EFME 55

A great disaster struck.

A disaster.

There was no other way to explain it. Monsters were pouring out endlessly from a rift that had suddenly torn the sky apart.

Rifts appeared simultaneously in hundreds of locations worldwide. Korea was not spared either. Monsters poured out incessantly from a rift that appeared in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

The types of monsters emerging were varied. From F-rank small fry to S-rank monsters.

Many hunters had gathered, but the situation was not good. The enemy’s numbers were limitless. Besides, dealing with a rift was far more difficult than a dungeon.

Unlike dungeons, which had a set rank, allowing hunters to enter with a party matching that rank from the start, strong and weak monsters emerged randomly mixed together from the rifts.

Countless people were getting injured while fighting monsters without knowing how strong they were.

‘They can’t send support from Busan?’

Sunyul asked Jaehee in a loud voice as he carried the injured to the rear. Jaehee’s expression was dark.

‘They said they can’t, in case one opens up there too.’

‘That makes sense, but…’

It would certainly make the battle here much easier if Kim Huieun, the guild master of the Eunha Guild based in Busan, and Lee Jeonghyun could come.

While Kim Huieun, with her powerful attack skills, was formidable, it was because Lee Jeonghyun possessed a large-scale healing skill.

It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. With so many hunters concentrated in the Seoul and Gyeonggi area, they couldn’t just cry about a lack of manpower. Sunyul took a deep breath and used his skills.

[Using skill ‘Blooming Spring’.]

[Using skill ‘Radiant Summer’.]

[Using skill ‘Sanctuary Proclamation’.]

[Trait ‘Guardian of the Territory’ has been activated.]

[The effect of the ‘Sanctuary Proclamation’ skill has been enhanced by the effect of the ‘Guardian of the Territory’ trait.]

His head throbbed as he used his skills. He was forcing himself to squeeze out his mana, but even that was now at its limit.

The [Reload] trait had been activated a long time ago and was on cooldown, so there was no way to replenish his mana anytime soon. It would take another four hours for [Reload]’s cooldown to end.

It would be better if he could sleep deeply and utilize the [Hibernating Winter] trait. But, perhaps because of worry, he couldn’t fall into a deep sleep no matter what he did, and so he ended up wandering around like this.

‘Rest for a bit. I’m going back in.’

He wanted to charge in together right this instant, but he needed time to replenish his mana. Mana potions were so rare they had to be saved as a last resort. More importantly, it was difficult for him to move right now.

‘Be careful, Team Leader.’

‘I will.’

Sunyul watched Jaehee’s back with a worried expression. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done. In a battle that was clearly going to be a long one, managing stamina and mana was also important.

But the thought that people might get hurt or even die in the moments he couldn’t fight made his blood run cold.

Sunyul was worried about whether there would ever be an end to this battle.

The massive fissure, about 100 meters long, looked like a scar that would never heal. Looking into the abyss-like darkness of the rift, anxiety washed over him.

‘Lim Sunyul!’

As he was forcing himself to rest with a troubled mind, he heard Bada’s voice. Bada was rushing towards him like an arrow.

‘Go to a healer. What are you doing?’

A little while ago, Sunyul had been injured while with Bada. He had said he was going to a healer and left, but here he was… It was only natural that Bada would come running over, angry. Sunyul shrugged his shoulders.

‘I’m fine. I have [Regeneration].’

‘What do you mean, fine. You glass cannon.’

Bada grumbled irritably. But the fact that he was extremely worried was clearly conveyed to Sunyul.

‘I went, but they looked low on mana.’

‘Everyone’s low on mana. You still need to get treated.’

‘There are people much more injured than me. I can’t let them waste mana.’

‘Lim Sunyul.’

‘Like you said, I’m a glass cannon. Even if I get healed, I’ll just shatter again if I get hit once.’

‘Don’t talk like that.’

‘Thanks for worrying about me. But I’m really fine.’

Sunyul spoke calmly and gently, but Bada’s face was contorted. He looked like he wanted to sling Sunyul over his shoulder and drag him to a healer right this instant.

But they couldn’t just waste time here. Sunyul was already resting; if Bada loitered here too, the defensive line they had painstakingly built would be breached.

‘…I have to go because I’m busy, but don’t push yourself and get treated. Got it?’

‘Got it. But, I’m staying here because I can handle it for now.’

‘Promise me. That you won’t overdo it.’

‘Yeah. I promise.’

Only after getting the promise did Bada let out a deep sigh and head back towards the monsters.

Bada was worried about Sunyul, but Sunyul was more worried about Bada.

Most of Sunyul’s skills depended on mana, so when his mana ran out, he was forced to rest. But Bada, who used a sword, had high base stats and was less reliant on skills, so he had barely been able to rest.

Sunyul flew up into the sky. Watching the battlefield from afar, Sunyul spotted another person who was overexerting himself.

Kwon Muyoung.

As far as Sunyul knew, Muyoung had a trait that allowed him to rapidly recover mana when it dropped below a certain level.

In a normal dungeon, Sunyul, who could recover all his mana at once, had the advantage, but now, 24 hours after the rift had appeared, Muyoung had a bit more mana to spare. Though, even if he had more to spare, he was likely using his skills sparingly as well.

Just by seeing that he wasn’t using [Word of Command], a skill known to consume a lot of mana, Sunyul could sense Muyoung’s lack of mana.

Observing the situation, Sunyul headed towards Muyoung.

[Using skill ‘Blooming Spring’.]

[Using skill ‘Radiant Summer’.]

At the skill notification, Muyoung looked back at Sunyul. Even as he did, Muyoung’s [Shadow Needle] was piercing through a monster’s head.

‘You should rest a bit more.’

‘I should be the one saying that. Step back for a moment. I’ll take over.’

Sunyul surveyed the monsters before him.

[Using skill ‘Studious Magus: Insight’.]

[Using skill ‘Judgment of Light’.]

The monster identified by the skill was B-rank. Sunyul used an A-rank skill to intercept the enemy. Watching the monster die, Muyoung let out a sigh.

‘I’ll leave it to you for a moment.’

‘By all means.’

Since he had recovered a little mana during his short break, Sunyul had no trouble dealing with the monsters in front of him.

‘What about reinforcements?’

‘I don’t think they’re coming. They said they’re on standby in Busan.’

‘I see.’

Sunyul looked at the rift with anxious eyes.

‘…We can stop this, right?’

Though he was acting like nothing was wrong, Sunyul had been anxious the whole time. In front of Muyoung, Sunyul brought out the anxiety he couldn’t reveal to anyone else.

Muyoung glanced back at Sunyul. Then, he spoke calmly.

‘We have to stop it.’

‘But I don’t know how we can stop it…’

It felt hopeless. Dungeons eventually came to an end. But with the rift, there was no telling how many more monsters would pour out.

‘I heard the Chinese side tried to enter it and failed. Other countries are trying too, but…’

‘The probability of failure is high.’

‘You’re right.’

Sunyul stared intently at the inside of the rift. If you tried to enter by simply passing through, an invisible force would push you out strongly.

Sunyul opened the system window and checked his skills.

Studious Magus (S): Research magic with desired effects and register them in the research slots. Registered magic can be used freely.

Current Slots (7/7)

—Flight: Able to fly through the air.

—Communication: Able to communicate freely with a target. Self-only. Active.

—Summon: Summons a homunculus.

—Warp: Instantly move to a desired location. Can only go to places you have been to before or places within your line of sight. Self-only.

—Halt: Halts a target.

—Regeneration: The body’s regenerative ability is enhanced. Self-only. Active.

—Insight: View a target’s system window.

This skill of Sunyul’s was almost omnipotent. Of course, there were fields he couldn’t research, but this was a sufficient combination.

What Sunyul focused on was the [Warp] magic.

Among the magic he had researched with [Studious Magus], [Warp] was the most powerful.

He had heard that other countries had also attempted to enter using similar types of skills. They all failed. Their skills weren’t as powerful as Sunyul’s. Sunyul was the only S-rank hunter in the world with an S-rank spatial movement skill.

What others had failed at, Sunyul might be able to succeed.

The problem was that Sunyul’s [Warp] only transported Sunyul himself. What if he managed to get inside the rift, only for monsters to appear in swarms? If it was an enemy Sunyul couldn’t face alone, it would just be a pointless death.

That was why he couldn’t use it carelessly.

‘We’ll find a way to get in.’

‘I suppose so, right?’

‘Stop thinking nonsense and just fight the monsters.’

Muyoung warned, as if he knew exactly what Sunyul was thinking. Sunyul nodded with an awkward smile.

‘Are you hurt?’

‘Pardon?’

‘Your movements are awkward.’

I thought it wasn’t noticeable, how did he know? I even managed to deceive Jaehee, who has always watched over me, so I never thought I’d be caught by someone else.

Muyoung had always been sharp-eyed, but… could it be that he has a related trait or skill?

Sunyul smiled at Muyoung, who was looking at him with a serious face.

‘A little. It’s almost healed.’

‘It’ll be even more tiring if an injured person gets hurt again while fighting. Get treated properly.’

‘Yes, I will.’

‘Go now.’

Jaehee was fooled, and Bada was gently coaxed, but he didn’t know what to do with Muyoung. Because Muyoung was not someone who was soft on him in the slightest.

Still, it felt good that Muyoung was concerned about him. Even in the midst of this urgent situation.

‘You’re not planning on going, are you?’

‘The healers are low on mana. An injury like mine should be healed with regeneration.’

Muyoung sighed.

‘Don’t forget there are people who worry about you.’

His heart pounded at the calm words. Muyoung’s words were likely referring to other people, but it felt as if Muyoung was saying that he was worried about Sunyul.

‘…I’m going now. Be careful.’

‘Okay.’

Sunyul turned away, covering his reddened face with his hand.