Chapter 170
Chapter 170: Ambush (4)
“Caw! Caw!”
Seagulls gracefully soared through the sky, carrying the people from another world.
Yoo Ji-han and his party kept a reasonable distance while chasing after them.
‘It’s not just those guys who can track.’
Though they couldn’t fly like the seagulls,
thanks to the long-range tracking artifact planted among the syringes they took, they had no worries about losing sight of them as long as they kept following.
Kim Si-hu, who was using the artifact provided by Park Jae-kyung, spoke up.
“We’re about 1.1 km behind the seagulls.”
“Are you sure?”
“Within a margin of error of 15 meters.”
Kim Si-hu was accurately calculating and relaying the position of the seagulls in real-time.
Even though it was his first time using a tracking artifact, he was managing mana quite steadily.
Even at the point where the artifact’s signal weakens significantly beyond 1 km, he didn’t panic and pointed the way to the group like an experienced mage.
It wasn’t just bravado that had him take the initiative in tracking.
“I’m a bit worried about the folks who scattered earlier.”
“Caw….”
“Thanks to them, we’re safe now, right? I hope everyone is okay.”
Min Yu-ri expressed concern for the scattered expedition members.
Most attacks would likely be directed at those being tracked due to their separation.
She thought that the reason they could move quietly now was all because of them.
“If the situation worsens, I told them to leave Yeosu, so it should be fine. And if they meet up with the rear guard descending, it’ll be a big help to us.”
“That’s a relief, but… the scene at Suncheon Station keeps replaying in my mind.”
“Don’t worry too much. We just need to do well ourselves.”
“Got it. Sorry.”
Listening to Park Jae-kyung, Min Yu-ri nodded.
Seeing her actions, Park Jae-kyung smiled softly.
‘What a nice person.’
There were plenty of people in this expedition who had joined for personal gain and the chance to rank up.
Unlike those people, her kind heart was easy to notice.
It seemed she was too kind for a job as dangerous as a hero.
‘How far are we going?’
Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-han continued to speed along without reducing his pace, pulling out a map to examine.
They had started from Suncheon and were now moving through a distance that surpassed half of Yeosu.
Currently, his group was running across the grand bridge connecting islands without pause.
—Every time they came to fetch the items, there were traces of sand at their feet.
According to Adem, the collaborator,
people coming to collect the completed drugs always had sand on their shoes.
That meant they were likely stationed near a sandy beach.
‘If there’s a sandy terrain nearby…’
A playground or a beach near the ocean seemed probable.
Just then, Kim Si-hu said,
“The altitude is decreasing.”
“Are we arriving?”
“I’ll guide you to the location.”
As the party increased their speed, the distance between them and the grounded seagulls quickly shrank.
Hiding behind a large tree, Yoo Ji-han peeked out towards the beach.
On a section of the beach filled with yellow sand stood the seagulls he was chasing.
The people from another world riding on their backs had disappeared along with the syringes.
‘We need to infiltrate before the ceremony begins.’
The IUPC members injecting milk into their bodies referred to this act as a “ceremony.”
Now that their drugs were ready, the joint ceremony would commence within the next hour at the latest.
“I found it! Over there.”
Just after detecting the space distortion hidden in the sand,
Kim Si-hu and Yoon Do-ha’s party began to slowly emanate mana from their respective staffs.
[Silence]
Their mana, spreading out like mist,
covered the area around the seagulls, trapping all sounds within.
“Yu-ri!”
Following Yoo Ji-han’s command, Min Yu-ri shot a magic arrow.
[Shape Change – Rope]
The arrow, slicing through the dark night air, transformed into a long rope before it touched the seagulls.
While Yoo Ji-han was surprised by the arrow’s form he had never seen before, it swiftly coiled around the creatures.
Flap! Flap!
Panicked seagulls flapped their wings, but
the arrow, enhanced with sticky spider web properties, showed no intention of letting go.
Even if they cried out, from a distance it just looked like they were opening their mouths wide.
Soon, all the heroes, including Yoo Ji-han, charged forward like lightning to subdue them.
‘About Level 3, huh?’
Though worried since it was the first monster they encountered, subduing them wasn’t overly difficult.
Once their lives were in danger, the one controlling the monsters at a distance would notice.
Yoo Ji-han inflicted non-lethal wounds to their legs and wings so they couldn’t move.
“Yu-ri!”
“Yes?”
“How did you make that rope?”
What he requested from Min Yu-ri was simply to bind their legs with a spider web.
Instead, she transformed a short arrow into a long rope.
She showcased skills beyond his expectations.
“Um, I just felt like it?”
“Eh?”
“I thought it would be nice this way…”
She mentioned that she only thought the form of the rope looked good.
Watching her create another rope with mana and wrap it around her arms,
Yoo Ji-han and even Kim Si-hu couldn’t help but admire softly.
“Sister! Can I touch that for a sec?”
“Sure.”
Kim Si-hu received a new rope from Min Yu-ri.
To create this seemingly simple rope, one could instantly tell it must have involved a complex set of calculations.
Unlike Kim Si-hu, a mage processing every calculation logically,
Min Yu-ri was accomplishing it instinctively.
Wham!
The rope, endowed with physical force, didn’t break easily even when pulled hard from both sides.
Just how much mana was compressed for it to have such strength?
‘What an amazing talent.’
Her activities in the expedition seemed to be bringing about rapid changes for her full of talent.
As a party leader, this was very promising news.
“Well done.”
Swoosh.
Yoo Ji-han placed a hand on Min Yu-ri’s head, tousling her hair in praise.
“……?!”
Had anyone other than family ever touched her head like this?
Startled by the unfamiliar action, Min Yu-ri froze like a statue.
“Let’s think about how to develop your skills together from now on.”
“……Yes.”
“Just imagining it sounds fun, right?”
“Is… is it?”
While Yoo Ji-han was excited thinking about developing Min Yu-ri’s skills,
her head hung low as she spoke in a whisper.
“Caw….”
“Oh ho…?”
Chilla, along with Nam Ho-yeol carried on his back, watched them with meaningful eyes.
*
“Take this.”
Humans cloaked in robes handed a bag filled with syringes to a woman.
The woman accepted the bag with a very polite demeanor.
“Thank you! Will you be observing the ceremony?”
“Yeah. I’ll just check it quickly and leave.”
“I’ll show you to the most comfortable spot.”
Thud, thud.
Walking along the third-floor hallway, they soon stepped into a spacious area illuminated by bright lights.
As they approached the railing and looked down at the first floor, there were humans packed tightly together in narrow spaces.
All of them were IUPC members gathered to undergo a ceremony for awakening.
“Everyone! The items have arrived!”
“Whoa!”
“They’re here!”
The woman on the third floor flipped the bag of syringes she was holding upside down, spilling its contents onto the first floor.
“Get away!”
“They’re mine!”
People hurriedly reached out to grab syringes falling from the sky.
The sight of over a thousand humans shoving each other while rushing for the syringes was almost madness.
They didn’t care that someone fell and got trampled underfoot.
One of the robed men watching the scene frowned and said,
“Isn’t this a bit over the top? I told you to adjust the strength of the magic scrolls.”
“This is a result of using reasonable adjustments.”
“Ugh! Seems like only the dregs of society have gathered here.”
“Not necessarily. Among them are also offspring of well-known conglomerates.”
At the woman’s words, someone shrugged.
“Human beings from Earth are weak-minded. They all need our guidance!”
“Ho ho! Please create a wonderful world where creatures and humans can play together.”
“Yeah! We will guide you to a new Ajesia.”
As the syringes were handed out one by one, the commotion from the first floor gradually subsided.
With a syringe clutched in one hand, the people gazed upwards.
They looked eager to step into the new world soon.
And at the same time.
Swish!
Yoo Ji-han’s party quietly dealt with the enemies waiting on the second floor
while hiding and observing the scene.
“I didn’t realize there were so many people…”
“It seems they’ve been waiting here for a while.”
This space had several bathrooms, bedrooms, and warehouses for food stored in a row.
It meant they weren’t people who had just gathered in a short time.
Just then, Min Yu-ri spoke up.
“Um… I think I recognize that man’s face.”
“Do you know him?”
“No, not that, but I saw him in the photos of the missing persons that were reported recently. I check them occasionally.”
Min Yu-ri, who usually didn’t forget a face she had seen once, spotted people from the missing persons list among those grabbing syringes.
“There are two of them?”
“Absolutely.”
Finding two missing people from an angle where their faces weren’t clear meant that if they took a closer look, they could likely find many more.
Clap, clap, clap!
Applause from above attracted attention,
and the woman who dropped the syringes opened her mouth.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go with the rallying cry!”
A loud chorus echoed throughout the building.
The woman who distributed the syringes beamed as she shouted.
“Injection!”
“Injection!!”
Syringes were plunged into everyone’s arms.
As the lever was pressed, the white liquid was injected into the people’s bodies.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Following that, the ceremony continued with the release of bound monsters.
Those who failed the awakening here would die, while those who succeeded would survive.
But.
“…Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Instead of experiencing their awakening, the IUPC members
had to endure the sensation of their bodies paralyzed by paralysis poison.
Pak!
At that moment, led by Park Jae-kyung, the party of Yoon Do-ha jumped down from the second floor.
“No?!”
“Why are the heroes here…!”
In the instant where they looked on in astonishment from the third floor,
Yoo Ji-han rose up with the rough wind alongside the Sylph to their position.
“Ahhh!”
“Caw!”
He lightly subdued the woman who dropped the syringes and quickly climbed the wall alongside Chilla, blocking the people from another world.
The startled individuals pointed their weapons forward and spoke.
“Wh-who are you?!”
“You’ll know soon enough, whether you want to or not.”
Yoo Ji-han’s eyes shone like a predator eyeing its prey.
