Chapter 267: Basics of Barrierology (1)

Their gazes intersected.

Jinhyuk put away the longbow.

To fulfill the copying condition, he had to use only ‘curses’ and ‘barriers.’

From now on, he would have to fight in a slightly different way than before.

But just then, the Wailing Witch’s gaze turned towards the edge of the ruins.

“I wondered why you were so confident. It turns out you were relying on the rabble you brought along?”

“Rabble? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. I saw about twenty humans at the entrance of the room.”

If there were twenty people here… could it be?

Something flashed through Jinhyuk’s mind.

A force that had participated in this raid but had not yet appeared.

‘The Dangun Guild.’

He thought they had sided with Gandara and the demons, but it seems they had rejected that offer.

Despite thinking that large guilds were filled with selfish individuals who would do anything for their gain, it appeared there were still some decent people left.

It would have been perfect if they had remained undetected during their surprise attack.

Damn.

He saw black liquid gathering around the Wailing Witch.

She was about to activate her most dangerous skill, ‘Black Tears.’

This was bad.

“They’ve been spotted! Take cover!” Jinhyuk shouted.

At the same time…

BOOM!

A black wave surged toward the entrance.

“Oh… Oh no?”

“Park Hyung! Something’s coming!”

“Damn it. Did they see through our magic-canceling skill?”

“Form up! Activate all survival skills!”

Screams erupted from the Dangun Guild members hiding behind the monster statues.

Park Jungjin, at the forefront, thrust forward a shield emitting a dazzling light.

[Park Jungjin activates the unique ability ‘Holy Bond.’]

A golden shield enveloped the entire attack team around the shield.

BOOM!

The black wave collided with the holy shield, sending colorful sparks flying everywhere.

“…That was close.”

Park Jungjin sighed in relief.

“Abandon the shield!”

“Kang… Jinhyuk, sir? Abandon the shield? What do you mean?”

“I said, abandon it right now!”

Even if you block ‘Black Tears,’ it’s not really blocked.

It reveals its true power upon contact.

Zzzt!

It has a special power that corrupts anything it touches.

‘Black Tears’ was one of the most alien curses.

[‘Black Tears’ has soaked into the shield.]

[The shield is being corrupted!]

When it touches living things, it causes madness, hallucinations, and mutations.

When it touches inanimate objects, it creates unpredictable variables.

Completely unpredictable.

Thus, the impact of this ability was on a different level compared to other abilities.

Even the Wailing Witch, who controlled this ability, couldn’t fully control it.

“Gaaahhh!”

A mouth appeared on the shield, convulsing violently.

It spat out sharp teeth and a writhing black liquid, resembling a monster.

“This… this can’t be.”

Park Jungjin was startled and threw the shield away.

An ability that breathes life into items.

Park Jungjin, who thought he had seen all sorts of abilities, had never seen such a bizarre one before.

One drop of the black liquid touched the skin of a female player, and she screamed in pain, twisting her body.

“Keeee… aaaaahhh!”

“S-Songyi! Pull yourself together. Park Hyung! Don’t let it touch your body. It’s like a zombie virus, it turns people into something else!”

“Damn… So we can’t block it. We have to avoid it.”

An absurd ability.

If even the holy attribute couldn’t block it, then no other ability could counter it either.

With the surprise advantage lost and limited space to evade, their numerical advantage became a disadvantage.

While everyone was panicking…

“Tristan.”

The Wailing Witch looked at the demon beside her.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll leave the intruders to you. It seems the three humans we faced earlier have recovered, so make sure to finish them off.”

Maria, Yoo Yeonhwa, and Lee Taemin had already prepared for battle again.

They had managed to recover by drinking the mana potions Jinhyuk had given them.

“Hmm. Surely you don’t mean for me to handle them all alone?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll provide you with some solid support. Just finish them off properly. They lack intelligence, but they should be effective enough.”

Not only the shields and players were infected with ‘Black Tears.’

The reason why various monster statues were placed here.

It was to utilize them in this way.

[The dormant monster statues are awakening!]

Crack! Crack! …Boom!

“Roarrr!”

“Graaaah!”

A massive number of monsters awakened with glowing eyes.

Ogres, trolls, lizardmen, and manticores.

Each one was a powerful named monster, carefully selected by the Wailing Witch.

“Ugh…”

Park Jungjin bit his lower lip.

They had come to help Jinhyuk, but now they were being held back, unable to provide proper support.

“P-Park Hyung.”

“At least we need to buy time. We can’t let them interfere.”

If they could fight the monsters, Jinhyuk could focus on the boss fight.

That alone would be reason enough for them to be here.

‘If we can join the three over there, we should be able to hold out for a while.’

With Lee Taemin’s drones, Yoo Yeonhwa’s tanking, and Maria’s firepower, they wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed by medium-sized monsters.

The decision didn’t take long.

“Let’s break through to them. I’ll lead, you cover the flanks.”

“Damn it. I promised to walk the path of flowers.”

“If I die, I’ll haunt you as a ghost, remember. I haven’t even married yet.”

＊＊＊

“Are you worried about those other humans?” The Wailing Witch asked.

“Not really. They can take care of themselves.”

“Fufu. You seem quite anxious for someone who says that. But don’t worry too much. Those who came here will soon meet in the afterlife.”

“Sorry, but I’m a traditionalist. I’ll send the elderly first.”

“Really, both you and your viewers are infuriating. Do you think that just because you defeated an apostle, you can kill me too? Seriously?”

“If I didn’t think I could cook you up, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Jinhyuk shrugged.

“Fine… Let’s see if you can handle my first move. I hope you meet at least a quarter of my expectations. Don’t be too boring.”

Swoosh.

The old arm moved to the left.

[Curse ‘Blood Melting’ has been activated!]

A pentagram appeared beneath Jinhyuk’s feet.

A curse that dissolves hemoglobin in the blood, amplified by a 4-star ‘Amplification’ barrier for maximum efficiency.

[Due to the ‘Corruption Stat,’ the effects of curses and barriers increase by 30%!]

The added effect of her unique stat.

“It’s too late now. You can’t avoid or block it.”

The witch’s lips curled into a sinister smile.

Buzz!

A red light flashed.

But then.

“Hmm?”

The Wailing Witch tilted her head.

The spell had activated properly, yet the opponent, who should be coughing up blood from his eyes and mouth, was perfectly fine.

…What?

It didn’t take long to identify the source of the intense disquiet.

No way…

“Did you break my spell? Just by seeing the pattern…?”

Impossible.

It’s inconceivable to decipher and analyze a spell that has thousands of combinations in less than a second.

Even the most experienced witches would set up defensive barriers in advance. They wouldn’t wait to counter an opponent’s attack.

It was too risky.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ve been studying barriers a lot lately. And curses have always been my specialty.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Are you saying my spell is so simple that a few books could decipher it?”

“If you’re upset, you should’ve made a better combination. Using a 4-star barrier makes it easy to read.”

A soft light emanated from Jinhyuk’s shoulder.

Ancient runes blossomed into a splendid form.

“An engraving… Are you a barrier master? So that’s why you were so confident.”

“At least you’re not completely blind.”

Although she didn’t seem to recognize it as the Moon’s Engraving.

Knowing it was a barrier master’s mark was impressive.

“So you’re not a total novice. Fine. I’ll raise the difficulty a bit.”

The Wailing Witch moved both hands this time.

Crack!

Runes overlaid the pentagram, and three additional barriers were created beside it.

Using both hands increased the calculation speed and the completion of the spell several times over.

“No matter how skilled you are, you won’t escape alive.”

Rumble!

The entire ruin shook.

The mix of sticky mana and curses made the skin feel like it was burning.

Indeed…

Seeing her activate advanced spells through multi-calculations, she truly was a witch.

How skilled must one be to achieve that?

Of course.

From the perspective of someone at such a level… It was merely cute.

Suddenly.

A crack appeared at the center of the pentagram.

“W-What?”

The Wailing Witch, who had been certain of victory, widened her eyes.

[The ‘Moon’s Engraving’ is blossoming.]

Crack!

Crack!

The three barriers shattered like glass.

“Didn’t I tell you? Use a stronger barrier to challenge me.”

One by one, barriers with the form of a hexagram began to appear over Jinhyuk’s shoulder.

Three… four, and then five.

By the time there were ten barriers, the Wailing Witch was gaping.

“When I said to use your full power, I meant it.”

Jinhyuk snapped his fingers.

＊＊＊

Buzz!

This time, an unfamiliar rune appeared beneath the Wailing Witch’s feet.

It resembled the pentagram used earlier.

“This… this thing…!”

The construction of the barrier wasn’t particularly advanced.

The curse was laughably weak compared to hers.

She could break it as many times as she wanted.

As a member of the Grand Witch’s Council…! She could turn such low-level stuff to dust in an instant!

However.

“…What?”

BOOM!

Before she could even examine the spell’s structure, a massive explosion occurred.

“Gah. Cough! Gah!”

The Wailing Witch staggered, stumbling out of the smoke.

Her face was filled with confusion.

Why.

Why?

She hadn’t been able to discern the fundamental links of the spell?

At that moment.

A sly voice came from behind.

“As I said before, it’s not about the level of the barrier or the strength of the curse.”

The combination is what matters.

Even a low-level barrier, when combined with the right barrier or curse, can have exceptional power.

“If you want to fight me properly, use Black Tears. Otherwise, this conversation isn’t going anywhere.”

“How dare you! I don’t need to use Black Tears. I can tear you apart with my pure skill alone!”

[Curse ‘Quartering’ has been activated!]

[7-star Barrier ‘Amplification’ has been activated!]

Numerous runes filled the air.

Red pentagrams scattered chaotically.

While the ten barriers Jinhyuk had used earlier were too many for a single barrier master, this was at least thirty times more.

The sky itself changed color.

“…It’s quite a sight.”

Jinhyuk muttered in admiration.

Witnessing such a large number of small barriers wasn’t a common occurrence.

“Huff. Huff… Ha ha ha! See this! This is me! I am the one given the title of ‘Wailing’ by the Grand Witch’s Council!”

The Wailing Witch burst into a crazed laugh.

“Die in agony, young barrier master. This is the difference between a Grand Witch and a wet-behind-the-ears novice.”

Her hand rose.

The spells began to glow brightly.

But then.

[9-star Barrier ‘Zodiac Barrier, Scorpio’ has been activated.]

[4-star Barrier ‘High-Speed Switch’ has been activated.]

Suddenly, one of the red pentagrams turned blue.

It was a phenomenon that only occurred when a new power intervened.

It also meant the spell’s owner had changed.

Soon, the sky, once red, began to turn blue as if infected.

“Impossible. This can’t be happening. This… this…”

The calculation speed was… impossibly fast.

Every curse and barrier, every combination of spells, was being neutralized as soon as it was activated.

Thus.

The numerous red pentagrams turned into countless blue hexagrams…

It was an astonishing sight.