"Now!" Raven shouted loudly.
Rose raised her sword and leaped high toward the green-scaled fish.
She swung her blade, slashing at the creature—but it bounced off its hardened scales.
Claire didn't stand idle. She raised her magic wand and shouted, "Fireballs!"
Five fireballs formed in the air and shot toward the fish.
Boom!
The fish's massive body was struck by the five fireballs, producing a spectacular explosion.
However, when the black smoke slowly cleared, the fish reappeared without a single scratch.
Its enormous body plunged back into the lake. A moment later, the water's surface began to ripple, forming a faint whirlpool.
At first small, the whirlpool gradually grew larger. Then, from its center, the fish leaped out again.
It opened its mouth, and dozens of water spheres formed between its jaws before being fired toward Raven, Rose, and Claire.
"Run!" Raven shouted as he leaped aside.
Rose and Claire reacted almost simultaneously, retreating a dozen steps to avoid the attack.
Splash!
Dozens of water spheres slammed into the ground with a heavy impact, leaving small holes several centimeters deep.
Luckily, they managed to dodge them. Still, all three were now on high alert.
At first, they had thought the monster was weak enough to defeat.
Who would have thought it was this strong?
"Raven, are you lying to us? That monster is incredibly strong!" Rose protested.
Claire turned to Raven. Although she said nothing, her gaze carried the same confusion and doubt as Rose's.
Raven rubbed his aching temples and replied helplessly, "I didn't expect that fish to be this strong either. If I had known, I wouldn't have decided to take it on."
He was certain the system wouldn't lie to him. The mistake was his—he had underestimated the enemy.
But they had come this far. Retreating was no longer an option.
"Don't lose focus!" Raven continued coldly. "We have to kill it as quickly as possible. That way, we'll complete the second mission easily."
Killing one level-four monster was better than hunting one level-three, ten level-two, and thirty level-one monsters.
Rose and Claire nodded without argument.
The three of them quickly reworked their strategy. Raven would draw the monster's attention, while Rose and Claire prepared for a decisive strike.
Though similar to their previous plan, there was one small change: this time, Raven would also join the attack, his role being to find an opening when the monster revealed its weakness.
With that, they moved. The fish monster reappeared with the same pattern.
But this time, the three of them were ready and successfully dodged its attacks.
At the same time, Claire raised her magic staff and shouted, "Fireballs!"
Ten fireballs formed in the air and shot toward the monster.
Boom!
An explosion erupted as the attack struck its body.
Rose leaped high, swung her sword, and aimed for the monster's neck.
As before, her slash failed to penetrate. But this time, Claire cast a wind spell, helping her remain in the air slightly longer.
"Die!" Rose shouted.
She kept slashing with all her might. Although the monster's hard scales could withstand most of her attacks, the area under constant assault began to show cracks.
On the tenth swing, the scales finally shattered, revealing a small opening in its flesh.
Just as Rose prepared to launch her final strike, the monster suddenly twisted its body and struck her stomach with its tail.
Thud!
Rose was sent flying and slammed into the stone wall.
"Rose!" Claire screamed in panic, about to run toward her. But the monster had already leaped back into the lake.
"Am I just going to let you get away with this, you bastard?!"
Raven suddenly leaped forward, drawing his sword back.
"Die, you bastard!"
Srrk!
The tip of the blade pierced the monster's flesh until the entire sword was embedded inside.
"Raven!"
Claire tried to rush over to help, but it was too late. The monster had already plunged into the lake, dragging Raven—who was still clutching his sword—down with it.
***
Inside the lake, the green-scaled fish dove into the depths at incredible speed.
Meanwhile, Raven still refused to let go of his sword.
"Damn it! This fish is really stubborn!" Raven cursed inwardly.
He glanced at the monster's HP bar, which still read 4,000/7,000.
"It still has 4,000 HP? Screw it—I didn't see that earlier!"
If he had known the monster's HP was still that high, he would never have been reckless enough to dive into the depths of the lake.
Unfortunately, regret was useless. He still had to finish it, no matter what.
The fish's HP continued to drop by about 100 per second. That meant one thing: Raven needed to hold on for another forty seconds.
Was that even possible?
It certainly wouldn't be easy.
The fish monster swam at high speed, as if deliberately trying to shake him off.
The strong current tore at Raven's body, making his skin feel as if it were being ripped apart.
"Damn… I can't let go… just a little longer," he urged himself silently.
But he had underestimated the monster.
The fish slammed its body against the lakebed, crashing into coral reefs and other hard objects along its path.
Raven felt as if his body would shatter at any moment, but he held on, his eyes locked on the rapidly dropping HP.
At last, when the monster's HP dropped to 1,000, its movements began to slow significantly.
He knew that was the limit of its strength.
"Just a little more… I have to hold on a little longer!" Raven told himself as he endured the pain tearing through his body.
And then, the monster's HP hit 400. Raven knew this was his chance.
With a crazed look and a sinister grin on his face, he shouted inwardly: "Gluttony!"