Chapter 107
C-rank Hunter Oh Yuna had harbored admiration and romantic ideals about the very concept of a ‘hero’ since childhood.
‘Wow, so cool…!’
The first children’s animation she watched at the age of five.
She had felt that way ever since falling in love with the sight of a hero saving people.
The reason she chose to become a Hunter was an extension of that dream.
The profession closest to being a hero in the modern era.
A life of protecting and saving someone in danger.
Although reality had made her only a C-rank Hunter, the flame she held for heroes still burned in her heart.
And now, at this very moment.
“Kkyuu!”
The sight of that pink jelly beating monsters to a pulp before Yuna’s eyes perfectly matched her definition of a ‘hero.’
Only a few days ago, it had been mistaken for a terrifying monster.
Yet it paid no heed to the eyes turned toward it and was instead bravely fighting on the side of the people.
‘And it’s cute, too…!’
It looked especially cute because it wasn’t using the grotesque muscular arm or tentacles she had seen back then.
‘Ahem.’
Of course, appearances weren’t important.
It was just then, while the Hunters’ morale had risen and the defensive line was holding firm.
“Huh…?! Up there in the sky!”
At someone’s urgent cry, Yuna raised her head.
Black clouds were gathering over the blue sky of Mapo-gu.
A gigantic swarm formed from countless fly monsters clumped together into a pitch-black mass.
‘What…?’
It was a development no one had expected at all.
It was a type that had never appeared even once before.
If that enormous swarm of flies crossed the defensive line and spread into downtown Seoul, the resulting damage would be uncontrollable.
“Intercept them in the air! Don’t let a single one get through!”
At the commander’s urgent order, the ranged-class Hunters, including the mages, unleashed their skills all at once. Pillars of fire surged upward, while lightning and ice arrows flew into the sky.
But it was nowhere near enough.
“Damn it. The flies themselves are fragile, but there are just too many of them…!”
One mage Hunter shouted desperately between ragged breaths.
No matter how many they shot down, the cloud covering the sky showed no sign of shrinking.
To sweep away a swarm of that scale in one go, they needed a massive area-of-effect skill from an S-rank Hunter.
But there were no S-rank Hunters at this defensive line.
Everyone had thought that A-rank Hunters alone would be more than enough.
Everyone was despairing and could only stare up at the sky.
Just then.
Oh Yuna suddenly locked eyes with the Jelly Golem standing far away.
Had it perhaps grown angry at the monsters after fighting so fiercely?
Its body had somehow become dyed a vivid red, far beyond mere pink.
Yet the tiny eyes set in its expressionless face still shone brightly.
“Kkyu!”
The creature’s short cry.
‘…Jelly?’
For some reason, Oh Yuna felt that it had firmly resolved to do something.
Haaap-!
The Jelly Golem took a deep breath, then its body swelled up like a giant balloon.
And then, buoyantly, it began slowly floating upward toward the sky.
It was a precarious sight, like a red balloon a child had accidentally let go of, flying alone toward the dark clouds.
“W-Wait a moment……!”
Yuna unconsciously reached out her hand as she watched.
She had an ominous feeling about this.
But the red balloon had already entered the very center of the swarm of flies.
Soon, it exploded with an enormous boom.
“Huh…?”
Intense red light scattered in every direction from the sky, and fragments of the fly monsters came pouring down like rain.
The sky over Mapo-gu, which had been covered by dark clouds only moments ago, had regained its clear blue.
But Oh Yuna couldn’t smile.
She could only stare blankly up at the sky.
At the peaceful blue sky of a midsummer day.
“J-Jelly…? Th-That isn’t true, is it…?”
Because there.
She could no longer find her hero anywhere.
***
That disgusting swarm of flies exploded spectacularly in one shot!
At that level of power, everyone must have been shocked.
‘Shall I check the Hunter Gallery’s reaction~?’
Lying facedown on my soft bed, I opened the Hunter Gallery app.
As I expected, the gallery was filled with reactions to our Golem.
But then.
[Title: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Is the Jelly Monster dead??]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
Ah, fuck, I just watched the live news broadcast, and tears came to my eyes before I knew it.
It blew itself up to save people, didn’t it…….
I normally fucking hate slimes, but that was kind of sad.
Pink squishy, I won’t forget you ㅠㅠ
- I’m genuinely tearing up. Its back looked so damn dependable.
- Bring my jelly back to life.
- Jellybao, don’t go ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- What kind of monster fights on humanity’s side and then even sacrifices itself…? At this point, isn’t it someone’s summon rather than a monster?
ㄴ It came out of a Gate when it first appeared, so it is a monster ㅇㅇ
‘Huh…?’
I blinked.
Self-destruct? Sacrifice? Death?
What was all this supposed to mean?
‘No. It didn’t die, though? I can just summon it again once its cooldown comes around.’
They seemed to have mistaken the Blood Golem’s reverse-summoning for its death.
Well, now that I thought about it, it was understandable.
It had suddenly risen into the sky, gone boom, and disappeared.
No, but this wasn’t what I had wanted.
The reaction I had wanted was something like, ‘It’s terrifying, it’s powerful, but a monster that helps humans? What on earth is it?’…
‘Oh no. Did the Golem look too cute?’
Maybe it was because I hadn’t shown the muscular arm or tentacle blood-drinking it had used in Itaewon.
In people’s eyes, perhaps it looked less like a frightening biological weapon and more like a lovable mascot’s tragic sacrifice.
Well, although the reaction was somewhat different from what I had expected, it was still positive that public attention was gathering.
People from various countries, not just Korea, were starting to talk about it on the Climber Community as well.
[Title: Guys, have you seen the Mapo-gu raid video?]
[Author: GodChris]
(American news video covering the Mapo-gu incident)
Oh my God. The birth of a new hero. (teary-eyed face emoji) (praying emoji)
- So you saw this ㅠㅠ It was a true hero through and through.
- It made the American news too? The pink slime is so tragic...
- I’ve never seen a monster sacrifice itself like that before ㅇㅇ;;
[Title: Posting a memorial for the jelly monster that died in today’s raid.]
[Author: Anonymous]
Though it was a monster, I pay tribute to that noble soul that sacrificed itself for humanity.
- ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- We will not forget….
- Light’s Apostle) …….
[Title: ㅠㅅㅠ]
[Author: Kitty Punch]
ㅇㅅㅇ!!
ㅇㅅㅇ…?!
ㅠㅅㅠ
- What, was this the first time they used an emoticon other than ㅇㅅㅇ?
- They must have been completely traumatized.
- Everyone’s equally sad…. Pink squishy ㅠㅠ
‘…….’
The problem was that the dominant reactions here, too, were sadness and pity.
‘Hmm. Does it matter?’
The broad outline of my plan hadn’t gone awry.
When I thought about it, this might actually be better.
If I revealed the perfectly fine Blood Golem with a flashy ta-da while everyone was feeling this sad and sorry for it, then announced that it hadn’t died?
Wouldn’t my Great Feat rise much higher thanks to the reversal?
It would be better to quietly observe things for now, until the touching atmosphere fully ripened.
***
The Mapo-gu raid came to an end.
The work of clearing away the monster remains and reorganizing the defensive line began.
“……”
Oh Yuna walked down the street with dead eyes.
The being that had saved her twice had disintegrated before her eyes.
She hadn’t even properly thanked it once.
‘Because I was weak….’
Just as she lowered her head, cursing her own helplessness.
Her footsteps suddenly came to a stop.
On the cracked asphalt.
A single small piece of jelly with a faint pink tint lay there alone.
“……”
The moment she picked up that piece, the emotions she had been holding back burst forth.
Tears suddenly poured down her face.
Oh Yuna hugged the small fragment tightly to her chest and sank to the ground.
“Sob… hic…!”
Choked sobs slipped out along with her ragged breathing.
She hugged the fragment even tighter and made a vow.
Jelly.
I won’t forget you.
I’ll grow stronger, truly, truly stronger. I’ll definitely become a hero who protects people just like you……!
At the very moment she made that resolution.
A brilliant blue light suddenly enveloped her body.
[You have reawakened by fulfilling the conditions.]
[You awaken as the S-grade class, ‘Unyielding Hero.’]
***
That evening.
After checking the Great Feat window out of habit, I noticed something strange.
[The Lord’s Great Feat (Unique)]
- Current completion rate: 38%
‘Ehhh? It went up by ten percent?!’
What?
I hadn’t even posted anything on the community yet, so why had my Great Feat already risen so much?
Vampire baffled.
I tilted my head in confusion.