At that moment, atop the cliff.
The members of the clan were watching Do Gyeonu leave without the slightest lingering attachment, abandoning Do Seungwoo behind.
Meanwhile.
[Hey! Do Gyeonuuuu!]
Do Seungwoo’s scream rang out with startling vividness.
On another screen, he was shown crying out with tears in his voice.
[Come back! You bastaaaard!]
As if to say, You can’t do this to me.
Do Seungwoo wore the face of a man betrayed by someone he had trusted.
Even so, he seemed not to have abandoned that slender thread of hope.
[This isn’t real, right? You’re taking the joke too far….]
But contrary to Do Seungwoo’s hopes.
He was ultimately forced to face reality.
Not only the monster Do Gyeonu had lured in, but also the monsters that had heard his shouting began appearing one after another.
[Kero?]
[D-Don’t come…. I said don’t come!]
[Kero?]
[If only I could move properly, something like you would be… Damn it!]
The title of prodigy was put to shame.
Do Seungwoo was utterly terrified. His face was not that of a brave lion, but of prey standing before a predator.
[Don’t chase me!]
Do Seungwoo fled from the monsters in an unsightly state.
Since facing them while the paralysis had yet to wear off would have been reckless, it was, in its own way, a wise response.
Even so, the people watching the screen could not help but let out snickers.
“A lion being chased by toads… Seungwoo wasn’t much after all.”
“He’s good at running away. Yes, that’s how you keep your life. Run, run, hurry.”
The members of the clan mocked him.
There was no way Do Beomjun would remain silent while both his and Do Seungwoo’s dignity were being damaged.
“Patriarch! Do Gyeonu must be seized at once and punished! Look at him, blinded by competition, luring monsters in to kill Seungwoo! Even if our clan encourages competition, this has gone beyond the line!”
“Sangjun, what do you think?”
“I….”
Do Beomjun petitioned with his face flushed.
Do Yeik merely laughed heartily. Then he asked Do Sangjun, who had been watching the evaluation match with his family, for his opinion.
‘Gyeonu, again….’
Do Sangjun sighed inwardly.
He had told him so many times, begging him not to cause trouble, but his son had only pretended to listen and had not taken it to heart.
Truly, he was an outrageous son.
But as no parent could win against their child, Do Sangjun could only resign himself to his fate and defend Do Gyeonu.
“I think that much is acceptable.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Things similar to that have happened several times during competition matches. There have even been incidents more severe than this.”
“Hmm, that is true.”
“I doubt Gyeonu truly intended to kill Seungwoo. He knows we are watching, and he likely judged that Hunters would be nearby, so I believe he played a light prank.”
“A prank? A praaank!? Do Sangjun, you…!”
“And Seungwoo said it himself, did he not? That even if Gyeonu had not helped him, he could have killed the Raddle Kero on his own. Seungwoo was the one who provided the justification first.”
“Justification, is it….”
As if amused.
Do Yeik murmured the word softly and shook his shoulders.
“It seems you are right, Sangjun. We cannot stop the evaluation match over something so trivial, nor can we needlessly scold a child who has been doing well until now.”
“Gyeonu will be pleased to hear that.”
“Thank you, Patriarch.”
Do Yeik sided with Do Gyeonu.
Only then did Do Sangjun feel relieved. Beside him, his wife Han Jiae, who had been anxiously unable to join the conversation, could also relax.
“That child, honestly….”
He ate fruits and flowers native to the Gate without fear, despite not knowing what they were.
He fought monsters in perilous battles.
Watching only the screen that showed Do Gyeonu, she had to feel her heart clench again and again.
But she, too, was a parent who had no choice but to quietly give in and cheer him on.
“Just don’t get hurt. Just don’t get hurt.”
“I want to eat that fruit too…. Mom, if I go to Oppa later, I’ll be able to try that fruit too, right?”
She clasped her hands together and prayed.
At the same time, she gave her tactless daughter a knuckle to the head.
“By the way, how fascinating.”
Meanwhile, Do Yeik murmured softly as he watched Do Gyeonu advance through the jungle.
His gaze shone brightly and did not leave Do Gyeonu.
“If I did not see it wrong….”
Do Yeik fell into thought, recalling the swordsmanship Do Gyeonu had just displayed.
A moment ago, in order to save Do Seungwoo, he had leapt down from a high place and unleashed Attack Form Seven, a downward strike.
At that moment, though it had lasted only an instant.
—Crackle!
Within the spiraling wind.
Do Gyeonu had generated blue currents of electricity.
That was unmistakably….
‘Azure Lightning.’
There was no way he had seen it wrong.
Replaying that scene in his mind over and over.
Do Yeik silently stared at Do Gyeonu on the screen.
* * *
At some point, the spaces between the trees were growing wider and wider.
The color and characteristics of the ground had also changed.
The sounds of the Mud Keros puffing out their cheeks could no longer be heard.
‘The jungle is coming to an end.’
I quickly grasped the situation.
I was leaving the Mud Keros’ habitat and drawing closer to the lake.
Then, not long after.
‘Is that it?’
A vast lake came into view.
I landed on a tree growing at the point where the jungle ended.
Around then, a message appeared.
[The next攻略 condition will be delivered.]
[Subjugate the Water Spirit in the lake.]
It seemed I had arrived at the right destination.
‘The ones who arrived first… five people, huh.’
I quickly counted the people and assessed the battle situation.
They were fighting monsters either by stepping on footholds floating on the water or by running across the surface itself.
From the look of it, they were not accustomed to fighting on water.
‘Well, that makes sense.’
Just stepping on the water was difficult enough, and since they had to fight monsters in that state, of course they would struggle.
Stepping on the footholds was not easy either.
If they misplaced their center of gravity even slightly, they could flip over along with the foothold.
The only reason they were showing that much skill was because they were on the older side.
Among them….
‘Sieun noona is there too.’
Do Sieun stood out.
Without using any footholds, she was running across the lake and dealing with the monsters.
Lion Fierce Assault.
A flash of electricity erupted.
She advanced with water spray fluttering around her and swung her sword at the monsters.
Kiiik!
Monsters with no facial features, taking forms like young children.
Their bodies covered in blue scales, they were cut down by Do Sieun’s sword and died.
Riding that momentum, Do Sieun dashed toward the center of the lake.
Kiiiik!
The Water Spirit was there.
Likewise, it was a female-shaped monster with blue skin and a body covered in scales.
It was dripping blue blood, while its left arm and tail had been severed.
That must have been the Hunters’ doing.
At a glance, it was exhausted.
Even so, with the spear held in its right hand, it easily deflected Do Sieun’s sword.
Just as she stepped forward to attack again.
Shaaaak!
“…!”
The Water Spirit tore open its gill-lined mouth and let out a bizarre cry.
Immediately afterward, the water’s surface churned violently.
Then, in the direction Do Sieun had been about to charge, new monsters suddenly appeared.
“Did it call its subordinate monsters?”
No, should I say it created them?
Monsters treated as bosses in games could summon subordinate monsters.
I furrowed my brow.
‘Even if the Water Spirit has been greatly weakened, if it has subordinates like that, it won’t be easy to approach, will it?’
In reality, the others did not even dare approach the Water Spirit.
Do Sieun, too, had been watching for an opportunity after a long struggle, only to be forced to retreat when new subordinate monsters appeared.
Meanwhile, I could also guess at her condition and that of the others.
‘…Everyone is exhausted. Some of them look like they’re having trouble moving because of paralysis.’
Do Sieun herself was like that right now.
With her skill, there should have been no need for her to pull back all the way to the outskirts of the lake.
While dealing with the subordinate monsters, she should have been able to look for openings and approach the Water Spirit from time to time.
And yet the reason she had retreated was likely because she had little strength left.
Moreover, judging by the movements Do Sieun had shown a moment ago, it seemed she, too, had been afflicted by paralysis.
“Hmm….”
Could I really deal with the Water Spirit and its subordinates alone?
With my Gift, I could avoid their attacks and look for an opportunity, but I had no idea when that opportunity would come.
Before that, there was a high chance my stamina and mana would run dry and I would collapse from exhaustion.
Even more so if I considered the need to use water walking while fighting.
It was far too reckless.
“In the end, I need the help of the people over there….”
With that, I reached a conclusion.
I had to cooperate not only with Do Sieun, who began fighting again as soon as she had caught her breath to some extent, but also with the other relatives.
The problem was that they were older than me and had filthy high pride, so whether they would willingly cooperate was another matter.
There was absolutely no way they would.
“How do I persuade them?”
Since there were no signs of monsters nearby, I sat comfortably on a branch, watched the battle unfolding on the lake, and racked my brains.
Crunch.
While doing so, I ate a fruit of vitality.
Since I had to fight the Water Spirit like them, I needed to conserve my strength….
“Ah.”
At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.
There was no need to agonize over it like this. The method to win them over was already in my hands.
* * *
She had thought she had detoxified herself to some extent by enhancing her physical abilities with the mana in her body, but it seemed the paralyzing poison of the Rank 2 monster Raddle Kero was far stronger than she had expected.
Whenever Do Sieun swung her sword, she occasionally felt her body go numb and bit her lip.
‘…Right shoulder, left leg. Like this, I can’t push deep into the group. If only my body moved properly….’
She could not put strength into her body as she wished, and there was also the risk that stimulating her paralyzed mana circuits could accidentally trigger a mana rampage.
Do Sieun assessed her condition and stepped back before the paralysis struck again.
Kiiik!
“….”
Because of that, even the path she had gone to the trouble of opening was blocked by the Water Spirit’s subordinates.
At this pattern that had already repeated itself several times.
Her face darkened.
‘Is there no way?’
Even so, she did not give up.
While the other relatives stepped forward to deal with the monsters, she tried to recover as much stamina and mana as possible.
‘…I have to go in now.’
But that lasted only a moment.
The other relatives were in worse condition than Do Sieun.
She brushed aside the hair clinging to her cheek, saw the tide of battle turning against them, and decided to return to the fight.
Splash!
As she kicked off the water’s surface, spray rose.
The relatives, realizing Do Sieun had stepped forward, opened a path and moved aside.
She ran down the path they had made toward the Water Spirit.
But even that path was soon blocked midway by the Water Spirit’s subordinates.
Do Sieun’s blue eyes did not miss the movements of the monsters as they closed the distance to stop her.
She stretched her left foot forward, braking on the surface of the water and twisting her body sharply.
Swaaak!
The friction she created made the waves surge upward for an instant.
The falling spray blocked the vision of the monster in front of her.
At that very moment, her sword flashed.
Lion Wild Dance.
The blade, shining with blue light as it was struck by the water, cut precisely through the monster’s neck.
Whoosh!
Its head rose into the air.
Do Sieun passed by the monster’s corpse as it lost balance without its head and collapsed onto the surface of the water.
Then she advanced toward the other monsters.
Whoosh!
Slice!
A wild dance unbound by form.
It was swordsmanship that moved ceaselessly according to the situation, simply to deal with the enemies before her eyes, rotating the body to increase the attack power of the mana-clad blade.
Do Sieun’s dance upon the water cut off the monsters’ lives in a single blow.
“Hoo….”
After that, she caught her breath again and tried to break through the little remaining distance.
It was right then.
Kiiik!
“…Ugh!”
She had entrusted her rear to the relatives.
But at some point, the relatives had been pushed back by the monsters and driven as far as the outskirts of the lake.
Do Sieun clicked her tongue.
If she allowed the monsters to take her rear like this, she would have to face the Water Spirit while paying attention to attacks from behind.
The burden would increase.
She had no choice.
Though the Water Spirit was right nearby.
Regretful as it was, Do Sieun decided to turn back and clear out the rear.
Lion Iron Whip.
Her sword struck the monster.
As if hit by an iron mace, the monster flew far away, sliding face-first across the water with the sound of bones breaking.
There was no need to confirm it; it had died instantly.
She immediately used footwork to kill the other monsters as well.
But just as she tried to swing her sword upward.
‘My body…!’
Her right shoulder creaked, and her movement suddenly stopped in midair.
Paralysis had struck.
That situation, which was misfortune for her, became fortune for the monsters instead.
Kiiik!
The monsters rushed in all at once.
Barely freeing herself from the paralysis, she hurriedly tried to respond to them.
But she was slightly too late.
‘I can deal with one. But the other two….’
While she handled one of them, the other two would surely take advantage of that opening and attack.
She gritted her teeth in frustration.
There was no helping it.
At the very least, she would minimize the impact—
Splash!
At that moment, Do Sieun sensed someone’s presence.
Someone was approaching from behind at tremendous speed.
Immediately afterward, that figure passed by her.
“I’ll take the left. Noona, you take the right.”
The voice brushed past her ear.
Do Sieun could not understand its meaning.
But contrary to her thoughts, her body moved almost instantly.
When the figure whose identity she did not even know suddenly moved to the left….
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
Her body automatically stepped to the right.
Toward the monster before her.
Thrust!
Kiii….
Do Sieun drove her sword in.
Having eliminated one of the three, she turned back to check the person who had helped her.
By then, that figure had just finished taking down the other two.
“…Do Gyeonu?”
Do Gyeonu, who was called a coward in the clan and mocked as Rabbit.
Taking in this unexpected figure.
Do Sieun’s eyes widened in surprise.
Do Gyeonu paid no heed to her reaction and abruptly brought up the matter at hand.
“Noona, won’t you cooperate with me?”
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss