Everyone looked at the Rank 4 Boss Monster in shock after Renard had just effectively crippled it with a single punch.
Of course, Alex was the only one who remained unfazed. He had long known what Renard was capable of.
’I was the one who raised this kid,’ Alex thought while smirking.
Kidding aside, only the young man knew that Renard could use this blow once a day. Not to mention, while the skill was powerful, its recoil was also nothing to scoff at.
The result of using this skill repeatedly was the crippling of his hand, an outcome Renard naturally wanted to avoid as much as possible.
Suddenly, the teenage boy felt something ominous, so he hastily distanced himself from the Boss Monster, despite the latter looking incapable of further battle.
Surprised by his actions, many trial takers watching the battle thought that he had made a mistake. In their eyes, it was the perfect opportunity to deal the killing blow to the Boss Monster and end its reign of terror.
However, as if to prove them wrong, Vulkarath’s entire body suddenly burst into flames as it transformed into some kind of spiritual wolf covered in flames.
This was Vulkarath’s last resort, activated as soon as its health bar dropped below 30%
Like most Boss Monsters, Vulkarath possessed a berserk ability that made it significantly more dangerous when pushed to the brink of death.
The Ember Howl Sovereign was a bit special. Instead of gaining incredible strength, its entire body would transform into elemental flame, raising its magical abilities to the limits.
With a roar filled with vengeance, it lunged at Renard, treating him as the greatest threat in the field.
But how could Alex let the Boss Monster get its way so easily?
"Over here, you piece of sh*t!" Alex yelled.
< Taunt [EX] activated! >
Vulkarath, whose jaws were about to bite off half of Renard’s body, paused mid-strike before turning around to face the young man, who had swapped his shield to Svalinn.
Fueled with madness and hate, the Ember Howl Sovereign transformed into a fiery comet, putting everything on the line to kill the annoying human who had driven it crazy.
Alex stomped his right foot forward and used Enchant Holy on Svalinn.
A moment later, he activated his skill, Shield Charge, intending to clash with the Boss Monster instead of passively blocking its attack.
A blazing red comet and a golden comet clashed against each other, creating a powerful shock wave that pushed everything back within a hundred-meter radius.
Charles, Lavinia, Renard, Bob, Grint, and Jorven tried to hold their ground, but they were still blown away by the impact of the collision of the two attacks.
An explosion followed suit. The aftermath of Vulkarath’s and the Oathkeeper’s collision was that the surroundings were blanketed with thick white smoke.
Lavinia, who was the first to recover, didn’t hesitate to run toward the center of the explosion to see what happened to Alex and help him in any way possible.
"Alex!" Lavinia waved her sword, creating a gust of wind that blew away the smoke blocking her view.
There, she saw a young man kneeling on the ground, using his shield to support his body.
Ramza and the Professors of the Academy couldn’t help but look on in shock, unable to fathom that someone could actually survive Vulkarath’s ultimate skill, Scorch Fang Frenzy.
The Two-Horned Blaze Wolf lay a few meters away from him, struggling to stand, but eventually collapsing.
It had once again reverted to its beast form. It was equally surprised to realize that Alex had been able to survive its strongest attack.
Of course, the only reason Alex survived was because the Boss Monster had turned into pure flame during its final attack.
Also, Svalinn’s passive skill, Improved Fire Resistance, was the sole reason he could tank the lethal blow.
But Alex still suffered from the Boss Monster’s trump card. After all, Svalinn’s passive ability still had a limit.
His clothes were burned and charred in some places, and he looked a little pale.
However, Lavinia was still relieved to see that he wasn’t as hurt as she had thought he would be.
"Are you alright?" Lavinia asked, about to crouch down to support Alex’s body, but the young man raised his hand to stop her.
"Finish it, Lavinia!" Alex said in an exhausted voice. "Hurry, before anything else happens."
Lavinia nodded in understanding and extended her sword whip, making it spin like a drill,
"Horizon Piercer!" Lavinia lashed at the dying Boss Monster. Her weapon pierced its right eye, passing through to the other side of its head.
Vulkarath uttered an unwilling groan before its body transformed into particles of light, disappearing completely.
A second later, the young man heard several notification sounds inside his head, followed by a blue window screen that showed the rewards he gained after his party defeated one of the Boss Monsters of the island.
< You have completed a Hidden Quest! >
< Quest Name: Vulkarath’s Defeat >
— 2,000 Arcana Points, Vulkarath’s Fur, Vulkarath’s Horns, Vulkarath’s Core
Alex was only happy that the battle was finally over and that no one from his team had been eliminated.
But just as he thought that he could finally rest, he heard dozens of footsteps heading in the direction where Vulkarath’s body had been located earlier.
"That sigil is mine!" a trial taker who had been watching the battle since the beginning lunged at the glowing sigil and the monster core lying on the ground.
The moment someone touched the sigil, they would automatically pass the second trial and become a scholarship student. It was a temptation that was simply too hard to ignore.
Alex and Lavinia, who had completely forgotten about the dropped items due to the tension of the battle earlier, were unable to react in time.
However, just as the teenage boy was about to get his hands on the Sigil and the Boss Monster’s Core, something small, white, and fast snatched the items away before putting them inside its mouth.
Dim Dim wouldn’t allow anyone to take the rewards his team had worked so hard for!
So, after snatching the sigil and the monster core, it ran toward Renard, who had taken a fighting pose, ready to smack anyone who was going to take their rewards away from them.
Seeing the person who had snapped the Boss Monster’s leg in half with a single punch, the opportunistic trial taker finally came to his senses and stopped his pursuit of the Dim Sum God.
Dim Dim then stuck its tongue out and made faces at the teenage boy while hiding behind Renard’s leg because it knew that its pursuer wouldn’t dare to come near the person, who could make a boss monster kneel with a single punch.