Chapter 74: Chapter 74

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Chapter 74: The Cost of Choice (2)

“Huff… I… I can’t… take it anymore!”

“Faster! Run faster! Run like lightning!”

It was around second grade, I think.

When I first started track and field, my coach always used to say one thing:

‘Run like lightning.’

He’d say it so often, and whenever my times weren’t good enough, he’d smack my calves or back as punishment.

Once, I got fed up and asked how anyone could possibly run like lightning.

In my youthful determination, I even memorized the speed of lightning, thinking it might help.

“Coach, how can anyone run as fast as lightning? Lightning travels 100,000 km per second—”

“You little punk! Talking back, are we? Come here!”

I ended up getting smacked even harder for being cheeky.

Still, I had no idea that my first act of rebellion at nine years old would end up being so useful.

“Whoa! I just saw a contrail pass by! So—”

“Accelerate.”

“Wha—whaaaaat?!”

I activated the acceleration skill, extending it to 30 seconds by spending 2 mission points.

And then.

“Summon. Activate.”

I also activated the Basic Swordsmanship Course Pass, then stepped into the cave, opened the door wide, and looked up at the sky.

By using the acceleration skill to stretch 1 second into 30 and the cave’s property to compress one hour into a minute, I created as much personal time as possible.

After a fleeting moment of waiting, the sky flashed.

—Flash!

Even in the slowed-down time, the streak of light shot down in an instant.

Ignoring the branching trails, I focused on the single streak that split the sky in half, heading straight down.

‘0.1 seconds.’

After running countless calculations in my head.

Tick—

“...Got it! It’s possible. It’s definitely possible!”

Yeojin, who had been murmuring “Wow” while shaking her head in disbelief, finally gave me a big thumbs-up.

And Jaehyuk, realizing that I was 100% serious, asked nervously.

“Hyung! What do you mean by ‘break it’?”

“This arena. We’ll have to break it to escape.”

“What?! Where—how—?”

The way to escape the endless Möbius strip of a track was simple:

Just leave the path that the deities had designated for running.

The problem was figuring out where “outside the path” was.

“Well, it’s not in front or to the side.”

Those are obviously still part of the “path.”

We’ve been running and ending up in the same spot.

“And it’s not beneath us either. That’s being actively erased.”

“...?!”

“Which leaves only one option.”

I pointed upward.

“The sky.”

“Huh?”

The response wasn’t just Jaehyuk’s startled shout.

“Y-you’re saying we should break through the sky?!”

“Are you insane?!”

“No matter how bold you are, this is a bit… too much, isn’t it?”

“Eunho!”

The shocked objections poured in, louder and more intense than ever.

Even Jieun, who usually trusted me without a word, grabbed my sleeve, looking deeply concerned.

“It’s possible. As long as you launch me, Jieun.”

“It’s too dangerous! What if you fall while going up…?!”

Jieun shut her eyes tightly, as if the thought alone was horrifying.

But.

“It’s not as high as you think.”

“What? How can you be so sure, Eunho?”

“Because I calculated it.”

I’d already done all the math.

This was my life on the line, so the calculations had to be precise and thorough.

“The lightning.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yes?”

“Since lightning travels 100,000 km per second, we can estimate the distance to the ground if we measure how long it takes to hit.”

I’m not a scientist, but it doesn’t have to be exact.

“...What?”

The foul-mouthed guy cut in, sounding half-believing.

“Fine. How long did it take, then?”

“0.00005 seconds.”

To be exact, less than 1/18,000th of a second.

I’d verified it using both acceleration and the course pass, so I was confident it was accurate.

In time slowed down to 1,800 times normal, it hadn’t even taken 0.1 seconds.

“0.0000… what?”

“0.00005 seconds. Plug that into the lightning speed of 100,000 km per second, and the distance from the lightning’s origin to the ground comes out to roughly 5 km.”

“...”

The foul-mouthed guy looked as stunned as Jieun.

Everyone else in the group had similar expressions.

Jaehyuk and the cleaning lady had long since been staring blankly into the distance.

Thinking I might’ve overcomplicated the explanation, I tossed out a joke.

“Just think of it as skydiving. I’ve always wanted to try it, anyway.”

“What the hell, you crazy bastard…”

The foul-mouthed guy took a step back.

Like when we first encountered the dragon.

The relatively composed Sola managed to ask, still trying to wrap her head around it.

“So… it’s 5 km up, right?”

“Exactly. And it’s coming down.”

“What? The sky is coming down?”

Sola blinked, wide-eyed in disbelief.

To prove my point, I called on a witness.

“Yura.”

“Yes!”

“Hasn’t the cloud gotten bigger since earlier?”

“Huh? Oh! It has gotten bigger!”

And just like that, the little observer exclaimed in surprise.

“How does Uncle know everything?”

With Yura’s adorable question marking the end of my turn, I left them to absorb the facts.

“Damn, now you’re saying we’re breaking through the sky?”

"Fuck! This or that, it's all the same!"

Now, all that remains is Jieun's choice.

"Well, what do you think?"

"If it's 5 kilometers... I think I can manage. Though, of course, it's still just as dangerous..."

Jieun reluctantly answered with conviction.

As expected.

However, there was an unforeseen problem.

Swoooosh—!

The pouring rain soaked Jieun's clothes, and she was shivering uncontrollably.

Oh no.

'Jieun is usually sensitive to the cold...'

Smack!

I instinctively grabbed her wrist without asking for permission, and it felt like ice.

"Your body temperature is too low! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..."

That's a lie.

Her lips were pale, and her entire body was trembling.

I was so focused on uncovering the secrets of this world that I hadn't noticed.

'This is dangerous.'

The accuracy of her Teleknesis skill depends on Jieun's mental strength and focus.

In other words, the worse her condition, the riskier this plan becomes.

In that case...

"Hold on for a moment."

Flap!

I took off my outer jacket, stepped closer to her, and spread it out.

So close that I could see the raindrops dripping from her short hair.

And then...

Swipe—

I gently wiped the wet strands of her hair with the jacket and placed it over her head.

"Uh, uh, Eunho...!"

Jieun lowered her flushed face, her bunny-like eyes blinking as she glanced up at me.

"I'm really okay..."

"No, keeping your body temperature up is critical. If it drops further, you'll end up with a status condition."

Besides...

"It's something I have to do anyway."

"Something you have to do?"

If we're going to face off against the system, we need to use every card we have.

"Summon."

I pulled out a shattering sword in my right hand and a gemstone in my left.

▣ Orb of Flame

- A precious gemstone once held by a magnificent fire dragon.

- Contains an undying ember within.

- Reacts to the caster's will to ignite but requires an appropriate medium for activation.

Even just holding the fiery red gemstone in my hand brought a wave of heat.

"Ah! Isn't that the orb you took from the dragon's body earlier?"

"Yeah."

Jaehyuk, noticing the gemstone, exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait! Is this another illusion...?"

"No, it contains a genuine flame, not an illusion."

"Oh! Then we can use it to light a fire, can't we, hyung?"

"Exactly. I’m planning to fit it into this."

"!!"

Into the empty slot of the shattering sword.

"No way... Then this sword will...!"

His eyes sparkled as he stared intently at it, only to suddenly look dejected.

"But hyung... It doesn't fit."

"Petrification."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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That should answer the question.

— Scrape, scrape, scrape...

Using my enhanced fingertip, I carefully adjusted the slot to fit the gemstone.

Up, down, and around... evenly sanding it down as fine red dust scattered.

And then—

[Warning!]

[The gemstone's effect has diminished due to unskilled craftsmanship.]

An unpleasant notification appeared.

Still, thinking there was no other choice, I continued.

Soon after, another notification followed.

[The "Human Whetstone" title compensates for your lack of skill.]

[The gemstone's effect will not diminish.]

— Scrape, scrape, scrape...

Though it took less time than sharpening a blade, the resulting brilliance far outshone the effort.

Finally.

"It's done, hyung!"

I picked up the slightly smaller, polished gemstone and inserted it into the shattering sword's slot.

Click!

['Shattering Sword' has been equipped with the 'Orb of Flame’.]

A brief moment of silence was followed by a cheerful notification.

[Congratulations!]

[You have obtained the Flame Shattering Sword!]

[A weapon-exclusive skill, Flame Release (Lv.1), has been unlocked!]

Flame Release.

The moment I saw it, I knew.

The plan was a success.

[Press the button and attack to release a pillar of flame.]

Perfect.

With this...

Crunch!

Excitedly, I drove the vibrating shattering sword into the base of a tree.

A low hum resonated as the blade made contact with the wood.

Then—

[Activating Flame Release (Lv.1)!]

Crackle! Crackle!

With the sound of kindling catching fire—

Fwoosh—!

A pillar of flame shot up.

From the tree’s base, it climbed to the sky, wrapping around the towering branches above.

"…Thank you."

The flames warmed Jieun's shivering body.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight..."

Jieun, now warmed by the pillar of fire, gulped nervously.

"You want me to send you into the sky?"

"Not just the sky—into the very edge of it."

"The edge of the sky..."

She repeated "sky" and "edge" as if tasting the words for the first time.

"And then you'll break through it?"

"Yes. And I'd like you to come with me."

"Wait, me too?!"

I calmly explained as they looked at me in surprise.

Why I couldn’t do this alone.

“I don’t think I can handle it by myself. Not just because of my offensive ability, but because I wouldn’t be able to respond effectively in an emergency.”

“That’s true, but still…”

“I’d love for all of us to go together and unleash an all-out attack, but you said it gets harder to control the more people are involved.”

“That’s right. Perfect control is limited to one, or at most, two people.”

Why it had to be Jieun specifically.

“That makes it even more important for you to come along. If you’re nearby to control things, it’ll move more smoothly. Plus, we need firepower support.”

“Firepower support?”

“You’re better at shooting than I am. With guns.”

“Oh…”

Back when we were trapped in the “Observation Room,” I had noticed it clearly.

The gunshots were loud enough to pierce through the dragon’s roar.

The power was strong enough to shake the space itself.

Compared to me, who had to fire several rounds just to take down a single nightmare creature, her firepower was on a completely different level.

In fact, it was her gunfire combined with my bone explosives that broke through the observation room constructed by the system.

With someone like Jieun, “breaking the arena” didn’t feel like an impossible goal.

“I’m sorry. I can’t…”

…But to think she’d refuse.

“Pardon?”

“This time… I don’t think I can go with you. I’m really sorry, Eunho!”

“Is it because you’re afraid of getting hurt? If so, how about some armor just in case…”

“N-no, that’s not it! The thing is… I can’t use this skill on myself.”

Jieun bit her lip and shook her head.

“I’ve never succeeded. Not once.”

Her face twisted as she spoke.

Ah.

Now that I think about it.

“During the hunting mission, you asked me to lift your body and find the respawn area.”

“I… I didn’t manage it. I found it while walking.”

Well, this complicates things.

As I tried to find an alternative to this unexpected hurdle, Jieun mumbled softly.

“This Teleknesis skill… it only works on things I care about.”

With a mixture of frustration and embarrassment, she bit her lower lip.

“Things you care about…”

She can control me, Jaehyuk, our companions, even a dagger in her hand or a chunk of asphalt.

But not herself?

I couldn’t fully understand, but…

“Yes… I’m really sorry, Eunho! Maybe I could lift you and Jaehyuk instead…”

“Yes, Hyung! I’ll go with you!”

“No.”

Telling someone to “love themselves” rarely works when coming from a stranger.

In that case, maybe…

“Jieun.”

“Yes?”

I decided to trust the Jieun I knew.

The woman who, despite shivering in the cold, cared more about drying So-ra’s wet hair than her own comfort.

“I really need you right now.”

“!!”

Maybe knowing someone needed her—acknowledged her value—could help, even just a little.

Help her realize how important she was.

“No one else can do this. In this world, only you can.”

“Only me…”

“Will you help me?”

Jieun lowered her soaked head.

“For me, no… for everyone here.”

After a brief silence, she finally spoke.

“…I’ll go.”

Jieun raised her head with determination, her lips pressed firmly together and her gaze steady.

At the same time, my body, which had been rooted to the wet ground, began to rise.

Vrrrrm—!

The ground grew distant.

The leaves I thought were near the sky rose to eye level.

My body, exposed and drenched by the pouring rain, was now fully revealed.

And then…

“Oh! Hyung! Noona! You’re rising!”

“B-be careful, lads!”

“Come back down immediately if you think it’s dangerous!”

Jieun rose too.

Though she wavered precariously, it was clear and undeniable.

The noisy voices of those below grew distant.

Shhhhhhh—!

The forest beneath our feet.

Shhhhhhhhh—!

The sheer, curved ground revealed itself in full view.

“….”

I grabbed Jieun’s trembling hand.

Then, smoothly—

I handed her the gun.

“…Fire when I signal.”

“Yes.”

— Click!

Then I gripped my flaming sword.

Sssssst—!

The falling rain evaporated into steam as it hit the blazing blade.

Thwack—!

“!!”

And finally, we reached the edge of the sky.

5 kilometers up.

There, we…

“Now! Fire here!”

“Yes!”

— Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…!

— Crack!

And then…

Brrrrrrrrrrrng!

The sky responded.

[Detected a hostile attack!]

[Activating defensive barrier!]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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