Chapter 152
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Awakening
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Seo Yu-ju couldn't comprehend the current situation.
In the first round, after eliminating the White Devourer and the Black Devourer, no such monster had appeared.
Not only was the monster enormous, but the overwhelming pressure and sheer power it exuded sent chills down her spine.
Having encountered a Mythic-grade being before, she could tell.
That cocoon-like monster wasn't quite Mythic-grade, but it far surpassed Legendary-grade strength.
As proof, even with the entire pioneering team gathered and fighting, they weren't gaining the upper hand.
Still, that much was manageable. The team would suffer heavy losses, but as long as the battle continued, defeat didn't seem inevitable.
That is, until Yun-seong was swallowed.
"No!"
The moment Lee Yun-seong was swallowed in her place, Seo Yu-ju lost all rationality.
"No, no! Please, pleeease!"
She couldn't lose Yun-seong again.
For him to die due to her carelessness—worse, in her stead—was something that absolutely could not happen.
Seo Yu-ju's body moved as if overheated the instant he was devoured.
Dodge and thrust, dodge and slash. She focused solely on those two actions.
Her mind was in an entirely different state from usual.
'I have to save him. I have to save him. I have to save Yun-seong!'
Her only thought was to rescue him.
And every member of Eternity Clan shared the exact same mindset right now.
"Mr. Lee Yun-seong, I... this time too..."
Wi Ho-yeon blamed himself for failing to protect him.
"Oppa, no!"
"Yun-seong hyung!"
Yu-rim and Yu-hyeon wailed.
"You fucking monster bastard! Spit him out right now! Spit him out, I said!"
Kang I-seo spat curses as she loosed arrows.
"Damn it...! Hyung-nim!"
Cha Hyun-jin gripped his sword and charged forward.
The other clan members on the battlefield could only panic.
Objectively speaking, it looked like just one ordinary clan member had died.
Yet Eternity's members had all switched to a desperate demeanor.
As if their own lives meant nothing, they frantically tried to save the man swallowed by the monster.
Even the masters of Myth Clan and Madan Clan, who weren't part of Eternity, felt the same.
But desperation alone doesn't resolve everything.
"Please give him back! Please!"
Though Seo Yu-ju slashed and thrust her spear to annihilate the chunks of flesh, it was impossible to extract Yun-seong now that he'd already been swallowed.
'Am I losing him like this? So powerlessly again?'
She knew this wasn't the time to drown in emotions, but she couldn't control herself.
'Why is it exactly like the first round? Nothing has changed at all.'
She was overwhelmed by despair at the realization that it would end the same way.
'After running so hard, is this the conclusion?'
Without Yun-seong, everything she'd done meant nothing.
'Just... give up. It's already over. What the hell am I...'
As helplessness welled up and she wanted to abandon everything,
Seo Yu-ju suddenly remembered the ring she'd given Lee Yun-seong.
The Mythic-grade ring that could save his life once.
"Ah..."
She'd forgotten about it momentarily, but with the ring, Yun-seong wouldn't die immediately.
And another glimmer of hope.
A signal was coming from the ring. A plea for rescue.
There might still be hope.
As despair gripped all of Eternity in this hopeless situation, Seo Yu-ju shouted.
"He's still... he's still alive! Yun-seong is still alive!"
"B-But, Sister Yu-ju. Brother Yun-seong is..."
"No, trust me. See the light from my ring? That's proof he's alive. He's sending us a rescue signal!"
Wi Ho-yeon asked with an incredulous expression.
"I-Is that true?"
"Yes, so everyone snap out of it! This is our one chance!"
Seo Yu-ju had found a light in the despair. No matter what, she had to grasp that slender thread.
Even if it meant burning everything down.
"Master, your eyes are turning golden..."
Wi Ho-yeon said something, but it didn't reach Seo Yu-ju's ears. Her status window simply changed.
A unique trait that has been sealed until now is unlocked due to an unbreakable will stronger than anything else.
Unique Trait
Golden Thunderclap (Quasi-Mythic Grade) - You have reached the realm of imagery. However, Golden Thunderclap is your own unique imagery.
"...I'll save him no matter what."
'With this power, it's possible.'
She gripped her spear tightly.
The power she'd regained in exchange for promising regression. Now that she'd received a portion of it, she had to act.
Seo Yu-ju shot forward like a streak of lightning.
Branches sprouted as she approached.
To others, it looked like suicide, but she plunged right through them.
"Danger—!"
Someone shouted a warning, but she ignored it.
She trusted herself.
The branches tried to impale her, but pierced only the space she'd passed through.
White fruits soon formed in her wake. But before they could fully manifest, they vanished along with the branches in a golden trajectory.
Kwajijijijik!
Her spear's path blazed like a meteor shower of gold. Though flashy, the attacks themselves were simple and crude.
"Hup!"
Just repeated thrusts. Yet the base of the birth cocoon riddled with holes from what seemed like mere pokes.
Unlike before, when wounds were hard to inflict, gashes now formed with every thrust.
Massive chunks of flesh surged like waves to devour her.
Pung!
Yun Yeon's punch demolished the flesh, forcing it back.
"Ms. Seo Yu-ju, what's your plan? Striking the base is just going in circles."
"I know."
Seo Yu-ju bit her lip at Yun Yeon's words. She'd boldly pressed inward, but the core was too high to destroy from here.
As she slashed incoming flesh, Ha Yu-ri shouted.
"I'll make you a path! Can you do it?!"
Seo Yu-ju nodded. Whether she could or not, she had to.
'I won't fail.'
With the path open, all that remained was reaching it.
She channeled mana into her legs and climbed the ice platforms.
Ice formed like growing trees, and she traversed it step by step.
A precarious tightrope where one slip or hit would end everything.
Yet there was no fear in Seo Yu-ju's eyes—only ironclad determination to succeed.
Ha Yu-ri was flustered. Seo Yu-ju's speed outpaced her ability to create the ice path.
'Why is she so fast?'
She poured every ounce of mana to keep up, sweat beading from the concentration.
'She's insane. No wonder that guy sticks to her—this is her level?'
"Clan Master, are you okay?"
"...Don't talk to me. I need to focus."
The fight didn't hinge on Seo Yu-ju alone. Ha Yu-ri had to craft the perfect path for success.
The others could only gape at the scene.
"Is... is this even possible?"
"...How? One mistake and she's dead..."
All who watched shared one thought.
They couldn't dare intervene in that battle.
Seo Yu-ju followed the forming path, dodging or slashing every attack from the cocoon.
'I can do this.'
She knew exactly where to step, and her body moved instinctively to evade.
Time felt stretched—one second like a minute.
Incoming attacks crawled at a snail's pace, as if everything but her had slowed.
As she closed in on the core at breakneck speed, the cocoon unleashed bundles of flesh to seize her.
She slid effortlessly on the ice, evading them with acrobatic flair.
To onlookers, it seemed the flesh deliberately missed her.
Finally at the core, she thrust her spear surging with golden energy.
Kwaaa—
Kugung!
Power unbelievable from a single strike.
The golden energy tore the cocoon apart. Amid the glare, she faintly saw him.
"Yun-seong!"
She reached for Lee Yun-seong, unconscious and bound in black flesh.
"Please...! Please...!"
By some cruel joke of fate, her fingers fell just short.
"Me... me...! Am I losing you again?! Don't toy with me!"
Grab.
At last, Seo Yu-ju seized his arm.
The black flesh released him as if spitting him out.
"Yes, got him!"
'Now just hold him and slide down!'
Perfectly timed, Ha Yu-ri's ice platforms formed a slide.
Seo Yu-ju descended like it was a playground slide.
"Haa... haa... saved him... saved him... sob..."
"Sister!"
"Unnie!"
Those close to Yun-seong sighed in massive relief at his breathing form.
"Phew... fortunately, Mr. Lee Yun-seong is safe."
No visible major injuries, everyone relaxed.
"L-Look over there, everyone!"
At Yu-hyeon's words, they turned to see the massive cocoon retreating.
"I-Is it... running away?"
"Fuck if I know. Damn it... why won't this guy wake up?! Something wrong?"
"Sister, calm down. H-He’s breathing, so he'll wake up after some time."
"How am I supposed to calm down? Fuck, he was swallowed by that monster!"
Ignoring their exchange, Yu-rim spoke up, noticing something odd.
"But... why is Brother Yun-seong's shirt only torn around the stomach?"
No skin wounds, but oddly, only his shirt was shredded at the abdomen.
"Probably tore when he was first swallowed?"
It was plausible enough for clothes, and priority was cleaning up post-battle.
Confirming Yun-seong's safety, Yun Yeon surveyed the surroundings.
"...A bolt from the blue."
"Tell me about it."
"Madan Clan Master."
"Sigh... what a mess. Who could've predicted that monster popping out? More importantly, your wounds okay?"
Ha Yu-ri had disliked Yun Yeon before, but after Yun-seong's "training," she felt indifferent now.
"I'm fine. Not shallow cuts, but nothing compared to the dead. You look pale yourself, Ms. Ha Yu-ri."
"...Used too much mana. Because of that woman."
Ha Yu-ri glanced at Seo Yu-ju as she finished.
Seo Yu-ju still cradled Yun-seong, head bowed motionless.
"Hard to believe a rookie of just one year pulled that off. Today's feat will go down in legend. It wasn't ordinary."
"Yeah. Deserves it."
Fleeting as it was, her power in rescuing Yun-seong rivaled a ranker.
Others might not see, but rankers Yun Yeon and Ha Yu-ri knew.
"Looks like a new ranker after this expedition. Right?"
"Well, we expected it, Ms. Ha Yu-ri and I. Just a matter of time—predestined."
No wonder the training facility had vied for her.
"Anyway... time to clean up. Sorry, Ms. Ha Yu-ri. Can you and An Yeon-ho handle it? As you see, I'm..."
"Don't worry. Even mana-depleted, I can manage."
Post-monster cleanup first. Casualties were heavy from the surprise attack.
Yun Yeon closed his eyes, murmuring softly.
"...At least we saved him."
At his side, Ha Yu-ri simply nodded faintly.