Chapter 20
Chapter 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Price of Defiance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tension surrounding the group was stretched taut, ready to snap at any moment.
I stood at its center, every nerve focused on the approaching footsteps.
He was coming.
My heart began pounding wildly on its own.
I no longer needed to squabble with them.
Once he arrived, all this chaos would sort itself out in an instant.
Dwin charged toward the direction of his approach without a moment's hesitation.
The group was thrown into confusion by my sudden move, but they quickly pieced it together when he appeared.
The Dwin that Siron saw bowed deeply the instant he stood before him.
Without even catching his breath, Dwin reported swiftly.
"As per your orders, we've all completed the Compound-Eyed Wolf quest."
Dwin paused for a moment, glancing back at the group trailing behind him.
Their eyes still burned with distrust and fury.
"But... they want to hunt more wolves."
He offered no reply to Dwin's report, merely sweeping his gaze over Siron's group.
His eyes, utterly devoid of emotion, passed over the four behind him.
Yet that gaze alone seemed to freeze the air solid.
Siron instinctively sensed the man's extraordinary aura.
Siron's mind raced in urgency.
'Is this the one who gave the orders?'
'Even if not, he's receiving reports, so he's definitely higher up than that Dwin creep.'
Siron glanced at his companions, weapons drawn and poised for battle.
They might really end up fighting this guy right here.
But Siron refused to back down.
Before arriving in this place, back on Earth, he had clawed his way through brutal competition to claim the top spot.
'I'll do the same here.'
His pride wouldn't let him bow to some stranger's intimidation.
Siron ran through a potential battle scenario.
The group here today was all level 2. They'd hunted together and gotten a rough read on each other's abilities.
Dwin's included.
His level was 4.
Higher than mine, but the stat gap wasn't overwhelming.
His unique ability didn't look any better than mine either.
With my unique ability [Steel Embodiment], I stood a solid chance in a one-on-one.
If he's this strong, his superiors should be manageable too.
So while I held off this mystery man, the other three could take down Dwin.
We had a shot.
But before jumping into a fight, figuring out their intentions came first.
Talk might resolve it.
And who knew if more allies lurked behind that man.
Gathering intel through dialogue was priority one.
I still knew next to nothing about this world.
Siron hardened his resolve and took a step forward.
Feigning utmost calm, he addressed the man.
"Are you the one who gave the orders? If so, explain why only five..."
Before Siron could finish, the man spoke.
But his words weren't for Siron.
"Need two."
He dismissed Siron and the group as if they were air, speaking solely to Dwin.
He hadn't even considered them worthy of conversation from the start.
Utter contempt.
Siron's face twisted in rage at the sheer arrogance.
But Siron reined in his temper once more and pressed.
"Two? Some emergency? If you need us, answer my question first."
Dwin acted like he hadn't heard a word, fixated only on the man as he asked back.
"What do you mean by 'need'..."
Siron was floored by Dwin's attitude.
From the moment that man showed up, Dwin had been fawning over him like a dog greeting its master.
Just as Siron geared up to demand answers again, fury boiling...
The man responded to Dwin's question.
"Kill two of them."
His voice was perfectly serene, yet the words sent a chill that silenced the entire forest.
Siron finally knew without doubt: these were enemies.
Clear-cut foes.
He bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone, listen up!!! To live, take out Dwin yourselves!! I'll hold that bastard!!"
With the shout, Siron launched off the ground toward him.
His body turned steel-hard in a flash, gleaming with metallic sheen.
A fist packed with his full might rocketed toward the enemy's face.
[Steel Embodiment]. His all-in strike.
But he didn't evade.
Instead, he countered with a punch on the exact same path.
Speed no human eye could track.
In that fleeting instant as the fists met in midair...
He met Siron's punch head-on with identical force.
Precision and timing verging on the miraculous, courtesy of agility stats well over 20.
Kwa-duduk—!!
With the gruesome crunch of metal yielding, Siron's arm crumpled into an unrecognizable mess.
Like a factory-forged alloy slab under a hydraulic press.
His steel arm had warped into a hideous lump, thick as a manhole cover.
"Kraaaaaaaaagh!!!"
An inhuman screech tore from Siron's throat.
The searing pain incinerated his brain; the sight before him pure nightmare.
An arm mangled like a thick manhole cover.
Release the ability, and it'd become a shapeless hunk of meat.
Gazing at it amplified the agony, driving him to scream like a madman.
Yet as the man closed in slowly, survival instinct fired amid the torment.
Siron collapsed, pleading desperately.
"P-Please... spare... anything...!"
His earlier swagger vanished; only a frantic beast remained.
The man gazed down impassively.
"Anything?"
Through the pain-fogged haze, Siron nodded frantically.
The man seized the mangled arm.
Then, with impossible strength, began wrenching the compressed metal back into arm form.
Wooduduk...
Kwa-duduk...
Bones twisting, flesh grinding, metal groaning—it echoed through the forest.
Siron couldn't take it and blacked out.
His arm stretched out in grotesque distortion, no longer remotely human.
I poked at it a bit more but quit after a thought.
'Straightening the bent doesn't make it right, I guess.'
For a regen test—and since stamina potions had been useless—I tossed one in front of Dwin.
Dwin flinched at the abruptly flung red vial.
"Shove it in that one's mouth."
As I commanded, my body blurred away.
Dwin beheld a moment etched forever.
'What the...'
Too brief to fully grasp, but I saw.
He zipped to the three frozen in horror and popped their heads like grapes.
One survivor left.
The lone man slumped, legs limp, shuddering uncontrollably.
Dwin's trembling hands forced the potion down Siron's throat.
Watching the carnage unfold, he flashed back to yesterday's self.
People dying right in front of you? Pure primal terror.
Seeing him kill so offhandedly, Dwin concluded:
Sure enough, that man didn't view people as people.
But like Siron, if they begged slavery before death, he spared them.
Wait—no, that was off.
Slaves? He'd have questioned before killing.
The guy who applied for the first level-up yesterday? Dropped dead, no questions.
The others too.
Those two just now.
Should've asked once if they wanted slavery.
And morning plan was one kill—why two?
Why...
His erratic whims terrified Dwin more.
[His perspective before meeting Dwin's group]
I kicked off my third Zone 2 hunt.
The forest air hung damp and chilly.
Hunting with skills hadn't gone on long when a familiar-yet-new sensation flooded my body.
2nd-grade skill!
But no achievement.
Maybe not first?
Number two, Eok, got a job yesterday.
If he picked a basic job over complex, his skill upgrades could've outpaced mine.
Maybe even in a day.
Achievements were a race among thousands. Monopolizing them? Impossible.
This one might lack one anyway, but it still stung.
Still, the stat boosts exceeded expectations.
At 2nd grade, Demi-God Body wielded demi-god force smoother, more precise.
Greater power from the same amount.
Total capacity ticked up too.
Satisfied, I pressed on with the hunt.
Mid-hunt, curiosity hit about Zone 2 community buzz.
Others might've uncovered stuff I missed.
I paused, opening the community for intel.
The ranking limit notice from yesterday still lingered, but talk had shifted to Zone 2.
I tapped one post amid the flood.
A Compound-Eyed Wolf warning.
Sure enough, they were a real threat to lowbies.
Nothing like the transition slimes. Wolves were true monsters.
My 3-4 level assessment was spot-on.
Without gear or skills, even same-level solo was rough.
Next post.
About elite: Star-Eyed Wolf.
Level 7 one-shot.
Made sense.
Star-Eyed Wolves matched 9.5 stats in speed and power.
No room for complacency.
Hunting better intel, I sought ranking-restricted posts.
Zone 2.
A true monster battlefield.
No experience led to deaths today, but as it builds and levels rise, that'll change.
Once they feel the wolves' strength firsthand, casualties drop near zero.
Zone 2 balanced right there.
One last check.
EXP table post.
Pattern-ish, but off-kilter.
This detail revived yesterday's [EXP Check Scroll] thought.
My current level-up req? No clue.
Knowing exact req per bracket? Plans sharpen massively.
Cost: one Soul Origin. Worth it.
Revised goal.
Shift from one kill to two—for two Soul Origins.
Closed community, resumed hunt.
Leftover ~50 Compound-Eyes, headed to forest entrance for Dwin's group.
Needed monsters to test limited skill effects.
Sparingly hunted wolves, roamed Zone 2 seeking Dwin and his recruits.
Hour no-show? They'd village-returned.
[Back to present]
I checked today's haul.
Skipped EXP/gold. Soul Origins were the real prize: two.
Total: 11 Soul Origins banked.
Straight to Soul Shop, snagged [Grasp Complete] no hesitation.
First skill buy.
Different from job—pure new power earned.
Inner force stirred subtly; fresh knowledge and senses etched into my mind.
Ordered Dwin, then dove back into woods to test this limited skill.
"From now on, you're in charge of those two."
Dwin hesitated a beat at my command, then bowed.
One stared blankly into space, mind broken; Siron just rousing, clutching his wrecked arm, groaning.
Once I vanished, Dwin's gaze turned ice-cold on them.
His voice shed all prior servility—cold, commanding.
Exact echo of how he'd been addressed.
"Snap out of it. Obey my words from here on, or die."