Chapter 34

< That's not how you write it >

The flames that had engulfed the entire valley had largely subsided. The few remaining sparks gnawed at the grass, only to be trampled underfoot. Sparks splattered like a struggling body, but not a single scorch mark appeared on Yuhwan’s shoes.

When resistance to an attribute exceeds B-grade, it begins to affect not just the body but also clothing and equipment. Han Yuhwan had grown his A-grade fire resistance to S-grade in just a year. Even if he jumped into a blazing inferno, not a single collar would burn.

- Piiii

The Golden-beaked Mya made an uncharacteristically thin sound. Her red eyes with vertical pupils rolled toward Yuhwan, and she half-spread her folded wings, raising her neck feathers. It was clearly a defensive stance.

- Piiik Piiik

She chirped in quick succession as a warning,

Pururuk

then flew up into the sky.

Han Yuhwan stopped and looked up at the strange bird. A shadow fell over him and quickly moved away. With each flap of her wings, sparks fell from the sky.

Chiiik

The continuous sound of flames’ final agony came from the ice fog that spread like a canopy above our heads.

“Guild Master, I haven’t heard that you have a flying skill. Will you be okay?”

Yelim said softly.

“I’ll be fine.”

Even without a flying skill, I have a substitute.

But why isn’t he using it? Is he trying to make the opponent relax? Flying monsters often let their guard down if they think their opponent can’t fly, creating an opening. He’s being cautious.

- Piiiiik!

After a couple more low flights, the strange bird, seeing that the opponent didn’t move, chirped excitedly. It’s as if she’s trying to prove she’s not just a bird. This is the perfect time to use a blue willow leaf, but... he’s not using it.

‘Why isn’t he moving at all?’

Being cautious is good, but this is excessive. The blue willow leaf also has a vision-obscuring effect, so at this timing, he could end it in one go. What is he waiting for?

Pa-ak

The wings of flame spread to their maximum width. With one wingtip as the axis, it slowly circled, preparing for an attack. Immediately after,

Thud!

The wings folded, and it plummeted. The beak, which could pierce even an S-grade defense if not focused on defense, was dodged with minimal movement by Han Yuhwan.

Then, a thin sword in his hand deftly pierced the wing joint.

Kwadruk, flesh tore, blood splattered, and bones cracked.

- Piiiek!

The Golden-beaked Mya scratched the ground with her feet and rolled her body. While ash and sparks flew, obscuring the view, the strange bird, having pulled out her reserve wings, clumsily took off.

- Piiik! Kiiik!

The wing that was half-torn by Yuhwan’s blade flapped weakly. Mya seemed to be frightened as she soared high.

This is strange. Didn’t I clearly say he had reserve wings? Why didn’t he attack the head by jumping with a blue willow leaf and instead went for the wings? Of course, if there’s no flying skill, it’s standard to deal with the wings first even if there are reserves...

‘Could it be...’

Has he not obtained the blue willow leaf yet? Since it wasn’t an initial skill, he might not have had it at this point. Damn, this is bad. I won’t lose, but it will take all day.

“Wow, Yuhwan-oppa moves so cleanly.”

Yelim marveled. The honorific is back to ‘oppa’.

“But isn’t that bird scared and not coming down? Should I help? Should I fly up with the Guild Master—”

“Then you’ll die.”

What’s the point of being S-grade if you don’t have fire resistance? At your level, you can only block indirect flames.

“Yuhwan’s fire resistance area is quite wide, but unless he’s completely hugging someone, he can’t cover others. If you approach that closely, your movements will be restricted, making you more vulnerable. Yuhwan will be fine, but you’ll struggle to survive.”

“But it looks like that bird won’t move from the sky. Are we trapped here?”

“Boss monsters have a strong instinct to protect their territory, so it will eventually come down. It will take a while, though.”

Fortunately, there’s only one pair of reserve wings, so if we’re lucky, we can finish it by cutting one more. If the direction is wrong or it protects its wings well, it will take longer. We need to give it a piece of bread, but can we finish by evening?

- Piiik! Piiik!

The severely injured strange bird only chirped and didn’t dare to lower its altitude. However, since it didn’t flee, it would likely attack again soon. The question is when.

- Piiii

What’s this? It seems the bird is glancing at us. Is it thinking of a strategy because it can’t handle us? Moreover, it’s slowly lowering its altitude.

Yuhwan must have noticed this and moved toward us while using a skill.

“Blue willow leaf!”

What? He has it... Hey! Why is he using it like that!

To my surprise, Yuhwan was using the blue willow leaf only to hinder the opponent’s vision and movement as a restraining skill. He didn’t lack it; he just wasn’t familiar with its use!

Of course, the skill description window doesn’t kindly tell you to step on it and jump. From the description alone, it would seem like a vision-obscuring auxiliary skill.

I raised my voice.

“Hey! Step on it!”

“What?”

“The leaf! Step on it and jump!”

After a moment of confusion, Yuhwan jumped up. His foot stepped on the blue, glowing leaf. If it were a normal leaf, it would have fallen under his weight, but the blue willow leaf remained suspended in the air.

The first few steps were awkward, but as an S-grade stat owner, Han Yuhwan quickly adapted to stepping on the leaves.

His body ran through the air. Despite Mya’s frantic attack, he dodged it as easily as on the ground, if not more so. At the same time, he manipulated the leaves to obstruct the strange bird’s vision.

- Piiik!

The Golden-beaked Mya was flustered at losing sight of her target. In that short moment, Yuhwan had risen higher than the strange bird, precisely above its flaming head.

‘It’s over.’

As soon as I thought that, the blade pierced Mya’s crown,

Puruk!

and her head exploded like a pudding. The explosion was definitely due to the spear’s option, but what was the spear’s name again?

Thud!

The strange bird, with half its head gone, crashed to the ground. Yuhwan, still stepping on the remaining blue leaves, landed lightly on the ground. As expected, it ended quickly.

With the strange bird’s death, a blue gate appeared where the original boss mountain goat had been.

“Bro!”

Yuhwan ran to me with an excited expression.

“Amazing! Using the blue willow leaf as a substitute for a flying skill! No, it’s even better than a flying skill given by someone else!”

He’s as happy as if he received Christmas and Children’s Day gifts at the same time.

“I was most disappointed about not having a flying skill! To have such a good thing and not use it, I felt so stupid! You figured out the application method at a glance.”

No, I didn’t figure it out. Originally, it was you, Yuhwan... did you discover it? I’m not sure. Soon, with the awakening center and active research on Awakeners, large guilds will have dedicated skill researchers.

“Alright, calm down. It’s no big deal.”

“How is this no big deal? It’s like gaining a new skill. And it’s the most needed one! I’m weak at long-range attacks, so flying monsters were the most challenging. Now, I don’t need to rely on others’ assistance! Besides, the guild members with flying support skills have low stat grades, making it unsafe to bring them along. You’re really the best!”

Yeah, I get it. You have a reason to be happy. I’m glad you’re happy, but it’s embarrassing to keep praising me for cheating.

“Shouldn’t we leave quickly? The dungeon’s level has changed, and everyone must be worried.”

“Right, it’s been a while, so the guild and association must have been informed. There must be chaos.”

We quickly gathered the loot.

“Do you want me to check your skills?”

Just before leaving, I said. I received the skill application methods during the final favor, so I’m more familiar with Yuhwan’s skills now.

“Sure, that would be great!”

Yuhwan replied with a smile.

“Mr. Yuhwan, what about me?”

Yelim, who had been listening, interjected. You, too.

“I’ve already given you a rough overview. Come back after reaching level 30.”

I’ll check your new skills if you have any. It might not help much, but it’s better than you struggling alone.

Outside, as expected, faces filled with anxiety and restlessness gathered. There was a small cheer at the sight of our safe return.

“It’s a relief to see you safe, Guild Master!”

“Hunter Park Yelim doesn’t seem to be injured!”

Of course, the attention was focused on Yuhwan and Yelim, while Mingwoo and I were just background characters 1 and 2. That was fine and how it should have been.

“Mr. Han Yujin, are you okay?”

Kim Seonghan approached me. No, you should check on your Guild Master first. With his high loyalty, everyone is looking at us strangely.

“I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine.”

Then, please take care of your Guild Master. Please.

“Han Yuhwan, I think I should visit the association, so I’ll return to the guild with Seonghan.”

“Okay.”

His voice was a bit stiffer than inside the dungeon. As expected, he doesn’t show his true colors when there are many eyes on him. A commendable attitude.

Yuhwan, of course, and Yelim also left with the Hunter Association people. In the car back to the guild, I opened my status window.

‘I leveled up 10 levels at the end. Definitely.’

Boss monsters give a bit of experience just by being nearby. Thanks to that, the level-up message appeared, but there was no skill acquisition message.

‘As expected, the skills are the same. But this...’

Something caught my eye. The color seemed a bit different.

[Perfect Raiser (L)]

The Dragon Slayer title remained the same, but the Perfect Raiser’s color changed.

It turned red. Red. Crimson. Does it triple in speed?

‘This... is like a landmine.’

I shouldn’t check it. I just want to ignore it. But the problem is that I can’t ignore it.

What’s the point of this, system creator? Can’t you just open the chat window in both directions once more?

I mumbled to myself, but there was no response. I sighed and opened the Perfect Raiser title window. Fortunately, there were no changes to other skills. Except for one.

[My Baby is the Best (L)]

This one also changed color.

Wow, it’s red. It was already a landmine, and now it’s red. I really shouldn’t look at it. It’s like it’s shouting, “I’m a trap!” But I can’t ignore it forever.

Screw it.

[My Baby is the Best (L) - Listening to the keyword, the target’s growth rate +100% (/>∀<)/Fighting! ┕(^ㅁ^┕)

Duration: 3 days

A target already influenced can be used without the keyword

Cannot be used on the same target repeatedly

Cooldown for reuse on the same target: 30 days

Keyword: I love you

※If the target is aware of the keyword’s effect, it cannot be applied

Influenced Targets (5)

(Han Yuhwan - S) (Park Yelim - S) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending) (Pending)

Next]

What’s with the “Fighting”? It’s not cute, go away. What’s with the “Pending”? It wasn’t like this before.

There are 30 slots, including the two filled ones, and there’s a “Next” button. I felt a short circuit in my brain.

‘N-no, it can’t be...’

Is it telling me to fill the pending slots? And since Mingwoo and Seonghan are not there, it must be S-grade... Damn.

I must be crazy.

Even with fear resistance, my heart is pounding. If it were off, I would have screamed.

‘Finding... the Perfect Raiser title or the My Baby skill owner...’

And damn, 30 S-grade individuals? No, it’s probably more than 30. There’s a “Next” button.

‘I can’t do it, damn it. Even 30 is impossible. I must be crazy.’

The system creator’s conscience must have vanished by early evening. There are fewer than ten S-grade individuals in the country, and it’s telling me to go fishing worldwide. At least ease the conditions. Change the keyword and remove the strange additional effects. I won’t do it, I can’t.

‘No, I don’t have to follow the instructions of someone I don’t even know.’

To make me do such crazy things, at least give a detailed explanation. Explain, not with a “Fighting” emoticon, but with a proper explanation. In novels, manga, and movies, these guys always speak vaguely and ruin things, and now it’s happening in reality.

Explain! If you don’t, I won’t do it.

‘It took a lot of black history to catch just four people...’

Wait. It’s supposed to be four. I checked the skill window again.

[Influenced Targets (5)]

...Why are there five?

< That's not how you write it > End

ⓒ Geunseo

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