Herity(3)

Estelle had a dream.

One day, when she was very young.

Those happy days when both mom and dad were alive.

The two were a fence that protected them reliably from the storms of the world, and they were helpers who loved themselves more than anyone else.

Clearly, Estelle at that time was a child who knew how to laugh happily.

Estelle smiled through her tears as she dreamed of memories that could no longer be returned.

“···ah.”

When I woke up from a deep sleep, I saw a darkened sky.

‘Isn’t he… dead?’

There are no wounds, and the neck that was eroded by demonic energy is fine.

I remember being cornered right before I died…

Estelle, who was going through her memories one by one, recalled the last person she saw.

The black-clad hunter who was visible beyond the blurry vision.

“eww···.”

He grabbed his aching head and stood up.

Then, something that was covering her stomach slid down.

An old, oversized black coat.

It was Yujin Kang’s coat.

“Are you awake?”

Startled, I looked to the side and found Kang Yoo-jin a little further away.

He was perched on a nearby rock, silently grooming his revolver.

“Did the professor save you?”

“yes.”

He nodded as if it were natural.

It was the professor’s role to deal with unexpected situations.

“It held up well against the two upper-middle class.”

“Ah yes.”

The upper-intermediate level is a beast that even professors have a hard time dealing with.

If it was enough to kill two of them at the same time, and even kill one of them, it would mean that Estelle’s power is practically comparable to that of an S-class hunter.

It was truly unbelievable skill for a student.

“Do it in moderation.”

“···Yeah?”

“Effort is good, but overdoing it is poisonous.”

Estelle’s growth was not at a normal rate even considering her talent.

As soon as he saw Estelle’s physical condition, he pointed out the excessive effort she was making.

“Fatigue has accumulated a lot due to excessive training. It may be fine right now, but over time, it will damage your body.”

“···Yeah.”

That’s not wrong.

In fact, these days I lived with fatigue and muscle pain in my body.

Estelle sighed and stood up, suddenly noticing that her body was feeling very refreshed.

Recently, my body was light enough to be the most refreshing.

“I solved the knotted muscles and nerves. My physical condition shouldn’t be bad because I washed away my mental fatigue.”

“Did you do that with magic manipulation?”

“yes.”

…how on earth do you have to be good at using magical powers to be able to do that?

Estelle stared blankly at his skill at manipulating mana on a cell-by-cell basis.

“Ah, the task is…”

“I held out against two upper-middle class, and killed one, so that’s it. Full marks would be enough.”

Then, even though she almost died, Estelle clenched her fists.

How can this be a blessing in disguise?

Sometimes I thought it wouldn’t be bad to almost die.

“Of course, you can get that score only when you get out of here.”

Estelle looked at the forest around her.

According to Yujin Kang, the flow of time here is also frozen and slowed down.

As for the magnification, one hour outside is one day here.

It took less than six hours for Estelle to pass out and wake up after entering this place, so it was said that less than an hour had passed outside.

“I’m planning on going to eliminate the culprit of this barrier from now on.”

He stood up and looked at Estelle.

A look of concern for some reason.

Her dark gaze became tense, so Estelle gripped Yujin Kang’s coat tightly.

“…I think it’s going to be hard for you to survive here alone.”

He soon made a decision.

Now that Adeline has contacted the school, it would have been best to stay still, but the time difference got in the way.

Monsters and monsters were roaming around the area, so it was difficult for Estelle to survive alone until the rescue team arrived.

It was said that Kang Yu-jin’s side was the safest right now.

“Stay by my side.”

“···Yeah!”

Estelle got up and gave the coat back to him.

flutter.

As he put on his coat in a picturesque motion, Estelle looked at him as if possessed.

Because the action is cool.

“Follow me.”

“Yeah.”

Following Yujin Kang, who led the way, Estelle hurriedly joined him.

*

On the other hand, outside the barrier.

Cynthia and Encia were scouring the area to find the missing Estelle.

“Estel~!”

“Where are you…!”

No answer even if I call hard.

I tried to spread a rudimentary magic wave just in case, but all it took was monsters.

-Piruru.

“Yongyong!”

After a few minutes, Yongyongi, who had sent out reconnaissance, returned to Cynthia.

She hurriedly inquired about Estelle’s whereabouts, but Yongyong only shook her head as if she hadn’t found anything.

The faces of the two of them became sullen for a moment.

“Where the hell did he go?”

“It’s very dangerous to be alone…”

Estelle was nowhere to be found no matter how much she searched.

Cynthia arranged the magic language and asked the monsters, but they didn’t know either.

So I killed them as a substitute for the task and moved forward, and it became this time before I knew it.

“I think I should tell the professor?”

“Ugh… that’s how it should be.”

The student is gone, and although it is faint, I can feel the magic.

Deciding that they could no longer solve it alone, the two decided to inform Kang Yu-jin of the situation.

I did.

-Kreur…

A monster the size of a house blocked the two.

It’s a wolf monster called ‘Silver Fang’, and it’s a dangerous monster that’s comparable to an upper-middle class in terms of number of monsters.

In other words, it was not an opponent that the two could fight and win.

“Uh…”

Should I run away?

Around the time I was looking for an escape route with a pale complexion.

“”stop””

A small voice stopped Silverfang.

sabaksabak-

The voice that stopped the wolf.

The owner walked out of the bush.

A woman with gray hair and striking eyes.

It was Adeline.

“”go away””

When I said it harshly, the wolf whimpered and went back to the other side of the forest.

“·······.”

“·······.”

The two stared blankly at Adeline who appeared out of nowhere.

yum yum

Either that or not.

Adeline just flicked the unknown skewer in her hand.

“Me… that… assistant teacher?”

“yes.”

“What are you doing here?”

“The gatekeeper.”

Adeline answered in a plain voice.

“There was an unexpected situation for a while. This area is off-limits.”

“Is that… Estelle disappeared…?”

“If it’s that blonde hair, the professor went looking for it.”

“ah.”

Kang Yoo-jin has already gone.

At those words, the two finally sat down on the floor in relief.

It is Kang Yoo-jin who said from the beginning that he would prepare for unexpected situations.

He should have a much wider field of view than a student, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had already moved to rescue Estelle.

“The situation was not serious, so I contacted the school. Wait for people to come soon.”

“yes···.”

It seems that this is not a normal situation.

The two nodded sullenly.

“By the way…what are you eating?”

As the situation calmed down, their eyes naturally turned to Adeline’s skewer.

The raw meat dripping with blood was gross to look at.

“This? Monster meat.”

yum yum

Adeline, who had been diligently eating, held out a skewer.

“Want some?”

“no···.”

The two shook their heads with tired faces.

*

Four days have passed since I entered the barrier.

The inside of the barrier also had the effect of widening the space following the slowing down of time, so time was significantly delayed in the pursuit.

In addition, the exit to the barrier disappeared at the point of entry, and it was not easy to dismantle the barrier due to the parallax effect.

I could do it, but it took too long.

The quickest way is to catch and kill the magician who created this barrier.

With that goal in mind, the two diligently walked around the barrier.

“‘Reckless’. It’s a monster on the same level as a mid-level beast. Catch it.”

“Yeah!”

And, Yujin Kang did not waste that time either.

As it is clearly a lecture time, this was also decided to be used as an extension of the class.

“The motion is bad. Pull your upper body out and put your feet out.”

“Get rid of the term between attack and reload. Procrastinate and die.”

“Recover the scattered magic power. Your magic power won’t overflow enough to blow away everything.”

He used his current time to teach him how to use a gun, the efficient use of mana, and the know-how of controlling the mind.

It can be said that it is discrimination that other students cannot receive, but that will be the blessing of Estelle, who is trapped here.

“When using the torch, there are a lot of superfluities in using magical power.”

“Yeah···?”

“Via the A9-dM circuit and the H6-Q circuit… I’ll just show you.”

As if she was frustrated with words, Yujin Kang grabbed Estelle’s arm and pointed out how to use the magic circuit.

Feeling the magic flowing through her body, Estelle’s eyes widened.

Of course, it was because the efficiency increased significantly compared to before by using the magic circuit he had tuned.

“The more complicated the circuit used, the more mana leaked. Be alert to the efficiency.”

Estelle’s expression became puzzled as she watched the torch burning brighter with less magic power.

This is the part where I was blocked for a while while practicing alone.

Yujin Kang pointed out at once what many teachers in Altair had not been able to solve.

“Move. There’s no time to play.”

“···Yeah!”

Estelle suddenly became an avid student.

As she gradually expanded the unknown territory that she did not know about, the process could not help but be fun.

Besides, spending time with Yujin Kang somehow made me feel at ease.

That would be too…

“It’s difficult. It’s worth it.”

“Take it easy. If you can’t, there’s no help.”

“Failure? I knew it. You must have heard what I said.”

He didn’t have high expectations of Estelle in the first place.

He’s good at it, but it’s good if he does better, otherwise it’s okay.

The other kids would have been sullen, but Estelle, who seemed like her shoulders would break from expectations, rather liked this nonchalant attitude.

“You can’t catch that. Get lost.”

Even so, if Estelle finds someone difficult to deal with, she immediately steps in and takes them down.

It was a refreshing experience for Estelle, who always only saw people hiding behind her.

Watching Kang Yoo-jin’s wide back, Estelle felt a feeling of ‘reassurance’ that she thought she had forgotten a long time ago.

‘If the professor…is in my family…’

If I could be with you, would you always protect me?

Estelle put her hands together and pressed her pounding chest tightly.

If mom and dad were still alive.

If you would stay and be with me.

back-

Maybe… it didn’t feel like this.

“for a moment.”

At that time, Kang Yoo-jin, who was walking ahead, gave a low warning.

“found.”

His hand pointed over the rock.

Inside the deepest valley among the realms of heritage.

In the place where they chased the beasts, a ghost holding a cane was guarding the spot.

It looks like a skeleton covered in rags.

It was a ‘Reaper’, a high-level magic beast.

“Wait here.”

Estelle reached out and grabbed his sleeve as he tried to step forward.

“It’s dangerous…”

His voice trembled with anxiety.

Dealing with high-level monsters alone is only possible for a select few hunters.

As for Estelle, the image of her parents, who had to go to limb, overlapped with her appearance.

“Estel. Who am I?”

“Yes? Professor Yujin Kang…”

“No. I am the one who ended the war.”

He removed Estelle’s hand from the sleeve.

“You just have to trust me, okay?”

“Yes…Professor.”

After saying those words, Kang Yoo-jin walked towards Reaper.

A confident gait that did not hide its presence in the slightest.

Seeing that, Ripper also caught Yujin Kang at once.

“Human… you…”

Keying-!

Kang Yoo-jin did not respond and raised his magic power.

Mana condensed, and the wave of mind control rushed to the Reaper.

speedy conclusion.

He didn’t even want to give Ripper time to report.

bang! Quaang!

And, the battle begins.

Bullets and curses intersected, and flashes of light crossed all directions.

When the Reaper’s curse drew a jet-black magic circle, the bullets fired without fail broke it.

Not a single bullet or movement was wasted, and each attack sharply aimed at the Ripper’s vitals.

“Wow…”

The power of a high-level monster is mighty.

In order to catch one of them, a number of S-classes had to step in, and it was impossible to catch it alone unless it was SS-class.

Kang Yoo-jin was actually realizing such a skill right in front of his eyes.

‘Can I be like that someday?’

A one-of-a-kind force that can push even a high-level monster.

The movements that run to the peak of efficiency are concise, but there is a beauty of moderation that is revealed nonetheless.

Each of his movements was sharp and graceful.

Estelle kept her eyes on him.

“Kuh… uh…”

The Ripper, who finally lost his staff, collapsed.

Read at noblemtl.com

Just as his body, tattered by the bullets, was wriggling, Yujin Kang grabbed his skull with his gloved hand.

hey hey-

“Crererelek!!”

Level 3 mind control, ‘erosion’.

Kang Yu-jin, who had penetrated into the Ripper’s mind, randomly stirred the spirit world of the Reaper to extract the purpose and reason for coming here.

“… True. There are all kinds of reasons that are not the same.”

The process took less than 10 seconds.

Kang Yoo-jin, who got up, put the last bullet in the broken Ripper.

bang!

The guy whose skull was smashed turned to dust and disappeared with a scream like the sound of the wind.

“It’s over. Come out.”

Estelle hesitated and approached Yujin Kang.

Is it still high class?

Kang Yoo-jin, who had never had a scar before, was full of small and large scratches all over her body.

“You’re amazing, Professor.”

“·······.”

He walked forward without answering.

“Estel.”

“Yes Professor.”

“You’d better not follow me from now on.”

In an instant, I felt my heart pounding.

did i do something wrong?

“Their plan is more dangerous than I thought.”

“···ah.”

Memories read through the Ripper.

There was a byway of heritage leading to ‘Record’.

It is said that it is a world adjacent to the record, but Kang Yu-jin, who did not know that there was even a side road leading to it, made a frustrated expression.

He followed the Ripper’s trail and headed deeper into the valley.

It led to the basement of a rugged mountain, and a ‘passage’ could be found in the deep floor of a sheer vertical cave.

“This is it.”

It was a passageway hidden so deeply that you didn’t even know it existed, let alone discovered it.

There was a flow of disparate and dreary aura in the place where magical energy fluctuated.

And judging from the enormous amount of magic crystals sprouting around them, it was unmistakable.

This was the ‘byway’ leading to the record.

“But someone has already broken through.”

“yes.”

Its existence can be known even without speaking.

Balthazar.

He hid his presence and went down this aisle himself.

“… I can’t guarantee what will happen in front of this.”

It is unknown where this led to the record.

However, Balthazar’s plan was not to go.

The King of the Ghosts did not know how long he would last on the record, but by the time the others arrived, it was likely too late.

Kang Yu-jin quietly looked at Estelle, and Estelle grabbed Kang Yu-jin’s sleeve.

“I’ll believe you.”

The other side is dangerous, but it is also dangerous to stay here.

If so, Estelle chose to stay by Yujin Kang’s side.

For some reason, I had a strange belief that he would protect me even in the face of a crisis.

“Follow me.”

“Yeah.”

Following Kang Yu-jin, who was leading the way, Estelle took a step to the other side of the rift.