Chapter 125. Achievement (1)
“They are crumbling from the outskirts!”
“Oh my, they’re coming in so fast!”
“At this rate, it’ll be breached in 1 or 2 minutes!”
The tanks, who had created the barrier, shouted urgently. I squeezed my eyes shut in response.
“Ahhh!”
“I don’t want to die!”
The screams of the children surprised during their rest pierced the air.
“Prepare your magic!”
“It’s no use, their resistance is level 3 or higher!”
The players, tense, shouted as they prepared for battle.
“Detection magic!”
“How many of them are outside?!”
“These, these crazy…”
“60, 70… almost 100! They’re still increasing!”
Those who had sensed the situation outside through Mana Detection cried out in despair. A few minutes ago, the campsite had been completely serene, but now it was chaos.
There was nothing to be gained by waiting idly.
“Gather together; I’ll cast a barrier!”
I shouted, pulling out barrier magic stones from my inventory.
“Move quickly!”
“What do you mean, just leave?! We need to take care of the kids!”
“Tanks, reinforce the barrier! Buy us some time!”
Realizing their lives were at stake, the players swiftly took action.
Those scattered at appropriate distances in the clearing began to gather in the center.
“The 6 o’clock direction is about to break!”
“We need to hurry! The 12 o’clock direction will be breached soon too!”
Despite the urgent cries continuing, I held tightly to the magic stones.
Moments full of tension and anxiety continued precariously.
“The 6 o’clock barrier is down!”
At the moment the player on the outskirts shouted, I confirmed that not a single red or blue dot on the map was out of place – all had gathered in one spot.
Only then did I use the barrier magic stones in my hand.
Pasaak-!
The stones engraved with magic broke, beginning to manifest a barrier in the area.
I used five magic stones simultaneously to expand the size of the barrier.
Thanks to that, a wide barrier that could accommodate over 100 people was completed.
Immediately, the barriers built by the tanks collapsed one by one.
“Hah!”
As the surrounding walls crumbled, the players, now aware of the outside situation, gasped.
The 5-star evolved species had completely surrounded us.
I had already known it from the map, but seeing it with my own eyes, its overwhelming presence was staggering.
“Around two hundred…”
Rushing into the barrier to avoid a full-scale battle was the right decision.
I sighed in relief as I looked at the densely packed evolved species outside the barrier.
Afterwards, I addressed the players with a calm demeanor despite their worried expressions.
“Let’s each request rescue from our respective orders.”
With that statement, the frozen players regained their composure, one by one.
“R-right! We don’t need to panic!”
“Yeah! We just have to hold out inside the barrier until the rescue team arrives!”
As everyone started adding comments to shake off their tension and fear, I suddenly felt a chilling sensation.
No, it was more like a sound rather than a feeling.
Sakk, sak.
It was like the sound of cloth brushing or feet dragging.
I slowly turned my head to seek the source of the inexplicable sound.
There were only the 5-star evolved species packed closely outside the barrier.
‘No, that’s not it.’
What seemed like all of them actually hid some moving creatures at the outskirts.
They were moving stealthily, as if making way for someone to pass through.
Holding my breath, I watched that area keenly, and soon enough—
Sak, saak.
An odd creature appeared between the 5-star evolved species that had moved aside.
As it revealed itself, someone let out a groan.
“7-star…?”
There were five below and two above; seven stars adorned the head of this newly emerged creature.
The pressure of seeing such a number with the naked eye felt surreal.
‘I’ve heard multiple general-rank evolved species appeared around Callum’s fortress.’
I wondered if one of those had come here?
‘But where it came from doesn’t matter.’
Because the dangerous creature had already arrived right here.
I ground my teeth, a chilling sound escaping from between my clenched teeth.
The newly appeared 7-star, called a general-rank evolved species, was truly strange.
I couldn’t accurately describe its appearance in the language I had.
Although it was a head smaller than 5-star evolved species, its overall form kept shifting.
Should I say it looked like flames were blazing?
Or that it shimmered like a mirage?
At times, it seemed as if tentacles were writhing.
The confusing, even revolting creature approached the barrier slowly but surely.
Oddly, there was no sound of footsteps as it moved.
Looking down of its own accord, the sight was astonishing—whenever it placed a foot forward, the grass beneath would wither away.
That was the moment I discovered the source of the sound I had heard.
“Krrr…”
The sudden arrival of the general-rank creature, in a unique manner, rolled its tongue and stopped in front of the barrier.
Externally, once a barrier is in place, the inside can’t be seen. This place is excluded from that space.
‘But why do I feel like that creature is looking at me?’
Thump, thump-thump, my heart began racing as anxiety mounted.
And my instinct wasn’t wrong.
As black waves spread around the general-rank creature, the system issued a warning to me.
“An overlapping barrier is being formed.”
“Teleportation magic is restricted.”
It was a space-type magic one level higher than a normal barrier.
Previously, the Beastfolk had implemented that very overlapping barrier in Viceta Castle to prevent human traffickers from escaping.
Though I had retreated inside the barrier to minimize damage, we ended up being trapped instead.
In displeasure, my cheeks twitched as I considered the situation. The general-rank creature extended what seemed to be a hand forward.
One second, ten seconds, then a minute elapsed.
As blood-curdling time flowed, cracks formed on the barrier touched by the general-rank’s hand.
At that moment, all those within turned pale.
* * *
A chilly silence settled among those inside the barrier.
Not even the sound of breathing was heard.
Everyone had forgotten even to breathe, fixated on the cracked barrier.
In that gap, I was the first to get a grip on my emotions, and my cheeks twitched.
‘I wondered where all these creatures came from.’
It seemed the general-rank evolved species could use space-type magic.
The reason I didn’t immediately notice it was simple.
‘There weren’t any disruption phenomena when they moved.’
When something is teleported by warping space, causality interferes to restore the space to its original state.
During this, the mana twisting the space and the causality attempting to revert it collide, creating a specific phenomenon.
The flash of light whenever Ahel used teleportation magic was precisely that.
However, there was no disruption phenomenon when these evolved species appeared.
I was curious about the reason but had no way of finding out right now.
Identifying that wasn’t crucial in the current situation either.
‘I don’t know which monster it consumed.’
To set an overlapping barrier and break the existing one, it would require at least 4th-grade or higher space-type mana.
‘Ahel’s mana lags behind in terms of rank.’
Moreover, I could only teleport objects.
Transporting living beings demands much more mana and more complex arrangements.
‘The shop price for that magic is twenty million mana.’
Even with a Trait buff, it’s not a magic that can be mastered with just a few months of practice and effort.
Yet that general-rank creature can evidently perform that magic.
I grimaced while fiddling with the spear shaft in my grip.
‘Space-type ones are tricky opponents.’
They evade attacks in myriad vexing ways, making it hard to land an effective blow.
Thanks to that, sparring with Ahel was both what I dreaded most and found most challenging.
To make matters worse, there were the two hundred 5-star evolved species alongside the general-rank.
‘It’s a game we can’t win.’
No matter how much I deploy all that I possess, it is a situation destined to end in defeat.
Upon firmly recognizing this conclusion, my mouth went dry.
The crack in the barrier expanded even further.
Seeing the end approaching moment by moment felt like my heart was about to leap out of my mouth.
I struggled to suppress my anxiety and gave instructions.
“For now, let’s each purchase one barrier magic stone per party. High-rank ones.”
Once that barrier breaks, we need to cast a new one immediately.
I’ve bought us some time to find a breakthrough.
After giving those instructions, I checked the Order’s homepage.
「Title: Request for deployment of rescue forces near Rakriol Valley – Author: K」
A comment saying they would send rescue forces had appeared on the post I put up right after setting the barrier, but…
“They won’t arrive immediately.”
It would take at least a few hours, possibly even a day or two if delayed.
I checked with players from other orders as well, but none were in a position to send immediate help either.
While assessing the situation internally, the barrier continued to deteriorate.
Ultimately, I had to use new barrier stones passed by the players, but it was a temporary fix.
In the short span of merely a few minutes spent checking replies from different orders, a full ten stones were used.
Expecting the rescue team to arrive in at least a few hours, could we hold on inside the barrier until then?
“The time that can be endured with the five stones probably isn’t that long.”
The cracking speed was faster than anticipated.
Enduring for several hours would require an excessive amount of magic stones.
“To hold off with barriers would burn several million mana.”
Waiting for the rescue team inside this barrier was a poor move.
Every time I purchase a barrier magic stone, my mana would deplete, and the longer time drags, the tighter the corner we’d be in.
But with overlay barriers preventing escape through teleportation magic, we’re blocked from any easy way out.
We’ll have to resolve this crisis under our own power.
With cold determination, I glared at the general-grade, breaking the barrier.
And all the while, I relentlessly drove myself to think.
“Racking up your brains.”
Find the way to survive and make it out of here.
“Think of it.”
Should I open the random box I had synthesized?
“No.”
Random boxes aren’t particularly suited to overcome this situation.
There’s no guarantee that an item to overcome this crisis will emerge.
“Then the silver rank privilege from Temoria’s faction?”
Yang Taeho also awakened as a silver rank, gaining additional buffs from the Order of Temoria.
“Divine canopy.”
He could construct a barrier using divinity, not mana.
The greatest advantage of this additional buff was that linkage was possible between members of the same faction.
“In this mission, twelve members are affiliated with Temoria, including Yang Taeho.”
Out of them, four are silver rankers, enabling the construction of a fairly large-scale divine canopy.
“We could create the canopy ourselves.”
Maybe thinking the same, Yang Taeho quietly suggested his idea.
But after much deliberation, I dismissed that method.
“That’s not a solution.”
The duration of the divine canopy isn’t long.
“If it’s pushed, roughly twenty minutes.”
Without addressing the core problem, it would only result in extending the time until our demise.
Additionally, the cooldown for Temoria’s silver rank buff is two weeks.
Once used, there would be no second time.
The focus should be on finding a way to break through the situation, not merely maintain it.
In doing so, it was essential to acknowledge the cards in hand more objectively.
“Status window.”
Player Kang Hyunwoo (Beta Tester) – Silver Rank
Code Name: K
Mana: 1,194,662.64(Attribute Mana: 18,611.50)
Chaos Level: 2.21%
Affiliation: Earth, order of Palao
Species: Human (Player)
Rank: Alpha
Attribute: Lightning (★★★★★)
Skills: Mana Manipulation (100%), Sense Expansion (100%), Ferrell Royal Knights’ Spearmanship (lv.3 – 88.47%), Mana Control (44.41%), acceleration (39.45%)
Magic: Mana Detection (lv.3 – 79.61%), Invisibility (100%), barrier (100%), Telekinesis (lv.2 – 59.66%), space Distortion (lv.1 – 29.84%), Fireball (83.31%), cold Wind (44.91%), Fiery Tempest (15.49%), build Earth Wall (45.98%), hellfire (34.11%)
Traits: Capitalism, adaptability, tenacity, Purification (lv.2 – 68.75%)
Title: Bounty Hunter, mark of the Alliance, treasure Hunter
Reputation: 234,977
The status window emerging before my eyes succinctly laid out what I currently possessed.
Having made Yang Taeho and Kim Yul into silver rankers and engaging in mob hunting, plus diligently purging corrupted areas in the main scenario—
As a result of continuously putting in effort, my mana had surpassed one million.
Seeing that number, a word vaguely shimmered in front of my eyes—
“Gold Badge…”
Damned System