Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Peach
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There were four bandits left.
Once I'd made up my mind to kill these guys whose strength I couldn't quite gauge...
'Hit them fast.'
I had to end it with a preemptive strike before they could prepare.
"That bastard! The tree over there!"
One of the bandits spotted me charging out and pointed.
'As, Sia.'
I summoned two skeletons at the same time.
Their positions were slightly to the left and right, keeping some distance from the bandits.
"Summons?"
"That idiot. What the hell is a summoner supposed to do summoning them from afar? Target the summoner!"
"I don't think that'll work. Look at that skeleton over there. With that black aura rising off it... doesn't it look insanely strong?"
"Damn it. At this rate, we can't go after that guy. Those skeletons could hit us from behind in an instant."
As expected, As's intimidating appearance was doing a great job sowing confusion among them.
"Then focus on defense first!"
Success.
I'd gotten them to huddle together in one spot without moving.
That way, they wouldn't bother taking the fallen student hostage.
'Wipe them all out at once.'
I could sweep them away in a flash with [Lava Shield].
These weren't monsters—they were thinking humans.
If they learned my fighting style, they'd come up with countermeasures.
"He's coming!"
"Watch the skeletons too while you're at it!"
I'd already closed in right next to the four huddled bandits.
One of them yelled and thrust his sword vigorously at my chest.
'Not impressive.'
Judging by the speed of that thrust, I wouldn't even need to slow the world down.
I slowly raised my sword while checking the positions of the remaining bandits.
One straight ahead stabbing with his sword.
Two on the right. One on the left.
Timing it, huh?
No need to block with my sword then.
It felt like it activated every single time when I wasn't desperate.
Before the bandit's sharp sword tip could touch my chest, [Lava Shield] appeared.
"A defense skill!"
The bandit's sword melted away in an instant, losing its form.
Unlike with the sick warhorse, I boldly thrust my sword into the chest of the enemy right in front of me.
Unlike the warhorse, my sword worked just fine on these guys.
"Haksu! You bastard! Kill him!"
The one on the right raged at his comrade's death and swung a fist at me.
'A skill.'
His arm turned pitch black in an instant.
For him to swing after seeing the power of [Lava Shield], it wasn't some ordinary skill.
His fist collided with [Lava Shield] unscathed and sent my body tilting slightly with its immense force.
My sharp sword had already sliced through the air, severing the neck of the man on the left.
'Two left on the right.'
With [Lava Shield] protecting me, there was no need to exert effort on defense.
I focused solely on attacks to kill.
"You son of a bitch. I'll kill you."
"Do you even know who we are?!"
Who else? Just humans like me in Utopia.
I ignored the two men's colorful curses and looked past their shoulders.
As had already taken position behind them and was swinging his greatsword from left to right with terrifying momentum.
Unlike against the bloodsucking moths, As used the blade edge this time, not the flat.
The two bandits' heads hit the ground with wide, uncomprehending eyes.
Unlike their initial caution, once the fight started, they'd focused all their attention on me like fools.
I was blending my old, reckless fighting style from the Undying Lord days with my current summoner tactics.
'Since my past life was a failure, time to refine it.'
Thinking only of the fight with Solomon.
"Sia. Heal that guy."
At my command, Sia extended her hand toward the fallen young man from afar.
A new discovery from five days of hunting bloodsucking moths.
There was no need to touch someone directly to use the skill.
A white glow enveloped the young man, healing his wounds in an instant.
"Huh? W-what? An undead monster using heal?"
The young man lifted and lowered his now-perfectly fine arm, his face full of disbelief.
"Thank you, hyung. Seriously, thank you!"
He suddenly jumped up as if remembering something and bowed deeply to me.
No need to be that grateful.
This was a transaction.
I get the info I need, and he gets his life saved.
A win-win deal.
The reason I'd taken the risk and jumped in so suddenly was obvious.
"That peach you mentioned earlier. Where is it?"
It was because of the treasure he'd talked about.
"The peach?"
"Yeah. The white peach. I saved you, so you can at least tell me that much."
I knew what the peach was.
The infamous Heavenly Peach.
The one Sun Wukong ate in Journey to the West to gain immortality.
Of course, it wasn't the Heavenly Peach from legend, and it didn't grant immortality.
But it carried an incredible skill.
'Who would've thought I'd find a Heavenly Peach here.'
[Status Ailment Immunity].
It granted immunity to all status effects—fear, sleep, hallucinations, burns, frostbite, you name it.
Just like how Jeong Sia had been fine after taking drugs.
"You're going to get that peach?"
"Yeah. Where is it?"
"Well..."
Is there a problem?
He wasn't opening up easily after hearing I was going for the peach.
There was no way the Heavenly Peach was a lie.
He couldn't have known about white peaches in Utopia without seeing it.
"Actually, my comrades who went with me to get it all died. Because of one monkey."
One monkey?
"You mean you all got wiped by a single golden monkey?"
At that level, they'd be better off just working a desk job on Earth.
"I lied to the bandits earlier. The peach isn't guarded by a golden monkey—it's a monster monkey. One that speaks human language. Incredibly strong."
"Speaks human? You sure?"
"Yes. Positive."
Sometimes in Utopia, outside of dungeons, there were beings like that.
Monsters that transcended normal limits, like dragons or yokai, who didn't revive upon death.
In my past life, we called them Irregulars.
'Could be dangerous.'
I didn't recall any human who ate the Heavenly Peach mentioning an Irregular.
They'd just said they luckily got their hands on something hidden.
But I had no intention of giving up the Heavenly Peach easily.
"Did you intentionally lure those bandits there? To feed them to the monster monkey guarding the peach?"
This kid's got some guts.
I thought he was just helplessly getting beaten, but in that short time, he'd planned the best revenge he could manage.
"Yes... That's right. But hyung, you know exactly what that peach is, don't you?"
No point lying now. It wouldn't make sense to fight bandits over some unknown peach.
"It's a real treasure, huh?"
"Useful item, yeah."
His eyes sparkled for a moment.
"Hyung, I'm 17 this year. Name's Kwon Hyuk-sang. What's yours?"
Totally out of left field.
Suddenly spilling his info and asking my name.
"Why ask for my name all of a sudden?"
"Just wanna get closer. Heh heh."
Kwon Hyuk-sang scratched the back of his head shyly.
"Lee Han."
Was this the same kid bawling his eyes out moments ago?
"Cool name, hyung Lee Han!"
Why's this guy suddenly so friendly?
I set aside my doubts as Kwon Hyuk-sang kept asking questions.
"You're not planning to go alone, right? We should form a team, hyung."
"Just how strong is it?"
I asked the experienced Kwon Hyuk-sang to gauge the Irregular's power.
"The comrades I came with averaged level 40. Including me, that was seven people. They all died, and I barely survived. You get the idea?"
An Irregular that beat six level 40s on average.
I'd expected that level of strength, so it wasn't particularly helpful info.
But something was suspicious.
"How'd you survive?"
I couldn't just trust him because he'd nearly died to bandits and took a liking to me.
"Did you throw your comrades as bait and run away alone?"
I couldn't trust him blindly.
He could stab me in the back anytime.
"Huh? No, that's not... "
Kwon Hyuk-sang hesitated, not answering easily.
That was answer enough.
I didn't wait for his response.
"You're coming with me."
He looked flustered.
"Me? Why? Can't I just tell you the location?"
"Can't trust you."
I figured keeping Kwon Hyuk-sang close would stop him from any funny business.
"Don't wanna go? Then die here. But you'll tell me the location anyway."
"Y-you're gonna kill me?"
A guy who'd abandoned comrades and fled in fear? Five minutes.
No, one minute, and he'd spill everything.
"I saved you for the peach info. If I don't get it, you're useless."
At my killing intent-laced tone, Kwon Hyuk-sang stammered.
"W-wait, hyung Lee Han. There's a misunderstanding. I didn't use my comrades as bait and run."
Too late.
"Not really curious."
The moment he hesitated on my question, he lost credibility.
"Share your status window."
From now on, I'd judge Kwon Hyuk-sang myself by watching and experiencing.
"Share your status window with me."
Better check his traits just in case.
With his weak response, I checked his info.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 12 💨 Agility: 12 ✨ Magic Power: 64 💪 Stamina: 11 Trait: Tenacious Merchant (Advanced) Unique Skill: Vending Machine "You have a special-type trait?"
"Yes, hyung."
Kwon Hyuk-sang nodded, then continued as if wronged.
"And I survived because I didn't follow them all the way to the peach. They told me to stay back since I'd just get in the way of the fight."
Looks like I'd misunderstood big time.
"Why hesitate instead of saying that from the start?"
With those stats, he couldn't have abandoned or baited his comrades and fled.
The moment an Irregular spotted him, he was dead anyway.
So backstabbing me was out of the question too.
"Felt kinda embarrassing saying it in front of someone as strong as you... Wanted to get friendly too. You looked so cool fighting earlier..."
Fair enough.
A guy that age.
The moment he got his trait, he probably dreamed of being the protagonist.
'But reality is harsh.'
He must've quickly faced the truth of being support.
That would've made him admire real protagonists with overwhelming power he lacked.
"What's the Vending Machine skill? Says it sells items. Like swords or armor?"
No way was I comforting or apologizing. Just curious about the unfamiliar skill.
What exact power let them bring a guy with goblin-level stats hunting?
"Maybe later, but right now, I sell recovery potions."
Recovery potions?
"Heal wounds when consumed?"
"Yeah. Essential game item."
There were recovery potions in my past life too.
Expensive alternatives when healers were rare.
So Kwon Hyuk-sang's trait could substitute for a healer. Worth bringing hunting.
"Level's low now, so just basic recovery potions, but later there are buffs and such."
And growth potential too.
'Lots of traits I never saw in my past life.'
Makes sense—I'd have been dead otherwise, so his trait never got known.
"Cash transactions?"
"Yes."
"Levels up the more you trade, huh."
Kwon Hyuk-sang stared at me in surprise.
"Huh? How'd you know? Most people don't."
"Know a guy with a special-type trait."
"Ah... I see."
He nodded, then asked cautiously.
"But hyung... I was too scared to say earlier, but you're not really going alone, right?"
"I am."
"You sure...?"
His voice trembled slightly, eyes shaking intensely.
I got why he was acting like this.
"Not taking you. Just tell me the location."
It was because I'd said I couldn't trust him and planned to drag him along.
"N-no, I want to go with you, hyung."
Huh? Was I wrong?
"Your hands are shaking. Aren't you scared?"
Why insist on coming while trembling?
"Scared, but I can't miss this."
"Miss what? The peach?"
"No. You."
I took a step back from Kwon Hyuk-sang. That's what it was.
"Not like that, don't misunderstand!"
"Then what?"
He hesitated, then spoke.
"Don't get mad."
"Already annoyed."
"Got it. Here goes."
What could make him push this hard to follow?
"You reek of money, hyung. Tons of it."
Interesting.
He grinned mischievously at me.