Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Wh-what the hell is this!"
"…."
Han Yeo-reum couldn't comprehend the situation and stared at the other women in shock.
But he didn't have long to gawk like that.
Excluding the one that had caused the paralysis wave from the ground, the remaining three Shock Bees lunged at Han Yeo-reum.
"Sh-shit!!"
Han Yeo-reum seemed to have no time to worry about my condition right now.
Fortunately, he hadn't noticed that I hadn't stopped moving either.
Han Yeo-reum abandoned the frozen women and bolted into the forest.
Thankfully, the three Shock Bees followed him.
But the one who got pissed at the sight wasn't the women—it was me.
'This is driving me insane!!'
'No choice!'
I hoisted the frozen Min Ha-yeon over my shoulder and turned to run.
It wasn't the situation to save all those women right now.
But someone tried to put the brakes on my actions.
'No, I can't just leave her like that!'
No matter how much she'd revive after regression, I couldn't bring myself to abandon her.
The Shock Bees would probably chase us fleeing right now over those guys anyway.
But it wasn't a situation to let my guard down either.
This forest was surely a limited combat zone.
Which meant there had to be dead ends.
About 30 seconds later...
"Oh! Safe zone!"
Not far off, I spotted a pillar emitting a blue light.
It was the same distance I'd run to get here, so I'd have to run just as far again.
But at the same moment, the sound of helicopter propellers came from behind.
Vrrrrooom...
"Shit..."
If I'd been alone, I'd have reached it already, but carrying Min Ha-yeon, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't get caught before arriving.
I could feel from the propeller noise in my ears that the odds of getting nabbed had shot up.
VROOOOM!
The remaining distance was about 50 meters.
But the Shock Bees weren't about to wait.
Shhwick!
Suddenly, a sharp sound slicing through the air came from behind.
The moment I turned in surprise...
A sharp object pierced through my arm and embedded in Min Ha-yeon's thigh.
"Arghhh!"
Even as I spat curses from the sudden pain, I didn't stop.
Fortunately, my arm, gushing blood, healed in an instant, and the pain vanished.
The moment the pain was gone, I barely made it into the safe zone.
The object that had pierced my arm was a stinger shot by the Shock Bee.
The stinger was about two finger-widths thick and around 20 centimeters long.
Despite the stinger embedded in her thigh and blood pouring out, Min Ha-yeon remained in her time-stopped state..
"Haa... haa... Let's heal Hayeon first..."
And the moment I yanked the stinger out of Min Ha-yeon's thigh with all my strength...
"Wh-what... Aaaahhh!!"
The instant the stinger was pulled free, the time stop on Min Ha-yeon lifted, and she collapsed to the ground with a horrific scream.
I calmed Min Ha-yeon down and poured every green potion I had onto her leg.
Unlike the others, I hadn't prepared many potions for my own use.
Since we'd regress anyway, I'd only made about three just in case.
"Ha-yeon! Give me all your potions!"
"Urgh... H-here..."
Min Ha-yeon handed over all her green potions at my words.
Only after dumping all 15 did the bleeding finally stop, and I could see flesh starting to regrow.
But green potions weren't enough to fully heal her.
They were meant for scrapes and bruises in the first place, so they had their limits.
Once the wound was somewhat treated and she'd calmed down, Min Ha-yeon calmly looked around.
Min Ha-yeon and I were inside the safe zone, and the ground was a mess of dirt and blood—so much it felt like a bucketful had been spilled.
And outside the safe zone, two Shock Bees watching us intently...
"Haa... haa... Su-ho? What the hell is this? Where are we?"
"...I'll explain everything."
I gave her a quick summary.
The boss was called Shock Bee, the skills they'd used, and that Han Yeo-reum and I weren't affected by those skills.
Han Yeo-reum had fled elsewhere, and in the panic, I'd hoisted her over my shoulder and run here.
"...Sorry, I was in such a rush I couldn't dodge the stinger."
"What are you talking about? If it weren't for you... I'd already be dead... Thank you..."
Min Ha-yeon limped over and hugged me, tears streaming down her face.
We stayed like that for a few minutes before Min Ha-yeon glanced at my arm and shouted.
"Hey! What happened to your arm!?"
"Haa... It got pierced earlier. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."
"Pierced, and you're fine!?"
There was no way to convince her it was Enel recovery, nor any need to.
I just lied vaguely about having a self-healing skill.
"Wow... Su-ho... Is there anything you can't do?"
Not just Min Ha-yeon, even Guardian of the Gay Little Dick was shocked.
'Well... it's not exactly a lie.'
"But it's not a cure-all...."
"No one else has anything like that..."
Min Ha-yeon gave a hollow smile and slumped to the ground.
She trembled, shoulders twitching, as she stared at the Shock Bees outside the safe zone.
Monsters on a whole different level from anything we'd faced before.
A gap in power that defied common sense.
And from Min Ha-yeon's perspective, now knowing her arrows didn't work on them, she had no choice but to conclude they were unbeatable.
This creeping terror couldn't be endured just by staying composed and rational.
On the contrary, her composure might make her acutely sense that death was right around the corner.
I placed a hand on her shaking shoulder to calm her.
"It's okay. There has to be some way. They wouldn't set up a place like this without one."
"Yeah..."
Min Ha-yeon placed her slender right hand over the back of mine on her shoulder, sharing our warmth.
I steadied her and looked around.
Then something peculiar caught my eye.
In the center upper part of the roughly 10-pyeong safe zone, there was a holographic sign with numbers.
-2 : 51-
The moment I wondered what it was, the 51 ticked down to 50.
I instantly knew.
Remaining time.
But I had no info on what that time meant.
Just in case, I asked Guardian of the Gay Little Dick.
"Do you know what that displayed time means?"
I figured he wouldn't tell, but thankfully he explained well.
This boss battle was a mission to survive three hours from entry, he said.
But...
"So we just stay holed up here?"
Not all safe zones are the same, he explained.
Most safe zones were reportedly inactive..
When summoners entered, they activated and stayed safe for a set time.
Some lasted an hour after entry, others just five minutes.
Capacity varied from three to one person, and exceeding it would randomly eject extras.
"But is it okay to explain all that?"
"Aha!"
Guardian of the Gay Little Dick hoped I'd survive for more fun rather than something happening.
"Well... what can you do. Thanks for telling me anyway."
He probably couldn't speak before entry.
I thanked Guardian of the Gay Little Dick and relayed all the info to Min Ha-yeon.
Fortunately, she'd gathered quite a bit herself in the meantime.
"Let's check this safe zone's remaining time first."
To check the safe zone's time, I touched the hologram in the center.
Upon touch, the boss battle timer changed to '0 : 55[2/2]'.
"Good. This one's an hour long."
"And for two people... Perfect..."
Min Ha-yeon sighed in relief, hand on her chest.
Max time, exact capacity for two.
But we couldn't just relax.
"At least... not everyone, but some survived."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"Boss summoned six total, two on us. Probably others chasing the rest."
"Ah... Yeah, makes sense."
Han Yeo-reum not regressing meant he was alive for sure.
If the other women were dead, the Shock Bees would've swarmed our safe zone by now.
We had the current situation grasped.
Now the problem was regression...
'Damn it... this is driving me crazy. That bastard Han Yeo-reum.... He must have taken an Anti-Magic Potion, right?'
I concluded that what he'd stuffed in his mouth back at the Colosseum was an anti-magic potion.
Nothing else explained why the paralysis wave hadn't stopped his time.
'All that nagging for points lately... must've been for this.'
'And it hit the nail on the head...'
'...What? We'd have to time the warp right before death.'
'Huh? How?'
Armonia explained that the regression itself caused Yggdrasil to regress as well..
When Han Yeo-reum's blessing, the regression, was activated, the sudden change in energy could be detected from outside the planet, allowing the regression to be predicted..
Armonia was suggesting we warp back to the ship now and wait for Han Yeoreum to die.
But I shot it down.
'No.... What if he actually manages to survive until the end?'
'Besides, from what I can see, the survival probability increases as the number of people decreases.'
'Safe zones are essential to the end. And my guess is...'
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment before answering.
'There won't be enough safe zones.'
'...That's what I think.'
Too many safe zones would dilute the boss battle's intent.
The intent to reduce numbers...
As I pondered deeply, a scream echoed from afar.
"━━___━━__!"
Even from the sound, it was clear the scream wasn't coming from nearby.
"…."
"…."
Min Ha-yeon and I bowed our heads at the sound, the mood growing heavy again.
If this safe zone vanished, we'd be screaming and fleeing too.
The only saving grace was that, judging by the scream, it was a woman's voice.
It meant the other women were still alive and fleeing.
'Sigh.... Should I gamble...?'
'Yeah.'
Armonia didn't respond easily.
Even if he was a piece of trash, I had to be nearby to avoid being swallowed by the regression.
Only then could I at least attempt a warp before he died....
The problem was that leaving right now carried a high risk, and there was one more worry.
"…."
Min Ha-yeon...
I couldn't leave the girl sitting beside me, looking up at me.
Wait...
'No good.'
I pulled a sheet of paper from my inventory.
A paper that could hold a blessing.
'A Blessing... let's think of one right now....'
It was the moment to find a solution—whether it was a Blessing to overcome the regression or one to break through this situation.