episode_0086

86. End.

Yohan stared ahead with a slightly surprised expression. How on earth did they react?

Digging a tunnel using a Dig spell, then detonating a seed of fire to burst onto the surface. It was a simple strategy, but a method that had worked effectively until now.

There were two possibilities. They either blocked Sarah’s charge with pure reaction speed, or…

‘A detection-type trait or skill.’

The latter was preferable. His location was already exposed. A high level of reaction speed was more threatening to Yohan and his group.

Currently, Sarah was under indiscriminate attack from the enemies. Yohan hurriedly deployed a shield to cover her.

Thanks to that, Yohan’s magic power drained away like a receding tide. The amount of magic power used to dig the tunnel was considerable.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have just broken through head-on.’

The losses were severe. Yohan, gritting his teeth, fired a beam of fire forward. At that moment, something with a sleek body bisected the long crimson flame.

Yohan guessed it was a rapier. Because it returned to its owner. It was annoying. Judging from the looks of it, the rapier’s owner seemed to be the enemy team’s best fighter.

The skill at cutting flames was very sharp. Yohan watched the rapier return with a smooth movement and snapped his fingers.

Fire Chain.

Scattered fragments of flame gathered closely together. Soon, they bound the rapier. Yohan pulled his right hand towards his waist, as if doing a one-arm dumbbell row.

Creak, creak, creak-

The red-hot rapier flew towards Yohan. A drop of sweat ran down Yohan’s forehead. The backlash was stronger than he thought. In that fleeting moment, Yohan had a good idea.

Yohan shouted.

“Deoksu! Step on it as hard as you can!”

“H-huh? A-alright, I understand!”

Vroom, vroom-!

The force of the rapier trying to return to its original position, and the vehicle’s propulsion, combined. Their vehicle sped across the wasteland at a noticeably faster speed than before.

A scene flashed through Yohan’s mind. The image of a tow truck forcibly dragging a broken-down car. Yohan was inspired by that.

Deoksu’s meager hair flailed wildly.

“Uwaaaaa! Shiii-bal!”

Before long, the car’s speed gradually decreased. In the distance, the rapier could be seen tumbling roughly across the reddish-brown ground. The guy had abandoned his weapon.

It was a wise choice, but the judgment was too slow. He should have abandoned it sooner. Before he knew it, the distance to the enemies was much closer.

Magic Missile.

Dozens of blue orbs were created in front of Yohan. Soon, they surged towards the enemies, leaving behind blue afterimages.

Pshew, pshew, pshew- Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

As the distance closed, the enemies’ appearances became even clearer. One mage, one archer, one rogue, and finally, a man presumed to be a rapier swordsman.

Soon, the man who had pulled out a new rapier shouted at Yohan. As expected, it was that bastard.

“You son of a bitch! I won’t let you get away with this!”

He had reason to be angry. He was about to take first place, but an uninvited guest had suddenly intervened. Yohan didn’t care.

At that moment, Yohan’s right hand blurred. Soon, something resembling an awl flew towards the man.

“How dare you!”

The man lightly swung his rapier. In response, the rapier Yohan had thrown fell limply. It was the weapon he had just captured with the Fire Chain.

Yohan wiggled his fingers and muttered.

“Come back.”

Whoosh-

Immediately afterwards, the rapier twisted like a snake and flew towards Yohan.

Thud!

“Where do you think you’re going! You think I’ll let you go… …”

The man wasn’t just watching. He reached out and snatched the hilt of the rapier. Yohan’s scheme worked.

Slash- Clang!

“······!”

A diagonal line seemed to be drawn in the air, and the man’s left hand was severed from the elbow. The rapier he was holding fell powerlessly to the ground, making a clear sound.

“Don’t take your eyes off the battle.”

“Keuh······!”

The man clutched his left elbow and retreated. Since the vehicle was quite large, there was plenty of room to escape. Soon, Sarah, who had cut off the man’s arm, climbed onto the vehicle.

“······.”

In her left hand, the man’s left arm was twitching. She threw it outside with an indifferent gesture.

In response, the man’s two eyeballs rolled away. A muscular arm, discolored yellow by the reddish-brown dust, was visible. Immediately afterwards, the man’s figure disappeared.

Clang, clang, clang!

“Diiiiii-e!”

“······.”

The man’s face was flushed red as he drove her back. His momentum was quite impressive. She retreated little by little, parrying the man’s attacks. It wasn’t as good as Seungin Cha, but the speed of the sword strikes was quite fast.

Especially…

Jjeoeong!

As for thrusts, he was comparable to Seungin Cha. Sarah blocked the tip of the rapier with the flat of her sword and thought. Soon, she leaped up.

Whoosh-

Something brushed past the spot where her two feet had been.

Arrows and throwing stars. She almost lost her mobility. She widened her eyes.

Swoooooosh-

A white chill was approaching above her head. Even a slight touch would clearly greatly reduce her physical abilities. Immediately afterwards, a faint shield was created behind her back. She stomped her feet familiarly.

Wham! Slice-

The archer’s neck, who had been aiming at her, was smoothly severed. Next was the rogue. Sarah used the force of cutting off the neck to rotate her entire body.

Soon, just before her longsword reached the rogue’s neck, the rogue hurriedly raised his dagger.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

The rogue groaned and barely blocked it. Sarah’s eyes flashed slightly. She finally understood.

It was clear that this rogue’s performance was the reason she was recognized when she burst out of the ground. He was a man with quite a good reaction speed.

But still, he didn’t measure up to Sarah. Sarah kicked out in mid-air.

Pow!

“Keuheok! S-save me… …”

His posture collapsed. It was a golden opportunity, but she stepped back.

Immediately afterwards, a faint diagonal line was drawn where her neck had been. It was the rapier swordsman’s strike.

The man breathed heavily and fought back against her. But the tide had already turned. She leisurely walked around on the vehicle and cooked them.

She hadn’t noticed yet, but her swordsmanship shone only when Yohan provided cover. Until just now, it was difficult for Yohan to provide cover because he was far away, but it was different now. Yohan’s shields were created in the right places, assisting her.

In the end─

“Keo, keueooo······.”

The rapier swordsman groaned and his movements slowed. There was a hand-sized hole in his chest. He stabbed the heart accurately. Sarah rushed at the remaining players. Now that the annoying swordsman was dead, things were easier.

Before long, only Sarah stood tall on the vehicle. Deoksu, who saw that from afar, cheered.

“Ooooooh! 1st place! It’s 1st place!!”

Vroom, vroom-!

An exhaust sound was heard, as if responding to his voice. Yohan felt the tension that had been holding his body back loosen. He leaned back in the passenger seat. It was cozy.

‘It’s finally over.’

He didn’t want to kill if possible, but the enemies’ resistance was too strong. Yohan swallowed his regret and overtook them. Looking to the side, Sarah, who had already taken out and boarded her bike, was visible.

Sarah said with a faint smile. Somehow, it seemed like he was seeing her smile often these days.

“Good job.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Sarah.”

Deoksu cut in, laughing heartily.

“You worked hard!”

***

[Achievement rate: 99.9243751%]

It was around the time Yohan was staring at the achievement rate with mineral-like eyes that Sarah’s voice was heard from the side.

“There’s a flag over there.”

“Is that the finish line? Are there any other players around?”

“Yes. At least, I don’t see any.”

“Then that’s good. If Sarah can’t see them, neither can I.”

Yohan said that while glancing at his leaderboard. 1st place. Maybe Sarah was in 2nd place. He looked at Sarah, who was already sitting in the passenger seat.

When they reached the finish line to some extent, they switched seats. Deoksu went slightly behind while riding the bike, and Yohan and Sarah got into the sports car. It was to give Deoksu the 3rd place reward. Fortunately, Deoksu accepted this offer as if it were natural.

─Of course! Actually, I was going to say that sooner! Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to get this far if it weren’t for the team leader and the team leader’s wife!

Yohan secretly breathed a sigh of relief at Deoksu’s words. If he had refused─

‘I’ve grown a little attached. It’s going to be a little difficult to kill him.’

From the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor. He was a human with whom he had built a relationship for quite a long time in this barbaric tower. The speed at which bonds were formed was faster than when he was in reality. Yohan readily acknowledged that fact.

But, that didn’t change anything. Whether they were close or not, if Deoksu crossed the line, he would die. That fact would never change.

While Yohan was thinking that, they passed the finish line. Immediately afterwards, a pure white ray of light enveloped them.

[Achievement rate: 100%]

[Your rank: 1st place]

[3rd floor completed.]

[Moving to the room of rewards.]