“Shouldn’t we run away from this?”
It was S00yeon’s honest sentiment.
With the current strength of the party, they couldn’t withstand the wrath of the spirits.
They had to break through one side of the encirclement as much as possible and rush to the gate entrance.
Although there might be dangers during the pursuit, she felt she could somehow cover that.
That’s why.
“What do you intend to do?”
It might sound somewhat rude.
But where could there be politeness in such an urgent situation?
She was just asking the question that a hunter with the most experience should ask.
Then, instead of explaining, Jeonghyun responded with instructions.
“Sunyoung, it’ll be tough, but endure as much as possible while receiving attributes. If it gets urgent, I’ll assist you! Ms. Jeonga, take it slow but steady as usual, focusing on weakening! Doyoon, prioritize healing Sunyoung as much as possible.”
In fact, it wasn’t any special command.
When facing an encirclement, it was difficult to talk about strategies.
Simply confronting with the abilities one possessed was realistically the best option.
Just refraining from taking unnecessary risks was already a passing mark.
Being able to face overwhelming power without being overwhelmed, just not crumbling, was something to be grateful for.
That was what an encirclement was all about.
“Huh, what?”
However, what surprised Sooyeon even more was not Jeonghyun’s calm instructions.
Even if it was Jeonghyun, other party members were also gathering their resolve without much hesitation in response to Jeonghyun’s instructions.
Their appearance was like that of a fixed party that had been breathing together for years.
She heard that it had been less than two years since the party was formed.
Moreover, Jeonghyun, the person who intervened, had only joined less than a month ago, and he wasn’t even an official member yet.
Was it possible for them to band together towards an external focal point just because instructions were given in such a dire situation?
At least Sooyeon had never seen a similar situation.
“Okay!”
“We’ll trust you!”
“Are we really going to do this?”
It seemed like only Sooyeon thought it was an unrealistic fight.
A party consisting of one unregistered member and three E-rankers.
Could they really withstand the wrath of the spirits?
However, before she could point that out, the party had finished their battle preparations,
Swooosh-
And the spirits’ attacks began.
At first, it was the typical projectile attack from the fire spirits.
“I-I don’t know either! Since it’s the lowest-grade spirits, we’ll somehow manage!”
Sooyeon said anxiously as she imbued water attribute magic onto Sunhyung.
However, she didn’t feel overwhelmed with despair somehow.
Could it be that they would somehow make it through this?
That they would emerge victorious against the spirits surrounding them in battle?
A vague belief that the man wouldn’t have ordered the fight without any confidence had taken root within her without her realizing it.
Sunhyung blocked the first attack without much trouble,
Fizzz-
And a lightning bolt spell from Sangsoo, wider than usual, slashed through the air.
Though the lightning spirits attempted to defend as before, there was a variable this time.
“Water one, wind one!”
Two spirits attempting to flank from behind were caught within the impact zone.
Although the speed of the flanking spirits had increased compared to before, it was still a critical moment.
“Jeonga, it’s a water spirit! It’s moving in a straight line, so it’s easy to hit!”
Jeonghyun shouted loudly, following which Jeonga swiftly adjusted her aim according to the instruction.
The speed was quite fast, but the path towards them was straight, just as Jeonghyun said.
Once targeted, with her skill, she could ensure a high hit rate.
Ping-
“It hit!”
The result was a hit, although the damage was a bit lacking.
The water spirit staggered back with an arrow lodged in its core but didn’t vanish.
While Jeonga aimed for the next arrow in the gap, she was interrupted by the incoming attack from the fire spirit, failing.
Meanwhile, the water spirit completely retreated to a recovery stance.
Just detaching one spirit was already an achievement, but Jeonghyun didn’t have time to focus on such matters.
His senses, spreading out in all directions, were already overwhelmed with monitoring all the spirits.
Then, a sharp momentum came from behind.
“Behind you!”
Jeonghyun quickly turned around.
In an encirclement, there was no clear front or back, making Soonyoung relatively vulnerable on the opposite side.
A lightning spirit was rushing in with high speed.
Its target was Doyoon, the healer.
If the healer were injured early in the battle, it would cause a significant setback.
If possible, Jeonghyun needed to intercept, even if it meant using his body.
As someone with a higher natural healing ability than others, Jeonghyun needed to act as a support tank.
“Sooyeon, earth attribute on the mace!”
“Got it!”
The counter attribute of the lightning spirit was earth.
Although it wasn’t an extreme advantage in an attacking situation, just the act of the mace touching the lightning spirit’s core greatly diminished its electricity.
Confirming the earth-like aura on the mace, Jeonghyun simultaneously dashed towards the position between the spirit and Doyoon.
Fortunately, the situation wasn’t as dire as to require Jeonghyun to block with his body.
It seemed that a single attack could be managed, albeit barely.
“Focus on the core!”
Other than lightning and earth, any other part was meaningless.
With his target set, Jeonghyun planned to bypass and block the spirit from reaching Doyoon.
Jeonghyun concentrated his entire body’s senses on the lightning spirit rushing towards him.
It felt like time slowed down.
And in that sensation, Jeonghyun aimed a faint red line towards Doyoon,
“Now!”
He swung the mace.
Crack-
The mace completely shattered the spirit’s core as it passed through.
The remnants of the spirit sputtered and cried out, but soon vanished conflicting with the earth attribute magic.
Though it couldn’t be compared in terms of danger, it felt like playing baseball.
Jeonghyun glanced briefly at the mace in his hand.
Certainly, it was incomparable to the previous one-handed mace.
Compared to Doyoon’s mace, the difference was stark.
On the other hand, the current mace felt as if it was custom-made from its center of gravity to the striking point, surpassing expectations in magical conductivity as well.
That was it.
After a moment of reflection, Jeonghyun refocused on the situation.
They were still holding their ground.
They had pushed back a water spirit and nullified a lightning elemental.
Especially concerning the lightning elemental, since there was a nuisance who absorbed constant magic with its body, it meant more than just defeating one more opponent.
Seeing him with a surprised expression, Sooyeon hurriedly bestowed used enhancement upon Jeonghyun.
Though there had been only two exchanges, the results were remarkable.
It could still be considered reconnaissance, but even from the perspective of the spirits, losing one by one was surely painful.
Moreover, Sooyeon had to drastically revise her thoughts about Jeonghyun.
“It wasn’t Dagger attribute, was it?”
Sooyeon had only seen Jeonghyun hunting by throwing daggers until now.
That alone, considering his F-rank 3rd level, made her think he probably had a sloppy E or D-rank Dagger attribute.
Dagger, strictly speaking, was categorized as an agility attribute.
Why his senses were so sharp, and why he insisted on hiding his attribute, remained a mystery, though.
But now, Jeonghyun swinging the mace was another puzzle that couldn’t be simply explained by a low-grade Dagger attribute.
“What kind of attribute is it, exactly?”
The lightning spirit Jeonghyun dealt with hadn’t even succumbed to the dampening effects of Soo’s magic.
While throwing a dagger couldn’t be compared to swinging a mace directly in terms of accuracy, to obliterate a charging pattern lower-grade elemental in one strike required at least a D-level Weapon skill close to level 2.
But then, there remained another unresolved question.
“What about the Dagger attribute?”
It was absurd to have more than one attribute.
If so, it meant one of the attributes was exceptionally high.
“Perhaps above B-grade?”
The reason for Sooyeon’s skyrocketing evaluation of Jeonghyun internally.
In reality, Jeonghyun’s proficiency with the mace wasn’t due to skill but rather a combination of Combat Senses, physical enhancement, and agile movements.
In essence, while the skill of swinging the mace wasn’t exceptional, hitting a ball that was clearly visible where it would land was easy.
To Sooyeon, who didn’t know these circumstances, he just seemed like a monster.
“Jeonga, can you hit the spirit at 7 o’clock?”
“I’ll try!”
Lost in thought, Sooyeon could barely return to reality upon hearing Jeonghyun’s voice.
The spirit Jeonghyun mentioned was positioned forward, not in a charging pattern.
Soo-yeon bestowed a flame attribute on Jeonga’s arrow.
Ping-
The arrow flew swiftly, leaving a clean trajectory,
Sizzle-
It pierced the core of the spirit, igniting flames.
That’s enough for its annihilation.
“Wha… What?”
Followed by Jeonga’s slightly dazed expression.
Soon her expression brightened, and she shouted.
“I leveled up! Now I’m level 3!”
“After it’s over, I’ll congratulate you wholeheartedly, 3 o’clock support!”
Given that she significantly increased her hit rate against a difficult-to-hit spirit, it was natural for her skill level to rise.
While one hand was still regrettable, the rise in power was undeniably good news.
Though everyone’s attention was fixed on the surrounding spirits, smiles adorned their faces.
Constant lightning magic from Soo’s side was dampening the spirits one after another,
Jeonga was dealing with distant spirits,
Charging spirits were intercepted by Jeonghyun.
Doyoon and Sunhyung were skillfully covering the attacks from the spirits without risking themselves.
It was indeed a well-coordinated situation.
Sooyeon felt a swelling sensation in her chest.
Although not particularly outstanding, she was still a C-rank, with a rare enchantment attribute.
She joined Jungjin Guild, envied by others, and entered the team under Team Leader Cha Junwon, whose future was secured.
As days passed, she found herself living a carefree life unknowingly.
Hunting always felt like taking a bus, as she teamed up with hunters one grade higher, and encounters with lower-grade hunters in her work were mundane.
She had thought this hunt would be the same.
“It’s so much fun!”
Clearly, the crisis wasn’t over yet.
Many spirits were still hell-bent on killing them with their respective attributes.
But as long as there was hope of overcoming such situations, the thrill of being a hunter who could do so was incomparable.
Just like when they first met after their first awakening and entered the gate.
And leading her through the present of the party was not anyone else but Jeonghyun.
Whether he was unregistered or had a Dagger attribute wasn’t so important to her.
– Miss Sooyeon, a hunter’s worth isn’t simply measured by rank and level.
Cha Junwon laughed at her, who had been dismissive of finding lower-grade hunters so diligently.
Now, Sooyeon felt she could finally understand the meaning of those words.
