The Main Characters That Only I Know - C.341:

Bang!

With the noise of a bullet tearing through the air, the leader in front extended his right arm.

His forearm twitched, and soon a brilliant light flowed out, forming a golden shield that covered his entire body.

Yoo Young-min's bullet couldn't penetrate the shield.

The leader frowned at the heavy impact running down his arm.

“The sound is close! He's not far away!”

“We're going in the right direction!”

Despite losing one team member in the initial ambush, the four remaining mercenaries hadn't allowed a single hit since then.

They knew the opponent was skilled enough to snipe from long distances, but dealing with a gun, not a bow, gave them plenty of countermeasures.

Unlike a bow, a gun cannot make curved attacks. Compared to a bow, which can shoot in an arc, it was easier to locate the shooter.

Moreover, the biggest drawback of a sniper is vulnerability in close combat.

If they could just close the distance, victory would be theirs.

The leader, blocking additional bullets, smiled grimly.

‘Foolish guy! Does he intend to stay in his position until the end?’

When a sniper's position is exposed, it's critical to relocate immediately. This is a basic rule all snipers must memorize.

However, despite their approach, the opponent remained in place, continuing to fire.

At first, they moved cautiously, suspecting traps along the way, but when they found no sign of traps, their thinking changed.

If there were allies guarding nearby, they would have blocked the path before they reached them.

The fact that they hadn't encountered any obstacles meant there were no allies either.

‘He hit us from that distance but stays put? No traps along the way, and lacking basic tactical thought means he’s a brat relying solely on talent.’

There are sometimes those with such incredible talent that they neglect the basics and rely solely on their abilities.

Geniuses who haven't solidified their basics are not true geniuses. They’re just pups who think they're geniuses, relying on one small talent.

Perhaps that initial sharp attack was just a coincidence. Losing a team member to such a rookie was painful, but the increase in the individual share of the gold made it not all bad.

“We're there!”

Finally, they got close enough to hear the gunshots up close.

“What?”

The leader saw the sniper rifle lying in the bushes and felt his mind freeze in real time.

The gun was there. The trigger was still being pulled and fired. But the sniper was nowhere to be seen.

It wasn't that he was hiding. He simply wasn't there.

The gun was shooting on its own.

‘A trap!’

Before the leader could shout this to his subordinates, the sky above them flashed brightly.

“Take cover!”

The leader shouted as he raised the golden shield toward the sky.

Simultaneously, countless arrows rained down from above. A wide-ranging attack designed to ensure their death. The power in each arrow was beyond ordinary.

Despite focusing all his strength on defense, the golden shield began to break from the edges.

“Uaaaaaah!!!”

He screamed, squeezing out every bit of his power to withstand the rain of arrows.

After the downpour passed, with arrows embedded in the ground like weeds, the leader barely caught his breath, lowering the golden shield.

“Huff! Huff! Hey! Are you alright?! Everyone, answer me!”

Turning his head, she inevitably saw it.

The three team members who followed her were all lying on the ground, looking like porcupines.

There were no survivors. The leader gritted her teeth. Underestimating the opponent had cost them dearly.

But more than that, she couldn't suppress her rage at the enemy who had set this ridiculous trap.

‘Stay calm. He's not just a sniper; he can shoot arrows too.’

And, realizing why he had openly indicated his position, it was clear he had the confidence to back it up.

‘There are no other allies. This was all done by one person. Not only does he snipe from long distances, but he also creates such a wide-ranging rain of arrows, making him a specialist in long-range attacks.’

Usually, shooters choose either a bow or a gun. Their weapon choice is influenced by their characteristics.

There are no shooters who use both. At least, not in her knowledge.

Swoosh!

An arrow cut through the air from a distance. Already tense, she managed to deflect it with a golden shield around her forearm. Though the attack was faster than the sound, it was nothing compared to the earlier ambush.

She could see him. From a distance where he was visible, aiming his bow at her.

He wore a black skull mask over his mouth and was dressed lightly and actively like a ranger in black attire.

Meeting his sharp gaze, she involuntarily flinched.

Realizing she was scared, the leader clenched her teeth and gathered the power of the fragments.

‘I’ll kill you!’

Soon, her body was covered in golden armor. Maintaining this level of fragment power for more than 5 minutes was her limit. After that, she'd collapse and be out for two days, but she didn't care about the aftermath.

Although rage reached its peak, I had no certainty that I could defeat the sniper without doing this.

She discarded all the guns and useless weapons she had brought, holding military daggers in reverse grips in both hands.

Watching this, Yoo Young-min lowered his bow instead of nocking an arrow. He then took a stance, grasping a close-combat dagger from his waist, mirroring her posture.

‘What?’

The leader was so flabbergasted by the scene that she momentarily forgot her anger.

Was that sniper abandoning all his advantages to fight her in close combat?

Against her, clad in this golden armor?

Grinding her teeth until they nearly broke, the leader seethed.

‘Fine, let's see how close combat goes.’

She tensed her thighs and sprang forward. Thanks to the armor’s power, her body shot out like a cannonball. In an instant, she closed the distance to Yoo Young-min and swung her large sword down with both hands. As the blade descended like a snake's fang, Yoo Young-min calmly took his stance and blocked her strike.

Clang! Sparks flew in the air as their eyes locked. As she put her weight into it, Yoo Young-min’s body was slightly pushed back, but his sturdy legs remained firm, supporting his body.

The leader quickly adjusted her grip for the next attack. At that moment, Yoo Young-min discarded his dagger and grabbed her forearm.

‘He threw away his weapon?’

Just as she was puzzled by his action, her vision spun multiple times in the air.

Then, a powerful impact hit her back. The pain pierced through her armor, causing the leader's eyes to widen.

“Why? Did you think I'd be weak in close combat?”

Yoo Young-min clenched his fist. A distinct aura enveloped his fist, burning like flames.

“Sorry, but I'm good at close combat too.”

His raised fist came down on the golden armor.

* * *

Yu-hyun extended his hand. Black energy spread out like petals, surrounding the bookworm. As he clenched his open hand tightly, the numerous petals turned into blades and shot toward the bookworm.

The bookworm, which had been still until then, curled its body once and then let out a roar.

“■■■■■■!!!”

With a bizarre sound that was unintelligible, the petals disintegrated into powder.

Yu-hyun, wearing the Mask of Aporia, clicked his tongue at the sight.

‘Any half-hearted attack is completely pulverized before even reaching the bookworm.’

The same goes for wide-area attacks with low density. To inflict damage on it, he needed to compress his power beyond a certain threshold and release it.

The bookworm charged at Yu-hyun. With each step, the ground disintegrated in the shape of its footprints. The bookworm’s strike came at the moment it approached Yu-hyun. He blocked the punch with the shield-shaped Baekryeon.

Bang!

The shock transmitted through Baekryeon slightly shook Yu-hyun’s body. It wasn’t a physical impact but a wave that affected the very cohesion of the story.

Yu-hyun staggered slightly, but his body quickly recovered at an incredible speed.

The ultimate body created by combining the Fruit of Life, the Fruit of Wisdom, and Amrita healed minor wounds effortlessly. The real concern was Baekryeon.

“Baekryeon. Are you okay?”

[Yeah. I can endure it.]

Against the bookworm, even touching a weapon would turn it to dust. However, Baekryeon, a mythical-grade artifact, remained intact even after withstanding the bookworm’s strike.

[But it's incredibly powerful. Any ordinary weapon wouldn’t withstand it. Where on earth did this thing come from?]

“That’s not important right now.”

The appearance of the bookworm in the lower world alone warranted caution.

[The Divine Spirits are startled by the bookworm’s appearance.]

[Some Divine Spirits are curious about what the bookworm is.]

Except for the first-generation Divine Spirits who knew the danger of the bookworm, the other Divine Spirits were unfamiliar with the term.

None of them, except the first generation, had experienced the Myth War that happened long ago.

The first-generation Divine Spirits showed intense hostility at the appearance of the bookworm. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝔀𝓮𝘣𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝓵.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Bookworms are beings unaffected by the system.

In fact, they are more like viruses that destroy the system itself.

[Some Divine Spirits are urging you to quickly defeat it, saying it is a weak entity.]

[The Divine Spirits promise to reward you with points if you defeat the bookworm.]

“I was planning on doing that anyway.”

With the added incentive of points, there was no way he could refuse.

‘Still, a bookworm. If Oelo had warned me, it must be a very dangerous entity.’

The danger of the bookworm was deeply ingrained in the memories of the first-generation Divine Spirits, but most of these dangerous creatures had long since disappeared. The bookworm that Yu-hyun was currently facing could be considered the lowest of the low in terms of level.

However, due to their nature, even the lowest grade bookworm is inherently dangerous.

‘I don't know how such a creature crawled its way to the lower world, but…’

There was no time to waste.

The four eyes on the mask radiated light. The swirling energy around Yu-hyun compressed into thin threads.

As Yu-hyun extended his hand, countless black threads shot toward the bookworm. Sensing the danger of the attack, the bookworm attempted to evade.

The shell on its back opened, revealing translucent wings. The bookworm's body elongated and shot vertically into the sky.

“Not so fast.”

Yu-hyun struck the bookworm's head before it could escape into the air.

The bookworm's body was slammed into the ground. Before it could regain its senses, Yu-hyun’s fingers moved. Black threads wrapped tightly around the bookworm.

The creature released a powerful energy burst to escape, causing the black threads to weaken. Yu-hyun immediately infused the threads with his willpower.

Having reached the level of infusing his will into his energy, Yu-hyun was already on the verge of transcendence. No matter how dangerous the bookworm was, the lowest grade could not compete with him.

“……!”

The bookworm, seeing the black threads not only holding firm but tightening around it, panicked. That was its last reaction.

Rip!

With a grip of his hand, Yu-hyun tore the bookworm’s body into tiny pieces with the black threads.

The fragments of the bookworm disappeared without even forming letters.

‘It’s over.’

The abilities of the bookworm were highly dangerous, but they were no match for Yu-hyun.

The Divine Spirits praised Yu-hyun and showered him with points. However, Yu-hyun had no time to pay attention to such support.

‘Something’s off. If they wanted to kill me, they should have sent a much stronger creature. Sending something this weak? For Praytion, this is insufficient. Was this the best he could do?’

The opponent, unaffected by the system, was the one who tore apart the Book of Genesis.

Would Praytion have only moved a low-grade bookworm?

Moreover, the reaction of the Divine Spirits to the appearance of the bookworm was extremely heated. Especially the first-generation Divine Spirits, who seemed unable to believe that the bookworm, which they thought had disappeared, still existed.

‘Praytion wouldn’t have sent such a weak bookworm knowing this reaction. Sending it in front of everyone was enough to alert the Divine Spirits. This would be the greatest loss to himself, so why take such a loss?’

It was as if he was willing to take the loss just to stall for time.

This wasn't a possibility but a certainty. And at the same time, a message came from Kang Hye-rim and Seo Su-min.

[Yu-hyun! Can you hear me?!]

“What’s going on?”

[We’re here in Gangneung to help Jia, but the situation is strange. No, what we see is…fzzzt!]

“Hye-rim! Hye-rim!”

The communication with Kang Hye-rim was cut off. It wasn’t just any communication but a mental link that only contractors and Tellers could use.

The fact that a mental link, which should reach anywhere in Korea, was cut off meant that the situation was beyond normal.

Yu-hyun, still wearing his mask, started running.

There was no time to rest. His body, moving faster than the speed of sound, tore through the air in a straight line.

‘This must be it.’

It took Yu-hyun less than ten minutes to reach Gangneung.

Upon arrival, he was speechless at the sight before him.

“What the….”

A massive dome-like barrier covering the entire Gangneung was writhing and expanding as if it were alive.