Chapter 316

Chapter 316. Daily Life During War (2)

“What’s that? Is it a side dish? I was just about to go shopping.”

“There are fairies at your place, right? I thought they’d be running low, so that’s why I came… and it’s really empty. You just got here, didn’t you? Have you eaten?”

“I was just about to eat.”

“I cooked the food, so you two handle the cleanup. I’m going to see Rice Cake!”

Leaving Yeonwoo, who headed to Hyunwoo’s room, behind, Jinwoo and Kim Yul started stacking the side dish containers neatly in the fridge.

While organizing the side dishes, Jinwoo asked about Hyunwoo.

“Have you received any news from him?”

“There have been battle reports reaching the guild… but if I leak them, Hyunwoo would really kill me.”

“… It’s nothing serious.”

Kim Yul looked down at the crown of Jinwoo’s head as he was stacking the lower shelves.

‘Should I call him timid, or sensitive? He’s really different from Yeonwoo or Hyunwoo.’

Debating what to say, Kim Yul forced a lively tone.

“This time, Kang Yeonwoo is right.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry too much. Worrying here won’t change anything… and more than anything, your brother isn’t someone who dies easily.”

Honestly, even if he were to die, he’d find a way back stubbornly. Just as Kim Yul finished speaking, Yeonwoo dashed out from the bedroom, shouting with Rice Cake in his arms.

“Hey, hey! Breaking news! It’s suspected that another legion commander has appeared in Saudi Arabia! Aren’t we going to lose at this rate? How?”

“Just a moment ago, you told Kang Jinwoo not to worry too much… no need for fuss. The on-site players will handle it well.”

Despite Kim Yul’s relaxed response, a chill ran down his spine.

Saudi Arabia.

A place Hyunwoo would join after closing all the holes in Ukraine. Yet, he couldn’t disclose it to the twins.

‘Everything should be alright.’

Yes, it would be alright.

Isn’t he famously known as the world’s strongest?

He already had experience in eliminating a legion commander.

No trouble would arise just because the battle situation had turned slightly unfavorable.

Kim Yul clung to his trust in Hyunwoo, shaking off the rising unease bit by bit.

* * *

“Huff! Huff!”

Panting raggedly, footsteps pounded against empty space, a man leaping through the air without a glance back.

‘I must inform them quickly!’

A month had passed since the official player draft began at the association.

The situation, where vital areas globally were under attack, had dragged on.

About half of these situations resolved, while the other half continued to suffer fierce offensives.

Particularly concerning was Saudi Arabia, where, starting last week, the situation reversed, and the player side began to be overpowered.

Monsters pushed beyond the holes, creating battle lines on Earth.

As expected, the monsters expanded their territory, protecting the holes.

Moreover, new holes continued to emerge around the legion.

Consequently, the number of players ambushed increased day by day.

The region to the northeast, where the man was stationed a while ago, similarly suffered.

Part of a pursuit team searching for new holes, he had moved with his companions as usual.

A hole had opened on the spot they stopped to rest.

Simultaneously, a bizarre barrier surrounded them.

Painted completely black, nothing beyond the barrier could be seen.

He had been left alone outside, having stepped away momentarily for nature’s call, without his walkie-talkie.

Adding insult to injury, a sudden hole opened, unveiling a general-rank entity.

‘Damn it!’

He was the only one who could relay the incident here.

Desperately, the man ran to the best of his ability.

But he wasn’t alone in giving his all.

The monster also gave its utmost to capture him, gaining the upper hand in the struggle of effort.

“Ugh!”

A tail studded with sharp spikes aimed menacingly at the man’s shoulder.

As he threw himself sideways to evade, the general-rank beings surrounded him.

He gritted his teeth at the dire situation.

‘Five 7-star general-ranks.’

Far too many for someone of his silver rank to handle effectively.

Attempting an offensive would be his downfall.

Escape held more promise, and his foot stamped reflexively.

Boom!

Ground rumbled as jagged-edged rocky spikes jutted out.

A favored escape or attack technique for earth-attribute players—Brambled Earth.

Moreover, it was the highest-grade magic available to him, consuming substantial mana.

Rather than showering ineffective low-tier magics, he gambled on a single strike.

A wise decision indeed.

The general-rank monsters leaped into the air, avoiding the unpredictably emerging stone spikes.

In the interval, the man attempted to sneak away through the thick rocky spikes.

Magic rained down from airborne general-ranks.

“Uwaagh!”

Stones shattered above, scattering debris.

Even his body, impervious to ordinary swords, bore minor scrapes.

“Get him, now! Bind his feet…!”

Guttural, feral growls from general-ranks.

A battlefield-honed survival instinct screamed a warning.

Without a second thought, he flung himself forward.

An invisible sharp blade slashed at the spot he vacated.

Quickly erecting a barrier of earth, he retreated.

But the wind blades pursued, closing in.

In desperation, he utilized his precious magic stone.

Shhh-shing!

Tiny, razor-sharp ice shards whirled around the general-rank using wind-elemental magic.

Black blood gushed out, staining the ice shard vortex a dark hue.

「A target has been eliminated. Absorbing 288,693 units of corrupted mana.」

He had no time to register the message of mana absorption.

The other general-ranks had already extended threatening claws towards him.

‘I should have prepared a wide area magic!’

Although regretful of inaction, such magics wouldn’t manifest out of thin air.

It wasn’t feasible to purchase and effectively utilize magic from the shop now.

“Argh!”

Dragging his feet now caused a devastating result.

The rocky spikes, mostly destroyed, exposed him to the general-ranks anew.

Facing the rising peril, he racked his brain furiously.

Options weren’t plentiful.

His chaos level was too high to purchase magic stones effective against general-ranks.

‘I’m reaching my limit.’

The defeated general-rank’s demise had spiked his chaos level significantly.

With statistics showing that heightened aggression doubled combat mortality, the stakes were life and death.

He felt duty-bound, having unwillingly joined as a player amidst alien invasion instilling fear worldwide.

But that sense of duty didn’t equate to a willingness to Die recklessly.

Ultimately, he opted for a barrier magic stone from the shop over an attack one.

Breaking the stone, erecting a barrier just in time.

“Huff.”

The tail swung precisely aiming at his head, grazing mere inches past.

Saved by a hair’s breadth! Catching a rattled breath, the player’s heart leaped at the resounding thump.

“No, no way!”

Where he stood moments ago.

A colossal shadow rose, rivaling a building, behind the black curtain.

‘The hole erupted!’

Failing to handle the open hole in time allowed beasts from beyond to spill through.

The precarious situation worsened on this already beleaguered battlefield!

‘I need to stop it, but how? What should I do?’

Hiding in the barrier, the silver-rank member paled.

He pondered the fate of fellow players trapped behind the black screen. Could they have perished?

How long could he withstand using the barrier stone here? Should he make a run for it now?

But how would he dodge the general-ranks outside the barrier?

‘What should I do…’

Perhaps facing being dismembered and escaping was better.

Gritting his teeth, he trembled within the barrier.

Helplessness and despair enveloped him like a shroud.

Then, suddenly a bright flash descended from the sky, refreshing his message window.

「Entering Alpha’s Domain.」

「Corrupted mana is purified.」

「Kyaaa!」

The majestic motion of the gargantuan shadow crumbled all at once.

Flash, flash

Such intense light burst forth, making it hard to keep his eyes open.

Just two sentences and sudden illumination provided enough to speculate on the identity of the new arrival.

The Alpha with purification trait is the utmost protected. Typically guarded deep within, and rarely roams freely.

For Alpha to appear in such an outsider region defies reasoning.

But there is one notable exception, an Alpha strolling the battlefield relying solely on his might.

Known by all.

“K!”

News of his transfer here post-Ukraine’s complete settlement wasn’t mistaken.

Feeling strength leave his legs, the man collapsed to the ground.

Light pierced, scattering the generals surrounding him in agitation.

“Support?”

“Pursue?”

“Exterminate, exterminate first…! The barrier, we must break…!”

Before they concluded, things progressed.

Splat!

Tearing through earth, spiky stones shot up violently.

Much quicker, denser, and firmer than his original enactment. Two general-ranks pierce through with no time to react.

The remaining two leaped skywards.

Thud! Bang!

With a hefty blow, one general was hammered directly on the head and obliterated.

The last one was ensnared by rapid-growing vines.

Those vines, when cut, burnt or torn, obstinately regrew, dragging it relentlessly to the ground.

As the last general sank into the earth, black ichor spurted forth.

‘Burial alive…’

A magic costing millions in Gold at the Gold-rank shop.

Witnessing this simple carnage from within the barrier, the player registered disbelief.

“Aye, that was nemesis-rank, alright? Quite worth the haste, eh?”

Holding a large hammer and shield, the tall and burly Yang Taeho commented toward the barrier.

“You’re the player, eh? It’s all over, come on out.”

Emerging cautiously from the barrier, the player tried to collect himself before expressing gratitude.

“A, uh, thank you? No, I mean… thank you first…”

Kaboom!

A resounding boom echoed, as if a bomb exploded.

It made the surviving player stagger from its force.

Yang Taeho steadied him, glanced heavenwards.

“Spectacular.”

To prove the recent explosion wasn’t imaginary, a massive plume of smoke was expanding.

The intense heat emanating from the blast was an added bonus.

‘Is that K…’

To incinerate everything in sight alone.

Having watched battle footage, witnessing it firsthand left him speechless.

Eulogies praising his combat power were somewhat justified.

Today he keenly felt the validity.

But perplexingly, there was silence following the explosion.

“Why, why is it so quiet? Could it be that K encountered trouble…?”

“Trouble? Bwahaha! You have quite the imagination!”

Laughing heartily, Yang Taeho nonchalantly remarked.

“They’ve passed through the hole, no doubt.”

Only by entering Bihar can it be destroyed.

It inferred that the nemesis-rank passage was his next objective.

Yang Taeho’s guess was pinpoint.

For within minutes, the unique energy from the hole dissipated.

Signalling his approach were approaching presences from the explosion site.

Damned System