Two groups, hell-bent on killing each other, all wore the same expression.
The Harpies.
And the Hunters of Orenotern. Team Leader Choi In-ho, in particular, looked half out of his mind.
“A healer… with that kind of killing ability… how…?”
He couldn’t even form a proper sentence. I called out to Lee Ye-chan, who was standing next to Choi In-ho with his mouth agape.
“Mr. Lee Ye-chan!”
“Ye… Yes!!”
“If any of them get close to me, hit them with an electric shock!”
“What?! But…”
Although he was a prospect, he was still a C-rank Hunter. He likely wasn’t capable of such a precise strike, targeting only the Harpy latched onto me. But I told him to just fire away, as I didn’t mind getting hit along with it.
Harpies were especially vulnerable to electric-type attacks, so even if we both took damage, we’d have the advantage. More importantly, I couldn’t stop my assault because of a few Harpies.
“If I tell you to shoot, then shoot!”
After shouting that, I moved again.
Whoosh.
This is why intelligent Monsters are so tricky. The creatures, which had been chasing me in a single cluster, seemed to sense the danger and spread out across the sky, attacking in sequence. I was catching them by throwing Exa like a boomerang, but it wasn't as efficient as before.
‘If only I could use ‘that skill’ at a time like this…’
The skill Kiril used to wipe out mobs in one go.
‘Poison Rain.’
If I knew how to use Poison Rain, which spread from the heavens to cover the entire ground, I would have annihilated those damn Harpies in a single blow. But suddenly awakening a skill in the middle of a battle was absurd. For now, I had to fight with the resources I had.
It wasn't as good as Kiril's technique, but I had a weapon with limitless potential.
“Damn it. At this rate, Exa’s efficiency is utter garbage.”
I grumbled, intentionally loud enough to be heard.
Twitch.
The gambit was a direct hit.
Kirik, kirik.
The Exa in my hand shot out on its own, beginning to change form in mid-air…!
“Ooh!!!”
The Hunters’ eyes widened at the strange and mysterious sight. I suppose I must have had a similar expression at first.
Clank.
Unlike the V1, I couldn't communicate with Exa through words. But it clearly possessed an ‘artificial intelligence’. Dr. Jin had said that Exa would efficiently change its form depending on the situation.
On the premise that a ‘special condition’ was met. Judging from my experience so far, that ‘special condition’ was…
“Now you’re finally a little useful.”
Taunting. Vrrrrrrr. That’s it.
Just like before, Exa transformed its shape, as if its pride was wounded by the word ‘useless’. Does a device have a personality? The response is immediate if you scratch its pride.
Exa, which had changed from a cube to a dagger, and sometimes to a booster on the sole of my foot, had now transformed into the shape of a ‘shotgun’ with a long barrel. Considering its original cube size, it felt like a violation of the laws of physics. Could Dr. Jin be a blacksmith from the Otherworld?
Flap, flap.
The Harpies seemed agitated by the appearance of the new weapon. With targets filling the sky, I guess I don’t really need to aim. I didn't know Exa could turn into a shotgun, but I could guess where the ‘bullets’ were.
The Black Ether contained within my body would become hundreds of bullets, slaughtering them at random.
Bang!! Thwack!! Thwack!!
“……!!”
Wow.
When I pulled the trigger, dozens of Harpies that had been floating in the sky fell. Why didn’t you transform sooner? What a relief.
I fired the shotgun in succession, and by the time I had shot ten times, there were less than twenty Harpies remaining. Good, just one or two more times…
Dizzy.
Suddenly, my vision turned white. I almost fell over.
What’s happening?
So that’s it. It seems I overloaded myself a bit by continuously using hundreds of Ether bullets. This was actually the first time I had used Black Ether like this during combat.
What should I do? Those cunning bastards have noticed and are flocking together at once.
Swoosh!
The claws of the first one to rush me flew toward my neck.
Zzzzzzzzap.
A blinding electric shock sparked before my eyes. I turned my head to see Lee Ye-chan giving me a thumbs-up from over there.
“Hunter Cheon Hae-seon!! You can count on me!!”
The shock only singed my bangs a little; it didn’t turn me into a roasted sparrow. It seemed Lee Ye-chan’s concentration had increased due to the urgent situation. He’s more useful than I thought.
With an invigorated Lee Ye-chan in the lead, the Hunters rushed over to surround me. With so few Harpies left, they were now able to handle them well enough.
Right.
I’ve done enough, I’m going to take a break. I sat down on the field to check my condition while the other Hunters defeated the Harpies one by one. Only three Harpies remained.
Zero casualties on our side. Considering it was initially a battle of ten against several hundred, it was a phenomenal result.
Wiiiiing…….
Suddenly, a sound that grated on the ears came from afar. It felt familiar. It was like this when I met Gu Geon-yi and the Yaksha.
A voice containing an unusual, special energy. I looked around at the excited team members and said, “Be careful.”
“What?”
“I think the boss has appeared.”
“!!!”
Wiiiiing…….
The annoying, ringing sound grew closer. What was strange was that the Harpies were more restless than the Hunters here. Three times bigger?
No. A Monster about five times the size of a Harpy was slowly flying toward us. At that size, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a ‘Flying Troll’ rather than a Harpy. But as the boss Monster approached the Harpies, it suddenly swung its front claws.
Shred.
The Harpies’ heads fell to the ground one after another, and the boss Monster greedily ‘ate’ them.
“Uuup…!!”
At the gruesome sight, the female Esper covered her mouth with one hand. Even if they were Monsters, she seemed quite shocked by the sight of it eating its own kind raw.
Flap, flap.
The large boss Monster looked down, its mouth stained with the Harpies’ blood. First, I should check its details.
‘Information.’
Damn it.
As soon as I read the text, I had to shout at my team members.
“Everyone, cover your ears!”
“??”
At the same time, the ‘Singing Harpy’ took a deep breath.
WIIIIIIIIIIING!!
“Aaaargh!!”
The Hunters’ screams mixed with the creature’s sonic wave. Two Knights, who had been caught off guard, collapsed with horrific screams, while two Espers, unable to enhance their bodies, passed out with blood streaming from their noses and ears.
“Ugh… ugh!!”
The other Hunters were in no better shape. Even if they enhanced their bodies with Ether, how much stronger could their eardrums get? The Hunters staggered, unable to keep their balance, as if the other organs in their ears had also been damaged.
Me?
I had already given up on balancing and just lay flat on the ground. Part of it was because my sense of balance was shot, but I could still shoot a gun while lying down. No, with the target in the sky, this was actually more comfortable.
Whether it’s a mob or a boss Monster, they all die the same from a Poison-type Hunter’s poison. I managed to steady my uncontrollable hand and fired a bullet in its direction.
Bang! WIIIIIIIIIIING!!
“……!!!”
Oh, damn it. I didn’t expect this. The creature, as if it had been watching my fighting style from the start, shot a sonic wave in my direction.
It seemed the bullets, which had been soaring against gravity, couldn’t overcome the sonic wave. The round, dark-red Black Ether crystals lost their power in mid-air and fell.
Bang!! Bang!!
It was the same no matter how many times I tried. It seemed this form of attack wouldn’t be able to damage it. And now, I couldn’t shoot even if I wanted to.
“Blech!!”
Having rapidly consumed my Black Ether and been hit by consecutive sonic attacks, I finally threw up bile. I’m so damn dizzy and nauseous. Looking around, all the Hunters except me were unconscious.
My vision turned from white to red.
“Damn it…”
I had forgotten. The fact that normal Monsters were much harder for me than Poison-type Monsters. I had a feeling I’d been taking down Poison-type Monsters too easily for their difficulty level.
That was because ‘poison’, a huge penalty for others, posed no threat to me at all. However, a 6-star (★★★★★★) ‘normal’ Monster is strong. I was keenly reminded of just how difficult it is to take down a boss Monster.
If it were a close-range, physical-type Monster, I might still be able to defeat it. But since it only uses sonic waves from a distance, the matchup is also bad.
Wiiiiing.
I used Poison Step to barely escape the danger zone. It wasn't just about me; if the unconscious Hunters kept taking these sonic waves, they might never get up again.
‘Damn it. If only I could reach it, I could do something.’
Perhaps because I had fired the shotgun, the ‘Singing Harpy’ showed no intention of coming down. If I could just make a small scratch with Exa, I could finish it. If I focus everything on ‘movement,’ I can somehow reach it.
Transforming Exa into its booster form would allow for an incredible leap. The problem is that after getting there, I wouldn’t have a blade to swing. Without Exa in its dagger form, I couldn't inflict a fatal wound even if I reached it.
Drip.
Now, dark-red blood flowed from my eyes as well.
‘Blood…’
No. I definitely had a weapon to swing.
‘There’s no chance of winning if I go on like this anyway.’
Having decided to take a gamble, I spoke bluntly to Exa.
“Even with booster mode, you think you can make it all the way up there?”
Flinch. Kiing, kiing.
As always, the effect was immediate. Exa irritably (….) split its body in two and slid under my shoes.
Shhh.
Meanwhile, I smeared the blood from my eyes, ears, and nose with my palm. This will probably be the last attack. If I succeed, I live.
If I fail, I die.
“This is one hell of a tough internship.”
I pour all my Ether into the booster-type Exa attached to the soles of my feet. It arrogantly looked down on me as I dodged here and there, like it was watching a rat. You know what?
I hate being looked down on like that the most.
“Hyaap!!”
I push off the ground with all my might and soar upwards. My body feels like a rocket. The distance between us closes in an instant.
So much so that I can clearly see the panic on its face.
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
It probably didn’t expect the guy squirming on the ground to suddenly fly up. It urgently tried to fire a sonic wave, but my weapon was faster.
Stab.
There is no blade. But I have something more fatal than a blade. A dark-red liquid filled with Black Ether components.
Blood.
I shoved my bleeding palm into its mouth.
“Gack…!!”
It swings its large arm and grabs my body. My waist feels like it’s being crushed. Is this karma?
Lee Ye-chan must have felt this kind of pain when I snatched him. But the pain didn’t last long. The struggling Harpy’s flapping wings stiffened, and its pupils turned black.
“Got you…!!”
I got it. Alone, a 6-star (★★★★★★) ‘normal boss Monster’.
Shwoop.
But there was something I hadn’t considered. I had thought about killing the Harpy, but how do I get down? I have no Ether left.
“Oh, dear.”
I fell to the ground, one with the Harpy. Its grip was so ferocious that it didn’t loosen even after it died.
Fuck.
How many times am I going to fall in one day? Still, you can’t ignore experience. I had experienced firsthand how to lessen the impact.
Before, I had turned my body downwards to protect the Hunters, but now there was no need for that at all. This creature’s abundant feathers might serve as a cushion.
Spin.
I spun my body with all my might, positioning the Harpy’s corpse beneath me. If I’m lucky, I’ll live. As I was thinking that, the ground rushed up to meet me.
THUD!!!