Chapter 253 – Mu of Medsang (2)
It was a very, very long night.
While the sun was still high, there were intervals between the monsters appearing in Mana Hall. It would be calm for 30 minutes or more. But the moment the sun set, there was no time to rest. It was as if the difficulty of a defense game had jumped from normal to extremely hard.
The remaining two buildings of the Defense Agency were completely destroyed before sunset. The waves of monsters that appeared ranged from the lowest A rank, and even SS ranks appeared frequently, so not only were non-awakened people evacuated, but also B rank and lower guards. However, the technicians had to stay to repair the inter-city communication devices, so as many S-rank guards as possible were stationed around them for protection.
The shelters near the Defense Agency were also emptied. Most of the monsters targeted Sigma with their attacks, but some of the bastards managed to break through the barricade, expanding the danger zone to a 1 km radius.
“Why don’t we send some of the S-rank guards from Akates? It would be easy for them to replenish their mana.”
Until the sun set, Moon Hyuna’s words were a joke. But as soon as night fell, the issue of mana supplementation became much bigger.
Even guards from other cities could supplement their mana with the Akates guards. The problem was that most of the so-called mana cells were B-rank or lower, particularly C-rank or lower. Protecting the mid and low-rank guards in a place filled with high-rank monsters was almost impossible, so in the end, we had no choice but to ask the A-rank Akates guards to help replenish mana.
Naturally, the number of guards supplementing mana was insufficient and the replenishment efficiency was much lower since their engravings’ affiliations were different. Mana was consumed faster than it could be replenished, and the number of S-rank and higher guards needing rest gradually increased.
There was no need to mention the SS-rank guards, whose abilities were so high that their mana consumption rate was enormous.
“Ah, this is risky. Hyung-nim, how many mana potions do you have left? I think we should save them.”
Not long after sunset, Moon Hyuna shook her head back and forth and spoke. Sigma was worse off than her. It was because the Akates guards were reluctant to supplement his mana. Since I could earn all the points from the monsters that Sigma killed even if I only left a scratch, I bought mana potions and gave them to him.
In the end, the only SS-rank guard who could get his mana directly from the Mana Hall, Alpha—Yoohyun—had no choice but to take the lead.
Dark blue flames shot out without pause, and ashes scattered through the night sky around the Mana Hall. Due to the spread of heat, all the Flame Resistance items from the Akates Defense Agency were brought out. Without Flame Resistance, it was hard to even stay around.
Yoohyun fought well, but not without critical moments. Among the various monsters, some had mana absorption abilities. Even with the Mana Hall right next to him, the speed at which he consumed mana and had his abilities stolen was faster than the speed at which he could replenish it.
On top of that, his stamina depletion couldn’t be ignored, so by midnight, even Yoohyun needed a break.
Kwaaang!
Bombs exploded around the Mana Hall. They were at a level where they would only scratch S-rank and higher monsters. Amid the series of explosions, I handed a handful of mana potions to Sigma.
“Please do your best.”
Sigma shot towards the Mana Hall, and after drinking deeply, a storm broke loose. Moon Hyuna also attacked the monsters with her guards. The two of them should be able to handle them for a few hours.
“You did great, Yoohyun.”
I hugged my little brother, who had escaped from the front line looking clearly exhausted. The thick smell of fire reached my nose.
“You must be very tired, huh?”
“I’m fine.”
“What do you mean you’re fine? Ah, there are small fry escaping over there again.”
While the huge bodies of the SS-rank monsters withstood the attacks, some A-S rank monsters would escape. Holding Yoohyun close to my chest, I threw poison marbles that I had bought from the Point Shop in different directions. A light green smoke rose from the three marbles.
The monsters caught in the clouds of S-rank poison staggered, and I aimed at the weakened bastards with my weapon. Although more than half had fainted, some escaped. But they were all annihilated before they could pass the first barricade.
I’ve thought this several times, but the Point Shop is really great. The strength of the items is top-notch. And thanks to the double points earned, sometimes I earned more than I spent.
After buying some sets of S-rank traps and setting them up, I sat with my brother on a bench with the function of increasing mana and stamina recovery. Although buying the bench drastically reduced my points, it was really useful now. Thanks to it, Hyuna-ssi and Sigma recovered quickly.
“Do you want to sleep a bit? You should eat something too.”
“Water is fine.”
“I should have made sandwiches or something before the buildings got taken down.”
We couldn’t even have a proper dinner; at least we had had a good lunch. I took out some water and handed it to my brother while the ground rumbled. We needed to fix his engraving quickly, but it was too dangerous to do the procedure here. And you couldn’t do the engravings unless you were near the Mana Hall. When a SS-rank monster with mana absorption abilities appeared, my heart sank sharply. It would have been dangerous if Irin hadn’t quickly intervened.
“Rin did a great job too.”
At my words, Rin climbed onto Yoohyun’s shoulder, swinging her tail.
– Rin worked hard to help Yoohyun, so praise Rin more, hyung!
“Okay, you did really well.”
Especially with the monster that used instant movement abilities before: you blocked it very efficiently. With our Rin covering Yoohyun’s blind spots, they had no way to approach him stealthily.
You were really amazing!
Irin smiled, her mouth wide open. She spun around in place and then patted Yoohyun on the shoulder with her forepaw.
– Do it for Yoohyun too. Say you love him!
“…Isn’t that a compliment?”
– Quickly!
Why did she like hearing me say I loved him so much? Was it because as a fire elemental, she also liked expressing emotions with burning passion? At her insistence that “this is not much,” Rin demanded more! Rin definitely did! I opened my mouth a bit awkwardly. There were S-ranks and higher around us, so they would hear everything even if I spoke softly, but.
“My dear brother, I love you.”
Ah, I should have used the Our Kid ability. No, its cooldown was 10 days, so it was better to save it. At my words, Yoohyun smiled slightly and Rin jumped up and down.
– Say he’s good! Say he’s cute! Say he’s lovely!
“No, Rin.”
– It’s true. Isn’t Yoohyun cute?
“Of course it’s cute.”
– Then you have to say that more! He won’t know if you don’t tell him. It would be good if you praised him a lot. It feels nice for the person doing it and for the person hearing it, so why don’t you do it? Tell him a lot, hyung!
It wasn’t bad. Irin looked at me with bright eyes. Little sparks really floated in his eyes. Yoohyun didn’t say much, but just like Rin, his eyes sparkled with anticipation. Oh, really.
“You cute things. Rin, come here, I’ll hug you too.”
You are cute. You are really good and lovely too. At that moment, koong, a giant reptile with spikes around its neck collapsed a few steps ahead of us. Moon Hyuna, standing on the lizard’s head, looked at us as if wondering what we were doing.
“You three play so well. Hyung-nim, don’t you worry too much about your brother? You should consider the time and place.”
“I think you’re amazing too, Hyuna-ssi.”
“…Huh?”
“When I arrived at Breaker Guild before, I was really impressed. It was easy to see just from the guild’s atmosphere how good a person you are. I’m always grateful when you take care of Yerim, and I feel incredibly at ease with you. Even this time you came and…”
“Ah, that’s enough!”
Moon Hyuna waved a hand and hurriedly left. Sigma didn’t come around here. At the moment, all I could praise him for was his face and his skills… That was a lot. Anyway, it was simply excellent.
[Praise is good! Let’s give a bit more ^^]
It had been quiet for a while, but a side mission popped up. Was it asking me to praise? If it gave me enough points, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.
“Well, there are a number of things I’m generally grateful for.”
Muttering, I opened the search window.
[You, who are praising the people around you! You did well. But isn’t there someone you forgot? Don’t forget to praise yourself!
Rewards: 200,000P, Warm Star Candy]
…The reward in points was really big. While I was emptying my pockets, was he filling his? If he gave me that much, I had no choice but to do as I was told. Still, when I tried to say it out loud, I felt embarrassed.
“Um, Yoohyun. I did well too, in my own way, right?”
“What? Whatever it is, you always do well. … Except you worry less about yourself.”
“Still, aren’t I better than before? And sometimes there are dangerous things to do… Anyway, I’ve been running around here working hard. I did a good job. Quite a good job.”
– Rin will also tell you that you did a good job, hyung! You are the best! Rin likes you as much as Yoohyun. You did a good job hugging Rin and you did a good job praising Yoohyun!
“I mean, that is…”
…As I thought, this was a bit embarrassing. I wondered if I had really done a good job. I had made mistakes too, of course. And acted rashly. But given my ranking, I think I did well.
Even in the slightly strange atmosphere, the monsters kept appearing.
Irin jumped at the monsters caught in my traps and burned them in an instant. The moon was still high, and after a short rest, Yoohyun also set off again.
The long, long night continued. I used points generously to support the exhausted trio. Although the points I had accumulated were decreasing, Sung Hyunjae occasionally sent missions with big point rewards.
We continued like that until the faint light of dawn finally shone and the pace of monster appearances decreased noticeably. Just when everyone took a moment to breathe, a loud shout came from the side of the communication devices.
“The communicators are ready!”
It was good news. Just in time, the monsters also stopped appearing, so we flocked to the side with the communication devices.
“Video transmissions are not yet possible, but voice is.”
The technicians working on the machines said.
“Get us in touch with Medsang immediately.”
The communication device activated at Yoohyun’s order. While watching the signal pass, Moon Hyuna’s brow furrowed slightly.
“By the way, I don’t know if they will cooperate smoothly.”
“What?”
“As far as I remember, Mu… Médecin in general is a bit closed off. Don’t you think?”
Moon Hyuna looked at Sigma and Sigma nodded.
“Mu rarely leaves his city. The only time he did was when several guards from Medsang were kidnapped.”
“Even so, I think it’s one of the people we know. They are friends with Lancea, so if I talk to them, they should connect with me.”
If it was someone we knew… Was it Noah? He was a support, so I thought it was quite likely. After all, both Yoohyun and Moon Hyuna entered the bodies of the Guards with similar abilities to theirs.
Soon after, a slightly static voice came from the communication device.
[This is the external communications office of Medsang City.]
“I’m Lambda from Lancea. Could you make an emergency call to Medsang Mu due to anomalies at Mana Hall?”
[Lambda from Lancea? But we confirmed that the source of the communication is Akates City.]
“I’m in Akates right now. You can check with Lancea.”
[Alright. Please wait a moment.]
After a minute of silence, the Medsang communications office confirmed the request. And after another brief wait.
[This is Mu from Medsang.]
Despite the unstable condition of the communicators, a clear voice sounded. Was it really Noah? It was hard to confirm just by the voice.
“This is Lambda from Lancea. There have been anomalies at the Akates Mana Hall. We would like immediate support from Medsang. By the way, do you know Noah Luire?”
[I know him well. Are you Hunter Moon Hyuna?]
Mu, who was almost certainly Noah, responded calmly. So I was right! Medsang treated its guards well, so he must be doing okay. It was definitely a relief. Now we just had to find Yerim and Peace.
“Great! Hunter Noah, right now you should…”
[You are correct that I am Noah, but currently, I am also Mu from Medsang. I cannot send support based on a mere demand from another city.]
“What?”
Stunned, Moon Hyuna looked at me.
“Hyung-nim, do you think Hunter Noah feels more sincerity about this world than I do?”
When she said she didn’t expect this, I nodded. Was he really not going to come to help?
“Excuse me, Noah-ssi.”
[Yes, Han Yoojin-ssi. It’s a relief that you seem to be safe.]
“I’m safe for now, but I don’t think I will be in the future. Can’t you come to help us? We’ll need your help, Noah-ssi.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say ‘this place, Medsang, doesn’t actually exist, you know?’
Even if Noah chose Medsang… It couldn’t be helped. In that case, we might also have to abandon Akates City. The instant my thoughts tangled, Noah—Mu—gave his answer.
[I cannot leave Medsang City to help Akates City. However.]
Noah’s voice continued.
[Han Yoojin-ssi is affiliated with us. Mu of Medsang does not neglect any of his guards. Please wait one more day, Yoojin-ssi.]
“Ah, yes! Thank you, Noah-ssi!”
[This is naturally my duty. Please take care until I arrive.]
The communication cut off. One day, he said. It wouldn’t be easy, but if it was at the current level, it would be something we could handle.
“Let’s prepare as best as we can before nightfall!”
While we could still manage, we needed to accumulate points and stock up on mana potions.
Once again, a long and tedious battle began; the sun set, and dawn approached. Although we had prepared during the day, everyone was even more exhausted than yesterday. Yoohyun, as well as Moon Hyuna and Sigma, had suffered injuries that they hadn’t had yesterday. Although they were immediately treated with potions, the wounds themselves were evidence of their fatigue.
I had the thought that it would be difficult to endure another day.
“…What is that?”
From the other side of the still dark sky, something colossal appeared through a beam of light. That something moved steadily over our heads like a spaceship you’d see in a science fiction movie, and…
?Kwang, kwaaang!
It opened fire precisely on the monsters breaching the barricade.
No, seriously, what was this? Why was Medsang the only one in a different era?