Chapter 254: Mu of Medsang (3)
Chapter 254 - Mu of Medsang (3)
The sleek, streamlined s.h.i.+p arrived at the Mana Hall. Although it flew, it had no wings and literally looked like a s.h.i.+p. I hadn"t thought such a thing was possible with this world"s technology. Was it through the use of abilities? If you gathered support guards with flight abilities that could be applied to other objects, you could probably create a scene like this, right?
"But you"d need at least dozens of them."
Given that it was enormous and heavy. Ah, could it be that they had applied a support ability to reduce its weight? If multiple support abilities were used together, even a relatively small number of Guards could make ma.s.sive objects fly.
- Kieet!
A monster that narrowly avoided the bombardment lunged toward the s.h.i.+p. But a defensive ability quickly formed at the point of its attack and blocked the monster. When it bounced off, a small port opened on the side of the s.h.i.+p, and a weapon appeared, aiming at the monster. The roar of gunfire sounded, and the monster"s body was shattered before it could touch the ground.
[This is Medsang"s Battles.h.i.+p 1, the Flore. We advise those near the Akates Mana Hall to evacuate.]
A transmission sounded. When they said Battles.h.i.+p 1, did that mean there were more? All the gun ports on the battles.h.i.+p opened, and at the same time, it moved toward the Mana Hall. Yoohyun, Moon Hyuna, Sigma, and the other Guards fighting near the Mana Hall retreated.
"...This is somewhat... very different from what I expected."
When I spoke, I saw Moon Hyuna shrug.
"Yes, I didn"t think they"d show up like this either."
As soon as we moved away from the Mana Hall, another round of bombardment began.
The magic bullets, so generously charged with mana that it was like they had a mana hall on the s.h.i.+p, rained down without pause, and monsters of rank S and below literally melted away.
The SS-rank monsters, especially the strongest ones, were only injured and fled. A thick rope was shot from the s.h.i.+p toward the SS-rank monsters that were more than a hundred meters from the Mana Hall. I called it a rope, but it was almost as thick as a telephone pole.
The rope, apparently a special item, wrapped around a giant SS-rank bear, and immediately after, the monster collapsed forward. It wasn"t dead. Then a small door opened on the side of the s.h.i.+p, and S-rank guards appeared. The guards jumped on the SS-rank monster, which had fainted from whatever they had done. It wasn"t long before the monster, which lost the strength to fight back, was dismantled.
"They really aren"t a joke."
We didn"t even need to help. As we watched in disbelief, the sun rose. The light of dawn gradually spread, and little by little, the number of monsters appearing at the Mana Hall decreased. Finally, it was truly daytime, and the shooting ceased as well.
Quietly, silently, the bow of the s.h.i.+p turned toward us. As I had thought, it seemed to float through abilities, not machinery. Even when it descended to about 10 meters high, it didn"t make any particular noise.
"Thank you for your a.s.sistance!"
For now, I shouted that. I couldn"t call him Noah-ssi at this moment. Maybe he didn"t hear my shout because the s.h.i.+p remained silent. While we waited for a response, part of the front of the s.h.i.+p opened with a metallic noise. Several uniformed guards appeared. Unfortunately, I didn"t recognize any of them.
Then the rope that bound the SS-rank monster shot towards us.
"Hyung!"
Yoohyun covered me. Golden chains blocked the rope, but the moment they tangled around it, the glow disappeared from the chains. The faded Seeker"s Chains fell helplessly to the ground. That rope, don"t tell me it was an item that absorbed mana?
"Yoohyun, it"s dangerous!"
Even before I finished shouting, the thick rope loosened and separated into strands. Ropes slightly thinner than wrists writhed around us like snakes. The first one affected was none other than Yoohyun.
"…Ugh."
"Yoohyun!"
I quickly held my brother"s body as he collapsed from the sudden mana drain. It wasn"t so bad that he lost consciousness, but the hand gripping my arm had no strength behind it. Moon Hyuna and Sigma couldn"t move recklessly either. Unlike Yoohyun, those two had engravings that protected their mana, but touching the cables directly would be dangerous.
"I thought I got along well with Hunter Noah."
Moon Hyuna"s eyes turned towards the s.h.i.+p as she spoke.
“But I can understand him having issues with the young master when he looks like that. Wait, Sollemnis didn"t get along well with Medsang either, right?”
“Not to the point of being attacked unilaterally.”
“So is it because of Sung Hyunjae and the young master after all?”
No, why would it be our Yoohyun...? I couldn"t bring myself to say it either. Still, I didn"t think that was why they acted this way.
"Hyung..."
"Wait, I"ll buy mana potions right now..."
"No, it"s okay. They aren"t touching you.”
Yoohyun struggled to stand up. We really needed to fix his enrollment quickly.
[Please place all your weapons in your inventory. If you make any threatening movements, we will shoot.]
At that moment, a transmission sounded from the s.h.i.+p. Everyone"s expressions soured when we were told to disarm, but for now, we obeyed pa.s.sively. After all, if the weapons were in our inventories, we could take them out at any time. Soon after, the medical guards came to see us.
"We will warn you again. If we see anything suspicious, we will respond immediately, so be careful in your actions."
"You"re so finicky. What, are we going to see His Majesty the Emperor? He"s the city"s defense chief, just like me."
Moon Hyuna grumbled. On the other hand, while Sigma had been abandoned and Akates needed help, she—Lambda—was different. Ignoring Moon Hyuna"s complaints, the Medsang guards stepped aside in a sepulchral silence. They formed two rows on each side, and between them appeared a human figure. It was teleportation.
Under the gradually intensifying dawn light, the golden hair fluttered slightly. It was a stronger gold than its original color. The same was true for both eyes. While it mingled with light gray, at the same time, they were a rich, dark amethyst.
Apart from his hair and eye color, his appearance was much closer to the original Noah than it had been for Yoohyun and Moon Hyuna. He was almost unchanged, just a little more mature. His slightly taller body was wrapped in a snow-white uniform.
"h.e.l.lo, everyone."
Mu—Noah—said with a faint smile. At his side was a guard who was also of SS rank. Were there two SS-ranked Awakeneds in his city?
"Uh, Mu-ssi. Could you remove these cables first? Obviously, we have no intention of attacking."
At my words, instead of Noah, the SS-ranked guard beside him intervened with a hostile expression.
"Why should we believe what you say? You even have an SS-ranked Awakened whose ident.i.ty we don"t know."
With that, they looked coldly at Sigma. I looked to Noah for help, but he only smiled and didn"t interfere. Excuse me, Noah-ssi...?
"Who is Han Yoojin?"
"...That"s me."
In response to the SS-ranked guard"s question, I raised my hand slightly.
"We"ll open a breach for you to leave. The rest of you stay."
"What are you talking about? I can"t go without my brother."
I automatically frowned. Saying that only I should leave? Was it because I was supposed to be from Medsang City? He said he would come to help me in the first place, but did they want me to leave him behind? Were they insane? In response to my words, the expression of the SS-ranked Guard also turned harsh.
"Mu did his best to get here, and you"re being so presumptuous?"
"You"re right that we asked for help, but if we can"t solve the problems with the Mana Hall, do you think Medsang will be safe? You can"t protect the world alone and survive; you need to work together—ugh."
I felt a wave of pressure from the SS-ranked Guard. So this stupidly high-ranking guy was attacking and oppressing a delicate C rank. Even though my Fear Resistance was of SS rank, it wasn"t just a few SS ranks I had encountered, so it"s fine, do your best. I won"t be intimidated.
"Han Yoojin-ssi."
The Medsang SS-ranked guard and I stared at each other when Noah finally spoke up.
"Please go out first."
"But—"
"We can"t bring onboard SS-ranked Awakeneds without defenses. Especially when there are more of them than on our side. Once appropriate security measures have been taken, we will allow you to rest onboard."
The word "rest" was tempting. The three needed rest. Even during the day, monsters kept appearing; it was just that there were fewer. It would be good for them to relax and leave the defense to Medsang.
"...Okay."
Noah"s att.i.tude was a bit disappointing, but he was right. They couldn"t just let in three SS-ranked Awakeneds from other cities like that. Would they seal their inventories?
"Hyuna-ssi, please take care of my brother for me."
I left Yoohyun with Moon Hyuna and took a step forward. As I approached the mana-absorbing cables, I could feel a slight tug on my mana. Perhaps because I didn"t have an engraving, or because my body was from a different world than this, it didn"t seem to have much effect on me.
The ropes separated, creating a gap. As soon as I entered, it closed again.
"I"m glad to see you"re safe."
Noah spoke in a friendly voice.
"You too, No-Mu-ssi."
“Just call me Noah. That"s my name."
Noah said that was his real name? I felt genuinely relieved hearing that. He seemed to be clearly aware that he was Noah, not Mu from Medsang. I wondered if perhaps Mu, not Noah, had been given priority.
"Thanks again for coming to help us."
"It was nothing. You"re here, so it was natural. To take them down."
I didn"t immediately understand the last sentence. It came out of Noah"s mouth with a tone too cold and resolute. To take them down, did he mean...?
"Wait a minute, Noah-ssi!"
As I turned around, stunned, I saw Yoohyun had completely lost consciousness. Moon Hyuna, who had been supporting my little brother, barely stood using her spear as a cane. Sigma was in a similar situation.
"What are you doing?!"
"It"s okay, Yoojin-ssi."
Noah grabbed me as I rushed forward. Even as support, he was SS rank and I couldn"t escape his reach.
"We won"t harm any of them, so you shouldn"t worry."
"You didn"t have to go that far!"
For a moment, it felt like something seized my entire body. A second later, our surroundings changed. We were inside. In the center of the s.p.a.cious room was a round opening through which blue light shone.
It was the light of a Mana Hall.
"That"s Medsang"s mana hole."
Noah said.
"By connecting s.p.a.ces, we can get mana directly from the Mana Hall no matter where we are."
In other words, if Medsang"s Mu were with them, Medsang Guards wouldn"t run out of mana. The mana guns firing bullets at the monsters came to mind. So they could only do something like that because their mana was constantly replenished.
"Not only that, Medic Guards within a certain range can also receive mana from me through their inscriptions. There"s no limit to skill use even if they"re not right next to the Mana Hall."
I ignored Noah saying "so there"s nothing to worry about" and headed towards a large window. d.a.m.n it, this was the other side. I crossed the room and stuck to the window again, and the outside came into view.
Moon Hyuna and Sigma had collapsed too, seemingly having fainted. The ropes were withdrawn, and I saw the medical guards approaching the collapsed trio. They were probably just holding them up, but my neck itched. Someone"s hand grabbed Yoohyun. I felt awful. Unconsciously, I gritted my teeth.
"...It"s Yoohyun, not a stranger, you didn"t have to go this far treating him like this."
"Are you angry?"
"I can"t say I"m in a good mood."
I turned my head. Noah had a slightly uncomfortable smile. His appearance was more familiar than the other two, but even so, it felt less familiar.
I wondered if Yoohyun and Moon Hyuna also thought "this is someone I know" when they saw him.
"Noah-ssi, I feel like you"ve... changed a bit."
“People change all the time. But I"m still the same as always. I just realized something new, that"s all."
"You realized something?"
"Yes. How much support-type Awakened people can do."
Noah turned around. The hem of his white uniform fluttered slightly. As he walked away, he extended a hand as if to say look.
"In Medsang, teams are mainly formed by support-type Awakened people. Of course, we also need fighters. But with the right combination of support skills, it"s possible for a combat-type Awakened person to demonstrate skills of a rank higher than theirs. Even more than one rank above."
Noah continued confidently.
"You saw it for yourself a while ago. How we easily mastered the monsters and SS rank guards."
"...But that"s because people find it difficult to recharge their mana here. This doesn"t apply back home."
"That"s true. But being able to recharge mana easily is actually an advantage. Because in this place, they can"t use their skills as they please without me nearby."
"There"s also a limit to the number of people who can enter a dungeon. It"s impossible to accept several support hunters without limits."
Of course, it was true that support hunter combinations were useful. But given the s.p.a.ce limitations in dungeons, it wasn"t easy to make support types the core of a hunter team. Also, there was the practical problem that it would increase the number of people among whom the benefits would be shared. The fewer people around the fighters, the greater the gains for each individual.
"I know very well, Yoojin-ssi. I"ve seen it often and experienced it myself. Although relatively less, since I also have healing skills."
Noah said laughing. His words made me feel a little embarra.s.sed. Although I normally saw his shy and gentle side, Noah was also a former guild leader. He had no reason not to know the realities of the Hunter world.
"Ah, for now, it"ll be good for you to rest. You"ve been holding out for so long, you must be tired. Don"t worry about the others."
"...Alright."
I"d probably be fine. Still, Noah-ssi was right. Noah called one of his people and ordered them to show me my room.
"If you need anything, press this b.u.t.ton to request it."
The person guiding me left the room, and I was left alone.
"...Support types, huh."
The special Awakening Center would be essential to help Hunters be at the forefront as Noah wanted. Most of the Awakened by the general Awakening Center before the regression were combat or defense types.
...More importantly, would Yoohyun be okay? Should I tell them I"ll behave and ask them to let me stay with him?
- Hyung!
At that moment, Irin suddenly appeared from under my clothes. Oh, son of... Why did you come with me?