“Damn, it’s tough as hell.”
I slammed a massive amount of skills into them, but since I couldn’t deal any fatal damage, the tension continued to rise.
And the moment they were drawn to me…
Yeon-hee divided her summoned creatures and sent them out in two directions.
One half charged towards the two Tarantulas that were closing in on Cha Jin-hyuk and the hunters.
The other half raced toward the gym with her.
I had seven with me, and there were two at the playground.
Now that the tarantulas were all marked by the hunters, there was no reason to keep the citizens inside the melting evacuation facility.
Yeon-hee took on the role of informing the citizens and getting them evacuated.
Meanwhile, Cha Jin-hyuk, covered in blood and tears, was mustering his last bit of strength as he watched Yeon-hee head towards the gym.
The hunters who had been waiting started to pour into the playground as soon as the tarantula on the roof disappeared.
They might have arrived late, but still, everyone hoped they could beat those two Tarantulas without Yeon-hee getting hurt.
As Yeon-hee sprinted to the gym, tears were welling in her eyes as she couldn’t take them off my back.
But there was a fierce determination shining in her purple eyes to make it happen.
‘My benefactor. My hero.’
The image of Yeon-hee, filled with a sense of justice that I remembered, flickered back.
Thud thud thud thud!
But that sentiment quickly faded as I found myself chased by a whopping seven Tarantulas.
– Chirrr!
– Kyaaaaaah!
Thanks to their aggressive tendencies, the provocation effect was still in play.
Boom! Bang!
I tried to spray Special Strong Acid behind me to slow them down a bit.
‘Definitely slower than the ones I faced earlier.’
The massive explosion I had set off earlier seemed to leave quite an impact.
It was clear the Special Strong Acid was working, as I could feel the tarantulas’ speed gradually decreasing. But my stamina and magic power were rapidly depleting due to the reckless use of skills.
‘But I can’t let the distance get too big.’
My goal was to keep them occupied.
I had to maintain a distance that felt like they would catch me at any moment.
Even while running, I was crafting Skeleton Bombs from the pocket at my chest and throwing them at them as soon as they were ready.
Boom!
– Kihihihihihi!!
The tarantulas’ eyeballs trembled upon being hit by the bombs, clearly infuriated.
Thanks to that, even though I was nearly three hundred meters away from the school, they were still completely focused on chasing me.
I lured them towards the small hill behind the school, thinking everything was going according to plan.
Then I faced a staggering situation that nearly made my head spin.
‘Ah, they’re coming again?!’
Five new Tarantulas were charging from the direction I was running!
‘Where did they come from?! This can’t be happening!’
Even while fleeing, I held onto a glimmer of hope.
The life force of the tarantulas pursuing me seemed to be draining due to the strong acid I was spilling behind, and I imagined I might see some of them collapsed on the ground soon.
However, the moment I laid eyes on the five tarantulas, full of life, all those hopes instantly vanished.
‘Huh?’
But upon closer inspection, their state looked a bit strange.
‘…Are they scared?’
Instead of coming at me with a clear objective, they seemed to be fleeing from something.
Based on my instincts as a monster, it felt like they had encountered some kind of monstrous powerhouse they had never faced before.
If that was the case, it would mean there was a strong presence nearby, but my sensory waves hadn’t picked anything up yet.
If I followed the direction they came from, I might run into that powerhouse, but I had no intention of getting too far away from Yeon-hee.
A warning message was still popping up about exceeding the range of the earring artifact I got from a hidden dungeon.
When Yeon-hee was in danger, I needed to be ready to help her escape the battlefield in a hurry, so I had to maneuver back towards the gym.
The moment the new Tarantula pack was aggroing me, I took a hard left turn, and now a total of twelve monsters were chasing me down.
‘Are they really moving an entire squad just to catch one skeleton?!’
Even if I cursed inside, nothing would change.
I hadn’t gotten any closer to them, but the problem was that I had used Phantom Dash and Lightning Step repeatedly, draining both my stamina and magic power below half.
To be honest, I could have just flown up into the sky to save myself, but that option was off the table.
‘There won’t be more, right?’
Since I had unexpectedly ended up causing a headache like this, I expanded my sensory wave to scout.
‘Nothing, thankfully.’
After that, I had to continue the chase while circling around the school within the activated range of Yeon-hee’s paired earring artifact, fighting back and forth with the twelve Tarantulas.
‘How can not even one come to help?! This neighborhood is a mess.’
My canines gritted involuntarily, but I thought other areas might not be that different either.
A few more minutes passed, and my magic power was nearing its limit; the hunters had finally taken down the two Tarantulas near the gym, but their condition wasn’t great.
It was hard to believe that over thirty people were struggling to deal with just two Tarantulas.
The hunters who had first stood with Cha Jin-hyuk were practically incapacitated, and the strongest ones were just the three slackers, making for a poor overall combat composition, which dragged everything out.
If I led the monsters back to the school now, everyone present would be guaranteed to be wiped out.
Close to 700 people would become live bait for the monsters.
It was a horrifying prospect just imagining it.
‘Hoo…’
I had kind of expected this, but actually encountering such a situation brought a sigh out of me.
How did the purpose of defeating the villain turn into helping the villain?
From the beginning, being so eager to level up and just focusing on taking down Cha Jin-hyuk might have been a terribly simplistic thought. No, it was definitely a short-sighted view.
Even if the clock was moving faster, I should have considered the possibility that Cha Jin-hyuk hadn’t darkened.
‘…’
Various thoughts raced through my mind.
When my head gets this complicated, it’s important to focus on the situation at hand.
What’s the result right now?
Everyone inside the gym was safe and sound, with not a single person harmed.
Even Cha Jin-hyuk’s kids looked fine.
‘If I hadn’t come here…’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I felt a rush of dizziness.
‘I’m glad I came.’
Yeon-hee was still moving busily.
She had barely managed to persuade the terrified people in the gym to evacuate after seeing the orc summoned creatures outside, and she was yelling at the hunters to move the civilians to other evacuation facilities.
Even those who were watching the battle started to complain, asking if this much help wasn’t expected of them. Threatening to report them if they continued to hesitate.
“Wow… Yeon-hee has that side to her.”
Seeing her grown-up side made me think it was enough of an achievement.
Furthermore, if we managed to take down all these monsters, both Yeon-hee and I would definitely reach level 60…
‘Hoo—’
I began to distance myself from the gym.
My stamina and magic power had fallen below 15.
With my recovery rate for stamina and magic power gradually fading, I had no strength left to hold on.
‘My head is spinning…’
Occasional headaches intertwined with mana exhaustion shook my mind again.
But the activated trait quickly relieved my pain.
[Pain Resistance]
‘What a convenient body.’
Even after suffering continuous damage from the Special Strong Acid, their momentum didn’t drop at all.
It seemed these monsters inherently had high resistance, as at some point, the acid stopped having any effect.
That meant the initially planned strategy of slowly bleeding them out had become very unlikely to succeed.
‘Aren’t they going to wear out?’
Their stamina level was not much different from that of the undead. What a hassle.
I shook my head and moved to an area where the people would be least affected.
Suddenly—
As I stopped in the middle of an open space, the tarantulas came to a halt with me and began surveying their surroundings.
‘Crazy bastards. Just how smart have they become?’
But as I pressed the Ddak-ddak-i and Dotted One in my hands, [Provocation] activated again, and the twelve terrifying monsters spread out and charged at me.
‘Ddak-ddak-i and Dotted One, I’m sorry.’
(Ah-uh!)
(Scream-)
More than feeling sorry, the overwhelming relief was greater.
At least I wouldn’t be dying alone this time; I couldn’t help but feel a tug at my heart, as if the two summoned ones in my arms were soothing me.
Kaka-kak! Kaka!
Boom!
The sharp teeth and claws of the monsters began to sink into my body.
‘Nothing major should happen before they come back…’
I kept repeating that desperate wish in my mind as I used this skill for the very first time.
[Blast of Madness]
Finally, I activated the skill with the astonishing description of launching a bullet laden with the 【Weight of Existence】 and achieving instant death.
Kiiiiiing────
As the skill activated, time slowed down.
Is this that ‘flashback’ thing?
– Drrrrr!
Moments later, the core that had been in my head burst through and began spinning rapidly in mid-air.
‘…’
The spinning core suddenly came to a stop and then emitted a massive beam of light towards the sky, shattering into pieces.
Boom boom boom—
The pillar of dazzling light soared high into the sky, a sight too brilliant to gaze at.
A moment later, that pillar, which had soared skyward, began to descend as if rapidly rewinding time, mending with the shattered core.
As if it had never been broken, the core returned to my chest.
Kukujisik— Kwayjik—
I had to tremble at this unfamiliar sensation I was feeling for the first time.
Boom!
Cracks erupted from my body, spreading like spider webs.
The Tarantulas affected by the cracks froze in place as if their very existence was denied in this world.
It was all over in a fleeting instant.
– ‘Skeleton Mage Il-wol’ releases the 【Weight of Existence】.
– Taking ‘one life.’
With that message, black bullets emerged from the cracks and scattered in all directions.
Boom—!!
With a resounding blast that shook the very land,
Both my summoned creatures and the twelve Tarantulas vanished from this world without leaving a single trace.
– Skeleton Mage Il-wol has been obliterated.
– Trait [95 Lives] is activated.
– Level has increased!
– You have entered the job change stage!
—
Boom—!!
“Ahhhhhh-!”
The enormous explosion that sounded like the world was splitting shook the ground, and Lee Yeon-hee froze, covering her head while evacuating people.
– Skeleton Mage Il-wol has been obliterated.
‘Obliterated?!’
Yeon-hee stared blankly at the sudden message that popped up before her.
But the next message that followed made her place a hand on her startled chest.
– Re-summoning in <05:59:57>
“Huu… You startled me…!”
The sudden surge of irritation turned into sadness and self-blame.
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