Chapter 267: Introduction to Barrier Studies (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 267: Introduction to Barrier Studies (1)
Their eyes locked.
Jinhyuk clenched his jaw.
To satisfy the copying conditions, he had to rely solely on 'curses' and 'barriers'.
From now on, he would have to fight in a slightly different way than usual.
But right then, the Wailing Witch's gaze shifted toward the far end of the ruins.
"I wondered why you were so confident. Were you relying on the rabble you brought along?"
"Rabble? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. I've already sensed about twenty humans lingering at the entrance of the chamber."
Twenty people who would come here... Could it be?
Something flashed through Jinhyuk's mind.
The faction that had joined this raid but had yet to show themselves.
'The Dangun Guild.'
I thought they sided with Gandhara and the Demonic Humans, but I guess they kicked that offer to the curb.
I thought large guilds were only filled with people blinded by self-interest who would do anything to get what they want, but it seems there are still some decent people left.
If only they hadn't gotten caught while trying to launch a surprise attack, I would've really liked them.
Damn it.
Black liquid began to pool around the Wailing Witch.
She was about to activate her worst skill, 'Black Tears'.
This was dangerous.
"You guys over there, you've been spotted! Get out of the way!" Jinhyuk roared.
At that exact moment,
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
A black wave surged toward the entrance.
"Uh... Uh?"
"B-Brother Park! Something's coming!"
"Damn it. Does this mean our mana-canceling skill was seen through?"
"Form up! Activate all survival skills!"
Screams erupted from the Dangun Guild members who had been hiding behind the monster statues.
Standing at the very front, Park Jung-jin thrust forward a shield radiating a brilliant glow.
[Park Jung-jin activates his unique ability, 'Divine Binding'!]
A golden shield expanded from his physical shield, completely covering the entire raid team.
Boom!
As the black wave clashed with the holy shield, multicolored sparks flew in all directions.
"...That was close," Park Jung-jin sighed in relief.
"Drop your shield!"
"Player Kang... Jinhyuk? Drop my shield? What do you mean by that?"
"Drop it right now!"
Blocking the Black Tears didn't mean you were safe. Its true terror only manifested once it made contact with a target.
Sssss!
A bizarre power that corrupted whatever it touched. The Black Tears belonged to the most anomalous category of curses.
['Black Tears' have seeped into the shield.]
[The shield is being contaminated!]
If it touched a living organism, it caused frenzy, hallucinations, and mutations. Even when touching inanimate objects, it created all sorts of unpredictable variables.
It was utterly unpredictable.
Because of this, the sheer impact of this ability was on a completely different level from any other. Even the Wailing Witch, who wielded the power, could not fully control it.
"Keeee!"
A mouth split open on the shield, and it began to thrash wildly. Spitting out black liquid from its sharp teeth, it looked like nothing short of a monster.
"T-This is impossible..." Park Jung-jin threw the shield away in sheer shock.
An ability that breathed life into items.
Park Jung-jin thought he had experienced all kinds of bizarre abilities in his life, but he had never seen anything this grotesque.
To make matters worse, a female player who had a single drop of the tear touch her skin was screaming shrilly, her body twisting in agony.
"Argh... Aaahhh!"
"S-Song-yi, snap out of it! Brother Park! We can't let that touch our skin. It's turning people into monsters, like some kind of zombie virus!"
"D-Damn it... So we can't even block it? We just have to dodge?"
It was an absurd ability. The fact that even holy magic couldn't block it meant no other ability could neutralize it.
With the advantage of a surprise attack gone and the available space being so cramped, their superior numbers had actually become a weakness.
While everyone was falling into a panic,
"Tristan." The Wailing Witch looked at the Demonic Human beside her.
"Speak."
"I shall leave the pests to you. The three humans you fought earlier seem to have recovered as well, so make sure to finish them off."
Maria, Yu Yeon-hwa, and Lee Tae-min had already finished preparing to fight again. It was thanks to the mana recovery potions Jinhyuk had handed out, allowing them to catch their breath.
"Hmm. Surely you aren't telling me to face all of them by myself?"
"Cackle. Of course I wouldn't send you alone. I will provide you with reliable support, so do not worry. They are just a bit lacking in intelligence, so I would like you to clean up after them properly."
The shield and the players weren't the only things infected by the Black Tears.
The reason she had placed various monster statues here was precisely to use them like this.
[The dormant monster statues are awakening!]
Crack! Snap! ...Thud!
"Groooar!"
"Graaaah!"
An immense number of monsters stood up, their eyes flashing with light.
Ogres, trolls, lizardmen, manticores, and more. Every single one of them was a powerful, mid-sized or larger named monster that the Wailing Witch had personally selected and gathered.
"Urgh..." Park Jung-jin bit his lower lip.
He had come here to help Jinhyuk, but now he was about to be tied down in the back without having been of much help.
"B-Brother Park."
"At the very least, we must buy time. We can't afford to be a hindrance."
If they dealt with the monsters, it would allow Jinhyuk to focus entirely on his one-on-one battle with the boss. That alone was reason enough to be here.
If we can somehow join up with those three over there, we should be able to hold out as long as possible.
With Lee Tae-min's drones, Yu Yeon-hwa's tanking, and Maria's firepower added to the mix, they wouldn't easily be pushed back, even against mid-sized monsters.
His hesitation didn't last long.
"We're breaking through to that spot. I'll take the lead, so you guys cover the flanks."
"Damn it. And here you promised we'd only walk on a path of flowers."
"If I die, I'm going to haunt you as a bachelor ghost. Keep that in mind. I haven't even gotten married yet!"
* * *
"Are you worried about the other humans?" the Wailing Witch asked.
"Not really. They're all capable of taking care of themselves."
"Fufu. You seem rather anxious for someone who claims that. But do not fret. Everyone who came here will meet each other in the afterlife anyway."
"Sorry, but I come from a proper Confucian background. Respecting our elders, I'll make sure to send the oldest one first."
"Honestly, both you and your viewers have a real knack for getting under my skin. Do you truly believe you can kill me just because you defeated an Apostle? Truly?"
"If I couldn't handle someone like you, I wouldn't have even come here in the first place." Jinhyuk shrugged.
"Fine... Let us see if you can withstand my first move. I hope you can meet at least a fraction of my expectations. Try not to make this too boring."
Swish.
Her withered arm swept to the left.
[The curse 'Blood Melting' is activated!]
A pentagram was drawn beneath Jinhyuk's feet.
It was a curse that melted all the hemoglobin in the blood, maximized in efficiency by stacking a 4-Star 'Amplification Barrier' on top of it.
[Due to the 'Pollution Stat', the effects of curses and barriers increase by 30%!]
The effect of his unique stat was a welcome bonus.
"It is too late now. You can neither dodge nor block it."
A sinister smile played on the witch's lips.
Hummmm!
A red light flashed.
However,
"Hmm?" The Wailing Witch tilted her head in confusion.
The spell had clearly activated properly, yet her opponent, who should have been vomiting blood from his eyes and mouth, was completely fine.
...What was this?
It didn't take long for her to realize the source of this deep sense of incongruity.
Could it be...?
"You... dismantled my spell? The moment you saw the pattern...?"
It was utterly unbelievable.
How could anyone analyze and decipher a spell with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of possible combinations in less than a second?
Even the most experienced witches prepared in advance with defensive barriers; they never dismantled an attack after letting it hit them. It was simply too risky.
"Well, it's nothing major. I've been studying barriers a lot lately. And curses have always been my specialty."
"Don't make me laugh! Are you saying my spell is so sloppy that it can be deciphered just by flipping through a few pages of a book?!"
"If you're so upset, you should've made a better combination. It was easy to read because you used a 4-Star barrier."
A faint light began to glow from Jinhyuk's shoulder. Ancient runes bloomed in a magnificent display.
"Is that... a type of stigma? You were a barrierist. I see. That is why you were so arrogant."
"Oh. So you're not completely blind after all."
Although she didn't seem to recognize it as the Mark of the Moon, just knowing it was the mark of a barrierist was impressive enough.
"I see you are not a complete novice. Fine. Since you claim to have some shallow knowledge of barriers, I shall raise the difficulty a bit."
This time, the Wailing Witch moved both hands.
Crackle!
Runes overlaid the pentagram, and three barriers stretched out beside it. Because she used both hands, her calculation speed and the completion rate of the spell were several times higher than before.
"No matter how much of a professional barrierist you are, you will not escape this alive."
Rumble!
The entire ruins shook violently. The mixture of sticky mana and curses stung so badly it felt as if his skin were burning.
As expected...
Seeing her activate a high-level spell through multi-calculations made him realize once again that a witch was indeed a witch. He wondered just how much training was required to achieve such a feat.
Of course, from the perspective of someone looking down from a far higher realm... it was merely cute.
Suddenly, a sharp crack split the very center of the pentagram.
"W-What?!"
The Wailing Witch, who had been certain of her victory, widened her eyes in shock.
[The 'Mark of the Moon' blooms.]
Shatter!
Crack!
The three barriers shattered like glass windows.
"Didn't I tell you? Fight me with a stronger barrier."
Behind Jinhyuk's shoulders, hexagram-shaped barriers began to manifest one by one.
Three... four... and then five.
By the time the number of barriers reached ten, the Wailing Witch's mouth was hanging wide open.
"What I meant was for you to go all out." Jinhyuk snapped his fingers.
* * *
Hummmm!
This time, an unfamiliar rune was drawn beneath the Wailing Witch's feet. It was similar to the pentagram she had used earlier.
"T-This is nothing...!"
The tier of the barrier wasn't high. The curse was so weak it didn't even warrant comparison. She could dismantle it as much as she wanted.
As a member of the Great Witches' Council...! She could turn something of this low level into dust in an instant!
However,
"...Huh?"
Boom!
Before she could even analyze the structure of the spell, a massive explosion erupted.
"Cough! Hack! Urgh!"
The Wailing Witch stumbled out of the smoke, retreating to the opposite side. Her face, painted with bewilderment, was filled with nothing but questions.
Why?
Just why?!
Why couldn't she grasp the connection of such a basic spell?
Right then, a sly voice echoed from behind her.
"I'll say it again: it doesn't matter what star-rank the barrier is, or how powerful of a curse you mixed in."
"It's the combination that matters."
No matter how trivial or low-grade a barrier was, if combined with the right barrier or curse for the situation, it could unleash power far beyond its rank.
"If you want a real fight with me, bring out the Black Tears. Otherwise, we can't even get this conversation started."
"Eeeek! How dare a mere brat like you lecture me?! I don't even need to use the Black Tears. I can tear you to shreds with my pure skill alone!"
[The curse 'Five-Horse Dismemberment' is activated!]
[The 7-Star barrier 'Multiplication' is activated!]
Countless runes adorned the air. Red pentagrams bloomed in a chaotic frenzy.
The ten barriers Jinhyuk had deployed earlier were already an excessive number for an ordinary barrierist to handle, but this was easily over thirty times that. It was enough to completely change the color of the sky.
"...Quite a spectacle," Jinhyuk let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
It wasn't easy to witness such a magnificent and vast array of small-scale barriers.
"Pant, pant... Hehe. Hahaha! Do you see?! This is who I am! I am the one who received the title of 'Wailing' from the Great Witches' Council!"
The Wailing Witch burst into a screeching laugh.
"Writhe in agony and die, young barrierist. This is the gap between a Great Witch and a wet-behind-the-ears brat."
Her hand pointed upward. The spells glowed brightly all at once, preparing to activate.
But right at that moment,
[The 9-Star barrier 'Twelve Zodiacs, Scorpio's Barrier' is activated.]
[The 4-Star barrier 'High-Speed Substitution' is activated.]
Suddenly, one of the red pentagrams turned blue.
This was a phenomenon that only occurred when a new source of mana intervened. It also meant that the ownership of the spell had been hijacked.
Soon, as if catching a contagion, the color of the crimson sky began to shift.
"This... is impossible. There's no way this is possible. This... this kind of thing..."
His calculation speed... was ridiculously fast.
Whether it was a curse, a barrier, or a spell created through a combination of both, they were all being dismantled the very instant they activated.
Just like that, the sight of countless red pentagrams being substituted with countless blue hexagrams... was a sight that transcended the word 'spectacle'.