Chapter 53
Chapter 53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Han Geon-ju (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After lounging around for about ten minutes, the injuries that had ravaged my entire body and snapped my bones were completely healed. But when I tried to sit up, a throbbing pain shot through me. Seemed like the wounds closing up and the accumulated fatigue leaving my body stiff were separate issues.
I grabbed my neck, which cracked with every turn, and stretched. Tilting my head ninety degrees just to see the towering cliff ahead made everything feel hopeless. A dry chuckle escaped me at the sheer rock face—so high its peak vanished into the haze.
"Now how the hell am I supposed to climb this?"
Coming down had been easy enough, but going up? A whole different story. I wondered if I even needed to bother when a suspicious noise drifted in from somewhere.
Hard to pin it down exactly—it sounded like something scraping the ground, or maybe a sleek shape slicing through the water.
Using a rock for support, Geon-ju drew his sword and gripped it tight. Whatever it was, in an S-grade gate like this, a B-grade like me couldn't expect any friendly surprises.
Drip, drip. Water streamed from his hair, soaking the rocks below. Then, a faint hiss overshadowed the patter of droplets.
—Ssssh.
The clear sound sent chills racing up his spine.
Color drained from the hand clutching his sword as his eyes darted to the valley stream. The water looked fairly clean, but it was deep enough that the bottom stayed hidden.
Geon-ju's instincts screamed that the source of the noise lurked in those unseen depths. Every nerve and muscle in his body tensed, ready for the fight ahead.
His sharp gaze scanned every inch from one end of the visible valley to the other. That was when it happened.
Splash!
A massive column of water erupted with the sound of it parting.
No, not a column—it was spray kicked up by something enormous surging from the stream's depths. The sight evoked a dragon's leap, and Geon-ju leaped back. In those split seconds, he'd retreated three paces, just as a torrent crashed down where he'd stood.
The spray hit his face, forcing him to turn his head.
A shadow fell over him.
A colossal, elongated shadow blanketed Geon-ju's head and stretched far into the brush behind him.
"......"
The shadow's length—several times his own size—made his legs buckle for a moment. Craning his neck until it hurt, he finally saw 'it': the creature's face.
Dark blue scales glistened with moisture. Tracing up the slick, glossy skin led to a reptilian snout adorned with a few white whiskers.
Its slit pupils, elongated vertically, radiated menace. The moment their eyes met, Geon-ju felt crushed by its sheer presence, his eyelids twitching faintly.
"...A dragon?"
He cautiously sized up the beast, massive and dragon-like, brimming with threat. Then it flicked out its tongue. Even that simple motion, given its size, terrified him.
—Ssssh.
The familiar hiss emanated from its writhing tongue. Geon-ju braced his legs.
It's not a dragon.
A snake.
More precisely, an oversized imugi.
The moment Geon-ju reached that conclusion, the imugi ended its probing and lunged.
Krunch!
The rocks couldn't withstand its charge, shattering with a roar. Amid the flying spray, the raging imugi barreled forward. Geon-ju rolled aside at an angle, dodging its bulldozer rush.
Boom!
His three quick rolls spared him as the strike pulverized empty air. Choking on dust, Geon-ju waved it away to clear his blurred vision.
Feels like I'm doing all my lifetime rolling right here.
Not like he was practicing some wuxia tumbling technique, but he'd rolled every which way. What a mess.
Normally, he'd never stoop to groveling on the ground like this.
Shaking off the thought, Geon-ju sprang up just as the imugi rammed headfirst again. No room for daydreaming or slacking—not with his limited combat experience.
His legs wobbled once before steadying.
—Hiiiiss!
The imugi gaped wide, baring its vicious fangs. Even a graze would be fatal.
No expert knowledge needed to know an S-gate imugi's venom would wreck a B-grade like him.
At minimum, it'd paralyze him long enough that he couldn't down a potion. And in battle, even a split-second gap decided life or death.
Heightened alertness fixed on the rapidly closing imugi, Geon-ju drew a deep breath. He knew better than to dodge the same way three times.
His narrowed eyes traced its charge trajectory. Anywhere it could reach before hitting him was its strike zone.
Worst-case scenario.
Brain racing, Geon-ju chose to charge head-on, meeting the beast that looked ready to rip his limbs off.
Rumble!
Gulp.
He swallowed hard as it barreled toward him at ferocious speed.
Five meters, three, two. Distance shrank fast.
Fifty centimeters, thirty, twenty.
Now!
Gauging the gap, Geon-ju sidestepped at the last possible instant.
Half a step.
Perfect timing—not a hair more or less. He slipped just outside its effective range. He'd escaped instant death, but safety was another story.
The wind from its passing body nearly toppled him, but Geon-ju slashed down with his sword, hacking at its scales.
Crunch!
Maybe because Sa-yoon had given it to him, the blade bit well even against S-gate monsters. Barely a finger's depth, but gritting his teeth, he drove it deeper and bolted forward.
Splat!
Pain like his shoulder might dislocate ripped through him as a long gash opened along the imugi's flank. He hadn't aimed for the tail, but wanted at least a third of its length. Realizing that was greedy came as he was flung back after barely ten meters.
Its thrashing tail clipped him, sending him tumbling with choking gasps. Humiliation flushed his face. If Sa-yoon saw this, it'd be a torrent of insults and a year's worth of teasing.
—Hiiiiss!
Crack!
Whether his strike had provoked it, the imugi thrashed wildly side to side. Clearly pissed.
Each spasm crumbled rocks and shook the valley. Abruptly, it froze, glaring down at Geon-ju.
Silence stretched.
...This is bad.
His masterstroke had failed. Now he had to survive the wrath of this A- or S-grade behemoth. Lips twitching, Geon-ju scanned for escape routes amid the chaos.
Drip, drip.
Black venom oozed from its fangs onto the rocks. Two drops corroded stone visibly. Geon-ju tapped the ground three times in mock surrender.
But the imugi showed no mercy.
Rumble!
It smashed rocks and trees alike, charging straight at him.
Spray flew as its maw loomed inches away. At full throttle, Geon-ju's eyes quivered.
—Hiiiiss!
What kind of screwed-up place has an imugi living in the damn stream?
Times like this, misplaced resentment boiled up.
Already nearly killed by Sa-yoon, and now this—with no real breather—rage erupted.
Screaming inwardly, Geon-ju focused every sense on its eyes. Just before fangs met flesh, he kicked off the ground.
"Hup!"
Leaping up, he stomped its face, then twisted forward using the momentum.
His soles hit first, rolling ahead to plant hands on its smooth forehead and stand. Enraged at the prey flipping over its head, the imugi whipped side to side violently.
Geon-ju, swaying like he might fall any second, stabbed his sword into its scales for balance.
Thud! Thud!
It jerked its head wildly, gaping to snag a leg. Twisting and spinning, it made him nauseous, but Geon-ju summoned every ounce of strength, steadied his mind, and powered his arms.
His forearms felt like bursting.
Clenching the sword two-handed like a pull-up bar, he bent his elbows and hauled atop the imugi. Steadying himself, Geon-ju dashed toward its tail, eyeing an opening.
He'd never planned to solo something this huge. Priority one: flee to the tail end and survive. Sprinting madly, he prompted the imugi to recoil and whip its head back, eyes rolling in fury as it chased.
"Uwaaaah!"
From there, it turned into an undignified pursuit.
Each bounce of the imugi meant Geon-ju rolling humiliatingly over its scales. Desperate to live, he'd scramble up the slick hide and run again. Inevitable strikes? Parry with sword, boot fangs aside, shove that hideous mug away. Midway, he'd have been done without expendable daggers jabbed at its eyes.
One bad bounce or slip? Plummet to death or snake chow.
Judging it too risky, Geon-ju prepared to leap elsewhere.
The moment he launched into the air.
Thud!
"......"
The massive imugi finally snagged his clothes in its jaws.
"W-Wait..."
Whoosh!
"Just a second, damn it!"
Knowing words were useless, Geon-ju still yelled at full volume, flailing against the serpent that had tossed him skyward. Mouth agape, it awaited the falling meal.
Fuck, this is so unfair.
Honestly, he hadn't fought badly. But base stats were unchangeable, and with grim resignation, Geon-ju gripped his sword tight and shut his eyes.
No choice but to thrash like hell on the way in.
As resolve hardened and he tensed—
Just before his body vanished into the imugi's maw, a whistling arrow pierced his collar.
What followed was bizarre.
The arrowhead split, vine-like tendrils snaking down his clothes to bind him.
Thus, instead of just the arrow passing through, Geon-ju's whole body yanked backward in its wake.
Crunch!
Thud!
The arrow embedded in a tree as the imugi's jaws snapped shut by a hair. Suddenly skewered like a kebab, Geon-ju blinked, struggling to process.
As he pieced it together, a familiar voice rang out.
"Told you to crawl up the cliff. What the hell are you doing, pretty boy?"
The man—equal parts welcome and annoying—held his bow with a pitiful look at Geon-ju.