Chapter 52: Our Oppa (Hyung) Has Changed
Chapter 52: Our Oppa (Hyung) Has Changed
“Oppa. I’m sorry.”
“Oppa. I’m sorry…”
As we continued through the forest, I heard the two girls apologizing quietly behind me. My face twitched as I walked at the front. I could not see my own expression, but I knew it could not have been pleasant.
“Huuu….”
Hearing my sigh, tinged with a regret they had never heard from me before, the girls grew anxious. I turned my head toward them as they came up beside me. After taking a moment to steady my breath, I began to speak, maintaining our current pace.
“This fight with the scorpions has really given me a lot to think about. To struggle with just one or two of them… not even a group of three or four. It makes me wonder if perhaps the way I've been treating you all is wrong.”
“O-Oppa, that’s not it…”
“I’m speaking.”
As I shot back in a low voice, Yoojung hastily shut her mouth. Her eyes were trembling slightly, and it looked like she would burst into tears if I pushed her any further. But since I had declared we wouldn't return to the city until we had results, I needed to be firm.
“I have always tried to make the best possible judgment in any situation. Rejecting countless offers from other clans to choose you was also because I was confident in my judgment. But now, for the first time, I’m not so sure. I've always believed that the path I wanted was also the one that would benefit you, but now I’m starting to think that might have been nothing more than my own arrogance.”
My voice carried an unprecedented seriousness. After I signaled them not to interrupt, they listened silently. Hyun concentrated with a grave expression, while Yoojung and Sol exchanged glances before lowering their eyes in distress.
“I’ve cherished you all too much. Yoojung, when you said ‘we’ as we left the city, I didn't show it, but I was very happy. But I never imagined that feeling would come back to hit me like a boomerang. No. Maybe I knew and just chose to ignore it. Of course, I’m responsible for sticking to that method, but I think there’s a problem with your attitude in following it as well. The things I was worried about since the Rite of Passage are now coming to light, one by one.”
Hearing my words, Ahn Hyun bit his lip, his face turning grim. But none of them could say a word. They knew it all too well without me needing to explain. Breaking the formation and putting Sol in danger, stopping a spell just because a tail was flying at you, standing around blankly while a comrade was fighting, battling recklessly without considering the distribution of power, and so on.
I stopped walking and turned around. Yoojung and Sol looked like they were about to burst into tears at any moment. I decided to wrap it up here. Because…
“Honestly, I feel like turning back to the city right now. I want to form a proper caravan, even a small one, and start over. But at the same time, there's a part of me that still wants to believe in you. Can I? Can you promise not to disappoint me anymore?”
At my question, Ahn Hyun was at a loss for words. But I could also see a hint of frustration in his expression, as if he were gritting his teeth. There was definitely something different about him compared to the other two. What I wanted wasn't an apology, but the anger that would make them question why they had been so helpless.
I continued in a powerful voice.
“From now on, we’re changing the keeper formation. We’ll form a triangle around Sol. I’ll take the front; Hyun and Yoojung, stand on either side.”
“……”
Ahn Hyun moved to Sol’s side with a silent expression. The way he gripped his spear showed he had steeled his resolve. Yoojung cautiously watched my expression before moving to the remaining spot. Sol looked anxious at the mention of changing the formation, but I spoke firmly with an impassive face.
“I’m only going to explain this once, so listen carefully. The triangular formation doesn't lack a keeper. To be precise, every single person in this formation is a keeper.”
“So you’re saying the formation must never be broken.”
I turned briefly toward the front after hearing something move. Once I had carefully examined the area, I signaled only Hyun with my eyes. Understanding, he subtly shifted the angle of his spear. I began walking slowly again.
“That’s right. Do not use Sensing only to evade. Read the enemy’s attack path, counter, and concentrate on exploiting openings. If this formation breaks, Sol falls with it. Maintain it as though your lives depend on it. We form a defensive line to support and coordinate with one another; otherwise, we may as well travel alone.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And one more thing. There's another reason I'm taking the lead, not just to guide the way. What do you think it is?”
“I’m not sure.”
Yoojung and Sol tilted their heads, confused by my slightly off-topic question and Hyun’s response. We were now moving at less than a quarter of our initial speed. After a quick glance at the surrounding trees and a large boulder we were passing, I tightened my grip on my sword.
“Because… a situation like this might happen!”
I poured Magic Power into my sword and slashed the large boulder we appeared ready to pass. The rock split open and red blood sprayed across the surroundings. The hidden User’s class was apparently Assassin; the stealth had been good enough to escape the kids’ Sensing, but it could not fool my eyes.
“Fuck! Jongmin!”
“You crazy bastard!”
After I took one of them down, three people instantly dropped down around us. Two men and one woman. Judging by their shabby appearance, they were undoubtedly Vagabonds. They must have been planning to ambush us. But since I had struck first and killed one of them, they revealed themselves, realizing they’d been discovered.
Yoojung and Sol looked flustered again, but Hyun was relatively calm. It was because I had given him a heads-up. He looked taken aback by the fact that they were people, but upon seeing the murderous intent radiating from the Vagabonds, Yoojung and Sol immediately drew their weapons as well.
“You bastard! How dare you kill Jongmin! Uwaaaah!”
“They said you were new Users! How did you detect his stealth?!”
“Calm down. We underestimated them. You there. How did you know he was hiding in the rock?”
One of the female Users spoke to me, but I didn’t answer. After analyzing the shouting Vagabonds, I quickly relayed the information to my team.
“These guys are what you call Vagabonds. Do as you learned in the Academy. Don't exchange words with them; think of them as just another monster. The moment you think of them as fellow Users, you'll start to hold back. Kill them without hesitation. One shield swordsman, one axe warrior, and one mage. In terms of numbers and class composition, we have the absolute advantage. Sol, what are you doing? The battle has begun. You have a feel for who you should take, right?”
“Hah…? What a load of crap. They're just a bunch of fledglings fresh out of the gate! Get 'em all!”
“Wait…!”
The warrior who heard me charged forward, brandishing his axe crudely. The swordsman followed close behind, his shield raised high. The woman in the back, who seemed to be the mage, tried to stop them, but realizing it was too late, she gritted her teeth and began casting a spell quickly.
I looked at them with a pathetic expression. It was obvious they were also rookies who hadn't been in the Hall Plain, or Vagabonds, for very long. If the shield bearer had broken our formation first, followed by the axe warrior, their plan might have had a chance. But they were charging in just as chaotically as we had been. They were clearly underestimating us because they knew we were new Users.
Just then, I saw the two Users rushing toward us slowly close their eyes. At that same moment, I quickly shouted to my team.
“It’s Light magic! Everyone, close your eyes!”
Simultaneously, the female mage extended a brightly glowing hand toward us and cried out in a thin voice.
“Light!”
Because Light was a basic spell, the woman completed it faster than Sol could finish hers. An orb of light formed before us and burst in a flash, apparently to obstruct our vision. The problem for her was that we had already mastered Sensing.
I glanced sideways and saw Yoojung and Hyun take defensive stances with their eyes closed. Sol gritted her teeth and continued chanting. Yes. This was exactly what I wanted to see.
After taking a moment to observe my team, I turned my cold gaze to the Vagabond before me. Despite being hit directly by the Light magic, the axe warrior slowed his charge, a look of panic on his face when he saw me staring right at him. The shield swordsman, however, was behind him and must not have seen, as he veered left mid-charge. It looked like he was targeting Yoojung.
These guys were also amateurs who didn't even know the basics—in other words, a bunch of idiots. The hidden assassin and the female mage seemed somewhat skilled, but the two charging at the front were completely hopeless.
Just as the warrior was about to bring his axe down, a long spear shot out from my side. The axe warrior, not expecting an attack from the side after the flash of Light, twisted his body in a panic. Ahn Hyun, with his eyes closed, had succeeded in obstructing the warrior's path with an exquisite thrust.
“No way…! How can newbies use Sensing…?”
“It’s possible.”
Seeing the warrior stick his stomach out toward me as he dodged the spear, I gave a simple reply and thrust my sword forward. Thwump. The sensation of the blade piercing leather armor and tearing through flesh traveled up my sword. Their method of coordinating with Light magic was decent enough, but their carelessness was their fatal mistake. As the warrior coughed up blood with a look of disbelief, I turned my head to the side.
Kagagagang!
The harsh sound of metal scraping against metal echoed around us. Yoojung had also raised her dagger vertically and was blocking the shield swordsman's charge with a stable, backward-leaning stance. The shield swordsman could only gape at Yoojung for stopping his rush.
“N-No way… My Strength is definitely…”
Indeed, the User with the shield had higher Strength. As he pushed forward with their weapons locked, Yoojung was slowly being forced back. However, the man had overlooked Yoojung's Magic Power stat. Her eyes flew open, and she summoned all her magic power, letting out a spirited cry.
“Hiyah!”
She compensated for insufficient Strength with mana. Yoojung was faithfully applying the fundamentals she had learned at the User Academy. As she reinforced her body and increased the cutting power and durability of her dagger, its blade began humming and emitting a dark gleam. The shield swordsman finally raised the sword in his other hand to attack, but another long spear shaft shot between Sol and me.
I twisted my sword to pull it free, then immediately swung it again, severing the axe warrior's head. Ahn Hyun's spear cut through the air and pierced the now wide-open side of the shield swordsman.
The shield swordsman looked from the axe warrior's head, which had fallen to the ground with a thud, to the spear embedded in his own side. His face filled with disbelief, and he dropped his shield. Seeing her opponent's front now exposed, Yoojung’s eyes showed a moment of conflict, but she quickly bit her lip and plunged both her daggers into the man's body.
“Keoheok.”
I don't know where they heard we were new Users, but from my perspective, these guys were no different from new Users themselves. They had probably just passed the six-month mark, or a year at the very most. I don't know how they ended up as Vagabonds, but right now, they were showing the pathetic end of those who fail to adapt to the Hall Plain. No skill, no training, and no effort. It was, in a word, a miserable sight.
As she watched the User collapse, Yoojung’s expression hardened with a venomous resolve. It seemed she was putting on a brave face because she knew I was watching. Her hands, still gripping the daggers in the man's chest, were trembling visibly.
There was still no time to rest. One female mage remained. Her silence suggested she had been preparing a major spell, but unfortunately for her, Sol had already completed her own incantation. Raising her brightly glowing staff, Sol looked at the sweating woman and cried the activation word without hesitation.
“Shackles!”
As a brilliant light like a camera flash filled the forest, the female mage scoffed and formed a hand seal with one hand while continuing her chant. The moment I saw it, my eyes glinted with interest. What the woman had just shown was Double Casting. To avoid having her spell interrupted, she was chanting with her mouth while forming a magic resistance seal with her other hand.
It required a certain level of concentration that not just anyone could pull off, which meant the mage before us was a reasonably skilled User. But the woman had overlooked one thing: Sol's Magic Power stat.
“Wh-What? N-No way! My Magic Power stat is over 60!”
The hand forming the seal began to falter. She let out a scream, abandoning the spell she was maintaining to focus solely on magic resistance. It was a quick decision on her part, but she was no match for Sol, who had started with a stat of 75.
The woman resisted briefly, but Sol’s Shackles spell clung tenaciously instead of being canceled. I stopped Hyun and Yoojung as they began to rush forward. Sol was straining while maintaining her mana connection to the spell, and I wanted her to experience a battle between magic-users firsthand.
Before long, the outcome was clear as the female User collapsed to the ground. Unable to resist Sol's magic power to the end, her body went rigid, and she stared blankly into space, her mouth agape.