The Sky Blowfish

"See? I win."

"How exactly does this count as your victory, Isol?"

"I took down seventeen and Baek Hwayeon only got sixteen!"

"But you're exhausted. Your mana's almost completely gone, isn't it? Hwayeon, on the other hand, still looks completely fine. Right?"

I turned toward Baek Hwayeon, and every gaze followed mine. Caught off guard by the sudden attention, she still managed a quiet nod.

When I asked how many more she could take, she answered that ten would be no problem at all.

As expected. Compared to Kim Isol, Baek Hwayeon had been distributing her mana far more efficiently. The faint flush on her cheeks suggested she was quietly pleased with herself. In archery, at least, she was the best among the team—and now she had the proof. That had to feel good.

"That's a lie… I-I can still take a few more."

"Don't push yourself. You need to keep at least a minimum reserve of mana for emergencies. What happens if your mana bottoms out, your attack misses, and a monster comes straight at you?"

"You think I'd make a rookie mistake like that?!"

Yeah, I kind of do.

I swallowed the words before they left my mouth. Provoking the girl who was already whining for praise would only tire me out.

"Hyung. What should we do with the stingers we pulled?"

Jang Yong had accepted his place and was following my orders without complaint. Maybe he had finally realized deep down that he needed to stay on my good side.

He had collected thirty-three stingers in total. Each one was as thick as a decent bamboo stalk and heavy enough that I told him to bundle them into groups of fifteen for easier carrying. Once the hunt was finished, we would tie them with ray whiskers and haul them out.

"Doesn't this mean today's hunt is over in just an hour?"

"Probably. This kind of hunting is usually how higher-ranked Awoken operate. For us, it was always a bit of a stretch."

"Then why don't we use that method? I want to shine too…"

"Because it's dangerous. There are so many of them that one wrong move and you get swarmed to death."

Male rays attacked differently from the females. Where the females spat out a rain of small mana bolts, the males launched heavy, single shots. That was why most expedition teams preferred hunting males—easier for the tanker to block, and far more profitable afterward.

But there was a catch. Unlike the females, males sometimes cried out and summoned their companions. When the numbers were high, hunting them became extremely tricky. With the sky this packed, a single mistake could mean getting ganged up on by dozens. That was the biggest reason we finished them in one clean strike. Safety mattered more than conserving mana.

"Hyung, doesn't something feel off? We hunted so many yesterday, but the ray numbers don't seem to have dropped at all…"

"No, they definitely dropped. At least near this entrance you don't see any with dangling whiskers anymore, right?"

"Ah, so only the males increased?"

"Hmm…"

Listening to Jang Yong, it did seem that way. I hadn't paid much attention until now, but compared to when we left after hunting a thousand yesterday, the sky was denser. The long whiskers were almost gone, so I hadn't noticed—but the sheer number of bodies packed overhead almost made it feel like there were more than when we first entered.

Males couldn't have suddenly multiplied on their own… What was going on?

While I was talking with Jang Yong, Kim Isol resumed her attacks, still chasing a comeback. Could she really keep shooting? If she burned through the last of her mana and started whining again, I was going to be annoyed.

"Um, Team Leader…"

"Yes, Donggeul?"

"Doesn't something look weird?"

"Go ahead."

"Over there, in that part of the sky."

I looked where Lee Donggeul was pointing. It really was strange. It looked like a flock of birds clustered together. Distance made it hard to tell, but those had to be rays. They were flying in a tight mass, forming a giant sphere—as if protecting something at the center.

I quickly called the party together. Finding something that suspicious, I couldn't just stand around. Not as this team's supporter and leader.

"What do you want?!"

"Look over there. Doesn't that seem off?"

"Hmm… yeah, definitely."

"I think there might be a boss monster in the middle of that."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hyung. A boss? If it's this dungeon's boss…"

"Yes. It was in the materials I sent you. Donggeul?"

I wanted to test whether they had actually studied the boss. We had hunted a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lycan on the last Busan expedition. Without my ability back then, several of us might have been hurt or killed. Had they learned anything from that experience? If nothing had changed, I might have to rethink bringing them into the company I was building.

Jang Yong already seemed to know, so I asked the most questionable one—Lee Donggeul. If she knew, the rest probably did too.

"The boss here is… um… the name is… um…"

"Forget the name. Anything else you remember?"

"Well… I did memorize it… it flies in the sky…"

"It's a ray boss, so of course it flies. Anything else?"

"Ah! Right. It said Awoken without a D-rank or higher license should never attack it. So I just read it once and then ate cheesecake!"

I pressed a hand to my forehead. My head hurt.

The boss was powerful, so novice Awoken were in danger. I had written that they shouldn't charge in recklessly. But using that as an excuse not to study properly? That was too much.

I asked Kim Isol the same question. Thankfully, she had memorized everything properly. Good girl.

I was about to praise her and tell Donggeul to learn from her example—when Isol got angry about something completely sideways.

"Why ask me first? Jang Yong and Hwayeon are right here! Did you think I came without studying like Donggeul? Do you think I'm that stupid?!"

"Hey… calm down. I was just asking. Why so sensitive? Feeling inferior?"

"I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not! There's no way I'd feel that toward someone like Donggeul!"

Baek Hwayeon's calm personality did give the impression she would study harder, but there was no way I was saying that out loud. I had wanted to praise Isol, and she had kicked the opportunity away herself. Idiot.

Worried Donggeul might have been hurt by the comment, I stroked her head while I spoke.

"Understood. Next time I won't ask Isol first—I'll ask someone else. You listened carefully ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to Isol's explanation, right, Donggeul?"

"Yeees…"

"Then we're going after the boss!"

"Huh?"

"What? My mana's almost completely gone!"

"It's fine. Isol isn't the main dealer for the boss fight."

"Then who is?"

Everyone turned to look at Baek Hwayeon. Sorry, but wrong. I deliberately said nothing. I wanted to surprise them at the right moment.

"I'll explain the plan now."

Commonly known as the Sky Blowfish.

Why the final boss of a ray swarm was a blowfish was a mystery, but that was the known boss of Pink Land, so we just had to accept it. It wasn't a real blowfish anyway—just a monster.

I carefully explained its patterns and our countermeasures. Floating high in the sky and protected by countless rays made it a high-difficulty target—easily one of the strongest boss monsters that appeared in E-rank dungeons. But there was no need to worry. The plan I had come up with was simple and clear. I intended to finish it in one stroke before it could even properly start attacking.

"Got it? Under no circumstances do you leave the hole."

"What if the first attack doesn't finish it?"

"Still fine. If you stay hidden, it'll leave before long."

The method was this: first move near the boss and dig a hole. Deep enough—1.8 meters—for the entire party to fit. Then drag a male ray corpse over the top. Next, attack the boss. Every ranged dealer pours concentrated fire on it at once, then jumps into the prepared pit. We use the giant male ray as a lid to seal the hole and hide inside.

"How did you even come up with a method like that?"

"It's nothing special. Anyone who knows they never fully descend to the ground could think of it. You people never planned to hunt the boss in the first place, so of course no strategy came to mind. Always keep the mindset that you're going to hunt the boss."

"I agree with Isol, Hyung. How is Hwayeon supposed to take down a boss alone…"

"Who said she was attacking alone?"

"Then who else is attacking? Isol too?"

"Of course. I can still manage one more shot."

"We rented three bows total, right?"

"Am I shooting too? I couldn't even pierce them…"

"No."

I still didn't give them the full answer. They started fretting that I was going to make Donggeul—who hadn't used any mana today—do it. At this point the answer should have been obvious. Idiots. Expand the range of your thinking a little, you brats.

In any case, we moved toward the massive gathering of rays. Up close, the sight was spectacular—or rather, pure terror. It was as shocking as those locust swarm videos you see online.

"We've got a problem. There are so many I can't see the blowfish."

"Huh? I saw it. Just for a second. There—I saw it again."

I had heard the Sky Blowfish was about the same size as a ray. If other rays were flying beneath it, of course it wouldn't be visible from the ground. The situation was a bit trickier than expected.

I started grabbing every visible whisker I could reach and rubbing them against my face. We needed to thin their numbers before we could start anything, so I drained the females' mana first. With heavy thuds, female rays began plummeting one after another.

"Forget the whiskers—just make sure they're dead."

Compared to the loot we could get from the boss, whiskers were trash. Leaving them alive might cause trouble, so I ordered them finished off. Females weren't the majority, but they were all flying closest to the ground. Clearing them opened up our field of view considerably. Finally the Sky Blowfish's position came into sight.

"It looks like a giant balloon…"

"It does. Cute."

"But it has poison just like a regular blowfish, so be careful. Its toxin is dangerous even from a graze, so aim only for the head. If you miss and rupture a poison sac, there won't be any loot left at all."

"Ugh…"

After dealing with a decent number of females, we started digging. Jang Yong handled the digging—everyone else's mana needed to be conserved.

"Hyung. Is this deep enough?"

"Yes, that's plenty. Hwayeon, take down the biggest-looking male nearby. Dragging it will be hard, so pick one close."

"Yes."

Everything we had planned fell into place, and the preparations were complete. All that remained was attacking the boss.

I let out a long breath and told Lee Donggeul and Jang Yong to get into the hole first. Outside, only Isol, Hwayeon, and I remained.

"Jang Yong. Give it here."

"Huh?"

"The bow and the quiver."

"Y-you're going to attack yourself?"

"Why else would I ask for a bow if I wasn't going to shoot?"

Jang Yong stood there with a blank, dumbfounded expression before belatedly handing over the bow and quiver. The others wore similar looks.

"What. How are you… no way…?"

"Team Leader. Were you an Awoken?"

"Something like that."

"For real?"

"Is that true?"

In truth, I hadn't become an Awoken. It was a special ability that appeared after I reached 100% synchronization. I was simply about to use it now.