Chapter 816: Stormy Island (4)

The battle with the spirit encountered mid-mountain on Stormy Island also proceeded in a similar pattern to the battles fought while climbing the mountain so far.

Do Yehee, capable of indirect defense using earth magic, blocks the monster’s attacks, her role being to deflect dangerous attacks like the occasional lightning strikes with earth magic.

Lulusia’s role is to purify the storm that rushed before the party members’ eyes using purification spells to secure visibility, cast situationally appropriate blessings on each member to support the entire party, and create a barrier to protect us even if an attack couldn’t be blocked.

Sihee, who possessed the most powerful ranged attack method in the storm, was naturally the main damage dealer. In this environment where fire and wind magic alike dissipated before they could even travel 10 meters, Sihee’s arcane arrows, condensed from pure inner energy, were the most efficient means of attack.

And my role was to assist Sihee and supplement the lacking manpower elsewhere as needed. For example, like this.

-Fweeeing, tick! “Wind, swirl around!”

I made small whirlwinds follow around the arcane arrow created from Sihee’s fingertips, as if enveloping it.

Although it was magic that would dissipate before even 10 meters, that much was enough. Since initial acceleration and directional aiming are crucial for an attack, this small assistance greatly impacted Sihee’s attack power.

‘Do Yehee! Block the rock coming your way!’

‘I was already preparing!’

-Cheolpeok! Do Yehee, blocking the most dangerous direction of the Storm Spirit’s wind flying towards us with the mud of earth magic, had just blocked a boulder that had rolled down from the mountain.

As it got closer to the center of the storm, it seemed difficult to maintain its golem form, with most of the defense handled by mud tentacles. To be honest, those large, long mud masses wriggling were quite a grotesque sight, but there was no method as efficient as that, so I didn’t bother complaining.

However, even if the storm moved in one direction, other objects swirling within it didn’t necessarily move the same way. Even if Do Yehee’s defense using earth magic was thorough, it could only protect the closest direction, and limitations naturally existed.

-Hwooooooo!! “Kyaaak!! W-wait, Taekyung-ssi! Tree on the right!”

Surprised by an obstacle appearing in the opposite direction from where she was defending, Do Yehee called out to me. Even before she called my name, I too saw that giant tree trunk flying from the right. Just before it could hit the direction where Lulusia and I were, over a dozen tough plant vines sprouted and writhed from the ground to my right.

-Kwajijik! The tree trunk, which had been crashing towards the party, was stopped by the vines and fell to the ground, instead becoming a new defensive wall.

The soil was soft and the battlefield was rich in water, perhaps that’s why it was a battlefield with favorable conditions in many ways for utilizing the explosive growth power of plant magic.

‘Sihee! How’s the situation?! How many more hits until you can take it down?!’

‘At least, damage is being dealt continuously since earlier! I’ve intercepted almost all the places where the core might be, and if I can just fire one more shot…!’

‘Then let’s finish it with the next shot! You can do it?!’

‘I’ll shoot with all my might!’

‘Lulusia! Please brighten the field of vision a bit more so Sihee can snipe!’

‘Yes, Taekyung~!’

At my request, the area of the purification spell Lulusia was using expanded even further, and beyond the clear view, the Storm Spirit’s form faintly appeared.

‘Sungchul-ssi! This is the last one!’

‘I’ve already prepared, so you can shoot anytime!’

-Fweeeing! “Wind, swirl around!”

Following my signal, Sihee released the arcane arrow in her hand towards the Storm Spirit. Her arrow then drew a straight trajectory, piercing the Storm Spirit’s core.

A slight anxiety crossed my mind, wondering if it would just stagger without significant damage and get back up again this time, but fortunately, my worries turned out to be unfounded and faded away futilely.

-Hwoooooo…. “Huh?”

The first to notice the change was Do Yehee. She was the one enduring the Storm Spirit’s headwind most intensely while engaging in battle.

The other members too began to realize one by one that the intensity of the storm that had been rushing at us until now was weakening, indirectly informing us that Sihee’s final attack had properly finished off the Storm Spirit.

-Hwiii…. The Storm Spirit faded to the ground with the sound of the wind slowly subsiding. Considering it was an opponent we struggled with for quite a long time, it was an anticlimactic end, but that absolutely didn’t mean I wanted to fight it again.

‘…It’s finally over.’

-Chalpahk! “S-Sihee! You, a Foundation Hunter, without any manners….”

Sihee, who had fired all the inner energy in her body away, was so exhausted she collapsed onto the muddy ground with a ‘chalpahk’ sound. Seeing her, Do Yehee, startled, tried to help her up.

Of course, Do Yehee herself was also utterly exhausted and was inherently a mage with low stamina, so while trying to lift Sihee, she ended up falling down herself.

-Cheolpeok! “Ugh…?!”

‘…What are you doing? Are you trying to be funny?’

‘…….’

‘Surely you’re not trying to say that rolling around in a mud puddle like a pig is more cultured behavior? If that’s the etiquette a Foundation Hunter should have, I might have to seriously consider transferring.’

‘…Be quiet, will you.’

With half her face covered in muddy water, Do Yehee got up with a mortified expression, hastily wiping her face with her hand, and deliberately looked into the distance, pretending to be nonchalant.

Of course, on her back, there were muddy water stains remaining, exactly half-splashed, so neither I nor Sihee could hold back our laughter.

‘Pfft.’

‘Kuh….’

‘S-Sihee~! Taekyung~! Y-you shouldn’t do that~!’

‘…….’

Lulusia’s actions, trying to stop me and Sihee from laughing, instead only made Do Yehee’s situation more pitiful.

For reference, by some point, as if she had used purification magic, there were no mud stains or wet marks left on her white priestess robes. Since the battle was over, she probably thought there was no need to conserve her holy power anymore.

‘Yes, yes~! I’ll purify you~!’

‘…….’

After roughly watching Lulusia hug Do Yehee from behind to purify her mud-covered body and clothes, I recovered the S-rank monster’s core from the floor where the Storm Spirit had been.

The core of an S-rank monster, the Storm Spirit.

One might say hunting giant sand scorpions or sandmen in the wasteland desert last time was more efficient if all we got after fighting such an intense battle was one S-rank monster core, but just because it’s an S-rank monster doesn’t mean they all have the same value.

Monsters too, like hunter ranks, have no ranks beyond S-rank. And attaching SS-rank or SSS-rank to hunters was a title created based on how long they’ve been active as an S-rank hunter, so it wasn’t possible to measure monsters by that standard.

If that were the case, the Red Dragon of the Blue Valley Gorge was estimated to be nearly 10,000 years old, and against such a monster, we’d have to call it S x 1000 rank.

Therefore, determining the value of an S-rank monster ultimately comes down to the value of its materials and how difficult it is to subjugate. Not just the monster’s own strength, but also the restrictions and environment required to defeat it, including everything.

‘That’s why the rewards from an exceptional SS-rank monster, like the three-headed basilisk in the abandoned village, were truly endless.’

Especially monsters belonging to unpopular dungeons like this Stormy Island tend to be valued a bit higher, even S-rank monsters, because the Guild also gives a certain additional reward to fend off monster waves.

In fact, from the Guild’s perspective, quickly raiding unpopular dungeons and even proceeding to destroy them was the most efficient way to handle them, but despite Stormy Island being an unpopular dungeon, the reason it’s recognized for its economic value and remains is because of this ‘Storm Spirit’s Core’.

In this world, most of the reason modern scientific civilization functions is these monster materials, especially inventions using their cores, which have had a close impact on daily life.

For example, one Storm Spirit core can apparently make refrigerant units for about 10,000 refrigerators, or 10,000 air conditioners. Of course, it doesn’t mean one core is worth 10,000 refrigerators just because it’s used in the refrigerant unit, but it’s an undeniable fact that it’s an essential material for making the core component.

I don’t know the exact principle behind it. After all, that’s the job of those who specialize in monster materials, and my job as a hunter is just to collect these materials, submit them to the Guild, and get paid.

Anyway, all the trouble we went through to catch this guy meant sufficient reward with just this one core. Moreover, by defeating the Storm Spirit, the weather situation has stabilized, so until it regenerates, it was an opportunity to collect other valuable materials on this Stormy Island easily.

‘Get up, Sihee-ssi. As we discussed earlier, now that the weather has calmed down like this, shouldn’t we secure other materials and head back?’

‘…Can’t I rest a little longer, Sungchul-ssi? I’m a bit tired since I used up all my inner energy.’

‘Yes. Then Sihee-ssi, since you’ve almost used up all your inner energy, please rest adequately and just help with material collection. Do Yehee and I will handle the monster hunting.’

‘That’s not what I meant by resting…. Ugh, ugh….’

I knew she didn’t mean she wanted to rest like that either, but I just pretended not to notice and assigned her work.

Not hunting monsters and collecting materials during such a good opportunity was something my pride as a hunter couldn’t accept.