Chapter 50: Sincere Kim Song-cheol (4)

Lee Yong-chan grit his teeth.

The little remaining Aura he had circulated painfully through his body.

“Cr-crack!”

Gravel kicked up every time Lee Yong-chan sprinted across the ground.

He could barely feel Kim Song-cheol’s weight on his shoulders.

Compared to his physical strength, the man’s body was light.

Rather, it was the worry for Kim Song-cheol that weighed more heavily on his mind.

Park Ha-su was running beside him, also carrying someone — Kang Hye-seong.

Kang Hye-seong was perfectly conscious, but he couldn’t keep up with the Swordsmen’s physical pace.

In a desperate situation like this, there was no other choice.

“Step, step, step!”

The two Swordsmen sprinted with their jaws clenched.

Faint trails of Aura scattered along the path they took.

“Damn it, they’re coming!”

Park Ha-su shouted.

From the distant darkness, monsters were charging toward them.

It was because Kim Song-cheol had spent a significant amount of time dealing with the Gate Keeper.

Glowing red eyes could be seen in the dark — too many to count.

The distance between Team 24C and the Portal was about 100 meters.

The monsters were already closing in on the Portal.

“Clang!”

Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su drew their swords once more, still carrying the Mages on their shoulders.

“Can’t you run without shaking me so much!?”

Kang Hye-seong shouted.

As he flapped around on the shoulder, he too spotted the monsters.

The distance was closing fast.

He had to fire off magic while there was still some space.

“I’m doing my best!”

Park Ha-su replied defensively.

“Damn it!”

Kang Hye-seong gripped Park Ha-su’s opposite shoulder with his left hand and raised his right.

His expression was incredibly tense.

A magic circle formed in front of him.

His casting speed was slower than usual, but he managed to complete it.

“Pang!”

A Fireball shot out from the center of the magic circle.

“Boom!”

The moment the Fireball struck a monster, it caused a violent explosion.

A group of monsters was blown apart.

However, the ones behind them simply stepped over the corpses and kept coming.

They had to fight against this torrent of monsters.

“I’ll take the lead!”

“Hold on tight!”

Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su shouted in turn.

“Barrier!”

At the same time, a protective shield appeared, blocking Lee Yong-chan’s left side for the moment.

“Slash!”

Lee Yong-chan’s sword tore through the air.

Monsters pouncing on them were hacked to pieces and scattered.

He was in a hurry.

They had to enter the Portal before the massive monsters Kim Song-cheol had been handling could appear.

“Break through!”

“Crazy!”

Lee Yong-chan acted as the spearhead of the team, opening the path, while Park Ha-su did his best to ensure the path didn’t close behind them.

“Air Blast!”

A moment later, Kang Hye-seong’s Air Blast exploded, blowing away the monsters and momentarily clearing the view ahead.

“You should have used that earlier!”

Park Ha-su grumbled.

“If I only used this from the start, we wouldn’t have even made it this far!”

Kang Hye-seong yelled through grit teeth.

Air Blast didn’t kill monsters; it pushed them back.

Doing so would inevitably cause the monsters to pile up, creating a wall so thick the Swordsmen wouldn’t be able to break through.

It was a spell he couldn’t use at the beginning.

“Run while the path is open!”

Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su reacted to Kang Hye-seong’s voice, pushing their speed slightly higher.

It was the fastest they could possibly go, and the taste of blood was already rising in their throats.

However, they had made progress.

The distance to the Portal was now 30 meters.

They had significantly closed the gap.

“Damn it, why does this get so hard without Brother!?”

Kang Hye-seong shouted.

“Shut up and…!”

The moment Park Ha-su was about to say something.

“Thump! Thump!”

A massive monster appeared right behind the Portal.

At this rate, they would collide with them before they could enter.

The distance to the Portal was now 20 meters.

“I’ll throw you, so get in first!”

Park Ha-su, who had been hacking away at monsters, bumped Kang Hye-seong upward with his shoulder.

As the Mage’s body lifted slightly, Park Ha-su’s hand shot out and gripped Kang Hye-seong’s belt tightly.

“What…!?”

With a running start, Park Ha-su threw Kang Hye-seong toward the Portal.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!?”

Kang Hye-seong flew about 10 meters through the air and disappeared into the Portal.

Freed from his burden, Park Ha-su lunged forward and began cutting down monsters indiscriminately.

“Hurry!”

Lee Yong-chan urged.

Park Ha-su radiated Aura in every direction, opening a path with desperate determination.

His efforts were rewarded.

The distance to the Portal narrowed to about 5 meters.

To a Swordsman, this distance was just a single leap.

“Go in first!”

Park Ha-su shouted.

In response, Lee Yong-chan simply threw his sword.

The blade flew through the air and embedded itself between the eyes of a monster lunging at Park Ha-su.

Meanwhile, Lee Yong-chan pulled Kim Song-cheol into his arms and threw his body toward the Portal.

“Follow me right now! Or else you’re de—”

Lee Yong-chan’s shout cut off abruptly as he entered the Portal.

“Thump! Thump!”

A massive fist swung toward Park Ha-su, who was left alone.

He twisted his upper body with all his might to dodge the fist and then leaped off the face of a lunging monster.

Another hand swiped at him.

Park Ha-su flipped in mid-air.

The giant hand gripped the space where his head had been a second ago, and he plummeted straight into the Portal.

That was the moment the entirety of Team 24C escaped.

—

Kim Song-cheol opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Kim Myung-joo’s face.

He was sitting nearby, looking at him.

“Ah, are you awake?” Kim Myung-joo hurriedly stood up and approached the bed.

“Ugh…”

A moment later, Kim Song-cheol frowned as nausea and a headache hit him.

A memory of a similar sensation flashed through his mind.

It was like the time in college when he was forced to drink by his seniors and woke up the next morning — except this was ten times worse.

“Are you all right?” Kim Myung-joo asked with concern.

He hadn’t called a doctor because he had already been told there was nothing physically wrong with Kim Song-cheol’s body.

“…I’m not okay.”

“Where does it hurt?”

“My head… and I feel really nauseous…”

“Should I get you some painkillers…?”

“No, I don’t think that will help…”

Kim Song-cheol stopped Kim Myung-joo and placed a hand on his forehead.

He didn’t have a fever.

He had just reflexively touched it because his head ached.

“What happened? Did everyone make it out?”

Kim Song-cheol asked.

“About…” Kim Myung-joo checked his wristwatch before continuing.

“3 hours have passed. All of Team 24C escaped safely.”

“That was a bargain, then.”

Kim Song-cheol managed a weak smile.

If everyone had escaped, being unconscious for 3 hours was no issue at all.

He could endure the Magic Hangover until it passed.

“Brother!”

Just then, the members of Team 24C burst into the hospital room.

It seemed they had been dozing outside and woke up when they heard his voice.

“Are you okay?”

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Lee Yong-chan, Park Ha-su, and Kang Hye-seong swarmed around the bed.

Having these large men shouting made his already aching head throb painfully.

“You guys… seem fine. I’m okay.”

Kim Song-cheol raised a thumb for now.

It was a sign not to worry.

“Do you know what happened after you collapsed, Brother?”

“I was hanging off his shoulder, and even though it was shaking like crazy, I was casting magic! No, that’s not what’s important…”

“Another monster Wave came, so we really ran with our lives on the line while carrying you…”

“Can you believe this guy threw me? I was flying toward the Portal and all I could say was ‘Whoa’…”

“Park Ha-su was the last one left, and I was so worried he wouldn’t make it in…”

The team members poured out their heroic tales as if they had been waiting for this.

Since the infirmary was located within the Training Academy, there were no other patients, but the problem was that Kim Song-cheol was still a patient.

His headache grew worse, and his stomach twisted as if an eel were thrashing around inside.

“…!”

Kim Song-cheol dry-heaved and turned his head.

Kim Myung-joo quickly held out a trash can.

However, since his stomach was empty, nothing came out.

“Blegh…!”

After dry-heaving a few times, Kim Song-cheol leaned back against the pillow with a soul-weary expression.

“Hey, you should have changed your clothes first!” Kang Hye-seong pointed at Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su.

Their combat uniforms were still stained with monster blood.

They had been waiting in front of the room because they were so worried, but because of that, they missed the chance to clean up.

The fishy smell of monster blood was wringing Kim Song-cheol’s stomach.

Normally, he would have just found it a bit unpleasant, but in his current state, he couldn’t handle that smell.

“I’m fine… so go… get some rest… please…” Kim Song-cheol gestured like a grandmother exhausted by her grandsons after three days.

“Then we’ll be going,” Kang Hye-seong said with a deep bow.

“No, you don’t have to come back, just go rest…”

“Come on now, you must be tired. Let’s step out for a moment.”

Kim Myung-joo finally picked up on the situation and urged the team members out of the room.

Silence returned to the noisy hospital room.

Only then did Kim Song-cheol feel his stomach settle slightly and find some rest.

Kim Song-cheol stayed in bed for another 12 hours before finally getting up.

His physical condition had improved significantly.

Now, it was milder than a common hangover.

The first thing Kim Song-cheol did was settle his Points.

Points were currently the most important asset and were strictly managed.

The rule was that team members sent them to the leader, and the leader sent them to the designated person.

In the case of trainees, they had to be sent to Kim Myung-joo.

Kim Song-cheol stepped onto the Portal Tablet alone to check his Points.

His total Point balance was 410,000 Points.

Following his previous 380,000, he had broken his own record once again.

Miscellaneous monsters didn’t give many Points.

However, by making up most of the Points from the massive monsters and the Gate Keeper, he managed to reach the record of 410,000.

‘Was it worth it…?’ Kim Song-cheol tilted his head, weighing the danger against the amount of Points.

His conclusion was simple.

“Rather than facing danger and getting nothing, wasn’t it better to at least get this many Points?”

Kim Song-cheol transferred all 410,000 Points to Kim Myung-joo.

Kim Myung-joo, who was doing some work in the Director’s office, froze when he saw the message that 410,000 Points had been transferred.

‘He… broke the record again?’

When he brought back 380,000 Points, Kim Myung-joo thought he had been as surprised as he could possibly be.

But he hadn’t expected the record to be broken again.

Kim Song-cheol’s skill was being proven not just through magic, but through Points as well.

“Ha…”

Basking in the pleasant surprise, Kim Myung-joo suddenly made a call.

“This is Kim Myung-joo. Can I get the current Point holdings of the Republic of Korea? Yes, it’s just for a simple check. Yes, yes. Ah… Yes, I understand.”

He had a brief conversation and hung up.

The expression on Kim Myung-joo’s face as he placed his phone on the desk was even brighter than before.

The current Point holdings of the Republic of Korea were 1,940,000.

If Kim Song-cheol’s Points were added to this, it would be 2,350,000.

Had their holdings ever exceeded 2,000,000? Since he had taken office as the Director, the amount had always hovered between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000.

But today, for the first time, it surpassed 2,000,000. Usually, 3,000,000 was considered the safety zone.

This was because the cost to delete a C-rank Gate was set in the high 2,000,000 range.

A country that could delete a C-rank Gate immediately upon its appearance… that was not common at all.

But at this rate, reaching the safety zone was no longer just a dream.

The fact that they had Kim Song-cheol.

That advantage was being felt much faster than he had expected.