From the moment we stepped onto the third floor of the black tower, something felt…off.
The air was heavy. Metallic. Tension clung to my lungs like rust in old pipes. Then came the sound—hooves clanging against obsidian tiles.
It stood twelve feet tall.
A full-armored centaur, black steel plates covering its equine body, and a long obsidian spear glowing faintly with red runes. It held a buckler in its off-hand—just large enough to stop a boulder, and probably my head.
It let out a war cry that sounded like metal tearing open a thundercloud.
I swallowed."Looks like we pulled the short straw," I muttered, already cracking my knuckles.
"No time to complain," Mother said. "Focus."
Beside me, Hyun-Tae cocked his shotgun."Boom Boom, wake up."
The shotgun responded with a growl and a metallic voice that rattled like a veteran chain smoker.
"Mmm. Another meat bag to blast, huh? I was getting stiff."
With a deep inhale, I let the change happen.
My body convulsed as bones snapped and re-formed. Skin turned into layers of coarse fur. My arms split—four in total now—each one twitching with anticipation. My tail lashed behind me. My face itches, reshaping, senses sharpening.
Beastification mode. Activated.
Target : Junior, The Spider monkey.
Low level Spirit.
I summoned my low-level spirits. They whirled around my wooden sword in a flurry of gold and brown light. The sword splintered and reformed, shaping into four jagged daggers, each perfectly balanced for my new limbs.
Low level Spirit Craft – Quad Dagger Infusion.
"Let's go," I snarled, leaping forward.
Mother raised her hand and cast two spells. "Curse of Slowness! Curse of Senseless!"
Chains of black vines shot out from her fingers and coiled around the centaur's hooves and helmet. The monster grunted, movements stuttering for just a second.
That was all I needed.
I dashed low and fast, weaving around the cracks in the floor, then vaulted.
I landed on the centaur's lower back, stabbing down with two of my daggers. Metal scraped. Not deep enough.
It bucked, twisting, and I shot a web toward its hind legs, trying to bind them together.
But it snapped the web with a single jerk.
Too strong.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The sound cracked the air behind me. Hyun-tae had fired.
Pellets screamed past me.
"Boom Boom! Warn me next time!" I yelled.
"You got eight eyes, kid. Start using 'em." Boom-Boom yelled.
"Shit—!"
I leapt, twisting in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the burning pellets. But I landed directly in the path of the centaur's rear legs.
It kicked me like a mule from hell.
Pain exploded in my face. My body flew like a ragdoll and slammed into the stone wall with a sickening crack.
Everything spun.
But I wasn't out.
Bark Skin, I activated.
My skin turned coarse and thick, like tree bark. Cracks spidered over my arms and neck, shielding the worst of the impact. It still hurts—hell, it hurts like getting punched by a train—but at least I wasn't bleeding.
"Ye-Jun!" Mother shouted.
Before I could even answer, she cast False Healing, a dark, shimmering mist wrapping around me. I felt strength surge into my limbs—not perfect, but enough to stand.
"Thanks, Mom," I grunted.
The centaur snorted and turned, now locking eyes with Hyun-Tae.
It charged, the spear lowered like a battering ram.
Hyun-tae rolled just in time, barely escaping the skewering strike. He fired again, this time aimed at the creature's side.
BOOM BOOM spoke"You'll need to do better than that, rookie. I've seen goblins aim better blindfolded."
"Shut it and reload!" Hyun-tae screamed.
The blast did dent part of the centaur's flank but did little damage. Still, it gave Mother a chance.
She appeared behind the beast, spinning her long scythe. The curved blade flashed, slashing down at the centaur's exposed chest.
Clang! The buckler came up. Sparks flew.
The centaur pivoted with inhuman agility and thrust its spear—point blank—toward Mother's heart.
I shot a web—wild and unaimed—but it latched onto her robe just enough.
With a grunt, I yanked.
She slid back, the spear grazing her cheek instead of impaling her.
"Thanks," she whispered.
I shot a web from the ceiling and yanked myself forward.
My dagger met the spear mid-air, knocking it off.
The centaur reared, furious. It slammed its front hooves onto the floor with a metallic roar, cracking the tiles and shaking the room.
We needed to break the defense.
"Hyun-Tae, we need more force," I called. "Try to knock the buckler off-line!"
"Roger!"Sliding under a rock, he raised the shotgun.
"Boom Boom, aim assist." Hyun-tae whispered to his shotgun
BOOM BOOM spoke mischievously, "Oh finally. Let me handle this."
The weapon glowed. Red energy coiled around the barrel. When Hyun-tae fired this time, the shell shimmered with heat.
BOOM.
The shot hit the centaur's side, blowing off a chunk of its armor.
The beast roared. Blood—not red, but a black tar-like ooze—sprayed out. The side of its equine body steamed from the impact.
Now we have a wound.
I didn't wait.
I dashed, using all four limbs like a predator. I leapt onto its wounded side and plunged all four daggers in.
Hyun-Tae rushed to the side, firing at the centaur's joints. Each time the shells hit, sparks flew. The creature roared and turned to retaliate, giving Mother just the opening she needed.
She swung her scythe low this time, carving along its lower flank. Sparks. A shallow dent.
Still not enough.
The centaur kicked again, sending a blast of air through the chamber. I leapt again, slicing across its shoulder with two daggers, using the momentum to spin behind it.
The monster roared, trying to throw me off again.
"Hyun-Tae, left side!" I screamed.
Another blast from Boom Boom. This time it struck the buckler dead-on, staggering the centaur. The shockwave rocked the beast, knocking its guard just slightly out of place.
"Mom, now!"
Mother launched a pair of curse chains straight at its face. They latched onto its helmet, twisting like vines trying to crush a tree.
The centaur shrieked and spun. It kicked again, this time catching Mi-Sun in the ribs. She flew, coughing blood mid-air, but landed barely upright.
Hyun-tae came around the front again.
Another shell.
Another BOOM.
The limb buckled.
For the first time, the centaur kneeled.
It wasn't dead—but it was slowing.
Then it removed its helmet.
It's face was something similar. Someone I recognized.
It was the face of my Fiancée.
Han Ji-a.
And her face is covered with bruises, marks, cuts and slashes.
Something similar to the time when she was 18 and those injuries were because of me.