Former Ranker's Newbie Life

Chapter 110

The words came out sounding like something a kidnapper would say to scare his hostages, but so what? If they really wanted to see their parents again, they needed to pull themselves together.

“Right now, this place is cut off from the outside world because of the Rift. No signals are getting through,” Do-Jin said.

Fear rippled through the group. Nobody tried to run or scream, but the unease thickened in the air.

“I already told them what’s going on. There’s no point wasting time repeating it. Get to the part that matters.” Xenia was panting hard, but it was clear she had already filled in the others before he got back.

“Good. If everyone understands the situation, then let’s talk about what we actually do.”

All eyes settled on Do-Jin. One of them gulped so audibly that the sound echoed through the cave.

“The mantis bastards are getting denser around here. If they start actively hunting for food, hiding won’t cut it anymore. Running’s not an option either. We’ve got too many injured, and there’s nowhere safe to run to.”

A sob broke the silence. It came from the girl tending to the one who’d lost an arm. Fear and despair spread like poison. Before it could spiral into mass hysteria, Do-Jin snapped their attention back to him.

“That’s why we hold our defense here. Stay dead quiet and still, and there’s a chance rescue shows up before we’re sniffed out. Worst case, we fight here, and honestly, this cave gives us the best chance to make it out alive.”

“We’re supposed to fight those things?” One of the bigger boys spoke up in a trembling voice.

“Even with the injured, we’ve got four sword users and me. On top of that, four mages. That’s plenty of firepower.”

“But we’re still just students!” the boy cried.

Do-Jin let out a short, dry laugh. “Then go beg those bugs outside to spare you because you’re young and inexperienced. See how that works out.”

Death didn’t discriminate by age, and that old saying was especially true in a world like this.

The cave went dead silent. None of them dared to even breathe too loudly, but finally, Huey broke the tension.

“He’s right. Let’s not waste energy on despair. Let’s just focus on what we can do to survive.” He took a firm step ahead and turned to Do-Jin. “Tell us what we need to do.”

Do-Jin raised a hand and tapped his forehead. “Their weak spot is here.”

“But they don’t even have heads,” one girl blurted automatically.

Do-Jin nodded. “That’s what you think at first. They look like they’re just a mouth with a flat plate above it, with no head at all. But that’s the trick. Their only real sensory organ, the antennae, are attached right there. They gave up sight, smell, and hearing, so those twigs are all they’ve got left.”

“That’s right,” Huey said quickly, jumping in to back him up. “When I hit one there, the whole thing just froze. It completely locked up, like it couldn’t move at all. It was exactly like when a guy gets hit in the...” He paused, his expression brightening as the thought clicked. “Like when a guy gets nailed in the balls!”

Do-Jin stared at him for a beat. What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

It wasn’t that he was wrong. Now that Do-Jin thought about it, the comparison fit almost perfectly. That still didn’t make Huey a normal human being.

Do-Jin ignored that last remark and continued his explanation. “There’s no obvious vitals on these things, so their only weakness is that spot. Hit the cluster of nerves there and they’ll seize up, tremble, or be unable to move properly. Hitting it won’t kill them outright, but it’ll buy us time to finish them off.”

After that, he pointed at the students who carried swords. “You, you, you, and you.”

At his sharp sweep of the hand, the sword students awkwardly shuffled into position. Do-Jin then pointed at Huey and said, “You teach from there. Show them how to aim for the weak spot. You’ve done it before.”

“I’ll do my best,” he answered with a serious face.

Do-Jin nodded, then looked at the other three in robes. The blunt sword guys were usable enough for now.

“Now you lot...”

Those who relied on their bodies were already shaking, while the spellbound scholars fared even worse. They were scraped, pale, and visibly unraveling, the fear written plainly across their faces.

If I ask any of these rookies to do something tricky, they’ll fuck it up and we’ll all die, Do-Jin thought.

Experience mattered. Tossing a critical job to someone with no experience was how people got killed, and the fault lay with the one who gave the order, not the one who screwed it up.

“Listen up. You only cast your most confident spells and only at the targets I call out. If the fight gets messy, don’t stand there panicking. Just dump your spell into the creature I point at. Understood?”

Second-years in the Imperial Academy’s Magic Division could be considered at least Tier 4 mages. In Elthomagia terms, they were roughly Yellow Rank, around the level of Sisala Omen or a bit below. If they could land focused fire on one target, they’d actually be contributing to the fight.

At that moment, Anemone, who had been watching the perimeter, called out, “Do-Jin...”

Do-Jin didn’t even ask why she was so alarmed. He implicitly understood her tone and conveyed to the others, “Okay, everyone hold their breath and pray those bastards don’t find us.”

The night stretched on, cold and watchful, as if waiting for something to break the silence.

***

Except for the faint groans of the two wounded, it was almost completely silent. Even the ones who wanted to cry had their mouths clamped shut. The quiet was so absolute that if anyone’s heart thudded too hard, it would have echoed through the cave. Everyone else had long since passed the point of breaking under the pressure, but Do-Jin had been through this kind of hell more times than he could count.

Just then, Anemone nudged his arm. She met his eyes and bared her teeth. It was the signal that told Do-Jin to get ready to fight.

So it’s gonna go down like this after all...

It was the same pattern he’d seen before. Luck had rarely been on his side in moments like this in his past life. Every time, he remembered flailing and clawing his way through one problem after another, and it rarely ended well.The memories left a bitter taste, but Do-Jin crushed those flashes of the past into tiny pieces and shoved them back down where they couldn’t interfere with his focus.

Then, he said quietly to the boys and girls, “It’s coming. Get ready.”

The silence was once again filled with their broken breaths, every inhale sharp with fear.

***

The blind mantis groped forward, probing for prey with those twitching feelers. Its flexible yet firm antennae scoured the ground, the rocks, the walls, the trees, and everything else it could come into contact with.

Suddenly, they paused. The bug tested the earth again with careful, patient sweeps. It was checking for any missed vibrations. However, nothing meaningful showed up. As hunger and impatience crept in, the mantis started moving rougher and bolder. It hit a downhill slope and barreled on.

“Shit, there it is!” one of the students said in a low but panicked voice.

By terrible luck, that downhill led straight to the little hollow where Do-Jin and the academy kids were hiding. One of the sword students screamed, half a shriek, half a cry. He didn’t stop there. Nerves got the better of him and he bolted forward without any signal.

“Antenna... antenna!” he yelled, fixated on nothing but those feelers.

His clumsy dash gave the predator everything it needed, broadcasting his exact location with every reckless step.

“You fucking retard!” Do-Jin cursed, canceling the Flash Lance he was about to fire and switching to Gale Arrow.

The spell hit the sword student’s leg, causing him to yelp, pitch forward, and trip over his own feet. He hit the ground hard, and for a heartbeat after that, the mantis’ rushing blade slashed right through where his neck had just been, missing by mere inches. A second slower, and it would have been his neck instead of empty space.

“Block it!” Do-Jin shouted.

Huey sprang into action, quickly striking the mantis’s antenna dead center. The creature staggered, pawing at the injured feeler like it was trying to soothe itself.

“Everyone, hit it once with your sword and fall back!” Do-Jin barked.

As soon as the spell finished charging from his circuits, Do-Jin flung it at the mantis’ shriveled head, targeting the weak spot. A high-pitched whine cut through the air, then a blinding flash detonated.

“What are you waiting for? Hit it with your strongest moves!” he snapped.

The three greenhorn mages who’d been gaping finally scrambled, spitting spells wildly. Wind, fire, water, everything they had slammed into the beast in a messy pile. Although their aim sucked, every hit landed. If they couldn’t at least tag a standing target, they wouldn’t have been able to enroll in the Academy in the first place.

“Don’t just spam shit!” Do-Jin yelled. “Manage your circuits. Don’t overload. Don’t burn out your mana!”

He kept hammering the antennae with shocks, trying to paralyze it. The creature was built for pure brute force, so letting it rampage even for a few seconds would cause casualties. Under the combined pressure of Do-Jin’s blasts and the kids’ scattered spells, the mantis finally went slack.

“Stop!” Do-Jin ordered a ceasefire as soon as it collapsed.

He looked toward the perimeter. Please be some lone idiot that wandered off. If other mantises were nearby, our noise could pull them in. If not, maybe we’d squeak by.

“They’re getting closer,” Anemone warned. “They smell the hunt.”

The stench was much sharper now, as the predators became increasingly stirred up by the scent of prey. Needless to say, a brutal fight was coming.

“We’ll consider that a practice run, so let’s get it right this time,” Do-Jin said, forcing himself to stay calm. “Physical fighters, don’t get cocky and get sliced, alright? Just paralyze it. We’ll handle the heavy damage.”

He glanced at the boy who had first charged in. The kid was still on the ground, staring at him with wide, accusing eyes. That was when Do-Jin realized that the kid had been caught up in his Gale Arrow.

“I saved your dumbass from being chopped into three pieces,” Do-Jin said. “And you’ve got the nerve to glare? Get up and work. Don’t lie there like you’ve got a free pass, and don’t go racing off again. Don’t ever expect me to come snatching your ass out every damn time.”

He then tossed a healing potion at the reckless boy. At this point, Do-Jin was even willing to use fools like him, as long as it meant increasing their odds of survival.