Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Precarious Balance
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Han Sang-ah spoke in a dry tone after a brief silence.
"It's a bit tricky. If the number of slimes gets too high, I'll be in danger. To put it coldly, if they reach around ten, I won't be able to handle them."
If the slimes outnumbered Han Sang-ah's capabilities, she'd be pushed back.
If Han Sang-ah was pushed back, it meant she couldn't kill the slimes, and if she couldn't kill them, I'd die of hypothermia.
On the flip side, killing too many slimes would spike my body temperature too high, leading to death by hyperthermia.
"There might be a way for you to control the number of slimes coming at me."
"Yeah, look into it."
What could I do to control the slime numbers? Lost in that thought, I charged toward the monster lounging on its throne. Dodging the ice spears raining down like a storm, I came to a stop right in front of the monster's throne.
Sharp ice stakes erupted around the queen's body, all aimed straight for my life.
"...Hold on, the big slime just stopped making the little ones. No, it's still producing them, but way too slowly now."
I tilted my head at that.
All I'd done was approach. For now, I backed away fully.
"How's it now?"
"Ah, production speed's back up."
Damn it all. The closer I got to that monster, the slower the slime production rate for Han Sang-ah became.
Slower production meant fewer slimes for her to handle, so I'd freeze to death.
Conversely, if I stayed too far from the monster, the number of slimes overwhelming her would explode.
Then the cornered Han Sang-ah wouldn't be able to clear them, and I'd freeze again.
"Nothing... works for me!"
As if echoing my frustration, the Paradox Flame coiling around my body swelled massively. The problem was the monster's insanely high magic resistance—until I burned that away completely, nothing else would catch fire.
Of course, like with the Erosion Cores in Gyodongdo or Daemado, I could just let the Paradox Flame run wild unchecked, turning it into a wildfire disaster.
'But I'm not alone here right now.'
Sure, incinerating everything might feel good in the moment, but what happens after I take out the monster and regroup with Han Sang-ah?
She'd get devoured by the Paradox Flame without even a scream. I didn't train her this hard just to use and discard her like a one-shot tool.
"Hold out as long as you can."
I could endure plenty, but how long could Han Sang-ah last? Unlike me, she drew on the magic power stored in her own body—which meant it would eventually run dry.
"You're not here to drag me down, are you?"
This Erosion Core required two people anyway, and I was the one who dragged Han Sang-ah in instead of Lee Se-eun because the rewards outweighed the risks. Drag whose ankle down?
I knew her total magic capacity and skill inside out. Considering the threat level of the slimes she faced...
'She should last at least three days.'
As long as she stayed awake and focused on the fight. Fortunately, we'd drilled that exact scenario countless times. I figured she could pull it off.
"Whoa."
A spectacular sight unfolded before me. Amid the raging blizzard, intricately crafted ice spears poured from the sky, while frozen earth surged up from below.
If I weren't the one taking the hits and was just spectating, I'd swear it was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Damn bitch."
A curse slipped out naturally. As a spear blade grazed my skin, a chill ran through me, and frost bloomed across my body from the cut.
"Curse?"
This much I could handle easily. I promptly burned the curse away with Paradox Flame. The real issue wasn't curses like this.
"Maintaining distance..."
Too far and I die, too close and I die. The enemy was strong, and I had restrictions.
For once, cold sweat trickled down my spine.
"At the very least, let's neutralize this ice so it doesn't harm us."
I swept the blazing Paradox Flame over the ice scattered everywhere. I couldn't burn the ice itself, but I could incinerate the curses embedded within.
"..."
Something told me the monster was glaring at me with utter disgust. Probably because I'd just torched the curses in its ice.
"Hey, if you're pissed, sorry about that."
Still no intention of putting out the flames. It wasn't going to spare me just because it wasn't mad. Over the translucent ice webs sprawling like spider silk in every direction, pitch-black flames clung and roared in a bizarre spectacle.
In this world where ice and fire twisted together like serpents, I gripped my spear and charged.
Han Sang-ah was in utter agony, just like Yoo Chan-seok. The reasons differed slightly, but the end result was the same for both.
"...A little faster."
"Got it."
Even so, Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah were adapting remarkably well to this nightmare. Fights where your life hung by a thread usually sparked harsh words over the slightest mistakes.
But Yoo Chan-seok knew from long experience that handling it that way only made things worse.
Han Sang-ah wasn't the type to trade barbs anyway. She slashed her sword through the slime in front of her, cleaving it in half, then dodged the tentacles lunging for her body and fell back.
"I'm cold. If you have any leeway, pick up the pace a bit."
At Yoo Chan-seok's words, Han Sang-ah immediately wrapped lightning around her blade and pressed her sword strikes on the next slime. Five instantaneous slashes streaked like beams of light, felling another slime with ruthless efficiency.
No waste at all—just precisely severing one slime's lifeline.
The result of endless repetition.
"How's that?"
"Yeah, better... Whoa! Gah!"
Something had gone wrong. But Han Sang-ah wasn't fazed by the strain in Yoo Chan-seok's voice.
If they died here, they died. All she could control was securing his body heat by killing slimes. Nothing else was up to her.
Ignoring his momentary scream, Han Sang-ah asked what mattered.
"Body temperature?"
"Stable for now. Slimes?"
She was handling three slimes at the moment. Glancing at the massive slime bubbling in the distance as it birthed smaller ones, she reached a verdict.
"Still manageable. One... about 20 seconds of them swarming close won't be an issue."
"20 seconds? No, try to hold for 25."
"Got it."
Neither hesitated to make demanding requests of the other. And the recipient always strove to comply without complaint—whether Han Sang-ah pushing Yoo Chan-seok or vice versa.
As these demands piled up, wounds accumulated on their bodies, and fatigue mounted.
"Haa..."
Han Sang-ah, who'd taken a hit to the gut, rolled across the ground a few times before regaining her footing.
"Yoo Chan-seok, this isn't ending anytime soon."
"Feels that way. But I have an alternative... Ugh! You brought it up because there's an alternative, right?"
Han Sang-ah glanced toward the massive slime bubbling far off.
"I'm cutting off that big slime spawning the little ones."
Dealing with the small fry wouldn't break this deadlock. They had to take out the giant spawner.
"That's... damn. It could sabotage our own body heat management."
"Slow death or quick one?"
Yoo Chan-seok let out a cough-laced chuckle at her words.
"Nice choices. If death's coming anyway, quicker's better."
"Good. Eliminating it means body temp control gets rough."
Success would leave no way to maintain Yoo Chan-seok's heat afterward—he'd die. Failure meant he'd die right then.
"So I have to tough it out even if my temp drops."
"Yeah."
Han Sang-ah gave a curt reply.
"Fine, let's shiver it out. Go for it."
"Clear the remaining slimes fast and jump straight into it. When I signal, keep maximum distance from your monster."
She couldn't let the small slimes interfere with her big swing. She'd rapidly clear the rest, push Yoo Chan-seok's temp to dangerous highs, then prep the strike to obliterate the giant.
"Hyperthermia into hypothermia right after. What is this, making noodles? Boil in hot water, then chill in cold."
Han Sang-ah ignored his pointless joke. At this rate, they'd melt away slowly like shrimp in a whale's belly. Well, not exactly dying.
More like drowning in debt.
She surged her magic, wiping out the remaining slimes, then spoke.
"Now—pull back distance."
"Yeah. Good luck."
Han Sang-ah sheathed her sword and took a deep breath. She had to draw everything. Pull up every drop of magic dwelling in her body and unleash it in one strike.
Success if it killed the giant slime. Failure if not.
A hollow emptiness washed over her body. She'd dumped her entire reserves—no helping it. It felt like one of her organs had been ripped clean out.
"Haa..."
"Freezing... to death."
Yoo Chan-seok's quip. He wanted her to hurry, but she couldn't. More power. Even if it felt empty inside, they said you could squeeze water from a dry rag.
Squeeze to the limit. A handful of magic could decide success.
"Hang in there."
Squeezing a soaked sponge is quick—water flows with minimal effort. But extracting more from one already wrung dry took time and grit.
Her blood felt parched, every drop wrung out without mercy.
"..."
No time left to shout "just a bit more," and no gains from it anyway. If this failed, it'd prove the attempt was reckless from the start.
Han Sang-ah gripped her sword and charged the giant slime. As she ran, pale blue sparks trailed in her wake.
"Vanish."
One strike—the sword unsheathed and swung.
Flash.
The world seemed to split as sword light gleamed, carving a massive arc. Twisting her body in a full spin from the draw, Han Sang-ah followed with a vertical slash.
The completed cross-slash rent the giant slime's body into four chunks. From that cross, an immense wave of sparks erupted outward.
Electricity crackled through the slime's mucus, sizzling loudly. The incandescent cross of light grew, engulfing and devouring the giant slime's form.
"Guh... hng..."
Han Sang-ah dropped her sword and collapsed. Not even a finger could twitch.
As if proving she'd pushed to her absolute limit, streaks of her hair turned white in that brief moment—like she'd intentionally bleached it for highlights.
She couldn't check if her strike had landed true or failed. She'd passed out right after collapsing.