Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Assault of the Black Wolves
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#49
The monster that revealed itself before Seo Woo-jin, who had kicked open the door, was a wolf-shaped beast.
It had a similar appearance to the Snowul he had seen in the north, but it was pitch black, eroded by demonic energy.
‘The energy it’s giving off is even stronger than the Snowul.’
At this level, it seemed comparable to the troll he had caught a few days ago.
The problem was their numbers.
“57 of them!”
In the meantime, Kang Byung-gyu, who had used an exploration skill, gave the exact count.
There were too many.
Even for Seo Woo-jin, that number would be tough.
But….
‘I’m not alone right now.’
It started with Kim Da-hye.
At some point, she had summoned it, and in her hands was the K-2 rifle he had seen before.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-!
The muzzle spat fire.
Startled by the sudden gunfire, the monsters scattered in all directions.
Unfortunately, Kim Da-hye’s marksmanship wasn’t great, so only a few were hit by the bullets.
At best, just three were killed instantly.
‘I’ll have to add shooting training to her regimen.’
Seo Woo-jin decided to include marksmanship in Kim Da-hye’s training as he charged forward.
“I’ve got the front!”
At Seo Woo-jin’s words, Lee Ji-ah and Yu Hong-seol split to the left and right.
“Wind Cutter!”
At the same time, blades of wind burst from Jin Tae-seong’s hands.
Swoosh-!
The razor-sharp blades sliced through grass and trees without mercy.
Kyaaang-!
Of course, the monsters fared the same.
It wasn’t high-level magic, but Jin Tae-seong’s level 28 spell was far too powerful for them to block.
‘Good!’
As one monster in front of him split into three pieces and fell, Seo Woo-jin dove in.
His sword cleaved through the air.
The heads of three monsters in its path floated up lightly.
‘Not too hard.’
Seo Woo-jin glanced to his sides.
Lee Ji-ah and Yu Hong-seol were taking down monsters with ease as well.
‘They’re doing better than expected.’
The troll fight a few days ago had helped a lot.
Back then, they couldn’t even resist the killing intent, but now they were moving properly.
They still froze up occasionally, not fully accustomed yet, but it was enough.
Over ten monsters had already lost their lives since the battle began.
‘No need to use skills.’
If Seo Woo-jin used skills, he could end the fight much faster.
But he held back.
It was to let the other team members gain as much experience as possible.
Seo Woo-jin felled monsters solely with swordsmanship while observing Lee Ji-ah.
As expected of an A-rank, her punches were devastating.
Even a graze caused bodies to explode with a bang-.
For such a delicate-looking girl, it was almost scary.
In contrast, Yu Hong-seol was precise.
Like most heroes, her swordsmanship wasn’t great, but thanks to her skills, she was cleaving them all in one stroke.
‘Dual Blader, right?’
He didn’t remember her exact level, but he knew her rank and class well.
Whether she was naturally calm or not, even with slightly hesitant movements, her swords swung straight.
But the most impressive part was something else.
“Ground Spear.”
With a quiet murmur, stone spears erupted from the ground, impaling the monsters.
And with meticulous control, they didn’t interfere with the paths of the three in close combat.
‘Outstanding.’
Jin Tae-seong’s magic sense was enviable.
Unlike Seo Woo-jin, this was surely his first real battle, yet he understood his role perfectly.
Thanks to that, the hunt was even smoother.
Had only about 10 minutes passed?
All 57 monsters lay defeated.
“Wow, this is my first time fighting like this! Don’t we sync up too well?”
Lee Ji-ah bounced around, still buzzing from the battle, while Yu Hong-seol calmly caught her breath.
“Yeah.”
She glanced back and forth between Seo Woo-jin and Lee Ji-ah.
Even if she was getting used to it, unlike herself who flinched at the monsters’ killing intent, the two seemed completely unfazed.
Yu Hong-seol regretted not training with them a bit.
“Good work. Ji-ah, you too.”
Seo Woo-jin approached them with a smile.
It was their first real fight, so it couldn’t have been easy, but they did well, and he felt proud.
“Mister, I did great, right? Like this, pow! With my fist!”
Lee Ji-ah swinging her fist, caked in monster guts, was a bit frightening.
“Y-yeah. You did great.”
Seo Woo-jin nodded with an awkward expression.
“Too bad I didn’t level up.”
“It feels all tingly, so maybe soon.”
Relatively low-leveled Seo Woo-jin could feel he had gained a lot of experience from this fight.
“Congratulations.”
“I want to level up too!”
As he chuckled at their contrasting reactions, Kang Byung-gyu’s urgent voice came from behind.
“They’re coming again!”
“Already?”
He had momentarily forgotten.
That this was the Demon Realm.
* * *
“They fight well.”
At Ludein’s words, the knights secretly observing Seo Woo-jin’s team nodded.
“Yes. The team balance is good too, and they should handle most monsters easily.”
Ludein, an instructor at the academy, hadn’t followed Seo Woo-jin’s team by chance.
Having seen their troll fight, he had grown interested in Seo Woo-jin and chosen them deliberately.
And Seo Woo-jin didn’t disappoint.
“Such combat prowess without even using skills….”
Even judging by swordsmanship alone, he wasn’t inferior to the knights.
‘What kind of training has he done?’
He knew they had trained in Sion, but that didn’t explain it.
“Certainly, the ‘Elementalist’ and ‘Fist Master’ are exceptional.”
But to his subordinates’ eyes, others stood out more.
“We figured an A-rank would be impressive, but compared to other heroes, they really shine.”
As his subordinate said, Lee Ji-ah and Jin Tae-seong had felled far more monsters than the rest.
Judging purely by results, the subordinate wasn’t wrong.
“Of course, the other heroes are impressive too. I never imagined they’d make something like that.”
His subordinate pointed to the log cabin Kim Da-hye had built.
“That surprised me too.”
He hadn’t imagined skills could be used that way.
No, more accurately, since Kim Da-hye was a C-rank hero, he hadn’t paid her much attention.
But now, her abilities weren’t to be dismissed lightly just because of her rank.
‘Same with that one.’
The ‘Elementalist’, ‘Dual Blader’, ‘Fist Master’—fine.
They were at least B-rank and combat classes.
But the ‘Explorer’ was unexpected.
He thought they’d be useless without combat ability….
Upon returning to the academy, he’d need to analyze each hero’s class more closely.
Even low ranks could show superior utility if used right.
‘But the most surprising is still that one.’
Ludein’s gaze turned to Seo Woo-jin.
His subordinates hadn’t noticed, but he knew.
‘He was holding back for the other heroes.’
He could have shone more but didn’t.
Moreover, he subtly stood at the team’s center.
Not officially the leader, but Seo Woo-jin’s words and actions influenced the team greatly.
With each observation, Ludein grew more curious about him.
But now wasn’t the time for that.
Monsters swarmed again, and battle recommenced.
These were fiercer than before.
Ludein and the knights watched intently, ready for anything.
Of course, their worries didn’t come to pass.
* * *
“Huff— huff—”
Seo Woo-jin exhaled roughly.
“Is there no end to them?”
Even in the Demon Realm, this was excessive.
The relentless waves of monsters were wearing down even the conserving Seo Woo-jin.
“There might already be stragglers falling behind.”
If monsters weren’t just targeting them, the other heroes must be struggling too.
“Didn’t expect day one to be this intense.”
Kang Byung-gyu groaned and activated ‘Radar’.
“But no attacks for a while now. No more monsters around.”
“We’ve culled them so much, no wonder! Urp, I’m wiped.”
Lee Ji-ah dry-heaved, looking drained.
She had taken down over a hundred, so no surprise.
“Then let’s wash up and rest while we can.”
Rest when possible.
Otherwise, they couldn’t last a week at this pace.
“I’ll scout around then. Look for something edible.”
Kang Byung-gyu, with relatively more stamina, stood up.
“You okay? Want me to come? Oppa’s weak, so someone should watch you.”
Kang Byung-gyu looked slightly hurt at Lee Ji-ah’s innocent words.
But he shook his head.
“I can dodge monsters fine, don’t worry. And you need to rest to keep protecting me. Leave the chores to me.”
Kang Byung-gyu entered the forest with a kind smile.
‘Good guy.’
Seo Woo-jin nodded, watching his back.
Even tired himself, he stepped up to help the team.
Knowing he wasn’t much in combat, he contributed elsewhere.
Not easy.
Especially among heroes with their sense of privilege.
Seo Woo-jin liked this team more and more.
“Ugh, mister. We’ll wash first then. You and Tae-seong stay in the house! Peep and the Fist of Justice flies!”
“Y-yeah.”
Seo Woo-jin nodded quickly.
She meant a quick rinse, but Lee Ji-ah seemed set for a proper wash.
“Finally, a bath!”
Lee Ji-ah dragged Kim Da-hye and Yu Hong-seol to the stream excitedly.
‘Should be fine.’
Per Kang Byung-gyu, no monsters left nearby, so a little relaxation was okay.
“Shall we go in?”
At Seo Woo-jin’s words to Jin Tae-seong, he nodded slightly.
His face was a bit red, embarrassed by Lee Ji-ah’s words.
‘Young and innocent.’
Seo Woo-jin chuckled and entered the house.
For a first-day welcome, the Demon Realm’s greeting was overly grand.
He wanted to rest until Kang Byung-gyu returned too.