CH 12

[Survived the attack of the monster tribe with amazing skill!]

[The ‘Resolve’ stat has been created.]

[0 -> 1]

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[Resolve] [Lv.1]

Impossible.

The strength to overcome that name.

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Oh ho.

"It grew faster than I thought."

The Resolve stat may seem like just another stat on paper, but in reality, it was one of the most useful stats in combat.

"It allows the body to continue fighting even when wounded, without stiffening up."

When a person receives a large wound, their muscles tend to stiffen up all over their body. The Resolve stat not only prevents this from happening, but also provides some immunity to the fear effect that comes with facing overwhelmingly strong monster.

Considering the fact that the monster and other creatures that will appear in the future are beings that humans can hardly resist, the Resolve stat was practically essential.

"Normally, the Blue Line is where you can obtain this stat, but... I guess it worked out well for me."

Even the Moss Kuf that I must face now is one of those overwhelmingly strong monster that humans can hardly resist.

[Gwuoooooooh──!]

Even while my attention was briefly diverted elsewhere, the Moss Kuf continued to thrash about.

Thump! Thump!

Its painful movements seemed like small disasters that swept through the area, but there were no other monster around to be swept up in its wake.Even though I was the one who hunted down all those monsters, it was still somewhat disappointing to me.

"If only they had gone wild earlier, it would have been a little less troublesome."

As I thought this, the distance between Kuf, the Moss, and me gradually closed.

Thanks to the call of Ether, even in the midst of losing its sight and writhing in pain, Kuf was slowly making its way towards me.

However, due to its loss of sight and its naturally slow movements, it had not covered much ground.

"I need to go over there."

I once again loaded my gun with armor-piercing rounds.

This was necessary, as only this caliber could penetrate Kuf's strong rock shield.

Well, to be fair, the concept of endurance itself was almost meaningless when facing Kuf, and most firepower was ineffective against it.

After making some basic preparations, I drank a sip of water from my canteen through a purification straw.

"Ah..."

Even though it was originally hot spring water, it was still quite hot.

As someone who had been drinking cool water all year round, it was a bit difficult to adapt, but I couldn't complain.

"I'll add some ice later when I have the time."

If I had the luxury to do so, of course.

"Shall we go?"

I ran along the path where the bodies of the monsters I had hunted were scattered.

I had replenished my fluids and distributed my stamina, so this wasn't too difficult.

How many meters did I run?

Whenever I approached Kuf, I couldn't help but feel the hair on my body stand on end, instinctively warning me of danger.

6th grade named monster, Kuf.

That name was certainly not an exaggeration.

Fortunately, perhaps due to my newly acquired determination ability, there were no signs of my legs giving out or any other such behavior, aside from a slight tension.

And...Finally, the distance between the Moss Kuf of Moss and me had decreased to less than a kilometer.

Considering the size and destructive power of the Moss kuf, it was practically a stone's throw away from my perspective.

"The vulnerable spot of the Moss Kuf is the heart or the forehead located below the stomach."

As for me, aiming for the vulnerable spot below the stomach was practically impossible. Therefore, I had to aim for the exposed forehead as my target.

Of course, even though it was a vulnerable spot, it was impossible to shoot through the Moss Kuf's hard rock outer walls and skull to reach the brain with just one or two armor-piercing rounds.

"Create a crack with an armor-piercing round and widen it with an explosive round."

After making a rough tactical calculation, I shouldered my Ark-15 automatic rifle.

The first round was an armor-piercing round.

The target was the center of the forehead.

"Look this way."

The moment Moss Kuf and I faced each other head-on while writhing in pain and causing a commotion.

Bang!

The flames spewed from the muzzle like a signal for this battle.

[Grrrrr!]

In an instant, ten rounds of bullets were fired.

Along with the armor-piercing round lodged in the forehead, rock fragments shattered from the Moss Kuf's outer walls, causing chaos.

Thud-

The shield that had been protecting the vulnerable spot of the Moss Kuf was slowly being stripped away.

Of course, I had no intention of finishing things here.

"Strip off the shell completely."

The most common and powerful firepower that the anti-materiel rifle could not pull out was being constantly unleashed.

If ten rounds weren't enough, then twenty rounds.

If twenty rounds weren't enough, then forty rounds.

Armor-piercing rounds were fired mercilessly, shattering the rock formations that had been hiding the Moss Kuf.

The number of fired bullets had surpassed three digits in no time.However, the vulnerable spot of the Moss Kuf was still not fully exposed.

It was a testament to the thoroughness of the defensive wall of moss surrounding it.

'I wonder...'

I momentarily cooled down the heat of the barrel as I continued to watch the Moss Kuf, which was still thrashing about like a madman.

If I didn't have the Infinite Bullets, I wouldn't have had the courage to even attempt to hunt down the Moss Kuf.

No, I should have fled long before I even got close to the Moss Kuf, during the attack of the wild beasts that had just happened.

'I'll have to look into this later.'

The principle behind the infinite bullets.

If I can figure it out, I'll naturally know how to make the best use of this ability in the future.

Lost in thought for a moment, I once again gripped the Ark-15 assault rifle.

'Shall we try again?'

I felt the need to get closer to the Moss Kuf.

Unlike sniping, where I carefully shot one bullet at a time, in this situation where I needed to pour out a continuous barrage of firepower, the density of the bullets would naturally vary depending on the distance.

I began to move.

Since it wasn't a very long distance to begin with, it only took a moment for the 1km distance to narrow down to 500m.

Thump! Kwoong─!!

As I got closer to the Moss Kuf, I gradually felt a small vibration on the ground.

[Groooaaaan───!]

Although it couldn't see me due to its loss of vision, the creature's rampage alone was enough to cause a disaster.

Originally, the Moss Kuf was not a creature that could be captured with just one Ark-15 rifle due to its extremely tough external defense layer.

It required weapons with even more overwhelming firepower and support from the Ark to barely take it down.

However,

'With my current abilities, it's possible.'

The moment the Moss Kuf's front was facing me, I didn't miss the opportunity and pulled the trigger once again.

Ssak!A flash of light spreads out.

The flash that started from one place quickly split into dozens, even hundreds of branches before gathering back together in one spot.

The destination was the rocky layer in the crevice of the moss-covered cave.

[Kroooowwwwl!]

Finally, the rocky layer guarding the crevice was stripped away, revealing the original leather of the cave.

It felt like peeling off years of accumulated dirt.

"It's going to be refreshing."

Of course, what comes after will be scorching hot.

[Gwooo! Gwoooooooo─────!!!!]

The moss-covered cave was not sitting still either.

Despite the distance, the cave seemed to know of my presence and staggered towards me, albeit slowly.

Thud! Thud! Kuwoooong──!!!

Its aimless footsteps only destroyed the surrounding rocks.

It wasn't as if I had snatched sight away from the moss-covered cave for no reason.

As if to prove that fact, the cave knew of my presence but could not pinpoint my exact location, only causing havoc around me.

"Even so, it still feels threatening."

If there's a threat, then eliminate it.

I aimed my iron bullet towards the crevice of the moss-covered cave and fired once again.

Crack!

The iron bullet tore through the air and left a small wound in the crevice of the cave.

Soon after, the wound widened due to the onslaught of scattered bullets.

"The preparations are over."

I immediately swapped out my magazine for a high-explosive shell.

At the same time, the moss-covered cave's red gaze fixated on me.Even though they couldn't possibly be looking at me, it seemed as if they had fully grasped my location by now.

Thump! Thump! Thump-thump!

The moss-covered kouphs charged towards my position.

I too aimed my gun towards the vulnerable spot of the moss-covered kouph, now fully revealed.

The distance between us closed in rapidly.

If even a blind stumble were to occur to that creature, no amount of Level 3 protective gear would save me from certain death.

【Giggle...】

【You're going to die...】

【Come here...】

The voices ringing in my ears grew louder.

Perhaps due to sudden onset deafness, a ringing also accompanied the voices.

Beeeeep-

My hands shook.

But there was no need to hesitate.

Slowly, I pulled the trigger,

Click-

The Ark-15 automatic rifle then erupted in flames from its barrel.