NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12
Chapter 12. Giant Monster (3)
It had been four days since Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu started hunting the Giant Monster.
The two arrived back in Bucheon and entered the Monster Area (MA).
“…They’re back again.”
As soon as they showed up, the eyes around them focused on the entrance.
“It’s real.”
“Who are they?”
“Don’t you know them? They’re the party that’s been taking down Giant Monsters around here for days.”
“Oh~ so they’re the ones. But only two of them? Which guild are they from?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they come from a really big one…”
There were people glancing at Yoo Ji-han, clearly whispering about him.
Someone in the distance shot an annoyed look at Kim Si-hu.
The sidelong glances they received were nothing like the disrespectful ones they had encountered when first arriving; now, the surrounding parties were wary of the duo.
They were seen as significant competitors.
‘It seems like we’re standing out too much.’
Yoo Ji-han noticed the mixed gazes of envy and rivalry directed at them.
The looks were reminiscent of how the less competent parties used to eye the Kim Hyun-tae party.
Even though the grade of the MA changed, people’s behaviors didn’t change much.
In the past, those glares were primarily aimed at Kim Hyun-tae and the other party members, rather than at Yoo Ji-han.
‘It’s not so bad.’
Although the attention felt a bit overwhelming, receiving such focus wasn’t a terrible feeling at all.
It only meant that they were doing well at that moment.
Yoo Ji-han spoke to Kim Si-hu.
“Guild Master. How do you feel?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you feel anything?”
As Yoo Ji-han looked at the heroes clad in heavy armor, they suddenly became conscious, quickly averting their gazes.
They were one of the parties that they had been encountering at the same time for days.
“…Oh, that.”
Kim Si-hu understood what Yoo Ji-han was referring to.
“It’s quite a familiar situation for me.”
“Really?”
“There were people who looked at me like that at Hero Academy too.”
Kim Si-hu smirked to one side.
For someone who graduated top of his class from the Hero Academy, such looks felt rather mundane now.
Highly graded mages instantly became the targets of envy and jealousy from other heroes.
And since he was a Half-Elf, the emotions directed at him from other races were arguably stronger than they were now.
Crack!
The two ignored the surrounding stares and ventured inside the Barrier.
Kim Si-hu seemed to have become accustomed to the sensation of touching the Barrier, as he didn’t say much.
After entering through a narrow gap between two small buildings, Kim Si-hu spoke.
“You said you’re going to do that today, right?”
“Yeah. I need to get used to using spirits too.”
Poyong!
Yoo Ji-han summoned a Sylph.
“Get in my pocket.”
Buzz buzz!
As he commanded, the Sylph vibrated in a grumbling manner and shrank in size.
Thanks to that, there was no problem fitting it into his pants pocket.
“Bro, when are you planning to reveal the Sylph?”
“When the time is right. For now, I want to focus on hero activities.”
Currently, there were about twenty Spirit Masters in Korea.
Among them, two were Rank 1 Heroes part of a Rank 1 party, and the rest were at least Rank 2 or 3.
The number of Spirit Masters was small enough that if it were revealed that Yoo Ji-han had made a contract with a Sylph, it would surely cause quite a stir.
Perhaps the Guild called Sweet Fun would rapidly gain fame.
‘It won’t be all that good.’
However, Yoo Ji-han had his doubts about whether that would truly be a good thing.
He was merely a Rank 5 Hero belonging to a Rank 5 party.
Though his experience in the Kim Hyun-tae party would have qualified him as Rank 2, it was impossible for him to utilize that past experience now.
If the spirit were disclosed, soon enough, articles would flood the headlines announcing that a Spirit Master had emerged from a Rank 5 party…
At that time, someone with ill intentions might approach him, seeing him as someone of low rank wanting to use the spirit.
Parasite-like existences that would offer no real assistance in life.
“They say people sometimes annul their contracts with spirits because of stress.”
Kim Si-hu nodded, as if understanding.
Although it was somewhat different from the current situation, stories about people giving up their Spirit Master roles due to overwhelming attention were quite famous.
Of course, Yoo Ji-han wasn’t worried about such pressures or being swayed by people.
But he felt that it would surely be bothersome and exhausting if someone attempted to contact him through close acquaintances.
‘I’ll delay the reveal as much as possible.’
Though being a seven-year-old hero, his current position was no different from that of a rookie.
Yoo Ji-han decided to focus on the growth of himself and his guild.
The fame gained from showcasing a spirit and the fame from the achievements of the guild had distinct differences.
The former could simply be treated as luck, while the latter was acknowledged by people.
As the guild grew, even if the Sylph were to become known, a less exhausting time would come.
Of course, if someone found out before that, it was unavoidable, but he needed to wait for the right moment as much as possible.
“By the way… Is it a fact that your mother being a Spirit Master is not known externally?”
“Yeah. She was one of the people managing Florun brought to Earth.”
Kim Si-hu’s mother, Erna Hass, was a manager of Florun.
She used the wind spirit to trim the branches of Florun and kept watch over sections of the secret arboretum that hadn’t been disclosed to the public.
And up until now, no one had revealed who had been managing Florun in Korea.
“I heard that after marrying your father, who was a hero, she completely settled down in Korea and continued doing similar work. She only took a break when she gave birth to me.”
“If she was at least at the level of a Rank 2 Hero, it would have been fine for her to live comfortably as a hero.”
“Back then, it was a time when people drew their swords at the mere sight of different races, so it would have been hard.”
“That’s true… Anyway.”
Yoo Ji-han looked at Kim Si-hu’s staff.
“I’m going to start right away.”
“Okay!”
“Sylph. Lend your power to that staff.”
Fwoosh!
At Yoo Ji-han’s request, Kim Si-hu’s staff began to glow a light green.
Just like he did during training at the center, they were practicing layering the spirit’s power onto the staff made of Florun materials.
“Your record yesterday was 20 seconds, right?”
“More precisely, it was 21 seconds.”
Currently, the time Kim Si-hu could reinforce his staff with the spirit, without the Sylph getting exhausted or overexerting itself, was about 20 seconds.
What Kim Si-hu called “Spirit Enhancement” was still too short, not reaching even a minute.
However, having observed his mother’s spirit, Kim Si-hu declared that with consistent training, it could increase compared to now.
‘Not even a minute.’
When the staff was reinforced, Kim Si-hu’s magic efficiency increased by at least 10%.
Gaining strength as a mage would contribute to the growth of the party!
Yoo Ji-han wanted to eventually make this a constant ability.
“Hmm…”
The Sylph in his pocket glowed weakly.
While concentrating on the state of the spirit by feeling it with his hand in his pocket, Yoo Ji-han said,
“That’s it!”
“22 seconds. You’ve increased by a second since yesterday.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
The longest he managed to enhance the spirit successfully was 22 seconds while in the best condition.
To use it again, he needed to wait at least three minutes.
Although they were trying to create a sense of reality by practicing within the Barrier,
Yoo Ji-han still wore an expression of regret due to the short duration.
“It’s still insufficient for practical use.”
“You’re being too greedy. It’s already surprising that you can borrow the spirit’s power on command…”
“But it’s still disappointing.”
“It will increase in the future.”
After completing the simple test, the two again scanned the surroundings while moving.
Searching everywhere for Giant Monsters, and entering buildings.
“Every time I shoot magic, I feel sorry for the people living here.”
“The landlords will receive plenty of compensation.”
Kim Si-hu looked at the wall punctured by his magic, feeling apologetic.
It couldn’t be helped that paths or buildings got damaged during combat.
‘Already getting used to this.’
Though he had initially shown a bit of nervousness, thanks to several days of hunting, Kim Si-hu had grown comfortable enough to observe his surroundings.
*
“Crack…!”
The last resisting Giant Monster fell to the ground.
“We’re going to catch a lot today.”
“Sweet Fun will be thrilled.”
At the end of the battle, the Giant Monsters lay sprawled out on the floor.
The two beamed with joy while gathering the new specimens into their previously placed bundles against the wall.
But at that moment…
“…Graaah!”
A distant male scream could be faintly heard.
The scream was filled with horror and fear!
Kim Si-hu’s expression hardened as he shouted.
“Bro!”
Yoo Ji-han immediately dashed towards where the scream had come from.
Though it was in an alley, it wasn’t too far away.
“Graaah!”
“Gyak! Gyak!”
Arriving at the scene of the commotion, they discovered a party facing eleven Giant Monsters.
“Damn it!”
“Block! Block it!”
The heroes, who were gradually being pushed back, were showing considerable strain.
Just as Yoo Ji-han was about to rush in to assist them, he noticed something else across from them and halted.
“…A chicken?”
A large monster with its head held high stood behind the heroes, preventing them from escaping.
With bright brown feathers and a serrated red comb growing long atop its head.
A yellow beak from which red liquid, presumably human blood, dripped continually.
It wasn’t a chick, but clearly a chicken.
“Cock-a-doodle-do!!!”
The chicken, looking larger than an average adult man, let out a resounding cry.
In an instant, Yoo Ji-han flinched and almost covered his ears with his hands.
The sound was painfully loud enough to make his ears ring.
“Cough!”
“Yoon-seob! Pull yourself together! Please…!”
One man in the facing party lay on the ground, bleeding like a fountain into a woman’s embrace.
His armor had a round hole punched through it.
It was a wound inflicted by the beak of that monster chicken.
“Bro. That…”
“…Mutation.”
Mutation, or Mutant.
A term for monsters that had evolved into different beings or had become exceptionally powerful among those appearing on Earth.
While it was common sense that a chick grows into a chicken, to think that a Giant Monster grows into a monster chicken…
It was a situation that neither Kim Si-hu nor Yoo Ji-han had ever encountered before.
Crack!
“Shall we fight?”
Kim Si-hu said, gripping his staff tightly.
He was completely leaving the judgment to Yoo Ji-han.
‘The distance to the entrance is at least 6 minutes.’
Yoo Ji-han bit his lower lip.
The time to return from the entrance to where they were now would take about 12 minutes.
That would easily give that party enough time to be annihilated.
It was too urgent to call for reinforcements!
‘Even if we run from here, no party would blame Sweet Fun.’
Yoo Ji-han had encountered a mutation in the MA only a handful of times throughout his visits.
Furthermore, that chicken was a monster that was not known at least in Korea.
Fighting a monster in a situation lacking information wasn’t very advisable.
Even if he ran away and left that party behind, he wouldn’t hold any responsibility for fleeing.
Unless…
Could they actually fight against that mutation?
‘There are 6 people able to move.’
In the facing party, there were 4 heroes available, excluding the injured.
If they counted Sweet Fun, a total of 6 Rank 5 heroes were positioned to fight.
And Yoo Ji-han himself, who had ample experience, was among them.
Yet, the actual duration he spent in the role of a dealer was not much different from that of other rookie heroes.
Seeing the party in front of him, with 4 heroes unable to break through even the Giant Monsters, made him feel utterly anxious.
‘Damn it.’
Countless thoughts tangled and spiraled in his mind.
However, the time he spent mulling it over wasn’t all that long.
<—The probability of hunting the monster chicken without significant injury>
<73%>
He decided to bet on that slightly higher probability.