Episode 233 No. 490 Winterhalt (2)
Even at this moment, the enemies were steadily closing the distance.
After seeing that, Hong Yeon-hwa immediately used Rank Boost.
A bright light emanates from the magic scroll and imbues the body.
[Use ‘Rank Boost’.]
[Skill and trait growth speed greatly increases.]
A notification message like this probably came to mind.
I plan to write it later.
My skills have relatively short ranges, so I have to wait until the enemies approach the walls anyway.
Hong Yeon-hwa summons the giant phoenix again.
Feathers of fire fall, decorating the sky, and countless small flames bloom.
– Whoosh whoosh!
Every time that happened, the legions of ice monsters would burn and disappear in groups of hundreds.
The numbers were so large that it didn’t seem like it had decreased much when you looked at the whole thing.
“Let’s keep going.”
“huh.”
But there was no reason to stop.
Since we are going to fight them anyway, wouldn’t it be better to reduce their numbers before a full-scale defensive battle begins?
Hong Yeon-hwa will also want to make the most of the rank boost while it lasts.
– Whoosh whoosh!
There was no way the enemies wouldn’t notice us as we were pouring out magic so unilaterally.
The same goes for the Ice Witch.
Even though we are quite far apart, we feel like their gaze is focused squarely on us.
The Ice Monster Legion’s advance was accelerated.
Eventually, judging that we had entered the intersection, the orc shamans and ice witches began to chant their spells.
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa sensed the wave of mana in the enemy camp and responded immediately.
Interrupts the large-scale magic that was just being cast and links it with defensive magic.
[Reverse flow barrier]
[Scorching Armor]
-Whoooosh.
The flames took the form of one layer of armor, the other a round sphere.
Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t stop there and went on to perform a third ritual.
[Blaze Shield]
A flaming shield rose into the air and glowed.
‘I see you learned something new.’
I have taken my advice into consideration and now have three layers of defensive magic.
What would happen if I confronted the calligrapher like this?
The Gunners may have a comparative advantage, but I can’t be 100% sure which side will win until I see it in person.
But one thing is certain right now.
‘If you do this, you’ll never get through.’
– Wedge wedge wedge—!!
Ice orc shamans fired ice picks, while ice witches fired giant ice spears.
As if they were going to destroy the very walls we were standing on.
However, Hong Yeon-hwa only stared at them with arrogant eyes, holding up her flaming shield.
The next moment, the pouring ice magics hit the shield,
– Shhhhh—
It evaporated without even leaving a scratch on the shield.
“joy.”
Hong Yeon-hwa raises the corners of her lips as if it’s funny.
You probably expected this to happen.
Even in the one-on-one battle with Bukgung Hanseol, he easily neutralized her skills.
The compatibility between Aqua Flame and the Ice attribute is that absolute.
A few more ice spells poured down, but Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t pay any attention to defense other than maintaining her blaze shield.
I decided that that alone was enough.
Then we switch back to the offensive and focus on summoning the Phoenix.
– Whoosh whoosh!
After repeatedly casting magic like that for a while, a slight fatigue appeared on Hong Yeon-hwa’s face.
I asked because I wanted to know the general situation.
“Have you used up all your mana?”
“Yeah, almost… … .”
Since you’ve been casting large-scale magic dozens of times, your mana is bound to run out.
The enemy has almost reached the walls, but now is the time to take a short break.
Several blue magic circles appeared beneath Hong Yeon-hwa’s feet.
A thin line extends from the magic circle and connects to her.
This is a mana recovery magic that absorbs and refines mana in an area and supplies it to the caster.
Hong Yeon-hwa turned her head towards me and raised her eyebrows.
Because I was sitting comfortably on a folding chair.
I offered him the empty chair I had placed next to me.
“You sit down and rest too.”
“Uh, yeah. Thank you… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa hesitated a bit, but then sat down obediently next to me.
And he kept rolling his eyes to the side, seemingly concerned about the camping stove placed there.
We borrowed this set from Dang Gyu-yeong, along with the folding chairs we are sitting on.
– What are you going to do with it if you borrow it?
– We must protect world peace.
– Oh, yeah. Take it, take it!
World Peace and Graduation 200 was the universal cheat key.
At least for now.
“… … .”
Seeing that the brazier was off, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced at me and lit it.
– Hururuk!
I was just about to ask you to do it, but you did it on your own.
Thanks to you, it has become much warmer.
As soon as I placed the teapot on the stove, the water boiled.
By the way, I borrowed the teacup set from Shin Byeong-cheol.
I poured hot water into the [Geumyeongdan Teacup (E)] and handed it to Hong Yeonhwa.
“coffee?”
“… … I’ll drink.”
The situation is such that I can’t do anything fancy, but I guess a cup of coffee during my short break would be okay.
Instant coffee was made by dissolving a packet of coffee mix in hot water.
He then hands Hong Yeon-hwa a handful of coffee mix.
“You put it in too, as much as you want.”
“huh…….”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s attitude was timid, but her spending was generous.
I took a handful of coffee mix and poured it all into my cup.
‘If that’s the case, it’s almost at the original price.’
Come to think of it, I used to add a lot of shots when I ordered coffee at the store.
Although the caffeine seemed excessive, he didn’t say anything because he thought it was his taste.
We sat on folding chairs and sipped coffee.
I also ask questions about the current progress.
“Have you ranked up yet?”
“Yeah, first of all, the Phoenix Flutter has risen… … .”
I entered the dungeon and kept using that, so it was strange that it didn’t go up.
Hong Yeon-hwa also pointed to the floating Blaze Shield.
“And that too… … .”
Because I had properly drawn the enemies’ aggro, even at this moment, freezing spells continued to fly in.
But thankfully, that flame shield was blocking them without a single gap, and its rank just went up from E to D.
Of course, boosts also played a big part in raising two skill ranks in a short period of time.
“You’re doing well. Don’t let your guard down too much, and keep doing this.”
“Yeah, I will.”
We finished our coffees almost at the same time and got up from our seats.
Meanwhile, the Ice Monster Army finally reached the castle walls, and the full-scale battle for the fortress began.
– Fire—!!!
At the commander’s shout, a rain of arrows poured down from the walls.
The ice orcs were hit by arrows and fell one by one, but the ice trolls and golems paid no attention and went about their business.
They gather to throw large chunks of ice over the walls or to break through the main gate.
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa, who quickly grasped the situation, poured out flame magic.
Up until now, the fire feathers were scattered over a wide area, but from now on, the firepower will be concentrated on key strategic points to protect them.
Pillars of fire rise up everywhere.
– Kwaaaaah—!
‘I should do some ranked work too.’
[Use ‘Rank Boost’.]
[Skill and trait growth speed greatly increases.]
I stood next to Hong Yeon-hwa and planted a deep-rooted sapling in the ground.
[branch line]
[Spiral explosion]
-Whew—
A whirlwind blew around the ice troll as he walked toward the main gate.
The orcs are dragged into it one after another,
– Boom!
The compressed wind exploded.
While I’m at it, I’ll try octopus legs too.
At that moment, Hong Yeon-hwa was carving a Fire Pillar magic circle in two places, so I also cast magic in two places.
[branch line]
[octopus]
[Spiral explosion]
[Spiral explosion]
-Whew—
Two whirlwinds appeared at the same time, pulling monsters towards them.
Soon a pillar of fire rose up from the magic circle, swirling.
– Phew!
The compressed air exploded, causing an even larger explosion of flames.
In the next moment, everything within range was cleanly deleted.
‘The synergy is really good.’
A combination of Spiral Blast and Fire Pillar.
The power is doubled when wind is mixed with the flame.
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa looked at me with a blush on her face, as if she had the same thought.
As he kept checking my expression, I spoke in an indifferent tone.
“I’ll fix it, so do what you’re doing.”
“… … Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Hong Yeon-hwa secretly had a broad vision and knew how to run things on a grand scale, so I didn’t need to give her any other instructions.
After inspecting the walls, choose a weak spot and cast Fire Pillar.
And then I add a spiral explosion to that.
– Kwaaaaah—!
After doing that for a while, when you run out of mana, you sit on a camping chair and rest, then return to the battlefield and repeat.
“——!”
Sometimes, angry shouts would be heard, and the source of these shouts was the Ice Witch.
How could I not be angry when those two bastards burn down my entire army?
Hong Yeon-hwa asked me,
“Is that… okay…?”
“Uh. Just leave it alone.”
I just brushed it off as nothing.
The Ice Witch is a commander-type entity, and her own military power is not that great.
All the ice magic spells that are being sent out right now are being blocked by Hong Yeon-hwa.
Since the power difference is already overwhelming, it is okay to ignore it.
“Rather, if you touch it, you will suffer losses.”
Because if you hit it, the dungeon will close at that point.
You can keep it alive for a long time and do ranked work, and when it’s time to leave, you can do it like pressing the exit open switch.
Hong Yeon-hwa nodded as if she understood, then resumed her flame magic that had been interrupted for a moment.
Once again, pillars of fire rose up from various places.
– Kwaaaaah—!
* * *
We spent hours mechanically linking magic together.
Hong Yeon-hwa uses a variety of fire magic, while I mainly use spiral explosion.
At this point, there will have been considerable progress in ranked works.
‘I think it’s time to end it.’
There are two conditions for clearing this dungeon.
Succeed in Mercury for a certain amount of time, or defeat a boss monster.
It feels like ‘a certain amount of time’ will pass and the dungeon will close on its own, but you have to catch the Ice Witch before that to get another random box.
‘He looks a little tired too.’
Hong Yeon-hwa also tried not to show it, but after repeatedly draining and recovering her mana, it seemed like she had accumulated quite a bit of fatigue.
So, just as I was about to give the order to end it,
‘… … !’
An alien entity that did not fit in with this dungeon appeared at the back of the battlefield.
It was a thick, black liquid, like rotten filth, but it wriggled like a living thing.
Move as if flowing across the floor and approach the Ice Witch.
‘It comes from here.’
I expected it would happen sooner or later, but I didn’t think it would be in this dungeon.
Hong Yeon-hwa also noticed it and seemed to sense something was wrong, so she looked at me with anxiety.
I entered this dungeon and spoke with a serious attitude for the first time.
“Do you remember the last day of midterms?”
“huh.”
“It’s a similar situation to that time. Focus from now on.”
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression became a little more stiff.
At the same time, a notification message was being displayed in the corner of my vision.
[Main Quest 2-1]
The supporters ate it all
