How to Survive Restructuring

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 76: Treasure (1)

Skybreaker.

It means "breaking the sky."

Even a sky that's been created is still considered a sky, it seems.

[The physical body of 'Lee Eunho' is insufficient to embody such a grand title!]

‘One who breaks the sky.’

When written in words, it truly does sound grand.

The weight of it can't even be compared to when the title 'Guide' evolved into 'Path-Opener'.'

[Searching for a substitute medium!]

What could it be?

A medium to hold the title in my stead, given my insufficiency.

[A new medium has been selected.]

The only person around is Jieun, but there's no way they'd pick someone with a weaker body than mine.

In that case...

Wooong!

A powerful vibration shook me so strongly that my entire body trembled.

There was no need to go looking for the source.

Because the "culprit" was literally "in my hand."

Wooooong—!

It was a crude sword, so rugged it could be mistaken for being carved from black rock.

No intricate patterns, not even a maker's signature—it was a truly nameless blade.

Yet its edge, painstakingly sharpened by hand, glimmered eerily.

The strange sword cried out.

Wooooong—!

It cried, cried, and cried some more.

Until—Crack!

It broke.

"...What?"

Like a statue frozen by someone's curse coming to life.

Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

Like a bird breaking free from its egg.

[An awe-inspiring title has been imbued in a vessel forged by blood and tempered by time.]

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

Flash—!

Light. Light. Light.

A deep blue light poured out.

It wasn't the kind of light that soothed or calmed.

Instead, it was cold enough to sting—a light that seemed to be directed at enemies rather than me.

And through that light, a sleek black sword revealed itself.

[Congratulations!]

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

Skybreaker.

A word I was hearing and using for the first time in my life became the name of my newly awakened sword.

My weapon emerged through a wall that shattered like glass.

"Eunho! That sword...!"

Jieun looked at me, startled.

She had every reason to be.

A perfectly ordinary sword had made strange sounds, shattered, and reappeared with an aura that was anything but ordinary.

As much as I wanted to admire its effects and boast about it...

Not now.

"Is that the same sword from before? It looks completely different…"

"Later! For now, we need to regroup with the others!"

"...!"

Jieun, who had been staring at me with wide eyes, quickly closed her mouth and nodded.

She understood what was most important at this moment.

The task she had to do—no, the task only she could do.

"To pull us all out from beneath the broken sky."

Rustle—!

The remnants of the sky, barely maintaining their form, finally collapsed.

And then, above our heads, a real sky appeared, encircling us.

A deep blue sky, like a jar of spilled paint, so vivid it felt surreal.

But I quickly lowered my gaze.

Real sunlight was so blinding that I couldn’t even bear to look at it.

"Eunho! This sky… it's not flat, is it?"

"So the arena really was a sphere."

"Like a ball?"

I nodded in response to Jieun’s question.

Like a ball—or perhaps an egg.

‘I thought the sword broke out of an egg.’

But maybe that applied to us as well.

"Over here! …Here!"

"…Noona! Unnie!"

The voices of people shouting with all their might could faintly be heard, likely because we were much closer to the ground now.

I could even make out the small, waving figures of the others.

"Everyone is safe."

"Thank goodness! So, I just need to lift them up, right?"

"Yes. But the number of people…"

Instead of Jieun, who was cheerfully optimistic, I hesitated as I mentally calculated various scenarios.

Jieun's 'Teleknesis' skill was currently at level 10.

That meant she could lift a maximum of ten people.

But counting both of us, there were eleven people in total.

One person would have to stay behind.

Grit.

I clenched my teeth in frustration without realizing it, but Jieun smiled softly.

Her expression was one of uncertainty yet confidence.

"I think I can manage. Since Hanul is holding Yura…"

"!!"

Ah.

Right.

Now that I think about it, Yura had been in Hanul’s arms since earlier.

Ever since Yura asked to be carried because her legs hurt.

Which meant, if Hanul was lifted, Yura would naturally be lifted as well.

"Let’s try it!"

Jieun pressed her lips together firmly as she focused all her concentration.

And moments later, just as the broken sky and the fading rain began to completely subside—

"Oh my goodness! We're floating, floating!"

"Ahhh! This is terrifying!"

"Don’t look down, unnie! It’ll only make it scarier!"

The group began to rise.

As if rockets had been attached to their shoes, they ascended rapidly.

"!!"

"Did… did we really break the sky? Holy shit…!"

"Hyunggg!!! Are you alright?! Your clothes are completely shredded…!"

The people rising from below caused quite a commotion.

The foul-mouthed man gaping with his mouth wide open and Jaehyuk, who looked like he was on the verge of tears, asked if I was okay.

I nodded in response.

"You’re good at this! And fast, too."

Just as I was about to thank Jieun on their behalf—

Wobble.

Everyone’s bodies swayed.

"Noona! Are you okay?!"

Jieun didn’t answer.

She simply focused, beads of sweat dripping down her pale face.

Perhaps it had been too much for her after all.

“It must be hard with so many people. Before we get too exhausted…”

I opened my mouth to say we should get out of here quickly, but the impatient system didn’t wait for me to finish.

[The arena has collapsed!]

[Brace for impact!]

A merciless message announcing the end of this world.

“Collapse…”

“Arghhh! We’re falling! Save me!”

“F-focus! Focus…!”

And so, we plummeted.

From the new sky to the old ground.

* * *

“W-we… were floating in the sky…?!”

“What… did you just say?”

I learned something for the first time.

The sound of the wind could be this loud.

WHOOSH!

The roar of helicopter blades slammed into my ears.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

We were falling toward the ground along with the round “arena” that had been floating in the Seoul sky.

“Aaahhhh!”

“If we fall here… Ughhh…!”

“Grab my hand!”

The people, tumbling through the air in chaos, came close and then drifted apart in the gusting wind.

We managed to grab each other’s hands, but that alone didn’t guarantee our safety.

Danger!

Jieun was doing her best, but controlling all eleven of us was impossible.

Especially in this frantic freefall.

Even under normal circumstances, maintaining 100% safety required extreme focus.

Then, what could I do right now?

‘First, slow down…’

I scraped together even the slightest possibility.

Anything to increase our chances of survival.

“Summon! Activate!”

[Activating 'Beginner Swordsmanship Pass'!]

[A designated ‘door’ appears.]

Clink!

The cold, familiar sensation of the doorknob met my hand.

“Phew…”

I stopped, suspended in the air over the Han River.

Not too high above the ground.

And then—

“Jieun! Grab on!”

Thud!

With one hand gripping the doorknob, I caught Jieun with the other.

“Huff…”

Jieun, whom I had pulled to safety, was trembling uncontrollably.

It would be strange if she wasn’t.

She had been soaked like a drowned rat in the pouring rain and then pushed her abilities to the limit as soon as the rain stopped.

But for now—

“Are you okay? I know it’s tough, but stay alert!”

“Yes! I’m fine…!”

In a situation where physical strength was depleted, she had to draw upon her mental resolve to keep moving.

“Everyone, hold on tight!”

Jieun held on while Lee Yeji grabbed her, followed by the foul-mouthed man, Yura, and Hanul holding them all.

The others clung on in a chain.

Just like a makeshift lifeline we created ourselves.

“We’ve stopped!”

“It’s temporary, but this height shouldn’t cause serious injury.”

“Damn it… I thought I was dead for real…”

“Thank you so much, noona!”

Jaehyuk’s words were true.

Jieun’s ability to keep us from scattering was what made this possible.

“We’ll fall into the Han River. Be careful; the wind is strong!”

“Oh, great. Guess I’m swimming in the Han today.”

“Does anyone here not know how to swim?”

As I was timing when to release the doorknob—

Sway

A fierce gust of wind shook everyone.

WHOOSH!

The storm-like wind severed the chain of people.

…Of all times, why now?

It was almost as if it was deliberate.

“Aaaahhhh!”

“Yoon Sola! Grab on!!!”

“Don’t let go—!”

First, Sola, who was holding Yeojin’s hand, lost her grip.

“D-damn it!”

“Mr. Song! What are you doing?! Hold on tight!”

Next, the security guard holding onto Hanul’s ankle let go.

“My grip… it’s slipping…”

Finally, even Hanul, who had been holding on until the very end, lost his grasp.

Still cradling Yura in his arms.

“Eunho! What do we do?! They’re scattering!”

We were so close to the end.

And now, this sudden gust…

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

“Sola! I’m here!”

Sola, who had been separated, screamed as Yeojin let go to follow her.

Their screams were soon drowned out by the roaring wind.

WHOOSH!

Even as the cold wind chilled me to my core, I didn’t lose my focus.

There was still a way.

I could accelerate, gather everyone again, and slow Jieun down just before we hit the surface.

…At least, that was the plan I was forming.

[The body of subject 'Lee Eunho' has reached its limit due to accumulated damage.]

[Entering the status effect: 'Overexertion'.]

And with that ominous message—

Thud.

I lost consciousness.

* * *

I dreamed.

Even in the dream, there was a path.

There was a figure walking ahead.

As I followed them aimlessly, the ground beneath my feet kept changing.

A soft dirt road.

A straw-woven path.

A smooth wooden deck.

A rocky bridge that required leaping.

Walking a new path meant experiencing new sights, air, and smells.

And so, I walked. And walked. And walked some more.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just as I started to wonder about the face of the figure ahead—

“────?”

A water bomb fell from the sky.

“Puhak!”

The water bomb was freezing cold.

I couldn’t help but cough, and the icy water in my mouth and nose made it even worse.

Click! Click!

My teeth chattered, and my whole body trembled from the cold.

It felt like I’d been beaten all over, and I couldn’t even muster the strength to lift my eyelids.

Amidst it all—

Splash!

Another torrent of cold water poured over my head.

“…What?”

“I don’t know. …They said they… brought someone.”

Snatches of voices reached my ears through the fog of pain.

‘Ugh…’

Through the pounding headache, I glimpsed an unfamiliar space.

And unfamiliar faces surrounding me as I lay tied up.

“Who are you? Who sent you?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]