Chapter 85

00085 A Thousand Miles in One Rush

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The sword, swung with a force that seemed to split the earth, passed by Jung Hahyeon's side and plunged deep into the ground. After embedding the sword into the earth, I injected mana into it. With a "thud," the ground around where the sword was embedded rose up, and subtle cracks appeared.

Jung Hahyeon, who had been looking at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the blood seeping out of the ground.

"Phew. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I twisted the sword and pulled it out, then turned it lightly. With a swish, the blood that had clung to the sword scattered on the ground. Shin Sangyong, who had initially been shocked when I charged at him with the sword, smiled awkwardly upon seeing Jung Hahyeon calmly conversing with me.

An Hyun and Yoojeong were running around enthusiastically, competing to see who could kill more. Honestly, the enemies were barely standing, so it wasn't much of a fight. It was more like a process of confirming kills.

"I got twelve."

"I got fourteen. Wow, I won."

"Tch."

Seeing An Hyun raise his hands in triumph and Yoojeong pouting, our group couldn't help but laugh.

This was what a proper battle looked like for seasoned users. Of course, it wasn't something that could be considered ordinary. At least to me, Jung Hahyeon and Shin Sangyong had a lot of experience and showed a high level of combat.

The other kids, who were used to fighting with their fists, found this style of combat unfamiliar and looked at them with admiration. At the same time, I could see a burning emotion in An Hyun's eyes. It was frustration. I had a rough idea why and patted his shoulder a few times.

The Barren Land was a paradise for Landmols. It was so barren that even ordinary monsters refused to live here and left. Only the Landmols, which lived underground, inhabited this place. In that sense, the Barren Land could be called a paradise for Landmols.

The most impressive battle was undoubtedly the one against 100 Landmols. After two days of slaughtering Landmols, they seemed to have gotten angry and attacked us in a group. This happened while we were camping.

However, no user would fail to notice such a large force moving, and I always had my detection active. With the darkness and the enemies coming from all directions, even Jung Hahyeon and Shin Sangyong looked a bit perplexed. They could handle it if they put their minds to it, but with limited visibility, they had to be more cautious.

During this time, my "children" (......) showed their strength. They had been trained to fight while waking up, so they responded with agility that was unexpected for 0-year users. They quickly formed a defensive formation, coordinated with each other, and protected the mages and priests, showing a level of skill that was better than ever before. They must have felt inferior to the skills shown by the adults during the day.

Of course, with Vivian's Chimera hands covering the rear and me handling the front, the defense range for Hyun and Yoojeong narrowed, but it was still an impressive feat. Thanks to their performance, the mages and priests could cast their spells more comfortably.

"Amazing. Are they really 0-year users?"

Jung Hahyeon asked this right after the battle ended. He didn't know yet, but the kids were already beyond the level of 0-year users. In terms of stats and experience, they had the title of a successful exploration, which would make them comparable to mid-level users.

"Remarkable. Forming and maintaining such a formation isn't easy..."

They seemed to have scored high for quickly forming the formation and maintaining efficient coordination. Jung Hahyeon's praise made the kids' noses a bit higher. Especially An Hyun, who was coughing awkwardly.

Still, it was a pretty good feeling. However, Yoojeong, who always had to interject, did it again.

"Onee-san, my dad taught me."

"Huh? Your dad?"

Yoojeong looked at me, then turned her body. Jung Hahyeon looked at me calmly, sighed meaningfully, and shook his head. But the way he looked at me with a sympathetic gaze was strangely unsettling.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...You were speeding."

"......"

"Hehe. Just kidding."

Thinking it wasn't wise to sleep in a place full of corpses, we moved to a new location to catch up on our sleep. The kids complained that they couldn't sleep, but I urged them to sleep to avoid affecting our activities the next day.

After threatening to sing a lullaby, I finally smacked Yoojeong's head, and with her sobbing, I went to bed. As soon as I lay down, the crying stopped, and soon I heard a "tch" sound.

The next day, on the third day, we had already arrived at the location I had marked. As expected, the ruins of the laboratory were not visible. I activated my Third Eye to check if there was any barrier, but there was none. This meant it was hidden in a place beyond my range.

Deciding to move a bit further, I was pondering which of the several paths to take.

"An Sol, which way?"

Suddenly hearing Yoojeong's voice, I looked up to see Sol already putting on her backpack and moving towards a path. Sol, who had been walking with a dazed face, turned her head with a clear expression.

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'Huh?'?"

"Ouch, it hurts."

"Where do you think you're going by yourself? You might get lost."

"Ugh... It's not like that..."

Yoojeong, who had grabbed Sol's cheeks, rubbed them. Sol, with a puffy face, opened her mouth. Her explanation was simple. She just felt that this path was the best and had put on her backpack and started walking without thinking.

Most of the group laughed lightly at her words, but An Hyun and I didn't. An Hyun looked at me with burning eyes.

"Bro."

"Yeah."

Of course, I also thought this path was better, so we followed Sol's choice. Luck was also a stat, and with the information I had, getting as close as possible was the best I could do. Trusting Sol's 100 points in luck might be better than just guessing. At least, I hoped we could get close enough to be within my range.

Battles frequently occurred on the way, but no one was tired. We had enough supplies and took plenty of breaks. Most importantly, after the battle with 100 Landmols, the kids' skills seemed to have improved. Their movements were getting better.

We were now leaving the Barren Land and entering a green landscape. However, this wasn't a good thing. In the Barren Land, we only had to deal with Landmols, but from here, other monsters could appear.

From now on, this could be considered an unexplored area. Of course, on the map, the unexplored area was marked much further up, and there were traces of other users in the area we were in.

However, there were also many cases where there were only traces of people entering and no traces of them leaving. Since Muel had only been explored for less than two months, this area could also be considered part of the unexplored region.

Sol was now at the front of the group with me. Although she seemed a bit uneasy, she was inexplicably happy and smiling during the exploration. I placed Sol at the front whenever we came to a fork, and she pointed to one direction.

Shin Sangyong looked indifferent, but Jung Hahyeon seemed a bit skeptical. However, with An Hyun's reasoning about Sol's intuition and my guarantee that she had saved the kids' lives, he finally looked at Sol with renewed interest. Since it was an unexplored area, as long as we didn't lose our way, it didn't matter which direction we went.

Honestly, I didn't expect to use Sol for this purpose, but I thought it would be a good excuse if we found the ruins of the laboratory. I could say that Sol, not me, led the way. Even if I couldn't say her luck points were high, I could use the excuse of beginner's luck.

As the sun was setting, we saw the entrance to a forest. Honestly, it was embarrassing to call it a forest, as the area had been green since we left the Barren Land. It was a scene of untouched nature, something we couldn't see in the modern world.

However, I felt an odd sense of unease at the entrance. Although there was a small path leading in another direction, Sol kept wanting to go inside. I decided this was the time to activate my Third Eye and quickly gathered my mana.

At that moment, I understood the source of the unease. The entrance to the forest was not natural but man-made. I stepped into the entrance with excitement.

The path became clearer after a while. Unlike the rough ground we had been walking on, there were slight signs of human activity. We encountered a group of monkeys, but they were no challenge after the initiation ritual. The kids were happy to see the monkeys and quickly dealt with them.

We maintained a faster pace this time. As I was running, holding Sol's hand, I stopped when I smelled the scent of honey.

I looked ahead with calm eyes. There, standing before us, was the long-sought ruins of the laboratory. It was old and rusted in places, covered with vegetation, but it still maintained its shape.

They say the light under the lamp is the darkest. The ruins of the laboratory were only three days' journey from the small city of Muel. It was surprising that it hadn't been discovered sooner. However, I recalled the feeling I had at the entrance and nodded.

They must have thought it was just a forest entrance and that the laboratory couldn't be there. If it weren't for the unease at the entrance and Sol's insistence on going in, we might have missed it. The ancient residents were indeed remarkable to build a structure like this in the forest.

"We have found the ruins of the laboratory."

I spoke to the group in a calm voice.

The group was speechless, staring at the majestic ruins. Shin Sangyong and Jung Hahyeon were gaping. It was hard for them to accept the situation, even for them.

"It... It's impossible. Even with beginner's luck, this is... "

"Ha. It's... quite surprising."

Jung Hahyeon, who seemed to have regained his composure, turned his gaze to the dazed An Sol. I smiled and approached Sol, placing my hands on her waist.

"Our Sol is really a lucky charm."

Sol, who didn't resist my touch, tilted her head with innocent eyes.

"Am I a lucky charm?"

"Yep. Absolutely. Our Sol is the best."

Only then did Sol realize I was praising her, and her face lit up with a bright smile. I picked her up and swung her up and down, pretending to fly.

"Wow. Wow."

Sol, excited, raised her hands and cheered. I put her down for a moment and turned around. On the third day since leaving Muel, we had found the ruins of the laboratory.

============================ Author's Note ============================

I will update the afterword after the morning. Sorry.

* This is the afterword update for February 16, 2013.

Sorry. I will update the next chapter immediately after writing this afterword. I will write the details in the next chapter.

And thank you to everyone who recommended many works. I've read a lot, but there are also many I haven't read. Haha. It seems my reading luck has exploded recently.

『 Lirifl 』

1. Saed: Haha. Congratulations on being number one. That's a very happy comment. I'll continue to provide more substantial content.

2. Groin: Having a bit of free time after stopping my work. If I find a new job, I might return to daily updates. :)

3. Fallen Pigeon: Oh, that position sounds good too. Good at cooking. I'll consider it.

4. I am just me: The protagonist is not a jerk. Why are you saying that? ㅜ.ㅠ

5. Crying Soul: Wow. You shouldn't do that. I'm eagerly waiting for the 20 consecutive chapters of Norse mythology. So, please... ( --).

6. Lizad: Wow. Um. Um. Um... I'm running away. (ㅌㅌ!)

7. GradeRown: The correct answer was to catch the Landmols underground. Thank you for the recommendation. :)

8. Amabel: Wow. That's a long comment. I'm very happy to hear that someone likes Hanbyeol personally. Haha. I put a lot of effort into her. But she has received a lot of hate. ㅜ.ㅠ The next chapter will be updated within 30 minutes. Please wait a bit. :)

9. Climax: Yes, that's right. That work is really fun. I'm eagerly waiting for the next chapter too. Haha.

10. [Priest] Priest: Thank you for the coupon. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy the next chapter as well.

I will now start revising Chapter 86 and writing the afterword.