Chapter 31: Flame and Fury

“…Ber?”

“Whoa. It hatched instantly.”

The deafening sound came from directly in front of the King Medhead.

Hajun clapped quietly, forgetting the situation for a moment.

It was his first time witnessing a creature hatching with his own eyes.

And this wasn’t just any creature—it was a spirit.

“Peep! Peeep!”

“Kreeee!”

“This really is like watching David and Goliath,” Siwoo murmured.

Hajun nodded in agreement.

The scene truly felt like something out of a myth.

“Ber, come here. You’ll get hurt.”

Ber hadn’t even fully hatched yet.

His tiny head was poking out of the eggshell, with only one wing free.

At least both legs were out, so he was standing on the ground.

But to Roy, it looked like Ber could be crushed at any moment by the massive body of the King Medhead.

Back when Ber was a Spirit King, even thousands of Medheads wouldn’t have been a threat.

But now, like Roy, Ber’s powers were sealed.

Ber was a long-lost friend he had finally reunited with.

Just the thought of Ber getting hurt made Roy’s chest throb painfully.

“Peep!”

But Ber thought differently.

He seemed to sense Roy underestimating him and let out a defiant cry before charging straight toward the King Medhead.

“Ber!”

Back when he was the Spirit King, Ber had a calm and dignified personality—though he could be hot-headed like fire at times.

Maybe losing his powers had affected his personality, because now he acted like a rebellious younger sibling.

Roy grabbed his hammer and charged at the King Medhead, aiming for its head.

The creature was so massive that he didn’t need perfect aim—any solid hit would do damage.

“Kreeeek!”

Ber, with his small but sharp talons, dug into the monster’s face and started pecking at its eyes with his beak.

Thanks to him, Roy managed to get around to the back of the King Medhead and strike its head hard enough to leave deep dents.

“Everyone! Attack from this side!”

“Got it!”

At Roy’s shout, the other team members surrounded the monster.

Even Chulhun and Kangchul stepped in this time.

“Kiik! Kik! Kreeek!”

The King Medhead howled in pain, unable to resist.

But the sound of its cry made all the team members grimace in pain.

Blood was dripping from one of Siwoo’s ears.

He was currently the team’s only healer.

If he was seriously hurt, they’d lose a critical part of their fighting strength.

And if Siwoo went down, there’d be no one left to heal the others either.

“If it gets too bad, fall back and rest.”

“…41.”

Roy grabbed Siwoo’s arm and helped him stagger backward.

Siwoo, realizing that his blurred vision made it hard to keep fighting, backed off without protest.

“Hyung… I think more Medheads are coming this way!”

Even though the King Medhead was a level 10 monster, it couldn’t withstand the team’s and Ber’s desperate attacks.

The monster called out to nearby Medheads for backup.

At its command, the lesser Medheads swarmed in from all directions, drawn like moths to a flame.

“Let’s split into two teams. Hajun and I will keep focusing on the King Medhead. The rest of you, take care of the incoming Medheads.”

“You’re not even the team leader…”

“Chulhun.”

“…Fine.”

Just as Chulhun was about to complain, Kangchul placed a hand on his shoulder.

Chulhun shook him off with a grunt but still followed Roy’s lead and engaged the incoming enemies.

Fortunately, Kangchul and Jungwoo were both tanks.

They struggled against the Medheads but managed to hold the line thanks to their increased physical stats from leveling up.

“Hajun, I think we should keep focusing our attacks on one spot.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

The King Medhead didn’t move around much, but it constantly twisted its body, making it hard to land consecutive hits in the same area.

Hajun closed in beside Roy.

Although the monster’s outer shell was tough, repeated blows had weakened certain parts of it.

Roy and Hajun exchanged a look, silently agreeing on a weak spot to target.

They began focusing all their attacks there.

Meanwhile, unlike the two of them, Ber had been relentlessly pecking at the same eye from the beginning.

“Peep!”

“Kreeeek…!”

Ber’s cry sounded triumphant.

He had finally turned one of the King Medhead’s eyes into a bloody mess.

In contrast, the monster’s wails became more desperate, almost like it was throwing a tantrum.

It had summoned the other Medheads for help, but the team had leveled up in the meantime and grown stronger.

The lesser Medheads couldn’t even get close.

One by one, they turned to ash.

And now, even the one creature latched onto its face was going after its remaining eye.

“Peep—!”

***

‘…Ber?’

‘Ber’s cry changed.’

Roy sensed it as a cry for help and immediately turned his gaze toward where Ber had been.

But Ber was nowhere to be seen on the monster’s face.

“Hyung, what do we do…? I think Ber got swallowed…”

Hajun was just as panicked.

He glanced at Roy, whose face had gone stiff with shock and horror.

“Can you keep hitting that spot?”

“Yeah. I can. But… Hyung, what are you going to do? Roy hyung!”

Roy suddenly bolted forward.

The moment he spotted one of Ber’s feet sticking out from between the King Medhead’s lips, something snapped inside his mind.

“Give me back… Ber!”

He gripped his hammer with both hands and slammed it down with all his might at the monster’s eye.

The King Medhead tried to dodge, but Hajun was at that moment driving his weapon into a wound on the back side of its head.

Letting his guard down, even for a moment, came at a steep cost.

Thwack!

With a chilling sound, the last remaining eye of the King Medhead turned blood red.

“Kiieee….”

The massive body of King Medhead collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Roy threw his hammer to the floor.

But the creature’s lips remained tightly shut.

Roy forcibly pried open King Medhead’s mouth with both hands.

Inside, struggling wildly, was Ber—and their eyes met.

“Beeeeep—!”

Ber thrashed even more violently.

He tried to escape through the gap Roy had opened, but it was as if all strength had left his body.

To help Ber, Roy pushed his own leg into the opening of King Medhead’s mouth.

“Roy hyung!”

It was a reckless move.

Although the monster was severely injured, it wasn’t entirely dead.

King Medhead’s one remaining eye flashed.

Even as pain surged from his leg, Roy shoved his hand deeper into the monster’s mouth.

He grabbed Ber and pulled him out, cradling him protectively in his arms.

“Hyung! Pull your leg out, now!”

Lee Hajun rushed over, picking up the hammer Roy had tossed aside, and wedged it next to Roy’s leg.

Roy tried to pull his leg out with Hajun’s help, but King Medhead wasn’t about to let go that easily.

It was as if he wanted to take Roy’s leg with him to the afterlife. Roy’s face turned deathly pale.

The pain of his bones being crushed wasn’t something anyone could endure while conscious.

“Beeeeep….”

Ber, still nestled in Roy’s arms, was trying to catch his breath.

His pupils darted wildly, and a crack formed across the shell that had still been clinging to his body.

Finally, the shell shattered completely, and he was free.

His tiny wings fluttered—and in the blink of an eye, Ber shot forward and dove into King Medhead’s remaining eye.

“Ber!”

The creature Roy had risked everything to save disappeared right back into the monster’s body.

Gritting his teeth, Roy reached out.

At almost the same time, King Medhead began to ignite.

From the spot Ber had entered, blazing red flames spread outward.

The monster’s mouth fell open limply.

Roy seized the opportunity and yanked his leg free.

He tried to stand, to help Ber, but his vision swam.

“My strength…”

His body collapsed to the ground.

In the blurry haze, he could still see King Medhead’s body engulfed in flames.

The more the flames swelled, the more strength drained from Roy’s body.

He realized Ber’s powers were linked to his own life force.

The more Ber used them, the more energy Roy lost.

“Roy hyung… Please… hang in there…”

“I’m… fine…”

Hajun tried to lift Roy, breaking into tears.

It was the first real battle he’d ever faced—and now, seeing the older brother figure he relied on so heavily so badly injured, panic overwhelmed him.

“There’s too much blood. I’m going to stop the bleeding first.”

Lee Siwoo, who had recovered somewhat during the ongoing battle, also came to check on Roy.

He tore strips from his clothing to use as makeshift bandages and wrapped them around Roy’s leg.

He wanted to use his healing ability, but he was still under-leveled.

He needed to be at least Level 5 to use “Heal.”

“Hkk…”

Roy groaned in pain as the makeshift bandage pressed against his wound.

He’d suffered worse injuries on the battlefield before.

But since coming to this new world, he’d grown soft without realizing it.

Just as his body threatened to shut down from the pain—

[Level increased to 10.]

[Level increased to 10.]

[Level increased to 10.]

[Level increased to 10.]

[Level increased to 10.]

Flashes of light burst across his vision.

He’d felt this sensation before.

The excruciating pain in his leg and the heavy fatigue across his body gradually faded away.

‘Status window.’

Roy summoned his stats.

A translucent window popped up in front of him.

***

[Name: Hwang Roy]

[Age: 22]

[Class: Spirit Summoner]

[Summoned Spirit 1: Fire-type Ber (Status: Chickling)]

[Level: 7]

[Grade: ?]

[Physical Ability: ?]

[Mana: ?]

‘Chickling? What the heck is that?’

[Isn’t it cute-sounding?]

Earth, the voice inside him, returned after a long absence.

Roy ignored the tone and focused on the mysterious question marks.

‘Why are these still unknown?’

[That’s… uh… I’m not really sure…]

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Earth was hiding something.

But there was no time to dwell on it now.

Roy wasn’t the only one who’d felt that strange sensation.

With King Medhead reduced to ash, everyone who had attacked the monster had gained at least one level.

“Talk about perfect timing.”

Siwoo swept his sweat-soaked bangs back, relief washing over his face.

“We were really lucky, hyung…”

Sniffling, Hajun checked Roy’s injured leg, which was visibly healing.

Roy also stared down at it in awe.

It was still hard to believe what he was seeing.

“Beeeeep!”

“Ber… You’ve become a total troublemaker, you know that?”

“Beep! Beep!”

Roy gently stroked Ber’s head as the tiny creature flew into his arms.

Despite his delicate appearance, it was clear he wasn’t as fragile as he looked.

But Ber’s indignant cries were loud enough to make that small body seem much, much bigger.