Turtle Ear (3)
Lightning. An attribute classified as fringe compared to the four major elements of fire, water, earth, and wind.
"But it's not fringe because it's bad. It's fringe because it's so hard to contract with them that there are just fewer of them."
Lightning spirits were that rare.
Even looking at attribute rankings alone, lightning held superiority over the basic four major elements. That was why no one here had ever contracted a lightning spirit.
In the entire Nature Clan, you could count those who had on one hand.
"No way!"
"A real lightning spirit?"
"How did a mage...?"
The Nature Clan members were even more shocked than when they'd seen Jehyun reach the 5th Circle moments ago. And they had good reason. They were far more interested in spirits than magic, so they knew full well how difficult it was to contract a lightning spirit.
"A lightning spirit..."
Shin Yerim murmured blankly, staring at the majestic Thunder Bird scattering ferocious bolts of lightning before her eyes. The scent of lightning she'd sensed earlier hadn't been her imagination.
She looked at Jehyun with trembling eyes.
'Fire and light... and now lightning too.'
Three spirits contracted. A realm even she hadn't achieved. Two of them were the ultra-rare light and lightning varieties, and the fire spirit was a special-grade one as well. It was talent so extraordinary it made you question if it was even human.
Even Hwang Dojun, who wasn't quite on her level, wore a stunned expression.
"I-is that really a l-lightning spirit?"
Hwang Dojun's voice trembled involuntarily.
"Yes. It's an intermediate lightning spirit called Thunder Bird."
At Jehyun's words, Thunder Bird spread its wings wide in a show of dominance.
Pzzt-zzt-zzzt!
Massive sparks erupted from Thunder Bird's body. Concentric waves of lightning energy rippled outward in all directions.
"C-crazy... That's an intermediate spirit?"
"Feels more like advanced or higher."
They gulped, feeling Thunder Bird's aura. It bordered on upper-grade power. They could tell it was a special spirit like the Kasah they'd seen before.
'N-no way.'
Hwang Dojun muttered in a daze. In that moment, Jehyun looked like a colossal giant towering like a mountain—an insurmountable wall. The despair of facing something you could never overcome settled over him.
'This guy's... someone I'll never surpass.'
Hwang Dojun had always heard he was a genius. Barely twenty, he'd already succeeded in contracting an intermediate spirit. His talent was extraordinary. That self-assurance had made him step forward earlier, irked by the praise for Jehyun.
'Embarrassing.'
He wanted to crawl into a hole. He realized how foolish it had been to boast about skill in front of Jehyun.
"I... I spoke out of turn. I'm sorry."
Hwang Dojun bowed his head in apology.
"It's fine."
Jehyun accepted it, and Hwang Dojun fled the scene. With that, Jehyun joined the Nature Clan amid their fervent cheers.
* * *
"It looks even bigger up close."
Everyone nodded at the murmur. Viewed from nearby, its size was viscerally real.
"That's why we're so worried. Superhumans, please, we beg you. Our livelihoods depend on this."
A wrinkled old woman bowed repeatedly to Jehyun and the Nature Clan members.
"Don't worry, ma'am. That's why we're here. Just watch comfortably."
"Aigoo, thank you. Truly, thank you."
As the old woman bent her hunched back in gratitude, the responding clan member took her hand and said it wasn't necessary. She was the village elder here on the coast—equivalent to a village chief in old terms. Her anxiety over this year's jogalpi harvest was palpable.
"Alright, let's strategize how to deal with it."
Han Bongjun, the squad leader of these Nature Clan members, stepped forward. Excluding Shin Yerim, who was hiding her true strength, he was the most skilled here.
"For starters, it definitely looks like a Turtle Ear."
"Knew it!"
"Whoa... Seeing the ear up close is wild."
"But aren't Turtle Ears usually smaller? The old hunting records showed them half that size."
"That's why we're guessing this one's more grown than those."
"Doesn't that mean its combat power scales up too?"
"We'll have to check directly."
Jehyun realized one thing watching their exchange.
'At this point, Turtle Ear info wasn't widely known yet.'
Turtle Ears were deep-sea leviathans. They rarely approached land, so data was scarce. These people had no idea how terrifying they truly were.
'That's why things went south.'
Jehyun clicked his tongue. This Nature Clan squad was the club's 1.5-tier reserves—not the S-grade+ first-string elites wielding upper spirits, but mostly A- to B-grade handling intermediates.
'No chance with this lineup.'
Over a decade ago, the first Turtle Ear had been killed—a juvenile barely hatched. Caught in a sea monster brawl, injured and washed ashore. It had been half this size, its power shy of S-grade.
'No info, so they based it on that.'
He could picture it: failed hunt, berserk Turtle Ear, village razed.
"How about we just hunt it right away?"
"Yeah! No need to drag it out."
Everyone pushed to attack immediately. Jehyun was floored.
'Suicide squad.'
To him, knowing the full story, they looked like moths to a flame. He felt the need to intervene.
"It might have power matching its size. Better to probe first, gauge its grade, then go all-in. Textbook stuff."
"Hm, that makes sense."
Han Bongjun nodded. He liked Jehyun's cautious proposal for contingencies.
'Rational thinker too.'
Han Bongjun eyed Jehyun with admiration. Still under twenty, peak hot-blooded age, historic achievements—yet no arrogance. A reckless prodigy would've burned out fast. The superhuman world was merciless.
'But this one's different.'
He even envisioned Jehyun inheriting the Magic Tower Master's mantle someday.
"Good. Probing first it is."
* * *
"Undaim!"
The Nature Clan's water spiritists summoned their intermediate water spirits, Undaim. Mermaid-like figures rose from the waves.
"Everyone, mount up and head near the Turtle Ear! As said, no heroics—just probe its power!"
With that, over a dozen clan members took to the sea on Undaim. Of the thirty here, the water- and wind-users formed the probe team. Jehyun, as a mage, joined them.
"Hyung! Noona! Be safe!"
From shore, Shin Yesung waved to Yerim and Jehyun with the others. He'd tagged along because his sister was going, but he wasn't combat-eligible. His level was too low for this fight.
"Undaim, move carefully as Jehyun said."
At Shin Yerim's gentle words, the Undaim carrying Jehyun nodded vigorously—trust me. She smiled back sweetly.
"Jehyun, let's go!"
Jehyun nodded, and her two summoned Undaim ferried them forward.
Shaaa...
Jehyun and the clan cut through the waves toward the Turtle Ear. Up close, the pressure was immense. Han Bongjun, at the front, felt his eyes widen at its mana.
'Stronger than expected.'
He swallowed hard, glad they'd gone with Jehyun's probe plan.
"Everyone... no pushing it. Harass from range."
They nodded. They felt the unnatural mana too.
'That thing...'
Jehyun was the most shocked inwardly. Only now, close enough, could Dragon Eye reveal its status.
'Purple energy...!'
Jehyun instantly understood why the Turtle Ear had surfaced here—and why it had rampaged before.
'And it's S-grade.'
Not a full adult, but still S-grade. A head-on fight was risky, especially in its oceanic domain where it could unleash over 100% power.
'In that case...'
Jehyun's eyes gleamed. A good plan formed.
'Alkasha, can you absorb the purple energy in its body?'
―Hmm. Seems possible. But you'd need direct contact with the clustered area.
'Got it.'
As Jehyun conversed with Alkasha, the clan's probing began.
"Silrape! Harass it lightly!"
"Undaim, freeze the surrounding currents!"
The intermediate water and wind spirits—Undaim and Silrape—moved on the Turtle Ear.
Kwa-kwa-kwak!
Shuuuuaaa.
Spirit-infused winds and waves battered its body. But astonishingly...
"N-no damage?"
"Insane... How tough is it?"
The Turtle Ear didn't budge. The clan members paled in shock.
"This is..."
As Han Bongjun sensed trouble and prepared to order retreat—
Flash.
Its closed eyelids snapped open. Horrific mana poured from its eyes.
"Grraaaaaahhh."
The roar shook them. Those up front nearly canceled summons, guts churning.
"Guh! Ack—help!"
Some lost their spirits and flailed in the water. Disaster.
"Rescue the ones in the water and pull back! Hurry!"
Han Bongjun shouted urgently. Rear members hauled them out, retreating. A pathetic end to a probe. But his quick call was wise.
Then the Turtle Ear gaped its maw—house-sized, big enough to swallow buildings whole.
Ziiiiiing.
Vast mana gathered inside.
"...Shit!"
Some spotted the telltale sign and cursed. Breath attack.
Han Bongjun yelled desperately.
"Scatter!"
They veered sharply left and right. But one didn't react in time.
"Ah..."
Shin Yerim stared at the maw with shaking eyes. She'd been directly in its path, rescuing a drowning clan member. Having summoned her Undaim for Jehyun, she couldn't flee at full speed.
Dazed, she watched the mana build.
"Yerim!"
Someone screamed. Heads turned; faces blanched.
"Damn it!"
Han Bongjun rushed toward her—but too late.
Grab.
Song Hayeon seized his hand, trembling.
"D-dangerous! The leader could get caught too!"
"Let go! Yerim's—"
She shook her head. Suicide for both. But to Han Bongjun, Yerim was like a niece he'd raised since childhood. He couldn't let her die here.
'God, please... someone...'
He prayed desperately to a god he never invoked.
"Th-that's!"
A figure in a fluttering black robe shot to Shin Yerim, blocking her path.
"Yerim, stick tight behind me."
"...J-Jehyun!"
Shin Yerim gazed at his back with teary eyes. Simultaneously, dragon scales surged from Jehyun's body, brimming with immense mana. Countless magic circles layered before him into a stacked shield.
And then—
Kwaaaaaang!
The Turtle Ear's horrifying breath slammed into Jehyun.