A Calculated Sacrifice
To awaken Kang Hae-il, Junil’s death was ultimately essential.
But since he couldn’t actually die, the plan was to kill a fake instead. Even then, a problem remained.
Belzerak’s illusion magic was certainly impressive, but it was still only illusion in the end. It could mislead the senses, yet it could not alter truth. If struck, the illusion would simply vanish.
If the illusion acted out a death scene, it would pop like a bubble and disappear. Would something like that truly trigger an awakening?
In the end…
Junil concluded that his real body had no choice but to serve as the bait.
Body-swap technique, my ass.
Cough…!
Lying on the ground, Junil spat blood and laughed bitterly at himself. There was no convenient technique like a body swap. He had simply exchanged the outer appearances of the porter illusion and himself—the porter illusion now looked like Sagosul, and Sagosul looked like the porter.
That alone had been enough to send both Kang Hae-il and Lee Suyeon into a frenzy. Junil had then made the porter’s form appear as a half-dead corpse. Since it was only a change in appearance, it hadn’t been difficult. They believed Junil had been crushed to death, blood pouring from every orifice.
That part had been easy.
The real problem comes next…
Fooling those with eyes was simple, but there was one variable he couldn’t control: the Hand of Envy. It had been ordered to never loosen its grip until the target died, and it was obeying that command perfectly.
If he couldn’t fool the Hand of Envy, Junil would never be released. So at the perfect moment he withdrew the mana shielding his body and allowed the crushing force to hit him for real.
He felt his bones shatter. There was no need to act—the scream tore out of him naturally. He had been pushed to a state that was practically death.
If not for this, I really would have died.
The reason he could go this far was because he had one item he trusted.
◈ Tearing the scroll grants the Troll’s Rapid Recovery skill.
◈ Rapid Recovery: Activates when HP falls below 15% or a body part is severed. Fully regenerates the body within 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 days.
He tore the scroll right before withdrawing his protective mana and learned the skill. The instant the crushing force struck, he activated it.
Rapid Recovery
When he regained his senses, he was in his current state.
“Ugh…”
He pushed himself up and looked around. He needed to confirm the outcome of this insane gamble.
“Did we win?”
Nothing was visible in the surroundings, so he had no information yet. Instead, the constellations’ messages began popping up sporadically.
Most of the audience seemed to have left the channel thinking he was definitely dead. Only about a thousand remained.
Current Constellation Viewers: 1,109
These heartless bastards.
They could have at least stuck around for the funeral.
At this rate he could only use a tenth of Julian’s power.
Well… I expected this.
Junil had predicted it. It’s not like this is the first or second time they’ve done this. They would trickle back in after a while anyway.
Current Constellation Viewers: 1,413
As expected, a couple hundred more arrived late and immediately started chatting. Most of the conversation was about what had happened on the rooftop. They couldn’t understand why Junil had spouted nonsense about a “body-swap technique” before dying.
Some constellations continued to question it, but among the majority it had already become a meme. Mok-dong Swap Technique… They seemed to think he had simply made a mistake.
Well, at least it’s funny. That’s something.
Thinking that, Junil rose to his feet. That was just how the constellations were.
But—
Hmm?
Messages from constellations who had been worried about him began appearing late as well.
Current Constellation Viewers: 1,992
Junil stood still for a moment, quietly savoring the messages. He didn’t realize the faint smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
Thud. Thud.
Junil walked around the area to assess the situation.
Where is everyone? My vision is still blurry too.
Perhaps not fully recovered from the shock, his sight remained hazy. He couldn’t see any corpses, nor any living people.
What is this? Has a lot of time passed?
When he looked up, the sky was still crimson. It looked unusually high.
It seemed Isilen had expanded the range of her magic.
That was when it happened.
“You’re awake.”
It was Isilen’s voice.
“Ah… Isil… huh?”
But he couldn’t see her.
“I’m not over there.”
The voice echoed again. It sounded extremely close. When Junil turned his head, a tiny spirit was perched on his shoulder.
“Isilen?”
“Yes.”
She had transformed into a spirit. It was a technique that required extreme affinity with elementals—impossible for human spirit mages and essentially the exclusive privilege of elves.
In her spirit form, Isilen looked exactly like a cotton candy or a rice ball with eyes stuck on it.
“What… what kind of spirit is that?”
“A spore spirit.”
“……”
There was no such thing as a spore spirit. It seemed Isilen had simply made it up.
“Why did you come in spirit form?”
“The mask.”
“……Ah.”
Junil was currently in his maskless porter form. Speaking to him as Sagosul would have been strange, so she had taken a completely different shape.
Isilen. Those big ears of hers must help her understand the situation so well!
Isilen understood Junil’s circumstances perfectly. She might have been the being who understood them best in this entire world.
Feeling greatly relieved, Junil asked, “Where is everyone else?”
“Below.”
“Below? The first floor?”
“……?”
Isilen tilted her head as if to ask what he was talking about.
“This is the first floor.”
“What?”
It had definitely been the rooftop. Junil frowned. The blurry scenery was finally coming into focus.
Insane.
He realized it only then.
“This isn’t the rooftop?”
It wasn’t. They were at ground level. The building had completely collapsed.
Only then did he look up again at the unusually high sky.
It wasn’t that Isilen expanded her magic range.
Because Junil had sunk downward, the sensory-blocking barrier had only appeared high.
“Then… where the hell is Hae-il’s ham…”
That didn’t make sense. Where had Kang Hae-il gone?
The worst possible ending flashed through his mind for a second.
Don’t tell me he died?
He quickly shook his head.
No. According to my calculations he should win.
There was no way Junil would have pushed this plan without running the numbers. Kang Hae-il’s estimated level had been around 40. Upon awakening—even temporarily—he would at least double in strength, putting him near level 80. That should have been more than enough to kill Sar.
Sigh… but he’s such a reckless hothead…
Junil clutched his head. There was a real possibility that Kang Hae-il had simply charged in like a true man and died.
If he fights too honestly, he might not be able to win?
Since Sar was an extremely cunning bastard, Junil couldn’t be a hundred percent certain. That was why he had woken up—to help. But the man was nowhere to be seen.
Still, from the constellations’ messages it didn’t sound like he was dead. Junil had to find him quickly.
Where is he?
He couldn’t ask the constellations directly, so he got up and started running around in every direction. They said he fell down below—what did that even mean?
That was when it happened.
“O-oppa?!”
Lee Suyeon screamed, her eyes wide as if she might faint from shock.
“……Uh, Suyeon-ah.”
Junil was slightly flustered. She had sprinted toward him at an unbelievable speed and thrown herself into his arms.
“Oppa!!”
Being suddenly hugged by Lee Suyeon was surprising enough, but—
Why is she so fast?
It was far too quick for a healer. Junil immediately noticed that something had changed.
“Uh, Suyeon-ah…”
Romance is off the table…
He tried to push her away, but she showed no sign of letting go.
“Are you okay? I… I thought you were completely… completely… dead…”
Suyeon’s voice broke and she couldn’t continue. Junil’s hand, which had been trying to push her away while mindful of the constellations’ eyes, trembled and fell limply.
Right. She must have thought I was dead too.
He hadn’t factored Suyeon’s feelings into the plan at all. He had only thought about awakening Kang Hae-il and making sure he himself survived. Even if he had considered her, he still would have carried out the plan—but the fact that he had completely erased her from his mind made him feel guilty.
So Junil didn’t force her away. He simply let her hug him until her emotions calmed. She said nothing either, only holding him tight.
It had been a long time since he felt the warmth of another person’s body. It wasn’t unpleasant. The sense of relief was so strong his eyes nearly closed.
He was conscious of the constellations’ reactions, but he figured it would be fine. After all, Suyeon was a rational friend.
“A-anyway, I’m glad you’re alive.”
Tap!
A moment later, once she had calmed down, she grew embarrassed and stepped back on her own.
“Ah, yeah. I survived.”
Even though they were standing right next to each other, both kept their eyes fixed on the ground as they spoke.
“How did you survive?”
“I had a skill. One that saves you right before you die.”
“……There’s even a skill like that? Where do you keep getting all these things, oppa? You’re not Doraemon.”
“Bamboo-copter~”
Feeling sorry for Suyeon, Junil did a voice impression to at least make her laugh.
The constellations’ reactions were ice-cold, but—
“Pfft—puahaha! What was that, seriously?”
Suyeon burst out laughing. That was enough.
As he had felt before, the constellations seemed surprisingly tolerant when it came to the supporting character’s romance. Junil briefly entertained a ridiculous daydream, but quickly returned to reality.
Oh right.
The supporting character’s romance wasn’t important right now.
“Suyeon. Where’s Hae-il hyung? Did you clear the boss?”
Kang Hae-il’s whereabouts were the highest priority—whether he had truly cleared it or not.
“Ah……”
The atmosphere snapped back to reality and Suyeon’s eyes darkened.
Kang Hae-il again.
Still, she had a duty to explain.
“I don’t know about the boss clear, but he fell down there.”
“Down there?”
Following her guidance, Junil headed in that direction and froze.
“!”
An enormous sinkhole gaped before him. So that was what “fell down below” meant.
“That snake kept smashing into it until it dug its way inside… That’s the last thing I remember. The building collapsed and we evacuated with Riel’s help……”
Junil poked his head out and peered down.
All of this size…
Asphalt and rebar had melted and tangled together. It looked like Kang Hae-il—not Sar—had been the one to break through it.
This is awakened Kang Hae-il.
The firepower was monstrous. To think it reached this level. The hole was so deep he couldn’t even see the bottom.
If he’s using fire it should be visible, right?
Junil leaned out further to get a better look.
That was when it happened.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The ground began to shake violently.