Hermit Wizard

The voice went cold over his crouching back.

Kim Kyung-hwan raised his head. He barely endured the pain because of the shock that made him go out of his mind. He asked Hwang Soo-rim.

“Who the hell is Baek Woon-gyu… and who are you?!”

Hwang Soo-rim frowned a little. As she moved her body roughly, he saw the distorted burn marks over her hair that stretched out in all directions. Regardless, it was no longer a matter of caring about such things.

“We don’t have time, so I’ll explain it shortly. As you might have guessed, Baek Woon-gyu is on the same side as the guys who attacked the base right now. He’s their spy.”

“Then, you are…!”

“Of course, I am not on their side. Just look at the situation, and you know.”

The voice was calm and with little emotion.

“No.”

Kim Kyung-hwan stretched out his finger and pointed.

“You, what’s that on the back of your hand?!”

It was an artifact of Mana charging that Eraser gave to him. Kim Kyung-hwan had to be the only one who had such an object, so why did Hwang Soo-rim have that?

There was only one answer that came to his mind, but he tried to dismiss that possibility.

“Ahh.”

Hwang Soo-rim nodded. She then responded one by one about the artifacts on the back of her hand and Kim Kyung-hwan’s hand.

“You know the answer, and I know the answer… I was suspicious, but after confirming the facts, I can’t believe it. There really is someone other than me.”

“As expected, your magic wasn’t made by yourself. It was strange that he only pointed you out of these many trainees. The answer came out because he didn’t care if the rest died. That’s a big deal anyway. How can I run away with a stupid bastard like you just like that?” Hwang Soo-rim kept mumbling.

Upon hearing her words, Kim Kyung-hwan crumpled his lips.

“T-Then…!”

Hwang Soo-rim asked with a dry voice.

“If possible, I want to save some Mana. Didn’t you learn recovery magic?”

“What is that…”

“Did ‘Eraser’ teach you recovery magic?”

***

It was fear that made him able to manage the collapsed spirit. The purpose of the intruders, including Baek Woon-gyu, was unknown. However, Kim Kyung-hwan clearly understood that they were aiming at him. The pain that pierced his thigh remained a deep trauma as well.

Hwang Soo-rim was a mystery, but the word “Eraser” from her mouth shook his mind. The words provoked and exploded Kim Kyung-hwan’s sense of inferiority while also leaving behind a faint belief.

“Cough… Cough…!”

Even though he compromised, the sense of unreality tormented him as if suffocating his neck. Why am I doing that there? Why did I have to run away with Hwang Soo-rim?

Kim Kyung-hwan couldn’t believe that situation even though he was running with a tight breath. His body taught him how long it had been since he had been running with all his strength. His heart seemed to burst, and he felt like throwing up since he was out of breath.

Unbelievable events were taking place that day. It wasn’t a big deal compared to the fact that Hwang Soo-rim’s hand was shining, and the bleeding from his thigh stopped.

He couldn’t understand what was going on, but Kim Kyung-hwan had no other choice but to run. The pursuers’ intention to capture them was unknown, but it was evident that they wouldn’t be able to see good things after they were caught.

“How far on earth…!”

“Shut up and keep running! I know the route!”

Just before, the two escaped from the dormitory through a broken window, and as soon as Hwang Soo-rim landed on the floor, she fired magic at the surrounding armed forces.

Kim Kyung-hwan, who almost faced the second panic, also managed to counterattack against the attempts to attack him. He was desperate because of his experience of being injured by allowing one attack.

During the confrontation, Kim Kyung-hwan realized again that it wasn’t alien races. The intruders… were humans.

When he annihilated the intruders in front of the dormitory building and ran away from the base with Hwang Soo-rim, Kim Kyung-hwan saw it all. Corpses of instructors and soldiers scattered throughout the base. It was obvious that they were killed after the battle.

What happened to the trainees in the basement? Moving his shaky legs, Kim Kyung-hwan thought about their life and death for the first time.

The Mana that was moving from below clearly meant that there was a battle. Could they have won against those who used such weird artifacts? Moreover, what if a wizard like Baek Woon-gyu was fighting in the basement?

His head was about to explode.

“H-how far… on earth?”

To the barely spat question, Hwang Soo-rim answered coldly. She was out of breath too.

“Hold on a little longer… if we run away and hold on… the sky will soon turn red.”

She was running around saying such incredible things, only to stop suddenly. They were passing by the canteen when a sharp cry was heard.

“The String of Quécadios!”

The liquid metal Hwang Soo-rim held in her hand was fluttering, and a stalk of thin thread sparkled in the air. The metal string that was extending out broke at the end. It went over the blind spot beyond the corner.

“Eaaaargh!”

A scream was heard behind the building, and at the same time, a man fell forward. He stomped his body with a desperate scream. His two ankles were cut cleanly.

Kim Kyung-hwan saw the unmarked military uniform he was wearing. It was one of the intruders.

“The other way!”

However, men in the same clothes approached behind them. An armed gun caught Kim Kyung-hwan’s eyes. The weapon used to kill ordinary people weren’t touched while chasing both of them.

It was as Hwang Soo-rim said. They were trying to capture them somehow. There was an option to shoot an arm or leg, but they didn’t even try to pull the trigger at all, perhaps because they were afraid of missing and killing the two of them.

Pursuers somehow tried to save their opponents to capture them, and fugitives tried to escape by killing their opponents. The balance broke down.

-Wheeiiick!

The spherical object held by the apprentice flew towards Hwang Soo-rim, drawing a parabolic curve.

“The Thornbush of Quécadius!”

A claw-like metal pierced the sphere thrown by the opponent. At the same time as the impact, the artifact activated the magic power and…

-Poop!

A sticky liquid poured into the air. Kim Kyung-hwan saw a scene where the intruder whose foot stepped on the unexploded bomb was stuck on the floor, and then his throat was blown by Hwang Soo-rim’s magic. Those artifacts were aimed to capture and arrest.

Kim Kyung-hwan couldn’t understand. Were they after Korean wizards? From which country then?

“Hey, will that magic be completed within today?”

Hwang Soo-rim shouted as she was cutting another rushing apprentice with magic. Kim Kyung-hwan clenched his teeth and burst the Mana he had collected in his hand.

-Wheeeing!

The black fog filled the field of vision, and the sound of burning flesh continued.

-Cheeeeesh!

“Keaaaaarrrgggh!!

The enemies rolled over the floor. The spell’s power was weak since a lot of Mana was consumed while squandering in the dormitory. The apprentices didn’t die immediately and only wriggled in the melting skin’s pain because the amount of acidic solution produced wasn’t so large.

“Uugh!”

Kim Kyung-hwan was cringing due to the way he suffered from the magic he had made and the terrible scream that dug into his head.

-Crack!

Hwang Soo-rim’s magic cut off the apprentice’s neck. The flowing blood burned as it mixed with the black acidic liquid. She looked at the frightened Kim Kyung-hwan’s eyes for a moment less than a second. There was no sound, but he felt as if he could hear Hwang Soo-rim’s words in his ears saying, ‘Idiot.’

“Run fast!”

Once again, Kim Kyung-hwan ran after her as he couldn’t afford to feel pain in his pride. Fear easily eroded his shrunken ego.

Everything was like a dream. Until that afternoon, he couldn’t imagine anything like that. He looked down at everyone and laughed at them until he went to bed that day. Still, he was shabby, and his judgment was misplaced.

‘After all, my life isn’t good?’ Kim Kyung-hwan thought while running in a hurry.

The pride that he built up after entering that base was nothing but a fake one. Since it was fake, it broke easily. He held back his tears from coming out again. Thoughts from a long time ago passed through his head. After becoming a wizard, he was thrilled with the new life that would unfold before his eyes. Even that scene now felt like a lie.

“Stop!”

Hwang Soo-rim stopped again and prepared her magic. Kim Kyung-hwan also clenched his teeth. They then heard footsteps and were surrounded again by intruders.

At first glance, there were dozens of people. The number was incomparable from the previous one. It seemed that they exchanged communication with each other and shared their location. As time went by, they must’ve gathered that many people.

-Pheeeiiiing!

Flying spherical artifacts covered the surrounding sky.

“Ugh…!”

The barriers built by Hwang Soo-rim repelled them all. However, Kim Kyung-hwan felt that the Mana carried on it wasn’t the same as before.

“Damn it!”

Hwang Soo-rim’s fingertips were trembling. Kim Kyung-hwan completed his spell in a hurry.

However, the opponent’s response was different from before. One of the intruders wielded a large artifact in his hand. At the same time, Kim Kyung-hwan’s magic disappeared without even approaching them.

“Gosh!”

“Wizard!”

Hwang Soo-rim noticed he didn’t use an artifact that was triggered by shock without magic like the previous pursuers. He was someone who could create magic by himself, like Baek Woon-gyu.

-Rumble!

Mana was gathered at the end of a long stick held by the opponent. Feeling an unusual momentum, Hwang Soo-rim was ready to soar upwards with a rush of compressed air.

-Wherrr!

The spark generated at the tip of the stick was tiny, but it flew into the two at such a speed that they couldn’t use their hands. The small flicker of light that narrowed the distance quickly widened its range and surrounded the fugitives in the form of a hemisphere.

“Evade!”

Hwang Soo-rim, who had been preparing in advance, jumped up, causing the air to explode, but…

“What… what…!”

Kim Kyung-hwan, who was standing outside her reach, looked devastated at the sight of the hemispherical light surrounding him. His face turned blue with his feet on the ground.

Hwang Soo-rim gritted her teeth as she looked down. That Mana movement was probably…

At that moment, the voltage hit the range of the hemisphere!

-Whhiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrrrrr

“Kaaaaaarrrrrgh! Ugh… Uaaarrrghhhhh!”

Kim Kyung-hwan fell back and convulsed. Even after all the light had disappeared, he couldn’t properly hold his head. Smoke rose with the smell of burning flesh.

Hwang Soo-rim landed on the ground again. She looked at Kim Kyung-hwan lying on the floor and the intruder narrowing the siege alternately.

Should I abandon Kim Kyung-hwan? What about the penalty for failing the mission given by Eraser? If I leave him and try to run away now, how would I escape?

Her head spun fast, but there was one more bad condition that made her hesitate.

‘My Mana… there’s not much left!’

The reason was that she consumed it to treat Kim Kyung-hwan. If she had run away alone, she might’ve survived somehow.

‘I didn’t think he’d be this stupid!’

Should she just throw him away?

She was determined to run away. It was said that in a little while, there would be a huge barrier there. She already knew where the ‘exit’ would be made.

Over the past few weeks, she followed Eraser’s instructions. She went around the base and did what she was told. If she had done her work correctly, the ‘change’ would start far from the exit. Therefore, it was necessary to move as close to the exit as possible.

Yes, that would be great. It would be better to fail a mission than to die right now. She didn’t know what kind of penalty Eraser would give, but…

Hwang Soo-rim quietly prepared to counterattack while looking at the decreasing enemy. She collected all of her remaining Mana in her hand. She planned to kill and injure as many as possible with that single attack, then ran away.

She had no choice. In fact, from the very beginning, that mission was unreasonable. It was hard for her to get out herself currently when she saw it.

“Uuugh!”

She heard Kim Kyung-hwan’s groan under her feet, but she tried to ignore it.

“Kuuurrgghhhh…”

When Kim Kyung-hwan, who was unable to overcome pain, barely breathed, Hwang Soo-rim drew all the Mana in her body.

“… What is it?!”

The air changed.

“Ah!”

Hwang Soo-rim’s face brightened. The intruders momentarily hardened by the sudden change.

“W-what’s going on?!”

The intruders exchanged words hastily in English. Some people held rings in their hands, and some were speechless.

“Ugh… Uuugh!”

Kim Kyung-hwan doubted his eyes. Did he saw nothing at that moment due to the extreme pain, or did the veins in his eyes exploded?

It was seen by Kim Kyung-hwan, who fell with his head on the ground.

The night sky, looking down on the noisy human earth, was dyed with a red light as vivid as blood.