Chapter 72: Hill of Blowing Wind (2)

Hyukjin was the first to move.

'I'm going.'

His gaze was pointed towards Sung-gu, or more precisely, a black haze to the right of Sung-gu.

Yeonseo saw him move.

'Huh?'

The wind was abating, but it was still dangerous to move quickly.

–If something unexpected happens, stick to me.

She remembered those words. Just moments ago, three Players had been pulled into the air and killed.

'If Hyukjin is moving like that…'

It meant there was definitely an important reason for him to do so.

'I have to go, too.'

Matching the timing, Yeonseo followed him.

[Using the movement skill Heavenly Demonic Flying Step.]

With the help of her movement skill, she quickly reached Hyukjin. Because he was moving with physical ability alone, she was faster than him.

During the three months while Hyukjin was in the 'Forest of Unknowns', Yeonseo had grown a lot. Her burning desire to catch up to him, no, to become stronger than him, made her strong.

Hyukjin pointed at the black haze, and Yeonseo understood what he meant.

"Okidoki," she said, using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to rapidly move to the haze.

[Using the skill Single Hit Finisher.]

Less than two seconds afterwards, Hyukjin also got within range and thrust his sword into the haze.

[Using the special skill Excellent Strike.]

Yeonseo heard a notice.

[Devil Wraith has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

[55 Coins acquired.]

It varied between monsters, but when killing level 30 monsters, you could get approximately 40 Coins.

'55 Coins?'

She didn't even get a proper look at the monster, yet she obtained a whopping 55 Coins. That was even more Coins than when they killed the Great Orc Warrior.

'What did we just kill?'

Yeonseo was sure of it. If she hadn't worked with Hyukjin to kill this monster just now, an incredibly dangerous creature would have emerged.

"Looks like they're at their weakest when they're in their haze form," Yeonseo said.

"..."

"And our boss realized that in advance."

Hyukjin nodded.

–Devil Wraith. With our skills at the time, we couldn't kill it. As you all know, the Devil Wraith is a monster that concealed itself on its own after killing ten people.

The Devil Wraith was the product of the specter monster Wraith taking actual 'form' into a new monster. Its entire body was black, and it looked like a seagull the size of an eagle.

–As everyone here knows, the only way to kill it is to strike before it has completely taken form.

Once it emerged, the Devil Wraith would continue to move until it killed ten people.

'A monster we can't kill with our current skills.'

That meant ten random people would be sacrificed. We had to kill it before it took complete form.

'The EXP… has been reduced.'

I attacked it directly, abandoning the observer position. Still, I knew it was a much better choice than seeing ten people die.

[The 'True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain' admires the clean strike.]

[The 'Lady of the Scales' is surprised by your discernment.]

[The 'Whispering Devil' finds it regretful.]

[The 'Nameless Observer' continues to observe.]

Hyukjin directly hunted the 'Devil Wraith', and as such, he didn't get EXP or Coins. Only Yeonseo got rewards. However, Hyukjin was a little shocked.

'How… should I interpret this?'

For a kill to count as him directly killing it, he had to do at least 50% of the damage to the monster.

'So I did over 50% of the damage?'

Did he get a lucky crit? Did he really deal more damage than Yeonseo, even though she was sure to have used Single Hit Finisher? It was hard for him to understand. He was forced to interpret the situation as him having done more damage than the Sword Empress whose level was higher than his.

In any case, the atmosphere had turned on a dime.

'Because of what just happened… they're finally thinking straight.'

Three people died. The Players seemed to have gotten a bit more serious. Most of them were focused on destroying the rest of the pillars rather than getting distracted by what was happening over here.

'Good, that's a bit better.'

There were definitely Players who were interested in what was happening on this side, but for now, they appeared to be focusing on their task.

'Currently, there are four groups.'

The Players were currently raiding this gate in four groups: Players who were destroying the pillars, Players fighting the Wraiths, and Hyukjin and Yeonseo, who just killed the Devil Wraith. The last group was non-combat Players who were unable to do any of those things.

'The 7th pillar is falling.'

The 7th pillar collapsed, and at the same time, a change occurred in the field.

[The 'Central Pillar' is appearing.]

All of the Players got a quest notice.

[Quest: Find the 'Offering Box'.]

[The 'Offering Box' is located on the top of the 'Central Pillar'.]

The faces of the Players brightened. They got a clue to the clear—the Offering Box, and the top of the Central Pillar.

Kim Taechun yelled out in excitement, "I was the one who found the clue!"

His contribution in destroying the pillars was obviously unrivaled. As he swung his massive blunt weapon, an axe with great destructive force, he looked like a warrior born to fight.

[The 'Courageous Lion King' is satisfied.]

The situation was very favorable for Taechun. Blunt weapons had a great deal of attack power, but they were slow and it was hard to land a hit. That's why they could only be used with footwork techniques or skills that increased attack speed. However, such assist skills weren't necessary against pillars that didn't move.

"Oryaaa!"

The work on the 8th pillar began. The situation cast Players of the same type as Taechun in a good light.

"C'mon, let's do this!"

The Players went at the pillars with greater intensity. There were a total of eighteen pillars here. Since a clue appeared after destroying seven pillars, they wanted to keep going in the same manner.

Standing a little distance away from the pillars, Hyukjin spoke, his gaze pointed towards Sung-gu, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa.

"I'm seeing a change in the mana around the Wraiths."

"Shit, are they gonna become even scarier?"

"I don't know for sure. But the flow of mana surrounding the Wraiths has changed. It's probably one of two things. Either the Wraiths themselves will change to a different form, or different monsters will appear."

"Got it. I'll be mentally prepared."

–When the 7th pillar was broken, the Central Pillar appeared. We thought of that as a clue to the clear. It gave us hope. But then, we were forced to fight a terrible battle of life or death. Because the Wraiths disappeared and were replaced by Ghosts.

Wraiths were specter monsters that came in the form of seagulls. Ghosts were human-shaped monsters made of black smoke.

In regards to the Ghosts, Jo Sunghyun said this:

–They were skilled in both close and ranged attacks and had a paralyzation ability, making them extremely tricky to face. Their appearance marked the beginning of hell.

They could fire black, concentrated marbles of mana from their fingertips, and not only did this cause damage, but it also had a special 'paralyzation effect' that rendered you unable to move.

–The wind in the latter half was so strong you couldn't endure it without getting down. The paralyzed Players were unable to get down, so…

The paralyzation itself wasn't all that scary. What was scary was that you wouldn't be able to get down if you were affected. If you couldn't get flat on the ground, the wind would send you flying into the air, and if that happened, you would meet a gruesome end, just like the three Players moments ago. The wind would tear you to pieces in midair.

'They'll start showing up here and there.'

Just then, one of the Players shouted, "Watch out! A monster that can paralyze has shown up! If you get hit by that, it's over for you!"

Hyukjin looked in the direction of the pillars. The speaker was mixed into the crowd, so he couldn't figure out who it was. However, he now knew that someone among the Players had the ability to immediately determine monster abilities.

'It's probably Han Seokmin.'

If his guess was right, that Player was Han Seokmin, one of the important figures of 'Taeguk Shield', the big guild propelled by Sungshin. So Han Seokmin was here, too.

'Doesn't look like he can see weak points yet.'

He was a Player with the special ability to determine the traits and weak points of monsters, but it didn't look like he could see the weak points yet.

Human-shaped monsters made of black smoke began to appear. They weren't affected by the wind here. Their red eyes glowed brightly.

'They'll attack soon.'

Hyukjin turned back to his teammates. "You must absolutely avoid getting hit by the paralyzing poison."

Everyone had to be on their guard. The Ghosts extended their hands. 'Condensed mana' the size of marbles would now come shooting from those fingertips. The spheres weren't all that fast. With a little determination, you could dodge them.

However—

[ ]

You had to check the wind arrows. The trajectory of the marbles changed according to the intensity and direction of the wind. The other people aside, Hyukjin had to quickly share what he knew and had figured out to his party members first.

"Be sure to check the intensity and direction of the wind. They'll influence the ranged attack."

[ ]

The wind intensity and direction changed constantly. The field's overall difficulty was quickly rising.

[Eye of Perception detects 'murderous intent'.]

'That probably means I've drawn the aggro.'

Eye of Perception didn't betray Hyukjin.

'That one.'

One of the Ghosts was aiming at Hyukjin. It was the fastest Ghost, apparently the strongest of the six that had appeared in various places around the field. Hyukjin focused on his senses.

'I can dodge.'

He saw it. Black, marble-sized spheres came flying towards him. They appeared to be flying in a straight line, and there were a staggering ten of them, aiming straight at him and him alone.

He checked the wind once more.

[ ]

He had to dodge with that direction in mind.

'I can't make too big of a movement.'

His mind honed to peak concentration. He saw nothing else in his surroundings—just him, the Ghost, and those black spheres.

'If I make too large a movement, the others will target me.'

He had to avoid the Ghost's attack with the smallest movement possible, the most efficient way.

[Observer's Eye seeks the flow of nature.]

'I can… see the trajectory.'

The path Hyukjin drew out in his head and the trajectory 'Observer's Eye' showed him were exactly the same.

'Half a step to the right.'

He didn't move much, just half a step. He had to show his party members. He wanted to show them with his body how they should move.

The black spheres shot towards him like an arrow, as if to pierce his body. At that moment, Sunhwa flinched.

"Op-Oppa!" she nearly shouted. In her eyes, Hyukjin was in great danger. It looked as if he would be struck right this instant by those spheres. He only took half a step to the side, and for the slightest moment, it seemed as if time stopped.

Swoosh–!

The Ghost's attack didn't hit him, the black spheres barely whizzing past his body.

The smallest movement, the greatest efficiency. The way he dodged was seen by all of his party members. They were all geniuses.

Sung-gu nodded, thinking, 'So that's how you do it.'

Yeonseo, Yoohyun, Sunhwa, and Sunghyun read Hyukjin's intent as well. He had just taught them with his body. He showed them that this is what they should do, that there was no better method than this. It was literally a living lecture.

In the meantime, screams came from the area where the pillars were.

"I-I-I-I can't move!"

"W-Wait! Stop! Don't destroy the pillar!"

People screamed, but it was too late. The 8th pillar was destroyed. It wasn't done on purpose. It was simply terrible timing.

[ ]

The four paralyzed Players blanched in horror.

"N-N-No—!"

Yoohyun instantly tackled one of them, bringing the paralyzed man forcefully to the ground. One of them was fortunate, fortunate that Yoohyun happened to be standing next to him.

"A-AAAAAAH!"

The other three faced the same terrible fate as the earlier Players. They were lifted into the air and brutally killed. Body parts fell to the ground, a fountain of blood bursting in the air, scattered everywhere by the strong wind.

The Players were instantly rendered speechless.

"..."

Because of a timing mistake, another three people died.

Kim Taechun growled, "Which son of a bitch destroyed the pillar with that timing?" It was almost as if he'd become the true leader here. He roared in rage, acting like he was the arbitrator of this place. "Who the hell was it?!"

For him, this was a good opportunity to show his strength.

Using Heavenly Demonic Flying Step, Yeonseo quickly swept past him. "This isn't the time for it, in my opinion. Not gonna kill the Ghosts?"

After using its ranged attack, a little of the 'black smoke' that made up the Ghost dissipated. It obviously looked weakened. Yeonseo focused on the 'red eyes'. She didn't know if the eyes were a weak point, but they looked like it.

'The red eyes.'

She decided to thrust her sword at that point. Her intuition told her that she couldn't kill it in one hit. The wind would continue to blow, and she couldn't kill the Ghost with one hit. She had to whittle it down slowly. Yoohyun also grasped what he had to do and moved towards another Ghost.

Yeonseo, Yoohyun, and Sung-gu. The three of them started hunting the Ghosts, and other Players began to hunt the Ghosts around them as well. If they didn't kill the Ghosts, they would be the ones to die.

Most of the Players saw this:

Ghost LVL ?

However, they had no other choice, because it was kill or be killed. While they were fighting, Hyukjin stood next to Sunhwa and activated Observer's Eye.

'The 8th pillar was destroyed.'

That meant from here on out, the key item could appear.

'I have to find it.'

His party members were doing the best they could in their individual roles. Regardless of how other people saw it, the true leader was Hyukjin. And as the leader, as the person responsible for these people, he already knew exactly what he had to do.

'Find it…!'

The description of Observer's Eye was 'eyes that can read the flow of nature'. From the locations where the Ghosts appeared to the places where the Wraiths first showed up, he pieced together all of the information and examined the field anew with Observer's Eye.

'I must… find it.'

____