Chapter 177
Chapter 177. Chase (3)
Since the first time Yoo Ji-han met the Sylph, it had always taken the shape of a round sphere.
It could change sizes freely, from the size of a bowling ball to that of a small bead.
However, it never deviated from its round shape.
But now, it was different.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The Sylph emitted large vibrations at regular intervals throughout its body.
With every pulse, its form twisted grotesquely.
Kim Si-hu, who had followed Yoo Ji-han, widened his eyes at the sight.
“Hyung! What on earth is that…?”
“It inhaled a massive amount of Magic Crystals and now it’s gone weird.”
After the death of the initial contract holder, Erna Hass, and until Yoo Ji-han established a new contract, Kim Si-hu had spent more than ten years with that creature, aside from the period it was in the staff.
Even he was witnessing something like this for the first time.
‘They said it wouldn’t have any effect even if you absorbed a lot in a short time.’
Yoon Do-ha had advised that when acquiring Magic Crystals, it should be absorbed over a long period.
In other words, he meant to have a balanced diet rather than binge eating.
But one thing Yoon Do-ha also overlooked was—
He had never fed his spirit such an overwhelming amount of Magic Crystals all at once like this.
Given it was unprecedented, there was a risk of side effects looming if things went awry.
“Sylph! Sylph!”
The Sylph did not respond to the call of its contractor, Yoo Ji-han.
Instead, it burst forth with bright light externally.
Whoosh——!
The entire field of vision was dyed green.
So dazzling was the light that both Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu shielded their eyes with their hands.
‘……Huh?’
‘Refreshing?’
A cool breeze emerged with the light, softly enveloping the two.
It also swept away the unpleasant odors rising from the stomach of the Whale Monster.
And after some time passed—
As the light and wind that illuminated the entire stomach gradually subsided, they lowered their hands.
“Eh.”
“What is that?”
Then, the Sylph returned to its original round shape.
The bizarre occurrences that had suddenly unfolded during the absorption of the Magic Crystals completely vanished.
Whoa!
After finishing its meal, the Sylph flew toward Yoo Ji-han.
Yoo Ji-han quickly checked its appearance, noting there didn’t seem to be any special changes.
Kim Si-hu, who was looking at it with a worried expression, said,
“It doesn’t seem like there are any particular problems…?”
“Looks like it.”
He thought side effects from the Magic Crystals might manifest, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Yoo Ji-han, albeit relieved, opened his mouth with a bit of irritation.
“Sylph, are you going to ignore your contractor? If you’re going to act on your own like this, why did you sign a contract with me?”
—S-sorry!
“Phew… As long as you realize you’re sorry, that’s enough. Don’t do that again next time.”
—I won’t do it next time!
Only after hearing the Sylph’s firm promise did Yoo Ji-han nod.
No matter how much of a great ally the spirit was, if it couldn’t be controlled, it would become a double-edged sword.
While this time was merely a failure to restrain the intake of Magic Crystals,
It could become a potential hazard.
“Uh? Uh?!”
At that moment, Kim Si-hu made a shocked expression.
He stood frozen with the staff in hand, looking up at the Sylph.
Only then did Yoo Ji-han notice the large sense of discomfort and looked up at the Sylph as well.
“Sylph?”
—Yes!
“……”
The spirit began to speak.
*
Yoo Ji-han returned to the group with the newly verbal Sylph.
—Hello, hello!
“What the?”
“It’s talking!”
The people were utterly astonished to hear the Sylph’s voice fluently speaking Korean.
Since it sounded like a refreshing voice of a teenage girl,
Some suspected there might be a hidden speaker somewhere.
However, no such shabby device was found.
“Congratulations!”
Park Jae-kyung congratulated Yoo Ji-han upon hearing the news.
Being able to communicate with a spirit was akin to a massive growth for someone as a Spirit Master.
“I never thought there would be so many Magic Crystals in a place like this…”
“I heard Do-ha worked incredibly hard to find the Magic Crystals.”
“He searched the entire world.”
He even hired specialized explorers worldwide beyond Korea.
The Dice Guild, led by Spirit Master Yoon Do-ha, put in considerable effort to locate Magic Crystals on Earth.
The time spent just to purchase the discovered Magic Crystals and find their production sites amounted to years.
“Magic Crystals might exist in the deep sea.”
“Hmm, that sounds like something worth investigating in detail later.”
The presence of Magic Crystals in the Whale Monster’s stomach implied that it had consumed food related to Magic Crystals.
If they could decipher its structure, they could potentially harvest Magic Crystals even on Earth.
—Kihaha!
Boing! Boing!
The Sylph was bouncing on Chilla’s chubby belly, seemingly enjoying itself.
While communication was made possible, its personality seemed completely unchanged.
Now that its voice could be heard, it looked even more excited.
‘There are many things I want to ask…’
Yoo Ji-han had questions he wanted to pose to the Sylph.
For example, about the powers it held in the past or information related to the previous contractor, Erna Hass.
However, the pressing matter was with this expedition group.
He decided to postpone any personal curiosities.
“Si-hu! What’s the result?”
“About 50%.”
“Half?”
“We can’t guarantee Mr. Ho-yeol’s safety with [Shield].”
While planning an escape from the slowly moving Whale Monster’s body,
The Mages assessed that there was only about a 50% chance they could safely protect the only civilian, Nam Ho-yeol.
“If that’s the case, I shouldn’t have come along!”
“Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Ho-yeol, our equipment is in decent shape.”
“Yet…”
Nam Ho-yeol’s voice was filled with gloom.
Although he had donned some handmade equipment, it was insufficient to keep up with the heroes.
Yoo Ji-han offered him a little consolation while inwardly wrestling with concerns.
‘Should I gamble?’
If they were to make an escape now, Nam Ho-yeol had to bear significant risk.
He would have to endure going into the water and making his way back to land unarmed.
It felt uncomfortable to gamble in a situation where someone’s safety wasn’t guaranteed,
But if they left the Whale Monster as it was, it would move deeper into the ocean, escalating the issue.
‘……It can’t be helped.’
In the end, he decided to escape from here.
Soon, the group armed with weapons gathered in front of the tightly shut mouth of the Whale Monster.
Even if they got drenched in blood, they were going to force open the entrance and escape.
Just then, the Sylph cheerfully called out to Yoo Ji-han.
—Ji-han! Can I help?
“Hmm?”
—I’ll help! I want to help! Let me help!
The Sylph wanted to assist the group in escaping from the Whale Monster.
Given its proactive attitude, Yoo Ji-han asked with skepticism.
“How are you going to help?”
—Like this!
The Sylph answered in a bright voice the moment.
Whoosh!
A sudden wind wrapped around the entire group’s bodies.
“Eh?!”
“What is this?”
The startled heroes examined their bodies.
A pleasing breeze brushed over their skin.
It felt as if something was enveloping them about 5 cm above their entire skin.
Yoo Ji-han recognized that it was magic bestowed by the Sylph.
“Phew! Hah!”
“The air has gotten incredibly fresh!”
“Fascinating. It doesn’t smell at all.”
Even the air they inhaled through their mouths and noses felt refreshing.
It was a world apart from the stale odor of the Whale Monster they had felt moments ago.
It felt as though they had entered an entirely different space.
—Now you can breathe even in the water.
“Really?”
It was hard to believe, but they could even breathe underwater.
The most significant hurdle they had perceived had been resolved all at once.
To continuously supply oxygen to not just one but up to ten people using magic was simply astonishing.
“What’s the duration?”
—30 minutes!
“……!”
Thirty minutes was more than enough time to ascend to the surface.
With this, their chances of escaping safely had significantly increased.
“That’s amazing!”
—Hehe! This is nothing special!
With a bashful demeanor, the Sylph squirmed around, making Yoo Ji-han chuckle.
Given that level of confidence, he had no choice but to trust for now.
“Let’s go!”
Slash!
Yoo Ji-han slashed vertically at the tough and thick skin of the Whale Monster.
The sword imbued with green aura sliced through the flesh of the large monster effortlessly.
“Whew——!!”
Unable to endure the pain of its flesh being sliced, the Whale Monster let out a scream that echoed in their eardrums.
It writhed and danced, thrashing about, yet it firmly kept its lips sealed.
The group attacking was busy maintaining their balance amidst the swaying body.
Whoosh!
Moving gracefully like a cat, Yoo Ji-han struck the same spot again.
As a result, the wound on the Whale Monster opened wider, and the seeped red blood soaked the floor beneath.
Suddenly, blood splattered onto his face.
Since it contained acidity and weak poison, Yoo Ji-han paid close attention to it as well.
“Oh.”
Yet the wind magic cast by the Sylph blew all that splashed blood aside.
They could ignore the damage caused by the blood.
Such an incredibly useful spell!
Thanks to that, Yoo Ji-han could focus solely on creating a path.
Whoosh—!
Finally, water surged in through the thoroughly opened wound of the Whale Monster.
The interior of the Whale Monster’s mouth was swiftly filled with blood-mixed seawater.
Nonetheless, the group could breathe freely even in the water.
“Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine!”
“Wow, this is truly amazing.”
There was only a slight reduction in sound, yet conversation was not significantly hindered.
After confirming everyone’s safety, Yoo Ji-han advanced toward the opened wound.
Soon, he squeezed through the wound and emerged into the dark seabed.
“Whew!!”
The Whale Monster roared in anger upon seeing the heroes escape.
It opened its firmly closed mouth wide, attempting to devour them again.
However, the heroes, now free to move in the water, were no easy targets.
Bam! Crash! Bang!
Dealers attacked the enormous Whale Monster from a distance!
Since they had already inflicted enough wounds within its mouth,
The Whale Monster began to spurt out blood increasingly as time went on.
“Whew……!”
The Whale Monster, concentrating on receiving heavy hits to its head, ultimately sank into the depths of the sea.
Observing the surrounding situation, there was no sign of other monsters appearing.
Following that, Kim Si-hu tracked down the artifact that Min Yu-ri had implanted into the ship of the people from another world before being consumed by the Whale Monster.
“I found it!”
Fortunately, the artifact was within the range of magical influence.
Although they had moved quite far compared to when they pursued in a fishing boat, the distance was still manageable to follow.
‘How dare it use us as whale food.’
The thought of trapping the heroes inside its body was rather novel.
It must have known that a civilian was included among the group and acted accordingly.
But that attempt had inadvertently become an opportunity for the spirit to grow.
For Yoo Ji-han, it was simply a wry smile at the corners of his mouth.
