Chapter 712: Rank S Dungeon, Wasteland Desert (3)

‘Grrrrrr….’

-Whoooosh!

“Everyone get back!”

Reacting to the Sandman blocking the way of the three of us, Cheon Jihee instinctively dodged and moved.

I, who was behind her, also scooped up Cha Yuri, evading its attack.

-Flash.

“Whoa?!”

I ended up hugging her in a princess carry, but it was an unavoidable choice.

There was no way a magic-type hunter like Cha Yuri could dodge that kind of monster with physical ability alone.

Handing a magic potion to Cha Yuri, who was in my arms, I immediately asked her to prepare the next spell to deal with the Sandman.

“Yuri-ssi, we need to take care of this Sandman first if we’re going to save Hye-eun and Min-ah.”

“…I know.”

“Can’t you blow away its body with a large-scale magic spell like Tornado or Cyclone?”

“…It’s pointless. I tried fighting it with Screw Tornado when I came in here without you before, and it regenerated around its core in less than a second….”

“So you can blow it away, at least for a moment.”

“……?”

Cha Yuri tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what I meant.

Making eye contact with her, I calmly continued giving instructions for the next phase of the plan.

“Screw Tornado is enough. Use it as soon as you’re ready.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Even if you blow away its body, it’ll just regenerate if the core is intact….”

“I’m telling you this because there’s a way! Just hurry up and chant the spell!”

“Ah, okay. Winds that swirl and surge, be by my side…”

Still wearing a doubtful expression, Cha Yuri began chanting the high-level magic spell according to my instructions.

Meanwhile, Cheon Jihee seemed to be struggling against the Sandman, whose elemental affinity wasn’t favorable to her, focusing solely on evasive maneuvers.

After ensuring Cha Yuri was in a safe spot, I immediately ran over with my shield to support her.

“Get ouuuuut of the waaaay!”

-THWACK!

‘Grrrrrr….’

“Wh-what the…”

Even landing a blow with her awakened ability had little effect, as the Sandman regenerated and came back to life almost instantly.

Most melee attacks were ineffective against it. Especially the methods used for humanoid or beast-type monsters.

“Cheon Jihee-ssi!”

“Yeah…?”

“For now, please focus on assisting Yuri-ssi! I’ll handle the Sandman myself!”

“…Got it!”

As soon as she saw me appear with my Scutum, she seemed to have an idea and unhesitatingly retreated towards Cha Yuri.

The moment I switched positions with her, I unleashed Shield Stamp, channeling my energy into the floor directly in front of me.

-BOOOOM!!

‘G-grrrrrr….’

The Sandman trembled in front of me with a flustered voice the moment I used Shield Stamp.

At first glance, it just looked like its body was shaking, but it was definitely an effective attack.

This attack was precisely the technique that could effectively strike the Sandman’s body, composed of sand particles.

The monster must have been doing its best to hold on, preventing the sand particles gathered around its core from scattering.

Since it required gathering a lot of energy before slamming down to be used as a truly powerful attack, it wasn’t a skill that could be used recklessly during combat; for now, it only served to temporarily halt its movements.

That temporary reaction alone was enough to freeze it in place for the next attack.

-CRACK!

‘Grrrrrr…!’

Hit by my Shield Stamp, the Sandman desperately tried to ‘stabilize’ its body.

Against it, I used ‘Shield Push’ this time, shoving its body.

Normally, it would have been a pathetic blow that scattered into sand particles and got buried, but the current Sandman was focused on gathering those particles into one cohesive body.

My Shield Push, which had clearly taken effect, carved out a portion of the Sandman’s body into a shape similar to my Scutum.

‘G-grrr….’

-Crackle.

And then, it scattered into sand particles right before my eyes, disappearing.

I wished it would fall and the battle end right there, but of course, fighting an S-Rank monster wouldn’t be that easy.

Its body, which had crumbled with a crackle, immediately began reforming around the piece I had blown away earlier.

‘…So it reforms around the core regardless of body size.’

This meant that if I could just neutralize the core, I could defeat it.

And Cha Yuri’s wind magic was the perfect way to expose that core defenselessly.

Hearing her magic chant from behind, I quietly smiled inwardly.

“Screw Tornado!”

As soon as the chant ended, Cha Yuri fired the spell towards the regenerating Sandman.

Watching her magic fly, I also took out a new weapon from my subspace pocket.

My custom weapon, made by Areum – a bow.

I was still clumsy using it in actual combat, but I had practiced enough to hit stationary targets.

Loading an arrow, I quietly waited for its core to be exposed defenselessly.

-Whoooosh!

‘Now!’

-Twang!

The moment I spotted the glowing red sphere amidst the sandstorm created by the magic disrupting the Sandman’s body.

As soon as I released the drawn bowstring, an arrow flew in a straight trajectory.

Just before its body could reform around the core, my arrowhead reached the core first.

-Crack, CRACKLE!

Simultaneously, a frost magic spell activated, encasing the area around its core in a block of ice.

That single moment, the time it took for my arrow to fly, was enough to subdue the Sandman’s core.

After that, the frost magic used in conjunction was enough to completely neutralize it.

-Fsssssssh….

Unable to regenerate its body due to the ice-trapped core, the sand particles scattered.

To ensure it couldn’t regenerate its body at all, I retrieved its core into my subspace pocket.

I quickly moved towards the second giant sand scorpion that Hye-eun and Min-ah were fighting.

“Yuri-ssi, have Cheon Jihee bring you over!”

“Got it!”

“Haa, ha, haaa…”

Cha Yuri, who had collapsed on the ground after casting three large-scale spells consecutively, was picked up by Cheon Jihee.

To join them even a little faster, I ran ahead to where Hye-eun and Min-ah were.

-Crack, CRACKLE….

“Tch, hhhhh….”

Hye-eun’s second shield, created after recovering her energy, was also on the verge of breaking.

Since it was a shield made with energy forcibly replenished by an energy potion, it should have been less durable than the first, yet it held on surprisingly long.

Of course, Hye-eun’s skills and abilities accumulated from her long career as a hunter played a part, but what helped her hold on this long was also the scout over there, distracting the sand scorpion.

Han Min-ah, panting even harder than Hye-eun, was drawing the S-Rank monster’s attention, catching my eye.

“Haaaa, hugh…. Haaaa…”

-Fwip Fwip!

‘Kkgegegegekk…!’

She was skillfully utilizing the aggro drawn to her while Hye-eun was temporarily retreating from the battlefield.

While continuously dodging the sand scorpion’s attacks, she was constantly drawing its attention without ever leaving its line of sight.

Her movements, defining a limited space for herself and finding a safe zone within it, were truly astonishing.

…Is this what it takes to reach A+ rank as a non-combatant scout?

“Haa, haaaa, haa…”

‘Kkgegegegekk!’

-Swoosh….

“Ah, damn it…!”

Han Min-ah, who had been diligently dodging the S-Rank monster’s attacks right up until I joined them.

Perhaps due to dodging the S-Rank monster’s attacks for so long, pushing her stamina and mental fortitude to the limit, her frantic movements were swallowed by a suddenly collapsing sand dune.

Seeing Han Min-ah’s expression, clearly indicating a dangerous situation, I instinctively used my skill.

“Recall!!!”

“Aaaah…”

-Poof!

Han Min-ah disappeared from the desert surface along with my Recall, used for the second time today.

And just as I expected, Han Min-ah appeared beside me, completely naked.

“…Aaaah! …Wh-what?! Wh-where am I?”

“You looked like you were in danger, so I had no choice. It’s the Recall skill I mentioned before.”

“Ah, hugh, th-thanks…. Kyaaaah?!”

“The clothes are unavoidable. Consider it a side effect of saving your life.”

“Ah, Hye-eun-ah, hugh, I suddenly wondered why she appeared naked, hugh…”

She noticed something strange but still managed to fight without losing focus. Truly the concentration of an A+ rank scout.

Anyway, this means Hye-eun and Min-ah have used up their ‘lives’ for today.

Although I still had the Forced Recall, usable once a month, it was a skill meant only for truly dire emergencies.

While Hye-eun has her own defensive capabilities, Min-ah couldn’t be thrown back into the fight right now.

“You’ve done enough. Stay out of it for now.”

“Hugh, o-okay…. Leave the rest, please…”

-Thump.

Han Min-ah collapsed onto the ground, completely naked, seemingly exhausted to her limit.

After pulling her, who had performed admirably, off the battlefield, I immediately began preparing the next magic spell to link with Cha Yuri.

“Flames, that burning heat. Fire…”

…If possible, I hope we can end this in one go.

Not just Han Min-ah, everyone here was utterly exhausted, and both Hye-eun and Min-ah had even used up one of their spare lives.

Especially since Cheon Jihee didn’t have the highest affinity level with me, I couldn’t use Forced Recall on her when she was in danger, and Recall itself was still limited to once a month.

With those thoughts, I quickly finished chanting the magic spell and made eye contact with Cha Yuri.

Immediately, the magic emanating from her staff and my own spell flew towards the face of the second giant sand scorpion.

‘Kkgegegegekk!’

-CLANG!

“Haa, haaaa, hugh….”

“Hye-eun-ah, move!”

Just as Hye-eun’s second shield shattered, Cheon Jihee scooped her up and quickly rescued her.

Thanks to their efforts fighting the monsters head-on until the very end, Cha Yuri’s and my linked magic spells tore across the barren desert.

Finally, a massive explosion erupted from the face of the second giant sand scorpion.

-KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-