Chapter 11. Leuf’s Garden
Seo Jun-Ho watched the sun set and turned off his Vita. He stood up.
“Mm, they should be coming soon.”
Leufs were monsters that looked like flowers. However, their structure was the complete opposite of normal flowers. Their elegant petals were at their feet while their stems faced upward. Their thick stems twisted around several times to create humanoid shapes. Such were the Leufs.
“They look like people on dark nights like these.” So, they were nicknamed “flower ghosts.”
[Night has fallen. Hunter’s Night (A) has been activated.]
[All stats increased by 10%.]
[All your senses have been sharpened.]
As Seo Jun-Ho’s senses sharpened, he closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him to check the results of his training.
Crack. Crack.
He heard something twist in the ground.
During the day when the sun was out, Leufs hid underground with their petals facing up in order to lure prey. That was why Seo Jun-Ho had been careful not to step on any of the flowers and only took the dirt road.
‘If you approach a Leuf without a second thought, it’ll catch you with its vines and drag you underground.’
But the night wasn’t any safer. When the moon rose, Leufs would crawl out of the ground to hunt for prey themselves.
“Leufs have strong, durable stems, so they have a high defense…”
But they were also slow and had a clear weak point—the flower at their feet.
“There’s only two? Even for a simple greeting, that’s boring.” Seo Jun-Ho still had his eyes closed, but his keen senses informed him of what was going on around him.
‘One on the left, one on the right.’
He grasped their formation and dashed toward them, gripping the top and bottom of the spear’s shaft.
Swish!
The Leuf swung its arm like a whip toward the charging human.
‘It’s coming.’
As soon as he felt an interruption in the airflow, he buried the spear into the ground and flung himself like a pole vaulter.
Woosh!
The movement served two purposes. First, he would be able to dodge the Leuf’s attack perfectly, and second…
‘1.5 meters.’
It let him measure the optimal distance for using a spear. After wasting the attack, the Leuf was now completely defenseless.
Woosh!
Seo Jun-Ho ducked, spinning around like a top as he swept the ground with his spear.
Crack!
He landed a strong kick on the Leuf, and it stumbled backward.
‘Now!’
Seo Jun-Ho dashed forward and struck its chest with his shoulder, and it fell over with a heavy slam.
‘About two steps behind me…’
He stepped back casually as the Leuf’s arms stabbed sharply into the ground in front of his feet like knives.
‘I’m in pretty good shape today,’
He grinned and changed his grip on the spear, holding it in the middle. At the same time, his magic circuits started to heat up.
“I probably won’t be able to control the strength. It’s my first time using it in a real battle, after all.” As soon as the words left his mouth, the temperature around him started to drop.
Crackle!
Frost energy covered his spearpoint, and he opened his eyes. They had finally adjusted to the dark.
“…” Seo Jun-Ho studied his spear.
‘It looks the same as when the Frost Queen used it.’
Of course, it would look the same. This power belonged to her, after all.
“This feels weird.”
It was impossible to put into words how strange it felt to use the powers of an old enemy that he had fought with his life on the line.
‘Enough with the feelings. Let’s test out the firepower.’
He had previously used the Frost Skill several times in the training hall, but he had never been able to test it on a real monster. This was the first time that he would test its true power.
The Leuf on the ground suddenly shot out its arms. Seo Jun-Ho ducked slightly, barely managing to avoid the attack as it sliced off a few of his hairs. His biceps tensed.
“Hup!” In the next moment, his spear pierced through the air. He stabbed twice into the Leuf’s feet, into the petals. As soon as the frost energy made contact with the petals, it spread and froze them over. When he struck the frozen petals again, they shattered into dozens of pieces.
– …!
The Leuf couldn’t scream, but it writhed in pain, looking like a fish out of water.
[You have defeated a Leuf.]
“…I killed it? Already?” He sounded dissatisfied. Even though he had aimed for its weak point, weren’t Leufs famous for their durability? Did he really kill it with only two strikes?
His eyes were cold as he looked down at his spearpoint.
‘This…It’s even better than I expected.’
Freezing the petals before shattering them would be the best way to take care of them.
‘But I can’t keep using it.’
He had just consumed about a fifth of his magic power in the battle.
‘Next time, I’ll try using only a little bit of magic.’
It would be less effective, but he would be able to use the technique for longer. Seo Jun-Ho sorted his thoughts and looked toward the remaining Leuf. It approached him slowly, twisting both arms into sharp points.
“Dual-wielding? Cool!”
The Leuf struck out its sharpened arms as if emboldened by the praise.
Woosh!
Seo Jun-Ho’s spear flowed swiftly like water, and he blocked its attack.
Clang!
The Leuf’s weapons were sharper, but Seo Jun-Ho was more skilled with the spear. When it failed to connect, the Leuf pulled back and retreated. But Seo Jun-Ho didn’t let the chance slip by. His hands slipped down to grip the very bottom of the shaft, and he spun, using the momentum to swing it like a club.
Crack!
He struck its temples like an ax hitting firewood.
“As I thought, it’s sturdy.” A person would have died from this attack, but the Leuf simply shook it off. It only seemed to be angered, and it started to swing its sharp stems wildly.
‘It’s slow.’
No matter how strong Leufs were, a strike to the head could still affect it. It was starting to lose the vigor and speed it displayed earlier. Seo Jun-Ho dodged with a light step and launched a counterattack. He swung his spear again, hitting the same spot on its temples.
“You see, flowers die if you break their stems.” He hit it once more, swinging even harder. He struck the Leuf’s head several more times.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
It was too much for the Leuf, and its stem-head was cut off, hanging by a string.
[You have defeated a Leuf.]
When the battle ended, Seo Jun-Ho looked around. The anxiety started to creep in again.
“…Of course. It wouldn’t end with only two of them. It’s an Uncleared Gate, after all.”
Four new Leufs crawled out of the ground and started to approach him.
‘It’s a monster wave.’
A monster wave was a phenomenon in which monsters came in continuously like tidal waves.
“I wonder how many this one will have.”
Seo Jun-Ho casually spun his spear in his hands, waiting for the Leufs to come. There still wasn’t a single drop of sweat on his forehead.
***
In the darkened garden, dozens of humanoids were chasing someone.
‘One attack from the left, three behind me, two in front…’
They were coming at him from all sides. Seo Jun-Ho’s face twisted as he watched the attacks come in.
“Chill out, you bastards!” He couldn’t hold his frustration back any longer. He swung his spear with his right hand and held up his left.
Crackle!
A thick, well-crafted ice shield grew out of his left hand. From above, the Leufs’ attacks rained down like bullets.
Clang! Clang!
The ice shield blocked twelve attacks before it shattered into pieces.
“Ugh.” As the ice shards began to obscure his view, Seo Jun-Ho poured magic into his legs and leaped into the air. This was uncharacteristic of him because he was usually careful with his magic expenditure, but that was how bad things were going for him.
Swish!
As he flew into the air, a Leuf ambushed him. He quickly tried to dodge its attack, but it grazed his left shoulder and right side. Blood spurted out from his side.
“What kind of fucked-up pattern is this?!”
When the first two Leufs came out, Seo Jun-Ho merely snorted. When four Leufs came out after that, he was grinning. But when eight appeared after the second wave, his mood started to change.
‘The…The number of Leufs isn’t doubling every wave, is it? Nah, that would be overkill.’
Unfortunately, he had been correct.
“Dammit, why am I always right about these things?”
In the fourth wave, there had been sixteen Leufs. When he was trying to catch his breath after defeating them all, 32 Leufs appeared without a moment to spare.
“Huff, huff…” After fighting for over two hours, his breath had turned rough. If he had neglected his stamina training, he probably wouldn’t have made it this far.
‘I can’t believe I’m getting cornered by Leufs, of all things. When I get back, I’m doubling the amount of training.’
Seo Jun-Ho pulled himself together and scanned the area. Ironically, as his mental and physical stamina started to approach their limits, his battle instincts and senses seemed to become even sharper, as if they were filling some little cracks in his body.
“…Phew.” Thanks to that, his idle thoughts vanished, and his concentration sharpened like a blade. If it broke for even a second, his head would go flying.
‘They’re coming.’
Seo Jun-Ho’s body moved swiftly, taking carefully controlled movements that wouldn’t waste an ounce of stamina. He dodged each attack that rained down on him.
Of course, it wasn’t his style to simply keep dodging.
Swoosh!
He swung his spear with all his speed, strength, and fury. It cut off the heads of four Leufs.
“Ugh!”
Of course, the magic also left his body with the attack, and the resulting shock made his face turn pale. But even with this, there were still fifteen Leufs left.
“…I have to keep going.”
He didn’t have a choice. He had to do this, or he would die.
The spear’s shaft was slippery with sweat, but he gripped it tightly. It would take time and a lot of stamina, but he had to kill them all.
‘If I run away to the hedge maze back there, I’ll probably be able to take a breather…’
But he didn’t know what traps were waiting for him there. Not to mention, once he entered the maze, he would have to fight these monsters in a tight space. It would be the optimal battleground for the Leufs, considering that they had high defense and long vines.
‘I have to end it here no matter what.’
Determined, Seo Jun-Ho let out a sharp breath as he stepped off the ground.
“Haa!”
Two-thirds of his remaining magic power receded like a falling tide.
Crackle!
He gave up on efficiency, opting to maximize his destructive power. The moonlight glistened on the frozen speartip.
‘30 second. That’s all I have.’
He couldn’t maintain it any longer than that. Seo Jun-Ho charged forward, without even a moment to think.
Slice!
The Frost-strengthened spear couldn’t be considered a normal weapon with how sharp it was. It cut through the Leufs like butter. Seo Jun-Ho attacked the enemies that filled his sight.
‘…They can’t fight while dodging all my attacks.’
The technique was strong enough, but he didn’t have time. He only had 25—no, 24 seconds left.
Seo Jun-Ho made a bold decision in the blink of an eye.
‘Give the flesh to cut the bone.’
He would sacrifice something small in order to reap a greater benefit.
Seo Jun-Ho dashed forward, allowing the attacks to hit him as long as they weren’t fatal. Blood poured from his arms, thighs, and back. But during his reckless attacks, he managed to take out nine whole Leufs.
“Huff…Huff, huff…”
Anyone would have admired his skills, but unfortunately, there was no third party here to watch. After completing this great feat, sweat and blood poured out from all over his body.
Crackle.
With a trembling hand, Seo Jun-Ho froze his injury.
‘Hopefully, this will stop me from losing any more blood.’
There were only six Leufs left. His mouth tasted salty with sweat, and his arms and legs trembled relentlessly. But he refused to let go of hope.
‘I have…Bringer of Spring. If I just grit my teeth and get through with it, I can win.’
Bringer of Spring increased his stamina and magic power recovery rate by 500%. As the Leufs approached him from six different directions, Seo Jun-Ho gripped his spear once more.
“…Come on.”
As if they understood his words, the six Leufs attacked.
