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Chapter 57 Raven Hunter (2)
The mana thread connecting the Kobold Lord and Odin’s raven has been broken!
Odin’s raven is observing you.
JaeHyun had cut the mana thread connected to the Kobold Lord in one strike. Once he did, the monster’s body tilted to one side and crashed to the floor.
But JaeHyun maintained his concentration. The fight was not yet over.
Whirrr……
The thick mana in the air slowly gathered around his body, creating an immense vortex of mana around him.
Your body is accumulating impure mana.
……
Due to the user’s pure mana, the impure mana has been purified.
Due to the mana the user has on standby, your mana capacity has permanently increased by 5%.
JaeHyun, sweating, was careful not to fall into Mana Rebound.
Mana Rebound was much more severe when the mana was not your own, such as the mana in the atmosphere or someone else’s mana, was circulated through your body.
However, JaeHyun had refined his mana enough through regular breathing exercises and meditation.
< Soon after. >
It was for a very short time, but it wasn’t impossible for him to manage mana beyond his limits.
‘…… I did it.’
Whirrr……!
The dizzying pain stabbing through his lungs and the intense cycle of mana.
Those things allowed JaeHyun to manipulate more than twice as much mana as usual.
Of course, it was only for a moment—but that wasn’t important to JaeHyun.
It wouldn’t take too long to knock down the enemy in front of him. Already, the raven had exhausted almost all its mana by making the Kobold Lord regenerate so many times.
With 《Mana Perception》 he saw that his current power was more than enough to take care of it.
“… Let’s wrap things up.”
JaeHyun took a ragged breath and gathered all of his mana.
Flap!
He climbed on a chain and quickly moved towards the source of the mana thread.
The existence that supplied mana to the Kobold Lord a while ago.
It was where Odin’s raven was.
Caaaww……!
A creepy, indiscernible voice rang out as a black robe entered JaeHyun’s line of sight.
JaeHyun immediately rushed in and grabbed the raven by its neck.
At the same time…
Boom!
The powerful mana wound around JaeHyun’s fist was aimed directly at the raven’s face. Having used up most of its mana, it couldn’t resist JaeHyun’s attack.
Bang!
The raven bounced far away because of the attack and hit the wall.
Thud. Thud.
JaeHyun walked toward the raven slumped on the ground.
He stepped on the raven’s head and asked.
“What the fuck does Odin want?”
Caw……
JaeHyun frowned and pushed some mana into his leg.
Bang!
With a bang, the ground receded and a small crater with a 2m radius appeared.
JaeHyun asked another question.
“What’s the connection between Gu Ja-In and Odin?”
Caw……!
A satisfactory answer didn’t come that time, either.
JaeHyun narrowed his eyes.
‘This bastard… it doesn’t have a will of its own. It’s meaningless to keep him any longer.’
JaeHyun didn’t hesitate and gathered his mana.
He stomped on the raven once more.
This time, he planned to kill without mercy.
Crash!
With an explosion, Odin’s raven turned into a shadow and scattered.
Its body disappeared without a single sign that it had been there.
“Haa……”
JaeHyun felt as if all the mana in his body was escaping.
His vision shook and he felt as if the ground he was walking on was moving.
Then, a clear voice rang out.
You have succeeded in hunting the first of your prey from the special quest 《Raven Hunter》.
You have gained 5 Stat points.
You have obtained a blank card.
You have gained 1 level.
The user has fully recovered.
Together with the final alert, his fading consciousness returned.
“Heuk……!”
In front of him, Ina was unconscious, having exhausted all her mana.
Warning! One of your teammates’ lives is in immediate danger.
If they do not recover immediately, the designated party member will die.
The urgent message caused JaeHyun to narrow his eyes.
* * *
Within a dark graveyard, monsters collapsed on the ground chaotically while blood scattered all around them.
It was an A-rank dungeon in Gwangalli, Busan.
It was quite difficult to clear, as there were A-rank monsters like trolls in it.
However…
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, 《Scarlett》, the guild raiding it at that moment, was not having a lot of difficulties with clearing the dungeon.
The reason that they could clear it so easily was neither the raiders’ ranks nor their equipment.
It was only due to the participation of one person.
His presence was devastating in the A-rank dungeon.
Min Seong-Oh.
He was JaeHyun’s father and one of the strongest A-rank raiders in Korea.
He was cutting through the trolls with overwhelming force.
< After all the fights were over. >
The guildmaster of 《Scarlett》, who was walking in front, turned around and spoke to Min Seong-Oh.
“Phew… This area should be all clear with this.”
“It seems that way.”
Min Seong-Oh replied while shaking the blue blood off his sword.
The guildmaster continued with a good-natured smile.
“This raid went smoothly thanks to you. I don’t know why someone like you doesn't belong to a guild. With your skills, you can choose where you want to go.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
Min Seong-Oh replied placidly.
The guildmaster paused for a while and asked carefully.
“Um… What do you think about joining our guild? If it’s you, Mr. Min, I can give you the best treatment.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t plan to join a guild just y…”
Flinch.
As he was replying, Min Seong-Oh’s expression grew cold.
The guildmaster tilted his head and asked.
“Raider Min? Is something wrong…?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Min Seong-Oh immediately fixed his expression and answered.
But his actual thoughts were completely different.
‘One of the ravens… was destroyed.’
Min Seong-Oh knew what that meant.
‘It seems some changes have occurred. I need to check it out.’
***
Reaper Scans
Translator - Rainypup
Proofreader - Harley
***
“I almost passed out because of Mana Rebound… If this continues, it will be dangerous.”
There was no time to rest.
JaeHyun put his index finger to Ina’s wrist and took her pulse.
She was in a serious condition. An emergency that required immediate treatment.
Mana Rebound was an extremely dangerous disease.
A fatal disease that, if not treated quickly, could lead to permanent Mana Dysfunction.
Bzzzz….
Soon, the blue mana in his body turned into a peaceful green light. The healing light began to pour out of him.
The Active Skill 《Sacrifice》 has been activated.
Healing the designated person’s injuries.
“Haa…… Haa……”
After 30 minutes, her irregular breathing stabilized and her complexion looked better.
“Things should be alright for the moment.”
JaeHyun finally relaxed and wiped the sweat on his forehead.
He couldn’t let her die in a place like this.
He had saved her for now, but they would have to see how she did in the future and judge from that.
“I think all the magic nerves are connected well… Her complexion seems ok.”
JaeHyun nodded his head.
All the thin tissues that seemed as if they would be ripped apart only a moment ago were back in their normal places. The urgent situation was somehow over.
‘By the way, 《Sacrifice》 really is amazing. I can’t believe how easily it can heal Mana Rebound. The power of Unique Skills are really unrivaled.’
Mana Rebound.
The phenomena of mana rebound was difficult to treat unless it was done by a professional healer.
Since there were only five hospitals in Korea that specialized in similar illnesses, everyone knew how difficult it was to cure without needing any more explanation.
But even that seemed to be meaningless in front of the Unique Skill, 《Sacrifice》.
‘Well, 《Sacrifice》 has been said to be able to bring a person on the brink of death back to life. Isn’t it to be expected?’
Although most rumors were exaggerated, the ones about 《Sacrifice》 were mostly true.
For example, it was said that an overwhelming amount of healing mana could be used to heal several people at the same time.
The Unique Skill, 《Sacrifice》.
It was not something arranged by the gods, but the first skill JaeHyun had chosen to copy.
… Of course, he had to spend more than 2,000 MP to treat Ina, but saving her was top priority.
‘… A while ago, Ina used up all her mana to save me. She must have tried to save me, even though she risked dying. I was going to wait and see, but… Is it ok for me to trust her?’
JaeHyun really didn’t know the answer to that question.
He couldn’t believe that someone he hadn’t known that long would risk their life for him.
He had lived as a raider for seven years in the previous timeline, but he’d rarely met anyone like her.
It was incomprehensible. Still, he had to accept it.
Ina’s actions were clearly to save him, and he was able to live thanks to her.
JaeHyun recalled Ina’s actions with admiration.
Maintaining a shield for him even as she used up her life energy.
The way she looked as she pushed herself to the limit to somehow keep up with the Kobold Lord’s attack.
A sudden thought appeared in his head.
If it were him, would he have been able to do the same thing?
‘No. Of course not.’
JaeHyun laughed slightly and shook his head. He knew himself very well.
Unfortunately, he would not have been able to save Ina, and he would have fled alone.
Like he had done to Lee Myung-Ho before he regressed.
He would have justified his actions by saying he couldn’t have done anything because he was weak.
That day…
He had abandoned SungWoo and Jina and survived by himself, facing the criticism of others.
Just like that time.
“But Ina didn’t do that.”
JaeHyun mumbled slightly, stroking Ina’s hair as she trembled.
She gradually relaxed and stopped groaning in pain.
JaeHyun stared at her for a moment and soon looked straight ahead.
‘I can’t leave the dungeon right now. We have to match our stories first.’
Gu Ja-In probably planned to put him under his thumb with that event.
But JaeHyun never intended to play by his rules.
At the same time, JaeHyun made a vow.
‘The connection between Gu Ja-In and Odin’s raven… I need to find out.’
* * *
“…… Ack! Jae-JaeHyun?”
Ina, who came to her senses in the dungeon, was surprised and could only look up.
That was because JaeHyun was leaning against the wall, dozing and stroking her hair.
‘Wh-what the hell is this situation?!’
It was great stimulation for Ina, who had trouble getting along with people easily.
JaeHyun was a good friend, but it was true that she was a little reluctant to let him touch her like that.
But she soon shook her head.
JaeHyun probably tried his best to save her.
She was sure that he was dozing because he was tired from the fight.
However, one thing she didn’t understand was why he didn’t get out of the dungeon, despite killing the boss monster.
“… I should first check on my physical condition. Then, find the entrance… Huh?”
Opening her status window and checking her condition, Ina’s eyes widened.
She stared at the translucent screen in front of her in a daze.
She was greatly shocked, but there was a reason for it.
‘… My HP and MP have both fully recovered. How is that possible?’
Wasn’t she on the verge of death from Mana Rebound just a moment ago?
Ina was well aware of how much mana she could handle, and even though she knew it, she still cast a series of spells that far exceeded her limits to save JaeHyun.
‘If things went as expected, I would have died for sure… How am I still alive?’
It was hard to understand what had happened.
Until a while ago, she honestly didn’t expect to live.
If a miracle occurred, she figured there was a 1% possibility of being alive, but…
‘… I still think it’s weird.’
Ina’s eyes were drawn to JaeHyun, who had just woken up.
JaeHyun stretched with a short groan.
He looked at Ina, who woke before him, and asked,
“Oh, you’re awake? How are you feeling?”
“… I think I’m fine. What about you?”
“I’m also fine. Sorry. I was a bit tired, so I fell asleep.”
Ina thought JaeHyun’s words were weird as she tilted her head.
“… You already killed the Kobold Lord. Why were you sleeping here?”
“I was waiting for you to wake up. I also had something to tell you.”
“…… Something to say?”
“Yeah.”
Ina couldn’t help but be confused by JaeHyun’s words.
What on earth did he want to say?
Was it related to the fact that she was fully healed?
“… What is it?”
“I wanted to make our lips match up in advance.”.
“Huh?! Huh!”
____