The Endless Monster Parade
The one who appeared, leading an uncountable horde of monsters, was none other than Taemin.
He'd nearly lost his life midway after running into an unexpected swarm of Phrix, forcing him to spend considerable time breaking free. As a result, the monster pack trailing him had swollen even larger.
Then, people entered his field of vision. They looked like fairly high-level hunters judging by their gear. Color bloomed in his face.
'Perfect. Those guys should be able to handle it.'
Taemin waved his arms frantically as he charged toward them, desperate for help. Just as he started feeling a spark of hope that he might survive—
Choi Dong-chan, already shifting into combat stance, stared blankly at the endless monster procession. By sheer numbers alone, it rivaled a mid-scale raid. Without a tank, a head-on fight was impossible. But he couldn't just abandon someone clearly in distress and run.
As he agonized over the dilemma, the horde drew ever closer. Finally, fed up, Song Min-ji shouted at him.
"What're we gonna do? If they come straight at us, we're all dead!"
Her words were brutally honest. With no tank to hold the monsters' aggro, a direct assault would surround and wipe them in seconds. Fleeing was the smart play.
"Hey! You listening? We're gonna die!"
Her sharp voice pierced the air again, snapping Choi Dong-chan from his silence. He simply pointed ahead.
"Use that guy as the tank."
"What?"
"I've got a plan. Min-ji, get your AoE ready. Seung-mi, healing on standby."
With that, Choi Dong-chan bellowed toward the front.
"Can you hear me? We'll help—just make a big loop! A big one!"
Taemin, barreling straight toward them, faintly caught the man's shout.
'Loop?'
Puzzled but with no better option, he veered off as instructed, starting a wide turn. As he arced in a grand circle, Choi Dong-chan—gauging the distance—yelled at Song Min-ji.
"Center—now!"
Flames erupted from the bracelet on her wrist. They coalesced in an instant into a massive fireball. It was Fire Burst, one of the fire-based AoE spells.
The orb hurtled toward the horde the moment it formed.
Boom!
It detonated in the column's midst with a thunderous roar, incinerating over twenty monsters to ash in a blink. Astonishing destructive power.
But with numbers like that, the remaining beasts' aggro was inevitable. A dozen nearby broke formation, charging straight at Song Min-ji and the others.
As if anticipating it, Choi Dong-chan leaped forward, greatsword raised. What followed was indiscriminate slaughter. Each swing of his massive blade tore limbs from two or three foes in gory chunks.
Having cleared the rushers, he refocused ahead.
"When he loops back, we hit again. Get ready."
Song Min-ji nodded at his command.
"Got it."
As they exchanged signals and prepped, Taemin completed his loop, swinging back toward the start.
He spotted the man tracing a wide circle with his arm.
'Keep looping?'
Taemin banked again. Moments later, Choi Dong-chan's voice rang out.
"Now!"
Responding, Song Min-ji unleashed another spell. Fire Burst's cooldown hadn't reset, so she went with the water spell Aqua Blaster.
A jet of water surged from her bracelet, forming a spherical orb. It flew forth, exploding amid the monsters. Over a dozen Mozelin crumpled under the blast, meeting their end.
The tougher Phrix, however, shrugged it off and pressed the charge. Seeing a sizable group incoming, Choi Dong-chan activated his ranged skill, Mega Blade.
Pure white light climbed from his hand, sheathing the blade before launching a crescent-shaped sword beam ahead.
The beam sliced eight lead Phrix clean in half at blinding speed. Song Min-ji's follow-up Ice Arrows skewered the remaining five, leaving them slumped on the ground.
Another chunk cleared, they repeated the process, steadily thinning the herd.
Finally, on the sixth loop, only a lone Scorpion trailed Taemin.
With just one left, Choi Dong-chan called to the women.
"Buff and heal me. I'm diving in."
Empowered by their buffs and heals, he brushed past the incoming Taemin and charged the Scorpion, activating Dragon Croer mid-stride. He raised his glowing red greatsword to smash its head.
But the desert outlaw wasn't one to go down easy. It blocked the blade with its pincers, then whipped its elevated tail stinger toward his torso.
A razor-close call. Then, a golden thread shot from behind, coiling around the Scorpion's tail.
"Dodge!"
It was Song Min-ji's Binding Ring. Choi Dong-chan slipped free in the opening.
The ring snapped as he retreated. Taemin, who'd watched from the side, decided to pitch in. He triggered Hydeger and lunged at the Scorpion's tail base—sever it there, and it'd be a huge help.
His gleaming silver blade struck hard.
Clang!
"Ngh!"
The impact jolted through his arms like striking solid iron. Despite his full power, the tail was unscratched.
But the shock turned the beast toward him, ignoring Choi Dong-chan.
'Still too much for me.'
Facing the Scorpion again, Taemin popped a potion and triggered Arrainba to escape—but
No usable potions available. Please check your inventory.
'What?'
Realizing he was out, Taemin dropped low and rolled aside in a panic. A chilling whoosh followed as the Scorpion's pincer cleaved empty air.
Relief lasted a heartbeat—then the left pincer whipped in, draining the color from his face.
'No way.'
He squeezed his eyes shut instinctively. No impact came. Peeking open, he saw the massive pincer halted inches from his face, bound by a golden thread.
Binding Ring again. Then his body lightened amid a flurry of alerts.
Auxiliary spell granted.
Auxiliary spell granted.
HP restored, enabling skill use.
'This is...?'
Confusion flickered, but a woman's sharp voice cut through.
"What're you doing? Get out of there—now!"
"Uh, yeah!"
Taemin sprang up reflexively and retreated. Instantly, flames engulfed the Scorpion's body.
It was Fire Storm, the most devastating stage-1 offensive spell. Even taking it head-on, the beast charged Song Min-ji undamaged.
Meanwhile, Choi Dong-chan's red greatsword raked its flank.
Slash!
Its side burst open, dark blood spraying. The Scorpion faltered; Choi Dong-chan leaped, jamming his blade into its head.
Squelch!
With a gruesome sound, the body convulsed wildly. His Mega Blade followed.
Flash!
A white gleam shattered the head entirely. Decapitated, it shuddered briefly before collapsing.
"Whew."
Choi Dong-chan wiped sweat from his brow as he stepped off the rotting corpse, exhaling deeply. Song Min-ji and Park Seung-mi approached.
"Good work."
"You did great, oppa."
He brushed it off modestly.
"This? Nah. Anyway, dud drop—nothing came out."
"These things are always a pain to kill and stingy with loot. If it weren't for its magic resist, it'd be easier."
Song Min-ji grumbled at the decayed remains.
As they chatted, Taemin—who'd hung back watching—approached with thanks.
"Thank you. I owe you my life."
"Oh, uh... sure. So, how'd you end up in that mess?"
Curiosity lit Choi Dong-chan's eyes. Taemin recounted everything from entering the area and encountering the Scorpion.
"Makes sense—this zone's monster-dense. Easy to get swarmed if you're careless. Your speed was impressive back there, though. What's your class?"
"Ah, yeah. I'm an Il-sala-ja."
"Pardon?"
"Il-sala-ja? What's that?"
"Never heard of it."
Question marks etched their faces. No such class existed, as far as they knew.
"You're joking, right?" Song Min-ji eyed him suspiciously.
"Why would I joke with my rescuers...?"
"It's ridiculous! Everyone knows awakening classes. You're the only exception? Hiding something? This feels off..."
Frustrated by her relentless doubt but with nothing more to say—I awakened as Il-sala-ja and became one, what else is there?—Taemin looked stumped.
Choi Dong-chan intervened.
"Enough. Could be circumstances he can't share."
"Hiding your job screams shady. Didn't someone say secrets mean dirty business? This is definitely..."
Ignoring her muttering, Choi Dong-chan grinned awkwardly.
"Don't mind her. She's just chatty."
"No, it's fine—you saved my life."
"Handsome and big-hearted, huh?"
"Huh? No, I'm not..."
As Taemin flushed and waved it off, Choi Dong-chan pressed on.
"If you're cool with it, join our party? Better than soloing. Our teamwork was solid just now, right? You just kite 'em like that, we'll handle the rest."
He valued Taemin's speed—enough to outpace Rauder. Class or motives? Irrelevant. In this world, talent pools were shallow; even flawed hunters paid off long-term. Especially his kiting skill—a godsend after grinding low dungeons.
Song Min-ji agreed silently.
'Just kiting... no downside.'
Taemin nodded after a beat.
"Sounds good to me."
Choi Dong-chan's face lit up. Their empty tank slot was filled.
"Smart choice. Oh, names—I didn't introduce. Choi Dong-chan."
"Park Taemin. Looking forward to it."