novelraw Chapter 119 : Chapter 119
Chapter 119 : Chapter 119
Chapter 119: Passive
‘Is he seriously out of his mind?’
I'm dumbfounded.
Every time Lee Junhyeok’s sword flashed, guardians’ heads fell off one after another.
With a decent platoon-sized force right before his eyes, he didn’t hesitate even a bit.
I thought he was crazy when he declared war.
But what was truly insane was the expression Lee Junhyeok was showing.
‘He’s openly enjoying it.’
With corners of his mouth showing no sign of coming down and eyes scanning the surroundings thoroughly.
He was delighted by the fact that enemies he could fight were endless.
[Lee Junhyeok]
[Euphoria, Happiness, Curiosity]
Inside, he’s probably cheering, wondering if there could be such a wonderful training opportunity.
While feeling like he came to an infinite refill buffet.
Lee Junhyeok was literally a training maniac, a guy crazy about cultivation.
A guy who spares no effort to reach higher ground.
But why did that button have to be pressed right now?
‘He probably doesn’t know my identity, but if it goes on like this, he’ll attack even me.’
What should I do?
Before the contemplation could even pass, I moved my body first.
‘Let’s retreat for now.’
Anyway, Lee Junhyeok is immersed in battle.
So it probably wouldn't matter much if just one of me slipped away.
That’s what I thought.
SWISH-!
Until Lee Junhyeok moved behind me in an instant and cut the throat of the guardian right next to me.
‘Huh?’
It was an instant.
The body fluid of the beheaded guardian scattered in the air.
At the same time, Lee Junhyeok raised his head.
His gaze fixed on me.
‘No way.’
Am I marked?
That bastard is openly looking at me right now.
Plus, he even bothered to approach my side and cut another entity instead of me.
It looked exactly like saving the most cherished flavor for last.
‘Why on earth?’
It seems Lee Junhyeok has fixated on my side.
I don’t know the reason. I was just quietly thinking about slipping away from the back.
While I was frozen for a moment, his sword flashed again.
CRACK- SLASH-!
Dull sounds like wet wood splitting echoed from everywhere.
What unfolded before my eyes was a scene of slaughter.
Countless guardians were cut, broken, and turned into liquid.
All their bodies melted and seeped into the ground, and the floor squirmed bizarrely.
Like that, even the last guardian’s head flew off.
Only I was left standing.
Silence settled for a brief moment.
It happened literally in an instant.
Shaking off the fluid on his sword, Lee Junhyeok turned his gaze toward me.
“Phew, is this the last one?”
Wiping sweat from his forehead with his arm, Lee Junhyeok opened his mouth.
“You seem a bit special. Other guys rush in without measuring front or back, but you alone are cautious.”
An evaluation given as if he found it interesting.
Ah, was it because of that?
My bewilderment half evaporated.
So in the end, it meant Lee Junhyeok’s interest was drawn conversely because of the ‘human-like’ reaction I showed.
‘Damn it…….’
I looked around.
The guardian comrades I was with just until now had all become ‘were comrades.’
The problem is that my situation has completely floated in the air now.
The original plan was to follow the guardians returning after dealing with the intruder and head to the destination, the ‘Sanctuary.’
Because I have to go there to get the item I want.
But a snag occurred in that plan now.
‘Because Lee Junhyeok eliminated all the guardians, the targets to follow disappeared too.’
Literally, ridiculous bad luck occurred.
On top of that, there is Lee Junhyeok trying to kill me right in front of my eyes.
Mountains beyond mountains, hopelessness surged.
Should I run for now?
No, can I run?
If Lee Junhyeok chases openly, the option of running was out for now.
Gazes were exchanged in silence for a while.
“I thought all guardians were belligerent.”
Lee Junhyeok opened his mouth.
He approached slowly with his sword aimed.
“Is there a mutant individual?”
Eyes scanning me as if analyzing.
Since he’s a guy who has already cut down numerous guardians, my existence right now would feel unexpected.
Probably all guardians he dealt with rushed in immediately without measuring front or back.
It was certainly understandable.
[Will of the Guardian: Detects ‘intruders’ who have violated the domain and eliminates them.]
The system guardians possess itself is comprised like that.
They are programmed to harbor hostility towards intruders in the first place.
Even inside me right now, the impulse to eliminate Lee Junhyeok was constantly rising.
It’s just that I possessed the reason to suppress that impulse.
‘But other guys rushed at Lee Junhyeok according to this passive and got annihilated.’
As a result, I lost all my guides.
I needed a new strategy.
A strategy to reach the destination.
‘Is there, anything?’
It was when I was agonizing while chewing over the disparate sensation of the current state of being a guardian.
‘There is, one.’
One calculation flashed in my mind.
Facing Lee Junhyeok, I slowly backed away.
Then, as if he had no intention of letting me go, he closed the distance just like that.
“You aren’t running away, are you? An existence called a guardian.”
A light provocation.
To state my thoughts, I don’t think running away is shameful.
I believe it is a strategically excellent choice.
As the human ‘Ryu Jinwoo,’ that is.
But the me in mimicry state was a bit different.
The impulse as a guardian was clamoring not to run away but to fight against the enemy.
And right now, there was no reason not to follow that impulse.
I carefully maintained distance from Lee Junhyeok and put strength into my grip.
The hard texture of the wooden spear was conveyed.
WHEEEE-
As I emitted the guardian’s unique whistle, Lee Junhyeok grinned.
“Right, that’s how you should be.”
He was completely excited at the thought of fighting.
Did you abandon the exam right now?
It’s sudden to say this again, but he’s really not in his right mind either.
The moment combat stance was taken, the fight began.
SWISH-!
Lee Junhyeok dug into the right side and slashed his sword towards the neck.
A fierce horizontal cut, I leaned back sharply and dodged it.
The tip of my nose made of wood was slightly cut off.
Lee Junhyeok immediately spun around once and continued the momentum.
The blade that soared into the air struck down in a straight line.
The blade cut through the fog and fell above my head.
I twisted my body as if grazing past to escape the trajectory and thrust the spear forward without delay.
The wooden spear rushing towards Lee Junhyeok’s abdomen.
THWACK-!
He grabbed the spear just like that and snapped it—CRACK.
‘…….’
He is definitely strong.
On one hand, I felt the sensation of fighting in mimicry state for the first time.
‘Evasion Instinct activates.’
It seems existing passives are valid even in mimicry state.
However, active skills including swordsmanship didn’t seem to activate.
“Your body is quick, but your attacks are clumsy. Are you hesitating?”
Lee Junhyeok seemed to grasp my state immediately.
Meanwhile, the broken spear was regenerated soon.
To be precise, tree branches extending from my hand like vines gathered at the end of the spear shaft and molded a spear blade.
The sensation of wood flowing over skin was a kind I had never felt until now.
A completely different feeling from when in a human body.
‘Body is light.’
Fibrous materials entangled instead of muscles created elasticity.
Empty spaces throughout the inside of the body allowed air to swirl and produce energy.
Connective parts with vine texture that took the place of joints enabled smoother movements.
Feeling new sensations fully, it was that moment when I gripped the spear again.
SWISH-!
Lee Junhyeok’s sword tip digging in pinpoint right before my eyes.
I deflected that with a minutely shifted center axis.
My whole body slid back and naturally rotated in the opposite direction.
“Surprising?”
Lee Junhyeok’s eyes widened large.
“That reaction just now, is at a ridiculous level.”
I swung the spear instead of answering.
At the same time, I thought.
‘Actually, there isn’t really a need to fight this hard though.’
A new plan was set.
It’s not like I want to win against Lee Junhyeok, and there is even less need to see the end here.
But this moment was strangely addictive.
The collision transmitted as if the body would break.
The chill created as the blade brushed past.
Fragments flying as tree bark was scraped off.
When dodging the enemy’s attack by a hair’s breadth.
And when my spear tip cut the air and clashed momentum with the opponent.
All of it was enjoyable.
Is it because of the guardian’s emotions?
Or was I of this inclination from the start?
I couldn't clearly distinguish it myself.
One thing was clear.
I was enjoying the battle right now.
Fierce offense and defense were exchanged several times.
Every time sword and spear crossed, short bursts of impact sound dug into the fog.
And finally, the last bout arrived.
WOOSH-!
My spear tip aimed precisely at Lee Junhyeok’s glabella.
A sharp strike extending in a straight line.
Lee Junhyeok’s pupils shook.
“……Why didn’t you thrust until the end?”
Lee Junhyeok mumbled while staring at me.
At that moment his words ended.
CRACK-!
My abdomen began to split.
That moment I stopped the spear.
Lee Junhyeok’s sword, not missing that opening, accurately cut my belly.
Wood grain tore roughly, scattering body fluid and fragments in all directions.
Lee Junhyeok took a step back and said to me.
“You could have stabbed until the end, but to stop.”
He, who was questioning while touching his chin, soon opened his mouth as if realizing.
“Wait, surely you wanted to fight more too?”
Lee Junhyeok shouted as if excited.
He picked up the wooden spear and handed it to me.
“Because you revive. And you will come find me again. Like other guardians!”
It’s fun, his sparkling eyes and excited voice were openly showing his emotions.
To the point where there was no need to check with the Eye of Deception.
And Lee Junhyeok’s words were close to the correct answer.
Guardians destroyed to a level incapable of operation are absorbed into the core and recovered.
And they visit the intruder again.
Strictly speaking, it’s different from resurrection.
Because they are retrieved right before death and regenerated.
Anyway, if broken, one goes to the Sanctuary.
That was the core.
DING-!
[Reconstruction: If destroyed by an intruder, returns to the sanctuary to reconstruct the body.]
A hot sensation was felt in my chest, and my body slowly melted.
A bizarre sensation, like scattering grains of sand.
A state of neither having a body nor not having one.
Is this what it feels like to turn into liquid? It was fascinating.
“Right here in this spot, I will be waiting! Let’s cross swords again and again!”
Looking at me whose body was melting, Lee Junhyeok shouted.
‘As if.’
Sorry, but I’m done with my business.
Rather, it was strange that I was immersed in battle for a moment.
Getting sliced refreshingly by your hand once was the original plan in the first place, is what I’m saying.
Slowly, the liquefied body began to seep into the ground.
Should I say it feels like riding a water slide with my body split into dozens, hundreds of pieces?
No, honestly there is no way to express it.
How can I express the feeling of the body turning into liquid, entering the ground, and moving straight towards one place?
My vision shook crazily and constant ringing was heard.
Like that, how much time passed?
SPLASH-!
In an instant, I was underwater.
And inside that water, my body began to be reconstructed.
‘……It’s being put together.’
Some invisible hand was touching me, who was disassembled into particles.
It seemed like a divine being was picking up fragments called ‘me’ one by one and putting them back together.
Body being formed one by one, overlapping and layering.
That process was so exquisite that awe beyond goosebumps arose.
Instinctively, such a thought occurred.
That in this space called Hallasan, a place reached by the mountain’s power, I don’t need to worry about anything.
Indulging in that cozy feeling was only for a moment.
THUD-!
With the sound of a shell bursting, my body fell downward.
Touching the ground, I stumbled and raised my body.
My body was still wood.
Just as the state mimicking a guardian.
When I raised my head, a new landscape unfolded before my eyes.
A mysterious space where giant trees soared innumerably.
‘……This place is.’
The heart of Hallasan where guardians are reborn, the Sanctuary.
I had arrived at the desired place in the blink of an eye.