Chapter 19
‘I need to get the timing right.’
After setting down the bag containing the Holy Water nearby, I took out the Mistcatcher.
Even though it had been intimidating in the game, seeing it in person made the hound even more terrifying.
‘A monster that melts into darkness, moves fast, and has an incredible bite force — the Hellhound.’
Above all, the flames it exhaled were extremely dangerous.
In the game, touching that fire only inflicted continuous damage for a set duration before ending, but according to the lore book…
‘As time passes, the burns worsen, the skin melts, and the affected area spreads wider.’
In short, it was best not to let that fire touch me at all.
If it did, even once, I had to immediately pour Holy Water on the burned area.
‘I brought the Holy Water partly in case I got injured, but that’s not the real reason I brought it.’
The fire exhaled by that Hellhound could not be extinguished with ordinary water.
Only Holy Water imbued with divine power could suppress those flames.
If I could just extinguish its fire, taking down the Hellhound would become much easier.
‘…Easier said than done. Hitting that fast beast directly with Holy Water won’t be simple.’
It was inherently agile, and worst of all, it could hide in the darkness at any time.
Forget pouring Holy Water on it—landing a proper attack would be difficult enough.
‘That’s why players were told to get this pet after second year.’
Catching this Hellhound early in the game—with an under-leveled character—was incredibly difficult.
That’s why most players waited until their characters were sufficiently developed before coming for this pet.
I should’ve done the same—grown stronger before hunting it—but as I’d said before, I knew a strategy only a handful of players were aware of.
‘It’ll work, right? If it worked with the potion, this should too.’
A bug-type strategy known only to a few—if it succeeded, the Hellhound could be defeated with ease.
If this worked...
KRWAAAA!
The Hellhound, which had been silently watching me, suddenly roared and charged forward.
I quickly leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding its massive rush.
“Phew…”
I raised my sword and readied my stance.
If my memory was right, the beast always followed its charge with a bite attack.
KRAAA!
As expected, the Hellhound opened its mouth wide, aiming to tear into me.
At that instant, a red mark appeared on my right shoulder, and I moved the Mistcatcher toward it.
“Urgh!”
I deflected the Hellhound’s jaws with my sword and immediately retreated backward.
Getting too close would only make it easier for the flames to catch me—and that would be a disaster.
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
I made my decision quickly.
Whatever the outcome, I had nothing to lose.
To execute that strategy, I had to set the stage first.
AWOOOOOO—!
The Hellhound roared again and charged toward me, but once more I dodged to the side.
This time, it swung a claw tipped with sharp talons toward me.
The sudden attack came fast—but thanks to my Attack Prediction Skill, I blocked every strike without much difficulty.
“Phew, damn, you’ve got some serious strength.”
Even blocking its foreclaws was exhausting.
It looked like a light swipe, but my whole body felt like my muscles were on fire.
Grrr—
“What? Surprised I blocked that?”
RAAAAH!
“Yikes!”
The Hellhound lunged again, trying to sink its teeth into my waist as if enraged by my taunt.
I reacted swiftly and widened the distance between us, but the Hellhound grew fiercer, conjuring even more flames as it pressed its assault.
It swung its claws relentlessly, thrusting its head forward whenever an opening appeared to bite me.
‘Definitely not an easy opponent.’
I maintained my focus to the end—blocking every claw strike, deflecting its snapping jaws with my sword.
Thud—!
“…Tough bastard.”
After narrowly avoiding its teeth, I swung hard at its muzzle.
But aside from staggering slightly, the Hellhound didn’t even have a scratch.
‘I’ll need to weaken its overall stats first.’
I had a plan—a foolproof one—to take this thing down.
Now I just needed to execute the setup steps slowly and carefully.
‘No need to be scared. I can block all its physical attacks. I just have to avoid the flames.’
My defense was solid, but my skin wasn’t invincible.
That’s why I had to stay cautious about the fire.
After gathering my thoughts, I glanced around.
This underground chamber had the same long rectangular structure as it did in the game.
And if I remembered correctly, the bug trigger condition for the exploit was located at the far left corner.
I began slowly moving toward that side.
Grrrrr—
The Hellhound launched vicious attacks, trying to bite my throat or claw at my eyes.
But the body I’d transmigrated into inherited the skills of a defensive swordsmanship master.
“Whoa? Ugh?! Haa… phew, that was close.”
The Hellhound suddenly attacked off-beat, aiming for my neck.
I nearly got bitten, but my instincts took over—I reversed my grip and blocked the attack.
Carelessness in battle always led to death.
Having learned that firsthand, I stepped backward.
A moment later—
Thud.
My back hit the wall.
Finally, I’d reached the left corner of the room.
Grrrrr—
The Hellhound fixed its red eyes on me, as if determined not to let its prey escape.
Its gaze seemed to declare its assured victory now that I was cornered.
‘Stick to the plan. Stick to it.’
The bug in this Hellhound boss fight was simple.
Well, simple in the game. In reality, it wasn’t quite so easy.
But right now, it was the only thing I could rely on.
KRAAAAAA—!
After glaring at me briefly, the Hellhound lunged again.
Just as its jaws were about to close around my waist, I leapt up the wall, using it as a springboard.
Then I stepped on the Hellhound’s back and landed behind it.
BANG!
Having lost its target, the Hellhound crashed headfirst into the corner.
KYEEEENG—?!
Its pained whimper echoed around the chamber.
That was it—the Hellhound slamming its head into the left corner was the trigger condition for the bug.
But whether it would work in reality... I honestly wasn’t sure…
Ki… kieee… grrrr…
…it worked.
Not perfectly, but close enough.
As soon as I confirmed it, I sprinted toward my bag.
‘When the Hellhound hits its head on the left corner, it stops moving for about one minute. The Academy Hellhound bug.’
Not many players knew about it.
Most players who came here as second-year characters just overpowered it with stats and damage.
And honestly, it was debatable whether this even was a bug.
Some said the developers had intentionally added the gimmick.
But that didn’t matter to me.
What mattered was that the Hellhound stayed still for one minute.
‘One minute to douse its flames with Holy Water, then finish it off before time runs out.’
That was how it worked in the game—and that’s exactly how I planned to handle it now.
I quickly opened my bag and pulled out three bottles of Holy Water.
Then I dashed toward the Hellhound and poured the Holy Water over its entire body.
SSSSHHHH—
Two bottles extinguished the flames burning across its body, and the last one—I poured over its head.
More precisely, around its jaws.
As a result, the blazing flames surrounding the massive black hound were completely extinguished.
‘Good. Now it’s time to attack as much as possible.’
This bug immobilized the Hellhound for about one minute.
I had to make full use of that time…
KRWOOO—!
“Urgh?”
Just as I was about to swing my sword, a red mark appeared on the left side of my face.
Instinctively, I lifted my sword toward it—and in the next instant, the Hellhound’s forepaw came slashing in.
Clang—!
Good thing I blocked it, or my face would’ve been torn off.
Grrrrr—
“…Recovered faster than I expected, huh?”
It definitely hadn’t been a full minute yet.
Compared to the game, the Hellhound broke free of its immobilized state much faster.
‘Well, it’s not really a problem.’
It was enough that I’d extinguished the flames on its body.
Without those flames, I could still win—even if it took a while.
AWOOOO—!
Once it began moving again, the Hellhound let out a deep howl before leaping toward a nearby shadow.
And then, it melted into it.
‘So it’s starting Phase 2.’
That wasn’t a figure of speech—it literally disappeared into the shadow.
But I wasn’t particularly alarmed by the sight. I already knew the Hellhound possessed that ability.
‘The ability to travel through shadows.’
It entered one shadow and emerged from another. The Hellhound used this technique after its health dropped below a certain point, or once its surrounding flames were completely extinguished.
Predicting where and how it would reappear was difficult—this was when countless players began to struggle.
Of course, that didn’t apply to me.
‘…Left side.’
When a red mark appeared near my left flank, I immediately shifted my sword toward it.
At the same moment, the Hellhound burst from the shadow, aiming to bite into my waist.
“Get lost, you damn mutt.”
I blocked its fangs and widened the distance between us.
The Hellhound growled lowly, then once again slipped back into the shadows.
A few seconds later, another red mark appeared.
‘Five times like this.’
As I fended off the Hellhound’s shadow strikes, I thought to myself.
In Phase 2, the Hellhound performed this so-called “shadow pattern” five times, after which it would enter a groggy state—just like before, immobilized for a short time.
Whether that would happen here as well, I was about to find out.
Grrrr…
After completing its five shadow attacks,
the Hellhound began to pant heavily, visibly slowing down.
I didn’t miss the opportunity.
‘So there’s a groggy time too. Makes sense—moving through shadows should consume a lot of stamina according to the lore.’
Either way, I had no reason to hesitate.
The groggy state lasted about twenty seconds. I immediately dashed toward the Hellhound and swung my sword…
“…Hm?”
The Hellhound dodged my attack.
It was too tired to counterattack, but still agile enough to evade with a simple movement.
Thus, I failed to land a single effective hit during those twenty seconds.
And once time was up, the Hellhound moved again.
AWOOOO—!
It vanished once more into the shadows, and moments later burst out from behind me, aiming to tear into my back.
Of course, I easily blocked the attack again.
‘So it’s not staying still like in the game, huh?’
From what I saw earlier, it was clearly exhausted—but it still used its natural agility to avoid straightforward attacks.
In that case, the solution was simple. I just needed to use swordsmanship that wasn’t straightforward or predictable.
Kyak, haak, haaaak—
After five more shadow attacks, the Hellhound once again came to a halt, panting heavily.
I immediately swung my sword.
Aiming for its neck, I slashed—but the Hellhound quickly twisted its head to dodge.
However, I changed the sword’s trajectory at the last moment and thrust at its eye.
Kiiieeeek—?!
The Hellhound’s pained cry echoed through the underground chamber.
Without hesitation, I followed up with another strike.
This time, I swung toward its other eye— the Hellhound flinched and turned its head aside.
But that, too, was a feint.
I redirected the blade again, slicing its foreleg.
Kieeuuuueee—!
The Hellhound’s cry was filled with pain. Seeing that, I felt certain of victory.
‘Sara’s swordsmanship really shines in moments like this.’
The deceptive swordsmanship of the Isrinbloom Ducal Family. My imitation was crude, but it was more than enough against the Hellhound.
Grrrrr—
The Hellhound slipped back into the shadows once more, then emerged aiming for my neck.
But its speed was noticeably slower than before.
So I didn’t hesitate.
The moment it emerged, I dodged lightly and swung my sword.
I drove the Mistcatcher straight into the Hellhound’s neck.
Kruek?
The blade pierced through its throat, but the beast didn’t die immediately.
I pulled the sword out and stabbed again—this time, straight into its heart.
‘…Is it over?’
After withdrawing my sword from its chest, I quickly retreated.
The Hellhound, impaled through the neck and chest, stared at me for a moment—then slowly closed its eyes and collapsed.
“It’s over.”
Shaking the blood off my blade, I walked toward the fallen Hellhound.
A few seconds later, its corpse began to fade—then disappeared completely.
“Damn, I thought I’d die from the tension.”
Fighting the Hellhound itself wasn’t all that difficult.
But this battle had been, in a way, my first fight where my life was truly on the line.
Because I’d wagered my own life, the tension had left me mentally and physically drained.
‘I’ll have to get used to this. There’ll be more of these in the future.’
I didn’t want to get used to it—but until I returned to my original world, there wasn’t much choice.
Well, putting that aside…
‘Since I’ve killed the monster, I should claim my reward.’
Once the Hellhound’s body completely vanished, a magic circle appeared, glowing faintly in its place.
And from that circle, a small life form popped out with a soft plop.
“Woof?”
It was a tiny black dog— no, a black puppy, slightly larger than my palm.
“Woof? Woof woof!”
The black puppy, with glowing red eyes, barked softly and waddled toward me.
“Woof woof woof!”
“Uh, yeah… sure. Let’s get along.”