#172
>>Current [Sacred Energy S] absorption rate_____0.12%
Each time he saw the decreasing number, his instinct was provoked. To run to Yoon Pa-ran right now and survive.
Stubbornly resisting that urge, Dan Joo-hyuk moved aimlessly. A little further, to a place where no one was.
At some point, a massive statue touched his back.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk stopped there. With monsters in front and this statue behind, he calculated that he couldn’t move carelessly.
He couldn’t move quickly anymore either.
Blood wouldn’t stop flowing from the long cut he had received earlier. It might have been a curse-type attack, as the bleeding seemed to increase over time.
The monster appendage that had been lodged in his back earlier apparently contained poison. His body was burning with fever as it fought various toxins.
For some reason, potions weren’t working. Like with Noh Won-min, the potions weren’t being absorbed by his body. Even applying them directly to the wounds had no effect.
Yes. This is as far as I go.
Though the situation had deteriorated long ago, the consciousness of reaching his limit came belatedly. He had already exhausted his ability to judge properly on his way here.
His thoughts about death were, as always, even calm. He had significantly reduced the number of monsters on his way here, so he had bought enough time for hunters to gather.
Then Yoon Pa-ran should be safe too.
The moment he had that thought, a faint smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of his mouth.
“……”
Grrrr…
The monster that had been most difficult to deal with on his way slowly increased in number. As he thought he had achieved his goal, strength gradually drained from Dan Joo-hyuk’s arms.
Is this really the end now?
It had been a boring life. Though it had become quite interesting after meeting Yoon Pa-ran, Dan Joo-hyuk’s attitude defining life remained incomparably bland until the end.
Crunch!
A massive wolf-like monster approached instantly and bit his shoulder. He would have reacted normally, but with his vision already blurred, Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t bother to struggle.
With a cracking sound of bones breaking, he was about to realize the death approaching before his eyes.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s face, which had been faintly smiling even while being bitten, suddenly hardened.
Just before the monster’s teeth completely shattered his upper body, Dan Joo-hyuk unconsciously swung his sword to push the monster away. Simultaneously, the head of the monster that had been biting him moments ago fell to the ground.
“Ha……”
The squelching sound of flesh being crushed felt just like his own actions. Meaning persistent and stupid.
Yet Dan Joo-hyuk wanted to continue swinging his sword, resisting this situation.
Grrrrrr!
Grrrr, growl!
The moment unexplainable lingering attachment moved his body, he suddenly desired.
In the face of death’s crisis, for the first time, he wanted to live.
>>Current [Sacred Energy S] absorption rate_____0.00%
The status window finally appeared, as if crushing that desire. The black energy suddenly pressing down on his shoulder was so heavy that his knees buckled.
“Kuk.”
Even foreseeing his imminent death from the trial’s penalty, he dared to desire. To live.
“Ah……”
…with Yoon Pa-ran.
“Dan Joo-hyuk!”
Just then, a voice that shouldn’t be heard reached his ears.
Even thinking it was an auditory hallucination, Dan Joo-hyuk continued slashing at the monsters. As if doing so would help him understand this desire moving him.
He forcibly blinked his eyes, which were a mess with blood. Though he had thought it was an auditory hallucination, something unbelievable was visible in the distance. Something like a giant water bubble was approaching him, grinding through the monsters.
It was really Yoon Pa-ran.
“Ha.”
A feeling both empty and anxious instantly awakened his dying mind.
Why had he come all the way here? Yoon Pa-ran’s action was truly unnecessary.
After all, he would soon face death due to the trial’s penalty.
The skill absorption rate, which had been barely maintained, finally dropped to 0. At the same time, the dark energy that had been writhing above his head had long since flowed down like a sticky waterfall. He had helplessly been covered in all of it.
Like a curse on an item, this penalty would soon choke his breath. Waiting for an unwelcome death, Dan Joo-hyuk inwardly resented.
He had promised not to do anything reckless.
“Dan Joo-hyuk!”
Penalty for failure: ■eath
>>Current [Sacred Energy S] absorption rate_____0.00%
“……”
And nothing happened.
“Kuk.”
Dan Joo-hyuk forcibly raised his arm that had gone limp once more. The teeth of a monster trying to bite his nape were barely blocked by his sword.
Clearly, as the absorption rate reached 0%, his entire body experienced intense weakness. Even the thinnest barrier had fallen off, and this gloomy energy of death directly pressed down on his body.
But he didn’t die.
Why?
[Trainee’s Trial]
Penalty for failure: None
“……!”
A faint status window appeared briefly before his eyes, as if whispering the truth.
Finally, breaking through that thin membrane, Yoon Pa-ran’s face suddenly drew near.
“Put down your sword…!”
Bursting through a whirlpool-like water droplet, Yoon Pa-ran leaped into Dan Joo-hyuk’s arms. Unconsciously throwing away the sword in his hand, Dan Joo-hyuk embraced Yoon Pa-ran who was coming to him.
“Kuk……”
Dan Joo-hyuk yielded to the force pushing him forcefully. Because Yoon Pa-ran’s firm gaze was somehow directed behind him.
As strength left his legs, their overlapping bodies floated backward. Yoon Pa-ran burrowed into Dan Joo-hyuk’s embrace while reaching out over his shoulder.
A light so bright it could blind had already appeared in Yoon Pa-ran’s hand.
“Please…!”
That brilliant light touched the statue behind Dan Joo-hyuk.
And then, there was light.
Searching for a medium.
Suitable medium found.
Activating [Sacred Zone S].
Safe zone declared.
Keee……!
A semicircular sphere of light, bright enough to reach the sky, spread out in all directions from the statue.
It spread powerfully like a fierce tsunami or blazing fire.
Groaaaar……!
Click, click……!
All monsters within the range of that light turned to mere dust and disappeared.
“Hoo……”
Before he knew it, Dan Joo-hyuk was lying in front of the statue with Yoon Pa-ran on top of him. Looking up at the sky, he could clearly see the array of light spreading out explosively.
“Hey, are you okay?”
That bright light swept over his head and entire body.
His dimming vision brightened instantly. The sticky mark that had been clinging above his head also shattered and disappeared.
The dark red sky appeared blue again inside the safe zone.
Opening the dimension’s unique safety area for the first time.
It felt as if a refreshing energy was washing through his mind. Like being doused with cold winter mountain valley water, Dan Joo-hyuk’s mind cleared as if reborn.
His gaze, as if bewitched, looked only at Yoon Pa-ran.
“…Yoon, Pa-ran.”
Emotions churning inside him surged up. Pushed by those emotions, Dan Joo-hyuk called Yoon Pa-ran with a breaking voice.
Yoon Pa-ran’s clear gaze shifted from the void to Dan Joo-hyuk. Initially angry, Yoon Pa-ran eventually relaxed his expression and said with a sigh:
“Thank goodness……”
Saying so, Yoon Pa-ran smiled brightly.
“Wow, I was anxious until the end wondering if it might not work. But I was confident when I jumped in, you know?”
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk stared blankly at the smile directed at him from so close.
His heart, which had been calm even in the face of death’s crisis, fell to the bottom with a thud.
“But you were doing something so reckless that I became urgent too. No, but why did you…”
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze flowed endlessly over Yoon Pa-ran’s white face, still wearing a smile. As if it were as natural as water flowing with gravity.
Every time Yoon Pa-ran’s eyelashes fluttered as he spoke, Dan Joo-hyuk’s breath tightened dizzily. His throat, already parched from battle, dried up even more.
The emotion that had crossed his mind only in the moment of death surged up again.
As if it could no longer be suppressed, that emotion erupted like an active volcano. Some kind of wall that had been completely blocked broke from the inside like a bird’s egg.
“Hey, are you okay? Let’s try using a potion first. Since this is a safe zone, it might work.”
Too late, Dan Joo-hyuk realized his feelings.
“Ah.”
He liked Yoon Pa-ran.
To the extent that he wanted to continue living if it meant being with him.
“What’s wrong?”
“……”
He liked him. Dan Joo-hyuk had been sensing this for quite some time.
That even if a day came when he felt aversion toward Yoon Pa-ran, he would still like him.
That because it was Yoon Pa-ran, he would forever strive to overcome any aversion caused by the syndrome.
That he would willingly endure it all.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Oh my heart—
I knew the moment he realized his feelings it would be intense, but the author really put it all out there. He likes him so much he’s willing to endure it all TT he feels the will to live and could fear death just because of Paran ahhhhh I want to cry.