Chapter 56

00056 Dungeon Of Alchemist(2) =========================================================================

“Damn it! Again... wolves!”

“If you have time to grumble, get into formation quickly!”

I quickly blocked Ansol’s front and pulled Anhyun to form a triangular formation. The number of wolves in front of me was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even estimate them at a glance. The evil aura they emitted made my skin tingle.

I bit my lip tightly. The caravan’s trail had suddenly and completely disappeared. Normally, the trail should have become stronger as we moved inward, but it had abruptly cut off at some point. I wandered around for a while, trying to find any other clues, but it was as if I was bewitched; I couldn’t find any leads. Just as I was about to activate my Third Eye, I was unfortunately attacked by the wolves.

Even if they were pitch-black forest wolves, I was confident I could handle over a hundred of them alone in my current state. The problem was the kids. We had struggled with over twenty wolves before, and this time, the number seemed to be twice as much. Although I had faced them before, seeing over forty wolves staring at us with their eyes wide open, the kids, who were like newly hatched chicks, were understandably terrified.

“Oh, big brother.”

“Don’t back away!”

Despite my shout, Yujung took a step back without realizing it. The wolves then began to howl in unison. Hearing the howls of over forty wolves at once, Anhyun, Ansol, and Yujung all looked frightened and hesitated. I could hear Anhyun muttering something from the side, but before I could ask, the wolves quickly closed the distance between us.

If we stayed like this, we would be overwhelmed. There was no time to calm the kids down. Both Yujung and Anhyun had a dazed look on their faces before they finally regained their senses and gripped their weapons. It was a small comfort that they had managed to pull themselves together, but the situation was still unfavorable. I clenched my teeth and drew my sword.

“Ansol, protect me for a moment and slowly fall back. From now on, I will break formation.”

“W-What? Big brother? Big brother!”

Without giving them time to respond or understand, I stepped forward with my sword. The wolves, seeing me suddenly jump forward, opened their mouths wide, revealing their sharp teeth. I heard a scream from behind, but this time, it wasn’t just a simple defensive formation. With this number, there was no guarantee the kids could follow. In the end, the only solution was to reveal a bit more of my true strength.

The first clash with the wolves began.

I leaped into the center of the pack and swung my sword, infused with mana, horizontally. The result exceeded my expectations, even surprising me. The power of a sword expert was truly remarkable. The synergy between my experience, special abilities, and latent skills was producing a level of power far beyond what I had previously experienced. With a single swing, I cut down six wolves, their blood gushing out as I leaped into the air.

“Protect (Protect)!”

Just in time, Sol cast a protection spell on me. The wolves, who had been charging forward, were taken aback by the sight of their companions being cut down with a single blow. They hesitated, staring at me in confusion. However, this moment of hesitation was short-lived. Perhaps because they still outnumbered us, a few of them charged towards the kids, while the remaining thirty or so attacked me.

I quickly dispatched two wolves charging from both sides and immediately turned to slice through the body of a leaping wolf. Hot blood splattered all over me. Despite the chaos, I noticed that the kids had regained their composure and were fighting fiercely against the charging wolves. However, there were still many wolves left. Despite the disadvantageous (or rather, challenging) battle, I swung my sword again, cutting through the air with a fierce slash.

“Kee!”

Swish!

One swing was not just enough to take down one wolf. Two or three wolves were the minimum, and if a critical hit occurred, six wolves would fly away just like before. My sword was already moving in the best possible path, slicing through the air like water. This was the activation of the Sword and Spirit Union.

“Kee! Kee!”

Swish! Swish!

With consecutive swings, the bodies of the wolves charging at me were cleanly sliced. As I turned to face the killing intent from behind, I felt something bite into my thigh. I quickly swung my sword backward and ducked, seeing a wolf gnawing on my thigh.

“You’re not tough enough to break through me.”

I whispered quietly and thrust my sword downward. Blood gushed from the wolf’s head. I kicked the fallen wolf, which looked resentful, and continued to rampage like a sword demon. After a while of freely swinging my sword, I turned around and noticed that the surroundings had become quiet.

The battle had entered a lull. The initial forty or so wolves had been reduced to about twenty. In that short time, over thirty wolves had been cut down. Showing a bit of my true strength had clearly gone too far.

As I slowly felt the killing instinct within me, the wolves, who had been growling, took a step back. I took a step forward, and the wolves, who had been cautiously watching, immediately began to scatter and flee.

Where are you running to? Just as I was about to engage in the battle, I heard urgent calls from behind.

“Brother!”

“Big brother!”

“Big brother!”

Hearing the kids’ calls, I was able to return to reality. They couldn’t have seen my smile since I was facing away, but the battle had indeed been a bit excessive. Thoughts of how to handle the situation filled my mind.

At that moment, as I bowed my head, I saw my body covered in blood. After briefly smelling the blood, I had an idea. It was sad that I had to act, but it was necessary. My movements just now had clearly been too extreme. Doubts often arise from small things, so it was best to nip them in the bud.

“Ugh!”

“Brother! Are you okay?”

As the kids rushed to me, I pretended to vomit and fell to the ground. I also made sure to breathe heavily. Spitting out blood would have been the perfect touch, but that might have caused them to insist on returning.

“Huff, huff!”

Sweating profusely and making a pained expression, I saw the kids’ worried faces. Hyun was quickly taking out a potion from his bag, Sol was rapidly casting a healing spell, and Yujung was trying to take off my clothes. What, what are you doing?

“Brother! Brother! Snap out of it!”

“Big brother! Big brother!”

“S-Shut up. Stop...”

“Brother, drink this quickly!”

Seeing Anhyun trying to make me drink the potion, I shook my head and waved my hand. Yujung, who had already taken off part of my shirt, leaned in and examined me closely, tilting her head.

“What, what’s this? There are no external injuries? Could it be... a lower body injury?”

“Grr... Please, everyone, just...”

As I slowly circulated my mana, I saw a white mist rising from my body and looked at Sol with an urgent expression. I thought that as an excellent student, Sol would surely recognize it. Sol, who was about to cast a healing spell, saw the white mist and her face turned pale.

“Move!”

“Eek! What’s happening to him?”

“Move!”

Seeing Sol’s fierce, predatory gaze, Yujung shuddered and stepped back. Sol then placed her hand on my chest and slowly infused mana into my body. She was likely trying to see the condition inside my body. I took this opportunity to forcefully raise my mana, accompanied by fire. It looked like a severe reaction.

“It... It’s impossible!”

“What’s happening?”

“The mana is surging. It looks like a reverse phenomenon!”

“Reverse phenomenon? Then...”

“Aaaah!”

After finishing her sentence, Sol burst into tears and hugged my face. I felt her warm tears and breath on my face. Hyun and Yujung, who seemed to know something about the reverse phenomenon, looked at me with a dazed expression.

“Damn... I shouldn’t have been so stunned...!”

“What can we do... What can we...”

“...Everyone, just be quiet.”

Feeling that it was enough, I pretended to struggle to get up. The kids, who had been crying, immediately looked at my face. They all looked as if they were seeing a superhero. I sat cross-legged, still seeing the white mist rising from my body, and the kids quickly moved away.

“Everyone... guard the surroundings for a moment.”

After seeing the kids nod rapidly, I slowly entered a meditative state. I couldn’t let myself get too deep into the meditation, as I still needed to use my Third Eye. The trail had clearly become stronger and then suddenly disappeared. The most likely explanation was a barrier. However, if it were a barrier, I should have felt a mana reaction. It seemed to be a directional barrier, which uses a path to change direction.

I slowly activated my Third Eye and began to carefully scan the surrounding forest.

*

“Phew...”

After finishing the analysis, I sighed deeply. It wasn’t as intense as seeing the <truth> of the past during the rite of passage, but it was still more difficult than simply gathering information. Still, I found the missing trail, which gave me some comfort. As I opened my eyes, I saw two pairs of eyes blinking in front of me.

Blink.

Blink, blink.

Blink?

Blink, blink?

“...”

“Big brother?”

“Big brother?”

Anhyun was standing guard with a fierce expression, holding a spear. He turned his head when the kids called out, and our eyes met. His mouth opened wide in surprise. After struggling to free myself from the kids who were frantically touching my face, I managed to get up.

“Big brother, are you okay? Are you okay?”

“For now. I’ve suppressed it, so as long as I don’t overexert myself, it’ll be fine.”

“Brother, this. Quickly.”

“No, no. Potions won’t help with a mana reverse phenomenon...”

I wanted to say that potions wouldn’t help, but I couldn’t refuse when I saw Anhyun’s face. I had to awkwardly accept the potion. He seemed determined to make me drink it.

As I uncapped the potion and drank it, the kids followed my movements, looking up and down. Shrugging my shoulders, I asked why they were doing that, and Yujung spoke with a dejected face.

“Big... big brother, shouldn’t we turn back now?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I heard from Sol that a mana reverse phenomenon doesn’t just happen once. If it’s not completely treated, it can recur...”

“I’ve suppressed it. We’ll go to the city later and get proper treatment.”

“But still...”

“While you’re worrying about that, focus on the present. You were improving, but now you’re back to where you started. Didn’t you learn that you should never take a step back when facing monsters? It’s like telling them that you’re afraid.”

Of course, the kids felt a bit wronged. This was their first time seeing over forty wolves. Still, my tone made it clear that there was no room for reconsideration, and Hyun and Yujung lowered their heads.

Why did I rush out like that? Why didn’t I maintain the formation? They were ready to scold me, but they seemed to know they had made a mistake.

Despite my scolding, the kids still looked worried. It seemed that my facial contortions while using the Third Eye had been effective. (It was really tiring.)

I stretched my body and looked at the kids, who were staring at my lips, and spoke.

“Anyway, there’s no turning back. Especially not for my sake. So, everyone, stay focused. This time, it might happen, but if you show the same attitude again, I won’t hold back.”

“B-But, brother, Sol said...”

“But this and but that. I know my body well. I can still handle it. Don’t worry, just focus on yourselves.”

After I finished speaking, the kids slowly began to gather their belongings. However, their faces were still gloomy, and the atmosphere, which had been gradually improving, had suddenly plummeted. Seeing their morale drop so quickly, I realized my position.

As I turned to leave, I could feel the kids’ hesitant gazes. However, I had no intention of turning back. We needed to retrace our steps to where the trail had disappeared and change direction.

The reason I couldn’t find the trail was that a directional barrier had been set. A directional barrier that could show a different world with a single step. The thought of finally finding a clue to the alchemist’s dungeon made me feel excited.

============================ Author's Note ============================

1. I asked