Wolf (2) (Battle Mode? Future Sight? Super Account...?)
The sandstorm that had felt ominously off from the start swallowed us in an instant. I blocked the howling wind with one hand and squinted toward where the wolf had been, half-frowning. (Damn it… I can’t see a thing…)(Since when do sandstorms move this fast…?) It had definitely been right in front of us… but after blinking a few times, we were already deep inside it.
I tried to locate the creature amid the violently whipping gusts that made it hard to even stay upright. No matter how hard I scanned the area, the wolf I’d seen just moments ago was nowhere in sight.
(Goddammit…)
(Where the hell did that wolf bastard disappear to?)
I recalled the red eyes I’d seen only seconds earlier, that massive, murderous silhouette hidden in the sand. But all that stretched ahead was the fiercely swirling sandstorm. With my eyes half-closed, I shouted at the top of my lungs toward where Team Leader Kim Minhyuk had been standing. All that came back was the indifferent roar of the sand and the creeping dread of not knowing when or where the beast would strike.
(Fuck…)
(Wasn’t he right behind me just a second ago…?)
It had definitely been right there—no more than three meters away—where one man had been grabbing another idiot by the collar. Like I’d suddenly gone blind, I began losing all sense of direction. Picturing the wolf in my mind, I drew the pistol from my coat.
(Damn it… where the hell is it?)
(Does that thing already know exactly where we are?)
If that was the case, the odds were basically zero-to-ten. Even if I wanted to run, the situation wouldn’t let me. I dredged up memories of fighting the creature and prayed this would at least be a fair blind-man-versus-blind-man brawl. But those red eyes flickered closer like a warning light, suddenly appearing and throwing me off balance.
(Fuck… when did it get this close?)
(Was it because my eyes were closed?)
Goddammit… It’s a canine. Maybe it doesn’t even need to see us—it can just follow our scent. Instinctively, I swung the gun toward where I thought it was. The raging wind shook the barrel. At the same time, that familiar voice rang inside my head again.
> Visual information display activated.
> Simultaneously providing enemy location verbally.
> Focus ahead. Silver Fang will commence attack shortly.
“!!!”
Along with the mysterious voice telling me to watch the front, a faint silhouette began to overlay reality like an afterimage. In the middle of my confusion about what the hell was happening, I followed the phantom as if possessed.
(What is this…?)
(What the hell is going on right now…?)
The blurry sandstorm. The illusion slowly shifting toward my right. The real creature was definitely hiding behind the sand, impossible to see clearly, but the phantom floated above the storm as if in another space, perfectly sharp. I stared at the bizarre phenomenon unfolding before my eyes for only a moment before the unknown illusion’s trajectory pierced straight through my chest. Once again, the familiar voice issued a warning.
Attack incoming in 1 second.
Dodge immediately.
The instant the blunt command to dodge ended, the overwhelming pressure from above crushed me. I instinctively dropped flat to the ground. The monstrous attack whistled right over my head.
“Shiiiiiiiiiick!!!!!”
“!!!!”
The creature’s strike was so powerful it altered the flow of the raging sandstorm for a split second. It matched the trajectory I had seen perfectly, without a single millimeter of error. Still pressed to the ground, I stared at the bizarre sight.
(What the…?)
(This illusion… is it showing me the future?)
I’d been curious what “Future Sight” even meant, but I never imagined it would hammer the lesson into me this brutally. At least it proved everything I’d seen and felt until now wasn’t the result of a hole in my brain. The real problem was that the next trajectory wasn’t aimed at me—it was heading the other way.
(Shit… is it going for Team Leader Kim Minhyuk?)
We hadn’t known each other long, but if he died here like that, my PTSD might actually come back. Feeling the vibrations in the ground grow distant, I shot to my feet and screamed.
“Move!!!”
“I said move, damn it…!!!!”
“…”
Between the gradually weakening sandstorm, I shouted with everything I had at the blurry silhouette standing there frozen. No answer came back. I started running desperately, following the trajectory.
(Fuck…!)
(Can’t he hear my voice? Or did he just zone out completely?)
Please… let it be the first option, not the second like that sleazy bastard Lee Chaeman earlier… I glared at the alien illusion heading toward the team leader and launched a dropkick with all my strength at the faint trajectory trying to slice the man in half.
“Ugh…!!”
“Kwaaaaaang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
With a weak groan, the team leader tumbled in the opposite direction of the trajectory. A tremendous noise exploded as sand blasted outward in every direction. I couldn’t see a thing, but the illusion remained crystal clear as it charged toward me. I sprang up without even catching my breath.
“Shiiiiiiiiick!!!!!!!!”
“Kgh…!!!”
As if telling me not to interfere, the creature’s massive paw sliced through the air and grazed my cheek. I dodged the attack and shouted into the sandstorm.
“Hey! Do something, damn it!!!!”
“Throw some of that magic you used earlier…!!!”
“…”
I screamed until my throat felt raw, but no reply came—only the merciless swirl of sand. In desperation, I pulled the trigger several times toward the creature. It charged at a speed that made it hard to believe it had been hit by bullets at all. The wolf in the sand swung its front paw at me as if nothing had happened.
“Kgh…!!”
Mana depleted.
Skill LV. 1 Future Sight maintenance time remaining: 3 minutes.
2 minutes 59 seconds… 58… 57…
(Fuck… this is bad…)
(This ability disappears in three minutes?)
Goddammit… how the hell am I supposed to kill that thing in three minutes? Even with the attacks fully visible, I’m barely keeping up. If this ability cuts off, it’s only a matter of time before both of us get torn limb from limb. So… should I just go crazy and charge in?
(…)
I knew better than anyone that it was insane, but simply dodging like this wasn’t going to solve anything. I’d survived back then somehow. Now that I’d leveled up, maybe I could actually beat this monster. With baseless confidence, I slipped through a gap in the faint trajectory and smashed my pistol grip with all my weight into the creature’s completely exposed neck.
“Crack…!!!”
“!!!”
An intense sound like something hard shattering. The heavy vibration came from putting my full body weight behind the pistol grip and slamming down. It was so heavy and powerful that even I was shocked. As if to prove the feeling wasn’t an illusion, the monster let out a pathetic whimper like a kicked puppy and staggered backward.
“Yelp…!!!”
There was no dignity left in it. A truly cornered, pathetic whine echoed out. Flames flew toward the fleeing creature and instantly began burning its white fur.
“Kiiiiiiiiiiing…!!!!!”
“!!!”
The illusion moved erratically, accompanied by pitiful screams. It was no longer driven by killing intent—only raw, pained instinct. At the same time, a weak voice torn by the sandstorm reached my ears.
“Now…. mouth!! Hurry and…!!!!”
“…”
What the hell are you saying… Anyway… now that I’m doing all the work, you finally speak up. I don’t know exactly what you said, but it sounded like “finish it.” I slowly walked toward the gradually fading afterimage. I aimed my gun at the half-extinguished flames and the wolf’s eyes that now looked up at me pitifully, as if begging to be killed.
“Let’s end this… this shitty bad blood…”
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
- Level up!
The situation was over. The creature turned to dust, leaving behind a single mana stone before vanishing completely. What about the remaining wolf? I beat the shit out of it, obviously. Thanks to the level-ups, I finished the last one off with just a few punches. I slammed my fist down on the whimpering wolf’s snout while it lay on the ground and watched it disintegrate into dust along with the sandstorm.
Level limit reached!
Quest (2/2) completed.
Well done.
“…”
The dry, mechanical voice saying “well done” echoed in my head. I pulled a cigarette from my pocket.
“Ha… fuck.”
I’d promised Elphy I wouldn’t smoke… But as if possessed, I lit it with my faintly trembling right hand. Feeling the acrid smoke fill my lungs and spread through my body, I stared at the sandstorm disappearing into the distance.
(What happened to the people who left before us?)
(Don’t tell me… they all actually died?)
“…”
Flicking away the ash, I replayed what had just happened. The voice in my head had clearly declared, “The monster magic ‘Blood Tracking’ cast on the user has been dispelled.” In other words… these wolves had appeared because of me and Lee Chaeman?
“…”
My mind and heart were a mess. Did this wolf really appear because of me? No… what the hell was this voice in my head to begin with? Why was it telling me the wolf showed up because of me?
The thoughts swirled chaotically, giving me a headache and wrinkling my brow. Then one idea suddenly crossed my mind.
(What if… it answers when I speak?)
I still had no idea what this voice in my head was or its true identity, but maybe it wasn’t one-way—maybe it worked both ways. Thinking this was my chance while no one was around, I started muttering like a madman.
“Who are you? What the hell are you?”
“…”
“The fact that it followed our scent means the wolf appeared because of Lee Chaeman, or me, right?”
“…”
“Answer me… answer me already!”
“…”
Goddammit… so it’s one-way, not two-way? Despite my desperate cries, the voice in my head only answered with a long silence. I kept puffing out cigarette smoke with a stupid look on my face, like an idiot.
“Haa… fuck.”
(I’m going crazy… did I actually lose my mind?)
(No… my mind feels way too clear for that…)
(This isn’t some afterlife bullshit… is it?)
The thought that I had died to the wolf that day and this was actually the afterlife. Of course, even while thinking it, I knew it was complete nonsense. But I couldn’t stop the flood of wild ideas—brain in a vat, virtual reality, all of it.
Honestly, it doesn’t make any sense, does it? If I told anyone this, they’d try to lock me in a psych ward, right?
> Mana depleted.
> Combat mode disengaged… entering power-saving mode.
> Awaiting administrator response…
“…”
This bitch… won’t answer when I ask but keeps spitting out its own messages. Ha… fine, fuck it. I don’t know anymore. I’ll just pretend there’s a radio stuck in my head. I exhaled acrid smoke with a sigh.
(Yeah. Fuck it… I survived thanks to it, so that’s enough…)
I was mentally exhausted. I’d just live with it somehow. If it started talking randomly I’d really lose it, but from experience it didn’t seem like that would happen. I crushed the cigarette under my foot, hoping that everything I was experiencing right now was real, that none of what I was seeing and feeling was an illusion…
> Acknowledged. Presenting answers to user’s questions.
> Question 1. Did that wolf appear because of me…?
> Answer. Negative. A separate perpetrator first awakened the wolves.
> Blood Tracking merely pursues all humans within the ability’s activation range.
“…”
It was like that… Wait… this bastard actually answered? This fucking thing… I wasn’t ready and it suddenly started talking, so I’m flustered… That’s why I can’t even speak properly.
“W-wait…!! Wait…!!!”
“Wh-what did you say?”
> Mana insufficient.
> Proceeding directly to answer for the next question.
> Question 2. Who are you? What is your true identity?
> Answer. It is proof that God trusts you. Proof that God loves you.
> At the same time, it is the reason you must become the power of God.
> I am a single item. I symbolize the final Super Account.
“…”
What? What…? God? Item? Super Account? What the hell is all that? Why is this bastard suddenly talking so fast compared to before? I muttered to myself again, but the thing gave no further answers. Once again, I just stood there with a stupid look on my face.