Chapter 75
“The inside of the Poison Ant Rift is a form of grasslands and forests. The meadow area, which starts from the entrance of the Rift, is an area where monsters rarely comes, and most of the monsters could only be found in the forest area.”
"The test will be for an hour. Red flags were used to mark the border of dangerous areas. Please be careful not to cross that boundary."
After the warning was delivered.
"Everyone can go now. Have a safe hunt…"
All teams began to move on their own at the signal of their respective supervisors.
“We're off, too.”
“Let's go! Team 3”
“…”
All teams have reached the forest area past the meadow.
-Squeek -Squeek -Squeek
With the advent of the intruders, monsters appeared from all over the forest area.
It was a Poison Ant that was not comparable in size to an ordinary ant.
It was a big creature with small jaws and horns on their heads.
But they looked weak as they were the worker Ants.
The poison effect was weak, so it was not a dangerous monster.
There was only Worker Ants up to the boundary between the forest and the rocky area, so there was no major risk if we did not leave the restricted area.
Bang!
– Chaeng! Chaeng!
The forest soon filled with the sounds of battle.
A worker poison ant appeared before our eyes.
Jung Taeho was the first person to take the initiative.
“Flame up!”
There was a huge blaze that started swirling around his sword.
Flamboyant fireworks permeated the sword and were brightly colored.
"Ahhhhh"
Kiiiiiiiiiiiii!!
He lightly swung his sword, which caused a tremendous explosion and shattered Worker Poison Ants.
It was a short battle scene, but the very powerful blow left a strong impression.
Jung Taeho looked at us.
He raised his thumb slightly with a look as if asking, ‘How was it?’
He looked pleased with my reaction.
Perhaps motivated by his performance, Yun Sehe also started fighting in earnest.
“Help me, Xiyan!”
A translucent girl appeared in the air at Yun Sehe’s call.
A translucent girl who feels completely different from the Summon.
It wasn't until a little later that I noticed it was a spirit.
The presence of the spirit I saw for the first time felt very mysterious.
"Xiyan, sweep it!"
– Whee!
A fierce wind blew around the spirit.
The wind quickly hit the Worker Ants.
As if they were paper dolls, the Poison Ants fluttered in the air.
Jung Taeho looked angrily at Yun Sehe's overwhelming performance.
Her expressionless face remained the same, but Yun Sehe raised her chin slightly as if enjoying Jung Taeho's gaze.
Watching their performance, I began to get a little nervous.
I can't be too behind compared to my two young friends' performance
I took out my sword and began to deal with the Poison Ants in earnest.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
A Worker Ant fell down at my blow.
Thanks to Alfred and the tight training, I was able to deal with the Poison Ants more easily than I thought.
There may have been an increase in sword skills, but above all, I benefited greatly from my ‘communication’ skill.
I was able to grasp the Poison Ants’ moment and predict perfectly how they would move and attack.
I was still a poor swordsman, but it was a piece of cake if I could predict the opponent's movements.
By grasping the movements of the surrounding Poison Ants, I continued the battle while supporting my two young friends.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Jung Taeho rushed to the center of the enemy.
I supported him in a situation where he could be surrounded.
"Don't go too deep. You could be surrounded if you move away from your team."
"Ha-ha! I'm sorry, mister. I'll be careful from now on."
While supporting Jung Taeho, I sensed another threat.
Yun Sehe concentrated on controlling the spirit, so she could not keep track of the Poison Ant that was approaching her from the side.
She was on the verge of being attacked by a poisonous ant.
“Oh, watch out!”
I yelled at her and hurried.
Yun Sehe also belatedly sensed the danger, but the Poison Ant's sharp jaw attack was already approaching.
‘Oh no! I think I can't make it!’
As soon as the image of Yun Sehe getting attacked popped in my head, I felt a prick in my head and lost energy for a moment.
Ki Ki…?
I pulled Yun Sehe's arm roughly.
Yun Sehe escaped the Poison Ant’s attack by a hair's breadth.
After confirming her safety, I immediately killed the Worker Poison Ant with my sword.
“Are you alright Sehe?”
“Well, yes, thank you.”
"I think you should be more aware about your surroundings while using your spirits’ power."
"I'll be careful. But….just now… how did you do it?"
“What?”
“That… no, never mind.”
Yun Sehe hesitated to say something but stopped.
She bowed her head and went back to battle.
I deliberately turned a blind eye to her question.
Because the situation that just happened was also hard for me to explain.
I don't know how that happened.
But Suddenly the Worker Poison Ant that was about to attack Yun Sehe stopped moving.
To be precise, I seem to have stopped the attack.
I remembered a dizzy memory of the urgent situation earlier.
I looked down at the poisonous ant that had just been knocked down for a while, then rejoined the battle.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
"Amazing."
As a supervisor, Nam Jin-hyuk gave evaluation to Team 3.
He claimed to be the supervisor of Team 3, out of curiosity about Lim Sihyeon.
Of course, Seo Yerin, who noticed the plot, expressed dissatisfaction, but that could not stop Nam Jinhyuk.
Nam Jinhyuk became in charge of Team 3.
The first to catch his eye were the two young Awakeners.
Each person's brilliant talent stood out even though he only watched it for a short time.
It was so great that he could feel the power of the black flame that wrapped around Jung Taeho's sword from a distance.
Even considering that Worker Poison Ants are low-level monsters, it was a tremendous power.
And above all, boldness and aggressiveness stood out.
Even in the midst of the test, Jung Taeho showed off himself to his heart's content.
It was an important factor that could be a great advantage in real battle.
Next, Yun Sehe.
She was actually a great talent from the mere fact of being able to Summon spirits at that age.
"Maybe Team 3 will be the dark horse of this test."
Over time, the shortcomings of the two young applicants began to appear one by one.
And at the same time, the movement of the other person felt very strange.
At first, Nam Junhyuk just thought, Lim Sihyeon has a basic level of swordsmanship?
The sword's movements were rough since he didn't have much experience in combat.
‘As I expected, he's normal.'
He thought Lim Sihyeon just had Rusty swordplay skills.
However, at some point, he was able to realize a tremendous fact from the movements of Lim Sihyeon.
He was using his power in the right place as if he was aware of the movements of the Poison Ants.
Jung Taeho, who was outstandingly active, lacked the ability to look around.
And Yun Sehe's range attack was strong, but she was less skilled in using her skills.
In addition, the two continued their own battles without any cooperation so far.
It's not strange for them to be in crisis at least once.
However, Lim Sihyeon was able to fill all their weaknesses.
Jung Taeho and Yun Sehe were able to show off their brilliant talents, eventually thanks to the support of Lim Sihyeon.
It was a delicate support ability that reminded Nam Junhyuk of a parent supporting their child.
‘If I was there, would I be able to support them like that?'
Before he knew it, Nam Jinhyuk's eyes continued to follow the movements of Lim Sihyeon.
‘As Yerin said, he sure has a unique charm.’
When Team 3 reached the middle part of the examination, Nam Jinhyuk's eyes began to see the cracks in the coordination of Team 3 little by little.
Lim Sihyeon's parental support became rather poisonous, as the two began to act more and more at their own discretion.
When Nam Jinhyuk thought it was dangerous, Yun Sehe, who was controlling the spirit, was in danger.
As Nam Jinhyuk was about to stop the attack of the Worker Poison Ant, he stopped moving.
Something unbelievable got unraveled in front of his eyes.
"No! How the hell?"
Nam Jinhyuk shouted involuntarily.
This is because the Worker Poison Ant which was going to attack Yun Sehe suddenly stopped moving.
It was an unnatural movement as if someone had pressed the stop button on the remote control.
‘There is no way the Poison Ant stopped by itself. Someone must have stopped the Poison Ants.'
Nam Jinhyuk's eyes naturally turned towards Lim Sihyeon.
There was no physical evidence or logic, but his intuition strongly pointed to the ordinary person.
"Who the hell are you Lim Sihyeon…..?"
Doubts and confusion continued to pile up in his eyes which was looking at Lm Sihyeon.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
At first, the battle with Worker Poison Ants was smooth.
Although the cooperation was not going well, the hunt proceeded without much difficulty thanks to my proper support.
However, as the test progressed, competition between the two began to ignite. –
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
"Xiyan!"
Kiiiiiiiii!
The two teens fought increasingly boldly and aggressively.
As a result, the risk of fighting has increased.
It was also overwhelming to provide support from behind.
‘Shouldn't I stop them?’
While I was thinking, something happened.
"Oh… Oh?!"
The flames around Jung Taeho's sword spread in all directions, drawn by the strong wind.
It looked as if the wind had taken the flame from the sword.
Kiiiiiiiiiii!
The spirit used the stolen flames to burn the Poison Ants everywhere in an instant.
It was a very powerful attack.
"Hey, Shorty! Why are you taking other people's fire as you please?"
"You were stupid for not using it properly, so I used some of them. You should be thanking me for making use of your worthless fire."
At Yun Sehe's expressionless answer, Jung Taeho jumped at the anger that rose to the top of his head.
"You're such a jerk! Don't try to sabotage others' hunting and do your job."
"Then how about you stop coming in front of me."
"You…."
"Come on, come on. Why are you fighting again? We have to work as a team. You heard earlier that cooperation between team members is also an important factor for evaluation."
"Phew!"
"Hmph!"
My mediation didn’t produce any positive outcome.
Rather, both of them headed deeper into the forest, burning with competitiveness.
‘Ah, is it too much to ask for cooperation?’
‘Huh?’
‘…..I think I saw a red flag around here…’
I looked around and tilted my head.
“Mister! What are you doing. Come fast.”
“… Oh! I'm coming.”
At Jung Taeho's call, I stopped looking for the red flag and ran to catch up with the two who had become distant.
‘Hmm? Is it only me feeling we're going too far into the forest.?’
‘There should be a red flag around here…'
I realized something was wrong when I saw the two of them heading deeper and deeper.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
Nam Jinhyuk stopped and searched everywhere.
After a while, he found the remains of a burned flag on the ground.
‘Oh my God, it looks like the spirit burned the flag.’
He first radioed the other supervisors that there was an area where the flag was missing.
"It’s Nam Jinhyuk, in charge of Team 3. Now in some areas of the eastern forest, flags indicating dangerous areas have been damaged. Supervisors, please pay attention. Over!"
Nam Jinhyuk ran in the direction Team 3 were headed as soon as he finished sending message.
In a short period of time, the distance between the Team and Nam Jinhyuk had widened.
"Please, I hope nothing happens…"
Somehow, anxiety began to sprout in his mind.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
From some point on, many Worker Ants poured out.
Jung Taeho, who ran forward without hesitation, seemed to be a little overwhelmed.
I looked at the surrounding Poison Ants with my ‘Communication’ skill.
It felt like the situation was turning dangerous.
I thought the supervisor would have warned me if it was a dangerous area.
So I looked back but I couldn't find the supervisor no matter how much I looked around.
‘There's no supervisor? When did the Supervisor with the mask disappear?’
He has been chasing us since the exam started, but now, suddenly he was nowhere to be found.
An alarm went off in my head.
"Taeho, I think it's dangerous here. We have to back off.”
"What? What are you talking about Mister? We’re about to get a lot of points.”
"I can't see the supervisor. The test isn't the problem right now."
“Oh! He must be hiding and watching. We just have to pay attention to hunting."
When I looked at Yun Sehe, she also didn't want to step down.
Their fighting spirit was already burning.
At that time, when I was confused about the two who were not trying to listen to my words, a Poison Ant appeared.
It was a Poison Ant that felt completely different from the Worker Poison Ants, we dealt so far.
-Ekiiiiiiiiii!
A giant ant with a much bigger head and a big, threatening jaw – a Soldier Poison ant.
"Now there's someone with whom I can show off all of my skills."
Jung Taeho smiled and increased the flame in his sword.
Rather than thinking of running away, he was burning up with fighting spirit.
"This is driving me crazy. Sehe! I'll cover Taeho for now. Help me"
"All right, I will keep the Worker Ants away!"
While Jung Taeho was dealing with the Soldier Poison Ant, I and Yun Sehe took care of his back.
– Whoooo!
Fortunately, thanks to Yun Sehe's spirit, we easily prevented Worker Poison Ants from approaching Jung Taeho.
While we're behind the scenes fighting worker ants.
-Ekiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
With a huge explosion, Jung Taeho knocked down the Soldier Poison Ant.
"Haah, Haaah, how does it taste, you dirty Poison Ant! Heck…"
Jung Taeho gasped showing signs that it was not an easy fight, while the surrounding land got hollowed out as if it had been bombed.
Yun Sehe and I also took a breather for a while after driving out all the remaining Worker Poison Ants.
At that moment.
Creeeeeeeeeeeeek
The ground around where Jung Taeho fought began to crack.
The ground began to sink before everyone could react.
"Argh!"
"Argh!"
Jung Taeho and Yun Sehe fell to the ground as if they were being dragged in.
I threw myself reflexively and got hold of their hands.
"Urggggggggg"
But it was hard to bear the weight of the two of them at the same time.
I was slowly getting dragged into the pit due to the weight of the two hanging in my hand.
Just before all three of us were about to fell into the pit.
"Hang in there!"
I could feel the power someone hold on to my legs and a man's voice was coming from behind.
Looking back, it was the supervisor wearing a mask who followed us.
Thanks to him, we stopped falling into the pit momentarily.
The supervisor called Yun Sehe, holding my leg.
"Call your spirit"
"What?"
"Hurry up and raise everyone with the help of the spirit. I can't keep holding on to you guys forever."
"All right. Xiy….!"
Crackle
At the same time as Yun Sehe was about to call out her spirit, the ground that was supporting us collapsed.
“No!!”
“Argh!”
“Ahh!”
“Oh my!”
Four of us lost our strength, and got sucked into the pit in an instant.