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Chapter 26: The Wizard’s Role (2)
Chapter 26: The Wizard’s Role (2)
Chapter 26: The Wizard’s Role (2)
The battle continued, and Kim Seong-ho observed his siblings. Seong-ho had vowed to risk his own life to save his brothers. But now, he had another to observe…in every crisis, Klinssman’s magic came into effect just in time.
“Clash! Thud!”
Magic accuracy truly was an art form. Despite his entanglement with a monster, the wizard fired magic directly at another goblin’s head. It struck a vital spot, and despite the creature’s hard shell, the hit made it groggy.
Kin Seong-ho admired the wizard for his consistent support. He’d encountered many wizards and had seen first-hand how difficult it could be to use magic accurately. Aside from this, Klinssman was very fast. The battle lasted for about ten minutes, and Klinssman had used magic more than ten times; this meant that casting, on average, took less than a minute to complete!
The wizard’s continuous use of the rock arrow was because a wide-range attack in close quarters could cause as much damage to allies as it would enemies.
Kang Min-Hyuk was amazed by his first battle.
Once the fight had reached its conclusion, Kim Seong-ho took a deep breath and approached the newest party-member.
“Thank you very much. Without your support, we would have been in danger.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here to prevent.”
Kang Min-Hyuk replied modestly. Although the application only suggested support…not a head-on collision with goblins! Kim Seong-ho’s gratitude was clear.
“Many wizards can’t even offer support. We look forward to seeing more of your talent; it seems that this place is more difficult than we expected – we will need your help to the end of this hunt.”
He turned to look at his younger brothers, who responded by approaching the wizard, heads bowed as they abandoned their prejudice.
“Thanks to you, we remain unhurt. Thank you.”
After seeing Klinssman’s ability, they accepted their need of him, and because of that, his value grew rapidly. Kim Seong-ho’s face brightened at the humble sincerity of his brothers. If it wasn’t for the wizard, all three men could have died. They each recognized this.
Klinssman let out a laugh in response, “I appreciate that. I think there will be a lot more fighting before we clear this dungeon.”
It was as he expected.
* * *
To begin with, the younger brothers thought D-class dungeons were easy. An hour into this one, though, they realized how hard they could be.
“Chiruk, chiruk.”
“Another goblin!”
The was no time to rest after their ordeal. The next batch flooded in. There was no escape. Goblins have an excellent sense of smell and are fast enough to pursue, so turning your back on them is not the best solution.
Facing them would offer their best chances of survival. Kim Seong-ho stood after drinking a potion to recover from fatigue.
“Get ready!”
It began suddenly.
Kang Min-hyuk joined the fight as needed,
“Zzzzap!”
A lightning bolt shot from him, paralyzing the goblin. Seong-ho dealt with the creature swiftly. He transitioned from defensive hunting, noting how fatal it would be to allow the goblins to damage the team further.
Kang Min-hyuk joined in with a Rock Arrow.
“Clack!”
“Nice!”
The Rock Arrow struck the monster’s head. Jung Min-Cheol celebrated the shot by clenching his fist and flew through the hordes of goblins. Min-hyuk was impressed by the brother’s airborne ability.
The use of magic bought enough time for the younger brothers to engage in conversation.
“Seong-ho got it right this time, hey?”
“Yes! Isn’t he skilled? It’s as though he’s reading our minds; it’s giving me goosebumps. I’ve never felt this way before!”
With such a skilled team, victory was inevitable. Even twenty goblins didn’t pose a major problem anymore. The brothers began to believe that Klinssman’s recruitment was a gift from God. They were embarrassed by their plan to give him such a small share of their profits.
There were secrets that the party didn’t know about their recruit. For instance, Kang Min-hyuk was the successor of the guardian of the gate. He was different from other wizards.
His past as a warrior meant that Min-hyuk was already experienced in battle. He knew when to attack and when to defend – he could strategize. He watched the tension in the muscles of his team to judge when to strike. His past was helping him in many ways. He was both a wizard and an assassin. He was perfect for the role he played alongside Kim Seong-ho.
“HYAH!”
Kim Seong-ho defeated the final goblin. The hunt proceeded like a ship riding pure winds.
* * *
As the party neared their final destination, Kim Seon-ho instructed them to rest and laid out his plans for the next phase.
“This is our last challenge. We are going to face the Hobgoblins. We’ve taken out about 130 goblins so far, so if our research is right, the next area will contain the Hobgoblins and about twenty of their minions. So, I suggest that we get our energy back before we enter the next section.”
The strategy was systematic.
They were to proceed precisely, based on the information they had to hand about the dungeon’s layout. Kang Min-hyuk had a question,
“Are you sure the information is accurate? The monsters we’ve dealt with so far have been well-armed; they’ve been smart, too, and worked as a team. I think the leader might have higher intelligence than any of us imagined. I feel a little uncomfortable assuming that this will be easy.”
Kim Seong-ho nodded his agreement.
“You’re right, Klinssman. Exploration information has been wrong before; I’ll creep in and see what we’re going to be up against. If our information is correct, we have a good chance of coming out unscathed, and we’ll move in.”
When they’d all rested long enough, Seong-ho did a reconnaissance of the enemy territory, returning twenty minutes later; his face bright.
“It’s as we thought it would be.”
There was no reason to hesitate. In the unlikely event of a crisis arising, they had to see the battle through to the end as best as they could. They grabbed their armament and immediately moved on. They walked through thick sludge and entered a vast, open space through a low entrance. As Kim Seong-ho had confirmed, they were met by 20 goblins and their Hobgoblin leader.
The minute the men’s footsteps echoed through the cave, Hobgolin’s piercing eyes bit into Kim Seong-ho and his companions.
“Kyaaaah, ahhh!”
“Prepare for battle!”
The last battle.
The smaller monsters rushed in, sharp teeth gnashing at the air as they swarmed the men. Their experience through the dungeon had shown them that they could take down these creatures, so the only real concern was the D-class master. They didn’t quite know what to expect when Hobgoblin joined the battle. Kang Min-hyuk prepared the same pattern of magic as before, keeping a keen eye on the Hobgoblin. Upon the leader’s participation, he would use magic immediately to buy some time.
“Chirruk, chirruk!”
“Klang!”
“Rrrrring!”
“…What?!”
Hobgoblin’s behavior was very strange. He was tapping his skull-staff repeatedly against the stone floor; while he did so, he spewed out strange cries…
“No way…is it magic?”
A D-class monster could generate a sort of frenzy-spell, which increases their followers’ power, but there was no sign of such a thing occurring.
“What is it? What is he doing,”
Fortunately, it wasn’t magic. Min-hyuk’s senses rose sharply, and he could make out a hidden area behind Hobgoblin, from which shadows began to rise, scattering eerily across the walls.
“Chirruk, chirruk!”
“Kieg, kieg!”
“BEHIND YOU!!”
Goblins began to crawl out from the underground lair behind their leader…and it wasn’t just one or two…there were at least fifty of them scurrying madly across the floor. The color faded from Seong-ho’s face,
“Damn…”
So, the research was wrong, after all. Usually, information is attained by using the wizard’s Familiar magic. He’d send the contracted familiar word into the dungeon, which determines the genus, and the number of monsters inhabiting the dungeon. However, the Familiar had missed the secret space beneath Hobgoblin, just as Kim Seong-ho had.
“Chirruk, Kirrreuek!!”
Hobgoblin let out a ferocious laugh and swung his staff with great intensity.
“Kirrreuek!”
“Hyah!”
The creatures rushed toward the men. Their vast numbers frightened the usually calm Kim Seong-ho; they couldn’t turn back now, though; they had to fight. If they ran, they would surely be caught, but head-to-head combat would be difficult. Not only did the number of goblins exceed 70, but there was Hobgoblin to worry about, too. Their chances were slim.
The brothers looked to their leader for direction, but fear made him silent.
There was no time to waste. Kang Min-hyuk took the lead, “I’ll fight in front – you three: guard my blind spots. It’s time to experiment with my firepower!”
Kim Seong-ho tried to intervene, doubtful a 2nd circle wizard’s ability to take on such a fearful fight, but Min-hyuk didn’t listen.
“The odds aren’t in our favor. You have to let me try.”
Immediately, as he made the decision, his mind was filled with all kinds of magical knowledge, and he began to cast powerful spells, strong enough to sweep away enemies with ease…this was top-tier 2nd circle magic!