I Transferred to the SSS-rank Crafting Field - Chapter 26 - Do you know the sound of the sea’s cries (1)

Chapter 26

07 – Do you know the sound of the sea’s cries (1)

–How dare you landpeople mention Medea. How arrogant.

An A-list quest with a five-party minimum recommendation.

As befitting the spirit’s majesty, dozens of soldiers lined up.

The water-formed soldiers were like merpeople–with a tail for the lower body alongside the torso of a human. Fins larger than the palm of a hand spread out between their hair strands. 

The soldiers–half of them held spears and the other wielded crystal beads–swam freely through the air as if it was water. It was such a mysterious sight; I would have been mesmerized, watching with wonder, if the spear tips were not aimed at us.

–I shall make you regret coming to the cradle where Medea sleeps!

With the spirit’s declaration, the soldiers’ momentum changed. The battle had begun before we had any time to plan.

My fingertips trembled with fear.

This was worse than the Necromancer’s mansion. We had neither Seo Young-woon to protect us nor Cho Sunghyun to break through the ranks with his sword.

Cha Taeyang and I somehow had to stop those soldiers by ourselves. In addition, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this battle became twice as hard because we needed to protect Atera, a noncombatant.

“I was shortsighted. We should have brought Yoon Suho at the least.” 

Who knew that a day would come when I would miss Yoon Suho’s presence? The dokkaebi, who realized the gravity of the situation, roared boisterously.

Cha Taeyang lit blue flames in both her hands. “Unni, cover for me!”

Cha Taeyang walked out in front of me. Her clenched fists showed signs of anxiety. I returned to my senses when I saw her back.

Yeah–we had no choice but to succeed.

‘I can’t believe I’m debuting this weapon like this. I suppose you were born with an unlucky fate as well.’

This bow was one that I couldn’t have even dreamed of owning before the recent events. However, its existence became a reality, thanks to the reward I had received from Choi Kwon-young, in addition to clearing out my bank account. Detonating a few offerings during crafting made this weapon all the more valuable.

The only thing I could rely on now was this bow.

“I have no choice but to ask you to prove your worth.” When I pulled on ‘Defeat Anger–Invite Good Fortune’s’ drawstring, the bow vibrated as if it were answering my desperate plea. 

The sea spirit stretched its arms forward; the soldiers began to attack. The spearmen began rushing at us.

Since Atera sat behind me, I couldn’t use any of the Ranger’s mobility skills. Otherwise, I’d leave her vulnerable.

“Activate the ‘Explorer’s Eye.'”

My now pale gold eyes could pinpoint the enemy’s weaknesses. The jewel inlaid into the circlet atop the enemies’ heads glowed red. “Hunter Cha Taeyang, aim for the jewel on their forehead! That’s their weakness!”

“Yes, I–ngh–got it!” Cha Taeyang cheerfully destroyed the circlet in one swift move. As the jewel broke, the soldier’s body simultaneously turned into seafoam before disappearing.

I couldn’t just sit there and watch; I released the ‘Explorer’s Eye’ and activated my bow assistant.

I aimed for the enemy’s rear.

Behind the spearmen, I noticed three groups of what appeared to be wizard-type soldiers chanting some kind of spell. I couldn’t leave them be.

“If we had a Tanker with us, things might be different. But…” 

Cha Taeyang was busy dealing with the soldiers that flocked to us like a bee swarm, so it fell upon me to take care of the casters. 

“Overlap ‘Scatter’ and ‘Replicate.’ Release!”

Two overlapping magic circles manifested on the cave ceiling. A rain of magical arrows–the arrow count had been multiplied by three due to the overlap of  the ‘Scatter’ and ‘Replicate’ effects–poured down on the soldiers.

Like a bolt from a clear sky, the enemies were thrown into disarray. Thanks to the arrows that had reached the rearguard, the mages’ spellcasting was disrupted.

“Nice!”

“Good job, good job! Kim-seobang!”

Cha Tae-yang skillfully maneuvered through the disorganized soldiers. I shot arrows to eliminate the enemy soldier aiming for the back of Cha Tae-yang’s head.

Thanks to the enhancement from ‘Defeat Anger–Invite Good Fortune’, I now had more leeway with my mana compared to before. It seemed like I could endure a little longer without using potions.

Though we faced a large army, I thought this battle was more manageable than I had expected once their weaknesses were revealed.

“Hoo, Haah… This makes twenty-five!” If it weren’t for Cha Taeyang’s fantastic performance in the midst of enemy lines, I wouldn’t have the space to think so tranquilly.

Thanks to Cha Tae-yang’s fierce struggle to prevent the enemies from advancing in my direction, the frontline’s balance was maintained.

Every time Cha Taeyang punched out her fist, a spray of water splashed out around it. Before long, Cha Taeyang’s hair was drenched.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang, step back!” I notched overlaid arrows into my bow. 

Listening, Cha Taeyang swiftly fell back using her skills.

The huge arrow, which flew straight and silent, penetrated three soldiers before hitting one mage in the back and disappearing. 

Cha Taeyang looked at me, smiled broadly, and ran in again. Using her momentum, she quickly turned two soldiers into seafoam.

“…Incredible.” Atera, who had been silent until now, murmured. 

At some point, the dokkaebi had rolled towards us and climbed onto the child’s shoulder. It piped up, “Right? We raised her! Cha Taeyang is the pride of us dokkaebis.”

While covering for Cha Tae-yang, I focused on disrupting the mages’ magic. I shattered their crystals, disrupted their formation, and seized opportunities to destroy their circlets.

Just when we thought the number of soldiers decreased, the sea spirit prolonged the battle by summoning new soldiers.

Mana bottles rolled about at my feet, and Cha Taeyang was noticeably out of breath.

“Those guys aren’t a good match for Taeyang-ie,” the dokkaebi, who had been fearlessly rolling between Cha Taeyang and us, sighed and said.

Not a good match? “Is it because they’re made of water?” I asked.

At first glance, that seemed to be the case. Cha Taeyang was a martial artist who used flames fighting against water-based soldiers. 

The dokkaebi jumped up and down at my words, “All you Kim-seobangs are stupid! Dokkaebi fire isn’t just any old fire!”

“Then, what–ngh–is the problem?”

As I kicked the soldier approaching me, the dokkaebi climbed atop my head.

According to it, Cha Taeyang’s flame was similar to yet different from the fires that exist in our realm. That’s why even if one pours water atop her fire, it would only weaken the fire’s power and not extinguish it.

Cha Taeyang uses flames of purification. 

In essence, its burning power was not that different from ordinary flames in this world, but it only shined when facing impure entities.

“So, when dealing with the undead…” 

“Creatures that defied death through anomalous means could never be a match for Taeyang-ie!”

However, the situation was different this time.

“There’s no way the flames of purification can burn clear, blank-slate constructs. Furthermore, these things were born from the waters of an old sea. There’s nothing she can do about waters like that–it’s amazing that a young dokkaebi like her could do this much despite the odds!”

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

“So, hurry up and compliment our Taeyang-ie!” the dokkaebi jumped off my shoulder now that it said all it wanted. Then, it bounced across the battlefield to Cha Taeyang. 

Whether she’s a dokkaebi or a human being, it was still remarkable that she was able to achieve such feats despite the overwhelming disadvantage; I couldn’t help but admire Cha Taeyang’s competence. Perhaps Atera felt the same way; she kept stealing glances at Cha Taeyang while hiding behind me.

‘By the way, it felt as if that sea spirit had immense power, but it’s just standing still?’

The spirit only looked down at us; it didn’t move at all.

Is summoning soldiers all it could do? That’s a relief…

My question was soon answered.

With around four minutes left, Cha Taeyang defeated the last soldier. The sea spirit no longer summoned any more. 

Cha Taeyang walked our way. Though she was smiling, her smiles were an attempt to mask how tired she was.

“Finished!” She beamed.

“You did well.”

“Up! Look up Kim-seobang!”

Without being able to indulge in congratulatory cheers, I looked up. 

In the blink of an eye, the sea spirit had returned to its whale form and was floating.

–Resentment! Grief! I will end you today!

Even though I knew that the spirit didn’t speak out loud–that there were no audible sounds–I still covered my ears instinctively.

The water in the lake surged and enveloped its body. At the same time, an unusual mana wave could be felt.

Woooooo~~

The whole cavity shook; the mana stones embedded in the walls spat out their magic force at the spirit’s call. The already immense power emanating from the spirit was boosted even higher.

Blue magic and water intermingled and lit up the cave. Then, the spirit began to chant an unknown spell.

We had to block it!

If we were to directly face magic cast by a being of such magnitude, we would be totally annihilated.

‘However, the question is ‘how’… Wait a minute. If we can’t block the spell directly, we can stop it from completing its chant, right?’

“The mana stones! We should destroy the mana stones embedded in the walls!” I shouted. Cha Taeyang nodded.

If we destroyed the mana stones and halted their function as an amplification instrument, we might be able to stop the spell’s activation. Even if that was not the case, we could perhaps buy some time.

The sea struck the lake with its tail, as if it were sneering at our struggle. The mana stones’ light grew more and more intense.

“Haah! Flamefist (燐火拳)!”

“I-I’ll help too!”

All the slots I had were used in the previous battle. I just had to aim and shoot, one by one.

While I shot arrows, Cha Taeyang darted around the cave, breaking the stones. Atera also picked up and broke a few stones as well.

Clank–! 

As expected, whenever a mana stone was destroyed, the light surrounding the spirit gradually weakened.

–To you who disturb my rest, this is the punishment I inflict upon you.

However, its invocation completed faster than we could destroy the mana stones.

A sharp, bleak blue light stifled and enveloped us. The water around the spirit transformed into all sorts of weapons–dozens or hundreds of maces, daggers, bastard swords, rods, and canes were pointed at us.

I had a hunch that this spell was unable to be avoided when cast.

The whale flourished its tail; the weapons all gathered at one point.

“Damn–not like this…!”

Just when I was about to give up–

Bang–!

A bullet suddenly flew inside the cave.

Several magic circles unfurled along the bullet’s trajectory.

Bang–! Bang–!

Following that, two more consecutive shots rang out, and the sea spirit’s attack was neutralized–like magic. When the weapons exploded, water rained down on all of us. I was forced to close my eyes.

I hurriedly wiped the moisture away and reopened my eyes. I could see someone through my cloudy vision.

“Whale hunting, huh? I see you’re doing something fun.”  A uniform-clad man stood in front of us, physically blocking the way.  “Surprise. I guess I’m not too late.” ² He said “surprise” in English, not Korean.

TL: Onomatopoeia always trip me up. There’s so much more ‘sound’ words in Korean compared to English…and it’s just more common to use Onomatopoeia in the middle of sentences. When I translate it over, it just sounds strange T_T