Solo Max-Level Newbie
chapter-188

Chapter 188: The String That Connects Conviction (2)

[‘Daylight’ & ‘Crimson Magic Bullet (赤色魔彈)’ are activated!]

The first to blink was a red line.

A thin but straight extended scarlet line.

The mana that cut through the Iksoo soon reached Atasha.

“……?”

Feeling the anomaly, Atasha raised her head.

And at that very moment.

A massive flash connected the two.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

The bodies of the Iksoo simply evaporated.

As if that wasn’t enough, the place where Atasha was standing was completely blown away.

The ground transformed as if a bomb had dropped, forming a crater in the middle of the battlefield.

Chiiiiik!

The heat rising and the acrid smoke mixed together.

Jinhyuk silently observed the scene from the sky.

“I’ve taken care of… Uhm, I shouldn’t use that phrase, huh.”

“Mosquito! Mosquito…!”

“I’m watching too. These bosses are disgustingly tough.”

It was a blow that instantly killed hundreds of orcs and goblins, yet Atasha had survived despite taking the attack head-on.

Of course, her singed feathers and bloodshot eyes suggested she was quite heated.

Right on the verge of becoming a Pride, it was natural that her thread of rationality was about to snap.

“I… I! I’ll hang you on a branch and then tear you apart alive!”

Angered, Atasha gathered dozens of lightning bolts around her wings.

The sparks shining enough to hurt one’s eyes carried an immense amount of mana that couldn’t be ignored.

[Atasha activates Lv15 ‘Lightning Strike’!]

Of course, not even one should make contact.

“If you really don’t want to become roasted sweet potatoes, you better dodge well. Got it?”

Jinhyuk whispered softly into the ear of the sweet potato.

At the same time, a thunderstorm began pouring down from the ceiling.

Kwang! Kwaaaang!

“Mo, mosquito!”

Sweet Potato zigzagged through the falling lightning.

＊＊＊

Hwaruruk!

By maintaining an erratic trajectory, Atasha’s thunderstorm repeatedly scorched only the innocent ground.

Nevertheless, Atasha didn’t grow impatient despite her continuous misfiring.

‘…I just need to drag out the time.’

A bitter smile formed on Atasha’s lips.

When she first saw the power of Jinhyuk and the rest of his followers, she was quite taken aback.

Players, mere humans granted a tiny amount of mana.

No matter how they fought, they were but minnows incomparable to their own kind, who stood at the apex of a stratum.

However, that common sense had been completely shattered.

By a single human.

‘It really took a lot of work to come up with a good countermeasure.’

Not to mention preparing holy relics, but also keeping the other bosses hidden as a surprise to strike the enemy’s weak point.

The effort of convincing the proud Lizardman chieftain and Black Fang was sweat-inducing, a hurdle that was indeed not easy to overcome.

Nonetheless.

All that hardship was over.

The human eel-like creature hadn’t been dealt with yet, but merely binding his movements was already overwhelmingly advantageous for her.

The forces brought from the 9th stratum overflowed.

And the traps of the 8th stratum completely blocked any additional support from the players, right?

Moreover, the humans and elementals here were noticeably draining their mana…

The outcome of this battle was nearly decided.

‘When I deal with that human, He will surely be pleased.’

Thinking about the praise she would receive, Atasha’s lips kept twitching.

Subsequently, the barrier erected by the Black Wind Association started to peel away, soon collapsing.

It really wasn’t far off now.

Only one step remained.

But at that moment.

The color drained from Atasha’s face.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Her heart began an erratic throb.

A cold sweat followed down her entire body.

Her gaze moved towards the red-haired woman. To be precise, the blue gem the woman was guarding.

‘This… mana response?’

An alien sense of discomfort was felt.

Without a doubt.

At that moment.

[3 minutes have entirely passed.]

[The special item ‘The String That Connects Conviction’ is complete.]

[The String That Connects Conviction]

Obtainable difficulty: A

Activation requirements: Both conditions must be met – Only when the connection is established by the ‘call’ of the one who used the ‘String That Connects Conviction’ and the ‘response’ of the one on the other side. However, this item can only be used on targets that are not of the same species.

[‘The Mirror That Breaks Boundaries’ is activated.]

The items prepared by the Coin Exchange reacted to ‘The Mirror That Breaks Boundaries.’

An indescribable light burst forth, and a lull occurred in the intense battle.

The lightning-spewing Atasha. The monstrously strong Lizard King. Black Fang, who enjoyed hunting at high speeds, all seemed to freeze on the spot.

[The stairs are connected.]

A green gate, about 10m in size, opened.

Since this side had called, all that was left was to wait for the response from the other.

“Called for reinforcements…?”

“You’ve brought a whole lot with you, so isn’t it only fair that I bring some too?”

“Don’t joke! What kind of fool would come to your aid!”

Atasha swelled her throat in anger.

She knew about this item as well.

‘The String That Connects Conviction’ is a special item that can summon forces from another stratum.

However, only they could properly utilize the item due to the huge constraint that it could only call for support from a different species.

That goes without saying.

Who would shed blood for humans?

Especially to come to such a place of death.

Surely, there would not be any responding from beyond that gate.

‘The individualistic elementals are out of the question, and the young ancient race is even less worth mentioning.’

Therefore, this item could not create any meaningful variable.

Nonetheless, Jinhyuk was certain.

If it was him, he would undoubtedly respond to this call.

Thud.

The footsteps resonating were at that very moment.

Breaking the grave silence.

Emerging from the rippling surface were…

The warriors of the ‘Frost Blade Tribe’ and

Their great hero, evaluated as the greatest leader in the history of the troll race, ‘Karacal.’

As expected… you’ve come.

Jinhyuk nodded briefly to Karacal.

“Human.”

Karacal also bowed to Jinhyuk in return.

The fate of his tribe saved by Jinhyuk and rescued at Lake Sweetwater.

In order to repay that favor,

Karacal responded to Jinhyuk’s call.

[‘The String That Connects Conviction’ is activated.]

[Warriors of the 7th stratum manifest.]

A red flag symbolizing ‘Frost Blade’ fluttered.

“Ooooooh!”

“Kraaah!”

A tremendous number of troops began to emerge from the gate.

They were all elites armored in heavy plate.

“Kalam. Goto-ul, prepare to charge. From now on, we completely annihilate the enemy.”

“Understood, chieftain.”

“Do it at once.”

Puuuuuu!

The sound of the blaring horn was like thunder.

Lancers on white stags took the lead, followed by spear-armed troops in heavy armor.

Thus.

The blue wave disrupted the balance of the battlefield.

＊＊＊

Caught by surprise, Atasha couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Block them! The formation can’t fall!”

Atasha shouted until her throat burst.

Near-screaming in despair.

But no matter how loudly she cried, it was too late.

The forces were concentrated at the front to deal with Jinhyuk, the Black Wind Association, and the elementals, leaving the flanks nearly unguarded.

That mistake led to a fatal outcome.

Pffffffff! Kwaang!

The troll’s vanguard in a wedge formation ripped through the orc and goblin ranks.

“Kyeeek!”

“Kooek!”

Arms and legs flew off.

Bodies turned to mush were flung away.

When heavily armored trolls struck their flanks, of course, the damage had to be outstanding.

However, before they could even comprehend the shock, the second assault followed.

With the sound of cutting through the wind, the warriors of the Frost Blade tribe threw their spears.

Pfffpffff! Pff-up!

They targeted the ogres.

A surprise strike at the seams of armor.

“Kek…”

“Gack! Cough!”

The sturdier ogres crumbled, and the rest quickly began to disintegrate.

The Lizard King tried to regroup the lines but rebuilding a broken front was near impossible.

Especially with Karacal himself leading the regiment.

Kwaaaaang!

Even that massive Lizard King staggered backward, unable to withstand Karacal’s spear.

“You… why have the trolls joined hands with humans!”

“The human called us. To fight, we need no reason beyond that.”

Karacal implied no need for further dialogue.

Besides, Black Fang was still playing tag with Wal-young, unable to join the battle.

In the midst of a completely overturned situation.

“This, this can’t be… this is absurd…”

Atasha fell into despair.

“I’ve grown kind of fond of it too. Fighting not one-on-one but calling lots of friends.”

Jinhyuk’s grin was a sharp contrast.

The time had come to wrap things up.

With the board set like this, it was time to maximize the kill count through a driven hunt.

And.

For everyone to have a comfortable hunt, a few cumbersome bosses needed to be taken care of directly.

“You can rest now.”

Jinhyuk placed his molars into the subspace inventory and softly patted Sweet Potato’s back.

He then leaped towards the ground.

Thud!

Jinhyuk lightly landed and once again manifested ‘Covering the Moon with Fingernails.’

his hands covered with dark red claws, a dreadful energy began to emerge.

Was it a provocative sight?

Atasha clenched her fists as if to crush them.

“Think you… can you really match me in one-on-one combat, you who dare to control the lightning?”

“The static is pretty fierce, but I’ve never thought I’m going to lose.”

“Don’t spout such nonsense. How dare you, you know nothing about my abilities!”

Many monsters thrived in the 9th stratum.

She was one of the bosses who had conquered them.

She was not a being that some worm that crawled out from the Tower could speak to so carelessly.

But.

There was something Atasha did not know.

That the man standing before her was an entity entirely different from one who merely ruled the 9th stratum.

“You should not shout from this distance with an ability specialized in long-range.”

No matter how powerful a cannon is, it is useless against an infantryman who has come upon it.

It’s not just about power; there are strategic match-ups to consider.

Pop!

Manifesting ‘Devil King’s Evil Gaze,’ Jinhyuk reached Atasha in an instant.

“Kuk!”

Immediately, Atasha expelled lightning.

But Jinhyuk was not one to be caught by such a straightforward trajectory.

“The speed is pretty fast.”

Lightning is known for its speed, but discussing its velocity is meaningless.

“The problem is that the concentration point of your lightning matches the direction of attack.”

As long as you can foresee where the attack will come, dodging becomes a trivial matter.

‘At least for me.’

Thump…

Jinhyuk’s fist, which had slipped into Atasha’s abdomen, touched her stomach.

‘Black Heaven Devil Emperor’s Technique’

“No, stop!”

Feeling a foreboding energy, Atasha screamed sharply.

The heavy and thick murderous aura from her stomach seemed to predict what was going to happen next.

And then…

A dark aura began revolving counterclockwise.

‘Ink Wheel Spear Break’

“It’s done.”