recover from the shock before leaping toward the creature once more. The snake had turned its back toward her, and it was vital to make the most of the opportunity.
Meanwhile, Leonard climbed atop the snake’s body, his hair sweeping to the side from the strong currents of wind generated by its movements.
’I don’t want to repeat this ever again.’ He thought, his gaze fixed on the snake’s head.
Should they really manage to defeat the snake, he expected to level up several times in quick succession.