Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 81

Chapter 81

A group of white stars densely filled the space. 

They twinkled, emitting a refreshing light, soon gathering into one. More precisely, they were becoming a single point. Simultaneously… attempting to pull and engulf everything. 

The fragments of a broken vessel had long been swallowed, even absorbing mana power. Despite consuming the mana power spread in space, it seemed insufficient, as it sought my own mana power.

In a hurry, I threw the bead given by Kang Yoon-soo on the ground, dispersing mana power into the air. Suddenly, a darkened spot voraciously consumed Kang Yoon-soo’s mana power.

“…Whoa, this isn’t even a big bang.”

Is this how the birth of the universe is perceived? It might become the sole achievement of my life…

If I can’t stop it, I’ll die right here…!

“…Ugh!”

I really couldn’t die like this. Moreover, if this explodes, everyone in the gate will be engulfed. The vitality that Lich already possessed would be a tremendous force.

I don’t know why I keep getting weighty missions.

“Haah….”

Due to the extremely desperate situation, a sigh escaped involuntarily.

‘…How do I survive?’

Merely dispersing the energy condensing into a point won’t be enough to solve the problem. It’s just dividing the explosion into hydrogen bombs at best. 

Also known as the conservation of energy law, right? The law states that the total amount of energy is conserved… It was what made my life difficult with potential energy and kinetic energy during scientific studies.

Even if I try to apply that law to this place inside the gate, my intuition tells me that it won’t end just by stopping the explosion.

“…What do I do with this?”

I can’t just absorb it like the vacuum… I can’t use an absorption strategy. The absorbed mana power enters my body. This was true when facing the giant squid, and I used it when unlocking the seal on the vessel.

…But is there no other way?

Just absorb it all into my body? Make it all mine?

Since there’s no immediate solution, should I just prepare to die and give it a try?

“…Yeah, whether I die like this or like that!”

It’s better than dying helplessly without doing anything!

Thanks to Kang Yoon-soo’s bead, I slightly delayed the start of the explosion, but now it was time to act. With determination, I activated the vacuum.

As if waiting, it started absorbing the converging mana power. It was almost like a competition to see who could absorb better. 

Thanks to that, the amount flowing into my body was tremendous.

My blood pressure rose sharply, and it felt like my face was about to explode, along with the organs, including my heart, feeling as if they were being crushed.

…This is probably why Lich volunteered to become a bone to become stronger.

‘…Hold on.’

Even if blood has to gush out from within, hold on. Unlike the last time when facing the giant squid, this time, let’s not spit it out impatiently and accumulate it in the body.

Handling skills with precision while using the vacuum was challenging. The vacuum cleaner itself was on the heavier side, and if I lost focus even a bit, the output would quickly intensify.

However.

‘…It’s do or die.’

I always used S-levels as mana power support batteries due to a shortage of mana power. If I can make all the mana power flowing into my body mine now, I won’t struggle due to a lack of mana power anymore.

It would have been a method I would never have attempted in the past. But now, I was different.

‘…Let’s do it the way Kang Yoon-soo taught me.’

Yes, even in martial arts, don’t people widen their vessels through reincarnation?

“…<What’s Yours is Mine! What’s Mine is Yours!>”

Desperately shouting the skill, I quickly substituted the absorbed mana power as my own. The quantity was too much to keep up with properly.

However, humans are creatures of adaptation.

The skill, which initially felt cumbersome, quickly found its pace and started moving rapidly.

In an instant, the absorbed mana power turned into my own. At the same time, I used the vacuum to pull and extract the absorbed life force and mana power from the black point.

As they repeated being absorbed by me.

[Great Achievement!

You have defeated the wicked Necromancer Lich (SS).

This is an astonishing achievement.

Congratulations!

Reward: ‘Wicked Necromancer (SS)’s Soul’]

The system window announcing the completion appeared in front of me with a loud noise.

And…

Drip.

“…Ah, my nose is bleeding….”

No matter how much I changed and absorbed it, the side effect of abruptly accepting a large amount at once was showing. My vision was breaking into pieces, and pain, as if bones and flesh were separating, struck me.

It felt as if I had become some enormous mana stone.

Instead of rejoicing in capturing Lich, I could only collapse on the spot. At least this way, I could catch my breath.

Even if only for a moment.

That too, briefly.

Cough, cough!

I coughed like a dying patient for a while.

“…Oh. I never thought I’d live to the point of vomiting blood.”

If I had absorbed even a second longer or if Lich’s life force was greater, we might have all been happily greeting each other on the ethereal path now.

“…Later, I need to check all the newly opened system windows.”

I still can’t see properly. This is a big problem… I wonder if I need a lot of time to recover. There’s a lot to do right away…

Once I get home… I need to clean, find ways to save water and electricity, upgrade the house, and raise my stats…

Well, even if I had two bodies, it wouldn’t be enough.

I was rambling to myself when,

“…Seo Yeon-oh!”

My name was heard. Despite its low and indifferent tone, the voice contained urgency and a peculiar excitement.

Now familiar, I tried to raise my arm with a forced smile, but my body had already decided to refuse the command.

Once again, the sound of someone looking for me echoed…

Soon.

“…You were here.”

The figure of Jung Tae-il, who seemed to have swum across the sea, appeared wet and lively.

“…Wow, Tae-il, you look like a grim reaper here.”

Maybe it’s because he’s wearing all black…?

With the thought of having died and come back to life, I threw a pointless joke.

Ignoring the joke cleanly, Jung Tae-il approached me with a terrifying expression.

“What’s with the blood? Did you get injured? I sensed a strong mana power wave earlier. You didn’t handle it recklessly alone, did you?”

“Can we talk about that later? I’m exhausted right now.”

“…Fine.”

“Thanks…”

With a sense of relief at seeing a familiar face, my eyes began to blur. My mind was tired, and my body had surpassed its limits.

In the end… I lost consciousness just like that.

* * *

Crunch, crunch.

At the sound of footsteps walking on the wet sandy beach, Kang Yoon-soo instinctively turned his head. There, he saw Jung Tae-il carrying a precious woman.

While Kang Yoon-soo had expected Seo Yeon-oh to come with Jung Tae-il, he didn’t anticipate seeing them in such a close embrace. Because of this, Kang Yoon-soo momentarily couldn’t manage his expression.

Did it twist in displeasure, or was it filled with jealousy? Even he couldn’t tell.

And Jung Tae-il wouldn’t know either. He was currently carefully walking while cradling Seo Yeon-oh, completely unaware of Kang Yoon-soo’s inner turmoil.

“So, our master can make that kind of expression too. I always thought he only sighed and wore a cold expression.”

“Maybe it’s because of you.”

“What? Ki Heon, say it again. How much our master cherishes me…!”

“…Tell me the truth?”

“No, don’t say that.”

Unbeknownst to Jung Tae-il, Ki Heon and Ki Chan, who had been watching him, engaged in a melancholic conversation. Despite Kang Yoon-soo not feeling particularly good earlier, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Tae-il really likes interesting people.”

Ignoring Ki Chan’s expression of not understanding, Kang Yoon-soo waved his hands to Jung Tae-il, who was approaching.

“Tae-il, you’re here?”

“We need a place to lay down Seo Yeon-oh.”

“I’ve prepared a spot inside.”

“…Did you know Seo Yeon-oh would end up like this?”

“…Well, inside there, it’s difficult for even you and me to breathe properly.”

With a wry smile, Jung Tae-il, who had ignored Ki Chan’s puzzled expression, glanced at Kang Yoon-soo for a moment. Then, he moved to go to the prepared spot.

As Jung Tae-il passed by Kang Yoon-soo, he whispered low enough for only him to hear.

“…I hope this wasn’t a scheme to make her come to ‘Janwol’.”

Before Kang Yoon-soo could refute the excessive speculation, Jung Tae-il was already far away.

Kang Yoon-soo sighed deeply while tying back his disheveled hair.

“Jung Tae-il, what does this guy think of me?”

The sinister intentions of someone who deliberately taught the secrets of handling mana power were momentarily forgotten in the soliloquy of someone who had forgotten themselves.