Season 4: Chapter 53. Cult Leader vs. Shaman (2)

It started with a cutscene like any other final boss encounter, but Almond didn’t understand a single thing being said.

“After the loss of Priest Jeongsu, now Hyeon-Su too... You’ve slaughtered all our loyal disciples and still, somehow...”

‘Who?’

Most of the names being mentioned meant nothing to him. They claimed he had killed these people, but Almond couldn’t recall at all.

— Almond’s face says, “First time I’m hearing about this.”

— ??? “You’re a psychopath!”

— LMAO

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

— Who the hell are they? Another 2–3 Heavenly Kings?

Of course, Almond hadn’t even met most of the characters being referenced, let alone killing them.

The cutscene ended with the cult leader yelling dramatically, “But I... shall be reborn!“

Almond’s face only grew more blank.

“You’re still alive, though.”

It slipped out before he could stop himself.

— LOOOOOOL

— Actually true tho

— What’s he even talking about??

— Maybe he means he’ll regain his power, not literally resurrect? Lol

— Bruh!

While laughter filled Almond’s chat, the cult leader was anything but amused.

His eyes flared and he suddenly screamed, “I WILL KILL YOUUUU!”

BZZZZT!

Dark lightning wrapped around his body, and huge horns sprouted from his head. Wings also burst out from his back.

FWOOOSH!

The wings flapped, unleashing gales in every direction. Then, he suddenly disappeared.

Thud.

He landed in the center of the corridor as fast as the wind he had created.

[High Priest of Evil – Jin Myung-Soo]

Gulp.

Only then did Almond adjust his stance and draw his sword.

‘He’s no joke.’

Of course, he was the final boss. Almond could feel that his power level was way beyond Oh Sang-Gi's. Unlike Oh Sang-Gi, who still looked somewhat human even after transforming, the cult leader looked more beast than man.

Hair bristled across his body, and his hands bore massive, beast-like claws. His narrow, slitted eyes alone sent chills down Almond’s spine. Those eyes locked onto him.

‘He’s coming.’

The moment Almond thought that, the wings flapped.

BOOM!

The air cracked as the cult leader reached him in a flash. He instantly swung with no hesitation in his attack pattern.

CRASH!

Even though he missed, the sound rang out like metal being torn apart. Red claw marks slashed through the air. It wasn’t just a physical strike, but also a wave of demonic energy.

[Dimensional Step]

Fwoosh!

Almond had already appeared behind him. The moment he landed, he swung his sword.

Shhhraaack!

A red gash tore through the cult leader’s back. Surprisingly, the attack landed just like with Oh Sang-Gi. He was strong, but had no specific immunities. Any attack would also work.

[HP: 85%]

Almond had shaved off a good chunk of health.

‘Phase One, maybe?’

It felt doable. Viewers thought so too, judging from the donation alert that popped up.

[BeginnerTip has donated 10,000 won.]

[Please cooperate...]

— Even the tip is giving up!

— LOL

— The tip sounds so tired

— Wait, this is a co-op game, isn’t it?!

— “Please... cooperate...” LOL

Right, this was supposed to be a co-op game.

‘Phase Two might be different.’

Almond figured he could get through Phase One on his own. He jumped back just as the cult leader spun around and counterattacked.

FWOOOSH!

The floor cracked and dipped from the force. If that had hit, it could’ve been a one-shot kill.

‘His reaction speed is insane.’

Almond had dodged, but the cult leader’s turnaround speed was top-tier.

‘Still, he’s not as good as JeonJaPa.’

The boss was still below the AI model of JeonJaPa’s Flashy Blade in terms of sheer performance.

BOOM!

Almond launched forward again.

The cult leader’s eyes gleamed as Almond moved right into the attack. It looked like a clean, straight swing toward a fastball down the center. Dimensional Step wasn’t off cooldown yet either.

“Foolish!”

CRACKLE!

Black lightning gathered in the cult leader’s hand. Demonic energy lashed out toward Almond.

Flick—

Almond ducked low, almost scraping the ground.

By a hair's breadth, the lightning barely missed his hitbox.

Swoosh!

His topknot was severed and flew aside. Almond twisted in mid-movement. His arm snapped forward, and his sword gleamed.

SLASH!

Almond landed another clean hit across the cult leader.

[HP: 73%]

— Whoa

— He felt that

— That precision

— Insane

— This is peak

— Is this... video game genius mode?

Almond had dodged by the slimmest margin and immediately struck back.

“DIEEEEEE!” The cult leader’s eyes flared, and he countered again with blinding speed.

‘Uh-oh.’

FWOOOOM!

The cult leader’s fist filled Almond’s vision.

Almond had overextended. His posture was too off to dodge.

‘The cooldown is up.’

[Dimensional Step]

BOOOOOM!

The impact tore the ground in half, but Almond had already vanished. He reappeared in a different space, sliding on one knee and regaining balance.

Scraaaaape!

The momentum carried him forward, but not a scratch had landed on him. The damage exchange had been one-sided. A grin tugged at his lips.

— OOOOF

— ALMOND! ALMOND! ALMOND!

— That smirk!

— Is he really gonna win this?!

— He’s unreal!!

The clownish, puzzle-solving side of Almond had disappeared. He acted completely different now that a worthy opponent had appeared. This was Almond, the serious gamer who always carried.

His viewers roared in celebration.

DUN-DUN!

[Xiaolongbao has donated a whopping 500,000 won!]

[Hey, nut crew, did you forget who I was?]

— I’m sorry! I’m sorry

— LOL For real~

— This is Almond!

— I apologize! I apologize!

— Forgive me!

Babam!

[ShyNapoleon has donated a whopping 200,000 won!]

[Can I get back some deposit? Hehe...]

— Hehe...

— Right, this is a mission!

— Damn!

— Napoleon is back!

— No! Go back!

Babam!

[RubySword has donated a whopping 1,000,000 won!]

[Everyone, stand in line.]

— Wow...

— Damn

— Ruby-sama

— She has competition!

— Almond makes money just with a smile?!

— Almond is cashing out!

***

Drip...

Beer spilled straight out from Manager Kim’s slack jaw.

“W-What even is this?”

Assistant Manager Kim couldn’t respond either.

“Didn’t you say his spiritual power was too low or whatever?”

“Well, um...”

Spiritual power was everything for an exorcist. It dictated movement speed, stamina, strength, and attack damage. By all metrics, Almond was under-leveled. How could he solo this boss?

‘He’s even smoother than he was against Oh Sang-Gi.’

The answer was simple. Blessed Almond didn’t level up, but Almond had as a player. He was adapting to the game in real time, which was expected. This genre was designed for players to improve over time.

Still, the game had only been out for two days. No one expected anyone to improve this much in such a short time, especially when Almond had already been performing at a terrifying level from the start. Who would’ve thought that he’d keep improving beyond that?

Only now, in the final boss fight, did they realize that this was Almond fully acclimated at full strength. It didn’t seem possible.

‘All that... was just a warm-up?’

Looking back, it actually made sense. They had overlooked something important. This was Almond’s comeback stream after taking over a month off. Of course, his condition had been off in the beginning.

‘Dammit...’

Assistant Manager Kim clenched his fists. “Phase... Phase One is just the warm-up.”

Manager Kim clearly wasn’t buying it. “Right. Of course, Assistant Kim.

Ghostwo Busters

is our company’s warm-up too. Let’s move on to the next game. I’ll wait for you to say that.”

Whose side was he on? Still, Assistant Manager Kim pushed through.

“No, really. Phase Two is where it changes. He can’t solo Phase Two.”

“Changes how?”

“The boss’s type starts changing on the fly. A single exorcist can’t cover it.”

“It’s type?”

“Ghost, spirit, demon... he cycles through all three. If you use only one attack type, he won’t switch.”

In other words, the boss would avoid transforming into a ghost type if Almond kept attacking solo. He’d only switch between types that Almond couldn’t counter. It wouldn’t matter how good Almond was.

‘

The system won’t allow it.’

“And... he came here alone, right?”

“Exactly.”

Almond had abandoned his allies, and he couldn’t use other attack types.

“If he dies, there’s no one to revive him.”

He would simply die with no revive or second chance.

‘Game over.’

***

“Almoooooond!”

Meanwhile, Bubblegum was still yelling at the toilet. He had no hope of surviving without Almond.

“Hey, old man!”

“A-Almonduhhhh...”

“OLD MAN!!”

Whack!

Su-Yeon, finally losing patience, kicked him square in the butt as he leaned over the toilet.

“Again?! She kicked me again?! Guys, she’s not an NPC!! I’m telling you!!”

— LOOOOOOL

— Legit

— He deserves it tbh

— She’s not wrong lol

Su-Yeon had plenty of reasons to kick him.

“Old man! What about behind us!?”

She pointed at the wraiths that finally caught up.

“

Hrrrrng

...”

It had taken the wraiths some time to catch up because of their slow speed. Now that they had reached the door, no other exits remained in the bathroom.

“Ah.”

Only then did Bubble Gum tear himself away from the toilet and look around.

‘Let’s see... five, six... SEVEN!?’

Why did it feel like more than before?! He swallowed hard. How was he supposed to deal with this alone?

‘At least Oh Sang-Gi is still glitched out.’

Thankfully, Oh Sang-Gi was still muttering and asking the toilet what it was. He showed no signs of attacking.

Clench.

Bubblegum gripped his staff tightly.

“I’ll show you something.”

That was a very dangerous promise.

— LMAOOOOO

— He’s gonna “show” us something

— What is this, Goo-Goo Power?

— Legendary line incoming

Ding!

[GumMandate has donated 10,000 won.]

[If Bubblegum says he’s going to “show” you something... close your eyes. You’ll lose your sight.]

— TRUE

— It’s a flashbang at this point

— I’ve seen too much...

— I can’t anymore

— They’re just making stuff up now

— Bubbleflash incoming!!