Kang Haewoon had not woken up even after being transferred to the bed for 7 days. It was a development different from the children's expectations, who thought that such a thing was nothing and he would soon shake it off and get up as if nothing had happened.
There was no particular abnormal symptom.
The medical staff only tilted their heads in confusion when the boy did not open his eyes, even though his condition did not worsen to require a respirator or additional treatment, and they could not come up with any particular measures. Even after consulting a shaman with Haehyuk's permission because they were concerned it might be a spiritual issue, Haewoon showed no sign of movement, as if his consciousness was held somewhere far away.
Kang Sihyun started to fear that Haewoon might never wake up. He became scared that everything he had thought was healing was merely false hope, and he became afraid of the weight of the sorrow he would feel then. Thoughts created worries, and those worries created anxiety, pressing down on Sihyun oppressively.
The accumulating anxiety and doubts seemed to choke him.
How he wished for the presence of a voice at times like this.
Then he might have been able to ask why Haewoon could not wake up. Even if he couldn't hear an answer, just having someone to ask might have given him a bit of stability. At the very least, he could have received a definite confirmation that the treatment was done properly.
Following this train of thought, Sihyun's expression darkened. There was no presence of a voice, and no way to resolve his questions. All he could do was calmly wait until Haewoon woke up.
“Krrrk!”
“…!”
Suddenly, a black creature filled his vision.
Even as he was filled with thoughts of Haewoon outside, Sihyun nearly allowed an attack because of his distraction. He pushed away the approaching Irregular with his elbow and retreated. His blue eyes narrowed. His gaze, regaining composure, fixed on a new target.
As Haewoon lay down for a longer time than expected, Sihyun and the children could no longer just stay holed up in Haewoon's room. The first day, Haehyuk had allowed them to take a break, relieving their pent-up emotions and feeling psychological relief, but it was different from the second day on. Starting from the third day, including Sihyun and Jihye, the children who did not participate in the Egypt dungeon raid went out to support in battles.
Whiz!
An arrow made of ice flew through the air at a terrifying speed after the bowstring was released.
“Krrrk!”
The Irregular hit directly by the arrow screamed. Sihyun lightly dodged an attack from a one-eyed creature and pulled the bowstring a second time.
It was a Catastrophe-class Irregular, Scorpion.
Its lethal venom could paralyze the entire body with just a small amount, and among the Catastrophe-class, it was known for its quick movements. However, it posed little threat to Sihyun. The venom could be detoxified with a purification skill, and no matter how fast the creature was, it couldn't outpace Sihyun, who excelled in agility above all else.
Bang!
Sihyun fired another arrow and immediately turned around to spread a protective barrier.
Thud! Thump!
Scorpions attempting a surprise attack while Sihyun was occupied with another fell after hitting the protective shield. Thanks to his timely defense, Sihyun concentrated mana in his palm and soon water sprouted forth.
After sweeping the short-circuiting scorpions with water, Sihyun searched for the Scorpion Lord.
Even if they were Catastrophe-class, the sheer number of insect-type Irregulars posed a danger. It was uncertain when they might escape their territory, hatch more eggs, and return in greater numbers. To resolve the situation, finding and killing the Lord was a priority, but with all scorpions looking similar, it was difficult to distinguish which one was the Lord.
Sihyun turned his head sharply with a frown.
“Don’t just stand there, help find the Lord.”
Seven Awakened individuals who had come to support this rift were all C-class or higher, but once the battle started, Sihyun was the only one moving. Even if he intended to fight quietly, the inherent flair of his class made Sihyun's combat style quite flashy, capturing his teammates' attention.
They would have wanted to watch too if someone next to them was creating arrows out of water, freezing them, and shooting them with deadly intent, but there's a time and place for everything. Ignoring the battle due to fascination was a critical mistake, and upon pointing this out, the teammates finally snapped to attention and started searching for the Lord.
Sihyun pulled the bowstring again.
He thought he had no talent for archery, but upon engr
aving the class, it seemed as if he had been granted a talent that aided his skill use, handling the bow as if he had been using it for a long time despite it being his first attempt. Surprisingly, the Archer class engraving turned out to be not such a bad choice.
The ability to deliver physical strikes more easily and more powerfully was appealing, especially the Archer class-exclusive skills that came with it.
“Target Lock” and “Surefire Hit” were particularly appealing, helping to identify attack targets without aiming and ensuring attacks hit the designated target accurately.
Both skills were useful for busy combat without a moment to breathe.
There was no time to aim and concentrate in the midst of frantic fighting. Sniping, which required significant time and mental energy, would be detrimental in urgent situations, but for an Archer, using the skill was like automatically engaging in combat, making it a rather decent skill.
Moreover, it didn't consume much mana.
While using Archer as a single class might be as poor as the general opinion suggests, Sihyun mixed skills from multiple classes. Considering that all skills except Copy consumed mana, Archer, which could achieve such efficiency with just a tiny amount of mana, seemed to be the most suitable class in a way.
Was it a foresight of some sort?
Thinking that the voice had made quite a decent choice, Sihyun released the bowstring, hitting a Scorpion targeting a teammate's back.
“Thank you!”
Startled by the thud of something hitting the ground, the teammate turned around to see the fallen Scorpion and shouted out. Sihyun paid little attention to the thanks, turning his gaze to the other scorpions.
It was tedious to take down one creature with each arrow, but since each shot took out an Irregular, it seemed like it could settle into a support class after more battles.
“Isn’t that the Lord over there?”
Then, a teammate pointed somewhere, speaking to a man beside him. After completing his fourth engraving, Sihyun's physical abilities had surged overall. To the extent that he could hear a man murmuring to a colleague about 1km away in the wide combat zone.
His dynamic vision and senses had become excessively sharp. The range in which he could detect presences expanded, and he could now feel types of presences he hadn't before, making him wonder if this was the sensation felt by S-class Awakeners like Haehyuk or Russ.
Turning his head to where the man pointed, Sihyun spotted among the swarming hundreds of scorpions one that was slightly larger than the others. It was a subtle difference, barely noticeable without close observation, but definitely larger. Sihyun pulled the bow from his waist.
The Scorpion Lord was known for its strong vitality. Simply piercing its body to kill it would result in it cutting off half its body to escape, so a different approach was necessary.
When the teammates turned to inform Sihyun of the Lord's location, he had already notched an arrow and closed one eye.
“Hoo.”
Sihyun inhaled and released the arrow he was holding. That moment,
Whoosh!
Flames burst from the end of the arrow.
He had used Jihye's skill through Copy.
The arrow, leaving a red trail in the air, drew a straight line towards the distant Scorpion. The Scorpion, noticing the arrow and trying to dodge, was in vain. The arrow, as if possessing its own will, changed its trajectory following the Scorpion's movements.
The power of the skill Surefire Hit.
“Kieeeek!”
Eventually, the fire arrow hit the Scorpion, and the creature began to burn. Confirming the flames enveloping the Lord's body, Sihyun thought it was about time to end the combat practice and pulled out a shining rod strapped to his thigh. It was the weapon from Egypt, said to be the voice's weapon.
After testing it with various skills, Sihyun discovered that the rod could be used as a staff. It wasn’t just an “Oh, I can use this for skills?” realization. The rod helped Sihyun use his skills more effortlessly than a staff would. From that day, it was only natural for Sihyun’s weapon to change from an unnecessarily large staff to a rod the size of his forearm.
Swinging the new weapon, flames spread across the entire area covered in scorpions.
Fire was indeed the best way to kill bugs.
As flames suddenly spread, the teammates looked at Sihyun with surprised eyes. That was because, according to the information they had received beforehand, there was no mention of Sihyun engraving a fire attribute class. When one of the teammates muttered "Copy..." in a daze,
The expressions of bewilderment changed to others. Surprise, shock, or even feelings of inferiority.
Knowing from experience that it was best not to care about such gazes, Sihyun paid no attention to them. His blue eyes merely watched the
scorpions burn, crackling, and the creatures that were screaming soon ceased moving.
Confident that the scorpions' breath had stopped, Sihyun swung the rod in his hand.
A large body of water appeared in the air, turning into waves that crashed down on the flames. Like rain pouring down, the aftermath of the skill caused water to fall, drenching people's clothes. In the combat area where the flames had been completely extinguished, only the bodies of the Irregulars remained.
No living creatures were left. The teammates, who had been silently overwhelmed by the atmosphere, turned their heads to gaze at Sihyun.
“...If it was going to be like this, why did we form a team?”
Someone shouted with a mix of confusion and agreement in their voice. The teammates nodded in agreement, but Sihyun ignored them, thanked them for their efforts, and concluded the battle.
Zing, Ding―.
Suddenly, he felt a vibration from his pocket. Rummaging through his pants pocket, he pulled out his phone to see a familiar name filling the screen.
It was a call from Haehyuk, whom Sihyun hadn't seen in a week due to the busyness brought on by his fourth engraving.
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