My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 47

Gayoung’s sigh-filled reply made Yoohee hesitate, but she still refused to give up hope.

 

“Still, I want to give it a try. You never know, maybe it’ll get cut.”

 

This rose-patterned knife wasn’t just an ordinary knife.
It was a knife she had received through a Constellation’s sponsorship. From experience, the more elaborate the modifiers attached to an item’s name, the better its effects tended to be. So perhaps…

 

“Hyah!”

 

She brought the knife down from above toward the root protruding from the wall.
The root was so tough that she put all her strength into both hands. The force made her body stagger to the side.

 

Slice.

 

She planted her left foot to regain her balance and lifted her head. The root had been cleanly split in two exactly where Yoohee had struck it.

 

She had actually done it.

 

“…Wait a second. Where did you get that?”

 

Gayoung, who had been watching Yoohee without much expectation, approached with her eyes wide open.

 

Yoohee was just as bewildered by what she had managed to do.

 

“I-I got it from a sponsor.”

“Good. With that, we should be able to cut through the sprouts.”

 

Gayoung looked around with an excited expression.

 

Wondering what she was looking for, Yoohee also scanned their surroundings. The walls on all sides were made of thick, sturdy roots.

 

It didn’t seem like they could escape simply by hacking at the walls. Naturally, Yoohee lifted her head and looked up at the ceiling.

 

As expected, it was covered in roots as well, but faint rays of light from the surface seeped through here and there.

 

If they could climb up the roots growing along the wall, they might somehow be able to reach the ceiling.

 

“Let’s try it over here.”

 

Gayoung suddenly approached the wall on the right.

 

She tapped the sturdy roots with the back of her hand, as though checking a ripe watermelon, seemingly trying to sense what lay beyond them.

 

“What are you doing? I think it’d be better to break through the ceiling if we want to get out.”

 

Yoohee tilted her head all the way back to look at the ceiling, but Gayoung stopped tapping the roots and stared at her.

 

“You haven’t forgotten our objective, have you?”

“Our objective?”

“Removing the gate’s core.”

 

Gayoung’s eyes were serious.

 

She closed her lips without saying anything else, forcing Yoohee to think through what she meant.

 

Then Yoohee realized.

 

The World Tree had its source of power within its roots. If they could find and destroy the source of power hidden in the roots, the World Tree would disappear completely.

 

That was the true core of the gate.

 

“Don’t tell me you mean we should find that core ourselves?”

“There’s no reason we can’t.”

 

Gayoung glanced at the rose-patterned knife in Yoohee’s hand as she answered.

 

Unlike Gayoung’s proactive attitude, Yoohee looked doubtful.

 

How long would it take to destroy the core with this little knife?

 

An Esper would be able to pinpoint the area around the core and pierce straight through it in an instant. But that was an Esper, after all.

 

The difference in abilities between Espers and Guides was so extreme that it was like comparing an advanced industrial civilization to the primitive era.

 

It was also why Guides needed Espers just as much as Espers needed Guides.

 

“Don’t worry. I have good instincts.”

 

Yoohee noticed the necklace dangling around Gayoung’s neck. The pendant, shaped like the initial K and seemingly crafted painstakingly by a master artisan, looked exceptionally special.

 

“Did you raise your Sensitivity stat really high?”

 

Since they were both transmigrators, Yoohee could ask such a question without hesitation.

 

“Something like that.”

 

Just then, as if to prove that Gayoung’s confidence wasn’t unfounded, a status window appeared.

 

[The Relic effect of the Thirtieth Transmigrator has been activated.]

 

A Relic effect?

 

Yoohee had never received a Relic from a Constellation before. Yet Gayoung, who had transmigrated later than her, had already obtained one.

 

Putting her surprise aside, Yoohee scanned Gayoung’s clothes.

 

If there was something that looked like a Relic…

 

“Senior, that necklace…”

 

Yoohee’s gaze fell on the initial pendant hanging around Gayoung’s neck.

 

Feeling Yoohee’s stare, Gayoung fiddled with the pendant with her fur-gloved hand.

 

“It can sharply increase my Sensitivity for a short time. It just takes a while to recharge afterward.”

 

For a Guide, Sensitivity was quite literally an instinct.

 

It was the ability to sense danger and assess a situation.

 

Unlike Espers, they could not use mana to read the flow of the air, but there were Guides who possessed exceptionally keen danger-sensing abilities as a means of survival.

 

“We can break through here.”

 

Gayoung said as she ran her hand over the section of wall she had tapped earlier. Perhaps because of the Relic’s effect, her eyes shimmered with an eerie brilliance, as though she could see straight through the wall.

 

“The elves may be smart, but bringing us here was a mistake. They thought we’d be trapped here with no way out. Who would have imagined we’d try to destroy the source of power?”

 

Color had returned to Gayoung’s face. She even seemed a little excited.

 

“What are you waiting for? It only lasts for five minutes.”

 

Urged by Gayoung, Yoohee adjusted her grip on the rose-patterned knife.

 

There was no need to worry that blindly cutting through the roots would cause the World Tree to attack them. This was the space protecting the source of its power. In other words, it was no different from being inside the World Tree’s stomach. What living creature in this world could attack its own stomach?

 

“Okay.”

 

If the World Tree disappeared, the gate would naturally disappear as well.

 

In other words, the fastest way to rescue Joohoon was to destroy the source of power together with Gayoung.

 

Yoohee swung the rose-patterned knife in the direction Gayoung indicated.

 

She had hardly ever held and swung a knife before, so her form was far from graceful. She simply poured all her strength into each downward strike.

 

Sweat beaded across her forehead.

 

Although it was less cold underground, the temperature was hardly warm. She must have been moving with all her might.

 

“Wait, a little to the side. Yes, around there, I think.”

 

Gayoung concentrated so intensely that she looked almost possessed, pointing toward the right side of the hollowed-out space.

 

Like an obedient dog, Yoohee continued bringing the knife down according to Gayoung’s directions.

 

Crack!

 

The thick tree root split apart, and a pure light began to softly seep out from within.

 

This was it.

 

All they had to do was remove the roots partially covering it, and they would be able to reach the glowing source of power.

 

BOOM!

 

Then, a harsh cracking sound came from the ceiling.

 

Yoohee, who had raised her knife high, instinctively looked up.

 

“……”

 

Gayoung must have seen the same thing.

 

That was why she couldn’t say anything.

 

[A small number of Constellations hold their breath, worried about you.]

 

[A small number of Constellations eagerly anticipate an interesting battle.]

 

The Constellations’ reactions split into two camps.

 

Hanging from the ceiling was pale white skin resembling an enormous eye.

 

The moment Yoohee met those blue irises, an intense death flag flashed through her mind.

 

‘…….’

 

She knew she had to dodge, but the arrow flew faster than Yoohee could realize what was happening and move.

 

“Gasp!”

 

When she finally came to her senses, the arrow that had been flying straight toward her was already lying on the floor.

 

[The Saturn Ring Shield has been depleted.]

 

Without the shield, the arrow would have pierced straight through Yoohee’s abdomen.

 

She had never been so grateful to have that shield.

 

The problem was how she was supposed to dodge the next arrows.

 

“What are you doing!”

 

The elf hanging from the ceiling drew another arrow and aimed at Yoohee.

 

Gayoung, who had been hiding behind a thick tree root, quickly yanked Yoohee toward her.

 

The elf stopped aiming and lowered her bow.

 

But she did not stop attacking.

 

The elf that had been hanging from the ceiling slowly crawled down the wall.

 

Gayoung grabbed Yoohee’s arm and pulled her completely behind a pillar of roots. But as soon as they heard the slow, heavy footsteps approaching, a terror unlike anything from a horror movie swept over them.

 

Yoohee’s heart pounded so violently that she felt nauseous.

 

“God Constellation, please, grant me your strength.”

 

She prayed rapidly with her lips barely moving.

 

But as always, there was no response from the Constellation.

 

Damn it! If I were a Constellation, I’d help someone this pitiful!

 

“You know what? At this point, there’s only one way.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Yoohee turned toward Gayoung, who explained in a rapid-fire whisper.

 

“One of us handles the elf, while the other handles the core. Then one of us just has to hit the core before the elf gets us.”

 

“Who’s going to handle the elf?”

 

“That would obviously…”

 

Gayoung looked at Yoohee through narrowed eyes.

 

Perhaps because she was slightly taller, the way she looked down at Yoohee somehow seemed strangely hypocritical.

 

“Trust me.”

 

At the same time, Yoohee was helplessly shoved out from behind the pillar.

 

“Senior!”

 

Yoohee shouted at Gayoung in an accusing voice, but it was already too late.

 

With no shield left to protect her, she came face-to-face with the elf.

 

The arrow was already knocked, so the elf could aim at her at any moment simply by raising her arm.