It wasn’t enough for the Dragonclaw Soldier to sever Go Hyeon-woo’s arm. It now aimed to slice through his neck.
But the sword, halfway through its swing, was intercepted.
Clang!
Lee Seong-hyeon had jumped in with his shield raised.
Immediately after, a flurry of icy, razor-sharp sword energy surged in.
Swooosh-swooooosh-swooooosh—!
It was Han So-mi’s doing.
Unlike her usual self, her face was grim, devoid of even the slightest trace of a smile.
Perhaps pressured by her intensity, the Dragonclaw Soldier briefly faltered, and the group used that opening to quickly widen the distance.
With a deeply worried look, Han So-mi asked Go Hyeon-woo,
“Are you okay…?”
“I can manage. It won’t hinder my sword arm.”
“No way. You need to fall back.”
“I cannot. We still have a long way to go.”
Indeed, heavy presences could now be felt from all directions.
The Dragonclaw Soldiers had arrived.
Including the one already there, there were six in total.
They immediately rushed us, each swinging their weapons.
I responded with an item card.
[Activated ‘Sanctuary (A)’]
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Radiant shields rose up and blocked the incoming attacks.
But the light faded quickly. It wouldn’t last long.
I drew another item card.
[Activated ‘Displacement (A)’]
Flash!
Three Dragonclaw Soldiers on the flank were engulfed in light and blown away.
I tried to use Displacement on the other side as well, but those ones swiftly dodged to the sides.
So they’ve learned.
Displacement only affects targets in front of the user.
In other words, if they step outside that range, they won’t be blown away.
Soon, the Dragonclaw Soldiers surrounded us on three sides and began pounding on the Sanctuary.
Thud-thud-tung!
They’re trying to force a war of attrition.
If they stay positioned like that, even if [Displacement] hits, only one of them will be blown away.
Their calculation is that if they keep making us burn through cards like this, eventually, they’ll win.
Thunk! Thud-thunk!
The Sanctuary was growing even fainter and was on the verge of dissipating.
A decision had to be made before that happened.
Do we keep spending cards, or do we risk taking damage and fight head-on?
First, I turned to Lee Seong-hyeon and Han So-mi.
“As of now, you two are officially part of the Kim Ho expedition. Hand over your cards.”
“Got it.”
“Okayyy~”
Lee Seong-hyeon passed me a few cards.
Han So-mi, on the other hand, shoved both arms into her inventory and pulled out a whole pile of cards.
I couldn’t help but flinch.
“…Why do you have so many?”
“I picked them up.”
“From where?”
“Uhh…somewhere big and open?”
She was probably referring to the central plaza.
Come to think of it, Han So-mi had also been there during the Dragonwing Soldier raid.
Back then, things were too hectic on our end and we had to abandon most of the dropped cards. But it seems she scooped them all up.
Well, that changes things.
With a sudden influx of cards, the burden of a war of attrition had significantly lessened.
Without hesitation, I used [Displacement].
Flash!
One of the Dragonclaw Soldiers was blasted away, and I held out my hand to Seo Ye-in.
“Pot.”
“Pot.”
Then I cast [Severed Space], trapping another one of them.
Right then, the Sanctuary’s effect ended.
The shields of light vanished, and without missing a beat, I charged at the last remaining Dragonclaw Soldier.
“I’ll hold this one off. The rest of you, attack!”
The soldier’s longsword suddenly blurred as if it were using an illusion technique and flew toward me, tracing countless trajectories through the air.
In response, I thrust the pot back and forth,
Clang, clang, clang, clang –
With a series of deflating clangs, all of its attacks were blocked.
There’s a reason it’s rated S+.
Its performance is solid even when used normally, but with good control, its power becomes practically overwhelming.
Especially against lower-ranked enemies.
Clang, clang, clang.
As it kept hitting the pot in vain, it gradually began to show openings.
And the moment I caught its longsword with Harmonized Flow, the party’s attacks converged.
Tududududu!
Magic bullets flew in, and a whip of lava lashed the Dragonclaw Soldier’s shoulder.
Lee Seong-hyeon charged from the side and slammed into it with his whole body.
As the enemy staggered off balance, Go Hyeon-woo slashed with his sword.
Slice,
The arm holding the longsword was severed, and lastly, Han So-mi swept past and took off its head.
Maybe it was revenge. She looked a little relieved.
But there was still one left, so I gave the next order right away.
“Get ready. We’ll do the same thing.”
The group quickly spread out to form a siege.
Before long, Severed Space opened again, and as the Dragonclaw Soldier leapt out, the pot came swinging.
Clang—
[Draconic Soldiers eliminated]
▷Dragonclaw Soldiers: 5
***
As soon as the battle was over, we started moving again.
Meanwhile, Han So-mi had stayed by Go Hyeon-woo’s side ever since he lost his arm.
She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Go Hyeon-woo comforted her gently.
“Miss Han, don’t be too upset. Once midterms are over, everything will be restored.”
“Still…”
“Haha, in a way, this is a kind of experience too, don’t you think? A one-armed swordsman isn’t so bad. Aside from the balance being a little off, of course.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“It was a joke. If it wasn’t funny, I apologize.”
Seo Ye-in watched the two for a moment, then tilted her head at me.
She seemed to be asking why I was leaving them alone.
Of course, with the [Enchantment] + [Retrocovery] combo, everything including the severed arm could be restored cleanly.
I had a 3-day cooldown when using it on myself, but when used on others, the cooldown was based on the target.
Even so, I shook my head.
There’s not much merit in it.
If he had suffered a major drop in combat ability, it might be worth considering, but from what I saw in the previous battle, Go Hyeon-woo was still fighting quite well with just one arm.
If I used [Enchantment] carelessly and a tough battle broke out during the cooldown, I wouldn’t be able to undo it. So it was better to keep it in reserve.
The mood isn’t bad either.
Han So-mi was more actively talking to him than usual, and Go Hyeon-woo was warmly accepting it all.
Their relationship was visibly progressing.
And then, out of nowhere, a new arm appears?
It’d not only kill the mood but also make things super awkward.
It’s probably better to leave things as they are for now.
Besides, things are supposed to be settled by the end of today anyway.
Go Hyeon-woo gave a bitter smile as he spoke.
“This midterm has been a moment of reckoning for my shortcomings.”
“Mhmm, let’s go train together after this.”
“I’m always grateful to you, Miss Han. For always spending time with me.”
“So you do get it, huh?”
Though Han So-mi answered with a huff, her face had noticeably brightened. She was clearly in a better mood.
Go Hyeon-woo continued.
“Come to think of it, do you remember that conversation I had with Senior Jegal the other day?”
“The one about visiting the club?”
“Yes.”
Although he had firmly rejected the recruitment offer, the invitation to visit the swordsmanship club was still on the table.
For the members, sparring or dueling with skilled swordsmen like Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi would be nothing but a benefit.
“I’ve been putting it off, but once the midterms are over, I plan to stop by. Would you come with me?”
“Mhmm, I’ll go.”
Han So-mi nodded without hesitation.
Their conversation brought a light and cheerful mood among the party members.
However, it didn’t last long because the draconic soldiers showed up again.
I pulled out my cards and said,
“We’ll take them down one by one again.”
***
Fights broke out constantly against orc champions, shamans, and draconic soldiers.
Each time, I had to use two or three A-rank cards, and even though I had a lot, they gradually started to run out.
Meanwhile, other participants began to teleport in one by one via [Retreat] and join us.
The fewer survivors there were, the higher the chance someone would appear near us.
Song Cheon-hye and Geum Jo-han, along with two other disciplinary committee members whose faces I only recognized.
Moyong Jun seemed to have succeeded in taking down the sniper as we expected, but he was alone. Perhaps he had lost all his teammates.
Jeong Chong-myeong seemed to be in a similar situation.
Flash!
A beam of light shot down once more.
And unexpectedly, Shin Byeong-cheol appeared.
He gave us a wide grin.
“Well, what do you know? You’re all gathered here.”
“You actually lasted pretty long, huh?”
“When it comes to running, I’ve got real talent. I am humanity’s last hope, after all.”
This is humanity’s last hope?
I shook my head and checked the survivor counter.
▷Current survivors: 13
It matched exactly with the number of people present here.
I didn’t know how many Craft Haven residents were left, but surely not many.
Which meant—
From now on, we’re their only target.
– Chwiik, chwiik!
Sure enough, angry snorts started approaching from all directions.
The orc champion and shaman legions had filled the alleyways.
Draconic soldiers started popping out here and there as well.
It took a group effort just to take down one of them and now, they outnumbered us.
“……”
Despite the dire odds, the students didn’t lose their fighting spirit.
Their attitude said they would fight to the very last.
– Chwiik, chwiik!
However, the enemies didn’t attack. They simply advanced at a leisurely pace.
At the same time, one part of their encirclement was deliberately left open, as if they were trying to lure us somewhere.
Song Cheon-hye glanced sideways at me and asked,
“What do you plan to do?”
“Let’s follow them for now.”
There were only two options: follow or strike first at the monster army.
Either way, battle was inevitable. So I figured we might as well see what they were up to.
As we moved, the dark clouds thickened overhead, and raindrops began to fall one by one.
Ssshhhh—
The rain grew heavier, and a mist rolled in, making it nearly impossible to see ahead.
Even so, the monster army continued driving us forward, herding us somewhere.
After drifting along for quite a while, the monsters suddenly stopped moving.
“……?”
“…….”
Our group glanced around, full of caution.
The gap in the encirclement was still there, but no one stepped forward.
A strange sense of dread was holding them back.
Thud, thud…
Soon, heavy footsteps approached from that direction.
A fierce glow shone from a pair of massive eyes.
The Craftsman Dragon.
He had come in person to witness the last surviving players.
His mocking laughter echoed through the area like a sound rolling out of a cave.
– Kukukuku…
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