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Memorize - Episode 56
00056 Dungeon Of Alchemist(2)
"Damn it! Wolf bastards again!"
"If you have time to grumble, quickly get into formation!"
I quickly blocked in front of Ahn Sol and pulled Ahn Hyun's arm to form a triangular formation. The number of wolves visible before our eyes boasted an enormous quantity that couldn't be counted at a glance. The explosive ferocity they were emitting made my skin tingle.
I bit my lip hard. Suddenly, the caravan's traces had disappeared without a trace. Normally, the traces should have remained stronger as we went deeper, but at some point, they had abruptly cut off. I wandered around for a while trying to find any other traces, but as if bewitched, I couldn't pick up any clues. Finally, just as I was about to activate my Third Eye, we were unfortunately attacked by the wolves.
Even against the Pitch-black Forest wolves, in my current state, I was confident I could handle over 100 alone. However, the problem was the kids. They had struggled with just over twenty last time, but the number visible this time seemed to be more than double that. Although it wasn't their first encounter, seeing over forty wolves rolling their eyes at us, it was natural for the kids, who were no different from newly hatched chicks, to be scared.
"O-oppa."
"Don't retreat!"
Despite my shout, Yoo-jung unconsciously took a step back. At that, the wolves all began to howl at once. Hearing the simultaneous cries of over forty wolves, Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, and Yoo-jung were all hesitating with frightened faces. I heard Ahn Hyun muttering something beside me, but before I could ask what he said, the wolves all began rapidly closing the distance with us at once.
At this rate, we'll be done for. There was no time to comfort the kids. I saw Yoo-jung and Ahn Hyun both looking dazed before suddenly coming to their senses and gripping their weapons. It was somewhat reassuring that they had finally come to their senses at the end, but the current situation was still unfavorable. I gritted my teeth and drew my sword.
"Ahn Sol. Briefly support me with protection and slowly retreat backward. From now on, I'm leaving the formation."
"Wh-what? Oppa? Oppa!"
Without time to answer or convince them, I stepped forward with my sword in hand. Seeing me suddenly jump forward, the wolves opened their mouths wide, baring their sharp teeth. I heard screams from behind, but this time it wasn't a situation that could be managed with simple support and battlefield coordination. Moreover, with this many wolves, there was no guarantee the kids could keep up. In the end, the only solution was to reveal a bit more of my skills.
Soon, the first clash between me and the wolves began.
I also took one step to enter the center of the pack, then swung my mana-infused sword horizontally. The result that followed surprised even myself, exceeding my expectations. The power of the Sword Specialist suddenly felt amazing. The synergy effect produced by my sword training experience and special and potential abilities was exerting a power on a different level from before. With just one slash, I saw no less than six wolves spurt blood and leap into the air.
"Protect!"
With perfect timing, Sol cast protection on me. The wolves that had been charging fiercely looked at me with bewildered gestures, probably not expecting so many of their comrades to fall to a single sword strike. However, that was only for a moment. Perhaps because they still had the numerical advantage, three or four headed towards where the kids were, while the remaining thirty began to cling to me.
After instantly dealing with two wolves rushing at me from both sides, I immediately turned my body and slashed through the body of a wolf that was leaping at me. Hot blood soaked my entire body. Meanwhile, glancing at the kids, I saw that fortunately they had come to their senses and were holding their own against the fiercely charging wolves. Nevertheless, there were still many wolves left. However, having entered an unfavorable(?) battle for the first time in a while, I lowered my sword and once again gallantly slashed around me.
"Kya-kyang!"
Swoosh!
It wasn't just a matter of taking down one with each sword stroke. Two or three were caught as a baseline, and when a critical hit landed, six would fly away like earlier. The sword was already cutting through the best sword path as if flowing like water before I even thought about swinging it. It was the activation of Unity of Sword and Body.
"Kya-kyang! Kyang!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
As I swung my sword in succession, the bodies of the wolves charging at me from the front were cleanly cut again. And just as I was about to turn my body at the killing intent I felt from behind, I felt something bite hard into my thigh. As I swung my sword behind me while lowering my head, I saw one wolf gnawing on my thigh while growling.
"This isn't the level of endurance you can penetrate."
I whispered quietly and then thrust my sword straight down. A fountain of blood spurted from the wolf's head. After roughly kicking away the wolf that collapsed with a resentful face, I rampaged around like a sword demon. After swinging my sword to my heart's content for a while, just as I was about to turn my body again, I could feel that the surroundings had become quiet.
The battle had entered a lull. The wolves that had numbered over forty at first had now been reduced to about eight. In that short time, over thirty wolves had been slaughtered. I had gone a bit overboard in showing off my skills.
As I smiled deeply at the killing instinct gradually dominating my body, I saw the whimpering wolves taking a slight step back. As I took a small step forward to match them, the wolves that had been cautiously watching until then began to bark and flee without looking back.
Where do you think you're going? Just as I was about to move my body, intoxicated by the battle, I heard urgent cries calling me from behind.
"Hyung!"
"Oppa!"
"Oppaaa!"
Hearing the kids' cries, I was able to return to reality. Since I had my back turned, they probably hadn't seen my smile, but this battle had been somewhat excessive. Thoughts like "What should I do? What should I say?" filled my head.
At that moment, just as I lowered my head, I saw my body soaked in blood. After briefly smelling the blood, I was able to come up with a good idea. It was sad that I had to act at times like this, but it couldn't be helped. My movements just now had certainly been excessive. Since suspicion sprouts from small things, it was best to nip it in the bud.
"Urgh!"
"Hyung! Are you okay?"
As I heard the kids' presence rushing towards me, I repeatedly dry heaved while collapsing my body to the ground. Of course, I didn't forget to breathe roughly as well. It would have been perfect if I had coughed up blood, but if I did that, they might have insisted on going back.
"Huff, huff!"
As I made a pained expression while sweating profusely all over my body, I saw the kids' faces not knowing what to do. Hyun was quickly taking out a potion from his bag, and Sol was rapidly chanting healing spells. And Yoo-jung was trying to quickly remove my clothes. W-what? What is she doing now?
"Hyung! Hyung! Get a hold of yourself!"
"Oppa! Oppaaa!"
"S-shut up. Stop making noise..."
"Hyung. Quickly drink this!"
Looking at Ahn Hyun pushing a potion bottle to my mouth, I shook my head vigorously and waved my hand for a moment. Yoo-jung, who had already half-removed my top, thrust her face in and examined me closely before tilting her head.
"What's this? There are no external wounds? Could it be... he's injured below?"
"Urgh... please, everyone just be quiet..."
As I slowly circulated my mana, I looked at Sol with an urgent face, seeing white smoke rising from my body. I thought that a top student like Sol would surely recognize it. Sol, who had been chanting healing spells, turned pale seeing the white haze rising from my body.
"Move aside!"
"Eek! W-why is she suddenly like this?"
"I said move aside!"
Seeing Sol's fierce look that she had never shown before, Yoo-jung flinched and stepped back. Soon, Sol placed her hand on my chest and slowly infused her mana into my body. She seemed to be trying to see the situation inside my body. I seized this opportunity to violently raise my mana along with fever. To the point where it looked like I was thrashing severely at a glance.
"I-impossible!"
"What on earth is going on?"
"M-mana is going berserk. It looks like a reversal phenomenon!"
"Reversal phenomenon? Then..."
"Waaah!"
After finishing her words, Sol burst into tears and cradled my face. I felt Sol's warm tears and breath flowing onto my face. Ahn Hyun and Yoo-jung also seemed to know something about the mana reversal phenomenon, as they just stared at me with blank faces.
"Damn it... I shouldn't have been dazed then..."
"What should we do... what on earth..."
"...Everyone, please be quiet for a moment."
Thinking this was enough, I acted as if I was barely managing to raise my body. At that, Sol who had been shedding tears, Hyun, and Yoo-jung all immediately looked at my face. They all looked like they were seeing some kind of superhuman. I sat cross-legged, still looking at the white smoke rising all over my body. The kids seemed to roughly know what I was trying to do and quickly moved away from my body.
"Everyone... please guard the surroundings for a moment."
After seeing the kids nodding their heads three times per second, I slowly entered meditation. Once I entered contemplation, I wouldn't know how much time passed, so I couldn't get too deep into it. Since I had to properly utilize the Third Eye anyway, it seemed better to do it now.
Clearly, the traces had been getting stronger and stronger, then suddenly disappeared in an instant. The most likely possibility was a barrier. However, if it was a barrier, there should have been a mana reaction, but since I couldn't feel even a hint of energy, it seemed to be a type of path barrier rather than a reactive barrier.
I slowly activated my Third Eye and began to carefully scan the surroundings of the forest, focusing on the immediate area.
"Phew..."
Having finished my analysis, I let out a long sigh. It wasn't as much as seeing the
Blink.
Blink blink.
Blink?
Blink blink?
"..."
"Oppa?"
"Orabeoni?"
Ahn Hyun was guarding the surroundings with a fierce face, holding his spear. Then he turned his head at the sound of the kids calling me, and our eyes met as I happened to be looking at him. At that, I saw Hyun's mouth slowly opening as wide as a basin. After difficultly peeling off the kids who were frantically touching my face, I was finally able to raise my body.
"Oppa. Your body? Is your body okay? Hm?"
"For now. I've suppressed it, so it's fine as long as I don't overdo it."
"Hyung. Here. Quickly."
"Ah, no. For a mana reversal phenomenon, a vitality potion is..."
I wanted to say it was useless, but seeing Ahn Hyun's face, I couldn't bring myself to refuse. In the end, I had no choice but to awkwardly accept the potion. He seemed determined to make me drink this potion somehow.
While I was opening the lid of the potion and gulping it down, the kids were following my head up and down. When I shrugged with a face asking why they were doing that, Yoo-jung opened her mouth with a dejected face.
"Um... oppa. Wouldn't it be better for us to turn back at this point this time?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
"I heard from Sol. She said that a mana reversal phenomenon doesn't occur all at once, and if it's not completely cured after manifesting once, there's a possibility it could recur next time..."
"I told you I've suppressed it for now. We can treat it properly when we go back to the city later."
"But still..."
"Instead of worrying about that, you guys... Sigh. Never mind. Just when I thought you were getting a bit better, you've reverted back to your original state. Didn't you learn to never take a step back against monsters? That's like openly telling them that you're afraid of them."
Of course, the kids had some reason to feel wronged. This was the first time they had seen over forty wolves at once. Anyway, when I cut off the conversation in a tone that suggested there was not even a shred of room for reconsideration, Hyun and Yoo-jung hung their heads low.
Why did you rush out on your own? Weren't you the one who didn't maintain the formation? I was planning to scold them severely if they shot back like this, but it seemed they knew they had done wrong.
Despite my scolding, the kids still maintained worried expressions. It seemed that contorting my face a few times while activating the Third Eye had been effective. (This was genuinely difficult.)
I briefly stretched my body with some exercises, then opened my mouth, looking at the kids who were fixated on my lips.
"Anyway, I have no intention of turning back. Especially not because of me. So everyone, get your minds straight. I'll let it slide this time, but if you show the same attitude again next time, I really won't let it go."
"H-hyung. But... Sol said that mana reversal phenomenon..."
"No buts. I know my body condition best. I can still manage. Don't worry and just do your part well."
Only after my words fell did the kids show signs of slowly packing their belongings. However, their faces all looked gloomy and lifeless, as if the atmosphere that had been gradually improving before encountering the wolves had sunk in one go. Seeing the morale that had dropped in an instant, I could feel the position I occupied.
As I turned my steps, I could feel the kids' hopeful gazes. However, I had absolutely no intention of going back. First, we needed to retrace our path. We needed to go back to where the traces had disappeared and change direction.
The reason I couldn't find the traces was, as expected, because a path barrier had been set up. A path barrier where you could see a different world in a single step. At the thought that we had finally found a clue to the alchemist's dungeon, I felt excited despite myself.
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