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Season 2: Chapter 59. Impossible to Cross (3)

This monster could be more aptly described as a mutant. However, it would be difficult to explain the eerie disparity of this subspecies considering the commonplace nature of that word.

It was covered in black fur with a protruding snout and arms as long as its legs that stretched upward and hung from the tree. At first glance, it resembled a monkey.

The difference, however, was their tongue. Long and black, it shot out like a tentacle that could pierce a human body as if it were a sponge.

Furthermore, it seemed to drain the life force from its victims and left them deflated on the ground like balloons.

Hiss...

As the victim collapsed, the tongue retracted after completing its task and silently slipped back into the mouth.

It wasn’t just its tongue that retracted.

Thud

“Kyaaaah!”

The mutant clutched an arrow lodged in its eye and wildly screamed.

Almond had shot the arrow.

— When did he shoot it???

— Damn, he’s so quick

— Is it because his stats improved?

'Can it feel pain?'

The mutant Almond encountered before had attempted to flee when it was at a disadvantage. Perhaps gaining intelligence also gave it the ability to feel pain.

The mutant definitely possessed intelligence. It silently attacked while screaming in pain and opened its mouth wide to shoot out its tongue.

Swoosh!

Its black, long tongue shot out.

'It’s fast, but linear.'

Its attacks were silent and quick. However, its attack pattern was straightforward and limited in range. Almond simply dodged the attacks that were directly aimed at him.

'Here.'

Thump!

A round hole appeared where Almond's left foot had been after he evaded an attack. The enemy's assault continued as Almond counterattacked.

Swoosh—

“Kyaaaah!!!”

Thud!

An arrow struck its eye again. The enemy had lost both its eyes now. Whether it relied solely on sight was unknown.

“Kyaaaah! Kyah!”

It seemed to particularly dislike this and its snout swelled up again.

'Another attack is coming.'

Almond knew it was a sign and prepared to dodge it more easily than before.

However, the mutant's tongue whipped out unpredictably in an S-shape like a whip.

‘Uh...’

Swiff!

Its attacks grew more aggressive, indiscriminate, and unpredictable. Almond could no longer dodge by predicting the hits. Rather, he had to rely on his reflexes now. Could he manage it?

Losing a limb seemed likely even if Almond avoided the attacks aiming at his vitals, but he didn't move this time. Instead, he drew his bow and focused intently on one point.

Pang!

The arrow flew.

He targeted the coiling point of the tongue where it intersected itself.

Thud!

The arrow pierced the tongue and skewered it like oden on a stick. This altered the path of the lunging tongue and it ineffectively scraped the ground.

Rumble...

The mutant collapsed at Almond's feet and left a black mark on the ground.

— Damn...

— What the

— How could he stay still the whole time?

— Zombie skewer!

— Wow, an actual skewer

The viewers felt impressed with how Almond accurately skewered the mutant’s tongue whipping around.

Swish!

The mutant retracted its tongue and the arrow embedded in it eventually broke due to its strength. This was a given considering the strength of its tongue.

Almond remained still until it fully retracted its tongue.

— Why aren’t you shooting?

— Did you stop?

— What are you doing??

The viewers felt confused because Almond didn’t move. Normally, he’d have shot two to three more arrows by the time the tongue rolled back.

Fleeing or shooting the enemy seemed like the logical choice, but Almond stood still like the frozen opponent.

“Kyaaah...!”

The mutant continued to scream as it hung upside down from a branch and looked around aimlessly. Indeed, it was blind with arrows lodged in both eyes.

‘It needs its eyes.’

Now, it tried using its other senses. Was it using its hearing, smell, or both?

Almond remained silent as the wind blew from behind the mutant. He became nonexistent, soundless, and odorless. He had to be cautious.

Limited arrows always posed a problem. Running out would leave even Almond without a way to win.

Almond’s question regarding the mutant was soon resolved.

Rustle...!

A sudden noise revealed another student, Ji Do-Hoon, hiding in the bushes.

“A-Ah!”

Slam!

Do-Hoon fell as he tried to escape.

Shaaa!

The mutant zombie simultaneously shot out its tongue.

“A-Argh!”

Do-Hoon curled up and braced himself for his death.

“... Ah?”

The attack never came.

Tududuk...!

An arrow skewered the tongue in mid-air again.

“Sniffle... No way...”

Do-Hoon felt astonished by Almond’s unbelievable accuracy.

“Kyaaaah!” the mutant screamed in pain and retracted its tongue again.

'I’ve confirmed it.'

Now Almond knew where to aim. He remained motionless as he pulled out an arrow.

Slide.

This arrow sounded different because it was made of iron. Even the arrow's shaft was made of iron and it would be equivalent to a tank-busting gun if shot.

Almond held his breath and nocked the arrow onto the bowstring.

"Kyaaaa!"

The mutant still couldn't discern Almond's location.

Creak, creak.

The compound bow's pulleys began turning.

The mutant zombie looked around cluelessly. It still couldn’t detect this much noise?

However...

“!”

Suddenly, with a whoosh, the mutant's tongue rapidly flew toward Almond's face. It nearly touched his nose.

'Did I manage to deceive it?'

Almond tilted his head to the left, puzzled.

Chiiik!

The mutant's tongue grazed his right ear, devastating the ground behind him. This action coincided almost simultaneously with the release of his bowstring.

Pang!

The hefty arrow pierced the base of the mutant's tongue.

Thud!

— Wow, it hit!

— Damn!

— In the middle of all that??

"Kyaaaaaa!"

This time, the mutant reacted differently.

"Kyaaa! Kyaaaa!"

It wildly thrashed its head and shook the tree, unable to retract its tongue. A wooden arrow would've easily broken with force, but this iron arrow was different. It bent, but didn't break and remained at the base of the tongue where all the strength came from. This rendered the mutant immobile.

Eventually, the mutant tried to pull out the arrow with both hands and fell from the tree.

Thud.

Even after crashing head-first to the ground, the mutant rolled around and tried to remove the arrow.

"Kyaaaa!" he screamed while gripping the arrow with both hands.

Creak...

Finally, it roughly yanked out the deeply embedded arrow. Arrows could easily pierce, but were hard to remove. Improperly extracting an arrow could cause severe damage to the surrounding blood vessels.

"So there was another one. It wasn't just the second floor boss?" Almond muttered over the struggling zombie's shadow.

He held a hammer that he picked up from a fallen victim and swung the hammer down at the embedded arrow.

Boom...!

"Kyaaaa!"

He hammered down on the iron arrow like a nail.

Boom! Boom!

"Kyaaaa!"

The zombie writhed in agony, but Almond easily dodged its flailing limbs.

Snap─

Finally, he stepped on its arms to restrain it.

The zombie only had a strong tongue and couldn't resist Almond's weight. He raised the hammer again.

“Will this be enough to kill it?”

Boom!

The mutant went limp after the final blow.

The arrow penetrated the roof of its mouth and pierced its brain.

“It’s over.”

Ding.

[Jeezus has donated 10,000 won!]

[No shit?]

— Hahaha!

— Damn, even he acknowledged the death.

— Hahaha!

"Thank you Jeez for the donation. Just in case since it's a zombie."

— Lmao, pronouncing it as Jeez

— Why did he shorten it?

Almond's lips slightly curled at the viewers' reactions. Then, he changed the topic.

"What's with this mutant? Why does something like this exist... without giving any achievements?"

This mutant was much tougher and trickier than the white one he encountered on the second floor. He wouldn't have known how to beat it without a bow, yet he didn’t earn any achievement from killing it.

— What are these guys, really?

— Wasn't the second floor mutant the boss...?

— Seems like a mess in early access.

[YES has donated 1,000 won.]

[The game feels weird outside the school? Seems poorly made. Even the background mapping is odd.]

A perceptive viewer sensed something amiss.

"Huh...?"

Almond thought the unthinkable.

Vroom...!

It was the sound of an engine. The vehicle that passed by earlier came back.

"Save me!"

"What the hell is this!?"

Screams added to the chaos.

Thud!

Something pierced through one of the individuals on the truck.

"Ah, Almond... that..."

Ji Do-Hoon and the other two students finally emerged from the bushes while still trembling.

Another mutant zombie like the one Almond just killed appeared over there. Actually, there were three of them to be precise.

Vroom!

The driver desperately sped up.

Then...

Screech!!

A tongue pierced through the truck and impaled the driver's neck.

Boom!

The truck spectacularly flipped over and burst into flames.

"Kyaaak!"

One of the burning mutant zombies crawled out from the truck.

Fwooosh...!

After it left, the flames from the truck intensified and engulfed the three-lane road before exploding.

Bang!

— There's more??

— This is too much!

— Are they telling us not to go there?

— Why the sudden difficulty spike?

— Is this a zombie or a raid game?

The viewers started complaining. They enjoyed watching Almond struggle, but some who intended to play the game themselves felt frustrated. The increase in difficulty and the timing of it all seemed illogical.

It would have been justified for Almond to be the most upset, but he simply reached behind his back without a word.

"... Three of them," he muttered as he drew another iron arrow.

Swoosh.

"One arrow short."