15
Magic flowed like mist from Park Yoochun’s severed shoulder.
Veins were darkly corroded, and the white in his pupils had disappeared.
“W-what’s that?”
“Park Yoochun is a mine?”
The faces of Lee Soon-cheol and Nam Min-woo stiffened as they faced Main for the first time.
In an instant, the flowing mana coalesced and engulfed the two.
“Hup!”
Stunned, they quickly snapped out of it and scattered left and right.
The next moment, the burst of mana engulfed the space where the two had been.
The ceiling collapsed with a rumble, and the walls were deeply gouged as if torn by something.
The expressions of the two turned dark. If they had been even a bit late, it wouldn’t have been the walls that tore but themselves. However, Park Yoo-chun’s attack was just beginning.
Park Yoo-chun, clad in mana that surged out shakily, rushed forward at tremendous speed.
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The target he aimed for was Eun-ga-ye, who had cut off his right arm.
Park Yoo-chun’s attacks flew out like bullets in a reckless manner.
Swinging fists, biting with teeth, slamming shoulders······
A series of attacks like a beast that had lost its sanity. Yet, the ferocity within covered the clumsiness.
The ferocity that resonated in the space could have been overwhelming, but Eun-ga-ye remained unfazed.
His strength had only increased; Park Yoo-chun’s movements were pathetic.
Eun-ga-ye deftly avoided the awkwardly swinging fists and brought down his sword in a diagonal slash.
“Kraaah!”
As Park Yoo-chun’s upper body was cleaved, he let out a scream of agony. However, despite the successful attack, Eun-ga-ye’s expression frowned.
“Tsk.”
The mana writhed, and Park Yoo-chun’s severed body was rapidly regenerating. Controlling the mana was becoming more difficult.
Her usually rough mana, when stimulated by ferocious mana, began to rampage.
‘I can’t drag this out.’
Before the mana surged further and became harder to control, she had to end it.
Eun-ga-ye pushed away the flying mana and stepped back, raising her mana. The blue mana intertwined with the sword, swelling in size.
Sensing instinctively that time was of the essence, Park Yoo-chun dashed forward.
Despite Park Yoo-chun’s charge, Eun-ga-ye did not move. She focused all her mind on gathering mana on the sword.
Leaving only one footstep behind, when the mana’s gust disturbed her hair.
Whoosh!
Eun-ga-ye’s sword moved. As the gravity twisted along with the swinging sword, the mana was pushed back.
Kwaaang!
Thrown back more swiftly than Park Yoo-chun’s charging speed, he slammed into the dungeon wall.
“Haah, haah.”
Eun-ga-ye, sheathed her sword, breathed heavily.
Her head was spinning, vision blurry, but she stared at Park Yoo-chun, who was embedded in the dungeon wall. The slim possibility that Park Yoo-chun might rise again was on her mind.
And.
“Krrrgh.”
“!”
Groaning, Park Yoo-chun was getting up from the ground.
With a large scar across his chest, his shoulders and head in a grotesque state of disarray.
But he moved well.
“······Damn, disgusting.”
At the moment when curses were being spewed, the sight turned pitch black. No, it was the darkness that had enveloped. Eungaye closed her eyes.
I’ve done what I could for now.
There was no strength left to do anything more.
That’s why Eungaye didn’t realize that the approaching darkness had disappeared.
After a while, unable to feel the lingering pain, Eungaye opened her eyes.
And.
“······Huh?”
She blinked at the figure standing in front of her.
It was someone who shouldn’t be here for sure.
A strange fellow who always engaged in incomprehensible acts. Yet, for some reason, a person she inexplicably trusted.
“Are you okay?”
It was Haesol.
***
······Shortly after Group 2 started a fight. Group 3, who had been smoothly progressing through the dungeon, encountered an obstacle.
“Ugh!”
Oh Jinhyuk bent his knees and came to a stop. Kim Hayoon and Han Seyun following suit.
“······Magic barrier?”
Oh Jinhyuk furrowed his brow.
A magical barrier was spread across the entire passage to restrict movement.
As a result, they could no longer move forward and had to stand still in their tracks. But that wasn’t the only issue.
“Hey, Jinhyuk, look at that…”
Kim Hayoon forced her hand to move, pointing at the ground.
Traces of chaotic paw prints were visible on all the ground in sight.
The kind of traces one would see when dungeon worms infest below.
Moreover, it wasn’t the kind of traces left by one or two worms.
“There must be at least 20 of them.”
Kim Hayoon grimaced and shook her head.
Despite encountering dungeon worms several times before, she detested them due to their peculiar appearance and sudden emergence from the floor.
However, the fact that there were not just one or two, but a swarm of 20 worms gathered there was unsettling.
“······.”
I narrowed my eyes.
It was too risky to assume that not only the magical barrier but also the dungeon worms infesting the passage were prepared by Eternity. It seemed more like a misdeed of Bak Yoocheon.
Oh Jinhyuk must have sensed the danger too as he stepped back and said, “Shouldn’t we turn back?”
“No, let’s go this way.”
Gram’s voice indicated that Eungaye was beyond this point.
“There’s no need to take the dangerous path. How do you expect us to break through this?”
Oh Jinhyuk hardened his expression.
Although his body stiffened due to the magical barrier, it was still possible to move forcibly. However, doing so would likely result in being attacked by the dungeon worms.
Dealing with both the magical barrier and the dungeon worms at the same time was deemed impossible by Oh Jinhyuk. And normally, his judgment would have been absolutely correct. But if it were me, it was possible.
Perhaps because I lacked magic power, I seemed to be unaffected by the magic field.
“Han Seyeon, can you shoot the dungeon worms when they come out?”
“Yeah, if we prepare in advance, it’s possible, but…”
Han Seyeon’s words trailed off, filled with doubt about how to summon the dungeon worms.
“I’ll go, so catch them when they come out.”
“…”
Leaving behind Han Seyeon, who widened her eyes, I took a deep breath and ran straight out.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
Dungeon worms pierced through the ground terrifyingly and leaped out like fish.
From the gaping mouths of falling dungeon worms, dozens of sharp teeth gleamed. And they burst out like fireworks.
Boom!
It was Han Seyeon’s shooting.
Her bullets didn’t miss a single dungeon worm.
That insane accuracy was just a small part of Han Seyeon’s talent.
Under Han Seyeon’s cover, I managed to reach the passage beyond.
“What, what’s going on right now?”
Kim Hayoon, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, mumbled. The startled team members’ eyes turned towards me. But I had no time to respond to such reactions. Gram’s trembling since earlier indicated a precarious situation on the Eungaye side.
“Ugh, can’t catch a break.”
Notifying the team members creeping towards the magic field like snails, I ran towards the passage.
The narrow path widened, and the unpleasant stickiness of dark magic clung to my skin.
In no time, I arrived at the open square where two factions confronted each other.
‘Where’s Eungaye?’
I turned my gaze to find Eungaye.
In a corner of the square, Park Yucheon, with one arm missing, rose from his seat in a bizarre manner. Not far from him, Eungaye was catching her breath heavily.
Then, Park Yucheon reached out his hand. A stake-shaped magic aimed at Eungaye and shot towards her.
In a split second decision, I swiftly rose to action.
My talent, the Ekieogum, manifested, and the sword I had entrusted to Eungaye as insurance moved.
A line of blue magic drew in the air. The sword, dividing the magic, returned to me.
Rushing towards Eungaye, I saw her open her eyes, which she had closed in concentration, and utter a bewildered sound.
“…”
“Are you okay?”
No response came back, half lost in thought.
“Kraaa!”
In an instant, the enraged Park Yucheon charged at me, screaming. Though momentarily startled by his blatant magic, I quickly regained my composure.
‘It’s worth it.’
In reality, I hadn’t rushed in alone without a plan.
Purely in terms of abilities, as a novice at the lowest level, I had no chance against Park Yucheon turned into a mine. But abilities had a concept of ‘compatibility.’
And coincidentally, my compatibility was specialized in mines.
Vroooom.
Three strands of sword energy emerged in the air, each with its own aura intertwined.
In the first pouch was the mana of Gram, who wielded ‘Marong.’
In the second pouch was my pure energy.
And in the last third pouch was the anti-evil aura.
What the Icarus Ring limits is the user’s mana. On the other hand, the mana imbued in Gram was extraordinary because it was the mana that Gram possessed.
Whoosh!
The three pouches, each containing a strange energy, targeted Park Yoocheon and shot forth.
Even in his anger, Park Yoocheon sensed the danger of the pouches and twisted his body to evade them.
However, my pouches were not like ordinary ones that stopped once evaded.
As Park Yoocheon turned his body, the pouches adjusted their direction accordingly. Despite his eerie agility, he couldn’t dodge all the pouches.
Bam!
The second pouch pierced Park Yoocheon’s side.
“aaargh!”
Park Yoocheon, letting out a torn scream, unleashed his magic. The magic, rising in agony, entangled the third pouch.
But the third pouch was the anti-evil pouch.
The anti-evil pouch, easily wiping away the entangling magic, thrust into Park Yoocheon’s abdomen.
In no time, the first pouch, which had turned in the air, pierced his shoulder.
“Ughh…”
Gram’s mana, energy, and anti-evil power surged through Park Yoocheon, ravaging his insides. It would be a fatal blow for an ordinary human, but Park Yoocheon, boasting the sinister vitality of a mine, rushed at me.
Bam!
In an instant, the foe reached me, swinging his wrist.
The magic extending from his wrist was ferocious enough to crush my skull instantly. However, that savage strike never reached me.
It was because one of my pouches had pierced his forehead.
“I didn’t say that was all three.”
“…”
Trembling, Park Yoocheon, with the pouch in his forehead, fell backwards.
Silently, I gazed down at the fallen Park Yoocheon. I felt somewhat peculiar. Though it was just a mine, this was my first murder.
[I have eliminated the mine Park Yoocheon.]
[Side Quest Cleared: Eungaye’s Death Sentence is Lifted.]
[You are awarded 1000SP as a reward.]
[You have eliminated a mine for the first time.]
[You are awarded 1000SP as a reward.]
[Current Points: 5200SP]
A notification of Park Yoocheon’s death appeared, reminding me almost as if this place were a game.