Chapter 233

Chapter 233. Sprouting Tier (4)

I couldn’t pinpoint the exact time, but I was sure that more than 15 minutes had passed.

No matter how much I hoped, the timing didn’t appear to align.

The timer for that guy had already expired a long time ago.

Then, my last remaining hope laid only in that woman or the child.

“Would they have moved to help a stranger?”

Wasn’t the situation absurd?

I possessed hundreds, even thousands of times more power than those two, yet I had to rely on them for hope.

Plod.

As I moved my frightened body, I realized that trying to grasp hope in this way was futile.

‘My Purification Trait is Level 3…’

Even if Kim Yul was alive, I couldn’t purify him.

Then again, was there even a need to stubbornly continue my futile journey?

As doubt took hold and I wished to ignore reality, I arrived at my destination.

Consequently, the forced strength in my legs abruptly gave out.

“Sob, sobbing…”

The woman, who was hiding in the thicket, was feeding a potion to Kim Yul.

She cradled the child, whose body was riddled with holes, in her arms, tears of blood streaming down her face.

The unnamed woman herself had very few places unscathed.

Yet, she was tilting a potion bottle with Kim Yul’s head resting on her knee.

Kim Yul’s chest moved faintly, confirming his survival.

I dragged my weakened body closer.

Then I gazed intently at the bloody child in her arms.

The child’s back, shoulders, and even the head had finger-width holes all over.

The wounds were too severe to hope for survival.

‘Of course.’

Those ice spikes that had lodged deeply into my own body had left no means for a civilian to endure them.

I had intended to save both but ended up saving only one.

I swallowed a deep sigh and reached out neither to the child nor the woman.

“Take care of yourself first. Before anyone else ends up dead.”

As I handed the potion bottle roughly to her, only then did she seem to realize my presence.

The startled woman dropped the potion she had been feeding to Kim Yul.

It wasn’t a significant issue. I could take over.

I pulled Kim Yul towards me.

He was breathing, but his consciousness had not yet returned.

No system screen about the infection popped up, but…

‘Let’s assume the timer has appeared.’

Looking around, I noticed three empty potion bottles.

‘They bought time for 4 to 5 minutes each, so this must be close.’

Until Kim Yul regains consciousness and certainty about the timer, I have to keep administering potions to him.

I dragged my weary body to open a fresh potion.

And just as I began to feed it to Kim Yul…

“What on earth are you doing with the hole left open…”

A foreign voice came from behind.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Isn’t there a saying that it’s not over until it’s over?

I felt like tearing apart whoever came up with that phrase.

“So you’re an outsider…”

His voice, neither high for a man nor low for a woman.

It had a somewhat neutral tone, yet the nasal resonance was not deep.

It allowed me to be sure the speaker was a woman.

However, identifying the gender was less crucial than identifying who she was.

Was the chance that this person was an ally higher, or was it more likely that she was an enemy?

“So the white flower bloomed…”

The obvious answer was the latter.

“Heh.”

The low chuckle she gave sent shivers down my spine.

“For such a pretty thing to fall right in front of me, I’m delighted.”

The sensation of people approaching was felt as the earthy smell mingled with the scent of mud began to rise from beneath my feet.

‘Why is it…’

It seemed cursedly coincidental that I only encountered opponents I wasn’t suited to handle on this trip.

Gritting my teeth in exasperation, I saw the woman standing in front of me.

The rough potion she held was shaking violently, her gaze fixed past my shoulder.

This woman couldn’t possibly escape with Kim Yul, who was of similar build to her.

So, there was no other choice but to endure.

‘The last magic remaining for Owl’s Companion is Corpse Mimicry.’

A Grade 5 magic that impersonates the deceased.

Rare, yet completely disconnected from combat as it was an support magic.

It was prepared in case of an infiltration among Reitan’s subordinates.

The urgency didn’t provide any chance to use it but…

‘This is useless.’

The acknowledgment effect of Kerak is still valid but the core used to hold mana is too faulty to fully use it.

‘The only remaining option is the magic stone…’

Contemplating as I observed the mud slowly binding my legs.

It wouldn’t be too difficult to acquire the stone via the shop.

But it wasn’t an efficient method.

Higher-grade and larger-scale magic require immense concentration to maintain their arrangement.

Thus, the higher grade a magic is, the more difficult it becomes to materialize through a magic stone.

Even if materialized, it often grows to an enormous size.

Therefore, the highest grade of magic circulated in the form of magic stones is Level 4.

This limitation in magic stones is why there’s no magic stone for the dual barrier to block teleportation.

Could I hold back such a proper mage like her with the clear limits of a magic stone?

Regardless, under the present circumstances, it wasn’t the best option.

‘The extent I could make a gap was at best.’

I started by breaking the barrier stone.

“Don’t waste your effort.”

As she said, it was a fruitless act.

The arrangement embedded in the stone didn’t even form before it collapsed.

The magic was counteracted before it was even fully executed.

Seeing that made me realize even alternative plans were useless.

There’s a relic within the inventory embedded with barrier magic, but it would also inevitably be countered.

“Sigh.”

The disparity in skill was expected.

I harbor the System’s support to wield half-assed magic—an outsider in essence.

The true magicians, they would’ve sensed mana from birth and had it woven into them.

I had traveled alongside Ahel and learned that facing a legitimate magician head-on wasn’t winnable.

“If you comply, it won’t be painful.”

The newly emerged magician encircled me slowly and methodically.

If magical confrontation was futile, what remained was melee.

‘It’s impossible to overpower her with this body.’

Ever since the potion’s effect waned, my bodily senses felt distant.

Unable to convey feelings through my own body.

Neither did my grip on the spear bear strength.

Immediate trials overthrown one after the other, akin to a bitter jest, yet surrender was no option.

‘Despite the painstaking trials to vanquish a sworn foe, am I to succumb to this random person?’

Luck seemed my ally now, for the gods of this world seemed favorable.

Casting a sidelong glance to check, I slowly turned around.

“Every one making such claims about having renown seldom sustains it.”

Once our faces were in plain view of each other, the magician formed a sly smile.

It reminded me of Ahel’s feigned politeness.

Blonde and striking blue eyes.

Feature-wise, she bore the semblance of a leading lady from a romance film.

“Don’t compare me with such riffraff. Sit still, and I’ll ensure you’re spared the pain whilst extracting only the core.”

The words coming from her mouth carried a chilling malice.

By her statement, her core was positioned at her heart.

‘Extracting that implies taking my heart, right?’

Her casual demeanor in relaying such a statement signaled immediately.

She was unhinged in a different manner.

Finding it ludicrous, I couldn’t even muster a bitter laugh.

Oblivious to my sentiments, the looming gold-haired figure advanced with laughter still etched across her face.

“It truly won’t hurt.”

Extracting the heart and ensuring no pain? ‘What imaginative nonsense.’

Tempted with a retort, yet buying time held priority.

And engaging in dialogue assuredly extended time.

I squared off at the golden-haired woman and spoke.

“It’s of no use even if you take it.”

“Hmm?”

“The core seems broken.”

Her eyes widened, about twice as large.

“Let me see!”

She rotated me to face her and placed a hand on the left side of my chest.

Moist and squelchy, the sensation of her magical energy pooled around the heart.

If rejecting that choice meant inviting the extraction, an idle defiance prompted me to use a magic stone.

‘If quality falls short, overwhelm with quantity.’

Yet before I deployed the stone, blondie’s magic enshrouded my heart.

Like a knife held at my throat.

“What a fool, to squander this much mana indiscriminately…”

Finally, she voiced aggravation.

A tinge of annoyance conveyed.

“As expected, those who rely on brute strength…”

Plainly condescending words ensued.

Anger welled as I glared at the golden crown, her head.

“Far more damaged than anticipated… Rendering extraction void… Yet, wasting an opportunity…”

Muttering thoughtlessly, blondie sighed profoundly, like the earth itself might give way.

“To aptly acquire prime material entails exertion… An adage surely true.”

Subsequently, an unexpected turn of events arose.

‘What…?’

Blondie’s magic shifted in nature wrapping around my heart.

The clammy, slimy sensation dissipated?

The transformed mana seeped into my core smoothly.

“Haah.”

A breath I didn’t realize I held, released at that cozy feeling.

Holding the weary body upright took strength.

Unawares, I leaned against her shoulder, inhaling softly.

With each breath, bodily senses returned incrementally.

‘Though obscure, a recovery process is underway.’

The logical conclusion dictated healing over extraction.

“Behaving sensibly aids you better.”

Grasping all became simple.

‘The post-extraction principle equates to irreparable condition.’

Hence retaining me while rehabilitating the core.

‘Repaired core negates imminent heart extraction concern.’

Though her ultimate intent was to confiscate a restored core.

Fortuitously for me, the healing rate remained gradual.

I would prevail rather than Blondie.

“Good, compliant, large capacity too, hu-huh.”

Regardless of the nonsensical utterance, I opted to benefit from the healing received.

“Ugh…”

Slight movements from Kim Yul began at about the time I awaited.

The faint thrum of nearing forces kicked off the moment I’d anticipated.

‘Footfalls trench the ground—a host on the move.’

Reason to postpone unfolded before me.

‘Equally, reason ceasing was the result of slightly veering from what had occurred.’

From the storage came a blackwood dagger summoned by hand.

Then deftly the dagger remained concealed behind my back.

Indecisiveness stayed when transmitting the message.

– K: Hyung-nim, it’s now.

By then, a hefty trot rumbled audibly.

“Eh?”

Realizing the discomfort, blondie initiated a searching magic.

Acting simultaneously, I distorted the space right before her face.

“Uh!”

Pain shot starkly through my heart.

Reflecting the core’s unfinished restoration.

Situationally, better than failing to implement even a single detection magic.

“Geez, what are you… Ah!”

Vindicated in dismantling the magic, blondie had careened back, shrieking whilst losing balance.

For I had swung the dagger at her easy as pie.

Her cheek bore a lengthy mark as Blondie glared venomously.

Words carried by a steely tone barely left her mouth when—

“Ahhh!”

The air-defying shield struck and swatted her away.

Damned System