Episode 108: Slap and bang (2)
As Kim Ho and Song Cheon-hye entered the dungeon,
Dang Gyu-yeong, who was sitting next to the statue of the goddess, welcomed them.
“Practice? Real life?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
“good.”
Dang Gyu-yeong was quite pleased.
Her role in Defense this week was as a commander, sitting in a corner and just wiggling her fingers.
Compared to the sticker battle, it couldn’t be more convenient, but that only lasted for a day or two.
After doing that all week, I was starting to get bored.
“Send the signal when you’re ready. We’ll begin immediately.”
“Yes, senior.”
Dang Gyu-yeong lightly kicked the ground and jumped up, then disappeared in an instant.
Song Cheon-hye glanced at the spot where Dang Gyu-yeong had disappeared, looked up at the statue of the goddess for a moment, and spoke to Kim Ho.
“Let’s settle down too.”
“… … .”
“Yeah.”
The two moved to their respective positions as they had been doing so far.
Song Cheon-hye, standing in front of the main gate, looked out at the scenery outside dyed red by the sunset, took out gloves and put them on both hands.
As I clenched and unclenched my fist, the topaz embedded in my glove crackled and a faint electric current flowed.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Goddess Statue 100%]
[9:58 remaining]
“Keeruk.”
“Keeruk!”
Oh, the goblins are advancing at a rapid pace, matching their ranks.
Song Cheon-hye calmly stared at them and poured mana onto the floor.
A large magic circle is quickly being completed.
[Lightning Field]
– Crackle, crackle!
As soon as they set foot on the platform, sparks flew out from the goblins’ bodies.
However, the goblins paid no attention and faithfully followed Dang Gyu-yeong’s instructions, steadily advancing.
“… … .”
On the other hand, Song Cheon-hye did not take any significant action other than installing a long board.
He just watched the goblins pass by him with their arms crossed.
Only occasionally do they erect a magic barrier to block flying rocks, wooden spears, and the like.
“Keeruk,”
“Keeeek!”
Just as the goblins were about to escape the range of the plank.
Song Cheon-hye released the drinks she had prepared in advance.
[Lightning Nova]
– Crackle crackle!
A wave of electricity spreads out from Song Cheon-hye.
The goblins swept away by the waves were instantly turned to charred ash and scattered.
The next moment, the area within a few meters of her became an empty space with nothing in it.
“Keeeek!”
“Keeruk.”
The goblins continued to advance and fill the space,
– Crackle crackle!
Once again, Lightning Nova spreads out from Song Cheon-hye and sweeps away the bastards.
One thing I realized after repeating the defense many times.
‘Defense is efficient.’
There is no need to connect magic in a complicated way.
Just pick the two most effective ones and fire them in quick succession.
Since she had mastered nearly a hundred types of magic, it took some trial and error, but in the end, she narrowed it down to the combination of [Field] and [Nova].
Wait until as many monsters as possible are gathered within the range of Lightning Nova, then sweep them away at once.
The two magics had similar ranges, so they worked well together.
While Song Cheon-hye was perfectly defending the main gate, a familiar voice was heard from over her shoulder.
– Gulp,
It was the sound of the side wall collapsing, so Song Cheon-hye didn’t feel the need to look behind her.
Even if you leave it like that, Kim Ho will know how to block it.
As I kept looking forward and casting Lightning Nova, about half of the remaining time was consumed.
[Goddess Statue 100%]
[4:51 remaining]
“Grrrr… … .”
The real action starts now that the Goblin Decapitator has appeared.
A clear mana formed on the kitchen knife he was holding.
The beheader runs faster and faster, and the goblins follow him.
“… … .”
On the other hand, Song Cheon-hye was standing at the main gate, staring at the approaching goblins.
A strong current crackled and gathered in one of her hands, creating a thick bolt of lightning.
With your other hand, assemble the following magical formula.
Soon the kitchen knife and the lightning will clash,
– Thud—!
“Grrrr.”
The beheader took a few steps back.
It was a natural result since Song Cheon-hye’s skills were one or two levels higher.
Soon, they come charging forward with even more hostility.
Song Cheon-hye still stands her ground and responds calmly.
Then, before the goblins pass through the main gate, release the Lightning Nova that was cast in advance.
– Crackle crackle!
‘We need to buy more time.’
Second thing I realized.
The beheader’s mantle is usually not very strong, so it is impossible to take it down in a short period of time.
In that case, it is better to focus on defense while watching for a long time rather than trying to knock it down.
– Wow!
Song Cheon-hye and the assassin clashed and fell several times.
And every now and then, he would sweep away the goblins that tried to pass by with his Lightning Nova.
[Goddess Statue 100%]
[2:41 remaining]
So far, so good.
Kim Ho will also be blocking the side holes well.
‘Just a little more… … !’
Let’s hold out a little longer and buy some time.
The more this happens, the less time the goblins have to hit the statue when its defenses are breached.
“Ugh?”
At that moment, the beheader stopped and his eyes changed slightly.
It seemed like he had received new instructions from Dang Gyu-yeong.
Soon it will push forward even more aggressively than before.
The knife and the lightning clash again,
– Wow!
“Ghaaaah—!”
Although the assassin was pushed back, his next actions were different.
Instead of stepping back, he throws his whole body at me in the same messy, collapsed position.
“This is… … !”
– Parts! Parts!
Even though Song Cheon-hye poured out lightning magic, he remained unmoved.
It shows a determination to somehow cling on and not fall off.
“Keeruk.”
“Keep going!”
Goblins trying to pass through the main gate during that gap.
Song Cheon-hye casted Lightning Nova again,
– Phagezi—straight,
The wave of electricity that should have spread out in a wide circle ended up spreading out halfway after hitting the body of the decapitator.
The power has also been greatly reduced.
Dang Gyu-yeong’s instructions were probably to block it by rubbing it with his body.
They chose to suppress Lightning Nova even if it meant exposing more weaknesses and taking more damage.
And the intention was quite valid.
“Keeruk.”
“Keeruk!”
Goblins began to break through the defenses one by one and enter the temple.
From here on, we can only look forward to Kim Ho’s performance.
He must concentrate on dealing with the beheader.
– Boom!!
There was a sound of something exploding over my shoulder.
It was louder than usual, but it was a sound I had heard many times.
It seems that Kim Ho compressed the wind and exploded it.
I was so busy fighting the beheader that I didn’t have time to look back, but I had a rough idea of what he might have done.
Blast the wind to disintegrate the goblins beyond the side wall, then move near the statue while they regain their bearings.
And protecting the statue of the goddess from the goblins that Song Cheon-hye missed.
—Should have been… … .
– Boom! Boom!
“Squeak!”
“Kk!”
The sound of a gust of wind was heard very close by, right behind him, and the goblins that had just passed him flew in and landed in front of him.
When Song Cheon-hye looked back in confusion,
“… … ?”
“Surprise~”
Kim Ho came up to me and greeted me.
“No, what are you doing here? What about the hole, and the statue of the goddess—”
Song Cheon-hye asked incredulously.
Originally, Kim Ho’s role was to block the side holes, and once the main gate defense was breached, he moved to a position near the statue of the goddess and continued the defense.
I think I would have been really upset if they had ruined it by calling it a ‘surprise’ or something.
Instead of answering Song Cheon-hye’s half-question, half-reproach, Kim Ho smiled brightly and spread out both hands.
What are you trying to do now?
And then another question arose.
‘… …Why are you empty-handed?’
Where did you leave your weapon?
Only then did I look at the side wall,
-Wheww!
Kim Ho’s single spear stuck in a lump.
A strong wind was blowing around it.
Because of this, the goblins would try to crawl out of the holes, but they would be pushed back in by the strong wind.
It seemed like Kim Ho’s wind magic was being cast by that single sword instead.
‘Close combat?’
If the distance is that far, the [close combat] rule should apply and the power should be greatly reduced, but the wind magic seemed to be exerting its original power.
The reason for this was also not difficult to guess.
Because the subject casting the magic is that single spear.
‘But was that possible?’
I understood it to some extent in my head, but it was still a little confusing.
It was definitely a surprise.
– Boom!
“Grrrr… … .”
Just then, a burst of compressed air appeared right in front of him, knocking back the decapitator who was about to swing his cleaver.
Kim Ho said to Song Cheon-hye, who suddenly came to her senses.
“Stop looking away.”
“Oh, yes!”
“Try the big one. The big one.”
“Big… … thing?”
“Oh. I’ll cover it for you.”
Song Cheon-hye quickly figured out Kim Ho’s intentions.
In previous challenges, we had difficulty casting spells, so we couldn’t use them. This means that we will greatly reduce the health of the beheader by using powerful magic.
Instantly gather mana and concentrate your mind.
All kinds of geometric characters are quickly assembled and take the shape of a spell.
Because the size of the spell was large and complex, it consumed a lot of mana, but before she knew it, the blue crown that had risen above Song Cheon-hye’s head was also infusing mana into her.
– Boom! Boom!
Meanwhile, Kim Ho used his wind magic to push away everything that approached him, buying him perfect time.
The beheader tried to force his way in with his body as he had done a moment ago, but his entire body was pushed back, so what could he do?
And when Song Cheon-hye’s magic was almost complete,
-Whew—
“Kerruk?”
“Huh?”
“Ugh?”
The wind that had been blowing straight ahead created a whirlwind, drawing the beheaders and goblins together.
And in the center of it all, Song Cheon-hye’s large-scale magic fell.
[Summon Thunderstorm]
– Gulp! Kwakwakwang!
Large lightning bolts struck down, turning the area upside down.
Originally, it was an area-of-effect magic that caused damage over a wide area, but Song Cheon-hye modified the spell slightly so that the lightning was concentrated only at the center of the whirlwind.
So that it falls exactly on top of the beheader’s head.
Soon the area in front of the main gate was covered in thick dust, making it impossible to see anything.
When the lightning stopped striking, Kim Ho stirred up the wind and cleared the dust away.
“Ugh, ugh… … .”
The goblins that had been trapped in the tornado had already been cleanly deleted, and the beheader was staggering around in a nearly groggy state.
Kim Ho glanced at it and turned away without any hesitation.
“Finish it. I’ll go back over there to block it.”
Song Cheon-hye glanced at the side wall to see what was happening, and the wind was slowly dying down, and the goblins were coming out of the holes one by one.
It seems that magic cast through a single spear also has a time limit.
Well, it doesn’t make sense for it to continue indefinitely.
“Ghaaa—!”
Even in this desperate situation, the beheader did not lose his fighting spirit and continued swinging his knife.
However, judging from the fact that the shock transmitted to the hand when the lightning struck each other was much less, it seemed that the large-scale magic just now had drained a lot of stamina.
After a while, without even exchanging a few coins,
“Kuaaaah—!”
The beheader roared loudly and threw back his arm holding the cleaver.
Song Cheon-hye’s eyes lit up when she saw that.
It was read as a preliminary action to throw a kitchen knife.
‘Swish—’
He quickly kicks the ground and rushes towards the decapitator, then slams his lightning bolt with all his might towards the swinging cleaver.
“-widely-!!”
– Dang it!
The cleaver, just leaving the beheader’s hand, collided with lightning and its direction of flight was completely changed.
It spins around and flies to a strange place far away from the statue of the goddess, then loses its strength and crashes into the ground.
“Okay… … .”
And the goblin beheader must have used up all his strength because he turned to ashes and disappeared.
Song Cheon-hye clenched her fist.
Swoosh, success!
‘How’s your stamina?’
I checked the scoreboard in a hurry,
[Goddess Statue 94%]
[1:03 remaining]
‘There’s this much left… … ?’
Song Cheon-hye’s mouth opened slightly.
At this level, it is almost impossible to allow attacks.
But we can’t let our guard down until the very end.
There were still quite a few remnants left, and a blind stone or something like that might hit the statue of the goddess.
Song Cheon-hye ran to the statue of the goddess to help Kim Ho.
* * *
[Goddess Statue Stamina 93/100% = 465 points]
+ [Number of goblins killed: 120 = 60 points]
+ [‘Formidable Enemy’ Defeat = 100 points]
+ [Clear Bonus = 300 points]
——————
[Total score: 925 points]
* Ground floor dungeon strategy 0.8x = 740pt
Song Cheon-hye was quite satisfied as she watched the scores being calculated.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was almost the highest score in the grade.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s nose can also be easily pressed down.
Because of this, her tone was also much softer.
“I thought it was ridiculous, but it really did. 90%. I guess I was wrong.”
“… … .”
“I was worried about how you would use your weapons, but I was a little surprised to see you use them in ways I could never have imagined.”
“… … ..”
“It was a good decision to link up with me and use a burst deal on the beheader. The pattern emerged quickly.”
“… … .”
However, Kim Ho just smiled brightly and looked at Song Cheon-hye.
Normally, he would say something at this point, but strangely, he doesn’t open his mouth.
“… … ?
As Song Cheon-hye tilted her head and looked at him, Kim Ho slowly raised one hand and raised his index finger.
What? Does it mean look up?
I looked up, but there was nothing there.
When he looked down at Kim Ho, the smile on his lips grew a little deeper.
And then he slowly lifted two more fingers and spoke with his mouth.
Three rights.
“ah.”