Chapter 29 - The Bloom of Death, Cut Down
The boss room.
The group stepped into the massive greenhouse, staring up at a colossal, purple flower looming overhead.
The boss monster: Wilow King.
It wasn’t called "King" for nothing—
The sheer size of the thing radiated a murderous aura you could almost feel scraping your skin.
And the stench—
How a flower could smell like a sewer was beyond anyone’s guess.
The moment they entered, they had no choice but to scatter.
Shuaaaa!
A blast, like vomit, spewed toward them.
Green tendrils lashed out like whips!
The places they had just been standing dissolved, melted away by toxic fluid.
And the whip-like vines gouged deep craters in the ground like bombs exploding.
This guy didn’t even bother to signal before attacking.
Usually, monsters in the Garden of Death didn’t strike first, making it relatively easy—
but the boss was clearly a different beast.
Could it even have... intelligence?
"Is everyone okay?!" Caleb shouted.
Instead of answering, Millie fired back.
Bang!
Her bullet punched through one of Wilow King’s petals.
Kiiiiieee!
Wilow King shrieked in rage and launched another vicious attack.
But Millie dodged everything without so much as blinking.
Then it was Luke’s turn.
"Move, grubby boy! You’re in the way!"
He jumped up and rushed forward, swinging his sword wildly.
His fearlessness left Jhin briefly speechless.
Did he actually know what he was doing?
Jhin frowned, watching his reckless charge.
He sighed and darted forward, grabbing Luke by the scruff of the neck and yanking him backward.
"Urk! What the—?!"
Face-planting onto the ground, Luke looked up—
—and found himself nose-to-nose with a bed of vicious little plants, their thorny teeth gleaming hungrily.
Plants that had been lying hidden in the soil, waiting for prey.
Jhin spoke calmly.
"Common sense says you don’t charge Wilow King without preparing for these little guys.
If you’re not ready, you’ll just get eaten alive."
"...I-I knew that," Luke stammered.
Sure you did.
Jhin’s golden eyes gleamed as he scanned the battlefield.
Just like he had warned, to approach Wilow King, you had to push through a whole field of carnivorous plants—
each one ready to tear apart anything foolish enough to come close.
Caleb called out.
"Should we leave it to Millie?"
"No.
If we do that, the boss will evolve into D-rank."
"Huh? Then what are we supposed to—?"
At that moment, Millie deflected another whip attack with a precise shot, smiling slyly at Jhin.
"If Jhin still has one of those potions...
I could solo this boss, you know.
How about it? Want to share again?"
The problem was clear:
While Millie’s shots were hurting Wilow King, they weren’t doing enough damage fast enough.
But—
If she boosted her body with "Burn Blood" and powered up her bullets—
She might be able to solo it after all.
Millie asked lightly.
"You have any left?"
"Yeah.
But I’m not giving it to you."
Her hopeful smile froze.
"...Why not? Don’t you trust me?"
"No, it’s not that."
Jhin drew his battered longsword and started stretching his shoulders.
Luke frowned, confused by the sight, but was promptly ignored.
"Because someone already cost me my level-ups today."
"...Huh?"
"And honestly, it’s a waste to hand this one over too."
And with that, Jhin took off running.
So fast—
No one could stop him.
Luke flinched and reached out instinctively—
but Jhin had already charged into the carnivorous plant fields.
"Is he insane—?!"
But the next moment—
Luke’s mouth snapped shut.
Slice!
Kyaaah!
Slash!
Kiiit!
Jhin moved like flowing water, carving through the plant fields with dazzling swordsmanship.
He was so fast that Luke lost sight of him more than once.
It was a massacre.
Jhin wasn’t just cutting through the plants— He was exterminating them.
"W-What the hell...
That guy..."
And it didn’t stop there.
Without slowing, Jhin sliced his way clean to Wilow King.
Vines whipped from every side— striking fast enough to blur the air.
Just watching made the others break into cold sweat.
Could they have dodged those attacks if they were standing there?
They all shook their heads.
Impossible. The answer was clear.
Luke spoke with a trembling voice.
"H-He’s supposed to be level 37...
How the hell is he doing that?"
"He’s Kyle, isn’t he?" Caleb said, laughing softly—
a little hollowly.
"What else do you need to see?"
"There’s no way...
Grubby boy is Kyle?
That’s not possible."
"Then explain that," Caleb said, pointing at the battlefield.
Luke clamped his mouth shut.
Caleb simply watched Jhin fight, quietly impressed.
"It’s gotta be one of two things."
Slash!
"Either he’s secretly an insanely high level—"
BOOM!
Jhin stepped lightly on a vine, used it like a springboard, and soared upward.
Kicking off another incoming vine for momentum, he shot straight toward the center of the massive flower.
His rough-looking longsword pierced deep into Wilow King’s heart.
The monster let out an eerie, guttural wail.
"—Or he’s got some absurd skills."
[Boss Monster ’Wilow King Scarecrow (E)’ has been defeated.]
[The Garden of Death (E) has been cleared.]
[You have received rewards.]
Wilow King’s Flower Bud
Scarecrow’s Thorn Gauntlets
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
On the way back from clearing the dungeon—
The sun had already sunk below the horizon.
Darkness blanketed the road.
The four of them walked in silence, saying nothing.