Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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...Damn it.
I told Min Ha-yeon I was pondering blessings for her, then targeted Han Yeo-reum to draft one.
The act of creating a blessing didn't leak externally, like conversing with beings in the channel.
But that wasn't the pressing issue right now.
But that wasn't the most pressing issue right now.
-If the target's (Han Yeo-reum) death is confirmed, stop time for 10 seconds.-
-If the target's (Han Yeo-reum) death is confirmed, stop time for 9 seconds.-
-If the target's (Han Yeo-reum) death is confirmed, stop time for 5 seconds.-
..
..
'Whoa... At least the one alerting 1 second before death seems feasible.'
[...The risk is too great.]
This blessing cost 300,000 points.
That's 30,000 Enel.
I had about 90,000 Enel on hand...
I'd initially tried using time stop to solve the problem.
Since it didn't involve regression, it didn't demand billions of points.
Yet it still required an insane amount of Enel.
No matter how useless it seemed, stopping time or foreseeing the future apparently transcended ordinary abilities.
Armonia commented while reviewing the blessing.
[I'm sorry, but even assuming I have great reflexes, that's impossible. Warp needs at least 1 second of calculation before activating.]
'...And now that I think about it, even if it worked, it'd be a problem.'
[What part?]
'When regressing... won't the blessings reset?'
The blessings would likely reset too.
Even if it worked, I'd burn 30,000 Enel per regression.
And if warp lagged and failed, it'd vanish pointlessly...
No, if they didn't reset, it'd be even worse.
What if there was a fatal flaw in the Blessing I drafted thinking it was possible?
That'd be a bigger issue.
Better if they kept resetting, letting me repurchase like a sucker.
After that, I tried every damn combination.
And the best result I came up with was...
'Is this the best I can do?'
[...I believe that might be possible somehow.]
It combined maximum foresight (death confirmation) and limited time stop (range-restricted).
But it demanded 1,000,000 points...
'100,000 Enel... Short by about 10,000?'
[That is correct, but in 10 hours, a week will have passed, and you will receive 30,000 Enel.]
'Hmm...'
It seemed decent enough.
But only seemed that way.
Foresight only triggered on confirmed death.
Time stop narrowed to 1km.
Still, too many uncertainties.
What if he died from something outside 1km?
If that kept happening and worked against me?
I needed a blessing that fully eliminated the 'what ifs'.
'For now, let's think more after getting another Enel payout.'
[Understood.]
Armonia accepted my words and shifted to next countermeasures.
[There are 5 minutes left for the safe zone. You should begin planning your movement.]
'Alright...'
I explained my plan to Armonia.
...
...
"...Are you insane?"
"... "
Min Ha-yeon erupted in anger the likes of which I'd never seen upon hearing my plan.
My plan was simple.
First, add to Min Ha-yeon's blessing an ability to stay safe when target (Seong Su-ho) is out of sight.
Then, with my perfectly fine legs, I'd lure the Shock Bees and flee, while she escaped the opposite way.
You could call it absurd, but it was based on survival odds.
As long as I wasn't killed in a single blow, I could be healed with Enel.
Plus, I had Stealth skill.
Only level 8, but this was a tree-covered forest.
If I hid well, the possibility of survival was high.
Min Ha-yeon, though, had legs not fully healed.
If she were caught by a Shock Bee, she would instantly die on the spot.
Fleeing together would endanger us both.
The plan for me to go out first, lure the Shock Bees, and for Min Ha-yeon to run the other way....
"It's for both our sakes."
"No."
"... "
Min Ha-yeon didn't care about the logic of the plan.
"Then I'll lure them. You run."
"Hey... that's ridiculous... "
"...You're the one saying ridiculous crap to me?!"
"... "
I had no rebuttal.
If the roles were reversed, I would have been just as furious..
There was no way the argument that she should run away while I became the prey would work on someone who loved me.
But time was truly short now.
About 2 minutes left...
Min Ha-yeon, seemingly having no intention of understanding my persuasion, kept talking.
"My legs are messed up anyway. If at least one person is going to survive for sure...."
"Hey... "
For a moment, I was so pissed off I almost slapped her across the cheek.
I had said I would be the lure, but what Min Ha-yeon was saying was entirely different.
My survival odds were high; hers was near zero.
"Never say that again."
"But you're doing it!!!"
"That's completely different."
I spoke calmly, without yelling.
Min Ha-yeon made a scene, crying and wailing, and I had to persuade her somehow in a very short amount of time.
Not through my eloquence, but once Min Ha-yeon understood the situation, she lowered her head, shed tears, and said..
"...Is this really the only way?"
"Yeah, it's how the both of us can live."
"... "
Less than a minute left now.
Min Ha-yeon suddenly stood up and kissed me.
After a kiss that was merely a brief pressing of lips, Min Ha-yeon pulled away, tears streaming down her face, and said,.
"...Survive no matter what. This isn't a request."
"I'll survive for sure, just to kiss you again next time."
"...Hmph."
She relaxed a bit at my words, laughed hollowly.
Now there was truly no time left.
"If I succeed in luring two of them, run the opposite way."
"...Got it."
What if only one followed me and the other stayed to guard Min Ha-yeon?
Well, I had a plan.
I was certain that if they took a bean-shot, they would go crazy and charge at me.
[Seeing as they guarded the two of you meaninglessly for an hour, it is highly likely they are not calculating creatures, but creatures that act on instinct.]
As Armonia said, monsters built simply to eliminate targets.
Actually, I had considered using my remaining mana to make a potion for Min Ha-yeon.
I wanted her to be able to run away with a fully functional leg.
However, I also had to make an anti-magic potion; the bean-shots were essential for the lure.
If she just ran on her own, she might be caught immediately.
Above all...
'If I give her a potion and her leg fully recovers, she'll make a fuss about coming with me....'
[A wise decision. To save Min Ha-yeon, her current state will actually be more helpful.]
I steeled myself and shouted as I left the safe zone.
"Ha-yeon! Be careful!"
"You too!"
I didn't hear the rest of Min Ha-yeon's words as I fired a bean-shot toward the Shock Bees.
"One shot for each now!"
Bang! Bang!
Perhaps because they were weak sting-shots, the superconductor bullets shattered as soon as they hit the Shock Bees'outer shells.
But...
Bwoooong!!!
The way they struggled, clearly in pain, showed that it was effective..
It was the first time I felt anger emanating from the face of a bee..
Confirming that both of them were flying toward me, I quickly fled into the forest..
...
...
"......... "
Bwoong...
The violent buzzing of the Shock Bees' wings felt distant, and as they grew further away, the sound eventually faded.
"Hoo... "
[Fortunately. They seem to be monsters specialized only in direct combat.]
It was exactly as Armonia said.
They possessed overwhelming performance in combat, but they lacked intelligence; even with stealth level 8, I was able to hide without any trouble..
I felt this information might be helpful even after a regression.
After catching my breath and calming down, I thought of Min Ha-yeon.
'Phew... Ha-yeon should be fine.'
[No entities passed through the safe zone where the two of you were. If she is on the opposite side of your path, Su-ho-nim, there should still be plenty of safe zones installed.]
'Good...'
The direction I ran was toward the place where we were first summoned.
When first summoned, Han Yeo-reum had fled west from the center, and I had fled east.
Then, I returned to the center and sent Min Ha-yeon further east.
The remaining time was approximately 1 hour 50 minutes left...
'This is tricky. I need to find Han Yeo-reum quickly.'
[For now, carefully check your surround—]
While Armonia was speaking to me, a scream suddenly echoed from the distance.
(Uwaaak!! What the hell!! Why is it here!!)
(Kyaaak!!!)
"...Found him."
Seems my pursuers bumped into Han Yeo-reum's group.
Maintaining my stealth as much as possible, I headed toward the source of the sound.
The direction of the noise was erratic, but as I continued to narrow it down, the sound eventually died away.
When I carefully arrived at the last place I heard the noise, I understood why it had gone quiet.
"Haa... haa... haa... "
"Hng... haa... "
Han Yeo-reum and a female party member named Park Jin-hee were lying down inside a safe zone, gasping for air.
Two Shock Bees were waiting just outside the edge of the safe zone.
'The other four... and where are the other two people?'
The smaller number of people didn't bother me much.
But four unseen Shock Bees did.
They could potentially be near Min Ha-yeon.
But I was able to feel relieved immediately after hearing the conversation between the two.
"Sob... Yeo-reum... you're too much... how could you just leave Hye-eun behind like that...."
"Fuck!! Are you kidding me? You want me to drag an injured person while running away!?"
"B-but... Hye-eun got hurt helping you... "
"Then those four! Why don't you lure them away? Huh?"
"Th-that's... "
Han Yeo-reum, who was usually sweet and affectionate, was showing his true colors now that he was facing death.
Even with regression, it seemed he hated the idea of dying.
'...That's a relief. It looks like the four of them are out of sight because one person was sacrificed.'
[I find it more surprising that they have survived this long.]
The woman named Hye-eun, who had her arm bitten off at the start, must have died.
Surviving in that state would be even more of a living hell....
It seemed that Han Yeo-reum had unintentionally lured three of them and escaped, and afterward, the women had also managed to escape once the time stop wore off.
In other words, the conclusion was that when a Shock Bee lands on the ground to stop time, the three that activated the skill are also included in that stop.
'No, the monsters that activate the skill seem to stop time for even longer, right?'
[I suspect that is the case. If the time stop for the women and the Shock Bees in that location had worn off simultaneously, they would have been killed instantly.]
I had learned another piece of information..
I figured the ideal number of people for this boss fight was three.
Because if only three were spawned, there was a possibility they wouldn't use the skill.
[Given their low intelligence, I believe the probability of them using the skill remains high.]
'Ah, that makes sense.'
They didn't seem like the type to calculate penalties before using a skill...
While compiling intel, Han Yeoreum yelled.
"Fuck! Only 5 minutes here!"
"Hng... "
I looked at the two of them and felt relieved.
'I'll rest for 5 minutes, then keep tailing them.'
"... "
Min Ha-yeon dragged her limping leg to a new safe zone.
About 100 meters from the one shared with Seong Su-ho.
With a gloomy expression, Min Ha-yeon touched the sign in the center of the safe zone.
Just a measly 5-minute safe zone.
But her expression showed no regret.
Right now, only one man filled her mind over her own safety.
"...What the hell."
Feeling her own helplessness acutely, Min Ha-yeon hugged her knees and lowered her head.
Closing her eyes, she thought of Seong Su-ho, who had run away, leaving her behind..
And the magic he'd used to lure monsters...
But in that moment, Min Ha-yeon felt a sense of doubt.
"Wait... if he had mana... couldn't he have made more potions?"
It was true that the green potions had very minimal healing effects..
But she believed that if he had used mana to make more potions, he could have sufficiently treated her leg..
It was an obvious fact, but she hadn't thought of it because she had been so caught up in the emotional turmoil with Seong Su-ho..
"No way..."
Min Ha-yeon took the Blessing note out of her inventory, and the words Seong Su-ho had said to her came back to her..
(Write something in the Blessing that helps you when I am out of your sight.)
"Wait a minute... he didn't say to think about the distance increasing, but to write it specifically for when I can't see him...."
Seong Su-ho hadn't treated her, and he told her to write something in the Protection that would help her when he was invisible to her.
As if ensuring the blessing persisted without him...
"...You bastard!"
Min Ha-yeon judged he'd sacrificed himself for her.
She felt like running to him right now and slapping his cheeks mercilessly.
But she questioned whether going now would actually be helpful.
She thought that with her current leg, she might truly just be a burden..
"Even if I go now... wait... I have plenty of points, don't I?"
Min Ha-yeon remembered the points she had received while hunting with Seong Su-ho.
And then, a specific Blessing came to mind..
"...Just wait, Seong Su-ho... "
With a meaningful expression, Min Ha-yeon began to draft her Blessing.