Into the Wolf's Den

The next morning in the safe zone. Maybe it was because I'd fucked to my heart's content last night? I woke up feeling more refreshed than usual. Having risen from the same bed as Mom, I started preparing to head out early. I washed away the traces of last night, gathered my gear, and even ate a proper breakfast. After double-checking that the hideout didn't need any more supplies, I prepared to leave. Mom, Seunghee, and Kaylee all came to see me off.

All three of them stood side by side in swimsuits, as if they'd planned it. This early in the morning... Hmm. For about three seconds, I seriously considered ditching the trip and just locking myself in the hideout to have sex instead.

"Yes. Don't worry."

I pulled Mom into a tight hug and kissed her. While holding her, I couldn't resist my desire and grabbed her ass with both hands. I laughed it off awkwardly, and though Mom gave me a slight glare, she didn't scold me.

"Sure. Wait for me."

I hugged Seunghee the same way and kissed her. She'd clearly learned from somewhere, because she grabbed my ass tightly. I returned the favor, squeezing her ass just as hard. Even though it was small, it was incredibly firm and full.

"Kaylee. I'm leaving the hideout in your care while I'm gone."

"Yes, Master."

Kaylee was the same. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. But since she was taller than me, I had to tilt my head up to reach her lips. That felt strangely novel too. While I was at it, I gave her ass a good squeeze as well. Her tight, muscular cheeks were so firm they practically bounced my hands away.

Mom had a big, soft ass. Seunghee had a small, perky one. And Kaylee had a large, rock-hard ass. Each one as unique and full of personality as the women they belonged to.

After saying goodbye to the girls, I turned to check on the animals.

-Woof.

Leo, who had hatched from his egg just yesterday, had already grown quite a bit more dog-like overnight. He still wasn't ready for hunting, but the way he was growing so fast made me think he had a bright future ahead.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

-Peck!

"Oppa, why are you only mean to Piyak?"

Piyak still looked completely useless. And there was one more animal left. The golden egg that hadn't hatched yet. There were still 14 hours left until it would hatch in the incubator. I was really curious what would come out this time. If I came back from this trip, I might get to see it hatching or right after it did.

I pushed Piyak away as he kept pecking at my combat boots and stepped out of the hideout. Since it was a forest, it was still dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outside.

Even if I went far, I wasn't worried about getting back. I had the hideout's instant return function, after all. Today, I planned to go as far as possible to reveal more of the map. If I could, I'd also try to locate other survivors.

I smiled at Mom, who was watching me with worried eyes until the very end, then closed the hideout's iron door.

-Clang.

"Hoo..."

I took a deep breath of the outside air. The moist air of the dawn forest. Completely pure, without any pollution or fine dust. Just breathing it in felt like it was nurturing my spirit.

"Let's see..."

I opened the Metapia Terminal shop and bought the face mask I'd been eyeing earlier. It was a substitute for the camouflage cream used by the military. It was thin and breathable, so it seemed like a decent investment. When I put it on, it wasn't uncomfortable. Once I got used to it, it should be fine. I'd bought it outside on purpose because wearing it made me look like a criminal. Camouflage was important, but a full ghillie suit would be overkill. Right now, freedom of movement was more important than perfect concealment. I had no intention of marching around with vines and leaves dangling all over me.

The only weapon I carried was the machete in its sheath. Since I'd be traveling far today, I decided to leave the bulky bamboo spear behind. I planned to avoid combat as much as possible, so this should be enough. And if things got really bad, I had the pistol in my pocket too.

Time to head out, then. Probably toward the safe zone in the north, where other survivors might be.

*

And yet——I was definitely heading toward the safe zone. So how the hell did I end up in this situation?

I'd been walking north for about an hour, avoiding combat as much as possible on my way to the safe zone, when a sudden warning message made me stop dead in my tracks. Just ten more minutes and I'd reach the long-awaited boundary zone. Damn it. Looked like they weren't going to let me reach the safe zone that easily.

Should I look for another path? Or turn back? ...Or maybe just charge straight through?

But whatever White Fang was, the fact that the system had gone out of its way to issue a warning meant it was definitely dangerous. I started slowly backing away, intending to retreat, when another ominous message rang out.

"Fuck."

I spun around and ran. Back the way I'd come. I ran to escape the wolf pack's territory.

Wolves. This was a creature I'd never encountered on this island before. When people think of wolves, they usually picture the 'lone wolf' archetype and assume they travel alone. But in reality, wolves often live in family-based packs. And judging from the message, the wolves around here seemed to do the same. This was very bad news for me.

"Huff, huff."

As I ran, I checked the map on my Metapia Terminal. What had been a completely empty path before was now dotted with red enemy markers appearing one after another. It wasn't that creatures were suddenly spawning out of nowhere. The wolves that had been hiding, undetected by the map, were finally revealing themselves.

"Tsk."

Looked like combat was unavoidable. I stopped running and drew my machete.

"Goddamn it."

After seeing the rewards, I had a very strong feeling that I was completely fucked. One hundred coins per follower wolf. It might not seem like much since I earned hundreds of coins every day by having sex with Mom, but the fact that killing a single creature gave 100 coins was an insanely huge reward. A big reward meant equally high danger. And these weren't even the boss—the followers alone were worth 100 coins each. If the minions were that dangerous, the boss leading them, White Fang, had to be absurdly lethal.

"...What the hell do I do?"

I fidgeted with the pistol in my combat suit pocket. One bullet cost 100 coins. But it wasn't more expensive than my life. This wasn't the time to be stingy. The real question was whether a small pistol like this would even work on wolves...

Seungpil had died from just one pistol shot. But wolves were tougher than humans. With their thick fur, powerful muscles, bones, and organs. There was no guarantee a pistol would take them down. That was why people used shotguns for hunting animals in the first place. What the hell should I do? Should I buy a shotgun right now?

I didn't have time to hesitate, so I quickly opened the Metapia Terminal shop. I was already familiar with the interface and quickly searched for what I needed. Weapons. Firearms. Shotguns. The specific model didn't matter. I'd never loaded a shotgun before, but I'd figure it out somehow. I'd seen it in movies, right?

But...

I only had 1,625 coins left. I'd spent almost everything I'd saved yesterday expanding the hideout. Shotguns started at 4,000 coins and went up to 8,000 for the expensive ones. Adding ammo on top of that, which cost 200 to 500 coins, made it completely impossible.

"This... I might actually die here, huh?"

The situation was so serious that I somehow found myself laughing. Even when I'd faced the Tyrannosaurus, I hadn't thought I would die. But right now, I had a serious premonition that I might actually perish.

I hurriedly switched from the firearms section to melee weapons. One machete wasn't going to cut it. I needed something stronger. I picked a spear. Since I didn't have time to browse, I chose the most expensive one available. It cost 800 coins.

"Titanium Alloy Spear, huh."

A spear materialized in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the air. Its name was literally 'Titanium Alloy Spear.' Up until now, melee weapons had cost at most a few dozen to around 100 coins. By that standard, an 800-coin spear was clearly on a completely different level of performance.

"Hoo..."

I discarded the machete I'd been holding and picked up the spear. It was much lighter than I'd expected, which surprised me. There probably wouldn't be any issues with the blade's power either. The real problem would be the person wielding it. Could I actually use this thing properly?

-Grrrrr.

No. It wasn't a question of whether I could use it. I had to use it. If I didn't want to die here, I had to.

The wolves that had been hiding began to reveal themselves one by one. They had black fur with white only around their mouths. Their size was enormous—far bigger than any large dog.

"Fuck me..."

I was seriously screwed. They were much bigger than I'd imagined. Bigger than a person. If large dogs were the baseline, these wolves were Kaylee-sized. And there were four of them. Plus, there was bound to be a leader somewhere. A much more dangerous one called 'White Fang' that led these subordinate wolves.

I swung the titanium spear through the air with a whoosh and glared at the wolves. I absolutely would not turn my back on them. I wouldn't show any fear. I wasn't the one being hunted here. I was the hunter. That was the message I had to hammer into these beasts. It was something I'd learned painfully over the few days since arriving on this island. The moment a beast saw you as easy prey, you were as good as dead.

Four in front of me. There were probably more behind me too, right? The important boss still hadn't shown itself. Was it releasing its minions first to test what kind of human I was?

"Hmph."

If so, I'd show them. I'd show them exactly how this human fights.

I pulled out my pistol and fired at the closest one.

-Bang-!

-Yelp-!

Luckily, the bullet hit the wolf square in the head. It was hard to believe this was the same shooting skill that had only landed 4 out of 10 shots during K-5 live-fire training. It was a perfect hit.

Heh heh. You stupid beasts. How does human technology taste?

The wolf that had been shot in the head thrashed on the ground, scratching its back with its paws. The other follower wolves flinched at the gunshot and took a step back.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack? Huh?"

I licked my lips and advanced toward the wolves. Then I drove the titanium alloy spear into the belly of the one still writhing closest to me.

-Whine-!

It was light. And incredibly sharp. Even though I'd stabbed with one hand, the titanium alloy spear pierced straight through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the wolf's hide and into the ground. Its performance was on a completely different level from the machete whose blade had become ragged and dull.

"Come on already, attack me!"

Shunk. I pulled the spear out of the wolf that was clearly dying. With a pistol in one hand and the titanium alloy spear in the other, I slowly advanced toward the wolf pack. If anyone had seen me right now, they probably would've thought I was crazy.

No. Not like a crazy person.

Right now, I was purely, genuinely insane.