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Translator: penny
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Escape
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Tadadot.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"Can't we just hole up here and hold out?"
A few people who'd spotted us running shouted from behind.
Kim Jong-su from Lee Eun-jung's group, who were hot on our heels, answered for us.
"Right now, it's just the cleanup crew down there. They couldn't even scratch a single scale off those Dracalon bastards. The real threats haven't even shown up yet. We need to get out of here before the true predators come crashing in."
Then came the North Koreans, clinging tightly to our tails as we headed toward the rear.
Kim Jin-woo and Hao Zifeng exchanged glances before starting to follow us.
"Everyone, run! Follow those Koreans!"
"Everyone, follow me! Keep your bodies light and run as fast as you can!"
But a good number stayed put.
"Where are they even going?"
"No idea. Something about a gap to slip through over there."
"No way! I'm not going down there!"
Over 50 out of the 200-odd remained behind.
To reiterate, the [Primordial Forest] was a harsh environment.
Stifling heat, suffocating humidity.
Until you adapted to this godforsaken place, clear thinking was damn near impossible.
People just acted on impulse, tossed around by the surroundings.
And right now, those already shortsighted types were even more fixated under the blazing sun.
'Their choice, so no complaints from me.'
No time to babysit them anyway—and if they bunkered down in a group like that, it worked in our favor. Boosted our survival odds.
The monsters that had just devoured everyone below were starting to glance upward.
"Dickhead, is running away like this really the play?"
"?"
"Diving into the forest like this—won't the Dracalon pups lose our trail? This place looks massive."
I looked up. The Dracalon corpse was so enormous it let me overlook the Primordial Forest from up high.
Forest as far as the eye could see in every direction.
Felt like standing alone on a vast ocean. That fleeting sense of immensity—this was it.
"Survival comes first, right?"
"Sure, but…"
"Plus, with how messed up it is here, those things have probably already bailed."
No point sticking around parents just to get eaten.
"Damn, they're following."
Hearing Han So-hee, I glanced down. A few sharp-eyed monsters had spotted us running and were giving chase.
Tadadot—
Kiek! Kiek!
Of course, they couldn't charge straight at us descending the tail. The Dracalon's dangerous scent lingered.
But once we plunged into the underbrush, they stuck close behind.
"Aaaack!"
"S-save me!"
Being up front had its advantages. The monsters started snatching people from the rear one by one.
Every time the bushes shook violently, another person vanished.
Some even turned on each other, sacrificing allies to survive.
"P-please, take me too! Gahk!"
"You bitch, you stabbed me?! I'll kill you… guk."
Like a deadly game where lagging behind meant death, everyone scrambled through the forest, desperate not to fall last.
"No! Stay back! Stay back!"
Kwaduk!
"Damn it, was following a mistake?! Staying back there was the right call!"
"Sniff, we're all dead."
Who knows. Nine out of ten who stayed behind would die—I was certain. I'd heard countless survivor tales confirming it.
But those unaware regretted it now, and a few broke off sideways, seeking their own path.
"Hiiik!"
"Th-this isn't the way! Run the other direction! Ah, no!"
And proved their stupidity firsthand.
I was running while minimizing monster encounters via my [Magic Engineering Glasses] and [Sixth Sense].
Stick to my tail, and your odds of bumping into one dropped big time.
-The Primordial Forest is crawling with life.
…Truth is, normal players shouldn't flee so noisily. Hide thoroughly, evade notice.
-Never, ever run. It's a death sentence. But there's one exception: blood scent. Wherever blood reeks, bolt no matter what.
That's why we were sprinting—along paths avoiding monsters as much as possible, or at least the fewer ones.
"Aaaaaah!"
Another life faded with a quiet last word.
Glancing back, I saw people madly chasing me, and monsters frenziedly snatching them from behind.
Fortunately, our group was unscathed amid the chaos. The [Wind Spirits] were a huge help.
'Forests like this restrict movement, hard to pick up speed.'
Bushes, roots, rocks, leaves—plenty to block sight and hinder steps.
Most catches happened when runners slipped and fell.
But the Wind Spirits scouted ahead, clearing our path, and even caught us if we tripped on stones, yanking us forward.
Kyaat!
Even when monsters lunged to bite, their jaws clamped shut against the Wind Spirits.
'Earth power at 80. Piercing a Wind Spirit's defense with raw physics ain't easy.'
Newborn spirits shouldn't be this strong, but [Arseina's Blessing] was busted. Overpowered performance.
'Ju Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim worry me, though.'
Carrying the Saintess on my back at the lead, I'd sent my Wind Spirit rearward to aid Ju Ah-hyun.
"Hana-ssi, send your spirit to Kim Yu-rim too."
"Y-yes!"
I had telekinesis anyway, could mimic the effect myself.
Whirlik!
"Ah!"
Ju Ah-hyun and Kim Yu-rim steadied their steps, catching up securely. Our party surged ahead smoothly.
North Koreans trailed us, then Jeju Union, Cheongsung, and the rest.
Regaining some breathing room, Shin Seo-yeon suddenly drew something.
"What're you planning?"
She held the [Necromancer's Book].
"Gonna thin out the chasers a bit."
"How?"
"Heh. Watch your big sis work, Dickhead."
She infused mana. Pages flipped—chralak. Her mana turned pitch black, haze rising like heat shimmer.
"Go!"
It shot off to the nearest monster around us. Black mana poured into its maw and vanished.
Kiek?!
Instantly, the Spinosaurus-like beast curled up like gut-punched, rolling madly.
'Got it.'
The [Necromancer's Book] summoned skeletons from corpses. She'd revived a player digesting in its belly.
Kieeek!
Sure enough, a bony hand clawed with flesh scraps from its roaring jaws, then retracted.
Nice! Shin Seo-yeon repeatedly summoned, canceled, resummoned skeletons, culling monsters.
"See that, Dickhead?! Impressed?"
"Not bad. How'd you figure that?"
"Practiced in the training grounds. Freshly eaten corpses haven't dissolved in acid yet—usable."
Nod.
Made sense. Summoning wasn't my specialty, so I'd overlooked it, but yeah, applications like that existed.
'Impressive.'
Not just her—our crew blocked pursuers in their own ways.
Saintess healed to distract when monsters lunged; Han So-hee left afterimages for time; Lee Sera casually stealth-zapped legs with electricity.
Thanks to them, plenty survived, trailing us.
'…Deep down, I'd rather let 'em get eaten.'
No point dragging potential threats.
No real gratitude anyway.
Only one team thanked us for the rope: the North Koreans.
Extreme situations reveal true nature—just like that.
'Well, at least reconfirmed my crew's character. Silver lining.'
"Hey, Dickhead—front!"
Looking ahead, a prowling monster locked eyes, jaws gaping hungrily.
I clenched my fist tight. But support fire whizzed from behind.
Tang!
"Huh?! Wh-what was that?!"
Insane power. The 12-meter beast's head snapped back, crashing down.
Thud!
Hit so hard it writhed on the ground, unable to rise. A pebble embedded in its jaw. I knew who'd thrown it.
Turning, Lee Eun-jung followed 10 meters back.
Emotionless, grave eyes.
Yet they burned with feral, untamable wildness—like a savage stray dog.
Her hat shadowed her face, but those eyes and striking beauty shone through.
She embodied "North beauty, South spirit" perfectly. Though she walled off romance regardless.
"Comrade, eyes front."
She plucked a pebble from her waist pouch, balanced it on her thumb. Tang! It whistled past my face.
Kieek!
Another monster crumpled, down for the count.
'S-Rank War God indeed.'
[Unique Ability]
Name: War God
Grade: Mythic
Description: The moment you grip something, you instinctively perform optimal throws. 300% correction to all throw-related abilities.
All stats +10. Consume mana for spatial dominion: sense all beings in radius {Strength x 3} meters in real-time.
'[Star of Fate] fully bloomed, as expected.'
Still mind-blowing.
Han So-hee's [Sword Empress] got 100% correction; even transcendent [Primordial Flame] only 100%. This? 300%.
'That's why she's so strong.'
Explains the all-Strength build. That power spike? I'd do it too.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
Pebbles flew like bullets with each flick. Absurd—mere stones dropping deadly monsters effortlessly.
But the situation stayed grim.
"Aaaack! S-save me!"
"Please, take me too! Guwek!"
Monsters pursued relentlessly, picking off the rear one by one.
'Reality bites.'
Humans ranked low in the Primordial Forest prey chain—like the mountain dragon whelps chasing us.
"Dickhead! We just gonna keep running?!"
"For a while."
"We'll all die like this!"
No other way.
More powerful beasts would gather, drawn by blood. Some nearly as huge, agile, dangerous as mountain dragons.
Earth-shaking thuds announced their presence.
'Priority one: escape the Dracalon blood-soaked battlefield.'
Then find shelter or whatever.
"This way."
I led; people followed desperately.
Sacrificing comrades for survival.
"Guh. H-Ha-eun?"
"S-sorry, oppa. I'm sorry!"
Now even party members, not strangers.
Kwaduk!
"Eh?"
Just delayed the inevitable—third or fourth to go. The woman who'd stabbed her boyfriend-lookalike vanished into a maw moments later.
No one acknowledged it, no one looked back. That tiny gap decided life or death.
"Dickhead!"
"Min-jun-ssi! Check the rear!"
Tadadadot!
'Here they come.'
Now even bigger headaches joined.
Footsteps alone identified them.
'The predators that haunt [Primordial Forest] noises like ghosts, Scarbas.'
Smaller than Spinosaurus but sleek and swift—like cheetahs on African plains.
Most dangerous to players here.
So irritable they'd starve without daily kills—even cannibalize kin. Spot prey? Blitz, snatch, vanish—nightmarish.
They closed in fast from behind.
'…Not fully escaped yet, but with them joining, can't delay anymore.'
I pulled a massive sack from inventory.
"You're using that?"
My crew's eyes widened at the sight.
"Everyone, Wind Spirits ready! Rest, hold breath!"
They inhaled sharply. I hurled the sack, telekinesis shredding it. Gray powder cascaded out, scattering.
"Wh-what?!"
"Poison?!"
"Hold your breath!"
Everyone pinched noses like us.
The fine dust drifted downward like smoke, but our Wind Spirits swept it overhead, spreading rearward.
Whoosh!
Looked like swarms of mayflies taking flight—tiny bugs spraying everywhere.
Terror-stricken followers gawked upward.
But it wasn't deadly poison.
'Just chili powder and quicklime mixed generous.'
Spare quicklime from lime fertilizer plans, plus chili powder stocked recalling this trial's quirks.
Sometimes simple spices or fertilizers trump fancy tools.
Kip?!
Pursuing monsters toppled, screeching.
Kieek!
Kek! Kekek!
-Surprisingly, I had chili powder handy then. They ambushed mid-cooking; I reflexively doused them. They screeched, writhed in agony, retreated.
Matched that foreign old survivor's tale from the Primordial Forest.
Monsters wheezed, eyes blinking furiously, heads grinding dirt. Tormented.
Not game-changing, just a brief shock—like a skunk startling predators. A momentary pause sufficed.
"Now! Keep running!"
We bolted on, until a rocky cliff and cave appeared beside us.
"…Dickhead, this isn't another Dracalon nest, right?"
Not this time.
Quick [Magic Engineering Glasses] scan confirmed safe. I entered.
Wider and deeper than expected—not a true cave, more an open clearing between massive rocks and earth.
Narrow enough vertically to bar big beasts—about 3 meters. Plenty for us humans.
"Everyone, inside!"
"S-survival point!"
"We lived! Sniff, we're alive!"
Whew. Crisis averted, somehow.
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