NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Conditions of a Leader
“Thank you!”
With MC’s final greeting, the exchange meeting came to an end.
The heroes who had been seated began to applaud as they stood up.
“Let’s go.”
Just at that moment when Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu were about to leave the auditorium, one of the parties from Red Hole approached them.
“Did you say your guild name is Sweet Fun?”
“Ah, yes.”
“What’s the party name?”
“We haven’t decided on one yet.”
Unlike the guild name, party names are usually based on the name of the party leader.
However, as Sweet Fun only had one party at the moment, they hadn’t chosen a separate name yet.
The sign reading “Party 1” was merely a numerical distinction.
In such cases, it was common to refer to the guild name instead.
“Let’s work well together in the future.”
“I agree.”
Kim Si-hu briefly shook hands with the man who had questioned them earlier.
After that, the four parties from Red Hole rushed out of the auditorium.
“That was more impressive than I expected.”
“Ha ha…”
Shin Woo-jeong from the Friendship Guild, who had greeted them before the meeting started, waved at them.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-han felt subtle gazes around him as he exited.
It seemed that Sweet Fun had unintentionally become the star of this exchange meeting.
Although there were a few eyes filled with slight malice, he chose to ignore them.
‘Glad I spoke up.’
Yoo Ji-han had never thought of himself as someone skilled at speaking in public.
But now that he had done it, it didn’t seem so difficult after all.
He turned to Min Yu-ri, who was walking beside him.
“Are you heading back to the MA?”
“No, I’m just stopping by the hospital for a bit.”
“Got it. It’s fine if it takes a while; just contact me when you’re comfortable.”
“Thank you.”
Min Yu-ri left first, heading towards the hospital.
Yoo Ji-han watched her retreating figure, hoping that the impression she made during the exchange meeting would positively influence her recruitment.
*
The next day, around 10 AM.
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu visited a large golf course in Incheon.
They didn’t come to play golf; the entire golf course had been declared a Rank 4 Monster Area.
‘This way?’
Arriving at the lobby on the 1st floor of the golf course, they followed the signs to move to the store on the same floor.
The store was empty, with no displayed items and other heroes waiting inside.
“Wow, look at that.”
Kim Si-hu pointed to a large TV mounted on the store’s wall.
It was a real-time video looking down at the golf course, where a barrier had been deployed.
It seemed to be filmed by a drone equipped with a camera.
“There’s really so many.”
This golf course wasn’t the typical green grass-filled golf course one would expect.
Everywhere you looked on the screen, it was yellow; the same went for that direction too.
In terms of color, the golf course maintained a ratio of about 7:3 between yellow and green.
“Are all those Giant Dandelions…”
Kim Si-hu sighed.
The yellow substance was actually dandelions that had transformed into monsters.
Colloquially known as Giant Dandelions.
‘There were rumors that you could buy heroes; now I understand why.’
Yoo Ji-han understood that the golf course owner was troubled by the persistent presence of Giant Dandelions that hadn’t disappeared for three months.
Though Giant Dandelions were considered low-difficulty monsters among plant-type monsters, with that many of them around, heroes might get fed up and leave.
But these tenacious creatures couldn’t be taken down easily, not even with strong herbicides, firearms, or ordinary swords, forcing them to keep seeking help from heroes.
“Everyone, please pay attention!”
The Hero Department staff standing under the TV drew the attention of those around.
“Those who made reservations in advance, please stand to my left, and the rest, please wait to the right for a moment.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu stood to the left.
Thanks to their pre-reservation for the MA, they were able to bypass the queue.
Due to the persistent Giant Dandelions that hadn’t completely disappeared even after a long time, a system was set up here for quick elimination.
Parties would be assigned specific activity areas beforehand, so there was no concern about getting caught in competition for space like what happened at the area with the Giant Cat Monsters.
“Is there a party from Sweet Fun here?”
“Here we are.”
The two, waiting for their turn, approached the man who called them.
He looked at the large tablet PC he was holding.
“Is it you two?”
“Yes.”
“You will be going to Hole 14.”
*
A total of 18 holes available for golf enjoyment.
Sweet Fun was assigned to Hole 14.
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu hopped into the golf cart provided by the golf course.
‘Perfect for hauling monster corpses and no need to walk.’
The owner’s stance was that it was fine for the cart to get damaged during combat as long as they dealt with the Giant Dandelions occupying the golf course properly.
Kim Si-hu spoke to Yoo Ji-han, who was at the wheel.
“Hey, are you okay to drive?”
“Maybe. Just assist with the approaching ones.”
Even a learner’s license is still a license.
He knew the positions of the brake and accelerator.
‘Though the positioning could be better.’
In a Monster Area where each party had designated activity zones, areas close to exits or barriers were preferred in case of emergencies.
And Hole 14 at this golf course was located quite centrally.
Since it was a good distance from the exit, Yoo Ji-han felt a bit disappointed.
“I can see them.”
As he drove the golf cart along the way, he spotted Giant Dandelions in another hole using their roots to walk across the ground.
Each one had different root lengths; some were larger than humans, while others were smaller enough to be compared with the Giant Monsters.
The common trait was that the green stalks known as flower stems were thick, and the yellow petals were as big as a soccer ball.
“Chirp—”
“Chirpy—”
Despite the lack of structures to produce sounds, the Giant Dandelions emitted curious sounds from their petals.
Some individuals bore multiple flowers on one root, adding to the noise.
“Stop!”
“Whaaaa—!”
Heroes from other parties blocked the approach of the Giant Dandelions to their moving golf cart.
A party hunting here was expected to assist the next arriving party in passing through.
Nonetheless, it was inevitable that one would slip through.
[Fire Arrow]
Kim Si-hu conjured a blazing arrow of fire.
He then shot it into the yellow petals of the approaching Giant Dandelion in front of their golf cart.
Whoosh!
The petal quickly caught fire around the spot the arrow struck.
Despite its body burning, the Giant Dandelion stood firm and endured.
It was possible because monsters did not feel pain.
Another hero that got closer severed the creature’s sturdy stalk to finish it off.
Yoo Ji-han sent a sign to the hero who seemed apologetic for having missed the monster, signaling it was fine.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay!”
After moving further in the cart, they arrived at Hole 14 situated in the center of the golf course.
There were already several parties established and hunting in the same hole.
However, the number of monsters still present didn’t seem to decrease significantly, indicating that a vast number had made this place their home.
“Let’s get started.”
“Okay!”
Yoo Ji-han jumped out of the driver’s seat after parking the cart in a suitable spot.
There were already plenty of enemies surrounding the cart.
At least six Giant Dandelions approached them, wiggling their long roots.
However, they didn’t appear overly threatening, as their movements were sluggish.
‘It’s been a while.’
The last time Yoo Ji-han hunted Giant Dandelions was over three years ago.
He had chopped down the ones appearing alongside other monsters in a Rank 3 MA, leaving behind fond memories.
He gripped his sword as those memories resurfaced.
“Chchirp…”
One of the Giant Dandelion’s petals vibrated as if it was brightly smiling.
The swaying yellow leaves were notably pretty.
But those serrated dandelion petals were as tough and sharp as actual serrated weapons.
“Chchirp—!”
One Giant Dandelion bent its stalk down towards Yoo Ji-han, presenting its petals sharply toward him.
He carefully avoided the green leaves, which could swing like an arm, and slashed at the approaching petals with his sword.
Clang!
The strength of the Giant Dandelion’s petals was comparable to a Giant Cat Monster’s claws.
They were hard and incredibly sharp that should a frail human’s skin touch them, it would turn to rags in an instant.
‘Let’s see…’
While Kim Si-hu held back another Dandelion beside him, Yoo Ji-han calmly examined the Giant Dandelion’s body.
Starting from the yellow roots buried into the ground, up to the green leaves above.
The stalk that extended upwards and the big yellow flower at the top.
‘It should be around here.’
His focus landed on the junction where the flower and the stalk connected.
The base supporting the flower, wrapped in small scaly leaves.
That area was known as the involucre, which was roughly at the height of a human neck and was a typical weak point of the Giant Dandelion.
Usually, the large petals would obscure the smaller leaves beneath, making them hard to target.
‘Not too difficult.’
Yoo Ji-han had numerous experiences fighting plant-type monsters, including Giant Dandelions.
He dodged the petals that aimed for him and crouched right in front of the taller Giant Dandelion.
Looking up, he spotted the involucre hidden behind the yellow leaves.
Swish!
He swung his sword diagonally, and the blade sliced through the involucre beneath the flower.
Since the creature was so large, it was quite easy to attack.
The Giant Dandelion trembled, shaking its stalk and leaves, before collapsing.
Yoo Ji-han gazed at the quivering Giant Dandelion on the ground, appearing slightly disappointed.
“Maybe I missed my mark a bit.”
Despite targeting its weak point, the flower and stalk didn’t completely separate.
He felt something cling to the blade, probably just barely grazing the sturdy petal.
Not killing it in one strike, perhaps aiming for a lower spot might have worked better.
‘But this is good enough.’
Considering it was his first time hunting Giant Dandelions in a long while, he felt satisfied with his performance.
His body still remembered the last showdown against the Giant Dandelions.
If he had the high strength and powerful skills of someone like Kim Hyun-tae, there’d be no issue just bulldozing through by brute force.
But as that wasn’t the case for him, he preferred battling by precisely targeting the opponent’s weak points.
Whoosh!
Kim Si-hu utilized fire magic to attack the surrounding Giant Dandelions, ensuring the flames didn’t spread across the golf course.
The fire-weak Giant Dandelions stood there slowly burning to death.
Seeing that, Yoo Ji-han shouted at Kim Si-hu.
“No fire magic!”
“Uh? Why?”
“We need to keep the flowers intact for better resale value.”
The roots, stems, and petals of plant-type monsters were all useful as top-quality herbs.
Despite their large numbers, Giant Dandelions didn’t fetch high prices, but hunting them without causing injury resulted in the highest returns.
“Fire is the most effective against plant-type monsters…”
“You’re good at controlling your magic. Try aiming for the connection between that flower and the stem.”
Swish!
“Like this?”
“No, not there.”
Yoo Ji-han demonstrated how to target the weak point, teaching Kim Si-hu.
He had enough composure to guide a teammate on how to attack in a monster-filled area.