Chapter 39
Powerful Tool
"Grrr!!" A roar resonated from close by. Ellie reacted quickly as she sensed the creature through her own network of spores. Koross was also quick to act. After hearing the roar, he immediately stepped in front of Ellie, using himself as a shield against any potential danger.
Fortunately, the monster that had stealthily approached from behind seemed momentarily confused by the scene unfolding before it. It had only recently left its pack, acting like a scout, but upon returning, it found a large group of enemies decimating its pack. Thus, before it could even decide to fight, Koross had already grabbed his equipment.
The creature before them was of the same type as the ones the Setter family were harvesting. They had fish-like heads but, instead of fish tails, they had 4 legs like demon dogs.
The teeth visible in its mouth were terrifying, akin to King Kong’s fangs. Thankfully, its size was much smaller. If compared to a human, it’s only about the same size overall.
The strength of 1 of these creatures could be overcome by a single person, but the reason the entire Setter family had to join the battle was because these creatures were gathered in large numbers. These monsters weren’t particularly intelligent but often fought in groups, focusing only on collectively attacking any perceived threat. Therefore, if someone encountered one of these creatures alone, they should flee immediately, regardless of their own strength, because ultimately, strength might be overwhelmed by the sheer number of these creatures!
"Lady Ellie, it would be best if you find somewhere safe to hide," Koross turned to advise the young woman.
"Alright." Ellie didn’t volunteer to help; she couldn’t fully utilize her powers as she still had many secrets she wished to keep hidden. With her own constraints, she didn’t delay or make Koross worry unnecessarily. Quickly, Ellie sprinted to a nearby tree, using her minimal tree-climbing skills to ascend immediately.
Although it took considerable effort to reach the top, it wasn’t too bad. With the Setter family members engaged in combat with the monsters, they paid no attention to the petite woman humorously attempting to fend for herself alone.
Koross wasn’t bad either. His skills were quite good. He could awaken wind elemental powers, which worked well with the Wind Bullet Rune – a wind spell that used the speed of small, swirling winds like a drill, releasing them forward to pierce through enemies. It was an excellent long-range attack spell. He could also use Wind Barrier spell, making his defensive and offensive skills quite balanced, hence he often received various responsibilities from the family head.
"Grrr," the beast in front of Koross was incredibly fast. Once it recognized its enemy, the fins on its head waved, and its eyes turned a deep, angry red. It roared one last time and prepared to launch a deadly attack on Koross.
Koross was already in a defensive stance. To make better use of his barriers, he held a small magic shield in his hand; it was an equipment that would enhance his barriers and also reflect attacks.
His timing in deploying the armor piercing bullets was also excellent. However, Koross was just a young man still in training; facing a beast from the 6th floor wasn’t something he could easily handle.
Even Aman himself had to team up with others to defeat this beast from the 6th floor. Because of this, Koross looked very tense.
He only had a moment to lock eyes with the monstrous creature, whose eyes shone round and clear like a fish, before its four legs kicked off the ground to speed up. Koross threw his own bullet at the beast, but the first one was quickly dodged, stirring only dust on the ground, while the second bullet was swiftly swatted away by the creature’s tail.
Koross tensed, ready with his shield to brace for impact. Fortunately, this creature wasn’t very smart; it lunged straight into Koross’ shield without any feints or maneuvers, allowing Koross, who was already prepared, to avoid serious injury, though the force of the impact threw him back against a tree where Ellie was perched.
The creature, not being kind-hearted, saw its enemy falter and quickly charged again, hoping to kill Koross instantly. Unfortunately for it, its plan was slightly off.
Despite seeing a young woman hiding in the tree, it ignored her completely, not caring whether she had any ability to do harm, focusing only on the young man in front of it. This oversight would lead to its doom!
Clang!!!
The head of the creature, which had thrown itself at Koross with all its might, intending to kill him, shook violently after being stopped by a bizarre tool.
Ellie could feel her hand going numb from reaching out to intervene in the moment. And what stopped this creature was none other than the "rake" that she had brought out from the Setter family!
This rake, Ellie knew, would certainly be noticed by the Setter family head or any significant person who had visited the Setter family before that had been missed. It was quite conspicuous as the only piece of equipment that shouldn’t have ended up in the family’s treasury. Instead of hiding it as a secret card, Ellie decided it was better to use it openly for everyone to see.
Moreover, anyone knowing that Ellie had acquired this peculiar rake wouldn’t suspect anything else. The equipment was a tool for gardeners, truly meant for someone with botanic elemental like her. It wouldn’t be strange for them to give it to her to foster a relationship in the future, as Ellie was also a user of botanic power who had the ability to mark locations.
Considering this rake wouldn’t normally be used by anyone in the Setter family, it seemed better to put it to good use. With this in mind, Ellie decided to reveal this magic device on this occasion.
The rake’s properties were excellent—it was a level 5 device, which Ellie believed could have stopped the weak creature instantly if not for her lacked strength that caused her to recoil from the extreme force.
- Spirit Rake, Level 5: Properties include breaking down objects into smaller sizes, evening out areas, or sweeping away unwanted things.
Action Panel
Option One: Channel botanic magic power into the tool to break down objects.
Option Two: Channel botanic magic power into the tool to even out the area.
Option Three: Channel botanic magic power into the tool to sweep away unwanted things from the target. -
As the rake’s information reappeared, Ellie, who had already bonded with this mystical tool, found that no special options were available anymore—only the 3 operational choices.
In the midst of the bewildering moments faced by the beast, Koross, who was startled by the sudden help, managed to regain his composure first. He fired another magic bullet, and this time it hit its mark. Although he initially aimed for the beast’s head, its rapid movements meant the bullet missed the fatal spot and hit its back instead, but the pain still effectively reduced its speed.
"Option Three: Sweep away the unwanted things from the target!" Ellie muttered. Regrettably, she hadn’t had much time to test the tool, so she wasn’t sure what each option could do. She chose what seemed most applicable in the moment.
After her command, time seemed to freeze. A green frame and a red frame appeared before her. The green frame to designate the "target" and the red frame to specify "what to sweep away." Ellie quickly thought and dragged the large 4x4 meter green frame around the tree she was on, while placing the red frame on the monster’s body.
Once the operation’s command was completed, time resumed. Blood from the beast, injured by the magic bullet, dripped to the ground, along with Ellie’s black rake that had been launched from her hand.
Thump!!
The sound of the rake hitting the ground was because it fell from the tree where Ellie had initially been. The rake then righted itself, its prongs pointing to the ground and its handle outward. Then, something remarkable happened.
The handheld-sized rake rapidly expanded, its black prongs enveloping the body of the monster in front and dragging it out of the green-targeted area that Ellie had marked. The fierce monster tried to resist, but it couldn’t withstand the force of the rake.
The body of the monster was thrown outside the designated area, causing great confusion not only for the monster but also among the bystanders, who were astonished and staring blankly at this unfamiliar but powerful rake. The monsters, having witnessed its power, felt terrified.
Despite their group nature and tendency to fight to the death, they also possessed survival instincts. Thus, they stood their ground against the Setters without retreating, as the fight was evenly matched. If it was a one-on-one fight and there was a chance of victory, why would they give way?
But upon encountering a weapon that they couldn’t possibly contend with, along with the cries of their peers, would they still foolishly remain to die here?!
Like humans...the fish-headed monsters looked at each other before they burst into cries and fled in a frenzy. The Setter family members could only watch in regret, yet no one thought to blame Ellie at all.
Koross had been injured from the impact, but luckily, he had some restorative potions, allowing him to move briskly after a short rest. Meanwhile, others began to pay more attention to this female scholarship student.
"A botanic elemental scholarship student with the ability to track targets, I’m very familiar with the weapon you used. Isn’t this weapon supposed to be in the Setter family’s treasury?" Upon hearing this, Steven immediately approached.
The question from this unit leader was inevitable. If it had just sat unnoticed in the family, nobody would care. They didn’t recognize it, nor did they know how to use it. But having seen its function against the monsters earlier, this disregarded special weapon had now become invaluable.
"This is a weapon I gave to her myself. I saw it was discarded, only fetching a few dozen gold coins at auction, which was less than the 50 gold coins the Setter family was prepared to accept. As the Lord of the House, I gave it to her as a gift, and in exchange, I asked her to assist the Setter family in the future to track down the monsters we are targeting on 3 more occasions," Steven declared, leaving the unit leader unable to say another word.
As the family head mentioned, they had initially planned to dispose of it in an auction previously. Who would want an ordinary-looking rake that couldn’t be used? Might as well auction it off, get some gold coins, and buy some power-enhancing potions, right?
However...now it had become a special weapon. How could its importance remain the same!?
"My lord, I understand your thoughts, but isn’t it too much to give such a precious treasure to an outsider without the Setter family receiving anything in return? A long-held treasure of the family should be well preserved, or at least have the approval of the elders before such a decision is made. But deciding solely on your whim...isn’t this act a violation of our rules?"
A burly man argued back, raising his eyebrows challengingly at the other. In truth, he didn’t get along well with Steven. There were also secretly power struggles within the Setter family itself. If not for Steven’s strength and his two powerful sons, his position as family head wouldn’t be as solid.
Yet, as long as there was a chance...he was ready to make the family head lose face!
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