Core (1)
After going through heaven and hell, I finally took down the guardian. Truth be told, I got pretty lucky. If it hadn't been made of Oriharukon, if Wonmo hadn't mustered the courage to charge in, or if that light crystal orb hadn't flickered at the critical moment, I wouldn't be in this world anymore.
Especially this time, Wonmo deserved the most credit. Thanks to her, I found the key to victory. What if I hadn't brought her along? Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.
'Since she's just a cub, she probably had way less mana.'
It was a battle I could only win because all the conditions lined up perfectly. Unlike the ambush with the sword-tooth tiger, Ppareumbo couldn't use its full strength either. Even if it could slice through iron barrels like tofu, Oriharukon would've been too much. And even if it could cut it, regeneration would've made it pointless.
"Aigoo…."
How long had it been since I defeated the guardian? I was still sprawled on the ground. My mana had already been sucked dry bit by bit, leaving me utterly drained. Then I poured every last drop from the crystal orb into that final throw, drying me out like a desiccated squid.
'Even so, this is overkill….'
I wasn't completely paralyzed—I could still twitch my fingers. In fact, I had strength. How to describe it? Like gravity had multiplied several times, crushing my body? Anyway, that bizarre sensation made it hard to get up.
"Wonmo."
"Kyu?"
"Come here. At least I can pet you."
Instead, I stroked Wonmo's fluffy face. She purred contentedly, rumbling with pleasure. I knew purring was usually a cat thing, but whatever.
'Time for some elixir first.'
As my energy slowly returned, I started tending to myself. A sip of elixir, then slow breathing to regulate my body. I couldn't circulate my internal power method yet, but focusing on my breath helped a bit.
"Ego-go."
Groaning, I slowly sat up. After that fierce battle, every part of me ached. Especially my abdomen—it hurt like hell compared to everywhere else. Adrenaline and the elixir's pain relief had kept me going during the fight, but now that it was over, my face twisted in agony.
'It'll heal soon enough.'
I'd seen the elixir's power firsthand. It healed my mangled arm from the mad dog bite in seconds. The issue was internal damage, which just took longer.
"Hmmm…."
Enduring the pain, I checked the guardian's corpse(?). Unlike its humanoid form moments ago, it now looked like a pile of rocks. My eyes drifted to Cheonma's sword, standing out amid the rubble.
'Is this really a hero's sword?'
Having a random thought, I grabbed Cheonma's sword. When I yanked hard, something skewered like a kebab came free.
'Is this the core?'
The guardian's heart and power source—a core. Now dimmed, it no longer glowed blue but had a dark hue. I wondered if it had any value, but with Oriharukon everywhere, I wasn't worried even if it didn't.
'Time to authenticate it.'
I positioned the skewered core so the Oriharukon pile behind it was visible, snapped a few photos, and posted to the Gallery. I threw in a Wonmo pic for good measure.
YasaengGrill
(Photo of core skewered on sword with Oriharukon pile behind)
(Photo of Oriharukon lumps like limbs)
(Close-up of core on Cheonma's sword)
(Photo of Wonmo looking up)
Was exploring when a guardian popped out of nowhere—nearly died. At first, I thought it was absorbing mana and morphing to kill me. Barely took it down. Last pic is Wonmo, MVP of this deathmatch. Wouldn't have found the strategy without her. Oriharukon aside, not sure if the core's useful. Can I sell it?
└Cheonma Was the guardian strong?
└YasaengGrill Not as much as the sword-tooth tiger, but still strong. Without a strategy, I'd be dead.
└Cheonma I see. Too late now, but there's a simple counter for foes that absorb internal power like that.
└YasaengGrill What's that?
└Cheonma Overload it until it can't absorb anymore. Most self-destruct.
└YasaengGrill Teacher ;;
└SwordTasteStar Mana-absorbing guardian? I've taken down plenty, but that's new. Morphing is standard, though.
└YasaengGrill Probably because its body was Oriharukon. Do others morph too?
└SwordTasteStar Yes. Rock guardians use rocks, tree ones use trees, river ones control water.
└YasaengGrill What about energy beams from the core?
└SwordTasteStar First I've heard of that?? What did you even fight ;;
└YasaengGrill This thing was just weird lol
└StarlightPrincess No injuries, I hope? Always worrying when I see posts like this.
└YasaengGrill Took a solid gut punch. Elixir should fix it.
└StarlightPrincess Glad to hear. Internal injuries need extra care—harder to heal directly than external ones.
└YasaengGrill Got it. Will be careful.
└StarlightPrincess Speaking from experience—take it seriously.
└YasaengGrill Yep.
└PassingDwarf Whoa, look at that Oriharukon;; How much is all that?
└YasaengGrill Can you make something with it?
└PassingDwarf Lots of options, but nothing you'd need? Core's just an energy source.
└YasaengGrill Nothing for the core?
└PassingDwarf Like coal? Still, that size could sell big.
└YasaengGrill Don't need money. Can't hook it to a fridge or something? Like a portable battery.
└PassingDwarf If that worked, I'd have a mobile brewery by now.
└YasaengGrill Classic bait-and-switch ;;
└But is Grills really a noob? Everything he hunts is insane?
└Fr, thought he won by terrain cheese, but nah. How's this noob shit?
└He's gotta be capping.
└YasaengGrill (Photo of bruised red abdomen) What?
└Sorry ;;;
└That looks painful ;;
└Did he tank that on purpose? lol
└Won't believe til I see the process lol
└YasaengGrill Can show it? Gallery view blocks sight, hard to record.
└Idk?
└Judaek might know.
└Ask Judaek.
└YasaengGrill Irresponsible bastards ;;
After chatting in the Gallery, I started cleaning up. Not much to clean, really—everywhere was Oriharukon except the core. I grabbed a few decent-sized chunks for my subspace bag, core included. Heavy, but not hindering. Mana was recovering too.
'Give the core to Olfather or something.'
He'd probably love researching it. Thinking that, I headed out of the cave… nah, first I found the light crystal orb. Barely scratched from the laser, still intact. Gonna need it a lot.
'KingLeor basically saved my life.'
Of course, that didn't mean I'd root for him. Gotta stay loyal to ChangguPrincess. But as thanks, some Oriharukon was in order.
Outside, I tapped the crystal orb twice. The floating light in the sky faded, and the orb dimmed.
'Gotta run the internal power method as soon as I get back.'
Mana was bottomed out—needed to refill. Plus, my abdomen was black-and-blue; rest until it healed.
'Means no crabs again.'
Owes kept piling up to the dwarf. Good thing I gave him fish yesterday, or I'd lose trust. Worst case, more Oriharukon as apology. Brewery or fridge fodder, but it'd do.
'Any crystal orbs with recording?'
Gallery comments popped up. Asked if I could show the fight. Seemed dumb at first, but yeah, showing beats telling. Learning from high-nics via text was inconvenient despite the guidance.
'Worth considering seriously.'
Viewpoint limits, sure, but huge merit. Issue was how to record—no smartphones here.
'Gotta ask Judaek.'
Time to dig into Gallery features. Thinking that, I returned to my shelter. After the battle, it felt like coming home—cozy.
'Can't get too used to this.'
What if I just hunkered down forever? Nah. Still hoped to get out, see faces. Bickering with cute Wonmo and Ppareumbo didn't cut it.
Could talk via the Gallery somewhat, but not enough.
'Seriously kick a ball around and chat?'
I chuckled sorting gear. Dumb idea, even for me. But it might be my future.
'Core here, Oriharukon next to it.'
After sorting, checked time—lunch in an hour. Perfect for body check. Started with the red-bruised gut; swelling down noticeably. Without elixir, might've been dangerous.
'Some thrash to win, some drop from one hit…'
Unfair, but what can you do? I'm a frail human. Gently rubbing my belly, I flopped onto the soft mat. Battle fatigue or mana drain—either way, drowsy.
'Eat lunch before napping.'
Gallery time til then. I logged in, searched my nickname for related posts.
I'm honestly jealous of Grills.
"Huh?"
A post caught my eye. Some nut envying me? Had to click.
I'm honestly jealous of Grills.
(Photo of crumbling slum)
(Photo of cramped house corner)
(Photo of leaking roof)
Typical slum Gallery bro. Everyone pities Grills, but I'm jealous. With Gallery, survival's no issue, right? Plus Four Seasons Forest has valuables everywhere. Slums got nothing. Dad's long gone, mom's selling herself. I scavenge streets, get beat daily. What's hell to one is heaven to another—get that. Safe? Bullshit. Guy once pulled knife over my beggar bowl. This is straight-up hell. Wanna leave but nowhere to go. So yeah, jealous of Grills living wild worry-free.
└What about the temple? Don't they aid slums?
└They do, but pointless lol. Gamblers and runners everywhere.
└Slums ain't slums for nothing. Gotta wipe 'em out.
└Hang in there.
└Seeing this, maybe Grills has it better?
└Nah. He can do stuff; Grills risks life every time ;;
└If wild was great, everyone'd do it lmao
Tons of criticism, sympathy, agreement. Watching, I felt weird. Kinda get it. Their hell's different from mine—misery's universal.
'Grass is greener, huh?'
Honestly, I envied them. People around, at least. Better than solo wildering. So I commented—more temptation than roast.
└YasaengGrill (Photo of mat-lined cave) Buddy. Wanna come here? Cozy vibe. You join, we can do anything!
└Wtf lololol
└Expected roasts, this is wild lolol
└Four Seasons Forest vs Slum—epic showdown ;;
└Future-wise, slum wins lolol Forest has zilch.
└Gallery saves it, else all manual ;;
└Comparing these lol What is this
└Anything beats Forest.
└Trolling rn? Ffs
└YasaengGrill No, dead serious. You come, I'll do whatever I can.
└I'm a dude?
└YasaengGrill I'm solo.
└Gay alert.
└YasaengGrill Single as hell.
└Creepy af, no thanks. Gtfo.
└YasaengGrill T_T
└lololololol
└lolololololol
└lololololololol
└Instant heal lololol
The pity party got shut down fast—folks scolded him for whining. But do they know?
'I'm the only sincere one again.'
I meant it.