How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

Min Jae-yoon and Shinvahron looked at me with wide eyes. Dum Dum had an indescribable expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Seriously.”

“If you’re going, then take me with you.”

“It’s dangerous.”

I was taken aback by that statement.

“Do you think it’s not dangerous for you?”

Despite my reasonable rebuttal, Dum Dum only said what he wanted to.

“I’m a hero. I have to protect people at the gate.”

“Does being a hero mean you’re exempt from danger?”

“It’s my job. I can’t burden others.”

I approached Dum Dum, who kept repeating the same words, and strongly gripped his shoulder. My teeth clenched involuntarily.

“Right, Hero. No, Park Si-woo.”

That’s you.

I pushed him to the ground. He surprisingly fell easily.

“You were the one who said to rely on your friends.”

I had no idea what kind of expression I was making.

“So I relied on you.”

Seeing his face contort in a way I had never seen before made me realize my expression must be quite a mess.

“But you don’t.”

All this time, I had only received comfort from this guy, and I really had no idea what to say to support him in return.

“I don’t care that you’re a hero. You’re still my friend.”

I still had things I wanted to say.

So I squeezed my voice out. I shouted.

“What kind of fool just stands by while their friend jumps into danger alone! Let me protect you too, you idiot!”

I want you to know that you’re not just someone I need to protect.

“I want to be your friend! I don’t want to be saved!”

I want us to support each other, rely on one another, and overcome dangers side by side as friends.

His deep blue eyes widened. The moisture in them resembled the depths of the sea.

“I’m a hero. I shouldn’t carelessly drag anyone into this.”

“Do I look like someone who would be carelessly dragged in?”

“…No.”

“Good. Then just shut up and respect my wishes. This is a conclusion I came to after careful consideration.”

At my words, he finally burst into laughter.

Clang!

The sound of a sword falling to the ground could be heard, and he covered his eyes with both arms. His laughter gradually transformed into a tearful cry.

Eventually, he burst into sobs.

This was a sight I had never seen from him, who was always so composed; it truly looked like something from our age group.

“If you have a hard time, just tell me anytime.”

I remembered the words he had said to me before and added, and he responded with a voice filled with tears.

“Hey, can I talk about that hard thing now?”

That was something I had said last time.

I laughed.

“Of course.”

He opened his mouth. A brief statement burst forth from his lips.

“I have to end the gate because I took over from my grandmother.”

“Let the predecessors deal with their own mess. You have living predecessors, like that, what’s their name, Yggdrasil or something.”

As I grumbled, Dum Dum chuckled softly.

“I’m a hero, so I have to step up.”

“If we’re talking about that, our commander, Na Yoo-han, should be leading the world. You’re still a student hero, so just focus on your duties as a student. Okay?”

“Won’t people complain?”

“Those who complain are the real idiots.”

I said nonchalantly.

“If anyone complains, bring them to me. I’ll deal with them.”

At that, Dum Dum burst into laughter. What’s so funny? I’m serious.

Anyway, after sharing a good laugh, Dum Dum said,

“Even if that’s not the reason, I still want to save people.”

“Oh, really? Then let’s go. It’s a crisis, so I won’t say much.”

I climbed down from Dum Dum’s position and adjusted my Meister gun. Dum Dum also chuckled and grabbed his holy sword again.

“Wait, what did you say?”

At that moment, Shinbaran, who had momentarily lost his composure in this shocking situation, regained his senses and looked stunned. I kindly responded,

“I’m going to the battlefield.”

Hearing that, Min Jae-yoon timidly raised his hand.

“I want to go too…!”

“Jae-yoon!”

“I’m worried about everyone…! I want to do anything!”

Shinbaran looked at the three of us in disbelief, then let out a deep sigh and took out his weapon.

“I have no choice then. I’ll go too.”

“Really, you too, Shinbaran?”

That was unexpected. I thought persuading Shinbaran would be the hardest. To my question, Shinbaran replied with a feigned nonchalance.

“I don’t want to be a burden… I don’t want to cause you trouble!”

Then, with a subdued voice, he tightly gripped his bow.

“I… I don’t want to see my sister getting pushed back like this.”

If that’s the case, I nodded and took out four teleportation tickets from my pocket.

“Here. These are teleportation items. Tear them and go wherever you want.”

“…Couldn’t we have just used this from the beginning?”

I averted my gaze from Shinbaran and laughed awkwardly. I was going to give them once they decided where to go. Thankfully, everyone chose the battlefield.

“I’ll start explaining the plan.”

At my words, everyone’s attention turned to me. It was a simple plan, but it was better than having none.

I carefully chose my words and conveyed my plan to everyone.

“Then, let’s go!”

Everyone, ready, tore their teleportation tickets.

All of their figures vanished into the south.

***

Shinbaran and I took a position inside the fortress, at a reasonable distance from the front line.

Using my clairvoyance, I noticed that not only the center but also several barriers had already begun to crack.

I hurriedly pulled out the goblin fire that the scammer had returned to me. The blue lantern was shaped like a lotus flower.

As I tied the goblin fire to one of Shinbaran’s arrows, I said, “Infuse it with mana and shoot it right away. Got it?”

“Okay!”

Shinbaran leaned against the wall at an angle and prepared his stance. A cold, eerie wind began to blow.

And then.

Bang—!

The blue flames erupted.

– What’s going on? Where are we!?

– C-Commander?

– Is this really the time!? Just hurry up and help!

As the arrow aimed at the opposite window was about to exit the fortress, the ability of the goblin fire to transport allies was activated.

The hunters who were suddenly moved to the central fortress were momentarily confused, but soon regained their composure and joined the battle like veterans.

The light arrow that exited the fortress and shot into the hole in the barrier immediately drew the attention of the monsters.

Kiaaaah—!

Flying monsters began to fight each other to grab the goblin fire. The monsters on the ground also flocked toward the goblin fire, drawn to its glow.

I anxiously watched the scene.

My clairvoyance skill allows me to see things better within my field of vision. The goblin fire was obscured by the horde of monsters, making it difficult to see.

“How’s it looking?”

In response to my question, Shinbaran, who also had a clairvoyance skill, replied, “It’s turning redder and redder.”

Shinbaran’s clairvoyance skill was similar to a scoped vision. He could see targets that were very far away and those that were obscured, but the field of view was narrow compared to the distance.

Recently, through training, he had increased his range of sight for closer distances, but it was still lacking compared to mine. So we were both using our clairvoyance skills to assess the situation.

“Ugh…”

I bit my lip.

It seemed like the goblin fire had been noticed, but… why is that spider moving so slowly?!

I found myself blaming the tier boss for being sluggish, tied up with Shinbaran’s party.

At that moment, the tier boss and Shinbaran’s party turned their gazes.

– L-look here! No, over here!

At the end of that gaze were Min Jae-yoon, exuding dark mana, and Dum Dum, who was holding him up while raising the shining blue twilight.

– What are those guys doing!?

The shocked voice of Choi Garam came through the communicator vividly.

Among the monsters in the tower, there were no monsters with holy attributes. Only humans could be born with such attributes.

Maybe that’s why the tower’s monsters reacted quite hostilely to those with holy attributes.

Let alone if it’s the blue twilight emitting top-tier holy attribute mana? They couldn’t help but react.

Seeing the tier boss finally moving toward Min Jae-yoon gave me a sense of relief.

– O-oh, it’s coming! Wow! Looks like the attack worked!

But why is Min Jae-yoon being carried on Dum Dum’s back?

Among Min Jae-yoon’s tasks, there are situations where she needs to run quickly, but her speed is slow. Of all of us, Dum Dum is the most agile.

– I’ll run.

Dum Dum quickly began to distance himself from the fortress. The sound of chaos from the hunters could be heard over the communicator, but they paid no mind.

I spoke to them through the communicator.

– You’re doing well. Don’t worry and keep going.

– Kang Nahyun! Is that you too!?

I could hear Choi Garam’s furious shout in response to my voice.

Min Jae-yoon, trembling, pulled something from her inventory. It was something I had given her beforehand.

[Giant Mushroom – 100 Points] – Grows to about 50m for 5 minutes.
As soon as Min Jae-yoon swallowed the mushroom, her body began to grow gradually.

As she became heavier, Dum Dum quickly released her and jumped above her head when she had grown to about the height of a three-story apartment.

Now towering in size, Min Jae-yoon became visible even without clairvoyance.

Kiaaaah—!

Perhaps feeling a sense of crisis from Min Jae-yoon’s gigantic figure and the holy mana being emitted by Dum Dum, the tier boss attempted to thrust its long, grotesque leg down toward Min Jae-yoon.

However, that leg was swiftly severed by a beautiful blue light.

“Open wide!”

Min Jae-yoon’s voice rang out thunderously.

While Dum Dum and Shinbaran’s party, who had joined him, fought against the tier boss’s leg, Min Jae-yoon grabbed the tier boss’s jaw with both hands.

– W-What’s going on!?

Shouts of shock could be heard, but I brushed them aside. There were more urgent matters at hand.

I steadied my stance and spoke to Shinbaran.

“Take the shot.”

“Okay.”

I recalled the practice I had done under Yggdrasil, controlling the power of the mana bullets before I obtained the Meister weapon.

At that moment, the only person capable of placing the goblin fire into that damn spider’s mouth without immediately activating its self-destruct feature was me.

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Shinbaran shot arrows at the wings of the monsters around the goblin fire, bringing them crashing down. Among the barrage of light arrows from his skill, a glimpse of red flames could be seen between the collapsing horde of monsters.

Just as it was obscured again by numerous monsters,

Bang—!

I fired my gun.