I Became a Raid Boss

Just because a creature becomes a monster doesn’t mean it loses its ability to reproduce.

In fact, it seems that becoming a monster might even increase their fertility.

Once a creature turns into a monster, even those that were once different species can mate and have offspring.

Upon hearing this, Da-eun, filled with curiosity, asked with bright eyes.

“That’s fascinating. But how can that be possible if they’re different species?”

How is that possible? Well…

“How would I know that? I’m neither a monsterologist nor a biologist.”

“Oh, right…”

It’s only natural that I know more than Da-eun since I’ve spent more time in this world, but knowledge is another matter.

The reason I’m bringing this up all of a sudden is because, as I was dealing with these monsters, I started thinking about it.

“It must have been a nice place to live before.”

Considering how overrun it is with monsters now.

Perhaps they were thrilled to find prey untainted by magi, and that’s why they kept coming at us, annoyingly persistent.

Just like this.

Slice.

With a light cutting sound, the monster that had been charging at me flew through the air, head severed.

The monster, with its maw wide open, died without even being able to close its greed-filled eyes.

Its corpse would likely serve as food for the other ravenous monsters.

The irony of a creature that charged in to devour becoming food for others.

“What a nuisance.”

It’s a waste to pour out my mana, and smacking down each one that rushes at me is just plain annoying.

I wish they’d just avoid me. Can’t they sense their place and stay away?

When you think about it, the idea that wild animals are good at sensing danger might not be true after all.

“Maybe they found you more approachable than their instincts suggested? After all, you’re small and cute!”

“Hm, you’ve got a point.”

“What…?!”

Da-eun’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, does that mean you’re finally admitting you’re cute, Kana?”

“…? What nonsense are you spouting now?”

“Nonsense? You literally just said I have a point…”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Judging by her expression, it seemed like Da-eun had completely misunderstood me, so I kindly corrected her misunderstanding.

“I meant about them underestimating me. Because I’m small, it makes sense that they’d think I’m an easy target, right?”

“…”

Da-eun pursed her lips.

Seeing her eyes darting around frantically, it looked like she was trying to figure out a way out of the situation.

Then, after a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

“If revealing the truth is a crime…!! Then I will gladly pay the price…!”

“…Oh, really.”

Speaking in such a resolute tone, like a knight heading to war to save the nation, took the wind out of my sails.

I know the best response is to not engage with such blatant teasing.

But as always, there’s a difference between ideals and reality.

“Hmm…”

I moved my hand, measuring one span, then two.

“What are you doing?”

“Measuring the length.”

“Length? What length?”

“How much I’d need to cut you to be the same height as me.”

More or less this much?

As I tilted my head, looking at my outstretched fingers, I suddenly felt a heavy weight hanging from my waist.

“Spare me!”

“Cutting off a little bit won’t kill you. There are plenty of people who live without legs.”

“There’s such a thing as death by shock…! Many people die from leg amputation!”

“Really? I didn’t know that. Then how about cutting from the top instead? As long as I shorten the overall height, it doesn’t matter if it’s from the top or bottom.”

“…That would definitely kill me. No chance of survival.”

“But Joanie always comes back to life, right?”

“Oh… I didn’t think about that?”

Da-eun mumbled, “You’ve caught me off guard.”

Normally, when we had conversations like this, Celine would step in to stop us. And as expected, this time was no exception.

“Both of you, I think it’s time to stop with the jokes.”

“Jokes?”

“…It was a joke, right? Please tell me it was a joke.”

“Yes… it was a joke. Just a joke.”

I said exactly what she wanted, but Da-eun’s uneasy expression didn’t go away.

Still, it wasn’t my role to care about that, so I drew my sword.

Not to perform surgery to shrink Da-eun’s height, but to deal with the monsters drooling as they charged at us.

It was only natural that moments later, the monsters’ heads were flying through the air.

***

A new day had dawned, and our journey toward the center continued.

We had walked a considerable distance, and the oppressive magi surrounding us now was much stronger than what we had felt by the shore.

As a bonus, stronger monsters attacked us too.

Shaaak!

A massive shadow loomed in front of me.

It moved at such a high speed that it left a faint afterimage, but my eyes didn’t miss its form.

A giant claw, drenched in magi.

If I were scratched by that, I’d likely die from magi poisoning.

No, most people would probably be split in two before they even had a chance to die from the poisoning.

Despite these thoughts, I made no attempt to block or dodge the claw coming at me.

Just as the claw was about to touch my body…

Bang!

A golden light flashed, and the claw rushing toward me suddenly stopped in its tracks.

Grrr?

The monster appeared visibly confused, perhaps baffled by the golden wall that had suddenly appeared and halted its attack. Its fierce face morphed into one of bewilderment, which was amusing to see.

“Can’t understand it? That’s fine. You don’t need to.”

I don’t have the habit of explaining things to the dead. Some people are into the macabre, but I’m not one of them.

Click.

Thud!

I sheathed my sword and turned away from the monster. A heavy thump behind me told me that something large had fallen to the ground, but I didn’t bother to look back.

Da-eun gave me a round of enthusiastic applause.

“Was that how you’re supposed to do it?”

“Yeah! The true strong ones never look back at explosions.”

“…Is that so?”

I acted according to Da-eun’s request, but I still didn’t understand the meaning behind it. Romance sure is difficult.

“Well, isn’t that what romance is about?”

“Hmm… I suppose.”

If Da-eun says so, then that must be it.

Whatever the case, the client is satisfied, so I guess that’s all that matters.

Shaking my head at the unsolvable puzzle, I turned to Celine.

“Thanks. It was easy this time, too, thanks to you.”

“Oh, no need to mention it. I just did what I had to do.”

Originally, I had planned to deal with the attacking monsters all by myself. However, at some point, after we fended off several attacks, Celine made a suggestion.

“Though I may not be of much help… would it be okay if I assisted you during battles?”

At first, I declined her offer. Whether the monsters attacked in groups or gave me no breathing room, they were never a real threat.

Just… a nuisance.

In such situations, I thought relying on Celine’s help would be overkill and unnecessary.

“How about thinking of it as an efficient investment rather than overinvestment? There are times when one person might need to exert the strength of three, but with two people, you can manage with just one unit of strength each. Besides, I feel guilty just watching you fight alone.”

Celine continued to persuade me like that. I had intended to keep Celine’s strength in reserve just in case, but I couldn’t argue when she said, “Isn’t that the same for you, Kana?”

Da-eun also strongly supported Celine’s reasoning, and in the end, I allowed her to join the battle.

Sometimes, majority rule is unavoidable.

It’s not like it was something that put me at a disadvantage. Besides, I’m well aware of how much power a cleric can bring to a fight, so there was no reason to stubbornly refuse.

In reality, being able to deal with the monsters without worrying about getting hurt has made things much more convenient.

Since I no longer had to focus on evading or defending, I could pour all my energy into attacking.

“You’re living up to the title of apprentice saint.”

“Thank you for the compliment. You’re also incredibly skilled, Kana.”

“Well, fighting’s all I’ve done to make a living, so I’d better be good at it.”

“I’ve also trained my body to serve Lady Edel, so I can’t help but be good at this.”

“…You never lose a word, do you?”

Even though we were praising each other, it wasn’t really a conversation where anyone could claim victory or defeat.

I glanced at her, and Celine covered her mouth, letting out that trademark soft laugh of hers. Shaking my head, I recalled the original reason I had momentarily forgotten due to the monster attack.

There was a house built just a bit off the road.

We were supposed to check this place.

“Anyway, this one’s empty too.”

I peeked into the house and spoke. There was no need to worry about someone scolding me for looking inside without permission. After all, there was no door to knock on and no homeowner to grant me permission.

The remnants of where a door once stood and the abandoned state of the interior left no sign of life.

Cough, cough!

“Ugh, so dusty… Celine, do you happen to know a holy spell to clean up dust?”

“Sh-should I try making one?”

“No, no! That’s really not necessary…”

I looked around at the furniture covered in so much dust it was practically white, then stepped back outside. Normally, coming out of a dirty place into a cleaner one would feel refreshing, but with the thick presence of Magi in the air, it didn’t make much difference.

As we headed deeper into the center, we saw more houses that hadn’t been visible in the outskirts.

This was proof we were heading in the right direction, but at the same time, it gave me an eerie feeling.

All the houses we had come across were eerily empty, not a single rat in sight, as if it had been planned.

“As we move closer to the center, shouldn’t more people be living in the outskirts if the Magi is stronger here?”

That’s what I thought, but the scene unfolding before my eyes was the complete opposite.

‘Could I be wrong?’ That thought crossed my mind, but fortunately, the others seemed to agree with my line of thinking.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough.”

Once we reach the center, we’ll get the answers to all these questions.

That’s what I thought as I looked ahead—toward the horizon, where a thick mass of ominously swirling Magi was waiting.

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