Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Named (5)
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Elite monster, or Named.
As the name implied, it was a monster with its own identity.
I'd thought I might encounter one someday, but I never imagined it would be this soon.
This was only our second gate.
They weren't common enough to run into already.
"Taemin!"
The roots sprouting from Libea's arms retracted, hurling their captive to the ground.
Kim Taemin's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Instant death.
Crunch!
An Changsu barely held himself back from charging forward through sheer superhuman willpower.
His instincts screamed that acting on emotion would lead to a dog's death.
Libea yanked the arrow from her body and tilted her head.
A gesture of pure curiosity about the object that had pierced her.
Her facial features remained utterly still as she twisted only her head this way and that to examine the arrow.
An utterly bizarre sight.
Without tearing her eyes away, she spoke.
"That bastard's weakness is fire. Get a fireball ready."
"The troll was in an open space. If fire breaks out here, we'll..."
Kim Beomsu's voice was heavy with gloom.
The surroundings were choked with dense vegetation.
The perfect landscape for a fire to spread.
We'd be trapped and burned alive—no escape.
Even a victory would mean total annihilation, rendering it pointless.
What a shitty situation.
Having lost interest in the arrow, Libea's gaze turned toward us.
She stared blankly for now, but it wouldn't be long before she recognized us as enemies.
"Melee's too risky. You two up front, prioritize defending the rear."
"What?"
It stung that our most effective attack was off-limits, but it wasn't hopeless.
"She has three abilities. We can't block them all, but we have to stop her from singing."
"Bro, you grasp the fucking situation?"
An Changsu snarled at me, brimming with rage.
To him, I was just the E-rank hunter who'd been freeloading in the back.
We hadn't built enough trust for him to take my words seriously.
"Useless piece of shit flapping his gums—think we'll just say 'yes sir'?"
"An Changsu, calm down."
His comrade held him back as he advanced on me with a murderous glare.
He'd lost his cool after Kim Taemin's death, but a calm talk could persuade him.
Except we had no time for that.
I directed my mana toward An Changsu.
A new application born from endlessly tweaking my simulation illusions.
"I wanna kill you, so shut your fucking..."
His boiling voice trailed off in an instant.
Like dousing him with cold water, his artificial rage was suppressed, forcing cold reason back into him.
An Changsu blinked in confusion at his unnatural shift.
Kim Beomsu eyed me strangely.
"Did you use your ability?"
I nodded and met An Changsu's gaze.
"No time to explain. Kill me or save me later, whatever—just trust me for now!"
His expression soured.
As An Changsu slowly opened his mouth,
"Th-that guy's moving!!"
Lee Seonwoo's scream cut through.
Libea began forming hand seals.
She'd pegged us as targets to eliminate.
"Goddamn..."
With a low mutter, An Changsu returned to Lee Seonwoo's side.
As urgent as it was, he'd follow my lead for the moment.
The worst was averted.
In this fight, the main damage dealers had to be the mages.
Without the frontliners managing aggro, they couldn't handle the heat.
"Can't Han Yujin neutralize her with your ability?"
Han Sehee's voice stayed composed.
But a faint unease flickered in her eyes.
"She might look it, but she's plant at her core. Mental immunity."
I'd used the ability, but it was a far cry from the troll's backlash.
She wasn't even a valid target to begin with.
Rumble!
Libea finished her seals, and the anomaly hit.
The two trees standing beside the girl rose up.
First ability: living, moving trees.
The freed giants lumbered to their master's side with their massive bulk.
Their overwhelming size shook the earth.
Just looking at them crushed morale.
"You two up front—don't approach. Just block any attacks coming our way."
"Easy to say, you fuck..."
"Park Bomi, don't waste arrows. Disrupt her when she tries to sing. I'll signal you."
She stared at me blankly for a moment.
Debating whether to listen. Sweat beaded on my skin.
Fortunately, she gave a small nod.
Phew—a breath escaped Kim Beomsu as he chanted his spell.
"Preemptive strike. Everyone, get ready."
Crackle, crackle.
A sphere of lightning gathered before his hand, firing as a single beam.
Mid-tier magic: Lightning Bolt.
Our attack caught her off guard—it struck dead center.
Libea shuddered violently, electrocuted.
Han Sehee followed up, completing her spell.
Three frost arrows materialized in the air.
They locked on and launched.
But only one connected.
A moving tree swung a branch thick as a man's torso, batting the rest away.
The girl stared back at us, her body singed from electricity and a jagged icicle lodged in her shoulder.
Her face remained expressionless, but a quiet fury simmered beneath.
Thud! The trees advanced on us,
"Seonwoo!"
"Got it!"
An Changsu and Lee Seonwoo charged out.
True to the plan, they aimed to keep attacks off the backline.
The trees swung their thick branches at the pair.
The pressure was palpable even from afar—a direct hit would be fatal.
But they dodged without issue.
Even mobile, trees weren't fast.
Blocked, the trees flailed in place.
Frustrated, perhaps—Libea parted her lips,
and I shouted instantly.
"Park Bomi!"
A whoosh pierced the air past my ear.
The arrow punched through her chest without slowing, toppling the girl with its momentum.
Song blocked.
The momentum felt good.
Just hold it like this. Just like...
Then the girl rose, caked in dirt.
She extended her slender arm to the ground and slowly raised her hand.
Seedlings sprouted at her gesture.
They shot up at tremendous speed, soon towering to her height.
Second ability: Thorn Flower Growth.
"Thorns incoming! Watch out—"
Before I finished, the flower buds bent toward us.
Thorns launched from their blooming petals.
The frontliners blocked with shields or dove aside; the mages threw up barriers to deflect them.
And unluckily, one thorn flew straight at me.
I noticed too late from yelling.
Realizing I couldn't dodge, I braced for the pain,
"Ugh."
But it sank into someone else's arm thrust in my place.
Park Bomi.
Why...
"Hired to guard you, remember?"
She yanked the thorn from her arm matter-of-factly.
Before I could stammer thanks, a scream erupted from ahead.
"Lee Seonwoo!"
His foot had tangled dodging a thorn—he took a heavy branch to the body.
He flew backward and lost consciousness.
An Changsu alone couldn't cover for two.
He was too busy dodging to halt their advance.
The trees closed in relentlessly.
Libea opened her mouth again,
"Park Bomi!"
Ah.
The arrow thudded harmlessly into a tree.
The mages scrambled to chant belatedly,
but too late.
— Ah—ah aaa aah♪
The melody echoed, glazing over my comrades' eyes.
Third ability: Charm.
Unlike me, their mental resistance matched their rank exactly.
They couldn't resist.
The mages' chants broke off; their spells fizzled.
"Snap out of it!"
I slapped the dazed comrades beside me wildly—Kim Beomsu came to first.
"Wh-what? Han Yujin?"
"Fuck! Slap the others awake, quick!"
"Gaaahhh!!!"
A branch had snared An Changsu during the charm.
Crunch, cruuunch!
Ah...
My stomach churned. I felt like puking.
I never wanted to learn a human body could make that sound.
"...Fuck. Han Yujin!"
Park Bomi.
Kim Beomsu must have woken them all.
"What now?!"
Her voice desperate, eyes pleading.
What now?
Frontline down two.
Last one out cold.
What was there to do?
The despair went beyond limits, leaving me eerily calm.
"We run. No way out. Head for open ground."
Her arm trembled.
Fear?
No—the thorn poison was spreading.
"Any spell to buy time. We'll run."
Kim Beomsu chanted without hesitation.
Low-tier magic: Ember.
Faint flames ignited on Libea's body.
She flailed in panic at the fire clinging to her.
No need to hold back fire magic in this mess.
And it wasn't AoE enough to spark a blaze.
"Go."
Park Bomi hoisted the unconscious Lee Seonwoo, and we bolted backward.
I glanced back briefly.
The fire was already out—Libea looked fine.
She wasn't pursuing, thankfully.
The girl formed hand seals.
Spotting two more trees lurching to life, I whipped my head forward.
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.