The Path Chosen While Fleeing Ogres
The ground heaved as if the air itself had exploded outward. The instant my body registered that the tremor rising from beneath my feet was no ordinary shake, dirt and trees erupted skyward all at once. Monsters poured through the torn space, scattering in every direction as the shattered earth carried them along, blanketing the forest.
“Damn it…”
Before my mind could catch up, my body moved on its own. I spun and sprinted, and the moment my feet kicked off the ground, the air behind me split with a sharp crack. A roar echoed from somewhere in the trees. I didn’t need to turn and look; the sheer weight of that sound told me exactly what was coming.
An ogre.
“Jihoon, behind you!”
Arin’s shout came at the same time. Two ogres had spotted me and were charging straight through the trees, their speed far rougher and faster than I’d expected.
“That speed is no joke…!”
I activated Flash Step without hesitation, throwing myself between the narrowest gaps in the trunks. The world blurred as branches whipped past my face, and behind me came the continuous sound of thick trees snapping like twigs. Two ogres I could have handled, but this wasn’t the time for a fight. I needed distance before their roars drew the rest of the horde.
Crack—! Crunch—!
The ogres showed no sign of slowing, smashing through everything in their path as they barreled forward in a straight line. Then I realized their roars weren’t the only ones. More answered from deeper in the forest, and the ones already chasing me were being joined by others drawn by the noise. There was no denying it anymore—they were converging.
I clenched my teeth and pushed harder. Suddenly the forest ahead shuddered, and several trolls burst out, blocking the way.
“Front’s blocked too!” Arin’s voice cut in sharply.
For a split second the options flashed through my mind—fight or break through. Neither was viable right now.
“We’re going sideways.”
I veered toward the mountain range, pouring on speed as the slope grew steeper. One wrong step and I’d tumble, but there was no time to look back. The distance was shrinking fast; the thunder of ogre footsteps grew louder with every stride, and the presences of A-rank and B-rank monsters tangled behind them.
“At this rate we’ll be surrounded!”
At Arin’s breathless warning, Elly silently scanned ahead and began compressing our route. I trusted her judgment and pushed my speed to the absolute limit. My lungs burned, but stopping now meant the end. Just a little farther—just a little more distance—
A roar far louder than before erupted from behind, and the entire forest seemed to respond. This wasn’t a simple chase anymore. The break had already begun, and the monsters were being swept along with it.
While running, I lifted my gaze to the middle of the mountain range. My body was nearing its limit, yet my mind remained strangely calm. Even as I ran I circulated mana and controlled my breathing. Using telekinesis to shove off the ground, I launched myself upward, gaining a momentary wide view of the surroundings. In that brief window I scanned the area, made the necessary calculations, and spotted a sturdy branch on a tree halfway up the slope.
No more hesitation. If I missed this chance, the flow would slip away and I’d be caught. I drew up more mana. The sensation of space folding pulled at me, and in the next instant I was already clinging to the branch. It shook violently but held. Below, the ogres’ roars continued without pause. They still hadn’t given up.
Then Elly’s urgent voice reached me—she had gone ahead to scout.
“Jihoon. There’s… a Gate over there.”
I looked and saw a small, unstable Gate flickering beyond the mid-slope, its surrounding mana clearly abnormal. It wouldn’t last long. I made my decision in an instant.
“We’re going in.”
I leapt from the tree and sprinted straight for the Gate, throwing myself through without a moment’s hesitation.
The moment I passed through, the air felt completely different—neither humid nor hot. Every breath carried only the faint sensation of mana brushing against itself. I stopped and took in my surroundings. The visible terrain was forest, encircled by a canyon. Following the path between the trees, I soon spotted a naturally formed cave-like hollow deeper inside the canyon. The entrance was narrow, but the interior looked deep enough.
“That’ll do.”
Once inside, I naturally focused on the space ahead. With my back protected as well, it was a decent spot to hide. I asked Arin and Elly to scout the area, and they immediately split up. When they returned after a quick sweep along the forest and canyon, Arin spoke first.
“Doesn’t look like there are any monsters nearby. No presences either. We should be safe for a while.”
Elly nodded as she came back as well.
“Yeah. I didn’t see any monsters on my side either.”
I leaned against the inner wall and stood there for a moment. The tension slowly eased, and the fatigue I’d been holding back finally caught up.
“All right. Let’s rest for a bit. You two head back to the spirit realm and recover your strength. When you return, we’ll properly clear this dungeon since we’re already here.”
Arin gave me a once-over, then grinned mischievously.
“Good call. This much should be fine to rest a little. I’ll be right back.”
Elly silently raised her hand, and once the two spirits left, the presence inside the cave noticeably thinned. I felt the change and unconsciously glanced toward the forest and canyon again. After lying on the ground for a short while to rest my body, I gathered my thoughts, stood up, and sat back down to begin cultivating the Harmony Heart Method. Mana flowed down from the central mana hole into the lower one, then naturally returned. The circulation was stable; there was no need to force anything.
After some time, the density of the surrounding mana became distinctly clear.
“…It really is a B-rank dungeon.”
At this density there was no need to push myself. It was sufficient for maintaining the Harmony Heart Method. I could rest a little longer and move once the spirits returned. I continued cultivating in that state for a while.
Then it happened. A single thread of mana flowing through the central mana hole seeped toward my head, and for an instant my mind felt unusually clear. In that fleeting moment, a calculation that had been tangled suddenly seemed on the verge of clicking into place.
“…What was that?”
I reflexively tried to grasp the sensation, but it scattered far more lightly than I’d expected. At the same time, I felt a presence outside the cave. Gritting my teeth, I pulled my mana inward and stabilized the flow of the Harmony Heart Method again. I tried to trace the earlier feeling, but it was already too late. No matter how I followed the flow, my mind returned to its usual state.
“Damn it…”
Irritation slowly rose in my chest. The thought that the sensation just now might have been an important threshold refused to leave my mind. Unable to sit still any longer, I stood up and stepped outside the cave. Two trolls were moving slowly ahead, not yet fully aware of my presence.
There was nothing to think about. I closed the distance in an instant with Flash Step, created a mana sword, and cut down the first one. The second reacted late and charged with a roar, but I broke its balance with telekinesis and finished it off. The fight was over before I even had time to catch my breath. After collecting the mana stones from the corpses and storing the bodies in my subspace, I let out an irritated sigh.
I’d missed it. That sensation from earlier—I hadn’t been able to hold onto it properly, and the fact kept scratching at my thoughts.
I returned to the cave and sat down once more. I tried to recall the feeling while cultivating the Harmony Heart Method, but again there was no noticeable change. The mana flow remained stable, nothing more, nothing less. I let out a short sigh and lay down on the floor.
“Guess it’s not happening right now.”
I decided to close my eyes for a bit. When I opened them again, night had passed and dawn was breaking.
“Arin, Elly.”
At my call, Elly and Arin appeared in turn.
“Did you both recover well in the spirit realm? Got your strength back?”
“Of course! I charged up to full, so don’t worry!”
“Yeah! Jihoon, nothing happened while we were gone?”
“No, nothing. I just fell asleep for a bit while cultivating the Harmony Heart Method.”
“Kek… You can sleep even in a situation like this. Weren’t you scared alone?”
“Hohoho, Arin only ever teases Jihoon.”
“Tch… Am I you? Last time you were bragging about not being scared of snakes, then you saw one and screamed your head off!”
“Oh my, did Arin do that? I had no idea she was afraid of something. Hohoho… I never knew Arin had something she feared.”
“No… That time… In the dungeon you were contracted to… there was a snake in the lake… That’s not it! Hey, Byun Jihoon! Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
“No reason, it just came to mind. Hahaha. Look at Arin’s face turning red. A fire spirit turning red—how fitting.”
“Hohoho, Jihoon really is mischievous. Arin, should I cool you down?”
“Kekek… At times like this, Elly, you’re the most annoying one.”
“Ugh… Ugh… Byun Jihoon, Elly… Just you wait. Seriously.”
“Arin, don’t go! There might be snakes over there! Kekek!”
“Jihoon, that’s enough teasing. I’ll bring her back. Arin, wait just a moment.”
“Kekek… Hahaha. They really are cute, our Arin and Elly.”
After some time passed, Arin and Elly returned, Arin still wearing a sulky expression.
“Now that everyone’s here, shall we head out to find the Dungeon Core in earnest?”
“Tch… Do whatever you want.”
“Arin, stop sulking and let’s finish this quickly so we can leave.”
While bantering with the spirits, I stepped into the forest and immediately sensed monster presences. The first group we encountered was a pack of orcs lined up as if blocking the path, but there was no need to fight them all. I bypassed the large settlements and only dealt with the smaller scattered groups, moving forward while collecting only the mana stones. I deliberately kept up the pace.
Deeper in, the sound of trees splitting reached me, followed by a thick trunk crashing down. An Iron Bear emerged from behind it. I had no intention of taking its frontal charge head-on. I slipped to the side, deeply slashed its lower body, and as it lost balance and stumbled, the momentum sent it crashing headfirst into a rock. While it was dazed, I closed in and severed its neck. The rest of the pack that followed was handled by mixing mana bullets with telekinesis to disrupt their movements. The Iron Bear’s fall shook the forest once, but I didn’t stop—I only retrieved the mana stone before pressing onward.
As we neared the center, slower but stronger monsters began appearing one by one. This time three trolls showed up together, almost like a family. Father, mother, and child—their sizes were all different, and even their positions seemed oddly ordered. The largest charged first, followed by the medium-sized one. The smallest stayed back, watching the scene with apparent interest.
I didn’t hesitate. Stepping forward, I cut down the two larger ones almost simultaneously. The fight ended before their movements even stopped. Seeing that, the smallest troll’s eyes widened dramatically. It began backing away slowly, then turned and fled. Without delay I threw my sword. It pierced straight through the troll’s body, and it collapsed forward. I immediately retrieved the sword and drove a mana bullet into it before regeneration could begin. With the explosion, it felt as if its heart had burst—the troll’s body shuddered once and went still. I separated the mana stone, stored it in my subspace along with the corpse, and continued.
The growing pile of monster bodies in my subspace made me think I’d need to sort through it properly soon. Accelerating, I left the forest behind. The gaps between trees widened, and beyond them a vast grassland came into view. The end of the forest felt natural, without needing conscious thought. Finally passing the last tree, my vision opened all at once. An endless plain stretched before me. The moment I faced that sight, the knot that had been tightening in my chest slowly began to loosen.
Then the sky briefly darkened before brightening again. I reflexively looked up. Two flying-type monsters were passing low overhead, skimming just above me. I immediately moved to the forest’s edge, waited until their shadows had completely disappeared, then stepped out onto the grassland and accelerated once more.
However.
While running across the plain, the light suddenly dimmed. It wasn’t the sun being blocked. From above, two shadows with folded wings were descending toward me, just a beat behind.