Chapter 97
‘Is it because I destroyed the circle?’
When he had destroyed the summoning circle the first time he hadn’t received a notification . No, he did, but it wasn’t for the quest, instead, creating another quest to destroy a recovery circle .
‘So, this species is a Wolf-Orc chimera?’
A chimera itself was a monster that was created by combining different monsters and this particular variant of chimera was a combination of both an Orc and a Wolf as the name suggested .
Soo Hyuk never thought that the chimera would literally be named for its previous parts . Though, it didn’t matter much to him, so he turned around with a shrug .
– Soo Hyuk: I am done here . I’m coming back .
Soo Hyuk sent Kamian a voice message as he returned then, opened his quest window .
〈The Troubled Underground Waterway〉
In the underground sewers of Hadrac, chimeras suddenly began appearing in the waterways . Ian and Alex made the decision to clean up the underground waterways, but the chimeras were strong and possessed powerful poison . In the end, the expedition failed, and the most they could achieve was to prevent the chimeras from escaping . Clean the underground waterways of the chimeras and identify their source!
[Chimera Summoning Circle A: 1 / 1]
[Chimera Summoning Circle B: 0 / 1]
[Chimera Summoning Circle C: 0 / 1]
[Chimera Summoning Circle D: 0 / 1]
[Chimera Summoning Circle E: 0 / 1]
[Chimera Summoning Circle F: 0 / 1]
[Chimera: 64 / ??? ]
[Quest reward: S-Rank Promotion, ??? ]
‘Still, five of them left . ’
Soo Hyuk had completed one of the quest requirements by destroying the Wolf-Orc summoning circle A . Now the remaining summoning circles B, C, D, E, and F remained . If he destroyed the remaining summoning circles then he would complete the quest .
‘If I include the Recovery circles, then it would add up to 10 magic circles . ’
Of course, there wasn’t any guarantee that was a Recovery circle with every Summoning circle . But, the possibility wasn’t low, so if he kept that suspicion in mind, then the total number of magic circles should be as many as 10 .
‘Should I do what I did with the first Summoning circle?’
Soo Hyuk calculated his next moves as he closed the quest window . Last time when he tried to destroy the summoning circle a quest had appeared to destroy the recovery circle . His mind moved, trying to figure out what his next steps should be .
“The reason why I saw the recovery circle and not Roa, it was all because I received the quest…’
If Roa had the quest, then she could have seen the recovery circle . But, she didn’t have it and was unable to see the circle .
‘If I cast magic on that place…’
Just because the recovery magic was invisible, didn’t mean it didn’t exist . So, what would happen if he cast magic on that spot?
‘I’ll need to experiment . ’
He needed to know if his experiment would lead to the destruction of the magic circles, or if nothing would happen . So, Soo Hyuk decided his next destination .
‘It would be better without them . ’
He would be relieved if there wasn’t much chance of there being recovery circles .
“You’re here!”
“Yes, shall we continue?”
Returning to the intersection, Soo Hyuk answered Kamian as he replied to Kamiam . He pulled out his Map and unfolded it while gesturing toward his next destination .
“What kind of chimeras is there?”
Soo Hyuk asked Kamian while gesturing to his next destination .
“Is this where you are going?”
“Yes . ”
“From here . ”
Kamian pointed his finger at a certain part of the map and answered .
“Hmm, the chimeras here should be a combination of foxes and goblins . ”
So, that was their new destination .
“A Fox and Goblin?”
“Yes, and they are called Fox-Goblin chimeras . ”
Kamian saw Soo Hyuk’s confused expression and nodded his head .
“They are quite different than those Wolf-Orc chimeras . ”
“Different?”
“Yes, in Wolf-Orc chimeras, the wolf was the one who attacked with poison, right?”
“Yes, you’re right . ”
“Unlike the Wolf-Orc, the fox isn’t who attacks with poison, it’s the goblin . Whenever the Wolf-Orc attacked, it was the orc who used physical attacks while the wolf spat out poison .
“Hmm, that would be tricky . ”
Soo Hyuk commented .
“Yes, but I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the poison attacks . ”
“…”
Hearing Kamians words, Soo Hyuk couldn’t help wondering why he wouldn’t need to worry . Were they prepared for it?
“Ketoto! Show him!”
Seeing Soo Hyuk’s puzzled expression, Kamian exclaimed .
“Okay!”
Ketoto, who was vaguely listening to their conversation, suddenly opened his inventory pulling out a shield .
However, even after looking at the shield, Soo Hyuk couldn’t shed off his doubts . They may use the shield, but it was too small . No more than 40cm in diameter .
However, in the following moment, Soo Hyuk was able to let go of his doubts .
Siaak!
The small shield suddenly enlarged in size .
“This shield is a specialized weapon, so we don’t have to worry about their poison . ”
“So the poisonous attacks are not of concern,”
Kamian said looking at the shield .
“But…”
He slurred his words as he looked into Soo Hyuk’s eyes, saying .
“B-But there is one problem . ”
Of course, there was a problem, if not they would have met the requirements for completing the quest .
“Problem?”
“Yes, we might be safe from the incoming attacks, but it won’t be easy for us to attack . ”
The main issue was the fox who didn’t take part in the offense but instead moved around, making it difficult to hit the Fox-Goblin chimera .
The shield could protect them from the poison attack, however, they couldn’t attack while the shield was up .
“Oh, I see…”
Soo Hyuk nodded, understanding the situation .
‘But if I cast Poison Storm or FireStorm…’
It was true Soo Hyuk had various tricks up his sleeves which included spells that could be cast regardless of a protective shield . But, the issue was the duration and continuous casting such spells .
‘It’ll take too long . ’
The spells took too much time .
“Then for now . ”
After pondering, Soo Hyuk opened his mouth .
“I’ll take the hits . ”
“Huh?”
Kamian was taken aback, not only him, but Ketoto, K-Cross, and Garan who had been silently listening to the conversation in silence were also surprised .
“We can fully block the poison attacks, and they wouldn’t be weak . ”
The poison attacks wouldn’t be light . So, Kamian couldn’t help but voice his concern as he was sure they were able to completely block the attacks with the shield .
Moreover, Soo Hyuk was a mage, and it was basic common sense that they have very low health .
But of course, Kamian’s concern was fully valid as he didn’t know Soo Hyuk well . All he knew was that Soo Hyuk had a strong offensive power, what he didn’t know was his health was more than 110 thousand, much higher than their tanker Ketoto .
“I’m afraid it’ll take too long if we rely on the shield . First, let me try to hit and kill them, if it gets too difficult, we can use the shield . ”
Soo Hyuk explained himself with reason and logic, so he didn’t need to explain about his health . Listening to him, Kamina and the Koma guild members agreed with his plan .
With that decided, he looked at the map and the group set out, a few moments later, K-Cross who was walking ahead of the group signaled them to stop . He had been watching ahead with his skill ‘Hawk’s Eye . ’
“There are chimeras ahead . ”
K-Cross warned .
“I see three of them . They might range between 900,000 to 1 million . ”
Saying that K-Cross couldn’t help but stumble back a bit .
-Huh? What’s this smell?
-Smells like a human .
-Huh, really a human?
Just as K-Cross stumbled back, they heard a voice in front of them .
‘Voices?’
If their health were between 900,000 to 1 million, that meant they were normal chimeras . But unlike a Wolf-orc chimera . The Fox-Goblin chimeras were fluent in human language .
‘Is it because it’s part Goblin?’
Are they the same level as before just with an intelligent goblin?
“Wait a moment . ”
Soo Hyuk stepped forward .
“Just in case, Ketoto, be ready!”
What if the Fox-Goblin chimeras are more cunning than we expected and unexpectedly attack . So, Ketoto moved forward upon hearing Soo Hyuk .
“Ok! Just give me a signal, and I’ll be there in no time . ”
After Ketoto’s assurance, Soo Hyuk proceeded forward .
-Huh? Only one?
-Huh? But I smelled several of them?
-I think he’s here alone .
Soon, Soo Hyuk met the chimeras face to face . Just like the Wolf-Orc variant, the Fox-Goblin chimeras had a goblin for its upper body .
-Be paralyzed!
The center chimera attacked first, it tried to paralyze him with its poison attack .
‘I’ll have to take the hit . ’
Soo Hyuk was wondering how strong the attack might be .
Hiikk!
Soon, saliva flew out of the goblin’s mouth; Soo Hyuk raised his arms to take a direct blow . As soon as it made contact, a notification appeared .
[You have resisted poisoning . ]
Just as he expected, he didn’t get poisoned, then he opened his stats, checking his health .
‘500 . ’
He lost 500 health .
‘I don’t have to worry . ’
He knew, the more health taken, the higher the damage . However, he didn’t need to worry even though the Chimeras had the health of 900,000 to 1 million . Even if he got hit three times, it would still only add up to 1,500 .
It would take a long time for 110,000 health to reach zero, and by that time, Soo Hyuk was confident he could kill these Fox-Goblins .
-Oh, he’s moving .
-I guess the poison hasn’t had its effect yet .
Soo Hyuk, who was busy looking at his stats while those chimeras were talking, opened his mouth .
“Fire Spear!”
Just one spell was enough to heavily damage one of the Fox-Goblins, there wasn’t much need to attack much more .
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Kwang!
Though Fire Spear was quite explosive, it was just the beginning .
“Flame Dance!Poison Chains! Firebolt! Fireball! Poison Spear!”
Soo Hyuk showered them in spells, soon, a notification appeared before him .
-Fox-Goblin’s special poisonous needles [2] .
-Fox-Goblin’s poison .
‘I knew, I didn’t need to worry . ’
Looking at the window in front of him, Soo Hyuk wondered why the chimeras were unable to resist his attacks . Soon he concluded it was because he didn’t give them any room to attack . But, they were different from Wolf-Orc’s who narrowed the distance little by little .
‘I think we can move forward . ’
Soo Hyuk, who thought something might go wrong and had attacked so fiercely, took his items and returned to where Kamian and the Koma guild waited .
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!
Hearing such a swift and fierce battle, Kamian, Ketoto, Garan, and K-Cross had their mouths wide open from shock .
‘I don’t think he needs a shield . ’
After such a shock, Ketoto was the first to break the silence .
He couldn’t help but feel bitter . No matter how strong Soo Hyuk was, he thought he would be the tanker .
This stage had a much higher difficulty than the previous zone, so he had been hoping this was his chance to show off his abilities, but…
Just like the Wolf-Orc’s, Soo Hyuk defeated the Fox-Goblin chimeras on his own, he simply didn’t need a tanker’s help .
‘I’m useless . ’ (1)
At least K-Cross and Garan could help, it wasn’t much, but they could still help while he did nothing making him feel bitter .
He forced himself to stop his self-loathing and looked forward . Finding Soo Hyuk approaching .
‘Should I change my job and be a mage?’
Looking at him, Ketoto had an impulsive thought . Seeing Soo Hyuk’s strength, the mage class looked quite attractive .
Of course, such a thing happening was unthinkable to Ketoto who had invested a lot into being a tanker . Changing to the mage class was just a fancy thought .
“I don’t think we need the shield for now . ”
As soon as Soo Hyuk arrived, Ketoto, who was already feeling bitter, felt worse . But the conflicts didn’t show on his face, there was no need for him to ruin such a good team and wasn’t it a good thing that the tanker didn’t need to step up?
“Let’s go!”
“Okay!”
Hearing Soo Hyuk’s words, Ketoto snuffed out his bitterness and replied with a voice full of energy, following behind him .
‘Huuu…’
With his feeling snuffed, Ketoto sighed .
‘Will there be a situation where I’m needed?’
Will there be an opportunity where he could execute his role as a tanker?
‘I want to do something, but…’
Ketoto followed Soo Hyuk, because of the name he has gained as the Demon hunter who slaughtered the Demon guild . He thought following Soo Hyuk would bring him a new scapegoat .
But just as he was swimming in his bitterness, Ketoto’s wish came true . (2)
“Ketoto . ”
“…Yeah!”
Ketoto, who had been, lost in thought, heard Soo Hyuk call him and came to his senses . Then, he couldn’t help but smile when he heard his words .
“I have a favor to ask of you . ”
Translator and Editor Notes:
1: Poor guy, he just wants to do his job .
2: I would say careful what you wish for…