Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Named (3)
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Thanks to Kim Beomsu, the only one among us who hadn't forgotten our original goal, we avoided wasting a precious opportunity in vain.
"Ooh! It's drooling like crazy!"
Since we had to confirm it with the naked eye rather than machines, we couldn't just kill off our valuable test subject on the spot.
I had no choice but to repeatedly apply my ability while carefully adjusting the output.
The two started off serious, but it wasn't hard to tell things weren't going well just from their expressions afterward.
Han Sehee's face gradually darkened.
On the flip side, Kim Beomsu was grinning even in this situation, which gave me a bit of hope.
"Did you figure anything out?"
"Nope. No clue at all."
"Then why..."
"More importantly, what illusion did you just use?! That monkey was thrashing around until a second ago, and now it's quiet as a mouse!"
So he just decided to enjoy it since he had no idea anyway.
As I'd noticed before, Kim Beomsu didn't think like ordinary people.
In response to his question, the illusion I'd just used was inspired by horror movie clichés.
Basically, a murderer chasing you from behind, running for your life like mad.
You no longer sense anyone behind you, so you turn around—nothing there.
You let out a sigh of relief and look straight ahead, and
Boom! Jump scare with the killer right in your face.
Since it was a monkey, the killer was probably swapped for a giant snake predator or something, but the details didn't matter.
"Honestly, you're enjoying this too, aren't you, Han Yujin?"
"..."
No comment.
After a few more illusion demonstrations, the monkey couldn't take it anymore.
I could feel its resolve like, 'I'll choose death!' so I had to let it go with a tear in my eye.
Kim Beomsu looked refreshed, while Han Sehee seemed depressed by contrast.
As for me, it wasn't bad regardless of the fun factor.
My colleagues' views of me had changed.
Even An Changsu, who had been skeptical about my ability, was convinced watching the monkey's reactions shift moment by moment.
And apparently, he really liked that I wasn't docking points for saving Lee Seonwoo.
We judged it best not to put distance between us because of the monkey attacks.
As we stuck close and moved, An Changsu and I were able to chat.
"So you two have been raiding together from the start?"
"I picked up that punk Seonwoo as a porter. He was E-rank back then, and he looked like he wouldn't last long. I stuck my neck out for nothing and ruined my own luck, damn it..."
"Hey... hyung."
"You little shit. Did you even thank this hyung of yours for saving your ass?"
Lee Seonwoo shot back in a huff but couldn't even break even.
Stung by An Changsu's words, he bowed his head to me in thanks.
An Changsu let out a quiet sigh.
"When the hell are you gonna man up? Taemin's gonna hit C-rank next season, and then your spot's gone."
It hurt more because it wasn't pure criticism—it was concern based on facts.
With his spirit broken, Lee Seonwoo could only trudge along.
Kim Taemin snorted at the sight.
He gave me a slight nod, then turned away.
Since An Changsu approved, he felt he had to as well, but he clearly wasn't thrilled.
Maybe he just hated riding the bus.
The guy was so consistent it wasn't even annoying.
I turned to Park Bomi, who was walking quietly beside me.
"Why do you solo, Park Bomi? With your skills, parties should be lining up to recruit you."
"Well, partly because I like it, but mostly my gear means I can't raid too often."
She patted the longbow in her left hand.
"It needs maintenance after a few uses. It's custom-made at the forge, so if it breaks from rough handling, I'm screwed."
It was hard to sympathize with her complaint about durability.
Results-wise, it was less a bow and more a ballista.
If it hit properly, even higher-rank monsters couldn't guarantee survival.
It was only natural for the weapon itself to take a huge strain.
That it didn't snap in half the moment she drew it meant the bow was doing its job just fine.
We encountered a few more monsters after that, but they all ended one-sidedly.
Unlike at first, we didn't forget our goal, so we even spared a few in the process.
The more I repeated the experiments, the more success seemed distant.
Kim Beomsu had flat-out declared it impossible.
He said it wasn't something effort could overcome and just enjoyed my illusions instead.
Han Sehee, on the other hand, still couldn't let go of her lingering hopes.
She groaned and glared intensely at my ability—how could I tell her to give up?
We were getting paid to clear the bus, after all.
I couldn't cheer her on, but I sure as hell wasn't going to sabotage her.
I quietly kept using my ability until she was satisfied.
Before we knew it, the raid was nearing its end.
The mana was thickening—the gate core was close.
Which meant we'd soon face the boss monster.
Our party's strength far exceeded the recommended clear level, but that didn't mean we could relax against a C-rank boss.
Me soloing the boss earlier had been possible only because of my ability and perfect matchup.
And judging from the gate's form, we couldn't count on that luck again.
"I can sense it right ahead."
Han Sehee stowed her staff.
Even without her words, we all sensed it instinctively.
The nauseating stench stinging our noses was growing stronger.
We pushed through the forest into a wide clearing.
No obstacles blocking sight or movement should have been good, but it was hard to be purely happy.
The enemy benefited too.
Thick green skin that looked tough at a glance.
A hideous face smashed like it had been pulverized.
A body over 3 meters tall despite the hunched back like a hunchback.
"Troll..."
Lee Seonwoo muttered blankly before quickly clamping his mouth shut.
Fortunately, the troll didn't react.
Looking closer, its eyes were closed—it was asleep.
A great condition for gaining the upper hand in combat.
But Han Sehee's expression soured.
"It's an enhanced variant. Looks like it absorbed the gate core into its body— at least B-rank..."
The gate core that sustains the gate.
Normally, the core and boss are separate, but sometimes they appear fused.
In those cases, killing the boss ends the raid.
You get all the mana from the core at once.
But a monster absorbing a massive mana core meant fighting an enemy empowered by that much.
Far from ideal.
"Let's start by slamming it with something big. Mage?"
Kim Beomsu shook his head at An Changsu's call.
"It's sensitive to mana. It'll sense and break the chant, so better not risk it."
"Guess I'll handle it then."
Park Bomi drew an arrow and nocked it.
We quickly formed a plan on the spot and took our positions.
Kim Beomsu looked at me seriously.
"No room to neutralize it. Stay put here, Han Yujin."
Obviously.
The range was tight, but this was still within my illusion radius.
No need to move even if I helped.
From a short distance away, I could see the others' tension.
But no idiots here to screw it up over that.
At the agreed signal, Park Bomi nodded and began drawing the string.
Kreeeeak—the superhuman tension made the bow scream.
At the point where the string stretched endlessly and the bow limbs started bending, Park Bomi stopped.
In that split second.
With superhuman senses, she fine-tuned the tiny error, then
released.
Bang!
The air exploded.
And the projectile accelerating near supersonic speed soon struck its target,
———!!!
A scream of overwhelming volume shook the ground.
Woken brutally from deep slumber, the troll quickly spotted the culprit.
Yanking the arrow from its right eye with its hand, its hate-filled gaze turned to Park Bomi,
and it charged at tremendous speed.
No escaping.
Shadow crossed Park Bomi's face, but Han Sehee finished her spell right on time.
Krasha!
The beast charging full tilt lost balance as the ground erupted beneath its feet, smashing face-first into the dirt.
Low-rank earth magic: Ground Surge.
Not easy to lift that massive body.
Perfect chance to stab it.
An Changsu yelled,
"Don't face it head-on, no matter what!"
He smashed the arm trying to push up with his mace to disrupt it, while Kim Taemin and Lee Seonwoo circled behind and slashed at its ankles.
The monster shrieked in pain, then felt the need to swat these pesky flies first.
Abandoning its effort to stand, it wildly swung its arm, sending a heavy fist toward An Changsu.
"Hyung!"
Boom! The monster's power was no joke—even blocking fully with the round shield wasn't enough.
The body flung along the swing's arc crashed into a tree before stopping.
Not unconscious, but a serious blow.
An Changsu trembled, propping himself on the ground.
Having swatted one fly, the troll looked down at the two clinging to its feet.
A terrifying presence.
Kim Beomsu's urgent shout came from afar.
"Dodge!"
Recalling the plan, the two snapped to attention.
The troll stared blankly at the two fleeing without looking back, then turned—
and met a massive fireball.
Mid-rank magic: Fireball.
Kim Beomsu's spell exploded on the troll's face.