Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Hunter's Relentless Pursuit
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There was no time to panic.
Depending on where the Hunter showed up, it might vary, but the rest periods wouldn't exceed ten minutes at most.
Assuming roughly an hour remained, that meant it would come at least six times.
"No way I can endure this."
I needed some kind of strategy.
The one silver lining was that I didn't have to hunt it down—the Hunter would come to me.
Defending a position had always been overwhelmingly advantageous since ancient times.
Of course, the enemies in those old sieges weren't monsters, but I was pretty monstrous myself, so it shouldn't matter.
First, I had to change locations.
This café was too open, with no way to observe its approach from any direction.
So where would be good?
An apartment building or some tall structure would be better than staying low to the ground.
Not that height would hinder the Hunter much.
Its jumps could easily clear ten stories.
The only reason I preferred high ground was to spot where it was coming from.
In this urban area, most buildings were tall anyway.
I headed into a nearby one and bolted up the stairs like a madman.
There were elevators, but riding one when I had no clue exactly when it would arrive was too reckless.
My destination: the rooftop.
The door to the roof was locked, but human locks crumbled before my strength, failing utterly in their duty.
Up here, the sky felt closer as clouds drifted by, while beside me, the laptop screen flickered.
I hadn't brought it with me.
It had followed me here like some living creature.
Thankfully, it wasn't turning into a killer monster or anything.
In the distance, unidentified dust swirled up.
About five minutes had passed since the first attack, so it was about time.
What started as dust grew closer, accompanied by a thickening roar.
Soon, the Hunter revealed its form and looked up toward the rooftop.
The moment its eyes locked onto me.
Kraaaak!
It leaped up the wall with terrifying speed, kicking off without hesitation.
It knew my exact position and thrust its maw straight at me.
Too fast.
I lacked the reflexes to dodge that charge, let alone the speed to keep up with it.
In that case!
Pfshk!
"Hah... ha... alright, that worked."
My judgment had been right—it probably hadn't figured out what hit it during that initial ambush.
The shadow formed by the sunlight shifted direction, extending a tentacle that effortlessly pierced the Hunter's chest.
The Hunter's corpse tumbled limply to the ground below.
It would be nice if it stayed this easy, but now it knew where my tentacles came from.
Its head might look like a mere wolf's, but its cunning rivaled a human's. It was already devising countermeasures.
Still, I'd learned a few things from the two assaults myself.
My body was slower than the Hunter's, but my tentacles matched its speed.
And those tentacles pierced its tough hide with ease.
Those two facts alone gave me a shot at enduring fights with it.
Only ten minutes had passed so far.
I had to prepare for the next assault.
How much time had gone by? It showed no mercy, no regard for my heaving breaths, closing in with those razor claws to slice me open.
'Regard' and 'slice'—just a brushstroke apart in meaning, but the Hunter clearly favored the latter.
It no longer charged straight up in a line.
Having realized the danger of my tentacles, it was probing cautiously.
That slowed it down considerably.
But this wasn't good.
I needed to figure out what I could do right now.
Nothing was at hand.
In my rush to get up here, I hadn't grabbed anything useful.
The blazing sun heated my head.
Fierce winds had swept the clouds away.
The Hunter was almost upon me.
"Damn it!"
Think—what could I do?
The scorching sunlight scattered my thoughts.
Even now, the sun had no intention of helping me.
"Wait... the sun?"
I extended a tentacle toward the Hunter's left side.
Like a whip cracking, it lashed toward the Hunter's body.
The Hunter dodged by shifting to the right side of the building.
Perfect.
The pursuing tentacle pierced its body with ridiculous ease.
"That works."
I'd used the sunlight.
The Hunter perceived the world through its eyes, after all.
I'd lured it into a position where the glare would blind it momentarily, causing panic.
It worked perfectly.
Should I keep holding out on the rooftop?
"No."
The Hunter was faster and smarter than I'd anticipated.
Rooftop tricks wouldn't work again.
Praying for another miracle on the third try would be foolish.
I raced down and ducked into a nearby shop, grabbing a few items.
It was a gamble, but nothing else came to mind for surviving the remaining time.
To the park.
There was my lifeline.
But it was a ways off.
I'd definitely run into the Hunter at least once on the way.
A shop would have been handy right now, but no such luck.
All I could do was run like hell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ At some point, simple physical activities like running or walking stopped burdening me.
Sure, sprinting all day would tire me out eventually, but this was no strain.
Thanks to that, I'd covered more ground than expected.
Just two kilometers left—then a massive noise erupted behind me.
It had nearly caught up.
I stopped running and turned toward the sound.
Bracing for combat.
It had been a while since I'd fought this long, not since Horrifica.
The Hunter didn't charge straight at me.
After dying three times, it had realized I wasn't easy prey.
"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you!"
I exploded forward toward the Hunter.
It bared its teeth at the sight, a perfect sneer.
My speed fell short of its expectations.
In an instant, the Hunter vanished.
Reappearing right to my left.
As I said, my body couldn't dodge a swing from its arm.
A tentacle shot from the shadow like an arrow, blocking the space between us.
The Hunter recoiled backward.
Dust billowed, obscuring vision.
"Hah..."
Even though the exchange lasted less than two seconds, my breath came ragged.
"This is why I shouldn't fight head-on."
The dust cleared, revealing the chuckling Hunter.
It charged again!
Its eyes gleamed with confidence that it could kill me.
At that moment, a bang! rang out, and intense light burst from right beneath it.
Fireworks I'd grabbed earlier.
They'd worked perfectly, tossed into the dust cloud.
"Told you—don't fight head-on."
A tentacle turned the Hunter into prey once more amid its momentary confusion.
Ignoring the cooling corpse, I bolted for the park.
Parks conjure images of lush tree groves where monsters might burst from the foliage.
This one featured a massive artificial forest.
Normally, it would heavily favor the tagger who knew my position.
I plunged deep into the woods.
How far in was I when a small building came into view?
A fire shelter, occasionally placed in such forests.
It could probably guess my plan by now.
I love nature and always toss trash in bins, but sometimes you just crave a little rebellion.
I used the lighter from the fireworks to set the trees ablaze.
In case it didn't catch easily, I lit several spots—and soon the forest roared to life in flames.
"This is why they tell you not to smoke in mountains or woods."
How quickly had it spread? It was like a disaster had struck the world.
I ducked into the fire shelter.
The ever-present laptop displayed the time.
Quite a bit had passed since the last fight, yet no sign of the Hunter approaching.
A normal fire might not stop it, but breaching this widespread inferno would be impossible for any living thing that could die.
Would it have been easier if I'd come here first?
"Nah, the whole nearby forest would've burned out before time was up."
Then I'd have no flames protecting me.
Just thirty minutes left.
I wasn't sure if a standard shelter could withstand this blaze, but the ones built by the Bureau held firm.
Twenty minutes of vigilance, with burning trees crackling as background music.
No Hunter in sight.
Another five minutes passed—still nothing.
"Hmm. Even it must struggle with fire."
Suddenly, the wall tore open, and a Hunter covered in severe burns glared at me, drool dripping.
"No way—it broke through the fire?"
It swung its massive claws horizontally at me.
Too late—even tentacles couldn't block it.
Sizzle—crackle—
The sound of my flesh bursting irregularly filled the air.
"Son of a—!"
Pain flooded in.
Was that its final spasm? It collapsed immediately after.
Regeneration was kicking in.
But with wounds like these...
"I'm done for..."
I didn't know the limits of my regen, but instinct screamed this was fatal.
Toxic fumes seeped through the breached wall.
"Urk... about three minutes left?"
Three minutes—just three.
As time dragged, my consciousness blurred.
The excruciating pain gnawing my skin faded away.
Every second felt like crossing death's threshold.
How much time had passed?
A minute? Or already ten?
I couldn't think anymore.
"This... won't..."
'Would you like to shut down the computer?' As my awareness faded, I mustered every last ounce of strength to move the mouse.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I sat in front of the laptop.
Back in the café, the completely cold coffee only announced its bitterness.
The wounds on my body were gone.
"Haa... I'm back."
My whole body ached with fatigue, but there was no time to rest.
I needed to craft something via The Shop—no asking for a break.
I had to hurry before the blue tissues ran out.