Chapter 230

Chapter 230. Sprouting Tier (1)

‘With a scale that large, it must be a 6-star.’

I quickly aimed my spear at the mage’s corpse.

‘It’s in the abdomen.’

Kim Yul had mentioned that there was nothing on the mage’s corpse.

‘What if it was placed inside the stomach?’

It wouldn’t be surprising if it turned out to be true.

Who is to say these bastards wouldn’t do what I have done before?

The reason didn’t particularly matter right now.

The more pressing question was how the mage managed to bring the heavy messeo all the way here.

Why was the messeo, which I hadn’t sensed until now, suddenly detectable?

These questions could all be pondered later.

Knowing another name for messeo, destroying it had to be my first priority.

However, I didn’t manage to bring down the spear I had raised.

Before I could do anything, the flow of mana scattered and dissipated.

“Woah……whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Soon after, everything around the area began to be sucked into where the mana vanished.

It seemed I was a step too late.

“Damn it……”

Only after everything unfolded before my eyes could I realize what I had missed.

‘There’s no way they would carry the messeo openly.’

Within the wall of Temoria, there were numerous knights.

They, too, deal with mana fundamentally, so they would surely notice if messeo was present.

‘If they aren’t insane enough to want to be discovered, they’d mask the messeo’s presence.’

Yet, I naively brushed it off just because it didn’t show up on the exploration magic.

‘No.’

I just didn’t think it through because I was blinded by divinity.

I gritted my teeth as I fixed my eyes on the phenomenon before me.

The mage’s body had already disappeared.

The grass and earth where the body once lay had gone with it.

A pitch-black hole took their place.

A black hole, fundamentally different from the darkness of the night sky, seemed to devour everything around it.

‘The diameter is only about 3 to 4 meters at most.’

But I was certain that this not-so-large hole was more dangerous than anything I had encountered before.

‘Is this their way to break down the walls of Temoria…….’

Would things have been different if I had been a bit more attentive?

If I had run a little faster, could I have prevented it from forming?

‘No, there’s no use regretting it now.’

The incident had already occurred.

The feelings I experienced were complex.

The present moment was tragic, yet there was an odd sense of relief mixed with the frustration.

I no longer had to fear that the secret I held alone would be uncovered.

‘The holy knights from the Order who heard rumors of black magic are on their way.’

Soon, everyone would know what I knew—that the walls of Temoria could fall.

Of course, the relief came with a pang of devastation.

Santorna was located within the walls, far from the frontline.

How could a hole have opened up so blatantly like this?

‘Who knows if the same hole won’t appear in Gemal?’

The monsters could wipe out the Demis at any moment.

For some reason, they are holding back rather than striking.

Realizing once again that the outcome of the war was likely predetermined, I couldn’t help but be disheartened.

‘I don’t know how to close that hole.’

With the Damned System absent, I couldn’t rely on the benefits of capitalist traits for help.

‘It means I have to fend off whatever comes out of that hole for a while.’

Should I retreat beyond the barrier?

‘No.’

It didn’t seem like a good option.

The mage was already dead, and the barrier was collapsing.

If I made a wrong move, I might have to take on a horde of monsters emerging from the hole all at once.

Better to block that hole, which might as well be another entrance.

I just needed to hold out until the holy knights from the Order arrived.

‘I can cover pretty much up to a general rank without too much trouble.’

So please, let nothing beyond that show up.

Before I could even finish the thought, something sliced through from within the hole.

Sharp claws and stiff fur-covered arms emerged, ready to strike.

As more parts followed the first, I attempted to strike first.

Cutting off one arm was bound to give an advantage in battle.

But I didn’t manage to follow through.

The sight before me made me lose all the strength in my hand.

Both Kim Yul and I found ourselves staring at the creature’s head, unable to look away.

“Grrr……”

The sight of nine stars, signifying an evolved species’ level, greeted us.

‘Goddammit.’

Killing two underlings and seeing a nemesis-rank monster emerge—what kind of balance is this?

‘No wonder, things had been going well recently.’

Even as I ground my teeth, I asked Kim Yul, “The Shadow Box?”

Kim Yul, swallowing hard, replied, “It’s a one-time-use item. It probably can barely last a minute.”

I realized using the spatial magic I exchanged with Persona to create an environment for a surprise attack might help.

“Why did the hole open so soon…”

The nemesis-rank, having fully emerged from the hole, muttered on its own.

“Is this your doing?”

The eerie perfection of its language left a chill running down my spine.

But that wasn’t all.

Something about the creature’s overall appearance seemed familiar.

Its feet were beast-like, with human-like hands.

Add black, stiff fur, sinister claws and teeth.

The protruding snout and fox-like pointed ears.

Four long, downward-pointing fangs.

‘Was it the Valpo?’

A creature accurately listed in Bihari’s bestiary, much like the Volpo.

The only differences from the bestiary illustration were a couple of raised horns on its forehead and about ten glaring red eyes.

‘Why now……?’

If my memory served, valpo was a monster I encountered in my Promotion Test and first Level 2 mission.

‘Bipeds that walk like foxes.’

It was larger, with much more mana than before, but the overall features were about the same.

Most likely, the creature evolved and evolved until it became a nemesis-rank.

Realizing that caused my cheek to involuntarily twitch.

‘It’s like meeting an old enemy unexpectedly.’

That the first 9-star nemesis-rank I ran into was the very one I fought claw and nail during the Promotion Test?

‘Is this foretelling I’ll end up horribly injured this time?’

My mouth ran dry.

Since achieving Silver rank then Gold rank, the frequency of injuries had noticeably decreased.

I always prioritized safety when going on hunts, avoiding unnecessary risks.

But this time……

“Grrr… you, imbued with authority. Have you seized it?”

The creature locked eyes with me and flashed a grin that split its face.

“If you’re not going to answer, I’ll have to take you in.”

Before I could process, it swung its hand with no warning.

I didn’t register its movements.

Typically, moving a hand involves shifting one’s shoulder or waist.

But the creature showed no preliminary motions.

Even as it moved, with a hand poised to strike my nose, I couldn’t move.

Although I managed to instinctively block with my spear—pure luck—defense was futile.

“Ugh!”

The spear I held was shoved aside.

I was struck by the creature’s hand that followed.

The sharp claws brushed against my shoulder, tearing the skin.

「You have been infected by #@&|**. The pathogen begins to proliferate.」

「Quickly purify the pathogen.」

「Warning!」

Failure to purify #@&|** will result in forced termination.

Time limit: 00:15:00

From the moment I got hit, I knew it.

‘I can’t win with my current power.’

It was like facing a 2-ton truck barreling towards me at full speed as a human.

Such an overwhelming gap, nearly unknown since obtaining a Player’s body.

‘Facing this head-on would mean death.’

Confronted with an undeniable conclusion, I was hurled into the air and hit the ground with the force of a projectile.

Crack-!

I toppled trees and earth as I was flung away.

The force was so incredible that my body slammed deep into the ground.

Cough.

I spat blood as I bellowed without hesitation.

“Run!”

The nemesis-rank’s focus was entirely on me, drawn to the divine aura surrounding me.

Thanks to this, Kim Yul, who was frozen pale witnessing my harsh landing, got a chance to flee.

Swiftly hiding in the shadows, he sent a desperate message.

– Kj : ㅇㅡ류요

– Kj : Are you okay?

But I didn’t have the luxury to answer.

The aftermath of hitting the ground left me reeling.

My wrist felt shattered, the hand clutching the spear was in tatters.

My vision was unstable, unfocused.

Though Kim Yul’s commotion led to Yang Taeho, who was absent, joining the chatter, providing his support.

I couldn’t spare a moment to read them; focused solely on aligning my broken bones.

After drinking a potion, I forced my blurred vision to clear.

Just as I was typing to urge retreat and survival.

Step by step.

Footsteps were drawing near.

Shivers crawled along my spine.

I needed to escape.

Escape was the only choice left.

I needed to deploy every available card to do so.

I pushed myself from the dirt where I had half-buried myself, ground beneath my hands.

Karlos’s authority was exhausted creating new limbs.

‘I have to escape under my own power.’

Juggling around with spatial distortion can create an opening.

With that in mind, as I hastily began purification.

Beside the area where I was partly embedded, something stirred within the underbrush.

Odd, how my vision returned in that moment; maybe a cruel twist of fate.

Had my vision remained unclear, perhaps it wouldn’t be inescapably vivid.

Thus, I couldn’t ignore what I saw—the small feet visible through the brush.

It trembled violently as if experiencing severe convulsions.

It was without a doubt a person’s foot.

If the owner of those feet had been one of the mercenaries or thugs working with the black magic group.

Had they been, I would’ve felt no hesitation in letting them meet their end.

But I knew damn well they weren’t.

The feet were scrawny; with dirty, calloused surfaces, their condition painful to imagine.

Moreover, they were too small. About the size of my palm.

I forced my stiff neck to turn with a creak and met the eyes of a woman beyond the brush.

She was biting her lips hard enough to draw blood.

Her hold masked the sound of her breathing, stifling the whimpers of the child clutching her.

Their ragged appearances made it clear they were victims, caught up against their will.

The moment I saw them, everything felt as if suspended in time.

‘Why……?’

Yang Taeho and Walter made sure everyone was evacuated beyond the barrier.

At that moment, a voice snapped me out of my daze.

“Stronger than expected, grrk.”

The nemesis-rank had crept up close by then.

Almost immediately, mana began to roil, signaling something dangerous.

A chilling, watery scent swept through, bringing an abrupt drop in temperature.

Frost fell upon the grass and ground near the nemesis-rank’s feet.

Deep ice mastery, leaning towards cold.

Judging by the intensity of the aroma, it seemed to be a 4th-grade level—but.

‘The affinity isn’t good.’

Of all the 4th-grade magic, I had no counters.

Fire, comparatively, wields less defensive power against water.

Unless it was 5th-grade lightning magic, it would be tough to significantly harm this nemesis-rank.

The bite of regret clenched my teeth the moment the magic took form.

Around a hundred ice spears filled the empty space densely.

If only I could think it through beyond just—

Damned System