NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39
Chapter 39. Leader’s Conditions (3)
Tttt-ting!
The seed attacks that had been gradually weakening stopped completely after a few seconds.
As the surroundings quieted down, Yoo Ji-han peeked outside the vehicle again.
The dandelion, which had been full of white seeds at the tip of its stem, was now bald and smooth.
It had blown away all its seeds.
‘No distinction between allies and enemies, huh.’
There were many Giant Dandelion Monsters around, collapsed after being hit by seeds.
It seemed these creatures didn’t know the meaning of words like companions or kin.
“Did you turn on the shield?”
“Y-yes, I already have.”
Even Kim Si-hu, who usually didn’t use the shield, was enveloped in two layers at this moment.
While shields of more than one layer are quite inefficient, when it comes to survival, anything is acceptable.
“Ugh…”
“It hurts, it hurts so much…!”
“…!”
Voices of other heroes could be heard from afar.
They seemed to have been caught off guard by the seeds.
Yoo Ji-han called in the direction of the voices.
“Are you okay over there?”
“P-please help us!”
A woman lying on the ground was crying and raised her arms toward him.
When Yoo Ji-han looked at her arms, his expression slightly grimaced.
Dandelion seeds were embedded in her various limbs.
The soft dandelion fluff was thick enough to be clearly visible from a distance.
“Wait here.”
“Huh? W-What…?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Leaving Kim Si-hu behind the golf cart, Yoo Ji-han cautiously moved toward the area where other parties were lying down.
“C-coward!”
“…Damn it!”
Suddenly, the Giant Dandelion Monsters that had been lying on the ground sprang up.
Startled, Yoo Ji-han immediately took a step back.
These creatures hadn’t died from the seeds.
They might have just been playing dead.
One thing was certain, though: the many petals of the Giant Dandelions were still folded like before.
‘This won’t do.’
Moving towards the other party in this situation would be risky.
Moreover, dealing with the Giant Dandelions before they launched their seeds was also tough.
“There are still living ones! You can’t go that way, so get up now!”
“P-please help!”
“Stop just asking for help and get up yourself!”
He shouted as if taking out his frustration into the air.
That was a risky move, as it could easily catch the attention of the Giant Dandelions.
“Please save us!”
But all he received in return from the fallen heroes was just cries for help.
Yoo Ji-han clenched his teeth.
If they still had the strength to yell like that, it would be more helpful if they hid somewhere.
They weren’t even maintaining the minimal dignity expected as fellow heroes.
In the end, he ignored the cries for help and returned to the golf cart.
“Hyung?”
“Get up.”
In a crisis, judgment must be quick, and actions must be decisive.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
With a total of four swift slashes, Yoo Ji-han cut down the four pillars connecting the body and roof of the golf cart.
Then he lifted the separated metal roof.
Thanks to having blocked the seeds, the roof had holes and dents, but its shape was still intact.
Since there was no tanker capable of effectively blocking attacks, they had to make use of whatever they could.
“Let’s grab this and run.”
“…Will that be okay?”
Putting his sword back in its scabbard, Yoo Ji-han used the sampling technique out of habit.
<—The probability of blocking the Giant Dandelion seeds with this metal plate>
<68%>
“I’m worried. You can use shield magic on top of this roof, right?”
“As long as it’s touching my body, I can, but I can’t hold on for long.”
With a probability of 68% for blocking each seed, it might seem a bit ambiguous.
However, if combined with the shield, it would be sufficient to block those seeds.
“What the…!”
The surrounding Giant Dandelions were now moments away from launching their seeds.
Yoo Ji-han covered himself and Kim Si-hu with the cart’s roof.
“Use the shield and run!”
“Where to?!”
“Anywhere!”
Tada-da-da—
The two began to run with all their might toward the direction with fewer Giant Dandelions.
Meanwhile, the Giant Dandelions on Hole 14 dropped their flowers.
Then they released the seeds hidden at the tips of their stems into the world.
[Shield]
Bam-bam-bam-bam!
The seeds that soared through the sky struck the metal plate in Yoo Ji-han’s hands.
There was a shock, but fortunately, the shielded metal plate didn’t get penetrated by the seeds.
“How long do you think we can hold out?”
“Best case, 10 minutes!”
The expression of Kim Si-hu, who was using magic with his palm on the metal plate, wasn’t bright.
The area that needed to be covered was large, and the amount of incoming seeds was substantial, so they couldn’t withstand the attack for more than ten minutes.
“There’s one in front!”
“To the right!”
Protected by Kim Si-hu’s gaze, Yoo Ji-han couldn’t use both hands, so he guided him in the right direction.
Due to facing their backs as much as possible toward the Giant Dandelions, they had to go around rather than moving in a straight line.
‘Aren’t those faking death too?’
The sight of the Giant Dandelions lying on the ground with folded flowers made him uneasy each time.
He thought it could be a trap, so he avoided them as much as possible.
‘This area is much safer.’
They finally arrived at the 15th hole after passing through the brush.
The 15th hole had much more space compared to the 14th hole.
He hoped to approach the entrance as much as possible, but there were too many Giant Dandelions to block that way with the metal plate.
“Gasp!”
“…!”
The two spotted a man lying on the ground.
He was a hero clad in sturdy heavy armor from head to toe.
His skin and lips were torn, and white dandelion fluff was stuck in both eyes along with its seeds pointed outward.
It looked as if he had already perished, with the Giant Dandelion seeds embedded in his head like porcupine quills.
‘He’s not from the Friendship Guild.’
Recognizing that he wasn’t a hero from the Friendship Guild hunting in the 15th hole, Yoo Ji-han felt a little relieved.
If it had been someone he knew, he wouldn’t have been at ease right now.
“…Over there!”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu saw Shin Woo-jeong holding a sword and his party members.
The Shin Woo-jeong party was still battling in the 15th hole.
“Gyaaa!”
“Mun-ah, hang in there a bit longer!”
They didn’t seem to have lost hope yet.
In stark contrast to the party that had just been crying for help not long ago.
“We’re joining forces.”
“Yes!”
“You stay back.”
Vroom!
Yoo Ji-han sent the Sylph back to the Spirit Realm.
Although he had consumed the magic crystal, the contract was still in its early stages.
He had to use it only in truly necessary moments, as it could rapidly lead to exhaustion.
After confirming there were no mutations around, he lowered the metal plate and called out.
“Shin Woo-jeong!”
“Sweet Fun?!”
He ran toward the Giant Dandelion that was facing Shin Woo-jeong.
It was not only huge but had seven flowers blooming from a single root.
Perhaps it was the largest Giant Dandelion he had encountered on this golf course.
Slash—!
Yoo Ji-han sliced at the creature’s stalk with his sword.
A liquid like the Giant Dandelion’s essence oozed from the blade, and one of the seven flowers fell to the ground.
Losing a flower made the stalk droop helplessly downwards.
With its center of gravity disturbed, the Giant Dandelion swayed in the direction of the wilting stalk.
The Shin Woo-jeong party seized this opportunity and charged at the now vulnerable Giant Dandelion.
“Shii-shii-shii—!”
The Giant Dandelion bent its stalk, evading the multiple attack spells coming its way.
It was no ordinary creature in size, and surprisingly fast in movement.
However, in the end, it was just another common Giant Dandelion.
With the heroes attacking from both sides, it didn’t take long for six flowers and the stalk to be torn apart.
After dealing with the remaining Giant Dandelions, Shin Woo-jeong welcomed Yoo Ji-han with open arms.
“When did you come over here?”
“Just now. More importantly, let’s get out of here fast.”
“I heard the parties that came for support to the MA aren’t able to break through the entrance.”
“Have you contacted the Hero Department?”
“Yes.”
Shin Woo-jeong had already reached out to the Hero Department.
Despite a Rank 3 party already arriving at the entrance, it seemed they were struggling to deal with the Giant Dandelions.
‘In that case, I guess there’s no choice.’
He decided to postpone the plan to move to the 1st hole, which was connected to the entrance.
Yoo Ji-han thought for a moment before saying.
“Let’s go to the 12th hole.”
<— The probability that the gathered group can safely exit the golf course through the 12th hole>
<61%>
*
With the five members of Shin Woo-jeong’s party, plus Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu, a total of seven heroes headed for the 12th hole.
The 12th hole was right above the 15th hole, and moving all the way to the vertically long area would lead them to the barrier’s outskirts.
It was in a slightly different direction from the entrance, but they could still exit from there.
‘It’s technically against the rules to exit anywhere but the entrance…’
If someone tries to forcibly pass through the barrier at a non-designated entrance, it gradually becomes unstable.
This is especially severe when entering from outside.
That’s why outside personnel are only allowed to enter through the entrance.
If the barrier were to break one day, monsters would spread out everywhere, causing tremendous damage.
However, in emergency situations, exiting from the inside is generally allowed.
“Hyung, is your arm okay?”
“I can manage.”
The plate Yoo Ji-han was holding was the roof he had removed from the Shin Woo-jeong party’s golf cart.
They had left the previous roof, which had been dented after blocking several attacks, behind in the 15th hole.
“Mun-ah, come here.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
“It’s gross, so get away.”
Shin Woo-jeong was very protective of his sister, the Mage Shin Mun-ah, during battle.
Watching them, Yoo Ji-han smirked a little.
‘They get along well.’
It is often said that siblings don’t get along, but these two seemed to be the opposite.
“Ah! Ji-han, watch out!”
“I’m fine.”
A Giant Dandelion popped out from beside Yoo Ji-han.
He quickly set the metal plate aside and drew his sword.
Calmly dodging the leaves swung by the Giant Dandelion, he struck at its stalk.
Swish!
The non-mutated creature posed no problem for him.
The Shin Woo-jeong party watched Yoo Ji-han with wide eyes, as if he was a sight to behold.
“Ji-han?”
“Yes.”
After a few battles, the warrior from Shin Woo-jeong’s party could no longer hold back his curiosity and asked him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you so good at fighting?”
“…Isn’t it normal?”
“Not at all.”
It was evident that the Giant Dandelions were being sliced apart merely by Yoo Ji-han bringing down his sword.
There was a significant difference compared to other Rank 4 warriors who attacked at least three times.
“It’s impressive that you can fight like this without using other skills.”
“It’s not that I’m not using them; I just can’t use them… I told you. These creatures have a weakness right under their flowers.”
Yoo Ji-han pointed at the fallen flower of the Giant Dandelion.
As long as he aimed for that one weakness, he wouldn’t have much trouble hunting Giant Dandelions.
“I know that too. But knowing it theoretically and actually doing it is a different matter, right?”
“Even if you tell me that.”
After confirming there were no enemies around, Yoo Ji-han approached a large tree.
Swish!
He made a thin horizontal cut across the middle of the tree, leaving a small mark.
Then he did the same cut four more times, leaving a similar mark with a 5cm gap below.
—
—
—
—
—
The five horizontal lines engraved on the tree without a single twist were of very uniform depth and spacing.
If measured from top to bottom, it would be exactly close to 20cm long.
“If you can manage to do at least this much, you’ll be fine.”
“…”
“If you get the hang of it, everyone will do just fine.”
The warriors of Shin Woo-jeong’s party, including Shin Woo-jeong, shook their heads.
They might be able to imitate it, but doing it exactly the same would be impossible.
‘If you lack the ability, you must make up for it with effort.’
Yoo Ji-han, who had never possessed attack skills from the beginning.
Recently acquired magic was also something he couldn’t use without the aid of the Sylph.
He had been able to remain active until now precisely because he kept training the basic movements and actions expected of a hero despite lacking any special powers.