Chapter 81: The Last Fly

"Didn't you say your attack wouldn't be enough to break it?" Max asked. Wasn't that the reason he had come forward to break the barrier? Had she lied?

"Yes, that's true. But after witnessing the first barrier you broke, I realized that my attack would be enough to trigger the barrier, causing it to explode on its own. So my assumption that the barrier would cause a backlash against the attacker was false. We are good to move forward," Paula explained.

"Don't you think that seems fishy? The barrier behaves abnormally compared to a regular barrier. What if we get entangled in something we can't escape from?" Max used the barrier's unusual behavior as a reason to warn the others.

Hearing Max's words, Paula stood still, her face serious as she considered the possibility that the barrier was abnormal. Max felt somewhat relieved after letting them know that things could go wrong if they blindly marched into the next Boss Monster's chamber.

"Though that does seem to be an anomaly, from what I have heard about how the barriers surrounding sleeping Dungeon Monsters react, we still have a good chance of finding out what is waiting for us," Paula said after much thought. "Furthermore, I don't think there is any way to exit without clearing the Hidden Dungeon. We can either wait in this hall for the teachers to rescue us while doing nothing, or check what kind of monster the next hall contains."

Max didn't say anything because she had decided that they should check the next hall. If he insisted again, they would definitely become suspicious of him. However, he didn't think this was the time to let these people enter a dangerous Dungeon merely because they might doubt him or discover his secret about bringing Marlak along.

"Guys, I think the next monster will be too strong for us to defeat. I want to avoid that," Max told them directly. The moment those words left his mouth, everyone's heads turned towards him, especially Isabelle, whose expression had become grim.

"Max, how do you know that?" Isabelle asked as she took a few steps forward and stood before him.

"The same way I found this Hidden Dungeon. I'm telling you now that this first hall was our limit. If we enter the next hall, it's over for us. So, I suggest we try to leave this Hidden Dungeon. Since the entire Hidden Dungeon seems to be an anomaly, there must be a way to leave this place before we kill all the Bosses," Max explained.

"Max, how does the next Boss Monster compare in strength to the one we just killed?" Paula asked.

"I'd say it's twice as powerful as the one you killed," Max said. Even though Marlak couldn't determine how strong it was compared to the monster in this hall, saying it was twice as powerful would give the others an idea of the situation.

"If it's only twice as strong, then we could try hunting the next monster," Paula said.

Max was dumbfounded when he heard this. What the hell was going on? They had taken at least five minutes to kill the previous monster, and now they were saying they could handle one that was twice as strong? If Max had known this would happen, he could have said it was five times stronger. However, he could now do nothing but give them one final warning.

"Senior Paula, I can't guarantee that the monster is only twice as strong, or even that it's just a little stronger. What I'm trying to say is that it will be stronger than the previous one, and our strength won't be enough to defeat it."

"Max, are you underestimating the Seniors? The monster might be strong for you, but not for them. So, you shouldn't suggest retreating from the Selection," Isabelle advised, seeing that Max continued warning the Seniors.

Max shook his head inwardly and stopped talking. What else could he do now? He had already given plenty of excuses and directly told them that it was dangerous, yet they still believed they could defeat the next Boss Monster. So, he decided to remain silent and, if something happened, escape without looking back.

With that, Max fell silent, and the party rested for a few minutes before walking towards the hidden door in the left wall. They quickly found the hidden trigger and opened the door, revealing a passage leading to the next large hall, where enormous pillars stood. As usual, no monsters were visible, and the monster was sleeping.

Max stayed behind the party. He had already asked Marlak whether it wanted to remain in the first hall, but Marlak had refused, saying that if everyone died, he would eventually perish as well. Given the strange, ocean-like Boss of this Hidden Dungeon, the frog wanted to accompany them. If they somehow killed the monster and entered an open area with water and a suitable place to live, he would have a better chance of escaping death rather than getting stuck in the bare hall.

Hearing this, Max felt that it was a good plan. He also didn't think the main Hidden Dungeon door would open from the outside unless they killed all the Boss Monsters. So, instead of getting stuck in the first hall, if the party miraculously killed the second Boss and entered an open area, Max would also have a better chance of surviving until someone came to rescue him. That was only possible if these people killed the monster and the terrain changed. If all the monsters lived in the halls, they would inevitably get stuck here.

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Max stopped following the party towards the front of the hall. Given his lower level, he could do nothing, and since he had already informed them that he couldn't break another barrier, he decided to stay away and see how the Seniors planned to defeat the monster.

"Marlak, do you think they have any chance of defeating the monster that's going to come out?" Max asked.

"No!" Marlak answered bluntly.

This is going to be disastrous, Max muttered inwardly and readied himself.

The party stood together and discussed their next move for a while. They had already used the Analyzer to determine the monster's sleeping location. Since Paula was going to attack, she quickly marked the location with the Analyzer and returned to the center of the hall. The others had already scattered and positioned themselves for the attack as soon as the monster woke up.

Paula stood in the center of the hall and summoned an arrow out of nowhere. It looked different from the arrows in her quiver, with runes etched into its shaft and a composition of different materials. She nocked it on the bow and drew the string back, causing the runes along the shaft to flare to life with a blinding, crackling light. Paula took a deep breath, her eyes locked on the exact coordinates marked by the Analyzer. With a sharp exhale, she released the arrow.

The arrow shot from the bow, surrounded by a bolt of lightning, and flew directly towards the barrier. It struck the invisible barrier, and a violent bolt of lightning crackled as it pierced through it.

Boom!

The arrow pierced through the barrier, and a massive explosion shook the entire hall. As the explosion erupted, something appeared out of nowhere, as though it had teleported from another location, and landed in the hall where the explosion had occurred. When the explosion died down, the monster came into view, and everyone immediately felt an overwhelming pressure. The next second, the monster moved, or, rather, teleported and stood before Paula, who still had her hand extended in the position she had held while releasing the arrow.

The monster swung its sharp sword as casually as someone swatting a fly, moving the blade towards Paula's midsection to cut her in half. Paula stood there with her eyes wide open, believing she was about to die. Just as the sharp blade was about to land, something covered her entire body.

Katchak!

The attack struck her midsection, and the force sent her flying away. The monster wasted no time before teleporting in front of Barbara, who stood with her shield raised and her eyes wide open, unable to comprehend what was happening. The monster attacked in a similar manner, as though it had no interest in the flies standing before it. Just as before, something covered Barbara's entire body when the attack was about to land, and the impact sent her flying.

One by one, the monster attacked them as casually as someone swatting flies. When it had finished with everyone nearby, its eyes landed on the last fly standing at the far end of the hall.

Max, who stood at the back of the hall, was under immense stress. His face was covered in sweat, and his whole body was drenched as though he had taken a shower with his clothes on. With his hands on his knees and breathing heavily, he tilted his head to look at the monster standing where Isabelle had been. Five empty potion vials lay before him, all mana potions he had consumed within a few seconds to recover his mana instantly and save everyone.

When the monster emerged from its sleep, the pressure it emitted immediately forced Max to his knees. It was too much for him to endure, and he instantly knew they were doomed. However, if he gave up, everyone would die. So, he used [Guardian Aura] on each of his six teammates, spending his entire mana reserve on every activation because using only a small amount wouldn't stop the monster's blade from cutting them in half.

Although [Guardian Aura] could be applied to multiple people at range, spreading its power across the party would weaken the protection too much to stop the monster's blade. Max therefore used the skill on each teammate individually, spending his entire Mana reserve on every activation. Even then, he couldn't be certain that everyone had escaped the attacks unharmed.

So, each time he activated [Guardian Aura] at full capacity, he had to drink mana potions to recover. With only a one-second gap between the monster teleporting and attacking, he had activated [Guardian Aura] six times and consumed five mana potions in very short period. It was not recommended to consume even two mana potions consecutively, but consuming five had caused him severe head pain.

With his eyes locked on the monster, he took out another mana potion and gulped it down. His brain throbbed as though it were about to explode, but he needed to do this to save everyone and, most importantly, himself.

The monster stood there looking at Max. Surprisingly, instead of immediately teleporting in front of him like it had with the others, it slowly slithered towards him. The monster in this hall was some kind of creature with a human upper body and an eel's lower body. Although its upper body resembled a human's, its face still looked like a fish's. Its hands were shaped like blades, perhaps they were called fins, though Max didn't know the correct term.

Max now had to choose between using the artifact from his iStorage and the Reversal Technique. If he used the iStorage artifact, he would consume all the mana in his reserve, and the backlash would be severe. Furthermore, he might have to use Salvation to save the others, assuming they had survived the attacks.

Judging by the force behind its attacks, Max believed each strike would have been lethal without [Guardian Aura]. The monster hadn't bothered to follow up, apparently expecting a single blow to finish each opponent.

Max activated [Guardian Aura] on himself for protection, spending a regular amount of Mana. He then brought his palms together and drew upon his Life Force to activate the Reversal Technique. As usual, his body began to wither; his cheeks sank in, his eyes became hollow, and his lips started to split from the loss of Life Force.

Max looked at the fish-headed monster with his hollow eyes, noticing its blade-like fin move to the side, preparing to slash him in half. It was the exact same attack. However, the moment Max noticed the fin's movement, he slammed the Reversal Technique into the monster and fell to the ground. Immediately, he used [Salvation] on himself. Before he could fall into the pleasant memories of the past, the last thing he saw and heard was the monster thrashing and bellowing, shaking the hall once more as Max's consciousness sank into the Salvation dream.