Typically, monster names are given by their first discoverers or groups, and they often have intuitive meanings.
– Beeeeee!
The noise piercing my ears made my face scrunch up in distaste.
Do moths really make those sounds? At least, not that I know of.
Then again, since monsters in another world are biologically and magically different, who knows?
Parasitic Moth.
It’s a monster I’ve encountered in the original story.
The keywords from its name are “parasitic” and “moth.”
I sensed the appearance of the parasitic moth flying through the sky.
It had three pairs of fluttering wings scattering the wind and a large beak that emitted a deafening noise.
An outrageous surge of magical energy.
‘…Ugh.’
I felt nauseous. The intensity of its magic was far beyond what I imagined. My legs trembled. If I had to fight something like that in reality, I’d be stepping back immediately.
The only reason I wasn’t more terrified was that this wasn’t reality—it was the interior of a tower.
– Whoosh!
“Gaaah! Damn it!”
Flames more powerful than the parasitic moth’s energy were sweeping down, and thankfully, those flames were on our side (for now).
This area was completely lifeless. It resembled the devastation I had seen before.
The difference, however, was that while the previous location was charred from fire, this place seemed entirely drained of vitality.
Parasitic Moth.
It was named as such due to its ability to absorb magic. It has a racial trait of using the vitality and magic from its surroundings in large quantities.
And since that thing was an Alpha specimen, it was probably even more powerful.
– Keeee!
The parasitic moth let out a different sound than before. Magic in the area began to squirm and was sucked into the moth.
That magic gathered inside the moth and collected in its beak. At this blatant sign, Hong Yeon-hwa stomped the ground.
– Kwaaah!
Then came the explosion. A mindless column of magic came crashing down from the sky.
This mind-numbing attack was the specialty of monsters that inherently possess vast amounts of magic.
The parasitic moth waved its beak around, drawing lines of magical energy across the land that chased after Hong Yeon-hwa.
– Whoosh!
Hong Yeon-hwa stomped the ground. Her form shimmered like flames.
Even in the dark world, Hong Yeon-hwa burned bright red.
That was both a manifestation of fire attribute magic and the essence of Gop-hwa itself.
Each step she took shattered the ground. Debris kicked up was erased by the magic column, engulfed in Gop-hwa and incinerated without a trace.
The parasitic moth hungrily absorbed the magic and maintained its attack, but the magic column didn’t even graze the tips of Hong Yeon-hwa’s hair.
– Bang!
As she dodged the attack, Hong Yeon-hwa stepped on the ground. With a massive sound, her body accelerated.
Having distanced herself from the attack’s trajectory, she pulled one arm back.
Taking on a posture similar to a javelin throw.
Magic blossomed in her grasp, coalescing into a long spear of flames.
“Die!”
She threw it. Unlike the magic column that struck down from the sky, the red line shot up from the ground into the sky.
– Beeeee!
The parasitic moth interrupted its attack and hurriedly twisted its body. Despite its large size, its movements were swift.
The fiery spear pierced where the parasitic moth’s wings had been, soaring into the sky. A thunderous explosion erupted far above.
“Ao! That damn annoying flying bug!”
Hong Yeon-hwa grimaced. Displeasure clearly bubbled up on her face. She caught her breath and turned her head.
“I’m going to roast that thing alive… Hey… um…”
Enhanced senses read every subtle gaze landing on her skin. Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes rested on my eyelids.
Her gaze trembled slightly. It was an awkward yet warm glance that swept over my face and body before moving on.
As she turned away, I presumed her gaze had shifted to Elia and Baek Ahrin beside me.
There was no real reaction to Elia.
Just a hint of warmth in her glance. It seemed Elia’s friendly nature had reached Hong Yeon-hwa as well.
Then, her gaze landed on Baek Ahrin.
“…Hello?”
Baek Ahrin waved her hand with an awkward smile.
Whoosh! The intensity of Gop-hwa surged. Anger rose to the surface.
Emotions fueled Gop-hwa to blaze. A fiery blade flickered menacingly behind Hong Yeon-hwa, itching to be unleashed.
“Kyah! Ha-yul! Save me!”
Baek Ahrin yelped and jumped back. She headed straight for me.
– I’m sorry. Just die instead.
‘Gyaaaah!’
Giving my back to Baek Ahrin felt uneasy. I leapt back, swiftly positioning myself behind her.
Baek Ahrin and I spun around each other with Elia at the center, like a game of tag. It was a never-ending loop.
Hong Yeon-hwa ground her teeth. The fiery blade that formed behind her quivered, then melted into thin air.
“Damn you…! …That’s it, friend.”
“Filtered result says ‘damn friend…’? If we hadn’t filtered, what kind of curses would have flown out…?”
Stopping her spin, Baek Ahrin mumbled in disbelief. I barely managed to halt my own.
“Curses? Hey! You’re the one spouting nonsense, aren’t you!”
“Isn’t it a problem that you bolted out without listening to Yeon-hwa’s full explanation…”
The two of them naturally started bickering. It was a common sight. I tried to calm my racing heart, tuning back into my senses.
– Beeeee!
The parasitic moth was flying in the air, its gaze fixed on us, particularly wary of Hong Yeon-hwa.
‘Gop-hwa?’
Feeling closer, I noticed something strange about the moth’s left wing. The internal magic seemed burnt and tattered as if affected by Gop-hwa.
It seemed like it hadn’t taken a direct hit. If it had, it wouldn’t be flying fine.
“Ha-yul!”
After a brief scream from Baek Ahrin, Hong Yeon-hwa, her voice filled with eagerness, rushed over.
I felt a wave of warmth, too. Even though it’d only been a few days, I missed Hong Yeon-hwa.
However, the situation called for urgency. I suppressed my joy, waved my hands, and pointed to the sky.
Understanding my intention, Hong Yeon-hwa nodded and explained the situation.
She crashed into a horde of cadets gathered due to Baek Ahrin’s blunder and rampaged, resulting in some dropping out while others fled for their lives.
As for me, I initially thought I had fallen out of the matches, but not having appeared was just a fleeting thought.
While resting and spending the day in a suitable spot, the boss’s presence suddenly jolted me just a moment ago.
Then the brawl began.
“I hit its left wing with Gop-hwa, but it missed a fatal wound. Its flight capability’s just slightly diminished.”
“What about the other cadets? They should show up with this much ruckus, right?”
“It hasn’t been long since the fight started, so not yet. I stirred up the nearby ones, so they’re all gone. But if the noise keeps up, more will come.”
Hong Yeon-hwa licked her lips as she swung her sword around.
“Right now, it’s flying like that, so fighting back is difficult. Getting close to strike is hard, and haphazardly unleashing magic from the ground isn’t easy to hit either.”
Monsters with flight abilities are especially hard to hunt. Hence, flight monsters are generally rated higher in the hierarchy of monsters.
An alpha-ranked creature capable of flying? If that were unleashed upon the world, even several high-level superhumans would struggle to catch it.
The basic explanation was out. While observing Hong Yeon-hwa who continued to keep an eye on the parasitic moth, I turned my gaze to Baek Ahrin.
She seemed lost in thought for a moment.
As far as I knew, Baek Ahrin was the most strategic among us. I looked at her, hoping she had some kind of plan.
“…How about this?”
In response to my expectations, Baek Ahrin began to speak.
.
.
.
Then I picked up the bow.
‘……’
It was an already rusted bow belonging to a nameless cadet. It might be a basic model, but since it was made in Shio-ram, its performance was excellent.
I fumbled with the bow absentmindedly before tuning back into my senses.
Not far away, I felt Baek Ahrin firing ice spears toward the sky, moving around adeptly.
She even kicked off the ground, attempting to directly target the flying parasitic moth using ice blocks as stepping stones.
The moth flapped its three sets of wings, frantically trying to avoid her. The airflow winding around its wings suggested it had wind-type abilities.
Several attacks hit it, yet it sustained little damage worthy of its rank. As the moth retaliated, Baek Ahrin kept her distance, poking it with quick attacks.
I recalled Baek Ahrin’s plan.
– The plan is simple! With Elia’s buff, I will help keep the moth occupied while you strike from the sky while Yeon-hwa delivers the finishing blow with her maximum-output Gop-hwa!
It was a simple plan. I felt calm at that moment, but Baek Ahrin added an extra comment as she glanced at me.
– It can’t be helped. Although I mentioned that Yeon-hwa wiped out the surrounding cadets, we never know when more might show up.
– Not wiped out, but eliminated, you cheeky girl…
– Aah!
‘…A bow.’
I had never used a bow before. I’d trained with Professor Atra, but I had learned the way of spears, swords, and punches, yet had never used a gun or bow directly.
To be honest, I had mixed feelings about bows. Coming from my previous world, I couldn’t understand why one would use a bow instead of a gun.
If I started thinking about it, I’d fall into the dilemma of why one should choose a spear or sword over a gun, to begin with.
Let’s be honest, even Hong Yeon-hwa could flick away bullets with her fingers, so whether it was a gun or a bow, the user was crucial.
‘Phew…’
Taking a deep breath, I calmly aimed with the bow. The target was the parasitic moth flitting about in the sky.
No need to feel tense here.
The goal is to catch the parasitic moth’s attention.
It didn’t need to be a fatal wound. Just a moment of distraction would be enough for Hong Yeon-hwa.
Gripping the bow, I cautiously took my stance. Despite being a newcomer, I managed to strike a decent pose.
‘Jack of All Trades.’
A unique ability that grants minimal talent and proficiency bonuses across various fields.
At least, in terms of combat, I should be able to handle it to some degree. It’s not like I didn’t know how to use it.
I gripped the bowstring with my right hand.
I pulled the magic bowstring back. Creak… It made a surprisingly pleasant sound for something made of magic.
As the bow’s principles activated, a magic arrow was nocked onto the string.
「Magic Arrow Manifestation」
This is a basic feature embedded in bows typically used as weaponry.
Usually, arrows infused with magic would be shot, but in the absence of spare arrows, one could shoot pure magic.
I drew in the magic. I tapped the core to extract the magic and directed it to guide it to the bowstring. With no hesitation, the magic rushed forth at my command.
The drawn bowstring gathered the magic and transformed it into an arrow.
‘…「Fire Infusion」.’
Whoosh! Flames enveloped the magic arrow.
This was a low-level elemental infusion spell. The property I infused was fire.
For living beings, fire is inherently a dangerous factor. This holds true unless you’re a bizarre or special entity like a golem.
The parasitic moth. Despite its odd appearance, it’s still an insect. Its body isn’t made of stone, wind, or water.
A magic-infused fire should certainly grab its attention.
Creak… I drew the string back to its maximum. Jack of All Trades lent support to my posture, and Magic Affinity helped calibrate the infused spell.
To draw its attention, I needed to convey that ‘getting hit would be dangerous.’ I poured more magic into it. The flames clinging to the arrow flared intensely.
– Whoooooosh!
With high-purity magic burning brightly as fuel, flames roared. It felt like the bow I held was getting heavier—so much magic was consumed by the arrow.
‘This should work…’
I thought to myself, signaling to Hong Yeon-hwa, Baek Ahrin, and Elia to be ready.
Their eyes widened in shock.
– Whoosh!
Suddenly, flames burst from my right hand wrapped in the bow. The fire attached to the arrow was wild enough to shine in brilliance.
I stood there, my mouth agape in shock.
‘No way.’
What the heck is going on this time?
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