F-Class Destiny Hunter

Chapter 6

-Eujik, euji-jik.…

The smell of blood wafted in the air along with the sound of bones being chewed, but it quickly disappeared. The insects ate not only the corpses but also drank the blood, leaving nothing.

"I had my doubts about them being supporting characters, and it seems my suspicions were valid."

It seemed like Dok Gojun really did consider this new situation to be part of a game or novel, where he saw himself as the protagonist. Thinking back, he also treated others as supporting characters during the sect integration meeting. Shin Sooah disliked this guy a lot. Even now, she was looking at him with disbelief.

"A character... What on earth are you talking about?"

"Let's talk about that later. Let's take care of this matter for now."

Dok Gojun looked at the enormous insect that was completely engrossed in its meal, but there weren't many corpses left.

"If we kill this thing, the tutorial should be over!"

I noticed Dok Gojun tightly gripping his metal pipe. And as soon as he finished speaking, Dok Gojun rushed towards the monster. When he swung the pipe, the sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard.

-Kkiik!

At that sound, Dok Gojun smiled quietly but it was soon frozen in his face. On the ground, there were about ten or twenty insects, dozens of them. The empty flesh of the giant insect that was cause by Dok Gojun’s strike was quickly replenished. Although they were of the same species, this gigantic worm was completely different from the worms we had just faced.

[Name] Enormous Silkworm

[Rank] Insect First Class

[Description] A monster formed by numerous silkworms. All silkworms must be individually defeated. It has the same eating habits as the silkworms.

Although it had a low rank, it was a type of monster that required a slightly more complicated strategy. Weapons like spears or swords couldn't deal much damage to it. It was best to smash it and its parts with blunt weapons or burn them all at once. Unfortunately, neither of these methods were available for us at this moment.

"It seems like this is a disadvantageous match-up. Of course, this much...Ugh!"

Just as Dok Gojun was about to step back, several insects crawled up his legs. Left without any place to escape, the insects was able to swiftly bit into his flesh.

"Dok Gojun, be careful!" Shin Sooah urgently shouted.

She quickly grabbed a nearby piece of lumber and swung it towards the monster. A dull thud was heard, but soon Shin Sooah's face turned pale.

"What on earth is this?!"

-Gagak, gagak...!

The insects clung to the lumber as if they were waiting for it. And in an instant, they devoured the wood as if it were cheese.

[Ability 'Radiant Flame' has been activated!]

Before the insects could latch onto Shin Sooah, I quickly activated my ability. As I shot flames towards the insects, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The bugs screamed as their bodies were engulfed in flames.

Unfortunately, as expected of a Insect Third Class ability, it wasn't particularly powerful. At best, the fire was the size of a golf ball, but it seemed sufficient as a threat. However, it was only a threat and not enough to kill the enormous insect.

"Are you okay?" Shin Sooah asked, checking Dok Gojun's condition.

His right arm had deep holes, and blood was flowing from the wounds. He covered the wounds with his hand and said,

"I'm fine. Thanks to you, I'm alive."

Even though his clothes was soaked in blood, he was still smiling. Then he turned his gaze toward me; his eyes had a strange glimmer.

"You, did you say your name was Seo Gangrim? Thanks to you, too. It looks good to have you as an ally."

He was still saying strange things. With a smiling face, he glanced at the gigantic worm, and asked,

"Seo Gangrim, do you think we can kill that thing?"

"It would be better to run away."

Fire was indeed an effective weapon against the monster, but my ability’s firepower was insufficient to completely defeat it. Moreover, my magical power was very limited, further limiting my usage of the ability.

Right now, the monster was focused on guarding, but if we fight it again, we would definitely lose. Hence, we had no choice but to run away and buy some time. If we could delay a little longer, the Destiny Protection Bureau would arrive.

I quickly conveyed my plan to the two of them,

"Let's escape now. I'll try to throw more fire at it, so run away in the meantime."

The monster was still wary of my firepower. And it seemed to have already eaten enough that it might lose interest in us.

"Escape, huh? If that happens, the plot..." Dok Gojun was muttering something.

Was he still thinking nonsense? When Shin Sooah nudged him, he seemed to come to his senses and he looked at me.

"When I give the signal, run immediately. Understand? Run in different directions to distract it."

They both nodded. I then ignited a small flame again and unleashed it towards the monster.

-Whoosh!

When the flame flew towards the giant worm’s head, it screamed and writhed in pain. At the same time, we split up and ran in three different directions. Then, thousands of eyes stared at me.

-Keek!

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The monster seemed to have realized that it wouldn't die from the level of my flame and turned towards me, charging. It was prioritizing me, the one who shot the fire.

"Oh, so this development, huh…" I heard Dok Gojun's voice.

Looking at the source of the sound, Dok Gojun and Shin Sooah had arrived at the exit. Dok Gojun was looking at me with a face filled with enlightenment.

“It’s a pattern where a powerful enemy comes out, an ally dies, and the main character awakens because of that. This woman looks like a heroine.”

Dok Gojun's voice was full of excitement, as if he was watching something interesting.

He smiled brightly and said, "Seo Gangrim, I won't forget your sacrifice."

Then, he grabbed Shin Sooah and immediately left. I now understood why Shin Sooah hated him. If they had just run away, I wouldn't have thought much of it.

-Kiiik...!

The monster was getting closer and closer to me. It seemed I had no choice but to hold out until the Destiny Protection Bureau arrived. While looking for an opportunity to strike, however, a sharp voice came from the direction of the exit.

"What heroine? You crazy bastard!"

Along with the voice of anger, Shin Sooah jumped back inside, and then shouted towards me,

"Gangrim, I'll attract its attention, so run away!"

As soon as she appeared, Shin Sooah started swinging the lumber she’s holding. Due to her, the monster seemed momentarily confused, and the moment it turned its attention towards her I immediately shot flames at it.

-Boom!

"Look at me, not elsewhere."

Being attacked from both sides, the giant insect seemed slightly disoriented, but it would recover soon. And in the end, it chose me as its target and bared its teeth. It roared in anger and tried to bite my shoulder. I hurriedly dodged the attack, but I couldn't completely avoid it. The teeth of some insects latched at my arm, and blood gushed out in an instant.

"Ugh...!"

I desperately used the flames to remove the insects, but I was reaching my limit. I didn't have much magical power left. At best, I could use Radiant Flame once more.

-Kiieeeek...!

The insects seemed like they had also realized that fact, and more of them started crawling towards me. Was there anything I could use as a weapon? I quickly looked around, and my eyes fell on the piled materials in one corner.

I urgently shouted at Shin Sooah, "Shin Sooah! Use the Way of the Forest!"

"There's no trees nearby...!"

"Try using the logs!"

I thought of the silkworms that madly gnawed at the wood earlier. Their diet consists mainly of animals, humans, and vegetation. The ‘Way of the Forest’ could be used if there's soil or wood nearby. I'm not sure if it would work with dead logs like the ones we have, but if Shin Sooah, a Divine-ranked individual, there's a good chance she might be able to pull it off.

At this moment, a notification sound was heard.

[The ability 'Way of the Forest' is activated!]

Shin Sooah’s pupils seemed to have shone for a moment, and buds began to sprout and branches started to grow from the logs she held. Not only that, but buds were also growing from the logs scattered throughout the construction site. The numerous vines then started entangling the insects, restraining them. And just before the giant insect could bite me, it got entangled in the vines and thrashed violently.

"It's done! Now let's just run away...!" Shin Sooah urgently shouted

-Ki-iiing!

The restrained giant insect struggled and then quickly began to gnaw on the vines. Her attacks didn't inflict any damage. On the contrary, the giant insect seemed to recover as it crazily gnawed on the wood.

"Gangrim, dodge!"

Shin Sooah’s face was filled with despair as she desperately tried to stop the giant insect. But I neither escaped nor despaired. In the first place, I never thought that the giant insect would be defeated just by her ability alone.

[The ability ‘Radiant Flame’ has been activated!]

Gathering all of my magical power, I unleashed flames towards the giant insect. In an instant, the flames spread to the vines.

-Fwwoooooosh!

However, the fire was weak, and it didn't seem bothered by this level of fire at all. But soon, it became flustered and started thrashing about. The fire was growing, surpassing mere flames on the wood.

Our abilities are based on Four Pillars of Destiny. The logic of Four Pillars of Destiny applies to battles as well. Metal had an antagonistic relation to wood, killing the wood. Therefore, conversely, there was a combination that supports each other. Wood was fuel to fire. No matter how small the flame, it could grow as long as there was wood.

At this moment, a notification window appeared before my eyes.

"The ability of 'Shin Sooah' nurtures the ability of 'Seo Gangrim'!"

"The ability 'Radiant Flames' temporarily evolves from Insect Third Class to Insect First Class!"