Chapter 1738 – 1738. Savior Of The Academy
I knew it instinctively. The voices I was hearing were all hallucinations. And they were all related to Seong Hari. I couldn’t help but know when I felt her hand trembling in mine.
‘Just like I’m having a status abnormality and can’t see, is Seong Hari also having a status abnormality and seeing hallucinations? Are all the voices I just heard coming from hallucinations?’
If that were the case, it would make sense. However, it’s a bit surprising that all those hallucinations are related to Seong Hari’s past.
‘To manifest Seong Hari’s past as hallucinations… that means the AI knows about Seong Hari’s past. Does it also have the ability to read a player’s past?’
My head is getting complicated. I also have things I’m hiding from Seong Hari. I’d rather not have them exposed as hallucinations.
“You broke your promise. Traitor.”
Startled. Seong Hari is surprised. Her agitation is conveyed to me.
“Mom?”
“…It’s nothing. Just a normal hallucination. A slightly bad one.”
“But your hand is trembling?”
“I didn’t expect to see hallucinations here. I’m okay now. All the hallucinations have disappeared.”
I could sense that she didn’t want to talk about the hallucinations anymore.
I quietly chose my words. Various questions arose in my mind. But even if I asked these questions, she wouldn’t answer them all. At most, one or two. And even that wasn’t certain. Seong Hari was reluctant to talk about the past.
Therefore, I asked Seong Hari the most innocuous question among the ones that came to mind.
“What’s your wish, Mom?”
“…Suddenly?”
“Earlier, one of the hallucinations asked. What your wish was. Who was that person?”
“…It’s a secret. I can’t see them anymore anyway. Ah, you asked what my wish was? I want Yujin to be happy. That’s my wish. I can do anything for that.”
Her voice was filled with firm determination.
“Are all the people who appeared as hallucinations people you know?”
“Hallucinations are just hallucinations. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Seong Hari said firmly. It was as if she was drawing a line. Even if I asked about the hallucinations, she wouldn’t answer in detail.
I walked forward as Seong Hari led me.
“Go back.”
Something appeared and spoke. It was a voice like scraping metal. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman.
What was certain was that it wasn’t a hallucination. Unlike the hallucinations, I could vividly feel its presence. It was definitely the owner of the gaze that had been watching us since earlier.
“You, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere. You know me, right?”
Seong Hari asked. There was hostility in her voice.
Suddenly, I realized that it was speaking in Korean.
‘The basic language in this world is Japanese. Even the NPCs speak Japanese, but the monster is speaking Korean? What the heck is going on?’
No matter how wide I opened my eyes, my vision was still pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. Not being able to see was more frustrating than I had imagined.
“This place is our grave. If you don’t go back, we’ll take it as you wanting to join us.”
“That’s creepy. You’re not human, are you? Why are you pretending to be human? Do you even want to be human?”
“I understand your intentions well.”
Their conversation didn’t mesh.
Crack, creak.
Something was happening. The sound of trees breaking, crawling sounds, and the sound of the floor shaking.
‘It’s not just the sounds. The air is stuffy. There’s something huge in front of us. And it doesn’t seem like just one…’
Even with the Spirit Eye, I couldn’t see.
The same was true with the Heavenly Eye. Using the Heavenly Eye would allow me to see reality, not the virtual reality. This virtual reality world had many restrictions on me.
“Yujin! Enemies all around! Burn them all with Salamander!”
“Salamander!!”
As Seong Hari said, I summoned Salamander. Even though I couldn’t see, I could feel Salamander’s presence.
The fire lizard, sensing my will, spewed fire in all directions.
The effect wasn’t great. Whether it was because of some special power in the forest, the trees themselves didn’t burn easily. I could feel enemies approaching through the flames.
“I’m going to let go of your hand for a moment.”
Seong Hari, who had been holding my hand, let go and rushed forward.
Thud! Thump! Thud!
Enemies were approaching. Ten. No, it seemed like there were 13. Each one had a massive body. I couldn’t get a sense of what kind of monsters they were. They were silently emitting hostility and murderous intent.
“Bless!”
I used Bless, one of the Priest’s skills, on Seong Hari. It was a skill that slightly increased the target’s stats for a certain period. Even though I couldn’t see, her presence was clear, so it was possible.
“Thank you, Yujin!”
Clang!
An explosion rang out.
I felt the presence of an enemy approaching me from behind. I drew my sword from my waist.
Clang!
It wasn’t me. Seong Hari had instantly come to my side and slashed the enemy.
Clang!
I realized the source of the loud noise. It wasn’t Seong Hari’s attack, but the sound of her kicking off the ground and leaping. Every time Seong Hari leaped, the presence of an enemy disappeared. It was overwhelming. I didn’t even need to do anything.
“Traitor. That power is not yours.”
“I can’t forgive you.”
“We trusted you!”
Voices echoed. They were all voices blaming and resenting Seong Hari. I realized that the hallucinations I thought had disappeared had reappeared.
“It’s scary. That shouldn’t exist.”
Salamander. The fire lizard, who always answered in short sentences, spoke in a voice filled with fear.
The fire lizard arbitrarily took my mana and spewed fire at Seong Hari.
“You crazy! Salamander, are you crazy?!”
I reached out my hand towards the fire lizard. The fire lizard flew upwards, avoiding my hand, and spewed fire at Seong Hari.
“This bastard… why is it acting up again?! Stop it right now!”
“Understand, Master. The traitor is there. We must kill our nemesis. The Spirit King desires it.”
“I said stop!”
The fire lizard didn’t listen to my command.
I gritted my teeth. I forcibly severed the connection with the fire lizard. The aftermath was a shock that overwhelmed me. A twisting pain covered my body.
“Heal.”
I used Heal on myself to recover. The twisting pain in my body was much better. I gripped the hilt of my sword. I could fight even without a spirit.
“It’s okay, it’s all over!”
Rumble!
Thunder rumbled from Seong Hari. Before I could do anything, the enemies quickly disappeared.
When the thunder stopped, the enemies were gone.
“It’s over.”
Seong Hari approached and patted my shoulder as if nothing had happened.
「Your vision has been restored.」
Finally, after 10 minutes, my vision returned.
The surroundings were devastated. The trees were all smashed and lying on the ground, and there were small craters and holes everywhere. The enemies’ corpses were slowly turning gray and disappearing.
‘…Undead?’
They were undead with massive bodies. A lump of flesh that seemed to be made by combining corpses.
‘I didn’t know they were undead because they didn’t smell rotten.’
There were burn marks. The black scorched ground was the work of the fire lizard.
“Mom said she was okay, right?”
“…Are you really okay? You’re sweating a lot.”
“It’s because I used my power after a long time. The enemies weren’t ordinary.”
Seong Hari smiled. Then she staggered.
“Mom!”
“……Ah, sorry. My strength suddenly gave out.”
“What the heck is going on? There’s no way you’d be this tired. What’s going on?”
At my question, Seong Hari gave a bitter smile.
“It seems like the curse has gotten stronger.”
The Spirit King’s curse.
The curse that was stealing Seong Hari’s power had suddenly become stronger. It was something I couldn’t understand.
‘This isn’t reality, it’s virtual reality. But the curse is affecting her?’
I grabbed the staggering Seong Hari tightly and pulled her towards me. Seong Hari leaned against my body obediently.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
Seong Hari smiled even though she was sweating profusely. I laid her down on the ground so that she could rest.
An eerie wind blew.
It could be called a wind that carried death.
I looked at the source of the wind.
There was a man wearing black clothes. The man’s face, standing weakly, was pale. He spoke to me and Seong Hari.
“We cannot allow our grave to be defiled. You will pay the price.”
The ground shook slightly, and undead rose up. They were different from the undead with massive bodies from before. Their bodies were ordinary, but their arms and legs were stiff. There was a talisman attached to their heads.
‘Jiangshi, huh.’
There are many types of Jiangshi. Blood Jiangshi, Iron Jiangshi, Living Jiangshi, etc. The difference in power between each type is significant. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to distinguish Jiangshi.
“Yujin…”
Seong Hari tried to get up, leaning on her sword. I used Heal on her. It was useless. The curse that was binding her body didn’t loosen at all. I even used Cure. Cure was also ineffective.
“I’ll buy you time, so run away.”
“…In that state?”
“I’m okay. It’s just this much.”
I sighed and shook my head.
“You’re trembling and talking too much. Besides, this is the Forest of Bewilderment. It’s hard to run away. Let’s just fight and die together.”
Fortunately, even if we died, we wouldn’t die completely. If we died, our level and sub-level would decrease by one, and we would respawn nearby. There was no need to fear death in this world.
“Are you not going to listen to your mom?”
Seong Hari said in a stern voice. I stared at her with a dumbfounded look for a moment.
“Mom. Did you forget that this is virtual reality?”
“Huh? Oh, right. I did.”
“You don’t die even if you die. You just lose levels.”
“……That’s right. Dying with my son… it feels kind of strange.”
“Of course, I don’t plan on just dying.”
I gripped my sword and took a fighting stance. I didn’t summon a spirit. Summoning a spirit would likely result in it attacking Seong Hari again, like before.
Crack.
Lightning energy moved, and sparks flew from the blade. I finished preparing to use the Lightning Heaven Style.
The Jiangshi were bouncing and closing the distance. Instinctively, I knew they were not easy opponents.
‘I’m really going to die here.’
It was the moment I focused my mind on the tip of my sword.
A spear flew from somewhere and pierced through the Jiangshi, creating a shockwave.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
The Jiangshi caught in the shockwave couldn’t withstand it and were instantly shattered.
