Chapter 346
Chapter 346
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 347
Chapter Title: The Beast King's Shadow
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“Save me!”
A massive commotion erupted on campus as a horde of black magical beasts suddenly poured in.
Students and teachers began fleeing from the beasts, and we were pushed back by the endless waves of black magical beasts.
“H-Help me!”
“What the hell is this?!”
“Kyaaah!”
The central staircase was already saturated with panicked students.
The beasts attacked the students crammed on the stairs, creating a horrific scene of slaughter.
Even though I knew this was a false world created by my unconscious, my heart trembled at the sight of students dying right in front of me.
“Kim Sun-woo!”
Just then, I heard someone calling my name from somewhere.
I turned my head and saw Hwang Eun-hyun rushing toward me with a desperate expression.
“Hey! The stairs are dangerous! There’s an emergency staircase in the back…”
—Kraaaah!
“Argh!”
One of the black magical beasts lunged at Hwang Eun-hyun.
Pinned under the black beast, Hwang Eun-hyun grabbed its neck and strained with all his might to hold it off.
“Urgh! Hey! Kim Sun-woo! At least you help…”
I looked at him for a moment.
This was a world created by my unconscious.
The Hwang Eun-hyun in front of me wasn’t real. Ignoring him and moving on wouldn’t matter much.
…But even if he wasn’t real, I couldn’t just stand by and watch him die.
Swoosh.
I drew up my mana and unleashed it toward the black beast’s head.
Boom!
—Kieeeek!
The black beast’s head exploded, and it collapsed.
Hwang Eun-hyun shoved off the black beast that had crushed him with all his strength, gasping raggedly as he looked up at me with trembling eyes.
“…Kim Sun-woo? W-What was that just now?”
—Kraaaah!
Once more, black magical beasts started charging from the hallway. In my current state, I couldn’t handle them.
I turned to Choi Seo-yoon and Yoon Ha-young and said,
“Let’s head down to the first floor for now.”
I leaped out the window without another word. I heard Hwang Eun-hyun calling after me, but I ignored him.
Outside, a wide sports field came into view.
“Kwaaaah!”
“Save me!”
The scene on the field was no different from the hellish chaos inside the school.
I bit my lip hard.
…How the hell did things turn out like this?
—Kieeeek!
“Ugh!”
At that moment, a deafening roar that tore at my ears echoed from above.
I covered my ears and looked up at the sky. There, flapping enormous wings, was a rock dragon.
My entire body froze.
“…Cruas?”
Its identity was Cruas, the calamity-grade magical beast that had driven Lee Seo-jun to his death.
I’d thought it might be the ‘disease beasts’ since black magical beasts had appeared.
Staring at it, I let out a hollow laugh.
“It’s really hitting my trauma hard.”
“Kim Sun-woo!”
Then, I heard someone calling me again.
Beyond the main gate, four familiar silhouettes were approaching.
Yoon Ha-young’s face lit up with deep relief for a moment.
“Huh? Seo-jun!”
—Kieeeek!
Cruas let out another massive roar.
And then.
Cruas’s head began forming spheres filled with black mana.
The mana felt absurdly powerful for something from the unconscious.
I shouted urgently to everyone,
“Everyone, run!”
No sooner had I spoken than the black spheres bombarded the ground.
“…Whoa. I barely survived. What the hell is going on?”
In a small park far from Shin Young High School.
In my unconscious, the ‘main characters’ from the Magic Academy had gathered.
Given the situation, everyone’s faces showed more bewilderment than joy.
“Yeah. A random dragon shows up… Anyway, whose unconscious is this?”
At Lee Hyun-joo’s question, I quietly raised my hand.
“Mine.”
“Yours? No way, why is your unconscious on this scale all by itself?”
“How should I know?”
Then Shin Young-jun glanced back and forth between me, Choi Seo-yoon, and Yoon Ha-young before asking,
“But I’ve been wondering since earlier. What’s with those uniforms?”
“Oh, this is…”
Choi Seo-yoon adjusted her clothes and started explaining in my place at length.
What kind of world this was. What events had transpired.
As he listened, Lee Seo-jun’s face grew pensive, lost in deep thought.
Then he looked at me and spoke.
“So to sum it up, this world is your dream made real?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re wearing that uniform for reasons I don’t get?”
“That too.”
As expected of Lee Seo-jun, who knew me the best, his face deepened with thought upon hearing the explanation. Yoo Ah-ra was the same.
Their reactions differed sharply from those of Choi Seo-yoon and Yoon Ha-young.
“So what was that dragon earlier? Your imagination too?”
“…That one.”
Lee Seo-jun’s question gave me pause.
How should I answer this?
Should I just say it was my imagination, or since a clash with Cruas was inevitable down the line, should I imprint it on them now?
After countless thoughts in a short time, I made my decision.
“That dragon isn’t imagination. It’s real. It actually exists.”
All eyes turned to me.
“Its name is Cruas. It’s like the king of all calamity-grade magical beasts.”
“…The king of calamity-grade beasts?”
Choi Seo-yoon murmured quietly.
“Wait, something’s off. I’ve never heard of a beast like that. How do you know about it? And why is something like that popping up in your unconscious?”
As soon as Lee Hyun-joo finished asking, everyone’s attention focused on me again.
“…The details are a secret.”
“Hey, come on. You can’t just say that. Tell us.”
Shin Young-jun narrowed his eyes. Then Lee Seo-jun intervened.
“Enough. Don’t pry too much. It could be trauma.”
“…Yeah, fine. He’s got his reasons he can’t say.”
Yoo Ah-ra chimed in after Lee Seo-jun.
It seemed they were being considerate, thinking of the ‘restriction’ on me.
Shin Young-jun looked bewildered.
“What’s with you two? You know something?”
“No clue. We don’t know, so don’t ask.”
“…Sigh, whatever.”
Shin Young-jun let out a deep sigh of resignation.
“Anyway, let’s figure out how to get out of here. It’s a test either way, so escaping is what matters, right?”
Yoon Ha-young stepped in to mediate.
“Yeah. Now I get why this test was discontinued. And why top students always ranked low traditionally.”
“Fairness can go to hell. What is this? We’re all gonna end up at the bottom together.”
Shin Young-jun pouted.
Listening to them, I gave a wry smile.
“Enough chit-chat. Let’s plan our strategy.”
Escaping this unconscious world was the priority now.
Time passed, and evening fell.
Before starting the operation, I explained to everyone once more.
“As I said earlier, the core of my unconscious isn’t Cruas. It’s something else hidden on the school’s fifth floor.”
All eyes turned to me.
“And Cruas is guarding the school, so we can’t just waltz in. Even at our level, taking down Cruas is impossible.”
Weakened far more than its true body since this was the world of unconsciousness, yet its power was still indescribable.
A frontal assault was out of the question.
“Me, Yoo Ah-ra, and Shin Young-jun will infiltrate the fifth floor. The rest of you just draw Cruas’s attention from a safe spot.”
No one handled crowds of enemies like Yoo Ah-ra, and in close combat, no one matched Shin Young-jun except Lee Seo-jun.
With us three, including me, we could break through the black beasts inside and reach the fifth floor again.
Of course, having the strongest card, Lee Seo-jun, would be better, but he needed to block Cruas in case of emergencies.
“That’s the broad plan. Handle the details yourselves. Let’s go.”
Time was up, so we returned to Shin Young High School. I slowly surveyed the surroundings.
Burning buildings, corpses piled on the ground.
The nostalgic space had turned into a horrific landscape in just hours.
Feeling a pang, I looked up at Cruas flapping its wings over the sports field.
Even from afar, its overwhelming presence was palpable.
“Let’s start right away.”
Hoo.
Lee Hyun-joo, Choi Seo-yoon, and Yoon Ha-young drew up their mana.
At the same time, countless ice spells and a massive bird formed of mana manifested and shot toward Cruas.
Simultaneously, me, Shin Young-jun, and Yoo Ah-ra dashed to the side.
—Kieeeek!
Cruas’s roar followed.
Its attention snagged by the sudden ambush.
This was our chance. We vaulted the fence and entered the school grounds.
As soon as we entered the first floor, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.
The surroundings, filled with black magical beasts, were too gruesome to behold.
Hardly any living people in sight, just unrecognizable corpses littering the area.
“Brutal.”
“…Yeah.”
—Kruk, krrrruk!
One black beast spotted us and charged with a shriek.
“I’ll take care of it.”
Shin Young-jun stepped forward. He concentrated mana at his spear tip and thrust into the air.
Flash!
A sharp burst of mana shot forward like a laser, piercing the black beast’s head.
—Kieek!
The aftermath drew the gaze of other black beasts toward us.
—Kraaaah!
Soon, a legion of black beasts charged at us.
Seeing that, Yoo Ah-ra conjured fire spheres and launched them at the horde.
Boom!
True to her prowess against groups, her single spell felled numerous black beasts.
“Let’s go!”
After clearing the first floor, we raced toward the central staircase.
At the stairs, fresh black beasts awaited, drooling.
Shin Young-jun’s expression hardened.
“Tch. No end to them.”
—Kraaaah!
The black beasts charged again.
Gripping his spear tight, Shin Young-jun shouted at me,
“Damn it! Why is your unconscious such a mess?!”
“Why ask me?”
“Who else am I supposed to ask?!”
Whirr!
Ignoring Shin Young-jun, I conjured wind spheres and released them.
Whoosh!
The spheres spread wide, slashing the surrounding beasts sharply.
—Krrraaah!
Seizing the opening, Shin Young-jun advanced.
“Hraaah!”
Positioned in the center of the beasts, he began whirling his spear in wide circles like a performance.
The black beasts started dying as if fed into a blender.
“…Whoa.”
Overshadowed by Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra, but as expected of the original’s top three, his skill drew admiration.
And seeing it confirmed my belief.
We could definitely reach the fifth floor.
“Let’s hurry up.”
Lee Hyun-joo’s summoned beast in the sky was obliterated by a black sphere from Cruas.
Shivering from the eerie, ominous mana, Choi Seo-yoon and Yoon Ha-young backed away tensely.
The dragon before them wielded power too immense to believe it came from the unconscious.
“…Tch! I only meant to hold its attention briefly.”
Then Cruas bellowed loudly.
—Kiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeek—
“Kuugh!”
A roar that shredded ears. Everyone groaned, clutching their ears.
But the mana in its roar overwhelmed simple finger-blocking.
“Ugh!”
Yoon Ha-young curled up, writhing in pain.
The screech showed no sign of stopping.
Choi Seo-yoon released her ear-covered hand and conjured an ice spear with trembling fingers.
She intended to attack first to shut its mouth.
But the excruciating pain in her ears prevented focus.
In the end, the ice spear lost form and plummeted.
“Ugh!”
At that instant.
Flaaash—
A crescent blade of light attribute mana shot toward Cruas.
It sliced off Cruas’s wing.
—Kieeeek!
Cruas’s agonized scream echoed.
Lee Hyun-joo uncovered her ears and looked at the figure standing before Cruas.
“…Lee Seo-jun?”
Cruas regenerated its severed wing and flapped.
Its gaze fixed on Lee Seo-jun ahead.
[…Urgh. Who are you?]
Cruas’s voice boomed. Lee Seo-jun gripped his sword tighter, tension rising.
[…How are you here?]
Lee Seo-jun’s expression hardened briefly at Cruas’s words.
“…What? You know me?”
Silence fell. Then low laughter resounded.
[Kuhuhu. I see. So you’ve finally come… I’ve been waiting… blood of the freedom seeker…]
At the same time, Lee Seo-jun’s eyes trembled widely.
“…You were waiting for me?”