A Second Chance and the Scent of Blood

I nodded firmly and scooped Yeonhee into my arms as she continued chanting her spells, then headed toward where the C-rank hunters were gathered.

Whoosh—!!Thud!!

'You son of a bitch! That damn skeleton?!'

The moment the Card Thrower (C-rank) saw me approaching, he hurled a card at me. I quickly tossed the slime that had been wrapped around Yeonhee’s arm, barely managing to block it. Of course, the slime exploded on impact and died instantly.

'Lime, rest in peace. At least you can keep coming back, right?'

“Whoa, whoa! That’s the summoner’s subordinate!!”

The man wielding a hammer as his main weapon raised a hand to stop the Card Thrower. Only then did the latter seem to grasp the situation and gave Yeonhee a slight bow.

'Looks like Yeonhee’s become pretty famous. Even a C-rank recognized her right away.'

Of course, Yeonhee had no time to acknowledge the apology. She still had many summons to call out besides Lizardman No. 1, who was already by her side.

Slurp— (Is this an enemy…?)

Lizard No. 1 flicked his tongue and scanned the surroundings.

'That’s right, you bastard. He’s the one you were singing about earlier—the enemy.'

I locked eyes with Lizardman No. 1, who had followed behind us, and conveyed my intent. He nodded in understanding and spread his body wide in front of Yeonhee, shielding her as much as possible.

'No matter how many times I experience it, it’s still fascinating—being able to communicate with my summons like telepathy.'

I turned my head and looked in the direction the monster had run. There, the creature was just finishing swallowing the head of a D-rank hunter who had been trying to flee. Several torn-off arms dangled from its hands.

'Are the hunters’ arms trophies now?!'

It wasn’t far. I immediately targeted the monster with Reckless Charge and dashed forward.

“Ilwol—!!”

From behind, I heard Yeonhee urgently calling my name. No matter how many times I heard it, her voice always brought me peace. And in this moment, as I charged straight into danger, it also strengthened my resolve.

I had moved her next to the other hunters without any signal, but if it was Yeonhee, she would understand what I was trying to do—and what she needed to do right now.

As expected, once she finished her summoning, she pointed in the direction I had run and shouted something to the others.

'She really is a handful. But… it’s not so bad…'

Compared to the Ice Witch she had been in her previous life, and the pure girl she was now—who still lacked the power to fully uphold the justice in her heart—if I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to choose which one I preferred, it was the latter.

She was only twenty. It was still an age where she could afford to be clumsy like this.

With that thought in mind, I hurled the forty-three Skeleton Bombs I had stored, scattering them in a wide circle around the monster. No matter how monstrous its abilities were, it would still take time to notice bombs thrown into the air in a gaseous state.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—!!!

Just as I expected, the creature only realized the bombs existed the moment they began exploding. By then, it was already surrounded by the timed explosive field.

If this had been the Lesser Flame Bullet from before my class change, the monster would have sneered and escaped. But the destructive power of Skeleton Bombs wasn’t something it could shrug off so easily.

Several bombs struck its body directly and detonated, but after reading the flow of its mana, I could tell it hadn’t taken a fatal blow.

Grrrk— Splurt—!

The monster shook its head, then straightened its previously collapsed posture. Its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recovery was much faster than anticipated.

'Fuck, it even has excellent defense? If this world really turned into a game, shouldn’t stronger monsters appear gradually?!'

Using my grumbling as fuel, I finished my preparations. I was already right in front of the monster’s nose.

The increased movement speed from Reckless Charge had made it possible. The creature collided with my sudden braking charge, but it seemed too distracted by the surrounding explosions to notice me.

The reason I had taken such a risk to get this close was twofold.

'Just what the hell are you?'

First, I was extremely curious about its face.

Splat—!! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Thud—!!Shaaa—!

Acid sprayed across its face, and the Sage’s dagger sank deep. Only then did the monster’s stealth slowly unravel, finally noticing my presence.

I clung tightly to the massive three-meter-tall creature’s torso using Adhesion and looked up.

Grrrrrrrr—!

The monster was furious. It bared its long fangs and let out a horrifying screech right in front of my face.

The sight was…

'…Huh? What the hell is this?'

Chomp—!!

Suddenly everything went dark. Against my will, I felt my head being lifted toward the sky. The monster had ripped my head off and swallowed it.

Of course, I hadn’t come here just to be killed like this.

This was the second reason I had approached.

Crunch— Crack!!

The seven Skeleton Bombs I had crammed into my mouth to the limit, along with the core in my skull, were crushed by the monster’s razor-sharp teeth.

—Krrk?

'Boom—!'

A tremendous explosion erupted inside the monster’s mouth. That sound became the final memory of my third life.

'Huk!!'

“······.”

'Ugh… my head… why does my head hurt?'

'Mm… that’s better… I don’t feel any pain from physical blows, yet… strange…'

Thanks to the Pain Resistance trait that had eased the sudden headache, I looked around.

'Starting in this damned place again…'

The same starting point where I had first crouched. It seemed restarts always began here.

“Clack clack clack!!”

I forcefully clacked my teeth and pushed my upper body upright, recalling the message that had flashed before my death.

'So there was a reconstruction time. It used to be a full day, right?'

Hmm…

'Is there any way to completely remove the reconstruction time? The other summons don’t have this penalty, so why only me? Because I used to be human?'

Crack. Pop—

I tilted my head left and right a few times as I walked toward the door. I could still think while walking, after all.

The first thing that surprised me was that my level had risen by three. Which meant I had killed that monster.

'Its mouth was definitely soft and squishy. I must have dealt a serious blow.'

The familiar weight of the dagger settling perfectly into my hand.

'Phew— the dagger was recovered properly too.'

I had tossed it into my inventory right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before dying, and it seemed to have been handled well.

'No new skills appeared, so it obviously wasn’t me who got the kill… I hope Yeonhee was the one who finished it.'

Clack— Clatter—

First, I needed to distribute my stat points.

'Wisdom, which boosts bomb damage, is non-negotiable… and if I ever run into another monster like that again, I’ll need more Agility too. I’ll save the Magic Power for when Skeleton Bomb crafting speed increases.'

'And that’s not all!!'

'Did stuffing bombs in my mouth and detonating them from inside give me bonus points? Or did the damage I dealt to that monster drastically increase my experience? The skill jumped two levels even though I barely used it…'

Whatever the reason, it was a sweet reward.

Besides Skeleton Bomb, five other abilities had also leveled up.

'Whoa… at this rate, maybe I should hope to meet that monster again?'

Of course, that was just talk. I never wanted to see it again. Just remembering its face made my bones crawl.

Senses: 34(+3)

The last achievement wasn’t surprising since I had already experienced it in my previous life. I cleared the message from my mind and kept walking for a while.

I suddenly froze.

'What is that smell?'

It was so foul that even my greatly weakened sense of smell could pick it up. The stench drew my steps toward its source.

'This familiar smell of blood… an enemy? Inside here? There’s another being besides me? No way…'