086. Thorn Grasslands (2)
086. Thorn Grasslands (2)
Thud─!
Her soles pushed off the ground and the surrounding scenery stretched and streaked past in a blur.
Seven monsters appeared before Lee Yu-ri's eyes.
Black Hedgehog
Their appearance resembled porcupines, but their size was so massive it was embarrassing to compare them to such cute little animals.
Their eyes were stained red, and a sticky liquid oozed from the prickly spines protruding along their backs.
"Watch out for ambushes, eleven total. Four are hiding underground."
Jin Yu-ha, who had activated Detection, gave advance warning about the ones lying in ambush underground.
Lee Yu-ri glanced down at the ground.
She then noticed the subtly different color of the earth and spines sticking up like blades of grass.
'Hmm, I knew they were good at digging burrows... but I really can't picture these huge things hiding in the dirt.'
Was that why their danger level had been set at B-Rank?
"Lee Yu-ri, deploy shield."
The moment Jin Yu-ha's command fell.
Boom!
Lee Yu-ri stomped the ground with her sole and thrust her shield forward.
HUMMM—!
From the cross-shaped shield, a blue barrier unfurled like an opening umbrella.
The instant the shield deployed, the ones in the ground and the ones standing ahead all fired their spines.
WHOOSH—!
RATATATAT—!
Each and every one pounded against the shield with terrifying speed, like bullets.
'...So many.'
If she could have freely expanded the barrier's size, that would be one thing, but with a shield limited in size, it was impossible to block every single incoming projectile.
Lee Yu-ri tracked the flying spines without even blinking.
Among the incoming projectiles, she distinguished which trajectories would hit the party members behind her from those that wouldn't, then plotted her movement path in her head.
"Gukbap hoobae!"
From behind, along with Im Ga-eul's voice, 'Acceleration' settled into her body.
Her body became noticeably lighter.
Lee Yu-ri's feet moved without hesitation along the optimal path she had pre-planned.
The feeling of her body moving exactly as she'd pictured it really was something.
Lee Yu-ri grinned as she thought that.
*
'Whoa, Lee Yu-ri's on fire today.'
Even normally, Lee Yu-ri's shield techniques, honed through relentless effort and constant practice, were considered decent among Tanks.
But today, that shield was running absolutely wild.
'...But wait, wasn't she a bit weak against projectiles?'
I watched her from behind and tilted my head.
In Velvet School Life, a character's performance varied wildly depending on the enemy's attributes.
Originally, in Lee Yu-ri's case, it wasn't a complete mismatch against enemies that fired projectiles from a distance, but you couldn't exactly call her efficient against them either.
'She blocks attacks aimed at herself just fine, but she used to have trouble protecting the party members behind her...?'
Since she was an evasion-focused Tank, she couldn't use a heavy shield, so her shield's size was just barely enough to cover her own body.
Because of that, she had no choice but to be weak against attacks targeting other party members from afar.
'So I thought she'd handle it by pulling aggro with skills...'
Yet seeing Lee Yu-ri now, I couldn't help wondering if I'd been mistaken all this time.
She was leveraging her speed—her strength—to move all over the place and block the spines.
As for the attacks that did manage to head our way...
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Long, spear-like spines embedded themselves right next to my feet.
Venom dripped onto the ground, and acrid white smoke rose up.
Lee Yu-ri hadn't blocked every single attack, but she had deflected or stopped all the ones that would have hit us directly.
The volley of spines that had been pouring down ceased.
Now it was the Damage Dealers' turn to step up.
I turned my head to the side.
Kang Do-hee's face was set hard.
Her eyes were glaring wide open, and it looked like she was probably thinking something along the lines of,
'How is a Tank like that still unknown?'
"Hey, Kang Do-hee."
"...Yeah."
When I called her, the reply came a beat late.
"Wanna make a bet?"
"...What?"
"Let's bet on who catches more."
"A bet? You and me...?"
When I said it with a grin, Kang Do-hee answered in a voice sharp with irritation, like I'd struck a nerve.
"...Looks like Yellow Dog is mistaken about something. During the last sparring session, you beat me with skill—"
Hah—!
Before she could even finish her sentence, I drew Moonlight and kicked off the ground.
"Yellow Dog..."
Chewing on her lip, Kang Do-hee then kicked off toward the monsters as well.
SHNK—!
I gripped Moonlight's hilt firmly and swung it in a wide horizontal arc at the giant monster in front of me.
In response, spines sprouted from the creature's hand, and it thrust them forward to meet me.
It looked like it was trying to block my sword with its spines—but
SHNK—!
Moonlight sliced clean through its spines and the thing's throat in one stroke.
"SKREEE—!"
The creature shrieked as blood gushed from the open wound.
But I didn't spare it a glance and immediately searched for my next quarry.
The next targets: the Black Hedgehog bastards still hiding in the dirt.
I activated Detection to pinpoint their positions more clearly,
then gripped my sword in a reverse hold and drove the pommel down toward the ground.
Crunch─!
The tip of the blade sank deep into the earth.
When I pulled the sword out, dark blood smeared the blade.
Rrrrrrumble─!
For an instant, the ground shuddered as if stretching, but then immediately fell still.
The sword tip had pierced through the back of its skull, killing it instantly.
'They can't even dodge while they're in the ground. This is such easy mode.'
Shunk!
Shunk!
Shunk!
I kept stabbing my sword into the dirt and pulling it out, picking off the creatures one by one.
......
Soon, the four monsters hiding underground had breathed their last.
I turned my head.
Kang Do-hee came into view, kicking away the arm of the last remaining one.
BOOM—!
One of the hedgehog's thick arms burst apart as if a bomb had detonated inside it.
"Yellow Dog. That makes six for me. You've taken down five."
Kang Do-hee chuckled as she spoke, then launched herself into the air.
Her body rose, and her extended leg spun around, swinging toward the creature's head.
WHOOSH—!
But at that moment.
Clang─!
I intercepted and blocked Kang Do-hee's spinning kick with the flat of my blade.
The flat of the sword, pushed by the force of Kang Do-hee's kick, slammed into the hedgehog's head.
"Ghk!?"
Thud─!
The one-armed giant Black Hedgehog collapsed on the spot, knocked unconscious.
"...Yellow Dog, what's the meaning of this?"
Against the backdrop of scattering dust, Kang Do-hee spoke in a chilly voice, her brow twitching.
I smirked.
"Ah, we need to test something with this one."
"...Test?"
"Yeah, Ga-eul sunbae!"
I turned my head and gestured to Im Ga-eul.
At that, Lee Yu-ri and Im Ga-eul, who had been standing behind us, ran over.
"What's up, hoobae?"
"Come here and test out those gloves."
"...Huh?"
"You still haven't gotten to use them even once, right? We need to see how well they work in actual combat."
"Ah."
I turned toward the other party members.
"Lee Yu-ri, Kang Do-hee, keep watch around us."
"Yeah, got it."
"Tch, so this was your plan from the start."
Lee Yu-ri nodded, and Kang Do-hee clicked her tongue but took up a guard position without another word.
"Alright, sunbae. Give it a full-force swing. It's already knocked out. It'll be fine."
Im Ga-eul hesitated, then swallowed hard and stood in front of the monster.
"Hup!"
Swish─!
As a flustered Im Ga-eul swung her hand through the air.
Clang─!
A sharp, clear sound rang out as the tips of the spines on the Black Hedgehog's back vibrated.
"Re-aim."
"Hup!"
SHNK—!
This time, two of its fingers were sliced off.
I rubbed my chin as I watched.
'Hmm, I'm gonna have to fix her stance.'
Honestly, it would be safer to have her master it through proper training at the academy.
But testing it like this, against an actual monster, wasn't an opportunity you got every day either.
'Well, picking a dungeon below our party's level was partly for this reason from the start.'
I nodded to myself and approached Im Ga-eul.
Then I stood behind her and grasped her wrist.
"...H-hoobae!?"
Startled, Im Ga-eul turned her head to look at me.
"Focus. You need to get your stance right at a time like this. No matter how hard Gukbap or I try to protect you, some attacks will inevitably slip through. You need to be able to handle yourself in those moments, sunbae."
"...Uh, uh."
She nodded, but she fidgeted awkwardly, as if something felt uncomfortable.
"Keep still."
At that, Im Ga-eul's body went rigid as a statue.
"Okay, eyes wide open. First, clearly see your opponent."
"Mmhmm!"
"Then raise your arm way up to the opposite side."
Following the lead of the hand I held, her wrist rose up over her shoulder.
A pose that looked exactly like a tight embrace.
Im Ga-eul's face flushed a furious, explosive red.
"H-hoobae... it kinda feels like I'm in your arms—."
"What was that?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing!"
"I told you to focus. Your mind keeps wandering. Anyway, from there, you stretch your arm all the way out and slash downward. Use the snap of your arm extending to make it strong."
Swish─!
SHNK—!
A long, deep gash opened up on the Black Hedgehog's face, and blood spurted out.
That instant.
"SKREEE—!"
The creature, which had been unconscious, shrieked from the pain of its face being slashed and reared up.
Spines fired out in all directions, not at any single specific target.
Swish!
Ting─!
Ting-ting-ting─!
Ting!
I swung Im Ga-eul's hand like a sword and deflected the spines.
I lacked the attack power to slice through all of them completely, but it was more than enough to alter their trajectories.
Before I knew it, Im Ga-eul was tucked tightly in my arms.
"If you do it like this, you can sufficiently protect yourself. Starting tomorrow, whenever you have time, practice deflecting attacks in the private training ground."
I looked down at her and said.
"...Ah, okay. But... h-hoobae."
"Hm?"
"Um....... C-could you please, let me go now? The other juniors are staring at us way too intently...?"
I shifted my gaze to the side. Lee Yu-ri and Kang Do-hee were watching us with cold, icy eyes.
"..."
"..."
* * *
"Captain..."
"What."
"Ah, I mean... this route isn't the one we originally planned to take."
The Damage Dealer muttered uneasily beside her.
Joo Tae-rin's expression twisted fiercely.
"Shut up!!! I'm going to make sure that goddamn Cheonhwa party gets screwed."
Flaming embers danced in Joo Tae-rin's eyes.