Jo Gi-man was either in shock or still thought his current act was convincing, as he remained lying down with his eyes closed.
The previously active provocateurs gazed at him for a while, and seemingly recalling something, they quickly resumed their activities.
– “Jo Gi-man, the White Knight Guild Leader, has single-handedly held off the Great Beast!”
– “If it weren’t for Jo Gi-man, we would have suffered tremendous damage!”
– “It seems the excitement earlier was just an aftereffect of dealing with that Great Beast!”
– “… Is that so?”
– “I didn’t see it. But I guess it’s true he fought until the end.”
As some of the hype-men began to add a slight twist of truth to their agitprop, the Hunters who could remember nothing soon started to believe it as fact.
‘Sure, go ahead and take all the credit, you bastard.’
Thinking of the strange entity that had appeared earlier, I felt oddly reassured by this sight.
‘That guy is too dangerous. He judged and acted with cold precision without hesitation.’
Is it something that would come out if Jo Gi-man repeated his regression about a hundred times?
‘Isn’t it impossible for the Evil God to come down in Jo Gi-man’s body in the first place?’
Of course, judging by his anguish earlier, his limits seemed pretty clear. Still, judging by his words, it seemed he had made some preparations to maintain that state.
‘Even if he grows, there’s no way I can win against that guy…’
At least it was fortunate that the being connected to my skill served as a brake for now.
Most likely, the distorted perception of the Seven-headed Dragon was thanks to the fragments of that great being.
I thought I should ask my Master about this while struggling to lift my body.
Creak creak—
‘Ah… my body’s a mess. Losing consciousness before wasn’t just for show.’
I thought I could hold on, but seeing the armor crumbling in various places sent chills down my spine.
“Ugh…”
“Ugh… my head.”
I began to help with recovery by pouring the freshly drawn Irmana’s water into Yeon-hee and Ah-rin’s mouths, who were just starting to regain their senses.
“Puha— what the hell just happened?”
“I… did I finally die?”
Ah-rin still couldn’t adjust to reality, and Yeon-hee seemed dizzy, clutching her head in distress as many thoughts flooded her mind.
I expected the messages that appeared while I dealt with the Great Beast and the achievements I acquired would be overwhelming for her.
She stood still like everyone else, but perhaps all the information I saw and felt was weighing heavily on her awakening.
“Ugh… it hurts… sniff…”
Seeing Yeon-hee in such pain made me feel sorry, so I patted her head.
“Hey… do it with both hands.”
“Okay…”
While touching her head, I couldn’t hide my bittersweet feelings.
‘Would getting some healing skills change things…?’
An Undead healing others? What a ridiculous delusion.
‘If Ham Eun-young were here, this would have been resolved quickly.’
I know Irmana’s water doesn’t fully liberate one from mental pain. Ham Eun-young wouldn’t always be by my side.
So… I need to gain more abilities.
As I gain various things, the abilities I desire could be generated through combinations.
And I must be more cautious.
The marks I stacked this time had an inevitable aspect to them, which can’t be seen as a bad choice.
Had I not done that, Jo Gi-man would have survived, but who knows what would have happened to the others?
So I have no regrets about my choice.
But it seemed I was thinking too much about myself.
Jo Gi-man undoubtedly took my attack and sensed some abnormalities.
He likely possesses many unusual achievements alongside those skills and traits.
I need to scrutinize even what I consider obvious.
Even the fact that Dnarr, who was hidden using a barrier skill, was detected and eliminated instantly by the Seven-headed Dragon borrowing Jo Gi-man’s body is noteworthy.
In the future, when facing Jo Gi-man, I have to think and prepare with him as the standard.
‘Hah… isn’t the standard too high? Compared to him, Great Beasts are just child’s play.’
I let out a sigh.
Creeeak—
‘The barrier…’
The barrier that Kim Jae-hyeon had restored was collapsing again.
– “Ahhhh?! The barrier is breaking!”
– “Shit, it won’t suddenly transport us to another world, right?”
– “Can you stop saying ominous things already?!”
The people hadn’t yet fully liberated themselves from the fear of death and were sensitively reacting to seemingly trivial remarks.
Still, it was phenomenal that the barrier’s structure remained intact despite that enormous being descending.
Thinking back, the Great Beast and Jo Gi-man were stuck together, yet that colossal being precisely consumed only the monsters.
It’s impressive that he handles power so delicately, contrary to his size.
One of the hype-men suddenly climbed onto a building and shouted.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s clear that Mr. Jo Gi-man, our White Knight Guild Leader, has done a great deed! Let’s all shout for him!!”
‘… With that level of enthusiasm, I’d want to hire him too.’
It sounded like a suggestion an elderly manager of a company might make, but the Hunters, who feared death with the appearance of the Great Beast, enthusiastically joined in the cheer for that cringeworthy act.
“Whoooa───!!”
The roar was reminiscent of Orc Warriors starting their charge, and soon the breaking of the barrier we were bound by began to accelerate.
“It’ll be lifted in an hour.”
Kang Yeon-su had been frequently summoned to meetings, and now seemed to have a moment, approaching us to share information.
“Kim Jae-hyeon… Even after he died, the barrier still holds, huh?”
Yeon-hee expressed her curiosity, and Yeon-su mournfully explained it was a special trait of Kim Jae-hyeon.
“He’s an S-rank Barrier Mage. There aren’t many talents like him in the country. He must have been trying to pull something, but it wasn’t something to just outright kill him.”
“That’s right!”
“Even if we couldn’t figure out why he did that, there would have been ways to use him to our advantage if we slowly lifted the barrier. That damn Jo Gi-man was just too decisive.”
“Really! It’s such a waste of an S-rank Hunter’s talent.”
Knowing that Kim Jae-hyeon was trying to do something more than what Yeon-su thought, I felt that Jo Gi-man’s immediate actions were appropriate but didn’t voice it.
And since Yeon-hee had grievances against Jo Gi-man, she actively supported any gossip Yeon-su had about him.
Yeon-su briefly observed Jo Gi-man before speaking.
“Well, aside from the fake show of suffering, it’s true he used a lot of energy. Let’s leave him as is for now. I’ll ask about the contract later.”
“Thanks, sis…”
“Yeah, and you’re still holding onto the ‘Well-Being Note’ I gave you, right?”
“Yes, there are still two left.”
“Oh, good.”
Before long, many Hunters circling around Jo Gi-man had gathered.
Among them were Park Jin-gon and Seok Ryu-hwa, who always bickered.
– “Let’s bring the representative. I’ll take care of wrapping things up with the Vice Guild Leader.”
– “Do that.”
It seemed they were somewhat in sync regarding matters related to Jo Gi-man, as Park Jin-gon supported Jo Gi-man and moved toward the barrier while Seok Ryu-hwa approached us.
‘They sure know how to exploit their A-rank dungeon management authority.’
I was already well aware that they didn’t genuinely worry about Jo Gi-man.
– “Ugh…”
– “Ah, are you okay?”
– “Hoo…”
Jo Gi-man, supported by Park Jin-gon, stood up and sighed deeply while looking up at the sky.
His eyes trembled slightly.
Bloodshot eyes that seemed to hold tears just appeared to show he had crossed some line with anger.
‘Looks like he was quite attached to Meteor? But can’t he manifest it again after losing it?’
I couldn’t know since I’ve never lost anything.
Jo Gi-man had just started to take a step when he suddenly turned to look at us.
“……”
‘……’
However, he still seemed dazed, shaking his head several times before averting his gaze from us.
‘Hmm… seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t remember.’
Feeling uneasy, I was at least relieved that we got through today.
Seok Ryu-hwa, who came over, hadn’t stood out today but hadn’t shied away from combat either.
Having exhausted a tremendous amount of magic, her vigor was lower than when I first met her.
She began discussing the status of the White Knight Guild members who had recently joined the fight and future compensation with Yeon-su.
Given the contributions of the White Knight Guild in this battle, it was clear the government would provide substantial support funds.
“Ieon-hee isn’t officially part of our organization yet. Nothing has changed from the conditions that activate in April…”
“Handle that yourself. I didn’t keep you around to give you anything special.”
“I understand.”
Listening to their conversation absentmindedly, we judged it unimportant and focused on our rest.
“This really is a strange world… About to die one moment, then suddenly becoming so peaceful.”
“Before the gate opens, every day was like that. Not a world trembling in death.”
‘… Was it really like that?’
A world without monsters is unimaginable.
A moment later, news that the barrier had been lifted had us leaping to our feet.
“Oh my, Yeon-hee and Ah-rin, you worked hard. Hurry inside and rest.”
“Thank you! We survived thanks to you!”
“It was an honor to meet you! Let’s definitely have a meal next time…!”
“Sure— I’ll treat you to something delicious.”
“Waaah—”
– “Vice Guild Leader!! The Dwarf Guild has raised objections regarding contributions; could you come over for a moment…?”
“Ah, those little things keep saying come and go. Tch…”
We gave proper thanks to Yeon-su, who had become busier than during the battle, before escaping the dreadful scene.
Once we got out of there, it seemed we forgot about the struggles we faced.
Yeon-hee and Ah-rin took light steps as they moved.
“Puha─ finally able to breathe. Seems like I tend to experience these events often with you, Yeon-hee.”
“Eh? Is that… Is that so?”
“Hehe- It’s not meant in a bad way. Just… it feels like looking at a protagonist when I see you.”
“I-I’m the protagonist? No way!”
“It just feels that way. The protagonist is always at the center of the events, right?”
“……”
Yeon-hee couldn’t respond to that, and the two soon felt their energy waning and immediately parted ways, heading to their respective homes.
* * *
“”······.””
Dnarr Panijial.
He remained speechless for a while, reflecting on what the Blue-eyed Deities had conveyed.
‘No way…’
An ancient secret art that randomly teleports beasts from another dimension.
With that mystical art, he thought he could gain at least a few days against the soon-approaching enigmatic man.
Moreover, the teleportation itself had been extremely successful.
‘If it’s the Queen Slime of the cursed ancient ruins… that’s akin to winning the lottery.’
According to the shared tales, the beings dwelling in the so-called ‘cursed ancient ruins’ were all immensely powerful, mostly catastrophic beings at the level of Great Beasts or worse, according to the standards of this world.
It was a monster that Dnarr could barely subdue when joining forces with his master; how could this be handled in a single day?
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