Jaeha tightened his grip on the bat, eyes fixed on the monstrous creature looming above. It was a grotesque sight, its massive form wedged in the dome's ceiling, seemingly stuck but still a menacing threat.

As he gripped the bat, Jaeha felt a surge of power, his muscles strengthening as the Mastery Weapon (EX) skill activated, enhancing his core muscles, shoulders, arms, and wrist strength.

Taegeuk shouted, "Jaeha, get ready!" He picked up a large rock, readying to throw it.

Jaeha signaled his readiness, and with a swift motion, Taegeuk hurled the rock toward him. Jaeha swung the bat, connecting with the projectile and sending it hurtling toward the monster. The rock struck with a satisfying thud. But most of the projectiles were countered by the monster's self-defense as it spat precisely toward the incoming attacks.

Meanwhile, Noah watched the two in awe. He felt thankful that the monster wasn't attacking him.

Focusing, Jaeha waited for the right moment. As another rock flew towards him, he swung the bat with all his might, sending the projectile hurtling towards the monster. The rock pierced its slimy body, causing it to explode and fall from the ceiling to the ground.

Noah ran toward Jaeha excitedly, "Mister Pro-Gamer, so cool!"

Jaeha sighed in relief before looking at Taegeuk and giving him a thumbs-up, which Taegeuk returned.

The monster is still moving. Jaeha looks at this in disgust. He recalls his experience in previous life when he was an active gamer. He plays all types of games but has never seen any game developer make this terrifying monster like this.

He picked up the wooden sword he had left behind, activating the Weapon Mastery (EX) skill and adjusting his stats to fit the weapon. He couldn't help but feel that his abilities were like cheat codes, especially with the EX rank, making them even more superior.

Taegeuk stopped Jaeha, cautioning him, "I don't think it's a good idea to approach the monster closely," echoing Noah's worries.

But Jaeha insisted on ending the monster while it was vulnerable. To prevent the mission from failing. Though Taegeuk and Noah shared the same concerns, they ultimately agreed to support Jaeha.

As Jaeha approached the monster, its body covered in dark liquid, he readied himself to strike. However, before he could, a system warning appeared.

[Warning! Abnormal Scenario Detected!]

The system warning flashed before them, signaling the start of something far beyond their expectations.

[System Warning! Abnormal Scenario Created!

Preparing the Second Phase of The Battle.

Monster Information:

Name: Glooth Queen (S-Grade)

Lvl: ??

Monster description is not available due to requirements not meet.

New Mission created: Kill the Glooth Queen (1x)

Reward: Weapon Class Selector (1x)

Duration: ~

Penalty: Died]

The players watched in horror as the creature underwent a horrifying transformation. Cocooning itself in black liquid, growing larger and more ominous by the second.

Jaeha felt fear creeping in. But he pushed forward, swinging his sword at the cocoon.

The moment Jaeha strikes the cocoon. The dark cocoon began to glow ominously.

Upon impact, the cocoon glowed ominously before exploding with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves through the arena. Jaeha pushed backward, tumbling across the ground. The 'I'm Invincible' buff protected him from fatal injury, but the force of the explosion was immense, throwing Taegeuk and Noah back as well, shrouding the arena in a cloud of debris.

As the dust settled, Jaeha struggled to his feet. Despite the special buff that nullified dmg, it only applied to the explosion impact. Before he stood the transformed monster, Glooth Queen, and even this monster's grade was S-Grade.

Jaeha's wooden weapon is gone. He looked over at Taegeuk and Noah, who seemed to get pushed back by the blast.

Rushing to Jaeha's side, Taegeuk helped him, asking, "Jaeha, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jaeha replied, then turned to the others. "Did you see? The mission has changed."

Taegeuk nodded. While Noah, tears welling up in his eyes, cried out in frustration, "What is this? It was supposed to be a beginner mission!"

He cursed the system for giving such a mission.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

They looked at the Glooth Queen. as they saw its transformation completed. Resembling a moth, its large, vibrant wings remained closed as it stood motionless, its insect-like arms bristling with spikes.

Jaeha tried to formulate a plan, but his thoughts were interrupted as the Glooth Queen began to move its wings, slowly unfurling its massive wings. A strong wind emanated from the creature, causing them to feel a sudden drop in strength. Jaeha checked his status window and cursed as he read the effects.

[Status Effects:

Wings of Hollow (EX)

Decrease the offensive stat of the enemy inflicted by this debuff by 30% and inflict confusion decreased the accuracy by 50%]

Jaeha cursed in his mind. He forgets his attempt to kill this monster. Realizing their best chance was to stall for time until Zero arrived, Jaeha shouted to Taegeuk,

"Taegeuk-ssi! What's your ability? We need to hold out until Zero-nim arrives. I don't think we can deal with this monster alone."

He continued, "This monster has strong debuff skills, but they only apply to offensive stats. Our defensive stats are not affected."

Taegeuk explained his ability,

"Rock is Harder than Muscle. It increases my defense stat the more hits I receive." Although Taegeuk didn't fully understand its implications, Jaeha's eyes lit up with an idea.

He has a plan now. But before that, he looks at Noah and asks the same question as he did to Taegeuk,

Noah first is a bit hesitant to reveal. He thinks his skill is lame. But since his idol asks it, he answers honestly,

"My ability called My Scream is More Scary than a Rawr."

Jaeha almost laughed at the name but restrained himself. Taegeuk didn't laugh because he felt his skill name was also lame.

He asked Noah, "What exactly does it do?"

Noah replied, "It increases the chances of being targeted by the enemy when I scream, and the closer the enemy is to me, the more its stats will decrease, up to 75%."

Taegeuk and Noah are looking at Jaeha. They sense he's up to something.

He then kindly spoke to Noah,

"Noah, you said like me, right?"

Noah looked confused but nodded.

Jaeha commanded, "I want you to hug Taegeuk-ssi from the back and scream as loud as you can!"

Confused, Taegeuk met Noah's strange expression as Noah immediately latched onto Taegeuk's back, wrapping his arms and legs around him as he screamed, "Come here, you ugly monster!"

Noah's voice echoed through the arena, and Taegeuk felt his mental fortitude waver under the relentless Noah's screams.

The Glooth Queen finally made its move, fixing its gaze on Taegeuk as Noah continued to taunt it with his screams.

As the Glooth Queen drew nearer, Taegeuk felt himself on the verge of fainting, but Noah's screaming somehow kept him from losing consciousness.

"Aaahhhh! Don't come any closer, you F....!" Noah cursed at the monster. When the monsters struck at them, Jaeha shouted, "Taegeuk-ssi! Parry the attack with your fist!"

Following Jaeha's instructions, Taegeuk parries the monster's attack with his bare hand. As his fist collided with the monster's strike, he felt his skin harden.

Jaeha then yelled, "Taegeuk-ssi! Ask for more hits!"

Although initially confused, Taegeuk started to grasp Jaeha's plan. Did he tell me to get more hits? He thought incredulously.

As Jaeha watched from the sidelines, his mind raced with thoughts. "As expected, DPS abilities are useless in this fight," he mused, observing Taegeuk enduring the monster's attacks while Noah continued to scream on his back.

Standing by, Jaeha couldn't contain his amusement, chuckling and holding his stomach as he watched Taegeuk and Noah endure the monster's onslaught.

Jaeha's laughter echoed through the arena, filling the air with amusement. Taegeuk and Noah glanced at him, puzzled by his behavior. Despite their efforts to fight the monster, Jaeha stood on the sidelines, laughing as he watched them struggle.

The Glooth Queen also stops attacking as it looks at Jaeha. She then looks at Taegeuk and Noah, thinking the same thing. Noah stops his scream as The Glooth Queen rushes toward Jaeha.

Unprepared, Jaeha stopped his laugh. He was shocked as the monster was standing before him before it punched it and threw him away. He fell to the ground, coughing blood. Just what happened? he thought. He then looks in the direction of Taegeuk and Noah. Cover their lips with their hand, trying to hide their laugh.

Seeing it's fair now. Taegeuk and Noah start to provoke the Glooth Queen once again. They exchange blows for a while.

Noah's debuff skill is OP. It decreases all stat of the enemy. On the other hand, Taegeuk's defensive skills get stronger the more it gets hit.

Not long after that, an explosion came from the top of the dome. With the falling debris, a person falls from above. It's familiar appearance with its long blade on its left. He fell at the exact target, and he landed his feet on the monster's head.

Zero moves precisely. as he slashes the right wing of the monster before it retreats. He looks at Taegeuk and Noah as he speaks,

"Are both of you okay?"

He is a bit confused. From the distance, he saw the monster attacking these two. But when he looked up closely, they seemed fine. He then looked at the surroundings and saw Jaeha on the other side, lying with blood splatter on his mouth.

Zero then moves his attention to the Glooth Queen. This monster is not supposed to be here. Just what happened?

The system doesn't inform Zero anything about this. It was not until Helio, who was supposed to guide the male players, came to him while crying. The female team had already cleared the mission, so Zero left them with Helio as he rushed to this place.

The monster looks at Zero in anger. Zero pointed its blade toward the monsters. Glooth Queen is an S-Grade monster who relies more on its debuff skill. Still, it won't be an easy fight.

He needs to take the players to a safe place first. Zero then looked at the players before he could tell them to leave. Noah interrupted him,

"Mister Savior, thank you for coming here. I know you want to tell us to leave. But could you leave the last hit to us?"

Noah looks determined. Taegeuk picks up Jaeha as he help him to walk. They look determined. Since the shepherds are gone, they might fail their mission. But it's not a big problem. The mission doesn't have a penalty yet, Zero thought.

Zero is confused. Little did Zero know that the player's mission had changed with its penalty. However, the players are thankful for the help. But they couldn't let Zero kill the monster. They thought of asking Zero to weaken the Glooth Queen. So it's easy for them to get the last hit.

They feel embarrassed. But they can't do anything to the monster. It seemed the battle was not over yet.