Chapter 5: Is this what they call a field boss?

"Quick, stop it! No, run away!"

"Why is this thing appearing here!"

The place where screams were heard was the deepest part of the Red Fang territory.

Those who had just become C-rank or, like Nick, came to quickly advance their rank, often encountered the leader of the Red Fangs or were surrounded by a mob.

"Just had to be in this situation...!"

Nick was now struggling against just one.

The silver lining was that it didn't seem far from being over. The wild boar was bleeding from various parts of its body and panting heavily.

In a moment of standstill, Nick glanced at Ein and nodded toward the source of the screams.

"We need to go."

"…I, I must have misunderstood you, Mr. Nick Mohaji. You didn't hesitate at all for those people."

"Huh?"

Ein was genuinely moved.

Until now, he had thought of Nick as someone who had never shown any remarkable qualities, only spouting strange words, and seemed to have many flaws.

Is it because he is a divine being?

"Maybe it's just a different way of thinking. Sometimes it feels unfamiliar, but at this moment, you really are amazing, Mr. Nick."

"Ah, no, it's because the reward is honey. And you told me to go…."

"That wild boar is injured and won't chase us anymore. Let's go quickly!"

"Wait, even so, there's not much left… HP… items… experience… loot…."

"People are getting hurt!"

Prompted by Ein, Nick set off with a gloomy face.

The wild boar let out a low growl but, fortunately, did not chase them.

Some monsters, especially the more powerful ones, tend to become even more aggressive when their will is weakened, but the Red Fangs become weaker when they are afflicted with status conditions or their health drops below a certain level.

Running past the wild boar and sprinting to the source, the frequency of the screams grew shorter with each step, and the thick aura of killing intent from the source could be felt by Ein and Nick.

The atmosphere was so sticky that it was hard to lift their feet, and even murky mana was mixed in.

The unpleasant sensation of foreign matter mixed with their blood made Ein feel like he was about to vomit.

Ein sensed something was off. The Red Fangs, even at the leader level, cannot use magic.

"Could there be something else besides the wild boar…?"

"Don't jinx it. Things get worse when you say 'could it be.'"

Before Ein could ask what he meant, a short, ear-piercing scream rang out.

Rushing through the grass, they saw a circle of wild boars on the plain and the people huddled in the center.

A werewolf and a dryad were standing unsteadily with severe injuries, and the golem had already fallen to the ground, half-destroyed.

The humans in the back were looking for a chance to escape, but it seemed unlikely they would be allowed to.

The one standing at the center, commanding the Red Fangs, was a figure in a dark red robe, which let out a sinister laugh from under the hood.

"You could have chosen peaceful submission."

The voice sounded like that of a young man, a middle-aged man, and a dying old man all at once.

It was a rough, unpleasant sound, like scraping bones on rock, which made the listener feel a rising fear of death.

Upon closer inspection, Ein saw a shape inside the hood that was too white and angular to be flesh.

"…This can't be."

By common sense, this entity should not appear in this area.

A wizard who, driven by endless desire, turned his soul and body into tools for eternity.

A monster with an extremely evil nature, who would do anything for the pursuit of knowledge.

The Fallen Sage, a Lich.

On average, a Lich is classified as A-rank, and at the very least, B-rank upper. They only appear in their laboratories or ghost ships, or when plotting grand schemes, and do not appear unless provoked first.

Therefore, although there were rumors that a Lich existed in this area, it had never appeared or been targeted for extermination. It was too dangerous to provoke without knowing its location.

It was likely that external mercenaries, who heard the rumors and took the mission, failed to establish a proper encirclement and fled.

Ein was in a state of shock.

When a higher-ranked monster escapes after a failed extermination, it's not just a matter of "missing the monster."

If it descends into civilian areas, it could cause massive casualties, and the entire village's activities would be reduced. It would be necessary to gather several times the budget and personnel to find the monster again.

Ein was determined to suggest that if they were mercenaries, they should all be demoted at least one rank, but first, he had to worry about surviving.

As if cutting through the wind, the Lich raised its bony fingers toward those standing before it.

"I will give you one last chance to choose. Will you join me as a thrall?"

A Lich's thrall.

Not a zombie or a ghoul, but a being that loses all cognitive functions and lives as a slave until death. Most of them, even if they die, are turned into zombies and used until they are destroyed. The werewolf, aware of this, bared its teeth and growled lowly.

"I'd rather die than be treated like an animal."

Seeing this, Nick muttered with a serious face.

"Even werewolves use 'animal' as an insult."

"Yes, they classify themselves differently from ordinary animals… No, this isn't the time for such a conversation!"

Meanwhile, the Lich gathered murky mana and raised its staff, while the werewolf pressed its wounds and prepared for battle.

"What a pity. Then die in agony and regret."

The killing intent intensified. The oppressive aura from the gathered wild boars, combined with the Lich's mana, spread in all directions, and it felt as if it was actually burning their skin.

It was already difficult to face one, but now they had to face many.

Objectively, this was a fight they couldn't win.

"Mr. Nick, now! This is the moment…!"

"…"

"Mr. Mohaji?"

Wondering why he wasn't saying anything, Ein turned his head to see Nick visibly trembling.

His pale face was drenched in cold sweat, and his eyes were filled with anxiety. He had never seen Nick like this before.

However, Nick's gaze was directed not at the Lich but at the air.

"Is this a hard sudden quest that will penalize us if we cancel? What a messed-up game… The field boss placement was a mess to begin with."

"Mr. Nick…?"

Ein bit his lip.

He had just promised to avoid danger and not waste his life.

A piece of Chaos is a being with emotions, and it was undoubtedly afraid.

Yet, he was already relying on the great attributes they possessed. Ein felt ashamed of himself.

"Mr. Nick… Since they haven't noticed us yet, you should go first."

But he couldn't just stand by and watch people in danger, so Ein took out all the spirit stones he had.

Maybe he could create a momentary gap for one of them to escape.

"Stand in the lowest place, flow with the current, submerge in anger, and sing in freedom."

As Ein chanted, the spirit stones began to emit light. Just as he was about to infuse mana to summon the spirits, Nick suddenly stopped him.

"Stop! I'll do it."

"All the elements obey my command… Huh? What?"

"… Field quests are divided by contribution… So I'll handle it."

"…Are you serious?"

"Wait and see. I was adjusting all my senses to the lowest level. This way, it's not much different from a vivid VR game…"

"…Is it another illusion spell?"

"Different. It's more impressive. But it will cause problems with my cash…"

Muttering the word "cash" again, Nick gave a strangely sad smile. It was as if he had a premonition of losing something precious.

His expression was as sorrowful as a king's last words before death, and at the same time, as resolute as a frontline warrior prepared for all deaths.

Nick took something out of his bag and moved forward without hesitation.

Then, he turned to Ein once in the middle.

"Ein, can you do something about those wild boars? Help the people escape."

"Me…?"

"I can hold out for a while, so do your best."

With those words, Nick stepped forward confidently and pointed at the Lich with a sneer.

"Hey, baldy!"

"…Who are you? Another nuisance. But it doesn't matter if there's one more vermin…."

"You don't have any pores, so do you get angry seeing someone with a lot of hair? You can only change the skull's cracks or draw pictures on it, right?"

"It's not worth answering."

"Looks like he's really mad."

The Lich raised a black lightning bolt with its staff and cast a spell at Nick.

But Nick took the lightning with a relaxed expression and fell.

"Huh?"

"What?"

The scene was unexpected to the werewolf, the Lich, and Ein.

'What is this?'

It felt like they had witnessed the most meaningless death in the world, and everyone was momentarily stunned.

Then, a white feather slowly rose from Nick's chest.

Soon, the feather covered Nick's fallen body and began to turn black as if absorbing something.

Though they couldn't understand it, they could roughly predict what would happen next.

At least, it would not be good for the Lich.

"What! What magic is this!"

The Lich, sensing the same, cast black lightning at Nick several more times.

Crack, boom. The ground was scorched and left a smell of burning, but the feather and the fallen body did not move.

And after a while.

"…It's hot."

A familiar voice rang out. Nick's fingers twitched, and he slowly got up, shaking off the gray ash.

The only change was that his armor was charred black.

He looked a bit weak, but there was no hindrance to his movement.

"…Ah."

He really is a piece of Chaos. This thought first came to Ein's mind.

Awe and a sense of otherness began to sprout in Ein's heart as he looked at Nick. These beings who turned countless debates about life and death into trivial chatter.

Nick, looking at the charred armor, made a grimace and stretched his body.

"Even with my senses set to the lowest, it still stings… I wonder how much it would hurt at the highest."

"It's impossible! No one has ever survived my magic. What trick did you use! Who are you, who are you!!"

He is the great primordial and the ominous thing that will exist until the end.

"Is it a trick…? Do you know what comes with the beginner's starter pack?"

A piece of Chaos never perishes.

"The Feather of Weakness. If a character created within a week receives a fatal attack, they can survive with 1 HP by paying 100 cash."

Therefore, it is called both a curse and a miracle.

Nick, standing up again in front of the Lich, smiled and asked.

"Now that it's come to this, it's all or nothing. Let's see, which will run out first, your mana or my cash?"