The monster before them had no name.
That let all three breathe a slight sigh of relief—after all, if it were a "BOSS," its name would have surfaced in their minds.
But for some reason, Finn kept feeling a pricking pain in his thumb.
A very strong one.
This was an extremely bad sign.
It was neither a Skill nor any kind of magic; Finn simply had a knack—before he ran into "something bad," his thumb would always start to prick.
And Gareth and Riveria, who were thoroughly familiar with this, instantly grew wary as well.
And so, they dodged the monster's sudden strike.
The monster was a "Half-Fish-Man."
Only, compared to those dull, stupid creatures they had seen before—bodies mostly rotted, sluggish and clumsy in their movements—
this one was far more nimble.
Its fin-bearing hands and feet were like keen-edged blades, glinting with a silver-gray, frigid light in the glow of the Magic Stone lanterns.
Its entire body was a black-iron color, lean and tall; the curve of its hunched back gave a certain deeply jarring impression, and within the gaping mouth set in that slender, spear-like head were rows of fine, barbed teeth—enough to make one shudder.
Judging from the "fish head" alone.
Finn and the others judged it ought to be a kind of monster common in the [Great Waterfall] known as a "Killer Fish."
Such creatures usually had bodies over a meter long, always moved in groups, and would use their sharp teeth to tear and slice apart adventurers' bodies—truly terrifying aquatic monsters.
But now.
Both Gareth and Riveria saw it—the thing spat out blazing-red magma from its mouth. "?"
The cavern was rapidly heating up.
In the instant this "Killer Fish" launched its attack, the originally damp and cold cavern suddenly turned like a steamer, scalding heat ceaselessly rising from the fine cracks in the ground.
And beneath the monster's black-iron fish scales, a "crackling, popping" series of bursts began to sound, an utterly dazzling magma-color seeping out from within, as though it were a volcano that might erupt at any moment.
This fellow was no ordinary monster!
"[Earth Assault]!"
With Gareth's heavy stomp, the Dwarf unleashed his chantless, instant-cast magic.
It could only be activated while on the ground.
Its effect fluctuated according to one's own [Strength] value.
And at this moment.
As Gareth—Lv.6, his Strength long since reaching "S900+"—released it, accompanied by rolling rumbles, the ground beneath his feet shattered in an instant while at the same time abruptly rising up, wrapping all three of them inside.
[Earth Assault] was both control magic and possessed a certain destructive power; at the same time, it could also be used for defense.
Theoretically speaking.
The Dwarf race ought to be utterly unsuited to using magic, yet at this moment Gareth handled it quite deftly.
But—but.
The magma ray spat out by the Killer Fish still melted clean through the immensely thick ground.
Almost instantly.
Gareth saw red dots appear on the rock wall before his eyes, then spread outward, scorching-hot magma seeping out from within.
Fortunately, Riveria's ice magic that followed froze this high-temperature magma solid in an instant as well.
"Whew, this fellow's no ordinary one." "Mm."
No more idle talk.
Because Finn, positioned at the very back of the party, had long since leapt high, and using his agile, deft body, launched an attack at the monster from the other side of the cavern.
The golden spear, like a brilliant meteor, pointed straight at the monster standing in place.
Finn attacked in silence.
The Pallum were not skilled in [Strength] and [Endurance], and so, compared to Allen Fromel—the vice-captain of the Freya Familia who likewise used a spear—Finn belonged to the school that emphasized [Dexterity] and [Agility].
He was not skilled at greatly boosting the power and destructive force of the spear in his hand through an instantaneous burst.
On the contrary.
He was accustomed to closing in on the enemy, using small-amplitude body movements to constantly entangle his opponent while attempting to launch attacks from all manner of angles.
And so, the golden meteor became a "meteor shower," surging toward the monster's body from every direction.
[Lv.6?]
Relying on the sensation transmitted through his hands, Finn tried to judge the level of the monster before him.
What could be confirmed was this.
The opponent's level was not high—at least not to an absurd degree—and its [Endurance] also seemed to be at a normal level; at the very least, his spear's piercing thrusts could leave streaks of blood or blood-holes on its body.
Only.
It truly was formidable.
Had it been an ordinary monster, he would have skewered it long ago.
But the fellow before him could not only keep up with his movements—it could even counterattack!
Hands, feet, tail——
The fins on the monster's body were its blades, which it employed to the fullest in its attacks, making a dense clamor of clashing metal ring out through the cavern in an instant.
But soon.
The battle between the two was broken by the heavy footsteps of the Dwarf.
Gareth, still holding his heavy shield, had also drawn out his great axe and came charging over this way.
The teamwork between "Dwarf" and "Pallum" was utterly, utterly in sync.
Leveraging the strong points of his own [Strength] and [Endurance], Gareth did not seek to "wound" the monster, but rather constantly subjected it to a certain "pressing" and "suppression."
The two of them, completely complementary in their ability values, displayed perfectly coordinated teamwork.
In the blink of an eye.
The monster, which moments ago could still trade blows with Finn, was instantly thrown into disarray under Gareth's pincer assault.
The heavy axe in the Dwarf uncle's hand directly hacked off one of its hands.
In the distance.
Riveria's magic chant, too, had finally come to an end.
"—Flame of the crimson lotus, merciless raging fire, thou art the incarnation of inferno that sweeps away a thousand armies and ten thousand steeds; bring down the final curtain upon great warfare, burn all to ashes, sword of Surtr——my name is Alf!"
This was the strategy the trio used most often.
As the elven woman's cry rang out, Finn and Gareth retreated a step almost simultaneously.
Then, the very next second.
Heavenly fire descended; a crimson greatsword blazed fiercely, as though it would swallow the entire cavern whole, falling straight down from directly above the monster's head.
"Whew."
Though somewhat unexpected, the battle should be over.
Finn was certain.
An ordinary fellow could not possibly withstand Riveria's magic.
As the scorching heatwave rushed against their faces, and that blindingly dazzling blaze of raging fire burst forth.
But Finn kept feeling something was still off somewhere.
His thumb hurt even more.
What was going on?
The raging fire, composed purely of Mana, was still burning fiercely, yet from within it one could still make out the silhouette of the monster that had already had one arm severed.
Moreover, the opponent seemed to have undergone some kind of change.
[It has molted].
The fish-skin on the Half-Fish-Man's body began to gradually peel and split apart, making it look more like a true "human."
Ghastly pale, gaunt, like a malnourished, deformed human.
[S-Rank Prey · the Endless "Sandkara"].
No!
The danger Finn realized did not stop there!!
[S-Rank Hunter · Lumina the Body-Severing]
Finn turned his head.
He saw, behind Riveria, that tall barbarian woman wearing the bone mask, great axe in hand, smiling, hacking down from above toward the elven woman.
____
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