Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Tiger Hunt (2)
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Ppoppi and Arin tilted their heads in confusion.
“Huh?”
“...?”
They both thought the same thing at once.
‘For some reason... it feels like it’s getting closer to us?’
And it wasn’t just their imagination.
Just as they sensed, Yuri and the wolf-man’s fierce battle was gradually drawing nearer to where the two were standing.
By the time Arin and Ppoppi realized it...
Clang—clang—kaang!
“Ugh, uwaa!”
“I’m hungry!”
The two were already caught up in the fight.
To be precise, Yuri had forcibly dragged them into it.
Having achieved her goal, Yuri shouted softly.
“Switch.”
Then she scurried behind Ppoppi.
In that instant, Arin and Ppoppi could see it.
The wicked smirk curling up alongside the low voice suggesting the switch.
Only then did they realize this whole thing was Yuri’s scheme.
But it was too late by the time they figured it out.
“Get out of my way!”
The wolf-man swung his sword wildly, looking annoyed at the obstacles.
Arin shrieked as she faced the wolf-man charging forward with murderous intent.
“If you were gonna do this, why tell us to rest!”
Ppoppi snorted in agreement—huuk.
But they couldn’t complain forever, so Arin quickly drew her bowstring.
Pusuk—.
Yuri was slightly impressed watching the arrow load and fire in an instant.
‘That’s insanely fast.’
She’d noticed before, but it was truly remarkable archery.
How much practice did it take for an arrow pulled from the quiver to fly in less than a second?
At this rate, she could probably fire one per second.
Whiric—.
Maybe she pulled it too hastily, though.
The arrow Arin loosed was a standard one.
It had already been proven ineffective against certified Rank 1s.
Tang—!
Sure enough.
The wolf-man casually deflected Arin’s arrow.
Still, it wasn’t entirely useless—it made him hesitate just a bit.
In that gap, Ppoppi pulled out the shield strapped to his back.
Thud—.
The massive shield, a whopping 1.6 meters tall, slammed into the ground with a heavy sound.
Yuri clicked her tongue in amazement.
‘How strong do you have to be to carry that heavy thing around?’
It would cover a normal person head to toe, but to Ppoppi, it looked like just a regular shield.
As Yuri watched from behind, her eyes gleamed.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got.’
One thing she planned to test this time was Ppoppi.
She’d synced with Arin before, so she had a rough gauge of her full power, but Ppoppi was a complete unknown.
What type of magic body art he used.
How to best utilize him.
Figuring that out was one of the key points of this experiment.
Yuri watched Ppoppi’s fight intently.
Zuzuk—.
The moment Ppoppi’s shield appeared, the soles of the wolf-man’s boots screamed from friction as he planted them on the ground.
At the same time, his body tilted to the right.
His sole target was Yuri, so he was twisting aside to dodge the shield.
Just as the wolf-man tried to sidestep the shield...
Hung—.
With a fierce gust, the enormous round shield swung toward the approaching enemy.
For a split second, the wolf-man felt like a wall was bearing down on him.
But he scoffed inwardly.
‘Too slow.’
The power behind the shield seemed decent.
But so what?
If he’d let a sluggish attack like this hit him, he wouldn’t have survived in the cradle this long.
Hung—.
The moment the wolf-man scoffed...
Another gust rose, and the wall-like shield charging at his front vanished.
No, it hadn’t vanished.
The wolf-man’s eyes widened.
‘He raised the shield?!’
The shield, which had been coming edge-on until a moment ago, was suddenly laid horizontal.
The face-on attack had turned into a edge-on slash.
The shield’s speed toward the enemy surged accordingly.
Yuri’s eyes sparkled as she watched.
‘Speed’s slow, but the power’s solid for destruction... and it’s polished enough to add feints.’
Using the shield not just for defense but as an offensive weapon wasn’t bad at all.
Anyone with little experience might’ve struggled against Ppoppi’s shieldwork.
But the opponent was a second-year who’d survived countless battles in this cradle.
Uduk—.
The wolf-man’s waist bent backward, and the shield barely grazed past his eyes.
Having dodged the attack, Ppoppi’s body was now fully exposed behind the shield.
The feint had backfired, revealing his own opening to the enemy.
Ppoppi hurriedly tried to recover the shield, but the wolf-man was faster.
Swaak—!
The wolf-man swung his sword laced with deadly aura.
“Die!”
Ppoppi’s pupils shook wildly at the razor-sharp blade closing in.
He knew it was too late to retrieve the shield.
Resigned to taking a heavy hit...
Pajijik—!
Lightning struck from Ppoppi’s chest.
The lightning quickly turned into a dark shadow, from which a sharp blade emerged to block the sword aimed at Ppoppi.
Clang—.
The wolf-man’s face twisted in shock as his unexpected block halted his attack.
But he quickly judged and leaped back.
In the spot the wolf-man fled from...
Yuri, who had unleashed Brain Shadow in the nick of time to save Ppoppi, yelled in an angry voice.
“Who the hell dares mess with my friend!”
Arin muttered in disbelief upon hearing Yuri’s shout.
“...You.”
This whole mess was because of you, right?
You jerk!
Talk about starting a fight and then playing the hero.
Whether Yuri didn’t hear Arin’s mutter...
Or pretended not to...
She struck a cool pose, holding her sword in one hand and pointing it at the wolf-man.
“Pay for harassing my friend... with your hide.”
With that cry, Yuri slashed diagonally and charged at the wolf-man.
“......”
“......”
Arin and Ppoppi just stared blankly at Yuri’s back in exasperation.
Meanwhile, the wolf-man facing the onrushing Yuri looked almost relieved.
“Come at me!”
As if this was his chance to finally catch her, he met Yuri with a resolute expression.
It didn’t take long for the triumphant, confident wolf-man’s face to fill with bewilderment.
Krgng—!
‘Huh?’
Kakang!
‘Huh?’
Kagaga!
‘This bastard...’
Tang—!
‘Why?’
Pajijik!
‘Her skill... improved?’
The feel of clashing swords with Yuri was worlds apart from before.
Heavier now,
Much faster.
Blocking each attack felt burdensome.
Never suspecting he’d been played, the wolf-man found Yuri’s sudden improvement baffling.
As time passed, the number of sword clashes between Yuri and the wolf-man piled up.
Until finally...
“Two hundred.”
The wolf-man instantly grasped the meaning of Yuri’s quiet mutter.
He’d been counting too.
His face darkened accordingly.
Following the established rule, he sheathed his sword and desperately dodged Yuri’s attacks.
Yuri’s lips twisted into a smirk.
“Ahh, so that’s how it is.”
Having learned what she needed, Yuri decided to end the experiment.
She suddenly sheathed her sword.
Uduk—.
“Now it’s my turn, right?”
Yuri cracked her knuckles with a sneer.
“W-wait!”
The wolf-man reached out in panic, but Yuri had already vanished from the spot.
Hung—.
Yuri appeared before him like a heat haze.
“Bite down hard. Unless you want your tongue cut off.”
Kwang!
“Guk!”
He tried to dodge, but couldn’t match Yuri’s speed.
“Kek?!”
Yuri’s knee mercilessly buried into his gut.
The force sent the wolf-man flying—huoi huoi.
And Yuri wasn’t about to let him go.
Pat!
Kicking off the ground, Yuri caught up to the airborne wolf-man.
Tudadaak—.
Her fists poured down like a storm, pummeling him relentlessly.
Dudududu!
“Kraaak!”
The wolf-man tumbled wildly in the air under the barrage.
Yuri’s punches were so rapid that he never hit the ground.
Whenever he started to fall, she’d kick him back up.
Again and again.
After a full five minutes of this, the wolf-man finally passed out mid-air.
Thud—.
He crumpled to the ground in a pitiful heap.
“Fuuu....”
Yuri exhaled in satisfaction and pulled the hide from the wolf-man’s bosom.
“You were a great test subject. Sweet dreams.”
Yuri smugly wiped at nonexistent sweat on her forehead.
Meanwhile, Ppoppi and Arin, who’d watched the whole thing, had massive sweat drops on their heads.
“The wolf... dead?”
“......”
Ppoppi couldn’t confidently say the wolf was alive in response to Arin’s question.
* * *
Before full darkness fell.
Yuri and her friends had lit a campfire and were resting.
The group was sharing the rations Yuri had brought.
‘At least they didn’t confiscate this.’
The training camp had taken all the hides she’d collected, but they returned the food she’d bought outside upon release.
It was just one day’s worth for three people—woefully insufficient.
But enough to stave off hunger simply.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling a bit regretful.
‘...Should’ve bought more if I knew.’
She’d thought it unnecessary spending at first, but in this pinch, those rations were worth over 1,000 points easy.
Om nom—.
Arin chewed the hard, dry rations, softening them with saliva, and asked.
“So, what were you trying to figure out with all that chaos?”
“What?”
“Killing that wolf earlier...”
“Didn’t kill him?”
“...Trying to.”
“Ahem, I never had any such wicked intentions?”
“Eek! You turned that wolf into ground meat!”
“Ah... that’s accurate.”
“Anyway, there had to be a reason for all that!”
Ppoppi blinked at Yuri, echoing her question with curious eyes.
As if asking if it was true.
Meanwhile, Yuri looked at her with wonder upon hearing the question.
‘This girl’s impossible to read.’
Was she just a carefree airhead?
Or a genius with a free spirit?
‘Too perceptive for an airhead.’
She’d inferred the meaning behind Yuri’s actions without explanation.
That wasn’t just quick wits.
‘You need eyes for context and a brain for analysis.’
And no one capable of that could be dumb.
‘They say geniuses and fools are a paper-thin line... is she it?’
As Yuri stared silently, Arin’s eyes narrowed.
“...What’s with that subtly creepy look?”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“The look of someone surprised that the kid you thought was dumb isn’t dumb?”
“......”
...Yep, definitely a genius, this one.
“See? That weird look again!”
At Arin’s point, Yuri cleared her throat and changed the subject.
“The reason I pulled that stunt earlier...”
“Aaah! Changing the subject!”
“Quiet.”
“Ok.”
Arin shut her mouth under Yuri’s glare.
Yuri continued.
“Like you guessed, I was checking a few things.”
“What?”
“Hungry?”
Yuri grinned briefly at their curious stares.