Solo Max-Level Newbie

Pfft! Booom!

“Kyaaahh!”

“Keekh!”

The shining sword and shield moved chaotically, sending the severed limbs of insects flying in every direction.

The brawl had already approached nearly 30 minutes.

Nevertheless, there was no end in sight to the swarm of insects.

“Aaagh! Damn it, the left side. Look to the left!” “It’s all over now. Totally messed up!”

We were increasingly cornered.

Could it be that fighting back-to-back against a tree was reaching its limit?

Other players were struggling just to maintain formation due to running out of stamina and mana.

The only hope left was Teresa.

[Teresa has activated Lv13 ‘Song of Battle’!]

[Teresa has activated Lv14 ‘Last Rite’!]

Offense, defense, and even healing capabilities.

The last bits of mana were optimized and set into motion.

With ‘Last Rite’ activated, the environment was now in place to remain focused on combat until the moment of death.

All preparations were complete.

Swoooosh…

From the sky descended a white cross.

From that place,

“Let’s go.”

Teresa began her last struggle.

Boom!

She deflected an incoming pincer with her shield.

Thunk!

She immediately targeted a soft spot and thrust her sword in.

“Kyaaahh!”

“Keekh!”

One mistake would lead to death.

To survive even a second longer, everything had to be perfect.

Teresa swiftly struck down over a dozen pincer bugs.

And she launched herself towards the entrance through which the giant bugs were coming.

Thud!

Quick and light.

Her golden sword sliced through the trunks of trees.

Grooan!

The logs, big enough for a house, were cut down, blocking the path.

“Oooh! Blocking the worst spot, now only two paths are left for those bugs.”

“Teresa is incredible! We’ve made it. It is done!”

“The holy lady of Amsterdam is with us!”

The players burst out in cheers.

Thanks to Teresa’s extraordinary fighting, they were slowly carving out a retreat path towards a valley about 1 km away, where the bugs could not easily follow.

In this hellish situation, a glimmer of hope began to appear.

But at that very moment,

“Krooooooar!”

A beastly roar filled the Grey Forest.

＊＊＊

Groan!

Trees toppled to each side.

“It’s a big one!”

Something was coming.

And it was coming incredibly fast.

Moments later, what emerged from the forest was a disaster that snatched away all hope.

“This can’t be…”

Teresa let her sword drop.

The enemy in front was simply too preposterous.

About 8 meters tall,

Equipped with 12 pincers and 3 heads, it was a grotesque species.

But more dreadful than its appearance was the mana emanating from the monster.

Sssssh!

Venom corroded the surrounding grass and trees black.

Even the other insects kept their distance from the vile poison.

[The Heat Poison King Bug ‘Creiverratis’ has activated the special field skill ‘Territory Declaration’!]

The king of insects that ruled the Grey Forest.

And the green light from its roar engulfed the whole area.

“Cough… Cough. Cough.”

“I can’t breathe…”

“We have to get out of here now.”

The players coughed, clutching their throats.

Breathing in immediately brought searing heat deep into their lungs.

“To think it can cast such a powerful area magic without any fluctuation in mana pulsation.”

It was inconceivable how high the monster’s base mana was.

“Was this monster the reason the Order slowed their pursuit?”

Teresa swallowed hard. And at that moment,

“Kyaaahh!”

Creiverratis swung its pincer.

Its huge size was incongruously matched by incredible speed.

The charging pincer struck a tank player.

Crunch!

“Aaarrgh!”

The shield and armor crumpled, and a fountain of blood sprayed out.

“It’s so fast!”

“Damn it! I’ll distract it, everyone scatter! Run!”

A magic-based player dual-cast fire and light magic.

Boom!

A dazzling burst of light filled their vision.

But it was a grave mistake to think this created an opening.

The insect’s senses weren’t just focused on sight.

Touch, smell, and hearing—

All were optimized for hunting.

“I’ll devour you… exterminate you all, humans.”

A thick drool dropped from its widely opened maw.

“Ha-ha-ha… so this means just… die…huh.”

Beyond despair, there was resignation.

A thick shadow of death loomed over their faces.

It’s over.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Torn flesh scattered in all directions.

“Richard!”

“Damn it. If neither defense nor escape nor diversion work, what are we supposed to do!”

“If only the condition was normal…”

If only, the entire assault team could have played their roles fully.

They wouldn’t have crumbled so pathetically.

However, hopes spun from if’s remained just that—hopes. Reality was brutally indifferent.

“Kyaaahh!”

“Arrrgh!”

The short-haired woman, quick at dodging, got caught.

“Kyaaaahk!”

A rank A assassin, capable of short-range teleportation.

Despite her fast movement and stealth, she couldn’t escape the encirclement.

“No, don’t eat me. Please, don’t eat…”

Crunch! Crunch!

Chew chew.

It took less than 10 seconds to devour a human being.

Should it continue like this, everyone would be consigned to the belly of the beast.

‘I have to buy time for everyone to escape, even if that means falling here.’

Resisting the venom, Teresa gathered her holy power.

Wooowooo!

“Ugh!”

A surge of mana.

Dealing with detoxification and now caring for the group, her entire body was overloaded.

Pain beyond limit threatened to cut off consciousness immediately.

But still,

‘I can’t give up. I can’t.’

Teresa clung to her blurring consciousness.

-Or, would you rather give me your persona? It would be much more effective, you know.

“No… I won’t rely on you.”

-Hmm. Our sweet Teresa is a bit stubborn. But it won’t matter. That brute won’t spare you. Just let go and be at ease. That’s the only way for both of us.

The devil’s sweet temptation echoed in her ears.

‘Temptation’ could let her escape the current crisis.

But Teresa chose not to heed the voice of the other persona.

‘…He would hate it.’

The person she continued to think of.

The one she had been with since their first encounter in the Tower’s ruins.

She did not want to show him her persona being slowly consumed and altered by darkness.

If she frequently succumbed to temptation, she might ultimately lose herself completely.

Teresa positioned her shield at an angle.

And with an incoming pincer strike.

Bang!

She diverted the impact to the side.

At the same time,

Thud!

She shifted her center of gravity forward and began the charge.

Despite the numerous pincers attacking, Teresa calmly responded.

Clash! Clash! Clash!

Using the plane of her sword, she changed their trajectory and disrupted the rhythm, stealing the enemy’s timing.

And that was when,

‘It’s done.’

Teresa had reached the vulnerable spot.

Now all she needed to do was tear through with her mana-filled sword.

…Which was a terrible misunderstanding.

Vroom!

Something whizzed past Teresa’s face.

“…!?”

Honestly, avoiding that attack was more luck than skill.

‘It’s.. invisible.’

Not even perceiving how the attack was made, she could only notice the wildly moving tail and realize it must have been used as a weapon.

“Kyaaahh!”

Like a series of blade dances.

Attacks came with trajectories impossible to predict.

This time, she couldn’t avoid it.

Boom!

“Aaah!”

With a massive impact, Teresa’s body was thrown high into the air.

Only after slamming into a large log did her body come to a stop.

Throb! Throb!

Struggling amid the debris, Teresa shakily rose.

‘My arm’s… broken.’

It was almost a miracle that she had managed to block it at all.

It wasn’t a clean break, but rather pulverized bone shattered into dust.

Even with ‘Star’s Blessing’ for healing, it would take time.

Of course,

Grooan!

“Kyaaahh!”

It didn’t seem like her opponent was going to give her a moment to recover.

…This is the end.

The faces of all onlookers were filled with despair.

Teresa watched the approaching giant insect and bit her molars in resignation.

Even if she activated ‘Temptation’ now, it wouldn’t help.

The venom had already penetrated her heart through her lungs.

Vroom!

The pincer came flying.

A huge shadow loomed over her face.

“Ah…”

A regretful moan escaped Teresa’s lips.

At that very moment.

Boom!

The pincer that was tearing through everything was suddenly halted by something.

“Even in this situation, trying to save others. How like you, Teresa.”

In front of Teresa stood Jinhyuk, wielding a short knife.

“Jinhyuk… sir?”

“I’ll take it from here. You just rest comfortably.”

＊＊＊

Owner of the Grey Forest and king of the insects.

That was how Creiverratis had been described.

It proudly dominated a vast territory within the 20th floor, known to be the most fierce.

To the king, intruders were nothing more than prey.

And yet,

‘…What is this? This insignificant creature?’

The black-haired human in front didn’t show the proper behavior expected of prey.

Trembling with fear in the face of death,

Or trying to run away,

Or even feebly resisting—

Such actions were nowhere to be seen.

But it didn’t matter.

For an insolent creature deserved a fitting demise.

Roar!

A massive pincer swept horizontally.

As it had always done, to tear prey into shreds.

Then, in that instant.

[Unique ability……]

Darkness enveloped the surroundings.

[…’Tomb of Swords’ blossoms.]

Everything was engulfed in blackness.

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!

Followed by a black crescent moon covering the forest sky.

Obsidian black.

That was the king of insects’ impression of the crescent moon.

“Kyaaahh!”

A prolonged scream burst out.

Creiverratis’ severed pincer spun in the air following the arc.

“You lost a leg for gazing at the moon, just like a bug.”

“Kyaaahh… How dare you, do you know who I am?”

“Just a hornet ruling over a small forest, what else?”

“A hornet king, you say?”

“Yeah. In my eyes, there’s not much difference between you and a cockroach. Slightly bigger, so I can’t just squash you… maybe that’s the difference?”

Jinhyuk mocked.

“I’ll kill you… completely!”

From all three mouths, different manas converged.

Rumble rumble rumble!

Poison, flame, lightning, and wind.

A quad-elemental breath filled the scene.