Chapter 1751 – 1751. Savior Of The Academy
Young Ha-ri’s face contorted in pain. Her chest pierced by the spear, she tried to counterattack until the very last moment. But no matter how strong her will was, there were things that were possible and things that were not.
Especially in this world created by artificial intelligence, it was ruthless. It didn’t acknowledge will. Her attempt to cling to life with her will was brutally crushed.
Young Ha-ri’s head turned towards me. She seemed to try to say something as she looked at me, but her body turned into light and disappeared.
‘Damn it….’
I stopped running.
Young Ha-ri was dead. But my mind was foolishly searching for hope. More like wishful thinking.
‘Young Ha-ri is a player. This is a virtual reality, and when a player dies, they respawn nearby. She might have respawned in a nearby village.’
「The source of the apocalypse has disappeared.」
「It will take 30 minutes for the apocalypse to completely disappear.」
「After 30 minutes, all functions of the Terra Simulator will be normalized.」
「You can log out after 30 minutes.」
‘…30 minutes?’
I shouted at Seong Ha-ri.
“Mom!”
Seong Ha-ri looked at me, startled. She looked like she was about to cry, as if she thought I was going to curse at her…. I certainly wanted to curse. But cursing at her wouldn’t change the situation.
“30 minutes! We have to hold out for 30 minutes!”
“……”
Seong Ha-ri snapped back to her senses and took a fighting stance.
Killing Young Ha-ri didn’t mean everything was over. To complete the quest and receive Susanoo’s Magatama, I had to find the Arinna NPC. And there was no way the enemies would just watch.
“Congratulations. You have saved the students trapped here.”
The voice of the dead Hasegawa Isshin echoed from the sky. Hasegawa Isshin, who appeared by tearing through space, looked down at us with hollow eyes. His demeanor and voice were very cold.
“Please forget the disgraceful display you saw earlier. I am not used to virtual reality, so I got too immersed.”
A large-scale barrier spread out above the sky. It wasn’t like before, where he deployed dozens of barriers at once. He was focusing on deploying a single barrier. Naturally, the power of the barrier was much weaker. However, the durability of the barrier was much greater.
‘I can’t see the weak points of the barrier.’
We were isolated by isolation. If that was all, it would be fine. The real problem was the effect of this result. It physically pressed down on the body and stole mana.
‘The mana being stolen is small, so it’s okay. The flow of mana within the barrier is connected to the students. Is this a barrier to assist the students?’
It could be seen as a wide-area buff.
「Respawn point has been changed. You will respawn here even if you die.」
A sudden notification window.
The Terra AI, which had been silent until now, was intervening.
「The player’s burden rate is increasing.」
「Current added player burden rate: 120%」
「Warning! The burden rate is too high! There is a high possibility of post-traumatic stress! We recommend logging out!」
「The burden rate is continuously increasing!」
「Warning! We recommend logging out for your safety!」
‘What the hell is going on all of a sudden.’
The AI Terra was intervening. We haven’t obtained Susanoo’s Magatama yet. The AI Terra wanted us to log out as we were.
‘I don’t know what the burden rate is, but is there no further intervention beyond this?’
That was a relief.
“Mom. I’ll summon more spirits. You can get stronger by devouring them.”
Seong Ha-ri shook her head.
“I’m already at my limit. There’s no point in devouring more spirits. Rather, Yujin, I’ll open a path. You find Arinna and get Susanoo’s Magatama. Fortunately, the village where Arinna is isn’t far from here.”
Seong Ha-ri’s suggestion was reasonable. If I ran now, I could arrive in 10 minutes.
“Can you fight alone, Mom?”
“Yujin. Do you know who your mom is? I was once called the strongest hero. Do you think I’d be defeated by just this? Trust me.”
“Okay. But it’s hard to get out because of the barrier.”
“I’ll break through it.”
Seong Ha-ri raised her spear. She took a stance to throw the spear towards the village where Arinna was.
“What are you doing! Stop that woman immediately!”
Hasegawa Isshin shouted. The students around him rushed in. Lightning erupted from Seong Ha-ri’s body, sweeping in all directions.
“Aaaah!”
“It hurts! Why is it suddenly so painful?!”
“Burden rate! The burden rate has increased!”
The students were knocked back. They stopped closing the distance and prepared for ranged attacks.
Seong Ha-ri didn’t care at all and threw the spear. A sonic boom occurred. The surrounding area was shattered, and the fragments scattered. I, who could see the barrier with my spirit eyes, confirmed that a large hole had been made in the barrier.
“Yujin! Go!”
Thunderclap Step of the Thunder Sky Style.
Kwarururung! I started sprinting with the sound of thunder. I broke through the barrier, covering 300 meters in an instant.
“Chase him! You must! You must stop him! If you fail, the academy…! Your futures will also become uncertain! So you must stop him!”
Hasegawa Isshin shouted. Some of the students were closely chasing me. I glanced back and saw a familiar face.
A tall, sharp-looking male student with a pointed chin.
‘What was his name? Kiku… something, I think.’
He was chasing me with a murderous aura, along with his companions. And they were chasing me openly.
“I haven’t forgotten the humiliation from back then! I’ll kill you! Hasegawa Sota!!”
I stopped running towards the village. No matter what, I couldn’t stand being ignored by these weaklings. I would deal with them lightly here and then enter the village.
“Spirit Summon.”
Rocks rose from the ground. The rock spirit, which looked like an armed soldier, waited silently for my command.
‘It’s high-grade. It would have been better if it was top-grade, but this is enough.’
I commanded the high-grade rock spirit.
“Kill those bastards.”
“Understood.”
The high-grade rock spirit ran towards them and suddenly stopped. It wasn’t by its own will.
“Did you think we would chase you without any countermeasures?”
He was holding something that looked like a shining stone. Lines extended from the stone, seizing the spirit and the space.
“A barrier?”
“This is something the headmaster gave us! I heard you’re not even related to the headmaster by blood? Stay still! If we just stop you, we…!”
He grinned. The guys around him did the same.
“Did the headmaster give you his ass or something? Why are you so happy?”
A look of contempt was directed at me.
“You vulgar bastard! The headmaster promised us the right to use the Terra Simulator for 10 years. Do you understand? We can use the Terra Simulator for 10 whole years!!”
“So you’re happy about playing a virtual reality game.”
“Not only are you vulgar, but you’re also stupid…. Don’t you understand what it means to be able to use the Terra Simulator for 10 years?”
“From my point of view, this doesn’t seem very helpful.”
I analyzed the barrier. I took my sword and ran to the right. I stabbed the weak point of the barrier with my sword imbued with lightning.
Pajijik!
The barrier shattered. The fragments of the barrier fell beautifully and suddenly stuck to my body.
‘What the hell. Was it a trap?!’
They knew I could see the weak points of the barrier and created this barrier.
The barrier wrapped around my body. This was dangerous. Now that I couldn’t use Heavenly Heart, if my body was restrained, there was no way to break free.
「Death-Seeking Life is activated.」
「Death-Seeking Life
Hope is everywhere.」
Death-Seeking Life was a talisman that had been lying around in my inventory. I had obtained it a long time ago and had completely forgotten about it. Thanks to this talisman, I was freed from the barrier’s restraint.
Thunder Flash of the Thunder Sky Style.
I swung my sword at the guy who hadn’t yet grasped the situation. The blue sword light instantly beheaded him. Before his head fell, I twisted my waist. I swung my sword again at his companions next to him.
Thunder Flash of the Thunder Sky Style.
Light flashed, and another head fell.
“Damn it!”
“Attack!!”
“Shit!”
Three out of five were left.
These guys were used to party hunting. But two of their party members were gone? They couldn’t exert their full strength.
‘If you only consider individual combat power, they’re weaker than me. And they’re not receiving that old man’s buff.’
I plunged into their midst. The blade shone with lightning.
Swoosh.
I beheaded another one. The remaining two attacked me from both sides.
“Holy Barrier.”
A faintly glowing barrier blocked their attacks. It didn’t block perfectly, and my shoulder was shattered. I didn’t care and continued my attack.
Swoosh. Thud.
I beheaded the woman and stabbed the man’s heart with my sword.
That was the end. The situation was resolved.
I turned around and saw the high-grade rock spirit staring blankly.
“Useless bastard.”
I slashed and killed the rock spirit. The aftermath hit my body, but it was bearable.
‘It’s easier now that there are no pursuers.’
As I ran towards the village, I glanced back. The place where Seong Ha-ri and Hasegawa Isshin were fighting was quiet because of the barrier. I couldn’t tell what was happening from the outside.
‘I need to do what I have to do. Let’s get Susanoo’s Magatama quickly.’
I arrived at the village. I rushed to the flower shop. It was going too smoothly. There was a creeping sense of unease that Hasegawa Isshin might have set up some kind of trap.
It was unfounded.
The flower shop was peaceful. Arinna was watering the plants with a watering can. Unlike me, who was in a hurry, she was so peaceful that it seemed like she was in a different world.
“You’ve come.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t come?”
“I didn’t think you would come. I thought the woman next to you would come. She was the one who killed the source of the apocalypse.”
“…So you’re saying you won’t give me Susanoo’s Magatama?”
I gripped my sword tightly. I would take it by force, even if I had to kill her.
“No. You and that woman are a team, aren’t you? I have that much flexibility. Thank you for saving this world.”
「Salvation
Overcome the apocalypse and save this world.
Reward: Susanoo’s Magatama」
「Quest completed.」
“…You. You knew from the beginning that Ha-ri was the source of the apocalypse, didn’t you?”
“……”
Arinna didn’t answer. But the corners of her mouth were smiling.
I raised my sword. Arinna reached out her hand to me. A white, glowing magatama approached me.
I grabbed Susanoo’s Magatama with one hand and brought down my sword.
