The Core
Snorting furiously, the Giant Kobold charged at me like a mad beast.
It closed the distance with a speed that defied its massive, lumbering frame.
I raised the shield strapped to my back and gritted my teeth.
"Whew... Whew..."
In this heart-stopping moment, I didn't dare take my eyes off the charging beast for even a second.
I had to time my block perfectly to minimize the damage. Only then would I have the chance to escape outside the blast radius of Sora's skill.
My thoughts lasted only a fraction of a second. When I looked up, the monster was already raising its massive wooden club high into the air.
"Kieeeek!"
Screeching hideously, the Kobold swung the club horizontally. The sheer force of the attack terrified me, but I forced my eyes open, tracking the trajectory until the very last moment as I braced my shield.
The club tore through the air, hurtling toward me at terrifying speed, and slammed into my shield with a deafening crash.
CRASH!
"Argh!!!"
The impact was devastating. I was blown off my feet, flying backward through the air. When I hit the ground, momentum sent me tumbling head over heels until I slammed violently into a tree trunk.
"Gah!..."
The wind was completely knocked out of me. My head spun from the impact of rolling across the hard dirt, leaving me momentarily disoriented.
Perhaps it was because my stats had increased slightly, but thankfully, I wasn't completely paralyzed like the last time I took a hit.
As air slowly returned to my lungs, my senses began to clear. Looking ahead, I saw the Giant Kobold huffing and puffing, glaring at where it had thrown me.
"Ugh... fuck... that hurts like hell... damn it!..."
Dragging myself up, I bolted in the opposite direction of the monster.
Every muscle in my body screamed as if it were being torn apart, but I gritted my teeth and ran, pushing myself to the absolute limit of my current speed.
"Kreeeeek!"
Seeing its prey flee, the Kobold let out a thunderous, enraged roar.
It locked its eyes on me, tensing its massive legs to give chase.
I threw a quick glance toward a nearby thicket. Catching my signal, Sora leaped out from her hiding spot.
Crackle! Snap!
Brilliant blue sparks of plasma crackled and arced violently across her entire body as she dashed forward.
"Eat this and die, you bastard!!!!!"
BOOM!!!!!
The moment she closed in on the Kobold's blind spot, she unleashed her explosion at maximum output, exactly as planned.
A colossal wave of blue light erupted from her. Even as I kept running, I stole a glance backward at the deafening roar, only to see a blinding, searing light rapidly catching up to me.
"Ughhhhhh!!!!!"
I gritted my teeth, pushing my legs to move faster than they ever had, trying to outrun the expanding shockwave.
But the light was far faster than my running speed, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
"Aaaaargh!"
KABOOM!!!!!
With no time left to look back, I threw myself forward.
In that exact instant, a secondary shockwave erupted, and the resulting gale-force blast sent my body flying through the air once more.
"Ugh... ah..."
A low groan slipped past my lips from the sheer agony.
Shaking my head to force myself back to reality, I pushed myself up and looked ahead.
Before me lay a massive crater, looking as though a military-grade bomb had detonated in the middle of the forest.
"*Cough, cough*... Damn... if I had taken the brunt of that... I'd be dead for sure..."
As the thick cloud of dust and smoke slowly cleared, a single silhouette began to emerge in the distance.
Driven by a sudden wave of anxiety, I dragged my battered body toward the center of the blast to check on Sora.
"Haa... haa..."
Standing at the center of the crater was a familiar figure, panting heavily with one foot planted firmly on the chest of the fallen Giant Kobold.
"So-Sora, are you okay? *Cough*..."
"Hah..."
Sora, who had been glaring down at the Kobold with ragged breaths, whipped her head around at the sound of my voice. The moment she saw me, she ran over and threw her arms around me.
"Ah!"
"Whoa! A-Are you okay?"
The impact of her throwing herself into my chest made every single muscle in my battered body scream in agony. I gasped, barely holding back a cry of pain.
Sensing my reaction, Sora quickly pulled back, her face filled with intense worry as she looked up at me.
"Ugh... actually... I feel like I'm dying..."
"You idiot... *sniff*..."
Seeing that I was alive and relatively in one piece, the tears she had been holding back finally spilled over.
To comfort the crying girl, I swallowed the pain and slowly reached out, gently patting her back.
"Ow... but hey, we survived, didn't we...?"
"I-I don't care! *Sniff*... *hic*..."
"Man, look at you, what a crybaby!"
"I'm seriously going to kill you!!"
Even through her tears, she raised a fist to hit me at my teasing, but stopped mid-air as she remembered the state I was in.
"You're so annoying! Seriously..."
"Haha..."
Sora kept wiping her tears with the back of her hand. As the tension finally drained from my body, replaced by a profound sense of relief, I couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she was.
Rumble!
It happened just as I was patting her back, trying to calm her down.
A sudden presence stirred behind Sora, and a massive shadow fell over both of us.
"!!!!!"
The Giant Kobold, which we had assumed was dead, was trembling violently as it dragged its massive frame back up, looming over us.
Summoning the absolute last of its strength, it raised one massive arm high and swung it down toward us.
"No!!!"
I immediately pulled Sora into my arms, raising my battered, barely recognizable shield to brace for the impact, and squeezed my eyes shut.
Splash!
"K-Kie?"
Bracing myself for the crushing blow, I gritted my teeth—only to hear the distinct sound of splashing water.
I cautiously opened my eyes. A massive sphere of water was hovering in mid-air, perfectly absorbing and halting the Kobold's fist.
"Sora! Now!"
A very familiar voice echoed from behind us.
Sora flinched for a split second, but knowing exactly what she had to do, she drew the sword at her waist and lunged forward.
"Aaargh! Just die already!!!"
She charged straight ahead, plunging her blade deep into the throat of the Giant Kobold, which was left completely defenseless as its arm remained trapped in the water sphere.
"K-Kgueee..."
Thud!
Clutching its pierced throat, the Kobold collapsed backward onto the ground.
Hah... hah...
We didn't let our guard down, keeping our eyes glued to the fallen beast for several tense moments.
Soon enough, just like the regular Kobolds, the giant monster's body dissolved into gray dust and scattered into the wind.
"Phew..."
Only then did Sora and I let out a deep, collective sigh of relief.
"Sora! Seong-gi!"
Suddenly, a blue-haired girl rushed over from behind and threw her arms around both of us.
The sudden impact sent another jolt of pain through my body, but I did my absolute best not to show it.
"Thank goodness... *sniff*... I'm so glad you're both okay..."
Clinging to us, Yun-seo sobbed uncontrollably.
I could easily guess what was going through her mind. The terrifying thought that we might have died must have consumed her with guilt and anxiety.
Seeing us safe and sound must have brought a wave of relief and gratitude, bursting the dam on the tears she had been holding back for the entire day we were separated.
Sora and I exchanged a look, silently agreeing to let Yun-seo cry it out and process her emotions.
*Sniff*... *sob*... *hic*...
After crying for a few minutes, Yun-seo finally calmed down. She pulled back and carefully scanned our faces.
"You're really okay, right? Sora, you're not hurt either? *Sniff*..."
"Y-Yeah, I'm totally fine!"
"Me too! Ow!"
Trying to reassure her, I made an exaggerated gesture, only to gasp as a sharp pain shot through my side, forcing me to clutch my ribs.
"Hey! Pervert! Are you okay?"
"Seong-gi!"
As I groaned in pain, both girls leaned in close, hovering over me with worried eyes.
I raised a hand to show them I was fine, then straightened my back and looked at them.
Both of their faces were completely smeared with tears.
"Phew... I'm fine. It hurts a bit, but... considering what we went through, this is a miracle."
Once I stood up and assured them I was alright, they finally seemed to relax a little.
"By the way, Yun-seo, how did you end up here...?"
Curious about her impeccable timing, I asked how she had found us. Yun-seo wiped away her lingering tears with the back of her hand and spoke.
"I was so worried about you two... I've been waiting near the entrance of the Trial Zone since early this morning... *sniff*..."
"Hey! What if you had run into that Giant Kobold all by yourself?!"
Sora snapped, scolding Yun-seo for her recklessness. Yun-seo's eyes went wide at the sharp tone, and then, as if a faucet had been turned back on, she burst into tears all over again.
"Waaaaah! I was just so worried! I couldn't sleep a wink thinking you guys might have died out here while I was safe in the Residential Area! *Sniff*... *sob*! It was so hard, you know?!"
"Sora, that was a bit harsh. Seriously."
"H-Hey! Don't blame this on me... I mean, Yun-seo, I only said that because I was worried about you too, okay? I'm sorry. Come on, stop crying, please?"
*Sniff*... *hic*...
Sora had started to glare at me, but she quickly turned her attention back to the sobbing Yun-seo, gently patting her back to soothe her.
Under Sora's gentle coaxing, Yun-seo's crying gradually subsided.
*Sniff*...
"Phew... you calm now?"
"Yeah..."
Watching the two childhood friends care so deeply for each other brought a warm smile to my face.
"Um, Seong-gi."
"Yes?"
I looked up at Yun-seo as she called my name.
Wiping away her tears, she offered me a beautiful, radiant smile.
"Thank you... for keeping your promise..."
"Ah..."
Before sending her back, I had promised her that I would bring Yang Sora back safe and sound.
Realizing what she meant, I nodded with a grin.
"I told you to trust me, didn't I?"
"Ehehe..."
We looked at each other and laughed.
*Cough*! Ow...
The laughter triggered another spasm in my abdominal muscles, forcing me to clutch my stomach.
"L-Let's head back quickly!"
"Yeah, let's get back and treat those wounds!"
Sora and Yun-seo both stepped up to support me from either side.
I wasn't about to act tough this time, so I was ready to lean on them when a sudden thought flashed through my mind.
"W-Wait a second!"
"What is it?! Are you in a lot of pain?"
"Where does it hurt?"
"No, no. We need to collect the teeth from that Giant Kobold!"
Realizing we couldn't leave the valuable loot behind, I weakly pointed toward the spot where the monster had dissolved.
"Oh, for crying out loud! Is that really what you're worried about right now?!"
"But... we went through hell to kill it. We have to take the loot..."
Sora glared at me with a terrifying expression, and intimidated by her gaze, my voice trailed off into a meek mumble.
Seeing my pathetic state, Sora let out a heavy sigh and walked over to the spot where the Kobold had fallen, scanning the ground.
"Huh?"
As she gathered the teeth, she tilted her head in confusion, picked something else up, and walked back to us.
"Look at this!"
"What is it, Sora?"
Sora held out both of her hands. Her palms were piled high with Kobold's Teeth.
"What's this? Did it drop multiple teeth because it was a giant variant?"
"Maybe, but that's not the point. Look at this!"
I took the teeth from her and stuffed them into the pouch at my waist.
As I did, Sora thrust a dark bead right in front of my face.
"I get why a big guy would drop a lot of teeth, but what on earth is this?"
The bead she held was about the size of a large eyeball. Far from letting light pass through, it seemed to actively radiate a faint, dark aura.
I took the bead from her hand and stared at it for a few seconds to pull up its information window.
◈ A core that exists only within powerful monsters.
◈ Upon consumption, permanently increases all of the user's stats slightly.
"Holy crap!"
"What is it?!"
I couldn't help but gasp as I read the item description. This was an incredible find!
A consumable item that permanently boosts stats just by using it!
"Look at this, quick!"
I handed the core back to Sora. She stared at it for a moment before gasping in shock.
Watching our reactions, Yun-seo tilted her head, peered at the core, and clapped her hands in delight.
"We would have made a huge mistake if we'd left this behind!"
"Seriously! Hey, Pervert! There were actually two of these on the ground!"
Sora held up a second core, turning it over in her hands with an excited, beaming smile.
I shared her excitement and tried to move, but a sudden jolt of pain forced me to freeze. Seeing this, both girls immediately rushed to my side to support me.
"We can look at this later. Let's get back first!"
"Yes! Let's go, quickly!"
The two of them urged me forward, and we began our slow trek back to the Residential Area.
As they supported me, their bodies naturally pressed flush against mine. I could feel a wonderfully soft, pleasant sensation pressing against both of my arms.
Even in this agonizing pain, my body still reacts... I really am a beast, I thought to myself. I focused all my mental energy on keeping my lower half from acting up as we slowly made our way back to the Residential Area.
Take a look at our beautiful Yun-seo~~ The illustrations turned out so well that I decided to upload both!