Arang was annoyed.
Except for specs, Arang was ahead in everything.
But those specs crushed everything else.
Even though Arang was ahead in parrying, blocking, skills, motion, attacks, pre-delay, and post-delay, the damn RPG mechanics meant that no matter how good her physical skills were, the gap in specs was too big, and Arang was losing the fight against Artamin Arang.
Clang! Clang! The sound of swords clashing echoed.
Thinking she had the upper hand, Artamin Arang opened her mouth wide and laughed.
“[Die and become mine.]”
One step away from death.
‘[Laughing?]’
Facing death, Arang’s lips curled up, and Artamin Arang felt a sensation she had never felt before—no, familiar yet unfamiliar, no, a sensation she didn’t want to recall.
A heavy, cold wave, like a swamp swallowing her whole in an instant.
‘[Fear? No. This is just an impure emotion because I haven’t been resurrected for long. There’s no way for her to block this attack—]’
Whoosh!
Like fireworks exploding before her eyes, particle effects appeared, and a sword cut through the air.
‘[My arm was cut off, no, it disappeared.]’
A sword that wasn’t her own attack, yet her arm was gone.
‘[What is that?]’
Artamin Arang, an AI who had learned everything about Leore, was stunned by what had just happened.
Arang dodged the attack and immediately stabbed her sword into Artamin Arang’s defenseless right arm.
“[Gah!? H-how!?]”
“Limb Severing Skill.”
“[Such a skill doesn’t exist!]”
“Of course not. I just made it.”
The sharp Tashim Sword pierced Artamin Arang’s seemingly fragile shoulder.
Particles scattered everywhere, and the whoosh sound indicated significant damage had been dealt.
‘That was close. If the users had arrived even a little later, I would’ve died.’
Arang pretended to be calm to deceive Artamin Arang, but she thought she was dead.
However, the Ensidara raid party had started the hunt and was broadcasting, so many users had been alerted to the field boss’s location.
Because of that, many users gathered, and after Ensidara’s party wiped out and returned, Arang’s party members joined, creating a dense crowd of users.
In other words, the taboo technique of Leore.
The conditions for using the Limb Severing Skill had been met.
Splat!
The Tashim Sword sliced diagonally through Artamin Arang’s body, starting from her shoulder.
“[Kyaaaaaah!]”
A red, flashing effect appeared on Artamin Arang’s upper body.
In an instant, 30% of Artamin Arang’s HP was gone.
‘It’s her weak point.’
Even though her body was sliced, it was strange for a field boss’s HP to drop that much in one go.
Arang realized the area she attacked was a weak point.
Despite having the specs of a raid + field boss, Artamin Arang, who had a user system unlike other bosses, lost HP in one go and was stunned, trembling despite Arang’s attacks.
Major Stun.
A system in Leore where, if a life-threatening attack is received, the target is stunned for a certain period and can’t do anything.
During that time, Arang pushed her physical and sensory limits, slashing madly at the target in front of her.
The situation had completely reversed from just a few seconds ago when Arang was the one being attacked.
“[Diiiiiiie!!!]”
A roar erupted from Artamin Arang’s mouth, her body covered in wounds.
“!?”
Despite the roar, Arang, who had been pressing the attack, was pushed back.
“[How dare… How dare you do this to me!?]”
Countless tentacles burst from Artamin Arang’s back, rushing toward Arang.
“Just die already. I’m sick of this.”
It was just that she had a hard time dealing with herself. If it was just tentacle attacks, she had seen enough of them in the last raid.
So Arang easily parried all the tentacles.
Artamin Arang, weakened from summoning so many tentacles, couldn’t block Arang’s attack.
Slash!
Just like before, Artamin’s head flew off.
As the head flew through the air, Artamin Arang’s HP dropped to 0% in an instant.
Thud.
The severed head rolled on the ground a few times before stopping at Arang’s feet, then exploded into particles.
-CLEAR!-
“Phew… easy.”
==
-What… insane. She really solo-cleared it again.
-Wait, wasn’t the fight almost 40 minutes?
ㄴYeah, about 53 minutes.
ㄴWow, 53 minutes of fighting? That’s almost an hour! And not just PVP, but a hunt?
As soon as Arang solo-cleared the first field boss of the season, Leore’s gallery and Reddit exploded.
Normally, clearing a field boss takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
Of course, that’s with at least 20 people, up to 50.
But Arang solo-cleared it.
Usually, Leore sets the playtime for raid or hunt combat content at 20 minutes.
In battles where even a single mistake is unforgivable and high concentration is required, 20 minutes is already quite long.
It’s not just sitting at a computer clicking a keyboard and mouse—it’s entering a virtual world indistinguishable from reality, risking your life, moving your body, attacking, defending, and dodging.
Because it’s a game that requires extremely high concentration, Leore sets most combat content to around 20 minutes.
But Arang fought this field boss hunt for a whopping 53 minutes.
Even top-tier users feel fatigue and headaches after 30 minutes of such life-or-death combat situations.
But a 15-year-old girl fought for 53 minutes without losing focus for a single moment and cleared it.
When Artamin Arang’s head flew off, everyone was shocked.
-Wait, does Leore have dismemberment?
-Her head just flew off? WTF?
-What? Is Leore a 19+ game?
-But isn’t dismemberment okay for 15+ as long as there’s no blood?
-As long as no blood is shown, it’s fine.
“Huh?”
The word “Clear” appeared, rewards came in, and the red circle symbolizing the field boss disappeared.
But Artamin Arang’s headless body remained.
“Why isn’t that disappearing?”
-???
-??????
-That’s kinda grotesque.
-What is that?
-Why isn’t the body disappearing?
“Ah, seriously…”
Arang immediately realized why Artamin Arang’s body was still there.
Creak
As it was a zone of the 5th World, something black and sticky spread across the sky, polluting it.
“It seems I’m no match for you with just this.”
From the torn sky, something pitch black flowed down, and a woman descended with the flow. Above her head was the title:
[5th World Manager Disnier]
-Whoa, Disnier?
-Why is Disnier suddenly here?
-Wasn’t this just a field boss?
-Why is she here?
“Gasp!”
Even with her eyes closed, she was mesmerizing. In one hand, she held a staff-like lantern, her voluptuous chest, plump thighs, and the garter belt that made you drool.
Disnier’s appearance seemed tailor-made for Arang’s tastes, and Arang was more excited than ever.
“Are you here? Is it time? Is that it!?”
Arang’s head was throbbing from the hour-long battle, but the sight of Disnier made all that disappear in an instant.
Disnier raised her hand.
Her chest was so large that when she raised her hand, it brushed against her chest, causing her ample, soft breasts to sway slightly, and Arang couldn’t look away.
Though Arang had lost much interest in women after becoming one, Disnier seemed to embody all her preferences from when she was a man.
Since the server merge, none of the managers from Worlds 1 to 4 had caught her eye.
“Arang. It seems no one can replace you. But… that outfit… How dare that girl touch what’s mine…”
“I’ll take it off right now.”
Arang, who had secretly liked the 4th World Apostle’s outfit, immediately switched back to her original Sword Master’s black armor costume.
“Arang. Come to me—”
“I’m coming! I’ll come right now!”
Arang pushed aside the headless Arang, who looked just like her and wore the same costume, and rushed toward Disnier.
The headless Arang collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
“Uh… huh?”
Mars had overhauled the servers, significantly upgrading the AI.
Thanks to that, important NPCs in Leore were given much more freedom.
The first change was that all managers could now designate any user they wanted as an Apostle.
Managers, now just like ordinary humans.
Among them, Disnier, who was set up as the most aloof, was taken aback by Arang’s immediate response.
In Leore’s story, it was clear to anyone that she was thoroughly evil and a villain.
Moreover, becoming her Apostle brought no benefits, only disadvantages.
She was about to explain that, but Arang, acting like a madman, rushed toward her, and Disnier instinctively took a step back.
