Chaehee's Golden Spear
Chaehee gripped her blue spear tightly, scanning their surroundings warily. She also summoned her black trident, settling into a defensive stance.
"Is that eyeball magic really that impressive?"
She pointed at the winged eyeball with her finger.
"Well, it's a spell that even a 3-circle mage can learn, but it's not something monsters pick up easily."
That meant it was the work of a human at 3-circle or higher—or an intelligent monster. None of the enemies they'd encountered so far had shown any real magic. Was this the start of a proper fight?
-Peep!?
The winged eyeball let out a scream as it was yanked toward Bidel's grasp. Gravity magic.
-Piiiip!!
Bidel clenched her fist, bursting the eyeball in one go. Its cry had been as frail as a sparrow or chick, making it oddly pitiful.
"There's a sorcerer 2 km ahead. What should we do, Master?"
I'd thought she'd crushed it thoughtlessly, but she'd already traced it back successfully.
"You don't know who it is?"
"Just that it's around 4-circle... I'll scout from the air."
Bidel spread her wings and took flight. But before she could fully ascend, her wings were struck, sending her wobbling. Blue light lashed at her like lasers a few more times, but she deflected the rest with gravity magic. The fallen blue light clanged against the ground. It was just an ordinary arrow.
"Everyone, get behind me!"
Like the day they'd first met, Chaehee formed a barrier with her two spears. Right after, arrows infused with blue mana rained down like machine-gun fire, embedding into the shield.
Crack! Craaack!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the shield, but Chaehee poured in more mana, restoring even the deepest fissures in moments. No immediate crisis.
Snap! Crack!
The next volley hit harder than before. The mana quality was the same—they were closing the distance.
"Those are..."
Enhancing her eyes with mana made the 2 km gap feel like nothing; everything sharpened into focus. It was a goblin horde attacking them. Some rode massive seal-like monsters, and one straddled a gigantic rhinoceros. It was twice the size of a normal rhino—a beast.
'Even neutral zones have pack-hunting monsters.'
Checking their circles: mostly 3-circle, with two at 4-circle. The rhino was a whopping 5-circle monster.
"Jinwoo, what do you think? Those guys—we fought them a bit ago but bailed because they were too tough."
The numbers were heavily lopsided. Even Chaehee and Haru together would've struggled.
"How'd it go last time? Is that rhino strong?"
Bidel could probably handle the two 4-circles solo. She wielded flight magic—normally a 5-circle feat—with total freedom at just 3-circle, putting her at the top of 4-circle level. Dodge the rhino, and they had a shot.
"Very. It wraps itself in mana and just charges—no real counter. Good thing it's not too smart; they just use it as a mount."
Worth leaving to Bidel, then?
"If a summon dies, you can't call it back, right?"
"Of course."
In manga or games, they'd auto-recall after damage, but reality wasn't so forgiving.
I messaged Bidel.
No way I'd risk her in a fight with even a sliver of doubt. She and Jeri were my lifeline—everything.
Bidel vanished in a gust of wind. She never disappointed. First summon being Bidel was a godsend.
"Jeri, you up for fighting? If you're gonna get hurt, just stay here."
"Trash like that? One shot! Leave it to me!"
Goblins were shorter than humans but ripped with muscle. She must've meant their mana felt weak. Objectively, even the 3-circle ones didn't seem threatening. Mind the two 4-circles, and it was fine.
"Alright, go handle it."
The arrow rain finally shattered Chaehee's shield. The instant it did, Jeri kicked off the ground and blurred away. She was clearly running bipedally with her guandao, but from afar, it looked like a cheetah charging on all fours—wild and lightning-fast.
Bakara kuruk! Rahumssa kara!
The goblins bellowed war cries, loosing arrows and spells. Arrows that pierced buildings and magic that cratered the earth only hit the spots Bidel and Jeri had already passed. Few came their way.
"That was close."
The arrows were insanely fast. No wonder Bidel took a hit to the wings.
"Jinwoo! You okay?"
Chaehee shielded herself with one spear, Haru with the other.
"Yeah. Easier to dodge than I thought."
The old me would've died pierced through the skull without knowing what hit. But now? Full-body enhancement let him evade distant arrows. Any closer, and it'd be dicey—but he had no need to close in.
Clang!
An arrow ricocheted behind him. He spun to see a goblin aiming from inside a building to his right-rear.
'Good thing I kept emitting mana.'
Even at a decent mana level, he was just 2-circle. Body enhancement alone might not fully block arrows, so he'd been blasting mana full-throttle. It was draining like a punctured balloon, but no arrow could even graze his skin.
"Chaehee, one's hiding over there."
He pointed; the goblin ducked inside.
"I'll get it."
Chaehee was stretched thin just protecting herself and Haru. Him staying put without dragging her down was the best he could do. Better to clear the ambushers.
"Be careful, Jinwoo!"
"Just a 2-circle. I'll be quick."
He sprinted up the stairs of the rundown five-story mall. A midway collapse nearly dumped him, but he caught himself palm-first and hauled back up. The fourth floor—where it hid—was close.
-Kyaaaak!
The ambushing goblin lunged with a dagger, but his mana emission slid the strike into empty air.
"Die!"
He channeled mana into his foot and smashed the goblin's head. No kick skills, but against a runt, it connected fine.
-Kiiik!
Bone-crunching feedback. It reeled but darted away—straight into a dead-end wall. Brain fully scrambled.
"Sorry. Not your fault."
To end it mercifully, he full-powered another kick, slamming its head into the wall. It burst like a water balloon, soaking his shoe in sticky fluid. More sorry than grossed out.
"Gotta head back..."
As he muttered, golden sunlight poured through the window, illuminating the dim interior.
"What's going on?"
Peering out, he saw Chaehee summoning a golden weapon. Haru had already evacuated.
'That's...'
It was 4-circle. The blue spear that had carried them to the apartment was 5-circle, but this felt far more potent. Spear-shaped, but the blade was anchor-like for wide attacks. As Chaehee gripped it, red lightning crackled outward, shattering the ground. She was pouring over half her mana into it.
"Haat!"
With an exhilarated shout unlike any before, she hurled it by hand. The shockwave reached even here. Pure physical toss outpaced mana control by miles.
The golden spear vaporized incoming spells and arrows, exploding gorgeously in the enemy ranks.
Boom!
A whole building's worth of blast. That had to get them all. He descended the outer wall to Chaehee.
"All down?"
"No, but I dropped one 4-circle at least."
'4-circle's still 4-circle.'
I'd underestimated her against Bidel, but not by much.
"Haven't arm-tossed in ages—arm's stiff."
Chaehee rolled her shoulders, then called to the next building.
"Haru, you still have one water bottle? Toss it."
"Got it, sis."
Haru emerged from hiding, handing it over. Chaehee had dismissed her spears, casually gulping water. Way too exposed.
"Aren't you dropping your guard a bit?"
The spear's power was legit, but over half the enemy lived.
"Don't worry, Jinwoo. Bidel took out a 4-circle too—we're good now."
True—no more arrows. Low-circle stragglers flung spells, but they were too weak for the spears' auto-deflect.
Gulp gulp.
"Pwah. Hehe."
Chaehee set down the bottle, grinning happily.
"Good exp?"
"Yeah. Rarely fight 4-circles. Risky, but satisfying after."
Half her mana gone, his throat was parched too. He cut mana emission, switching to body enhancement.
"Suddenly quiet, huh."
Haru was right. No more goblin shouts or screams. No arrows incoming.
He boosted his vision. Surviving goblins were bound in magic.
"All done. Let's go."