Spire Raid [Illustration]
Consciousness surfaces.
Min Arin’s eyelids trembled faintly.
At last, opening her eyes in the darkness, she let out a short groan.
“Ah….”
She couldn’t move her body.
Something thick, hard, and tough was binding her.
Just then, a streak of moonlight slipped in and illuminated the darkness.
Min Arin was able to confirm the thing restraining her.
It was some kind of plant stem, covered in thorns.
“What is this…?”
Min Arin, who had been about to voice her question, could not continue.
Her memories from just before she lost consciousness suddenly came back to her.
She had used the magic of a forbidden book in order to ascend to the 5th Tier….
“Ah….”
In the end, she had failed to control the magic.
Her current state could be called the result of that failure.
No, that wasn’t all.
Through the thorny vines connected to her by a path, Min Arin could grasp the information flowing in.
“…”
Not only had the thorny vines seized control of the library, they were extending their influence outward.
As if they meant to cover the entire world.
Moreover, the people captured by the thorny vines were becoming their nutrients.
“No….”
Min Arin was shaken by the situation that had arisen because of her.
It was not too late even now.
If she could control the thorny vines or eliminate them, she could make up for her mistake.
But her thoughts were no more than wishful thinking.
As she urgently tried to control the thorny vines, her complexion darkened.
‘Why…?’
It wouldn’t work. They would not listen.
She could not manifest the mana inside her body.
Only then did Min Arin realize that the thorny vines binding her were absorbing her mana.
Even though she tried to regain control, it was useless.
The thorny vines rejected her commands and, instead, tried to place her under even firmer domination.
“D-don’t do this….”
Min Arin.
“Ah, aaaaaah….”
Felt a deep despair at the situation she could do nothing about.
She felt a heavy guilt toward the people who had suffered harm.
She felt as though she could never raise her head before them.
She was afraid they would be angry, that they would curse her, that they would condemn her.
The pride Min Arin had built up was shattered to pieces just like that.
‘It’s all… over….’
She was afraid to open her eyes, and being alive itself felt sinful.
She would rather just die like this.
Overcome by helplessness, Min Arin closed her eyes without resisting the thorny vines’ control.
The thorny vines, having completely seized her, fed on her emotions and mana and swelled in force.
And thus….
It heralded the end.
An indescribable will opened its eyes.
* * *
“We’ll begin the operation now.”
Do Si-eun gave the command.
Everyone participating in the operation gathered in front of the library’s central entrance.
Each person held a device in hand, and after forming up, we calmly waited for the signal.
“…”
Perhaps the thorny vines had noticed something, because they writhed as if guarding the entrance.
At that, the Guardians standing in the front line raised their shields in preparation for the threat, while the rest manifested mana and warmed up their circuits.
At last, the signal was given.
“Begin the attack. Concentrate firepower and secure the entrance.”
The moment Do Si-eun gave the order.
The people waiting in the rear line activated their magic all at once.
──!!
A fierce wind swept through the area.
In an instant, the wind passed us by and tore apart the thorny vines holding us in check.
New stems sprouted from the cut surfaces of the severed vines, but the wind showed no sign of stopping.
The wind stirred up by Yeon Haneul and the others surpassed the thorny vines’ regenerative power.
And so….
“We enter as we are.”
A hole opened in the wall of thorny vines, revealing the central entrance.
Do Si-eun did not miss the opportunity and ran ahead at the front.
We shouted in unison and sprinted after her.
‘There really are a ridiculous number of them.’
Naturally, the thorny vines had no intention of allowing our intrusion.
The hole in the wall began filling in with flesh, trying to regenerate.
Even the thorny vines nearby joined in to strengthen the defenses and respond by guarding the entrance.
“Don’t get pushed back! Move forward!”
The head of the Public Security Department shouted.
Following his instructions, the Guardians did not stop running.
They overtook Do Si-eun, who had slowed down, and used their respective weapons to deal with the thorny vines’ attacks.
Blocking, slashing, cutting, shoving—they poured their strength into securing the path by any means necessary.
Park Sagun, who was mixed in among them, also swung a huge axe and chopped the thorny vines apart in chunks.
“Focus buffs on the vanguard!”
The Supporters led by the head of the Discipline Department supported the Guardians at just the right time.
Running from the rear, they cast buff magic in sequence.
They did not forget to keep an eye on the middle ranks whenever they had the chance.
Meanwhile, battle was taking place in the air as well.
Whoosh!
In order to disperse the thorny vines’ offensive.
Those skilled in aerial combat swiftly flew through the night sky.
Among them, the one showing particularly conspicuous activity was Cha Eunsol.
Seeming far more relaxed in flight than the others, she eliminated the thorny vines with mere gestures of her hand.
The thorny vines could not even approach her, who had wind wrapped around her body.
‘I guess we can leave the outside to Eunsol.’
Just by drawing their attention, Cha Eunsol lessened the burden on the others.
Thanks to that, more forces than planned were able to enter the library.
I glanced up at the night sky and silently thanked her.
Whether by coincidence or not, her voice rode the wind and reached me then.
[Don’t forget the chicken.]
“…I said I got it. If you want it that badly, why don’t you order it now?”
[Really?]
“…”
[Then I’ll order it. As for the menu… it’s annoying, so I’ll just order everything.]
“Do whatever you want.”
At a time when we had to rescue people, it was truly a conversation that drained the urgency out of the situation.
Dumbfounded, I let out a wry laugh.
Cha Eunsol’s voice did not reach me again after that.
A short while later, we entered the library.
‘Reality is much worse than the game. They didn’t show it in this much detail….’
The first floor of the library was overflowing with thorny vines.
The ceiling, the floor, the walls, the bookshelves—everywhere I looked, they entered my sight.
It was a scene that made me think this was truly a den of thorny vines.
“…”
The students had been captured by the vines and were unconscious.
Most of their faces looked pale, as if they had been weakened by having the mana inside their bodies absorbed.
If their vitality continued to fall like this, their lives could not be guaranteed.
At worst, they could die.
Do Si-eun seemed to have reached the same conclusion, because she quickly spoke.
“The rescue team should hurry and rescue the people, and the attack team should head upward.”
The role of the first-floor rescue team included rescuing the people in the basement.
Leaving the rest to them, we decided to find the path up to the second floor.
Naturally, no one even glanced at the elevator.
Given that the thorny vines had spread to every corner of the library, the elevator was highly likely to be inoperable.
Meanwhile, I called out to Do Si-eun.
“Noona, wait.”
“Why?”
According to the information we had gathered so far, the thorny vines absorbing mana from captured people did not display aggression.
In truth, the thorny vines around us must have recognized us, yet most of them were not reacting.
I pointed to one of them.
A stem absorbing the mana inside a student’s body was occasionally squirming.
Its appearance was just like a snake digesting prey it had swallowed.
And at the point where the squirming ended, a red flower was growing.
“Doesn’t that look suspicious?”
“…It does.”
A large flower bud that had not yet bloomed.
In the game, while heading to the rooftop, monsters had appeared from inside those things at every stage.
Knowing that fact, I pointed out the flower bud to Do Si-eun and made her wary.
The others heard me as well and hesitated just as they were about to approach the flower bud.
Not long after that.
Kieeeek….
“…”
Monsters were born from the flower bud.
They shook off the fluid clinging to their bodies and walked out.
Their bodies were small, about the size of kindergarteners, but their wrinkled skin like old men and their skin color reminiscent of ancient trees stirred up a sense of revulsion.
“Attack team, prepare for battle.”
The enemy was not limited to them; it existed behind them as well.
The thorny vines blocking the path to the second floor took on an attacking posture.
Facing that sight, we kicked off the ground at the signal.
The monsters began rushing in as well, and battle broke out.
The battle that took the library as its battlefield was remarkably varied.
“It’s nice not having to use my head! Hooop!”
Yong Haerang positioned himself between the bookshelves and took a stance.
He thrust his fist straight along the line where the monsters were.
A blow filled with mana erupted with an explosive sound and flew toward them, sending the books scattered on the floor fluttering.
“One, two! Now!”
Go Eunbi, the Rangers, and the Gunners hiding behind the bookshelves saw their chance and fired arrows and bullets.
The monsters charging forward in a straight line were pierced and killed before they could even approach them.
Those confident in their skills climbed atop the bookshelves and fired from there.
2nd-Tier Wind Elemental Magic.
Yeon Haneul, too, ran across the tops of the bookshelves while sending out blades of wind.
Her main targets were the thorny vines.
The thorny vines, once touched by her magic, were cut apart without being able to resist.
“Everyone, watch your heads!”
To secure reach, Nam Yuri fought in a place where bookshelves had fallen like dominoes.
Gripping her scythe with both hands, she spun round and round in place.
The attack that kept anything from approaching her cleanly severed everything it touched around her.
After clearing the area around her in an instant like that, she threw the scythe this time.
The scythe’s blade flew like a boomerang and cut down the thorny vines on the ceiling.
Tak!
“I’ll borrow this for a moment! …Got it.”
Kang Hanbyeol was fighting on the opposite side.
After swinging the Demon Sword Lucid to cut off the lives of nearby monsters, he leaped high into the air.
Catching the scythe that had been returning to Nam Yuri, he landed atop a bookshelf.
Then, just as she had shown a moment earlier, he sent the scythe flying.
Disc (圓盤)
Once again, the thorny vines on the ceiling were cut and crashed to the floor.
Kang Hanbyeol dodged the falling debris and caught the returning scythe.
By then, he and Nam Yuri were back-to-back, surrounded by monsters.
Without turning around, he handed the scythe to her behind him.
“Thanks! I used it well.”
“That’s hard to use, but you handled it nicely? Hanbyeol-Dubyeol, you’ve got talent, huh? Interesting!”
Nam Yuri’s face, as she received the scythe, was full of delight.
She had become interested in Kang Hanbyeol, who had used his Gift to wield the scythe.
Soon, the two continued the battle.
‘Everyone’s fighting well.’
While constantly keeping an eye on my friends like that.
I focused on opening the path to the second floor together with Do Si-eun.
It was almost over.
Only a few thorny vine stems remained blocking the stairs.
At that moment, my thoughts and hers aligned.
“Gyeonu.”
“Okay.”
We would deal with the remaining stems all at once.
After putting some distance between ourselves and the thorny vines, we extended our left feet and drew our right arms horizontally along the ground.
Azure mana wrapped around our bodies.
Lion’s Fierce Advance (獅子 猛進)
A charging technique founded on swiftness and mixed with the principles of strength.
When I kicked off the ground, mana generated friction and sublimated into azure lightning.
Grrrrr!
Azure lightning coiled around my body.
With each step, the force of the azure lightning grew fiercer.
When I glanced to the side, the azure lightning around Do Si-eun, who was running in stride with me, was the same.
It was as though a lion made of blue lightning was charging forward.
My appearance was probably no different.
Like that, we radiated azure lightning and charged toward the thorny vines.
At last, the path opened.
* * *
The library was enormous in scale.
Since that scale was built up floor by floor, the burden on the people participating in the operation could only be great.
On top of that, we were in a situation where we had to assign rescue teams to each floor as we climbed.
Inevitably, the higher we went, the more our forces would dwindle.
“E-entry route to the 4th floor secured!”
“Huff, huff…! At this rate, I’m gonna drop dead.”
“…”
In the end, this was an operation where swift, decisive action was crucial.
We had to reach the rooftop and bring the situation to an end as quickly as possible.
But at some point, people had begun to grow noticeably exhausted.
By contrast, the thorny vines and monsters they encountered on each floor were different.
They had to drag their weary bodies onward and face enemies brimming with energy again and again.
‘If this keeps up, it’ll be dangerous.’
After entering the fourth floor and assessing the state of the battle, Yeon Haneul’s face darkened.
More people were dropping out than expected.
It was bound to hinder their need to send as many people upward as possible.
Somehow, they had to reduce the number of monsters.
At last, she reached a conclusion.
‘I’ll use my Gift.’
A Gift of division that created clones would surely be of help.
She had wanted to avoid using it if possible, but with things as they were, she had no choice.
Having steeled her resolve, Yeon Haneul spoke to Do Gyeonu beside her.
“Gyeonu, I’ll take care of this place. So you go up with the others.”
“What? How are you going to do that alone…?”
“I’m going to use my Gift.”
“…Will you be all right?”
“I think I will.”
They were childhood friends who had known each other for five years.
Do Gyeonu, who knew of Yeon Haneul’s trauma, could not help but worry.
Even though she had made up her mind, she was worried as well.
She was afraid that the clones she made with her Gift might claim that they were the original.
That was why she needed words she could trust.
She began.
“Then say that to me.”
“That? What do you mean? Ah….”
“I want to hear it from you.”
“…To me, you’re the only Haneul.”
“Noo…. I like that too, but not that. Something else.”
“You’re the only Haneul?”
“Yeah, one more time.”
“You’re the only Haneul.”
Do Gyeonu whispered in her ear.
Clutching tightly at the hem of his clothes, Yeon Haneul listened to his voice.
You’re the only Haneul.
The words he offered as if soothing her comforted her heart.
“Yeah, that’s enough. Thank you.”
“Don’t overdo it.”
“I won’t. You’re the one who shouldn’t overdo it.”
Yeon Haneul smiled softly.
Then she passed by Do Gyeonu and stepped forward.
Manifesting the mana within her body, she became conscious of the sound of her heart beating.
There were two ways to use the Gift of Division.
One was to create a semi-independent clone possessing strength equal to her own.
In that case, there was a possibility the clone might not obey her control.
And the other was to split her own strength and create subordinate clones.
‘It’s all right. I can do this.’
The method Yeon Haneul chose was the latter.
She divided the mana within her body and created clones that obeyed her control.
From one, she became two; from two, four; from four, eight, and so on.
At last, she opened her eyes and issued an order to the clones awaiting her command.
“Break through, for Gyeonu.”
The multitude answered.
Immediately afterward, countless Yeon Haneuls brought down Mountain Echo.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss