Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Named (6)
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We arrived at the clearing, but none of us exchanged words.
Everyone knew that whatever we said would only lead to grim talk.
I pulled an Ash Moss Potion from my bag and handed it to Park Bomi.
"It's an antidote. You should feel a bit better."
"Ah... Thank you."
Park Bomi, poisoned in my place while trying to protect me.
Sweat drenched her forehead, and chills made her tremble uncontrollably.
Even watching her drink the potion left a bitter taste that wouldn't fade.
The Ash Moss Potion was a truly basic antidote.
Its effect was far too weak to neutralize all the thornflower poison.
"It's just a temporary measure. It only suppresses the poison for a little while—you need proper treatment once we're out."
I turned toward the mages.
Their expressions were at least better than the others'.
"Since we've destroyed the core, how about we wait until the gate dissipates?"
Han Sehee's suggestion.
Gates expel all creatures inside when they vanish.
She was saying we should hold out without taking more risks.
"How long until it fully dissipates?"
"Roughly three days..."
Three days.
We obviously didn't have that much food or water.
Three weeks without food, three days without water, right?
Optimistically, we might scrape by.
But Libea was still prowling this forest.
Was there any guarantee we wouldn't run into her over three days?
And more importantly,
"Park Bomi won't last. She might not even make it a day."
I couldn't just watch her die after getting hurt because of me.
Han Sehee knew that too, and she wasn't heartless enough to push the discussion.
She bowed her head deeply.
"If we'd used Fireball back there, would the outcome have been different?"
Kim Beomsu's voice drifted out, dazed, staring into empty space.
Was he regretting rejecting my suggestion to use Fireball?
"..."
I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again.
Should I say it?
That one last method remained to test.
But trusting and following my words had already gotten An Changsu killed.
This plan could lead to even more gruesome deaths for our comrades.
I hesitated, then spoke.
If a method still existed, I couldn't stop struggling.
"I have a plan."
Their hopeful faces gradually hardened as my words continued.
They realized how dangerous my plan was.
Even assuming success, it required resolve to face death.
Han Sehee and Kim Beomsu pondered heavily.
In the end, they accepted there were no other options.
They nodded slowly.
Now I just had to convince the two of them.
I turned back to Park Bomi.
"How's your condition?"
"...I can't even say it's okay as a white lie. My arm's stiffening up—after one more shot, it probably won't move anymore."
"Perfect."
"Huh?"
I took an item from my bag, handed it to her, and explained the plan.
Park Bomi's face paled.
But among us, she was the most urgent case, poisoned as she was.
Park Bomi had no choice but to nod.
I moved again.
The last person to convince.
Ever since he'd come to and heard the situation, he'd been the same.
Lee Seonwoo was crying.
"Lee Seonwoo."
No response.
All that came from him, head buried in his arms, was sobbing.
Two people he'd known had died, so his grief must be immense.
But we couldn't afford to empathize with his sorrow right now.
I ignored his lack of reaction and slowly laid out the plan.
As I finished and caught my breath,
a small mumble reached me.
"...What can I even do?"
Thick resignation and despair trembled in his voice.
"Changsu hyung died so pointlessly... What can a worthless bastard like me do?!"
Lee Seonwoo had lifted his head and was glaring at me.
Tears streamed from his eyes, one drop embodying self-loathing.
Did he need comfort? The truth that he hadn't bloomed yet, but had S-rank potential?
I was too exhausted for that.
I stated the fact calmly.
"You're the most crucial part of this plan."
He gasped as if stabbed in the chest.
"The plan's only variable is whether you can hold off that thing while the mages prepare their spell. If you fail, we fail."
"Me, how could I..."
He trembled with the weight of it.
Fear that he'd cause our total failure.
Terror that his mistake would cost us all our lives.
"Ha."
A memory of our earlier talk made me chuckle.
"I was wrong."
Lee Seonwoo looked up at me.
"To not be dead weight, you have to risk your life. See, I was wrong to tell you not to. You were right."
Safe choices only yield predictable results.
To achieve the impossible, you need a fitting choice.
Sometimes, you must risk your life for the outcome you want—I realized that now.
I knelt and met his eyes.
"We'll all have to risk our lives, right?"
I extended my hand.
He hesitated, then grabbed it.
I pulled him to his feet and shouted.
"Let's go!"
Time to strike back.
*
Dense foliage.
We trudged heavily toward the thick concentration of mana.
Huu, fear seeped from my comrades' breaths.
We'd spotted the target.
A girl in bizarre attire.
And four living trees encircling her.
Forest Spirit 'Libea'.
A faint tremor came from my left hand, clasped in hers.
Han Sehee, holding my left hand.
I ignored it and spoke.
"Let's begin."
Kim Beomsu gripped my right hand, quietly chanting.
We had to buy time until his Fireball was ready.
Hold out somehow in the meantime.
Libea sensed the mana and turned toward us.
To her, we were familiar foes.
She attacked without hesitation.
Arms extended toward the ground.
Plants began sprouting from the earth.
Thornflowers.
"Lee Seonwoo!"
One back stood protectively before the huddled three.
To block the attack from behind, Lee Seonwoo drew a deep breath,
and thorns launched.
Tung! Ting!
The sharp thorns bounced off without touching him.
Han Sehee had enveloped him in a barrier.
We'd anticipated it, so reacting wasn't hard.
But Han Sehee's face paled as the thorns deflected.
Greater mana drain than expected?
Less leeway than thought.
Libea moved the trees next.
Leaving one beside her, she ordered the other three to attack.
Thud! Thoom!
Towering so high you had to crane your neck to see the tops.
Each step of the massive trees sent tremendous vibrations rippling out.
Dizzying.
"...Just hold on a little longer."
All I could say to Lee Seonwoo.
Our clasped hands grew slick with sweat.
Mine? Hers?
Probably both.
The trees swung thick branches.
Even An Changsu hadn't fully evaded two trees' focused assault.
Lee Seonwoo tried, but a branch from behind struck and sent him flying.
"Hngh!"
The groan came from Han Sehee, whose barrier had defended him.
Her body trembled perilously.
Her limit—the barrier had shattered on that hit.
Lee Seonwoo scrambled up immediately, trees closing in.
His eyes wavered.
To finish him surely, Libea opened her mouth,
"Lee Seonwoo!"
At my shout, he threw himself aside.
To the opposite side from the trees, as far from the enemy as possible—he even rolled.
The girl sang.
— Aaaaaa aa♪
A charm to shatter minds and disrupt chants.
If Kim Beomsu fell to it, his spell would cancel, forcing a restart.
That meant no hope, so he instinctively gripped my hand tighter,
and kept chanting through the song.
A glint from the ring on my left index finger.
Barbara's Wedding Ring.
Its effect: mental synchronization with the touched target.
My near-immune mental resistance protected their minds.
For this moment, I'd held hands with them all along—keeping both Han Sehee and Kim Beomsu safe.
But Lee Seonwoo remained down, unmoving.
I couldn't protect him too, so I'd ordered maximum distance...
Thoom!
It was just a stopgap to buy time.
The trees drew closer to Lee Seonwoo.
A little more, just a little longer.
The eternal instant ended, and the awaited words came.
"It's ready!"
A fireball flared in the air.
Kim Beomsu gestured, and it flew straight at Libea.
Boom! Flames erupted around the girl in an instant.
Fire clung to her body, and the guarding tree beside her burned too.
The girl's face twisted for the first time.
A solid hit.
But not lethal.
We'd need three or four more to finish her.
Now enraged, she wouldn't let us.
No more attacks after that Fireball.
Still, I grinned.
I inhaled, and yelled at my comrade nocking an arrow beyond the charm's range.
"Park Bomi!!!"
The response came soon.
A familiar arrow whistled past us and struck home.
Thuk!
The moving tree burning beside Libea.
The arrow embedded there, a glass vial dangling from its line.
Orange liquid tilted.
Heroic-grade attack potion made from dragonlily.
Inspired by a dragon's breath, named by an alchemist:
Dragon's Breath Potion.
The flames reached the vial, catalyst awakening the dormant rage.
— Kwaaaaaang!!!
The dragon roared.
Superheated flames engulfed the area.
The tree crumbled without resistance. Beside it, Libea rolled desperately to extinguish the fire, but the blaze only intensified, charring her body.
Collapse, you bastard.
Soon, she burned formless, and massive mana flooded into my body.
A thrilling ecstasy trembled through me; instinctively, I knew.
I'd reached D-rank.
But before savoring it, someone spoke.
"What now?"
Han Sehee, surveying the surroundings.
Lee Seonwoo and Park Bomi, freed from the charm, approached us.
We'd won, yet their faces weren't bright.
"We break through. Move before it spreads further."
Crimson flickers devoured the green mercilessly.
The blaze that scorched the vicinity spread ever farther.
The reason we'd avoided fire magic.
Our escape route would be cut off too.
But if this was our only path to survival, we had to stake our lives on it.
Han Sehee squeezed her remaining mana to cast on us.
A cool chill wrapped our skin.
Lesser spell boosting fire resistance: Frost Armor.
"It won't last long. Somehow, in the meantime..."
We departed without delay.
One step into the burning forest.
Heat choked my breath instantly.
Forcing my mouth open for air burned my throat.
Among us, Park Bomi was worst off.
Plunging through flames with spreading poison made her steps falter.
Seeing Lee Seonwoo support her, I used my ability on everyone.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"The heat's suddenly gone."
"Did Han Yujin do something?"
I forced a smile and nodded.
A new application of illusion I'd first shown An Changsu.
By focusing on a target's specific part, I could temporarily disrupt sensations or emotions.
I'd numbed their sense of heat and pain.
The physical damage remained, but the pain relief eased their expressions.
"Much better. Let's keep going!"
The group quickened pace with smiles.
I gripped my fading mind and followed.
Only comrades benefited from illusion pain relief.
My mental resistance denied me liberation from agony.
Hot. My parched throat tasted of blood.
Coughing brought blood to my hand.
"Han Yujin?"
They slowed as I lagged.
I gestured it was fine and caught up.
They just weren't feeling pain—same condition as me.
No time to hesitate.
How far had we gone?
My hazy vision blacked out.
Was I still walking?
Had my legs burned away, or were they intact?
I couldn't tell.
Just clinging to the sensation of moving forward.
I might already be collapsed, burning.
Was there point in this futile effort?
"...!"
A muffled call pierced my deafened ears.
A comrade's voice. Hearing meant I wasn't dead yet.
I grasped my crumbling mind tighter.
Senses sharpened, returning,
"...Han Yujin!"
I pushed my body toward that voice.
How much farther?
A small sob reached me.
"We're out... We made it......"
Ah. We'd arrived.
Only then did I lose consciousness.