The Icicle Symphony
If you judged the fight solely by how many hits the combat strength gauge was allowed to withstand, A-rin had dominated completely. Yet unlike Rakan, who had avoided any critical wounds, A-rin lay collapsed on the ground with blood spurting from the countless gashes that covered her shredded body.
“Water of Irmana and potions!”
“E-Eunyoung unnie!”
We used every healing item in our possession. Combined with Ham Eun-yeong’s skill that activated the body’s natural recovery, A-rin’s treatment progressed at remarkable speed.
Once she had barely regained her senses, A-rin took several deep breaths and wiped her face with a dry hand.
“Hoo… That thing is disgustingly strong… Give me a minute to catch my breath and I’ll try again.”
“Hey, you really don’t have to push yourself like this.”
Jua spoke with clear worry, but A-rin stubbornly declared that she would continue her challenge.
“I feel like… like I’m just about to see something. Just a little more.”
“Isn’t that just in your head?”
“Maybe… but I have this feeling that something’s about to click—”
……
A-rin’s second attempt would have to wait. The next challenger was No Hayun.
When Lee Yeon-hee poured mana into Rakan, the creature recovered a considerable amount of its spent stamina. I wondered if summoning a fresh one might be better, but according to Yeon-hee, unsummoning and resummoning created a strange sense of alienation for the creature.
In this world, each summon experiences a time lag when dismissed and called back.
Considering the growth of our summons, she said it was better to keep them active as much as possible.
The Alpha Rakan licked its lips while staring at No Hayun. Most humanoid monsters viewed female hunters as sexual prey, but werewolves were different. They were said to love only a single female of their own kind; therefore the drool dripping from this one’s jaws came purely from its murderous instinct.
That was dangerous in its own right, yet after the rather fierce sparring match A-rin had just endured, the fact that she had only ended up in that condition suggested there was no need for excessive worry. After all, the beast had avoided every vital point in its attacks.
“Come on in, puppy.”
“Keheung?!”
When No Hayun crooked her finger and provoked it, Rakan bumped its fists together a few times before charging straight at her.
The [Ice Field] she had prepared in advance instantly covered the creature’s path. With no other choice, Rakan leapt high into the air to kill its momentum.
“Ice Spear.”
“Kheung!”
Rakan twisted its body like a circus performer to dodge the ice lance she hurled skyward. Hayun’s eyebrows twitched, but she kept firing ice arrows while steadily planting ice walls to obstruct its movement.
Even so, Rakan dodged the barriers with ease and continued closing the distance.
What is it thinking? At that rate it’ll give up all its space in no time.
Eventually Rakan reached point-blank range. Its fist slammed into No Hayun’s abdomen.
Thud!
“Krrk?!”
Yet Hayun’s body had turned to ice. In the next instant she had already repositioned to the opposite side, flashing a bright, refreshing smile.
“Ohohohot! Come at me harder! Is that all you’ve got?”
“Kruuuu!!”
Rakan shook its head violently, clearly unable to comprehend what had just happened. Now completely enraged, it charged again, but once more Hayun transformed into ice, blocked the blow, and shifted to the opposite side.
Wow… She’s using the ice to create clones and afterimages simultaneously? She must have set the whole thing up from the very first skill cast.
Because I was focusing my senses, I could at least follow the flow. To everyone else it would simply look as if No Hayun had teleported.
As time passed, the ice clone—distorted into Hayun’s shape—opened its mouth slightly and released a heavy resonance. Sensing the ominous shift in atmosphere, Rakan charged toward the real Hayun once more.
Thud!Clang!Clang!
Every strike only struck the ice version of Hayun. After the third and fourth repetitions, when two ice clones stood in place, the resonances echoing across the frozen front yard overlapped in chaotic layers and tormented Rakan at their center.
“Keng… Kruuuu…”
At some point sticky blood began flowing from its ears. Its movements gradually slowed, until it finally collapsed and started rolling across the floor in agony.
Even a creature that normally endured any ordinary pain was reacting like this; clearly this was not pain that could simply be endured.
“Haa— Haa— This is the magic known as Icicle Symphony, you worthless mutt. Haha!”
Icicle Symphony
No Hayun seemed extremely pleased with the newly unveiled magic. Her eyes sparkled brighter than ever as she raised a hand toward us.
“Oh… That’s, that’s incredible. Is that some secret family technique? To actually defeat that Rakan…”
“Whatever it is, Hayun really does seem like a genius.”
“I can’t even begin to sense how the mana flow is structured.”
It was a unique spell that created multiple ice clones and used the sound flowing from them to trap and ultimately subdue the enemy. The way she hid among the scattering ice fragments and evaded attacks was equally impressive.
It could almost be called an ultimate technique. The conditions are rather demanding, though.
First, the magic required receiving an opponent’s attack before it could activate. The core principle was probably imprinting the attacker’s mana wavelength onto the ice clone to generate vibration.
Against an enemy with keen senses like me, the risk of failure would be high. It probably wouldn’t be very effective against long-range hunters either.
Still, against most other opponents it would display tremendous power, making it an excellent ability depending on the situation.
“Ugh… I need to rest. Wake me when it’s my turn—”
After muttering those words, Hayun collapsed on the spot and fell asleep instantly.
So once is still her limit? She was acting so confident; she must have other cards up her sleeve.
I ordered Lizard No. 1 to carry Hayun away, then turned my attention to the third challenger.
“Go easy on me, okay? You know I’m the weakest one here, right?”
From the very beginning Bae Jua was playing up her weakness while adjusting her thick glasses. The moment the match started she began dumping every spell she could muster.
Although Rakan had recovered thanks to Yeon-hee’s mana, the accumulated fatigue from two prior battles slowed its reactions. Jua seized the initiative right away.
First she drove the creature into a corner with rock barriers. Every time it smashed through the obstructing stones, she added new walls to hold it back—an impressive display. She kept creating barriers without pause, pressing it relentlessly until it was completely sealed from every direction, including above.
Ooh… After covering it completely, she could just keep hammering it with rock spears…?
Yet after suppressing Rakan for over five minutes, Jua was strangely unable to cast any offensive magic.
“Argh…! I can’t use attack spells…!”
She wanted to drop the recently acquired Boulder Slam or Rock Spear on the trapped Rakan, but the only thing Jua could manage was keeping it confined. The moment she tried anything else, the overwhelming fear that it would burst free and rip her apart froze her in place.
“Ugh— Blegh!”
In the end Jua collapsed to the floor, dry-heaving violently.
The time she had kept Rakan imprisoned was a full nine minutes. Nine minutes was no small feat. It meant she had rendered an opponent far stronger than herself completely helpless for that long.
She’s definitely a character with massive tactical value. But doing anything alone would be difficult for her.
While Jua trembled and emptied her stomach, No. 1—without needing instructions—familiarly lifted her onto its shoulder and brought her over to me.
Clack clack…
“I know I overdid it… Urp—”
She already seemed to understand what I wanted to say. Jua waved her hand as if telling me not to lecture her.
Having fallen into mana exhaustion, Jua would need some time to recover.
“Still, it was useful. How long did you say the sparring time with Ilseom was?”
“Anything over fifteen minutes is a draw.”
“Hehehe… So at least I can force a draw.”
“You couldn’t even last ten minutes just now. What are you talking about?”
“This was my first time using mana this way, so I couldn’t control the efficiency. Next time I’ll be able to adjust it properly.”
“But when we go there you won’t even be able to use your power properly, will you?”
“I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.”
Jua and Hayun lay side by side, calmly discussing what they needed to improve.
Well, that’s how they grow.
“Um… Do I… have to go out there too?”
When Ham Eun-yeong approached, I gave her a look that said it wasn’t necessary.
Still, she should at least get a taste. Experience points are important.
“Yeah… I’ll control Rakan carefully, so why don’t you try it once for the experience?”
Eun-yeong eventually stepped forward, hesitating. Since one-on-one combat was completely outside her domain, it was difficult to offer any meaningful advice.
“I-I’ll try… Haaa… Hic!”
Suddenly hiccupping, Eun-yeong drew worried glances from everyone.
What is Ham Eun-yeong’s goal in being a hunter anyway?
It was obvious she felt joy using her abilities inside dungeons, but that was only because she was with our stable party. There must have been many hardships before, yet she still chose to step forward. There had to be a reason.
Whether it’s for her grandmother or that cat, I hope she has a clear sense of purpose.
Jua, who had been staring at her, spoke up.
“She’s a perfect support type. I wonder what she can even do… That wolf is really worked up because of me. This might be dangerous.”
As she said, Rakan was far more agitated than in the previous matches. Although Yeon-hee kept pouring mana into it to calm the beast, the excitement refused to subside.
I’ll have to step in if necessary.
The moment Eun-yeong took her position, Rakan moved. Having been trapped inside the rock barrier for so long, its movements were violently aggressive.
Kwaaaak!
With its mouth stretched wide, it lunged for Ham Eun-yeong’s left arm.
“Kyaa— No!”
Eun-yeong squeezed her eyes shut and screamed.
She closed her eyes… She should at least think about throwing her body to dodge.
I moved to restrain the creature, but stopped when I felt a massive surge of energy explode around her.
“Whoa, that, that’s—!”
“Danger—!”
Just as Rakan’s fist was about to crush her emaciated arm, a tremendous shockwave erupted from Eun-yeong’s shoulder and sent the creature flying into the distance.
““─?!””
Kwaaaaaaaa──!
Rakan shot high into the sky, rising until it became a tiny dot. The cat perched on Eun-yeong’s shoulder continuously fired mana shockwaves at the ascending figure.
Booong─Booong─!
After taking consecutive hits, Rakan lost consciousness mid-air. It plummeted from dozens of meters up and landed with its thick neck bent at a grotesque angle.
Crack!
“Kekekek…!”
“Oh no! Rakan! Are you all right?”
It’s still alive. Why didn’t it die…
Any normal monster would have died instantly, but its stubborn vitality reminded me of Teacher Bar.
“Kr… Keheung!”
Despite the devastating impact, Rakan twisted its neck left and right and stood up again.
Crack—Crunch—
“It’s… fixing its own neck by hand?”
“Whoa— It actually did it. Wasn’t its neck bent ninety degrees?”
After that spine-chilling performance of forcibly realigning its neck, Alpha Rakan took a few unsteady steps before collapsing again. Its summon was released on the spot.
You could have just stayed down… but no, it had to protect its pride.
Once Rakan vanished, our gazes naturally shifted to the cat on Eun-yeong’s shoulder. The creature was calmly grooming its whiskers with one front paw, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.