Chapter 26: Seventh Floor, The Eerie Forest and the Mad Weretigers (3)

As soon as I charged forward, the rest of the party jumped into action. Chaos erupted around us, weretigers swarming in from all directions.

“Chaotic Flurry of Heaven and Earth!” Seo Ho-Su shouted as he slashed his sword diagonally.

... I didn’t know why he called a single diagonal slash a “chaotic flurry,” but even through his exhaustion, he seemed to enjoy calling out his skill’s name. A bright grin was plastered on his face.

Despite the Weretiger King’s appearance, he didn’t seem the slightest bit worried.

How can he be so carefree in a situation like this? Hmm...

I had discussed with the team that the Weretiger King might be stronger than me, but it seemed that hadn’t fazed him.

Is he so certain of my strength that he has faith I would win?

I was sure that was the case. To be fair, even I believed I could overpower the Weretiger King, so it made sense the rest of the party would too. They had seen me take down the Seraphim Queen, and during the grueling three-hour chase, they had once again witnessed my overwhelming power.

I glanced over at Seo Ha-Rin and Cole, and neither of them looked particularly concerned as well.

To think they endured three hours of running without a single complaint...

I felt a deep sense of gratitude toward my companions.

The chase had been exhausting, so they could have easily said, “Su-Hyeok, let’s just kill them all and take down the king.” However, they didn’t.

Was it simply because I am the party leader? Or do they understand that relying solely on my strength wouldn’t be good for their own growth?

Now if I were to think about this more cynically...

Maybe they were just trying to stay on the good side of the top two rankers, Ha Hee-Jeong and me, to get some easy benefits.

But honestly, it didn’t matter either way. I couldn’t spend all my time overthinking it. The human mind was complex, with each decision influenced by a multitude of reasons.

In the short time I had known them, my companions hadn’t shown any signs of having malice.

“Grrraaagh-!”

The Weretiger King’s roar echoed again, much closer this time. The first roar had seemed very far away, but this last one was practically upon us.

Already? The king is faster than I expected.

“Grrrr-”

The charging weretigers began to retreat after hearing their king’s roar, growling lowly. We needed to prepare.

I used the brief pause to get the party back into their spots.

“Assemble around me! Let’s recreate the formation!”

Seo Ho-Su gulped nervously as he came up beside me, raising his shield. Just a moment ago, he was all smiles... But I could tell that even he felt tense now that the Weretiger King was here.

“Grrraaagh-!”

The King’s roar was deafening, so close that it seemed to come from all directions. The sound of leaves shaking and branches snapping grew louder as it approached.

“Grrrr-”

The weretigers surrounding us turned their heads toward the noise. They lowered their bodies and roared softly in reverence for their king. And then, through the bowed heads of the weretigers, the king emerged, standing over three meters tall.

Its hackles were raised, much like an angry cat’s. The puffed fur was orange with chaotic black streaks, and the claws on its massive hands were at least one foot long—far longer than those of the other weretigers.

“Grrrrr.”

Its half-open mouth revealed sharp fangs that were dripping with saliva. The king looked more human than the others, yet was somehow even more tiger-like. Its paradoxical nature was unsettling.

The Weretiger King’s reddish-brown eyes slowly scanned our group, then locked onto mine, as if recognizing me as the leader.

“Human... human...”

I was shocked to hear its voice. The other weretigers hadn’t spoken a word during the entire three-hour chase...

Other than their appearance, most of them are no different from tigers.

The system described them as “mad weretigers,” so I had assumed they were incapable of speech.

Yet here was the king, speaking, and I wondered if it had retained some of its sanity despite its madness.

“Human... human...”

Surprisingly, the king hadn’t charged at us. It just stood there and stared at us. Its half-crazed eyes flickered from inner turmoil, almost as if it was torn between patience and conflict.

[The Weretiger King has appeared. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s party must either defeat it or offer a sacrifice that appeases it.]

So, it’s standing still waiting for a sacrifice? One that will satisfy it... But how much is enough?

The phrase, “a sacrifice that satisfies the King,” nagged at me.

In the waiting room, the Tower had limited the party size to six members. And after killing six weretigers, their king would appear. The repeated significance of the number six made me wonder...

How many sacrifices would it take to satisfy it?

Perhaps the number six meant nothing at all, but...

Wait, why am I even dwelling on this?

I brushed the thought aside. It didn’t matter how many sacrifices the Weretiger King required.

“I’m not sacrificing anything.”

The Weretiger King’s eyes snapped open the moment those words left my mouth, radiating an intense savagery.

“Grrrahh!”

It started charging with a deep and menacing roar, the surrounding weretigers following suit.

I sprang forward, determined to close the distance as quickly as possible. I needed to separate the king from the rest of my team.

With the other weretigers converging on us, I couldn’t guarantee the king would only focus on me in the ensuing chaos. Someone could get hurt if they were caught in the battle between the Weretiger King and me.

I wouldn’t be able to protect them all if it shifted its attention to my teammates in the middle of the fray. It was better for me to dive in and keep the king’s focus on me.

The Weretiger King leaped, its powerful legs propelling it into the air with incredible speed. It was clear its abilities were a cut above the other weretigers.

“Grah!”

If it was a one-on-one fight, I would have dodged it. However, if I dodged, it could easily charge past me and go after the others. So instead, I raised my shield.

Just before its massive claw struck, I infused the shield with lightning.

Boom!

The impact reverberated through the shield, and I could hear the grating sound from the claws scraping against it. The Weretiger King flinched slightly from the shock.

... Unfortunately, the lightning hadn’t affected the king as much as I had hoped.

How thick is its hide?

Seizing the brief opening, I swung my mace. The Weretiger King pushed off the shield, twisting its body to avoid the strike.

He dodged my attack, but...

Honestly, it didn’t seem stronger than Seraphim Queen. The Weretiger King had relied on its natural agility rather than high stats to dodge my strike.

Could the boss on the seventh floor really be weaker than the one on the sixth?

“Grah!”

The Weretiger King lunged at me again. I sidestepped to the right while swinging my mace horizontally. Its claws slashed through the air where I had just been, but my mace connected with its side.

“Yelp!”

The sound of its bones cracking was sickening. The Weretiger King tumbled across the ground, rolling several times before scrambling back to its feet. It clutched its injured side.

The Weretiger King glanced at me, seemingly gauging my reaction. I couldn’t fully understand what was going through its head, but it seemed uncertain of what to do next.

What’s going on? Is it... scared?

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but let out an incredulous laugh. This situation was absurd.

Aside from how the seventh-floor boss was weaker than the sixth, how could a boss be so hesitant?

The Weretiger King stared at me, looking like a beaten dog with its tail drooping toward the ground.

“What the... What are you doing?”

Of course, it didn’t answer. I hadn’t expected it to either. It had managed to utter “human” earlier, but it was just as crazed as the others.

Let’s just finish this and get it over with.

My party was still locked in battle with the other weretigers. As I stepped forward, the Weretiger King suddenly bolted toward them.

... Damn it! I should have just taken it down earlier!

The king may have gotten a head start, but I couldn’t let it reach my teammates before I did.

Fuck.

Ha Hee-Jeong had just launched a fireball and was now the furthest from the Weretiger King’s path.

First, I needed to call out to Seo Ho-Su.

“Chaotic Flurry of Heaven and...!”

“Ho-Su!”

He was in the middle of swinging his sword while shouting his skill’s name when he turned sharply at my call. Simultaneously, Ha Hee-Jeong conjured a wall of flames in front of the Weretiger King.

But the Weretiger King didn’t hesitate to charge through the three-meter-tall wall of fire. It pushed off its hind legs and leaped right through it.

And directly in its path... was Seo Ha-Rin.

Shit!

If it had been Seo Ho-Su, at least he would have his shield...

The Weretiger King’s body caught fire as it barreled through the flames, but it didn’t stop. It headed straight for Seo Ha-Rin.

“Ah...”

Frozen in fear, Seo Ha-Rin stood rooted to the spot. Her eyes opened wide, and she trembled as the Weretiger King closed in on her.

However, just before the Weretiger King struck Seo Ha-Rin down, her father appeared.

“Seo Ha-Rin!"

Seo Ho-Su threw himself in the way. He had discarded his sword somewhere, and with his right hand, he shoved Seo Ha-Rin out of danger. Off balance from his desperate dash, he managed to lift his shield at the last moment, but the Weretiger King was faster.

“Krhrrgh!"

“Daaaaaaad!"

The blazing Weretiger King barreled into Seo Ho-Su, and just as it did, the flames surrounding it vanished. It seemed Ha Hee-Jeong had acted swiftly, likely worried that the fire might injure Seo Ho-Su.

“Ugh!”

Seo Ho-Su couldn’t withstand the force and fell backward. The Weretiger King loomed over him, jaws snapping dangerously close to his throat. He struggled desperately, barely avoiding the bite, sacrificing his shoulder instead. The injury caused Seo Ho-Su to scream in pain.

“Aaaargh!”

A split second later, Cole’s arrow embedded itself in the Weretiger King’s back. I arrived just in time and swung my mace with all the strength I could muster.

Crack!

The sound of the Weretiger King's skull shattering echoed as my mace struck the back of its head. The impact sent the beast collapsing onto Seo Ho-Su while his mouth was agape. Blood gushed from the Weretiger King’s mouth into Seo Ho-Su’s, causing him to choke and cough violently.

“Ugh! Guh!”

I quickly shoved the Weretiger King’s lifeless body off Seo Ho-Su, and he continued to gag, spitting out the blood he had partially swallowed. Seo Ha-Rin rushed over and threw her arms around him while crying out.

“Dad! Heal Wounds!”

A radiant light enveloped his wounded shoulder, slowly mending it as he struggled to sit up.

[You have killed the Weretiger King. Time remaining: 2 hours 9 minutes.]

As the notification appeared, the remaining weretigers scattered in confusion, having lost their leader.

“Dad! Are you okay?”

Seo Ha-Rin’s voice trembled with worry.

“

Huff, huff.

Yeah, I’m fine... It’s over now, huh?”

Seo Ho-Su chuckled awkwardly, trying to reassure us despite being drenched in blood.

Is this the wisdom of age?

As I watched in awe, Seo Ha-Rin buried herself in his arms, sobbing.

“Dad!”

“Haha, it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

Seo Ho-Su gently stroked her back with a warm, comforting expression.

We were lucky that Seo Ha-Rin hadn’t died, and even more fortunate that her father hadn’t been seriously injured. If he hadn’t acted, Seo Ha-Rin would have been killed.

Just as I sighed in relief, another notification appeared.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has killed the Weretiger King. He has been awarded 2,000 achievement points.]

[Climber Seo Ho-Su has absorbed a significant amount of the Weretiger King's blood. Climber Seo Ho-Su will inherit the Weretiger King's position. Transformation into a weretiger is underway.]

Wait, what? Why? What the hell is this?

***

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