The Road to Daegu (2)
“Ara-ya. Wouldn't it be better if you stay here?” “No, I'm going too.”
“But our parents are all here…” “Ssaem helped us find our families too. Please let me help as well.” Ara's firm opinion.
Jin-hwan glanced at Ara's parents once, but they seemed just as determined, sending him a look that said 'handle it yourself.'
“If we go up, it might be even more dangerous. Are you sure?” “Of course.”
“Alright. I lost, I lost.”
Arguing with Ara any further seemed pointless.
After all, the other students were also going to Daegu with me.
Ara couldn't be the only one left out.
“By the way, are you bringing Ji-ah too?”
“Of course. If Ji-ah goes out of control, Jin-hwan will need to be there.” Jin-hwan had thought long and hard about whether to take Ji-ah to Daegu or not.
Leaving her here was risky too, as those guys might come back, and there'd be no one to stop her if she rampaged.
“Moreover, she's already…”
Ji-ah, clinging to Jin-hwan like a leech, had become much closer to him than to me.
“Ji-ah. We're going a bit far from here, okay?” “Yeah! As long as Oppa Jin-hwan is there, it's fine!” “Really? If you throw a tantrum and say it's too hard, you can't do that?” “Yeah yeah! Ji-ah doesn't do that!”
Ji-ah was a good listener.
Her bright face, which had become much more cheerful thanks to Jin-hwan's efforts, was heartwarming to see.
The gloomy expression from when I first saw her was now hard to find.
“You really would have been a great kindergarten teacher.” “Right? I think so too.”
“I couldn't even go to university, and now the world has changed like this. What do I do?” “Hey, it's okay.”
As Jin-hwan played with Ji-ah, a pang of guilt hit me every time I saw his face.
Students who had lived their lives studying from kindergarten to high school.
Of course, Jin-hwan had taken some detours, but still.
Now, instead of going to university after taking the college entrance exam and enjoying campus life, this situation.
These kids who wouldn't have had to live like this if this hadn't happened.
Ah, that was true for me too.
Actually, there was one thing that had improved in this changed world.
Being free from loans, perhaps.
Haha.
It's a good thing there was at least one positive aspect.
“Haa. I wish the world would go back to normal.” With loans to repay, if the world returned to normal, there'd be nothing more to wish for.
“Ssaem. We've finished preparing.”
Jin-ri said, lightly packing her bags.
Students who had prepared for the journey to Daegu.
“Alright. Let's go.”
We couldn't waste more time here.
Everyone quickly exited the house and boarded the bus.
Ara's parents and uncle watching from outside.
“Ara-ya. Are you really going?”
“Yes, Mom. Don't worry. I'll come back fine.” “But… ugh.”
Just a moment ago, Ara's parents had casually allowed it, but now that they were sending her off, their hearts seemed heavy.
“Mom, Dad, Uncle. Don't worry about me. Go to the nearby shelter and protect yourselves. I'm more worried about you than I am about myself?” “Yeah. Don't worry about that. We've already checked a few places.” “It's not some weird place, right?”
“No.”
“Okay. Then I'll be back.”
With that, Ara boarded the bus last.
Our group ready to depart.
“Then let's go, Jin-hwan.”
“Yes!”
BRRRR!
The bus's engine started and it slowly began to move.
Ara's family growing smaller in the distance.
Ara stood in her seat, staring at her family through the window, then eventually sat down.
Now that we were actually leaving, she seemed a bit regretful, staring in the direction of her family.
“Don't worry too much. We can still contact each other through the bulletin board messages, after all.” “Really?”
If we only knew each other's IDs, we could message each other, so no need for big worries.
Moreover, just in case, she had left a Slime behind, and if Ara wanted, I could arrange video calls anytime.
“Ssaem. We can just go straight to Daegu, right?” “Yeah. Keep an eye out for any flying monsters nearby.” “Yes, understood.”
BOOOOM!
The bus started racing at high speed.
In an instant, we left Ulsan and began racing through the endless wasteland.
“I wonder what's happening in Daegu.”
No unusual reports had appeared on the bulletin board about Daegu yet.
But one could never be sure.
“How should I handle this scenario quest?” This quest itself would be an important clue, and the reward was excellent too.
After confirming my parents in Daegu, I should break the scenario quest right away.
While lost in these thoughts,
SCREEEEECH!
Jin-hwan suddenly slammed on the brakes!
“Waaah!”
Everyone inside the car was thrown forward violently.
The brakes were so hard that if they hadn't been wearing seatbelts, they'd have been ejected.
“What the hell is going on?! Monsters?!”
There was no reason to slam on the brakes this hard unless it was monsters, so I quickly drew my knife and got into combat stance.
“Look over there!”
“Where?”
The reason Jin-hwan stopped wasn't anything else.
SCREEEEECH!
That sound I'd heard many times before.
Immediately, a monster came to mind.
Harpy!
[Harpy Lv-45]
Harpies of level 45 were racing through the sky.
Fortunately, thanks to Jin-hwan stopping suddenly, they hadn't noticed us.
They passed by without noticing us.
“Still too much of a level difference.”
The gap was obvious.
Even if they were stronger, at this level difference, one claw swipe from those Harpies would slice us apart.
So it was good they were just passing by.
After a while,
The Harpies had already passed, and we couldn't see them anymore.
“Ssaem. What should we do? Can we keep driving like this?” “Yeah. A bit worried with Harpies around.” But abandoning the car was out of the question, as the distance to Daegu was too far.
Walking there, we wouldn't know when we'd arrive.
Plus, with Ji-ah, walking would be tough.
“Let's drive carefully.”
“Yes.”
Since the Harpies had passed, there shouldn't be any big issues.
As long as they didn't come back, we'd be fine.
BRRRR!
The bus started moving again.
While driving cautiously,
Ara suddenly shouted.
“Ssaem! The Harpies are coming back here!” “What?”
Looking out the window, Harpies flying towards us.
Since they were already after us, stopping the bus now would be too late.
“Jin-hwan, floor it!”
“Yes!”
BOOOOM!
[80km/h]
[100km/h]
[120km/h]
SCREEEEECH!
As we raced on unpaved roads at high speed, the car started shaking violently.
“Ssaem! They're getting closer!”
“Damn it!”
No matter how fast we drove, those Harpies were faster.
The bus was almost caught up.
Probably couldn't outrun them by running over them.
“Jin-hwan. Stop.”
“Huh? Stop?”
“Yeah. It looks like we can't escape. We'll have to fight.” “Can we win?”
“…Don't know.”
Actually, I did know.
There's no way to fight these Harpies now.
Even all out, it would be tough.
But there was one thing.
Maybe I could buy time to evacuate the students.
“Jin-hwan. While I deal with the Harpies, take the kids and run away.” “Huh? What about you, Ssaem?”
“After you all escape, I'll escape too. Don't worry.” “…Ssaem.”
His serious expression made Jin-hwan unable to speak anymore.
Because he understood how dangerous the situation was.
“I'll protect you somehow.”
SCREEEEECH.
The stopped bus.
Looking out the window, I gripped my knife as Harpies flew towards us.
“Come on! Come!”
Me, preparing to summon monsters and facing the Harpies.
And sending a signal to Jin-hwan to start the bus.
But the bus wasn't moving.
“What are you doing! Run away quickly!”
Even with my shout, the bus didn't move.
Instead, students were getting off the bus.
Everyone was pulling out their weapons and getting into combat readiness.
“Ssaem. We're all in this together.”
“What? You should have run! Why didn't you listen?!” “We can't leave you alone. Right, kids?” “Yes! We can't leave you!” “Yes. Let's fight together!”
“I… I'll fight too!”
Not just Jin-hwan, but Ara, Jin-ri, and even Ji-ah.
Though they meant well, it put us in a real bind.
To be honest, if the kids escaped safely, I could use the return scroll to go back to Busan.
The only Return Scroll, I was supposed to be the bait to draw the Harpies' attention while the kids escaped, but now I had no choice but to fight to the death.
“It's because I couldn't explain properly due to lack of time.” If I had explained properly, it would have been better, but what could I do.
Since things had already happened and Harpies were right in front of us,
Now we had no choice but to fight.
While preparing to face the Harpies, something felt off.
SCREEEEECH!
The Harpies, completely ignoring us, passed by at high speed.
“Eh? What the heck?”
Not just me, but others were staring blankly.
Why were they ignoring us?
Just hungry?
But after a moment, we realized the reason.
CRAAAAAK!
-Low-tier boss monster 'Gargoyle' has appeared.
[Gargoyle★ Lv-50]
Gargoyles, called little dragons.
A massive Gargoyle, over 5 meters tall, was chasing the Harpies at high speed.
SWOOSH!
The Gargoyle swallowed a Harpy flying around without chewing, in one gulp.
In an instant, four Harpies in front of us lost their lives to the Gargoyle.
“It was because of that guy.”
The reason the Harpies ignored us.
Because of that monstrous Gargoyle.
“Now's the time. Let's run away quickly.”
Actually, this was our chance.
First, abandon the car and start running as fast as possible.
Our group started running, keeping as far from the Gargoyle as possible.
But we soon had to stop.
“Eh… what do we do?”
“Damn it, why here?!”
“The road is cut off…”
The place we had run to.
The unbelievable sight before us.
We couldn't close our mouths.
The road that should have been connected.
But what was this?
A huge cliff was spread out before our eyes.
And behind it, a roar echoed.
-SHEEEEEAK
The Gargoyle was flying towards our direction.