Chapter 270: Episode 270

“How long are you planning to keep getting in my way, Sol?” Na Daeyong asked with a smile.

The girl bit her lip and looked away.

“Hey.”

“…Y-Yes, ma’am!” Ha Yerin stammered, using her chair to push herself up.

“I’ll hold him off. You run. As fast as you can,” Eunsol told her.

“Huh?”

“Now.”

“Aaaah!”

The floor beneath Ha Yerin’s seat gave way, dropping her into the darkness below.

“Go! Hurry!”

The hatch snapped shut, and the robot charged at Na Daeyong.

He spread his arms wide, still smiling. “If I’m up against you, I suppose I’ll have to take this seriously.”

Crackling lightning coiled around his hands. In the next instant, the robot and Na Daeyong collided, sending flashes of light exploding in every direction.

“…Ugh!”

Shaking off the jarring landing, Ha Yerin scrambled to her feet and ran for her life, just as the girl had told her.

“Haa, haa, haa! Huff!”

She sprinted blindly, a frantic pace driving her forward. She burst out of the schoolyard, tore through the bushes, vaulted over a wall, and slipped through an iron gate.

She didn’t fully understand what was happening, but one thing was terrifyingly clear: she had been dragged into something incredibly dangerous.

The Tower Master was after her. And it wasn’t just Na Daeyong; he might have mobilized his subordinates as well.

’W-Where am I supposed to go?’

Should she go home? No, home wasn’t safe either.

School? Downtown? The police station?

She pictured Na Daeyong unleashing lightning down the street. He wasn’t playing around; he was dead serious.

If the Tower came after her in earnest, nowhere would be safe. They would tear through any defense, and innocent people would get caught in the crossfire.

’I have to hide.’

She needed somewhere safe, somewhere she could finally feel secure.

She hurriedly pulled her phone from an inner pocket and opened her recent calls.

[Mister – 5:18 PM.]

She hit the call button and waited.

The default ringtone played, and after a moment, the red call icon turned green.

—Yeah, Yerin. What’s wrong?

The moment she heard his voice, a wave of relief washed over her, and tears streamed down her face. She clamped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.

“What’s going on? Are you crying?”

“S-Sir!” she sobbed, her words choked by sniffles and hiccups.

“…What happened?”

Yusin’s voice sharpened.

“P-Please help me!”

“Where are you?”

He didn’t demand an explanation, just her location. The simple, direct question was so reassuring that a fresh wave of tears welled in her eyes.

She fought back the rising sobs and looked around.

“I-I’m far from my house,” she managed. “I can see an IBM Bank and a Happy Mart.”

“I’ll be right there. Don’t go far. Hide somewhere close.”

“Y-Yes!”

She glanced around, spotted a thick patch of bushes, and crawled inside. Branches scratched her arms and sharp rocks jabbed her knees until they bled, but she didn’t care.

Once she was deep in the undergrowth, Ha Yerin hugged her knees to her chest and curled up as small as she could, clutching her phone in both hands like a lifeline.

’Please hurry, sir…!’

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

Every faint sound—a rustle of leaves, a distant car engine—made her jump. Each time, she held her breath, terrified that even the sound of her breathing would give her away.

“…”

Time crawled by.

’Why is the Tower Master targeting me? Who was that girl who saved me? Will I even live to see tomorrow?’

Ah.

A faint rustling in the distance made her ears perk up.

Her senses, wound tight with tension, picked up every detail. Something was pushing through the bushes, heading her way.

Heavy footsteps. A chilling, rasping breath. And then—

Grrrrrrrr.

A low, menacing growl.

Ah…

She clamped both hands over her mouth.

Of all the rotten luck. In the middle of the worst crisis of her life, with the Tower hunting her, her cursed trait had to go and summon a monster.

’Damn this stupid body! I hate it so much!’

Grrrk!

The monster’s breathing was right beside her now.

It was coming straight for her. Shoving her phone away, she planted her hands on the ground and pushed herself up.

A club whistled through the air, tearing through branches in a straight, deadly line.

She threw herself aside as the club slammed into the ground with a deafening crash.

“Ugh, seriously!”

She activated her mana and got a good look at her opponent.

It was a Wood Troll. A Rank 5 monster—far beyond what a provisional player should ever face.

A steep hill blocked her path forward, leaving no room to run. She could try to circle around toward the road, but…

She bit her lip.

’Run away again? How long am I going to keep running? Tomorrow? The day after? For the rest of my life?’

A sudden surge of irritation flared into raw defiance.

’…I can do this.’

She forced her racing heart to calm and gathered mana in her hands.

’If I just do exactly what I was taught, I can win!’

<Wind Cutter>

Rotating blades of wind materialized in her palms.

Graaaaah!

Dragging its club along the ground, the troll charged. It was a terrifying sight, but she steeled herself and swung her arms.

Two blades of wind shot toward the troll’s chest. The spinning blades tore into its flesh, spraying blood, but the troll simply absorbed the hits and swung its club down at her.

<Shield>

She threw up a shield and ducked as low as she could.

The club carved a brutal arc through the air just over her head. It was incredibly fast. If the shield hadn’t partially broken and absorbed some of the force, she would have been done for.

—“Blocking every attack and landing every hit isn’t everything.”

Yusin’s voice echoed in her mind.

—“Missing, making mistakes, falling down—it’s all part of the fight. Think of everything that happens as one continuous process. You gather fragments of information, use your head, and wait for the decisive moment.”

After dodging the club, she fired off two more Wind Cutters. This time they struck the troll’s neck and thigh, but the blades couldn’t pierce its tough hide. They lost their momentum and dissipated, and the troll’s natural regeneration quickly sealed the wounds.

’Right, a troll’s traits.’

She desperately tried to recall what she had learned in class.

’Regeneration, brute strength, carnivorous, poison immunity, external respiration…’

As she immersed herself in the fight, she became acutely aware of the two circles wrapped around her heart. She spun them both, even bringing the recently opened third circle into motion, stirring her mana.

’A 3rd-circle spell specializing in sustained effects…!’

While she traced a magic circle in her palm, the troll rushed in. She kicked off a tree and leapt, dodging the club, then created shields in midair, using them as stepping stones to circle behind the troll.

“Hup!”

Jumping off the last shield, she slapped the spell she had prepared onto the troll’s face.

<Wind Port>

A veil of air formed over the troll’s face. She quickly backed away. The troll, not yet realizing anything was wrong, kept swinging its club wildly before it suddenly dropped the weapon and began to thrash in agony.

Grrrowl!

The troll clawed frantically at its own face, trying to tear away the air barrier. Ha Yerin planted her feet and poured every ounce of her focus into controlling the spell.

Whenever the troll ripped at the barrier, she spread a new layer of air beneath the tear, cutting off its oxygen faster than it could shred the spell. Like a slime, she restored the barrier as soon as it was ripped, filling in any tear the instant it appeared. The massive monster was flailing helplessly, suffocating.

Grr!

Foam bubbled at its mouth as the troll glared at Ha Yerin with bloodshot eyes. Then it let out a roar and charged.

She yelped and dove aside in a panic.

“Ah…!”

Too late.

Her concentration wavered for a split second. A hole opened in the Wind Port, and the troll gulped down a huge breath of air. The monster’s expression relaxed.

’I knew this method wouldn’t work.’

It was frustrating to let a sure kill slip through her fingers, but she couldn’t force what wasn’t working. She lowered her arms and released the spell.

Wind Port vanished completely. The troll took a deep breath and picked its club back up.

’2nd-circle Wind Cutter.’

She gathered every last shred of focus she had and spread a magic circle across her palm.

’If I can add 3rd-circle sustain to this…!’

She rapidly drew and erased the magic circle from her circles over and over. Her mind raced, feeling like it was on fire, and the circles spun with it.

’The key is the durability of the Wind Cutter.’

She thought as she bent backward to dodge the incoming club.

’To increase durability, I need focus and a longer magic circle duration. How do I extend the duration? Casting from inside is more efficient than casting from outside. Do I really need to push the completed circle out into the air?’

Her mind burned. Countless formulas flashed through her thoughts, shifting and transforming.

She opened her palm.

’Let’s try it!’

The mana in her circles linked with the mana in her hand.

The “stamping method” of circle magic was, at its core, just a beginner’s technique. But after Yusin’s death, the beginner’s method he had created had been twisted into absolute truth, then into convention, then into dogma, and finally, into a hard limit.

However—

—”Mana comes from the heart. You connect the circles around your heart and the magic circle into one, and feed mana into it without stopping.”

She summoned Wind Cutter in her palm as usual, but then she stopped its rotation. She abandoned rotational force, focusing instead on durability and power. The Wind Cutter’s size began to swell rapidly.

[You have independently awakened a new method of mana control.]

[Magic Power has increased by 10.]

[Focus has increased by 5.]

[You have acquired the trait: Accelerated Casting.]

[Special stat – “Creativity” has been unlocked.]

Still gripping the magic circle on her palm, she pulled her right arm back.

A blade of wind larger than her entire body tilted at the same angle, mirroring her movement.

<Ha Yerin Original – Air Chakram>

A ring-shaped blade flashed into existence, centered on her right arm.

Graaaaar!

The troll charged and brought its club down. She didn’t retreat; she swung her right arm.

Mana sparks flew as the club slammed into the chakram and bounced away. The monster’s face twisted in shock.

“Hyaaaaah!”

She exploded forward like lightning and swung her right arm upward. The chakram sliced across the troll’s chest, sending a spray of blood arcing through the air.

Grrk! Grrrk!

Its prey was fighting back. Enraged, the troll swung its club in a wild frenzy. The heavy club head slammed into the Air Chakram again and again.

Her body was fine. Her arm didn’t hurt. Instead, the strain hit her heart. This was a spell manifested through a magic circle maintained in her circles; forcing it to stay active put an inevitable strain on her heart.

In exchange—

Shraaaash!

—just by swinging her arm, she could control an enormous amount of kinetic force without using any physical strength.

Even heavy impacts didn’t dispel the spell. Under her assault, the monster’s thigh was sliced two-thirds of the way through, and it dropped to one knee, blood gushing.

“Raaaaaah!”

She pressed the attack. It was the first time she had ever used this spell, yet she wielded it as if she and the weapon were one, moving as if possessed. The chakram shredded the monster’s regenerating flesh, bursting droplets of blood in every direction.

She stepped on the monster’s knee and chest, then sprang up onto its shoulders. The monster, panting and hunched over, realized too late what it was seeing.

A guillotine, rising toward its neck.

Grrruk!

As the blade began to bite into its hide, the panicked monster dropped its club and grabbed the blade with both hands. The chakram shuddered, slowly pushing downward.

Perched on the monster’s shoulders, Ha Yerin hauled her right arm up with every last ounce of strength she had.

“Hyaaaaaaaaah!”

With a raw, explosive shout, she pulled. The monster’s fingers, clamped around the blade, were severed. At the same time, the chakram sliced clean through its thick neck.

A smooth cross-section flashed into view, and the monster’s head flew several meters into the air before crashing to the ground.

Thud!

The headless body lost its balance and toppled forward.

“Eek!”

Ha Yerin fell with it, tumbling across the ground in a decidedly unflattering heap. The Air Chakram, its power spent, vanished.

“…Haah, huff! Haah!”

She lay there, feeling one with the dirt, and gulped for air. She had drained every last drop of mana in her body on that one spell, but it still felt exhilarating.

She had taken down a Rank 5 monster.

And on top of that, she had created an original spell—something said to be the domain of geniuses.

’…I did it, sir!’

She thrust a fist toward the night sky.

Today was both the worst day of her life and the best.

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