Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Rosie Ruby's Gaze
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Rosie Ruby was undoubtedly powerful.
No skill Seo Woo-jin used had any effect on it.
To be precise, none of them inflicted meaningful damage.
But they weren't completely ineffective.
‘Just scratches...’
Rosie Ruby's body was covered in minor wounds.
Mere superficial cuts to its epidermis, nothing more.
‘No way out.’
He couldn't use any more skills now.
His mana had been completely depleted.
All Seo Woo-jin could do was grit his teeth and swing his sword.
Clang-!
Its forepaw clashed against his blade.
“Urk!”
The sturdy black sword held up, but Seo Woo-jin did not.
The power contained in that scythe-like forepaw was overwhelmingly immense.
As payment for blocking the attack, Seo Woo-jin was sent flying backward.
“Damn...”
The impact was severe.
Every time it swung its forepaw, he was knocked back, making it hard to keep his wits about him.
Still, he couldn't just lie there.
If he did, his body would be torn in half.
“Hup!”
Seo Woo-jin snapped his waist up, leaping to his feet, dodging the forepaw slashing diagonally and swinging his sword.
Scraaaape-!
A scratch appeared on its impossibly tough hide.
‘Too shallow!’
Lacking proper force, it only grazed the surface.
It was the kind of strike Eirin would have scolded him for.
Kikikik-!
Rosie Ruby sneered at him, then brought its forepaw down from above.
‘Can't dodge this one.’
Nor could he block it.
His stance disrupted, he didn't even have time to raise his sword.
Seo Woo-jin stared at the descending forepaw, then shifted his gaze.
Kik-!
Their eyes met.
At that instant, it froze.
‘Now!’
Seizing the moment its movement stiffened, Seo Woo-jin rolled backward.
After tumbling several times, he escaped its attack range.
“Hoo- hoo-!”
The breath he'd held burst out at once.
‘That... was close.’
How many times had it been?
How many times had he survived because it froze?
He didn't know the reason, but every time their eyes met, Rosie Ruby stiffened briefly.
It was similar to what had happened with Drakeas and the ice worm.
The difference with those northern monsters was...
‘That it only lasts 1 or 2 seconds.’
Unlike them, who stayed frozen for a long while, Rosie Ruby quickly resumed moving.
Then, as if baffled by its own pause, it rampaged even more furiously.
Seo Woo-jin took the moment to catch his breath and steady his stance.
Sure enough, it was venting its frustration over freezing again.
‘What now?’
Winning was impossible.
More than victory, he needed a way to survive and escape this place.
‘They all seemed to flee just fine.’
Though the fight felt endless, only about 10 minutes had passed.
In those 10 minutes, Seo Woo-jin had thrown everything he had at it.
Until his mana ran dry.
But now realizing he couldn't keep fighting, he had to figure out an escape.
‘Not toward the team members.’
Going that way would just lead to pointless sacrifices.
The opposite direction would be better, but that meant passing right through where it stood.
“That's impossible.”
With his movements, he couldn't break through it.
‘Which leaves...’
Front and back blocked, only left or right remained.
Of those, Seo Woo-jin chose left.
Compared to its power, Rosie Ruby's speed was sluggish, so escape might be possible.
“If worst comes to worst, I can lock eyes with it now and then.”
A mere few seconds, but enough to avoid danger.
‘I've bought enough time. Time to bolt!’
Just as Seo Woo-jin stepped forward to launch himself before Rosie Ruby charged again.
“Mister!”
A very familiar voice called from behind.
‘Damn it all!’
Who else here would call him “mister”?
Turning, sure enough, Lee Ji-ah was running toward him.
She wasn't alone.
Everyone who'd fled was returning.
Even Sung Yu-ra.
In normal circumstances, he would have felt grateful for their willingness to risk danger to help.
But not now.
Not when he'd just resolved to escape.
Kieeeek-!
Rosie Ruby shrieked in delight at the returning prey and began moving again.
‘Should I just run?’
The thought crossed his mind.
If he moved now, he could shake it off.
But he shook his head.
If he vanished, its target would surely become the team.
“They're not helping.”
Seo Woo-jin sighed and raised his sword.
No mana left.
He had to block its attacks with pure swordsmanship alone.
He had no idea how much help the team could provide, but he couldn't expect much.
So he had to keep its aggro on himself.
‘No clue how long I can hold out.’
But he'd do what he could.
Scraaaape-!
Its forepaw slid along Seo Woo-jin's black sword.
Not blocking head-on, but deflecting at an angle.
Unable to fully dissipate the force, his wrist throbbed.
“Now!”
Kim Da-hye reacted first to his shout.
She summoned the long, pink Ala's magic wand again.
Fwoooosh-!
The launched projectile hurtled toward Rosie Ruby with a sharp whine.
As Rosie Ruby whipped its head at the sudden noise, Seo Woo-jin kicked it and propelled himself away.
KABOOOM-!
“Urgh!”
The shockwave crashed over him.
* * *
“Hmm.”
The mana engineer frowned.
“Something wrong?”
Riok asked cautiously.
The unnamed mana engineer's expression looked grave.
“Nothing.”
But he had no intention of answering Riok.
He merely examined the box before him with even deeper eyes.
‘Some kind of seal?’
The box bore the seal of a kadenite, and it was indeed sealed.
‘This is unexpected.’
He'd judged it merely a remnant of a perished demon king, but it seemed more valuable than anticipated.
He still didn't know what was sealed inside.
Since the demon king had sealed it personally, whatever was within was surely no trifle...
The mana engineer didn't care.
‘No need to worry much about this level.’
The seal inscription on the box wasn't particularly advanced.
Thus, analyzing it was straightforward.
All that remained was to sequentially release the mana patterns of the seal.
The mana engineer drew up his mana and began slowly undoing the seals one by one.
Click- click-
Sounds like locks unlatching echoed from within the box.
And shortly after.
The mana engineer set the box, slightly larger than his palm, down on the ground.
Its lid began to slowly open.
“Back.”
He ordered the knights to withdraw, eyes brimming with curiosity fixed on the box.
“Demonic energy...?”
The demonic energy emanating from the box grew thicker.
No major effects yet, but if it continued, things could get serious.
Riok glanced at the mana engineer, who shook his head as if it was fine.
“Just a temporary phenomenon. It'll fade soon.”
Unsettling as it was, Riok could do nothing.
He simply waited for the box to fully open.
“Done.”
As the mana engineer spoke, the lid fully opened.
Fwaaaah-!
At the same instant, a beam of dark light shot into the sky.
Not mystical, but ominously foreboding.
Riok and the knights all reached for their swords.
Tension rose with the intensifying demonic energy.
The mana engineer alone remained unfazed.
He watched the eerie light calmly, then extended his hand.
“Cancel release.”
With the spell's activation, all seal inscriptions dissolved, and the light faded.
“What's that?”
Riok's eyes widened.
“A gate.”
In the light's place appeared a crimson-black gate.
The mana engineer slowly approached it.
“Dangerous!”
Riok tried to stop him, but the mana engineer shook his head.
Demonic energy was present, but not dangerously so.
The mana engineer began analyzing the gate.
“A conditional gate.”
“...Conditional gate?”
Riok asked what that meant.
Fortunately, the mana engineer explained this time.
“Exactly as it sounds. It opens when conditions are met. It's revealed now because the seal broke, but it would have activated anyway if conditions aligned.”
“You mean?”
Riok wore a hopeful expression.
He could guess from the words.
“Yes, exactly. It seems the heroes passed through this gate.”
As the mana engineer's words ended, Riok turned back.
“Prepare to enter.”
He didn't know where the gate led.
But no matter the danger, the mission must be fulfilled.
At Riok's command, the knights formed ranks and prepared to cross the gate.
“What will you do?”
Mana engineers were arrogant, but equally valuable.
Acting together would provide great aid.
As Riok probed expectantly, the mana engineer nodded.
His task was to analyze the box bearing the demon king's seal, but with the gate's appearance, he wanted to see it through.
To learn what place it was, what purpose it served.
That curiosity was reason enough to brave the risk.
“We'll go together.”
“Thank you.”
Once the search party's preparations were complete, Riok took point before the gate.
Gazing at the rippling crimson-black made him uneasy.
Drawing his sword with measured tension, he took one step forward.
Swoosh-
It felt like passing through soft jelly, and his body was sucked in.
“Hup!”
He raised his mana to brace for the pressure.
As expected, crossing the gate crushed him with immense weight.
For a few seconds.
Finishing the transit, Riok scanned ahead, eyes wide for any ambush.
But no monsters appeared as feared.
Instead, an endlessly long corridor stretched before him.
“Where's this?”
“...Some ruins?”
Startled by the voice from behind, Riok whirled around.
But only one person was visible.
The mana engineer.