I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

The ancient sages said even ten people couldn't stop one thief. How could we easily protect horses from thieves who swam freely underground and flew like birds through the sky?

Of course, combining everyone's strength here, we could butcher even Giant Worms and Wyverns despite their tough shells and tendons, then sell them to the Magic Tower.

The problem was horses dying in the process.

"Hanna and Grace, keep the Wyvern in check, everyone else watch for the Worm surfacing! Irene, can you put barriers on the horses?"

"Yes, I can!"

"Got it! ...But are horses really that important? You keep saying stop the horses, protect the horses, shield the horses. I know they're expensive livestock but do they need this much protection?"

-lol A hundred newbie adventurers couldn't buy one horse here

-Fantasy novels often say horses are more precious than people

-This separates players from non-players lol Ask why they're expensive and you're either newb or non-player

-Why am I non-player lol I'm approaching 10,000 hours on Han Se-ah's stream, treat me as a player

Han Se-ah's muttering showed her lack of medieval sensibility, making me want to explain.

Horses were incredibly expensive. Even in modern society, factoring in maintenance costs, they could cost more than sports cars - imagine medieval times. Bluntly put, these knights' horses were worth several times more than some rural serfs' lives.

These were trained warhorses adapted to the Empire's harsh northern snowfields, maintaining formation calmly even during monster waves. Modern racehorses could cost 40-80 billion won - these must be worth about 1 billion each based on ability.

Twenty-six high-rank knights - 21 noble young masters and a 5-person hero party - losing such valuable horses to just two high-rank monsters would be laughable. Not something to spread around, but a matter of pride.

Sure, winning without injuries was expected, but it'd be weird for a museum guard to say "The 1 billion won jewel was stolen but no guards were hurt!"

"Just hold tight so the horses don't panic and run!"

"What about the others?"

"They'll return to him even if they run briefly!"

Everyone except Han Se-ah understood the horses' value. The knights hurriedly started securing them.

Thinking not everyone needed to watch the ground, some grabbed the lead horse's reins and patted its head soothingly. Meanwhile, shadows repeatedly passed overhead threateningly.

Being high-rank monsters with instinctive mana use, they seemed to be feinting to scatter our tight group of 26 high-ranks.

The Wyvern repeatedly fake-diving overhead while the Giant Worm shook the ground in sync. Their reluctance to actually attack showed how long this monster duo had cooperated.

"Ah seriously... how annoying!"

"Hanna, don't call lightning yet, save it. That thing's measuring my arrow range."

"Really? That's why it keeps moving back and forth?!"

-Holy shit high-rank monsters do psychological warfare against humans? Thought they just charged screaming ukkiyaak

-No wonder Teacher Roland calls ogres dumb lol Fighting smart high-rank monsters opens the gates of hell

-For real lol Like horror movie creatures carefully kidnapping one person at a time, it turns the game into horror

-What hardships are these masochists going through away from cities?

-If you're not talented at making money, better stick to tower climbing as an adventurer, speaking from experience lol

As I focused on the Giant Worm threatening from below, Grace gave Han Se-ah advice while firing suppressing shots at the equally threatening Wyvern. Sometimes monsters were unusually smart - these seemed that type.

"Hup--!"

Feeling strong vibrations below, I struck the ground with my mana-charged warhammer, but it was another feint. I hadn't used full power to avoid fragments hitting the horses, but sensing I'd been fooled, the creature shook the ground once more as if mocking me.

...Getting taunted by a fucking monster.

"Hanna."

"Huh? What is it, Roland?"

"With those yetis fleeing so noisily, there won't be other monsters nearby. Use all your mana to kill this Giant Worm."

"Kill it? How?"

Called by my surge of anger, she eagerly agreed. True to her K-gamer nature, she must have been stressed by the Wyvern's cautious behavior too.

Usually told to manage mana distribution, with viewers offering know-it-all advice. But when 'teacher' said to use everything for one shot, she couldn't help grinning.

Handling one would let us abandon the carriage and ride the horses to the domain. I watched mana gathering ominously at her staff's tip.

"Gathering so obviously, they'll run... or not?"

"They won't abandon their predator pride. Plus they've probably faced and observed mages while hunting monster waves."

A high-rank mage's genius mana control, gathering power to the extreme, ready to collapse after one strike.

Though I sensed it could penetrate even my defense effectively, the underground vibrations and cloud-passing shadows didn't retreat.

Instead of retreating, they chose deception. Knowing a mage's limits, they moved more actively to waste Han Se-ah's attack.

The previously shadowy Wyvern now descended just within Grace's arrow range, flapping threateningly, while the Giant Worm moved from subtle vibrations to churning the ground enough to make horses stumble.

And that was its biggest mistake.

"Hyaaaah-!"

A battle cry more cute than impressive.

But the mana from her staff was anything but cute. She'd gathered so much that the flashing magical light activated not Call Lightning or Summon Ice Storm, but earth-controlling Earth Control.

"I-it's out... ugh..."

"H-Hanna! Are you really okay?"

"Kill it before it goes back innnn---!!!"

Magic couldn't dig underground. The intelligent but unwise Giant Worm rushed to death based on hasty conclusions from watching northern battle mages fight monster waves.

Like its Wyvern friend, it soared skyward instead of underground. Its disgusting elongated body flew high like a fish caught in an underwater explosion. Did it think it wouldn't be targeted while shaking the ground under Han Se-ah?

Though Giant Worms swam through earth like water, they couldn't control themselves in mid-air. Its well-fed body, nearly 7m long, writhed in confusion as 22 aura swords rushed to dice it before it could touch ground.

Kee, keeeeng--!

Kyaaak---!!!

Was it friendship built fighting monster waves in the far north? The Wyvern made the same mistake, believing magic would target it - it shot up when the spell activated, then swooped down startled by its companion's death cry.

Maybe it planned to grab its companion and flee since our mage collapsed from exhaustion. Or perhaps shock made it trust its tough body to break our formation.

"Yes, got it!"

"Well done, Grace!"

But even without a mage, Grace's arrow welcomed it, her pride equally wounded. Her arrowhead pierced both wing joint and armpit, glowing ominous purple.

If the Giant Worm's mistake was not expecting a mage to upturn earth, the Wyvern's was not expecting a finger-sized arrowhead - neither magic nor ballista - to pierce its hide.

A passive skill ignoring 80% of defense on vital hits shone through, piercing like paper the tough hide that resisted swords and northern cold.

Kya, kyak, kieek--?!

Purple naturally meant poison in fantasy games. Whether paralyzing or not, the creature descending to save the Giant Worm spun like a top and landed bizarrely.

Right in front of my mana-charged warhammer.

"R-Roland! Wait--!"

"E-Everyone duck!"

KWAJAK---!!!