Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 67

Episode 67

A dizziness, like being on a drop tower, washed over me.

"Ugh!"

I had no choice but to be dragged along, barely holding onto the rope.

The damn bird, which had been soaring relentlessly into the air, veered sharply left just before hitting the ceiling.

"Ack!"

The rope whipped wildly from the recoil, and I slammed hard into the monster's unyielding body.

The impact made me lose my grip on the end of the rope.

"Urk! Crap, no!"

As I fell helplessly, the thing that saved me was none other than the strip of curtain caught on the bastard's talon.

Barely grabbing the end of the cloth, I cursed out the developers.

'Why did they make this part so it can't be solved with a skill!'

In fact, when you think about it, the sub-quest was 'Subdue the Rampaging Ancient Monster', so I could just kill it with a skill instead of going through all this trouble.

Other users also killed the monster if they could, and if even that was difficult, they just settled for escaping the underground prison with the slaves.

The lore is that the rampaging monster eventually escapes the black market and never shows itself to humans again.

But I had gone so far as to buy a 5 million coin snare, planning not to kill the monster, but to 'capture and tame' it.

I intended to use it for another main quest that would follow the 'Black Market Slave Liberation' quest...

'I was young and foolish.'

To think I could capture an ancient monster with my bare hands.

But now, it had become an essential task in order to face Puppet Ballakk.

It was then.

The damn birdbrain, having reached the wall of the underground cavern, barely managed to change direction again just before crashing.

"Uwaaak!"

I was dragged along, flapping helplessly in the air.

For someone who had confidently planned to capture it, I was in a pathetic state.

The bastard changed direction and began to descend vertically.

It would probably try to change direction at the last second, just before hitting the floor, but that was a bit dangerous.

Unlike being whipped around in the air before, at this rate, I'd be slammed straight into the floor.

As if to signal my urgent situation, a system window suddenly popped up.

[You must grab the rope to complete the Ancient Monster Bridle.]

"I know that already," I muttered.

After muttering that, I checked my MP window and immediately shouted.

"Stun!"

Lv.999 Stun skill has been activated.

MP 114

My MP window, which hadn't recovered much, dropped sharply again.

'I should have drunk some mana potions when I had the chance.'

Before I could even regret it, sparks began to fly with a 'Pat, pazzzzt!' from the body of the Thunder Bird, which had taken the skill head-on,

"Kkweeeek!"

The bastard, which had been plummeting toward the ground at a frightening speed, suddenly stopped in mid-air with a startled flap of its wings.

The attack was useless since it absorbed all electricity, but the shock effect itself didn't disappear.

Jjijijik.

The strip of cloth I was holding grew taut, as if it would tear.

My body, which had been falling after it, was flung up by the recoil a few seconds later, as if I'd hit something.

"Euek!"

I gritted my teeth against the impact that struck my body, but only for a moment.

Soaring up behind the Thunder Bird's back, I immediately let go of the cloth I was holding and reached out, grabbing a handful of its coarse brown fur.

"Kkueeeek!"

Feeling something climb onto its back, the Thunder Bird finally began to thrash wildly.

"Urk, euk! Ack!"

I was flung around violently along with the bastard, but I managed to hold on, not losing my grip on the fur.

The bastard, rampaging in mid-air, soon began to shoot up vertically.

It seemed to be planning to go straight up and then drop quickly to shake off the leech on its back, which was actually a relief for me.

"Ugh!"

Enduring the wind whipping fiercely across my face, I tenaciously climbed up its back.

By the time the Thunder Bird finally reached the cavern ceiling.

"Got it...!"

I was also able to grab the snare I had put around its neck.

In 10 seconds, you can tame the monster captured with the Ancient Monster Bridle.

10

9

A system window popped up at the same time.

Now, all that was left was to endure on top of the rampaging bastard.

I gripped the rope I'd seized tightly.

"Kkweeeeeeek!"

Perhaps startled by the sudden feeling of its neck being choked, the bastard suddenly stopped flapping and began to thrash madly.

Falling, soaring, doing a few somersaults, shaking its body violently...

Pudeodeodeok!

As the giant body that had shot to the ceiling thrashed about randomly, drawing zigzags in the air, I, of course, took considerable damage as well.

"Ack! Euk! Aww, this bastard!"

I had expected it, but it was not an easy bastard to catch.

7

6

At this rate, the bastard was sure to crash into a wall or the floor indiscriminately.

I, who was standing and holding onto the rope with difficulty, had no choice but to raise my fist.

"Onslaught!"

Lv.999 Onslaught skill has been activated.

Peok, peok!

"Kkuek!"

As I punched its head a few times, the bastard let out a pig-like squeal.

Then, it suddenly stopped its wild thrashing and went limp.

And then, whoosh!

The giant monster's body began to plummet.

I could feel its determination to rather be injured in a crash than be tamed, just to shake off the human.

As another wave of dizziness washed over me, I gripped the rope tight enough to choke the bastard's neck and muttered grimly.

"Hey, want to get hit more?"

Flinch.

The spot I hit must have hurt, as the bastard's body, attached below me, twitched.

"Should we test which comes first? The fall, or you getting beaten to death?"

"..."

"Onsl..."

"Kkuek!"

Flap, flap!

The bastard, which had been falling rapidly, suddenly tensed its body and started flapping its wings again.

The giant body, which had stopped just short of the floor, slowly rose.

A smooth movement, on a different level from its rampaging just moments before.

'Should've done this from the start.'

Just as I was feeling a belated sense of regret, the countdown stopped, and a system window popped up.

3

Due to a high rapport with the monster, taming has been completed quickly.

It was a little funny how it sugarcoated 'beating it up' as 'rapport'.

Anyway, perhaps because the taming was complete, the old snare in my hand changed into a leather bridle.

'Now it's finally worth the 5 million coins.'

System windows popped up one after another.

[Congratulations! You've got a new pet!]

[You have obtained Lv.150 Thunder Elephant Bird as a pet monster.]

[The Lv.150 Thunder Elephant Bird will now obey your commands. Please look after your pet with love and care!]

[Lv.150 Thunder Elephant Bird has been registered in the Pet Monster Compendium.]

[Please check the Pet Monster Compendium to acquire your new pet.]

The cliché sentences you see when you first get a pet streamed out.

I had obtained the Thunder Elephant Bird, which users were so crazy about, as a pet, but I wasn't particularly happy.

'If I have to do that again, I'd rather die...'

I felt nauseous, as if I'd been on a hard-difficulty roller coaster for several minutes.

I felt like I had aged 10 years.

It was a relief the Thunder Bird declared defeat at this point.

The enemy I had to face wasn't this bastard, but.

"Dammit...! Bring the tranquilizer gun, now! Now...!"

It was Ballakk's puppet, which had already regenerated and was moving again.

At the bastard's command, his subordinates, who had briefly evacuated, began to flock from all directions.

"Let's go, Cheondung."

I gripped the bridle and steered the Thunder Bird.

Despite the naming that lacked any sincerity, let alone love and care, the bastard seemed to have resigned itself and obediently began to head in the direction I wanted.

"Lower."

Cheondung followed my command, lowered its altitude, and quickly skimmed over the heads of the swarming organization bastards.

"There it is! Get it!"

Pish! Pish!

Tranquilizer darts poured out from all over.

However, Cheondung elegantly twisted its body, skillfully dodging them.

There were some it couldn't dodge, but they failed to pierce its thick hide.

"What? I definitely hit it, why...!"

"Stun."

Lv.999 Stun skill has been activated.

MP 61

Taking care of the scrambling small-fry was a piece of cake.

While lightly stunning the approaching bastards, I also replenished some of Cheondung's electricity, then flew straight toward Ballakk.

"Open your mouth!"

The commendable monster, understanding its master's intent, snapped its beak open.

Jiiing, jiiing, jiiiiiiing...

The air current changed with a bizarre noise, as if energy was gathering.

Seeing the monster rushing toward him, about to fire another energy wave, Puppet Ballakk's face contorted as he shouted urgently.

"No...!"

Kwaaaaaaaaak!

I thought I would be able to easily punch a hole in his stomach again this time.

However, the bastard suddenly ducked and stretched out one arm, blocking the pouring beam.

Unsurprisingly, his arm disappeared without a trace not long after.

'Why would he do that?'

It was a useless act, because even if he blocked with his arm, his body would be pierced just the same.

But I was mistaken.

Pshuuuuu...

Unlike before, when I'd expected it to last for 10 seconds, Cheondung's beam cut out feebly, as if it had run out of fuel, before even five seconds had passed.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Kkueeek..."

I poked the Thunder Bird's neck in a fluster, but only a weak cry came back.

"Kekekek! In preparation for this... I starved the bastard... and drained all its power with sealing chains!"

The one-armed Puppet Ballakk bastard slowly pushed himself up.

At his words, I looked down at Cheondung with troubled eyes.

'Then did it squeeze out its remaining strength when it escaped earlier?'

No matter how much I used Stun, the amount of electricity converted into energy for the Thunder Bird couldn't have been much.

Besides, Stun wasn't an attack skill that dealt proper damage in the first place.

'...This is annoying.'

In any case, my plan to use the Thunder Bird to hold off the bastard as much as possible was now half-ruined.

"Excellent... I'll tear you to pieces... and you'll replace my vanished arm...!"

Suddenly, that bastard Ballakk shouted loudly, lowered his upper body, and got on all fours.

Kung, kung, kung, kung.

It was hard to believe he had moved so sluggishly before; the bastard began to run like a beast, crossing the stage at an incredible speed.

Upon reaching the end of the stage, the bastard leaped like a frog, even without one arm, and opened his maw wide.

To bite the low-flying Cheondung, which was in mid-attack.

"Baaaaaak!"

In the bastard's rapidly approaching maw, I could see sharp teeth, hard to believe for a human, whetted and ready.