Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Wolf Hunt (2)
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"What a pain..."
As the wolf-eared woman vanished from sight in an instant, poised to launch her attack, Holy Shield Knight Kim Dong-wook gritted his teeth. The situation had turned utterly ambiguous, and deep sighs escaped his lips one after another.
But lamenting his misfortune lasted only a moment. Dong-wook instinctively sensed the air warping to his left.
"Damn it...!!"
His eyes still saw nothing, but he intuited that the Beast woman was targeting his left side. Without a second's hesitation, he forcefully raised his shield.
Clang!
No sooner had the shield covered his upper body than a heavy impact traveled through his arm. It was a razor-thin timing. Only after blocking the attack could Dong-wook finally track the wolf-eared woman with his eyes again.
"Heh, you blocked it?"
The wolf-eared woman smiled leisurely at Dong-wook. But without withdrawing her fist from the shield, she applied even more force, slowly pushing him back.
"Urgh...?!"
Despite clearly blocking the attack, Dong-wook couldn't hide his bewilderment as he was shoved back shield and all.
What kind of... strength...?!!
Her power surpassed any player he'd faced before, twisting his expression in shock. Her class, the rare Beast, had base stats for attack far superior to others, so it wasn't all that surprising for him to be overpowered.
"Shit..."
Moreover, she was the wolf-eared woman who had openly declared herself among the top 20 Korean players. For someone of her caliber, blocking the attack at all might have been a miracle.
"Eh, you're getting pushed back without even being transformed? How lame."
"Ugh..."
"All that trash talk earlier, and it turns out your mouth's the only thing you've got going for you?"
"Gr, graaah!!"
As the wolf-eared woman took a short breath and ramped up her strength, Dong-wook was flung back with his shield, crashing into a wall somewhere.
A throbbing pain spread along his back, and his HP bar dropped by a noticeable amount.
"Ah..."
Buried under the rubble of the crumbled wall, Dong-wook stared blankly at the sky. Looking up at the clear blue clouds, a hollow laugh suddenly bubbled up from his lips about this situation.
...What was it they called this? Caught between a rock and a hard place? Surrounded on all sides?
It was a situation with no escape.
If he'd called Selverion as the wolf-eared woman demanded, he would've been frozen solid and shattered for bothering her and exposing her to so many people.
...But refusing to call Selverion left him on the brink of death at the hands of the wolf-eared woman right in front of him. No matter the choice, a dead end awaited Dong-wook.
"Ah, those damn Ace bastards."
And he cursed the two raider players from the other night—the culprits behind all this—and their guild, Ace.
Strictly speaking, they had brought death upon themselves, and Dong-wook and the neighborhood residents were the ones owed apologies. So why were the Ace guild members, including the wolf-eared woman before him, making such a fuss?
As always, Korea was ruled by blood ties, regional bonds, and school connections—covering up, hiding, and avenging their comrades' wrongs no matter what.
...Considering how their fanatical followers, dubbed the "Ace Guard," were all over the community even before this incident, that sense of belonging, loyalty, and camaraderie was almost to be expected.
What touching brotherhood from the Ace guild.
"Ha..."
Dong-wook rose with a deep sigh. His body ached, but as a Holy Shield Knight with freakishly high HP, he wouldn't go down easily—even against a ranker Beast.
"Heh, you're up. Feeling warmed up now?"
"......"
The wolf-eared Beast woman stood there as casually as ever. Staring at her, Dong-wook could only muster a bitter smile.
...If we keep fighting, I lose 100%.
The overwhelming level gap was one thing, but as a Holy Shield Knight, his defense and HP were high while his attack power was pitifully low. He might hold out initially, but in a prolonged fight, he stood no chance against her.
...Of course, in-game he'd have fought to the bitter end out of spite, but this was reality. No respawns, no revives—just the brutal end of death.
He had no desire to take huge risks in a fight he was guaranteed to lose. So, with a bitter smile, Dong-wook proposed talking it out with the wolf-eared woman.
"...You're really not open to talking this through?"
...Granting her demand to summon Selverion—the one who'd killed her guildmates—and reaching some compromise seemed incredibly difficult, but dialogue was dozens of times better than fighting. Even without compromise, it would buy him significant time.
"What...? Talk...?"
"......"
"Me? With you? Nah, pass."
But her response was instant rejection, without a hint of hesitation. At the word "talk," the Beast woman's face twisted in contempt as she addressed Dong-wook.
"From my experience, cornered rats begging to talk are always just 'buying time.' Don't bother looking for some pathetic escape, Holy Shield Knight."
"......"
"Just take the beatings until I feel better or your boss shows up."
"Hoo..."
Experience really was something. She had pierced his intent to buy time perfectly, leaving Dong-wook with a wry, bitter smile.
From her words, the odds of her sitting down for a civilized chat seemed near zero.
"This is insane, really..."
In the end, Dong-wook let out a deep sigh and raised his shield again. No choice but to clash head-on now.
Given her ironclad goal of uncovering her comrades' killer, she probably wouldn't kill him until then.
Clinging to that slim chance, Dong-wook committed to this foregone fight.
"...Fine, let's go all the way."
No matter how he pictured it, only a future of humiliating beatings lay ahead, but he vowed not to lose pathetically.
Even a cornered rat can bite.
He swore inwardly to land some damage on the Beast woman somehow and drag the fight out to wear her down.
"...Yeah, that's more like it. Now it's fun."
As Dong-wook prepared for battle, the wolf-eared woman grinned in satisfaction and clapped her fists together. Sweat beaded on his brow from tension as he focused every nerve on her.
Miss once, and I'm done for...
With his current stats, reacting to the Beast's speed was incredibly tough. Miss her movement even once, and he'd eat an attack without responding.
"Hng..."
"......"
The Beast woman overflowed with relaxed confidence, while Dong-wook was overwhelmed by tension in this overleveled PVP. A brief silence hung between them, thick as the calm before a storm.
"...Here I come."
"......"
And so, the Beast woman tensed to launch her first strike, kicking off the ground. Dong-wook gripped his shield tighter, bracing for the heavy impact.
......But before their fists and shield could meet, an unexpected new voice rang out.
— ...Hmm, that's weird.
A voice as cold as a midwinter dawn came from beyond the wolf-eared woman's head. Dry of emotion, it cut sharply through the air into both their ears.
— Our neighborhood isn't usually this popular...
Someone approached slowly, glancing alternately at the Beast woman and Dong-wook. Scratching their head in confusion, they wore baggy gray hoodie and pants, face fully obscured by a black mask—perhaps to hide their identity.
Slender limbs, pale skin, and curvaceous figure suggested a young girl, and in her hand gleamed a vicious greatsword with a blood-red blade.
"Who the hell are you?!"
The wolf-eared woman bellowed at the sudden intruder in her fight. Seeming to peg them as a fellow player, she grew even warier.
"Ah..."
But unlike her, Dong-wook knew who the girl was. The familiar appearance from just two days ago. And the identity hidden within—he knew all too well.
"Y-You..."
...Selverion.
The strongest being in Season Off Fantasy, the one who'd slain the invading Ace guild members two days prior. The very person the wolf-eared woman had been hunting.
"......"
But Dong-wook didn't utter her name aloud. He couldn't reveal her without permission.
"Hm...?"
...Still, sensing Dong-wook's agitation at the girl's arrival, the wolf-eared woman raised an eyebrow and asked him.
"Oh, don't tell me that brat's your boss?"
"......"
"Not answering? Guess that means yes. Perfect."
Dong-wook couldn't deny it, so she turned her gaze fully to the gray-hoodied girl with a satisfied smile.
As the wolf-eared woman's eyes locked on, the girl halted, twirling her greatsword casually before posing a question. A chill voice slipped through her mask.
— ......You with Ace guild? Here to find me...?
The girl asked if she was from Ace and seeking her. The wolf-eared woman snorted and nodded curtly.
"Yeah, been hunting your ass."
Loosening her muscles as if ready to pounce, she glared sharply at the gray-hooded girl.
"You're the bitch who killed Woo-jin and Jin-ho, right? You rotten cunt."
— Huh? Woo-jin and... Jin-ho...?
The gray-hooded girl tilted her head at the Beast woman's words. Then, as if recalling, she clapped lightly with a cheerful air.
— Oh, those murderers?
"......"
— ...Yeah, that's right. I killed them.
Without a shred of excuse, the girl admitted to slaying her comrades. Thick veins bulged on the wolf-eared woman's forehead, her face flushing red with rage.
"You shameless bitch..."
She glared at the girl with eyes blazing fury—like a wolf eyeing prey.
"You dare kill my comrades without a care...? Hack them to pieces? Even dump the bodies?"
— Hm...
Scratching her head at the woman's words, the girl replied in her usual emotionless chill.
— They did shit deserving death...
"What...?"
— Murder, looting, even rape. What the hell were you doing letting your guildmates run wild like that...?
"......"
— ...I just did your job for you, so shouldn't you be grateful? If you're here to say thanks, I'll accept it.
"Ha."
Faced with the girl's nonchalant fiddling of her greatsword, the Ace guild's wolf-eared woman let out an incredulous scoff.
Baring her sharp fangs, she growled at the girl.
"...Shut up. I'll carve you up and bury you just the same."
— Hm, out for revenge...?
"Damn right. My guildmates got butchered— you expect me to sit idle? Let scum like you, a walking hazard, roam free?"
— ......Protecting murderers... Even in these times, that's touching loyalty.
Shaking her head at Ace guild's willingness to avenge their criminal member, the girl sighed and addressed the wolf-eared woman.
— ...Fine, then. Can you kill me?
"Hmph, you questioning me?"
At the girl's not-quite-taunt, the Beast woman snorted. Taking a confident stance, she shouted.
"You don't think I'd rank you with Woo-jin or Jin-ho, do you?"
— ......
"I hit top 18 on the Korean server. Cowards like you hiding levels and looks? Nothing."
— Hm, coward, huh...
"Grit those teeth—I'm killing you right now."
— ...For real?
As the wolf-eared woman bellowed confidently, the girl chuckled softly, eyeing her with interest. A red glint flickered through her mask.
— No regrets...?
"Hmph, regrets? Get ready to be buried, you wretch."
— ...Fine, whatever.
Shrugging at the threat, the girl tossed her greatsword into the air. Defying gravity, it floated beside her.
— Hope you don't regret it.
She removed her mask. Simultaneously, her clothes enveloped in dark crimson light.
The cheap-looking gray hoodie and shorts transformed into an elegant black dress, the black mask reshaping into a luxurious tiara atop her head.
...Then came the overwhelming chill and frost. Even in early summer, the bone-numbing cold made the wolf-eared woman—and Dong-wook—shudder involuntarily.
"Ugh?! W-What? Cold? Ice magic?!"
"......"
Clearly caught off guard, the wolf-eared woman failed to hide her panic, suspecting a skill. But Dong-wook knew the truth of that cold.
It wasn't from a skill or item. It was the natural aura emanating from the girl herself—nothing more, nothing less.
...In that frost that could freeze skin on contact, the girl finally revealed her true form.
"W-What..."
Her atmosphere had shifted utterly from the shabby vibe moments ago. Seeing it, the wolf-eared woman froze in place.
"Wh...? W-Wait, you... you're...? Huh...?"
Her pupils dilated as she rubbed her eyes repeatedly, questioning reality.
It was understandable. Dong-wook had nearly fainted at her first sight too. She was an existence no mere player could behold.
— Hoo...
Her greatsword reshaped into symbolic chains, and she—no, Frost of Ruin, God of Ruin Selverion—began floating skyward.
The cold intensified, feeling like the heart of winter.
— Fine,
...And so, December's stage boss, Season Off Fantasy's most vicious and strongest being, Selverion, addressed the wolf-eared woman who dared challenge her—with icy detachment.
— ......Try killing me, then.
A voice devoid of blood, tears, or any emotion—just endless cold. Burning red eyes that could freeze onlookers solid.
"Uh...?"
The wolf-eared woman's expression hardened.