Chapter 317
Chapter 317
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 317
Chapter Title: Explosion
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Kuuuuuuu—
The explosion begins.
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
My brain detects danger and sends out an emergency signal, and my 30 points of Intelligence respond by activating traits like [Parallel Thinking], [High-Speed Thinking], [Instant Spellcasting], [Expanded Field of Vision], [Heightened Senses], and [Enhanced Detection].
My senses expand dramatically. My brain operates at superhuman speeds, beyond the limits of my physical body. Thoughts occur in units of 0.00-something seconds—or even 0.0000-something seconds.
The entire world looks almost frozen in place.
Kuuuuuuu—
The wooden container splits apart amid flames.
The fire spreads in slow motion.
My detection calculates the shape of the flames, the mana stored in the container, the destructive power of the explosion, and the additional damage from the shrapnel.
Kuuuuuuu—
This isn't low-level danger. This is seriously bad. I could die if I'm not careful.
The projected damage radius from the explosion is—abnormally large.
'Really this much?'
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Sacrifice' activates. The power of an abyssal being intervenes.]
'Ah, damn it. So that's it.'
As expected, Yang Seo-ho didn't just stuff gunpowder in that container.
It looks like she rigged magic crystals in there too, set to detonate the moment Akiyama tried anything with the gold.
"Uwaaa—"
Akiyama's mouth opens slowly. His face twists in panic. He clearly had no idea.
But the abyssal being [Source of Life] anticipated Yang Seo-ho's trap and planned to turn it against her.
Giiiiiiing—
An excessive surge of abyssal mana rushes toward the exploding container. Mana glowing fluorescent green, infused with vital force—
Its intervention passes through the magic crystal detonator, triggering an inexplicable synergistic reaction with the cursed gold. This will create an explosion on a scale far beyond what Yang Seo-ho's gunpowder could achieve.
Kuuuuuuu—
The flames spread.
Yang Seo-ho's face twists belatedly.
Yang Seo-ho has several traits similar to mine.
She must have realized things were going wrong thanks to something like [Enhanced Vigilance] or [Danger Sense].
Yang Seo-ho—damn it—tries to spit out a curse—(Of course, to me it just sounds like "Jueeeeee—" in this situation.) and moves her body.
Baaaaaaaang—
Yang Seo-ho swings her fist toward the explosion—in this super-perceptual world of slow motion, only my thoughts and Yang Seo-ho's actions move at incredible speeds.
Kwaaaaaaaa—
The ridiculous sonic boom from Yang Seo-ho's fist. Good attempt, but it won't block everything on its own.
My body can't move like Yang Seo-ho's—but I'm a wizard.
I can accomplish much with thought alone.
[Protection Circle] [Net of Emptiness] [Wall of Force]
[Curtain of Sand] [Distortion Field] [Flame Manipulation]
[Evil Gaze] [Barrier of Frost] [Wanderer's Sigh]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximized]
Pressure like my brain is about to burst.
Casting one spell isn't hard, but making multiple spells activate simultaneously without interfering with each other—or better yet, creating synergistic effects—requires complex calculations far beyond simple addition.
Giiiiiiing! Chwaaaaaaaa!
A massive number of magic circles expand, enveloping the entire room.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
"Graaaaaah!"
Akiyama's scream completes.
Wrrrrrrumble! Rumble!
Kwaaaaaaaa!
The cursed gold in the container scatters everywhere, acting as shrapnel to amplify the explosion's lethality.
"—Damn it!"
Completing his curse, Yang Seo-ho zips around the room at unbelievable speeds.
Whoa, I can't believe my eyes!
Yang Seo-ho is snatching the flying gold fragments out of the air amid the explosion!
Kwaaaaaaaa!
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Sacrifice' activates. The power of an abyssal being intervenes.]
Piiiiiiing!!
Even so, some gold fragments, infused with abyssal mana, pierce through mine and Yang Seo-ho's defenses and fly through the walls.
Craaaack—Shatter!
Rumble! Kwaaaaaaaa!
The endless explosion sounds continue.
Part of the building collapses.
If I'd only been trying to save myself, I could've dodged much more simply or put up a perfect barrier. But to mitigate the explosion spreading everywhere, I had to divide my focus and mana—
And I had to pull off several layers of dangerous gambles.
No joke. I really almost died.
"Kim Seo-bang? You okay?"
"Hah—Hoo—Uwaaa! Thanks to you!"
If Seo Cheon-seul hadn't jumped in during that comma of a second, it would've been really bad.
"Thanks, Captain Golden. Ugh!"
"Bwahaha! Legs go weak or something?"
Seo Cheon-seul grabs my waist as I start to fall and forces me upright.
"Uwaaak—My back's breaking! Grab gentler!"
"Did you block it?"
Yang Seo-ho stares at me with a bewildered expression.
Looks like the explosion's power exceeded even what Yang Seo-ho expected.
"Hey, Teacher Yang. You nearly turned the whole Gijang County into Gijang Bay just now!"
I cling to Seo Cheon-seul and snap at her—"This is what happens when an amateur without a wizard, alchemist, or even magic crystal handling license messes with magic crystals!"—but
Yang Seo-ho repeats the same line like a broken robot.
"Did you block it?"
"Yeah!"
Truth is, Yang Seo-ho helped block it too. She took care of most of the fragments that got through my hasty barriers.
"Did you block it all?"
"Can't you see? Not all of it!"
It was an explosion empowered by an abyssal being. Impossible to block completely with just our two powers.
The ceiling gapes open.
I redirected most of the blast upward, but this wasn't a single-story building.
The vanished upper floors must have scattered everywhere, causing massive damage around here.
The surrounding walls are crumbling with horrific holes punched through them here and there—rumble—and starting to collapse.
"Civilian casualties?"
I try to extend my detection, but it doesn't reach outside the building.
Damn, connection to Reddie's cut off too.
The deep-sea gold scattered everywhere is creating vicious noise in the area. But even without detection, I can roughly guess the situation.
"Depends on how you define civilians, but Korean casualties? Probably."
Yang Seo-ho makes her first troubled expression.
"Because of me?"
I start to say yes simply—but stop.
'Dangerous.'
Her pallid, ashen face. Her eyes shaking uneasily. The dark circles under her eyes. Her fingertips twitching toward her mouth.
Crunch—
Yang Seo-ho's teeth grind into her own fingertips.
"...Me again?"
Her voice cracks harshly.
The voice itself sounds normal, but the tone is like a moan escaping the dry, withered mouth of a horrific corpse.
"Hey. Yang Seo-ho."
Yang Seo-ho flinches back.
She instinctively takes a defensive posture like a child about to be scolded—or one who's endured terrible abuse.
"Why's Kim Seo-bang acting like that?"
"Mental illness."
Truth is, this isn't Yang Seo-ho's fault. An abyssal being definitely intervened.
"Me again...."
"No."
I speak up for Yang Seo-ho.
"You got played. This is a trap set by an abyssal being."
"I...."
Yang Seo-ho's eyes dart around anxiously.
"You put in gunpowder, right? Calculated the explosive power. This wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"That plan wasn't bad. The guy behind Akiyama was just smarter. He amped up the firepower."
"The abyssal being...."
"Yeah."
Yang Seo-ho's expression stabilizes. Her hand stops trembling. Her complexion looks much better.
"Yeah."
She answers my words again. Firm voice.
"Outsiders are the enemy after all."
Huh?
"The unknown, the unknowable—they're evil. For this country's eternal future and peace, we must exclude all异質 things. Exterminate what differs from me, kill everything from other worlds, smash the surreal monsters. Those monster bastards.... I'll kill them all."
Ah, she's snapping.
"Uh, Kim Seo-bang. She doesn't look good."
"Captain Golden, don't you know who Yang Seo-ho is?"
"Nope?"
"Well, yeah."
Seo Cheon-seul's lived here since Silla times or earlier, but Yang Seo-ho wouldn't care about that.
异種族 are prime targets for Yang Seo-ho.
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
I know, man.
Ah, of course, I'm treated as a cultist or alien too—so same danger level.
Craaaackle—Crunch—
Yang Seo-ho isn't in any attack stance, but cracks spiderweb under her feet. Probably shifting her center of gravity. Leaning on Seo Cheon-seul, I brace for a surprise attack from Yang Seo-ho—
"Grrrrr—打っ殺す! (I'll beat you to death!)"
Perfect timing—Japanese from a corner.
Neither Yang Seo-ho nor I spared a thought for that guy's safety.
Our defenses didn't even reach his position, so he should've taken the full brunt of the explosion—
"You vile beasts! Ruining my plan! My plan!"
Yet Akiyama emerges unscathed, without a single scorch mark.
"Good."
I whisper low to Seo Cheon-seul.
"Hm?"
"We've got someone to take hits for us now."
"What are you whispering about! Kim Shin-hwa! You think I have no Plan B?!"
Akiyama points at me and yells.
"What's next to please Freud?"
Akiyama laughs kuhahaha and continues.
"You, Kim Shin-hwa! Foolish Kim Shin-hwa! With you here, we don't need sacrifices, rituals, or mediums! You've prepared everything! Now that you've arrived—[Source of Life] has no choice but to awaken!"
"Me? You mean that?"
"Yes! [Sword of the Flesh], [Shackles of the Soul], and [Mirror of Wisdom] are gathered!"
[Sword of the Flesh] is an artifact containing part of the [Great Source]'s flesh, with power to interfere with time and space—and can substitute as the medium needed for descent.
[Shackles of the Soul] contains part of the [Source of Corruption]'s soul, with power to interfere with living deaths—and can substitute for the ritual.
[Mirror of Wisdom] similarly holds part of the [Source of Life]'s wisdom, with knowledge of life's birth and profound magic—and can substitute for the sacrifice.
In short.
With those three together—you can skip the medium, ritual, and sacrifice to summon the [Great Source].
Or its avatars, the [Source of Corruption] or [Source of Life].
"Hmm... Akiyama, sorry, but I didn't bring that stuff?"
"What... did you say?"
You think I'm an idiot?
Ah, well. Info on substitutions is top-secret, only known by actually playing the game.
"W-Why...? Those artifacts with such immense power... Why did you think you alone could stop the great [Source of Life]... Me... Cure Medical Care...?"
"Hmm, but I blocked most of it, right?"
There were hiccups, but Akiyama's prepared ritual is ruined.
Plus, he didn't come alone. Counting heads of people I dragged in? Hundreds.
I shrug like that, and Akiyama spits a few Japanese curses before growling.
"Damn! Damn it! Then none of that matters! I'll kill you all with my own power, gather sacrifices, and become the medium myself to complete the ritual! Grrrrr!"
Bizarre black smoke erupts from Akiyama's body. Mana laden with horrific power. And Akiyama's body swells instantly.
Just like the other Cure Medical Care cultists—changes begin in his body.
"Yang Seo-ho! Look at that! Priorities shift now, right?"
"...Significant discrepancy from body info registered at alien residency acquisition."
I could say that's not important now, but to Yang Seo-ho, it's the most crucial task in the world.
Bang!
Boom!
A shockwave erupts with those words. Damn, Seo Cheon-seul and I count as异種族 too—no protection.
"Kim Seo-bang!"
Seo Cheon-seul yanks the arm around her waist, pulling us out of the shockwave range.
"Ah, don't yank like that—I'll die!"
No helping it. Seo Cheon-seul really is異種族 and doesn't know human body structure.
[Protection Circle]
I barely activate magic to protect myself from the shockwave (and Seo Cheon-seul's hydraulic-press grip) and track Yang Seo-ho's movements with my eyes.
"Gahk!?"
Akiyama's scream laced with shock.
Yang Seo-ho has already grabbed Akiyama's face—no, his nose? Why the nose all of a sudden?
"Y-You—beast!!"
"Told you, didn't I?"
Yang Seo-ho yanks his hand while saying something incomprehensible.
Crunch!
Ugh.