Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Herd Hunt
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We arrived safely at the clearing.
The long jump-like leap had been a gamble.
An unfamiliar movement, after all.
And yet, it worked.
With my enhanced physical abilities, I'd perfectly executed the movements in my head.
"Phew..."
But it wasn't over yet.
I let out a deep breath to steady my breathing.
I stood up and looked at the others.
'Preparations look good.'
I turned around.
The herd of giant rats was charging in.
Thud thud thud thud thud.
The ground-shaking vibrations threw their ranks into chaos.
'Time to let them know.'
It was time to teach these rat bastards who ruled this area a lesson.
That they weren't the predators.
And to stop charging in so arrogantly.
With that in mind, I stepped toward the green wave.
"G-Goooo!!!"
Jang Ho-seop's shout came from behind me.
Followed by Chairman Park's scream.
"You bastard, you threw me and went invisible again... you son of a biiiitch!"
Chairman Park and I were soon swept up in the giant rat wave.
I minimized Target Detection and swung my hand axes.
"Zzzt!"
The giant rats came charging in from all directions at once.
The others were using the vibrations to scatter them, but there were just too damn many.
'Two hundred? No way.'
Even at a glance, there were over five hundred.
Swoosh—
And yet, it didn't feel like we were going to lose.
My eyes darted around busily, my ears perked up.
I whipped my head back and forth without rest, constantly changing direction.
"Grrrrr!"
Chairman Park had already become a mountain.
A mountain blanketed in giant rats.
I put some distance between us and headed toward the Eunhyeon Stream.
Slash slash.
Obstacles kept popping up right in front of me.
Even with Target Detection minimized to the max, the giant rats' presences kept jutting into my awareness.
I visualized all this information through imagination.
My head grew hot.
'It's working.'
I didn't lose focus.
My reflexes could process all of it.
My body handled the unfamiliar motions effortlessly.
'Uncomfortable, but...'
Fighting a giant rat herd was different from goblins or orcs.
These things basically crawled along the ground.
Some leaped up occasionally.
So I had to lower my center of gravity a lot.
They kept forcing discomfort on me without end.
But it didn't matter.
I was way faster than the giant rats.
"Chit chit."
One trying to sink its teeth into my foot.
One leaping at my side.
And one aiming for the back of my neck.
'Point to point.'
I marked points in three-dimensional space and instantly drew the optimal path between them.
Connecting the points into a smooth curve.
I dropped into a low stance, then spun up.
Swoooosh—
One axe swing cleaved three giant rats.
Before their bodies had even fully split.
Slash.
I spun the axe in my other hand and smashed it down.
Even while moving, I didn't miss any surrounding info.
I kept my thoughts flowing.
So my axe swings never stopped.
Giant rat corpses piled up quickly amid my fluid, water-like movements.
Splaaash—
Then Yu-na's water streams began pouring down.
She dashed across the table she'd spread out, spraying water everywhere.
The giant rats froze in place.
"Pull!"
The makeshift net went up.
The others flipped the poles they'd been stabbing the ground with and thrust them through the net gaps.
"Kill 'em all!"
"If each of us gets about fifteen..."
My group sprang into action.
They leaped down from the long table and advanced shoulder to shoulder.
'I see it.'
And finally.
A path opened up.
Tat tatak.
I charged toward the giant rat matriarch wailing pitifully.
Was she desperately trying to rally her young?
Pum pum pum.
The giant rats tried to block me, but it was pointless.
I didn't even need my axes—my body alone was a catastrophe to them.
I advanced while tracing the ideal movements in my imagination.
I crushed giant rats under my reinforced elbow pads, knee guards, and boots.
Sometimes I'd roll on the ground to squash the ones clinging to my back.
Slash.
Just like that, I severed the matriarch's neck.
Nothing special about her, aside from her absurdly huge size and breeding rate.
"Nah, eight each would do it?"
I was getting used to it.
To the point where I couldn't tell if my thoughts were leading my body or the other way around.
It felt just like playing a bullet hell shooter.
'This is fun.'
My movements were gradually breaking free from convention.
Adding the impossible to habits I'd built up till now.
'More, more!'
But then, in the midst of that total immersion—like the world held only me.
'Ah.'
My focus shattered.
Because no more giant rats were coming at me.
"W-We won!!!"
Jang Ho-seop's roar rang out.
"Waaaaaah!!!"
The cheers erupted.
I stood in the center, feeling the tidal wave of their emotions crash over me.
The battle was over.
"Whoa, bro! Looked like the giant rats were just throwing themselves onto your axes!"
Jang Ho-seop was making a huge fuss.
A few others nodded along with him.
That's how it must've looked to everyone else.
They probably couldn't properly perceive that split-second gap between the rats' attacks and my reactions.
'It's the levels.'
In the end, it all came down to the physical disparities from our level gaps.
We'd expected Yu-na to play the biggest role this time.
But I'd actually taken out the most giant rats.
Level-up stat boosts had bridged the skill gap.
Of course, Yu-na had been too focused on spraying water to kill many herself.
"I figured fifteen each at first. But when it ended, I'd only gotten seven."
"Hohoho. I got eight. One more than my husband. Yi Hyun took so many... it was really cool."
The Sangha couple bantered.
Oh, Sangha couple— that's Im Sang-sik and Kim Ha-na.
I'd vaguely overheard someone during the fight saying we'd only need a few each. Must've been Im Sang-sik.
"That was insane."
"Thought I was watching a hero movie."
"But that oppa with wet hair is even more..."
I caught the college girls whispering in the corner.
The praise from my group and the others was making me relax completely.
"Ho-seop."
"Yeah."
I called him with a straight face.
"You're in charge of cleanup here."
"Got it. How should I do it?"
I planned to split the people into two groups.
"Handle the giant rat corpses. Check if they're edible. Don't toss the hides."
Protein was insanely precious now.
Everything else was valuable too, but we had to use whatever we could.
Along those lines, we'd captured a few giant rats alive.
We'd even nabbed one of the smaller matriarchs live.
Research if we could breed them too.
"Get help from Bae Bong-sik."
He'd grown up at one with nature and was a farmer.
So he had all sorts of knowledge that might be alien to city folk.
"Sure. But the sheer volume..."
"Drag in the college students. Work for food and showers."
"Got it."
While Jang Ho-seop handled cleanup here, I'd scout the surroundings again.
And check on home.
"Alright, Myeongsin Women's University students."
Assignments done.
Jang Ho-seop stepped up to the Dorm 1 survivors.
All undergrads. A few ROTC cadets.
"I know it's tough, but we need a bit more help. Promise dinner and showers when it's done."
"Showers? For real?"
"Yeah. You saw my junior's skill earlier? She can pump water."
The students squealed in excitement.
Secured the labor force without a hitch.
A day passed.
Yesterday, we'd split up.
Some slept at their original homes, others in Myeongsin Women's twin Dorm 1.
I'd gone home to catch up with Bom noona and slept there.
Then arrived at Myeongsin early morning.
"Found a good spot."
We usually held meetings at night, but this one was in the morning.
"Independence Hall up the Eunhyeon Stream. It's an ecological park around."
Head out from Myeongsin, climb Baekho Pass, and there's a long stretch of gentle terrain.
The other side's a steep drop.
Independence Hall sits in that gentle area.
Practically flat ground.
"Eunhyeon Stream runs right in front. Reservoir nearby too."
"Water's easy?"
"Yeah. And the buildings look sturdy."
Independence Hall has multiple buildings.
All intact, no collapses.
"Weird layout. Six small ones in a circle, main building in the center."
"Like walls?"
"Kinda. Plenty of space between buildings though."
No survivors or monsters at Independence Hall.
Just traces of the giant rat sweep.
"Whoa, that's huge already? Mess is just cleanup..."
"Yeah. Want it as our base."
They all nodded as I sketched it out.
Hard to find better.
"What about the giant rat corpses? Tried the skill?"
"Yeah. Said they have components harmful to humans. Some method removes the toxicity."
Didn't say how harmful or the method.
"Was thinking of testing on Chairman Park or univ folks."
Jang Ho-seop nodded.
If not too bad, small amounts okay.
"Seol-hee. Try your skill."
"Okay."
Test on sample meat first.
She focused briefly, then beamed.
"This... it's purified."
Her Purification's Glory identifies and burns impurities.
Some impurities can't be purified even if detected.
If multiple, needs repeated casts.
Constraints galore, but invaluable skill.
Especially with a backup battery like Bom noona to offset some.
"One cast?"
"Yes. All clean now."
"Then you and Bom noona focus on purifying today."
Splitting up again today.
"Can't move right away."
"Yeah. Clean it, move supplies... oh, stockpile more."
Years of preserved food would be solid, Jang Ho-seop said.
I wanted that too.
"Farm steady. Heading to front gate today."
Back gate residential—lots of locals, renters.
Front gate commercial strip.
Tons of big and small marts, convenience stores.
"Oh, bro. Bong-sik hyung says process the giant rat meat."
"Like smoking?"
"Yeah. Yesterday he went on about... smoking, salting, oil storage."
Pondered briefly, then asked.
"How were the Dorm 1 students yesterday?"
"Good. Listened well, no whining."
"For sure?"
Recalled his hype about women's univ.
Wondered if overly generous.
"Totally. Right, Mom?"
Asked his mom.
Soo-jung auntie nodded.
"They've got grit. Quick on the uptake. Especially that Gi Eun-chae."
Per auntie, Gi Eun-chae worked hard to impress us.
"Then include students, split into three teams. Me to front gate team, Independence Hall team, meat processing team here."
Mixed my crew, villagers, students into three teams.
Meeting over, everyone moved out.
"Ho-seop."
"Yeah, bro."
"If you like someone, go for it. But keep work and personal separate."
Cautioned him extra, since he seemed hyped.
"Nah, nothing like that."
"Sure."
"No really. All my fantasies shattered."
He denied even knowing I could read emotions.
"Fantasies shattered?"
"Yeah. Ew, the smell... some had mustaches? Others scratching all over."
The students did look rough.
Especially compared to our group.
Still couldn't let guard down.
Yu-na had helped them wash yesterday.
"Then why so pumped?"
"Heh heh. Fun idea. I'll show you at dinner."
His grin looked suspiciously pervy.
Farming done, back home.
Dorm holdouts had dinner ready.
In a way I hadn't expected.
"Bro! Sit here."
Jang Ho-seop pulled out a chair.
"Then let's start."
Sunset glow.
Flames roared from the wood-filled drum.
Jang Ho-seop donned gloves, grabbed tongs.
Sizzleeee.
Couldn't remember last time I heard that.
Direct-flame grilling.
Giant rat meat, of course.
"Tested it. Hind legs chewiest."
He neatly sliced and plated it before me.
"Bong-sik hyung says tastes like rabbit!"
He raised his voice.
Two female students fanned on either side of him.
Not fanning us.
"Chewy hind leg meat~ melts in your mouth!"
The two were fanning toward Twin Dorm 2.
The delicious grilling aroma spread far and wide.