NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54
Chapter 54. Goemi
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu arrived at the shared training center with new equipment.
Once inside the personal training room, they locked the door to prevent anyone from entering.
Since they visited often, it had become a space as comfortable as their guild office.
“Let’s drink this right away.”
“Okay!”
Yoo Ji-han set his bag down on the floor and opened the zipper.
He pulled out a large thermos from inside.
The water infused with the energy of Lucky Whisker and White Umbrella was contained within.
After drinking the water, he waited until they reached the training center to check its effects.
Kim Si-hu watched Yoo Ji-han pour the water into a cup and asked, “What did you boil it with?”
“A yang’s teapot.”
“……”
“I bought it for 10,000 won at the market.”
The price of the 10L yang’s teapot was about 10,000 won.
The water boiled in the teapot looked like it was meant to hold white makgeolli.
It seemed a bit off in appearance, but…
The contents could definitely be called a potion.
He had combined two rare items after all.
“Did you really have to use that?”
“I have a stainless steel kettle too. Should I try that next time?”
“…I guess it wouldn’t make much difference?”
Among expensive kettles, there are those made from the exoskeletons of animals that have turned into monsters.
But changing the boiling vessel wouldn’t change the effect.
Kim Si-hu tilted his head while accepting the cup offered by Yoo Ji-han.
Yoo Ji-han poured clear water into his own cup.
“I’ll drink now.”
“Me too.”
The two, slightly nervous, brought their cups to their lips nearly simultaneously.
Their throats gulped as the water flowed down.
Kim Si-hu drained every drop of water left in his cup.
Then, licking his moist tongue, he said, “It’s salty and bitter.”
“Right? Salty and bitter.”
When only Lucky Whisker was added to the water, it only tasted salty.
But with the addition of White Umbrella, a bitter flavor emerged.
Moreover, it had a slight earthy smell, as though they had put unwashed grass into the water and boiled it.
‘It’s intentional that I didn’t wash it.’
Yoo Ji-han had just brushed off the seeds of the giant dandelion, fearing that good ingredients might fly away.
That earthy smell might have been the cause.
“So, what do you think? Does it seem effective?”
“Hmm…”
After setting down his empty cup, Kim Si-hu used his magic.
[Wind Arrow]
One of the spells he felt most confident with, the Wind Arrow appeared in the air.
As he rolled the conjured magic around, Kim Si-hu let out a small exclamation.
“O! This feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Really?”
“Look at how smooth the arrowhead is!”
Yoo Ji-han carefully examined his Wind Arrow.
However, he found no significant difference from an outsider’s perspective.
“The arrowhead part was slightly rough when I made the arrow’s shape. But if you look closely, that part has clearly become smoother now.”
“Is that so?”
“Just a moment; I think it might work now…”
Cancelling the Wind Arrow, Kim Si-hu grabbed his staff tightly.
[Wind Lance]
With a whoosh!
A spear filled with the power of the wind was generated.
Then, Kim Si-hu’s eyes sparkled.
“It worked!”
For Kim Si-hu, summoning a large spear was a spell that tended to act a bit unpredictably without the help of a sylph.
Concentrating a large amount of mana into one was demanding a higher level of condensing skill.
But at this moment, that insecurity was significantly offset.
It was leaning more towards stability than instability.
This was undoubtedly the effect of the new equipment and the potion they had consumed.
“Drink more.”
At Yoo Ji-han’s request, Kim Si-hu drank about four more cups of water.
Unfortunately, simply increasing the amount consumed didn’t significantly boost the results.
“It seems like anything more than the first cup is useless.”
“It was said that there’s a certain amount that a good potion can be absorbed in a short time within the body.”
“That’s right. Roughly estimating, the daily intake should be around 250mL.”
“I brought a few more thermoses, so take them home today.”
“Okay!”
“I’ll bring more soon.”
Kim Si-hu gazed at the untapped thermos with eager eyes.
Inside was the hint for growth that he had recently felt a strong need for.
“Well then…”
Theoretically, the White Umbrella was a potion suitable for mage-type heroes.
However, Yoo Ji-han planned to continue drinking that water along with Kim Si-hu.
‘Did something change?’
Drinking the water didn’t cause any drastic change in his body.
Thus, to confirm, a complete check of his physical condition was necessary.
‘I don’t think my strength or stamina has increased.’
There weren’t any physical changes like becoming more muscular.
Facing the wall of the personal training room, Yoo Ji-han put one hand in his pocket.
With the other hand, he held onto the sword’s hilt and jumped forward with all his might.
Thud! Thud!
He kicked off the wall twice, spun around, and landed steadily on the floor.
It was a trick-like action with one hand still in his pocket.
‘The effect of Lucky Whisker remains unchanged.’
The ability to sense balance from Lucky Whisker was building up little by little with each sip of the water.
At his current level, he felt he could compete with someone who had practiced parkour for years.
Up to this point, he had felt the benefits without the White Umbrella.
Swish—
He withdrew his sword from his pocket.
Then he moved the mana within his body.
It was an action not much different from when he usually went into battle.
But then it happened.
“What’s this?”
He thought his mana had become slightly easier to handle.
It felt like moving on to an easier problem after solving a difficult one in math.
It was somewhat different from receiving help from the sylph when using magic.
As he swallowed nervously, he concentrated the mana into the sword.
Mana flowed like water through his arms and fingers and poured into the sword.
And shortly after.
Shaa—
The entire sword shone slightly before returning to its normal state.
Kim Si-hu, who was watching, widened his eyes.
“Was that aura just now…?”
“…It seems so?”
Originally, warrior-type heroes unconsciously infused their mana into both their bodies and weapons.
This enhanced the weapon’s durability or added attributes, and as the degree of enhancement rose, it evolved into what is commonly referred to as aura.
It was a skill primarily used by some rank 3 warriors and those above rank 2.
‘It was definitely close to aura.’
Until now, when Yoo Ji-han infused his mana into the weapon, it had only slightly increased the sword’s durability.
But just now, it was different from usual.
The mana had gathered thick enough to be visible.
“Could you use it before?”
“No.”
“Could it be due to the potion we drank today…?”
“But trying to do it again doesn’t seem to work.”
Yoo Ji-han attempted to replicate the phenomenon that had just occurred but found the mana surrounding the sword was no different than usual.
It didn’t operate as easily as he had thought.
‘Can I actually have this ability?’
Thump thump.
Excluding the spirits, Yoo Ji-han’s heart raced, having discovered another possibility within himself.
If he could truly learn aura…
In fact, he would be the biggest benefactor of this potion.
‘It’s quite amazing.’
During the Kim Hyun-tae party, he was always excluded from those who consumed potions.
At most, he could barely get a diluted potion once out of ten times…
Seeing the effects from a proper potion was simply fascinating.
“Let’s proceed with training.”
“Okay!”
The two, having consumed the potion, maintained a good atmosphere and got into position.
“I’ll start.”
[Wind Arrow]
Kim Si-hu generated several Wind Arrows in mid-air.
Their target was singular.
Yoo Ji-han.
Pew!
Designated as the target of the attack spell, Yoo Ji-han summoned a spirit.
[Wind Barrier]
He used the weakened Wind Barrier in succession to dodge the incoming arrows.
It was as if they were mimicking a sparring match, the two proceeded with training together.
Whoosh—
As each wind bomb exploded, Yoo Ji-han’s body was propelled in the intended direction.
Unlike at the beginning when he was clumsy, he had now developed a high level of completion, enough to use it sparingly in real situations.
Yet, perhaps due to the equipment, there was almost no impact on his body.
‘Wearing new clothes seems to enhance performance.’
The leather of Angry Yak was surprisingly stretchy, causing little discomfort during intense movement.
And the new robe by Kim Si-hu felt pleasantly soothing against his skin, helping with casting spells without hindrance.
The equipment created with care by a skilled blacksmith who had considered just one user.
It was indeed much more viable than the cheap gear he had used before.
‘This should be enough.’
Preparations for the next step were complete.
*
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu took a taxi and arrived at Gye-yang Mountain in Incheon.
They weren’t there for hiking but rather because the entire Gye-yang Mountain area had recently been declared a rank 4 Monster Area.
In terms of area, it was the largest place they had visited among all the MA up to that point.
Thud!
Yoo Ji-han drew his sword from the trunk of the taxi, completing his armament and headed toward the designated MA entrance with Kim Si-hu.
As he pondered deeply, Kim Si-hu spoke up.
“Hey, remember the guy who ran away from behind the tree at the golf course?”
“I remember.”
“Doesn’t that seem a bit strange? That guy disappeared, and suddenly a mutation appeared.”
“……”
Just as Kim Si-hu said, it was indeed odd.
The distance between the man who fled from the golf course and the giant monster hiding behind the tree was way too close.
‘Maybe I should have reported it to the Hero Department.’
At that time, the situation had been so urgent that he could think of nothing but survival.
Perhaps that man may have been caught in the attack of the giant monster and died.
“Thinking about it now is a bit late.”
“True.”
As they exchanged small talk, the two arrived at the entrance of the MA.
Yoo Ji-han saw heroes busily coming and going.
Originally, it was an entrance used for hikers, but it was located somewhat far from residential areas.
Of course, general citizens were prohibited from entry at present.
“I searched online, and the giant monster looks really grotesque.”
“Anything with a lot of legs is just creepy.”
“……”
“It must be even creepier in person.”
The monster that appeared in Gye-yang Mountain was Goemi.
They were ordinary ants that had grown over 1m in size, with three legs on each side for a total of six legs.
Because of their distinct appearance, heroes with a strong dislike for insects would never even attempt to catch them.
“Over there.”
They spotted officials from the Hero Department waiting.
Just as Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu were walking toward them.
“Excuse me there for a moment.”
“Yes?”
Several people approached Kim Si-hu to speak.
“Aren’t you both from the Sweet Fun Guild? The Yoo Ji-han party?”
“Oh! That’s right, but how did you know?”
“Right! I saw the interview on the Hero News this time.”
“You saw that?”
“I also enjoyed the video of you capturing Evil Rip in front of the flower shop.”
“You fought very well with bare hands.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
They were rank 4 heroes who had seen the interview article written by Lee Wan.
Hearing compliments he hadn’t expected, Yoo Ji-han awkwardly smiled.
‘So there are actually people who saw it.’
He had thought nearly no one would bother to watch the interview of a rank 4 party…
But since a party of the same rank had seen it, Yoo Ji-han felt only amazement.
*
MonChicken.
After the giant monster known as Goemi was discovered in Korea, it’s what people started calling it overseas.
The pronunciation was very similar to the breed of cat known as Munchkin, leading to hilarious memes circulating in some internet communities that compared pictures of the two side by side.
Meanwhile, Black Harts, a guild from the USA, bought most parts of the monster chicken, MonChicken, that Yoo Ji-han’s party auctioned.
Although results of the investigation had already been released in Korea, the guild bid the highest because researchers wanted further detailed studies.
[MU-1302]
Pak! Pak! Pak!
In the laboratory of Black Harts, the limbs and feet of MonChicken were fluttering as if they were alive, all connected to labeled machinery.
Even though the body parts were sent in segments to the USA from Korea, the technology of Black Harts had animated them to mimic the movement of the creature in life.
“Mandy!”
One researcher shouted while looking over the numbers displayed on the monitor.
Upon hearing her name, a colleague rushed over.
“What are the results?”
“Just as expected, at least rank 3. Possibly rank 2 if we’re lucky.”
“Jesus…”
The two researchers stared at the legs of MonChicken that kept flexing repeatedly.
The data they obtained took time to gather was showing some differences from the information released by the research division of the Hero Department in Korea.
“The power coming from those thin legs is remarkable.”
The grade estimated for MonChicken was rank 3.
In terms of potential maximum power produced by the legs, it was evaluated not inferior to rank 2 monsters.
It was nearly unprecedented for a rank 5 monster mutation to get rated so close to rank 2.
“Despite having seen it earlier than us, the fact that they didn’t raise the issue about the giant monster in the international community… Do you think the attitude of Korea is too lax?”
“They might not have been able to obtain data as precise as Black Harts did in Korea.”
“If it were an ordinary rank 5 MA, even one of those would cause mass killings.”
“The data implies that its personality when alive wasn’t particularly vicious…,”
“That can vary by individual.”
Since only one MonChicken had been discovered, they couldn’t compare the differences in characteristics of different individuals.
However, even so, it was enough to discuss the grade adjustments of Goemi on a global scale.
“I can only imagine the horrors of this thing appearing among beginner heroes.”
“It’s interesting that the heroes who hunted it in Korea were rank 5 at the time.”
“What was the guild’s name?”
“Honey Jam.”
“That’s a sweet name.”
After Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu had done an official interview.
The party that hunted MonChicken had become known, if only briefly, overseas.
The researcher who had named the guild added,
“Do you know what’s surprising?”
“What’s that?”
“So far, only two heroes belong to Honey Jam.”
“So you mean, this MonChicken was hunted down by two rank 5 heroes?”
“Pretty much. If a larger group had hunted it, the ownership would have been divided, but since only one place sold all the parts of MonChicken, it’s certain.”
“Wow… That’s almost comically promising for a guild.”