LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 69: The Flight of the Queen Bee (2)
“Use your skills until you can’t breathe…?”
With such a long sentence flowing easily from her, it didn’t seem like she was suffering from a lack of oxygen.
‘Oh my.’
Fortunately, there was no need to worry too much.
Then, Seonwoo-yeon began to act well as instructed.
Whoosh.
She activated her skill.
A wave of wind gathered in the air, gradually gaining strength, and soon formed a massive vortex.
The whirlwind shot horizontally, smashing one side of the beehive to bits.
Ka-bang!
Kyahhh!
The deafening sound served as a signal for the queen bee’s dying wail.
I quickly moved while watching the queen bee’s skin tear apart like a snack wrapper.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter.”
Now that the dungeon boss was dead, it was time for the minor side effects I had warned about to occur.
“Duck your head!”
Wiiiiing!
The murder hornets, having lost their leader, suddenly stopped attacking and began to flail around chaotically.
They collided with each other due to overlapping flight paths, and unable to distinguish friend from foe, they stung one another.
It was total chaos.
“These monsters are normally like this. They’re completely different from the bees back on Earth.”
I explained even before my opponent could say anything.
“The boss was the only proper creature, and the rest were mere clones created by the queen bee. So, when you lose the queen, the brain, it turns into…”
But I couldn’t finish my explanation.
“Hmm?”
Thud.
Seonwoo-yeon suddenly plopped down on the ground.
I rushed over in surprise.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter?”
I had originally planned to quickly lift her up and lead her out of the gate.
“…!”
At that moment, my eyes met Seonwoo-yeon’s.
The B-Class Awakened was glaring fiercely at me with her red bloodshot eyes.
‘P-Please, save me.’
I couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong, but our precious B-Class seemed upset about something…
Was it really a problem to have her take on the hunt?
Would I end up torn apart like the queen bee too?
I shuddered and urgently spoke.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter, do you know?”
“……”
“If you push your mana to the limit in actual combat, that sensation sticks with you for a long time. In other words, mana depletion can help train your skill activation.”
Tada!
I tried to say it cheerfully in hopes of raising her spirits.
“Good for you! Thanks to this, your body will have perfectly mastered your Awakening Ability now.”
“……”
“You were always worried about forgetting how to use your skills, right? Am I right?”
You’ll never forget your magic again. So let’s think positively.
I strained to find the silver lining in the situation, but my efforts were in vain.
‘Oh no~ An alien is dying.’
The Association Employee frowned even more upon hearing my words.
*
Ten minutes earlier.
Seonwoo-yeon felt like the sky was falling.
At first, upon seeing Gi-ryeo’s face, she thought she’d be alright.
However, the reality was far from her wish. Gi-ryeo had declared with a cold attitude that he would not help with the raid.
-Why would you want someone else to interfere with something you can do yourself?
Seonwoo-yeon felt resentment towards Gi-ryeo, who drew a clear line without mercy.
So, closing the distance to ask for help again, the swarm of hornets followed naturally behind her.
It was unwittingly luring the murder hornets towards Gi-ryeo, and for a moment, she thought “Oops.”
But on closer thought, wasn’t it a good situation?
‘If the hornets come at me, he’ll probably take down a few out of sheer annoyance.’
However, Seonwoo-yeon gasped in shock at the strange phenomenon that followed.
Bwuuuuuum.
Gi-ryeo wasn’t attacked by the hornets.
No, it wasn’t just avoidance of attacks.
The multitude of murder hornets gracefully avoided one person, which was quite the spectacle.
It was as if they were dangerous hazards not to be touched, moving away from where Gi-ryeo stood.
‘The monsters can’t even get close.’
This was pure horror!
The hornets recognized the gap in skill and felt fear.
So they wouldn’t recklessly attack.
Yet even after creating such an impressive scene, the opponent remained silent, as if it was all natural…
Coolness. Composure.
And on top of that, a calmness based on ability.
Perhaps this was the ideal model of a Hunter.
Seeing this, Seonwoo-yeon finally came to her senses.
What the heck am I doing?
‘How embarrassing, not being able to handle a mere C-Class Gate in front of someone like that.’
But reality was harsh. She had already run out of mana from not managing her energy during the battle.
“Ugh!”
The magic user without fuel had fewer options than she thought.
She was helplessly pushed back against the wave of hornets.
Was that why?
“Seonwoo-yeon!”
Kim Gi-ryeo, unable to bear it any longer, finally gave her advice. He indicated the location of the leader hidden somewhere in the dungeon.
“Use your skill to pierce that! I mean, pierce the boss’s nest and take it out!”
However, Seonwoo-yeon’s eyes widened at Kim Gi-ryeo’s subsequent suggestion on how to conquer the gate.
“Pierce the nest?!”
The nest he pointed at was evidently very thick at a glance.
She wasn’t even sure they could destroy it, and now they also needed to aim for the boss inside at one shot.
“I’ve used up all my mana already!”
Seonwoo-yeon exclaimed.
She was out of breath.
Her head sometimes felt dizzy.
The symptoms of mana depletion had long set in, so what more could she do now?
But then.
The blond man, who had been quietly observing her reaction, slowly opened his mouth.
“If it’s mana, you still have plenty left.”
As his icy voice reached her ears, Seonwoo-yeon felt a chill run down her spine.
“You talking and breathing is proof of that, so use it up until you can’t breathe anymore.”
He wanted her to use her skills until she couldn’t breathe. Normally, that’d be crazy talk.
Yet, Kim Gi-ryeo didn’t sound like he was joking at all.
“Us Awakened don’t die from things like that…”
This sentence implied that people don’t die easily, so stop whining and squeeze out every last bit of mana.
Gi-ryeo gazed quietly down at her with his dark, soulless eyes.
It was frightening.
Even though he had been so kind in teaching her yesterday.
‘Ugh…’
Feeling a slight tension, Seonwoo-yeon followed his order.
Ka-bang!
Kyahhh!
But to hear such sounds right after she gritted her teeth and killed the queen bee.
“Huh, huh.”
Thud.
By the time the boss died and the exit gate formed, exhausted Seonwoo-yeon sat down helplessly, and as Kim Gi-ryeo approached, he spoke something strange.
“Seonwoo-yeon Hunter, do you know?”
“……”
“If you push your mana to the limit in actual combat, that sensation sticks with you for a long time. In other words, mana depletion can help train your skill activation.”
Hearing that, Seonwoo-yeon suddenly thought.
Could this person have intentionally let the situation unfold this way?
“Well done! Thanks to this, your body will have perfectly mastered your Awakening Ability now.”
On reflection, it had been Gi-ryeo who insisted on the murder hornet’s nest as a training ground.
There was no way an experienced hunter who could take on a top-class golem barehanded wouldn’t have properly surveyed the gate beforehand.
Thus, Gi-ryeo was likely aware of the saturation of this gate.
Perhaps he had intentionally used all variables to his advantage.
‘Could it be that he planned to train me to my limits?!’
In shock, Seonwoo-yeon’s complexion went pale.
To ensure I never forget how to use my skills, you throw me into a den of monsters?
‘Is he a psycho?’
Seonwoo-yeon rescinded her earlier judgment of him being a good person.
How could someone push another into a corner without flinching?
To be fair, he had shown similar tendencies when he was trapped in a B-Class dungeon before.
When it came to awakening others’ abilities, Kim Gi-ryeo had a tendency to spare no means or methods.
‘This is way too Spartan…’
Seonwoo-yeon felt a surge of anger momentarily.
But on calm reflection, it was likely due to this fierce whip that her long-desired goals were achieved.
She finally suppressed her anger at the thought that she would never forget the manifestation of her Awakening Ability.
At that moment.
“Should I help you up?”
Looking up, she saw Kim Gi-ryeo extending his right hand.
Goodness. The old “give the medicine after pouring the poison” routine.
“Ha.”
Seonwoo-yeon hesitated for a moment but eventually accepted his help.
So, was it just a matter of holding hands to get up?
“Eh?”
“Oops.”
Crash!
As soon as I pulled his extended hand, the F-Class Hunter leaned over suddenly.
Seonwoo-yeon looked at the collapsed Gi-ryeo with wide eyes.
What is this? That limp movement that feels like there’s not a single ounce of strength?
“Ah.”
A moment later, Seonwoo-yeon realized something and started to laugh to herself.
“…Oh my God. What the heck does Gi-ryeo see B-Class hunters as? That he would let go of his strength like that.”
Geez. What’s he, an elephant with a chick at its feet?
“Do you think I’d burst just from you putting a bit of strength into it?”
Seonwoo-yeon chuckled hopelessly.
High-ranking Awakened often unintentionally inflicted harm due to their power control issues.
Gi-ryeo Hunter must have been wary of that and let go of his strength.
‘His kindness is indeed genuine.’
Still, that consideration was real.
Seonwoo-yeon felt her heart soften at Gi-ryeo’s gentle touch.
“Gi-ryeo, can we leave the gate now?”
“Oh, yes. Go ahead. I’ll follow you in a few minutes.”
This was indeed a comical incident caused by the strength difference between F-Class and B-Class, but so what?
Anyway, what mattered was that they had safely completed their training.
Thanks to that, Gi-ryeo could leave a good impression.
*
A few hours later.
On the way back to Seoul.
Heh heh.
This holiday had been truly fulfilling.
Not only did they safely harvest the murder hornet’s honey, but Seonwoo-yeon also gifted her more than she deserved.
‘At this rate, I could eat well for a few months on my own.’
I looked contentedly at the green tea gift set cradled in my arms.
Clunk, clatter!
Simultaneously, there was a sound from the front seat as the driver manipulated the car transmission.
“Why is there so much traffic since Sunday morning?”
The Hunter with long hair at the wheel clicked her tongue at the congested road.
As you can see, I was currently sitting in the back seat of Seonwoo-yeon’s car.
Wondering why I was in this woman’s car out of the blue, well…
‘When I used public transportation to come to Hadong, Seonwoo-yeon panicked and promised to give me a ride back.’
As I recalled what happened before we set off, I decided to bring up a new topic.
After all, I had nothing to do until we arrived home.
“Seonwoo-yeon?”
When I broke the ice, the woman at the wheel glanced over.
“It’s nothing much. I’m just curious about something.”
“Yes.”
“You said you tried getting psychological counseling when you began to struggle with your skills on your own.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What exactly did the counseling involve? Did it help at all?”
I casually asked a question, since I had an interest in Earth’s medicine.
What followed was some trivial chit-chat.
“Well, the program I underwent at the hospital was roughly like this…”
Seonwoo-yeon replied in a gentle tone, sharing some bits of her experience.
“By the way, Gi-ryeo.”
However, as her talk about treatment was nearing the end, Seonwoo-yeon softly changed the subject.
“By the way, I met Jeong Ha-seong at the hospital while receiving counseling.”
“Jeong Ha-seong?”
“It seems lately, Jeong Ha-seong Hunter…”
But I couldn’t hear the end of that sentence.
Just then, our vehicle was struck by some unknown shock.
Boom!
Suddenly, something heavy fell onto the car.
With the discernible aura of magic, it was clear that the thing that fell was a monster, but was that really what mattered right now?
Eek!
The front of the car crumpled like paper.
Thanks to sitting in the backseat, I avoided trouble, but who knows what would have happened if the falling object had missed by just an inch.
I quickly got out of the car.
And immediately checked on the driver’s seat.
Damn it, what happened to Seonwoo-yeon?