Thanks to the World Tree’s blessing, not only had my stamina and mana recovered, but my physical abilities had risen as well.
The experience that had accumulated within my body all this time had increased, causing each stat to reach its threshold.
‘My Agility is 71 now, huh.’
For me, who had no proper way to raise Agility, it was a welcome change.
Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t really feel the difference between 70 and 71.
‘My body… does feel like it’s gotten lighter, but I’m not sure.’
Even that sensation was extremely fleeting.
After taking a few steps across the ground, I quickly grew used to it.
But small changes like this would steadily pile up, and when I approached the vicinity of 80, there would surely be a major difference.
‘What happens if I go over 80? What’s in the next realm?’
I didn’t know.
I set aside my thoughts about Agility and focused my awareness on my mana circuit.
‘The circuit is being felt out in finer detail.’
The most encouraging change I had gained from the World Tree’s blessing was that my Magic had entered 61.
That was thanks to my pure Magic stat of 55, combined with the effects of the Ring of Clarity and Hongjosua of the Black Curtain.
Savoring the joy of having reached a new realm, I contemplated the flow of mana within my body and the structure of my mana circuit.
Perhaps the others were each feeling a sense of accomplishment as well, because unlike before, they were showing motivation.
Meanwhile, Oh Junsu began to act in earnest.
Whoooosh!
Oh Junsu, who had spread his three pairs of black wings wide, unleashed a bombardment toward the ground.
Magic imbued with a black and murky aura indiscriminately tore through the area.
Even with Lisa and Park Sagun’s protective magic, there was a limit to blocking every attack.
We had to take care not to get hit by blind fire.
‘He’s pouring out mana without holding anything back.’
That meant he was cornered.
That was why I did not retreat in the face of the threat and advanced through the raining bombardment.
The others were following behind me as if covering me.
‘I can’t lose here. Absolutely not.’
Defeat would lead directly to a bad ending.
I recalled the game’s ending message.
[With this, Oh Junsu’s soul was completely devoured by the remnant consciousness of the Demon King Shuher.]
[Moved by the remnant consciousness, he offered up himself and the people in the area as sacrifices.]
[At last, the Demon King Shuher descended upon this world.]
[The Star Witch So Hyeyul activated Star Lightroad, but it only devastated District 23 and the nearby administrative districts; it could not reach the Demon King Shuher, who had descended in a complete state.]
[Shuher destroyed Star Lightroad and killed the World Tree, which had been resisting the dimensional erosion of the Demon Realm.]
[Thus, a channel connecting this world and the Demon Realm was permanently opened.]
[The day the demons had long awaited arrived.]
[The demons who crossed through the channel captured humans and reduced them to livestock for the purpose of extracting emotions. The black mages who had at least earned the demons’ favor were treated as slaves.]
[Humanity’s resistance was useless.]
[The Demon Kings, led by Demon King Shuher, drove humanity into despair with their immense power.]
[The Holy Hymn of Radiance and the white mages opened a channel connecting to the Celestial Realm as if to counter fire with fire, but instead, the situation only worsened.]
[The angels also tried to obtain emotions by making humans livestock and white mages their slaves.]
[Then, a great war between demons and angels broke out, and humanity had no choice but to be swept into the flames of war.]
[The sparks of war ignited even within the same camps.]
[Demons fought demons, angels fought angels, and humans fought humans.]
[Thus, the world was stained by every kind of conflict, and in the end, it perished.]
[─ Bad Ending ─]
The so-called Celestial-Demon War Ending.
A world where humanity was worked like livestock by demons and angels was, naturally, something I wanted no part of.
‘So I have to end this.’
My instinct to evade danger pushed me from behind.
Without stopping, I ran across the ground, stepped on the pillars Nam Yuri had created, and leaped into the air.
Lion’s Return Thrust
I pulled the Ultramarine Sword back behind my shoulder, thrust it forward with all my might, and twisted.
I drove the Ultramarine Sword, wreathed in Blue Thunder, toward Oh Junsu.
Unfortunately, the attack did not land.
He twisted his body and dodged.
Instead, I began to fall toward the ground and ended up exposing my back to him.
At the edge of my vision, I caught sight of his face twisting into a sneer.
But it was fine.
‘It’s a fake.’
I wasn’t the only attacker.
My friends, whose backs I could trust, were preparing the next attack.
Bell Strike
Lion’s Iron Whip
As I fell with my back facing the ground, I could see Kang Hanbyeol and Do Sieun aiming for Oh Junsu’s rear instead.
Oh Junsu hurriedly deployed a barrier and plummeted at a speed even faster than mine.
Just before he collided with the ground, he moved his wings and changed direction.
“…!”
Nam Yuri reacted as if she had been waiting for it.
She raised pillars at the position where Oh Junsu was flying low.
Startled by the sudden situation, he flapped his wings to avoid crashing into the obstacles.
That was when the triplets joined in.
───!!
The triplets, who had been hiding themselves using the pillars, launched a surprise attack.
Moving in coordination as if they shared their thoughts, they drove Oh Junsu to one side.
And when he burst out from among the pillars as if being chased—
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Min Arin’s magic exploded.
As though paying him back for the bombardment she had suffered moments ago, she caused a grand explosion.
As I ran while watching for an opportunity, I could occasionally glimpse a figure being tossed around inside the explosion.
Kiaaaaaak!
There was no way the demons and monsters would pretend not to notice Oh Junsu’s crisis.
They barged into the battlefield to save him from the explosion.
Naturally, the student council students, Yong Haerang, Go Eunbi, and Park Sagun, who had been dealing with them, did not stand still.
Cha Eunsol also lent her strength.
wwwhhhiiiieeeeaaaooo!
Cha Eunsol, her green eyes flashing, summoned a highest-ranking spirit of light.
The Spirit King of Light, Lumitris.
A gigantic whale of light, which had once appeared as an illustration in the game, roared.
Then spirits of light appeared one after another, illuminating the night.
From that moment on, the demons and the spirits of light began to clash fiercely.
Meanwhile, Oh Junsu, who had barely escaped from the explosion, soared into the night sky.
As if she would not allow that…
Yeon Haneul intervened.
Creating a sphere that generated attraction, she pulled in Oh Junsu as he tried to fly away.
He struggled desperately to break free from the attraction, but it was useless.
Moreover, Cha Eunsol, who had risen even higher than him, pressed him down with wind.
In the end, he fell toward the sphere.
“In a moment, he’ll be repelled in the opposite direction. I’d like someone to snatch him before that happens.”
“I’ll do that.”
Matching the timing of the sphere’s disappearance, Lisa deployed binding magic and seized Oh Junsu.
Yong Haerang and Park Sagun grabbed the ropes made of mana in her place.
Immediately afterward, Oh Junsu fell in the direction the two of them pulled.
Kang Hanbyeol, Do Sieun, and I did not miss that moment.
‘We have to keep him tied down so he can’t fly up anymore.’
The three of us took turns dealing with Oh Junsu, striking and withdrawing.
The others surrounded him and applied pressure at the right moments.
Oh Junsu struggled to fly into the sky somehow and change the battlefield, but each time, we blocked him.
In the end, he had no choice but to fight with his feet planted on the ground.
But the moment he lost his advantageous position, one could say the outcome had been decided.
The end was not far.
Kang Hanbyeol activated the magic of the artifact he had obtained from Oh Junsu not long ago.
Before he knew it, Oh Junsu, whose feet had touched the ground, was bound in chains.
Kang Hanbyeol and Do Sieun seized that opening and charged in like lightning.
Lion’s Fierce Assault
Bell Strike
The two of their swords reached Oh Junsu almost simultaneously.
Unfortunately, the attacks failed to deal a decisive blow and only managed to cut off his black wings.
Breaking free from the binding magic, he counterattacked and deflected their attacks.
But my attack remained.
No.
“You’re really going to be okay, right?”
“I’ll be okay, probably.”
It wasn’t just me; Yeon Haneul was here too.
Having received my instructions in advance, she handled water and wind elemental magic at the same time, creating a water rail that led to Oh Junsu.
Standing on that rail, I faced Oh Junsu before my eyes.
I released the Blue Thunder dwelling in the Ultramarine Sword.
Now that my Magic had surpassed the wall of 60, I somehow felt like I could do it.
On top of that, Yeon Haneul would handle the miscellaneous parts I could not control.
I only had to trust her.
───!!!
Switching the blade into reverse-blade mode, I brought the Ultramarine Sword down with an easy heart.
At that moment, the streams of water on either side reacted to the Blue Thunder and writhed violently, and a massive explosion erupted along the rail.
* * *
Ever since I had learned electrolysis from Nam Yuri before and applied it to the Ultramarine Sword’s built-in skill, Current Control…
I had broadened my thinking, searching for and researching ways to apply the Current Control skill more effectively.
The result I obtained was magic inspired by a hydrogen explosion.
Unlike before, with help from Yeon Haneul’s calculation ability so that I could control the explosion, it was a spell that caused an explosion along a water rail.
‘This is my first time using it in actual combat, but thankfully, it seems to have worked well.’
I had not decided on the name of the magic yet.
There was still room to adjust the spell, and it remained incomplete, not yet having reached a level suitable for practical use.
In truth, there had been a few names I had considered as candidates, but there was also the fact that Yeon Haneul had rejected them.
‘Blue Thunder Rail, Thunder Road, Lightning Rail, and so on… Aren’t they pretty plausible names…?’
Apparently, they did not suit Yeon Haneul’s tastes.
Since I wanted to accommodate her, I had no choice but to give up.
‘It’s my magic, so should I just name it outright? Thunder Road…’
No.
If possible, I wanted to put our heads together and name it with Yeon Haneul.
After all, strictly speaking, it was also magic that she and I had created together.
Setting those thoughts aside.
‘That aside, this is no joke compared to what I expected, is it?’
Since it was actual combat, I had raised the output more generously than when I practiced.
I took in the sight left behind after the blue flash had swept through.
The villa of the Five Black Mage Families, which had already been half-destroyed, had completely collapsed, leaving only its foundation behind.
Smoke was rising from the site, as if the heat of the explosion had not yet faded, and some of the materials had caught fire.
‘Surely… he isn’t dead, right?’
At this point, I couldn’t help but worry about Oh Junsu, who must have taken a direct hit from the magic.
Even if I had swung with the reverse blade, I could not be certain he would still be alive after taking an impact like that.
It was not long after that I felt relieved.
‘Thank goodness. He’s breathing.’
Had he been protected by the Demon King’s power?
Oh Junsu, who seemed to have been unable to withstand the explosion and had been blown away, was found among the villa’s wreckage.
His outer clothing had become rags, but other than that, there were no particularly conspicuous features to be seen.
The three pairs of black wings had also vanished without a trace.
After spreading out my detection net and finding him, I let out a sigh of relief.
If he had died or been burned to ashes, cleaning up afterward might have become troublesome.
That was when Yeon Haneul approached.
“How’s your body? Are there any side effects?”
“Ah, Haneul. Good work. Side effects… I don’t know, I don’t think there are any right now. Ah, but my mana’s bottomed out, so I don’t think I can participate in the battle anymore.”
“Good grief, that’s only natural.”
Yeon Haneul examined my body first.
Feeling grateful for her concern, I let out a small smile.
Then, to show her that nothing was wrong with my body, I briefly shook my arms and legs.
Her expression softened.
“If nothing feels uncomfortable, that’s a relief. Still, you have to keep a close eye on your condition, okay? There’s no way you can use that much output without paying some kind of price.”
“Got it. What about you? Are you okay?”
“I used a lot of mana too, so I’m a little tired… But after receiving that light that came down from the sky earlier, I feel like I’ve gotten some energy back. What on earth was that?”
“The World Tree’s blessing.”
“The World Tree’s blessing? The World Tree gave us a blessing? Why?”
“How would I know the reason? Maybe it blessed us because it thought the world would be in danger if things went wrong.”
“Hmm… That’s not unreasonable.”
Yeon Haneul nodded as if accepting it.
I opened her status window and checked whether there had been any changes to her physical abilities.
‘Her Magic went up from 85 to 86.’
With the effect of Mountain Echo added, it was 88.
It had to be thanks to the blessing of the World Tree.
Through the status window, I could confirm that not only my mana, but my other stats had risen as well.
Just then, she pointed at the Ultramarine Sword.
“By the way, what’s that? You didn’t have it before, did you?”
“Oh, this? I got it as loot after taking down my opponent earlier.”
“What are you, Hanbyeol? Stealing other people’s things.”
“I wanted it badly enough to steal it.”
I hadn’t expected Yeon Haneul to recognize the Black Curtain’s Crimson Tassel right away.
She really did have sharp eyes.
Quietly impressed, I held out the pommel of the Ultramarine Sword, where the Crimson Tassel was attached.
“What do you think? Doesn’t it go well with the Ultramarine Sword?”
“It does. It has a luxurious flair to it, so it matches nicely. It must be an artifact, huh? If you like it that much.”
“Right. It’s called the Black Curtain’s Crimson Tassel, and the magic built into it is… I’ll show you.”
“Didn’t you say you were out of mana?”
“I’ve got enough to use it once.”
Rather than explaining it with words, it was better to demonstrate.
Besides, I wanted to test it out too.
Having decided, I took Yeon Haneul by the wrist and infused mana into the Black Curtain’s Crimson Tassel.
The bundle of red threads emitted light.
Soon, darkness flowed out from it, becoming a curtain that wrapped around us.
“With my current mana, this seems to be the limit.”
“It’s pitch-black around us… What kind of magic is it?”
“Simply put, it’s magic that blocks the opponent’s vision with a curtain of darkness.”
“I can see just fine, though?”
“That’s because I’m holding you right now. If I let go…”
“Ah. I get what you mean. You suddenly turned blurry. If you were farther away, I probably wouldn’t be able to see you at all.”
“That’s the kind of magic it is.”
Because the mana in my body was currently lacking, the curtain of darkness could only cover Yeon Haneul and me up to our upper bodies.
Inside it, I took her hand, which I had let go of so she could see.
Then I laced our fingers together, repeatedly opening and closing our joined hands.
“People outside probably can’t see us doing this. It’s night, too, so it’s already pretty dark.”
“Mm, I see…”
“It’s nice being able to touch you without worrying about other people watching.”
“…Did you want to touch my ears that badly?”
“Yeah.”
Yeon Haneul followed my lead, opening and closing our interlaced hands as she let out a giggle.
With my other hand, I touched her ear and lightly shrugged.
‘I guess this is as far as it goes.’
Before long, the curtain of darkness began to thin, and the other side of the curtain became faintly visible.
The mana inside my body had run out.
It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped.
Smacking my lips, I released our interlaced fingers and withdrew the mana I had infused into the Crimson Tassel.
Our surroundings returned to normal.
“Let’s go help the others. They’ll complain if we keep playing around by ourselves.”
“Yeah, let’s. I was going to say that anyway.”
Although the dimension leading to the Demon Realm had closed when O Junsu lost consciousness, the demons that had crossed through remained in this world.
There were also monsters that had emerged from the rifts.
Yeon Haneul and I were about to join the others to deal with them.
Crackle!
‘…Huh?’
It was then that I felt a presence so chilling that my Evasion Instinct suddenly activated.
Just as I was about to head down the hill, I was startled and turned around.
There, within the torn space—
“…”
Something indescribable…
Or, if I had to describe it, something with a crimson gaze was staring straight at me.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss