Chapter 144

‘…Tsk, it’s chasing me as if it’s only natural!’

The silver arrows were faster than modern bullets, and no matter how he dodged or deflected them, they neither lost power nor changed their target.

Furthermore, seeing how they absorbed a certain amount of Magical Power every time they clashed with Taewoon’s spear, it seemed this ability belonged to Kaira herself.

‘In that case… I’ll just have to go all out!’

Circulating the Magical Power within his body in a specific direction, Taewoon activated the Star Absorption Great Technique. He pulled back his escaped Magical Power and began to conversely absorb the Magical Power contained within the arrows.

After several exchanges of offense and defense, he fortunately felt the power and speed of the arrows gradually diminish.

However, Kaira, who had been watching the scene, merely looked on with indifferent eyes as she notched new arrows and fired a few more.

“Quite impressive… but you would do well not to think that my limit is merely that much.”

The three arrows had suddenly increased to nine, and although Taewoon, having found a way to counter them, managed to shoot one down, there were still far more remaining.

‘Damn it, how am I supposed to block all of these?’

It was obvious that he couldn’t hold out for long using the branches of Barata or the Final Rampart skill, and he couldn’t even fathom how much time it would take to shoot down every single arrow using the power of the Star Absorption Great Technique.

‘Aquila! Is there any way?’

• It is a tricky attack, but the power contained within the arrows themselves is not at a lethal level. I recommend using the Body Protection Aura to endure the damage and taking direct action.

It was a piece of advice devoid of any human touch, but it seemed to be correct.

Calming his mind and observing the situation, Taewoon felt that he could sufficiently withstand the power of the arrows.

‘Here I go!’

Circulating his Magical Power to its maximum, Taewoon applied the principles of the Body Protection Aura to form a sturdy armor of Magical Power around his entire body. Accepting that the arrows would pierce him, he began to shoot down as many of the remaining arrows as possible.

Wounds opened and blood dripped down, but as Aquila said, they were not fatal.

Having finally rendered all the arrows useless, Taewoon spun Barata once and stared straight ahead. Kaira laughed as if amused, put away her bow, and began to draw a weapon in the shape of a greatsword.

“Good. I’m finally starting to get excited.”

“Wait a moment!”

“What is it?”

Staring at Kaira, who asked the question with a composed face, Taewoon countered with a look of disbelief.

“…Can’t you see my condition? The playmate is done here. I will take no objections.”

“Surely you don’t intend to brush off your rudeness toward me with a mere amount of this?”

“Damn it, if it’s still not enough, we can set another date later. Regardless, I’m stopping.”

As Taewoon openly expressed his dissatisfaction while maintaining a firm stance, Kaira clicked her tongue lightly and vanished the greatsword she had drawn back into the void.

“I hope those words aren’t just lip service.”

“…….”

“Fine. You may withdraw for today.”

At Kaira’s gesture, the Bounded Field surrounding them shattered into pieces, and the cold night air rushed past Taewoon’s ears.

Looking forward again, Kaira was gone, and only then did Taewoon feel that he had overcome a major crisis.

‘…Whew, I can’t believe there’s a woman that absurd.’

Of course, it didn’t seem like she had exerted her full strength, but even so, it was a violent battle where an ordinary person wouldn’t even have had the chance to gather their bones.

Who on earth would call this sparring or playing?

It was a relief that she recognized Taewoon as being from the same Empire; otherwise, he might have truly met the end of his 2nd Cycle right here today.

‘But… I think I have a rough idea of what kind of person she is.’

Moreover, although she wasn’t at full strength, the fact that he could actually exchange blows with her and experience her various abilities was a significant achievement.

Taewoon let out a soft sigh, put away Barata, and returned to the camp to sleep.

And so, the morning of the second day of exploration arrived.

“…This should be enough for today. Let’s return to camp.”

It was only the second day of exploration, but just as in the previous Cycle, the atmosphere of the Exploration Team was not very good.

Many casualties had occurred, and dissatisfaction was unconsciously building up due to the somewhat oppressive atmosphere of the island.

Consequently, rather than achieving great results in the exploration, more people were simply focusing on their assigned tasks, hoping to leave the island safely.

“Could you wait a moment before that? There is something I want to check in front of us. It won’t take long.”

“Check? Do as you please. However, if you don’t return within an hour, we will assume a problem has occurred and return on our own.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the party in the forest area, Taewoon quickly turned and headed toward the depths of the lake region where he had made a promise with Biryeong.

Normally, he would have been more cautious, but now that he had become acquainted with the key figures of the island, acting conspicuously like this was not a problem.

Rather, meeting Biryeong quickly to check the situation inside the Sanctuary was the priority.

‘Has Biryeong… not come yet?’

He thought they would be able to match their timing, but perhaps there was some hindrance in finding the fox, as Biryeong did not show herself.

Eventually, the next day, after finishing the third exploration, Taewoon asked the party for their understanding again and visited the same place, where he found a single message left by Biryeong.

‘A problem occurred… the fox cannot be found in the lake region?’

Honestly, Taewoon also believed that if he visited the lake region again, he would be able to meet the fox without much difficulty, so this was a somewhat unexpected turn of events.

‘Let’s see… around when did I encounter the fox in the previous Cycle?’

Taewoon had decided to leave the camp after the 3rd day, and after traveling for several days through the lake region, it was probably around the time a week had passed.

In other words, it wasn’t that strange not to encounter the fox at this point.

Perhaps she was active inside the Sanctuary with Yerin, or perhaps she was staying somewhere other than the lake region at this time.

‘Anyway, I have no choice but to wait for now…’

After leaving a reply for Biryeong, Taewoon rejoined the members and returned to the Exploration Team camp.

And that night, amidst preparing for a deep sleep, he was suddenly summoned by Kaira and dragged to her office.

“…So, what is it? It’s only been two days.”

“Regardless, you were hired for the exploration of the island; is there any reason I cannot assign you a task?”

“Assign me a task?”

Taewoon responded with a reluctant reaction, but Kaira ignored his attitude and presented her request with a slight smile.

“You must have heard about the Sanctuary that exists on this island. I want to entrust you with the role of finding its entrance.”

“And if I don’t have the ability to find it?”

“Well, I wonder about that…”

The request itself was within the range of what he had expected, but Taewoon felt an inexplicable sense of unease from her meaningful attitude.

‘…What is it? Does she suspect that I know a way to enter that place?’

Although Taewoon didn’t have detailed information, the Empire likely recognized the fact that Yerin and her party had succeeded in fleeing into the Sanctuary.

While she seemed to believe that Taewoon was a man of the Empire, that might just be an outward facade; she might actually believe he is related to the fugitives of the Sanctuary.

Once his thoughts reached that point, Taewoon had no choice but to raise his guard against Kaira even further.

“…In the first place, you are one of the top talents within the Empire. With your power, couldn’t you sufficiently find that entrance yourself?”

This was an element that Taewoon had been anxious about since before.

Of course, he knew from actual experience that finding the entrance to the Sanctuary was by no means easy, but he still thought that someone with the ability of a General might possess some kind of means.

‘…But the General ultimately did not get involved in the Sanctuary’s affairs in the previous Cycle either.’

Whether it was truly impossible or if she had another motive, the current Taewoon could not be certain.

Looking at Taewoon’s gaze, which contained some suspicion, Kaira replied with a composed face.

“Ultimately, it is a matter of efficiency. Digging for the entrance of the Sanctuary blindly is very inefficient… and I have more than enough other tasks to handle. Now that I have a competent soldier, what use is he if I cannot pass off one tedious task?”

“…There is no guarantee that it will be possible. Nevertheless, if you insist on entrusting it to me, I will at least try. After all, my master also has high expectations for this island.”

“Good. I shall entrust this task to you.”

The conversation ended there, but Taewoon still couldn’t shake the feeling that her attitude was somehow suspicious.

That was because entrusting the search for the Sanctuary to Taewoon didn’t feel like a particularly ‘efficient’ act.

‘She must also know that I intend to keep her in check. If so…’

It was certain that she was trying to obtain something from Taewoon through this questionable act.

Until he discovered what that was, it seemed necessary to be careful with his actions for the time being.

‘Even so, it doesn’t matter. We have a plan too.’

Unlike the previous Cycle where he knew nothing, the current Taewoon had information and a purpose.

Keeping that fact in mind, Taewoon quietly left the office and slowly walked away.