RE: Player again

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[Chapter 101] [Even If You Mix Blood with Blood (4)]

Anomalies always come without warning, and death is always at hand.

People always know this, yet only when death creeps up do they blame their own complacency.

The Academy instructors were the same.

"What rotten luck. Why did a wave have to break out on a day like this!"

"Each class, each group conduct a headcount! Groups with any issues report immediately to the nearest instructor!"

A night when monsters' ferocity increases.

Of all times, a monster wave was confirmed to have occurred in the nearby area at this time. The occurrence of a monster wave also meant that various distortions could sporadically occur in response to the wave before long.

Some of the players in charge of escorting left Ucheon Middle School to check if distortions had occurred in the surroundings, and if they had, to offset them.

"Instructor Park. Doesn't something seem odd?"

"What do you mean?"

"If such a large wave had occurred, the players who went out on patrol earlier couldn't have not noticed. But the fact that they didn't know while monsters are gathering here..."

"Be quiet. We can't let the kids know."

Instructor Park spoke quietly to the instructor who approached with a serious expression.

Then he informed that those who went to scout in the direction of Dugok-ri among those who went on reconnaissance couldn't be contacted.

Dugok-ri was the direction where the monster wave had occurred.

"Surely not..."

"...We won't know for sure unless we explore that area. Whether there are monsters strong enough there to overwhelm the missing people, or—"

—If someone is behind this.

Instructor Park casually added the last words.

It was too late to think about it now.

It was safe to assume that those who couldn't be contacted were already dead.

The monsters rushing down from the direction of Dugok-ri without hesitation were practically proving that assumption.

"Please comfort the students so they don't get scared. Instructor Lee Gukjong and I need to go outside the barricade now to deal with those creatures."

"...I'm counting on you."

Ucheon Middle School, which was not affected by the jungle area, had conditions conducive to defense.

However, they couldn't just defend against monsters rapidly increasing in number.

So clan members knowledgeable about monsters appearing in Gangwon-do and instructors specialized in attack decided to block the monsters.

In front of a barricade hastily made by felling trees to block the road and weaving tough and strong vines.

"Fortunately, there won't be much damage. According to those active in Hoengseong County, this wave will be at most 7th tier, or 6th tier at the highest."

"We shouldn't view it so complacently. You know the theory that at least one large distortion occurs after a series of small distortions, right?"

"And I also know that when a large distortion occurs, an even larger distortion occurs next."

The "Great Calamity" was a disaster, but it was certainly not a disaster without any precursors.

Mana distortions began to be observed, and monsters emerged from small distortions.

As they were left unchecked, larger distortions began to occur, and as a result of neglect, humanity ended up causing the disaster called the "Great Calamity".

So no matter how small a distortion, one shouldn't be careless.

A small calamity was no different from the seed of a great calamity.

Instructor Park nodded and assured that he would block the distortion before such a thing happened.

"Even so, we can't avoid combat here either. The injured should be..."

"No. We can't disperse our forces here. Gathering them in one place to protect is..."

As the two instructors were discussing with their backs to the bonfire.

Suddenly, mana caught in the detection network.

The most terrifying energy among the mana observed so far was rapidly approaching this place.

""""Emergency─!!""""

Others noticed too.

Even the students who had been suppressing their anxiety darkened their expressions as they felt the energy approaching very close.

While the instructors were deploying protection magic, Instructor Park hurriedly watched the direction from which the energy was approaching.

I can't see.

Where is it?

The darkness was still quiet.

But instinct was saying.

That death was approaching.

Where on earth...

As if answering his question.

—Screeeeech

A strange cry.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew.

The warning light installed on the roof of Ucheon Middle School, hastily set up after sensing the wave's precursor, illuminated the direction of the sound.

A form wrapped in darkness was revealed, and a giant condor was flapping its wings in the air above the playground.

Just from that, the wind blew fiercely, and all the bonfires went out at once.

"Oh, damn..."

Instructor Park raised his arm to block the flying sand and dust from his face and struggled to lift his eyelids.

Unfortunately, a flying type monster had appeared.

The monsters running from far away were no longer of concern.

They had to deal with the one that had blatantly entered the stronghold first.

—Screeeeech!!

A scream that seemed to pierce the eardrums.

The mana-imbued shockwave from the giant condor's mouth blew away the outer wall of the building.

Although it was an old building, fragments that shattered in an instant were caught in the wind and soared into the air.

The warning lights had long since broken.

Under the moonlit sky that barely shone, eventually the fragments swirling in the storm fell to the ground.

"Ba, barrier...!! Kyaaaa─!!"

The first casualty occurred.

A navigator who was trying to give urgent instructions had their head burst by fragments falling from above before they could deploy a barrier.

The sound of the navigator with a burst head falling to the ground was no different from the sound of fragments falling.

"Team 1...! From now on, attack that giant condor first! The rest protect the kids!"

"Navigator!"

People moved quickly.

While the instructors fought the giant condor, they tried to evacuate the students gathered in the playground.

As long as flying type monsters existed, Ucheon Middle School could no longer be considered safe.

The giant condor would just be the beginning.

Surely flying type monsters hiding in those high places would be flying towards here.

So the players pressed the navigator to confirm information about the giant condor and the existence of other flying type monsters.

"—It's a 5th tier Giant Condor! It can use telekinesis and can also convert sound into shockwaves..."

"It's very skilled in magic!"

A 5th tier flying type monster.

Moreover, skilled in magic.

The instructors' judgment upon hearing the news from the navigator was immediate.

"From now on, students will stand by for battle at Ucheon Elementary School! Group representatives take care of group members while moving!"

"Injured people who have difficulty moving gather here! If you can move even a little, walk for your life!"

"Don't look back anymore! Monsters could appear from the front too, so don't withdraw your detection networks!"

There was nothing they could do in front of a high-tier flying type monster.

There were extremely few players who could snipe the creature, and even they were either out on reconnaissance or in front of the barricade.

In the end, they had to urgently leave the place before greater damage occurred.

Nevertheless, the instructors packaged it as a strategic retreat to prepare for additional battles rather than an evacuation so that the students wouldn't become anxious.

"...Instructor Park. It looks like we'll have to deal with that chicken first."

"We're going to eat a lot of chicken today."

"Did anyone bring seasoning?"

"No seasoning, but we have potions."

"Then let's just make chicken soup."

Frivolous chatter.

However, the two instructors who took out their devices had serious faces.

They couldn't be sure if they could safely evacuate the students while dealing with the Giant Condor.

If it were just dealing with that creature, it might be different.

But they had to deal with monsters coming down from Dugok-ri and monsters approaching from Munam-ri too.

Moreover, the energy approaching closely was estimated to be flying type monsters.

""...Oh, shit.""

Then the two instructors were startled as they felt the energy approach rapidly.

They didn't know how much they should be surprised.

Who knew it would fall from that height.

A flying type monster that suddenly descended snatched the bag of a student who was leaving the middle school to evacuate.

"Wh-what is this! Aaaaah─!!"

""""Kyaaaa─!!!""""

The student wearing the bag suddenly rose into the air.

Other students clung to the student to try to pull them down.

However, the bald-headed eagle soon grasped the student instead of the bag.

Crack, crunch sounds rang out.

""""...."""

The second casualty occurred.

And the people who had clung to him unconsciously to pull him down fell to the playground floor in droves.

Many injuries occurred.

Then creatures that looked exactly like it made vertical descents and snatched them up in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, several students lost their lives.

[—This is information sent from the Mana Management Bureau Hoengseong County Office branch. They say the clans and parties near Hoengseong County will be late arriving because they're dealing with the wave that occurred in the direction of Dugok-ri. Accordingly, Hoengseong County Office has requested aid from Wonju City Hall...]

[—Hello. This is a notification sent from the Mana Management Bureau Wonju City Hall. They say they're urgently mobilizing all available clans to head to Ucheon Middle School. The estimated arrival time is 7 AM tomorrow morning, and they ask you to please hold out until then.]

The night was just beginning.

And the monsters began to run rampant.

☆

In her previous life, Lee Yujung said that day was like hell.

She said that at first, they thought the instructors and players would only have to deal with monsters coming down from Dugok-ri and monsters appearing from the direction of Munam-ri.

That they thought they could hold out at Ucheon Middle School and then leave it to the players coming as reinforcements from Hoengseong County Office and Wonju City Hall.

But that was a naive judgment.

—Screeeeech

...It's started.

A sound sharply tearing through the night air.

Followed by the school building crumbling and a storm arising in the middle of the playground.

Eunha stood looking up at the giant condor obscured by the dim darkness.

Even as students were in chaos, he was indifferently looking up at the night sky.

'I didn't know there would be a monster above my head at that time. If I hadn't deployed a protection spell, my head would have been smashed and I would have died too.'

Lee Yujung's voice flashed by.

Eunha quietly watched students dying to flying type monsters while recalling the story she had told him.

Clearly seeing whose faces were dying.

'I thought if we held out, players from elsewhere would come to support us. But that wasn't the case.

Condors had just appeared in the playground, and there was nowhere we could hold out.'

It was as Lee Yujung had said.

Starting with the appearance of 5th tier monsters, flying type monsters appeared.

Even without extending the detection network far, the presence of monsters could be felt very close.

Eventually, the instructor spread the word that they would abandon Ucheon Middle School and evacuate to Ucheon Elementary School.

In the meantime, players died, and information about creatures hiding in the darkness was endlessly relayed.

This was unexpected.

They say three 5th tier monsters, including the condor, have been identified.

Three monsters that could potentially paralyze city administration had appeared within range of the detection network.

One that didn't even exist in the previous life.

Surely it was because he had hidden the monster wave, causing a larger distortion to occur.

Nevertheless, he felt no guilt for his actions.

Rather, it worked out well.

He had been looking for a way to avoid the surveillance of those in charge of escorting anyway.

This balances things out.

"—Yoo Dojun."

"Huh? What... it was you?"

The students began to evacuate.

Students moving in groups soon had to battle monsters born in Munam-ri that came down through other mountain valleys.

It was utter chaos.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the battle lines had already collapsed.

Although the instructor shouted not to scatter, the direct descendants of political and financial circles ignored them and took away the students following them.

Those whose groups had scattered were forming new groups with those who remained and were holding swords.

Yoo Dojun was being protected among the students following him.

He was startled when Eunha suddenly dropped beside him and stepped back.

Then he checked it was Eunha in the light of his smartphone and sighed in relief.

"Don't use smartphones here. You're not planning to openly announce that you're a target, are you?"

"I thought maybe phone calls would work. But with the mana state around here like this, it seems phones won't work either?"

"Tell the kids following you too. Make sure to turn off your smartphones."

"Did you come to tell me that?"

"You have the ring I gave you?"

"Of course. Hey, let me ask one thing. Did you perhaps..."

Yoo Dojun asking quietly as if he had guessed something.

Eunha said nothing.

In the end, Yoo Dojun interpreted his silence in his own way and nodded.

Eunha had no intention of denying it.

"Go to Hayang or Eunwoo and receive protection. You'll be safe by their side."

"What are you going to do?"

"...I'm going to try to save some other kids."

"Is that so? Alright."

Eunha lied.

Dojun accepted his lie without a shred of doubt.

Eunha confirmed that he was wearing the ring he had given him around his neck and infused internal mana into his toes.

"And think about this too."

"About what?"

"If you survive this... what will happen."

Yoo Dojun's expression changed.

This much should be well understood.

Eunha used Thousand Step to climb up a tree.

He hid his form in the darkness and then took out a ghost spider's spinneret from his bag.

A spinneret processed into an artifact.

Ghost spider silk was tightly wound around the spinneret.

Although it couldn't be seen unless mana was infused.

Screeeech─!!

Grrrrrr─!!

Screeeeech─!!

Sounds of throats crying out were heard.

Roars of beasts were heard.

Screams of birds of prey were heard.

Sounds revealed from all over the darkness.

People trembled in fear, and Eunha sat on a tree branch as if unrelated to their fear.

The one close by here is...

He infused mana into the processed ghost spider spinneret.

Then the spider silk tightly wound around the spinneret revealed itself, emitting a green light.

Eunha raised it above his head and confirmed the location of the silk created from the spinneret he was holding.

Eventually, the spider silk wound around the spinneret fluttered towards one particular area.

—It's there.

A faint thread visible in the darkness.

A thin green thread was extending far away.

As soon as Eunha saw it, he jumped down and used Thousand Step to cover the remaining distance in one breath.

"......!!"

There was no need to confirm the face.

He thrust his sword into the left chest of the male student without hesitation.

The students fleeing from monsters continued to run without knowing what had happened to their comrade behind them.

Sa, ve, me.

The male student whose breath hadn't yet ceased was looking up at Eunha while collapsed on the ground.

Eunha brought the glowing spinneret close to him and confirmed his face.

With a grim smile, he decisively ended the male student's life.

Screeeech─!!

Grrrrrr─!!

Screeeeech─!!

Amidst the sounds of throats crying out.

Amidst the roars of beasts being heard.

Amidst the screams of birds of prey being heard.

He merely raised the corners of his mouth.