Chapter 19
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 19
The objective was the Final Stage boss Monster—the Sasikju Queen.
A contribution rate of 50% probably meant I had to do at least half the work of bringing it down myself.
It was what I had expected, so I was confident.
As long as I moved together with Baek Sa-young, the protagonist who had taken down the queen in the original work.
"Extortion....... No, we agreed on borrowing it, right? Then I'll get us moving now. We need to hurry if we're going to catch up with the teams ahead of us. Young-ji?"
"Yes, yep. I'll guide you."
Min Young-ji, who had taken on the guide role again this time, moved to the front, and Joo A-rin backed her up from behind.
I trudged over to Kang Cheol-min, who was walking ahead, and whispered quietly.
"This sword. What's its effect?"
"......Aura activation support."
"Oh, not bad. Can I give it back after the occupation battle?"
"You son of a......."
"What, too precious?"
"......Tch. Use it really carefully."
I couldn't afford to waste mana right then, so I planned to appraise it after finishing the quest.
"If you'd come out like this from the start, it would've been better for both of us."
I patted Kang Cheol-min's twitching shoulder, then headed to the very rear.
* * *
The Sasikju queen's bedchamber was located at the far edge of the jungle.
Because we had to cross the entire Final Stage, we were bound to fight at least once along the way.
It was just past the twenty-minute mark after we set out when we ran into a pack of Sasikju.
A silence descended as if every sound had been muted at once.
At that moment, even the occasional breeze stopped.
Black stones fell from the sky.
WHOOSH!
Bodies covered in fine hairs and eight legs.
As the eight eyes embedded in their fronts flashed red, eerie demonic energy poured down like rain.
There were roughly seven of them.
The smaller ones were the size of adult humans, but one among them was exceptionally large, as big as a midsize SUV.
It was probably a fully grown male.
"Move according to plan. I'll take the male."
Joo A-rin, having grasped the situation, moved quickly. She summoned Hae-rin and charged at the male.
"Leave the regular ones to me."
Next, Kang Cheol-min, his fists dyed yellow, also charged at the Sasikju.
He started beating them senseless.
"Die. You thug-looking bastards! Die, die!"
The ones getting hit were the Sasikju, so why was I the one hurting?
.......
Anyway, once Min Young-ji hid behind us and Lee Min-ha cast and fired Magic Missiles, the battle began in earnest.
Ready to move soon, I took out the potion I had prepared in advance and drank it.
Gulp—
[The item's effect activates.]
[Your resistance to poison is temporarily strengthened.]
It was a poison-resistance enhancer I had bought from the Time Shop by paying 5 hours.
"Shall we get started?"
A 32-stroke, 1-star Wind-Style Sorcery, Bull Gale.
[Manifestation Completion: 85%]
The moment I manifested the new sorcery, a refreshing wind wrapped around my body.
My body felt much lighter, and when I clenched my fist, I could feel a newfound strength in it.
Now I finally felt like an Awakener.
That was thanks to Bull Gale, a body-enhancement sorcery that increased my agility and strength.
The time limit was roughly 10 minutes.
I kicked off the ground and shot lightly upward.
Vwooom.
Since I had practiced all weekend, I snatched a tree branch with considerable skill.
After leaping a few more times in that state, I was able to stand at a suitable height.
About the height of a fifth-floor apartment?
"Let's see."
[Activating trait, Heightened Senses.]
As my vision sharpened, translucent threads I hadn't been able to see before soon came into view.
They were the webs created by the Sasikju.
"Hurry up. They keep going up and down."
Joo A-rin, unable to wait any longer, shouted, but I carefully searched for a target.
The moment I spotted one that was descending.
There.
I flung myself like a flying squirrel.
Vwooom.
As soon as I landed, I drew the dagger.
When I infused a moderate amount of mana, a faint light flickered across the dagger's surface.
[The effect of the Armament 'Chungyongwi Warrior's Dagger' activates.]
[Aura is activated in proportion to the mana supplied.]
Was this about Normal (High) grade?
Armaments really were nice.
I slashed downward in admiration.
SLASH.
Because it was a thread made by a regular individual, it cut more easily than expected.
"I've cleaned up one as a demonstration......."
Now it was time to find an opponent suited to my original purpose.
After locking onto an appropriate target, I immediately flung myself toward it.
The bloodied creature struggling up the thread was the one I'd picked.
"Came alone?"
Kikikikik—
"Then you die."
SHNK—
Either way, what remained was time, wasn't it?
* * *
[You have eliminated a Grade 9 Monster, Sasikju.]
[The nest's special property is applied.]
[Acquired time is reduced by half.]
[You have acquired 6 hours.]
.
.
Since there weren't many Sasikju, we dealt with them relatively easily.
The total time gained was 24 hours.
[Remaining Time: 9 days 15 hours 23 minutes]
It was a shame I hadn't personally cut off the male's breath, but it was still a satisfying result.
"If we're done cleaning up, we'll depart right away. We need to catch up with the teams ahead."
As time passed, Joo A-rin urged the team members more and more.
With the edge of the jungle gradually coming into view, she seemed to be trying to close the gap with the team that had entered first.
But honestly, there was no need to go that far.
Given the nature of an occupation battle, where the course of progress changed depending on the team leader's personality.
If it were the bold and reckless Seol Yoon-gi, he would have charged in without caring about anything, but in the case of the safety-conscious Baek Sa-young.......
"Huh? Isn't that Baek Sa-young over there?"
Sure enough.
After walking about ten more minutes under Min Young-ji's guidance, Kang Cheol-min shouted.
Baek Sa-young was sitting on one side of a large pit—that is, the entrance to the queen's burrow—smiling brightly.
This matched the flow of the original work.
Except for the fact that the ones he had been waiting for were not Cheon Seo-yoon's team, but our team.
"Welcome. I waited so we could go in together."
Around Baek Sa-young were his four team members as well.
They all had unremarkable styles befitting passing extras, but wherever you go, there's always at least one villain mixed in.
One guy sitting there like a delinquent raised his hand in greeting.
"Kang Cheol-min."
"Yo, your bro's here and you don't even stand up to say hello?"
Kang Cheol-min puffed himself up for no reason and spat out a line that made my stomach churn.
The old sayings really did have it right.
Birds of a feather. They flock together.
Joo A-rin also seemed to find it unsightly, because she covered one ear and asked Baek Sa-young.
"What about Seol Yoon-gi?"
"It seems he went in first."
"He doesn't hesitate. I feel this every time, but that person is really reckless."
"Well, it's Seol Yoon-gi. He'll manage on his own. Anyway, why don't we move together? We'll receive points separately, but it'll be safer."
"Fine. There's no reason to refuse."
Joo A-rin accepted readily.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, it wasn't a loss.
"Then let's wait a little longer and have Cheon Seo-yoon join us too—"
"No. I don't want that."
"Huh?"
But when it came to cutting things off, she cut them off sharply.
When an awkward silence fell, Joo A-rin hurriedly added an explanation.
"......If we wait any longer, won't it actually be a loss? Besides, there are too many of us. There are already ten people."
Not because she didn't want to lose to Cheon Seo-yoon?
For a hastily thrown-together excuse, it was fairly logical.
Since I knew her true feelings, a laugh escaped me.
The two of them were similar in family, appearance, and position, so they were fated to be compared to each other.
I wasn't on either one's side, but this time, I decided to lend my support to Joo A-rin, whose goal matched mine.
"How long are you going to stand around? Aren't we going? Think about the team members waiting."
When I pressed him with clear dissatisfaction, Baek Sa-young finally nodded.
"Got it. I was being shortsighted. Let's go."
With this, the development had completely diverged.
Baek Sa-young ended up joining Joo A-rin's team instead of Cheon Seo-yoon's team.
Thanks to that, the probability that I would face the queen one-on-one rose to nearly 90%.
All that remained now was for Baek Sa-young to take my hand when an unexpected event occurred.
"Then I'll be in your care, everyone."
Joo A-rin, seemingly satisfied with the result, smiled brightly for once, and Min Young-ji still took charge of guiding.
And so we entered the queen's bedchamber.
* * *
Nest G-17 was a place that held a special secret.
The danger rating assigned by the state was E-grade, somewhat low, but that was only data from three years ago.
Fortune does not discriminate.
Just as a serial killer can win the lottery if they pick the right numbers, a Monster that settles in the right spot can inadvertently absorb the surrounding energy and gain special power.
People call such cases 'Irregulars.'
The queen was exactly such a case.
Although she had only awakened two years ago and had not yet reached a proper realm, she possessed bizarre abilities, and her kingdom situated underground was also on a different level from the existing ones.
As a single massive defense system, it possessed the procedures and meticulousness to eliminate intruders step by step.
What that meant was.......
First, the moment an intruder set foot inside, the queen could quickly perceive that fact.
Immediately, she dispatched a scouting party to assess the enemies' level.
The first pack of Sasikju we encountered was an example of that.
"What the hell. This is easy. Is this all?"
As Kang Cheol-min said, they were very easy to deal with. Because it was only a dozen or so regular individuals.
However, based on the information about the intruders obtained by sacrificing her children, the queen calculated.
What their level was, and whether there were any particularly dangerous strong individuals to be wary of.
Then she attacked again.
By sending out an army that could never be ignored.
WHOOSH!
That was right now.
As the creatures ambushed us using the empty air as a weapon, Joo A-rin and Kang Cheol-min shouted.
"This attack won't be easy. Be careful."
"Shit, why are there so many?"
The force the queen sent out was three males and a little over twenty regular individuals.
It was an army powerful enough to make the burrow teem, but our combined team was no pushover either.
"I'll take one."
Baek Sa-young charged ferociously at the nearest male Sasikju.
As soon as he drew the heavy sword at his waist, the blade's surface transformed.
Dark gray mana wrapped around the sword and rotated at high speed.
It was an appropriate choice.
He had chosen Wind, which was relatively unaffected by the interaction between Earth and Metal.
CRAAACK.
Meanwhile, one of the remaining males was Joo A-rin's.
She also took advantage of the attribute matchup, using Freezing to focus her attacks on the male's eyes.
Even for a Grade 7 Monster, it was weaker than the previous pack leader, so this side didn't seem to have any major problems.
And the last one.......
"Cover me well."
"Ah, got it."
Kang Cheol-min, who had been burning with determination, pressured his delinquent friend into going out with him.
Well, I didn't have high expectations.
As long as they bought time, Baek Sa-young would come running and finish it.
The regular individuals were the remaining members' share, so I also lent a hand appropriately.
The battle ended faster than expected.
It wasn't without damage.
Two members of Baek Sa-young's team were poisoned and could no longer fight.
They had no choice but to withdraw midway through the battle.
It was a wise choice.
The queen's defense system was still active, after all.
The first wave was the scouting party.
The second wave was the main force.
If all of this failed, there remained a third attack.
Personal command (親征)
The queen herself coming out to annihilate the intruders.
"Cheon Seo-yoon's team must have entered too, right?"
Sensing that the time had come, I approached Baek Sa-young.
His expression said, 'Why is this bastard suddenly acting friendly?' but being the nice guy he was, he didn't treat me coldly.
"......Probably. It's been about an hour since they went in."
"Right. Time's already flown. But why don't we see any traces of Seol Yoon-gi's team? Isn't that a little strange?"
"I was actually worrying about that too. They definitely should have fought before us. But it's too clean."
Baek Sa-young furrowed his brow as if deep in thought.
"Won't we find out soon?"
"...Soon?"
Was it because it sounded meaningful?
It was the moment Baek Sa-young asked again.
FWOOSH!
"Aah!"
"Aagh! X—, what is this?!"
With short screams, Lee Min-ha and Kang Cheol-min, who had been walking ahead, disappeared.
To be precise, the ground they had been stepping on suddenly collapsed.