Chapter 31 (1/2)
Clean Up
Boosh!
As Park Chang-hee installed the Mana core bombs, he spoke up.
‘A single bomb contains only a few grams of the core, but it is difficult to manufacture, so it’s quite expensive.’
By blowing up the bomb containing a few grams of it, several goblins had their bodies torn apart. In addition to this, the Iponia’s crystal that was thrown blew up a whole Mana core with an intense pressure had erupted from the inside!
Bo-boom!
A blue energy storm rushed in the Mana core. The other cores around it also exploded as a chain reaction.
The blast seemingly tore my ears and vibrated my bones. A mountain of blue flame covered the surrounding. Even with [Mirage Shield], we felt the pressure, heat, and vibration following the explosion.
This alone was not enough.
“This explosion can’t be held by only one item!” I shouted to Secretary Kim.
“Create a Mana shield around the whole body! At full power!”
“Yeah!”
As Secretary Kim clenched his jaw, he concentrated all of the Mana in him to the barrier. I did the same.
Crack! Crrrack!
[Mirage Shield] began to crack. As the cracks increased, the colored barrier made by the item leaked the external shock towards the inside, rather than blocking 100% of the impact.
We then blocked the leaked impact and heat using the Mana barrier.
“Ugh!”
Secretary Kim stumbled. Seeing this, I wrapped my Mana barrier over his.
“…”
Secretary Kim’s eyes widened. It was the first time that he was able to see such use of Mana. He couldn’t feel my Mana. He must have felt his Mana rearrange by responding to something. I supported his shield as if one placed a wooden log to support a structure on the verge of destruction.
Like that, the 10 seconds that passed felt like ten years.
“Ugh!”
The Mana storm that was caused by consecutive explosions of cores finally disappeared.
Blue burning debris rolled around everywhere, and the survivors were only the two of us.
Secretary Kim knelt as if he was deeply fatigued. We were still in the barrier that was created by [Mirage Shield]. Initially, it should be maintained for 3 minutes, so we still had to wait for more than 2 minutes here.
But then…
Flick!
I concentrated Mana in hand and lightly flicked the shield. Then…
Shatter!
The color barrier that protected us shattered, much like a window that had been struck by a metal bullet. It must have reached its limit.
“Should I ask the store for a refund?”
Secretary Kim murmured while bitterly smiling, as he was the one that strongly suggested buying this item. As he said those words, his eyes flipped over, and he fainted.
‘Mana exhaustion.’
It was the side effect of using up all of his active Mana on the Mana shield.
I took out the Mana potion that I carried in my bag. The active Mana that was available for more than 10,000 was already almost emptied, and as I drank the potion, it returned to about the figure of 5,000.
I approached Secretary Kim as I tried to give him the other bottle of potion. At the same time, I snuck a look at his chest.
The Mana that should be covering my sight while emanating like a fountain was almost invisible. Like the surface of a calm sea, the potential Mana silently settled in the core, and I could observe it inwardly as if I was seeing through him.
When I woke up as Seo Jin-wook, I couldn’t see the inside of the potential Mana in this body. It was like how one would not be able to see the deep ocean floor from outside the water. However, Secretary Kim’s potential Mana was visible, like seeing the shallow water along the shore.
‘There are none.’
The tension dissipated from me.
As the worst-case scenario that I had to be suspicious of Secretary Kim was avoided, I could relax a bit.
‘There is no curse on Secretary Kim’s core.’
Originally, on his list of tasks, there was no obligation to go to the dungeon with me. However, he voluntarily came along.
I had lived 80 years in the past life, and I still didn’t have the answer to such a tremendous question if a man was originally good or evil. The helping hand that approached with goodwill would come back to stab you in your back, and sometimes, the infertile garbage field would bloom a flower.
There was no way to be able to look into what Secretary Kim was thinking about.
However, what I was sure of was that he was the one who stood up for me.
Groan!
As I dropped the Mana potion around Secretary Kim’s mouth, he opened his eyes as he escaped from exhaustion.
Like a person who woke up from a dream, he began to look around, muttering in a dispirited manner.
“So, it wasn’t a dream.”
“I am not sure if it’s a shame or fortunate. Everything is real.”
He stood up with his posture upright. And then he spoke, staring at me.
“Putting everything aside… I should tell you this first.”
What was this, all of a sudden?
Secretary Kim then spoke with a serious gaze.
“Thank you. Thank you for sparing my life. I will repay this grace.”
He then looked around. The bodies of the other two guild members did not even leave a trace. It was comparable to the Ersmann, in which they left a few identifiable body parts.
“What is this, all of a sudden?”
“Because anyone can see it. It is because of the grace of the Team Leader that I was able to live.”
Indeed, it would have been difficult for Secretary Kim to survive had he not interfered with my actions and trusted and followed all my instructions.
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome.”
Secretary Kim, who had thanked me several times that way, suddenly had a change of expression.
“I’m aware that the situation is not the best, but may I ask a few questions before we move along?”
I focused my senses. There was no sign that the latecomers of Ersmann were rushing.
“Carry on.”
Staring at me, Secretary Kim asked once more.
“Who are you, really?”
*
Inside the cave, where the last screams of blue flames echo everywhere, an awkward silence flowed between Secretary Kim and me.