Chapter 74

EP.74 The Forest Covered in Snakes (8)

Sweat trickled down her hairline.

Kang Juyeon felt the situation was desperate.

The operation to burn all the ancient trees inside the boss room had been successful.

It was a strategy everyone agreed on, and it had indeed proven effective, driving the boss monster into a corner.

If they could dismantle all the gimmicks and launch a final attack together, they could bring down the boss monster.

Victory was within reach.

"...There wasn't just one gimmick."

However, the Imugi in the mountain's dungeon had more than just the 'transfer' gimmick.

The countless ancient trees inside the boss room.

The ability to freely manipulate them in any form.

That was the true nature of this dungeon's gimmick.

Thus, when the boss monster was cornered, it stopped the transfer and used the ancient trees differently.

The few remaining trees.

It shaped them all into 'wooden snakes.'

And launched them at the party as a magical attack.

This was a fatal blow to the party members who were focused on the operation.

"...Do Jae-hyun."

Kang Juyeon suddenly looked at the man standing in front of her.

Do Jae-hyun.

He had been fighting the boss at the front, but when the wooden snakes appeared, he immediately rushed to the rear.

To protect the rear members who had no time to defend themselves...

That must have been why he came.

In the party they had been in together.

This man had always made the right decisions.

Do Jae-hyun was... always a rational person.

"...I'm sorry."

That's why, in this urgent and dangerous moment,

Kang Juyeon felt even more apologetic towards him.

Because she was the one who had dragged him into this, even though he was already shining on his own.

Because she was the one who had put this promising holder in danger.

Even in this unreasonable situation,

He had not run away and had come to protect them.

...Even though he clearly had no means of defense left.

"Miss! You need to get out of the way!"

Kim Sung-cheol, the mage who had been working on the 'forest fire operation' with her, urgently canceled his spell and said.

It wasn't just him.

Lee Soo-mi, the holy class holder, and Shin Yuna, the new clan member,

were all around Kang Juyeon.

They must have come to protect the clan's successor.

However, Kang Juyeon slowly shook her head.

"...I'll block it."

"Miss!!"

She couldn't back down.

The man she had personally proposed and brought along was standing there.

The man who had smiled and said thank you, even when the mission was difficult.

The man who was standing right in front of her, with no strength left to defend or endure.

Having been a holder for a little over a year,

During that not-so-short time, among all the people she had seen,

the most brilliant holder... was right in front of her.

To run away alone in front of him

would be a cowardly act.

'I'll block it with you.'

Honestly, she wasn't sure if she could block it.

She had already used a lot of mana for the forest fire operation, and her concentration was broken, so casting a spell would take too long.

Even her ultimate skill, [Inferno],

was not suitable for defending against such a large-scale attack.

Still, Kang Juyeon would block it together.

Because Do Jae-hyun, who was in the same or perhaps even worse situation,

had chosen to block it.

Having made that decision, the clan members who were trying to stop her quickly resigned themselves and prepared to block it somehow.

The moment dozens of wooden snakes approached,

...his voice was heard.

"Flow."

The voice, filled with firm resolve,

rang clearly in Kang Juyeon's ears.

'Command word?'

From the end of the academy dungeon to the incident at the end-of-term evaluation,

Do Jae-hyun had never shown his ultimate skill.

Naturally, Kang Juyeon had thought he didn't have one.

It was a given.

'...He's a C-rank holder.'

His holder rank was C, and in the history of holders, there had been no cases of C-rank holders using ultimate skills.

Ultimate skills were not common.

They were not skills that could be obtained just because one wanted them.

Even B-rank holders, who were at the peak of maturity, did not easily possess ultimate skills.

Absolute ability, rune level, and talent.

All three had to align perfectly for the skill to be cast.

In this party, only she and the party leader, Kwon Oh-joon, could use ultimate skills.

Sssss-

Sssssss-!!

Crack, crack, crack-

That ultimate skill unfolded from Do Jae-hyun's sword.

A fast movement, as if using a movement rune.

The speed accelerated and accelerated again...

until it became so fast that it was invisible to the eye.

The rapid speed, enhanced with fluidity, became graceful.

Do Jae-hyun's sword moved as if dancing,

deflecting the wooden snakes one by one.

'Like water.'

If one could merge a sword with water,

it might feel like this.

Do Jae-hyun's sword moved like flowing water.

Moreover, as a holder with an ultimate skill, Kang Juyeon could tell.

'...He's not using it for the first time.'

His ultimate skill was definitely not being used for the first time.

Even she, who had had [Inferno] for quite some time, was still not proficient with it, but Do Jae-hyun seemed to have grasped the flow and structure... and was executing the ultimate skill almost perfectly.

Crack, crack,

Crack, crack, crack,

Sssssss-

The wooden snakes, which numbered almost a hundred,

were all brought to their knees by Do Jae-hyun's sword.

"Ah..."

"That, that's..."

"......"

The surroundings were filled with exclamations of amazement.

Lee Soo-mi, who had been focusing on buffs, Kim Sung-cheol, who had been trying to move the wooden snakes with wind magic, and Shin Yuna, who had been clenching her knuckles in resignation,

all stared at Do Jae-hyun in awe.

Except for the wooden snakes that had flown towards Kwon Oh-joon and Choi Dong-wook at the front,

all the wooden snakes that had flown to the rear fell to the ground.

Do Jae-hyun.

This man, with his own abilities alone,

had deflected countless wooden snakes.

"Haa... Haa..."

Do Jae-hyun, breathing heavily, lifted his head.

His gaze first turned to the left,

where Lee Soo-mi was standing.

"Haa... Haa... Holder Lee Soo-mi, please... buffs."

"Ah! Yes, I understand. Just a moment."

Lee Soo-mi quickly regained her composure and approached him.

She concentrated and cast holy magic with both hands.

A light green glow in her left hand, a purple glow in her right.

A double casting of [Cure] and [Rest], a technique possible only for a high-ranking B-rank holder with extensive experience like Lee Soo-mi.

Do Jae-hyun, who was almost in tatters, quickly began to recover.

"Huff... Thank you."

"Huh? We haven't finished treating the intern yet."

"We don't have time."

Do Jae-hyun's gaze turned forward.

A similar number of wooden snakes,

an overwhelming number, were also in front.

And Kwon Oh-joon and Choi Dong-wook, who were being attacked by them.

They were managing to block them somehow, but immediate support was needed.

Aside from the wooden snakes' attacks, the main body of the Imugi from the mountain, which had completed its transfer, was standing firmly in front.

It was a situation where an attack from the Imugi could come at any moment.

Do Jae-hyun's head turned again.

This time, his gaze was directed at Kang Juyeon.

"Kang Juyeon, can you keep fighting? I need your power."

I need your power.

Those words hit Kang Juyeon hard.

Her mana was almost depleted...

She had no strength left to move...

What kind of formation and method did he plan to fight with...

All the countless questions that had been swirling in her mind stopped at those words.

No other words were needed.

Kang Juyeon silently nodded.

"...Yes."

"Okay. Let's go to the front together."

Do Jae-hyun's eyes quickly turned to the other party members.

"Seniors, the situation is urgent. Is it okay if I give orders?"

"Hmm- Of course. The intern saved all of us. Everyone agrees, right?"

Lee Soo-mi immediately supported Do Jae-hyun's words.

When she turned her head to ask for opinions, Kim Sung-cheol, Shin Yuna, and Min Chae-hwan, who was preparing something in the back, all nodded.

The agreement of all the rear members.

Do Jae-hyun quickly gave orders.

"Holder Lee Soo-mi, please focus on healing Holder Kim Sung-cheol. In this urgent situation, we might need Holder Kim Sung-cheol's wind magic again. Holder Kim Sung-cheol, please conserve your strength and use your main magic in emergencies. Shin Yuna, please guard the two holders."

"Hmm- Got it."

"Got it...!!"

Do Jae-hyun turned to Min Chae-hwan.

"Holder Min Chae-hwan, please take charge of covering us as we approach the boss monster. You are the strongest force among the rear members now."

"...I'll do that. At least I'll make sure the miss doesn't get hurt."

"Thank you."

Having given orders to all the rear members, Do Jae-hyun turned his gaze back to Kang Juyeon.

A look that was clearly different from when he looked at others...

A look filled with trust.

"Let's go."

At those simple two words,

Kang Juyeon felt her heart flutter for some reason.

It was a strange feeling.

Maybe it was because of the tension that filled her body as the final battle approached?

A new, unfamiliar, and intriguing emotion.

But she didn't dislike it.

Kang Juyeon gently caressed the feeling.

She slowly nodded.

"...Yes."

The monster, filled with all sorts of gimmicks and tricky abilities.

The Imugi of the mountain.

Now, they really had to hunt that boss.