Chapter 525

Chapter 525

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

Hmmm!

Right. Slowly, slowly. If you feel like youre going to fall, Ill catch you, so put strength into your legs without fear.

The rehabilitation nurse encouraged Leeha. Afraid? At this moment, Leeha would probably laugh even if he fell and got a nosebleed. Every attempt to stand sent tingling sensations through his lower back. The feeling of atrophied muscles and nerve cells awakening again. Although this unfamiliar sensation brought pain, Leeha did not avoid it.

Grrr!

Thats right! Good!

Finally, holding onto the parallel bars, Leeha stood on his own two legs without anyones help.

He wobbled like he was dancing a silly dance for about 30 seconds before collapsing back into the wheelchair, but his eyes were sparkling with excitement.

Today, lets aim for ten times like this and call it a day.

Ten times?

If its too much for you-

Cant we do it for 10 hours? No, I want to continue until bedtime. Will you stay and watch over me?

What?

The rehabilitation nurse looked astonished.

Outside the glass, unaware of the conversation inside the rehab room, people were struggling to hold back their tears again.

Ahem, um, ahem! Ram Hwayeon-ssi. Kijung, his voice nearly breaking, cleared his throat and spoke up.

He had cried every day since the surgery to the point where he thought he had no more tears left, but now his eyes were brimming with tears again.

What? Staring at me like that wont get you anything.

Whos asking for anything?! Cough, cough. That in Middle Earth, next time.

Huh?

Ram Hwayeon tilted her head in confusion.

Suddenly Middle Earth? What was he trying to say?

Ram Hwajung, who had been staring at Leeha as if he were the only person in the world, also turned her gaze to Kijung.

Kijung felt awkward under their gaze.

Especially since what he was about to say felt so insignificant compared to what they had done for him and Leeha.

In Middle Earth, well, with Ram Hwajung-ssi there, it might not be necessary but-

Spit it out, what do you want to say?

I will be Ram Hwayeon-ssis shield, at least once.

Kijung spoke earnestly. What could he offer in reality to repay Ram Hwayeon?

In recent days, Kijung had thought about it coldly and came to a conclusion. Nothing.

There was nothing he could offer to someone who already had everything not money, not gifts. The only thing Kijung could offer was unique to him. Some might say, is that a repayment in a mere game? But at least to Ram Hwayeon who heard these words, it wasnt a small gesture.

Truly Leehas brother. I wont refuse such a repayment. It would have been better with the power of Byeolcho, but Master Key, you alone are enough. She smiled faintly and nodded. Ram Hwajung also nodded and added.

Shield-ajussi. Youre useful.

Shield, I get it, but Im not an ajussi, Ram Hwajung-ssi. And saying Im useful like Im a tool-

Kijung felt awkward and tried to counter her words, but she had already turned her head back to Leeha.

Alright, this time, lets aim for one minute. Grrrrr!

Leeha, who had asked if he could play Middle Earth after surgery, now found the game far from his thoughts.

His focus was on the real effort to restore his physical body. Besides the rehab, everything else seemed trivial.

***

It was exactly one week since Leeha arrived in Hong Kong. In the world of Middle Earth, more than 35 days had passed.

Commander! It seems theyre starting to come in now. The pack of three-headed dire wolves are appearing!

What? Dead-

Assassin, its a stealth mob! Form a defensive formation for DPS! Cast Detect!

A mage quickly cast a spell to reveal any invisible entities, shouting out his thoughts. His reasoning was sound: if someone suddenly dies without any sign of an attack, the only plausible explanation is an invisible assassin.

Though the bodies of RUSH guild members were already forming a defensive formation, their minds were in disarray.

Invisible attack without breaking the invisibility? Is there such a magic?

Soon after, Detect spells were cast all around, and the players were shocked by what they found.

Theres nothing detected-

The heads of the mages who had cast Detect began to explode one by one.

Pop, pop, pop-!

The sound, akin to a watermelon being smashed, continued incessantly. Rons face turned ashen in an instant.

Raise the shields! Raise the shields! Form a Testudo formation!

What was happening was unclear! But it was definitely dangerous!

Ron shouted the name of an ancient Roman military formation. Even though it was hard to comprehend with their minds, their bodies reacted a characteristic of skilled players.

The members of Rush guild quickly formed the Testudo formation, enclosing the DPS members within.

The tightly formed defensive formation didnt leave even a slight gap for attack.

All members of the attack force, unable to even swallow their saliva, braced for an unknown attack. However, after forming the Testudo, the attack ceased.

Theres no response.

What was that, Guild Master?

I have no idea.

It had been 5 minutes since the death of the mage who used Detect, but to Ron and the members of RUSH, it felt like more than an hour in hell.

What the hell was that? Was it really an attack?

Ron looked around persistently, his confusion evident. The charred ground showed no significant signs.

Monsters were slowly approaching from a distance, but the Testudo formation, while perfect for all-around defense, wasnt an attacking formation. Staying like this would mean falling prey to the monsters. Moreover, the monsters that appeared this time were not the predatory type like the triple-headed dire wolves. They resembled trolls from the European continent but were different in color and physique, and even fully armed.

Armored High-Trolls? Must be at least level 270.

No unidentified attacks occurred after forming the Testudo.

Was it a response to the formation, or had some kind of bug phenomenon ended?

Ron eventually lowered his shield.

Monsters resembling Armored High-Trolls approaching from all sides! Prepare your formations, each atta-

He couldnt finish his sentence.

The ashen body of Ron, with the top of his neck missing, collapsed to the ground.

Commander?!

Guild Master, the Guild Master has fallen-

The shock among the players was natural. The sudden panic was enough to break the Testudo formation.

And then, unknown attacks poured down like rain through the gaps between the shields.

Members of RUSH, who had experienced national battles and even adult-grade White Dragon raids, couldnt maintain their sanity.

Panic compounded with panic, chaos with chaos, the formation began to completely collapse.

Whoa, no way!

Retreat! Everyone retreat!

As players kept falling one by one, the approach of the Armored High-Trolls didnt cease.

Cant-escape!

A monster smaller than the Armored High-Trolls.

A creature resembling a goblin or kobold rushed in, tearing something apart.

Amidst the confusion, no player heard the ripping sound, but all members of Rush guild had to scream. A purple barrier was forming around them.