Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Each in Their Own Way
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Stale dust and the chill scent of iron burrowed into her lungs.
Inside the ventilation duct. Choi Yuna advanced unflinchingly through the narrow, pitch-black passage.
It was a speed no ordinary person could dream of. Her body, honed to the limit as a hunter, nimbly slipped past obstacles with flexibility and agility.
"……."
A moment later, she halted her movements. Flat on her stomach on the floor, she extended her hunter-sharpened senses beyond the duct.
The faint tremor in the air currents, the rhythmic vibrations echoing from beyond the walls, and even the lingering traces of faint mana scattered in the space. All the information painted a clear picture in her mind.
…Two on patrol. Heading east. They'll pass the intersection in 30 seconds.
Choi Yuna held her breath. Once she confirmed the guards' footsteps had completely faded, she silently unscrewed the cover's fixing bolts. The instant a gap opened, she slid down to the corridor floor like a shadow.
Tap.
The corridor was shrouded in inky darkness, but her mana-enhanced vision made everything as clear as daylight.
Whirr—
Infrared cameras installed along the corridor moved sluggishly. The moment their red lenses swept the opposite side, her figure darted into the blind spot in an instant. It was a movement too fast for the eye to follow.
"……."
By the time she reached the end of the corridor, she pressed against one wall and quietly caught her breath.
Thud thud.
The patrol from the opposite direction rounded the corner. Two heavily armed guards. There was no space to evade or hide.
The guards' eyes instinctively detected the foreign presence in the darkness and widened.
"…!"
But their reaction was too slow. Without hesitation, Choi Yuna sprang from the shadows.
Her movements far surpassed the guards' level. Before they could raise the alarm, the edge of her hand struck their napes like a flash of light.
Thud!
With a dull noise, the guards collapsed without even a scream.
…White Tiger Guild members.
It had taken considerable force to knock them out. The far higher security level than expected bolstered her certainty about the underground facility.
Without letting her guard down, she rifled through the fallen guards' pockets and found a security card. When she held it to the terminal by the door, the firmly locked door slowly opened.
Creeeak—
The stairs led to the entrance of the underground facility. And there, Choi Yuna was forced to stop once more.
"……"
Her eyes narrowed.
Blocking the massive iron door was a bluish wave of mana filling the space, rippling intensely.
A magical barrier. It screamed "not easy" at first glance.
Choi Yuna drew her sword and cautiously touched the barrier's surface.
Crackle!
A numbing mana backlash raced up the blade to her wrist. A powerful repulsion.
…No good.
She made an instant judgment. Breaking through with her own power was impossible.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she reached a decision.
***
White Tiger Part-Timers, If You Have Any Conscience
Couldn't you at least be less obvious?
Even if they give you White Cell crap, we won't drink it.
Honestly, Rabbitfoot's stuff is insanely expensive, right?
If you're jealous, lower the price.
White Cell has insane cost-performance, for real.
Look at these guys jumping out immediately, ffs.
The White Tiger Guild's paid posters and existing users were mixed in a total mess.
No posts with any real substance. I clicked my tongue and scrolled down.
Bzzz—
The dedicated communicator on one side of the workshop vibrated briefly. It was Yuna.
I shot up and connected the call. At the same time, the large monitor in the workshop lit up, sharing Yuna's vision in real time.
- I think I found where the victims are, but there's a problem.
Her urgent voice came through amid the static noise.
- Blocked by a barrier. Doesn't look like I can break it with my power. Can you do something?
The screen filled with an intricate mana circuit flickering in brilliant blue. I stared at the bizarre pattern in confusion.
"Huh…? Magic? Why are you asking me about that…?"
Magic, to an alchemist.
- I figured you'd know more than the guild's mages, that's why I called. Can't you?
"……."
Impatience colored Yuna's voice.
Still, there was nothing I could do. The moment I tried to tell her it was impossible.
"I'll check. Wait a sec."
Chun-sik suddenly chimed in from the side. He'd snatched the tablet from my hands at some point and started analyzing the barrier pattern on the monitor. His little eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"You know about that stuff? How?"
"Saw it in a paper."
"…What?"
"Someone was spouting nonsense in the gallery, so I looked up refs to debunk it and ended up reading the whole paper. Got hooked and stayed up all night."
"…All night?"
"……."
Chun-sik averted his gaze with an "oops" expression.
"You used the tablet while I was sleeping?"
"…That's not the point right now!"
He raised his voice guiltily, then displayed complex formulas on the tablet and muttered.
"This… it's a time-lagged multi-circuit. The mana flow doesn't follow a fixed pattern; the internal core generates its own algorithm to constantly shift it. Complicated."
Chun-sik quickly calculated something on the tablet, then issued calm instructions to Yuna.
"Completely dismantling this barrier is impossible. Structure's too complex; it'd take too long, and success isn't guaranteed."
- Then what do we do?
"There's another way. See that at the 3 o'clock position? That's the external circuit maintaining stability. Disrupt it to destabilize the whole barrier. Then you can smash it physically."
Chun-sik's plan was straightforward. Since precise dismantling wasn't feasible, make it smashable by force.
- …Got it.
"But they might notice the moment you break it. Be prepared."
- Doesn't matter. I'm ready for that. Give me instructions.
At Yuna's resolute reply, Chun-sik nodded.
"Good. From now on, hit the exact points I say. First, inject mana into the 11 o'clock node. Hold for 3 seconds."
- Here?
"A bit lower. There."
Yuna on the monitor moved without hesitation. The screen shook violently as she placed her hand on the specified spot and poured in mana.
The barrier flickered briefly, repelling strongly.
- Ngh…!
"Hold it. Now push mana into the 5 o'clock core simultaneously and cut the rest."
Yuna gritted her teeth and reached to the opposite side. The moment she injected mana into the second point, the entire screen flashed white.
"Good. Pattern's starting to tangle. Next, absorb mana from the 7 o'clock node. Stop. Now reverse inject at 1 o'clock."
Chun-sik's instructions came nonstop. His eyes darted between the tablet and monitor, while Yuna executed them flawlessly.
Sweat beaded on Yuna's forehead through the screen.
"Almost there. Finally, pour mana into the central core."
Crackle—!
As Yuna unleashed her mana, the barrier in the screen finally began writhing violently.
The steady blue glow muddied, the intricate mana circuits partially collapsed and twisted irregularly. It looked precarious, like glass on the verge of shattering.
"Done. Now. Smash it."
Chun-sik confirmed. On the monitor, Yuna panted raggedly and raised her sword high.
That was when it hit me.
I couldn't understand complex formulas or magic theory. I just blankly stared at the destabilized, twisting barrier on the screen.
Parts collapsing, the rest surging irregularly to fill the gaps. Energy flows clashing—repelling each other yet forcibly holding together—creating subtle waves.
A powerful sense of déjà vu washed over me.
"W-Wait a second!"
I leaned in close to the monitor, entranced. My eyes obsessively traced the mana flows.
"Quin-nim?"
Chun-sik called quizzically.
"That… the way the mana is tangling and sparking… it looks just like…."
When stabilizing a potion, the delicate flow right before clashing ingredients boiled over.
The thought that this unstable barrier resembled it wouldn't leave my mind.
"Maybe… instead of smashing it… we can just release it?"