The monster smashed its way through the trees. The Homunculus was here.

Its appearance was definitely bizarre. Not one good thing could be said about it. The monster was at least four meters tall, but oddly slim compared to its height. Its skin was chapped and gray with occasional black spots. Because of this, Seol Jihu briefly mistook the monster for a tree.

But once he laid eyes on its lengthy limbs— each half the length of its entire body— and its sharp, hook-like claws, he knew this creature was definitely dangerous.

Perhaps the worst feature of it all was the shape of its skull which was much too long, as often seen in alien movies, or the two large holes representing its eyes.

‘The ears are also huge. And sharp too.’

It was then that their eyes met.

“Kirrrr!”

And at that moment, Seol Jihu saw the inside of the Homunculus’ mouth. It was full of numerous teeth that resembled those of a shark. The monster seemed elated with its discovery of the prey.

Immediately, the Homunculus curled up. It was preparing to jump over the cliff.

‘When it jumps….’

He’d gotten plenty of practice at parrying leaping attacks since the Tutorial. Seol Jihu roused his mana, wary of the enemy’s attack. His machete vibrated as golden sword qi swirled around its blade, and sparks of electricity flickered beneath his feet.

All of a sudden, the Homunculus raised its head from the curled up position.

Kwang!

Seol Jihu stood rooted, wide-eyed and surprised. The smell of blood stung his nose. He hadn’t let his guard down, and yet, the monster’s sharp teeth and crimson lining were gleaming right before his eyes.

What an incredible speed!

But what surprised Seol Jihu even more, was that the Homunculus flew straight at him without leaping in the air, just like a bullet. A movement like that was simply impossible without a superb elasticity.

‘Damn it!’

Astonished, Seol Jihu still managed to block the attack, thanks to Jang Maldong’s shadow boxing training. He was expecting the monster’s movement to be similar to that of Phi Sora, and his body moved on its own.

Slap!

Without caving in, he used Flash Thunder to avoid...