Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Hell (2)
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Goetz's counter-question made Yuri's face fall flat.
“…Why do you sound like you don't expect me to succeed even a little bit?”
“Hoh, you see right through me, Owl Boy. Your instincts are as sharp as ever.”
“You bastard…”
Yuri swallowed the curse bubbling up in his mouth.
‘Calm down, hold it together… He's still a customer until I get the points.’
He forced a smile and said,
“If you want the item, bring the points. The meeting spot will be… the place we met for the third time.”
Goetz looked at Yuri with slightly widened eyes.
He seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
“Hmm… Very well.”
Yuri let out a sigh of relief at his response and glanced back.
Arin was blinking as she listened to the conversation between Yuri and Goetz.
Yuri quickly changed the subject.
“But what are you doing here? Did you come to earn points too?”
“Points? For me? Haha, you really don't know anything, do you, Owl Boy. What I want isn't some measly points.”
“Then what?”
“Naturally, I came to get my hands on something precious that I can't obtain except right now!”
“Something like that exists? What is it!”
Seeing Yuri's eyes sparkle instantly, Goetz shook his head with a small chuckle.
“Oh dear, you have this treasure right in front of your nose and don't even recognize it. Your eye for quality is truly pathetic, my friend.”
“Huh?”
Goetz gently removed his rabbit-ear headband in response to Yuri's utterly clueless gaze.
He held it up carefully with both hands and shouted,
“Among the treasures to be found in this Animal Forest, isn't this rabbit ear the absolute best by far!”
“……?”
“This rabbit-ear headband is none other than the cream of the crop, available only during this season!”
“….”
Yuri's gaze gradually cooled.
Arin behind him had the exact same look in her eyes.
Oblivious or not, Goetz politely extended his rabbit ears toward Arin.
“Ahh, Goddess of the Blue Rose, would you please grace this exquisite rabbit headband by wearing it?”
His eyes brimmed with eager anticipation.
Arin…
Smack-.
She swatted the rabbit ears away with her palm without mercy.
“G-Guhk?!”
Goetz scurried after the headband as it flew two meters away.
He crouched down and meticulously brushed the dirt off the once-pristine white rabbit ears.
Seeing his pitiful sight, Arin asked,
“…Do you know that guy?”
“No, I don't. That damn pervert.”
Please don't get involved with weirdos like that?
The chill in Yuri's voice made Arin nod in agreement.
Yuri then turned to her and asked,
“But how did you end up being chased by that pervert?”
“I don't know. He just popped out of nowhere, saying he fell for me at first sight, Blue Rose this and that.”
“Why didn't you just shoot an arrow into his thick skull?”
“I tried. He knocked them all away.”
“…Ah, so you've already given it a shot.”
“Yeah. No matter how much I attacked, nothing landed, and he kept saying creepy stuff while chasing me… Ugh.”
Yuri asked again, seeing Arin shudder.
“What about Poppy? Weren't you with Poppy?”
“I don't know. It just vanished suddenly. I was looking for that guy around here when I ran into this weirdo!”
“I see…”
Yuri started to nod briefly but then stiffened.
‘Around here? No way?!’
Sensing something off, Yuri urgently turned his gaze to Goetz Roetun.
“Hey, Goetz Roetun… No, Pervert Rabbit?”
Goetz, who had been crouching and tending to his rabbit ears, turned his head at Yuri's call.
Yuri asked, ignoring the look in his eyes that said he was busy.
“Why are you here?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Why is a rabbit here? This is the deer zone.”
“Oh, that?”
Goetz gave a faint smile at Yuri's question.
“Simple reason. Night is…”
Goetz's gaze swept over the campfire.
“…the beasts' time.”
And no sooner had he spoken than rustling sounds came from all directions.
Rustle-.
Yuri swiftly drew his sword as the presences drew closer bit by bit.
At the same time, he kicked the campfire away with his foot.
Bang-!
Sparks and embers scattered everywhere.
In the midst of it, Arin pressed her back to Yuri's and nocked an arrow.
The moment Arin's eyes filled with tension, a tongue-clicking sound came from behind.
“Tsk, no wonder it felt too easy. These newbies never go down without a fight.”
Arin whispered softly at the knowing tone.
“…Mind explaining the situation?”
Yuri nodded toward Goetz, still crouched off to the side.
“That pervert said it. Night is the beasts' time.”
Night is the beasts' time.
The implication was simple.
“At night, the boundaries between the animals' zones disappear.”
During the day, each beast had its designated zone.
But when night fell, those boundaries vanished, setting all the animals free.
That was why Goetz, a mere rabbit, had shown up in the deer zone.
But that wasn't a huge issue.
The real problem was…
‘The ones deeper in the forest.’
The beasts capable of preemptive strikes.
‘Night is the beasts' time… He's right.’
But one word was missing.
For those preemptive beasts lurking deep in the forest, night was ‘hunting’ time.
‘Shouldn't have lit the campfire. Might as well have announced my location everywhere.’
He realized it and extinguished the fire, but it was far too late.
Countless animals must have already headed this way.
The rustling presences from all around were proof.
Yuri asked with a hardened face,
“How many arrows left?”
“Wasted a few on that pervert, but plenty.”
She tapped her quiver confidently.
Yuri nodded and sharpened his gaze.
That was when it happened.
Rustle-.
“Get ready. Incoming.”
Nod-.
Arin gave a slight nod, pulling her bowstring tighter with focused eyes.
Whoosh-.
The last flickers of the campfire died out completely, and something suddenly leaped from beside the tree trunk.
“Woof!”
A dog's bark.
No, a wolf-like growl as the blue-shouldered 48th Cohort charged in.
Arin fired without hesitation at it.
Fwoosh-.
The arrow flying through the darkness was truly menacing.
And with the short distance, dodging it seemed impossible.
For a normal person, anyway.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, the wolf's sword batted away Arin's arrow.
The wolf sneered wickedly and charged again.
Arin's eyes widened as the distance closed in an instant.
Swish-.
Yuri slipped between them.
Clang-.
Yuri easily parried the wolf's sword and bellowed,
“Wolves are Certified 1st Ranks! Don't hold back—go all out!”
At Yuri's sharp shout, Arin gritted her teeth.
She had met the wolf today for the first time.
So she had gone easy, thinking only of the deer and rabbits, firing normal arrows.
But if the opponent was Certified 1st Rank, that changed everything.
“Hoo…”
She exhaled softly, her eyes gleaming in the darkness.
Proof that mana coursed through her body.
Arin's hand flashed like lightning, nocking two arrows at once.
Humm-.
The bowstring vibrated strangely from her mana-infused archery technique.
Her fingers lightly released the string.
Snap!
The arrow shot out like a streak of light, several times faster than her first shot.
It cleverly slipped into the gap while Yuri exchanged blows with his sword.
Yuri's sword in front.
A fierce arrow in between.
“Urk!”
The startled wolf grunted and swung his sword.
Ting-.
He barely deflected one arrow, but Arin had fired two.
Thuck-.
“Grrk!”
The arrow lodged in the wolf's thigh.
And it wasn't just any arrow.
Zing-.
The embedded arrow vibrated relentlessly, shredding the wolf's thigh muscles.
“Gaaargh!”
His agonized roar shook the night forest.
Yuri didn't miss the opening, smashing the wolf's head with the flat of his blade.
Crack-.
The wolf crumpled grotesquely.
Yuri gave Arin a thumbs-up.
But the brief respite didn't last.
Rustle-.
“Woof.”
“Woof woof.”
Now two wolves appeared.
Yuri let out a wry laugh.
“Damn, this is a mess.”
It looked like his first night in Animal Forest wouldn't involve any sleep.
“Alright, let's do this!”
Yuri charged at the two wolves with sword in hand, Arin's arrows providing support from behind.
* * *
Clang-!
Boom!
A cacophony of metal clashes and explosions echoed through the forest air.
Yet, unlike the dire situation, Goetz's face remained utterly serene as he leaned against a tree trunk.
Interest flickered in Goetz's eyes as he watched the fight.
“Hoh?”
Yuri facing two wolves.
He was holding his own against two Certified 1st Rank seniors.
No, not just holding.
Surprise crept onto Goetz's face as he observed.
‘This… Owl Boy actually has the upper hand?’
In a 2-vs-1, the momentum favored Yuri.
‘Even with our Blue Rose's support… that's still impressive.’
A newbie rider dominating two Certified 1st Rank seniors?
Truly astonishing.
Even more shocking: in terms of realm, Yuri Holland was barely Certified 1st Rank himself.
A scraping-by level at that.
Yet dominating two of the same rank? It defied common sense.
Watching the 2-vs-1 intently, Goetz figured out why Yuri held such an advantage.
‘His ability to read moves is exceptional… No, astounding.’
Yuri's sword anticipated attacks as if foreseeing the future.
And whenever Arin's support came, he seemed to predict it, chaining his next strike accordingly.
Goetz could only admire it purely.
‘Truly… absurd talent. As expected from the record-breaker.’
He had pretended not to know earlier as a joke, but how could he not?
He had been there at the Hundred Steps Ceremony too.
That intense memory wouldn't fade easily.
‘You should feel honored, Owl Boy—no, Yuri Holland. I don't usually remember men's names, but yours is etched clear.’
Yuri's performance at the Hundred Steps had been that impactful.
So seeing him dominate seniors now elicited a natural ‘as expected.’
‘That aside, our Blue Rose is impressive too. She's getting smoother.’
Arin's support for Yuri had started awkward.
But as time passed, her arrows piercing between his attacks grew sharper and more precise.
Thanks to that, the two 49th Cohort wolf seniors were gradually falling behind.
‘They must be panicking.’
They didn't seem long into Certified 1st Rank, but probably top-tier in their cohort.
Failing to subdue even one newbie despite teaming up must have bruised their egos.
Goetz smirked.
‘Guess I can't let my guard down either?’
Their experience gap meant few direct clashes, but not none.
And with Yuri's skill, he could climb ranks anytime.
As Goetz thought that,
Fwoosh-.
“Gahk!”
Boom!
Thud-.
One of the wolves facing Yuri collapsed.