How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 79: Treasure (4)

Buzz—!

The returning Skybreaker Sword hummed.

From the blade's tip to the hilt, the sword was entirely shrouded in ominous black energy.

It emanated an unsettling aura that warned against even a casual touch.

Yet, the razor-sharp edge of the blade, gleaming like paper, sparkled in brilliant hues every time it buzzed.

The radiance was dazzling, extravagant, and warm, almost as if it was enticing those who recoiled from the sword’s deadly aura.

Swish!

I lightly brushed the gleaming blade.

Though the blade had dulled from the excessive attacks that had shattered the arena, it now seemed sharper than ever before.

[The iron, tempered by blood and hardened by time, has been imbued with an extraordinary title.]

[The Flame Shattering Sword has accepted its new master’s will!]

[The Flame Shattering Sword has evolved into the Flaming Skybreaker Sword!]

It must have broken free from its shell.

▣ Flaming Skybreaker Sword

-A sword forged with the utmost dedication by an unknown blacksmith, its hidden soul awakened by “The One Who Shattered the Heavens.”

Having broken through targets deemed unbreakable, it has transcended its original limits.

When used, attack power increases by +20, and critical hit chance increases by +1%.

However, beware: it can reject anyone who is not its chosen master.

-Exclusive Skill: Flame Emission (Lv.1)

Equipped with an orb obtained from the Flame Dragon, the sword evolved once through this, and once more through the title passed on by “The One Who Shattered the Heavens.”

This was my first time closely examining the description panel amidst the chaos.

Rejecting anyone not deemed its rightful master—was this its way of declaring it wouldn't play along in the hands of the unworthy?

"Is that why you got hurt?"

"When did you notice?"

Yeon Bora quickly hid her bandaged palm behind her back.

She must have burned herself.

All because she dared to steal my sword and mess with it.

“Huh? But that sword… it looks sharper somehow.”

“It recognizes its master.”

I was just relieved to have retrieved it safely when—

Boom!

Another shell exploded.

This time, it struck much closer, causing the dirt wall to collapse.

“Eek!”

“Sister…!”

Yeon Bora briefly glanced at those staring at her and then silently began her preparations.

"I returned your sword, so buy us some time. Please..."

"Sword Wind."

Whoosh—! Shing!

“?!”

“Like this?”

“Oh… yes, like that!”

While I intercepted the shrapnel from the flying shells as if shooting them down…

I thought she was trying to summon another dirt mound.

“Summon.”

She stretched both palms toward the sky and murmured softly.

Was she hiding another item?

Ssshhk!

A translucent object gradually took shape, adding layers of yellow and red hues.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Finally revealed, nestled in Yeon Bora's arms, was—

“A musical instrument?”

A teardrop-shaped instrument resembling a string instrument, like a guitar or ukulele.

Roughly 70 cm in size, it had a thicker neck and thinner body than modern instruments.

Its design looked like something out of an old martial arts film.

“…Whew.”

Hugging the instrument with both hands, Yeon Bora let out a small sigh before placing her trembling fingers on the strings.

Then, closing her eyes, she plucked the strings.

♬—♪—

A sound resonated.

It was louder and sharper than anything like a guitar or violin.

♩♬—♪—

The melody was monotonous, with little variation in pitch.

Yet the taut strings and the piercing tune seemed to seep not just into my ears but into my very skin.

“This is…”

Each time Yeon Bora’s slender fingers strummed the strings, the air around us quivered.

Taut and loose.

Lively and heavy.

As everyone’s attention was ensnared by the hypnotic melody—

Boom!

A shell that had leaped over the dirt wall soared directly overhead.

Its clean arc seemed to aim straight for Yeon Bora’s head as she kept her eyes closed, oblivious to the danger.

The shell was nearly 2 meters in diameter.

'Should I cut it down?'

In the past, I wouldn’t have even considered it, but now it seemed possible.

The idea of slicing through a mass of iron wasn’t absurd anymore, thanks to the Skybreaker Sword humming eagerly, hungry for the taste of steel or blood.

Finding myself amused by the absurdity of it all, I dashed forward, ready to slash through the menacing shell.

“Danger…!”

"Wait!"

Tap!

The girl with a bun grabbed my shoulder.

"Don't touch her. Bora will handle it."

Handle it?

Handle what?

With shells raining down overhead, how could she possibly handle this?

Just as doubt began creeping in about whether this was really what a friend would do—

A shell slammed into empty air and—

'!!'

An ear-splitting explosion tore through the air.

Kwaaaaaang!

The shell failed to maintain its shape and shattered.

Crack—Boom!

The gunpowder or shrapnel inside scattered in all directions.

Explosives burst into hundreds, thousands of fragments.

And finally—

Fssshhhhhh!

The shell broke apart into shards and dispersed.

In the middle of empty air, achieving nothing, it self-destructed.

"A barrier…"

It wasn’t a dirt wall.

It was the ability to create a barrier.

This was Bora Yeon’s real power—the reason why clueless college students like us had managed to survive so far.

Just as I was about to marvel at this incredible ability—

♩♬ ♪~

The flowing melody, like a gentle river, suddenly stopped.

And then—

"Cough!"

Bora Yeon coughed, pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping her mouth.

The handkerchief, already stained with red splotches, was turned over and over until she found a clean spot.

"…Blood?"

Why was she coughing up blood all of a sudden?

Not a single fragment of the shell, not even the tiniest sliver, had managed to penetrate the barrier.

It was strange.

I kept my eyes fixed on the health bar hovering above Bora’s head.

Since earlier, when the pillar slammed into it, I’d been watching.

「90.5%」

「91.5%」

「92.5%」

「93.5%」

…

I’d confirmed that the more she played, the more her health seemed to recover.

"So why is she like this?"

Bora’s friends had no answers.

'What’s going on? Something…'

A guy hung his head silently.

Friends who had panicked when a pillar hit them earlier were now eerily quiet.

Her abnormally low health.

Her health increasing as she played.

In other words…

‘It’s increasing… right?’

♩♬

Thwack!

On impulse, I grabbed Bora’s wrist.

The sudden interruption in the music startled everyone.

"Let go of me! What are you doing?"

Bora shouted, her voice sharp like a cat baring its claws.

So I—

"Do you know what you're doing, or don’t you?"

"Know what?!"

"Your health! It's dropping!"

I yelled.

Because I had figured it out.

「90.5%」

「91.5%」

「92.5%」

「93.5%」

…

Her health wasn’t increasing as she played—it was her maximum health that was decreasing.

Bora flinched, startled.

"…Be quiet."

She whispered, biting her lip.

"…So you knew."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

She knew that this barrier was created at the cost of her own life force.

And despite knowing that, she kept creating it.

In utter disbelief, I tightened my grip on the instrument.

A translucent description window popped up before my eyes.

▣ Dhṛtarāṣṭra's Lute

-A modern-style lute imbued with the will of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Generates a barrier around the performer to block attacks.

The size and strength of the barrier are inversely proportional.

-However, if used by someone unqualified, the performer themselves may suffer harm. Proceed with caution.

Ha.

It was written right there.

If used by someone unqualified, the performer may suffer harm.

"You’re going to die at this rate."

"I know."

"You know?"

Bora avoided my gaze.

"I could die tripping while walking, or from a cat scratch, or rolling off my bed in my sleep. But yes, I’m going to keep playing."

I couldn’t understand.

Was this item worth risking death for?

"Reducing future certain misfortunes to avoid immediate danger?

Even if that's true, it still doesn't make sense.

'What about the others? You can take turns using it, can't you?'

People sharing the barrier could simply rotate the task if there's a penalty for using it.

There are at least fifteen people here, after all.

At that, Yeon Bora shook her head bitterly.

“I said I'd do it. They're fighting because of me.”

“They're fighting because of you?”

“Those bastards are attacking to kill me.”

I figured there was a story behind it.

They've been relentlessly searching for Yeon Bora since earlier, so even a fool could figure it out.

I just didn’t feel like prying since it didn’t seem like a story I needed to get involved in.

“…During the personality test, I clashed with their group.”

Yeon Bora hesitantly opened her tightly shut lips.

“Personality test?”

“A nightmare mission.”

The kind where you fall into an incubus’s illusion, see everyone around you as monsters, and have to survive.

We barely made it out by capturing all the incubi.

I could understand the incubus’s words thanks to the 'Disobedience' title, Jieun could distinguish between monsters and humans with her strong mental fortitude, and we shared a potion to strengthen our defenses.

But for those who didn’t have any of that...

How did they escape?

“At the time... I was so scared…”

Yeon Bora, her face stricken with pain just from recalling it, continued.

“I built a wall. So they wouldn’t come to our side.”

An arena blocked off on all sides by invisible walls.

She’s saying they built a wall to split the arena, choosing to save only themselves.

So while they trembled in the safe zone they created, a slaughter unfolded beyond the wall.

Trapped in a confined space with countless incubi, the others fought and killed each other.

So, interpreting the current situation...

“You and your group built a wall to save yourselves while the others fell to the incubi?”

“...Yes.”

A cold-blooded person who abandoned others to save themselves.

That’s one way to see it.

“And now, the survivors are chasing you down to kill you?”

“Yes. They say there would’ve been a way if we hadn’t trapped them…”

A bystander to the slaughter who survived at the cost of others’ lives.

That’s another way to see it.

But.

'If it were me?'

If I had no special skills, no items, no companions like Jieun...

Would I have recklessly joined a chaotic fight without any plan?

Even if I had the means to protect myself, would I have chosen not to use it?

...No. I definitely wouldn’t have.

“So now you’re taking responsibility by maintaining the barrier? While the friends who survived thanks to you do nothing?”

“…”

Yeon Bora bit her lower lip hard, her face showing a mix of regret and resentment.

Sigh.

I thought she was like a prickly cat.

'Turns out, she’s just a softie.'

Bam!

“Anyway, stop worrying about me! I’ll take care of this!”

As the sound of artillery fire echoed again, Yeon Bora’s pale face twisted in desperation.

Her face, pale as a sheet and glistening with cold sweat, already showed she was at her limit.

Swoosh.

Yeon Bora clutched the lute, larger than her own body, in her arms again.

And during that time...

“...”

“Bora…”

No one stepped forward.

Even though her movements were so slow it seemed as though she wanted someone to stop her.

No one, not a single person, tried to stop her.

Instead, cautious glances and hesitant looks were directed at Yeon Bora.

It’ll be fine.

She’ll be gone soon anyway.

No need to bother helping her.

It’s okay to be a bit harsh...

The same familiar gazes I felt every time I changed jobs.

That’s why I couldn’t stand the sight.

Whether it was the foolish Yeon Bora.

Or the weak and indifferent bystanders.

Or even this world that drove university students barely in their twenties into such a dire situation.

I couldn’t stand any of it.

“I get where you’re coming from, but.”

Thud!

I snatched Yeon Bora’s lute out of her hands.

There was no resistance.

Whether it was because she lacked the strength in her body or in her heart, I couldn’t tell.

“Responsibility needs strength to bear it.”

“…!”

“What you’re doing is just suicide.”

Snap!

The barrier that had been protecting us shattered above.

Boom!

The falling shells pierced through the remnants of the barrier.

So, grabbing her frail wrist, I flung her far away.

“W-why are you…”

“Accelerate.”

“Nooooooooo—!”

In the slowed-down time where even the falling bombs moved sluggishly, I stood alone.

And then.

Slash! Slash!

Carefully slicing apart the explosive metal shells, as if peeling away layers, I gathered them in my stone-hardened hands.

Thud, thud, thud!

And flung them back beyond the earthen walls.

“Sword Wind!”

[Activating Flame Release (Lv. 1)!]

Adding a flame to the blade wind.

Tick!

“Wh-what? Huh, huh?!”

Yeon Bora, regaining her speed, stumbled at the suddenly altered scenery.

And at the same time.

Boom-boom-boom!

The shells detonated in the sky.

I told you.

I’m pretty strong.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]