After the Storm Passes (1)
“Ugh……”
A groan escaped me involuntarily from the pain. It felt like every inch of me, from my toes to the top of my head, had been shattered into pieces. In reality, there wasn't a single spot on my body that was unscathed.
“I'm gonna die.”
━That's what you get for pulling a stunt like that!
Ray's belated nagging echoed in my head. But the pain-induced groan was short-lived; I burst out laughing with a “haha.”
Top-grade. The rating was inflated a bit due to its sheer size, but it was still a monster I, Kang Ishin, could never have dreamed of taking down.
Me, who had never even set foot in a proper gate.
And yet, I'd brought that thing down.
Of course, without Teika Cooper,clearing the game would have been impossible. Still, I'd succeeded in facing that monster head-on and finishing it off with my own power.
Me, who hadn't cleared so much as a single gate before.
My chest swelled with so much joy it ached.
I'd acted like I knew what I was doing, but up until now, all my “experience” had been illusions in simulators.
Even after joining Seol Rokjin, I'd only rolled around in the muck of human affairs—never once had I contributed even a spoon's worth to saving the world.
But right here, right now.
For the first time, I'd accomplished something a proper raiding party would face.
━That ache in your chest might not just be psychological. Could be a cracked rib.
“My ribs are fine.”
I said that as I tried to sit up.
Or rather, attempted to.
“Ah.”
My body immediately flopped back to the ground. Right, both my legs were shattered.
“Mm.”
I'd funneled all my remaining mana into the regeneration circuits, but it would take time for my splintered leg bones to knit back together.
So what now in the meantime……
Han Seohyun and Kim Jaeho came running toward me.
“Boss! What's wrong?”
“I'm fine.”
“You don't look fine! I saw it! You tried to get up and face-planted right away!”
Of all the embarrassing moments for the kid to witness. I'd have preferred if he'd pretended not to notice. But for this little guy, who now relied on me after his brother's death, that was asking too much.
“Seriously, who charges in like an idiot like that!”
I averted my eyes as he pounded his chest like he could barely get the words out.
“Why you lyin' down?”
Kim Jaeho tilted his head at the sight of me.
“Uh, just. Tired. Wanna lie down.”
“Bad spot. Get up.”
Kim Jaeho tried to haul me up, but as I'd said, both legs were broken.
“Ugh.”
I could grit through the pain somehow, but without support, my body wouldn't stand—let alone stay upright—and I toppled sideways again. Kim Jaeho's face went pale watching me flail like a deflated doll.
“He weird!”
“His legs, his legs look broken! What are you doing to an injured guy! Just—just leave him alone for now!”
“Weird!”
The two of them yelled beside me. What a commotion. Han Seohyun finally snapped out of it and said to me,
“At least drink a potion.”
“Eh? It'll heal on its own in time.”
Potions were expensive. Mid-grade ones strong enough to mend bones even more so. Better to save them for later. If the fight was still ongoing, I'd have chugged one without hesitation, but now that things had settled, it felt like a waste of money……
“Ugh, just drink it already!”
“Mmph!”
Han Seohyun poured the potion straight into my mouth.
“You spilled it! And dumping it like that—what if it goes down the wrong pipe! I'd die!”
“Then maybe drink it when I tell you to?”
No remorse whatsoever! Sorry, Han Jo-hee, I failed at raising your brother properly.
━Who exactly are you apologizing to?
Ray chimed in after hearing my nonsense.
Still, thanks to the potion, I could feel my leg bones knitting faster. The grinding sounds meant they'd been a bit misaligned. Good thing it wasn't a compound fracture.
That would've been a gruesome sight.
[You okay?]
Teika, arriving late, checked on me first. With Han Seohyun's help, I stood and said,
[I'm fine. I took a potion, so don't worry…… More importantly, let's grab the loot first.]
[Loot?]
[Yeah, we can't just leave that behind, right?]
Honestly, if my body was intact, I'd have bolted over there myself. I was dying to see what a high-rank monster like that would drop.
━Such a materialist.
I ignored Ray's jab and put on a serious face. Loot was the top priority right now, no matter what anyone said.
What if, being a sand monster, it dispersed after a while?
Teika kept giving me worried looks, but I shook my head.
Hurry up and fetch the loot! That was the message.
[Got it.]
As Teika headed to the monster's corpse, Han Seohyun grumbled,
“That guy's got no shame. Look at him, going off to grab loot in a situation like this!”
I couldn't admit I'd told him to, so I played dumb. Would've been better if he'd kept cursing Teika. But Han Seohyun's gaze turned back to me.
“You're crazy. Totally lost your sense of how precious your body is.”
“Ugh.”
Even the slap on my back drew a groan.
“Gasp!”
Han Seohyun jumped in surprise at his own hit and frantically checked me over, but luckily, I was fine.
Ah, after stylishly taking down Evrika, this is what it comes to. My cheeks flushed with fresh embarrassment.
“I won't die. Can't say it doesn't hurt, but I'm okay now, and the bad parts are healing, so stop looking at me like that.”
“Okay my ass. You really scared me back there. Thought you were a goner.”
Looking closer, Han Seohyun's hands were trembling as he spoke. I knew he had nightmares, but still……
━He's holding up remarkably well, though. Even among kids displaced by war, that mental fortitude is……
‘Enough with the tragic backstory.’
I was already overwhelmed hugging the past of the kid right in front of me.
━Everything adults say turns to flesh and blood……
‘My eardrums are calloused enough. Cut it out.’
After snapping at Ray, I turned to Han Seohyun.
“I won't die, so quit worrying. I only stretched my legs after seeing the bed.”
Thinking about what we had to do ahead, we couldn't afford whining every time something like this happened.
“Let's see what he brings back.”
[Got something pretty good!]
Teika returned with a mana stone the size of my torso. Han Seohyun's jaw dropped at the sight.
“Holy—!”
The Red Flame mana stone I'd swiped at auction was only fist-sized, worth about 30 billion won.
But this one was as big as my head.
“I-is that all…….”
“Yeah, a mana stone.”
What Han Seohyun didn't know was that it'd shrink a lot after refining. Even accounting for that, though, the size was insane.
The clear, transparent yellow gem, reminiscent of amber, swirled with sand-like particles inside. A perfect encapsulation of Evrika's nature, probably. As I examined it closely, Han Seohyun and Kim Jaeho whispered behind me.
“Jaeho hyung, it's basically ours, right?”
“Yeah! Ours!”
“Exactly! Sure, they landed the killing blow, but we're three and they're one! So 75% ours!”
“Yeah!”
Kim Jaeho quickly caught on and piled on.
They glared murderously at Teika, but there was no reason for it to begin with.
[As promised, you take it.]
Teika handed me the mana stone. I said awkwardly,
[You sure about giving it all? This thing's priceless.]
[Haha, I couldn't have done it solo without you. My goal was just to take it down anyway. Plus, I got some great advice.]
Advice he'd figure out on his own in the future. I'd asked, but actually getting it felt embarrassing.
Still, refusing someone's generosity would be rude, so I'd take it graciously.
The problem was……
[I can't exactly hold it right now.]
My legs were still broken. Naturally, I couldn't stand on my own and was clinging firmly to Kim Jaeho's shoulders with both hands. No free hands for the mana stone, no matter how tempting.
“I'll take it!”
Han Seohyun stepped forward, quick on the uptake. But the stone was comically oversized for him to carry.
Already exhausted, hauling that back to base……
Would be tough.
Teika seemed to notice and took it back.
[I'll carry it for you.]
“Why should we trust you!”
[You can.]
“Yeah right, you're gonna run off with it!”
[I absolutely won't.]
Doesn't he get it a little too well?
I held Han Seohyun back.
“He says he'll carry it instead, so just hand it over.”
“Ugh! What if he bolts with it?”
“He won't pull something that lame.”
I pulled a strap from my bag and wrapped it around the mana stone. A makeshift handle for carrying.
“Time to head back.”
Until my legs healed, I'd hitch a ride on Kim Jaeho's back. Surprisingly comfy.
As we prepared to trek to base, Teika piped up casually.
[Oh, by the way, didn't you call me Teika earlier?]
[Me?]
Come to think of it, yeah.
[Since we're at it, why not just call me that casually?]
[No, Mr. Cooper.]
As if.
The way back was smooth. Naturally. The sandstorm that had filled the area was gone, and our GPS started working normally again.
“Ugh, still a long way to go.”
“Sent the rescue signal?”
“Yeah.”
No reason to make it hard when we could go easy. We'd slain the beast, and the sand composing it had mostly scattered, but the storm-spawned sand remained.
Every gust brought sandblasts, so I put Han Seohyun's mask back on.
“Keep the mask on.”
“Ugh.”
“Dust's still everywhere, even if it doesn't look like it.”
We advanced slowly like that. Then shuttles appeared ahead, spewing sand. The problem? There were way too many.
“Huh?”
All that for one rescue?
A bit uneasy, but I stayed calm. My mask was still functioning perfectly.
People poured out from the shuttles that stopped in front of us. One stood out especially.
[Teika!]
Teika flinched at the shout. Ah, that explained the armada of shuttles.
Teika's agency. They'd known he was heading here and come searching.
Hand him over, snag a ride on one of their shuttles, and done.
Was that overly optimistic?
The person charging toward us froze in place.
“Hold on.”
Wait, Korean?
Right, he's Korean. I started to smile and greet him.
If not for what he spat out.
“Beltsmets?”
‘Shit.’
My gaze flicked to Han Seohyun. The basic mode mask hiding his face.
It bore the grinning emoji from the auction raid.
I assessed the situation in an instant.
“Seohyun, grab the mana stone.”
Han Seohyun swiftly snatched it from Teika's arms.
[Huh?]
“Jaeho, get ready to bail.”
I summoned mana simultaneously. A smokescreen of gathered sand rose, and we bolted like hell.
Damn, no wonder luck was too good to be true!