Chapter 40. Interlude – Han Abin’s Battle
I gathered my Mana and spread my hands wide.
I didn’t need anything special.
If I opened my hands naturally, it was there.
After suddenly amplifying my Mana, I felt as confused as if I were wearing mismatched clothes.
However, after experiencing real combat, I quickly grew accustomed.
I slowly nocked an arrow onto the bow in my hand. It was originally a plain brown bow, but after dreaming a dream I couldn’t recall, it took on a light red hue.
The tension on the bowstring had also increased several times, but I could pull it back just fine now.
I drew the bowstring back as far as I could and aimed for a chink in the armor, then let it fly.
The arrow soared toward the enemy, scattering pink Mana powder.
As I summoned the next arrow, I kept my eyes on the one that had left my hand.
It was not the most efficient action, but I needed it to shake off my anxiety.
I wasn’t worried about the arrow missing.
During my weaker days, it was rare for an arrow to go astray.
What I was really concerned about was something else.
Thud.
The arrow embedded itself between the split armor, slowing the enemy’s movements.
It was a pity that I couldn’t finish them off, but I brushed it off and nocked the next arrow.
I know my power is lacking. But at least I could deal some damage.
The beings of this Otherworld that were rated C to B-tier. An enemy that would have been impossible to pierce with my original power. Now, I could break through their defenses.
The inferiority complex that had built up over long periods of time disappeared, replaced by pride and joy.
All the countless insults I had endured while acting as a hero. The whispers questioning what was different about me compared to regular folks. I loaded all of that into my arrows and shot them out.
Thwack.
How many arrows had I shot like this? The arrows I fired bounced off the enemy’s gray shell.
It’s not that my power was lacking.
It’s just that the enemy appeared in the window of a wall that had been breached.
In this unexpected situation, my arrows lost their significance, and the enemies aimed their pincers at me.
It’s fine. No need to panic.
Calmly, I summoned the next arrow and nocked it.
The pincers were coming down towards my head.
Even in the face of death, unrelated thoughts flowed through my mind.
The positions of the other heroes.
The scenery outside the window from the last time I saw it.
The next enemy I needed to target.
The remaining amount of Mana and the next shift time.
The casualty rate of friendly forces within my reach.
“Uraaa!”
A white cloth fluttered in front of me, and a silver flash passed by.
Crack.
With a sound signifying something solid breaking, the enemy shattered into pieces before my eyes.
It felt unreal.
There was no red flesh or blood splattering, nor were any entrails scattered.
It was like an otherworldly scenery, where gray petals obscured my view.
With such thoughts, I released the bowstring I had pulled back.
A woman wielding a Hammer was obscuring the window, but it wasn’t a major issue. I already knew the enemy’s position.
As the fluttering white cloth settled on the floor, it provided me a clear view.
The pink arrow struck the enemy as predicted, and I prepared the next arrow.
“Sihyeon, the next enemy will come from the right. One has fallen, so please heal.”
“Leave it to me!”
With a bright expression, the woman ran down the right corridor I mentioned.
My friend, who never lost her smile even during battle, fluttered her white cloak as she charged ahead.
Ever since I met her, my life had changed rapidly. I gained the power I desired and could save people.
My accumulated inferiority complex and my mocking peers meant nothing in front of her radiant smile.
That was Sihyeon Baek. When the battle began, she had thrown her weapon out the window, claiming she had nothing to do for a while, but now she was actively showcasing her skills as I had told her.
14 hours into the battle.
Since the second shift started, the defense line started crumbling.
The barriers were still solid, but unlike the enemies in the first shift, they pressed forward towards the barrier without falling, despite the barrage.
Enemies began climbing the barrier, using the bodies of their compatriots as stepping stones. And the chaos began.
Heroic warriors positioned themselves at the front to block the entrance, while the soldiers tasked with guarding it retreated to set up heavy weaponry.
The heroes, initially panicking in a situation they had never encountered before, quickly regained composure. Perhaps it was thanks to Sihyeon.
As I nocked another arrow onto the bowstring, I turned my gaze toward that side.
A small circle formed in the gray sea. In the center, my senior waved her silver hair as she wielded her Hammer.
“Protect the position! Offensive power is nothing! Melee heroes are at the front to hold the line, and the magic users provide support!”
Her voice, which didn’t match the content of her words, reverberated in my ears.
Standing at the very forefront, she encouraged everyone while projecting her voice to reach even the rear.
Her hopeful voice and incredible prowess were what sustained this frontline.
Of course, morale alone wouldn’t hold the line.
It seemed the soldiers were also excellent commanders, giving appropriate commands to maintain the defense.
– Hero 1 injured in 1F Zone 3. Medical team dispatched. Shift hero deployed.
– Hero exhausted in 2F Zone 4. Troop insertion. Hold the line until the substitute arrives.
The voice coming from the radio hanging on my belt.
Originally, it would have been enough for me to receive commands directed at me, but I changed the radio settings to pick up all communications around me.
At first, I hadn’t kept the radio on continuously. However, as I kept listening to the transmissions, I began to feel like I understood something.
The overall situation of the barrier was charted in my mind with the incoming radio information.
Where was weak and where was strong.
Where I needed to block to prevent a breach in this sector.
That’s why I spoke to Sihyeon. I asked if she could follow my lead.
Even until the moment I spoke those words, I couldn’t believe in myself. What was I thinking saying such a thing?
As an inferior hero, what was I thinking?
Our orders were to hold this sector and endure during our shift. There was no reason to support other sectors.
Also, I doubted whether Sihyeon, powerful and numerous times stronger than me, would follow my command.
Even if we were friends, she might dislike taking orders from a weaker hero.
However, all my worries vanished with Sihyeon’s one line.
“Okay! Abin, since you can see further than I can!”
She sprinted across the battlefield, following my lead. After finishing one command, she returned to me for the next and dashed off again.
“How did you know? That place was about to crumble…”
Honestly, I didn’t know either. Why did I think it would break there?
I had seen the faint movements of enemies through the window. Just a slight shift.
It was also a possibility that the radio mentioned an upcoming shift in that area.
In my mind, with all these bits of information collected, I instinctively predicted that the area would soon fall.
Just like when Sihyeon and I teamed up against monsters.
Just as the monsters targeted her openings with swift strikes.
In this war, too, I predicted that the massive enemy, the gray army, would strike at that point.
And so, the battle continued.
How much time had passed?
Someone tapped my back, breaking my focus.
“Shift time!”
Turning my head, I saw Sihyeon, drenched in sweat.
“Already?”
“Yeah. Orders have come down. The soldier will be here soon.”
Seven hours already?
Realizing that, I suddenly felt strength leave my hands.
How intensely had I been concentrated? I hadn’t even realized I had utilized all my power.
“Abin, your hand is bleeding!”
With a hazy mind, I raised my hand to see my fingers stained red.
It seemed my skin had torn while drawing the bowstring.
“It’s fine. Just this much…”
“Hurry and heal it. You don’t want to lose a tooth!”
“My Mana is almost out…”
I had a little left, but if I used more Mana, I would genuinely be exhausted and collapse.
I didn’t want to waste this precious rest time on sleep.
“I’ll heal you.”
“Don’t! It’ll be weird again…”
The sight of the Oxymoron teacher having two right hands was truly shocking.
It defied everything I knew.
From that moment, the efficiency of healing skyrocketed… Seeing such a shocking sight made me feel as if anything was possible.
“I find it easy to heal other people’s skin somehow!”
Well, as long as I could copy the surrounding skin, there wouldn’t be a big issue.
It seemed I could now start healing midway as well.
The red Mana enveloped my finger, and the rapidly regrowing skin wrapped around it, stopping the bleeding.
“Good work! Shift time!”
At the same moment, the soldiers appeared.
As the next hero would soon arrive to take over, the soldiers began shooting across from the window.
“Please take care of it.”
“Don’t worry; just get some good rest.”
The soldier nodded deeply as he escorted me out, and I also bowed my head in reply.
“Let’s go, Sihyeon.”
“Yeah!”
Unlike me, who was about to collapse, Sihyeon still seemed to have some energy left.
Even her shift was probably a considerate action toward me.
If she were acting according to her original temperament, she would be dashing out swinging a Hammer like a senior.
In the bustling cafeteria, countless people were shoving terrible food into their mouths during the shift.
Twisted fish.
Partially fried crab meat.
An unidentifiable red sauce.
My appetite disappeared completely.
I couldn’t tell who planned this menu, but their personality must be just as twisted as this fish.
I watched someone right in front of me, pulverizing a creature that was either a crab or a lobster, and wondered how they thought they could eat this.
In front of me, Sihyeon was about to devour the metal plate whole.
While I was eating the somewhat decent rice and seaweed soup bit by bit, I opened my mouth toward Sihyeon.
“Isn’t the senior amazing?”
It had been 21 hours since the battle began.
The senior hadn’t rested for a single moment, swinging her Hammer at the frontline.
An immortal hero, tirelessly urging the allied forces, never pausing even for a moment.
“Yeah. I’ve seen her fighting on video sites a few times, but seeing it with my own eyes is even more impressive!”
Video sites.
For some reason, I couldn’t find much information about my senior.
Despite being such a magnificent hero, it was as if the information had been completely lost.
The most I could find was a name and hero title, with a few battle records.
Most of the combat footage on video sites was of poor quality, and most of it had been taken down for including brutal scenes.
Some even redirected to a terror site that compiled scenes of human deaths.
There was even a catastrophe that featured the name of my senior, but instead had the combat footage of the Black Marauder.
“Without your senior in this battle… it would have crumbled long ago, right?”
I briefly imagined the situation without the senior blocking the enemies with her Hammer.
If the massive gray army, a giant monster, had stomped down on the barriers…
It would have been a situation far worse than this.
“Probably! But if it were the teacher, she would have definitely succeeded. That’s just her nature!”
Her nature, huh.
I felt a little scared about being a fan.
Wasn’t it ridiculous to dig into the life of a hero without proper information simply because I was a fan?
“How did you become such a fan of the senior?”
“I had the chance to see her fighting up close.”
Fighting scene. Seeing her now, it seemed like something that would leave me traumatized with splattering blood and guts, yet I was curious about her.
“Why? Are you interested too? Here, let’s start with this scene. It’s a secretly taken picture…”
“Oh, it’s fine. I already know the senior is amazing.”
If I started talking about the senior, I might end up listening for the entire seven hours of rest.
I cut off the conversation at a suitable point and stuffed white rice into my mouth.
“Are you not going to eat the fried food?”
“If I feel like it, I will. But I don’t have an appetite.”
Whoosh. Snap.
Sihyeon quickly reached for the fried food on my plate and stuffed it into her mouth.
Good grief. She really was carefree.
I savored the horrendously awful seaweed soup, inviting some relaxation with my meal.
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