Episode 164: Harpy Queen (1)
Kiek?
The harpy flaps its wings and screams at its comrades. A suffocating breath of life erupted from the monster’s pupil, and a drop of cold sweat ran down its back.
However, the party is closing the distance with the enemy without panicking at all.
Indeed, it was an instinctive and skillful move.
“… … Yoo Jeong-ah! support!”
“huh!”
“I will be in the vanguard. In the meantime, please cast both of them!”
The three of them fought skillfully like veterans who had worked together for a long time.
Ahn Ho-yeon stands at the forefront, and Kim Yoo-jung supports. It seemed that Seo Ina decided to use her main dealing weapon to defeat the enemy.
Reasonable and accurate judgment.
Jaehyun nodded his head proudly.
‘good. It’s going well.’
If it was an ordinary new cadet, they would have shrunk and increased their movements a long time ago. He might have hesitated backwards, frightened by the beast’s size.
But my co-workers didn’t look like that at all.
―Active skill «Blue and White Sword».
―Active skill 《The Extreme of Nothing》 is activated.
An Ho-yeon activated two skills at the same time and blocked the harpy.
In the meantime, Kim Yoo-jung and Seo Ina, who fell into both sides, started casting.
It was Kim Yoo-jung who activated the magic first.
―Activate the active skill 《Overflow》.
The newly acquired skill 《Overflow》.
This was a magic that amplified the attack power of party members by 1.3 times.
An A-class support skill that is extremely rare.
Tsutsut… … !
Kim Yoo-jung’s casting was surprisingly fast.
Should I say it’s because she has admired magicians for a long time?
Then, An Ho-yeon’s sword, which became even stronger with support, landed an accurate hit on the harpy’s shoulder.
The intensity of the overflowing blue flames seemed to deepen.
However, the enemy was like a B-class monster. Harpy twisted his body to let go of Ahn Ho-yeon’s continuous attacks.
Chut!
“Shallow!”
Ahn Ho-yeon shouted.
“… … huh!”
As if she had waited for the right moment, Seo Ina, who finished casting, intervened.
―Active skill 《Alfheim’s Sword》 is activated.
The harpy, whose movements were slowed down by the paralyzing poison Lee Jae-sang had applied to the trap and the sword scars Ahn Ho-yeon applied, was accurately hit by the sword immersed in the holy light.
Chow!
With a bloody sound of skin cutting, a stream of blood burst out of the harpy’s mouth.
“… … Yoojung-ah, please finish!”
With the voice of Seo Eana, Kim Yoo-jung, who was waiting behind, lowered her stance.
She raised her mana again and activated the magic she had cast in advance.
―Active skill 《Wind Edge》.
As soon as Kim Yoo-jung put her hand on the floor, greenish conical magic surged through the harpy’s heart.
soon
thud!
Harpy’s body fell to the floor. Jaehyun, who was watching this, gave a satisfied smile.
Kwon So-yul, who was watching from the side, only opened his eyes wide in fright.
* * *
‘What are they all about? Are you really a freshman?!’
Kwon So-yul chewed his lips and recalled the battle he had just seen.
something I can’t understand at all. The moves my teammates showed me earlier were too skillful to be dismissed as freshman level.
‘I knew they were strong. Uncharacteristic of a freshman, he is calm.
But this… … No matter how you look at it, it’s just a monster.’
Kwon So-yul sincerely thought that and looked at Jae-hyun, who was smiling with satisfaction.
‘How was Min Jae-hyun able to make a circle with only those guys?’
Thinking about it, Kwon So-yul quickly shook his head.
‘No, that’s not it…’ … It’s not just that the kids are talented, Min Jae-hyun’s guidance has helped them grow up to that point.’
The question of how was meaningless. Children’s talent, ability to reproduce.
It’s something the two could have done together. At least she judged it that way.
“how is it? There was no need to worry, right?”
Jaehyun, who had come close to me, said with his characteristic light smile.
Even Kwon So-yul had no choice but to nod his head this time.
“Awesome… … I do.”
“I knew it.”
Jaehyun crossed his arms and nodded.
For reference, there was a reason why he said the same thing to Kwon So-yul.
Just now. When Jae-hyeon suggested that only her three freshmen go hunting for harpies, she said it was because she strongly discouraged them.
at that time. Kwon So-yul, who did not properly grasp the strength of his teammates, shouted:
[This is such an arrogant idea! The story will change if you step out, but Harpies are B-class monsters!
In case… … The kids could get seriously hurt!]
Kwon So-yul had good reasons for saying that.
this is a field
No one knows what will happen here.
As a senior, it is natural to worry.
But Jaehyun knew.
That the current skills of the comrades are not lacking at all to deal with B-class monsters.
‘Ahn Ho-yeon has already won against an elite dark elf knight.’
Of course, this was the case when I risked my own life to use <Union of Divine Swords>.
one. Even so, the fact that he defeated an elite knight never changes.
winners and losers.
The only thing left was the raider’s hunt, the basic principle of combat.
“how is it? my skills! That was great!”
Kim Yoo-jung smirked and waved at Jae-hyun.
Jaehyun laughed.
“You’ve only got a hit. If you have a little conscience, give the kids some credit.”
“… … no. This time, Yoojung really helped me a lot.”
“that’s right. I missed it a bit at the end, but after receiving the support magic and using the sword, the feeling was definitely different.”
The two of them chimed in. Jaehyun shrugged. Kim Yoo-jung was still intoxicated with her own final attack with her chest stretched out.
The three of them were happy for a moment.
At that time, Seo Ina, who was worried about seeing the dead body of the beast, parted her lips.
“… … by the way. isn’t it strange Why is a harpy in a place like this?”
Her words had multiple meanings.
Why is Harpy here?
This was a problem that Jaehyun continued to worry about as well.
‘Originally, harpies are monsters that only appear in the middle of a city. But the fact that she appeared in such a shallow area… … .’
Jaehyun thought about it and nodded.
“There must be something going on deep in the city.”
* * *
that evening. Returning to their shelter in the closed city, the group made a campfire by sitting on the chairs in their survival kit. I was tired and didn’t want to move, but it was inevitable in order to survive.
‘Because no matter how much it is, you can’t avoid hypothermia. Well, he won’t die.’
Jaehyun threw the firewood into the fire thinking nonsensically.
It was decided that Seo Ina would be the stand-in for the night shift. Despite the tiring of the first day, she is willing to sacrifice herself for her teammates.
“Sorry. You must be tired, so I asked for a night watch. If there was no work, I would stand.”
Jaehyun sincerely said that to her.
Seo Ina shook her head.
“… … no. Anything you can do to help. You have work to do on your own.”
Lately, she has shown a lot of trust in Jaehyun. As she talked about the opening of her unique skills recently, it seemed that the distance had become much closer.
As a representation, it wasn’t bad.
Like that, I talk to the rest of the party and plan tomorrow’s schedule.
“Ah! It’s a big deal!”
Kim Yoo-jung shouted and jumped up from her seat.
Seo Ina tilted her head and asked.
“… … Yoojung, what’s wrong?”
“I left the necklace enchanted with 《Clean》. It’s a real big deal… … .”
“ruler.”
As if Jaehyun didn’t want to hear any more fuss, he said while handing over a necklace he took out of his inventory.
“uh? this… … !”
The item he handed over was a specially processed artifact enchanted with clean magic.
Made for professional raiders, a non-combat type item with the ability to purify the user’s body once a day.
It is useful in dungeons, but it was especially important in fields where access to the outside was not easy.
By the way, this item is not included in Milles’ survival kit. It is possible to bring it in, but it was not included in the academy’s support list.
“… … wow. How did you know I left this behind? It’s creepy, really.”
Kim Yoo-jung wrapped her arms around her and pretended to tremble.
Jaehyun laughed.
“Have you been leaving things behind for a day or two? Your mother also emphasized several times to take good care of you.”
“… … sorry about that Thank you anyway.
But my mom is too. Do you not trust her daughter so much?”
“Because I really can’t trust you.”
“hey!”
When Kim Yoo-jung got angry, Jae-hyun and his colleagues laughed out loud.
“… … Smile?”
Kim Yoo-jung spoke savagely, but the party didn’t even pretend to hear.
It was because of having been with her for a while and getting neurosis.
“Anyway.”
Jaehyun clicked his tongue and clenched his chin.
If you think about it, Kim Yoo-jung had a habit of forgetting things as often as she does now. Even when she was in middle school, she probably struggled with similar things herself several times.
‘Every day, I leave things behind and forget to do my homework.’
Whenever that happened, it was Jaehyun who took care of her by her side.
Because you are used to this situation.
‘It’s because he wore more of my gym clothes.
Well, I was smaller back then.’
Even at the time of 15, 2nd year of middle school, Jaehyun’s height was less than 170.
During the winter break, when he was in his third year of middle school, he continued to grow exponentially, and as a result, he has grown as he is now.
The last height I measured was 185. Truly, it was a human victory.
Recalling that time, Jaehyun had a smile on his lips.
“Kim Yoo-jung, you should also grow up. Stop forgetting things.”
“Nagging.”
Kim Yoo-jung grumbled and snatched the necklace from Jae-hyun’s hand. Even so, it seems that he is steadily saying thank you.
Ahn Ho-yeon stabbed Kim Yoo-jung in the side and said.
“Tell me honestly. Are you dating?”
“It’s not.”
“Do you want to go back?”
The two answered almost simultaneously. Seo Ina suddenly intervened and wrinkled her brow.
“… … I said it wasn’t two people… … Can I stop asking about that now?”
* * *
a few hours later
Jaehyun couldn’t sleep and was on his way to somewhere.
A grumbling voice follows him.
“No matter how much you give me the elixir. Do you really have to bring me here?”
“Anything like that, I was extremely nervous and prepared everything before I went out.”
It was Kwon So-yul who stepped forward with Jae-hyun.
The two of them were on the move to defeat the beast that had been collecting traces all day while activating their unique skill «Search».
―You have completed collecting traces. Guides the user to the designated target.
Because I had investigated enough in the morning, I gathered enough traces to use the search.
However, Jaehyun alone couldn’t find the place where the boss monster was, so she followed.
“Seriously, if I can’t catch you, I have to run away quickly, right? Am I still too young to die here?”
“I am a year younger. So use your skills correctly.”
“How come you have no respect for your seniors?”
“I call you senior every day.”
“shut up.”
After shutting Jaehyun’s mouth, Kwon Soyul took the lead in walking through the closed city. The morning air was cold and dreary, and nocturnal monsters crawled out nearby.
Fear ran through his body, but there was no other way.
In the first place, I’m not the kind of person who would give up my stubbornness because Jaehyun is dangerous.
‘I don’t know. it will work out somehow.’
It took about an hour to find the way while giving up halfway like that.
Finally, the two of them succeeded in finding the Witchbeast they had been looking for for a long time.
―Encounter the Harpy Queen, the boss monster in District 1 of the closed city field.
A giant monster appeared there.
It was a harpy more than three times as large as those of its comrades.
Jaehyun licked his lips while looking at him with a smile.
“You mean you can finally get your hands on that artifact if you catch it?”
A+ grade boss monster.
However, no matter how strong he was, to Jaehyun, he could only see it as a walking item bag.
He opened his magic and took a step forward.
“Do you eat this completely raw?”
On the other hand, Kwon So-yul, who was tired of the boss’ spirit, was horrified to see Jae-hyun step forward.
There was only one thought in her head.
‘Min Jae-hyun… … Maybe I’m crazy… … ?’
