I'll Retire After Saving the World-Chapter 130: In the Darkness (2)

TL: SHW

2 p.m.

It is far too early for darkness to come.

The darkness came slowly like twilight creeping in, but when I suddenly came to my senses, my entire body was already submerged.

The moment I saw the darkness covering my ankles, instinct moved before reason. I grabbed Han Eun-young’s wrist, who was in front of me. It would be a big problem if she got lost in the darkness and separated.

“T-teacher?”

“Shh.”

I sharpened my senses. Thick darkness that made it impossible to see ahead. Not a single trace of mana could be seen.

No, it wasn’t just mana. Even though my eyes were open, it was as if they were closed. Nothing was visible. Only darkness. There was only darkness.

An attack? Is this an attack? Who would dare launch an attack while Hong Seok-young is here?

Thinking the other way around, maybe they let their guard down because Hong Seok-young was here. Even Hong Seok-young was taken without reacting at all... or maybe, this isn’t an attack.

Sudden darkness. Darkness so thick you can’t see an inch ahead. Where did this darkness begin? Outside? No.

Inside.

It started inside the house.

More precisely, beneath our feet. Shadow.

Yes. Shadow.

Isn’t there a mage in this building who uses shadows? What was Park Seo-hyun’s shadow magic like again? Park Seo-hyun’s magic feels more unpleasant than this, sticky, dragging you downward endlessly.

However, the shadow enveloping us now isn’t that grim. It sways lightly, carefully, and slowly, like floating on water.

Still, the mana at the center of those waves is familiar to me. It’s not from a foreign intruder.

A satisfied smile appeared on my lips. I realized what this shadow meant.

Park Seo-hyun has finally awakened her magic. The surging shadow is Park Seo-hyun’s mana itself. Park Seo-hyun, the Archmage of Shadows!

Mana that failed to be controlled has manifested in reality. Of course, this is not a normal occurrence and is extremely dangerous. But there are many veteran Hunters here. There’s Hong Seok-young, and several Hunters from Daseon. Even the Archmage Kim Chae-min is here. Things will settle down soon even without me stepping in.

Rather than a Hunter like me or Hong Seok-young, it would help Park Seo-hyun more if another mage like Kim Chae-min handles this. From what I’ve seen of Kim Chae-min, she’s not the type to ignore the rampage of a young mage.

“…!”

At the edge of my heightened senses, I faintly caught a familiar mana wave. It was from Hong Seok-young.

He’s releasing his mana aggressively, which he would normally keep suppressed. Even in these collapsing shadows, the fierce energy makes its presence known brilliantly. He’s doing this deliberately to reveal his location. Though the wave is rough, it’s not hostile. That proves that this situation isn’t due to an enemy attack, but because of Park Seo-hyun’s mana.

“Teacher….”

While I was assessing the situation, Han Eun-young finally couldn’t hold it in and opened her mouth. Her trembling voice made me realize my mistake.

Only experienced Hunters can immediately grasp what’s going on. Expecting the same from students is unrealistic.

“It’s okay.”

I gently reassured Han Eun-young.

“Teacher!!”

Half-crying, Han Eun-young clung to me.

I could hear her voice and feel her hands gripping my arm tightly, but I couldn’t see her face.

...Was Park Seo-hyun’s magic like this? I would have known if I’d experienced it. Park Seo-hyun usually didn’t use her magic on people unless necessary.

This is darkness where you can’t see even with your eyes wide open. You can hear sounds, but if Han Eun-young, who looks on the verge of panic, loses hold of me, I don’t know if she’d be able to call out properly. And what if she lets go of my arm and can’t find me again?

Leaving Han Eun-young clinging to me like a lifeline for a moment, I shuffled my foot around. There was a table here originally.

“…Hmm.”

It’s gone now.

Has the space completely shifted?

“Teacherrr… is it really okay? W-what is this?!”

Should I just wait for Kim Chae-min?

“T-this, t-this, are we, like, is this, d-don’t tell me it’s a Dungeon Break…!”

If Kim Chae-min calms Park Seo-hyun and resolves the situation, there will be no problem. This space, whether it’s shadow or darkness, doesn’t show any sign of attacking people.

But… I kicked the spot where the table should’ve been. If the space has been twisted from within, that’s a problem. It was fortunate I grabbed Han Eun-young the moment I realized. If we had gotten separated, I might not be in the same space as her.

“Han Eun-young.”

“W-what if it’s a D-d-dungeon B-break? Wh-what do we do…?”

Her voice trembled so badly it was hard to understand. Toward the end, it even sounded a little wet.

…Is she crying?

I’m not so strict as to tell someone to stay calm in a situation like this. It’s understandable to panic if you haven’t been trained. That’s why she’s a student.

Still, I wish she wouldn’t cry. Get full chapters from Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Sniff…

Han Eun-young sniffled.

Did they take turns promising to cry in front of me?

It was ridiculous, but I couldn’t show it.

“Han Eun-young.”

“If it’s a break, or, o-or maybe, like, a t-terror attack or something…”

“Han Eun-young!”

I gripped her hand tightly. So tightly it probably hurt, and she reacted a beat later.

“…Yes. Yes, yes. Yes?”

“You can hear my voice, right?”

“Yes? Yes, u-uh, yes. I can hear you.”

“Follow my voice. Take a deep breath in and out.”

Han Eun-young, who had been panting short breaths, began to inhale and exhale in sync with my pace. I continued slowly.

“Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. One more time. Inhale, exhale.”

After repeating it five or six times, Han Eun-young’s breathing fully calmed.

“Are you calm now?”

Sniff…

She didn’t answer, but her body wasn’t trembling anymore.

“I can’t be sure, but this is probably a mana outburst.”

“Mana… outburst?”

If it had been bright, I might’ve seen Han Eun-young blinking blankly.

“I get that it’s scary when it suddenly goes dark. But do you think I’d let you get hurt?”

“…No.”

“Right. So calm down.”

“…Yes.”

There was still a bit of sniffling, but she didn’t seem like she’d panic again.

“Just in case, keep holding on to me.”

I said it in case anything happened.

“If you get separated, don’t panic and just wait. Until I or Teacher Kim resolve it. Got it?”

“Yes…”

“Repeat what I just told you.”

“K-keep holding on to you, and even if I get separated, d-don’t panic…”

“Don’t panic and?”

“Wait for you or teacher Chae-min…”

“Good. Well done.”

And, well.

Those words didn’t only apply to Han Eun-young. With a student clinging to me like a goldfish following its parent, and no proper weapon, even I would have a hard time getting out of here. I’m not saying I can’t do it, but it would be difficult. Even though this is merely a mana outburst, not something that could be called a unique magic.

Moreover, if I forcibly break through, it will harm Park Seo-hyun too. So, the best choice is indeed to wait peacefully for Kim Chae-min.

I wasn’t worried about the Hunters like Hong Seok-young or Kim Chae-min.

The real issue wasn’t those adult Hunters but the kids. The kids who hadn’t received any training for emergency situations like this.

And Mini-me.

“……”

I recalled the Park Seo-hyun I knew from the distant future.

Park Seo-hyun didn’t work often with the Agency like Oh Hyun-wook did. It was mostly because she was active overseas. When she occasionally returned to Korea, she would get asked to handle troublesome dungeons, but those were usually assigned to Yoo Ji-eun. Or Oh Hyun-wook would quietly tag along.

Still, I had once seen Park Seo-hyun’s unique magic up close.

‘Hee.’

With a short laugh, a swamp formed beneath Park Seo-hyun’s feet. A swamp of shadow, sticky like tar, dripping heavily.

The shadow swamp never lets go of its prey. The bottomless swamp suffocates its target. When you reach the lightless bottom...

‘You’ll have an interesting experience.’

Between messy strands of hair, her oddly gleaming eyes shone. Muttering like that, Park Seo-hyun let out a metallic laugh, as if something was hilariously funny.

Park Seo-hyun’s magic, which did not distinguish between friend or foe, made even seasoned Hunters reluctant to work with her. But since Park Seo-hyun herself disliked working with others, it had never been much of an issue.

And fortunately or unfortunately, Park Seo-hyun had a very clear elemental weakness. As long as one avoided light, there weren’t many things that could hurt her. In the first place, there were hardly any monsters that used light.

Right. Light.

My hand twitched. If I had Yoo Ji-eun’s sword, I could adjust the firepower just enough to send Han Eun-young out safely and go find the others.

Would Hong Seok-young give me a subspace if I asked? I’m the only guild member, right? He should at least offer me that much in benefits.

“Han Eun-young?”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you know where the others were and what they were doing?”

“O-others?”

Han Eun-young repeated my words in a dazed voice.

She still seemed a bit out of it.

Lee Mi-seon wasn’t at the villa due to the forum. I vaguely remembered seeing Sun Sun-jin and Seo Han-seong confronting Hong Seok-young in the garden. If they hadn’t given up halfway through, at least those two should be with Hong Seok-young.

The rest… I don’t know.

“Uh… Sun-jin and Seo Han-seong were in the garden with the principal teacher.”

Good.

“Lee Seung-yeon… said he was hungry. But I don’t know who he was with.”

“What about the other kids?”

“Teacher Chae-min was with Seo-hyun and Jin-woo… that, um, magic training, that one.”

“Teacher Kim still hasn’t given up?”

“She’s an Archmage. It’s a good opportunity for those two…”

“So Teacher Kim is with Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo?”

“Probably…?”

Han Eun-young answered faintly, unsure.

Still, if there was even a chance the three were together, that was good enough. That meant Kim Chae-min might be able to act a little faster.

“What about the rest? Do you know?”

“I-I’m not sure…”

Where was Mini-me? After feeding him lunch, he had disappeared somewhere with that tablet PC.

Since coming back from the theater, for some reason, he’s been watching that cat animation more obsessively. Why? The movie I showed him had dogs, lots of them, it was a kids' animation full of puppies.

“……”

Thinking about Mini-me and the other kids who might be alone made me realize I couldn’t just sit here waiting.

Even Han Eun-young, who always seemed mature among the kids, had panicked. And that was with me right by her side.

There’s no way the kids know what’s going on. If they panic like Han Eun-young did, they could be in danger.

Park Seo-hyun’s awakening is important, but that doesn’t mean I can let the other kids be at risk. Unless Kim Chae-min resolves it immediately...

“Hmm.”

The darkness remained the same.

It’d be better to force our way out. Judging by the presence of Hong Seok-young’s mana waves, we weren’t completely cut off, so if I just tear it apart with enough strength...

“Oh my, found you!”

At that moment, a bright voice cut through the darkness.

“Hey, kid. I found the sunbae. Try relaxing your grip a bit, yeah? I’m seriously having trouble breathing here. I mean, how is a kid this strong? Did you Awaken or something?”

“Oppa?”

Han Eun-young called out to the voice’s owner.

“Huh? Han Eun-young? What- were you crying?”

“I wasn’t crying!”

The voice was getting closer and closer in the darkness.

Light, noisy voice. Han Eun-young tried to dart forward but stopped when I didn’t move my arm. It was touching how well she remembered not to let go of me.

“Your face says you cried. Did you cry ‘cause you were scared?”

“I said I didn’t cry!”

"You cried though. I can tell just by looking."

Did he just say he could see right now?

***

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