Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World
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Crazy bastards.
The curses aimed at the Tasan Guild rose all the way to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them down with a dry gulp.
I didn't even have time to waste cursing out such a pathetic guild that had abandoned injured civilians and run off to get themselves treated.
Instead, I approached the wounded people and asked,
"How long have your friends been unconscious?"
"One got hurt the moment we entered the gate... The other held on until about an hour ago, but... he lost so much blood..."
The man explaining wasn't in great shape either.
Blood from large gashes on his arm and back had soaked most of his white T-shirt a dark crimson, and the wrist holding his friends was twisted at an unnatural angle.
He seemed to be holding out only on sheer responsibility toward his friends.
I first took the hand of the woman who lay unconscious, blood trickling from her head.
Even at 'Beginner II' level, this skill demanded nearly half my stamina for a critical injury.
There were two more injured people, and I had to conserve stamina for potential injuries to my guildmates in the upcoming fights.
But I had something to rely on, so I poured in the power anyway.
"Ugh."
It wasn't a sound from the fallen person.
It came from my own mouth.
My vision spun, and nausea tightened my throat.
I opened my eyes, which had unconsciously squeezed shut, and saw the woman's horribly torn and gouged forehead wound healing over, her face now much more peaceful.
As soon as the skill's backlash subsided, I moved to the next injured person.
"This one... has a leg injury."
His shattered shinbone protruded grotesquely outward.
Like the head injury, it would've required surgery and months of rehab at a regular hospital.
But skill-based healing had no such hassle.
Aside from how seriously it was draining my stamina.
Stamina that had to be squeezed out anyway—I didn't hesitate and activated the skill.
Suddenly, my limbs felt like boulders were weighing them down, and I staggered for a moment.
"Noona, you okay?"
Lee Yu-chan, who had been guarding the surroundings from outside the rock crevices, jumped over in alarm and asked.
"Y-yeah. Still manageable."
I patted the hand he used to steady my arm.
Then I pulled out Im Cheong-su's potion from my sub-space.
This was my 'reliable backup.'
A potion that restored a whopping 60 stamina in one go!
I downed the brown potion in one gulp.
It was bitterly awful, enough to scrunch my face, but the effect was certain.
The system predictably popped up the warning.
But the system only counts the number of potions drunk—it doesn't factor in artificially restored values.
So, like last time, I could drink four more before the drug overuse penalty triggered.
With my face refreshed like when we first entered the gate, I turned to the last remaining person.
"Let me take a look at your wounds?"
Fortunately, the man's injuries weren't as severe as the first two.
As his wounds partially closed and the pain in his ankle faded, he wiped away tears and said,
"Th-thank you. I really thought I was done for..."
"No need to thank me. It's only natural."
"N-no, it's not natural at all. The Tasan people told us to get out and get treated..."
"They told you to get out and get treated?"
As I'd seen from outside, Tasan had a healer.
B-rank, but without potion limits or stamina constraints like me, they could perform as long as they had mana potions.
In the end, they refused to treat civilians because mana potions were too precious.
"Crazy bastards."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Anyway."
"Y-yes?"
"Rescuing and treating civilians first is a duty for any guild entering a gate. Keep that in mind, just in case."
If they weren't confident, they shouldn't have entered the gate.
Tasan had gotten tunnel vision on conquering an A-rank guerrilla gate and neglected their duties.
"Oh..."
Only then did the young man realize he'd been treated unfairly, dropping his head.
And in a small voice, he said once more,
"Thank you so much..."
I gripped his shoulder firmly, then stood up.
With the civilians treated, it was time to look after my guildmates.
It was chaos.
"Kyaaak!"
Water splashed from all directions, mingling with the monsters' screams.
Kang Han and the guildmates, who had started the assault wading into the seawater, deliberately fell back bit by bit.
As a result, they successfully lured the enemies up to ankle-deep water.
But the monsters' numbers were still overwhelming.
They surged relentlessly from the water, charging fearlessly as if blind to their comrades' deaths.
"Kryaak!"
It was when Kang Han snapped the neck of one that looked about B-rank.
It was Han Ji-seong's voice from the rear, where he was preparing his magic.
Kang Han, Jang Su-ho, and Lee Yu-eul immediately halted their attacks and retreated from the water.
From Han Ji-seong's hand, touching the white foam left on the wet sand, burst a blindingly bright, icy light.
Kwagagagak-!
Puk! Puk!
The gentle waves caressing the beach turned into sharp spears, piercing the monsters' bodies.
The ones still in the water fared no better.
Trapped in the frozen water, unable to move freely, they couldn't evade the sharp ice waves crashing from ahead.
In an instant, dozens of monsters vaporized into the air without proper screams.
"Hoo."
Han Ji-seong steadied his breath and instinctively sought out Nayeo-ju.
He couldn't explain why.
He just felt like she needed to be there.
Yet at the same time, knowing she was in the relatively safe rear brought him deep relief.
Thud.
As Han Ji-seong took a few steps back and sat on the sand, Kang Han spotted more of Yungkaders' minions surging from the distant sea.
They'd already slain a good number, but Yungkaders hadn't revealed its true form yet.
'Still not enough?'
Then he'd just have to kill more.
Kang Han murmured quietly, generating lightning orbs in both hands.
At the same time, blue veins bulged on his arms.
Whoosh-!
With a heavy whoosh cutting the air, the lightning orbs flew swiftly.
Far enough to reach the minions swimming around Yungkaders.
The bright yellow orbs settled silently atop the sea.
Moments later, hundreds of monster corpses floated up and vaporized on the surface.
"Kuaaaah-!"
Yungkaders roared for the first time.
Kang Han responded to the fury-laden bellow with a faint smile as he walked up the beach.
If Yungkaders wanted revenge for its minions, it would have to come ashore here.
Splash, splash-!
The sea began to churn.
Waves as tall as a person crashed relentlessly onto the beach, stirred by Yungkaders' movements.
But not a single wave reached Kang Han.
He simply stood there, waiting for Yungkaders to come onto land.
Onto solid ground, humanity's domain.