Chapter 7

The Game’s Difficulty
Went Crazy

‘A Lunatic element all of a sudden? No, more importantly, why is this bastard here?!’

Glen’s mind began to spin rapidly.

Despite its name, the Spirit-Devouring Wolf was a creature born when a dark spirit took control of the body of a gigantic gray wolf.

Because of that, under the influence of the dark spirit, it could only act after the sun had completely set.

But right now, even though it was getting dim, the sun had not fully gone down yet.

There was no way the Spirit-Devouring Wolf should be active.

“No way…!”

The worst possible scenario flashed through his mind.

At the same time, with a notification sound, blue particles of light appeared in Glen’s vision and formed words.

《Opening information on a new Lunatic Element.》

《Spirit-Devouring Wolf – Lunatic》

: It was judged that the power of the Spirit-Devouring Wolf, which had survived for many years on the front lines, was too weak. Therefore, its stats have been adjusted accordingly.
: All stats increase greatly. In addition, the power of the spirit and the demonic energy within its body have become strong enough to endure sunlight, extending its activity period.

Messages poured out like a machine gun.

After hurriedly reading them, Glen froze.

At the same time, alarm bells rang in his head.

“Of all times, now?!”

“Kuuooooooo!!”

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf roared toward Glen, its blue eyes blazing.

Darkness like black paint violently swirled around its house-sized body.

Soon, the monster lowered its stance while staring at Glen.

“Damn it!”

Glen hurried to complete the magic circle.

At the same time, the beast leaped.

The distance closed in an instant.

Black claws wrapped in darkness rushed toward Glen.

Kaaang—!

Glen drew the sword at his waist and blocked.

The draw was shockingly fast, but the difference in strength was clear.

“Urgh!”

From the recoil, Glen’s body was sent flying backward.

Just before crashing into the ground, he barely regained his balance and stood up.

‘I only blocked a single leap attack…’

His breathing grew ragged.

If he had not drawn his sword in time, he would have been left on the brink of death.

Glen clenched his teeth.

“Lunatic my ass! What am I supposed to do if you show up without warning like this?!”

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf stepped forward.

Its violently flickering blue eyes seemed to say it would never let its prey escape.

‘If this keeps up, I’ll be killed without even putting up a proper fight!’

Glen quickly moved his eyes while steadying himself.

The dim forest.

The enemy approaching him.

The massive tree towering behind him.

After finishing his calculations, a strange light passed through Glen’s eyes.

‘I had no choice but to block earlier because of the ambush. But now it’s different.’

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf was a spirit, but also a wolf.

Attack patterns of wolf-type monsters were over 80 percent straight-line attacks.

They were fast, but their trajectories were simple.

Which meant—

If he predicted the direction in advance…

‘I can deflect the attacks!’

“Kuuoo!”

The beast charged with its jaws wide open.

The speed was hard to follow with the eyes.

But Glen, who was watching its legs, had already moved his body.

The next moment, the Spirit-Devouring Wolf pierced through the spot where Glen had been standing, while Glen rolled along the ground.

Unable to control its speed, the wolf slammed its fangs into the massive tree behind Glen.

Krak—!

The spot where its huge, human-sized teeth bit in caved in, and the tree began to tilt.

The leaning tree fell straight down onto the Spirit-Devouring Wolf.

“Eat this.”

But things did not go as easily as Glen hoped.

Just before the tree crashed down—

The wolf opened its jaws upward.

Kraaaash—!

Its dark blue-tinged teeth bit straight through the falling tree, shattering it.

“Insane!”

Glen widened the distance as much as he could.

But the wolf, which had crushed the tree in a single bite, closed in instantly with raised claws.

Glen hurriedly crossed his sword and scabbard in front of him.

Kaaaang—!

With a sharp clang, Glen was blown away.

His back slammed into a large tree, pain flooding his body.

“Cough!”

Dark red blood burst from his mouth.

The difference in power was overwhelming.

Glen twisted his lips.

“This is… crazy.”

He tried to calm his chaotic thoughts and find a way out of this situation.

‘It’s a boss monster that even a 5-star Holy Knight struggles with. And it’s been strengthened by a Lunatic bonus. Meanwhile, I…’

Glen swallowed hard.

A boss monster.

And a single boy holding only a sword.

Every objective indicator pointed toward Glen’s defeat.

Defeat meant death.

Tap—

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf leisurely circled around Glen in an arc.

It was probably trying to instill fear in its prey.

Glen bit down on his lip.

‘I’m not dying in a place like this!’

It wasn’t over yet.

Glen still had a way to overcome this crisis.

‘The Inglusio magic circle.’

If he could secure the nearly completed magic circle, he could turn this situation around in an instant.

Staggering, Glen forced himself up.

A fierce will to survive burned in his eyes.

“Grrrrrr.”

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf growled low.

It seemed irritated that its prey was not afraid as expected.

Glen wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve and smiled bitterly.

“Come at me. You half-baked bastard.”

“Kuuooooooo!!”

The wolf responded to the provocation and kicked off the ground.

Glen gripped the sword and scabbard in both hands.

The distance between them closed in an instant.

The wolf took the initiative.

Its massive jaws opened wide, dark blue teeth rushing in to crush Glen.

At the same time, Glen leaned his body forward.

‘The Wordsworth family swordsmanship specializes in defense and evasion.’

Glen twisted his body.

Spinning at the same time, he struck the wolf’s snout with his scabbard and sword.

‘If I understand the incoming attacks well, I can deflect them even with a huge difference in strength!’

Thwack—!

In that instant, the wolf’s trajectory was thrown off.

Like a massive train veering aside, its huge body brushed past Glen.

A fleeting opening!

Seizing the chance, Glen dashed forward.

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf and Glen crossed paths.

The wolf tried to change direction too late, but unable to control its speed, it ended up far away.

“Haa…! Huh!”

The breathing he had barely controlled fell apart.

After blocking two attacks from an overwhelmingly strong enemy, his body was in terrible shape.

Still, Glen ran with all his might toward the unfinished magic circle drawn far ahead.

At the same time, his thoughts accelerated nonstop.

‘Even if I get there in time, I won’t have enough time to finish the magic circle. Then—!’

While running, Glen pulled out the quill pen tucked inside his clothes.

Then, he took off his coat.

At that moment, the wolf slid through the dirt, then kicked off the ground like a spring and changed direction.

“Kuuooooooo!”

The darkness surrounding its body rippled like paint.

Its blue eyes flickered savagely, as if vowing not to let him escape.

The wolf charged toward Glen.

It caught up to him at terrifying speed.

Then, it raised its massive front paw.

At that moment—

Glen turned around and looked up at the wolf, wearing the smile of a victor.

“Your… defeat.”

The wolf’s blue eyes dropped to Glen’s feet.

There lay the unfinished Inglusio magic circle.

Flutter—

Glen’s tattered coat fell onto the magic circle.

The missing part of the magic circle was drawn on the coat.

At last, the blue light of the magic circle connected as one.

The Inglusio magic circle was completed.

Glen raised his thumb—

And dropped it straight down.

“Lunatic or whatever. To hell with it.”

Pajijijik—

Blue sparks burst from the completed magic circle.

Kwaaaaaaang—!

The magic circle released a flood of blue light and swallowed the Spirit-Devouring Wolf whole.

Long ago, there was a mage named Inglusio.

For the purpose of spirit research, he created dozens of spells to deal with spirits.

This was one of them.

‘Inglusio’s Spirit Binding Magic Circle.’

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf was a monster that possessed both spirit power and demonic energy.

If one of those powers was sealed while both coexisted within the body—

The balance between spirit power and demonic energy would completely collapse, leading to death.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf screamed inside the magic circle.

The light surrounding it grew larger and larger—

Until it dyed his entire vision pure white.

After a storm of blue light swept through, silence finally returned to the forest.

Tatatak—

Having fulfilled its role, the magic circle sparked and slowly lost its light.

A thick fog rose from the aftermath of the magic.

Glen slowly opened his eyes.

“I… did it.”

Even now, his hands were still trembling from the tension.

At the same time, a heat slowly rose in his chest.

‘A boss monster that even a 5-star Holy Knight struggles with. And one buffed with that damn Lunatic effect… I brought it down with this worthless body.’

This was the stage he wanted.

Overcoming a hellish situation with unexpected judgment and movements, and claiming victory in the end.

Before coming to Gray Eden, Seong Yo-hwan had been waiting for a thrilling, exhilarating world like this.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward from excitement.

“Alright, let’s finish this quickly and go back.”

Now all that remained was to retrieve the Spirit-Devouring Wolf’s heart.

Glen staggered toward the spot where the magic circle lay.

That was when—

“Kuuooooe!”

The Spirit-Devouring Wolf charged at Glen through the fog.

“What?!”

Glen hurriedly turned his body to dodge, shock filling his eyes.

The monster he thought was surely dead was still alive.

‘Even on Nightmare difficulty, the Inglusio magic circle would have killed it twice over!’

Glen clenched his teeth.

“Lunatic, you damn—!”

“Grrr… Kyahk! Grrr….”

“Huh?”

Beyond the fog, the blue glow in its eyes flickered weakly.

The fog slowly cleared, revealing the wolf’s form.

“…I see.”

Slap— slap—

All four of its legs were trembling, and its body made of sticky darkness was melting down like mud.

It looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Glen made an exasperated face.

“You bastard. At this point, just die already.”

“Grrrr!”

“Aah….”

Ignoring Glen’s plea, the beast seemed determined to fight until its last breath.

With a sigh, Glen tightened his grip on the sword.

‘Still, at this level, I can handle it with just my swordsmanship.’

His entire body ached from his earlier injuries, but he had no choice.

“Let’s end this.”

“Kyaaah!”

A human boy and a monster.

In the darkness, the two charged at each other.

“Urgh! Haa… haa….”

Glen breathed roughly.

After dozens of minutes of desperate battle, he finally stabbed his sword into the wolf’s heart.

The blue light in the Spirit-Devouring Wolf’s eyes dimmed, then finally disappeared.

“Hah, damn it. Seriously…!”

Glen threw his sword aside and lay back against the wolf’s corpse.

A large pool of blood flowing from Glen’s body spread beneath him.

Because of the unexpected Lunatic element, he had suffered hardships far beyond his plan.

Glen checked the message window again.

《Difficulty: Lunatic》

– For a more hardcore game, the difficulty of certain elements that block your progress has been increased.

Certain elements that block progress.

In other words, things outside Glen’s expectations would continue to happen like today.

‘I knew it would come someday, but who would’ve thought it’d show up without warning like this?’

First, the demonic energy implanted in his body.

Next, the monsters he had to face.

It seemed Lunatic difficulty would try to block his path in many different ways.

“This is bad.”

The only reliable thing left was his knowledge of Gray Eden.

But with the appearance of Lunatic difficulty, even that knowledge could no longer be fully trusted.

‘…Can I survive?’

The thought crossed his mind.

Glen let out a sigh.

Then—

《You have overcome a Lunatic Element.》

《Special reward will be granted.》

With a clear notification sound, a system message appeared before Glen’s eyes.

“…Huh?”