CHAPTER 43: SHATTERED EXPECTATION

Two streaks of light, one red, one blue, slashed through the swarm of monsters. With every pass, dozens of creatures were hurled into the air, their bodies flung aside.

Kiwi watched from atop the tower, stunned by the scene unfolding below. Two people,who he had initially dismissed as ordinary travelers, had once again shattered his expectations.

At first, he hadn’t thought much of them. He only approached them because of Bob. That man had been incredibly strong during their brief encounter, enough to leave a lasting impression. As for Alan, Kiwi held no expectations at all.

But then... the rumors started.

The Black Eagles had been defeated.

That alone was shocking. It was rare, almost unheard of for that group to be beaten so soundly. After all, they had Phoenix among them, a former A-rank adventurer, standing near the peak of the adventurer hierarchy, just below the mighty S-ranks. Kiwi had joined the Black Eagles precisely because of Phoenix. He needed someone of that caliber to help him achieve his own goals.

But after spending time with the group, he realized something, they wouldn’t be able to help him after all.

So, he decided to leave after their final job, the vault heist.

And then he met them. Bob and Alan.

They were unlike anyone he’d ever seen before. The way they spoke, the way they dressed, it was obvious they weren’t from this region.

Out of curiosity, and a gut feeling he couldn’t shake, Kiwi decided to follow them. He stayed in the same inn, watched their movements, and waited.

And now this.

This disaster.

It was the perfect opportunity to approach them more closely.

And what he witnessed blew his mind.

They could summon weapons. Conjure monsters. Cast spells. Lay traps. It was like watching a Conjurer, Summoner, Mage, and Scout all in one.

It went beyond anything he’d ever heard of, even past the legendary hybrid classes. Those rare individuals said to wield only three class abilities at most.

And these two? Kiwi had a feeling he was only scratching the surface.They were hiding even more.

And now, the two of them were running amok through the horde of monsters. Becoming an unstoppable force against hundreds of beasts.

In his heart, Kiwi knew, these two were the ones he had been searching for all this time.

"Mr Kiwi... there’s something here," Liam said, snapping Kiwi out of his deep thoughts.

Kiwi turned and walked over to Liam. On the screen, glowing faintly in the Izareth language, were the words "Insert Powerstone."

Without hesitation, Kiwi reached into Alan’s bag and pulled out the powerstone. It was stunning, crimson, radiant, almost alive with energy. He pressed it into the slot on the wall of the tower.

The tower responded instantly. A deep hum vibrated through the stone, gears turning louder as the barrel began to spin rapidly. The green lighting along the walls shifted to a pulsing crimson red. The energy bar surged, filling up at twice the previous speed.

Liam raised his hand, bracing himself as the ancient tower drew power from the stone. Together, he and Kiwi turned to watch the battlefield below, waiting, as the tower charged toward its full power.

----

Swoosh!

Four monsters were cleaved cleanly at the waist, their upper bodies crashing to the ground in unison.

I dashed toward the next group, blade flashing and gun roaring. I slashed, swung, and fired in a seamless rhythm like I was in the zone, where time seemed to slow and instincts took over.

For the past minutes, Bob and I had torn through this monster horde. We must have taken down a hundred already. It looked like a one-sided massacre.

From my right, five ostrich-like monsters with three snarling heads each charged straight at me.

I twisted my gunblade inward, then fired.

A burst of mana-charged bullets exploded from the barrel, tearing through their torsos with surgical precision. The creatures dropped mid-charge, dead before they hit the ground.

This Hero Grace form is already powerful but combined with my SR-rank Gunblade, it’s on another level. Every time I pull the trigger, the bullet finds a vital spot like I’ve got an aimbot installed.

I only know what an aimbot is because Bob told me he used to cheat in online shooters game... until he got banned for life.

After that, a monster with a snake’s head lunged at me, wielding a curved weapon that looked like a keris. I dodged swiftly, then drove my blade into its abdomen, firing a shot point-blank inside. The creature let out a gurgled shriek before collapsing with a gaping hole in its gut.

I glanced over at Bob, he was having the time of his life.

He sprinted along the back of a giant millipede monster the size of a city bus, dragging his Gaia Sword along as he ran. A trail of blood sprayed behind him like a crimson fountain. While he was enjoyed that moment, he jumped mid-run, dodging a volley of slimy projectiles.

I ducked too, and turned at the source of projectiles...those damn spitting baboons again.

Now they were in a group, like a gang of rowdy neighborhood punks. They spat their sputum nonstop, trying to drown us in gross.

Bob and I exchanged a look and then dashed in together.

I weaved through the spit and reached the nearest one. I initially didn’t want to taint my majestic Gunblade with its filth, but I had no choice. With one clean slash, I took its head off.

Bob cut down another one, quick and brutal.

Two of the baboons turned and ran, still spitting as they fled.

"Alan," Bob said calmly.

Without hesitation, I released my Gunblade, it vanished from my hand and instantly appeared in his, now glowing in its crimson form. He aimed without even blinking and shot the nearest baboon square in the head, splattering brain matter across the battlefield.

I summoned [Spiked Club] card and charged the remaining baboons. With brutal swings, I crushed them one by one, making sure none of them got up again.

It felt like we shared a telepathic link, knowing each other’s moves without a word. Maybe it was because we’d lived together for so long that our instincts had synced.

Then suddenly, a house came flying at us. Yes, an actual house.

We both slashed at it mid-air, turning it into splinters before it could crush us.

The culprit stood roaring from the distance, a massive gorilla with red mask we’d seen earlier in the plaza. It let out a thunderous roar before charging straight at us.

We met its charge head-on, running toward the beast. As it closed in, we leapt onto its body and slashed along its side, our blades tearing through muscle and revealing glistening organs beneath.

"Taste it, monkey." Bob muttered, resting my Gunblade on its thick neck.

The gorilla staggered, growling in pain. Look like it would face its demise today.

But then, it began to transform.

Steam hissed from its mouth and every hole in its body, black and foul. Its muscles swelled grotesquely, and its body expanded rapidly. Huge canine teeth pushed out from its mouth, growing past its lips like monstrous tusks. The mask ruptured because of the transformation, revealing a fearsome primate creature.

Within seconds, it had grown to nearly 20 meters tall.

We stared up at the beast, heads tilted back,

"Why do you provoke him, man?" I shouted, still catching my breath.

"I didn’t know he could grow into that!" Bob yelled back, eyes wide.

The giant gorilla roared and pounded its chest like a war drum, then thrust its massive left fist toward us. We split apart just in time, dodging the blow by dashing sideways in opposite directions.

I summoned my Gunblade again, its form flickering into my hand with a burst of blue light. I aimed for the gorilla’s head and began firing. The bullets, fueled by my mana, didn’t need reloading. With the weapon’s built-in mana regeneration passive, I could shoot endlessly. Basically, it was a gun with infinite ammo and I had plenty of mana to spare.

But the shots barely did anything. The gorilla flinched like it had been bitten by a mosquito. Then it roared again and swung its massive right fist at me.

The swing was fast but thanks to Hero Grace, I slipped away at the last second.

I gritted my teeth and cast Aqua Bullet, an advanced water spell. With the power of Hero Grace and Indra amplifying it, the water projectile shot out like a high-pressure cannon and slammed into the gorilla’s face.

BOOM!

A burst of steam erupted from the impact as the monster’s face snapped backward. It stumbled, losing its balance momentarily.

I caught Bob’s eyes across the chaos and gave him a sharp nod.

It was time to finish this.

We leapt onto its arm, sprinting up the massive limb toward its head. Our timing was sharp, weapons poised for the killing blow...

Until a shadow sliced through the air above us.

We barely had time to react.

WHAM!

We jumped back just in time, landing hard. But before we able to stand properly, a figure lunged toward us with a gleaming trident.

CLANG!

Metal screamed against metal as we blocked the strike. The impact nearly knocked our weapons from our hands. We held firm, teeth clenched and arms trembling.

Standing before us was a creature straight out of a nightmare, bull-headed, humanoid body, and goat-like legs ending in heavy hooves. Its head gleamed like polished gold, as if it had stolen the statue of a bull from a museum and slapped it on.

The monster pushed the trident against our block, forcing us to our limit. Every muscle in its thick body bulged with power. It was like fighting a living wrestler... one that spends its off-days lifting weights.

"Freaking... cow!" Bob growled, kicking the monster in the chest. I also followed suit, kicking it in the abdomen.

But it didn’t budge.

We both staggered back, catching our breath as it stood tall, its murderous gaze locked on us.

"Bob, this bull is dangerous," I said through gritted teeth.

"It’s gotta be the boss," Bob muttered, raising his sword.

While we spoke, the giant gorilla suddenly leapt toward us, aiming to smash us into a fine paste.

We dove to the sides, rolling out of the impact zone as the ground exploded where we’d just stood. Dust and rubble rained down around us. We quickly widened the distance between ourselves and the two monsters.

"That gorilla is a damn nuisance. I really wish we had a skill to make ourselves giant," Bob grumbled, panting.

Hearing that, a lightbulb clicked in my mind.

"I’ve got an idea," I said, eyes widened.

Bob glanced at me, curious.

I pulled out my last [Summon Elite Goblin] card, gripping it tightly. But before I could act, the gorilla lunged at me again, while the bull-headed monster continued pummeling Bob. We were completely separated.

Bob was holding his ground with Defensive Stance, absorbing some of the damage, but I could tell his Hero Grace was starting to fade. The cracks in his defense were showing. Me included.

Meanwhile, the gorilla’s attacks grew even more vicious, like it sensed what I was about to do. It raised a massive fist and slammed it down. I jumped at the last second, landing on its forearm, then leapt upward, casting Wind Blast directly into its face.

THWOOM!

The gorilla recoiled, stumbling backward, but it didn’t stay down. It roared and lunged again, faster than before.

Before it could hit me, I slammed the summoning card into the central core of my weapon. The card dissolved instantly, the veins of the device lighting up in a glowing, radiant blue. The magic surged to the barrel, and a brilliant blue summoning array formed above me, glowing and pulsing with raw energy.

"Run amok, Elite Goblin!!"

The moment before the gorilla’s fist would have crushed me...BOOM!

A giant blue fist exploded from the blue array, slamming into the gorilla’s face with incredible force. Its skull twisted from the impact, teeth shattering and flying out in pieces.

Bob and the bull-headed boss stopped mid-clash, eyes widening as they turned toward the scene.

From within the summoning circle, the creature emerged.

The summoned being was as large as the gorilla, maybe even slightly taller. Its blue skin was hardened and uneven, as if it wore natural spiked armor across its limbs and torso. Thick hide covered its jaw like a living mask, and its glowing blue eyes devoid of pupils, burned with relentless fury.

It let out a deafening roar, shaking the battlefield.

[Elite Goblin (Hero Grace Form) has joined the party!]