NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
Chapter 27: Giant Cat Monster (5)
The shattered glass shards from the broken window scattered into the air.
The blue sky and clouds felt much closer than usual, with the scorching sun overhead.
The moment Kim Si-hu broke the window and stepped outside, he felt as if time had paused momentarily.
But that was just an illusion.
The mass of their bodies, weighed down by gravity, could not resist and fell downwards.
Whoosh—
With a surge of power, Kim Si-hu’s staff emanated a green light.
Wrapping himself in shields through survival instinct, Kim Si-hu struggled to regain control.
Yoo Ji-han shouted at him.
“Levitation!!”
Levitation.
A spell that slows down the descent of falling objects.
<—The probability of safely landing using magic when I and Kim Si-hu fall from the 20th floor of the apartment>
As before, the probability did not appear.
What an unfortunate ability to be unhelpful at the crucial moment.
Yet, Yoo Ji-han trusted his instincts.
[Levitation]
“I was just about to use it!”
Kim Si-hu cast the spell he had been preparing even before Yoo Ji-han shouted.
Suddenly, their rate of descent sharply decreased.
‘At this rate, I’ll probably break an arm or a leg.’
However, the speed wasn’t consistent nor stable, and it was not the optimal scene that Yoo Ji-han had hoped for.
Kim Si-hu cried out against the retreating sky.
“But I’m still inexperienced with Gravity Magic!!”
Gravity magic is fundamentally different in structure and form from basic elemental magic.
Kim Si-hu was quite proficient in elemental magic, but he still had much to learn outside of that.
Even if he was an Rank 4 Hero, there was still a significant gap compared to a Rank 2 like Lim Si-yeon or experienced high-level mages.
But Yoo Ji-han had anticipated this.
“Wind Bomb to the ground!”
“……!!”
“Not just one, stack them!”
Biting his lip, Kim Si-hu cast the spell while watching the approaching ground.
[Wind Bomb]
[Wind Bomb]
[Wind Bomb]
…….
…….
Large spheres of magic energy lined up at the tip of his staff like stringing Vienna sausages.
Over thirty of them fell faster than Kim Si-hu and Yoo Ji-han combined.
And the moment they connected with the ground……!
Whoosh—!
Whoooosh——!
The Wind Bombs detonated all at once, creating an incomprehensibly large wind.
The force of the wind was so strong that trees nearby swayed as if about to be uprooted, and the tires of parked cars lifted slightly off the ground.
“Whoa……!”
The two of them were blown about like dust in the air.
Kim Si-hu clutched his hat as if shouting in panic.
Yoo Ji-han concentrated magic into his legs and feet, widening his stance shoulder-width apart while firmly holding onto Kim Si-hu.
The wind generated by the Wind Bombs began to weaken gradually.
Thud!
Moments later, Yoo Ji-han landed on the ground with a stability startlingly reminiscent of a cat dropping from a height.
“Phew, phew…!”
“Great job.”
Thud!
Kim Si-hu went down on his knees, collapsing on the ground.
His heart raced, and his legs trembled.
Fortunately, neither of them had sustained serious injuries or significant shocks.
Yoo Ji-han felt a tingling sensation in his feet and knees, but that was about it.
‘Has it already taken effect?’
Since he hadn’t even stumbled, perhaps the brew of Giant Cat Monster whiskers he drank had begun to show results.
Though it was questionable if effects could be felt from just one or two days of consumption.
In any case, it was nice that they hadn’t been hurt.
“Next time, please say something before jumping…!”
“More importantly, focus for a second. Something’s off around here.”
After descending to the first floor, Yoo Ji-han surveyed the surroundings.
He could hear people screaming and the sounds of clashes, alongside the growling of Giant Cat Monsters coming from all around the apartment complex.
While battles with monsters were very common in Monster Areas (MAs), the problem was that this was happening simultaneously in too many places.
The incident was not isolated to the apartment unit they were in, 209.
“Let’s head that way.”
“I’m now below half my magic power.”
“Stay close behind me.”
The two moved toward the nearest source of the Giant Cat Monster’s growls.
Thud! Thud!
With each step they took, the vibrations and noise grew louder.
The unexpected figure they encountered at their destination was none other than—
‘Min Yu-ri?!’
More than thirty Giant Cat Monsters surrounded the parked cars outside.
Min Yu-ri, who they had encountered at the entrance, was battling numerous Giant Cats atop a vehicle.
Even worse, additional Giant Cats were appearing from somewhere, growing in real-time.
Kim Si-hu muttered, stunned.
“What’s with the sheer number……. This is just ridiculous.”
Thud!
Min Yu-ri leaped from the roof of a vehicle to the roof of a large SUV to evade the Giant Cat coming up from behind her.
Aiming her bow downwards, she prepared to shoot.
Instead of actual arrows, she conjured translucent magical arrows woven from her mana on the string.
“Flick! Flick!”
Blocking the monsters below by himself was Chilla.
A battle between two sorts of monsters!
Though it seemed the advantage lay with Chilla.
With its long tail, Chilla restrained a Giant Cat’s body and slammed it hard into the ground.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack—!
With relentless blows, the Giant Cat quickly turned into a pile of meat.
The remaining ones rushed toward Chilla.
However, its fur and skin were quite tough, so even when the Giant Cats bit or slashed with their claws, there was little effect.
Their movements were also agile, like wild animals, so any that attempted to leap at Min Yu-ri were mostly blocked by him.
Chinchillas are part of the rodent family, resembling a scene out of an American cartoon where mice take down cats.
‘A nimble tank and a ranged dealer combination.’
The combination was reminiscent of a tank drawing the enemy’s attention while a ranged dealer attacked.
Although it was a hero and a tamed pet rather than two heroes, the synergy appeared quite stable.
But there were just too many enemies rushing at them.
No matter how tough Chilla’s skin was, if its eyes or thin ears were attacked, it would sustain significant damage.
‘If we jump in there…….’
<—If me and Kim Si-hu fight with Min Yu-ri, the probability of defeating the Giant Cats in front of us>
<84%>
It couldn’t be called perfect, but there was ample potential.
“I’ll charge straight through. Stick close behind me.”
“Can’t I just ride on your back?”
“It’ll just get in the way when moving.”
A few of the Giant Cats turned their heads upon noticing the appearance of the new humans.
Yoo Ji-han charged at the creatures surrounding the vehicles.
“Meow!”
The monsters’ movements had become somewhat familiar.
Watching one swing its front paw, Yoo Ji-han slightly altered his sword’s trajectory.
Swish!
The blade sliced between the claws of the Giant Cat, splitting its paw in two.
With Kim Si-hu backing him up closely, he made an unimpeded path ahead.
“Meow?!”
With every swing of his sword, a Giant Cat let out a shriek and fell.
Having grown accustomed to fighting them, his attacks were decreasingly interrupted by their claws.
Protected by Yoo Ji-han, Kim Si-hu unleashed spells with whatever magic power remained in his body.
“……Sweet Fun?”
Min Yu-ri’s eyes widened as she noticed Yoo Ji-han inching forward.
Realizing they were going to fight alongside Chilla, she confidently pulled back her bowstring even more.
Phew!
With the addition of the two heroes, the fight turned significantly more secure.
Though they had jumped in rather unexpectedly, Sweet Fun and Snowflakes surprisingly made a good combination.
They could even execute combo attacks without having practiced together.
“Meow!”
“Haah—!!”
About eight minutes later.
The surviving ones sensed they had no chance against the heroes and all fled.
Finally, Min Yu-ri was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Haah….”
Finding herself in dire straits for the first time in her heroic career had made her hesitant.
It was a sense of crisis she’d never want to experience again.
“Ah, I feel dizzy…”
Kim Si-hu pressed his temples, feeling lightheaded from using so much magic power.
Yoo Ji-han waved his hand toward Min Yu-ri, who lay slumped on the roof.
“Yu-ri! Are you alright?”
“Ah!”
Min Yu-ri hurriedly climbed down from the car’s roof.
She then bowed her head to Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu in thanks.
“Thank you both for your help.”
“I’m glad to see you haven’t sustained any injuries.”
“What on earth is happening outside?”
“I’m not sure myself. It seems all the chaos originated from below ground….”
Could it be that all these Giant Cats were hiding in the underground parking lot?
She didn’t have that information either, as she had been outside.
“Woof!”
“……?!”
At that moment, a sharp meow emerged from under a car.
A small brown poodle walked out from underneath.
“Come here.”
At Min Yu-ri’s beckoning, the poodle wagged its tail and rushed towards her.
“That puppy, it’s the one that its owner was looking for outside….”
“Yeah. The owner was searching for it.”
“We heard about it too. Its name is Choco.”
“I found it wandering around on the first floor by itself.”
“First floor? I heard the house is on the 21st floor.”
Yoo Ji-han was amazed that the poodle made it down from the 21st floor to the first all on its own.
“With the remaining ones all fled… Shall we head out first?”
Though it couldn’t be determined if the victory belonged to the Giant Cats or the heroes, the area turned quiet significantly.
The sounds of chaos from other buildings had ceased.
“Let’s come back for these later.”
The ground was littered with so many Giant Cat corpses that they couldn’t carry them all.
They exited the MA without retrieving the Giant Cats, thinking it best to inform the Hero Department of the situation first.
“You’re safe!”
The Hero Department had already been aware that an incident had occurred.
They hastily gathered the Rank 3 heroes nearby and deployed them to the apartment.
Ordinarily, entry of higher-ranked heroes would be restricted, but exceptions could be made in emergencies like this.
It was better to enlist the aid of superior heroes whenever possible.
“Thank you so, so much…!”
“Woof!”
Choco was safely returned to its owner.
The woman holding Choco burst into tears, thanking them profusely.
“I’ll take care of the Giant Cats we handled today and contact you.”
“Really? That must be such a hassle for you.”
“It’s my way of repaying the help you gave me.”
Min Yu-ri insisted on taking responsibility for dealing with the Giant Cats near the SUV.
She even offered to give Sweet Fun a higher contribution rating, conceding more than half for their help.
Yoo Ji-han had never expected her to be so generous.
“Could I get your phone number, Ji-han?”
“My number?”
“Yeah.”
Min Yu-ri requested his number.
Yoo Ji-han took her mobile phone and entered his number.
“……Hmm! I’ll contact you soon.”
“Sure.”
Did it seem like she was tense as she spoke?
That was Yoo Ji-han’s misconception, at least.
*
The day after.
Having come through a rather intense fight, Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu declared a few days of rest.
Yet, they both found themselves in the office going through the internet news.
– [Shock! Eight heroes dead in the Rank 4 MA in Incheon.]
– [<Hero Commentary> The current MA ranking system requires urgent improvement.]
– [Hero Department: “The rise in the rating of the Giant Cat Monsters requires further discussion.”]
Yesterday’s MA had seen eight fatalities.
The first line of the related news article mentioned that a four-person party had been wiped out while inside the underground parking lot during the incident.
‘Something feels off about this.’
The first appearance of the Monster Area’s Giant Monster mutation occurred in Bucheon.
Then suddenly, the numbers started increasing for Giant Cats as well.
Feeling a bit uneasy about this series of incidents, Yoo Ji-han thought.
“Eight people were killed.”
“The warrior from yesterday is probably included in that count.”
One of the casualties was the Knife-wielding warrior who had attacked Yoo Ji-han.
There was no need to use sampling; it was highly likely that Knife would reach out to Sweet Fun for details on what had happened soon.
Gulp—
Kim Si-hu sipped his cat whisker tea from a mug and said, “Well, their deaths were their party’s fault.”
“You’re right.”
Neither of them felt too guilty.
The cause of the conflict ultimately lay with the opposing party.
In MAs, attacking fellow heroes rather than monsters was seen as a solid taboo.
If it came to assigning blame, there was plenty to say to them.
Right now, it was Sweet Fun’s turn to speak up first.
– [Breaking News! The Giant Cat Monster mutation revealed!]
– [Hero Department: “The world’s first discovery of the Giant Cat Monster mutation in Korea.”]
…….
…….
Aside from the Giant Cats, there was also some rather welcome news.
The mutation they had hunted in Bucheon was finally being revealed to the outside world.
Kim Si-hu, who had received the information first as the Guild Master, said, “They’ll send the mutations this week.”
“Mongdang has already prepared to bring in the chickens.”
“They’ll even be dismantled?”
“They said they’d call in a slaughterer if we wanted.”
“Well, maybe selling it whole wouldn’t be a bad idea…”
The two contemplated how to sell the mutations they planned to auction off.
Should they maintain its intact shape, or dismantle it into chicken breast, leg meat, etc. for separate sales?
There were hardly any previous cases like this, and once determined, it couldn’t be reverted, so they had to be careful in making their decision.
“Oh right! Have you contacted Dice yet?”
“Not yet.”
“We should handle that quickly. It’s not just anyone, it’s a request from a Rank 1 Hero…”
“That’s true.”
Yoo Ji-han pulled out his mobile phone along with Yoon Do-ha’s business card.
He hadn’t even saved Yoon Do-ha’s number in his contacts yet.
<—The chance that the phone number written on this card is the genuine number of the Rank 1 Hero Yoon Do-ha is>
The probability of the card being the real deal wasn’t being calculated.
But there was only one way to find out.
Dialing the number on the card resulted in a familiar ringtone.
The call connected after about five seconds.
—This is Yoon Do-ha.
“This is Yoo Ji-han from Sweet Fun.”
—Oh! Ji-han! You finally called me.
“……”
Yoon Do-ha on the other end of the phone chuckled as if questioning why it had taken so long to contact him.
‘If I annoy a Rank 1 Hero, living in Korea could become quite the challenge…’
Yoo Ji-han thought he should have called right on the day he received the business card.