Noisy. Noisy. Noisy.
The energy she could feel everywhere made her mind restless.
Half-roused by the chaotic sounds, Yeon Haneul stared blankly at the battlefield.
Monsters were swarming in the darkness.
There were more than enough to make up for the ones she had annihilated moments ago.
‘This happened because of me.’
She had long since checked on Cha Eunsol and Min Arin’s condition.
The faces of the two who had exhausted themselves treating and protecting her were thick with fatigue.
Feeling guilty, Yeon Haneul decided that now it was her turn to protect them.
Even though, in truth, her own condition was far worse than theirs.
She did not even realize that her appearance had changed.
“You two rest.”
Her consciousness had one foot in unconsciousness.
Her head throbbed, and her body ached in sharp stabs.
It hurt so much she wanted to scream.
Her mind so hazy she could barely distinguish friend from foe, Yeon Haneul cast magic.
It was a night in which the moon, having taken the place of the sun, reigned like the king of all creation.
It could be called the optimal time to cast dark elemental magic.
The magic circle that appeared in the sky rapidly expanded in width.
Beneath it were the monsters.
Third-tier dark elemental magic.
A spell that bombarded all targets beneath the magic circle without limit according to the caster’s ability, while temporarily reducing their movement speed.
Energy condensed from darkness fell from the crimson magic circle like a meteor shower.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
The poison of the Darknight Wasp caused malfunctions in the mana circuits.
One wrong move and mana rampage could occur.
Even so, Yeon Haneul paid it no mind and slaughtered the monsters, then slaughtered more.
The forest shook noisily.
The ones hiding in the darkness were swept up in the bombardment before they could respond.
The startled monsters revealed themselves and tried to flee, but that only made them volunteer as targets.
Among them were some that desperately broke through the bombardment and charged at her.
Grrrrr!
“Don’t bark. You’re noisy.”
Yeon Haneul did not panic.
Around her appeared magic circles similar to the one floating overhead.
Second-tier dark elemental magic that installed fixed batteries at designated positions and fired dark bullets at random in rapid succession.
When she pointed in a direction with her finger, the magic circles turned that way.
The instant the magic circles flashed, a rain of bullets poured down.
And so the flow repeated, the monsters within range being subjected helplessly to indiscriminate bombing.
The monsters hit by the bullets were riddled with holes and turned into honeycombs.
“No way….”
Could this really be called a battle?
Taking in the scene that was no different from a massacre, Min Arin could not continue speaking.
As if it were not shocking enough that Yeon Haneul had gotten up, she could not come to her senses after Haneul suddenly joined the battle.
It did not feel like someone she knew.
With brown skin and black hair, Haneul felt like an entirely different being.
…Frightening, and chilling.
Just then, Haneul suddenly staggered, and the magic came to nothing.
“Hey! Are you okay!?”
Only belatedly realizing Yeon Haneul’s condition, Min Arin hurriedly ran out.
Forgetting the emotion she had felt moments ago, she tried to support Yeon Haneul.
Yeon Haneul stretched out a hand to stop her, then gripped the metal plaque.
Worried, Min Arin pressed her.
“How are you going to fight in that body!? Just go inside and rest!”
“…I’m fine.”
“I’m not fine, so I’m telling you to go in— Hey! Are you seriously insane!? Listen to me, you crazy loaf of bread!”
Out of nowhere, Yeon Haneul dashed forward.
Unable to bring herself to say “bitch,” Min Arin smacked the innocent ground.
She had no choice but to support Yeon Haneul from the rear.
Meanwhile, Yeon Haneul restored the metal plaque into Sanullim.
She coated Sanullim in mana.
Activating the magic built into a weapon was not particularly difficult.
Switching her tactics from long-range combat to close-quarters combat, Yeon Haneul slammed Sanullim into the ground.
The mana-laden blow shook the ground, and ripples spread outward.
The monsters touched by the ripples flinched, and some were temporarily rendered unable to move.
She first severed the breath of the monsters that could not move.
Crunch!
With all her strength, so they could not counterattack.
After crushing the skull of a wild-dog-type monster, Yeon Haneul immediately continued into her next movement.
The sound of bones being smashed burst out one after another.
Unable to withstand the impact, blood and flesh, even eyeballs, fluttered through the air.
At the same time, auditory and visual hallucinations brushed past her.
—A child who doesn’t even know her parents.
—Lowly, without roots.
There was no mercy.
The iron hammer smashed down on an ape-type monster and turned it into pulp.
The monsters that flinched backed away.
It was utterly ridiculous for monsters, the natural enemies of humans, to feel fear toward a human.
Yeon Haneul chased the ones that had tucked their tails and swung Sanullim.
Kwa-deu-deuk!
—Do you think someone like you would suit him?
No.
Yeon Haneul bit her lip.
Her lip split, and blood flowed.
A metallic taste spread through her mouth.
—Gyeonu is only playing with you.
—How long do you think he’ll keep playing with you?
—Wake up. You can’t.
No. No. No. I said no.
As if to drive away the voices mocking her, she swung Sanullim at the monsters.
And yet there was no end in sight.
Before she knew it, Yeon Haneul had dug deep into enemy lines and was completely exposed to their bloodlust.
Grrrr….
—Just get ready to be abandoned by Gyeonu.
“…I said no.”
The monsters drooled, bared their fangs, and flashed their red eyes.
However, she too had red eyes.
Her crimson gaze shone.
Along with the hallucinated voices ringing in her head, she would sweep these monsters away like this.
Her black hair fluttered in the wind.
Yeon Haneul activated her Gift.
One became two, two became four, and so she tried to multiply by doubles.
Their number instantly began to surpass the monsters that had surrounded her…
“Calm down now. I’m here.”
“….”
At that moment, someone covered her eyes from behind.
The original Yeon Haneul flinched.
That person embraced her from behind with firm arms.
She called his name.
“Gyeonu….”
“Sorry. It hurt a lot, didn’t it? It’s okay now.”
“Ah….”
“So rest well.”
In her tear-blurred vision, Do Gyeonu was smiling refreshingly.
Seeing him and feeling relieved, Yeon Haneul soon lost consciousness.
Her body went limp, and she collapsed wholly into his arms.
Holding her gently with one arm, he glared at the monsters.
He muttered.
“Was it fun messing with a sick kid?”
* * *
Passing through the forest late at night was no easy task.
Even without that, finding the way through the complicated woodland was difficult, and the monsters, whose ferocity had increased, picked fights at every turn.
“I don’t have time to waste on you.”
But I had Evasion Instinct.
By turning my Gift against itself, I somehow shook off the monsters’ pursuit and was able to meet Yeon Haneul just in time.
‘I’m glad I wasn’t late.’
Even if her hair had turned black and her skin had turned brown.
Yeon Haneul, who had been engaged in a bloody battle with the monsters, was the first thing that caught my eye even in the darkness.
At a glance, she was clearly in poor condition and resembled the Witch of Calamity, who appeared as a mid-boss in the game.
On top of that, she had been about to use her Gift, which doubled my ominous premonition.
After calming her down before anything could happen, I let out a sigh of relief.
‘She’s fast asleep.’
With a face that showed not a trace of wariness.
Yeon Haneul was leaning against my chest, her eyes comfortably closed.
But judging by the faint groans mixed in with her soft breathing, she seemed to be suffering from the poison.
Even so, thinking that she had been fighting made rage boil inside me.
Holding her waist with one arm, I spoke to Min Arin.
“Arin, take care of Haneul. Bring her to where Eunsol is. If it’s Eunsol, she should be able to treat her to some extent with the power of the water spirit. And take this too. It’s an antidote.”
“Eunsol was already treating her anyway. It didn’t seem to be very effective, though… Then this girl suddenly popped out, and that’s how things ended up like this. But an antidote? Don’t tell me….”
“This should be able to treat Haneul.”
“…You’re sure, right? Good job bringing it.”
Min Arin seemed greatly exhausted as well.
While I was at it, I decided to send her off the battlefield with Yeon Haneul and have her rest.
Of course, I could not let her rest forever.
I felt sorry to her, but dealing with that many monsters alone would be too much.
“After you hand the antidote to Eunsol, rest for a bit, then come back once you’ve recovered your strength.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Receiving Yeon Haneul, who was taller than her, Min Arin’s body tilted.
She scrunched up her face.
Her yellow eyes were pecking at me.
“Excuse me, I’m the one who was dealing with those things alone until Yeon Haneul ended up like this, okay? And yet you’re telling me you’re going to put me to work right now? What about Cha Eunsol!”
“Eunsol has to treat Haneul.”
“That Haneul, Haneul, always Haneul… I thought you showed up all cool at an important moment, but all you do is look for Haneul first… Pay a little attention to m-me, to us too!”
“I know. Thank you. If you hadn’t been here, it really would’ve been a disaster. I’ll repay you somehow next time.”
“…Hmph, that’s more like it. Don’t even think about brushing off that repayment later. For now, I’ll go put her down over there, so you stay right here and wait. I’m Min Arin of the mage Min family. If you want to put me to work, you’d better be ready to pay a high price.”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”
In the past, I would have had to spend more time soothing Min Arin.
But as she opened her heart to us, we were able to cut short the unnecessary argument.
I sent her, who let out a hmph as if her anger had cooled, to the rear with Yeon Haneul.
It was then that I sensed presences.
Two people emerged from the undergrowth.
“Ah! Gyeonu-Gyeonu! So Gyeonu-Gyeonu was here too!? You got here faster than I expected!”
“Ah, thank goodness… I’m really glad we did what Yuri said….”
“Nam Yuri? Go Eunbi?”
Perhaps because the road had been rough while moving at night, Nam Yuri’s pure white one-piece dress was smeared all over with monster blood.
And Go Eunbi was panting as she wiped the sweat running down her forehead with the back of her hand.
The two were glad to see me.
Judging by my guess, they too seemed to have noticed the situation and come looking for Yeon Haneul.
Their timing was fortunate.
“Good. If you two fight with me too, we might live.”
“Wow… I felt it before we got here, but there really are way too many. More importantly, how’s Haneul? Is she okay?”
“I can’t say she’s in good condition… but I just brought an antidote, so she should get better.”
“Gyeonu-Gyeonu, you know the poison of the Darknight Wasp is treated with two kinds of antidotes, right?”
“…What?”
“Mm, judging by your reaction, it looks like you only brought one.”
“….”
“You can’t expect a dramatic effect with just one.”
Nam Yuri explained in a gentle tone.
For me, it felt as if my heart dropped for an instant.
‘Do Seungwoo, you son of a bitch….’
Surely, that bastard had deliberately given me wrong information.
Just thinking about it made veins stand out on my head and fury surge up.
There was no helping it.
I was about to leave things to Go Eunbi and Nam Yuri and go look for Do Seungwoo.
That was when Nam Yuri let out a giggle.
“Now that I look at you, you can make that kind of face too? How fresh! How fun! As thanks for that, I’ll help you. I came here with that possibility in mind anyway, and Eunbi-kkabi said friends are supposed to help each other.”
“…How are you going to help?”
“If I can figure out the information for one antidote, inferring the information for the other antidote is simple for me. It might take a little time, but I’ll try making it.”
“…Come to think of it, you’re from the alchemy Nam family.”
“Yep! I’m well versed in pharmacology!”
“Thank you, really.”
I was truly glad that I had formed a connection with Nam Yuri at this point in time.
I expressed my deep gratitude to her.
Then she waved her hands and laughed.
“It’s only natural between friends! If you have anything to ask of me in the future, tell me!”
“Uh… sure.”
Nam Yuri pathologically hated receiving orders or requests.
For someone like her to say something like that was incredibly unexpected.
I looked at Go Eunbi, who was feigning nonchalance beside her.
“Ahaha….”
“….”
I had a feeling Go Eunbi must have coaxed Nam Yuri somehow on the way here.
I was terribly curious about her methods, but that conversation would have to wait.
“Then, Yuri, go to Haneul. Talk to Arin and Eunsol there and tell them to come this way.”
“Got it! I’ll do that!”
Nam Yuri shot her hand into the air and answered loudly, then headed straight for the cave.
A short while later, Min Arin and Cha Eunsol came over.
Though the two grumbled about something, they seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and did not refuse to join in.
“We barely got to rest, and now this?”
Min Arin tapped the ground with her staff.
Having created magic circles around her, she prepared to bombard the enemy.
“This is going to burn a lot of calories, but I guess it can’t be helped.”
Yum, Cha Eunsol said as she bit into a chocolate bar.
A moment later, as she crunched through it, her eyes flashed with green light.
That was when a change occurred around her.
Piiiiii!
Grrr.
The wind blew fiercely.
Above Cha Eunsol’s head, her hair whipping in the gale, an enormous bird appeared.
When the green-feathered bird flapped its wings, birds large and small formed around it.
They were wind spirits.
Meanwhile, on the ground, a blue-hued leopard roared.
Around the leopard, water spirits shaped like droplets gathered into a cluster.
And then there were a red fox, a yellow rat, a snow-white reindeer, and more.
Countless spirits manifested.
With the army of spirits at my back, I pulled up the corners of my mouth.
“If it’s numbers they want, we’ll answer with numbers. Now this is looking doable.”
* * *
Kang Hanbyeol and Do Seungwoo each bore their own handicap.
Kang Hanbyeol had expended his stamina and mana through continuous combat, while Do Seungwoo could not properly use the left arm that had been reattached through emergency treatment.
For that reason, neither of them held the upper hand in battle.
Of course, Kang Hanbyeol did have one skill that activated automatically when he was in danger.
[Competitive Spirit Lv 1 → 2]
◆ Skill Classification
―Conditional Activation Type
◆ Detailed Effects
―When HP falls below 20%, all physical abilities increase by 5 → 6%.
In theory, once the effects of Competitive Spirit were added, Kang Hanbyeol’s physical abilities would easily surpass Do Seungwoo’s.
Even so, there was another reason he was exchanging blows with Do Seungwoo without managing to land a clean hit.
It was because of Do Seungwoo’s artifact.
‘Again? If only he didn’t have that….’
The Brooch of Wind and Waves, an artifact managed by the Divine Sword Do Clan.
Whenever danger approached, Do Seungwoo activated the magic built into the brooch and blocked the attack.
Each time, Kang Hanbyeol, who had finally managed to catch him off guard, had to click his tongue.
The wall of wind was far too thick.
On top of that, he was constantly receiving healing and buffs from the supporters.
“Why? Do you think it’s cowardly? Curse me all you want. Since so much is riding on this, I no longer intend to worry about appearances. I’ll gladly accept a mud fight.”
Because of that, one could say their fighting strength was nearly even.
No, that was only for the moment.
As time passed, the one at a disadvantage would be Kang Hanbyeol, who was receiving no support at all.
Do Seungwoo sneered at him, as if mocking him, and at the same time as if condemning himself for abandoning the family precepts of the Divine Sword Do Clan.
Kang Hanbyeol, on the other hand, felt impatience but did not show it.
Instead, he answered as though provoking him.
“No. Battle is cowardly by nature, isn’t it? Is there any need to criticize what’s obvious? From my perspective, it’s annoying, but battle is about not considering your opponent’s position in the first place.”
“…Now that I look at you, that face you make when you talk so confidently is just like his. I understand why I disliked you from the moment I first saw you.”
“They say friends tend to resemble each other.”
“Seeing you smile like that makes you even more unpleasant.”
Bluffing was important in battle.
You must not show weakness to your opponent.
If you did, your opponent would relentlessly tear into that spot in order to survive.
Battle was no different from the wild, where the law of the jungle lay as the rule of nature.
Therefore, one had to be especially cautious of those from the Divine Sword Do Clan, who styled themselves as lions, as beast kings reigning over that wilderness.
Recalling the teachings of his master, Seo Jeongjin, Kang Hanbyeol waited for the wind to die down before charging at Do Seungwoo.
───!!
A metallic ring shivered through the air.
The two swung their swords desperately, each trying somehow to catch the other off guard, and their blades clashed.
Then Do Seungwoo’s sword flashed.
Crackle!
Blue lightning surged forth.
Kang Hanbyeol, who had been circling Do Seungwoo in search of an opening, observed the phenomenon closely.
A conversation he had once had with his master crossed his mind.
―The swordsmanship of the Divine Sword Do Clan is the Beast King Style. As you can tell from how they named it after the king of all beasts, you can see the arrogance in their pride that their swordsmanship stands above all others. But there is another reason they gave it the name Beast King Style.
―What other reason is there, Master?
―Their sword is omnivorous.
―Omnivorous…?
―Yes. It has a foundation, yet it does not. The Beast King Style, which is fundamentally deployed on the basis of speed, takes effect by mixing in various principles such as variation, force, illusion, softness, explosion, domination, and sharpness. Add Blue Thunder to that, and the swordsmanship is further reinforced.
―….
―If I were to compare it to animals… you could say, “At times swift as a cheetah, at times powerful as an elephant, at times sharp as an eagle.” Then what is the being that reigns above all those animals?
―…A lion?
―Yes, the lion, king of beasts. That is why they call it the Beast King Style. It means a freewheeling and ever-changing swordsmanship that effectively applies the principles of all swordsmanship.
Having actually experienced Do Gyeonwoo’s swordsmanship, Kang Hanbyeol could not clearly define the Beast King Style.
All he could say was that the Beast King Style was versatile and excelled at adapting to circumstances.
It was undoubtedly a troublesome opponent to face.
―That’s why it’s also called a swordsmanship with no counter. But there is no such thing as “absolute” in anything humans create.
―There’s a counter!? What is it?
―Pay attention to the phenomenon that arises from them.
―The phenomenon?
―When they use the Beast King Style, they manifest Blue Thunder around them. So by observing the strength of the Blue Thunder, you can infer the progress, completion, and power of their swordsmanship.
―…Would I be able to see that just by looking?
―Of course you should, if you’re my disciple.
The corners of his mouth lifted without him realizing it.
Could he truly see it?
Kang Hanbyeol took in the twisting streams of Blue Thunder surging upward and judged the timing.
‘I’m staking victory or defeat on this strike.’
Do Seungwoo was likely thinking the same thing.
Meeting his eyes, Kang Hanbyeol immediately kicked off the ground.
Right after that, Do Seungwoo swung his sword.
‘That is….’
Beast King Style Offensive Form Two, Lion’s Claw Marks.
Having gone through his previous spar with Do Gyeonwoo in his mind, Kang Hanbyeol made a swift judgment.
He immediately burrowed into Do Seungwoo’s space.
A blade approached from his left field of vision.
He instantly raised the back of his arm, taking a stance to block the incoming blade.
Iron Armor (鐵甲)
Kang Hanbyeol defended against the attack with the back of his arm, wrapped in a barrier.
Naturally, Do Seungwoo’s eyes widened.
But for him, this was the perfect opportunity.
‘He’s strangled himself. He doesn’t even know I just coated my sword with Dark Night Wasp venom.’
Having used the little venom he had left, Do Seungwoo was certain of victory.
Lion’s Claw Marks possessed tremendous power in direct strikes.
Even if Kang Hanbyeol tried to block it with the back of his arm, there were human limits.
In the end, his blade would inevitably crack Kang Hanbyeol’s barrier.
It was unavoidable that even a small scratch would be left.
And the venom would seep into the wound and drive him to his death.
However….
‘What? Why…!’
Kang Hanbyeol, who had lost his left arm in an accident, was wearing Machine Arts.
Even if his arm was scratched, he would not be affected by poison.
‘He took the bait.’
This was precisely why Kang Hanbyeol had not revealed his physical loss to the world.
So that, when the time came, he could catch his opponent off guard.
Though he had not accounted for the presence of poison, having engineered the situation he wanted according to plan, he smiled.
Immediately after.
“I’ll be taking that brooch of yours.”
“…!”
Kang Hanbyeol brought Lucid down.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss