Chapter 73: The Person Sarah Harundas Met (1)

“Let’s go in,” Zieg suggested.

Semir nodded beside him. Hains furrowed his brow.

“Hmm. Commander Killia said to use the entry scrolls sparingly, as we have few.”

“That’s exactly why we use them now. Let’s contact her,” Zieg urged.

“She’s in a field right now. We’ll have to decide ourselves.”

“Then make a quick, wise decision, yeah?” Zieg grinned.

“Your tone’s too cheeky,” Hains sighed.

Hains signaled his deputy, a mage, who pulled an entry scroll from his subspace and handed it over. Contrary to its name, the “scroll” was a glass orb.

Hains raised his fist, clutching the orb. Everyone stepped back, tense, watching—except one bewildered mage standing cluelessly.

Zieg spotted Ion, chuckling loudly and ruffling Ion’s hair, despite being a head taller.

“Look at this guy! Everyone, check out Master Ion’s face—so innocent, clueless about something everyone knows. He pulls out a crazy item with weird writing, yet doesn’t know the obvious!”

Zieg’s laughter was solo. Semir glared fiercely at him. Others shot looks of, How dare he touch an aura lord’s head with those dirty hands… or If he acts this cocky and the Revelator leaves, what then?

Unfazed, Zieg slung an arm around Ion’s shoulder and explained.

“That’s a field entry scroll. Toss this orb, smaller than your fist, at the entrance, and it opens for about three seconds. Not enough for a crowd, but plenty for aces like us.”

“…You bought a scroll?” Ion asked.

“What? You knew about scrolls? Then why the wide-eyed, clueless look? Fooled me good.”

As levels rise, the system unlocks new functions, like the “skill shop” on Earth. In Idea, it’s a “scroll shop.” Ion knew scrolls for field entry existed, but…

They don’t appear until level 4. Why now?

“Level 3 now, right?” Ion asked.

“Huh? Yeah,” Zieg replied. “Two months ago, the system announced we hit level 3.”

“Then how’d you get an entry scroll?”

“Hm? You can buy these?” Hains interjected.

Zieg didn’t know, so the question shifted to Hains, who answered readily.

“Commander Killia acquired it. Said it came from a dragon.”

“The dragon who foresaw the Demonkin?” Ion asked.

“Yes. I understand the dragon made it.”

The suspected Breeder.

Did they awaken a scroll-crafting ability post-Cataclysm?

Only meeting them would reveal the truth.

They used the scroll to open the gate. The entry team: Ion, Zieg, and Semir. Hains considered joining, but Semir’s higher stats and friendship with Sarah made him the better choice.

“Ugh, the smell!” Zieg gagged upon entering the field, its sky dyed red. The stench of monster corpses and blood was bad outside, but inside, it was worse.

“Crazy, it’s a poison fog! Don’t breathe!” Zieg shouted, drawing his bow. He pulled the string without an arrow, aiming skyward.

Whoosh—

Wind roared. As a wind-attribute awakener, Zieg could summon anything from a breeze to a tornado. His curly hair swayed; Semir’s hood flew off. Ion shielded Sanse with his robe.

“Dam Ion, I’m gonna fly! Eek!” Baba squeaked.

Ion tucked Baba in too.

Zieg released the string, launching a wind arrow skyward. It peaked, then fell, spawning whirlwinds across the field.

Whoosh…

Minutes later, the red poison fog cleared, revealing a grassy plain. The toxic air and blood stench dissipated, making breathing easier.

“How’s that, Master? Pretty cool, huh?” Zieg boasted.

“Impressive ability,” Ion admitted.

“Yours truly is an aura expert, after all!” Zieg grinned.

His cockiness reminded Ion of Hong Insu and Uiji. Semir, sensing presences with closed eyes, opened them.

“Strange. I sense people nearby.”

“Hm?” Zieg tilted his head, then frowned, detecting the same. “A red field’s as big as a country. Why haven’t they gone further?”

“Something’s definitely wrong. Let’s move,” Semir urged.

Sensing the gravity, the group rushed forward.

The scene defied expectations.

Sarah Harundas’s party was camped, resting. Four ate meat and drank; two sparred with wooden swords. Three were missing.

Spotting Ion’s group, one member called out eagerly.

“You’re here! We can finally leave. I’ll get the commander!”

“…?” The group waited, puzzled.

A tent flap lifted, revealing Sarah Harundas—Protagonist 2. Shaggy red hair, dark eyes with a blue glint, tall and muscular, her tanned skin a testament to grueling training.

“Whoa… scary…” Zieg stepped back.

Sarah, half-elf, was strikingly beautiful but exuded intimidation when expressionless, as the novel described. Yet…

“Semir? Is that you? Wow, so good to see you!” Sarah beamed.

Far from scary or stoic, Sarah wasn’t like the ever-serious, occasionally silly Jin Seongha. She was usually playful, sometimes serious—a bright, cheerful, optimistic figure.

Semir smiled faintly. “Sarah, it’s been a while. Six years?”

“Six years, two months, thirteen days! Those your companions?”

“Yes. We came because you didn’t emerge on time. What happened?”

“I’ll explain, but first, introduce them.”

Semir did. “Master Ion, aura lord of Revelation attribute. Sir Zieg, a decently useful aura expert. Here for the Giant base reclamation.”

Sarah’s navy eyes gleamed as she fixed on Ion.

“You’re Master Ion?”

“Yes, hello, Commander Sarah.”

“Glad to meet you. I didn’t know who we were waiting for, but seeing you, I get it. We were waiting for you!”

She handed Ion something, baffling him. His eyes widened—it was the ring Daon wore before entering Demonkin territory.

Commander Sarah, where are you?

“Where do you think? Just finished sealing a field. Haven’t even wiped the blood off—not mine—and got your call. I’m beat.”

Sorry, but I’ve a worse request. A field appeared in the Black Marsh.

“That swamp near Somind’s border? No one lives there. Even if it unseals, can’t we take it slow?”

I’d say so, but it’s a red field.

“…Damn.”

Your party’s the closest. Can you go now?

“Ugh, fine. If not us, who? We’ll head out.”

Sarah wiped blood—not hers—from her forehead and informed her exhausted party. They wailed about quitting or abandoning aura, but a red field’s unsealing meant catastrophic consequences. They had to move.

We’ll burn out before the Giant base assault, Sarah thought, tongue clicking.

Last February, the “Revelation” foretold the Cataclysm. Preparation minimized damage, and field byproducts resolved mana oversaturation, advancing Idea’s civilization. Sarah once saw fields and the system as divine gifts.

But this year, everything changed with the Giants.

Rumors spread of a powerful monster annihilating even top-tier aura user parties. Killia identified it as “Giants,” sharing defenses like Solminium armor. It allowed survival against Giants, but only just, and it provoked their wrath against Idea.

Sarah recalled her first Giant encounter: immense size, grotesque form, “Ult” destructive beams, and mutable black matter. She thought them gods at first, but they were cruel, petty monsters, demanding excessive tribute and slaughtering the Deand royals for defiance. This united Idea’s nations against them.

Idea entered a quasi-wartime state, planning a total assault on Giant bases. But rising field appearances and unsealing rates delayed it. Sarah, after reclaiming one base, was stuck tackling fields.

The Giants are influencing gate appearances, I’m sure.

Hoping scholars had answers, Sarah’s nine-member party entered the Black Marsh’s red field. Their skill and experience made the clear smooth, finishing in ten days—faster than expected. They began harvesting byproducts before exiting.

Then it happened.

Rumble—

A sinister hum vibrated the air, and from a black void, they emerged.