Chapter 113
Chapter 113: Monster Frog (2)
Yoo Ji-han flinched at Min Yu-ri’s mocking attitude towards the fallen woman.
‘She’s got quite the temper.’
It was a side of her he had never seen directed at himself or Kim Si-hu.
She was ruthless to those she deemed enemies.
“Let’s stay here for a moment.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party momentarily joined the police on the scene.
The IUPC members continued to hurl harsh words, but they lacked the courage to charge forward easily.
After all, they didn’t have the guts to fight heroes capable of tossing a grown man aside with one hand.
Even while scornfully disregarding the heroes, they couldn’t ignore their strength.
“Step back!”
“No! No way!”
The situation at the park entrance quickly settled as heroes from the Hero Department arrived on the scene.
Their delay was due to the unsanctioned nature of the protest.
“Thank you for your help!”
The police, who had been dragged away by the IUPC, bowed to Yoo Ji-han’s party.
He honestly thought he might die in that situation, so he was grateful to still be alive.
“Oh dear, look at your injuries…”
“It’s nothing serious!”
As he examined the policeman’s split lip and bruised eye with concern, Min Yu-ri spoke up.
“Are protests like today common?”
“Y-yes… They seem to have intensified recently. We’ve been dispatched more often.”
“I hope you don’t get hurt badly.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
As Yoo Ji-han’s party finished their conversation and entered the park,
Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri glared at the gathering of IUPC members.
“Yikes!”
Those who met their intense gaze were visibly startled.
Some appeared tense, as if sensing lethal intent.
“Let’s stop ignoring them and go in.”
Yoo Ji-han soothed his party members and moved on.
After all, their primary purpose for visiting the MA today was to hunt monster frogs.
‘Their habitat must be that way.’
Beyond the entrance lay a small parking lot decorated like a plaza in the park.
Yoo Ji-han’s party walked towards the habitat of the golden frog while looking at the signpost in the square.
Thick greenery and well-maintained dirt paths welcomed them.
‘Looks like there hasn’t been much fighting around here yet.’
The park was divided into areas for citizens to stroll and the frog’s habitat.
From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary park.
If a more intense battle had taken place, it wouldn’t maintain such a peaceful appearance.
However, Yoo Ji-han’s party remained cautiously vigilant, aware that enemies might appear at any moment.
“There it is.”
Min Yu-ri pointed towards a distant area.
Contrary to the dry land near the entrance, the ground here was damp and richly fertile.
They could see other heroes wandering nearby.
“Phew! This side is clear!”
“Over here too!”
The habitat contained a large reservoir that covered more than half the park’s area.
According to park officials, the reservoir’s depth had become unusually deep since the appearance of the monsters.
Thanks to this, heroes donned in full diving gear, with oxygen tanks strapped to their backs, plunged into the water to search for the monster frogs hiding below.
“Got it! Pull it up!”
One hero held a harpoon connected to a long line leading out of the lake.
If he successfully speared a frog, the waiting team members would pull the frog up from the water for the hunt.
Since these frogs tended to hide deep underwater, that was the method most heroes employed.
‘Releasing poison is out of the question.’
There might be suggestions to use poison since the monster was hiding underwater.
But considering that this was originally an ecological park frequented by local citizens, and that other flora and fauna needed protection as well, using poison was absolutely off the table.
“This should do.”
Yoo Ji-han set up in front of the reservoir where there were few people.
He then opened the zipper of the bag he had slung over his shoulder.
A brand-new fishing rod, which he had bought but never used, was revealed.
“Gotcha.”
Kim Si-hu handed over the bundle that Chilla was holding to Yoo Ji-han.
It contained bait for the fishing rod and would also be used to store the hunted monsters.
“Take that out.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Who else would do it?”
“Maybe Yu-ri unnie…”
Kim Si-hu glanced at Min Yu-ri with a pleading expression.
However, she pretended to control an invisible drone in the air, completely uninterested.
“Ugh…”
In the end, Kim Si-hu reluctantly opened the bundle with an unhappy look.
Inside were large caterpillars, each nearly the size of a human forearm.
They were research monsters modified to prevent growth, intended to become rank 5 monsters after metamorphosis.
“Now, feed them.”
As Yoo Ji-han checked the fishing rod, he handed Kim Si-hu small chips of low-grade magic stones.
They were cheap magic stones that could be bought for just a few thousand won.
“Ugh! Just eat them calmly!”
Kim Si-hu managed to shove them into the caterpillars’ mouths.
Though they squirmed and fought back, they couldn’t resist the strength of a hero.
Thus, the bait with the low-grade stones was prepared.
‘Using a monster to hunt a monster.’
There had been heroes who attempted fishing for frog monsters before, but most had failed.
The frogs didn’t respond to ordinary bait.
But this was a new plan to lure them up using the larvae of insect-type monsters!
Yoo Ji-han had prepared this to hunt the deeply submerged frogs.
‘Kim Hyun-tae called me crazy for proposing this.’
He first came up with the idea back when he was in Kim Hyun-tae’s party and suggested it to the team, receiving outright rejection without a moment’s hesitation.
Though it was truly a crazy notion worthy of ridicule from other heroes…
——You’re really going to do that? For real?
Thanks to Yang Ji-cheol, he had already received permission from the Hero Department.
It allowed him to bring killer bait classified as monsters into the MA.
‘Now, to hook the bait…’
Yoo Ji-han grabbed a fat caterpillar and skewered it onto the fishing hook.
Kim Si-hu was horrified watching the wriggling creature on the hook.
Whoosh!
He cast the bait powerfully towards the reservoir.
The caterpillar that had been squirming in midair splashed down into the water with a plop.
“Take this.”
“Okay.”
Kim Si-hu received the fishing rod and gently placed his finger on the fishing line.
The fishing line was a special item coated with magic, allowing the flow of magical energy.
Zzz—
Kim Si-hu infused a bit of his magic into the line.
The small amount of magic released from his hand traveled rapidly along the long fishing line and reached the hook and caterpillar at the end.
Then the caterpillar underwater wriggled energetically as if it were out of the water.
‘Using magic to shake the caterpillar that’s been fed the magic stones.’
Though the low-grade stones weren’t well-suited for fine manipulation, they were sufficient for a simple shake.
In essence, a bait that was highly appealing to the frogs hiding underwater was born.
Min Yu-ri, who had been silently observing the reservoir, asked,
“Do you think this will actually work?”
“Probably?”
Yoo Ji-han scratched his head.
Truthfully, while he had planned it, he didn’t have certainty.
If this failed, they would have to move to another MA.
After all, he hadn’t brought along underwater gear or drones like other parties.
“Wait?”
Just then, as Kim Si-hu was shaking the bait, he felt a small vibration in the fishing rod and jerked it upward.
For some reason, the rod felt heavier than before.
“How do I pull this?”
“Turn the handle!”
Following Yoo Ji-han’s instruction, Kim Si-hu grasped the handle and turned it.
As he did so, the fishing line gradually tightened.
Something hooked on the line was vigorously resisting.
“Gah!”
Though he was a mage, Kim Si-hu was still a genuine hero.
With considerable strength, he yanked the rod upward with all his might.
As he did, a dark shadow began to emerge from beneath the reservoir.
“It’s here!”
Finally, the monster frog hooked on the line burst out of the water.
With green skin, bulging eyes, and an impressively large size, it definitely matched the typical depiction of a frog.
“Ribbit?”
Pulled onto the ground, the frog wore a dazed expression.
It had suddenly encountered a moving meal…
And as soon as it bit the bait, it was thrown out of the water.
“Yu-ri!”
Swish!
Min Yu-ri shot a magic arrow towards the frog.
It flew directly towards its head.
“Ribbit ribbit!”
However, the arrow merely grazed its body, slightly missing the intended target.
The slimy, slippery exterior of its skin had caused the attack to miss.
“Ribbit…!”
Enraged, the frog opened its mouth towards Min Yu-ri.
A long, smooth, red tongue shot straight at her.
It was as fast as the arrow she was shooting.
“Thwack!”
Chilla raised her shield to block the tongue.
The tongue stuck to the shield like the north and south poles of a magnet.
The frog pulled the tongue back towards itself.
“Thwack, thwack!!”
The tongue glued to the shield stretched tight.
Yet, with her feet firmly planted on the ground, Chilla didn’t budge an inch.
The difference in absolute power was significant.
Yoo Ji-han felt a sense of pride at how far Chilla’s abilities had grown thanks to the elixirs he had fed her.
Swish!
Yoo Ji-han cut the tongue sticking to the shield with his sword.
As it lost its support, the tongue drooped downwards.
“Ribbit?!”
Blood flowed from the severed end of the tongue.
At that moment, the frog sensed a life-threatening crisis for the first time.
“Ribbit ribbit!!”
Quickly turning its back on the humans, the frog leaped upwards.
With impressive jump strength, it soared much higher than the surrounding trees.
[Hazard]
Just as the frog stretched its hind legs to jump once more,
Yoo Ji-han hurriedly estimated the area where it would land and used consecutive sampling.
<—Probability of the frog landing at Point A>
<35%>
<—Probability of the frog landing at Point B>
<41%>
…….
…….
‘This should do.’
Locating the landing point, Yoo Ji-han positioned his sword precisely in the center.
It would be an unavoidable attack.
“Ribbit—!”
Discovering him on the ground, the frog croaked loudly.
But the leaping creature couldn’t do much from above.
Thud!
The sharp tip of the sword pierced through the frog’s belly.
The long blade pierced cleanly through its body, continuing through to its back as it continued to struggle before ultimately meeting its demise.
Yoo Ji-han grabbed one of its hind legs and walked over to his party members.
“Ribbit?”
Chilla poked the frog’s body with her fist.
She was checking if it was really dead.
Meanwhile, Kim Si-hu, who was packing up the fishing rod, mumbled in relief.
“Well… It actually worked.”
A groundbreaking discovery in hunting monster frogs.
Right after being first demonstrated by Yoo Ji-han’s party, this method would soon become widely used worldwide.
