Parong jumped down into the Poison Mist spread across the floor.
Then, his belly rippled as he breathed diligently.
(Inhale! Exhale. Inhale! Exhale.)
“??”
What is going on?
While I was debating whether I should quickly pick him up, the little guy took an even deeper breath.
(Inhaaaaale—!)
Then, as if his belly was full of Poison Mist, he waddled forward and exhaled as hard as he could.
It was clearly a purple hue when it entered because it was Poison Mist, but after he spat it out, transparent air filled the empty space.
- Parong has done something!
Everyone watched Parong with bated breath.
As if conscious of the attention, he repeated the process of inhaling and exhaling even more diligently.
The Poison Mist was gradually scattering—no, it was being sucked into Parong and disappearing.
Without any sign of exhaustion, Parong eventually devoured it all.
Is it a Skill?
Otherwise, there’s no way that tiny body could handle that much Poison Mist….
(Pha- hah….)
I picked up Parong, who had flopped down as if exhausted.
[ Parong – Guardian ]
A Guardian born from a Green Onion.
Uses a Green Onion like a spear to keep enemies at bay or stabs them to block their movements.
- Active Skill: (1) Breath of Detoxification, (2) ??
- Passive Skill: (1) Spear of Infinity, (2) ??
Active Skill (1) – Breath of Detoxification: Inhibits the growth of surrounding bacteria and viruses through breathing. Deep breathing consumes a large amount of energy but can detoxify harmful air.
Passive Skill (1) – Spear of Infinity: Uses infinitely growing Green Onions as weapons. Even if they are pulled out and used like disposables, they grow back before you know it.
Parong’s Information Window had become more detailed than before.
The Active and Passive Skills, which were once full of question marks, had appeared one by one.
‘Ah. That diligent breathing earlier was the Breath of Detoxification.’
It was amazing.
He had detoxified the Poison Mist filling the crater-like wide and deep Pit in an instant.
Captivated by the detailed Skill information of Parong, which I was seeing for the first time, I was late to notice that the sentence at the very bottom had disappeared.
- Due to a lack of a catalyst, no Skills have manifested yet.
That sentence.
I often forget his presence because we are always attached like one body, but I thought it was a good thing I brought him to Eliya.
Because by facing the Poison Mist, he was able to gain the catalyst for his Skills to bloom.
“…That’s incredible.”
Starting with Minjun’s low exclamation of admiration, cheers erupted from the party.
“Whoa! What is this?!”
Starting with Suyeon, who asked about Parong’s significance,
“Brother! I thought he was just a decoration you wore on your shoulder!”
Jinsu, who thought of me as some strange fashion terrorist.
And finally, Park Janghyeon, whom I had thought was quiet and polite, stood there with his mouth agape.
In the moment I was stroking Parong’s bulging belly out of sheer embarrassment, Minjun raised his hand high.
“Wait! Everyone, be quiet!”
Grrr.
Kyakh—!
The low growls of beasts echoed from somewhere.
Following the direction of the sound, I turned my gaze toward the landscape below that was revealed now that the Poison Mist was gone.
It was swarming with various insect Monsters.
And they were dripping what looked like either poison or saliva toward us.
In an instant, my hands trembled involuntarily.
Looking at the place where the Poison Mist had vanished, memories of the past flashed by.
My breathing began to quicken.
“Brother, are you okay?”
I snapped back to reality at Minjun’s worried voice.
“Ah… Yeah. I’m okay.”
I tried to smile, but looking at Minjun’s expression, it seemed my anxiety was plain to see.
Minjun placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I shouldn’t have brought you…. Don’t overdo it. Unlike back then, I’m here with you now.”
At those words, a sense of relief washed over me like a lie, but the fear still hadn’t faded.
My hands were shaking.
“Kyaa! They look so scary. Sister Kasia, were there Monsters like that in Eliya too?!”
- Hmph! I see them for the first time as well. They look quite fierce, as if they might pounce and bite at any moment.
As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Several insect Monsters spread their wings and flapped them powerfully.
Then, they closed the distance in a single breath and flew toward us.
“Prepare for battle!”
At Minjun’s shout, everyone took a combat stance, but I was still frozen in place.
Memories of the past kept rushing in, making it hard to even breathe.
Just then, Jinsu ran up and stood in front of me.
“Brother, you have us. We can overcome this if we’re together.”
I came to my senses at Jinsu’s words.
Right, I’m not alone.
We are together.
I took a deep breath and clenched my fists.
It’s different now from that helpless time.
We will fight together.
“Thanks, Jinsu. I’m okay now.”
I slowly raised my head and looked at the approaching Monsters.
The fear was still there, but now I had the courage to face it.
If they were typical insect Monsters, I would know the method for fighting them.
However, these were all species I was seeing for the first time.
I have to follow the standard combat method of blocking while taking as little damage as possible to figure out their patterns.
‘The numbers are a bit high for that, though.’
I described them as “several” because they were only a small portion of the numerous insect Monsters at the bottom of the Pit, but there were dozens of them.
It easily exceeded the number of Monsters Minjun could handle alone.
“Janghyun! Jinsu! Each of you take one down as quickly as possible! Suyeon! Take care of the non-combatants and focus on supporting the damage dealers!”
Minjun issued the orders.
Simultaneously, Jinsu leaped to Minjun’s left and Park Janghyeon to the right, handling the Monsters flying in the lead in their own ways.
The sight was incredibly natural.
Is this how A-Rank Hunters fight?
Just then, Kasia pointed at the Monsters and shouted.
- That, that is a Mantis! Next to it is a Mosquito Monster, and behind them is a Moth Monster!
“Eh?! Those are?!”
Suyeon couldn’t believe Kasia’s words, and it was understandable.
Until a moment ago, their appearances were so different that one would think they were insect Monsters never seen before.
“It really is a Mantis! The serrated forelegs! And the one behind has a sharp needle on its snout!”
Looking closely, just as Kasia said, they possessed bits and pieces of the insects I knew.
However, the Mantis Monster had four sickle-like forelegs, and the thing I thought was a Mosquito Monster had a thick, curved snout with a massive amount of thorns attached.
It was as if they had been transformed.
“Could it be a Mutation?!”
I couldn’t know the reason, but it seemed like evolution or Mutation had occurred from the insects I originally knew.
There was one commonality among them: their skin color was purple.
Thanks to Kasia’s quick wit, we were able to identify the enemies’ identities.
“You heard her! We go with the same response methods as the battles in Eliya!”
Though we had avoided them as much as possible, we had encountered many insect Monsters while coming here.
This meant we had added experience on top of the counter-strategies we had studied beforehand.
It was a battle we absolutely could not lose.
“Ugh. Janghyun! Don’t face them head-on! These guys’ Force is incredible!”
Jinsu, who was in a contest of strength with his twin swords against the Mantis Monster’s serrated blades, shouted.
Seeing Jinsu being pushed back bit by bit, I could feel how strong the Monsters’ Force was.
Still, things were relaxed on Park Janghyeon’s side.
This was because he had scattered cold air around, making the Monsters’ movements sluggish.
Frost was visible on the Monsters’ wings, so it seemed he was exerting as much Force as possible.
‘I can’t just stay like this.’
Suyeon had already joined the battle.
Even though she stayed with us, she was casting various buffs on our allies.
Kasia and I couldn’t just stand here idly.
“Kasia, let’s join in too!”
- Of course! I was already preparing.
Kasia used a Water Spirit to rapidly increase the humidity around Park Janghyeon.
To the point where moisture formed beads in the air.
“Judgment of Freezing!”
As Park Janghyeon used a powerful technique, the water droplets in the air rapidly froze along the direction of his thrust spear, freezing all the insect Monsters in its path.
It was a collaboration with Kasia.
Following that, Kasia summoned a Wind Spirit to add the wind attribute to Jinsu’s flaming sword.
The sword, which was already burning brightly, flared up even more intensely.
Jinsu slaughtered the Monsters, burning the contact surfaces whenever his sword grazed them.
‘I’m glad Kasia is playing an active role.’
As expected, Kasia truly is the Daughter of Elia.
As I watched Kasia’s exploits, I suddenly felt pathetic for doing nothing.
I opened both my palms, but since I had no weapons or Abilities, a sense of futility washed over me.
One might ask what a Farmer is doing in a battle, but my original dream was to be a Hunter.
I want to be in that mix, fighting Monsters too.
I want to be of help.
Just then, the Moth Monsters soared into the air and began to scatter something with their wingbeats.
Glittering powder falling down.
Monsters scattering powder?
One must be suspicious of that above all else.
Whether it’s poison powder or sleeping powder, it’s bound to be harmful.
Those fighting on the front lines didn’t seem to notice the presence of the Moth Monsters flying high in the sky and scattering powder.
Kasia and Suyeon were also busy assisting them.
I hesitated for a moment, but soon made up my mind.
It’s time for me to step forward.
‘Use Communication-Sharing! Target is Parong!’
As I used the Ability toward Parong, I felt a strong line connecting me and Parong, who was perched on my shoulder.
A thick, sturdy line that felt like it wouldn’t break no matter what I did.
The ‘Communication-Sharing’ Ability is the power to partially share Stats or Skills with the target I am in Sympathy with.
From the moment I felt the Sympathy line with Parong, I could sense what new Abilities I could perform.
None other than Parong’s Skills!
First, I decided to handle the powder sent by the Moths that had fallen close by.
“Breath of Detoxification!”
A Skill name is best when shouted out loud.
“Inhaaaaale—!”
I had simply taken a deep breath, but the powder scattered over a very wide area was easily sucked into my mouth.
If it were a time when I didn’t know how to use the Skill, I would have thought I’d sneeze if I inhaled all of this, but I didn’t feel that way at all now.
“Exhaaaaale—!”
I couldn’t suck it all in, but the air in this vicinity was instantly purified.
Now it was time to handle the Moth Monsters fluttering in the high places.
“Spear of Infinity!”
I realized right after shouting the Skill name.
I don’t have a Green Onion?
But through my senses, I clearly felt that I just needed to pull a Green Onion.
But the Green Onion attached to Parong is barely the size of a forearm?
I was confused, but I decided to do as my senses dictated.
I wouldn’t know the result without trying.
“Parong, sorry!”
When I first met Parong, I had seen him throw away the spear he was holding and pull out a new one.
Of course, it happened in the blink of an eye so I didn’t see it properly, but I pulled and snapped off a stalk of Green Onion from the back of Parong’s head(?) as similarly as possible to that time.
Then, the Green Onion Spear grew larger until it was the right size for my hand.
I had never thrown a spear before, but I had thrown a shovel a few times out of frustration.
Recalling that sensation, I threw the Green Onion Spear with all my might at a Moth Monster that was fluttering about.
Whoosh—
The Green Onion Spear unfortunately missed the Moth Monster’s body, but it pierced through its wing.
The Moth Monster tumbled helplessly to the ground.
It flapped its wings laboriously to fly again.
But it’s no use playing the victim like that!
I pulled another Green Onion Spear from Parong and threw it.
Perhaps because the distance was closer this time, it accurately pierced the Moth Monster’s abdomen.
I had defeated a Monster on my own.
‘I did it…! I can catch a Monster by myself too!’
While I repeated aiming and throwing at the next Moth Monster, the party approached.
It seemed they had defeated all the winged Monsters.
“Brother, that’s amazing! Your javelin skills are no joke.”
“I just threw it thinking I was throwing a shovel, and it worked well. Haha.”
“Now that I think about it, didn’t you borrow Agility or something from me when you caught Yeongjin Jeon last time?”
Are you only asking that now?
“Right. I can borrow Stats or Skills from a target I’ve established Sympathy with.”
“Whoa! Then, can you use my Healing Skill too?!”
“Shall we try it once?”
Could I use the Healing Skill, the royalty of the Superhuman System?
‘Use Communication-Sharing! Target is Han Suyeon!’
At that, Suyeon’s eyes widened.
“Oh! So this is the Alert Window! I-I’ll accept!”
The knowledge of how to use the Healing Skill came to my mind.
“Wave of Healing.”
I cast the Skill on Jinsu.
“Oh! It feels exactly the same as when Suyeon uses it! You’re a total cheat character!”
“Really?! You’re amazing!”
Minjun looked at me with surprised eyes and then gave a wide grin.
Then, his gaze turned toward Kasia.
“Good job, everyone. Especially Kasia. Your battle sense was incredible.”
Minjun praised Kasia in a nonchalant manner.
- Hoho. Many Spirits live in Eliya, so I can exert my full Force.
Only after finishing the battle did we have time to look inside the Pit.
At the very bottom, light purple protrusions were growing in abundance, and plants that looked like Trnalpria were growing in between them.
“What are those protrusions? Kasia, have you ever seen them before?”
- I have never seen them. Hmm…. They aren’t protrusions, I think they are… eggs?
Perhaps because she lived in the forest, Kasia had much better eyesight than a Human.
To our eyes, they only looked like protrusions, but to Kasia, they seemed like some kind of eggs.
“Uh? The eggs are breaking!”
With Jinsu’s shout, cracks began to appear on the surface of some eggs.
We watched tensely, not knowing what would emerge, and insect Monsters were born from the eggs.
“Monsters again.”
“Damn it, we just finished fighting.”
While everyone was preparing for battle, Minjun stepped forward and stopped them.
“Wait. It’s different from before.”
Looking closely, there were Monsters with wings, but also some without.
And their skin was not purple, unlike the insect Monsters we had just faced.
In case they might react to loud noises and attack, we waited with bated breath, and the winged Monsters flew off somewhere.
- Ah! Where are those Monsters going!
Looking in the direction Kasia pointed, there was a Cave that was hard to see, hidden inside the Pit.
And all the Monsters without wings walked into it.
“What on earth is happening?”
As expected, Kasia answered that she didn’t know this time either.
It’s certain that something unusual is happening….
If even an Elf who lived in Eliya doesn’t know, what on earth could it be?