Chapter 22: Haaaah
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 22: Haaaah
“Hurry! Hurry, Lis!!”
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
A sharp, thin scream filled the quiet, dark forest.
“Why is an Ursus here...!”
Isolde quickly gripped her dagger and fled in the opposite direction of where Lis had run.
Isolde wasn't exactly a saint who would sacrifice herself to save others, but she knew enough to realize they needed time—time for the other party members to wake up and for the explorers who had been victimized by the goblins to be moved to safety.
Garond and Yoo Eon reacted instantly to Lis’s scream, snapping awake. Garond immediately gathered the equipment and the rescued explorers, heading straight for the cave.
“Garond. Go left once and then right inside the cave, and you’ll reach the goblin nursery. Wait there.”
“You’re going alone? That is a proposal I find difficult to accept.”
“I have to.”
The goblin nursery was small. Even if I couldn't ultimately subjugate the beast, I could at least prevent it from directly attacking the people for a while.
“As I told you, I’m stronger at night. Lis, that thing you just saw—it was definitely an Ursus, right?”
“Y-Yes...! I’m sure! It was an Ursus!”
“Garond, please protect the rescued prisoners. I have no talent for nursing the sick.”
“I suppose I have no choice. If it looks like you can’t handle it, return to the cave immediately. That’s an order.”
“Understood.”
I nodded and ran without looking back. My hearing had grown sharper; I had woken up the moment Lis screamed.
I had already confirmed the direction Isolde had run. I’d wasted a bit of time talking, but with the physical strength of an Alpha entity, I could easily catch up.
Creeeak—
I swapped all the muscles in both legs with those of a Direwolf. I replaced my heart and lungs to boost oxygen supply, then kicked off a straight-growing tree, propelling myself forward like a bullet.
Boom!!
The impact was enough to leave a deep dent in the thick trunk. I had discarded everything cumbersome, like my pouch and robe. Even so, the iron gear I was wearing must have weighed at least ten kilograms.
The sense of weight I felt every time my feet hit the ground was no joke.
‘So fast...!’
I had eaten and rested. It was close to midnight. The muscle fibers of the Direwolf Alpha were performing at near-maximum capacity, showcasing incredible output.
In less than a minute, I had caught up to the chase between the Ursus and Isolde. While Isolde was using her ranger experience to flee using a grappling hook, I had caught up to her using nothing but raw running speed.
‘So that’s an Ursus...!’
It was a monster with magical patterns that glowed with a faint red light over its dark brown hide.
Running on all fours, its paws smashed the ground, creating a tremendous racket.
I’d heard it was a mid-boss level monster that could be encountered on the way to the 10th Floor, appearing as early as the 5th Floor...
“But to think it would show up on the 6th Floor...!”
I drew two swords from my belt and pulled up alongside the right side of the Ursus, which was slowing down as it trailed Isolde.
“Isolde! Break in the opposite direction! I’ll handle this!”
“Y-Yoo Eon!? When did you get here!?”
Isolde had been too busy running for her life to notice her surroundings. From the look of it, she was pouring every ounce of strength she had into her escape.
“Hup...!”
I increased my speed slightly to overtake the Ursus, then stomped hard on the ground to cut into its path. I swung the sword in my left hand.
Clang—!!!
“Urgh...!”
The sword snapped against the creature’s arm from a casual swipe. I knew the fuller made it slightly less durable, but to think it would break from a single arm swing...!
“Finally looking this way, are you?”
“Grrrr...!”
Its fierce eyes locked onto me. But I wasn't about to be intimidated by something like this.
‘I see it. An incredible amount of mana.’
The Alpha’s eyes dissected the creature’s mana information in detail. I could see the mana throughout its body shifting toward its forepaws as it prepared to swing its claws.
“ROOOAAAR—!!!”
“Gah...!”
The handle of the shield I was gripping tightly in my left hand twisted, straining my ligaments, and my entire body was sent flying by the massive impact.
Tumble, crash!!
“You bastard...!”
I felt it. The bone in my left forearm had snapped cleanly. It wasn't visible from the outside thanks to the gauntlet wrapping around my arm.
Since the gauntlet was acting like a splint, it was excellent just for the fact that my arm wasn't dangling. Except for the fact that about eighty percent of the strength in my left grip was gone.
My body, possessing incredible athletic ability, kicked off the ground to leap into the air before I could slide any further, landing precisely on both feet.
“Cough...!”
Just because I stood back up didn't mean the impact had vanished. I spat out a mouthful of the blood I had so enjoyably consumed earlier, then roughly wiped my blood-stained lips, forgetting I was wearing a gauntlet.
The stinging in my jaw really woke me up.
My eyes were wide open now.
“Ssssp....”
I watched the creature’s movements with wide eyes. I even attempted to change my right eyeball, something I hadn't tried before.
With both eyes replaced by Alpha eyes, the disparity in depth perception caused by the difference in vision was effectively corrected.
“Yeah, you look damn delicious...!”
Growl...
My body wouldn't listen. The Direwolf instincts occupying part of my physical form began to wrap around my brain.
My tongue lolled out between my bared teeth, and saliva dripped down.
Shhhhh—
Between the leaves swaying in the wind, the clear moonlight flickered in my vision.
I felt the sensation of sweat beads escaping my pores and soaking back into my clothes repeating across my entire body.
Since I wasn't a creature that normally produced sweat, I must have been perceiving it as an alien sensation.
Judge accurately. What is it that you need to feel?
“Do you want to kill me?”
Looking at the beast, it felt as if a voice were flowing into me.
A primal, blatant, and simple declaration of murder without any bluffing.
—I will kill you.
I could feel the Ursus’s hostility. More accurately, its killing intent.
“Huff...!”
My body was too light. Compared to my strength, my body lacked weight, so bipedal movement didn't feel right.
It was like a sports car needing a spoiler. Walking on two feet meant constantly pushing impact toward the ground, causing my body to keep wanting to float up.
What was the best movement for me right now?
‘I know.’
Fine. No one was watching, so I could gladly become a beast.
“Come on, you bear-like bastard.”
I crouched low, balled my left hand into a fist, and slammed it into the ground. My ligaments were strained and the bone was slightly broken, but since I was wrapped in Direwolf muscle fibers, simply bracing against the ground was fine.
It wasn't quite four-legged movement—maybe three-legged.
Since my body still required human functions, I couldn't use both hands as feet.
‘Here it comes.’
“ROOOAAAR!!”
Its massive frame charged toward me. Now that my vision was aligned, I could see the Ursus’s intent.
I saw the basis for its actions and what it expected to happen.
“You’re mistaking me for a Direwolf.”
I ran fast. The sensation of pushing off the ground with my hand was strange, but at least it was effective. My left forearm screamed in pain every time it hit the ground, but it wasn't a pain that bothered me much.
I felt the creature following me.
‘Once I clear that curve...!’
As I passed a thick tree, I kicked off the ground with both feet and soared into the sky.
Even during the day, my miraculous strength allowed for a three-meter vertical leap. Now that it was night, five meters was easy.
From the perspective of the beast charging on all fours, it must have looked like I had suddenly vanished.
‘Take this...!’
I held Excalibur in a reverse grip, pointing the razor-sharp blade downward to drive it into the Ursus’s back.
Gravity was powerless. With a weight of only 80kg, falling from a height of five meters wouldn't be enough to pierce the Ursus’s hide.
“Hah...!”
I placed my feet on Excalibur’s crossguard as if I were on a pogo stick. I gripped the long handle, designed for two-handed use, and stabilized the blade toward the ground.
As if in slow motion, the distance between us closed as I fell slowly through the air.
When I was close enough that the tip of the blade would touch its back if I extended my legs—
Crack—
“SKREEE...!”
I snapped my bent knees straight, stomping on Excalibur’s crossguard and shattering the creature’s spine.
The impact was so powerful that Excalibur, fired like a pile-driver, pierced through the Ursus’s back entirely, sinking so deep that even the handle was no longer visible.
“Keeek...!”
The spine was essential for supporting that massive body. More importantly, a 1.3-meter iron stake had been driven into the center of its body with tremendous force; there was no way it didn't hurt.
Thud...
The creature, pierced through its belly and back simultaneously like an Ace, gave up on four legs and stood up on two.
“Was that all...?”
Its tough intestines were tangled around the crossguard, and the blade of Excalibur was already buried deep in the ground.
Every time the creature staggered backward, its entrails dragged out through the hole in its belly.
“Looks a bit cramped.”
I walked slowly toward it. I thrust my left hand into the hole in the Ursus’s belly, then turned my hand sideways and summoned my shield.
Rip—
Blood surged and poured out from the widened hole.
Thud...!
Only then did the Ursus fall onto its back, flailing before its short life came to an end.
“Whew... my legs are shaking.”
Blood was leaking out enough to form a pool. Was it my brain thinking about my abilities that made me feel it was a waste?
Or was it the Direwolf’s instinct?
Whatever it was, it didn't matter. For now, let’s return my body to normal.
Leaving just enough strength for dismantling the corpse, that is.
Slurp—
“Haaaah... Fuck, yes. This is what dense mana tastes like.”
I plunged my face into the pool of blood and gulped down a mouthful of Ursus blood.
“Y-Yoo Eon...?”
“Ah.”
Beside me, Isolde was staring at me with an expression as if she were looking at a monster.