Chapter 20
<Full Moon Garden> was basically a dungeon with a forest background.
And as its name suggests, it was a forest in full bloom.
The scenery it presented was extremely beautiful.
"Wow, it's really pretty."
"This is a dungeon?"
Moreover, the flowers were silver-colored, glowing blue as if they had captured moonlight.
They were flowers of a kind I had never seen before.
Probably special flowers that only grow in this dungeon.
'It really is beautiful.'
The harmony between the silver flowers and the lush forest was beyond imagination.
I knew it was described as beautiful in the original work, but
Seeing it with my own eyes gave a completely different appreciation compared to reading about it in text.
[The Flower Witch is watching you.]
[The Flower Witch wants to meet you.]
Well, apart from that, there was something very concerning.
'The Flower Witch is the dungeon boss.'
The Flower Witch is the boss of <Full Moon Garden> and the ghost I want to make my familiar spirit.
For some reason, she was showing great interest in me.
"My lord is popular among ghosts."
'Don't say such ominous things.'
Popular among ghosts.
What a terrifying thing to say.
I dismissed the windows blocking my view.
I couldn't know the Flower Witch's true intentions in this situation anyway.
In the end, it seemed I would have to meet her directly to understand what this was about.
"If it weren't a dungeon, I'd really want to come here every day."
"Still, don't let your guard down. This is still a dungeon after all."
Although this dungeon was weakened for students to conquer easily,
Basically, it wasn't a dungeon with very low specs.
Probably, if it weren't the highest S-class, entry wouldn't be permitted.
In a normal situation, there wouldn't be much difficulty in clearing it, but
It was better not to lower our guard.
"Shall we decide on positions first?"
Rin was the one who suggested this first.
Deciding on positions.
We hadn't fought as a group before, so we hadn't decided on them, but
This was a dungeon, practically real combat, so her suggestion was reasonable.
"Well, even if we do, aren't they already decided?"
This time it was Yoon Kang-woo who spoke.
And as he said, even without deciding, the positions were pretty much set.
Of course, at the very front was the tank sword dealer, Yoon Kang-woo.
There was nothing in this dungeon that could break through his defense.
"I think it would be good to have Baek Seo-yun right behind or beside him."
"I think so too."
Behind him was the main melee swordsman, Baek Seo-yun.
Karen in the center, and Rin at the very back.
Karen, with the strongest firepower but weak defense, in the center.
Rin, the supporter and auxiliary dealer, was best at the very back where she could see everyone and give appropriate buffs as needed.
"Then Shin-woo..."
"He's the most ambiguous one."
"Just make him overall support. He's the most versatile after all."
Then lastly, there was me.
I could be said to have the most ambiguous position.
Basically, I had the occupation of shaman, but I could use a sword for melee attacks.
I could also do ranged attacks with shamanism or possession.
I could even do buffs using formations, although it took time.
So my set position was overall support, in other words, an all-rounder.
"But I'm planning to do mainly melee attacks."
"Don't go too far forward. Protecting Karen and Rin is the most important."
I nodded at Yoon Kang-woo's words.
In Rin's case, she also served as a healer, so she gave the possibility of recovery even if defeated.
As for Karen, what needs to be said?
She's just our team's strongest force.
"Then let's enter according to our positions."
We adjusted our formation and began to enter as decided.
For now, I was beside Rin.
I kept watch from the center.
How much time had passed like that?
When we had climbed about a third of the mountain,
Finally, the first monsters revealed themselves.
Grrrr-
They were monsters in the shape of trees, fitting the dungeon's forest theme.
Grotesquely twisted tree roots and branches.
Creatures slightly larger than humans approached, shaking their silver branches.
"They're Moonlight Ents. Get ready."
I said this while drawing my sword.
Moonlight Ents.
They were the most common monsters in <Full Moon Garden>, but not particularly strong ones.
"There are about 10 of them. Let's defeat them in order according to our formation."
As soon as the simple instruction ended, an Ent rushed at Yoon Kang-woo, who was at the very front.
A tree fist imbued with silver energy flew at him.
Clang-!
But Yoon Kang-woo didn't budge an inch.
As he perfectly blocked the attack with his sword, he pierced the Ent's body.
Slash-
Baek Seo-yun, who was beside him, cut off the Moonlight Ent's head.
"These guys, they die when their heads are cut off, right?"
"They do die when their core is severed. The core is in their head, so they'll die."
"Not much different from monsters, huh."
With those words, Baek Seo-yun immediately rushed at another Ent.
Ents split every time she swung her two swords.
Seeing that, I moved as well.
"Familiar spirit, I speak to Hwa-ryeon. Lend me your power."
+++
[Skill List: Hwa-ryeon]
Fox Fire Lv.9
Enchantment Lv.MAX
Fire Body Lv.6
※Due to low skill proficiency, only one skill can be used.
+++
The skill I was going to use this time was Fox Fire.
Heuk-rang's shadow skills weren't bad either, but basically, the Ents' attribute was wood.
Attacks made of flame were extremely effective against them, so I was planning to use Hwa-ryeon's skill this time.
"Please summon me."
"The efficiency isn't that good."
If our numbers were few, it might be different.
Summoning Hwa-ryeon in an already sufficient situation would be a waste of shamanic power.
Possession was enough for now.
[Skill, 'Fox Fire Lv.9' is temporarily granted to you.]
[A part of the familiar spirit 'Hwa-ryeon's' soul is possessed by you.]
As soon as the possession activated, red flames enveloped my body.
On my head, red-dyed flames formed the shape of fox ears.
My waist was also similarly wrapped in red flames forming a long tail.
Along with that, red flames surrounded my sword.
I didn't use shamanism. This was enough.
"I'll add this too."
Rin said this as she waved her hand.
Shamanic power flowed from her fingertips, adding more strength to my body.
[Onmyodo, 'Steps of the Whirlwind' strengthens you.]
[Your movement speed is temporarily increased.]
As Rin was the best buffer in the original work,
Even though it wasn't a very strong buff, I could immediately feel my steps becoming faster.
"Thanks."
With those words, I moved my feet and moved between the group of Ents.
The first place I headed was towards an Ent distracted by Yoon Kang-woo.
Whoosh-
As I swung my sword wrapped in red flames at it,
The Ent's head turned to ash without any resistance.
'About 5 left.'
Since Baek Seo-yun had already taken down 3,
I was planning to clean up the ones on the opposite side from her.
Grrrr-
The creatures swung their heavy fists at me while making strange noises.
Each attack had quite a powerful force.
I had no intention of receiving them directly like Yoon Kang-woo.
"You're slow."
I deflected those attacks to the side and immediately raised my sword to stab the creature's chest.
The sensation of cutting through rough wood accompanied the sword's penetration.
At the same time, I increased the power of the fox fire.
Whoosh-!!
As the level increased, the skill proficiency had also improved.
Now I had no problem controlling the firepower even without Hwa-ryeon's assistance.
Using shamanic power and the Ent's body as fuel to strongly ignite the flames, its head instantly turned to ash.
'My steps are light too.'
I probably could have dodged those attacks originally,
But thanks to Rin's onmyodo, I was able to avoid all their attacks without much movement.
"Hey! That was my prey!"
"There's no such thing as prey in a party fight."
Baek Seo-yun shouted this while slicing another Ent beside me, but I just shrugged and targeted another Ent.
The red flames blazed strongly once again.
Along with that, the tail at my waist also swayed.
"That appearance suits you so well too! Like a fox."
Hwa-ryeon, who had followed beside me, shouted this at that appearance.
But if you were going to compliment this appearance, shouldn't you have done it just now?
"You look even cooler when fighting."
"You're really picky."
I smiled faintly at Hwa-ryeon's words as I cut down one more Ent, leaving only 2 Ents remaining.
Grrrr-
They didn't rush at us immediately.
Although they were monsters, they were living beings with intelligence.
They seemed to know that they were no match for us.
But we couldn't just let them go.
So as I was about to chase after them,
"Shin-woo. Duck."
Karen, who hadn't said a word until now, spoke to me quietly.
Along with that, I felt a chill and a massive flow of magical power from behind.
As soon as I felt that, I immediately lowered my waist to the ground.
Crackle-!
"Flare."
With Karen's short words, streams of blue flames struck the Ents.
Their thickness was thin, but their number was countless.
Each one had considerable power, instantly freezing the Ents' bodies.
"Spear."
A follow-up attack.
Black ice spears created from Karen's fingertips rained down on the frozen Ents.
The Ents' bodies shattered and died as a natural course.
They died without being able to offer any resistance.
The situation was resolved in an instant.
'Brutal.'
As expected of the strongest firepower.
It was befitting a glass cannon focused entirely on firepower.
"Shin-woo."
At that moment, Karen, who had been looking at the shattered Ents, spoke to me.
"What?"
"Give me a reward."
"...A reward?"
Suddenly?
Before I could say such words, Karen suddenly pushed her head towards me.
"Do it."
"...You want me to pat your head?"
"Yes."
I thought it couldn't be, but it really was.
Is it because of what I did for her last time?
'Somehow her personality seems different from the original work.'
Quite a lot, at that.
I reached out to her head, feeling a bit flustered.