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Memorize - Episode 51
051 Our Oppa (Hyung) Has Changed
Stupid. Hyun and Yoo-jung weren't considering the formation centered around Sol at all. Fortunately, I had acted as keeper just in case. I glared strongly at Yoo-jung once before striking the diagonally flying tail with the flat of my sword.
And I was momentarily dumbfounded by what happened. I had put some strength into hitting the tail, but it was a kind of defensive technique aimed at changing the attack path. However, the tail that hit the flat of my sword immediately shattered with a sound of breaking chitin. As I heard the mournful cry of the monster that attacked us, I came back to my senses.
It seemed the effects of Sword Specialist or my special and potential abilities had manifested. Various thoughts crossed my mind for a moment, but I needed to focus on the battle for now. I opened my mouth towards everyone, filling my voice with mana.
"These are Pitch-black Scorpions. Be absolutely careful as there's deadly poison in the stinger on their tails. Their weak points are the eyes or belly, but it's difficult to expose them, so infuse your weapons with mana and stab strongly."
After finishing speaking, I lowered my head to see Sol still gaping with a dazed face. She seemed to have been greatly shocked by the thought that she might have died just now. I felt exasperated but immediately spoke in a low voice.
"Ahn Sol. How can a priest stop chanting spells in the middle of battle?"
"Ah..."
Hearing my words, Sol seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and I heard her mumbling spells again. I sighed and looked forward again.
The battle had entered a brief lull. Pitch-black Scorpions often move in pairs. As such, they have deep emotions for each other, and when the cry of the scorpion whose tail was shattered was heard, the scorpion Ahn Hyun was facing seemed to flinch and stop moving.
But that was only for a moment. Soon, an enraged roar burst from the scorpion and they began to exude an even more ferocious aura. The Pitch-black Scorpions advancing while emitting fierce cries soon revealed themselves from the darkness. Seeing their bodies almost as big as tigers, I could see the kids' faces all turning white.
At first we were ambushed and suffered a preemptive attack, but fortunately we were somewhat prepared. However, now the Pitch-black Scorpions were approaching slowly. As both we and the scorpions were checking each other, it was difficult to predict who would attack first.
Judging from the exchange just now, it seemed meaningless to fight while maintaining the formation. After gauging the battlefield for a moment, I decided to take the offensive first and opened my mouth.
"I'll pair with Yoo-jung. Hyun and Sol will pair up. Each pair takes on one scorpion. Sol, use spells to bind the scorpion's tail. During that opening, Hyun, gather mana at the tip of your spear and stab the body in one point. The chitin is hard, so don't even think about slashing. Yoo-jung, stand behind me. I'll go in first and kick to expose its belly, so watch for an opening and counter. Don't come in right away, enter after its tail attack passes."
There was no verbal response from everyone, but I could see them nodding. And meanwhile, the scorpions were still slowly approaching. Soon after they were caught in our sensing and I stepped forward, the battle resumed.
Part of the tail with the stinger had fallen to the ground and was twitching, but the scorpion's tail still posed a threatening deadly poison. Watching the scorpion raise its remaining tail again, I charged forward.
Once more, the sound of air being cut was heard and a tail dripping dark blue blood rushed in as if to stab my face. The scorpion's tail attack was linear, so avoiding it was no big deal. As I took one step to the side, the tail passed by harmlessly, slicing through empty air after losing its target.
And during that time, I was able to close the distance to be within range of the scorpion. After feeling Yoo-jung moving behind me, I slowly lowered my sword. And at that moment, I saw the Pitch-black Scorpion seeming to smile for some reason.
"Oppa! Behind you!"
I felt a chilling sensation on the back of my head. The Pitch-black Scorpion's tail is long and flexible. While it can only extend straight for the first attack, there's a possibility of bending it in various ways to change the offensive midway. It seemed to have bent its tail in a U-shape to aim at the back of my head the moment I dodged. I also smiled at the scorpion and took another step to be almost in contact with its body.
Just as the scorpion's tail was about to hit the back of my head directly, I heard Yoo-jung's scream. In that split second, I turned my head to the right again. I felt the tail barely brush my cheek, missing by the width of a fist. Simultaneously, I raised my lowered sword to lightly touch the scorpion's tail passing my cheek and gently applied force. I adjusted its path to aim towards the scorpion's eye.
It probably never dreamed I would dodge right in front of it. And of course, it wouldn't know I would raise my sword to adjust the tail's direction. The sword technique I used now was nothing short of acrobatics. While Taeguk is basically based on orthodox principles, it was possible to make tremendous variations depending on the user. It could be called a sword technique that could only be imagined in the mind and not used in actual combat.
The result could be seen immediately. I saw the Pitch-black Scorpion's own tail beautifully piercing its right eye.
"Kreeeeeeeee!"
I smiled with satisfaction watching the howling creature. Then I pulled my right foot back and kicked its face upwards with all my might. As I felt a dull impact on the top of my foot, the scorpion's body soared into the air. In a way, it looked quite ridiculous, as if it was raising its arms to the sky with both pincers wide open. Looking at the scorpion fully exposing its belly, I immediately shouted.
"Now!"
It was hard to say it was the optimal counter timing. However, it seemed she had been somewhat prepared, as I could see Yoo-jung diving under me a beat late. Yoo-jung immediately planted one foot strongly, stood on her toes, and slashed into the scorpion's belly like a flash of light, crossing her daggers held in both hands in an X-shape. It wasn't entirely satisfactory, but the combo attack could be considered successful.
Watching the Pitch-black Scorpion screaming, I placed my hand on Yoo-jung's shoulder and leaped into the air. I raised my sword high with both hands, then slashed down with all my might at the center of the scorpion's body still suspended in the air. Although I didn't infuse it with mana and relied on strength to crush it, my sword cut through the scorpion's hard shell as smoothly as cutting tofu. It hadn't even taken 10 seconds, but we had perfectly dealt with one of them.
However, there was still one left. As I quickly turned my body, I saw Sol finishing her chant and extending her glowing white staff forward. Sol aimed at the tail as I had said and opened her mouth.
"Shackles!"
At that moment, a flash of light like a camera flash filled the forest. It was an enormous amount of mana unbecoming of a novice user. Hyun reflexively closed his eyes, but soon his eyes lit up seeing the tail that had been aiming at him stop motionless.
"Haah!"
With a powerful shout, the spear Hyun thrust pierced straight into the Pitch-black Scorpion's body. With its tail immobilized, the Pitch-black Scorpion raised its large pincers, but the spear was longer. The spear broke through the hard shell and entered. However, the Pitch-black Scorpion only growled lowly and didn't seem to have taken much damage. While succeeding in breaking the outer shell, it hadn't reached deep enough to inflict damage to the interior.
Ahn Hyun pulled out his spear with a flustered face and stabbed repeatedly, but he had to take a step back from the scorpion's tail attack as the binding was released. As the threateningly thrown tail flexibly bent in the middle and pressed in, Hyun's hands gradually became messy, and in the end, he was reduced to desperately defending.
"Wh-what? Why is he struggling so much?"
As Yoo-jung spoke blankly with a puzzled face, I frowned. Sol was also just watching hesitantly. I felt utterly dumbfounded inside. What are they doing now? Did they come to observe the fight? I clicked my tongue loudly and shouted while running forward quickly.
"Did you come here to watch? Don't just stand there, help!"
Only then did Yoo-jung and Sol seem to come to their senses and raise their heads. Ahn Hyun was doing his best in his own way. He was dodging the Pitch-black Scorpion's tail attacks this way and that while occasionally deflecting pincer attacks. But that was all. He was so focused on defense that he couldn't even attempt to attack.
Only then could I acknowledge my mistake. I realized I had assumed the kids would do well just based on their ability scores. In this kind of life-or-death close combat, one's true abilities are revealed, but I hadn't anticipated that judging based on mere ability scores would lead to this result.
The kids weren't utilizing their abilities at all right now. Of course, my expectations were high, but I felt they still had a long way to go. If it weren't for the sensing training, some disaster would have already happened long ago.
Right now, only 2 scorpions came, and one of them was dealt with by me and Yoo-jung. They can maintain the current situation because they can focus on one, but if we were surrounded by more than twice the number of scorpions, it would have been truly bleak. With their armor already weak from adjusting to weapons, if they struggle this much with one, there was no need to consider other situations. I quickly deflected the tail aiming for the back to give Hyun room to focus only on the front.
"Ahn Sol. Shackles once more!"
"Yes! Shackles!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Sol shouted the activation word as if she had been waiting. Once again, a flash filled the forest, and the scorpion's main weapon, its tail, stopped once more. Ahn Hyun also seemed frustrated that he had only been defending while fighting, his face turning red. As soon as Sol's binding spell was cast, Hyun sprang forward strongly as if he had been waiting for this.
"You fucking bastard!"
With a rough curse, Hyun thrust his spear strongly once, and as if that wasn't enough, he began thrusting his spear recklessly. He seemed to be using mana to the extreme, as the spear pierced the scorpion's outer shell about once per second with a sound of tearing air. This time, there was definitely some damage. As he poured this indiscriminate attack, even the formidable Pitch-black Scorpion seemed to have trouble enduring, covering the front with its two large pincers while making a sorrowful cry.
"Huff! Huff!"
Despite exerting himself like that for a while, the Pitch-black Scorpion had only retreated a few steps. Of course, its outer shell had also been reduced to tatters, but the important thing was that Ahn Hyun was also exhausted. I sighed and was about to take a step forward thinking of kicking its belly again when suddenly.
"Ahn Hyun! Move!"
Yoo-jung, who had been quietly watching from the side, suddenly rushed out and started running quickly. The daggers held in both hands were emitting a humming darkness, suggesting that Yoo-jung had also infused them with a lot of mana.
Seeing Yoo-jung rushing towards it, the Pitch-black Scorpion's pincers rose high. And its tail was also wriggling and moving, showing signs that the binding would soon be released. However, this time Sol didn't just stand by either, and I heard her casting spells in succession.
"Unnie! Protect!"
As Sol finished speaking, I saw a translucent barrier forming around Yoo-jung. Hyun also didn't seem to have any intention of just standing around, as he started supporting Yoo-jung by wielding his spear again. I thought it was somewhat fortunate that they were starting to coordinate better, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that it was still haphazard.
Soon, as Hyun and Yoo-jung bombarded it together, the Pitch-black Scorpion that had been barely holding on collapsed unable to endure. Its corpse was truly, very gruesome. Its outer shell was completely shattered, exposing all its innards and spilling black blood in all directions. I was momentarily at a loss for words, not expecting them to defeat a Pitch-black Scorpion in such a crude manner.
Hyun and Sol only lowered their weapons after seeing the remaining scorpion's corpse, which was relatively neatly(?) split compared to the one they had dealt with. After panting heavily for a while, Hyun and Yoo-jung looked at the scorpion's corpse with disbelieving faces.
They were overwhelmed from the start by the difficulty incomparable to the Trial of Passage. The kids bit their lips for a moment before slowly turning their gaze to my face. If they had brains, they would probably know well themselves how terribly they had performed this time.
"You guys..."
I opened my mouth wanting to say something for a moment, but then just closed it again. I couldn't tell whether my expectations were too high or if it was normal for the kids to be like this at this stage. What on earth did they learn at the User Academy? It was too different from my novice user days. Honestly, I felt like I wanted to go back to the city right now and teach them from scratch.
"H-hyung."
"Oppa..."
As obvious disappointment appeared on my face, the kids' attitudes immediately became restless, but I deliberately turned my back to ignore them. Thinking we still had a long way to go, I could only sigh.
I struck the ground hard with my sword. The blood on the sword immediately scattered on the ground in a crescent shape.
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