#10. vs Monster Wolf (3)
#10. vs Monster Wolf (3)
When the net came down on the Wolf, she'd thought she had it — but the Warg was one step ahead. It wasn't stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice. Lee Eun-ha bit her lip and manifested her magic.
"Distort!"
Spatial distortion. Even under its effect, the Warg didn't stop.
"......!"
It was stronger than before. Last time, the distortion hadn't been enough to bring it down either, but at least she'd been able to stall it...!
The power pressing against her grip felt like it could tear free and lunge at any second. Lee Eun-ha fought to hold on, but the recoil eventually overwhelmed her, and her hand snapped open.
"Ngh—!"
The instant she let go, the Warg's movements quickened visibly, as if it had been waiting for its freedom. In a breath, its jaws gaped open right in front of her face. Lee Eun-ha held her breath without realizing it.
"......!"
But the jaws never reached her. Spider silk stretched across the Warg's muzzle, blocking it. She'd failed to restrain it with the spatial distortion — but the warped space had dragged the silk into position, snaring the Warg.
Lee Eun-ha stumbled backward and exhaled in relief. A wave of dizziness washed over her, but she was fine. It was over now... That was what she thought.
"—Rrragh!"
The beast thrashed in fury. It was struggling wildly — and unlike before, the spider silk was snapping strand by strand with terrifying ease.
"......!"
It had gotten stronger in the time since their last fight. A Special Species — even so, this growth rate was unnatural. Stunned, Lee Eun-ha backpedaled. The Warg shredded through the silk and lunged, swallowing her in a single bite.
'......!'
—Or rather, it swallowed only the magical armor she was wearing, by the barest margin. The Warg drew its tongue across its lips. That long red tongue seemed to crave her flesh and blood, and she felt the chill crawl up her spine.
'What now...?'
The thought lasted only an instant. In the next moment, the Warg's massive jaws filled her vision again. Her physical abilities were no better than an ordinary person's — she had no hope of tracking its movements properly.
'This is bad...!'
***
Lee Eun-ha, hand raised. The monster Wolf, jaws gaping wide — I'd finally caught up.
[Fear of Baemsagol (Warg / Amorphous) Lv.7] [EXP 6132 / 8932]
[Body Length 89 cm] [Shoulder Height 48.5 cm] [Weight 13.2 kg]
[STR 91] [AGI 99] [VIT 167] [MP 30]
I checked my own stats, then used Spying on the monster.
[Tyrant of the Mountain (High Warg)]
[Body Length 4.56 m] [Shoulder Height 1.96 m] [Weight 872 kg]
[STR 231] [AGI 313] [VIT 233] [MP 56]
No living animal came to mind for comparison. That shoulder height, that elongated frame — its bulk already exceeded anything in the carnivore category. You'd be better off comparing it to a bull or a rhinoceros.
And it wasn't just any Warg — it was a High Warg. Unlike me, the Lesser species, this thing was Superior. Every stat towered over mine. Even my magic power fell short.
It was far more of a monster than I'd imagined. How had Lee Eun-ha ever managed to bring this thing down? I gritted my teeth and immediately acquired the skills I'd marked.
[Hardening (D) Lv.1 skill acquired.]
[Weak Hardening (E) Lv.5 integrated into Hardening (D) Lv.1.]
[Hardening (D) Lv.1 proficiency at maximum. Hardening (D) Lv.1 → Hardening (D) Lv.3]
And on top of that:
[Mana Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 skill acquired.]
[Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.5 and Mana Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 exist simultaneously.]
[Physical Damage Reduction (E) Lv.5 and Mana Damage Reduction (E) Lv.1 merge into All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.1.]
[All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.1 proficiency at maximum. All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.1 → All Damage Reduction (D) Lv.3]
Success. Instead of buying a D-rank skill outright, I'd acquired an E-rank skill and merged my way up.
[Remaining Skill Points: 5]
The payoff of a gamble I hadn't been sure would work — I'd saved skill points.
[Excellent Intuition (D) Lv.1 skill acquired.]
[Remaining Skill Points: 1]
Intuition — a skill one tier above the temporary version I'd gotten from linking Sixth Sense and Perception. With my stats this far behind, it was essential if I meant to face this thing head-on. When you're slower, you have to move first.
But I was too late. The moment I finished acquiring the skill, the monster Wolf swallowed Lee Eun-ha whole — from her head down to her pelvis.
'......!'
Blood spraying. Entrails bursting out. Its teeth severing her spine, her upper and lower body torn apart before she could even scream — that was the future I saw.
"—Krruk?!"
The future Intuition showed me. Hardening. Swift Foot. Charge. And an ambush boosted by Elasticity — together, they'd averted that future. I hadn't dodged like some Black Wolf. The hit landed. But all it did was shove the beast backward. Watching it shake off the impact and rise, utterly unbothered, I knew for certain.
I couldn't kill it. I was outclassed.
I'd thought three D-rank skills would be enough to fight. Ridiculous. I'd been the one underestimating things. Sure, I could deal damage. But my attacks would never outpace its regeneration.
"Huh?"
Lee Eun-ha let out a dazed, single-syllable sound. No time to look back. One glance away and I'd be dead. She had the offensive power I lacked. I had the stopping power she didn't. Which meant we had to work together. In that moment, Lee Eun-ha murmured:
"Seven minutes..."
Seven minutes. What did that mean? I didn't need to think about it. It had to mean backup was seven minutes out. For a second I considered just holding out — wouldn't that be easier? — but shook my head. We had to end this. Hold out for seven minutes? Sure, we could do that. As long as she and I fought together, stalling the thing instead of killing it wouldn't be that hard. But then I'd never get to devour it.
And the hunters would capture me for sure.
The best scenario I could construct: kill the monster Wolf alongside Lee Eun-ha before backup arrived, and have her collapse from mental exhaustion in the process.
I actually laughed at those insane conditions.
Defeat an enemy I wasn't even sure I could beat, within a time limit, while also making sure my ally succumbed to mental exhaustion? Those were achievement-hunt conditions straight out of a video game. Having them shoved into real life was so absurd I couldn't even be mad.
"—Rrragh!"
The monster Wolf had been watching me, sizing me up, but now its temper curdled and it let out a seething growl. A slime that had killed one of its kin and wore that kin's skin. Slimes had no scent or anything else to give me away, but I had an irrational certainty that the Warg recognized me. It wasn't going to waste any more time — it lunged.
I could see its movements. The synergy between Intuition and Perception was beyond anything I'd expected. I dodged. It immediately tried to tear into me with both front paws. I read that too and slipped away. But prediction is only prediction — not reality. If I moved based on what I saw ahead of time, the Warg simply adjusted its own movements in response.
No matter how far into the future I looked, if the Warg kept changing its actions to match mine, it meant nothing. Read, dodge, dodge, dodge — I repeated it over and over, but eventually I'd be caught. As long as the gap in our stats existed, evading its attacks forever was impossible. I really couldn't do this alone. What the hell was Lee Eun-ha doing...
Why wasn't she helping? I glanced back. She had a hand over her mouth, both eyes wide. I realized why — the places where I'd been torn open had turned to slime.
"...No way."
Her eyes changed. I nodded. The worst-case scenario was her abandoning me and running on her own — but that didn't seem likely.
Honestly, I'd thought the odds of her running were pretty high. She had nothing to lose by doing it. So this was a relief.
I didn't know why, but Lee Eun-ha had decided to fight alongside me. The Warg launched itself into the air — I snared it with Tentacle Bundle, but I lacked the strength to hold it. I was dragged upward in an instant — but I'd bought time. Eun-ha had already manifested her magic and cried out:
"Distort!"
Warped space. Under its influence, the Warg struggled backward. I didn't miss the opening. I clamped onto the monster, stretching and clinging to it with everything I had. Slowed as it was, dodging its attacks became manageable.
"Huh?"
She'd apparently been preparing a spell to combine with the distortion and restrain the Warg, but I'd filled that role for her. The monster Wolf, feet tangled. Soon Lee Eun-ha chanted another spell.
"Thorns!"
Spikes erupted from below, piercing through the ground and driving upward. Her face had gone pale — mental exhaustion was closing in.
The rising thorns impaled the monster Wolf's paws. And mine, for that matter. I'd been too busy anchoring its legs to dodge. With its reaction speed, even under the distortion, it would have easily avoided thorns like these. A necessary loss, but it still hurt.
I'd lost nearly half my body surface to the thorns. Without Hardening at D-rank, I might not have survived.
"Embiggen!"
The instant I heard the next spell, Perception and Intuition read the future. The Warg was already skewered. No need to keep holding on. I abandoned my impaled flesh and launched myself upward with Elasticity — and in that moment, Lee Eun-ha collapsed.
***
"—!"
Something flew in and struck the back of her head. Lee Eun-ha's eyes flew open. She tried to endure it, but with mental exhaustion pressing in and the impact on top of it, staying conscious was impossible.
'...How?'
The monster Wolf had been immobilized. Its paws were impaled — it couldn't move — and the bear cub — no, the slime — had been holding it down. Which meant there was only one way.
'Ma...na.'
The ground drew closer, slowly. Not a spell. Not manifested magic. Just raw mana used to lift a rock and hurl it. If she'd been in normal condition — if her magical armor had still been up — it wouldn't have been a problem. But the Warg had already devoured that armor. It twisted the corner of its mouth upward, sneering at her foolishness.
'Was he aiming for that...?'
Even coughing up blood, breathing didn't get any easier. Her chest tightened. The last thing she saw was the same green mass, facing down the Warg head-on once again.
'Ah......'
So it really wasn't a dream after all... Lee Eun-ha's consciousness slowly slipped away.
***
Lee Eun-ha crumpled, struck in the back of the head by a massive rock. I clenched my teeth.
My fault. I shouldn't have let go. I should've clung on more viciously.
The Warg had used its mana to attack her. I should've braced myself instead of springing away with Elasticity — should've done anything to disrupt it. My failure to stay clamped onto it was my own mistake.
"......."
Two options left. Fight, or run. This time was different from before. I could get away.
The Warg was impaled on those huge thorns. Moving was still beyond it. It would recover soon enough, but I had plenty of time to grab Lee Eun-ha and escape. But if I did, devouring the Warg would be impossible.
[Whether to advance, or to stop.]
The System's voice, from before. Wasn't the answer obvious? This wasn't an unsurvivable line. I could do this. So then...
'Forward.'
[Transformation (F) Lv.1 skill acquired.]
[Transformation (F) Lv.1 integrated into Transformation (F) Lv.9.]
[Transformation (F) Lv.1 proficiency at maximum. Transformation (F) Lv.9 → Transformation (F) Lv.10]
[Transformation (F) Lv.10 has reached maximum level. Transformation (F) Lv.10 → Change (E) Lv.1]
[Remaining Skill Points: 0]
***
"—♬"
A high, lilting hum rang out through the mountain. A melody more beautiful than the birds' morning chorus. Footsteps. Sensing a presence approaching, the Girl stopped humming and looked down from the stone steps.
"You're late."
At the sight of the Girl — a young child utterly out of place in this setting — Team Leader Gu Jin-ha's face hardened.
"......Why are you here?"
"And Tae-jun? Ah. Not here, I suppose."
"Step aside."
"No."
A flat, immovable refusal. The two of them were talking past each other, but what Woo-taek couldn't comprehend was that it was the Team Leader using honorifics — not the Girl.
"Team Leader?"
"Woo-taek. I'll hold her off — you go in first."
"What are you talking about?"
"Listen to me! Ten seconds. I can't buy you more than that. Understood?"
Woo-taek nodded. The situation was impossible to follow, but he'd do as the Team Leader ordered. Whoever that Girl was, if the Team Leader held her off, he just had to get inside and rescue Lee Eun-ha.
'Get into the temple grounds. Kill the Warg.'
It wouldn't take even ten seconds, no matter what. Then the Team Leader's coat flared, and in his hand was a long blade — a slender sword like a rapier, appearing from nowhere. A pulse of cold power rippled along the thin steel. As that chilling killing intent radiated outward, Woo-taek swallowed.
'Still incredible.'
It had been a long time since he'd personally drawn his sword. Feeling that skill again, Woo-taek couldn't help but marvel. How many years did it take to reach that level? Ten? Twenty? Maybe a lifetime wouldn't be enough.
'Whoever that Girl is...'
Now that he'd drawn his sword, nothing would go wrong.
"Ten seconds?"
The Girl's sneer followed. At the Team Leader's signal, Woo-taek leaped — or rather, he had the distinct sensation that he'd leaped in a single bound into the temple grounds.
"......?!"
He hadn't moved from the start. No — his frozen body refused to obey.
He wasn't charging forward. He was pressed flat against the ground. Sprawled on his stomach, unable to move a single finger. When? When had it started? With tremendous effort, he turned his head and saw the Team Leader on his knees, drenched in sweat.
"Why the hell are you...!"
The words came out strained. The Girl hadn't budged from the stone steps. It wasn't a technique or magic — she was simply pressing them down from above with overwhelming magical power.
'What the hell is this?'
The crushing pressure felt like it would shatter his bones. Woo-taek clenched his fists. Lying flat on the ground — that was all he could do. It was pathetic. The absolute difference in power. His own powerlessness. Every bitter drop of it sank into him as he could do nothing but look up at the Girl, seated serenely on the stone steps.
"......."
Without answering, the Girl resumed humming.
"—♪"
That melody, so utterly incongruous, echoed through the temple grounds above the two fallen men.