Chapter 340

Chapter 340. Status(格) and Isolation(隔) (6)

Whoosh.

A sudden vibration filled the area, causing Jinwoo to stagger.

‘What… what was that?’

It didn’t take long for him to realize what that phenomenon signified.

“Grrr…”

It was because I made eye contact with the monsters outside the barrier.

“Oh.”

The barrier had disappeared. It wasn’t just at the gymnasium; chaos was coming from the direction of the school building as well.

“Damn it, all the magic has been nullified!”

“Should we distribute new barrier stones?”

“No, it would just waste mana.”

“Hoo… A mage, huh? This fight will be difficult.”

The conversation of the players blocking the front of the gymnasium was straightforward.

From now on, it was as if the means of magic had vanished for the players.

The rock magic Ethan had crafted and the wind step supporting Kim Yul were rendered useless.

They could no longer protect anyone.

“Students, there’s no time! Move now!”

At that moment, the players lifted up the students who were slumped on the ground and moved them to the school building.

To be honest, it was closer to dragging than moving.

Most of the terrified students couldn’t even support their own bodies.

Rice Cake quietly tagged along in that movement procession.

While the students sneakily glanced at Rice Cake, all had succeeded in gathering in front of the school.

Ethan turned his back to them.

“Mr. Ethan, I entrust you to protect the civilians.”

“Leave it to me. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

A golden barrier rose up, enveloping the school building.

‘Temoria’s authority…’

He had heard that the Trait of the Platinum rank could unleash power akin to an apostle.

So, they would be safe now.

Those inside the building, including Yeonwoo and the other students, would be just as safe.

Having understood the situation, Jinwoo gritted his teeth and hung his head.

It was embarrassing to be so helpless in this situation.

‘Always… every time.’

He found it unspeakably frustrating and miserable to be in a position of hiding behind others for protection.

While he remained downcast with a gloomy face, the players left beyond the barrier continued their battle with the monsters.

However, the tide of the battle was turning against the players.

Kim Yul, capable of handling nemesis ranks, was engaged with the newcomer Severius.

Not only was he not in a dominant position, but he was also being pushed back.

Without the ability to use proper magic, this was only natural.

Kim Yul attempted close-quarters combat, relying on his physical abilities, but with each attempt, his wounds multiplied.

“Ugh!”

Just then, Kim Yul, who was being severely pressed, collided with the golden barrier.

“Kyaa!”

“How… how could…”

The students who witnessed the scene firsthand began to whimper.

It was only natural since Kim Yul, who was sliding down the barrier, was entirely covered in blood.

“If I was to die now, it would be justified…”

His countless injuries were not the only issue.

“It seems your robustness has become your downfall.”

His left arm had been torn off, and strange flesh was protruding from his severely split abdomen.

It was probably part of an organ that should have stayed quietly inside his body.

“To still struggle in agony without dying at this point, your god must be quite cruel.”

Thud.

Kim Yul fell to the ground with a heavy noise, mumbling with a weak voice.

“You lunatic, what’s with the sudden god talk…”

At the same time, he watched Kim Yul spill potion on his body with his remaining hand.

Even with his forehead slightly caved in, he seemed determined to continue the fight.

Watching him, Jinwoo felt the blood in my veins run cold.

– It’s better not to step into this quagmire at all.

So, this is the mire Hyunwoo had mentioned.

His brother must have become the best, stepping on the same quagmire Kim Yul found himself in.

The thought that I might become a player, and that I wanted to help, filled me with a sense of futility.

During this time, Kim Yul, who had emptied several potion bottles, muttered.

“Going mad, what did they do to the magic…”

Unfortunately, his bleeding wasn’t stopping.

Despite pouring several bottles of potion, his wounds only seemed to widen.

“Your durability is indeed notable, so I’ve devised a somewhat effective method. How do you like it?”

“I love it, yes. It’s quite lovely.”

Kim Yul suddenly mimicked Yang Taeho’s dialect, chuckling as he rose.

Severius, standing about ten steps away, leisurely waited for Kim Yul.

“Ugh.”

Thanks to this, Kim Yul could lean against the Barrier of Patience and sit.

“This freaking hurts; maybe I am really going to die this time…”

Standing relatively close to the barrier, I overheard Kim Yul’s mumblings.

His casual mention of death as if it were an everyday topic seemed eerily bizarre.

However, that thought pertained only to me.

Kim Yul, as if nothing was amiss, spoke calmly.

“Mr. Ethan, you know this absolutely cannot fall, right?”

“… Yes.”

With all the other players outside the barrier dead, only Kim Yul remained.

Once he died, the concentrated attacks would commence on the Barrier of Patience.

Kim Yul spoke with that Scenario in mind.

“If something happens to them, Hyunwoo hyung will really lose it. I’ve watched him long enough to know that he can’t live without his family.”

If something happens to Hyunwoo, that’d be the end for all of us too.

“Given his situation, I’m worried. He’s almost like a paper doll now…”

“You know him well. He promised not to come, no matter what.”

He said he had also trapped them inside a barrier just in case.

“Oh, thank God.”

The continued conversation between Ethan and Kim Yul was unnerving.

It was like something you’d hear before one’s last request.

As I watched both of them in confusion, Severius stepped forward.

“Is your will complete?”

“Will? Please mind your words. I’m still alive, you know…”

“In a way, that’s truly impressive. To still have the strength to talk like this.”

Then he grasped Kim Yul’s face with a benevolent smile.

Kim Yul immediately swung a dagger at Severius’s throat.

His speed was incredible, particularly for someone injured.

However, the dagger, brimming with fierce wind, did not reach its mark.

Instead, he lost his remaining arm.

Severius clicked his tongue with pity as he overpowered Kim Yul’s last desperate act with a mere gesture.

“You’ve done quite enough, why don’t you rest now?”

He instinctively sprinted forward, calling out.

“Uh, excuse me! Just a moment!”

“Hmm?”

From the conversation Ethan and Kim Yul had just exchanged, it seemed their target was likely Hyunwoo’s blood relatives, Yeonwoo and Jinwoo.

In that case, maybe he could propose a deal.

Though he did nothing but sink into wretchedness, watching helplessly.

Kim Yul, despite his mutilated body, was thinking of getting back up and, even amidst his anticipation of death, worried about the day’s end and the future thereafter.

He was a treasured ally more invaluable than Jinwoo could ever compare.

Moreover, unlike his powerless self, he could aid Hyunwoo.

So, if someone absolutely had to die here.

That someone might be better off being him, rather than Kim Yul.

“I, I’m Hyunwoo’s brother… after all.”

He continued to speak, leading trembling body forward.

“If you just let him go, I, I will step out to you instead.”

Severius’ eyes twinkled with interest.

“Hm, are you referring to that scum Hyunwoo? So you mean to barter your life for his?”

He asked, shaking the limp Kim Yul in his grasp.

“Well, in a way, yes…?”

Jinwoo’s voice was still trembling as he replied.

“Sniff, snort.”

Rice Cake approached, tugging Jinwoo’s clothes as if trying to stop him.

“Hey, old man. Don’t get any funny ideas. He can’t come out anyway.”

Even Kim Yul, who was in Severius’s grasp, chimed in.

Ethan, who was maintaining the Barrier of Patience, remained silent.

But it wasn’t out of respect for his intentions.

As long as Ethan practiced patience, the barrier would not break.

So there was no way he could actually step outside.

Ethan, knowing that fact better than anyone, did not react unnecessarily.

Severius, watching the varied reactions, laughed, and spoke.

“It’s a highly intriguing proposition… yet this young man raised a crucial issue that can’t be overlooked. Do you have the means to get out?”

“… What?”

“I ask how you plan to step outside. Your guardians don’t seem inclined to let you go.”

“Well, that is…”

Jinwoo was at a loss for words.

There was no way he could persuade Ethan, nor did he know a method to penetrate the golden barrier.

“If you were implying that I should break through the Barrier of Patience to come in…”

Cloud-like smoke began to rise from Severius’s hand.

“Would that even be considered a deal?”

If then, there was no reason to spare Kim Yul.

Before the cordial yet serene sentence ended, the clouds forming from Severius’s hand began to engulf Kim Yul.

“Wha, aaaargh!”

Kim Yul’s scream in pain made me freeze entirely.

“Don’t be too surprised. I had no intention of sparing him anyway.”

Severius’s green eyes were now filled with madness.

“Being the blood of that insufferable scum, I’ll make sure to attend to you specially. Playing with you until you beg for death will somewhat quench this deep grudge…”

The eyes filled with glee as if ready to tear him apart froze suddenly.

“Hmm…?”

Unable to complete his sentence, Severius lowered his gaze to his hand.

It was then he realized his hand was empty.

Kim Yul had vanished without a trace.

The screams, which had been echoing till now, were no longer heard.

Jinwoo urgently scanned his surroundings, looking for any trace of Kim Yul.

Straightening, he took a sudden intake of breath as he focused on where Severius stood.

“If you wanted to play so badly, you should have hurried.”

Behind Severius, who was staring at his empty hand, glowed a frightening golden light.

Swish.

A sound as light as paper brushing against cloth resonated, and Severius disappeared from view.

Bang!

He had careened like a cannonball, crashing into a black barrier, giving an impression of disappearing abruptly.

Shaking, I called out to the golden glow’s owner in a trembling voice.

“H… Hyung…”

Hyunwoo, who had sent Severius flying with a mere gesture, exhaled deeply and reached out.

The golden barrier established by Ethan wavered, creating an opening.

Hyunwoo pushed the bloodied Kim Yul through that opening with his left arm.

Jinwoo caught the bloodied Kim Yul, standing right at the barrier’s opening.

Afterward, Hyunwoo murmured softly.

“Kerax.”

Swish.

A familiar spear emerged from somewhere along with the leather pouch Hyunwoo always carried.

Hyunwoo began searching through the pouch and pulled out a clear crystal bottle.

“Make him drink it immediately.”

Jinwoo’s trembling hands received the bottle, and he opened it at once.

It was the second of the three bottles of holy water Hyunwoo possessed being used.

Watching Kim Yul manage to swallow the holy water, Hyunwoo withdrew his hand from the golden barrier.

Instantaneously, the gap in the barrier disappeared.

Only then did Hyunwoo redirect his gaze away from Kim Yul and spoke.

“I know you’re not dead yet, so get up.”

His voice carried no emotion, detached and straightforward.

It was the reaction Hyunwoo showed when infuriated to the core.

Aware of this all too well, Jinwoo swallowed dryly.

At that moment, Severius, who had been sprawled, lodged into the black barrier, began to rise slowly.

“Quite painful.”

With a snap, his bizarrely twisted body from the impact returned to its original shape.

“How did you do it? I clearly watched him get devoured by my magic…”

“Find out yourself if you’re curious.”

Hyunwoo’s remarkably calm, yet terrifying voice concluded as golden lightning bolts showered in all directions.

“If you manage to survive today, that is.”

Hyunwoo’s form vanished.

Damned System

TL’s Corner:

I don’t really know how to feel about Jinwoo’s heroics, it was a stupid move, but I also know how it feels to be powerless without being able to do anything.