Rapid Intervention - (3)

[Chapter 28]

"I'll show you how terrifying a lunatic who's been holding a sword for 30 years can be!"

Sanghyun, who had securely gripped his greatsword, took a defensive stance and leaned his body slightly forward.

It was a shift in his center of gravity, ready to close the distance with the Kobold King at any moment.

Watuuuu!

The Kobold King roared.

Usually, when a boss monster roars, it almost always causes a status ailment—it's practically a signature move.

◎ Intimidation

◎ Rapidly loses fighting spirit, and the fear response in the subconscious activates intensely.

As expected, Intimidation was triggered.

Sanghyun immediately broke free with Recovery, but in that brief moment, negative thoughts flooded in.

Even with mental preparation, just like being startled by a sudden noise, Intimidation worked the same way.

Even if he consciously denied the fear, his body trembled, and his vision blurred.

Beep! Ping! Ping!

'...Fast.'

The moment he broke free from Intimidation with Recovery, three arrows from the Kobold King were already flying toward Sanghyun.

It seemed the arrows had been shot right away, expecting him to fall into a state of fear.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Twisting his greatsword diagonally, Sanghyun easily deflected the staggered arrows.

The defense itself was clean, but the situation was more precarious than expected.

That wasn't the only problem.

The arrowheads that had fallen to the ground were coated with a shiny, dark liquid.

Poisoned arrows. Neurotoxin, to be exact.

The first hit would just leave a numbing sensation, but with two exposures, his limbs would become completely paralyzed.

Tatata! Tat! Tat!

Now that his body had loosened up, Sanghyun started sprinting toward the Kobold King.

[Isolation: Kobold King.]

The effect of the True Duelist title had already activated. His physical abilities were enhanced.

[Demon Hunter]

■ Title Rank: E-Rank

■ Title Description: When facing mid-boss-level monsters or stronger, your stamina recovery increases fivefold under certain conditions.

As always, the effect of the Demon Hunter title was passively active.

Even considering the neurotoxin variable, Sanghyun calculated that taking a hit from the first arrow would still be manageable damage.

'The scariest swordsman is the one who doesn't think about what's next.'

That was exactly what went through Sanghyun's mind as he ran toward the Kobold King. He was ready to take one hit without hesitation!

Creak!

The Kobold King, instead of flinching, took a step back and drew its bowstring.

Maintaining the high ground was still to its advantage—an entirely rational decision.

Fwshh!

Watching the arrow fly toward him, Sanghyun swiftly lowered his body and used the momentum from his sprint to slide across the fallen leaves.

Although the uphill slope prevented him from sliding far, it was enough to buy some time.

『Full Charge』

While sliding, Sanghyun prepared Full Charge without needing to move his body separately.

A creative combination.

Whoosh!

The Kobold King's arrow narrowly grazed above Sanghyun's head, and by then, all the energy had condensed.

Boom!

With a loud blast from his feet, he instantly appeared right in front of the Kobold King—thanks to the power of the charge.

Slash!

Wakuaa!

The plan worked.

The Full Charge attack slashed past the Kobold King's left thigh as it hastily tried to dodge.

The monster had reacted swiftly, but Sanghyun's attack was simply faster, leaving the Kobold King unable to evade completely.

Allowing Sanghyun to approach and land a hit at such an unexpected timing shattered the Kobold King's composure.

Sanghyun didn't miss the opening when the Kobold King, flustered, failed to pull out another arrow.

After that, Sanghyun launched five consecutive Full Charge attacks without holding back.

Of course, the Kobold King kept its eyes on Sanghyun and evaded quickly, avoiding any perfect direct hits.

However, despite landing six total Full Charge attacks, the freezing effect never triggered once.

It seemed the monster had an innate fire attribute.

The possibility was high.

Fire and water are opposing elements—if the creature possessed the inherent power of its element, resisting freezing wouldn't be difficult.

'Two or three status ailment options aren't enough. I need to have a variety of them.'

Sanghyun's craving for different status effect options grew stronger.

Shhhk!

Meanwhile, twisting its body in an unusual motion, the Kobold King fired another arrow.

Despite its body being battered from Sanghyun's relentless attacks, it held on to rationality and launched a precise shot.

『Sacrifice』

At that moment, Sanghyun used Sacrifice to block the arrow with his abdomen, recovering his dwindling stamina.

Waku?

The Kobold King tilted its head with a baffled expression.

The sneak attack it had carefully aimed caused no damage to Sanghyun.

Instead, Sanghyun's exhausted face regained color and charged even more ferociously.

『Psychedelic』

Sanghyun immediately entered an awakened state, his eyes glowing red as he stared down the Kobold King.

Everything around him, except for the Kobold King, melted like ice cream, blurring the boundaries of reality.

But two things remained vividly clear.

The Kobold King's body and the uphill slope behind it that he needed to push it toward.

Right now, the Kobold King was struggling because it couldn't read Sanghyun's attack patterns.

But Sanghyun knew—monsters with intelligence quickly learn their opponent's habits faster than expected.

If the Kobold King realized that Sanghyun's only gap-closing skill was Full Charge?

It would start to widen the distance and relentlessly counter with arrows every time Sanghyun showed signs of charging.

Without teleportation abilities, even Sanghyun would struggle under those conditions.

'Keep pushing. I can't give it even a moment to turn around.'

Sanghyun gripped his greatsword even tighter.

Not even half a second of hesitation was allowed.

The moment the Kobold King had time to think about its next move, the advantage would flip instantly.

Five minutes later.

"Hyung, did you see that?"

"Breaking free from Intimidation Roar?"

"No! That was like 15 seconds ago. The roar just came again, and he didn't even flinch!"

Lee Hyun and Lee Jung, who had just barely managed to catch up to Sanghyun, were witnessing his battle with the Kobold King.

Sharp-eyed Lee Jung was already in awe of Sanghyun's reaction.

They had seen him neutralize status ailments with Recovery several times before, so that wasn't surprising anymore.

What stunned Lee Jung was how Sanghyun dealt with the Intimidation Roar without using Recovery.

It was as if he had timed it perfectly—turning his head and dodging the moment the roar struck.

It wasn't just a simple dodge; it was a high-level maneuver that significantly reduced the impact of Intimidation.

Even with Lee Jung's considerable real-combat experience, he still couldn't time his reactions properly.

Tricks like looking backward in advance or closing his eyes while facing forward didn't work, of course.

In those cases, an additional 'Fear' penalty would activate, causing the Intimidation effect to last even longer.

"The Kobold King is being pushed back?"

"Because the Intimidation isn't working as expected, its calculations keep getting messed up. And sometimes, it completely shakes it off."

"Exactly. Hey, have you ever seen a swordsman like that in our Association's Bupyeong Station line?"

"If I had, would I be this shocked?"

"He's also trying to induce Stiffness mid-fight, and when it hits, he immediately follows up with a Knockback technique."

"There must be something behind that. Look at how relentlessly he's pressing on without giving the monster even a second to look back."

"There's a slope behind it. And it looks steeper than I thought."

"Uh...?"

Right then.

Lee Hyun's voice shifted as he noticed the Kobold King's center of gravity collapse while desperately trying to counterattack.

The disaster began when the Kobold King's gamble—firing five arrows at once from point-blank range—completely missed its mark.

In that fleeting moment, Sanghyun reacted sharply.

His movements far exceeded human limits, something no ordinary body could achieve.

"It lost in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Even if its level is nearly three times higher, that's just ridiculous..."

Lee Hyun clicked his tongue in disbelief.

Before he even finished speaking, Sanghyun was already using Knockback Burst to shove the Kobold King away.

Unable to regain balance with both legs, the Kobold King couldn't even maintain a basic defensive stance.

What was more devastating was that, while being hit by Sanghyun's Knockback, it dropped its most crucial weapon—its bow.

Weaponless, all the Kobold King could do was block helplessly with its bare fists.

That's when hell began.

The Stiffness effect from Demon Bash.

The Knockback effect from Knockback Burst.

These two status effects struck the Kobold King alternately, like a merciless zigzag game.

There was no way to withstand it.

It froze in place, then was violently shoved backward, froze again, and was knocked back once more—an endless loop of torment.

Even as it sensed an unsettling emptiness creeping up the back of its head, the Kobold King couldn't even turn its eyes.

"Haaap!"

With a full-force shout, Sanghyun gathered every last drop of mana and struck the Kobold King with a Knockback Burst.

Boom!

A sound like a bursting balloon echoed.

Not only Sanghyun, who was right in front of the monster, but even the two brothers watching with their mouths agape heard it clearly.

Ukak! Wakak! Ukakak!

The powerless body of the Kobold King was pitifully flung down the steep slope, tumbling helplessly.

It had neither the equipment nor the stamina to stop itself.

Exhausted from desperately trying to evade Sanghyun's relentless assaults, the Kobold King was completely drained.

Thud! Thunk! Thunk!

And then, as if it were a rubber ball, the Kobold King rolled for a long time down the slope.

Wakuuuu!

It let out a terrifying scream upon seeing something, but by the time Sanghyun heard it, the fight was already over.

Thud!

Like a watermelon splitting open on a scorching summer day, the Kobold King's head collided head-on with a rock and burst apart.

It was a flawless, instant death—no need for any 'what if' scenarios. There wasn't even a fragment of its head left intact.

"Oh!"

Sanghyun let out a gasp of excitement as his level skyrocketed in an instant, soaring up to level 57.

Of course, the rewards were just beginning.

[C-Rank Title, [Before the Drink Cools] has been granted.]

[Before the Drink Cools]

■ Title Rank: C-Rank

■ Title Description: A title crafted with deep care by the owner of Miyeom, evoking memories of the past.

Only granted if you defeat a boss monster within 120 minutes of entering a Rift.

For two hours after entering a dungeon, all players, including yourself, become immune to Intimidation effects.

"A team buff?"

Isn't it true that healing skills and buffs are among the hardest and most valuable to acquire?

But now, Sanghyun had gained a useful buff skill for team support.

Unlike in his past life, where he had only stubbornly wielded his sword, this marked the beginning of his evolution into an all-purpose swordsman—a whole new path had opened for him.