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Ian tumbled down the cliff.

Just as he was about to hit the ground.

– Woong

Ian used his [Leap] to absorb the impact and landed softly.

His feet gently touched down.

“Phew.”

Ian sighed and looked up.

“Going back up is going to be tough.”

Ian’s movement skill, [Leap], has its limitations.

It’s difficult to use for vertical movement.

Upon falling, he realized the cliff’s height was at least 20 meters. Climbing back up would be a challenge.

“I got caught.”

He got caught perfectly.

He had thought there might be a trap.

But he didn’t expect the trap to be an invisibility scroll.

The look in the guy’s eyes when he removed the invisibility cloak is still unforgettable.

“Still, if this counts as a gain, it’s a gain.”

He now knew who orchestrated this.

The saint candidate Aria’s escort knight.

Dave.

He was definitely emitting killing intent from our first meeting.’

When he met Aria at the library, Dave had been right next to her, glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him. That’s why he remembered him.

‘I’m sure… it was also written in Pongpong’s love diary.’

[ Love Diary ]

There, it was written about suspicions regarding the relationship between Aria and Dave.

Was it affection or excessive loyalty?

Whatever it was, the fact that Dave saw Ian as a thorn in his side to be removed was undeniable.

‘Now I’m curious.’

Did Aria give the order, or was this Dave acting on his own?

It felt like Aria had suddenly intervened when Emilia was leading in the criminal race.

“… I’ll think about this later.”

For now, survival was the priority.

If Ian’s prediction was correct, this place was where Urugios roamed.

——!

Above all, the faint but clear rumbling of the ground made him confident in his prediction.

“At this point, there’s no other choice.”

Either he escapes this place without being caught by him, or fights until he dies.

Ian glanced at his health.

[ 78 ]

Thanks to his rapid regeneration, his health was at a decent level.

The problem lay elsewhere.

“If Urugios’ attack is too strong and penetrates this bracelet…”

Just like Victor Jan said, Urugios’ attacks could penetrate this bracelet. No, they would definitely penetrate. The guy was incredibly strong.

That would truly endanger his life.

He had to be cautious.

As he was moving while staying alert to his surroundings,

“Kyahhh—!”

A shrill scream was heard.

Where was it from?

Ahead?

Right?

“Move, Brotheeerrr!”

Ah, above.

Looking up, Ian saw Elena riding a shield like a snowboard down the cliff.

… She’s skilled.

No.

Can that even be called riding?

– Ting, ting, tang.

Bounce, bounce, bounce…

Roll…

Elena rolled on the ground amidst the dust.

“I-I-I’m okaaaay!”

Aside from her spinning eyes, she seemed pretty sturdy.

But the screams didn’t stop there.

“Nyaaaah!”

“Aaah!”

Ian quickly moved to catch Lina and Danya.

“Hnng~♥︎”

Danya’s moan immediately followed.

Ian barely managed to detach her clinging body and asked about the situation.

“Why are you guys here?”

Elena puffed out her chest and shouted in response to Ian’s question.

“When Brother fell, we couldn’t just stand by and do nothing!”

Hahaha!

Elena laughed proudly, tapping her meager chest.

She looked quite reliable.

But her expression seemed a bit suspicious.

As Ian gave her a sideways glance, she confessed.

“Actually… that guy Dave was too strong. He had companions too. Those creepy Celeste Cultists!!!”

“And so?”

“We thought we’d get annihilated if we kept fighting, so we decided to jump off the cliff instead!”

So there was a story behind it.

“Anyway, good job coming here. I was feeling overwhelmed about how to get through this alone.”

That was true.

If a situation arose where they had to fight Urugios, being alone would be impossible.

“Did you need me, Brother?”

Hehe.

Elena squinted her eyes and chuckled slyly.

She was already getting cocky.

But she was right.

He needed her at that time.

“Lead the way, Elena.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why…!”

“Because Urugios likes soft, little girls.”

“If that’s the case, Sister Danya should go!”

“But you’re shorter.”

“…!!!”

Elena was shocked, her mouth wide open.

Actually, Urugios responds to holy power rather than small girls.

He’s generally aligned with evil attributes.

Elena, her lips twitching, opened her mouth.

“Wait a minute. Then I should fall back! If I go ahead, it’ll attract Urugios.”

“That’s the goal.”

The children looked at Ian with question marks floating above their heads.

Ian declared once more.

“We’re going to capture Urugios.”

◆

Initially, he planned to proceed cautiously.

But he changed his mind.

‘Aria’s up to something.’

He didn’t know what her plans were, but the situation was definitely changing rapidly.

In such cases, speed is crucial.

If they moved too slowly trying to be cautious, they might end up just being dragged along by the situation.

‘Moreover.’

There was a possibility the promotion battle might end abruptly.

If the students suffered severe damage from Urugios, the professors would make a decision.

In that case, he’d have to give up the Hidden Piece in Urugios’s lair.

‘That would be such a waste.’

It didn’t suit his nature to give up when the goal was within reach.

Besides, he could trust his comrades.

After walking for a while.

– Guooooooooo!

A loud roar echoed from afar.

Elena flinched and turned back with a look like a wet puppy.

However, Ian’s face was resolute.

“Eek!”

After walking a bit further with Elena leading the way,

— Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung!

A massive noise accompanied by vibrations shook the ground from a distance.

Soon, trees started falling over, and the creature revealed itself.

An overwhelmingly large crimson bear, at least 4 meters tall.

Calling it 4 meters tall seemed an understatement; it looked like a massive house walking.

< Crimson Grizzly, Urugios.>

“…Dinosaur!”

Elena shouted. It’s not a dinosaur.

It’s a bear.

Though, there were enough elements to make that mistake.

A colossal size.

A hard, armor-like outer skin.

Thinking about it, there’s not much difference between that and a dinosaur.

— Grrrrr!

It growled deeply from its core.

This was a sign of an impending attack.

“Run, Elena!”

“Kyaaah!”

Ian stepped in front of Urugios to protect the fleeing Elena.

– Guoooooooo!

With a tremendous roar, it lifted its front paw.

A shadow darkened the ground.

It was as if a bridge was being lifted.

Swaaack!

Its arm swung down with immense force.

— Kaga-gaga-gang!

The sound of metal clashing violently as it collided with the Berserker’s Shield.

Even though Ian’s shield was metal, the fact that the bear produced such a sound was baffling.

[ 59 ]

His health dropped significantly in just one clash.

Even though he deflected most of the attack, this happened.

Despite his enhancements, his whole body ached.

Gritting his teeth, Ian swung his gauntlet at the armor on Urugios’s arm.

< Limb Destruction >, a special attack on a boss’s specific body part.

The solid black-red armor of the creature was a target for limb destruction.

This was crucial for dealing proper damage and temporarily putting the boss in a groggy state.

However.

— Ting!

His fist bounced off without even scratching it.

Instead, only Ian’s hand hurt.

[ 58 ]

His health dropped by 1 because of it.

— Guoooooo!

The creature roared in displeasure at the result.

Well, you’d be mad if you got bitten by a mosquito too, Ian thought.

He swung again.

– Kaang!

Still, there was no scratch…

But that wasn’t the goal.

The objective was to enrage it.

The key to defeating Urugios was managing its rage gauge.

In short.

‘I can control your emotions at my will.’

With this mindset, Ian kept punching Urugios’s arm, even though it did no damage.

The creature’s enormous eyes started to bulge with fury.

— Grrrrr!

A menacing growl that anyone could recognize as furious emanated from the creature.

‘Did I finally hit a nerve?’

Its judgment would be severely impaired now.

Ian turned his back to the beast and started to run.

“If you want to catch me, come this way!”

— Gaaaaaaah!

Thump! Thump!

The colossal creature dropped to all fours and charged after him.

‘It feels like a piece of heavy machinery is chasing me.’

Although he felt like he was being pursued by a dump truck, Ian didn’t give up and kept running.

The creature’s greatest asset was its incredibly tough armor.

Ian knew how to break that armor.

The distance between them was narrowing.

– Squelch

But at the same time, the ground started to soften.

It was the muddy area Ian had scouted earlier.

— Guoooooo!

Normally, Urugios would have to turn around in front of the mud, but now it was different.

That’s because Ian had properly provoked it.

Squelch! Squelch!

The mud couldn’t withstand the creature’s weight and churned wildly.

Ian deliberately maintained a distance where he was just out of reach.

— Whooom!

The creature extended its hand to grab Ian.

But.

– Pow!

Ian used [Leap] to evade, causing the unbalanced creature to roll into the mud.

No longer a black-red grizzly, it had turned into a mud-colored grizzly.

Its defensive strength lay in that tough armor.

The armor was a kind of protective shield.

And the most effective ‘interaction’ to break through such a shield is!

“Danya! Now!”

The ‘Germination’ reaction when earth and plant elements meet.

At Ian’s shout, Danya scattered seeds onto the creature’s armor.

The sprouts began to grow as the plant element took root in the earth.

The creature thrashed its body to shake them off, but the deep-set mud made it difficult.

Soon.

— Crackle!

Cracks began to form on the creature’s armor.

— Crash!

The broken pieces of armor fell away.

(TL RANT: I… why do authors have to make R18 chapters so long… Also R18 chapters will be uploaded on G-Drive and linked on a chapter page on the website (if you don’t read in English and are on mobile, open the pdf file in another tab on the browser and google translation should work on it. Also weird how the new novel had R18 chapter released before this…Check it out here: The Mid-Boss Hides the Heroines (Shameless self-promotion >_<))