13
The situation was urgent, but that was precisely why they needed to exchange names.
"I'm Baek Woojin."
"Jang Hye..."
Jang Hyena, who had been about to extend her hand to accept Baek Woojin's handshake, faltered for a moment when she realized she had no free hand.
"Ah, my apologies."
"Pardon? Haha... I'm Jang Hyena."
Belatedly realizing his mistake, Baek Woojin withdrew his extended hand with an awkward smile, and Jang Hyena, who had been about to briefly set down her hammer, also introduced herself with a similar smile.
"May I assume you're aware of the current situation?"
"Yeah, well."
Honestly, by this point, even a fool would have no choice but to understand how things were going. With an ominous roar and an immense amount of mana summoning Living Woods from across the entire swamp, if one couldn't grasp the situation even with such blatant phenomena, they'd be better off just dying.
"Then I'll ask directly. I'd like you to hold the Elder Tree's attention for even just a brief moment."
"I will."
Baek Woojin was rather taken aback by Jang Hyena's immediate positive response without a hint of hesitation.
"The fact that Hunter Baek Woojin came straight here means the only hunters alive in this dungeon right now are me and those three idiots over there, right? Oh, for reference, the guy I slapped earlier is my younger brother."
"Ah."
"No, no! It's just how it is. I felt satisfied so don't apologize. Anyway! The point is that the effective fighting force is just me and Hunter Baek Woojin. As you can see, I'm a tank, right? Then naturally, I should do what a tank needs to do."
"That makes sense."
If they couldn't defeat the boss, they were dead anyway.
Therefore, as a tank, Jang Hyena really had no choice but to accept whatever opinion Baek Woojin put forward.
"Is there anything else I need to do besides drawing the Elder Tree's aggro? Or any information I should be aware of?"
"No. Just reliably draw its attention, and I'll figure something out."
"Understood."
She was in a position where she could reasonably demand information about his rank or his plan to defeat the Elder Tree, but she didn't do so.
She simply acted with absolute trust in Baek Woojin.
-Ack!
-Stop whining and get up and grab your weapon right now. You think someone's going to save you again? You want to die shaking like an idiot?
-G-Get up! Just getting up will be enough!!
Watching Jang Hyena and Jang Jisoo, Baek Woojin thought of his younger sister who would probably be scratching her belly on the sofa, and couldn't help but let out a small laugh. However, his expression quickly hardened as he gripped his sword tighter and looked past the Jang siblings toward the swamp.
'As expected, it's coming this way.'
There was one change that occurred when he became able to handle mana.
All the senses in his body had dramatically increased compared to before he could manipulate mana.
"Hunter Jang Hyena."
"Hold on a second. Did you understand? If me and that person over there fail, you're all dead too. So if you want to live, when I draw the boss's aggro, draw the attention of the Living Wood bastards swarming in and run as far away as possible. Answer!"
"Yes!!"
"If you understand, then get ready."
Jang Hyena, who had somehow managed to patch up her brother's group's shattered self-esteem and broken mentality into at least a usable state, approached Baek Woojin's side.
"From now on, I'm going to hide myself."
"I'll trust you."
"I'll trust you too."
For the two people who had entrusted everything to someone they'd just met today, many words weren't needed. They simply lightly tapped their clenched fists together.
Jang Hyena readjusted her grip on her shield and turned around, and Baek Woojin briefly watched her back before walking in the opposite direction.
'This should be enough.'
Fortunately, since the Living Woods that should have been hiding nearby had all disappeared after receiving the Elder Tree's summons, securing a place to hide wasn't too difficult.
"Damn. What kind of ordeal is this."
Contrary to his words, Baek Woojin wasn't complaining but rather expressing his hope that it would end with just such an ordeal.
'Body as light as possible.'
Baek Woojin took off his bag, untied and retied his bootlaces, and inspected his meager equipment. Then he pulled out a test tube containing a purple liquid from his coat.
'I thought I'd use it someday, but...'
He never expected the opportunity to come this quickly. He had inwardly decided he would use it when he entered the Tower for his rank-up.
Grrrrrr──!!
"So this is the boss..."
As the distance closed, the Elder Tree's massive presence felt even more distinct, involuntarily making his body tense up.
"Huu."
It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous.
Baek Woojin lightly jumped in place to prevent his body from stiffening from excessive tension while keeping his eyes forward.
Then, after a brief moment.
A tree so massive it could be clearly distinguished even from afar revealed itself, trampling the surrounding terrain.
Its withered, desiccated appearance was no different from a Living Wood. However, unlike Living Woods that moved and attacked with their roots simultaneously, the boss Elder Tree only used its abnormally thick roots for movement and maintaining balance of its enormous body. Instead.
-You damn tree bastard!!
When Jang Hyena struck her shield with her hammer and shouted, the approaching Elder Tree stopped in its tracks, and countless branches extending from above its head stretched out like whips, surging toward Jang Hyena.
Screeeeech──!!
As soon as the branches touched the red aura blooming on Jang Hyena's shield and caught fire, a scream unbefitting of its massive size erupted from its gaping maw.
However, even the deafening roar that made one involuntarily frown couldn't break Baek Woojin's concentration.
'There it is...!!'
Having continuously focused mana into his eyes since the Elder Tree's appearance, Baek Woojin calmly examined its enormous body even in his urgency, and finally discovered the single red line he had been searching for.
Honestly, he had been half in doubt.
Since partial information about superior variants of monsters he had defeated had trickled in, he had executed this plan with a 'maybe?' mindset that was close to gambling. But as Schrodin had said, whether their connection would continue even longer, the gamble had succeeded brilliantly.
However, just because he had accidentally glimpsed the opponent's cards didn't mean he could take the pot. Being able to see the cards only helped him make slightly better decisions.
Baek Woojin's contemplation didn't last long.
Pop!
He opened the cap of the strength enhancement potion he was holding and downed it in one gulp.
It was bitter, but thanks to the blueberry fragrance that followed, the taste wasn't too bad.
"Ugh..."
Just as he felt the potion flow down his throat, an unfamiliar sensation of muscles throughout his body tightening intensely assailed him before long.
"The standard of geniuses..."
His surprise at the immediate effect and the result beyond imagination was brief.
He'd evaluate the potion later. Baek Woojin gripped his sword in reverse.
'The target is between the eyes.'
Considering the creature's overall size, the red line he needed to aim for was truly tiny. So small that even a slight mistake would cause him to miss. But aside from being small, everything was perfect.
Thanks to the physical advantage of being able to freely manipulate its branches, the creature hadn't moved an inch from where it first stopped. Furthermore, the branches were so flexible that it didn't even need to move its head portion when swinging them.
In short, it was essentially a giant target.
'I can do this...'
No, even if he couldn't, he had to make it happen.
He had somewhat acquired a sense for throwing from the dungeons he'd roamed.
The only slight concern was the distance to the Elder Tree, but Baek Woojin soon steeled his resolve and took his stance.
His right foot faced backward, and the calf and thigh muscles of his forward-extended left leg tightened taut.
'One chance.'
Baek Woojin didn't trust himself. Even though he vividly remembered his actions before the regression, to trust himself would be shameless. That was why Baek Woojin decided to trust not himself, but the abilities he had directly seen and confirmed with his own eyes.
Strength raised to mid E-rank. Add the potion on top of that, and it would be safe to assume early D-rank.
'With strength alone, this distance is definitely uncertain.'
But that uncertainty was cleanly erased the moment Baek Woojin's mana was added.
When all his stats were E-rank, mana alone was D-rank. And it was D-rank standing right before the wall of C-rank. The moment his mana recognized its master and clearly identified the existence threatening its only sanctuary, a change occurred.
Clang──!!
As the gray aura began to swirl, a precarious sound as if the borrowed sword would shatter at any moment started flowing from it.
'Not yet...'
Even with the reverse-gripped sword trembling dangerously, Baek Woojin calmly observed the situation.
-Cough!!
Whether her mana had run out, as the red aura gathered on her shield disappeared, Jang Hyena's stance of blocking the Elder Tree's branches collapsed.
Kehehehehehe──!!
The Elder Tree, whose branches had burned multiple times, let out a sharp shriek as if mocking Jang Hyena, and fired all the branches grown atop its head toward her.
'Now!!'
The sword containing everything left Baek Woojin's hand, tracing a single trajectory.