Chapter 709
Chapter 709
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 709
Chapter Title: Academy's Savior
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The silence was the first thing that struck us.
As we crossed the threshold into the forest, a heavy, unnatural stillness settled over everything. It wasn't the peaceful quiet of nature, but a sterile, hollow void.
There wasn't a single living creature to be found among the greenery.
No squirrels darted through the branches. No sparrows chirped in the canopy. Not even the hum of a mosquito or the crawl of an ant disturbed the dirt beneath our feet.
'It's a forest, but it feels like a graveyard for plants.'
We ventured just deep enough into the woods to find cover.
Staying at the edge was a death sentence if mechanical monsters spotted us, but plunging too deep into an S-rank dungeon was a gamble with our lives. The hunters could be anywhere.
We settled in without a fire.
The air wasn't cold enough to warrant the risk, and in this place, light and smoke were nothing more than beacons for the enemy.
Besides, cold was a triviality for awakened heroes. If the temperature dropped, we had magic to stoke the warmth in our blood.
I drifted off in Sara’s arms, sitting on the dirt.
Her warmth was a stark contrast to the cold, metallic atmosphere of the dungeon. My head rested against the soft, ample pillow of her breasts, and the steady rhythm of her heart lulled my senses.
'Using Spirit Eye so much has drained my soul... I need to save Complete Recovery for the true nightmare.'
The distant murmur of Han So-hee and Sara’s voices was the last thing I heard. They were discussing strategy, but to me, it was just background noise.
Before I closed my eyes, I sought the familiar comfort of Sara’s skin, suckling gently until the exhaustion pulled me under.
I opened my eyes to an unchanging, overcast sky.
The dungeon’s sun hadn't moved an inch, a frozen witness to our struggle.
"Awake now?" Sara’s voice drifted down, soft and teasing.
I released her, noticing the faint moans and the marks I’d left behind in my sleep. Her skin was flushed, the evidence of my rest etched into her areola.
"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice husky from sleep.
"Five hours," Han So-hee cut in, her tone sharp with nerves. "You slept like a rock while we're stuck in the middle of a slaughterhouse. Do you even realize the danger?"
"Can't help it if I'm drained," I mumbled, scanning the trees for Moca.
The white owl spirit was perched above, its eyes linked to mine. Through the Spirit Eye, I could see the barrier Han So-hee had erected.
It was a rush job, flickering with a faint blue light. It looked like a thin sheet of glass waiting to be shattered.
"We've got a serious problem, Yu-jin," So-hee sighed, her face drawn.
"What is it?"
"No food. I scouted the area while you were out. There are no mushrooms, no animals, nothing. We were dragged here with nothing—no rations, no water."
I saw the hunger in their eyes, the beginning of despair. For a normal hero, this was a death sentence. But I wasn't normal.
"Don't worry," I said, a small smirk playing on my lips. "I've got sub-space storage."
"Really?!" Han So-hee’s face lit up as if I’d handed her the keys to a palace.
A low grumble echoed from Sara’s stomach. She looked down, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.
"Sorry, Yu-jin-nim... Could I have something? I'm starving..."
"Sure thing."
I reached into my inventory and pulled out the luxury meals Yuria had prepared.
Sara’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as I laid out lobster, steak, and foie gras on the forest floor.
"Gasp! Y-Yu-jin-nim... is this caviar?! When did you even pack something like this?!"
"Dig in. I've got plenty more where that came from."
Han So-hee didn't wait for a second invitation.
She shivered with delight after the first bite of lobster, her eyes fluttering shut as the rich flavor hit her tongue. It was pure ecstasy—a surreal feast in the heart of an S-rank hellscape.
Sara joined in, her chopsticks flying as she devoured the food like a woman possessed.
I watched them eat, savoring the sight of their satisfied faces. Once the meal was over and the tension had been thoroughly discharged between us in a haze of sweat and moans, it was time to get to work.
I sent Moca back into the sky.
The Spirit Eye revealed the truth hidden behind the trees.
The forest wasn't empty; it was occupied by silent, lethal ghosts.
I spotted a distortion in the air—a ripple in the light. A mechanical hunter was perched on a limb, its body shrouded in high-tier optical camouflage.
It was a sleek, lethal machine. A mechanical crossbow was mounted on its left arm, and a vibrating machete was held in its right. Its legs were like those of a horse, built for explosive speed.
'Five of them... patrolling like shadows. If we leave the forest, we'll be hunted in the open.'
"We have company," I whispered, returning to my body.
The languid peace in the clearing vanished.
"Even the forest isn't safe," Sara whispered, her hand instinctively reaching for her rapier.
"Still safer than the plains," So-hee countered, her jaw set. "Fewer of them. Or maybe they're just the elite scouts."
"We fight," I decided. "If we eliminate the hunters, we secure our base. If we hide well, we might not trigger a swarm."
They didn't dismiss me. They had seen what I could do to the mechanical goblins.
"Let's set the traps," I said. "Lure them in and slaughter them."
Two hours later.
A mechanical hunter breached the outer barrier. Its presence was a mere ghost in the underbrush, perfectly cloaked by its transparency.
"The barrier is reacting!" Sara cried out, her eyes darting around wildly. "Where is it?!"
She couldn't see it, but I could.
Bzzzzt!
I channeled a thread of lightning through the ground. It snaked through the dirt like a silver viper, detonating right beneath the hunter’s feet.
The discharge was violent. The hunter’s camouflage shattered in a spray of sparks, revealing its cold, metallic frame as it convulsed from the shock.
"Stealth failed. Combat mode shift," the machine droned in a synthesized rasp.
Red light flared in its eyes.
Twang!
It loosed a bolt from its crossbow. Sara moved like a flash of silver, her rapier deflecting the poison-tipped projectiles with mechanical precision.
The hunter didn't stall. It ditched the crossbow and leaped, its powerful legs propelling it between the tree trunks with terrifying, jerky speed.
It was a blur of steel, diving from the canopy with its machete raised toward my neck.
'Targeting me. It knows I'm the one who can see it.'
Bang!
The hunter slammed into the secondary magic barrier protecting me and Han So-hee.
The repulsion field sent it reeling through the air, and before it could compensate, So-hee slammed her palm toward the earth.
"Gravity Down!"
The machine plummeted, the force of a hundred Gs cratering the ground beneath it. It fell straight into the eight-meter-deep pit we’d prepared, the sound of breaking metal echoing through the woods.
But as it lay mangled at the bottom, a new light began to glow from its power unit.
The low hum of a jetpack began to vibrate, shaking the dirt and the spikes beneath it.
"Combat mode shift," the hunter repeated.
It wasn't done yet.