As if sensing the intruders, the shadows covering the Silent Penitent's face fluctuated violently.
The next moment, it moved.
There were no footsteps, no sound of rushing wind.
Its body suddenly turned blurry and fragmented where it stood, like scattered smoke, before re-coalescing an instant later in another spot ten meters away!
The fractured ceremonial scepter in its hand, bearing a dull yet immense force, swept toward Silvia, who was closest to it!
So fast! And completely silent—there's no telling when it got so close!
Silvia's pupils shrank. Thanks to the pre-cast 【Light Shield】 and her constant vigilance, she retreated diagonally to the rear almost entirely on combat instinct. At the same time, she pointed her staff forward, rapidly expanding a denser barrier of light in front of her.
Bang!
A silent collision.
The light shield rippled violently, hairline cracks spreading across its surface.
Silvia was knocked back several paces by the immense force.
Though she wasn't directly injured, the power behind that strike was enough to show them just how formidable this creature was.
After missing its mark, the Silent Penitent's form shattered once more, vanishing from the spot and reappearing behind and to the side of Victoria, who was struggling to charge her 【Flame Storm】. The broken tip of its scepter thrust toward the back of her heart like a poisonous stinger!
Of course it knows to target the backline first!
Greg's eyes hardened.
The instant the Silent Penitent vanished, he had already dashed in Victoria's general direction.
At the same time, with a wave of his right hand, a pre-cast LV2 Fireball shot out. Rather than targeting where the Silent Penitent might appear, he launched it toward the open space behind Victoria to exert area pressure.
Sizzle—
The Fireball exploded, sending out a wave of heat.
The newly reappeared Silent Penitent was briefly impeded by the flames, its thrusting motion slowing by half a beat.
Taking advantage of that split-second delay, Greg lunged forward. He used his left arm—partially covered in Dark-Erosion Armament—to block the scepter tip aimed at Victoria, while gathering power in his right fist to strike straight at the creature's shadow-shrouded face.
The Silent Penitent's body vanished once more, abruptly reappearing behind Greg and slamming its scepter down toward him.
LV2 Blunt Resistance!
Greg let out a muffled groan, forcing himself to endure the blow.
Just as the Silent Penitent prepared to strike again, Silvia's support arrived.
A searing 【Holy Light Arrow】 shot silently toward the Silent Penitent. Though the creature still managed to dodge it, the attack prevented it from pursuing Greg further.
Greg took advantage of the brief respite to catch his breath, shooting a thankful glance in Silvia's direction.
Against an enemy capable of short-range teleportation, finding an opportunity to use the Strong Paralysis Venom Gland to cripple its high mobility was the key to victory.
Greg made his decision instantly.
He began moving continuously, weaving LV2 Fireballs and LV3 Water Guns into his movements to disrupt the Silent Penitent's rhythm and create an opening.
Yet the Silent Penitent's attacks were fierce and erratic, its teleportations entirely unpredictable. No matter how careful Greg was, new wounds continued to carve into his body.
If not for Silvia's constant light shield healing and his own LV2 Blunt Resistance, he likely wouldn't have been able to hold out this long.
Silence reigned inside the stone chamber, broken only by the visual distortion of air whipped up by magic. The atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.
After another dodge, the Silent Penitent anticipated Greg's trajectory, teleporting to his flank. The broken tip of its scepter coalesced dense shadow power, thrusting straight at Greg's ribs from a vicious, tricky angle!
This strike was far faster than any before—a long-premeditated lethal blow!
Yet in this very strike, Greg saw an opportunity.
Just as the scepter tip, gleaming with sinister light, was about to pierce his body—
LV1 Insubstantiality, activate!
His body instantly became translucent, as if fading into the surrounding dim light.
That fatal thrust passed through his insubstantial ribs without a trace of resistance, as if piercing through a mere illusion!
Having overcommitted to a strike that was bound to hit, the Silent Penitent suffered a moment of recovery lag.
It seemed momentarily startled by this unexpected turn of events, the dark ripples on its face freezing for a split second.
Greg naturally wouldn't let this golden opportunity slip by. Popping open the crystal vial of Strong Paralysis Venom Gland with his thumb, he slammed it directly onto the Silent Penitent's forward-leaning chest!
The vial shattered, splashing most of the viscous, eerie-purple paralytic liquid onto the monster's body.
The Silent Penitent's movements instantly froze!
The twisting darkness on its face surged wildly, as if letting out a silent roar.
It attempted to teleport again, but its form merely blurred without dissipating completely. When it re-formed, its movements had grown noticeably sluggish, like a rusted machine.
"Just as effective as the walkthrough said!"
Greg rapidly retreated while making a clear hand signal to Silvia.
Silvia understood immediately and changed her strategy.
No longer restricting herself to passive defense and healing, she began actively casting spells to hamper the foe.
A 【Light Shield】 materialized directly on either side of the Silent Penitent, squeezing the slowed creature in between before it could teleport away.
"Now!"
Greg lunged forward, spreading the five fingers of his right hand and aiming straight at the sluggish monster.
"Entwine!"
Five dark, resilient mana tentacles shot forth, wrapping instantly around its legs, waist, torso, and scepter-bearing arm!
The powerful binding force of LV3 Tentacle Entanglement erupted, combining with the paralytic toxin to pin the creature firmly in place.
Victoria, who had been watching the battle out of the corner of her eye, felt the mana inside her reach its absolute peak!
The moment she saw the Silent Penitent bound fast by the tentacles, she knew the opening Greg spoke of had arrived!
Without holding anything back, she poured her surging fire mana into the complex spell structure she had long prepared.
Flame Storm!
Boom—!!!
Though soundless, the intense explosion of mana generated a shockwave visible to the naked eye!
Centering around Victoria, roaring crimson flames swept forth like a ravenous beast, swallowing a vast area in front of her and completely overwhelming the struggling Silent Penitent!
The extreme heat warped the air and withered the moss on the stone walls in an instant, leaving even the eerie symbols looking as though they were wailing in the blaze.
The flames raged for several seconds before gradually dispersing.
In the center of the chamber, where the Silent Penitent had stood, nothing remained but a few drifting ashes and a scroll slowly floating down.
The bound body of the Silent Penitent was gone without a trace.
The battle was over.
Hidden Boss, Silent Penitent, successfully defeated!
Greg let out a sigh of relief as he dispelled the tentacles. He staggered slightly as a sharp pain flared from the wound on his shoulder.
"Taking so many hits really is... Oh, hey, looks like we can speak again."
"Senior Greg!"
Silvia rushed over, her hands glowing with white healing light as she began tending to his injuries.
Victoria leaned exhaustedly against her staff, panting heavily. Her face was pale, but her eyes shone bright.
"W-We did it... As expected of me!"
"Yeah, the three of us are pretty awesome."
Once his injuries eased slightly, Greg walked over to the scroll lying on the ground and picked it up.
This was the exact reason he had gone out of his way to defeat this hidden Boss.
Silent Covenant: Special magic item. Upon activation, forces all targets within a 50-meter radius centered on the user into a state of absolute silence for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.
"With this thing, fighting the Floor Boss later will be way easier!"
Greg thought this would be his greatest haul from the trip, but he soon noticed a prompt in his mind from the system:
[Successfully killed Silent Penitent. Acquired skill: Shadow-Step LV1.]
(Shadow-Step LV1: Consumes a set amount of mana to greatly increase the user's movement speed for the next short-distance dash of up to 10 meters, leaving behind an afterimage for 1 second along the path for misdirection. Daily uses: 3)
Though it wasn't true spatial teleportation, looking cool was a lifelong pursuit!
Greg felt immensely satisfied.
Rate on N.U.
