Chapter 45
Chapter 45
As for the [Crow]...
*Thunk*-
[Ugh....!! What is this wall?]
The Crow was held a short way away from the rest of us. Like a pantomime, it wasn't able to cross an invisible line, as if it were blocked by something.
Its presence felt strangely indistinct, though it would slam its wings into the air or open its beak to protest.
If I didn't purposefully search for the crow, who was unable to join the battle, I would have overlooked it in the corner...The other pirate birds were also engaged in their own battles, and they didn't seem to pay attention to their missing brethren.
If one carefully scrutinized the [Crow's] situation, a thin gold line was on the floor, circling the perimeter of our battle. No matter how much it stamped its feet, it could not cross that line and could only circle us.
Seo Dawon spread his palms out, behind the crow, and his fingertips glowed with the same golden color as the line.
Of course, this peculiar division was engineered by Seo Dawon's ability. I was relieved to see Seo Dawon's handicraft; if the [Crow] had not been properly isolated the battle would not be so well-matched.
I tried to gauge how long he could maintain his spell, but, seeing Dawon's lack of complaints and relaxed expression, I turned back to the battle, confident in his ability.
I thought I should do something, rather than staying still, so I looked left and right-the two battlefronts.
The battles on both sides were tight, but I decided it would be better to join Kim Sangyoon, who was gradually getting pushed back. I contemplated how best to help and took a small dagger out of my inventory.
Hmmm.....If I throw this, will I grab the crane's attention?
So, I approached Kim Sangyoon with a dagger in hand and aimed the dagger at opportunistic gaps between their clashes.
"You aren't going to throw that, right?"
"Nngh!"
I heard Seo Dawon's voice above my head. He must have crossed the room to hover behind my back in the minute I took my eyes off of him.
Additionally, I was surprised to feel the weight of his hands pressing on my shoulder and shouted, "What?!" I quickly turned to check on his opponent, the [Crow.]
The [Crow] was stopped in its tracks, unable to budge except for the nervous eyes rolling around in its sockets...Just when did he subdue it, anyway?
Before I could ask what his intentions were, Seo Dawon reached out and grabbed the hand that held the dagger. "It's dangerous to drag its attention onto you like this. Even if Kim Sangyoon's slow...his body is tough. It's not as dangerous as you think it is."
"Ahhh.." I hurriedly lowered my hands at his explanation. "I'm sorry I stepped in," I added, thinking I almost made another fatal mistake for no benefit.
The trauma of being humiliated by the other party began to rush back into my memories, but Seo Dawon smiled and whispered, "That's not what I meant...You have a better weapon than that dagger." He brandished his hands.
Golden lines were drawn from his outstretched fingertip. At first, the thin line was manipulated into a simple circle, but similar shapes began to appear until they began to overlap and fold, forming complex geometric patterns in the blink of an eye.
It looked like an unfurling bud of a lotus flower?
The conjured magic circle shrank, smaller and smaller, until it could fit in Seo Dawon's palm. As it compressed, the glow became brighter. When the circle shrunk until it was the size of a finger, it stopped with a clicking noise.
"Thunder Calling." Seo Dawon muttered softly. The magic circle now burned so brightly that it was hard to look at it with bare eyes. I briefly blinked to avoid being blinded, but the magic circle had disappeared in that short moment. Instead, I felt an unusual airflow.
How should I describe it.....Should I say that a suffocating humidity, like the heavy steam of a sauna, had permeated the air?
The pirate birds, opposing my other party members, had also noticed the presence of something unusual; they retreated with their guards raised, warily waiting for my initiative, ignoring Lackey and Kim Sangyoon.
Since they couldn't see Seo Dawon, they must be paying attention to where they can sense the origin of the magic...
"What just....." Kim Sangyoon also felt the disturbance caused by the skill. He ran, a little exhausted, to me with questions in his eyes. Even Lackey had started to run towards me as well.
What could I even say? I was in a bind...
Suddenly, a small light flashed above the birds' heads; soon afterward the rumbling of thunder could be heard.
Though the Dungeon field was set on a pirate ship, the current battle was waged indoors, below deck; the lightning storm could not have been a natural occurrence. Clearly, this was one of Seo Dawon's skills...
But the lightning struck once or twice in some unrelated places and then subsided. That couldn't possibly be all? I glanced up at Seo Dawon, who was still grabbing my shoulder.
....Don't tell me...How could you fail when you looked so confident?
Kim Sangyoon adorned an ambiguous expression as he alternated between looking at the floor and my face.
-Bam!
-Crash!
-Boom!
It was then!
Before that small lightning's after image disappeared, a thick lightning pillar suddenly appeared, with a large roar, from the ceiling and struck the same location three times.
Holes were visible in the floor where lightning struck and wooden chips-off the ship's wooden planks-scattered in all directions.
Without allowing a moment for surprise, lightning began to strike dozens of times, each adding to the din of thunder and each faster than before. So little time passed before each strike, and so the lightning seemed as if it blended to form a huge pillar of light.
It did not stop there. The column began to move slowly, electrically burning everything it touched. A small lightning tornado was created indoors.
[Clack clack....!]
Perhaps Lackey was also fascinated by the events as I was, it kept turning its head here and there trying to follow the tornado with its empty eye sockets.
The tornado moved slowly, releasing threatening electrical sounds. Starting with the poker table, everything slowly turned into powder.
The pirate birds ran away, trying to escape that column of light. Flapping their wings, they began to take flight. Although the ceiling was quite high, the storeroom was still situated indoors; even with wings, the lightning was difficult to avoid.
[Kyaaaak!]
In particular, the crow, which had previously been held still by Seo Dawon's skills, was already facing the lightning column before its very eyes by the time he came back to his senses.
I had predicted the grisly end of the crow and crumpled my eyebrows, but the tornado, strangely, slipped past the bird and continued to move forward. The crow didn't miss the opportunity and quickly fled to the ceiling.
"If I killed it with this, you won't be able to gain experience," Seo Dawon said.
"....."
So, Seo Dawon intentionally let them live.
I looked at the sheltered birds perched 1.5 stories above us and then looked at him, wondering how we were going to reach the opponents.
More than that, the tornado began to diminish, the blinding glare of light gradually faded away. After the glow had completely disappeared, I could get a proper look at the stage field, which was burnt to cinders and in charred ruins.
"Umm...It seems that you weren't able to catch a single one..." Kim Sangyoon said, next to me, as if he were a bit frustrated.
I rolled my eyes cryptically, "Just wait a minute, please." I folded my arms to seem more confident; Seo Dawon probably had a good reason.
"The [Goose] wasn't here, right?" Seo Dawon said.
"....."
"Wouldn't it be better-for leveling-to defeat at least one more monster?" As soon as Seo Dawon spoke, a large 'crunch' could be heard from nearby. The door on the other side of the room was torn open with a bang!
[Do you know how long it's been since the captain's slept? Are you guys crazy?]
A very large and white [Goose] appeared.
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'Owl's right-hand man, Goose 'Pepe' has arrived!
Event Scenario - 'Owl's Insomnia' has been triggered by meeting special conditions.
'Captain Owl' is currently angry because he has been disturbed from his rest...
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TL: I return with two chaps~ Thanks for sitting by while the website was down~!