Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Isolated Cabin
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Finding the portal wasn't difficult.
A patch of grass that appeared unnaturally.
And right next to it, in what seemed to be the path leading there, he spotted a portal heading to a monster field.
'Gotta check it out right away.'
Whoosh.
As he hopped through the portal, a forest landscape different from the slime woods came into Yoon Young's view.
"Watch out ahead. Lots of wild animals, so be careful."
He turned at the sound of the voice and saw a man in a fur hat and leather cloak muttering to himself.
'Looks like a hunter...'
Instead of guards, they had hunters here.
Might as well talk to him.
[Talk]
"Hmm, new face. You're a newbie adventurer, huh?"
The hunter glanced Yoon Young up and down before speaking.
"Looks like you're here to hunt wild animals, but don't let your guard down. Lately, due to some major anomalies, the wild animals have half-mutated into monsters. They're big, fierce, and mutants have been spotted too. Underestimate them and you'll get hurt bad."
Hmm, wild animals turning into monsters was a bit of a cliché in fantasy stories.
Still, pigs didn't seem like a huge threat, but it was smart to stay cautious just in case.
'Any quests? Nope.'
After checking for quests, Yoon Young walked right past the hunter NPC without hesitation.
He had no interest in some hairy-legged uncle NPC.
He headed straight for the field where the wild boars were waiting.
"Oink!"
A wild boar charged past Yoon Young, snorting even though no one had called it.
'That's not the image I had...'
It wasn't the pink, chubby pig that came to mind.
Rough brown fur, upturned snout, protruding tusks, and a sleek body for a pig.
A bit odd, but it looked way more like a wild boar than a farm pig.
'If it's like a wild boar... that means it's tough, right?'
Yoon Young's tension rose a notch.
Even in Korea, people occasionally got killed by rare wild boar attacks.
Of course, his current physical specs were far beyond a normal human's, but this was still a monster-class enemy.
He'd at least need to dodge charges or brace his lower body steadily and block with his shield.
'This guy's not running even though I'm right in front of it.'
Oink!
The boar stared him down, grunting and slowly pawing the ground.
It was like it was saying, come at me if you dare.
Yoon Young raised his shiitake shield and glared back at the boar.
Tension hung in the air.
The boar moved first.
"Oink!!"
It charged with tusks forward.
Yoon Young reflexively dodged to the side.
Missing its target, the wild boar barreled past him and took three more steps before stopping.
'Now's the time!'
Seeing the opening, Yoon Young rushed in as fast as he could, activated his aura blade, and thrust his sword.
Stab!
"Squeal!!"
The boar writhed, letting out an even more piggish squeal as the blade sank into its side.
"Ngh!"
The strain on his grip was no joke.
Yoon Young held tight, yanked the sword free, and swung hard at the boar's snout.
"Squeeeeal!!"
The boar flipped out in agony from the slash.
Red blood sprayed everywhere—it was pretty gruesome.
'Ugh, gross. Blood.'
This enemy felt different from the ones he'd hunted so far.
Plants? Mushrooms?
They were vicious, but no real blood, and they looked utterly unrealistic.
Slimes too.
But this boar felt like actually clubbing a wild animal.
Yoon Young usually avoided pig slaughter videos because they were too brutal.
Seeing it thrash and splatter blood everywhere was turning his stomach a bit.
'When I fought Faye, sword cuts were more like red game effects than blood... Why's this so realistic?'
But to survive in this world, he couldn't flinch at slicing animals and seeing blood.
Yoon Young steeled himself and kept slashing.
Slash! Slash!
His strengthened aura cut deep into hide and flesh.
After about a minute of stabbing, slicing, and struggling, it finally went limp and faded away.
"Hoo...!"
If the body vanished right after death, the realistic blood was pointless anyway.
The blood on Yoon Young's clothes and sword disappeared with the boar's corpse.
'Handy.'
He wiped his sweat and checked the loot.
"Pretty generous."
Fresh Pork
Pork
Boar's Tusk
Two chunks of meat dripping blood and fat, plus a boar's tusk.
And the meats had different names.
Checking further:
Fresh Pork 1/10
"Aha."
One was quest item, the other regular drop.
'Could cook with the pork.'
Save money, level cooking skill—maybe eat homemade for a while...?
Seemed like a good option if he could farm meat like this.
If useless, gift to Redia.
She'd probably like it.
"Hoo, rest a bit then..."
Surprisingly tough to kill.
Maybe harder than slimes.
'Eh, I'll get the hang of it.'
Yoon Young set off for more boars.
After bagging ten and tallying up:
Fresh Pork x6, Pork x3, Boar's Tusks x8.
EXP a bit more than slimes.
Not the most efficient spot, but getting meat made it feel rewarding.
Even the blood and squeals were growing on him.
(Meat chunks about adult male forearm size, random cuts.)
'Finish the quest first.'
Slash!
"Squeeeeal!"
After a few more, he'd gotten the knack—less effort, shorter fights.
'Humans adapt.'
Repeating fights and breaks.
About an hour later:
Fresh Pork 10/10
"Hoo."
Quest complete.
Time to head back—
'Huh. What's that.'
Something shimmering in a rock crevice amid bushes.
"Hyup."
Moving the rock revealed a portal.
The small shimmer expanded to full size once uncovered, asserting itself.
Yoon Young felt a strange suspicion.
'This portal feels deliberately hidden.'
Tucked in bushes and blocked by rock.
He would've missed it without looking closely.
Hard to spot, suppressed until revealed...
And the location was weird.
Portals so far were in logical spots; this was random.
'Feels like something special behind it.'
All signs pointed that way.
Instead of rushing in, he thought first.
'Could be dangerous jumping out...'
But skipping it made no sense.
Prep for hidden monsters, stay alert.
"Gulp..."
Yoon Young squeezed through carefully.
Whoosh!
Beyond: a serene forest path.
Lush Verdant Forest Path
But the vibe was mystical.
'Kinda dim around here?'
The space glowed with bright blue moonlight-like light.
Blue foliage instead of green, firefly-like orbs floating.
Night-like but too bright.
Outside was midday, just 11:50—portal flipped the mood.
He looked up: misty sky, no sun or moon.
Where's the light source?
Super suspicious.
'Doesn't feel dangerous though...'
Staying vigilant, he walked.
About five minutes later?
Nothing special—just a portal to the next map.
Hidden Cabin
"Hidden Cabin...?"
The name felt ominous.
Indeed, amid blue bushes stood a lone cabin.
'Not sure about going in.'
Yoon Young scouted around first.
Boing!
"Whoa."
Behind the cabin: invisible wall bounce.
He'd seen this in town.
No access rights, or no space implemented.
'Probably the latter...'
Tiny area, cabin only notable thing.
Thorough search: nothing.
'Gotta go inside to check properly.'
With that, he slowly opened the door.
Creeak.
Not locked.
Wooden interior lit by seeping outside glow.
'What is this place? Library?'
Hallway with bookshelves lining both walls.
Hallway-library hybrid.
Rustle.
"!"
Amazed while walking, he sensed movement deeper in.
Combat ready, he peeked around the corner.
What he saw...
'A person?'
Someone's back.
Long blue hair, pointed mage hat, robe.
Curvy hips and slim waist drew the eye.
Definitely a woman from behind!
NPC?
"Um, hello...?"
He made noise to announce himself.
No reply.
Either oblivious or engrossed in sorting books.
'Definitely NPC.'
Now he approached safely.
[Talk]
Swish.
She turned at his voice from behind.
"Gasp...!"
Yoon Young gasped in shock.
Mystical aura, long ears!
Hidden by hat, now fully visible.
'E-elf! So pretty...'
Her beauty made him sigh involuntarily—elf for sure.
He'd figured elves existed in this fantasy world, but not like this.