Chapter 145: Rising Dawn, a Past Surpassed (7)
“Guys!!”
It seemed the archer had finally been dealt with, as Kim Su-hyeok came running toward us.
Taking a quick glance, the archer’s body looked so riddled with holes it could pass for a kebab. Of course, numerous other wounds were visible as well.
Kim Su-hyeok likely deserved the most credit for making him look that way.
Oh Jin-eon., who had parried the attacks directed at Ju Ha-yeon, and Ju Ha-yeon herself, who had planted numerous arrows in the enemy, were also impressive, but…….
‘He managed to create all those wounds while dodging every attack that could have potentially hit him.’
He was exactly the kind of guy who would never fall short no matter where you put him.
This is my friend, everyone.
At any rate, I was about to welcome the approaching Kim Su-hyeok.
Unfortunately, there was one nuisance left.
“You!!”
It was the Apostle, who was rushing toward me with a murderous intent even after having one arm torn off.
‘Anyone watching would think I am the villain here.’
Usually, a villain is supposed to know when to retreat gracefully after a defeat.
Looking at him charging like that in such a state, for a moment, I thought I was his archenemy.
Ah, I suppose I am his enemy since I blocked their plans.
“Not that I have any intention of letting you get me.”
Unless I was an actual villain, there was no way I would let a guy like that take me down.
In any case, there was still time left on my talent.
About two minutes or so?
And naturally, in battle, two minutes is by no means a short amount of time.
‘Especially against someone like that.’
He was a swordsman who had lost an arm—and his primary arm at that.
No matter how experienced a Villain he was, or how accustomed he was to fighting humans, that was an injury he could not compensate for.
It was a matter that could be settled in twenty seconds, let alone two minutes.
Well, it seemed even those twenty seconds were unnecessary.
“You are showing the absolute peak of pathetic behavior.”
“As long as I am here, you cannot lay a finger on Yu-seong.”
After all, I had reliable comrades.
Ryu Jin-oh and Kim Su-hyeok, who immediately blocked the path in front of me, were incredibly dependable.
However, it did not take long to realize that even their help was unneeded.
THWACK—!!!
A fierce sound of tearing air erupted, so intense it made me wonder if it was truly the sound of air being sliced.
“Khu… Khu-heuk…….”
The Apostle collapsed, clutching the stake embedded in his heart with a gaze that suggested he did not even know what had hit him.
“Did I not tell you when we first met? You must always clean up after yourself properly.”
Yu-hyeon had finally returned.
Furthermore, he was dangling the head of the Sect Leader in one hand.
***
“You certainly took your time.”
The fact that Yu-hyeon had finished off the Sect Leader for good was a welcome thing, but he was quite late.
Yu-hyeon seemed to realize this as well, as he bowed his head in apology.
“My apologies. The man valued his life more than I expected. Was it… what you call item reliance?”
I wondered why he suddenly mentioned item reliance, but I found out the reason soon enough.
Thud, thud, clink—!
“Yu-seong, are those… are those all artifacts?”
Jewelry and various items began to drop onto the ground from Yu-hyeon’s Spatial Storage Ring.
Just as Kim Su-hyeok said, every single one of them was an artifact.
And they were all high-quality ones at that.
‘Damn. Now that I look closely, I think I recognize a few of them.’
There were artifacts that I knew. What did that mean?
To put it simply, they were artifacts I had seen in the novel. To be more specific, they were items important enough to have appeared in the story among so many others.
‘That one was A-rank, that one was A-plus. And that one is B-minus.’
I am only describing them by rank, but each one was extraordinary.
It was surprising that the Sect Leader possessed all of them, but…….
‘It is even more surprising that Yu-hyeon beat the Sect Leader while he was equipped with all of that.’
I already knew he was a good fighter, but I saw him in a new light once again.
Looking at Yu-hyeon’s fairly tidy condition, it did not even seem like it had been a fierce struggle.
In short, it meant the Sect Leader could not land a single effective hit even while using all those artifacts.
To think a guy like this was originally supposed to be betrayed and killed—between him and Baek Ha-seong, it seems this world is a truly foul place to survive on skill alone.
“But…….”
Since he is not going to be betrayed and killed anymore, I brushed that issue aside for now.
Regardless, I wondered why he was suddenly scattering artifacts on the ground.
Before I could finish my thought, Yu-hyeon spoke as if he knew what I was going to say.
“Villain Hunters earn money through bounties, but they have other sources of income as well.”
“Could that source of income be……”
“Yes. Is it not loot? Since we fought while risking our lives, we can claim legitimate ownership.”
Yu-hyeon continued with a bright smile.
“It seems many things have happened here… judging by the atmosphere, the prayers of several people have changed as well.”
Everyone nodded vaguely at Yu-hyeon’s words.
In fact, a great deal had happened in a short period of less than thirty minutes.
Right now, there was the kebab-like archer, the firewood-like dagger Apostle, and the swordsman pinned by a stake.
It was certainly not a situation for smiles.
Yu-hyeon looked like he understood everything.
“It is a thing to celebrate that everyone has grown, but growth always comes with wounds.”
“…….”
“I have also gone through experiences like this until I was sick of them. In times like these, do we not need treatment?”
“If it is treatment, Ha Eun-ha has already……”
“Haha, Cadet Yu-seong. I am talking about a more material kind of treatment, not that kind.”
Material treatment. At Yu-hyeon’s words, my head turned—quite naturally, I might add—toward the artifacts he had dropped on the ground.
It… it was not that I was materialistic; it was just human nature, was it not?
And Yu-hyeon immediately followed up with words that stimulated my human nature.
“Is there any treatment better than financial therapy? It is what we call the distribution of loot.”
Financial therapy.
At those words, my eyes could not help but widen.
I felt like checking what kind of artifacts were there right this instant.
But… unfortunately, there was a friend here who lived and died by righteousness.
“Um… these are items that Player Yu-hyeon obtained, so I do not think it is right for us to receive them.”
Kim Su-hyeok spoke with a voice full of concern, as if he thought it was an improper action.
Su-hyeok… you are not wrong, but there is such a thing as the sincerity of the person giving them, right?
Still, fortunately, Yu-hyeon did not just agree and say he was right.
“Did you all not fight hard as well? Let us call it a reward for that. Besides, are we not in the same group?”
“But……”
“Well, shall we call it a gift from an industry senior to his juniors? I think my heart would ache if you were to refuse even this.”
“Ah……”
Kim Su-hyeok was rendered speechless by the mention of his heart aching.
In short, now was the chance.
To seal the deal on Kim Su-hyeok’s hesitation, I immediately spoke up.
“Then shall we proceed with the distribution of loot right away?”
“Haha, let us do that.”
Yes, yes, this was it.
Ah, for the record, I am not doing this because I am blinded by wealth.
For Kim Su-hyeok and the others, is it not better to have as many trump cards as possible?
They say there is no end to strength. I simply want the kids to get the best things possible.
…I am really not doing this because I am blinded by greed, okay?
***
“It seems we are finished.”
About ten minutes had passed.
As Yu-hyeon had said, the distribution of artifacts was quickly completed.
Yu-hyeon and Im Seong-cheol said they were fine, so only the kids and I ended up dividing them.
Since there were twenty-four artifacts, it came out to exactly four for each person, so the division went quickly.
‘Well, there was nothing essential.’
For example, the artifact that created this space.
Honestly, it did not matter.
To Yu-hyeon, that was likely a very necessary item.
In the first place, the artifacts I had received just now were more than enough.
I was expressing my satisfaction inwardly when it happened.
“Um, Player Yu-hyeon.”
“Yes, Instructor Im. Is something the matter?”
“By any chance, do you know anything about this barrier? I am not sure if it is an effect of the space, but communication with the outside is not working, and I do not know a way out.”
Im Seong-cheol asked Yu-hyeon with a voice full of worry.
As he asked, he kept glancing at us, so it seemed the subject of his concern was us.
“Ah, you do not need to worry about that.”
“Did you obtain some information while catching that Villain?”
“No, it is not that, but it is scheduled to be released soon. My talent is quite sensitive to these things.”
It was a statement without any basis, but Im Seong-cheol seemed sufficiently relieved.
Given the performance Yu-hyeon had shown, he likely judged that Yu-hyeon was not lying.
In fact, since Yu-hyeon could see the flow of mana, it was likely the truth.
Soon after, as if to prove his words, the transparent barrier surrounding the area began to disappear.
Sssshhh—
There was no loud noise.
It was not a physical wall collapsing, but a mana barrier vanishing.
However, the situation itself was bound to be noisy.
“It… it is gone!”
“Instructor! Guys! Is everyone okay?!”
“It seems we can contact the outside! Hurry and make the calls!”
As soon as the mana barrier was deactivated, the voices of cadets and Players echoed from everywhere.
Amidst the chaotic atmosphere, Im Seong-cheol quietly spoke to Kim Su-hyeok and the rest of us.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Yes! It would have been dangerous without you, Instructor, but we are perfectly fine!”
“…….”
Despite Kim Su-hyeok’s assurance that there was no problem, Im Seong-cheol could not easily respond.
His already blunt expression felt even more stiff.
‘He must be dwelling on it.’
It was inevitable.
Because he was Im Seong-cheol, and no one else.
‘Objectively speaking, there were certainly some disappointing parts.’
However, those were not entirely incomprehensible.
It had been years since he had retired from the field, and this was a battle fought alongside cadets he had to protect rather than colleagues.
I recognized that a few mistakes or a divided focus were unavoidable.
Furthermore, to defend him further, the evasion ability of the dagger Apostle was incredibly high.
In terms of pure agile evasion, he was around the highest tier of A-rank, so it was inevitable that it would take time even for Im Seong-cheol, who was just at S-rank.
‘Of course, there is no way Im Seong-cheol does not know that.’
It was likely not a matter of knowing or not knowing.
It was simply the fact that he failed to fulfill his duty as an instructor, and beyond that, he failed to fulfill his duty as a teacher, which weighed heavily on his heart.
As I was watching Im Seong-cheol, someone was running toward us from over there.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Oh… Player Oh Seok-jae?”
“Yes. No one has any internal injuries or anything like that, right?”
“Yes! We are all fine.”
The conversation began with a simple greeting.
The reason Oh Seok-jae had rushed over was simple.
He intended to return after requesting support, and he wanted to inform us that if anyone was not okay, they should leave first.
Fortunately, no one was in bad shape, and everyone agreed to wait for support.
“Then I will return to my position for now. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, please tell me immediately.”
“Yes, we will do that.”
Since he could not declare the situation was completely safe, Oh Seok-jae returned to his spot to prepare for any eventualities.
His appearance was as full of responsibility as when we first met, but if something had changed…….
‘Is it the way he looks at us?’
Then again, the cadets had shown such a performance, so there was no way the way he saw us remained the same.
Furthermore, judging by how his gaze lingered on Ha Eun-ha and me, he seemed very interested in Ha Eun-ha’s ability.
‘In my case, it was likely more about my fighting style being peculiar rather than the ability itself.’
The sight of me fighting while holes were being punched in my stomach must have been quite impressionable.
If I saw someone fighting like me, I would probably look at them at least once out of curiosity.
I was nodding inwardly, agreeing with the look in Oh Seok-jae’s eyes.
“It is really over now, right?”
Kim Su-hyeok spoke up, perhaps bored from just standing still.
I responded to his words with a slight smile.
“Right. Even if something else happens, the transparent wall is gone now, so it should be fine. Support is on the way too.”
“That is true. What a relief.”
“That it is all over?”
“That too, but not just that.”
Not just that?
Was there something else to be relieved about?
“I am relieved that everyone finished safely. If it had ended with someone getting hurt, it would never have been a relief.”
“Ah……”
“You think so too, don't you, Yu-seong?”
Kim Su-hyeok asked me with a bright smile.
But… I could tell.
The bright smile itself was one I usually saw, but there was a smile of a slightly different nature mixed in.
Also, as Kim Su-hyeok asked that, the rest of the group also cast their gazes toward me.
…It seemed that, unlike the others, my ordeal had not ended here.
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