Chapter 252: Medsang’s Myu (2)
It was a long, long night.
At least during the day, there were intervals between the monsters emerging from the mana hall. Sometimes, it remained quiet for over 30 minutes. But as soon as the sun set, there was no more time to rest. It felt like the difficulty had jumped from normal to extreme in a defense game.
The two remaining Defense Bureau buildings completely collapsed before nightfall. The monsters pouring out had a minimum rank of A, with SS-rank ones appearing frequently enough that all non-Awakened personnel and B-rank or lower guards had to be evacuated. However, the engineers needed to repair the city’s communication devices had to stay, so S-rank guards were assigned to protect them as much as possible.
The shelters near the Defense Bureau were also emptied. While most of the monsters targeted Sigma, some managed to slip past the barricades, forcing the danger zone to expand to a 1-kilometer radius.
“You should’ve kept some of the Achates S-rank guards alive. They could’ve replenished mana easily.”
Before nightfall, Moon Hyunah had said this as a joke. But as soon as darkness fell, the mana supply issue became a serious problem.
Even guards from other cities could receive mana from Achates guards. The problem was that most of these so-called “mana tanks” were B-rank or lower—especially C-rank. Protecting mid-to-low-rank guards in an area infested with high-level monsters was nearly impossible, so in the end, the only option was for the A-rank guards of Achates to handle mana replenishment.
Naturally, the number of available mana supply guards was insufficient, and since their imprints belonged to different affiliations, the efficiency of mana transfer was significantly lower. The rate of mana consumption outpaced the replenishment speed, forcing more and more S-rank and higher guards to take breaks.
And for SS-rank guards, who had high-ranked skills that consumed immense amounts of mana, the situation was even worse.
“Ah, this is looking bad. Yujin, how many mana potions do you have left? We should start conserving them.”
Not long after night fell, Moon Hyunah shook her head. Sigma was in an even worse position than she was. The Achates guards were reluctant to give him mana. Fortunately, if I got even a small scratch, I could claim all the points from the monsters he defeated. That let me buy mana potions and hand them over to him.
In the end, the only SS-rank guard who could receive mana directly from the mana hall was Alpha—Yuhyun. So he had no choice but to take the lead.
Dark blue flames constantly erupted around the mana hall, and ash filled the night sky. Because of the spreading heat, every fire resistance item in the Achates Defense Bureau was mobilized. Without fire resistance, even staying near the battle zone was nearly impossible.
Yuhyun fought well, but the situation wasn’t without its dangers. Among the many monsters, there were those with mana absorption skills. Even with the mana hall right next to him, the combination of mana drain from skill usage and forced extraction by enemies meant that his mana was depleting faster than it could recover.
On top of that, his stamina consumption was no joke. By the time midnight passed, even Yuhyun needed to rest.
Kwaaaang!
Explosions erupted around the mana hall. Against S-rank and higher monsters, they only left scratches at best. Amid the continuous blasts, I shoved a bunch of mana potions toward Sigma.
“I’m counting on you.”
Sigma leaped toward the mana hall. The sound of explosions was soon followed by the crackle of lightning. Moon Hyunah, along with her subordinates, charged at the monsters. They could hold the line for at least a couple of hours.
“Yuhyun, you did great.”
Supporting my exhausted brother as he retreated from the front line, I caught a strong scent of burning in the air.
“You must be exhausted.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, right. Oh, look, more small fry are slipping through.”
While the massive SS-rank monsters were absorbing most of the attacks with their bodies, several A to S-rank monsters managed to break away.
Pulling Yuhyun closer to me, I threw a set of poison orbs from the points shop. Three orbs landed in different directions, releasing light green smoke.
The S-rank monsters, caught in the toxic mist, stumbled, and I took aim at the weakened ones with my gun. More than half collapsed on the spot, but a few managed to escape. However, they didn’t get past the first barricade before they were completely wiped out.
I’d thought this before, but damn, the points shop was amazing. Equipment was everything. Thanks to the double points gain, I was actually earning more than I was spending.
I bought a few sets of S-rank traps and set them up in a row, then sat on a bench with Yuhyun. It had options to increase mana and stamina recovery. The purchase had drained my points significantly, but it was incredibly useful right now. Thanks to it, Hyunah and Sigma were recovering faster.
“Do you want to close your eyes for a bit? You should eat something too.”
“Water is fine.”
“I should’ve made some sandwiches before the building blew up.”
We hadn’t even had a proper dinner. At least I’d made sure Yuhyun ate well for lunch. As the ground trembled, I pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to him.
I needed to modify his imprint soon, but it was too dangerous to perform the procedure here. They said the imprinting process couldn’t be done unless it was near the mana hall. When that SS-rank monster with a mana absorption skill appeared, my heart nearly stopped. If Iryn hadn’t reacted quickly, it could have been disastrous.
“Iryn, you did great too.”
Iryn hopped onto Yuhyun’s shoulder and swayed his tail at my words.
— Iryn worked really hard to help Yuhyun, so praise me more, hyung!
“Yeah, you did an amazing job. Especially earlier, blocking that monster with the teleportation skill—it was so clean. Since you covered Yuhyun’s blind spots, he never had to worry about getting attacked from behind. Seriously impressive!”
Iryn grinned widely, spinning in circles before tapping Yuhyun’s shoulder with one of his front paws.
— Yuhyun too! Tell him you love him!
“…Not just praise?”
— Hurry!
Why did he love hearing “I love you” so much? Was it because he was a fire spirit and liked passionate expressions of emotion? The way he impatiently insisted—‘You barely say it! I told you to say it more! Iryn clearly said so!’—made me feel a little awkward, but I still said it.
There were S-rank and higher Awakened all around us, meaning even if I whispered, they would hear everything.
“I love you, my little brother.”
Ah, while I was at it, I should’ve used My Kid Is The Best. No, with a cooldown of ten days, it was better to save it.
Yuhyun smiled brightly, and Iryn bounced up and down.
— Say he’s kind! Say he’s cute! Say he’s pretty!
“I mean, Iryn…”
— But he is! Yuhyun isn’t cute?
“Of course, he is.”
— Then you have to say it a lot! If you don’t say it, he won’t know. Praise is good when you say it often. It makes both the giver and the receiver happy, so why not? Say it more, hyung!
He wasn’t wrong. Iryn’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at me. Small embers flickered around his eyes. Yuhyun didn’t say anything, but he was looking at me with an expectant gaze, just like Iryn.
Ugh, fine.
“You little cuties. Come here, Iryn, I’ll hold you too.”
Yeah, they really were cute. Sweet, kind, and adorable.
At that moment—thud! A massive reptile with spiked scales collapsed a few steps ahead of us. Standing atop its crushed head, Moon Hyunah looked down at us with a What the hell are you guys doing? expression.
“You three sure are having fun. Yujin, aren’t you spoiling your brother too much? Know the time and place.”
“Hyunah, I think you’re pretty amazing too.”
“…Huh?”
“When I visited the Breaker Guild before, I was really impressed. Just from the guild atmosphere alone, it was obvious how great of a person you are. I’m always grateful for the way you look after Yerim, and personally, I feel reassured having you around. Even this time, I’m really glad—”
“Oh, that’s enough!”
Moon Hyunah flailed her hand wildly and quickly walked away.
Sigma wasn’t coming this way either. At the moment, I could only compliment his face and abilities… actually, that was already quite a lot. Well, he was impressive.
[Praise is a wonderful thing! Let’s do it some more ^^]
After a brief silence, a side quest popped up.
Was this thing asking to be praised too?
If it gave me enough points, I wouldn’t mind.
“Well, I am grateful for a lot of things.”
Muttering, I opened the quest window.
[You’re showering those around you with praise! Great job. But isn’t there someone you forgot? Don’t forget to praise yourself too!
Reward: 200,000P, Warm & Fluffy Star Candy]
…That was a lot of points.
Didn’t it say it was running low earlier? It sure restocked quickly. With a reward this good, I might as well do it.
Still, saying it out loud felt kind of embarrassing.
“Uh, Yuhyun. I did pretty well too, didn’t I?”
“For what? I don’t know what exactly, but hyung, you always do great… except for not taking care of yourself enough.”
“Well, I’m better about that than before. Sometimes you have to take risks in life… Anyway, I’ve been running around doing my best since we got here. I did well. Pretty well, actually.”
— Iryn wants to tell hyung he did great too! Hyung is the best! I love hyung as much as I love Yuhyun! Hyung did great holding Iryn, and you did great praising Yuhyun!
“I mean, that’s…”
…Yeah, this was a bit embarrassing.
Was I really doing that well?
Of course, I made mistakes. I acted recklessly at times. But considering my rank, I think I did a decent job.
Even as this slightly awkward moment passed, the monsters kept pouring in. One got caught in a trap, and Iryn immediately darted forward, incinerating it in an instant. The moon was still high, and after a brief rest, Yuhyun stepped forward again.
The long night dragged on.
I spared no expense in using points to support the team. The rate at which I was earning points gradually decreased, but Hunter Seong Hyunjae occasionally sent high-reward quests.
Finally, as the pale light of dawn crept in, the frequency of monster attacks noticeably declined. Just as we all let out a sigh of relief, a loud voice rang out from the area where the communication device was being set up.
“The communication device is ready!”
It was welcome news.
Since the monsters had stopped appearing, we all rushed toward the device.
“Video transmission isn’t possible yet, but audio is functional.”
One of the engineers announced as he adjusted the machine.
“Connect to Medsang immediately.”
At Yuhyun’s command, the transmission started. As we watched the signal attempt to connect, Moon Hyunah furrowed her brow slightly.
“But I don’t know if they’ll cooperate that easily.”
“Huh?”
“From what I remember, Myu—Medsang—is pretty isolationist. Isn’t that right?”
She glanced at Sigma, who nodded in agreement.
“Myu almost never leaves their city. The only exception was when a large number of Medsang-affiliated guards were kidnapped.”
“Still, I have a feeling it’s someone we know. Medsang is on friendly terms with Lanchea, so if I ask, they’ll at least put me through.”
Someone we know… could it be Noah? Since we were dealing with a support-type guard, it seemed likely. Both Yuhyun and Moon Hyunah had ended up in the bodies of guards with abilities similar to their own, after all.
Before long, a slightly static-filled voice came through the communicator.
[This is the external communication office of Medsang City.]
“This is Lanchea’s Lambda. There’s an anomaly in the Achates mana hall. I need an emergency connection to Medsang’s Myu.”
[Lanchea’s Lambda? The transmission source is identified as Achates City.]
“I’m currently in Achates. You can verify with Lanchea.”
[Understood. Please hold for a moment.]
After a brief silence, the Medsang communication office confirmed the verification. Then, after another short wait—
[This is Medsang’s Myu.]
Despite the unstable signal, the voice rang out clearly. Was it really Noah? From the voice alone, I couldn’t be sure.
“This is Lanchea’s Lambda. There’s an anomaly in the Achates mana hall. Medsang’s immediate assistance is required. Also, do you happen to know someone named Noah Luhir?”
[Of course. Are you Hunter Moon Hyunah?]
Myu—almost certainly Noah—answered calmly.
It was him!
Medsang treated their guards well, so he must have been doing fine. That was a relief. Now, we just had to find Yerim and Peace.
“Yes! Hunter Noah, come right—”
[I am indeed Noah, but I am also Medsang’s Myu. I cannot deploy support solely based on a request from another city.]
“What?”
Moon Hyunah turned to me, clearly taken aback.
“Yujin, Hunter Noah seems even more invested in this world than I am.”
I nodded in agreement. I hadn’t expected this. Was he really not going to come help?
“Um, Noah.”
[Yes, Han Yujin. I’m glad to hear you’re safe.]
“I am safe—for now. But I might not be for long. Can’t you come help us? We need you.”
I couldn’t exactly tell him that Medsang wasn’t real. Even if he chose Medsang over us… that was his decision to make. If it came to that, it might be better to give up on Achates City.
As my thoughts raced, Noah—Myu—answered.
[I cannot leave Medsang City just to assist Achates. However—]
Noah’s voice continued.
[Han Yujin, you are one of my own. Medsang’s Myu does not neglect even a single affiliated guard. Please hold out for just one more day, Yujin.]
“Oh, okay! Thank you, Noah!”
[It’s my duty. Until I arrive, please take care of yourself.]
The transmission cut off.
One more day.
It wouldn’t be easy, but at this level, we could manage.
“Let’s prepare as much as possible before nightfall!”
While we still had control over the situation, I needed to collect as many points as possible and stockpile mana potions.
The grueling battle resumed. The sun set, and dawn drew closer. Even with all the preparations made during the day, everyone was more exhausted than before.
Yuhyun, Moon Hyunah, and Sigma had started accumulating wounds that hadn’t been there the previous night. We healed them immediately with potions, but the fact that they were getting injured at all was a sign of fatigue.
By the third day, it would be nearly impossible to keep going.
And then—
“…What the hell is that?”
From the still-dark sky, something enormous emerged, glowing with radiant light.
It slowly moved overhead, resembling a massive spaceship straight out of an SF movie.
Boom! KWAANG!
A precise barrage of artillery fire rained down, striking the monsters that had broken past the barricades.
No, seriously. What is that?
Why does Medsang feel like it’s operating in an entirely different era?
–TL Notes–
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