Chapter 038
Firing arrows at rampaging monsters while riding atop a speeding train.
Even if the monsters are huge, the distance makes hitting them anything but easy.
"One. Two."
I quickly nocked an arrow to the bowstring and took several deep breaths. At the arrowhead, pitch-black flames meant to burn away magic resistance flickered and slowly condensed.
I released the taut string. The arrow traced a black parabola through the air and struck one of the slimes chasing after us from behind.
Just as part of the slime hardened, trying to bounce the arrow away, the Paradox Flame that had been clumped at the arrowhead poured out over its body.
"When the flames die down, that's when you attack it."
One at a time. In the past, I would've been confident I could blanket this entire plain in Paradox Flame and control it even in my sleep, but…
Right now, controlling any more than this is difficult. If the arrows stuck, I could fire several at once—but these things don't let arrows lodge into them.
Like sweet-and-sour sauce poured over tangsuyuk, the Paradox Flame splashed across the slime's body, roaring as it chewed away at its magic resistance.
Before long, the flames faded. At the same time, I prepared the next arrow, and the hunters' attacks rained down on that slime.
—It works.
An astonished exclamation echoed through the radio. Of course, it wasn't dead. Its body was just riddled with cracks.
"Did you think I was lying or something?"
As if there were anything to gain from that. I immediately sent another arrow at a different slime.
"We're probably short on time."
"I know."
Before I can burn away all of their magic resistance, the slimes will likely catch up to the speeding train first.
"Then we'll just fight them with spears."
We need to strip away as much magic resistance as possible before they arrive. I fired another arrow, and once again a shower of black flames poured down over a slime's head.
By matching the vibration frequency of mana, I calculated the time needed to burn away their resistance and compared it to their movement speed, then reached a conclusion.
"We'll have to deal with two of them after they reach the train."
There's just not enough time. You have to give up what you can't do. While I'm burning away their magic resistance with Paradox Flame, the other hunters are throwing everything they've got at the slimes whose resistance is already gone.
Not long after, exactly what I expected happened.
Two slimes arrived with their magic resistance still intact. The rest arrived with theirs completely burned away.
"I'll try to deal with the two that still have resistance."
The rest is up to you.
—I'm coming too.
Lee Se-eun seems to be leaving the front car in the hands of the other hunters and heading out. It makes sense.
"Good luck."
I wished Han Sang-ah well as she drew her sword, then gripped my spear and approached the slimes I'd be handling.
"It's freezing."
As the slimes cling to the train, the already frigid air grows even colder. It's so cold that even standing still, the mucus inside my nose threatens to freeze solid.
"Damn bastards."
Their attacks aren't lines or points—they're planes. They're not targeting me, but the entire area where I'm standing, trying to sweep it all away with that gelatinous mass.
Naturally, dealing with them requires a very different approach from fighting other monsters—or people.
From experience, going on the defensive against creatures like this is extremely dangerous. Thankfully, I'd been able to roughly gauge their specs while they were approaching the train, so I could skip the probing phase.
"Ugh…."
The swung mass of slime slammed into my mana-reinforced armor. The impact was absorbed, but the cold that seeped in afterward sent a shiver down my spine.
When I cast the Quadruple Chant, countless blue trajectories spread out from around my body and smashed into the slime. Wherever the blue arcs struck, the slime hardened, letting out sharp metallic clangs.
The fight drags on. Sweat running down my face freezes solid right on my skin.
"One of them, at least… I've stripped it naked!"
The Paradox Flame successfully burned away the magic resistance of one of the two slimes.
One more remains.
"No—!"
At that moment, the remaining slime suddenly began to boil and bubbled, then shot dozens of tentacles toward the slime beside it.
"That's not okay. Hey!"
It shattered the core inside its fellow slime and devoured it, instantly doubling its own size.
"What kind of slime is that smart?"
Then it covered the Paradox Flame clinging to its body with slime that no longer had any magic resistance.
The Paradox Flame I'm using burns by consuming magic resistance as fuel.
So what happens if you smother it with slime that has already lost all its resistance?
Naturally, it goes out. Just like using a candle snuffer to extinguish a flame—if there's nothing left to burn, the fire dies.
"I'm speechless."
The slime has no face, no expression, but the way it's wobbling makes it obvious—it's mocking me.
To be mocked by a slime with no brain to speak of. It's absurd.
"You laughing? You think this is funny?"
Whether it's actually laughing or not, I don't really know. Maybe I'm just projecting. But I'm pissed.
If you piled up all the people who spent 35 years in the other world trying to figure out Paradox Flame and challenged it in their own ways, you could probably fill up the No. 1 landfill in Hakun-ri, Yangchon-eup, Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province.
You think none of them tried the same trick as you?
"You're dead."
I swung my spear, once again wreathed in Paradox Flame, at the slime. At the same time, it tried to pull the same stunt again.
But the instant the spear touched the slime, the gelatinous mass began to whirl violently. It's a minor technique known by many names—Igaejung, or Penetration Stance.
"I told Han Sang-ah never to use this in real combat, but…"
There are always exceptions in life, right? If you need to play Hanon, you can even perform it in a competition. You shouldn't live life being too rigid.
Under the flow of mana embedded in my attack, slime with magic resistance and slime whose resistance had completely burned away mixed together like whipped cream.
That makes the slime's attempt to smother the Paradox Flame with resistance-less slime completely pointless.
"So? Why don't you laugh some more?"
The slime no longer wobbles. Looks like the smile's gone.
"Let's keep going, liquid monster."
(Continued) Chapter 038
At this point, maybe it even regrets not staying as two separate slimes. Judging by what it just did, it seems smart enough to feel that kind of regret.
But it's far too late now.
"Damn it… my head."
I pushed through the throbbing headache brought on by controlling my mana and kept up the offensive. There's a reason I call this kind of technique a minor trick.
Its efficiency is terrible. If you can control mana with this level of precision, there are plenty of far more efficient methods available.
It's just that, against the massive liquid monster right in front of me, this "minor trick" happens to be more effective than any other option.
With a dull crack, a greatsword smashed through the slime's hardened gel and detonated inside its body.
"That leaves two—no, one! One left! Yoo Chan-seok is engaging it now!"
Lee Se-eun swiftly drew out another greatsword and turned her gaze toward Yoo Chan-seok.
"Should we assist immediately?"
After watching the fight for a brief moment, Lee Se-eun shook her head at the question from one of her junior hunters and slung the greatsword back onto her back.
"No. I think we can just watch."
That fight was already Yoo Chan-seok's to win.
"More importantly—casualties?"
"Two dead… eight injured. Two of the injured are Janabi juniors."
Lee Se-eun's expression darkened. They were formidable opponents. Even if this wasn't a commission to eliminate a Grade-1 erosion zone, it would've been overwhelming for ordinary hunters.
"Report the deaths to the Association. Give first aid to the injured hunters for now."
Proper treatment wouldn't be possible until they reached Europe—specifically Warsaw, Poland. At Lee Se-eun's words, one of Janabi's hunters asked with concern,
"Will the warlords cooperate?"
Lee Se-eun nodded.
"They'll have to. Unless they want to be destroyed."
This wasn't just any dispute—it involved injured hunters. For minor friction, there might've been room for negotiation, but Lee Se-eun didn't negotiate on matters like this.
"Get in touch with them now. Which warlord controls the area?"
"Mazurka."
A warlord who holds Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania in the palm of their hand.
"They own multiple plantations and mines across all three regions."
Mazurka's plantations produce wheat, potatoes, and rye, and they also extract underground resources like coal and oil.
"Which hunter companies are contracted with Mazurka?"
To farm and mine in land that dangerous, contracting hunters is a given.
"Dolce, Esprit, and Night Sky. Those three."
"Contact them too. Tell them Janabi is requesting cooperation—and that we'd appreciate their compliance."
One of Janabi's hunters spoke cautiously after hearing Lee Se-eun's instructions.
"Hunter Lee Se-eun… would it be better to say it's officially from Janabi, rather than—"
"Then use my name."
If they said Janabi made the request, the response might be lukewarm. But if it was Lee Se-eun making the request, the weight of it would be entirely different.
Very few hunters could afford to refuse a request made in Lee Se-eun's name.
"Still… he's incredible."
Yoo Chan-seok's battle was nearly over. With skills like that, he'd shine even in Cheorwon.
"Are you referring to the black flames?"
"Not that."
That wasn't the important part. There are plenty of people who run wild with flashy abilities and die all the same.
"I once saw a guy who could stop time."
"What? With an ability like that, how did he die?"
It wasn't even some overwhelming attack. If anything, it was absurdly simple.
"A sniper shot. He was rampaging around without even realizing he was under attack, and then he was dead."
Since he didn't know an attack was coming, he didn't stop time. And because he didn't stop time, the bullet flew straight through his skull.
He'd always been kind of unlucky, but hearing that someone died while possessing such an ability had still been shocking. When you overestimate your own power and act without caution, the end is rarely a good one.
"His instincts are incredible."
"It's talent."
Calling it talent feels a bit off. Another word for talent is instinct—instinctively reading the opponent and flowing between offense and defense.
But that's not what this is. He doesn't fight in the realm of instinct at all. What he's showing isn't talent—it's closer to seasoned experience.
In the end, the slime, its entire body plastered with black flames, had its core skewered by Yoo Chan-seok's spear, and its life was extinguished.
"Just as you said, Hunter Lee Se-eun. We didn't need to help."
If it had been me, maybe. But if you had stepped in, you would've been more of a hindrance than a help. That thought crossed Lee Se-eun's mind, but she didn't say it aloud.
No need to crush the kids' morale. Besides, Yoo Chan-seok was someone destined to climb into the hell of the upper tiers—he'd hardly ever be working alongside most other hunters anyway.
"Carry out the orders I gave, and get some rest."
After running just a little longer, they'd exit this erosion zone.
"For now, we'll just pass through."
But someday, if the opportunity arises, this erosion zone blocking the way will need to be dealt with properly.