Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Sword of Gluttony
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"I'm starving to death."
"I have no strength left in my body."
Day 3 of survival.
Choi Woo-seok and Park Ji-myeong clutched their empty stomachs as they searched the area.
But no matter how much they rummaged, they couldn't find anything edible.
They had already scavenged every last bit of food in the vicinity over the past two days.
"Let's just hold out for today."
"Yeah, then we can go home."
Choi Woo-seok and Park Ji-myeong firmly believed that once today passed, the second tutorial would end, and they could return to Earth.
No, they wanted to believe it.
They were too afraid to admit that Song Hana's words might become reality.
*Escapism.*
Kang Hyun-soo ignored the two men waiting for a reality that would never come.
*Oh Sung-hyuk's behaving himself too.*
He seemed to be exercising alone, but he wasn't recklessly charging off to hunt monsters.
"Let's move separately from the start today."
Kang Hyun-soo said to Song Hana.
"Yes, let's do that."
Song Hana agreed.
She seemed to have gained quite a bit of confidence after hunting solo for half a day yesterday.
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Hana entered the forest.
* * *
Kyaaang!
Slash!
Song Hana calmly swung her sword, severing the Blood Wolf's neck.
*I need to get stronger.*
Unlike Choi Woo-seok and Park Ji-myeong, who were lost in delusions of happiness.
Unlike Oh Sung-hyuk, who was just waiting for the second tutorial to end and his injuries to heal.
Song Hana hadn't wasted a single moment of the second tutorial's third day.
*The first and second tutorials were just luck.*
In the first tutorial, she had survived by finding a tree.
In the second, she had survived thanks to Kang Hyun-soo's help and safely leveled up.
But she couldn't expect that kind of luck in the third tutorial.
*I need to get as strong as possible while I can level up safely.*
Today would be the last chance.
No one knew what monsters would appear in the third tutorial.
Slash! Slash!
Song Hana skillfully cut down the monsters.
As a result.
[You have achieved an astonishing feat.]
[Title: Blood Wolf Slayer (A-Rank) has been granted.]
She had obtained a title.
*I've gotten stronger.*
A bright smile bloomed on Song Hana's lips.
At the same time, a pang of regret arose.
*If only I'd been braver in the first tutorial...*
She regretted not earning the Tooth Rabbit Slayer title.
*No time for regrets.*
There wasn't much time left to level up safely.
She needed to hunt one more monster instead of dwelling on what-ifs.
Grrrrowl!
A low growl came from the bushes ahead.
Song Hana aimed her crossbow forward.
Rustle. Rustle.
A massive Blood Wolf emerged from the forest.
*What the hell is that?*
It was far larger than any Blood Wolf she'd faced so far.
Twang!
Song Hana fired her crossbow.
A smile crept onto her face.
The arrow flew straight toward the giant Blood Wolf's head.
But.
Thud!
The arrow from the crossbow merely scratched the giant Blood Wolf's forehead before dropping harmlessly to the ground.
Kyaaang!
The Blood Wolf, struck first, roared and charged at Song Hana.
Whoosh!
Song Hana swung her sword with all her might.
Thwack!
It wasn't the sound of slicing flesh, but of striking it.
Her sword couldn't cut through the giant Blood Wolf's hide.
It only added another small scratch.
*How do I beat this?*
Despair washed over Song Hana's face.
The giant Blood Wolf opened its jaws wide.
She could see its razor-sharp teeth heading straight for her face.
*I'm dead.*
Song Hana sensed her own death.
At that moment.
Slash!
A flash of sword light.
Thud!
The giant Blood Wolf's headless corpse rolled across the ground.
"H-Hyun-soo?"
Song Hana called out in shock to the man who had suddenly appeared and saved her life.
"Are you okay?"
Song Hana nodded at Kang Hyun-soo's question.
"Yes, but how are you here?"
"It's about time for the second tutorial to end. I thought it would be better to regroup, so I came looking."
"Thank you. You saved my life."
Song Hana expressed her gratitude, her face pale.
If Kang Hyun-soo had been even a little later?
She wouldn't be in this world anymore.
"It was just your good luck, Hana."
Kang Hyun-soo replied with an awkward smile.
But saving Song Hana's life wasn't mere luck.
Right after parting with her, Kang Hyun-soo had suppressed his presence and tailed her.
For one simple reason.
*It was all for this guy.*
Blood Wolf Lord.
Kang Hyun-soo had hunted enough Blood Wolves to earn the Blood Wolf Slayer title.
Yet the Blood Wolf Lord never appeared.
So he hypothesized that the Blood Wolf Lord might have considerable intelligence.
And that hypothesis proved exactly right.
*Picking its targets, even for a monster.*
The Blood Wolf Lord had judged Kang Hyun-soo an opponent it couldn't beat and avoided attacking.
So Kang Hyun-soo used Song Hana as bait.
He meticulously hid his presence, even checking wind direction, as he followed her.
Fortunately, the Blood Wolf Lord took the bait perfectly.
*That was close.*
The second tutorial was nearly over.
If the Blood Wolf Lord hadn't attacked Song Hana?
*Then I wouldn't have gotten this.*
The residual mana from the Blood Wolf Lord's corpse coalesced into a single sword.
Clatch!
Kang Hyun-soo gripped the sword.
At the same time, information on the new sword appeared.
[Sword of Gluttony - F-Rank]
-Unique Item
-Grows by absorbing other items.
The options were quite simple.
*This will do just fine.*
It was only F-Rank now.
But with plenty of high-quality fodder, it would grow to EX-Rank.
Just like before his regression.
Song Hana showed no particular interest in Kang Hyun-soo's new item.
Hunting monsters grants experience for leveling up and items.
That was a rule she knew well.
"Here, take this back. I used it well."
Song Hana handed over Oh Sung-hyuk's longsword to Kang Hyun-soo.
Having acquired a new longsword through hunting, she was returning his.
"I'm glad you put it to good use."
No sooner had Kang Hyun-soo finished speaking than a brilliant light enveloped their bodies.
* * *
[Third tutorial begins in 3 hours.]
[Take a rest.]
[You have achieved an astonishing feat.]
[Title: Outstanding Leader (A-Rank) has been granted.]
Back in the Starting Chamber, messages appeared before Kang Hyun-soo's eyes.
*Three hours should be enough for a good rest.*
Kang Hyun-soo eyed the items displayed in the Starting Chamber.
There were no weapons like swords or shields.
The displays held only water and food.
*Fill the belly first.*
Kang Hyun-soo stuffed himself full with the displayed items.
*The third tutorial's goal is survival too.*
The time limit was a whopping 100 days.
But unlike the first or second tutorials, players who defeated the boss monster could clear it without waiting the full 100 days.
*I'll take down the boss last.*
Kang Hyun-soo planned to clear every achievable feat in the third tutorial.
*Gotta milk it for all it's worth.*
Achievements were normally hard to obtain.
Kill a lot of the same monster type, get an achievement?
That was a tutorial perk.
*Once the tutorial ends, so do the perks.*
So he had to suck every last achievement dry.
*You need to eat too.*
Kang Hyun-soo, belly full, picked up the Sword of Gluttony and drew on his mana.
Ssshh.
Jet-black mana poured from the Sword of Gluttony.
He pressed the mana-emitting sword against Oh Sung-hyuk's sword, which he had gotten back from Song Hana.
Ssshh!
The mana composing Oh Sung-hyuk's sword dispersed and was absorbed into the Sword of Gluttony.
The Sword of Gluttony had devoured Oh Sung-hyuk's sword.
That was the beginning.
Starting with his own sword, Kang Hyun-soo fed every item he'd gotten from hunting to the Sword of Gluttony.
As a result.
[The Sword of Gluttony has grown from F-Rank to E-Rank.]
[You have achieved an astonishing feat.]
[Title: Item Rank Growth in Tutorial (A-Rank) has been granted.]
*Easier the first time.*
It had grown to E-Rank just from eating worthless F-Rank junk.
And he even got an achievement out of it.
Kang Hyun-soo moved on to the next task.
*Squad Summon.*
Shaaa!
Jet-black mana erupted from Kang Hyun-soo's body.
Crack! Crack!
With eerie sounds, the smoke-like black mana began to take solid form.
Moments later.
Grrrrowl!
A pack of Blood Wolves made of jet-black mana appeared before Kang Hyun-soo.
Ten in total.
One was far larger than the others.
*Best I can do for now?*
He had formed the squad with the Blood Wolf Lord and the strongest regular Blood Wolves, avoiding Song Hana's eyes.
Even so, it didn't satisfy him.
Their combat power was simply too lacking.
*Stats going to waste.*
But this grind was necessary to raise his job rank.
Squad Summon revives recently deceased monsters or players as summonable minions.
Of course, not perfect revival.
Based on the lingering soul energy left on earth after the soul ascends.
Not flesh and blood, but mana constructs without reason.
Mere puppets.
Plus, each use of Squad Summon permanently consumed his own stats.
That was why he, once called the One-Man Army, had died so pathetically before regressing.
His legion was strong.
But the legion commander himself was too weak in combat.
*He hated that.*
A natural-born warrior of prodigious talent, beyond mere genius.
He felt immense frustration at having to rely on summons instead of his own power.
And if he could go back in time?
He always said he'd pick a different job, no question.
*I won't repeat his mistakes.*
Kang Hyun-soo had a way to recover permanently spent stats.
Using that method?
He could build personal strength while commanding a summon legion.
*Wonder when the job rank will rise.*
Just ten now.
But if it upgraded to One-Man Squad at E-Rank job?
Four squads.
Forty squad members as summons.
*Before regression, it was insane.*
The One-Man Army commanded nearly three thousand summons alone.
And Kang Hyun-soo had a way to overcome even that sole weakness.
*I need to put more effort into skill ranks.*
Raising the rank of job skills gained from becoming a One-Man Squad was important.
But he couldn't neglect his unique skill Replica or the King Ghost-type skill Heart of Mana.
The standard way to raise skill rank was repeated use to accumulate experience.
To raise Replica's rank, Kang Hyun-soo cast it on Oh Sung-hyuk, Choi Woo-seok, and Park Ji-myeong whenever stacks recharged.
Heart of Mana's proficiency rose automatically whenever mana dropped from using Replica.
For Kang Hyun-soo, it was killing two birds with one stone: earning the Outstanding Leader achievement and raising skill ranks.
*The problem is the growth is too slow.*
For three days, he cast Replica whenever stacks recharged, even waking from naps in between.
Yet Replica and Heart of Mana were still F-Rank.
*Better than doing nothing. Doing my best with what I have now. And once the tutorial ends, I'll find that guy.*
Hwang So-wook.
The enemy who had choked Kang Hyun-soo before regression.
*I'll destroy you with your own unique skill.*
Hwang So-wook possessed a special unique skill that could make him the strongest player.
But that unique skill had a fatal flaw.
*I can cover that flaw.*
With Replica alone.
He could use Hwang So-wook's unique skill without penalty.
Dealing with traitors like Kwon So-hee would come after.
Rest time dwindled quickly.
And then.
[Third tutorial begins.]
[Mission: Survival.]
[Survive for 100 days.]
The third tutorial had started.