Chapter 134
The boy looked just like Han Si-hyuk.
He resembled him so closely that I couldn’t just brush it off. My feet moved on their own.
“Han Si-hyuk?”
“Han Si-hyuk!”
Of course, the boy didn’t turn around.
After all, it couldn’t really be Han Si-hyuk.
But I couldn’t shake the unease, so I called out to the young Adela.
“Wait here.”
Leaving Adela behind, I took off running in the direction where the boy had disappeared.
This was Adela’s memory, an unconscious realm—not the real world.
Which meant that this world had its limits.
“Huff… Huff…”
I ran frantically, but by the time I arrived, the boy who looked like Han Si-hyuk had already vanished into a bright, white light.
No matter how much I called out, he couldn’t hear me, and I couldn’t reach him.
“He really looked like him…”
Was it just a look-alike?
Even from a distance, I thought it was worth checking out.
My instincts told me it was important.
I returned, huffing and puffing, but without having found any real answers.
Everything was getting more complicated.
I couldn’t find the rift, Adela was being difficult, and now I had seen someone who shouldn’t be here.
“This place is peaceful on the surface, but something feels off.”
Despite its tranquil appearance, the village felt like a powder keg ready to explode. Most of all, it made me uneasy.
And I soon realized why I felt that way.
Instead of looking at the young Adela beside me, I turned my gaze elsewhere.
A man sat on a terrace, wearing a leather jacket and dark sunglasses, staring straight at me.
My blood ran cold.
“Archant.”
He was here.
* * *
For someone who had come to track someone down, his attire was almost too flashy. The man in question was sipping fruit juice through a straw.
Han Siha approached Archant.
“Your outfit is quite hip.”
“Yeah.”
“It doesn’t really suit the countryside.”
“Does it?”
Archant removed his sunglasses and looked up at Han Siha. He uncrossed his legs, which had been comfortably propped up.
In an instant, Archant’s expression turned icy.
“Do you have the Cube, Han Siha?”
Han Siha let out a small, incredulous laugh.
“You’re being so direct, it’s almost unsettling.”
“You recognized me at a glance, too.”
Han Siha smiled at his words, but his mind was racing.
‘Of all places, to meet him here…’
It was inevitable that we would cross paths with Archant, but I hadn’t wanted to encounter him in such a vulnerable situation.
‘Is that the rift?’
Finally, I found it—the rift.
A small, shimmering distortion in space, hanging like a pendant around Archant’s neck.
I had been searching everywhere, but it turns out I had to find Archant himself to break it.
If I destroy that rift, I’ll return to the real world.
Of course, even if I don’t destroy it, the Room of Memories will disappear after a certain amount of time.
The problem was Archant.
There was no way Archant would just let me be, so I reached for my staff.
Archant’s sly grin made Han Siha pause.
“Kid, I’m an expert at stealing things.”
“….”
“Taking your dragon would be easy.”
“Kuuu?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention? I’m also good at stealing people.”
It was a threat—a warning that if he wanted to, he could take me away, too.
Archant grinned wickedly as he spoke.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Where’s the Cube?”
Han Siha responded by raising his staff.
The smile vanished from Archant’s face.
“That’s a disappointing answer.”
If Han Siha had been able to receive the subspace bag as a system reward, then one of Archant’s unique abilities was <Subspace>.
He was the perfect bank robber. Archant could stash himself in subspace and teleport to their base whenever he wanted.
The condition for his teleportation was physical contact.
Swish.
The moment Archant lunged at him.
Flash!
Han Siha activated a barrier.
“What the—?”
Bang!
Archant, who had tried to teleport directly in front of Han Siha, was thrown back by the barrier.
He had slammed into the barrier so hard that his lip split open. Wiping the blood from his mouth with his jacket, Archant let out a bitter laugh.
“Where did you learn this? Do they teach you this at the Academy?”
“We don’t learn how to deal with petty thieves at the Academy.”
“Heh… You’re an interesting one.”
Swish.
Archant moved to Han Siha’s right side again.
“Kuuu!”
Thud!
This time, Basilus rammed into Archant, sending him stumbling.
“You’re a nuisance.”
Archant struggled to regain his balance but soon dusted himself off and started approaching again.
“Don’t engage him.”
Han Siha stopped Basilus, who was ready to charge again.
“Attack from a distance.”
If Han Siha hadn’t set up the barrier, Archant might have already taken him.
Taking a deep breath, Han Siha focused his gaze on Archant, who was beyond the glass-like barrier.
Archant was a tricky opponent.
If I leave even a small opening, I’ll be dragged away.
And I never know when he might suddenly rush in and put a blade to my throat.
Han Siha didn’t let his guard down for a second.
Dealing with Archant required both precision and composure.
Han Siha was pouring a significant amount of magic into the barrier to keep Archant at bay, but it wasn’t something he could maintain indefinitely.
The moment the barrier broke, Archant would pounce.
I had to finish this before then.
Ten minutes—within that time, it was nearly impossible to render Archant incapable of fighting.
But I couldn’t just stand here like a fool.
Han Siha quickly retreated.
Archant was the type of opponent who would dodge any attack and retaliate immediately. In this case, I just had to make it impossible for him to avoid.
“Basilus.”
Han Siha called Basilus in a low voice.
As Archant began casting his teleportation spell, he glanced back at Han Siha, who responded with a sharp grin.
“Burn it all.”
* * *
Boom.
The ground shook violently with a deafening explosion.
It was reminiscent of the Owlbear’s earthquake attack, but this time it was caused by Basilus’ vortex.
The [Flame Vortex] was created with an immense amount of magic power, unleashing its full fury on the area. In an instant, the entire village was engulfed in flames.
“Gah!”
Both Han Siha and Archant were thrown from the center of the vortex by the sheer force of the explosion.
Crack.
The glass barrier Han Siha had created to block Archant’s contact shattered under the overwhelming impact.
Slowly, Han Siha lifted his heavy eyelids.
His entire body was assaulted by the scorching heat, as if his skin was on fire. The once connected village, with its humble houses, was now crumbling helplessly under the fiery storm.
Screams of anguish echoed within the flames, gradually fading into silence. Even though these were not real people, the sound of their screams was vivid, piercing Han Siha’s ears.
He quickly cast a defensive spell.
If he remained idle, he would be consumed by the storm and reduced to ashes.
“Ugh… Ugh….”
The air was thick with ash and smoke, making it impossible to see even a few feet ahead.
Archant, staggering, managed to stand.
Despite casting a teleportation spell, he had been hit directly.
Archant muttered to himself as he shed his now charred leather jacket.
“Crazy bastard.”
He had torched the entire village, taking himself down with it.
Archant was visibly shaken; he hadn’t expected Han Siha’s dragon to be this powerful.
“What on earth were you thinking?”
Han Siha panted heavily, leaning on his staff.
If he could draw out Basilus’ magic, maybe he could reverse the flow. Han Siha transferred a portion of the magic he had drawn from the Cube back to Basilus.
He had expended nearly all his magic power in that single blow.
His condition was no better than Archant’s.
Han Siha gritted his teeth, looking down at his tattered clothes.
“I thought I was going to die, but I guess I’m not dead after all.”
Despite taking a direct hit without any defense due to the teleportation cast, Archant had survived.
Archant wasn’t unscathed, but he wasn’t dead either.
Archant stared at the blue magic flowing around Han Siha’s body.
“You still managed to put up a barrier.”
Even with his own safety at risk, Han Siha had kept the barrier up to prevent Archant from getting too close.
“Smart kid.”
Archant chuckled softly, but only for a moment.
“You didn’t account for this, though.”
The smile disappeared from Archant’s face.
Boom.
Magic surged from Archant, a blinding blue light crashing into Han Siha’s glass barrier.
For a brief moment, Han Siha’s body was lifted into the air.
“Gah!”
He was slammed back down to the ground, gasping for breath as he looked up.
Despite being a bank robber, Archant’s magic power far exceeded that of most ordinary magicians.
This was why facing Archant alone was nearly impossible.
Han Siha had known this, but he had tried to come up with a plan.
He had to admit it.
He was too weak.
Han Siha gritted his teeth, staring into the distance.
The glass barrier had shattered under Archant’s attack.
Han Siha hurriedly attempted to summon another barrier.
But his magic was drained.
He tried several more times, but nothing happened.
He was completely exhausted.
“Damn it.”
With no magic left to even move his fingertips, Archant slowly approached.
He could easily teleport Han Siha away, yet he was walking, step by step.
Step, step.
“So Ardel has been raising a scary kid.”
“….”
“If you were a few years older, you might have beaten me.”
Archant murmured, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
“Just so you don’t feel too bad, let me tell you, you didn’t make any mistakes in that fight.”
“No, it was nearly perfect. If I were an average magician, I would have been caught in the first exchange.”
Archant wiped the blood from his lips.
“You’re the first second-year to knock me around like that, so take pride in that.”
Archant slowly grabbed Han Siha by the collar, lifting him off the ground.
Forced to stand, Han Siha glared at Archant.
“The most important thing in a fight is experience.”
“….”
“Charging at me, someone who just finished his second year, was sheer bravado.”
Archant wasn’t wrong.
“You should’ve chosen your opponent more wisely.”
Han Siha, who had been silently enduring Archant’s grip, finally spoke.
“So, you’re saying that if someone wants to rob a bank, they should start by picking pockets?”
“Your metaphors are always terrible….”
Archant’s face twisted in irritation.
“Maybe I should just kill you and take you with me.”
“You can’t, though.”
Han Siha smiled, his eyes still shining with determination.
Even as he spoke, he was thinking rapidly, trying to figure out how to avoid being dragged into Archant’s subspace.
How could he escape this grip and break the rift hanging around Archant’s neck?
At this distance, he could probably reach Archant’s necklace.
He considered every possibility.
But there was no answer.
“Time to go, kid.”
He was already caught, and he didn’t have enough magic left to fight back.
Archant wasn’t a fool.
Whatever plan Han Siha could come up with, Archant was likely already considering it.
This was the difference that came with experience.
Vrrrmm.
A subspace slowly formed beside Archant.
As Han Siha clenched his eyes shut, ready to make one last desperate attempt, a cold voice echoed from behind him.
“Let go of him.”
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