Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 009
Chapter Title: Name
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Woojin spoke to the wolf a few more times.
But the response was utterly lukewarm. The wolf tilted its head curiously, then scratched its ear furiously with a hind leg.
'Was it just a coincidence?'
He was doubtful.
Woojin watched the wolf's movements intently for a while before suddenly losing interest and tossing it the jerky he was holding. The wolf snapped the flying jerky out of the air with its mouth.
Crunch crunch—
The wolf chewed the jerky with relish. It devoured the piece in the blink of an eye, then looked back his way. It smacked its lips as if asking for more.
'Should I give it another one?'
Just as Woojin reached for the jerky pouch with that thought, the wolf's ears suddenly perked up. It lifted its head high and stared off into the distance.
Woojin narrowed his eyes as well. He could sense several sets of footsteps approaching noisily from behind.
'Someone's coming this way.'
Was the wolf sensing the same thing? It abruptly stood and slipped into a nearby bush to hide.
Soon, five burly men swaggered into view. Woojin recognized one of their faces. A receding hairline and a scar slashed across his cheek.
"Jacob. What brings you here?"
Woojin greeted him. Jacob replied with a friendly smile.
"I've come to do business with you. You haven't lost that werewolf pelt already, have you?"
"As you can see."
The pelt was still securely tied to his pack.
Confirming this, Jacob's lips curled higher. The scar on his cheek twisted into something even uglier.
"Hand over that pelt. If you do it quietly, I'll talk my friends out of slitting your throat."
A shallow threat. Woojin quickly grasped the situation.
"So you've been scheming this with Hector from the start."
Once Hector succeeded in the hunt, they'd steal the spoils. To that end, Jacob had spent years building rapport with him through their trades.
As Woojin shot him a hostile glare, Jacob wagged a finger side to side as if to correct him.
"Watch your words. I was just making an investment. Hector's territory is too remote—shipping goods there was always a loss. To recoup my accumulated deficits, I need that pelt."
"So you think this makes it justified?"
"Exactly. After my friends give you a beating, you'll see it my way."
Jacob gestured. His men snickered as they surrounded Woojin.
One of them stood out especially. He was bigger than the rest and, for some reason, shirtless and bare-chested.
Woojin couldn't help but comment on the sight.
"Is that exhibitionist freak one of your friends too? Why's he living so rough compared to the others?"
Jacob shook his head with a laugh.
"Ha! Now I couldn't save you even if I wanted to. To think you'd dare insult a barbarian..."
"A barbarian? That guy?"
"That's right. His name's 'Rex of the Twin Axes.' You should at least remember the name of the man who's going to tear you apart."
No sooner had he spoken than the man called Rex drew a pair of hand axes.
Rex's face flushed red as a ripe octopus. Woojin's earlier jab had clearly gotten under his skin. The warrior advanced with axes gripped in both hands.
Rex brushed past the bush. Seeing this, Woojin said playfully,
"Bite."
A red shadow burst from the bush. The wolf clamped down on Rex's throat.
"Gahk! Gaaargh!!"
Rex screamed and thrashed on the dirt. The wolf whipped its head side to side with all its might. Rex's nape tore open long, blood spraying like a fountain.
Woojin clicked his tongue at the sight.
"That's why you wear armor. When your skills are this pathetic..."
It was practically death by natural causes.
One down, four to go. Woojin scratched his nose and scanned Jacob and his cronies' faces.
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, they stood there gaping like idiots. Woojin drew his machete and stepped toward them.
Thud!
The men shoved Jacob down and bolted. It was a smooth, coordinated move, like they'd rehearsed it.
"Urk, you damned bastards! Get back here!!"
Mercenaries sacrificing their employer as bait. No matter how much Jacob yelled, they didn't even glance back as they fled.
Those guys will live long.
With that thought, Woojin approached Jacob. The lone merchant flattened himself on the ground.
"...Haha, let's talk this out."
"Talking sounds good."
Truth be told, it was a bit of a dilemma.
'I've never killed anyone before.'
Woojin had never taken a human life with his own hands. It was only natural. Opportunities to even see people in this world were rare.
Should he kill him or let him live?
This was uncharted territory, making it hard to decide the right course. A tough call to make lightly.
While Woojin pondered, Jacob rambled on by himself.
"I've got plenty of treasures from my merchant days. Connections too. I'll do anything. We can draw up a contract right now if you want. How about it? Letting me go benefits us both, right?"
Listening to him was exasperating.
"You have that much money?"
"I do! Don't believe me? I'll prove it. Just wait a sec. My wallet's around here somewhere..."
As Jacob rummaged in his pocket, he suddenly drew a dagger and lunged. Woojin reflexively grabbed his wrist.
"...Ha, haha."
Caught, Jacob forced a servile grin. Sweat poured down his forehead.
"...Hey, friend, can't you just let me go?"
"What a pathetic idiot."
"Give me one chance. Killing a loser like me gains you nothing. Right? Come on?"
"Wasn't talking about you."
"Then...?"
Woojin smirked and snatched the dagger.
"I was calling myself the idiot for hesitating this long."
Stab!
The dagger pierced Jacob's throat. Red blood gushed onto the ground. Jacob's body toppled backward.
Woojin rose without a glance at the corpse. True to form as a shrewd trader, Jacob had several valuable accessories, but Woojin felt no desire to touch them.
'...Let's go.'
He hit the road.
For some reason, the wolf stuck by Woojin's side.
He wanted to know why, but there was no way to find out. This red wolf was clever enough to understand human speech, but it couldn't talk like one.
Having grown somewhat fond of it over time, Woojin ultimately accepted the wolf as a companion.
'Guess I should give this guy a name.'
Woojin thought it over. Naming was trickier than it seemed. His naming skills had never been great.
"Rex. From now on, your name is Rex."
So he decided to pass on the dead man's name. Dissatisfied, the wolf let out a low growl.
"How about Jacob, then?"
"...".
The wolf accepted being called Rex.
To soothe it, Woojin tossed it a piece of jerky. His food pouch felt noticeably lighter.
'Time to restock soon.'
With two mouths to feed, supplies were depleting twice as fast. At this rate, they'd run out before long. Luckily, there was a village nearby where he planned to buy more.
Woojin and Rex trudged along, munching jerky. Soon, a large village came into view.
'Way bigger than the last one.'
5th Pioneer City.
It was too modest to call a true city, but sizable for a village. Numbered pioneer cities were key strongholds the Pioneer Group paid special attention to.
...Naturally, he couldn't bring a demonic beast wolf into a place like that.
"You wait here. Hide if people come by."
"Woof."
Rex barked in acknowledgment. Leaving it behind, Woojin headed for the village.
The gate guards eyed him intently. They seemed about to demand a toll. Woojin fished out a prepared silver coin from his pouch and offered it.
"Ah, no need."
But the guards refused the coin. Surprised, Woojin asked,
"Don't I have to pay?"
"It's custom in our city not to charge beast hunters. Go on in."
The guards stepped aside readily. They'd apparently guessed his profession from his appearance. Thanks to that, Woojin entered without spending a dime.
The village buzzed with midday energy.
People bustled about, hauling wagons as they sought work. Lively chatter spilled from the lined-up shops.
Especially tempting were the aromas from street vendors. Woojin stopped unconsciously in front of one.
A woman skewered meat chunks busily. Golden skewers sizzled over a wood fire. Irresistible.
"How much each?"
"Eight coppers apiece."
"Two, please."
Woojin paid with half a silver coin and got four coppers back. Half a silver equaled twenty coppers.
Munch.
He bit deeply into the piping-hot skewer. Crispy skin, chewy meat, bursts of salt from chunky grains.
It was shockingly good.
"...What meat is this? It's incredible."
He muttered aloud. The skewer woman smiled and let him in on it.
"Smoked turkey. Pricier than jerky and shorter shelf life, but nothing beats the taste."
"From inside the barrier?"
"Yep. All food here is. Sourcing ingredients in the Demonic Realm is tough."
Self-sufficiency for city-sized populations in the Demonic Realm was near impossible. Demonic beast meat tasted awful, and the barren land grew little flora or fauna.
Demonic beasts with superior transport ability. Without Tarasque, pioneer cities couldn't survive.
"You're a beast hunter, right?"
Now the woman asked. Woojin nodded silently, chewing.
"Knew it! Lots of folks challenging the recent beast subjugation. Hope you get great results."
"...What do you mean?"
He swallowed and asked back. The woman looked flustered for bringing it up.
"Oh... You don't know? The whole city's in uproar over the beast in the quarry."
"First I've heard. First time in the area."
Curiosity piqued.
"Know anything about it?"
"Just the name in passing. Madstone...? Can't quite recall."
"Mad Skull?"
"Ah, yes! That was it."
Mad Skull.
He'd encountered it a few times. A demonic beast with a steel-hard skull and berserk aggression.
"Catching that'll be tough."
"Oh, really? Explains the high bounty..."
"How much?"
"Seventy golds."
...Hard to ignore.