Chapter 94
Chapter 94: Department Store (2)
Yoo Ji-han’s party continued their hunt on the 2nd floor.
“Like this.”
“No, like this.”
Screech!
Yoo Ji-han taught his party members how to tackle the Ankoe Flower.
Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri stumbled a bit since it was their first time, but under Yoo Ji-han’s guidance, they soon formed a convincing attack pattern.
“See? It’s easy.”
With a clean strike, Kim Si-hu attacked the Ankoe Flower.
Yoo Ji-han smiled contentedly at the sight of the chopped Ankoe Flower from his Wind Cutter.
It may be a bit troublesome to attack the exposed stem, but with just a little care, better results can be achieved.
“Thud!”
Chilla’s shield blocked the charging Ankoe Flower.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several flowers hanging on the branches took turns striking at the shield.
Though small in size, their continuous attacks were one of the Ankoe Flower’s specialties.
The impact on the shield was not negligible either.
Thump!
But Chilla rather pushed the Ankoe Flower back with sheer force.
Min Yu-ri shot a Magic Arrow, as if waiting for the right moment.
And the moment the arrow pierced between the Ankoe Flowers…
[Shape Change – Rectangle]
The magic that formed the arrow instantly transformed into a thin, flat surface.
At the same time, every twig it touched was severed.
‘Is that talent?’
To reprocess magic that’s already fixed in arrow form at such speed!
Yoo Ji-han couldn’t help but admire silently.
It looked simple, yet it was an incredibly challenging task.
It wouldn’t be strange if they quit being archers and became mages instead.
‘Indeed, I’ve gathered good people.’
Kim Si-hu and Min Yu-ri were both heroes with outstanding talent.
If another guild witnessed this scene, they would be drooling.
“I’ll go up more.”
They passed through the women’s clothing store on the 2nd floor and entered the men’s clothing store on the 3rd floor.
However, after ascending the escalator,
Yoo Ji-han noticed something and tilted his head.
“What is this?”
A red garment.
But the color seemed a bit dull, almost as if it had been wet.
As he approached, he was taken aback.
“Bloodstains.”
“……?!”
What was stained on the red T-shirt was blood.
Moreover, there was a considerable amount of blood dripping on the 3rd floor.
After picking up the fallen garment, he realized that while it was damp, it appeared somewhat dried, indicating that it had been there for at least a few hours.
‘Is there an animal? Or…’
Generally, when plant-type monsters are attacked, they spray out a transparent liquid or water.
Only animals usually have red blood.
And naturally, humans are included among those animals.
“Could a person have been hurt?”
“Not sure.”
If it was blood spilled by a person, the amount would certainly raise concerns about death.
But he hadn’t heard any news about fatalities happening here.
“Let’s ignore it for now.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party proceeded deeper into the 3rd floor.
Perhaps due to the sight of the blood, their sense of vigilance toward their surroundings heightened a bit more.
*
The hunting on the 3rd floor was smoother than on the 2nd.
Thanks to mastering the proper strategy, the Ankoe Flowers were no longer a threat to Yoo Ji-han’s party.
The bundle that Chilla carried was piling up with cut flowers.
“Should I help carry some?”
“Thud!”
As Kim Si-hu extended his hand, Chilla shook his head.
Despite carrying a shield, he insisted on playing the pack mule until the end.
‘I don’t see any beasts.’
In contrast to the discovery of red blood, no animal-type monsters were visible around.
Yet he hadn’t come across a party that had sustained serious damage either.
Though internally puzzled, Yoo Ji-han continued hunting silently.
Screech!
In the children’s clothing store adjacent to the men’s section, Ankoe Flowers were swarming about.
One of them hid among a pile of clothing marked for a massive sale and attempted a surprise attack.
However, Yoo Ji-han’s party, maintaining their vigilance, deftly countered the ambush.
“Let’s check the body cameras for a moment.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party each checked the body cams attached to their bodies.
From viewing past feedback footage, there were occasions where blood smeared on the lens went unnoticed while filming and it turned out to be quite distracting from the viewer’s perspective.
To prevent that from happening again, they cleaned the lens and adjusted their positions slightly.
“I’ll head up to the rooftop and then exit.”
“Sure.”
Yoo Ji-han climbed up one more level, arriving at the 4th floor’s dining area.
Familiar franchise hamburger shops and a kids’ cafe caught his eye.
Unfortunately, most of the stores were in shambles.
It seemed like several battles had occurred among different parties.
“Oh? That’s…”
Kim Si-hu’s eyes widened as he spotted other heroes.
They were somewhat familiar faces.
Soon, the opposing party turned to look at Yoo Ji-han’s group.
“Hello.”
“Good to see you here.”
They were one of the parties that had passed the Hero Academy alongside Yoo Ji-han.
Yoo Ji-han greeted them warmly.
“How’s the hunting going?”
“Moderately well.”
“Oh, by the way, have you seen any animal-type monsters in here?”
“We haven’t seen any…”
“There’s red bloodstains everywhere.”
“That’s a bit strange.”
It seemed the other party had also failed to spot any animals, even after reaching the rooftop.
‘Could it really have been human blood?’
As their speculation grew,
Yoo Ji-han’s party bid farewell to them and parted ways as they left the department store.
“This side has very few monsters.”
“Let’s keep moving.”
They quickly moved past the 4th and 5th floors, arriving at the 6th floor.
The 6th and 7th floors of the department store had large movie theaters and screening rooms.
All the screens were off, with only a few ceiling lights barely flickering on in the space.
Popcorn and drinks were scattered about, but compared to other floors, this area was relatively intact.
[Light]
Passing through the entrance where tickets were checked, they headed towards the interior of the screening room.
Kim Si-hu prepared a bright light in advance as they entered.
Their first destination was Screening Room 1.
Just as Yoo Ji-han made his way down the curved corridor slowly,
“Ah!”
Crash!
The Ankoe Flower appeared at the corner of the corridor.
Yoo Ji-han swiftly deflected the flower with his sword and quickly shook off the twigs, ducking into Screening Room 1.
‘It’s dark.’
The space had tiered seating arrangements.
With the lights and the gigantic screen across the room both turned off, it was extremely dark inside.
Yet he could certainly feel the presence of enemies inside.
Swoosh—
Kim Si-hu moved the light magic around, scanning the seats.
When an Ankoe Flower appeared from Row B, Min Yu-ri shot an arrow toward it.
‘I see it.’
Yoo Ji-han, his eyes gradually adjusting to the dark, surveyed the enemies inside.
There were more than expected lurking within the screening room.
“I think we’re going to need one more bundle.”
*
From Screening Room 1 to Screening Room 3.
Yoo Ji-han’s party hunted smoothly even in the darkness of the screening rooms.
After stealthily scanning the 6th floor to avoid other parties, they ascended to the 7th floor.
Just as they were about to enter Screening Room 5,
“Ahhh…!”
Suddenly, a small scream from outside pierced the air.
The sound was faint, but it was unmistakably filled with terror!
Yoo Ji-han instinctively dashed toward the source of the sound.
“It’s coming from above!”
The scream emanated from the upper floor.
The rooftop of the department store.
Zip!
[Haste]
A refreshing gust of wind enveloped Yoo Ji-han’s body.
He easily leaped over the broken escalator and sprinted towards the rooftop door.
Bang—!
Yoo Ji-han kicked down the closed entrance, as if to shatter it.
The loud noise revealed the scene of the rooftop garden.
“……!”
A place marked as a relaxing space for department store visitors, where several monsters lurked as well.
However…
“S-save me!”
“Let go of me!”
Most prominently featured was a Maple Goemi, transformed from a maple tree.
In addition to it, a Pine Goemi transformed from a pine tree and even a decorative Yew were in the process of becoming monsters.
The various Goemi used their long branches to bind the heroes’ bodies.
The heroes squirmed, attempting to break free from their restraints, but their efforts had little effect.
“Aaah!”
“Choke, ugh!”
The branches growing from the trees were invading the heroes’ mouths and nostrils.
If left in that state, they would surely turn their insides upside down.
One person, apparently already having experienced that process, was bleeding from every hole in his body and had his neck bent back.
Crunch!
Yoo Ji-han gritted his teeth and fixed his gaze fiercely on the spot where the heroes were tied.
The bigger threat was the Maple Goemi and Pine Goemi.
Those two were officially treated as Rank 3 monsters by the Hero Department.
It was clear that competent Rank 4 heroes had fallen victim to them.
Thud! Thud!
The Goemi, emerging from the earth, wiggled their roots.
With most of the heroes already captured, they seemed to have set their sights on Yoo Ji-han’s party, who had yet to be caught.
“They’re coming!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Whip!
The pine tree extended its long branches like a flexible whip.
Without warning, Chilla stepped forward quickly.
Crash!
With a powerful force, Chilla’s feet were slightly pushed back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Then, the pine’s needles, resembling a porcupine’s quills, battered the shield continuously.
With each strike, Chilla’s body quivered along with the shield.
“Squeak, squeak…!”
Chilla grimaced but did not drop his shield.
Thanks to that, the two behind him got an opportunity to attack.
[Fire Lance]
Kim Si-hu launched a Fire Lance towards the body of the Pine Goemi.
Fire magic, which could be fatal to plant-type monsters!
However, the Pine Goemi created a wall using several thick branches to shield itself.
Wham!
The burning branches ignited in a blaze.
The Pine Goemi deliberately severed those branches from its body to minimize damage.
Such actions were possible because it was a Rank 3 monster possessing magic.
Min Yu-ri assisted Kim Si-hu by shooting arrows at the rapidly regrowing branches.
Boom—!
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-han was facing the Maple Goemi alone.
Crack!
Each time he struck the branches binding the heroes with his sword, the restraints loosened a little.
It seemed like with just a few more strikes, he might be able to free them.
But the Maple Goemi didn’t allow that and pushed him even harder.
Whip!
The branches, bending like whips, swung powerfully.
Simultaneously, the green maple leaves hanging from the branches fell like rain.
The leaves were not mere ordinary foliage but life-threatening weapons!
Sharp, shuriken-like leaves zapped towards Yoo Ji-han at high speed.
<—Twisting my waist to the right, probability of dodging that leaf>
<73%>
<—Lowering my head, probability of dodging that leaf>
<85%>
Yoo Ji-han considered various possibilities and dodged the maple leaves.
Avoiding incoming projectiles was a specialty of his.
Had it been red-stained leaves from a bloodthirsty Maple Goemi, the process would have been a bit more complicated.
Fortunately, this one wasn’t.
<—Deflecting that leaf with my sword, probability>
<91%>
Moreover, he felt that practice was easier than real combat.
In real situations, he could fully utilize his weapon and magic.
