NOVEL NEXT Chapter 85
Chapter 85. The White-haired Man
“Yoo Ji-han’s party. We’ve received a cooperation request from a university. Would you like to hear about it?”
“Is it related to hunting?”
“Yes. They are currently suffering from a Giant Pigeon Monster.”
The Hero Academy staff inquired about the Giant Pigeon Monster hunt to Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Once a symbol of peace, this animal had now turned into a pestilential beast, a pigeon swooping through the air with germs all over it.
The Giant Pigeon Monster had transformed into a top-tier nuisance that needed to be dealt with.
‘A flying-type monster, huh…’
Flying-type monsters are those that many heroes tend to avoid.
Due to their tricky hunting conditions, there are many parties that have not hunted flying-type monsters at all, even after extensive time in the field.
‘That sounds good.’
However, Yoo Ji-han welcomed this proposal instead.
He didn’t shy away just because it would be tough.
After all, he had experience hunting these creatures in the past.
*
At Han Gang University where the Giant Pigeon Monsters had appeared.
Yoo Ji-han’s party proceeded to hunt there.
“Stop getting hit!”
“Another miss!”
Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri were having a hard time hunting the Giant Pigeons which were flying freely in the sky.
Even Min Yu-ri, who had shot countless arrows at fast-moving Giant Cats, found hunting the winged monsters required a different sense altogether.
To hunt birds, ambushing from a distance would be ideal, but to catch the Giant Pigeons hidden around the university campus meant they had no choice but to reveal themselves.
“Pay attention to its eyes and wings! Look at how those wings push the air in different directions.”
Yoo Ji-han halted the two who were eager to rush in and began teaching them the strategy to deal with the Giant Pigeon.
Curiously, his party members started showing a bit more improvement as time passed.
The advice Yoo Ji-han provided each had actual effects.
Moreover, they had the abilities to absorb the advice given to them.
[Wind Leap]
Whoosh!
“Coo-coo?!”
Yoo Ji-han, using magic to jump high into the air, stabbed his sword into the chest of the flying Giant Pigeon.
The creature that had stopped flapping its wings plummeted down.
Kim Si-hu extended his arm, holding his staff toward that direction.
And the moment the tip of the staff pointed at Yoo Ji-han—
[Levitation]
Kim Si-hu’s magical energy shot straight toward Yoo Ji-han.
Normally, this magic could only be used when in contact with the body.
However, Kim Si-hu managed to apply magic over a distance with just a finely drawn thread of magic.
Thanks to that, Yoo Ji-han, who was preparing for landing, was able to descend lightly to the ground.
‘Much better than before.’
Kim Si-hu clicked his tongue while watching Yoo Ji-han dart around in the sky with magic.
The agile movements were something ordinary warriors without spirits or special skills could never replicate.
Yoo Ji-han’s attempt to use attack magic as a means of movement was shaping up more and more unlike the shaky beginnings.
“Si-hu.”
“Yeah?”
“The warriors I’ve seen before aren’t like this… Surely, Ji-han is special, right?”
“Probably.”
Min Yu-ri, having seen various warriors in the field until now, noted that none had shown such fighting prowess.
As Yoo Ji-han became more skilled in spirit magic, he drifted further from what would be considered the norm for an ordinary warrior.
“Coo-coo!”
“Coo-cuu…!”
Other Giant Pigeons in the vicinity continued to fly around.
They were greatly shaken by their companions’ deaths.
A feeling that they would not win this fight was spreading among the hovering Giant Pigeons.
“Coo, coo-coo!”
Eventually, some even began to flee the scene.
As soon as one started to escape, three or four others soon followed.
“Let’s run!”
“I’ll attack right away!”
Min Yu-ri aimed her bow at the fleeing Giant Pigeon.
But just then—
Whoosh!
The fleeing Giant Pigeons suddenly halted mid-air.
The ones that were merely flapping their wings in place turned back to gaze at Yoo Ji-han’s party.
“……?”
The Giant Pigeons flew back to circle around Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Noticing something strange, Min Yu-ri returned her taut bowstring to its original position.
Bang bang!
From the door of the nearby dormitory, four Giant Pigeons burst out.
Yoo Ji-han frowned intensely at the sight of the new Giant Pigeons.
‘That’s a mutation.’
The blunt horn on top of the heads of the newcomers was a clear characteristic associated only with mutant Giant Pigeons.
Suddenly, another mutation appeared.
“There’s a person on top!”
Moreover, on top of the largest Giant Pigeon that emerged last, there was a man riding it.
A man with completely white hair.
Yoo Ji-han’s party stiffened their expressions as they spotted the malicious grin on his face.
‘It’s the same man as last time.’
Now, he could tell just by seeing the white hair.
That he was the one controlling these monsters.
As he quickly organized his thoughts, Yoo Ji-han glared at the man atop the mutant.
“Hey! If you don’t come down this instant, I’ll consider you an enemy!”
“Caw!”
The man scoffed at Yoo Ji-han’s sharp warning.
A foe with whom rational dialogue would not be possible.
Without a word, Yoo Ji-han raised his sword.
“Coo-coo, coo-coo!”
At that moment, the mutated Giant Pigeons flapped their wings violently.
A small gust of wind was created as the feathers embedded in their wings shot forward like arrows.
“Scatter!”
“……!”
Yoo Ji-han’s party threw themselves in different directions to dodge the feathers.
As Kim Si-hu watched the feathers embed themselves into the solid asphalt, he couldn’t help but gasp.
Each giant feather carried a force substantial enough to not be easily ignored.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Yoo Ji-han deflected the incoming feathers with his sword.
Gray and dark blue feathers began to pile up on the asphalt.
Every time the solid quills impacted his sword, a quivering vibration echoed through the air.
“Caw-caw!”
Chilla, protecting Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri, kept swatting away the incoming feathers with his hands.
However, his hands were beginning to tear as they couldn’t endure the impact.
It was clear that he couldn’t keep defending for too long.
‘There’s a pattern to their attacks.’
While deflecting the feathers, Yoo Ji-han observed the mutant Giant Pigeon the white-haired man was riding.
Although every monster has different behaviors, they usually swarm disturbingly.
However, the current Giant Pigeons were a bit different.
Even as the mutant sent feathers flying indiscriminately, it didn’t harm the other Giant Pigeons at all.
They also blocked the escape routes for the fleeing people.
‘They are only targeting that man.’
Yoo Ji-han gripped his sword tightly.
If this was an event instigated by the man controlling the monsters, the likelihood of the Giant Pigeons reverting to normal when he was dead or incapacitated was quite high.
“There he is!”
“Let’s go!”
Other parties nearby were approaching toward where Yoo Ji-han’s party was engaged in battle.
Upon seeing this, the man on the Giant Pigeon clicked his tongue and waved his right arm slightly.
“Coo-coo!”
“Coo-coo-coo!”
The Giant Pigeons raised their voices as if to threaten the approaching heroes.
The white-haired man atop the mutant began to quietly pull his body back.
He was trying to escape from this spot.
‘Where do you think you’re going?!’
Yoo Ji-han kept a fiery glare on the man as he distanced himself from the scene.
And as soon as the nearby party joined up closely, Yoo Ji-han dashed forward alone.
He absolutely would not let that man flee.
“Ah!”
“It’s dangerous!”
The heroes warned Yoo Ji-han, who was breaking away from the group, but he didn’t stop running.
“Coo-coo-coo!”
The Giant Pigeons began to dive towards Yoo Ji-han.
Behind him, Min Yu-ri and Kim Si-hu did their best to fend off the enemies charging at him.
And…….
[Haste]
[Wind Leap]
With his buffs activated, Yoo Ji-han used his movement magic to leap powerfully upward.
His body soared high and landed atop the body of a Giant Pigeon.
Thump!
He jumped again off the stout body of the Giant Pigeon.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Advancing forward by stepping on different Giant Pigeons.
Using the birds as footholds, he stayed suspended in mid-air without falling down to the ground.
<— The probability of me jumping off that Giant Pigeon>
<80%>
<— The probability of me jumping off that Giant Pigeon>
<30%>
Sampling all the surrounding Giant Pigeons.
He stepped on all that were able to be utilized as footholds.
And when no more suitable footholds remained—
[Wind Leap]
[Wind Leap]
Yoo Ji-han squeezed out his magical energy and layered Wind Leap behind him.
And as it burst out all at once, it created enough wind to blow even one person away effortlessly.
“Crazy!”
“Does that even make sense?!”
The other heroes gasped as they watched Yoo Ji-han seem to fly through the air.
The white-haired man also was stunned by the sight.
He was hastily trying to dodge to a different position when…….
[Wind Leap]
Mid-flight, Yoo Ji-han changed direction and landed on top of the mutant Giant Pigeon.
“Phew!”
After continuously using movement magic, he could feel a tingle coursing through his entire body.
Relaxing a breath, he brushed aside his hair that had been blown by the wind and glared at the white-haired man.
“Get down to the ground right now.”
“You bastard……!”
The man grimaced.
“Do you think I’ll just comply?!”
“Coo-coo?!”
The body of the mutant Giant Pigeon they were atop twitched.
The man probably intended to control the Pigeon to throw Yoo Ji-han off.
“Stop.”
“……!”
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han held his sword backward and pointed the tip toward the body of the Giant Pigeon.
The sharp blade seemed ready to pierce at any moment.
The man’s face turned pale.
“Don’t do it!”
“From now on, all Giant Pigeons are coming down to the ground. If I see any suspicious movements, you’re dead.”
After Yoo Ji-han threatened him, the Giant Pigeons began to descend one by one.
The same applied to the mutant Giant Pigeon ridden by Yoo Ji-han and the white-haired man.
As the parties lying in wait on the ground became wary of the now passive Giant Pigeons, Yoo Ji-han grabbed hold of the man and dragged him down from the back of the Pigeon.
Kim Si-hu, having grasped the general situation, raised his hand toward the man.
“Drop it, you punk!”
“G-geek!”
The threatened man curled into himself.
It seemed the Giant Pigeons were also affected as they quivered in response to him.
Yoo Ji-han asked, looking directly at the man.
“How did you control the monsters?”
“…….”
The man remained silent.
His response was not significantly different from those previously encountered.
Then, Kim Si-hu tightened his expression and spoke.
“Not gonna answer? Drop it, punk!”
“G-giek!”
Thunk!
The man fell to the ground, shivering in a ball.
But that was it.
He displayed a frightened posture at the moment of threat, but it didn’t seem like he planned to answer any questions.
‘Should I kill him?’
Yoo Ji-han pondered over the man’s fate.
Given the circumstances, there must be more than one civilian or hero who died due to this man.
If he were taken to the bereaved families of the dead, they’d likely jump at him to kill him right away.
“Tsk! Let’s hand him over to the Hero Department for now.”
“Got it.”
The staff from the Hero Department, who had been waiting at the entrance of the Monster Area, ran toward the dormitory upon receiving Yoo Ji-han’s contact.
“Huh!”
“A living Giant Pigeon isn’t attacking a human?”
“A mutation too!”
A sight like nothing they had ever seen in their lives.
The Hero Department staff gasped in shock at the white-haired man controlling the Giant Pigeons.
To see a monster—known for its ferocity—acting like a well-trained pet.
It would be hard to categorize the many mutants following just one person as a “Tamer” hero.
“This is a serious matter.”
“I’ll contact headquarters immediately.”
“The one who subdued this man! I’d like to ask you a question…….”
*
An emergency meeting convened at the Hero Department.
Only around five people could participate in the busy meeting.
However, the matter at hand would shock the entire Hero Department.
“A human controlling monsters was caught at Han Gang University?”
“Yes.”
The executives whispered in shock at the startling news.
In the middle of it, someone spoke up.
“There have been multiple reports of similar incidents before.”
“Back then, it was merely the simple testimonies of the heroes on-site. But this is different, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Please take a look at the screen for a moment.”
Beep!
On the beam projector screen appeared the footage of the white-haired man captured at Han Gang University.
—Sit down.
—Stand up.
—Fly.
—Do a spin.
Every command from the man was thoroughly obeyed by the Giant Pigeons.
The fresh evidence, filmed not long ago, left the executives dumbfounded, unable to close their gaping mouths.
“Could he possibly be an unregistered Tamer at the Hero Department?”
An unlicensed hero operating without formal training.
That was a suspicious remark.
“There’s a possibility, but according to eyewitness accounts, it’s highly unlikely.”
“So you’re saying an ordinary human controlled the monsters?!”
“Good grief….”
To actually have a human who controls monsters appear.
It was yet another piece of news that would drain the already tired Hero Department staff even further.
“Can we keep the parties that were on-site from speaking for a while?”
“We’ve already made the request, but given the incidents occurring in other areas, we cannot guarantee security.”
“Who was the one to subdue that man?”
“Yoo Ji-han. I’ve heard it’s Yoo Ji-han’s party, ranked 4.”
The executives responded nonchalantly to the unfamiliar name.
Then the presenter added further explanation.
“It’s the party that played a significant role in subduing the mutant Giant Monster before.”
“Oh? Really?”
“That’s quite a promising party.”
The executives began nodding only after they were informed of the achievements rather than the name itself.
It was the first time they recognized “Yoo Ji-han” as the name they would inevitably mention countless times in association with the guild “Sweet Fun.”