Chapter 13 – This Is １st Circle? (４)

[Ms. Jiyun! How long?]

“Ten minutes, ten minutes!”

[Okay. Lucky. Glad one was nearby.]

“It just sort of happened…”

Around that time.

Jiyun was racing toward the dungeon, having received an urgent dispatch order.

‘What the hell is this, really?!’

She had been reading a book at a café, waiting for Gijun to finish his dungeon raid and return.

And now a Dungeon Break had occurred.

Of all places, in the very dungeon Gijun had entered.

‘Still, I’m lucky. I’m nearby.’

A Level 2 Dungeon’s Dungeon Break.

Certainly a formidable opponent for Superhumans who had just graduated from the academy.

A Boss Monster is fundamentally different from ordinary monsters.

It harbors immense Magi, and when encountered for the first time, its oppressive aura often freezes one’s entire body.

But with a Superhuman of her caliber joining in, there would be no problem.

What the rookie Superhumans lacked now wasn’t skill, but experience.

With an experienced veteran to anchor them, there was no way a Hwarang Guild Superhuman couldn’t take down a Level 2 dungeon boss.

The only issue was…

‘Oppa¹.’

Gijun.

Gijun would lack experience too.

And he likely still lacked the skill to face a Boss Monster.

‘Just hold on a little longer, Oppa.’

Jiyun stepped on the accelerator, pushing the car to go faster.

*

Keeeeeeek!

A blood-red goblin.

Though merely a Level 2 dungeon’s Boss Monster, the creature was no pushover.

Ha Seol’s movements had clearly slowed before the Boss Monster’s Magi.

And as its attacks continued, her dismay only grew.

Whoosh— CRASH!

The giant club in its hand slammed into Ha Seol’s shield.

“Kugh!”

Ha Seol gritted her teeth.

It wasn’t something she couldn’t withstand, but neither was it without damage.

Of course, it was impressive that a Superhuman fresh out of the academy could block a Boss Monster’s attacks like this.

Still, that was hardly any comfort.

In a dungeon fight, there were only two outcomes.

Win and survive, or lose and die.

‘In the end, I have to do this right.’

This was Gijun’s own choice.

If he had chosen safety, he should have waited for other Superhumans, as Ha Seol had suggested.

But he had made a reckless choice.

And Ha Seol had gone along with it.

‘I’m the one who has to take responsibility and bring that thing down.’

He had been prepared for this from the start.

Ha Seol was the Tanker.

One couldn’t expect much damage output from her.

That meant almost all the damage had to come from Gijun.

‘I can do it.’

Of course, Gijun still had no regrets about his choice.

He had started with the conviction that he could do it, and that conviction remained.

“Ms. Ha Seol! Fall back!”

At Gijun’s shout, she hastily put distance between herself and the blood-red goblin.

‘Here I go.’

Gijun used his magic.

Fireball.

The Fireball, conjured in an instant, flew toward the blood-red goblin.

KWA-BOOM!

Flames exploded across the creature’s torso.

After a moment, the blaze receded, revealing its form.

Its crimson eyes glinted.

It looked enraged.

The creature lunged.

The massive body, nearly three meters tall, launched itself into the air in an instant.

Gijun clenched a Fireball in his fist and hurled it straight at the creature.

Boom!

The Fireball struck the creature’s face dead-on, without an inch of deviation.

The beast clutched its blazing face midair and crashed to the ground.

“Hyaaah!”

Ha Seol seized the opening, rushed in, and slammed her shield down onto its leg.

Kieeek!

The blood-red Goblin let out a roar.

It had leaped up with ambition, but got nothing for its trouble — now it scrambled to its feet quickly.

Ha Seol, not greedy, pulled back as well.

This was a far cry from her earlier rigid, terrified stance.

‘No wonder she’s the ace.’

Her movements proved that her top grades at the Academy weren’t just luck.

The Blood Goblin swung its club again.

And in that moment, Ha Seol’s shield moved.

Ting!

‘Oh?’

Gijun’s eyes widened.

Flawless form.

With minimal motion, she deflected the Blood Goblin’s attack.

‘That’s impressive.’

The Blood Goblin staggered from a move so polished it surprised even Gijun.

Gijun wasn’t about to waste the chance.

He launched the Fireball he’d already prepared.

The Fireball curved through the air like a slider.

Swoosh!

It slammed into the Blood Goblin’s waist.

Kwaaah!

A ferocious flame erupted from the creature’s midsection.

It swung its arms to put out the fire, but couldn’t reach the spot.

Its torso was too thick, and its arms too short for that bulk.

This was the moment Gijun’s perfect gambit paid off.

Then a Strong Wind blew in from above, spreading the flame across the creature’s entire upper body.

Whoosh-crackle-boom!

In seconds, its whole torso was engulfed in flames, and the beast writhed in agony.

*

By now, a faint smile had crept onto Ha Seol’s lips.

Her face looked like she’d regained her composure.

And on that face was evident trust in Gijun.

It was true.

Her regained calm came from her trust in Gijun.

After several exchanges of blows, that trust had only grown stronger.

‘No matter what I do, where I am, or what happens, that man can hit the Boss Monster dead-on.’

It wasn’t just hitting.

He found the perfect spot.

He targeted the point that would deal the most damage while also tormenting the monster.

As time passed, that belief swelled inside her.

The conviction that all she had to do was leave every attack to Gijun.

That faith became a colossal power for her.

So instead, she could focus on herself.

She had room to breathe now.

Her movements turned more aggressive, more proactive, more creative.

Here, like this…

Her feet shifted, her Shield followed.

Now…

Her eyes darted, scanning fast.

What her eyes caught raced to her brain, and what her brain processed raced back out through her whole body.

Ha Seol’s legs moved without hesitation.

The Shield moved with them.

The motions were fluid and organic, like water flowing.

She wasn’t worrying about mistakes at all.

Why?

Because she had faith.

Even if she made a small slip, she’d come to trust — fiercely — that the absurd mage would find some way to fix it.

Her Shield, loaded with body weight, smashed into the Blood Goblin’s knee.

Crack!

“…?!”

She’d pinpointed the Boss’s center of gravity and struck the perfect point.

There was no way the Blood Goblin, its balance shattered, could support its own weight.

The Blood Goblin’s body listed.

Seeing that, Gijun felt a jolt of exhilaration.

The Raid scene he’d dreamed of for so long was unfolding right in front of him!

A thrill ran through him.

Raw energy surged up from somewhere deep in his chest.

One great Tanker is better than a so-so whole party.

Tankers are rare.

A skilled Tanker is rarer still.

But as important as a Tanker like that is—

A skilled Mage.

And right now, that perfect combination was producing peak synergy.

How could he not be excited?

The flames rippling in Gijun’s hand shot across the air and hurtled toward the Blood Goblin.

SHHHH-WHOOSH!

The blazing corona of fire reached the bastard in an instant.

Boom!

The Fireball exploded against its right knee.

“Ms. Ha Seol!”

Ha Seol caught the meaning.

She slammed her Shield down toward the exact spot where the Fireball had just detonated.

Crash!

Her only offensive Skill: Shield Crash.

Blood began to seep from the bastard’s knee.

The instant she landed that blow, Ha Seol hastily retreated.

Never get greedy.

No — she knew too well there was no need to.

Gijun smiled and moved his hand.

The moment she pulled back, a Fireball surged forward.

Same knee he’d hit before.

Boom!

A Fireball slamming into its knee without a fraction of error!

Gijun didn’t stop.

Again, again, again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three Fireballs in a row, Gijun’s, all hammering the Blood Goblin’s right knee.

After that, he used Strong Wind.

This Strong Wind was different from how he’d used it before.

It wasn’t meant to spread the fire.

Instead, he condensed it into a single point.

That point: the wound Ha Seol had carved into the goblin’s knee.

Centered on that one breach, the Fireball’s flames began to spin with violent precision.

Keeeeeyaaaaaahk!

The creature let out a hideous scream.

That instant.

“Hyaaah!”

Ha Seol’s massive Shield began to glow.

It came crashing down toward the Blood Goblin’s right knee.

CRASH!

The second Shield-Crash detonated.

CRRRRUNCH!

A ghastly crack erupted from the monster’s knee.

The joint buckled and collapsed beneath it.

One misstep, and the Blood Goblin was down — its knee shattered beyond any hope of rising again.

In that moment, Ha Seol felt victory.

Gijun would handle the rest.

All she had to do was trust and wait.

And now…

A massive fireball stretched outward from Gijun’s hands.

It coiled around the Blood Goblin’s entire body, blazing with ferocious intensity.

Then Strong Wind surged over it.

Wind magic riding atop fire magic — two elements fusing to birth a terrifying destructive force.

BOOM CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACK!

The wind spun like a vortex, wrapping the Blood Goblin’s whole form in its grip.

“Whoa…!”

It looked like a pillar of fire rising up and swallowing the Blood Goblin whole.

To an outside eye, it might as well have been a 5th-Circle Fire Pillar.

If Gijun grew more skilled, wouldn’t he be able to manifest nearly any fire spell he wanted with just Fireball and Blow?

Of course, not just anyone could pull that off.

No — honestly, she doubted anyone else could even manage it.

‘Really…’

Ha Seol was at a loss for words.

While she was lost in thought, the Blood Goblin was already a wreck, heaving ragged breaths.

Its knee crushed, the Blood Goblin couldn’t move an inch from its spot. Under the endless barrage of Gijun’s magic, the armor all over its body melted and fused to its skin until it could offer no resistance at all.

Gijun’s magic stopped.

His Magic Power had bottomed out.

But it didn’t matter.

The creature’s breath was spent too.

“Ha, haha…!”

Ha Seol burst out laughing.

It was exhilarating.

That massive Boss.

That horrifying monster — brought to its knees before her, crumbling apart.

The thrill of victory.

The greatest rush a Superhuman could feel flooded her entire being.

‘We took this thing down, just the two of us!’

It wasn’t like the Academy had never run Boss-monster hunting drills.

But those drills were all done through holograms.

Today was the first time she’d faced a Boss in real combat.

Truth be told, I was terrified.

I didn’t think it would work.

But at Gijun’s words, I started fighting as if spellbound.

It’d be a lie to say I didn’t regret it.

Every time that thing hit me, my whole body screamed, and I wanted to run.

The fear of death hung over me.

My grip ached like it was tearing apart, every joint in my body twisting out of place.

There were moments—life-and-death instants—where a single mistake meant the end.

Even so, what kept me here was Gijun’s magic.

That one thing, and nothing else.

‘This doesn’t make any sense. Seriously.’

Standing way off in the distance, he landed every spell with pinpoint accuracy—not an inch off.

And that wasn’t all.

The Blow that followed each Fireball seemed to amplify its power several times over.

‘He’s a real genius.’

A genius.

Not just some ordinary genius—a true one.

That absurd talent held Ha Seol together.

No matter how much her body ached and screamed, an insane belief surged up: maybe, just maybe, they could win.

“We won! We won! I said we won!”

Ha Seol ran up to Gijun and wrapped her arms around him.

She seemed so thrilled she didn’t even realize what she was doing.

Then, a moment later, she flinched and jumped back.

“S-sorry…”

Her face flushed bright red, and she fidgeted, at a loss for what to do.

But her words didn’t reach Gijun’s ears.

His attention was completely elsewhere.

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Achievement unlocked!]

[Bloody Goblin Slayer!]

[All Stats increased by 3!]

1. Oppa — an affectionate term a younger woman uses for an older man she is close to; literally “older brother.”