395. Shinga Guild (4)

[ Is everyone watching Utopia Live right now? ]

Something’s going on… something’s up.

I was watching Im Gaeul especially, since she’s the support and I wanted to see how a support could clear this alone.

She must have let her guard down against the Blue Crabs because she screamed when they grabbed her leg and ganged up on her.

But suddenly, she went back to fighting goblins…

This is like, you can’t get out until you clear it, and you don’t die even if you die… some kind of gate???

– I almost had a heart attack watching it.

ㄴ Seriously, I thought Utopia was going to get cut off here. I was so surprised.

– No!! Utopia, clear it quickly and go destroy Shin Sehee ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– Is it a relief that you don’t die even if you die… or is it doomed because it’s a gate you can’t pass through even if you die…

ㄴ I know… It’s a relief that she doesn’t die, but I don’t know if a support or healer can do this alone.

Those who didn’t know that the Illusion Barrier Trial was created by Rina and Ichika,

could only think of this gate as a dungeon with unique rules.

However, there were things that even they could realize.

– This is a little strange. I’ve watched all of Utopia’s broadcasts without missing one, and the Blue Crab and all those guys seem like enemies from past broadcasts.

ㄴ Wow, that’s why they looked familiar!! So the enemies that Utopia defeated in the past are coming out now?

ㄴ It looks like it…

Even so, they couldn’t be certain because of the

difference in information.

So far, Utopia had shown themselves facing and wiping out various enemies through broadcasts.

But what was exposed on the broadcast was only a small part.

They’d faced far more enemies without ever turning on the broadcast.

This broadcast, though, drove home just how unbelievable the enemies Utopia had been fighting truly were.

– Holy shit… They’ve basically been preventing every catastrophe imaginable;;

– So everything they’ve shown us so far was just the tip of the iceberg lmao

ㄴ I’m seriously reflecting on my past self who always complained that Utopia never streamed, that they were lazy ㅠㅠㅠ Our Yuha was fighting against those kinds of enemies all this time ㅠㅠㅠ

ㄴ ‘A true hero’

ㄴ J. Sehee was probably just slacking off while the others were dealing with all this, right?

– Hey, still, Chunghwa has done a lot for Utopia so far… If you want to criticize, stick to the facts ㅠㅠ

ㄴ You’re a Chunghwa stan, aren’t you?

ㄴ Busted.

– But Jin Yuha is definitely on another level.

ㄴ Yeah, all the bets are off lmao

ㄴ So a new betting pool just opened, guessing who will come in second place after Jin Yuha lol

It was becoming clear that the other party members were struggling, while Jin Yuha was still effortlessly slicing through enemies.

When he drew his sword, heads flew.

No matter how many monsters stood in his way, he moved with a natural, flowing grace, dodging attacks and pushing forward.

And yet, no one was saying that the other party members had been coasting.

The insults like “Jin Yuha’s ankle weight” or “Jin Yuha’s shackles” were gone.

Rather, this broadcast completely erased those ideas.

Jin Yuha was simply too far beyond the norm.

The broadcast made it painfully obvious that Utopia’s other party members were also monsters you couldn’t even dare to approach.

– If the betting’s without Jin Yuha, then isn’t it obviously Kang Dohee?

ㄴ Nah, it’s a close call. Alice’s hits are like artillery strikes, she just slams them down and everything explodes lmao

ㄴ Ichika is a maniac too. In a one-against-many situation, her shadow and Jin Yuha’s shadow just completely wipe them out in seconds lmao

ㄴ The Japanese fans must be seething lmao That kind of talent should’ve been a Japanese hunter, but Jin Yuha seduced her over lmao

ㄴ Surprisingly, Gukbap’s pretty effective too. He gathers enemies with his taunts and then massacres them; his efficiency is insane.

ㄴ Gukbap’s our sturdy rock, that’s for sure lmao

ㄴ What about the Teacher?

ㄴ Well, how do I put it… He’s not flashy like the others, but whenever I check back after watching someone else’s stream, a few more gates have been cleared…?

ㄴ Where does Utopia even find these people ㄷㄷ;;

ㄴ Seems like they hit the jackpot with everyone but Shin Sehee lmao

– A monster collective ㄷㄷㄷ

ㄴ They just need to clear this quickly and take down J. Sehee…

As Utopia’s broadcast ignited both inside and outside their circle,

Shin Sehee was watching Utopia’s broadcast, her red eyes gleaming.

“…Hmph, it was the right choice to broadcast the beginning without editing it.”

Originally, this broadcast was supposed to be carefully edited.

One day in reality was equivalent to ten days in the illusion barrier trial.

That meant that after a week since the party entered the trial, 70 days had passed inside the barrier.

Shin Sehee averted her gaze from the comments, glancing at the sped-up footage of her party members, their actions unfolding ten times faster.

Her Insight Eye was tracking and recording every movement of each member, even at that accelerated pace.

“…Everyone’s faced death at least once now, it seems.”

Jin Yuha: 1 death – (Final Destination: White Blossom)

Kang Dohee: 7 deaths – (Final Destination: Demon Tree)

Alice: 24 deaths – (Final Destination: Divine Peach Blossom)

Baek Seolhee: 1 death – (Final Destination: Demon Tree)

Lee Yuri: 12 deaths – (Final Destination: Giant)

Ichika: 10 deaths – (Final Destination: Giant)

Im Gaeul: 43 deaths – (Final Destination: Fire Dragon)

Sophia: 22 deaths – (Final Destination: Fire Dragon)

Shin Sehee’s attention lingered longest, watching every moment of, Jin Yuha above all others.

In the trials, Jin Yuha had surged ahead early on, facing only a single death. It seemed he would clear the trials the fastest.

But that wasn’t quite the case.

While the other party members were preoccupied with conquering monsters and pressing forward,

Jin Yuha would swiftly clear a gate, then enter the next and, like writing in an error notebook, refine his movements and sword techniques, meditating in a seated posture, cultivating his mana.

As if meticulously chewing and digesting each layer.

His training time was, if anything, longer than the time spent passing through the gates.

Then, upon reaching the White Blossom, Jin Yuha would settle into a seated meditation, only for accumulated sloth to drain his energy and cost him his life in vain.

Even knowing he would be revived, she couldn’t help the lurch in her chest.

Haaah—

Seeing Jin Yuha rise again in the Goblin Forest, looking bewildered, Shin Sehee breathed a sigh of relief.

“…Idiot.”

She wanted Jin Yuha to emerge as quickly as possible,

But she knew this was a necessary process and firmly suppressed the surge of emotion.

“I’ll have to cut out the training time, and reduce the repeated deaths of the party members to about a tenth in the video editing.”

Constantly showing the demise of Utopia wouldn’t be good.

If her plan was to succeed,

The Shinga Guild had to be a thorough ‘evil,’ mercilessly pushing forward.

And Utopia had to become a powerful ‘good,’ capable of punishing that Shinga Guild.

Only then would the Hunters look to Utopia, patiently waiting for the day they could join.

“Still, the Illusion Barrier Trials are truly something…”

The party members’ skills are visibly improving by leaps and bounds.

At first, they seemed awkward, feeling the absence of the one giving orders and the other party members.

But gradually, growing accustomed to not being able to ask for help, they began to devise their own methods.

And, paradoxically, the party member who made the most significant progress was Im Gaeul, who had died the most.

‘…I really didn’t expect her to use that method.’

Her mana threads were effective against smaller monsters, but useless against larger ones.

She had thought that she might be left behind, unable to pass through…

Her abilities, “Accelerate” and “Decelerate,” proved surprisingly effective at sowing discord amongst the enemy, especially when used on those not in the party.

Riding the mana weave into the heart of the enemy lines, she would momentarily decelerate attacks aimed at her, slipping out of harm’s way.

Then, accelerating one monster’s strength, she’d force it to attack another.

Shin Sehee was genuinely impressed at how they were resolving their lack of offensive power in such a manner.

– Hiyaaat!!!

Even now, she charged towards the Fire Dragon, dragging him out of the cave,

Accelerating the entire area around them, she unleashed a blizzard like some kind of mage.

Of course, the Fire Dragon, brimming with scorching fire, wasn’t exactly suffering great damage from such a snowstorm.

But, like a steady drizzle soaking through clothes, the damage was accumulating.

– Hrrr, Fire Dragon. You’ll be finished soon enough!!!

“Once they’re out, there won’t be any real match for them.”

The final Demon Gate.

Though no one knew when it would break open,

Watching the growth of her party members, she felt her worries begin to dissipate.

“Well then, I suppose I should start acting in earnest as well.”

To accelerate the clearing of the Gate, Shin Sehee summoned dozens of screens before her.

“Shin Ga Guild, all personnel. I will be directing you from this point forward.”