“Even if we drop down to Lutrha, an elite soldier can reach here in an hour if they set their mind to it. We can’t let our guard down, right?”
“Cough cough – W-Well, that’s right. You’re an outstanding student, Bae Joo-ah.”
(Student? Are you joking right now?)
(Shh- just let it pass.)
Yeon-hee tries to soothe Noh Ha-yoon, who seems displeased with their group’s instructor.
Just then, thanks to the slow Shin Young-ah, their departure was delayed, and someone suddenly stirred Noh Ha-yoon’s impatience.
“Hey, Ice Queen. Want to make a bet?”
Hwa-ryeon, passing by their party, suggested a wager to Noh Ha-yoon.
If you touch Yeon-hee, you’ll get in trouble with me, so it seems she’s targeting Noh Ha-yoon, who might actually be worth competing against.
‘In a way, that’s impressive. Or is she just clingy because she wants to be friends with us?’
Noh Ha-yoon didn’t dwell too long on Hwa-ryeon’s ambiguous intentions.
The desire to prove herself by defeating a rival of her generation.
It must be hard to resist.
“What’s the game?”
“Whoever collects more mana stones from regular soldiers, I guess?”
“Don’t even think about winning as a team. This is an individual competition.”
“Who said anything about doing it as a team? I’m the strongest in our group, after all.”
“The strongest would be the instructor, right?”
“Everyone, shut up!”
The two briefly bickered before they absurdly agreed to a condition: whoever wins gets to make one wish.
They even swore they’d honestly count only the mana stones they gathered themselves.
From the sidelines, you might wonder what that means, but maybe you should cut them some slack since they were still kids in their early twenties.
‘Still, it’s much healthier than just brawling it out.’
Their little spat soon passed, and it was time for them to move.
“Riding a drake stands out too much. I’ll cast a shield over you, so just follow closely behind me… Of course, there’s a chance an elite soldier might notice us and kill us anyway…”
(What an annoying thing to say…)
(Let’s just ignore it. That’s just her way of speaking.)
At that moment, as they exchanged glances of discontent toward their instructor, Shin Young-ah’s magic power suddenly surged.
Whoosh—
“What?!”
“She disappeared!”
“Are you crazy?! You’re supposed to be a supporter!! Just hurry up and follow!”
It was as if she’d used [Blink] to widen the gap instantly. Ah-rin was the first to chase after her.
I followed Yeon-hee.
The Alpha-Rank Summoned Creature Trio carried the rest of the group on their shoulders and followed behind.
Thanks to Eun-young humming a song of the wind, the speed of the summoned creatures dramatically increased, and we barely started to catch up.
‘I felt it back then too, but she’s truly something extraordinary.’
Usually, supporters like Ham Eun-young specialize in their abilities, causing their other stats to drop, but Shin Young-ah was far beyond that category.
She was an intriguing person in many ways, though I was mostly surprised by the shield she had casually cast on her companions rather than her physical prowess.
‘I can’t believe I missed her using her ability. How skilled is she with magic?’
My trust in her grew as she had become significantly stronger since our last party together.
‘Is this the shield’s option?’
I was once again surprised by how the presence of Yeon-hee in my arms faded as the shield’s barriers wrapped around her.
Moreover, the shield seemed to fulfill its function as a magical defense perfectly.
A thick barrier.
It seemed that even a decent B-rank monster would struggle to deal damage.
‘It might actually be a blessing that the instructor has changed.’
After about 30 minutes of running non-stop, we finally entered a rough, unpaved road.
“If we go a little further in this direction… there’s said to be a breeding ground. No matter what happens in front of your eyes… you must not look away.”
“Yes.”
Breeding ground.
They had absorbed the energy of the earth for nearly a year, evolving in every aspect until they gained the intelligence to manage and devour life forms existing on the land.
Even if the earth’s energy would be given to the Devouring Creeper’s main body, they realized that nurturing the vibrant life around them and letting them grow just a little more before devouring them was beneficial.
“…Why do they all look so happy?”
The place where they arrived, following Shin Young-ah, was a small village with around 200 people gathered.
It was a hill that overlooked the townsfolk carrying on with their peaceful daily lives, and Hwa-yoon expressed her confusion.
“Didn’t you see?”
“What, what do you mean!”
Noh Ha-yoon clearly hadn’t thoroughly read the materials distributed the previous day.
“They’re hypnotized into living their daily lives until they get eaten… using the mana in the air to grow a little more.”
“So, you’re saying the great beast’s regular soldiers forced them to live like that?”
“Actually, that ability itself belongs to the main body… but now the regular soldiers have gained enough patience and intelligence to understand such intentions. It’s a punishment for giving the great beast time while focusing on internal political struggles in the early days of its emergence.”
“The term ‘punishment’ seems a bit off. Those villagers haven’t done anything wrong.”
“That’s true. I’ll take that back.”
“What on earth happened to get to this point? Seeing it in person makes it even harder to understand.”
“Everyone’s… talking too much… shut up and look ahead.”
Once they entered into combat, Shin Young-ah’s tone shifted to a rough, direct one.
But her companions, intimidated by her sharp aura, couldn’t even muster a rebuttal, and their gazes soon shifted in the direction she was pointing.
There stood something with a silhouette resembling a human.
I had sensed its presence long before.
‘That must be the regular soldier of the Devouring Creeper… Incredible. A monster with that level of combat power is running rampant as a regular soldier around here.’
They were the so-called ‘Creeper Guards.’
Two legs. Two arms. One torso.
The ‘Creeper Guard’ looked no different from a human at first glance.
But I couldn’t see where its eyes had gone, and something resembling a massive mouth was constantly being crawled over by something like ants.
Moreover, although not visible right now, I could sense that there were roots the size of my fist spread beneath the ground around it.
Crunch—Crunch—
“Ugh—”
“My, my fingers…”
It seemed it had already had a meal, as it chewed down on something thin. Without needing to look closely, it was clearly a human finger.
“Muh-gi—”
The ‘Creeper Guard’, mumbling something indecipherable while munching on the finger.
In the center of the village, in front of a stone building, it had rooted itself as it curiously watched the behaviors of those who were about to become its meals.
What was astonishing was that the villagers either passed by the ‘Creeper Guard’ without a second glance or even greeted it with a 90-degree bow.
‘An A-rank monster. With the Alpha Trio attacking at once, we could barely buy some time. Impressive, but… it’s not a power that Yeon-hee can’t handle now.’
I had encountered a strong foe from the start, but it didn’t fall outside my range of expectations.
Confirming that, I couldn’t help but fall into thought.
‘I feel like I won’t have much to do while traveling together.’
It seemed my role would only be that of a mana buff shuttle and, in case of any accidents, a protector.
Of course, I couldn’t find satisfaction in just that, especially since we had a clear goal of increasing contributions to receive spoils from the main body of the Devouring Creeper.
Rather than chasing after creatures that enjoy managing their territories alone, it would be better to act towards hunting more of them.
‘I guess I’ll just watch a little bit longer and slip away alone.’
“Did you check…?”
As I solidified my resolution, Shin Young-ah’s question followed.
The teammates had no complaints anymore about her shifting between informal and formal speech.
“Yes.”
When everyone replied softly, Shin Young-ah nodded and motioned to Ah-rin.
“Baek Ah-rin. Go out and… fight that thing once.”
“?!”
Out of nowhere, Shin Young-ah was suggesting a one-on-one duel.
Did she really come here intending to play the role of a teacher, despite calling her students?
‘Must have been some sort of instruction from Kang Yeon-su or Maeng Seong-yong…’
She clearly wasn’t the type to initiate something like this on her own. No wonder she seemed to get along with Maeng Seong-yong.
“Don’t worry. You may have realized it on the way here, but my ability doesn’t just stop at creating a magical barrier. Of course, don’t expect me to save you if you find yourself in peril. Losing means death.”
‘What on earth? That doesn’t make much sense…’
Was she even aware of what she was saying?
Regardless, the conclusion was asking her to fight for her life, but would Ah-rin, who has a tendency to hesitate at critical moments, accept that?
“Erm…”
“How about you just charge in instead of hesitating?”
With a somewhat deranged look in her eyes, Shin Young-ah was staring keenly at Ah-rin.
Her gaze seemed to urge a decision.
For a moment, Ah-rin locked eyes with her before stepping forward.
“Muh-gi?”
The instant Ah-rin moved forward, the Creeper Guard, which had its gaze fixed on the villagers, reacted quickly.
Creak—
The Creeper Guard’s neck twisted like a corkscrew and turned toward Ah-rin.
Chills—
Despite lacking visible eyes, an empty gaze sent shivers down my spine.
A biological weapon with only one thought in its mind: to devour.
‘This is terrifying. Pure evil itself. It’s a foe that serves no good for humanity… it must be exterminated.’
With an aura so vile that I could have that conviction without the system’s help, I faced that monster.
The moment our eyes met, Ah-rin gained two buffs.
One was Shin Young-ah’s magic barrier.
For a moment, as she tested her legs against the ground, Ah-rin felt a newfound lightness. It must have been a barrier blessed with an agility-boosting option like ‘Ran.’
The other was Yeon-hee’s ‘Mystical Mucous’.
Seeing Yeon-hee’s ability, Shin Young-ah scratched her head briefly and said, “Well, that’s nothing big…”
She seemed to be saying that this level of assistance was acceptable.
“Wow— such opportunities are rare.”
Wielding two high-quality barriers against an opponent at a completely different level.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Ah-rin to grow.
“If you rely too much on the barriers… you might get overwhelmed by its momentum and do nothing… Fight like your life depends on it from the start. Though… landing a significant hit won’t be easy.”
“Okay… I’m a bit nervous.”
Shin Young-ah was pushing Ah-rin to take on requests that seemed excessive for a C-rank.
“Just go for it. I’m a woman who knows how to get things done when it counts.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
