Chapter 18
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 18
The paths that began from ten entrances converged into a single Final Stage.
The race toward its end had just begun.
The staging area was near the Initial Stage core that each team had captured.
Trudge, trudge.
Joo A-rin's Team 4 was also making its way there through Entrance 9.
Perhaps because they were about to face real combat, the atmosphere was noticeably rigid.
"Still no intel coming in, right?"
"Yeah, they're managing it really tightly."
The occasional voices of Kang Cheol-min and Lee Min-ha were the only sounds.
Joo A-rin didn't mind this silence.
A proper amount of tension reduced mistakes and helped her immerse herself more deeply in the situation.
She, too, was slowly steeling herself to defend their ranking from the Initial Stage Occupation Battle.
"Hwaaam~"
Even if an occasional eyesore of a reaction appeared, she endured it.......
"Hwaaaaaam~."
She endured it again.......
"Ah, I'm so tired I could die."
This guy, seriously.......
He kept getting on her nerves, so she finally glared at him.
"Sorry. I went to sleep a little late last night."
Park Ha-yul raised a hand, looking sheepish.
Is that supposed to be a brag? A brag?
Was that man relaxed, or just insensitive?
She wanted to snap at him, but her actual tone came out far gentler than she felt.
Their relationship had been rather uncomfortable ever since what happened in the Initial Stage.
"Try to be a little tense. We're about to face real combat."
"You want me to be more tense here? My hands and feet are already trembling like crazy. Look."
"......Put that away."
Joo A-rin brushed past the hand Park Ha-yul held out.
And once again, she found herself wondering.
How had a guy like that used a sorcery art strong enough to rival freezing?
It was something of a mystery.
After asking around, she suspected it might be the kind of attribute combination unique to his sorcerer family, but.......
"How could rank 700 use an attribute combination? Does that even make sense? So here's what I think — it's probably his armament. That wooden bracelet is seriously suspicious."
Kang Cheol-min's claim, chattered out after he had rushed over this morning, also had a point.
Was it really thanks to an armament?
Well, unless he had held a grudge against her, that was.
As long as he hadn't intended to hurt her, the targeting had been too clumsy for something directly manifested.
"A bracelet-type armament......."
Without realizing it, Joo A-rin glanced at Park Ha-yul's bracelet.
It had no special pattern and was so worn-out it looked like it might break at any moment.
But maybe because her perspective had changed?
Now that she thought of it as an Armament imbued with sorcery, it somehow took on a refined, antique air.
...It also seemed like there was one more than before.
"Arin!"
"......."
"Joo A-rin!"
In the meantime, Lee Min-ha had suddenly come up beside her and poked her in the ribs.
"Ah."
"What are you spacing out about? We're here!"
"Huh? ......Oh."
Joo A-rin soon smiled awkwardly, her face flushing red.
She was always nagging everyone to focus, yet here she was failing to do exactly that.
"...I was working out a strategy. It's not easy without intel."
But she quickly brushed it off, acting as if nothing had happened.
Still, she was relieved that the person who had noticed was Lee Min-ha.
"Ah, as expected of our team leader."
"I have to do my best. Who knows what might happen."
"You're really amazing. I'm so glad we're on the same team!"
Without any particular suspicion, Lee Min-ha sent her a look of admiration instead.
Hoo—
Joo A-rin let out a sigh mixed with guilt and relief.
Team 4 waited in place for a while.
After roughly an hour, Lee Taek-jin's voice came through the earpiece in her ear.
—Team 4. Are you ready?
Following Seol Yoon-gi's team and Baek Sa-young's team, Team 4's turn had arrived.
—We're on standby.
—Understood. What about the recording equipment?
—No issues.
—The Final Stage has severe mana interference and signal disruption, so real-time monitoring may be difficult. Keep that in mind.
—Yes, understood.
—Then you're cleared to enter. Good luck.
With approval granted, opening the gate was the team leader's responsibility.
Joo A-rin stepped forward and reached toward the Initial Stage core, which flickered as if stirring awake.
Tzzzt, tzt.
The core, reacting to mana, churned.
It trembled finely, then emitted light so bright it stung the eyes.
CRAAACK.
When the light vanished, what remained was a black-stained rift in space.
The gate to the Final Stage had opened.
"Now let's really focus. Follow right behind me so the formation doesn't break."
Joo A-rin steeled herself and walked toward the rift.
The team members, their faces tense, stepped forward one by one as well.
* * *
The rift leading to the Final Stage was quite different from a portal.
From the outside, it looked like a black hole trying to suck everything in.
Step—
But with a single step, my view opened up and the entire environment changed as if by magic.
Suddenly, I heard the sharp chirping of insects.
Instead of stale air, the breath I drew in carried the fresh scent of the forest.
The light was dim, so I wondered if time had passed, but that wasn't it.
The trees were packed together like a forest of skyscrapers, blocking out the sun.
"It's a jungle. Like the cave, this is an unfavorable environment for us."
Joo A-rin quickly crouched and murmured under her breath.
The team members followed suit, crouching down and revealing sharp gazes.
.......
I just stood there.
"What are you doing, you little shit? Get down."
Kang Cheol-min glared at me and snapped.
"Why?"
"Why do you think? Don't you know the initial entry is the most dangerous?"
"I know. But why get down?"
"No, I mean, we should hide our bodies first. Ugh, this dumbass, seriously."
"We're already hidden, though?"
I pointed around us as if to prove it.
We were already perfectly camouflaged by nameless undergrowth that had to be at least two meters tall.
"Wouldn't it be harder to react if you're sitting down?"
"......."
Only then did Kang Cheol-min and the other team members get up with sheepish expressions.
This is why you can't talk to people who haven't done their military service.
What kind of nonsense is a perimeter guard that doesn't fit the environment?
If I had to pick the most embarrassed person here, it would probably be Joo A-rin, but I didn't bother bringing that up.
She's the type who'd stake her life on saving face, so she'd really get pissed.......
"Arin, but why did you sit down?"
"......."
"As team leader, you must have seen something different, right? Right?"
"......Do you want to fight?"
"Huh?"
Vwooom.
Fortunately, the intel arrived just in time.
[Name: Sasikju]
[Threat Grade: Grade 9 - Grade 6]
[Attributes: Earth (41%), Metal (44%)]
[Characteristics: A spider-type Monster that enjoys human flesh. Its main weapon is a powerful neurotoxin. Its webbing is tough enough that cutting it requires the aid of mana. Some males are Grade 7. The queen is a Grade 6 specimen with a massive body and considerable power.]
"We're X-ed. No, wait—is this really something second-years can handle?"
The reaction was much the same as it had been in the Initial Stage.
After checking the intel, Kang Cheol-min burst out complaining.
The other team members' faces were just as grim.
I already knew about it, so I was relatively calm, but I couldn't deny that it was a troublesome Monster to deal with.
It was a fusion-attribute Monster with both Earth and Metal.
Wood overcomes Earth but is weak against Metal. Fire overcomes Metal but actually nourishes Earth, so the relationship was anything but simple.
In short, there were very few attributes that could gain an advantage over it.
After deliberating, Joo A-rin soon stepped forward and spoke.
"The queen won't move from her burrow anyway. The opponents we need to watch out for on the way are the male Sasikju. We'll keep the same formation as before, but I'll handle the males. Min-ha—"
Now she finally seemed like Joo A-rin.
Even though it hadn't been long since she'd learned the opponent was a Sasikju, she presented a reasonably good strategy.
The difference from before, though, was that she called on each team member by name and asked for their opinions individually.......
"......You're the last one. What do you think?"
Even though our relationship was awkward, she hadn't treated me like I didn't exist.
That was rather commendable.
Therefore, I decided to share a little of what I knew.
"The strategy's fine. But I think adding a few more things would be good."
"......Like what?"
Despite her frown, Joo A-rin perked up her ears.
I continued speaking.
"First, Min Young-ji's guidance is important, but we need to focus on sound."
"Sound?"
"When those things are nearby, the insects stop chirping."
"......I see. That makes sense."
Joo A-rin looked fairly surprised.
"Wow, as expected."
"Tch, showing off......."
Lee Min-ha had always been favorable, and that bastard Kang Cheol-min had always been negative, so I just let it slide.
"Is there more?"
"There is. Second—"
The atmosphere seemed like she'd accept most reasonable suggestions, so I decided to gradually reveal my true intentions.
"I think my position needs to be separated out."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it'll be hard for me to serve as rear support. I won't be able to use offensive sorcery arts for a while."
"......Hm."
Joo A-rin narrowed her eyes as if she found it hard to understand.
I pointed at the densely packed trees around us and continued.
"Unlike magic, each individual sorcery art is powerful. And the range is wide. But think about what would happen if I manifested a sorcery art here."
"That would......."
"It would backfire, right? The commotion would draw in the ones nearby instead."
I still had more to say, but Kang Cheol-min suddenly cut in.
"Damn it. So you're saying the four—no, the three of us should fight? What are you going to do?"
Seriously, this bastard only gets sharp when it's to his disadvantage.
I shook my head as if that wasn't it and pointed upward.
"Instead, I'm going to occupy up there."
"Up where? Don't tell me — the trees?"
"Yeah. I'll shut down the Sasikju's mobility. Those things mostly ambush by riding their webs. They move up and down to attack. But what if we cut those webs?"
"Then......?"
"They'd be much easier to deal with, right? They'd just become big ants carrying venom."
Did it land?
Either way, whether it worked or not, I planned to act passively until the quest became clear.
The same strategy as before: conserve mana and only take the finishing blow.
The reaction came faster than expected.
"That's a good idea. If your control isn't proficient, then rather....... No, that's not what I meant. Anyway, it's something someone has to do."
Joo A-rin, who had glanced at my wrist, was the first to agree.
"It's not even his own skill, and he's acting all high and mighty......."
With that, Kang Cheol-min reluctantly backed off a step.
But you can't just walk away like that.
I quickly called the bastard to a halt.
"Kang Cheol-min."
"What, man."
"Lend me that sword. I'll use it to cut the webs."
I pointed at the dagger hanging from Kang Cheol-min's waist like a decoration.
It wasn't so much that I'd targeted it as that it had happened to catch my eye.
I couldn't exactly cut spiderwebs with the First Sword I'd barely managed to manifest, could I?
Even if it was, in name at least, a special-grade armament.......
"Do you even know what this is before you say that?"
But it seemed it wasn't an ordinary sword.
Kang Cheol-min scrunched up his face and quickly reached out to cover the dagger.
Oh-ho, so it's an armament or something?
Then I definitely can't let it slip away.
"You use your fists anyway. It's not like it'll wear out from being used a few times. Stingy bastard."
"What? St-stingy? This little shit, seriously......."
"If not, lend it to me. For the 'team,' not for me."
At the mention of the team, Kang Cheol-min hesitated for a moment.
On top of that, with Lee Min-ha, Joo A-rin, and even Min Young-ji watching him, he apparently couldn't hold out any longer.
"......T-take it."
He handed over the dagger, pretending to be fine with it.
But did Kang Cheol-min know?
That once something landed in my hands, I'd strip it down to its last penny.
"Thanks. Giving me something like this for free."
"I'm not giving it to you, I'm lending it!"
"Same thing. To me."
"You lunatic. What bullshit are you spouting? Anyway, if you forget, you're really dead."
Kang Cheol-min growled and glared, genuinely pissed off.
"......Huh?"
I couldn't bring myself to retort and just blinked.
Because I was scared?
Nah, no way.
It was simply because, at that very moment, the message I'd been waiting for appeared.
[Main Quest #3]
[Objective: Defeat the Final Stage boss, the Sasikju Queen (Contribution 50% or higher)]
[Reward: 15 Days, 20 SP]
If I succeeded, I'd gain not only more than two weeks of time, but also move one step closer to 100 SP.
Obtaining the Causality reward.......
Before I knew it, I had reached striking distance of that goal.