Chapter 145

『At this rate, it looks like Kang Ha-neul will die before he ever obtains the Thunder Immortal’s power.』

『Fear?』

Having finally breathed in the damp air after a long time, Mala-nim was spinning her body like a dancing cactus before expressing doubt at my words. Twisting her body counter-clockwise, she seemed to be asking, ‘Who is Kang Ha-neul?’

She was so indifferent that I wondered if she was ignoring him on purpose.

『I’m talking about “Boneless Spear 1234#,” my username in New Monster Wars RE:VIVE!. I told you that was the nickname for Senior Kang Ha-neul.』

『Fear!?』

『Finally, you realize. Anyway, the current situation doesn’t look great.』

Objectively speaking, Kang Ha-neul was weak. While even Kang Nabi—a rookie with zero years of experience—had risen to the Upper Level, he was struggling even against these monsters in the underground caves. This was despite his skills having improved significantly after receiving the greatest benefits from the Necropolis incident.

However, time would not wait for him to become strong enough. It was time for some shock therapy.

『That’s why I’m bringing up that proposal I made earlier.』

『Fear not?』

『The Star Scar—』

『FEAR NOT!!!』

Mala-nim flew into a massive rage at the mere mention of the word ‘Star Scar.’ She was so angry that she even pulled out my severed finger that she’d snatched last time and began poking my cheek with it.

『No, listen to me until I’m finished. Unless he gets help from someone like Yeon-hwa, it’s impossible to forcibly raise his rank. If we just use the Star Scar to expand his vessel first, and then I retrieve it later…』

『FEAR!!! NOT!!!!』

“Ouch, my ears!”

“Is something wrong?”

That’s when Choi Seul-gi approached. She hadn’t shown any interest until a moment ago, yet somehow she knew exactly how to find me in this secluded corner. She probably realized I was stronger than I looked after those few battles. But now was not the time to entertain her flattery.

“What are you doing here by yourself?”

“I just did my business, but I didn’t have any paper, so I’m trying to handle it with some leaves.”

“Eek…!?”

“I’ll join you shortly, so please go on ahead.”

“O-Okay.”

After quickly chasing her away, I went back to persuading Mala-nim.

『The only Star Scar I have right now is Commander Yoo Se-byeol’s wine. Drinking alcohol during a battle is out of the question, so you have to help me, Mala-nim.』

『……』

『Are you listening? It’s not that hard. I’ll handle the feeding and the later retrieval, so if you could just spit out a little bit of Star Scar…』

『……』

Mala-nim didn’t offer a single word in response, seemingly having closed off all channels of communication entirely. Perhaps she was extra defensive because she already suspected that Digestion—who sends wine from Europe—might be skimming some Star Scar off the top.

“What took you so long?”

“I was bus—”

“H-He must have had some pressing business. Let’s get moving, Ha-neul oppa.”

“Why are you suddenly stepping out in front? Seul-gi, you’re a mage, you should stay back with Hayan.”

“Because of the smell… I-I mean, let’s just go!”

Having failed to persuade her, I trudged back to the group. To make matters worse, she had clearly told the others what I was “doing,” resulting in a noticeably awkward distance between me and the rest of the party.

Just as we were about to set off again after our break, a massive vibration shook the entire cave.

Rumble!

“Kyaa!”

“Is that the Spear of Lightning?”

“They must be fighting nearby.”

“Let’s move quickly. The next cave is this way.”

“You think that was his doing…?”

Kang Ha-neul questioned the thunderous sound echoing from the surface, his toes tingling from the sensation. Being deep underground, it seemed difficult for him to accurately identify the owner of that power.

But I was different. Having personally witnessed Kang Cho-won battling the Archduke, my senses told me the one fighting outside right now was not him. And more importantly, the lightning that just struck didn’t originate from anywhere near here.

I need to contact Kang Nabi. Once we head back up to the surface, I should be able to communicate via smartwatch. Conveniently, to reach the next cave, we had to step outside and move through the canyon.

Even though it was getting dark, the sky was flashing with streaks of light as if it were broad daylight.

“My god… what is that?”

“It’s the barrier narrowing the boundaries of Thunder Rain Valley.”

“That’s all lightning?”

“Yeah.”

“If you get close to that, you won’t even have bones left.”

“The area has already narrowed considerably. Let’s move, don’t dawdle.”

Avoiding the lightning that was closing in like a giant birdcage, we searched for the next cave. Confirming that the signal was back, I was about to send a message to Kang Nabi when I realized something.

『The mana discharge I just sensed came from outside that cage. I’m not just imagining things, right?』

『……』

『I won’t use the Star Scar, so don’t ignore me. You feel it too, don’t you, Mala-nim?』

『Fear?』

Mala-nim gave an affirmative “Probably-?”

In other words, there was someone moving within that downpour of lightning that would normally fry any living thing to a crisp. No wonder I couldn’t find him; he wasn’t inside Thunder Rain Valley to begin with. Just like at the Tower of Proof, the White Immortal was playing outside the rules once again.

Now that I knew where the Thunder Immortal was, there was no need to send a message. Instead, I had to do something else.

Bang!

As soon as I, being at the very rear, entered the cave, the entrance was blocked. Darkness descended along with the sudden wall, throwing the party into a panic.

“The way we came in is blocked!”

“What is this…?”

“It’s not just a wall. It’s like a living creature.”

As one of the more observant members of the group noted, this was something I had summoned.

The 55th Tentacle: Tentacle of Barrier.

With its high durability and resistance to various magics, it was a barrier that was difficult to pierce with the attacks of a mere Middle Level Awakened. Of course, being “sturdy” wasn’t its only ability.

“Maybe there’s an exit somewhere else?”

“That might be blocked too. And if there’s no retreat, the risk just goes up.”

“Let’s try to force it open. Everyone move, I’ll use my hammer—Aack!”

“Jun-ho, are you okay!?”

As soon as the hammer touched it, the barrier surged and swallowed the man named Jun-ho whole. It didn’t just consume him; it spit his upper body out the back while leaving half his body exposed. His armored legs flailed somewhat pathetically, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape the wall. In fact, the wall even adjusted his position to make it easier for him to stand.

“It sounds like he’s shouting something outside, but I can’t hear a thing.”

“Come here and pull his legs!”

“Damn it, get Jun-ho out—Aack!”

“No, Seo-jun!”

The rest of the group, who had rushed in to save their comrades, were sucked into the wall one after another, ending up dangling like a row of hanging sausages.

I watched the scene for a moment before stepping up behind Choi Seul-gi, whose face was turning red as if she’d recalled something specific.

“Oops.”

“Kyaa!”

With a light trip of her leg, she went diving straight into the tentacle barrier. Finally, I had succeeded in isolating the Awakened who had been clinging to us so annoyingly.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“It was a mistake.”

“You’re calling that a mistake?”

“I told you, my vision was blurry. Besides, I’m not the only one who made them look like that, so why are you blaming me?”

The sight of them lined up in a row with only their lower halves sticking out was a bit unsightly, but it was none of my business. When I poked the thigh of the first man caught—Jun-ho—with my finger, he twitched as if he’d been struck by lightning.

“It looks like we can’t break through with our strength, so let’s head further inside.”

“You’re suggesting we just leave them here like this?”

“Won’t they actually be safer this way? At least until we clear out all the monsters in the cave.”

“Hmm…”

Since this terrain was quite deep within the canyon, their faces wouldn’t get toasted by the lightning outside. I turned to the hesitating Kang Ha-neul.

“I’m sure they’d agree. Shall we ask?”

“How?”

“Like this.”

Since the Tentacle of Barrier also blocked mana from escaping, there was only one way. I took off Choi Seul-gi’s shoes.

I proceeded to inform them of our situation by writing letters on her feet. It wasn’t easy because she was thrashing around like crazy, but after about thirty minutes of effort using 1,300 micro-tentacles pulled from my sleeve, she gave us an answer—by repeatedly banging her knees against the wall.

“I’ll get permission from the others, too. Now that I’ve got the hang of it, it won’t take as long.”

“If you’re going to do it, do it fast.”

“For the record, she was a Rank-3.”

“What was?”

“Her soles.”

If Yoo Se-byeol was the Special-grade standard, these were lacking in many areas, such as the shape of the arch or the structure of the ankle. Perhaps because she’d been wearing boots, the smell was quite strong; I felt she wasn’t really in a position to be keeping her distance from me earlier.

On the contrary, the man named Tae-hyun, whose shoes I removed last, was higher ranked. For a man, his toenails were well-maintained, and the fresh, seizure-like reaction he had whenever a tentacle pressed the concave center of his sole suggested he was at least a Rank-2, or with luck, could even reach Rank-1—

“Wait, can’t they just talk to each other? Why are you torturing them one by one?”

“Ah.”

Now that he mentioned it, that was true. Realizing the point Kang Ha-neul made, I stood up.

The price paid for that moment of ignorance was nothing short of a catastrophe. Those embedded in the wall, regardless of age or gender, were now suffering from cramps due to their desperate struggling against the tickling.

“Let’s go quickly. We just wasted time for nothing.”

“Handle the civil complaints yourself if they come in later.”

“Won’t you cover for me as the Vice-Commander?”

“Are you insane?”

Leaving behind our comrades, who lay limp after being victimized by a “wicked monster,” we headed deeper into the cavern. Fortunately, no ambushes occurred inside. The reason, of course, was that I had secretly released tentacles to clear out the monsters ahead of Kang Ha-neul.

“More carcasses.”

“Did someone get here before us?”

“No, these are traces of monsters preying on each other. The boss here must be no ordinary beast.”

“……”

If Digestion had been here, she would have cleaned up the corpses perfectly, but that was impossible now. Fortunately, Kang Ha-neul was distracted by other things and didn’t suspect much, allowing us to continue our advance.

Rumble!

As soon as we moved, the sound of thunder echoed again. I had heard it so many times on the way here that I was starting to develop a neurosis.

Rumble!

Furthermore, it wasn’t just one strike this time. Kang Ha-neul’s brow furrowed at the sound, which signaled that the full-scale battle between his siblings for the tournament had begun. He picked up his pace to exit the area quickly. In contrast, I followed leisurely behind him and spoke up.

“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“I’m busy, talk later. Where is the boss room in this damn cave anyway? All the exits are blocked by those same walls from before.”

“What will you do if you obtain the Thunder Immortal’s power?”

“What?”

He stopped poking the tentacle barrier with his spear and turned around. Meeting his sharp gaze, I continued my questioning.

“It seems your other siblings don’t think it necessarily has to be inherited by them.”

“So, are you asking if I’m going to give it up? I’ve never even considered that.”

“Why not?”

After a moment of thought, he pulled his spear away from a tentacle that was trying to nibble on it and spoke.

“If I don’t keep getting stronger, I’ll just keep being a burden to those two like I am now.”

“……”

“I’m telling you way too much. Happy? Let’s move. It looks like getting out right now is out of the—“

“I found it earlier. The place where the boss is.”

“What?”

“Follow me.”

I changed direction and led Kang Ha-neul. After backtracking for about five minutes, a passage that had been blocked by tentacles until moments ago stood wide open. Rather than a passage, it was more like a massive hole dropping into a deeper basement.

Peering into it with eyes focused with mana, Kang Ha-neul shook his head and asked me.

“It’s bottomlessly deep. Can you see anything?”

“Yes, I can see just fine.”

“Really? What’s down there?”

“Take another look. It’s not that deep.”

The moment Kang Ha-neul leaned over at my words, I tripped his leg just as I had done to Choi Seul-gi.

“Whoaaa!”

“Ack!”

I expected him to plummet straight into the abyss, but true to his martial training, he immediately regained his balance and slammed his spear into the wall to halt his fall.

“Ugh, what are you doing?! Is your vision blurry again? You crazy— Huh?”

But when he looked up to shout at the junior who had pushed him, I was no longer there.

In my place stood countless tentacles, stretching out into the darkness. Since Mala-nim had refused to let me use the Star Scar, this was the Purgatory I had prepared for Kang Ha-neul’s sake.