Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“How dare a land dweller speak of Media. Such insolence.”

An A-rank quest recommended for five people.

Befitting its grandeur, dozens of soldiers lined up.

The water-made soldiers looked like the merfolk we commonly imagine – half fish tail, half human upper body. Large fins spread out among their hair, larger than a palm.

Half wielded spears, while the others held crystal orbs. They swam freely through the air as if it were water. It would have been a mesmerizing sight if only their spear tips weren’t aimed at us.

“You’ll regret coming to Media’s sleeping cradle!”

With the spirit’s declaration, the soldiers’ aura changed. The battle began without time to form a strategy.

My fingertips trembled with fear.

The situation was worse than at the Necromancer’s Mansion. Here, there was no Seo Young-woon to protect us, no Jo Sung-hyun to cut a path with his sword aura.

Cha Taeyang and I had to fend off these soldiers alone. Adding to the difficulty was having to protect Atera, who had no combat ability.

“I was shortsighted. I should have brought Yun Su-ho along.”

To think there’d come a day when I’d miss Yun Su-ho’s presence. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the goblin clanked noisily.

Cha Taeyang ignited blue flames in both hands.

“Unni, please cover me!”

Cha Taeyang stepped in front of me. Her tightly clenched fists betrayed her tension. Seeing her back, I pulled myself together.

Right, we have no choice but to get through this.

[Eternal Full Moon, Wonhwasobok (B+)]

‘To think I’d be using this here. You too have quite a fateful destiny.’

This bow, with options I wouldn’t have dared dream of before, was acquired by spending all the compensation from Choi Kwon-young and emptying my bank account. It was especially precious as it had only succeeded after sacrificing several items.

This bow was all I could rely on now.

“I can only pray you’ll be worth your price.”

As I drew Wonhwasobok’s string, I felt a faint vibration from the bow, as if in response.

As the sea spirit extended its arm forward, the soldiers began their attack. The spear-wielding soldiers charged at us.

With Atera behind us, we couldn’t utilize the Ranger skill’s mobility as usual, nor could we give up ground.

“Activate Explorer’s Eye.”

[Grasp the target’s essence with exceptional insight.]

My eyes, turned a faint golden color, pinpointed the enemy’s weakness. The jewels in the circlets on the soldiers’ heads glowed red.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang, aim for the jewels on their foreheads! That’s their weak point!”

“Yes, I got- ugh- it!”

Cha Taeyang destroyed the circlet with a magnificent movement. As soon as the jewel shattered, the soldier’s body dissolved into foam and disappeared.

Unable to just stand by, I deactivated Explorer’s Eye and activated Bow Assistant.

My target was the enemy’s rear.

Behind the spearmen, soldiers who seemed to be wizard-class were chanting some kind of spell in groups of three. We couldn’t leave them be.

“If we had a tank, it would be a different story.”

With Cha Taeyang busy dealing with the swarm of incoming soldiers, I had no choice but to handle it myself.

“Stack ‘Spread’ and ‘Replicate’. Release!”

Two layers of magic circles appeared on the cave ceiling. A rain of mana-made arrows fell upon the soldiers. Thanks to stacking Spread and Replicate, there were about three times as many arrows as usual.

The enemies, caught off guard by this unexpected attack, fell into confusion. The arrows reaching the rear disrupted the wizards’ chanting.

“Yes!”

“Well done, well done! Mr. Kim!”

Cha Taeyang swept through the disrupted front lines of the soldiers. I shot arrows to eliminate soldiers aiming for Cha Taeyang’s back.

Thanks to Wonhwasobok boosting my mana, I had more leeway in my mana reserves than before. I felt I could hold out a bit longer without potions.

Though numerous, their exposed weakness made them more manageable than expected.

“Huff, ha… That makes twenty-five!”

If it weren’t for Cha Taeyang’s performance in the midst of enemy lines, I couldn’t have afforded such optimistic thoughts.

Thanks to Cha Taeyang’s struggle to keep enemies from reaching us, the balance of the frontline was maintained.

Every time Cha Taeyang extended her fist, water splashed around her. Her hair was now soaked.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang, fall back!”

I nocked an arrow with Condensation stacked twice.

Hearing my words, Cha Taeyang skillfully retreated using her skill.

The massive arrow flew silently, piercing through three soldiers and hitting a wizard soldier behind them before disappearing.

Cha Taeyang flashed a bright smile in my direction before rushing back in. Using her momentum, she instantly turned two more soldiers into foam.

“…Amazing.”

Atera, who had been silent all this time, muttered. The goblin, who had rolled over to our side at some point, cackled as it climbed onto Atera’s shoulder.

“Right? How do you think we raised her! Taeyang is the pride of the goblins.”

While covering Cha Taeyang, I focused on disrupting the wizards’ magic. I shattered crystal orbs, scattered formations, and broke circlets whenever I saw an opening.

Just when it seemed the number of soldiers was decreasing, the sea spirit would summon new ones, prolonging the battle.

Mana potion bottles rolled at my feet, and Cha Taeyang’s breathing had noticeably roughened.

“Those guys don’t have a good affinity with Taeyang.”

The fearless goblin, who had been going back and forth between us and Cha Taeyang throughout the battle, sighed as it spoke. Affinity?

“Is it because they’re made of water?”

At a glance, the affinity between Cha Taeyang, who used flame martial arts, and the water-attribute soldiers seemed poor. At my words, the goblin threw a fit.

“Mr. Kims are all stupid! Goblin fire isn’t that kind of fire!”

“Then what’s the, ugh, problem?”

As I kicked away a soldier that had approached too close, the goblin crept onto my head.

According to him, Cha Taeyang’s flame is similar to the fire in our world but also different. That’s why even when doused with water, it only weakens rather than extinguishing.

What Cha Taeyang uses is the flame of purification.

Its essence of burning is no different from worldly flames, but it truly shines when facing wicked things.

“So when facing undead…”

“Those who defy death through illicit means are no match for Taeyang!”

But this time, the situation was different.

“The flame of purification can’t burn pure spirits. Plus, these are born from an ancient sea. It can’t overcome such water. For a young goblin to hold out this much is incredibly, incredibly impressive!”

“Hunter Cha Taeyang is human, not a goblin…”

“That’s why you should praise our Taeyang more!”

Having said its piece, the goblin jumped off my shoulder. Then it clanked across the battlefield, rushing to Cha Taeyang.

Whether goblin or human, to perform so well despite such a penalty – I couldn’t help but admire Cha Taeyang’s abilities once again. Atera seemed to share the sentiment, peeking at Cha Taeyang from behind me.

‘By the way, that sea spirit appeared as if it had tremendous abilities, but it’s just standing still?’

The spirit merely looked down at us, showing no movement.

Is summoning soldiers the extent of its ability? If so, that would be fortunate…

[Subquest ‘The Sea Spirit’s Wrath (A)’

– Remaining time: 00:04:39]

I would soon get the answer to that question.

With about 4 minutes left, Cha Taeyang defeated the last remaining soldier. The sea spirit summoned no more soldiers.

Cha Taeyang approached us. Though trying to smile, her exhaustion was evident.

“It’s over!”

“Good work.”

“A-above, Mr. Kim, look above!”

Before we could even greet each other, I hurriedly looked up.

The sea spirit, having returned to its whale form at some point, was floating above us.

“Lamentable, so lamentable! Today, I shall put an end to you all!”

Though I knew it wasn’t an actual sound, I instinctively covered my ears with both hands.

Water from the lake surged up, enveloping its body. Simultaneously, an ominous wave of mana rippled out.

Wooong-

The entire cavern shook, and the magic stones embedded in the walls spewed mana at the spirit’s call. The sea spirit’s already enormous magical power swelled further.

Blue mana and water mixed, illuminating the cave. Then the spirit began chanting an unknown spell.

We have to stop that!

If we take a spell cast by such a being head-on, we’ll be annihilated.

‘But how… Wait. If we can’t block it, we should prevent the casting itself!’

“The magic stones! We need to destroy the magic stones in the walls!”

Hearing my shout, Cha Taeyang nodded.

If we destroy the magic stones serving as amplifiers, we might be able to stop the activation. Even if not, it should buy us some time at least.

As if mocking our efforts, the sea spirit slapped the lake surface with its tail. The light from the magic stones grew stronger.

“Ha! Phosphorus Fist!”

“I-I’ll help too!”

All the usable slots were spent in the previous battle. We had no choice but to hit them one by one.

While I shot arrows, Cha Taeyang flashed around the cavern, shattering magic stones. Atera also picked up stones from around and broke magic stones.

Clang! As I expected, each time a magic stone was destroyed, the light enveloping the spirit weakened slightly.

“Those who disturb my rest, this is the punishment I bestow upon you.”

But the completion of the chant was faster than our destruction of all the magic stones.

An eerie blue light constricted us. The water around the spirit transformed into all kinds of weapons. Dozens, hundreds of weapons – maces, daggers, bastard swords, staves, and more – aimed at us.

I instinctively knew this was the kind of magic we couldn’t avoid.

With one sweep of the whale’s tail, the weapons flew towards us in a single point.

“Damn it, like this…”

Just as I was about to resign myself…

Bang!

Suddenly, a single bullet flew.

Following the bullet’s trajectory, multiple layers of magic circles unfolded.

Bang! Bang!

Two more shots rang out, and the sea spirit’s attack was magically nullified. I tightly closed my eyes as water splashed from the bursting weapons.

Hurriedly wiping away the water and opening my eyes, I saw someone in my blurry vision.

“Whale hunting, huh? You’re doing something interesting.”

A man in uniform stood blocking our way.

“Surprise. Looks like I wasn’t too late.”