Always Be Careful of Fire (1)
Always Be Careful of Fire (1)
The names of monsters are usually given by their first discoverer or the discovering organization, but most of the time, the names carry a fairly intuitive meaning.
- Screeee—!
The noise piercing my ears made my expression twist automatically.
Do moths normally make that kind of sound? Not as far as I know, at least.
Then again, otherworldly monsters have completely different biological and mana-based compositions, so I suppose it's possible.
Parasitic Moth.
A monster I've faced before in the original story.
The keywords you can glean from the name are "parasitic" and "moth."
I felt out the physical shape of the Parasitic Moth flying through the sky with my senses.
Three pairs of wings constantly fluttering and scattering the wind, and a snout that belched out that enormous noise.
An overwhelming surge of mana.
'...Ugh.'
My stomach lurched. The force of its mana was far more outrageous than I'd expected. My legs trembled faintly. If I had to fight something like that in reality, I'd probably turn tail and run immediately.
The only reasons I was a little less terrified were that this place wasn't reality but inside the Tower—
- Fwoooosh!
"Graaaaagh! You son of a bitch!"
—and the fact that beneath the Parasitic Moth, a blaze even more ferocious than the monster was raging, and for now, at least, that was on our side (?).
This entire area had been completely drained of life. It was comparable to the devastation I'd passed through before.
The difference was that the previous location was full of traces of being burned away, whereas this place seemed utterly dead, as if all vitality had been sucked out dry.
Parasitic Moth.
The reason for that name is its mana-absorption ability. Its species-level ability is to absorb and utilize vast amounts of surrounding vitality and mana.
On top of that, this one is an Alpha Individual, so it must be even stronger.
- Kiiiiiih!
The Parasitic Moth spewed a different noise from before. The ambient mana writhed, then was sucked into the Parasitic Moth.
That mana passed through the Parasitic Moth's body and gathered at its snout. At that blatantly telegraphed prelude, Hong Yeon-hwa kicked off the ground.
- BOOOOOOM!
Then came the discharge. A simple, brute-force pillar of mana slammed down from the sky.
An attack that simply gathers mana and smashes it down—a mindlessly straightforward technique that is the specialty of monsters born with massive mana reserves.
The Parasitic Moth swept its snout side to side. A line of mana, carving a massive gouge into the earth, pursued Hong Yeon-hwa.
- Fwoosh
Hong Yeon-hwa kicked off the ground. Her form flickered like a flame.
Even in a world dyed black, Hong Yeon-hwa blazed red.
It was both flame-attributed mana and the aura influenced by it, and it was also the Calamity Flame itself.
Every time she stomped her feet, the ground shattered. The flying debris was erased by the pillar of mana, engulfed by the Calamity Flame and incinerated without leaving a speck of dust.
The Parasitic Moth maintained its attack, greedily sucking in mana, but the pillar of mana couldn't so much as graze a single hair on Hong Yeon-hwa's head.
- KWA-BOOM!
As she dodged the attacks, Hong Yeon-hwa executed a True Step. A massive boom erupted as her form accelerated.
In an instant, she escaped far from the attack's trajectory and drew one arm back behind her.
A posture similar to throwing a spear.
Mana blossomed in a rush and coalesced in her hand. That mana soon became a long spear of flame.
"Die already!"
Then came the throw. Unlike the line of mana that had hammered down from the sky, a crimson line surged from the earth toward the heavens.
- Screeee!
The Parasitic Moth cut off its attack and urgently twisted its body. Contrary to its huge frame, its movement was swift.
The spear of flame shot into the sky, piercing the empty air where the Parasitic Moth's wings had been. A thunderous explosion burst from the distant heavens.
"Argh! That goddamn flying bug bastard!"
Hong Yeon-hwa's face crumpled. An air of deep dissatisfaction rose up heavily. Then, steadying her breath, she turned her head.
"I'm gonna roast that thing with direct fire and beat it to death... Hey... Um..."
My amplified sense of touch could read in detail even the gazes that landed on my skin. Hong Yeon-hwa's gaze settled on the area around my eyes.
Her gaze trembled faintly. A gaze tinged with both fluster and a flush of emotion lingered heavily over my face and body before finally dropping away.
As her head turned, I guessed her gaze would have reached Ellia and Baek A-rin beside me.
There was no particular reaction to Ellia.
At most, a gaze containing a little gladness. It seemed Ellia's affinity had reached even Hong Yeon-hwa.
Then her head turned toward Baek A-rin.
"...Hi?"
Baek A-rin gave an awkward smile and waved her hand.
Fwoooosh! The force of the Calamity Flame intensified. Furious anger openly flared up.
Using emotion as kindling, the Calamity Flame blazed. Behind Hong Yeon-hwa, trembling swords of flame formed in clusters, as if ready to fire at any moment.
"Kyaaaaah! Ha-yul! Save me!"
Baek A-rin yelped in fright and leaped backward. The place she headed was behind me.
- I'm sorry. Die in my place.
'Gyaaah!'
Turning my back to Baek A-rin. That was an ominous prospect. I also sprang away and moved behind Baek A-rin.
As if playing tag, Baek A-rin and I circled each other around Ellia, who stood in the middle. An endless tail-chase.
Hong Yeon-hwa ground her teeth. The swords of flame formed behind her wavered, then dissolved into the air.
"That chea...! I mean, you devious friend, you."
"The filtered result was 'devious friend'...? If you hadn't filtered it, just how bad would the cursing have been...?"
Baek A-rin, having stopped spinning, murmured in disbelief. I too barely managed to stop spinning.
"Cursing? Hey! You're the one who got cursed at because you were babbling bull... spouting lies, aren't you!"
"Yeon-hwa, maybe the problem was that you ran off without listening to the end..."
The two naturally started bickering. A common sight. I steadied my pounding heart and heightened my senses upward.
- Screeee
The Parasitic Moth was flying in the sky, watching us, its wariness especially concentrated on Hong Yeon-hwa.
'Calamity Flame?'
Feeling it out more carefully, I realized the Parasitic Moth's left wing was strange. Its internal mana was tattered, as if scorched by fire. It looked like it had been hit by the Calamity Flame.
It must not have been a direct hit. If it had been direct, it wouldn't still be flying around fine.
"Ha-yul!"
After Baek A-rin's short shriek, a voice brimming with gladness approached abruptly—Hong Yeon-hwa.
A similar gladness rose in me as well. It had only been a few days at most, but it was because I hadn't seen Hong Yeon-hwa in that time.
But the situation wasn't favorable. I suppressed the gladness, waved my hand around, and then pointed to the sky.
Understanding my intent, Hong Yeon-hwa nodded and explained the situation.
According to her, Hong Yeon-hwa, who had slammed into the mob of cadets gathered en masse thanks to Baek A-rin's bullshit-ping, rampaged wildly. In the process, some were eliminated and some fled to preserve their lives (?).
She'd briefly felt dejected, thinking I must have already been eliminated since she couldn't see me.
While she'd been spending the day resting after finding a suitable spot nearby, she had detected the boss's presence—just moments ago, to be precise.
Then the brawl had broken out.
"I slammed the Calamity Flame into its left wing, but it went a little wide, so it wasn't a fatal wound. Its flight ability is just slightly reduced."
"What about the other cadets? With this much commotion, they'd have gathered by now."
"It hasn't been long since the fight started, so none yet. Also because all the nearby kids ran away after the havoc I wreaked. But if this racket keeps going, the number of people coming to find us will grow."
Hong Yeon-hwa clicked her tongue and swung her sword around aimlessly.
"Right now it's flying around, so subjugating it isn't easy. It's tricky to close in and pummel it, and even if I just pour out mana wildly from the ground, it's hard to hit."
Monsters capable of flight are naturally especially difficult to subjugate. That's why flight tends to be rated particularly highly even in monster rank classifications.
A flying 5th-Rank Alpha Individual? If that thing were released into the world, it'd be hard to capture even if several high-grade superhumans piled on.
The rough explanation ended. I turned my head away from Hong Yeon-hwa, who was steadily keeping her guard up against the Parasitic Moth even as she talked.
In the direction my head turned was Baek A-rin. She seemed to be briefly lost in thought.
As far as I knew, the person here most skilled in strategy and tactics was Baek A-rin. I looked toward her with the expectation that she might have some kind of plan.
"...How about we do this?"
As if living up to my expectations, Baek A-rin's lips parted.
.
.
.
And so, I picked up a bow.
'......'
It was the bow of some nameless cadet who had already been eliminated. They said it was a mass-produced model, but since it was manufactured in Siyoram, its performance was excellent.
I fiddled with the bow blankly for a moment, then shifted my senses.
A short distance away, I sensed Baek A-rin moving around and firing lances of ice wildly into the sky.
Then occasionally she would kick off the ground and soar upward, using ice blocks or the like as footholds to directly target the flying Parasitic Moth.
The Parasitic Moth was busily fluttering its three pairs of wings to evade her. Judging by the strange wind currents coiling around its wings, it seemed to have some kind of wind-attribute ability.
It took a few hits occasionally, but as befitted its rank, the harassing attacks did little real damage. Baek A-rin peppered in chip damage while opening the distance against the Parasitic Moth's counterattacks.
I recalled the plan I had just heard.
- The plan is simple! Miss Ellia will buff me and Lee Ha-yul, we will harass the moth to create an opening, and then Yeon-hwa will finish it with a maximum-output Calamity Flame!
It was a simple plan. At the time I'd been nonchalant about it, but then Baek A-rin had looked at me and added a supplementary explanation.
- We have no choice. Even though Yeon-hwa says the cadets around here were annihilated, we never know when other cadets might swarm in.
- Annihilated? More like eliminated, you... not-so-nice person.
- Yeek!
'...A bow, huh.'
I had never used a bow before. I was receiving sparring lessons from Professor Atra, but I'd learned spear and sword, punching and kicking, and hadn't yet tried using a gun or a bow directly.
Honestly, my very image of bows was a little off-putting. As someone who had lived in my original world, I couldn't understand why you would use a bow when guns existed.
Of course, if you start quibbling about that, you fall into the dilemma of why you'd use a spear or sword when you could just use a gun.
To put it bluntly, Hong Yeon-hwa could probably flick a flying bullet away with her finger; whether gun or bow, the user is what matters more.
'Hoo...'
With a deep breath, I calmly aimed the bow. The target: the Parasitic Moth flying busily in the sky.
There's no need to be tense.
The goal is to draw the Parasitic Moth's attention.
It doesn't necessarily need to be a fatal wound. I just need to create a momentary opening for Hong Yeon-hwa to land her attack.
Holding the bow, I carefully took my stance. Even though it was actually my first time holding one, the posture came together quite plausibly.
'All-Rounder.'
A unique ability providing a minimum level of aptitude in various fields and a proficiency-correction effect.
Since "combat" falls under the same category, I should be able to handle it to some extent. Above all, I also knew the basic method of use.
I took the bowstring in my right hand.
I drew back the bowstring made of mana. Creeeak... For something made of mana, it made a surprisingly passable sound that brushed my ears.
The internal mechanism of the bow activated, and an arrow of mana was nocked onto the string.
【Mana Arrow Embodiment】
This is a basic function built into bows used as standard armaments.
Usually, you imbue a real, physical arrow with mana and fire it, but when you don't have spares, you can also shoot one made entirely of mana.
I drew in mana. I tapped my Core, pulled mana out, and guided it to the bowstring. At its master's command, the mana rushed swiftly and without complaint.
The mana gathered onto the drawn bowstring, forming into an arrow.
'...【Flame Enchant】.'
Fwoooosh! Flames engulfed the mana arrow.
Low-grade attribute enchantment magic. The attribute being enchanted: flame.
To living creatures, fire is, quite naturally, a dangerous element. Unless it's some strange or special type like a Golem, that is.
Parasitic Moth. Whatever it looks like, it's still an insect. Its body isn't composed of an attribute like stone, wind, or water, either.
If it's a flame gorged on a hefty amount of mana, it should be quite eye-catching.
Creeeak... I drew the bowstring to its maximum. All-Rounder assisted my stance, and Mana Affinity harmonized the enchanted attribute magic.
To draw its attention, I have to give the impression that "if this hits, it's dangerous." I poured even more mana in. The flames clinging to the arrow intensified.
- Vwoooom!
Using the high-purity mana as kindling, the fire blazed. I had the illusion that the bow in both hands was heavy. That was how much mana the arrow had absorbed.
'This much should...'
Probably work.
The moment I thought that and was about to send a signal to Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek A-rin, and Ellia, who were waiting for their timing—
Astonished gazes shot toward me from them.
- Fwoooosh!
Flames suddenly erupted from my right hand, which was wrapped in arm sleeves. The fire was so violent it made the flames clinging to the arrow seem to pale in comparison.
I opened my mouth blankly.
'No.'
Why is it throwing a fit again?