As Belluna swore, we were able to reach Antarctica in less than 10 minutes at most.
“Ugh, my stomach… .”
“Wow, wow… .”
As soon as they arrived, most of the party fell on their backs and vomited.
“Wow!”
She sat down next to her, gently stroking Ivan’s back, who complained of dizziness.
After Ivan calmed down a bit, she made her other hand like a telescope and placed it around her eyes, looking around.
“There really is nothing. There is less power… It seems to be worse than before.”
If it wasn’t for Ivan, I would have only been able to use the power of a mid-level spirit.
So muttering, she turned her head.
“So what are you going to do now? Will you wait?”
“eww… Wait.”
My stomach was still pounding, and it was only after taking a few deep breaths that I was able to come to my senses.
There were several warning windows that I had not seen in a long time before my eyes.
[You have entered the land of strange power and resentment.]
[We have detected a barrier united with nature! This barrier cannot be interfered with or destroyed except by destroying the barrier’s core!]
[All stats are greatly reduced.]
[The effect of all skills, arts, and talents is halved.]
[The amount of magical power required to use all skills, arts, and talents is doubled.]
[The effect of the barrier is halved due to the hidden attribute ‘Stranger’!]
[The attribute ‘Slayer of the Seven Evils’ allows you to detect the direction the core of the barrier is located!]
As soon as I saw the notification window that popped up in front of my eyes, I could tell what was going on.
I don’t know what happened… No, since the blacksmith of Yado was originally a servant of Ariman, it must have been that he had done some great work for the seal.
And the sealed energy of Yuno gradually flowed out over the course of 300 years and spread to the South Pole, and as his abilities were specialized in barriers, there must have been a strong barrier unfolding on this land.
It wasn’t a lie that Belluna said that she couldn’t use her power as a spirit here.
Not only the spirits, but everyone else was unable to use the power they had.
[This is the first time I have seen such a strong barrier.]
Minerva said with admiration over and over again.
Having never encountered the barrier a few times, I asked her quietly.
‘Is that enough?’
[Among all the barriers that the original woman has seen and encountered so far, it is overwhelmingly powerful enough to be incomparable.]
She muttered in a voice that seemed to be admiring over and over again.
[When 300 years of time and tenacity are mixed together, does something like this come out? I wonder if the current Yu-no has changed a lot in many ways between the real woman and the Yu-no you know. You better be careful.]
‘Yes, I will.’
There was no way for her to say anything or worry about this.
Just as I was thinking to never be vigilant as she said, someone slapped me on the back and slapped me.
“Hey, Yoo Ji-hyuk? What are you going to do now?”
Belluna was looking at this side with a fat expression.
I nodded my head as if it was okay now and looked at Charisna.
She continued to cover her mouth with her hand as if she was not feeling well.
“First of all, I decided to meet Gina’s other colleagues when I came here. He also said that he was prepared to some extent. Right, Charisna-san?”
“… Yes, it certainly was. It was a hobgoblin named Shurikerish who was monitoring Yuno’s seal and sending the information.”
Charisna answered while still covering her mouth.
More like a hobgoblin.
[Did your sister even hate humans?]
Sbengali murmured as if it was ridiculous.
[Garuda, who can take on a perfect human form for a young half-ogre, a giant troll wizard, a gargoyle that is hundreds of years old, and a hobgoblin who can come to Antarctica and perform witchcraft… It’s the first time I’ve seen such an unusual combination. I wonder why there are no orcs and slimes.]
At his words, Minerva sighed as if pathetic.
[If there were, they would all be dead. It’s been well over 100 years. And the authors are far more trustworthy than the savage ones like you in Sbengali. Aren’t they the ones who have been waiting for over 100 years?]
[…] If that’s the case, this body has waited for 300 years.]
In response, Minerva immediately responded as if it was a big deal.
[Heh, what about 300 years? The original woman has also been waiting for 300 years. Rather, unlike you, who was free, the real woman was sealed.]
[her. With that said, this body was not alone either! Are you sure you don’t know that the outside world is more dangerous?]
I don’t know why, but the two of them suddenly started having a childish fight.
It’s difficult to break in, so I just left it alone, and Charisna, who was next to me, muttered quietly.
“You are here.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a few buildings suddenly began to rise from nowhere.
It looked like it had been carved out of a stone, and it looked clunky, but in the current situation, even that was unwelcome.
Moments later, a hobgoblin with a thick coat over a neat suit walked out of the building.
“It’s late, Charisna. I almost died of old age or freezing to death by waiting.”
The hobgoblin, who had a profound voice for his small body, looked at me and politely took off his hat and bowed down.
“My name is Shurikerishu, Gina’s older brother.”
“My name is Yoo Ji-hyuk.”
As he bowed his head, he smiled and shook his head slowly.
“It’s just as I heard from Gina. nice to see you.”
“Shu Licherish, how is the situation?”
“I don’t have much to talk about, but why don’t we talk about the details inside, Charisna?”
The hobgoblin reached out to the party as if to take a look.
Looking back, everyone seemed more tired than usual to see if the effects of magic or other protections were weakening.
“It is common sense to supply and reorganize before a big battle. They also have hot tea and light snacks inside. Let’s talk inside first.”
He said, pointing to the clunky buildings.
“Even though it looks like that, it’s quite cozy.”
* * *
“It becomes difficult to use all of my power here. Magic, sorcery, or protection. At the very least, all of your natural physical abilities are weakened.”
Shu Rikerisch, skillfully preparing hot tea and light snacks, recounted his findings in detail.
“So I couldn’t get close to them. The further you go into the center of the barrier where the seal is located, the weaker it gets. I had no choice but to watch them from afar. So I couldn’t even look at the seal properly. I was just judging the situation from afar.”
When I came to think of it, coffee was placed in front of Yoo Ji-hyeok, who remembered that Hobgoblin was originally the name of a fairy who helped with housework.
When I saw that there was even sugar next to me, I was a little surprised, and the hobgoblin grinned.
“I remember Gina because she told me too. You obviously liked sweet coffee, didn’t you?”
At his favor, Yoo Ji-hyuk smiled slightly and bowed his head.
Similarly, Shuricherisch, who looked at him with a favorable gaze, continued his explanation.
“I will continue the story. It is no wonder that Yuno’s seal now collapses at any time. To put it more bluntly, it could appear right before our eyes. The signs appeared a week ago… … We were monitoring it closer than usual in order to notify you immediately if the seal breaks.”
Meanwhile, I found Ariman and Yado’s blacksmith.
he muttered quietly.
“I have met the blacksmith of Yado many times, so there was no way I could be mistaken. Ariman is… I had never met him, but I was convinced as soon as I saw him, because he had heard something from Gina.”
“What were you two doing?”
“I didn’t do anything. They just talked to each other in front of Yuno’s seal. I didn’t know what we were talking about. I was afraid of getting caught if I got any closer.”
“and?”
“Ariman disappeared immediately. I wondered if the blacksmith of Yado was still there… Suddenly, around the seal, huge ice began to rise like thorns.”
That’s why he had no choice but to get away, and Shuricherisch tilted the teacup he was holding elegantly.
“The ice pick keeps growing. It grew to the point where I could no longer check the state of the seal, and in the end, I had no choice but to retreat much further. I decided it would be more useful to set up a base for my colleagues and wait.”
“It’s wise.”
Belluna, who was eating sweets, nodded her head.
When the story was over, Shu Licherish retreated to the side, and naturally everyone’s eyes turned to Yoo Ji-hyuk.
“for now… .”
He took a sip of coffee and opened his mouth quietly.
“We need to get Yuno out of the barrier as much as possible. There’s no need to fight in an advantageous place for him. Besides, we must not forget that we are in Antarctica.”
He looked at Leto, Kritolki, and Kwakal with Yeeun Lee.
“It’s the same for other people, but it’s difficult for me and my sister to use the world tree, especially in a place like this. In addition, in the case of Leto and Kritolki, it is difficult to move when the weather gets cold due to racial problems, and that… Did you say Mr. Kwakal?”
Gargoyle nodded.
Then he opened his mouth and answered in a quiet voice.
“I too freeze my body and break it if I move for a long time in this kind of weather.”
“But in fact, isn’t it at a disadvantage for everyone here except me? It has become difficult to receive magic or protection, so now I must fight the cold here.”
At Belluna’s words, Yoo Ji-hyuk nodded.
“Right. The only people who can move without restrictions are me and Belluna-san.”
Having said that, he paused for a moment and looked around.
Immediately, he nodded, concluding that it would be okay to tell him that most of the people in this room knew he had time-traveled.
“He’ll probably be looking for me there.”
“why?”
“Because I am the one who sealed him 300 years ago.”
At those words, Belluna looked at him with eyes as if looking at a wriggling earthworm.
And Jin Ye-seul, who was sitting next to Yoo Ji-hyuk, narrowed her eyes and asked.
“… Then Ji-hyeok will serve as the bait for you?”
“right.”
“Dangerous.”
“I know what you’re worried about, Ye-seul, but if you put the most appetizing food, won’t he also appear possessed?”
Jin Ye-seul kept her mouth shut for a moment and licked her lips.
“How about I, Ji-hyuk, change into you? Because the nature of magic and things like that can change in the same way… .”
“Then you will be in danger, Ye-seul.”
“uh?”
He looked straight at Jin Ye-seul and said.
She looked at him blankly, with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. Understand?”
“… Uh huh.”
Jin Ye-seul nodded slowly and closed her mouth.
Choi Hyun-woo, who had been silently watching the scene, raised his hand.
“Okay, then what should we do?”
“You should be ready.”
“Ready?”
“Yeah, ready to fight.”
Jihyuk let out a small sigh.
“Yuno can rip off his own body and create an alter ego. Unlike the normal clones we know, you can’t miss a single clone like that, as it can be called a part of him and his body itself. And since there was 300 years of time, he must have stored up an enormous amount of power during that time.”
“… … .”
“To be honest, I can never handle it alone. That’s why Hyeonu needs everyone’s help, including you. If I could handle it all by myself, would I have come here with everyone?”
Yoo Ji-hyuk looked at Choi Hyun-woo and said so.
As if he had noticed something at his words, Choi Hyun-woo smiled shyly, as if embarrassed, and nodded his head slightly.
“okay.”
He only answered briefly.
Yoo Ji-hyuk looked around once more.
“First of all, let’s reorganize everything. As Shurikerish-san said, there is nothing strange about Yuno’s appearance anytime.”
When he finished talking and got ready to go out, Ye-eun Lee, surprised, looked at him.
“Jihyuk, are you going to leave now?”
“Yes, don’t worry too much. I’m just going to take a quick look around.”
“Then go write this! It’s really cold outside.”
Looking at the earplugs Lee Yu-na gave her, Yoo Ji-hyuk burst out a small laugh.
Soon after, he handed Shrikerish a flashlight and a few other things and went out right away.
I didn’t forget to use the earplugs that Lee Yu-na gave me.
“… Hyunwoo.”
And Han Soo-young, who was quiet throughout the conversation, called out Choi Hyun-woo, who was sitting quietly next to him.
“why?”
“Have we ever sat like this on a snowy day like this?”
“At home?”
“No, not at home. With everyone other than Master.”
He shook his head.
“No. We didn’t even go skiing. When it snowed, you came down from the mountain on purpose and stayed at Master’s friend’s house.”
“Yeah, it sure was… ?”
Choi Hyun-woo asked with a slight frown at her long and casual appearance.
“what’s the matter? What’s going on?”
“no… .”
Han Soo-young shook her head slowly.
She couldn’t get rid of the feeling of dizziness that it seemed as if something similar had happened to her all over the place.
The sensation was too vivid to be an illusion, and she pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes.
Then, together with the thought of what this incongruity is.
“never mind.”
she muttered quietly.
Not knowing that the book in his arms was shining quietly.
* * *
[So, how are you planning to bring out Yuno?]
Contrary to Sbangali’s expectations, there were no specific plans.
I replied by clicking the flashlight.
“I’ll just wait.”
[Just waiting?]
“okay.”
[He will surely come, are you thinking like this now?]
“right.”
[That’s right, you’re overflowing with confidence. As Minerva said, how can you be so carefree in a situation where someone who has been grinding your teeth for 300 years may be attacking you?]
“Well… .”
Even at Sbangali’s words, I just shrugged.
A notification window appeared in front of me at an artificially fantastic moment.
[The energy of Venus, which remained in a part of your soul, deep inside your body, is stimulated by the energy of another Seven Evil species and begins to move!]
[The power of Venus begins to take hold within you!]
Baek Kyung’s Veil (???, ???)
The power of Venus, which was able to move and swim smoothly in any environment, was expressed in another form.
Her skin was, above all else, hard, and she was able to erode the environment around her to suit her.
It has also always saved its owner from danger.
Now it will protect you.
― No curses or barriers will work on you.
― Greatly increases resistance to all magic and spells.
― When you enter battle, a fog with magical power is gradually created around you. While in this fog, your chance to evade your opponent’s attacks is increased along with all your stats.
― Once a day, you can move in the fog without space restrictions.
“It seems that no matter who sees this, we should fight without paying attention.”
Things were going so well, I was rather skeptical.
But in the end, he knew well that there was no way out of this situation except by fighting Yuno and defeating him.
[What the hell is that?]
“never mind.”
In answer to the puzzled Sbangali, he took something out of his arms.
[…] You.]
“I know, Minerva.”
What I pulled out was the tutorial’s correction.
It was also an item obtained as a reward for awakening Yuuna.
“I didn’t even know it would come like this.”
It was hazy.
It meant that danger was coming soon.
And now there was only one thing to call danger.