Retire 375
by Cristae375 Playing with Fire (1)
Kim Chaemin knew exactly what I was doing with these kids.
So the archmage’s kind explanations were supplemented accordingly.
“This is why you shouldn’t be fooled by initial dungeon reports!”
The young Hunters of Dantes, perhaps amazed that an archmage was treating them so gently despite being mages, flocked around Kim Chaemin like a brood of ducklings.
“You always have to remember. It’s not about ignoring the survey team—it’s about how dangerous monsters can be.”
Meanwhile, the mages—who should have been the real ducklings—looked half-dead, desperate to escape Kim Chaemin’s orbit.
Hmm. Not my problem.
Kim Chaemin examined the roots sprouting from the not-fungus but seed. If you thought of the dust-like bits as seeds, it looked like an oversized dandelion puff. The pitch-black roots still felt more like models than real plants.
She glanced up at me. I knew what she wanted, but there was no way I’d allow it.
I shook my head slightly. She looked disappointed, but didn’t insist. She was just testing the waters.
If we were inside a dungeon, I’d let her experiment as she pleased, but this was outside. We couldn’t risk letting this thing grow on purpose.
“Mr. Woo, I think there’s a seed inside here. Can you cut it out? It’s small.”
“Step back.”
Just as she said, it was small—smaller than a fingernail. Surrounded by dust-like fluff, it was invisible to the naked eye. But the roots had grown. If you traced the origin of the roots and followed the sprouting magic, the rest was simple.
A spear would be too clumsy for such delicate work, so I drew my sword.
“Wow…”
The ducklings stepped aside for a moment.
The seed was split cleanly in two.
“Any idea what it is?”
“No.”
Kim Chaemin dusted off her hands.
“Maybe if I had equipment, but with this, it’s impossible. I can’t even use magic carelessly without knowing what might happen.”
“Better to be safe.”
“Especially with it so close to the city…”
The reason we kept repeating that it needed to be dealt with quickly was simple.
We wanted to hammer it into their heads. Kim Chaemin reinforced the magic around the seed.
She looked like she wanted to have one of the mages do it, but ended up asking me. I asked in return,
“Are you sure you want me to handle it?”
“Well…”
She wrinkled her nose and answered in Korean,
“I don’t think any of them could put the fire out properly if something went wrong.”
Of course not.
The mages, not understanding our conversation, thought I was being asked to step aside for them. Their faces, tense a moment ago, started to brighten. I could guess exactly what they were thinking.
They probably assumed that even an archmage couldn’t use magic of an opposing attribute.
Unfortunately for them, I’d watched Kim Chaemin’s lessons. That wasn’t the case. She just didn’t want to waste her time on minor spells unless it was necessary.
So I ignored the approaching mage and moved Kim Chaemin behind me.
“Go easy—no, go weak! As weak as possible!!”
“I know.”
“I heard all about you from Mr. Han! You always try to set things on fire in dungeons!”
That guy has such a loose tongue.
I clicked my tongue.
“Starting now.”
“Yes!”
The mage who’d been approaching with a smug look froze. Kim Chaemin ignored him, and I turned to give him a wry smile.
Magic is convenient.
Magic is useful.
But it’s not essential.
If I really wanted to be thorough, I could have used runes, but a dungeon break isn’t an excuse to show off.
I angled my sword toward the ground. The intensity of the flame was controlled by magic. The fire would bloom in the direction I swung the blade.
But it didn’t have to ignite right on the blade. By minimizing the magic, the item would sputter like a lighter running out of fuel.
One of the stray sparks landed on the split seed.
“…!”
Fwoosh.
The fire caught.
For just a few stringy roots, it made a loud crackling sound—like a bundle of dry twigs burning.
And then—
Crackle-crackle-crack!!!
It started burning like fireworks. Sparks flew up, only to be blocked and extinguished by Kim Chaemin’s magic. But the fire that touched the roots quickly spread. Even the dust-like fluff caught.
Like a firecracker thrown on the ground, flames spread uncontrollably. The fire didn’t climb upward, but it did catch on some weeds. Kim Chaemin wouldn’t let it get out of hand, but still…
Black smoke rose—far more than you’d get from burning wood.
Kim Chaemin’s shield stopped the fire from spreading, but couldn’t block the smoke.
“Ms. Kim!!”
“I know!”
Her hands moved quickly. Magic surged. No roses this time—she couldn’t risk making things worse.
My eyes stung. My breath caught.
There was no immediate toxicity, but it was unpleasant enough that even I felt uneasy. The Dantes ducklings started coughing, and the mages hurriedly covered their noses and mouths.
Even Kim Chaemin coughed softly. She conjured a large bubble of water and dunked the seed in it.
The fire went out.
“……”
The smoke was contained. The seed that had burned like a firecracker was now just black ash on the ground.
No one spoke. One of the ducklings was retching. Just a little smoke had done that.
Kim Chaemin looked at me, troubled.
“This… we can’t burn it.”
The operation was put on hold.
Because the simplest option—burning it—was off the table.
The mages and ducklings were forgotten.
We gave up on speaking French.
“This won’t work. If we burn it, it’s not just Marseille that’s finished.”
“The fire went out easily. But the smoke…”
“Even for a C-rank, you can’t ignore the physical enhancements. Just a whiff made a Hunter throw up—civilians? They’d never survive.”
“And since it’s smoke, it’ll spread on the wind—nearby cities… maybe all of Europe.”
“It might not just be Europe.”
Kim Chaemin sat down and clutched her head.
“Ugh!! They should have closed this dungeon ages ago! Why did they leave it until it broke?!”
I looked at the black clumps.
Now that the sun was setting, growth had definitely stopped. We repeated a few more experiments with the fallen seeds. Maybe because they’d grown so much, the aggressiveness Richard and the Dantes ducklings had described was almost gone. Not that it helped, since we couldn’t just cut them away.
“…What if we just wait three months?”
“The French government won’t like that.”
“Who cares?”
The last resort: the three-month lifespan of monsters outside a dungeon. No matter how strong, they can’t survive longer than that.
The only exception to that rule was…
“……”
Hope. Alex Hope.
“…Should I ask?”
“Huh? Ask what?”
“I mean, we have an informant who’s either brilliant or useless.”
Kim Chaemin blinked, dazed.
“He’s sort of an inside source, if you think about it… Not that he’s been much help, but he might know something similar…”
I waved my hand vaguely. There are all kinds of monsters, but he’d know more than we would.
“He might know something.”
“…And if not, the only loss is your phone bill. Nothing to lose.”
“It’s all covered by expenses anyway.”
I called right away. What time was it in Korea? Who cares. If he didn’t want to be bothered, he should have been my boss, not my subordinate.
Not that I’d call at a reasonable hour even if he was.
Alex Hope picked up on the third try.
-…What.
His voice was thick with sleep. Unlike his childhood friend, Hope wasn’t the type to stay up all night.
“I sent you a photo. Do you recognize it?”
-Huh? Recognize… what?
“Do you know what it is?”
-What is… what is this?
“A dungeon broke in Marseille. I thought it was a spore, but it’s actually a seed.”
-Seed? Hold on, let me look at the picture.
A moment later, Hope replied.
-I was confused when you suddenly asked if I recognized it. The dungeon broke?
“We tried burning a small one, but it gave off toxic gas.”
-You should have handled it inside the dungeon.
He repeated what we’d already said.
“We already complained about that. It wasn’t a dungeon I could get involved with, so let’s move on. So, do you know what it is?”
-I mean… I don’t know it personally, but it’s a seed. Or rather, an egg? Something like that.
“An egg?”
-Be careful not to get it wet. If it gets water, it’ll be a disaster. Is it not raining there?
“The forecast says it’ll be clear all week.”
-Good. If that hatches, you’ll get something like a spider. Or a snake. Lucky it’s by the sea—if there were a lake, you’d be in real trouble.
“…So how do we deal with it?”
-Burn it.
Hope said it simply.
As if he hadn’t heard me mention the toxic gas.
“That won’t work.”
-It’s the surest way.
“We burned a small one and it was enough to affect Hunters. If we burned the whole thing, it wouldn’t just knock out a few people.”
-The whole thing? How big is it?
“Big enough to see from the other side of the city.”
Hope was silent for a moment.
-Raise the temperature.
“What?”
-Don’t use low heat. Use extreme heat—burn it all at once. That way, there won’t be any smoke.
“……”
He didn’t sound like he was just guessing.
-If it’s too big, don’t try to burn it all at once. If the fire spreads slowly, the temperature will drop. As long as it doesn’t rain, the eggs won’t hatch right away…
“So as long as there’s no water, they won’t hatch?”
-They’ll be sucking up groundwater, but you should handle it within three days. When babies get hungry, they cry for food, right? These things will wake up and start crying when they’re hungry.
“……”
-Not something you want to see.
No kidding.
Seeds. Or spider eggs. Or snake eggs. None of those sounded good.
Kim Chaemin still looked fascinated by the eggs. Well, who wouldn’t want a seed that grows spiders when watered?
-But isn’t the conference happening there? Hasn’t that friend shown up yet?
“That friend?”
-Yeah. My friend.
Ah.
“That friend. Not yet.”
Noah Michel.
Even if we were speaking Korean, Noah Michel was still Noah Michel. There wouldn’t be anyone in Europe who didn’t know that name.
Hope must have heard the people around me and chose his words carefully.
-The conference is soon, right? If not, just wait for her to show up.
A surprising suggestion, considering how much he disliked Noah Michel.
-Don’t you know what her magic is? She’ll handle it.
Hope yawned.
-If there’s one thing she’s good at, it’s burning things.