Chapter 338

Chapter 338. Status(格) and Isolation(隔) (4)

The chaos erupted without any warning signs.

It was an afternoon when classes were in full swing to cover the insufficient class hours and advance through the curriculum.

When someone, unable to suppress their boredom, looked out the window.

“What?”

The voice was too small to reach classmates and the teacher.

“Uh oh…”

But it grew louder.

“What, what is that!”

It became clear enough to grab everyone’s attention.

A student suddenly stood up from their seat, pushing the chair back with urgency, and shouted.

“It’s a Hole!”

Simultaneously, a white orb floating above the playground changed.

In the blink of an eye, it had turned black.

Students who were surprised by a classmate’s sudden shout gathered at the windows.

Thanks to that, everyone saw it together.

The black orb shattered, and black smoke expanded widely.

It was a signal that a Hole had opened.

While those who had never seen such a scene before were confused, something shot out of the Hole and soared into the sky.

Before anyone could panic over the sound of it bursting with a bang, the surroundings of the school turned entirely black.

It did not mean the light was blocked or the view became dark.

It was just that the view outside the school was obscured by what seemed like a black wall.

Even with just that, it was enough to cause panic—and then, out of the wide-open Hole, something finally emerged.

“Grrrr…”

An enormous monster’s head, drooling tainted saliva, popped out.

Its skin slick enough to reflect like polish, bright muscles visible beyond it, elongated arms dragging on the ground, heavy steps thumping as they struck the earth, and a large build reaching up to 2 meters.

Someone saw the 5 ominous heads that had rapidly increased and muttered with dread.

“General-Rank…”

Stars, indicating their rank, were hovering above the monsters that appeared on the school playground. They were all general-rank capable of using pathogens.

Just as everyone was recalling the now-common knowledge about the monsters, the Hole vanished abruptly.

Then, a white orb appeared not far away, and this time, black smoke began to fill it slowly.

Two general-rank creatures headed there and stood guard at the Hole.

Meanwhile, the remaining three turned their bloodshot eyes, searching around.

Soon, they started moving towards the main school building as if they knew exactly where they were headed.

Thud, thud, thud.

The heavy footsteps seemed to echo into the distant classroom.

Watching that surreal scene was momentary.

“To, the hallway!”

The teacher, who had been frozen, shouted urgently.

That’s when the students snapped back to reality, started shouting in fear and tears.

“Wh… what do we do?!”

“A… are we going to die?”

“Don’t say such horrible things!”

“Everyone, be quiet and move!”

“Yeah! Hurry up!”

“Block the tables! Everyone, don’t panic and do as you were trained!”

The plan was to move as far away from the approaching monsters as possible, use various structures in the building to block the monsters’ movements with barricades, verify the number of students in each class, and use the barrier stones placed in each classroom to hold out until a rescue team arrived.

Many in-school drills were conducted just in case.

As long as everyone stayed calm and acted according to training, it would be okay.

Yeonwoo, kept herself calm and joined her friends as they busily organized things.

“Class 4! Check the number in class 4!”

“Class 5, move quickly!”

Students from other classes were following the same procedures.

『An announcement to inside the school. At present, the east gate, west gate… and the central gate have all been sealed with barrier stones. Teachers, please evacuate the students swiftly as per the manual and use barrier stones in the classrooms.』

An announcement also started about blocking the entrances.

Yeonwoo and her friends were about to head into the hallway when an event occurred just before moving away from the window.

“Oh, oh no… over there!”

One of the monsters diverted its path before coming towards the school building.

It was heading towards the gymnasium where students were having an indoor PE class, avoiding the harsh January cold outside.

– What’s that?

– Ah.

The face of Jinwoo, who had changed into his gym clothes and went outside just before break, naturally came to mind.

‘Is there a barrier stone in the gymnasium too?’

While they had heard there were barrier stones in the classrooms, was the gymnasium the same?

Hesitating due to uncertainty, a general-rank creature peeked into the gymnasium.

– Aaaaah!

– Uwaaaah!

Faint screams of the students reached from afar.

If a barrier stone had been used, there should’ve been no sound.

Smash.

With the window shattered, the faint screams and wails became much more distinct.

Whether there was a barrier stone or not, it hadn’t been used yet!

“K, Kang Jinwoo! The artifact! The bracelet that Oppa gave!”

Yeonwoo, who turned pale, clung to the window and screamed, but wasn’t sure if Jinwoo could hear it.

Perhaps, because it was PE time, he had left the accessory-like object in the classroom…

Flash.

Amid the swirl of countless worries, suddenly a bright light burst from the school’s flower bed.

“Whoa!”

“Wh- what is that?!”

“Is another monster appearing?!”

“I know that! It’s K’s pet!”

Returning to its original gigantic size, Rice Cake pounced on the general-rank creature heading toward the gymnasium.

‘Rice Cake!’

With a single leap, Rice Cake accurately bit into the general-rank’s head.

Its white fur quickly turned black from the gushing blood like a fountain.

Seeing such a brutal sight made Yeonwoo unconsciously cover her mouth.

In the brief moment she let out a silent scream, the monsters heading towards the school noticed the commotion and turned around.

“Grrrr…”

Barely for an instant, Rice Cake fiercely growled, baring its teeth at the remaining intact generals.

Yet, encountering them head-on was unlike the previous ambush from behind.

Truly, Rice Cake seemed burdened by opposing two general-ranks wielding their lengthy arms freely.

Claws bore marking brutal wounds on its sinewy build.

“No, no way!”

At that moment, Yeonwoo screamed with a high-pitched voice as she clung to the windowsill again.

The two remaining general-rank creatures guarding the Hole leaped and joined the parade into the gym.

Yeonwoo couldn’t tear her eyes away from the situation.

Though willing to continue watching from the window, she couldn’t stay much longer than that.

“What are you doing there! Come quickly!”

A teacher rushed over to help Yeonwoo, who wasn’t thinking of evacuating.

“But… the gym, the gymnasium!”

“Now is not the time for excuses! You’re endangering your friends!”

Unable to resist anymore after hearing those words, she grabbed her bag and headed for the hallway.

While she tarried, the other students had already completed erecting barricades using desks and chairs against the classroom wall connected to the corridor.

Jutting haphazardly without any order or rules were chair and desk legs thrust to the sky; right after passing through, entering the corridor.

“Attendance check now, everybody sit!”

The teacher yelled, seating the students.

While conducting the quick headcount, she glanced around the corridor, which was already empty.

Students from other classes had already used the barriers a step ahead.

Our class soon concealed ourselves using the barrier stone as well.

Only then, the teacher, having worried herself until then, wiped cold sweat from her brow, feeling slightly relieved.

But the silence embraced within the barrier soon faded, replaced by sobs.

“Hnn, hnn…”

“Why at our school…?”

Students gathered in groups, trying to pull themselves together from the horror.

Yet, rather, the terror engulfing them was growing thicker by the second.

Then, as if waiting for it,

Crash!

Crack-!

Suddenly, the windows and walls of the classroom started ripping apart.

“Aaaaaugh!”

“Uwaaaah!”

Students crouched while grabbing their heads, screaming aloud.

Everything they had arduously constructed as a barricade began vanishing from beyond.

Finally, as the windows vanished completely and the outside scene flooded into view.

Thump.

With a reverberating thud, a general-rank rose atop the classroom.

“Eeeeeek!”

“Mommy, mommyyy… hisss!”

“This… this is the second floor…”

“Does a monster care about that?!”

In response to someone murmuring amidst tears, another yelled in an outburst.

Meanwhile, the monster inched closer inside the classroom, emitting ominous grunting sounds.

Its swiveling head seemed intent on finding something.

Shortly after, an undeniable sound confirmed it wasn’t merely an assumption.

“Class 6…”

Yeonwoo, who had been trembling ever so slightly while hugging her backpack tightly, froze up.

Vital warmth circulating through her entire body seemed to cool immediately.

“Not there?”

Both Yeonwoo and Jinwoo, because they’d frequently encountered Biharin thanks to Hyunwoo, carried Interpreter magic tools with them.

And so, they could understand the general-rank muttering its words.

“Grr… mana?”

It murmured, glancing at the corridor.

“Barrier! Barrier!”

The thrill in its voice after grasping something was suddenly revealed.

“Catch them, eat them, just leave the head!”

High on enthusiasm, the monster ripped through the barricade, advancing into the corridor.

“Ye, Yeonwoo?”

The sudden trembling of Yeonwoo prompted a close friend near her to call out.

But Yeonwoo, witnessing the general getting alarmingly close to the barrier, frantically rummaged through her bag.

‘They know! They knew that Jinwoo and I was here! Because we’re Hyunwoo’s siblings!’

An onrush of realization regarding the sudden attack made panic spike within her.

Considering that others were endangered due to them clouded her vision with dread.

Despite that, her hands didn’t cease their frantic search inside the bag.

Ultimately, Yeonwoo successfully found what she was desperately searching for.

It was the artifact Hyunwoo had directly handed to her.

Relying solely on the barrier and merely hiding didn’t seem like a wise choice given the circumstances.

However.

‘But what I have is an escape tool…’

What Yeonwoo possessed was armed with transport magic, which was supposed to be used together with Jinwoo in a dire situation.

But in the absence of Jinwoo, was it right for her to just flee alone?

Moreover, if she were to leave rendering herself the apparent target out of sight here,

‘What about my remaining friends…?’

Would those terrifying creatures spare them?

‘They definitely won’t…’

Leaving those endangered due to them behind and fleeing for herself felt outright wrong.

Logically, it was a pointless quandary.

It’s clear she has nothing she can do by staying here.

Also, a threat to her well-being would indirectly impact Hyunwoo as well.

‘I know that.’

Using this artifact is the best course of action in this situation.

Nonetheless, even knowing, she couldn’t quite bring herself to follow through.

As doing so for the best, it meant forsaking her humanity.

Yeonwoo, after all, was merely nineteen years old.

Too young to bear such a heavy decision.

‘If only I could bear here until Oppa comes to rescue…’

With tears starting to drop steadily as she thought this, a general-rank made its advance upon Yeonwoo.

“Barrier! Barrier!”

Waving its elongated arm haphazardly, reassured in its belief in the barrier.

“Eeeyah!”

Again, the children crouched in fright, grabbing their heads and shrieked atop the floor.

Though aware that the barrier would keep them safe from that, the direct visual threat looming was sufficiently terrifying.

As panic engulfed everyone, the area turned into a sea of lamentation.

Amidst this motion.

Crash.

“Nice, Ahel hyung!”

Miraculously familiar voices reached her ears.

**New Elements and Characters:**

– 혼란: Chaos(it)

– 학생: Student(they)

– 교사: Teacher(na)

– 창 밖: Window(it)

– 학교: School(it)

– 운동장: Playground(it)

– 흰색 구슬: White Orb(it)

– 검은 연기: Black Smoke(it)

– 괴물: Monster(they)

– 체육관: Gymnasium(it)

– 백설기: Rice Cake(na)

– 장군급: General-Rank(na)

– 체육 선생님: PE Teacher(na)

– 아헬 형: Ahel Hyung(he)