“Did you hear that? The whole area seems to have been transformed into a dungeon.”

In other words, we couldn’t leave until we defeated the boss monster. The problem was that the boss monster was most likely Yun Yun. Based on what the goblins had said, I was almost one hundred percent certain.

“Yun Yun became the Goblin King using the Nameless Demon King’s Spinning Wheel, an SS-Rank item. At first, Yun Yun transformed into a Grade 1 demon—an SS-Rank Demon King. But she wanted to return to being the original goblin, so she changed back.”

It seemed the effects from that time had lingered, and now they were affecting the entire goblin race. What were the optimization skills when she turned into a demon king… I couldn’t remember clearly. Though I could check again now.

“Changed because she wanted to, you say? I have a feeling my partner was involved in that. Was it when the hospital room was completely trashed?”

“You remember well. Let’s save the details for later. If she’s become a demon king again, we can probably turn her back. It won’t be easy, but I’d like to prioritize rescue over subjugation.”

Asking for a rescue mission against an SS-Rank monster when most of our skills were sealed was, frankly, an outrageous request. And yet, no one objected. Thankfully.

Since it’s just mindless undead, even if I can’t use My Kid, I still have the double damage bonus.

After confirming the opponent’s skills and weak attributes, I could apply the doubled attack skill. At least the probability of us losing was low… though the rescue might still fail.

“What about the pendant? My skill would be the most advantageous here.”

“Still, I’m lacking in experience and such,” Yerim added hesitantly.

“It works as long as it touches the body, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then wrap it in your hand and touch Yuhyun with it.”

“Okay. What are you staring at? I don’t want to touch you either.”

Yerim grumbled and teleported over to Yuhyun. Her hand, with the pendant wrapped inside, touched Yuhyun’s shoulder. Just then, Iryn, who had been hiding this whole time, popped out and spun around as if he’d been suffocating.

“It works!”

“Good. Then we’ll have you touch him or hand it over when needed, Yerim. Since you can teleport and fly.”

With the Teacher skill added to this, it would be easier to coordinate our timing. I also used the Teacher skill on Yerim and Peace. Even though they were keyword-applied ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) opponents, the numbers were increasing, so it was slowly becoming overwhelming. Would it be too much to use it on Yun Yun as well? We also decided on hand signals for applying the pendant.

“Yerim, if you think it’s too dangerous to approach, you can just throw it. You don’t have to touch him directly.”

“Don’t worry!”

“Don’t stray too far from Peace, and if your skills get blocked, regroup with us immediately.”

Due to the nature of Yerim’s abilities, if her skills were blocked, she’d have almost no way to protect herself. So it was safer to rely on Peace’s help. As a unicorn subspecies, Peace was incredibly fast for a beast-type monster. Even if he couldn’t use Blazing Charge, dodging enemy attacks would be simple.

After replenishing my mana, I looked across the faintly glowing ice lake. Following the explosion, everything had gone quiet with no particular signs of activity.

“…If this place really is like a dungeon, then stalling for time might work too.”

If you entered a dungeon and survived for a certain amount of time without dying, a reset phenomenon would occur. As if the dungeon had been cleared, the saturation level would drop and the gate would open. Unmanageable monsters were sometimes dealt with by holding out like that.

But for an SS-Rank boss monster dungeon, even a month or two might not be enough.

“Or we might be able to use a gate stone. But a gate stone… Chief Song?”

“I don’t have one.”

Right, as expected. Seong Hyunjae only had one, and Yuhyun had two, but Yerim and Noah didn’t have any. In the first place, I didn’t see a gate anywhere to use it on.

“Then let’s go.”

Noah flew upward, holding me securely. Yerim also activated her flight skill and pulled out an A-Rank ice attribute support magic staff she’d brought as a temporary replacement for her bow.

“Chief Song! I picked up plenty of weapons—you can break them if needed!”

Except for Hwawoon’s sword. That belonged to Yuhyun. At my words, Seong Hyunjae produced a battle hammer. Wow, it really didn’t suit him at all.

“It has a slight crack, but it should be usable.”

Song Taewon accepted the weapon without a word. Seeing the wire wrapped around one of his hands, something suddenly came to mind.

“This too! I picked it up on the way—feel free to use it!”

I was about to pull out Hwawoon’s gauntlets and throw them, but I handed them to Noah instead. If I threw them myself, they wouldn’t reach. With high defense and additional protection against blades, they were perfect for Chief Song to use. Song Taewon caught the black gauntlets that Noah tossed and slipped them on.

Somehow, it was heartwarming.

How nice it would be if he always accepted things so readily. But he’d probably return them all immediately after the battle ended. What a waste. Maybe I could somehow pass off the gauntlets permanently? Should I subtly ask Myungwoo if they could be modified to bind to the last wearer?

In an instant, the island drew near. I could see undead swarming around the heliport, which had collapsed beyond recognition. They spotted us approaching and rushed toward us, making grotesque noises. Yerim raised her staff.

Grrrr–

Ice pillars shot upward, like a giant reptile raising the spines along its back. Then they tilted toward the undead.

CRUNCH, THWACK! The undead were crushed, and ice fragments scattered in all directions.

“They keep regenerating! Yuhyun, drown them!”

Looking at their regeneration speed, even if they were burned, they might be able to regenerate from the ashes. But if they were drowned in water and the surface was covered with ice, how would they get out? For normal humanoids, anyway.

At my words, Yerim quickly teleported to Yuhyun. The moment her hand touched his shoulder, flames erupted. Iryn’s form could be glimpsed within the flames that extended like a whip. The dark blue fire, which had spread long across the ice, expanded explosively the moment it touched the swarm of undead.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, the ice melted and the flame-engulfed undead sank beneath the lake’s surface. As the rising flames died down, Yerim stepped forward again. CRACK—the water that had swallowed the undead horde froze solid.

Crossing the smoothly paved ice path without any obstacles, we climbed onto the island.

“Don’t go too deep! It’s better to stay close to the lake.”

At this point, she would probably react anyway. As expected, the ground began to rumble again. Not only did the entire island shake as if it might flip over, but cracks also spread across the lake’s surface. It would be a real hassle if the buried zombies popped back out.

RUMBLE– BOOM!!

The air shuddered, and a crushing energy slammed against my entire body. With a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth, the center of the island shot skyward.

Building debris, rocks, and chunks of earth floated high as if they’d lost all gravity, then poured down like rain. Noah spread his wings wide and covered me protectively. For a moment, the thunderous sound of the frozen lake surface and island fragments colliding filled the air.

The rising dust settled, revealing a massive crater. In the sunken basin, which looked like a volcano had erupted, faint firefly-like lights were floating. They resembled miniature versions of the flames the goblins transformed into.

“Th-there…”

Red Marble goblin on my shoulder spoke in a tiny voice filled with fear.

“Yeah, I see her too.”

She still had a human-like appearance. The same white hair and blue eyes as before, a face whose gender was difficult to determine. But horns were now sprouting from between her white locks—the same type as the horn she’d given me. Her hands had grown menacingly large, with sharp, curved nails.

A tail similar to the one she’d had when she turned into a demon king hung long beneath her loose clothing.

“Yun Yun!”

Yun Yun didn’t react to my shout and kept her head down. I quickly activated the Promising Talent skill.

[Awakened – Goblin King Yun Yun

Current Stat Grade S~SS

Potential Awakening Stat Grade S

Optimized Initial Skills

Founder of the Goblin Clan (L) Acquired

Goblin Gate (SS) Acquired

Guess Who? (S) Acquired

Cloud Steps (B) Acquired]

It was the same as before, except for one thing—the stat grade. The current stat grade, which had originally been S, had changed to S~SS. Could this be a sign that she was transforming into a demon king…

[Ruler of Wh…(SS)]

For a moment, the skill name “Guess Who?” changed, then reverted to its original state. “Founder of the Goblin Clan” also disappeared briefly before reappearing. It seemed she hadn’t completely become a demon king yet.

“Don’t attack first—I’ll try to talk to her. Her current skills are mainly the ones the original goblin had. You already know about the teleportation and stealth abilities, right? And she also has a transformation skill.”

They weren’t combat skills, but they were all incredibly tricky abilities. And the goblin’s stealth skill was S-Rank. Even for an S-Rank Hunter, if she suddenly vanished in the middle of battle, it would be difficult to track her quickly.

If the demon king’s combat skills were added to this mix, she might become a more dangerous opponent than any SS-Rank monster I could remember.

“Then—”

The moment I was about to say I’d try talking to her, a chill ran down my spine. It felt like warning lights were flashing red in my head.

The first to move was Song Taewon. He leaped up, a black shadow covering his shield, and Yerim, who had been in that spot, teleported away. Almost simultaneously, blood-red claws suddenly materialized from thin air and struck the shield with tremendous force.

SCRAPE!

The thick shield was gouged nearly halfway through by the enormous impact. Song Taewon’s body was hurled to the ground as if he’d been struck by a truck. He managed to right himself in that brief moment, but he was driven into the earth up to his calves.

Yun Yun’s form, which had attacked Song Taewon, disappeared immediately. It was teleportation that could never be followed with the naked eye. But—

RUMBLE–!

Yerim’s hand had somehow reached Seong Hyunjae’s shoulder, and a chain wreathed in electricity extended far out. It struck precisely where Yun Yun had reappeared. Yun Yun blocked the chain with her claws, but in that moment of hesitation, a cold mist enveloped her. Part of the mist froze completely, forming a circular ring with Yun Yun at the center.

CRACKLE! Powerful electric current surged upward again. Seong Hyunjae’s magic concentrated, following the path created by Yerim’s magic. The ice ring glowed golden, and then—

BOOM!

It exploded brilliantly. If she’d taken the full brunt of it, the damage would have been severe for Yun Yun, who was still fluctuating between S and SS-Rank. But Yun Yun teleported again.

At the same time, Yuhyun and Song Taewon kicked off the ground. Empowered by combat foresight, Song Taewon leaped first toward where Yun Yun would appear. CRACK—the claws dug into the shield again, and a gauntleted hand caught the tail that was bent sharply and thrusting forward.

Yuhyun, who had been following closely behind Song Taewon, jumped high and somersaulted over Yun Yun’s head, swinging the Sword of the Corrupting Sovereign. The jet-black blade barely grazed the demon king’s horn. Yun Yun bared her sharp teeth and teleported away, but—

SWISH!

This time, ice spears wreathed in electricity flew toward her.

Combat foresight is absolutely broken.

It really was a cheat ability. Honestly, shouldn’t it be banned in ranking matches? Still, if used alone, there was a chance to pressure with speed, but sharing it with multiple people was genuinely overpowered.

But teleportation was also a cheat skill that could match it. At least there was a short delay immediately after moving, so attacks could still land. Without that weakness, even combat foresight would be useless. Unlike teleportation, you couldn’t block the path or pin someone down—what could you do against that?

“Yun Yun! Don’t you recognize me?!”

Fortunately, she wasn’t using the demon king’s combat skills proficiently yet, but I had a feeling that if she was provoked further, things would become dangerous. I shouted loudly, but Yun Yun didn’t answer. Instead, she came straight at me.

BOOM!

A tail flew toward me. An arm covered in golden scales blocked it, but the power was insufficient. Noah, flapping his wings frantically, was pushed back, and Yuhyun quickly took his place. He’d already caught the pendant that Yerim had thrown and was stepping on blue willow leaves, deflecting Yun Yun’s tail.

This time, Yun Yun didn’t flee with teleportation and bared her teeth ferociously.

“Yun Yun!”

“Go away! Human!”

Yun Yun’s blood-red claws turned bright crimson. Yuhyun spun wide on the willow leaf and swung the chain-sword fiercely. CLANG! With a resounding crash, Yun Yun, who had nowhere to plant her feet, was forced backward. Yun Yun growled and vanished again, and Yuhyun tossed the pendant to Yerim, who had approached on Peace.

Yerim, catching the pendant, immediately created dozens of ice spears and hurled them forward, while Seong Hyunjae poured his chaotic electricity onto the approaching ice spears. He had entrusted the power concentration to Yerim.

It would be impossible with something like fire or wind, but ice formed from magic could contain the electricity as it was. The golden-glowing ice spears rained down on Yun Yun again, and a series of thunderous explosions erupted.

“It seems she has no intention of listening. What should we do, Hyung?”

Yuhyun asked, landing on the ground after the willow leaves disappeared. I frowned thoughtfully at the gaze waiting for my instructions.

“Um, I can see her getting used to combat bit by bit, so I don’t think we can drag this out much longer.”

Should I apply the doubled attack skill before it was too late? But… I bit my lip. Wasn’t there another way?

“Middle Kim Seobang.”

Just then, Red Marble goblin tapped me on the shoulder.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep