Chapter 53: The Price of Power

In truth, Kim Mu-yeon hadn’t fallen for Do-un’s provocation.

He had stepped forward to attack because he was confident of victory.

No matter how skilled Taecheon and Dohee were, their roles were tank and healer, respectively.

Someone like him, who soloed A-rank gates as a melee dealer, was bound to be on another level.

Besides, with Do-un—who was even weaker than them—mixed in, it was obvious they’d break down just trying to keep up with his usual speed.

But that very judgment was Kim Mu-yeon’s greatest mistake.

“Why, why?!”

Kim Mu-yeon shouted furiously, swinging his greatsword.

The greatsword was blocked by a large silver shield, big enough to cover a whole person.

The way the impact was softly absorbed showed the shield-bearer’s talent as a tank.

But the one holding the shield wasn’t Lee Taecheon.

It was Do-un.

Taecheon flashed him a grin, seeing the disbelief on Kim Mu-yeon’s face.

“I was never Baeguncheon’s tank in the first place!”

“Do you know what that means?”

Do-un asked with a mischievous smile.

Blue mana started to swirl around the shield, making it glow.

That blue mana tormented Kim Mu-yeon.

Because its power was beyond belief for something coming from a B-rank hunter.

Bang!

A massive force exploded from the shield, crashing down on Kim Mu-yeon’s body.

It was as if an A-rank mage had unleashed a high-level spell.

If Kim Mu-yeon hadn’t had the A-rank skill ‘Ironclad Invincibility,’ which resisted both physical and magical attacks, he would’ve been in real danger.

Kim Mu-yeon, who’d been facing forward, widened his eyes.

A gigantic blue blade flashed before him.

“Baeguncheon’s dealer was always Taecheon!”

“······!!”

Arca swung horizontally at Kim Mu-yeon.

He barely ducked in time, narrowly avoiding the attack.

As Do-un had said, it was Lee Taecheon swinging Arca.

Biting his lip, Kim Mu-yeon tried to resume his assault.

Or at least, he tried.

He would have, if Do-un hadn’t thrown down his shield and charged at him barehanded.

“Hey, do you know how much that shield costs?!”

“Send me the repair bill if you want!”

“What do you think you can do with your bare hands?!”

“Rock!”

“Rock?”

A pebble shot out from Do-un’s left hand as he blurted out something senseless.

Kim Mu-yeon quickly angled his greatsword to block it.

Clang! Crackle…!

The impact was so strong, the sound didn’t match what you’d expect from a pebble hitting the side of a greatsword.

Unable to withstand the force, the pebble shattered into dust and scattered across the floor.

Now’s my chance!

Thinking that, Kim Mu-yeon swung his greatsword at Do-un’s neck, now within range.

But his attack was blocked yet again by the silver shield.

Taecheon had picked up the shield Do-un had discarded and rushed over to block the attack.

“Lee Taecheon!”

“Shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself right now?”

“What the hel—ack!”

As Kim Mu-yeon’s gaze shifted to Taecheon, Do-un’s right index finger pierced through his armor, stabbing into his side.

He couldn’t understand how a mere finger could penetrate his armor.

Nor could he accept that the passive skill Ironclad Invincibility had been bypassed.

Kim Mu-yeon was stunned to feel pain for the first time since acquiring Ironclad Invincibility.

A skill that could block attacks from most A-rank monsters was rendered useless by Baek Do-un’s single finger.

“Wow, this ring is coming in handy, huh?”

“Hrk!”

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kim Mu-yeon yanked back his greatsword.

Trying to sever Do-un’s neck while he was so close.

The scraping sound of the blade against the silver shield continued relentlessly.

The shield followed the greatsword.

But Taecheon wasn’t holding it anymore.

Somehow, it was now in Do-un’s hands.

Then where was Taecheon…?

“Gasp…!”

Taecheon had already drawn the longsword at his waist.

The longsword thrust toward Kim Mu-yeon’s neck.

Feeling a genuine threat to his life, Kim Mu-yeon twisted his body with all his might.

At the same time, he swung his greatsword with full force.

“Ugh-aaah!”

Was this the strength born of desperation?

Kim Mu-yeon knocked away the shield Do-un was holding and parried Taecheon’s attack as well.

He’d survived a crisis, but there was no path to victory.

He could barely fend off the two men’s attacks, let alone go on the offensive.

Dohee wasn’t even intervening, merely observing from above.

If she had used just a simple suppression spell, or cast a buff on her allies, the fight would’ve ended long ago.

“Damn it, damn it…!”

Cursing, Kim Mu-yeon glared at the two men in front of him.

But they no longer paid him any attention.

They were too busy bickering and pointing fingers at each other.

To Kim Mu-yeon, it didn’t seem like an opportunity to survive.

They looked like hunters toying with their already-captured prey.

“Hey, Baek Do-un! What was that block just now?!”

“What? I held firm, okay? That bastard’s just freakishly strong!”

“You should’ve pulled your arm back and deflected the force! Like this! Don’t you know?”

“I tried, but it still happened!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! If you did it right, the impact wouldn’t have transferred! Give it here! I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Ugh, get lost. Bring me Arca instead!”

“No way, that thing’s heavy.”

“Did you say heavy?”

“Yeah. How do you even lug that around? I’d rather carry Gwisusan.”

Do-un stopped in surprise at those words, staring at Taecheon.

Taecheon easily snatched the shield from Do-un, who was staring blankly.

Then, as if to prove his point, he patted the shield and made an outrageous demand of Kim Mu-yeon.

“Hey! Attack me like before, with everything you’ve got.”

“You really just lifted Arca by brute force? Damn, you really do live by strength alone.”

“If you’re weak, you have to make up for it with brains, you know.”

“What are you even saying, you madman?”

“That’s why you need to show up to PT regularly. Don’t bother trying to outsmart everything.”

As he watched the two bicker, Kim Mu-yeon felt a deep despair he’d never known before.

That despair drove him to an act he shouldn’t have committed.

He switched the greatsword to his left hand and gathered silver mana into his right.

Taecheon raised the shield, banging it.

“Oh, good thinking. Right here, come on!”

“Taecheon, wait.”

“What?”

“That looks weird.”

“Weird, what do you—!”

Kim Mu-yeon stabbed himself in the heart.

*****

“……”

It seemed Kim Mu-yeon had decided there was no way out.

Judging by his use of ‘Heart Break.’

Silvery mana blazed around him, as if his whole body were aflame.

His physical abilities would increase by at least threefold, up to sixfold at the maximum.

But it was never an advisable move.

It was single-use only.

Afterwards, you’d either be left unable to use mana for life, or you’d die.

“Baek, Do-un!”

“That bastard…”

Crack!

Taecheon ground his teeth, glaring at Kim Mu-yeon as he called my name.

Heart Break.

It was what I had done before, trying to save Dohee and Taecheon.

Even Dohee up in the sky looked grim, just like Taecheon.

She bit her lower lip so hard, it seemed she might draw blood.

Kim Mu-yeon’s appearance must have reminded them of the me from two years ago.

“Hoo, I guess this is all my karma.”

I picked up Arca, which had fallen behind me and lost its blue blade.

Meanwhile, Kim Mu-yeon just stood there.

With mana erupting from his entire body, there was little else he could do.

His original strength was now multiplied several times over.

He needed time to adjust and rein in that power.

I, too, had needed time when I used it.

“Taecheon. From now on, it’s no joke—stay sharp.”

“Hoo!”

Clang!

Taecheon exhaled roughly, crashing his longsword against his shield.

It was to steel his nerves.

I, too, gripped Arca tightly with both hands to focus myself.

At the same time, I shouted to Dohee above.

“Dohee, buff!”

Dohee was already chanting before I even spoke.

As expected of my sister.

[The World Tree’s sprout warns of danger!]

[The sprout advises the caretaker to retreat!]

Saetsak’s judgment was sound.

An A-rank hunter had become several times stronger by burning his own life.

And Kim Mu-yeon wasn’t just any A-rank hunter.

He was among the top 50 in the country.

Right now, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was at S-rank.

Even with Dohee and Taecheon here, I wasn’t sure we could win for certain.

[The sprout again advises the caretaker to retreat!]

But Saetsak’s judgment could be wrong.

Could we really escape safely?

“Baek Do-un, Baek Do-un…!”

From someone who kept obsessively chanting my name like that?

Even if we fled now, he’d chase me until his last breath.

Where in Seoul could I possibly run?

It was clear that this man, having given up on everything, would only cause innocent victims.

To prevent any civilian casualties, Kim Mu-yeon had to be stopped here.

[The sprout acknowledges the caretaker’s judgment as correct!]

“Baek Do-un!”

Having gathered all his mana, Kim Mu-yeon shouted my name at the top of his lungs.

The sound was so loud, it felt like my eardrums would burst.

He gripped his greatsword in both hands and raised it high.

What happened next was too fast to follow.

Boom!

In a flash, Taecheon rushed to block Kim Mu-yeon, who had already closed the gap.

“Where’d that alert guy go, huh?!”

“It was a lure, a lure!”

“Now’s not the ti—”

“Get out of my way, Lee Taecheon!”

Kim Mu-yeon kicked Taecheon’s shield.

Taecheon managed to block with the shield, but was pushed back slightly.

Each time Kim Mu-yeon targeted only me, Taecheon intercepted him.

[The sprout has calculated Kim Mu-yeon’s mana depletion time.]

[It is estimated that all mana will be exhausted if you last for 1 more hour.]

One hour?

As expected of an A-rank hunter.

Two years ago, I couldn’t maintain that state for even ten minutes.

Well, I guess it was a mistake to compare him to a D-rank hunter.

“One hour! That’s all we need to endure!”

“What? How do you kno—!”

“I said move!”

Kim Mu-yeon slammed Taecheon’s shield aside.

He kept the greatsword in his right hand, never once swinging it at my neck.

Taking advantage of the opening, I fired rocks from my inventory as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, he simply caught them.

Crushing the stones with just his grip, he glared at me.

Great, I only made him angrier, huh?

“I told you to move, didn’t I?!”

“Oh? Ohh?”

After blocking several of Kim Mu-yeon’s thunderous kicks, Taecheon made a bewildered noise.

I was just as shocked.

Taecheon had perfectly blocked the foreleg swings of a ‘Drake,’ an A-rank monster.

But now, he was being pushed back by a human’s kicks.

So this is what it’s like when an A-rank hunter uses Heart Break.

Clicking his tongue, Kim Mu-yeon withdrew his foot.

“If you won’t step aside, I’ll kill you first!”

“Yeah, that’s more like it!”

“Lee Taecheo—on!”

Just as Taecheon and Kim Mu-yeon were about to clash, night retreated.

A warm light descended and wrapped around us.

The world brightened as if the sun had risen, though it was still night.

This was it.

The biggest reason Baeguncheon could become an A-rank guild with so few members.

An area-wide buff that doubled the abilities of all recognized allies.

An area-wide debuff that halved the abilities of all recognized enemies.

Dohee’s skill: ‘Sanctuary of Light.’

“My power, my power…?”

Kim Mu-yeon looked down at himself.

He was startled by the sudden loss of strength from the debuff.

Yet an overwhelming force still radiated from him.

[Administrator Baek Do-un has stepped into the Sanctuary of Light.]

[Abundant light continues to gather in the World Tree’s sprout.]

[…97%, 98%, 99%, 100%.]

Huh?

[All leaves of the sprout have been filled with light.]

[Accordingly, Baek Do-un, a new S-rank skill ‘Photosynthesis Mode’ is unlocked.]

[Would you like to activate Photosynthesis Mode immediately? (YES/NO)]

[※Caution! A penalty will occur after use.]

Photosynthesis Mode?

What is this now?