The light illuminated the sword.
Jeong Yusin gazed at his Long Sword.
The blade had chips all over it, and signs of cracks were visible.
The sword’s lifespan was nearly over. He needed a new weapon.
Judging by the sounds coming from outside,
there was a slight buffer of time.
Jeong Yusin glanced at Karin and Gilsian. They were incapacitated, poisoned and incoherent.
Gilsian could barely stutter words, but that was all.
Jeong Yusin swiftly ran over and picked up Gilsian’s Zweihänder.
“I’ll borrow this.”
“…Go ahead.”
Being a two-handed sword, it was significantly heavy. Next, he moved to Karin.
Karin’s face was ashen, and she groaned in pain.
“Karin, how do you feel?”
Jeong Yusin’s question was met with an inaudible mumble from Karin.
He could hardly understand what she was saying.
He retrieved her two daggers and secured them to his belt.
Jeong Yusin looked down at Karin and said,
“Humans rely on each other, right? Acknowledgment and reflection. Good. Good children deserve rewards.”
He pulled out a teddy bear biscuit from his pouch and placed it on Karin’s stomach.
As he stood up, Loenel was staring at him as if he were insane.
Jeong Yusin ignored her and stepped back to the tower entrance.
He cleaned the blood and grease off the two daggers and Zweihänder with his robe and smeared the floor with it.
If there was more time, he would have prepared more carefully, but he lamented the lost opportunity.
The horrid shrieks of spiders outside grew closer.
Jeong Yusin did not doubt the abilities of Karin and Gilsian.
Despite being overwhelmed, their performance against these unknown demons was impressive enough to leave him in awe.
He carefully noted areas he needed to improve upon as he fought and watched.
He was relieved to have purchased light armor.
Life was truly unpredictable.
Jeong Yusin stood blocking the entrance of the tower.
‘I’ll hold the entrance alone.’
[Abyss Protection]
Ahiman chanted a spell.
Dark energy swirled in the air, then engulfed Jeong Yusin.
“What is this?”
A startled Jeong Yusin.
“It’s a counter-spell against alien creatures. I was sure of it. The poison resistance should’ve developed to some extent. Scath, I’m counting on you. Hold them.”
Ahiman spoke confidently.
Jeong Yusin was taken aback by the baseless trust.
“Can’t I fail?”
“Then we all die.”
“Shut up!!”
In contrast to the calm Ahiman, Loenel yelled angrily.
Ahiman smirked, closed his eyes and continued chanting.
It was strange to hear him speak of death so easily.
Is this how arcane mages usually are?
Understanding human hearts is a tricky thing.
He pushed his doubts aside for now. There was work to be done.
Jeong Yusin took his stance.
‘They’re coming.’
KUNG!!
The wooden door groaned under the pressure.
Jeong Yusin lifted his sword.
KWAANG!!!
The wooden door splintered apart, pieces flying everywhere.
A spider with a goblin head pushed its face through the broken hole.
“KREEEKK!”
SWOOSH!!!
An arrow flew at an unimaginable speed.
It pierced straight through the spider’s head, and the creature was sent flying backwards.
In the meantime, five more spiders jumped out.
Jeong Yusin planted his feet firmly on the ground and swung his sword horizontally.
TZZZAAAAK!!!
Three heads soared into the air simultaneously.
He split one spider’s head in half with a downward slash and kicked another with a sweep kick.
KANG!!
The crushed spider flew through the air, hitting the wall before crashing to the floor.
More spiders surged forward, trampling over the fallen ones.
Jeong Yusin grabbed the neck of a spider flying towards him and twisted it.
CRACK.
He felt the bones shatter in his grip.
The spider’s body went limp and was thrown away.
The flying spider collided with others, sending them tumbling on the ground.
Jeong Yusin’s sword moved faster and faster.
ZIIIIEEEEK!!
It began to tear through the air.
CHAAACK!!
He cut through the necks and smashed the faces of the charging spider horde.
Sticky blood poured onto the floor as the demon’s screams echoed through the entrance.
Loenel shot arrows like a madwoman.
KAANG!!
At last.
The Long Sword shattered.
Jeong Yusin mourned its loss briefly before throwing it at the spiders.
A spider hit by its hilt rolled on the ground, only to be swarmed and consumed by others.
[Sacred Weapon]
Jeong Yusin thought of Einhofer.
He thought of his single-edged axe, the relentless dwarf’s appearance still vivid in his mind.
Magic gathered in his hand and instantly shaped into a golden single-edged axe.
He lowered his stance, steadied his center.
“HHHHHIPP!!!”
Jeong Yusin swung it forcefully with both hands.
WHOOSH!!!
The horizontal slash.
KWAAAAAAAAAAK!!!
More than ten spider bodies were shredded in one stroke.
Fragments of bones and flesh splattered everywhere, impacting the walls.
“CRAZY!!”
Loenel’s shocked voice came from behind.
The golden single-edged axe shattered into particles of light and disappeared.
He quickly grabbed Gilsian’s Zweihänder.
It was heavy.
He had never swung a Zweihänder before.
But he had watched Gilsian wield it.
He could at least try to mimic him.
He lowered his stance and rested the Zweihänder on his shoulder.
WHOOSH!!
A vertical slash downwards.
KANG!!
The Zweihänder shattered another spider and dug itself into the ground.
Flying stone fragments hit his helmet.
He pulled the sword up and swung horizontally again.
Five spider bodies were torn apart this time.
Jeong Yusin swung the Zweihänder with all his might.
The tower entrance was already piled high with sliced and shredded spider corpses, but more kept surging in from the outside.
“Damn it!! I’ve run out of arrows!”
Loenel’s cry pierced through Jeong Yusin’s ears.
He clenched his teeth and swung the Zweihänder.
With each swing of the heavy steel blade, a considerable amount of energy drained from him, and his muscles screamed in pain.
Loenel, having exhausted her arrows, drew her sword and stood before Ahiman.
The situation grew increasingly grim.
The more spider creatures Jeong Yusin missed, the more humanoid-headed spiders emerged.
Loenel was violently swinging her blade, cursing.
KANG!!
Another vertical slash.
The Zweihänder shattered a spider’s body and buried itself in the ground.
At that moment, one spider lunged for Jeong Yusin’s face, climbing up his sword.
He dropped the sword and turned his head.
KLAAANG!!
The spider’s stinger grazed his helmet and passed by.
His head rang.
He drew the two daggers from his waist and swung them backward.
ZZZAAACK!!
The spider’s tail and neck were cut off simultaneously.
Jeong Yusin took another step forward, nearer to the entrance.
The daggers had shorter reach than the Zweihänder.
He thought of nothing else.
Only the image of Karin wielding daggers came to his mind.
He trusted that and began swinging the daggers.
CHAAACK!!
CHAAACK!!
He slashed at faces.
The faces varied. An elf, a dwarf, a fishman, a human, a hobgoblin. And others he had never seen before.
Among them, he recognized a face he knew.
Jeong Yusin’s eyes widened momentarily.
Jackson.
An acquaintance from the Beginner Explorer Course.
Though the course lasted only a week, they became friends easily as both were beginners at the time.
There wasn’t much prejudice against barbarians either.
The time they spent together turned into friendship, and that friendship swayed his heart.
Jeong Yusin’s movement delayed just for a moment.
The spider with Jackson’s head dodged the dagger and lunged forward.
The spider’s tail stabbed toward Jeong Yusin’s eyes through the helmet’s visor.
“GRRR!!”
“SCATH!!”
Loenel screamed in terror.
The stinger did not pierce his eye.
The spider shook its tail fiercely, and the helmet caught on the tip was torn off.
The helmet flew far away, revealing Jeong Yusin’s face.
In a sudden fit, Jeong Yusin swung his dagger.
The spider was cut in half and fell to the ground.
PLOP!
The stinger of another spider that had sneaked up behind him pierced Jeong Yusin’s neck.
“HHH!!”
The poison gushed into his veins and quickly spread throughout his body.
He swung his dagger and sliced off the tail.
The stinger remained embedded in his neck.
When he pulled it out, poison and blood streamed from the wound.
The carotid artery was narrowly missed, and further attention was impossible.
The spiders continued to come.
Jeong Yusin swung the daggers in a frenzy.
Karin’s movements were already erased from his mind.
The sword skills he had learned were all forgotten.
Only rage and willpower remained.
He chopped, slashed, and tore.
He stomped mercilessly on anything that darted below — necks, faces, tails.
But he couldn’t hold back the overwhelming tide of enemies.
PLUNK!!
PLUNK!!
PLUNK!!
He was stabbed in various places not covered by his steel plates. His vision blurred.
He didn’t even know how he was still standing.
The only reason he could endure was because of the defensive magic Ahiman cast on him.
Even that, though, was nearing its limit.
His body grew increasingly heavy.
A distant shout from Loenel reached his ears but he couldn’t comprehend it.
PUK!!
Jeong Yusin’s eyes widened again.
Another stinger pierced his neck.
He locked eyes with the spider.
‘So that’s how it works.’
They buried their spines deep, tore off the head, inserted their spine into the neck section, and controlled the body through that.
He bodily understood their method.
What bastards.
Jeong Yusin grabbed the spider clinging onto his neck.
The spider viciously bit his arm with sharp fangs.
Jeong Yusin opened his mouth wide.
KRACKKK!!
He bit into the spine with his teeth and roughly tore it out.
“GAAAARGH!!!”
The spider shrieked its final scream and went limp.
“RRRAAAH!!”
He spat out the shard and gathered mana on his palm.
[Sacred Weapon]
The weapon he wished for was a warhammer.
He gripped the luminous golden hammer instantly formed in his hands and slammed it down with both hands.
GAAARRRHHH!!!
Dust flew.
Living spiders and crushed spiders shattered and scattered in all directions.
This was it. There was no more mana left. It was all over.
PUK!!
PUK!!
PUK!!
Steel plates of the Light Armor were torn away.
The sharp stingers pierced through the leather armor underneath and stabbed into his body one after another.
The sticky poison spread all over him.
He foresaw his death.
That’s when it happened.
[Abyss Barrier]
An overwhelming force erupted from behind, pushing the anthropomorphic spiders away.
Not only the spiders clinging onto his body but even those entering through the entrance were all driven back.
This was a barrier magic that expelled alien energies.
Some spiders hit the walls, crumpling and bursting.
Seeing this, Jeong Yusin collapsed on his knees.
Loenel staggered over to Jeong Yusin.
Karin and Gilsian, who had regained consciousness, crawled towards him as well.
“Scath…”
Karin’s trembling voice escaped from her lips.
Jeong Yusin opened his mouth.
“BRRRAAAH.”
A mouthful of black blood spewed out.
“Don’t talk. Wait a moment.”
Loenel dashed towards her bag.
“…Why so far?”
Karin looked at Jeong Yusin, her eyes wavering.
“…Live. To survive…”
“This is called surviving?!?”
“You… you survived, didn’t you? This time… it’s your turn… save me.”
Jeong Yusin spoke intermittently before slamming his head onto the ground.
Karin shook his body, calling out, but it didn’t reach him.
“SCAAATHH!!”
Darkness approached.
Faint consciousness floated in the reality.
Occasionally, party members’ voices reached him.
“…Is there no way?”
“…All healing potions…”
“Block!!”
“Bring some arrows!!”
“Need to cast another barrier! Ahiman!”
Consciousness and body swayed like a wind-blown leaf.
His eyes closed, and darkness enveloped him once more.
Jeong Yusin slowly opened his eyes.
His whole body was stiff and moved very little.
His stomach churned, nausea overwhelming him.
He barely sat up and looked around.
They were still inside the tower.
It seemed they were no longer on the 1st floor.
The dim torches barely illuminated the dark space.
“Awake?”
Karin spoke.
She was sitting close to Jeong Yusin.
Her complexion was pale, and her lips were parched.
“…Where are the other party members?”
“Gilsian and Loenel are investigating the tower. They are probably upstairs.”
Karin slowly explained the current situation.
It had been two days since Jeong Yusin collapsed.
Thanks to the defensive magic cast by Ahiman, he barely held on to life and managed to survive thanks to recovery potions and Gilsian’s purification magic.
Karin continued her explanation.
“Purification magic was used four times. Only then could he breathe properly. It was a close call.”
Jeong Yusin nodded but stopped.
Purification magic?
“What is purification magic?”
“It’s a sacred magic exclusive to clerics. It purifies the unclean.”
So, it was a sacred magic exclusive to marked paladins.
Still, wouldn’t Gilsian need to be in a decent condition to cast it?
“How did Gilsian recover?”
“The Abyss Barrier expelled some alien energy from inside his body, too. During that time, an anti-poison scroll was used to restore Gilsian first, then Gilsian used purification magic on you. And of course, on me too.”
That’s why Karin and Gilsian were able to partially regain consciousness and move when Ahiman cast the barrier, Jeong Yusin realized.
Besides, Gilsian was able to stutter words even before.
It dawned on him that paladins had some resilience against otherworldly powers.
Karin continued with her explanation.
Blocking the 1st floor entrance – failed.
Blocking the 2nd floor – also failed.
They had been pushed back to the 3rd floor.
Ahiman was currently on the 3rd floor staircase, casting a barrier magic to prevent the humanoid spiders from entering.
“There’s not much time left. Ahiman’s reach is close to his limit.”
Karin concluded darkly.
“…”
Jeong Yusin silently listened to Karin’s explanation.
Two days had passed since being trapped in the tower.
Relying on rescue was now a wrong judgment. Neither was it a situation where they could wait any longer.
They had to break through with their own strength.
KUNG!
One of the two wooden doors at the far ends of the 3rd floor creaked open.
It was the wooden door on the right.
The torch between Karin and Jeong Yusin flickered.
Jeong Yusin turned his head.
Someone stood at the doorframe.
