A Terminal Healer Needs an Obsessive Maniac-Chapter 130
A massive wave, towering as if it would swallow the entire island, passed through the tower as though it didn’t exist. It was as if the tower, where Ryu Seoha stood, wasn’t there at all, as no physical impact or damage occurred. Not a single part of the island's structure had been affected, as though the entire island had turned invisible. Ryu Seoha’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
‘But I could feel the wind and the rain just fine?’
He recalled how, during the few days he had spent on the island, he could feel the gentle spring breeze and the soft drizzle on his skin. Choi Kanghoo had even used spatial skills to travel in and out. He remembered the smile on Kanghoo’s face as he mentioned replicating all the world’s terrains—deserts, jungles, beaches, mountains, rivers, plains—each part of the island designed with a different landscape. But how much energy would it take to artificially control the weather over such a vast island?
Furthermore, if a defense system could ignore a tidal wave, what kind of powerful energy was sustaining this island? Whether it was magical or electrical, the sheer amount of power required was immense.
While it seemed perfect, the flaw was obvious: if Choi Kanghoo couldn’t replenish the power source in real time, what would happen when the island ran out of stored energy?
‘Of course, under normal circumstances, depleting that much energy would be impossible…’
But if a powerful shock like the tidal wave from outside coincided with several attempts to breach the escape barrier from inside, it could cause a temporary overload in the defense system. The energy consumption would skyrocket.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Still perched on the terrace railing, Ruby let out another warning cry as Ryu Seoha pulled out some materials from his storage pouch. He looked up to see another wave approaching from the distance.
Judging by the timing and the recurrence of these natural disasters, as well as the fact that they were coming from the direction of the American continent, Ryu Seoha suspected it was the aftermath of Choi Kanghoo’s battle with the higher beings. How fierce must that battle be for it to affect the sea this much, even from across the ocean?
Even if Ryu Seoha managed to leave the island, things would still be dire. The black hole, which he had intended to use to avoid confronting the three higher beings, had long since disappeared, and Choi Kanghoo was left to fight an overwhelming battle on his own.
Jumping into the battle without understanding the situation would only make things worse, and Ryu Seoha knew he’d likely become a burden. But he wasn’t willing to sit idly by. If he couldn’t assist in combat, he’d find another way.
[You are now exposed to the effects of the S-Class item, ‘Spatial Movement Scroll.’]
Shaking off his worries for the moment, Ryu Seoha timed his actions with the next wave as it collided with the island’s defenses. He tore the scroll.
[Due to the effects of the SS-Class ‘Anti-Escape Barrier,’ the scroll is unusable.]
Just like before, the scroll was rendered useless. Ryu Seoha quickly tore another, then another. He shredded hundreds of them in succession.
[You are now exposed to the effects of the S-Class item, ‘Spatial Movement Scroll.’]
[Due to the effects of the SS-Class ‘Anti-Escape Barrier,’ the scroll is unusable.]
.
.
.
[You are now exposed to the effects of the S-Class item, ‘Spatial Movement Scroll.’]
[Due to the effects of the SS-Class ‘Anti-Escape Barrier,’ the scroll is unusable.]
After exhausting all of his scrolls, he didn’t allow disappointment to sink in. He prepared for the next wave.
[The trait ‘Sanctification’ has been activated.]
After returning his body to its normal size, Ryu Seoha slowly expanded the range of his sanctified zone. Soon, the outer boundary of his sanctification touched the inside of the island’s anti-escape barrier, leaving no gap between them. As expected, he felt an immense resistance.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
As the two barriers, designed with similar purposes but moving in opposite directions, began consuming energy in their struggle, Ruby, who had been diligently keeping watch over the ocean, chirped out another warning of the incoming wave.
“Ruby, come here.”
Ryu Seoha called Ruby, who had been flying around as a scout, back into his Hwangseong ceremonial robes. When the massive wave was about to engulf the tower like a blanket, Ryu Seoha deployed all the bomb items he had at once.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the perfect moment, the bombs collided with the barrier and exploded. The deafening roar left Ryu Seoha’s ears ringing and dizzy, a high-pitched whine piercing through the chaos.
His vision was filled with system messages about being exposed to the items’ effects. The island’s defense system, not yet fully completed as Choi Kanghoo had planned, began to falter, as detected by the sanctification barrier.
“Ruby, attack too!”
Seeing a glimmer of hope, Ryu Seoha yelled out his next command. Ruby, who had been peeking out from his robes, flapped its crimson wings and shot into the air. The bird opened its wings wide, releasing columns of flame forward.
Once, twice, thrice—each time the bird flapped its wings, the fire columns merged into a powerful flame storm. The island’s barrier, already weakened by the bomb items, was now being assaulted from both the tidal wave outside and the firestorm within. The edges of Ryu Seoha’s sanctification barrier continued pressing against the island’s defenses.
Flicker, flicker. The once-invulnerable barrier, capable of withstanding any shockwave, flickered faintly. It was a sign of overload—or perhaps an indication that the energy source was running out. Either way, the end was in sight.
[The designated target (SS-Class Anti-Escape Barrier) has been inflicted with the debuff ‘Displacement.’]
Clenching his teeth, Ryu Seoha used the debuff for one final push.
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.
Crack!
Finally, the island’s barrier, unable to withstand the strain, burst like a balloon pricked by a needle. Ryu Seoha, holding tightly onto Ruby, was swept up by the shockwave, lifted into the air. The gentle caress of dark magic stung his skin, making it difficult to breathe.
[You are now exposed to the buff ‘Basic Shield’ (applies to the caster and one other target).]
Tossed through the sky, past dense forests and white sandy beaches, he was hurtling toward the emerald waters below. Before hitting the surface, Ryu Seoha quickly corrected his posture.
He attempted to mimic the technique Choi Kanghoo had shown him in Venice, channeling magic into his feet to step on the water. But before he could land, the coral reefs surrounding the island moved.
“Chirp!”
Ruby let out a startled cry as it spotted the coral stretching out toward them like tentacles. Ruby’s power, which altered the nature of matter, struck the coral directly.
The tendrils of coral, which had been reaching out to gently wrap around Ryu Seoha and return him to the tower as part of the island’s defense system, melted away like molten chocolate just before they touched him.
But there were still countless coral tendrils left. And in the distance, yet another wave was approaching.
“Ruby, up to the sky!”
Using the pocket ring to shrink his body once more, Ryu Seoha leaped onto Ruby’s back and directed it upward. The little bird flapped its wings frantically, soaring higher and higher.
Higher still, until they reached a point where neither the coral nor the wave could touch them. Once they were safely out of reach, Ruby slowed its ascent.
“Thank you. Well done.”
Ryu Seoha, who had been watching the now powerless island disappear beneath the waves, returned to his normal size and gently stroked Ruby’s feathers.
He couldn’t help but marvel at the Hwangseong ceremonial robes. Despite floating at such a high altitude with no external protection, he neither felt cold nor had difficulty breathing.
“Chirp?”
Ruby, tugging at Ryu Seoha’s sleeve with its beak, pointed its eyes toward a small uninhabited island in the west. It was suggesting that they land there for the time being.
But Ryu Seoha shook his head immediately. If Choi Kanghoo had set up defenses on the main island, there was no doubt he had also placed contingencies on the nearby islets. While they might not have an SS-Class anti-escape barrier, there were surely enough traps to keep him bound.
“Let’s use the flying item to get to the mainland. If we run low on power, we’ll use the sanctification ability to cover the rest of the distance.”
Although shrinking his body again and flying with Ruby was an option, he didn’t want to exhaust the little bird after all the effort it had already put in helping him escape the island.
Ruby tilted its head slightly, but then settled onto Ryu Seoha’s shoulder as if it didn’t mind. Just as Ryu Seoha pulled out a potion to boost his agility for the flight—
“Who said you could leave?”
A low, familiar voice came from behind him. Startled, Ryu Seoha turned around, only to be met with an unexpected face—his beloved, Choi Kanghoo.
