I Became a Raid Boss

Solid stone wall.

That was how Da-eun felt watching the one-armed swordsman.

She could reach out to touch it, and she could even try to jump over it.

But the wall blocking her was too tall and solid for her to break or surpass.

“Ha… Ha…”

Holding her bleeding shoulder, Da-eun gasped for breath.

Beyond Kana’s expressionless face, a hint of discontent flashed briefly.

Was it because Da-eun wasn’t putting up a good fight, or was it because it was painful to see her struggle?

‘…I hope it’s the latter.’

Though Da-eun thought it was the latter, she knew that Kana became especially strict when teaching swordsmanship, so she couldn’t be too sure.

She inhaled deeply and exhaled.

After a few deep breaths, her rough breathing gradually calmed down.

And the excitement in her heart settled down as well.

‘Let’s admit it.’

Kana was right; it was hopeless.

The man was a step above her.

Before now, they had been evenly matched… and she defended against his attacks reasonably well…

But none of that mattered.

What really mattered was that Da-eun’s sword couldn’t breach the man’s defense, while his sword pierced through hers.

‘What should I do?’

She had tried everything she could.

Even her most practiced moves and highest-damage skills came to nothing.

If it were a fortress that was truly impregnable, she would have given up, but the wall was just high enough to tempt her into trying again.

‘What would Kana do?’

Da-eun unconsciously thought of the strongest person she knew, Kana.

Even when sparring with Kana, Da-eun’s sword never reached her.

No, maybe ‘never reached’ was the wrong expression.

Every time they sparred, she was too busy defending against Kana’s swinging sword to even attempt an attack.

There were times when she thought she blocked it, only for Kana’s sword to slide down and threaten her neck, and there were even times when a thrust at incredible speed sent chills down her spine.

‘Hmm, this is indeed impossible.’

As Da-eun replayed the sparring match in her mind, she shook her head.

Kana’s swordsmanship felt like magic to her.

She could see the coin that had vanished appear in the cup, but she had no idea how that result was achieved.

Because of that, Da-eun couldn’t replicate the swordsmanship that Kana had demonstrated.

She knew it was frustrating, but she couldn’t give up like this, so Da-eun sought another method.

‘Should I mix in some tricks? Or should I give up defense and try to be more aggressive…?’

Da-eun’s mind whirled around until it felt like it would explode at any moment.

“It seems you’re overthinking.”

The words of the man halted Da-eun’s spinning thoughts.

“I see now. You’re one of those called apostles.”

“That’s right.”

“No wonder your swordsmanship is terrible for your level.”

“…Terrible, is it?”

…She knew it was bad, but she thought she had improved considerably under Kana’s teachings.

As Da-eun wobbled unsteadily after receiving a sudden blow to the solar plexus from the man, he looked at her as if he didn’t understand why she was acting like that.

With his confusion set aside, he spoke.

“You know I have one arm missing.”

“If you have eyes, you can’t miss it.”

“Then you also know that I am vulnerable to attacks coming from my left.”

“Well…”

Even Da-eun, who wasn’t used to fighting, understood that much.

“So why aren’t you exploiting my weakness?”

“Huh?”

The person who just sparred with her said that?

Especially when the question was why she wasn’t attacking his weakness, Da-eun couldn’t process it for a moment and stupidly questioned back.

“Are you feeling sorry for me? Even with one arm missing, I am stronger than you. You must have figured that out for yourself; do I have the luxury to sympathize with you?”

“N-no, I wasn’t sympathizing…”

As Da-eun attempted to refute the man’s words, she paused.

Whenever she swung her sword, her strikes occasionally went towards his empty left side.

Of course, those attacks were blocked, but he responded slower than when he targeted other areas.

Why hadn’t she targeted his vacant left?

While pondering this, Da-eun found the reason lurking in the corner of her vision.

The chat room was filled with all sorts of jibes: “Are you attacking a disabled person?” “Come on, how pathetic!”

Most of them were probably not sincere but just meant to tease Da-eun.

Knowing that didn’t make it any easier.

“I see.”

This wasn’t a desperate struggle to cling to each other’s weaknesses; it was not a child’s play or someone’s gimmick.

Determined, Da-eun gripped her sword, and the man took his stance in response.

The ensuing exchanges were even more intense and desperate than the ones before.

“Gah…!”

The man openly targeted her heart with a powerful strike from above.

With tremendous force, the sword tip shook, and as Da-eun lost her balance and was about to tumble to the ground,

Bwooom-!

She planted her hands on the ground and spun around, sweeping her legs.

If she had had her left arm, it wouldn’t have hit, but with the man using all his offensive options to deflect her sword, he had only two choices.

Dodge or take the hit.

The man chose to evade.

Da-eun’s kick was so powerful that it seemed impossible for someone in a compromised position.

Pure physical strength.

It was an attack that utilized the strengths apostles possessed.

“Now you seem to understand.”

Utilizing my own strengths while targeting my opponent’s weaknesses.

A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips as if she had finally grasped the basic principle of fighting.

But it was only for a moment.

The smile faded as the man readied his sword again.

“Still, you’re lacking.”

Knowing one’s weakness and not compensating for it is a foolish act.

Moreover, the man’s weakness was so apparent that anyone who could see could easily pinpoint it.

He had invested a lot of time to cover his own shortcoming.

Green mana enveloped his sword.

Slash!

“Eek?!”

As Da-eun stood up, she gasped in shock at the blue energy blade that zipped past her.

Slish-

The barely avoided blade left a red line on her cheek.

The energy that grazed her went on to smash the tree behind her.

Seeing the neatly severed tree crash down with a Kwooom-, Da-eun’s face turned pale.

“…Energy blades are cheating!”

“Why is that? You can handle mana too, can’t you?”

“I can’t! I can’t do that!”

“Is that so?”

Nodding at Da-eun’s shout, the man drew his sword again.

“That’s good.”

“…What do you mean that’s good?”

“It means there’s no way for you to counter my energy blades.”

“…Huh?”

In response to Da-eun’s question, the man answered by pouring out a barrage of blue energy blades.

“Gyaaaaah!”

Screaming loudly, Da-eun fled from the rain of energy blades.

They say the distance of a sword is the distance of the swordsman, but the situation was different when it was a swordsman who could coat their sword with mana.

Of course, since the sword was the source of the energy blades, there was a means to counter, but…

Since Da-eun didn’t know that method, she could only keep dodging.

“An opening…!”

Yet she didn’t let go of the opportunity, her eyes sparkling as she sought a chance.

“Not a chance.”

“Ugh!”

The man, who had already read her movements, struck his sword down just as she attempted to parry.

“That’s enough.”

Just as several red lines marked Da-eun’s body, Kana, unable to watch any longer, stepped in to end the fight.

“Selin.”

“Got it.”

As holy power enveloped Da-eun in a warm embrace, new flesh blossomed through her wounds.

In an instant, the injuries on Da-eun’s body vanished, and only the dried blood stains remained to hint at her earlier suffering.

As Da-eun took a deep breath, she heard small footsteps approaching her.

“How was it?”

“It was tough…”

Da-eun, who sat down while pouring out her sincere feelings, was looked down upon by Kana, who spoke in a teasing tone.

“Didn’t I tell you it was too much?”

“Yeah. I should’ve listened to Kana.”

Da-eun realized that the man hadn’t shown even a fraction of his true power against her.

Judging by how her breaths were only slightly ragged, the storm of energy blades he unleashed at the end likely wasn’t even his full strength.

The world was vast, and there were many strong people out there.

Feeling completely drained, Da-eun flopped down on the ground.

‘Oh right. Dust…’

Concern about getting dirty was only temporary as, feeling lethargic, Da-eun reclined back onto the ground.

“How was it? Aren’t you better than before?”

“Sweet lies, bitter truths. Which one do you want?”

“I feel like I’ve had this conversation before.”

And she remembered she didn’t hear anything good.

“Puhuh.”

While she mumbled sourly, a light laugh settled upon her bowed head.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

As Da-eun unconsciously raised her head, she saw a soft smile and round, twinkling eyes.

Staring blankly at the pink girl, who wore an innocent grin, Da-eun broke into a shy smile.

“So I don’t have to prolong training—”

“If you’d trained more, you could have won.”

“…That’s a fair point.”

Slump.

Da-eun’s shoulders drooped.

As Kana patted her awkwardly, she stepped forward.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Mm.”

Although they were immediately thrust into another skirmish after the prior battle had ended, there didn’t seem to be any ill humor on the man’s face.

The small amount of stamina spent had already recovered, and he hadn’t expended much mana despite continuously unleashing energy blades.

With a flick.

Seeing Kana flick her sword, the man charged in like a hawk.

Engulfed by exhilaration, the man displayed skills that surpassed even his previous form.

It was a speed incomparable to when he fought Da-eun.

Whoosh!

As the first strike was blocked, the next attack was launched.

Head, chest, legs, and then back to the head.

‘Oh my…’

Da-eun could hardly follow the rapid exchange of blows with her eyes as her mind went blank.

Despite the ferocity of the man’s onslaught, Kana didn’t flinch as she deflected them effortlessly.

The clashing of swords echoed deafeningly around them.

Kana simply defended while the one-armed swordsman was primarily on the offensive.

With both feet firmly planted on the ground, the man swung his sword toward the girl’s neck.

A single step back.

When Kana twisted her body while drawing her right foot back, narrowly avoiding it, the man had already retracted his arm and swung his sword horizontally.

Kana, who had just halted her attacking motion, raised her sword vertically.

A textbook defense against a horizontal attack.

Swish—

“…!”

Instead of the expected sharp clash, a sound like feathers brushing past filled the air.

The man’s sword, swung with full force, flowed along her blade and sank effortlessly into the ground.

With a forceful change of direction from horizontal to vertical, the man opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

His mind flashed back to Da-eun’s figure from moments earlier.

The man braced himself with one hand on the ground and, losing his balance, attempted to kick out.

However, his counterattack failed miserably.

“Hyah.”

“Gahok!”

A dissonant shout clashed with the adorable battle cry, and a hard impact struck his back.

Given the situation, the momentum was enough to send the man crashing to the ground without any chance to regain his balance.

Thud—

As he stumbled from the force, a chilling sword tip pressed against the nape of his neck.

Feeling a warm liquid trickling down his back, he loosened his grip on the sword in his hand.

“…I lost.”

It was the moment when victory and defeat were determined in battle.

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