Chapter 58: Ruah’s Gambit

“Damn it, damn it, damn it…”

Ruah muttered, hidden behind the statue.

The moment she spotted Hunter Kim Jiyeon inside, Juju had rushed in before Ruah could stop her.

It must have been a devastating shock for Juju to see her admired role model, Kim Jiyeon, colluding with monsters, collecting eliminated participants, and extracting their mana.

It must have shaken her to her core.

Kim Jiyeon was the reason Juju became a Hunter, the person she aspired to be.

‘I understand. I understand, but… couldn’t you have waited a little longer…?’ Ruah thought.

Juju had achieved her goal of confronting Kim Jiyeon, but she had been captured without a fight.

They hadn’t killed her, but they had taken her to where the other eliminated participants were held, likely to extract her mana as well.

‘One, two, three….’

Ruah carefully counted the number of people lying on the ground. Including Hwayeon and Emma, who were captured last, and Juju, who had just been added, there were exactly 99 people.

“So I’m the only one left…!”

If that massive Bone Dragon was revived, it would be the end. There was no way the monsters would let anyone survive after achieving their goal.

Ruah had to do something, and she had to do it alone.

“Now, now, return to your places! Disruptions are not permitted during the sacred ritual!”

The Lizardman Shaman’s bellow quickly quelled the commotion Juju had caused. The ritual resumed, and the skill orb, carried in procession, was placed on the altar. The revival was imminent.

‘What should I do? What can I do?’

Panicked, Ruah racked her brain, but no viable solution came to mind.

She tried rubbing her bound arms against the wall and statues, hoping to loosen the restraints, but the tape was too tightly wound.

“Argh! Come on!”

Finally giving up, Ruah slumped to the ground, catching her breath as she observed the cavern.

Now that the situation had escalated to this point, a strange sense of calm began to settle over her.

‘I need to intercept the skill orb first.’ Ruah thought.

If she had that, she could stop the Bone Dragon’s revival and give Juju a new skill. A wide-range skill could turn the tide.

But the problem was that the orb, the focus of all the Lizardmen’s attention, needed to be snatched by Ruah, who couldn’t use her arms, and delivered to Juju, who was trapped among the eliminated participants.

Mission impossible.

It was out of the question.

‘I need someone to create a diversion…!’

<…Hello?>

A voice echoed in her mind.

“……?”

<Can you hear me? Instructor Han Ruah?>

It was Hwayeon. Shin Hwayeon, who should be lying unconscious among the eliminated participants.

“H-How?”

<Well, I was trying to keep it a secret, but things have turned out like this. Ugh, disgusting. Why Lizardmen, of all things?>

“No, tell me more. How are you talking to me?”

The voice echoed in Ruah’s mind, without any discernible direction. She checked on Hwayeon, but she was still lying motionless, as if dead.

<It’s a skill, of course. I couldn’t speak because my mouth was sealed, so I used this to communicate with Emma since the beginning of the camp. You didn’t know, did you?>

Ruah finally understood, nodding in realization. Hwayeon, unable to speak, had resorted to this method.

‘No wonder Emma and Hwayeon were communicating so well.’ Ruah thought.

<I’ve already exceeded the number of times I can use the skill, but I thought I could get away with it. But I guess there’s no point in hiding it anymore in this situation.>

“…Yes, it’s an emergency.”

<I was so surprised when we were attacked earlier. Fortunately, thanks to my passive skill, I avoided being knocked unconscious. I’m pretending to be unconscious now, but my mana is being drained.>

Even in that situation, Hwayeon had acted professionally. If her mouth hadn’t been sealed, she could have wiped them out with her attack skills, which was a shame.

<What should we do now? Even Juju is captured next to me.>

“She’s not unconscious?”

<They just tied her up tightly with ropes. Judging by her state… they probably think she won’t resist anymore.>

“Her state?”

Ruah cautiously peeked out from behind the statue again.

She saw Juju lying next to Hwayeon, who was pretending to be unconscious, in the middle of the rows of captured participants.

Juju was crying.

“…….”

Her lips were trembling, and her face was contorted in pain. Tears streamed down her face, pooling on the ground beside her.

―My faith in her is like a root deep within my heart.

―If I deny that, I feel like I’ll be shaken to my core… I might not know how to live anymore.

“Oh…”

Ruah remembered Juju’s shy demeanor.

The Hunter Kim Jiyeon, whom Juju trusted so deeply, was colluding with monsters, collecting eliminated participants, extracting their mana, and attempting to revive a monster. And this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment betrayal. Judging by the scale of this ritual, it was highly likely that the scholarship selection camp itself was just a pretext for the ritual.

‘Kim Jiyeon, you.’

Ruah gritted her teeth, looking back and forth between Kim Jiyeon, standing in the distance, and Juju, who was crying.

The reason didn’t matter. She wasn’t even curious.

The important thing was that Kim Jiyeon had betrayed Juju’s trust.

“…Instructor Shin Hwayeon.”

<Yes?>

“Can I talk to Juju?”

<I’ll try.>

From afar, Ruah saw Hwayeon discreetly grab Juju’s arm, avoiding the Lizardmen’s gaze. It was to establish a connection for their telepathic communication.

Soon, Juju’s voice echoed in Ruah’s mind.

<…Teacher. I’m sorry. For rushing in like that.>

Even while sniffling, Juju apologized first.

“No, I understand why you did it.”

<Ugh… it’s strange. I don’t understand… why Hunter Kim Jiyeon is doing this… stealing the participants’ mana and bringing in Lizardmen… I just don’t understand.>

Despite trying to suppress it, Juju’s voice was filled with anguish.

“Juju, listen carefully. We can’t just stay here and do nothing. When the magic circle is full, the Bone Dragon will awaken. Then we won’t have any way to escape.”

<…….>

“I know it’s painful, but I’ll find a way. Trust me and help me.”

However, Juju’s response was negative.

<…No.>

“What?”

<I’ve been fighting… with the goal of becoming like Hunter Kim Jiyeon. But… but now everything has crumbled… I don’t know… how I’m supposed to fight anymore.>

“Oh…”

<I’m sorry to say this, teacher—but now… I’m afraid… to trust anyone.>

Ruah bit her lip. Juju’s emotional wounds were deeper than she thought. The shock had caused her to close herself off, even from Ruah.

But if Ruah couldn’t open that closed door now, they had no chance.

“I’ll prove it.”

<P-Prove it?>

Steeling her resolve, Ruah spoke.

“I’m not like Hunter Kim Jiyeon. I’ll prove that your faith wasn’t misplaced.”

<…….>

“Listen carefully. I’m going to run through those Lizardmen, grab the orb that acts as the Bone Dragon’s core, and bring it back. With my arms tied and my stamina depleted from the heat. Sounds absurd, right? You can be honest.”

<Th-That’s… true.>

“You probably think I’ll die, right? Falling into the lava, getting stabbed by a Lizardman’s spear, or even just tripping and falling.”

<It’s definitely dangerous…>

“But I’ll survive and succeed.”

<How?>

“I can’t tell you. But trust me. Just like you always have, one last time. Then I’ll prove that I’m not wrong, that the trust you placed in me wasn’t misplaced.”

<Wh-What are you planning to do?>

“You don’t have to do anything. Just open your mouth when I get there.”

<……?>

“Instructor Hwayeon.”

Juju’s voice faded, and Hwayeon’s voice returned.

<Yes. I heard most of that… but what exactly are you planning?>

“Instructor, how much mana do you have left?”

<It’s been drained quite a bit… but I can still use a few skills. Of course, if I fight all the Lizardmen, I’ll run out quickly.>

“How quickly?”

<Um… about a minute?>

“Can you stretch it to three minutes?”

<No, mana isn’t elastic…>

“It’s an emergency. Create a diversion.”

Ruah’s eyes sharpened. Not the eyes of a school nurse, but the eyes of a gamer.

“On the count of three, jump up and unleash your skills as flamboyantly as possible.”

<B-But there are so many Lizardmen…>

“Unseal your mouth first.”

<Ugh.>

Hwayeon glanced at the nearby Lizardmen and quickly removed the restraint from her mouth while they weren’t looking.

“Okay, one, two…”

<If I die, it’s all your fault, Ruah!>

“Three!”

Lizardman Shaman ‘Nick’ stood before the altar, observing with satisfaction. Everything was proceeding smoothly.

―Thump, thump.

“The magic circle is almost full.”

Thanks to the high-quality mana vessels Kim Jiyeon provided, the mana was charging faster than Nick had anticipated. Only about 10% remained.

It was time to proceed to the next stage.

Nick carefully raised his staff and began chanting an ancient incantation.

“Ancient one… born from fire, returned to earth…”

As he chanted, the mana within the magic circle transformed into a rising vapor. The gaseous mana converged on the core placed on the altar before him.

This was an essential step, converting the vast amount of mana gathered in the magic circle into life force for their ancestor.

—Hiss!

The orb absorbed the mana with terrifying speed, its radiance intensifying.

“Just a little more… just a little more… and our great ancestor will awaken…”

It was the moment he had been dreaming of since being stranded on this island ten years ago.

For this, he had cultivated Inyong Weed for Kim Jiyeon and her group, and adopted human tools like cell phones. If they had revealed the presence of monsters on the island to other humans, his tribe would have been annihilated.

‘These days of humiliation are finally over.’ Nick thought.

Once their ancestor was revived, Kim Jiyeon would be useless. After escaping the island and establishing themselves on the mainland, Nick’s tribe planned to launch a full-scale attack on humanity. And for that, they needed to eliminate Kim Jiyeon and her so-called guild.

—That’s what Nick was thinking as he gazed at the orb.

“[Hyper Explosion]!”

—Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion rocked the cavern. The explosion hit the Lizardmen warriors participating in the ritual head-on, scattering their remains.

“……!”

Nick’s vertically slitted pupils narrowed, focusing on the source of the explosion.

“You thought we were all dead?! You lizard
!”

It was a woman, standing among the mana vessels. Somehow, she had avoided having her consciousness completely suppressed.

Another interruption to the ritual. Unacceptable.

“Kill her.”

Nick pointed his staff at her, and warriors armed with halberds and spears charged forward.

“[Hyper Explosion]! [Lightning Storm]!”

Skills erupted in the air, and the cavern descended into chaos.

“Catch her quickly! What are you doing?! The ritual is being disrupted!”

Nick roared, waving his staff. But capturing Hwayeon, who dodged and weaved while unleashing ranged attacks, was proving difficult.

“Useless fools…!”

The Shaman muttered, then turned his attention back to the altar. It was chaotic, but as long as their ancestor was revived, the ritual’s purpose would be fulfilled. He just needed to confirm that the core was absorbing the mana properly.

“…?!”

Nick’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The orb on the altar had vanished.

—Thud.

Instead, there was only a small figure leaping down from the altar.