When Kim Miyoung asked, “Pardon?” Lee Taekjin added,
“I asked whether stopping it would change anything.”
“The Safety Team will enter......”
“When? It will take at least an hour to get from their standby location to the nest.”
“......”
“Besides, suspicion cannot serve as evidence. If we stopped it based solely on the cadets’ accounts, we would only invite the other professors’ ridicule.”
“Then what should we......?”
Kim Miyoung still looked anxious, but Lee Taekjin continued in an even tone.
“The assessment will continue. Did you say the report was written three years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Then it must not have been a mutant for long. If the team leaders join forces, they should be able to handle it. Determine their locations first.”
“Understood.”
Kim Miyoung’s expression quickly turned cold.
After swiftly recovering her composure, she relayed the decision to each team leader.
-Everyone. Nothing changes. The assessment continues. Team leaders, report your approximate locations and situations first.
As a result, Baek Sayoung and Lee Daeho had each been separated and had already fought a battle, while Seol Yungi and Joo Arin were fighting off the swarming Sasikju.
The other team leaders were also reachable, allowing them to determine their approximate locations.
Except for one person......
“What about Cadet Cheon Seoyoon?”
“Both the radio and video feed are dead. Do you think something happened?”
“......”
Lee Taekjin silently organized his thoughts for a moment, then picked up the radio as though he had made up his mind.
-This is for the team leaders. It seems the battle with the Queen has already begun. Head down at all costs. Even if you have to break through the floor to get there.
After saying what he had to say, Lee Taekjin grabbed the jacket hanging over his chair.
“Professor?”
When Kim Miyoung looked at him questioningly, he merely replied with indifference.
“There is always the chance of an emergency, so I intend to go myself. Assistant Kim, keep a close watch on the situation here.”
The corner of Kim Miyoung’s mouth lifted slightly.
However, it had already been thirty minutes since Joo Arin’s report.
***
An unquenchable fire.
The secret of Hellfire lay in its horrifyingly cruel wick.
That wick was the enemy’s soul.
It used that primal life force as fuel, burning and burning......
Until its reserves were exhausted, it burned on and led its victim to death.
FWOOSH.
The Hellfire that left my hand struck the Queen and the wall behind her.
Some of the Hellfire that had laid a wick in that bastard’s soul suddenly faded, as though it had been snuffed out.
RUMBLE.
That was only the beginning.
Blue flames blazed from deep within her body.
There could be no Eight Scorching Hells more fitting than this, burning away karma and forcing her to atone.
SKREEEEEE!
Unable to endure it any longer, the Queen let out a monstrous shriek.
GRAB.
In that opening, I caught Cheon Seoyoon as she fell.
I staggered for a moment, but clenched my teeth and forced my legs to move.
TAP TAP TAP
Fortunately, I managed to build up some speed.
My destination was a deep hollow carved into the wall behind the Queen.
It was not luck that I had happened to find it.
It was the result of deliberate intent.
Since I could not take her down in a single blow, I had deliberately manifested the Hellfire off target.
I had created a space to flee into in advance.
“Hey, get a hold of yourself.”
The moment I entered the gap, I set Cheon Seoyoon down first.
As I caught my breath and checked her complexion, it was just as I feared......
Just like in the original story, she had been poisoned.
“Ugh......”
The Queen’s venom had properties that paralyzed the nerves. Cheon Seoyoon’s complexion was beyond pale, almost bluish, and her whole body was soaked in cold sweat.
Even if I gave her a Resistance Enhancer, it probably would not work.
Prevention and treatment were fundamentally different matters.
DRIP.
Moreover, the left shoulder pierced by the web was in no condition to ignore.
The wound itself was narrow, but bright-red blood continued to flow from it.
How long could she hold out?
The question came to mind unbidden.
In the original story, Baek Sayoung had immediately confronted the Queen, so Cheon Seoyoon had not been poisoned for long.
He had obtained the Queen’s heartblood and detoxified her quickly.
But things were different now.
I was not the protagonist who held first place in the overall ranking, so I did not have the strength to confront her openly.
With my insufficient mana, even manifesting an armament would be too much.
If I desperately scraped together what I had, I might be able to use Root of Greed, but the chance of success was slim.
The circumstances were too different from what I had expected.
Approaching alone without anyone to draw her attention, then inscribing a sorcery formula, was no different from hanging a bell around a cat’s neck.
“Damn it.”
In the end, no matter how much I thought it over, there was only one answer.
Hide and wait......
Hellfire was burning that bastard’s soul, so the best course was to wait for reinforcements and fight alongside them.
I needed to conserve the option of converting time into mana in case I was discovered midway through.
Once I had made up my mind, I spoke to Cheon Seoyoon.
“Someone will come, so hold on a little longer......”
But it felt as though my throat had closed up, and I could not bring myself to finish.
“Urgh.”
That face, already so similar to hers, twisted in pain, and a strange emotion rose in me.
Damn it.
It was probably because I saw it overlapping with Yoo Soyoung, who was waiting for me.
“Why’d you move on your own and make such a mess of things?”
There was not a single thing about her I liked, from beginning to end.
“You could at least not have a face like hers......”
I fell silent for quite a long time afterward.
To be honest, rather than searching for a solution, I was trying to convince myself that this was a decision I had made after due consideration.
......But then.
“Wait!”
It was at that moment that a thought flashed through my mind.
I looked at Cheon Seoyoon, who was still lying there.
The heir of the Thunderforce Cheon Family, blessed with unprecedented mana reserves and destined to wield the Lightning Attribute more freely than anyone else.
Or one of the main heroines of [Epic of Salvation]......
But the moment an alternative came to mind, I saw her differently.
Fully charged......
“...A power bank?”
Could there be a better source of mana in this situation?
Side effects and all that shit were not what mattered right now.
“Sorry, but cooperate with me. This is the only way to deal with the Queen.”
I grabbed Cheon Seoyoon’s hand.
[Trait, Manifestation activated.]
[2 hours consumed to replenish insufficient mana.]
I made up for my somewhat lacking mana with time, then manifested Root of Greed and transferred it to the back of Cheon Seoyoon’s hand.
**64-stroke Two-Star Wood Release Art, Root of Greed.**
**[Manifestation Accuracy: 81%]**
Then, a single thin line emerged from the green sorcery formula inscribed on the back of her hand.
Like a living thread-snake, the thin line crawled up the back of my hand, and the sensation of something being driven into me came first.
SQUELCH.
Then a system message appeared.
[The host’s level exceeds yours.]
[This target cannot normally be connected.]
[Requirements fulfilled due to an abnormal status.]
[Sorcery Art, Root of Greed effect activated.]
[You may borrow up to 20% of the target’s mana.]
There were limits on the target......
Then the plan to make the Queen my host had been impossible from the beginning.
“Huh. So that is how it works out.”
Now that I thought this method was the best option, I felt considerably lighter.
Conversely, my mana rapidly filled.
Just twenty percent of Cheon Seoyoon’s mana made my empty mana reservoir feel more than half full.
“This should be enough......”
I might not be able to kill the Queen, but I could at least leave her half-crippled.
I rushed out at once and shouted,
“Hey, is your stomach feeling any better?”
I deliberately revealed myself to provoke her.
The effect was immediate.
THUD THUD THUD
The moment the Queen spotted me, she let out a monstrous shriek and hurried her eight legs forward.
SKREEEEEE-
Even with a sword lodged in her chest and Hellfire burning her from within, the Queen still displayed her formidable presence.
But such a mindless charge was precisely what I had hoped for.
[Trait, Manifestation used.]
I swiftly envisioned and materialized a sword.
Then a small sword, familiar in its crudity yet overlaid with sophisticated patterns, settled into my grasp.
CLENCH-
It was First Sword once more.
But unlike before, its performance was a full forty percent.
[Yeon Gaesomun’s First Sword (Replica)]
[Performance Limit: 40%]
**[Description: One of the five swords said to have been possessed by Goguryeo’s Dae Magniji, Yeon Gaesomun. +It was used for blade throwing, and the designated target will certainly be pierced as long as it remains within reach.]**
[Effect: Agility +30%, +Absolute Hit activated]
The materialization time was only ten seconds.
Since even the original effect had been manifested, there would be no difficulty in dealing with the Queen.
SHWIP-
With a light motion of my hand, First Sword shot forward.
WHOOSH—
Not to be outdone, the Queen spewed dozens of webs.
Sharper in their momentum than any blade, they hurtled toward me.
Before that massive, dense net of lines, First Sword advanced without wavering.
───────────!
Soon, dozens of straight lines crossed toward one another.
The webs desperately clung to First Sword, trying to block it.
But First Sword’s effect was Absolute Hit.
SWISH-
It suddenly avoided the webs and glided through the air in a graceful curve.
The webs transformed in an attempt to stop it, bending sideways and following close behind.
Swift lines formed trajectories, and the trajectories met, tangled, and interwove.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
A feast of lines that bewildered the eye. Their irregular dance gave even the illusion that space itself was being divided.
“Where do you think you are going?”
But the word “absolute” was not something that could be easily stopped.
Until it encountered a greater power, it was a law and principle that would inevitably hold true.
So what else could be done?
“If you are weak, you should die.”
SQUELCH—
First Sword, shooting forward like a ray of light, finally spun fiercely and pierced the Queen’s abdomen.
RUMBLE RUMBLE
With her mouth half melted away, the Queen could not even let out a groan as she rolled about in every direction.
[All usable mana has been exhausted.]
[Connection terminated.]
I did not let down my guard.
I barely supported my trembling legs as I prepared for any contingency.
I, too, had reached my limit.
If she miraculously rose again or summoned her remaining forces to attack once more, I would have no way to respond.
RUMBLE.
It was then that I felt a powerful tremor.
What?
My mouth had already been dry, and it now went completely parched.
KRAKOOOM.
The underground sky split open. Then a single shaft of light fell.
When I saw what it was, I collapsed to the ground without realizing it.
“Ah...... I’m completely drained.”
As expected, a protagonist was a protagonist.
His entrance timing was enough to put most heroes to shame.
THUD.
Like a prince riding in on a white horse, he even landed perfectly.
No, Baek Sayoung glanced around, then asked me with a stiff expression,
“Are you okay?”
Could he not tell just by looking?
“Does this look okay to you? I’m right on the verge of passing out, you bastard.”
“Huh? ......Oh.”
If I’d known he’d come this quickly, I’d have just hidden......
I deeply regretted it, but quickly pointed toward the wall and spoke.
“Never mind that. We need to get the heartblood first. Cheon Seoyoon has been poisoned.”
“Got it. I’ll hurry.”
Baek Sayoung nodded with a resolute expression, then leaped toward the Queen.
As an Attribute flowed into his sword, a regretful sigh escaped me.
“Damn it, I should be the one to land the finishing blow......”
But the circumstances did not allow it.
The world suddenly spun around me.
It seemed that while I could borrow mana, the burden placed on my body remained unchanged.
Ah, my precious time......
Just as I was about to reach out a hand, darkness descended all around me.
***
BLINK—
When I laboriously forced open my eyelids, as heavy as a thousand tons, the whole world was white.
The glare was one thing, but the moment a doubt rose in me, my body reacted automatically.
I was about to spring upright and look around when a now-familiar, comforting voice sounded close by.
“You’re up already? You’re in the infirmary.”
It was Baek Sayoung.
......I see.
The single word infirmary was enough to give me a rough picture of the situation.
After I had fainted so disgracefully, they must have carried me here.
“They said it’s mana exhaustion. They said you’d be fine if you got plenty of rest. But didn’t you wake up too quickly? They said it’d take at least half a day......”
Baek Sayoung looked at me with worried eyes.
As though he had remained by my side the whole time, he had a thick book tucked under his arm.
“Well......”
[Trait, Robust Recovery activated.]
The secret flickered before my eyes, but I did not bother to reveal it.
“More importantly, the messages......”
By now, quest-completion messages should have filled my vision, but when I did not see them, anxiety suddenly swept over me.
Swallowing the stale taste that filled my mouth, I hurriedly opened my lips.