What the Heck Is Going On Here? (1)
I crossed my arms, staring at the scene with a tired sigh. "What the heck is going on here?"
"My name is Suseke. I'm a fugitive ninja."
With the hoe digging into the potato field behind me, I strolled peacefully through the forest.
It was a perfect escape.
At this very moment, Isabelle was probably clenching her teeth while digging potatoes. Ahjussi would be happily filling his sack with a satisfied grin. And I was right in the middle of important supervisory duties.
Checking if the potatoes were growing well, if there were any dangerous beasts in the forest, and if the village surroundings were peaceful—super important stuff.
I wasn't slacking off at all.
...It stung a bit, though.
I walked slowly along the forest path, sunlight flickering through the leaves like tiny blades, the chirps of nameless birds tickling my ears. The breeze was cool, and the scent of earth felt good.
[A tower hunter like me ending up in a farm life??] Seriously?
I'd never seen a forest like this back in the Tower.
They called it a forest, but it was just a bunch of poisonous plants or monster nests where one wrong step and a trap would explode. I was way more familiar with screams than bird songs, and the smell of blood over flowers.
But this place was different.
Squirrels were running around with acorns in their mouths, and rabbits bolted the second they spotted me. Above us, birds were chirping noisily as if fighting, and the breeze through the trees was drowsily peaceful.
As expected.
Retirement should be like this, right?
Technically not retirement, but anyway.
Plant potatoes. Eat potatoes. Read web novels.
Oh. Web novels.
That reminded me suddenly.
My side story...
I'd never finished it.
I was supposed to save the world and then keep reading.
Hmm.
Kind of a shame, really.
Author dude, you didn't release a new chapter every year while I was here, did you?
That would be really unfair.
Actually, though, this world is the setting of that work, so it doesn't matter, right?
As I was walking alone, lost in my own thoughts...
Squish.
A rustling sound came from beyond the bushes.
I stopped in my tracks.
Rabbit?
No.
The footsteps were heavy.
A moment later, a massive wolf with red fur burst out of the bushes.
Size of a grown man. Sharp fangs. Glowing red eyes.
Anyone could tell it wasn't your average wolf.
"...Oh. Wolfpal."
That's the name I just made up.
I wasn't planning on getting close, but a name at least—otherwise, how would I call it?
"From now on, please take care of me...."
—Grrrrroar!!
"...Yeah."
"I don't like that."
Wolfpal charged, kicking the ground.
A huge maw covered my vision.
But.
I was slow.
I slightly turned my head, and the teeth just grazed my cheek, slicing empty air.
"...No manners."
Before the words even left my mouth, the massive paw slammed down toward my face.
Thud!
I raised my arm, channeling all the strength into it.
A heavy impact traveled from my fingertips all the way to my shoulder.
"..."
Four.
Wait.
Was I getting weaker?
Back in the Tower, that paw would have shattered my bones on impact.
Wolfpal didn't stop there.
It twisted its body and whipped its long tail like a lash.
Whip!
I ducked.
The tail swept over my head and slammed into the tree behind me.
Crack!
A decently thick tree half-broke and tilted.
Strong.
Wolfpal charged again.
This time, paw, fangs, and tail all at once.
They moved almost simultaneously.
Normally, a regular person would hesitate on where to dodge and get bitten anyway, but I wasn't regular.
I took a quick breath.
My vision widened.
His gaze.
The direction his muscles were moving.
The force at his feet.
His breathing.
All of it was readable.
Ahaha!
My body was weak, but my senses were still sharp?
Something about this situation was hilarious.
I stepped sideways.
The maw slashed empty air.
I ducked half a beat late.
The paw brushed past my hair.
Immediately, I twisted my body.
The whipped tail narrowly missed my feet.
Minimal movement.
Minimal strength.
Dodging I'd done countless times in the Tower.
"Now it's Rowoon's turn!"
In a flash, I dove into his arms.
Before Wolfpal could even open his mouth again, I sharpened my palm edge.
No need for black.
My body was weak, that's all.
The techniques were still mine.
Puk!
My fingertips dug precisely between his ribs.
The shortest path to the heart.
In the Tower, even ogres, wyverns, and even dragons would fall to one shot.
Oh, and dragons are a bit exaggerated.
But.
"...Hmm?"
My fingertips stopped.
It had definitely gone in deep.
The sensation was perfect.
But it was too shallow. Just two fingers.
It stopped at that depth.
—Kyaaah!!
Wolfpal let out a scream and rolled a few times before scrambling up.
He glared at me for a moment.
Fight or flight.
He hesitated for a second, then.
He whipped his tail and bolted into the forest.
"..."
I watched his retreating back in silence, slowly clenching and opening my small, childlike hand.
Once, this was the hand that tore ogre hides and sliced dragon scales.
Now it couldn't even finish off a single wolf.
"...More serious than I thought."
I had expected it.
My body was weak, so my power was weaker too.
But I didn't expect this much.
Still, it was fine.
My body was just weak.
Techniques. Experience. Senses.
All of it remained.
Just grow my body over time, and I could recover peak strength anytime.
...It would have been much easier if I could just use my traits.
Suddenly, familiar sensation touched the tip of my fingers.
I immediately pulled back my power.
"...Good."
That was too dangerous.
Opening all my traits yet—my body was still too fragile.
I walked back along the forest path.
How far had I gone?
Suddenly, my foot stopped.
"...?"
The wind direction shifted.
Cool air crossed the forest, and along with it, a familiar scent brushed my nose.
Metal scent.
...No.
Blood scent.
The first smell I'd smelled in this world.
But I'd smelled it countless times in the Tower.
Human blood.
***
【Floor 57 of the Tower of Original Sin】
"...From now on, Rowoon, who has joined the Obelisk, is here. Please take care of me."
"...Is that the Blood Sky Demon King?"
"That serial killer...? No way! He's too young?!"
"Leader! What exactly are you thinking?!"
Complaint mixed with voices erupted from all over the meeting room.
Nineteen years old.
A single boy who hadn't even reached adulthood joining humanity's strongest raiding party was hard for anyone to accept easily.
But.
The raiding leader opened his mouth shortly.
"Enough."
With just that one word, the meeting room fell silent as if lying.
His golden eyes slowly scanned everyone.
"Blood Sky Demon King—Rowoon."
"As of today, you are an official member of the Obelisk team."
"No objections will be accepted."
"..."
No one else raised any more objections.
Everyone knew the leader had a reason for speaking like that.
Nineteen years old.
But Rowoon was already a name that many hunters feared.
Blood Sky Demon King.
A monster that grew stronger the more it wore human blood.
A boy who had solo-cleared the tower, slaying countless monsters and criminals.
Wherever he passed, blood always flowed like rivers, and corpses piled up like mountains.
People feared his name more than monsters.
The trait he had was only one at the time.
【Heavenly Slaughter Star】
Blood is power.
Killing is a blessing.
The more you wear blood, the more your limits disappear.
The star of calamity that even the heavens feared—
that is you.
***
"..."
The scene before my eyes was quite grotesque.
Multiple people hung upside down, their limbs twisted at bizarre angles.
There were bodies long dead, and some still faintly trembling.
Blood flowed like rivers on the floor, and severed organs were scattered in a regular pattern as if offerings.
Following that blood, a huge magic circle was carved in the center of the forest.
And.
In front of it, three people wearing black robes and red masks knelt, murmuring in low voices.
Wait, wasn't this a romance fantasy world?
The peaceful healing world where you dug potatoes and ate tomato stew, right?
Author dude, suddenly changing the genre makes readers panic a lot.
This is tag theft.
...No.
I was panicking too.
I forced down the slight upturn at the corner of my mouth.
Because of my trait, the moment I smelled the blood scent, my body started to feel weirdly excited.
This habit still hadn't been fixed.
"..."
I watched the situation for a moment.
Stop them?
Watch?
Run?
...No way?
Maybe the hanging people were the bad guys!
Or on the contrary, those suspicious guys could be the good ones?
Yeah!
I wasn't like Pingchang.
A man without fixed notions.
So.
First, I should check!
Beating people without confirming anything isn't good, right?
I stealthily killed my presence and slowly approached.
"...Oh great and all-powerful master."
A low, sinister voice echoed through the forest.
Master?
...Seriously.
Are there people with a slightly weird taste?
It's complete nonsense.
It was obvious this was a demon summoning ritual!
"...We offer the fertile nutrients of this land to Master."
"...Please descend and save this world."
Whoosh—
The magic circle engraved in blood began to glow red.
At the same time, the surrounding mana was sucked in madly.
The leaves shook, the ground trembled faintly, and the air grew heavy.
Suddenly.
A chill crawled up my spine.
'...Dangerous.'
The intuition engraved in my body after crossing hundreds of death lines in the Tower.
This ritual.
I couldn't let it go to the end.
"..."
A short sigh escaped me.
With my current body, I didn't really want to use it even if possible.
【Heavenly Slaughter Star】
You are the assassin sent by the heavens!
Rowoon!
Manifestation!