Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Elf Hunters
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“Gahk!!!”
“P-Please... spare me...!!!”
Splatters of crimson blood sprayed in every direction, filling his field of vision.
Puke—!! Stab—!!!
Watching the blood scatter brought home the reality that he was back in this other world.
This wasn't a game—it was flesh-and-blood reality, thick with the stench of gore.
The corpses didn't turn to ash like in the game. Some of them hadn't even had their eyes closed properly, staring right at him as if in accusation.
Those ears...
Woojin's face hardened the moment he laid eyes on the dead bodies.
Pointed ears.
Beautiful faces, man and woman alike.
They weren't human.
Elves fleeing for their lives, hunted mercilessly by humans.
He couldn't make sense of the situation, but the men stabbing their blades into the back of a fallen elf didn't strike him as the sane ones.
...Can I handle this?
Level 25, reached conquering Sig Elric.
And two titles to boot.
Woojin had no idea how far his power would take him here.
“Kaaack!!”
Just then, a fleeing elf tripped and tumbled right in front of the rubble where Woojin was hiding.
“...H-Help... me...”
The elf struggled to part her blood-filled lips toward him.
“...”
In that instant, her dying face overlapped with Luen's in his mind.
Gulp.
Woojin pressed a potion vial to the fallen elf's mouth.
As the liquid trickled down her throat, her wounds began to knit together bit by bit.
“Who the hell are you!!!”
A voice barked from behind him.
Woojin scowled faintly and turned his head.
He had to admit it.
His body had moved before his mind could catch up.
No use regretting it now.
Shing—.
Instead of wasting time thinking, he leveled his sword first.
“I was on my way to the Lion King's stronghold. No interest in picking a fight with you.”
He decided to test the waters.
“Lion King? Hah, there's still an idiot out there buying that fairy tale bullshit?”
“What're you talking about?”
No such luck.
“What a retard... You from some backwater shithole village or what?”
“Listen up! That crap's all made up! There's no such place!”
“Kekeke—!”
The man's words made Woojin's expression tighten.
Then what about Raoul?
His journey, fueled by faith in the Lion King's stronghold?
“Did you check it yourselves?”
“...Huh?”
“Did you personally confirm it's bullshit?”
“Confirm? Kekeke...! Ain't nothin' to confirm! Word's spread across the continent—the northern island wall got overrun by demons!”
“Sounds like you haven't seen it.”
“Shut your trap and hand over everything you got, then scram. Or we'll rip out your guts and sell 'em to the demons.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then you die!!”
The man lunged.
Pretty fast—but not fast enough to lose him.
“Good.”
Woojin lowered his stance, sword pointed down, murmuring low.
Can I handle it?
That doubt flipped the moment he saw the man's move.
Yeah, I can.
Flash—!!!
Woojin's body shot toward him like a spring-loaded bolt.
“...Dodge!!”
One of the guys behind yelled,
but
Puke—.
Woojin's blade pierced the man's throat faster.
“Gurk!!”
Woojin kicked the man's chest, sending him sprawling backward without even a proper scream.
“Glurk... Glurk...”
Blood gushed from the hole in his neck.
His body twitched in spasms as he reached pleadingly toward his comrades.
Crunch—.
Woojin crushed the outstretched hand underfoot and stepped in front of the rest.
Light.
The swing of his sword felt different from before.
The titles' effects?
Or the level up?
Whatever it was, one thing mattered.
He was tearing through their group at speeds he could scarcely believe.
“Kaaaaak—!!!”
The elf hunters threw everything they had at grabbing him.
Whoooosh...!!
A gust whipped up at his feet, accelerating his Dash even further.
Can use acceleration too.
Skills he'd honed in-game now flowed naturally.
Clank—.
He slammed his foot on an enemy's chest, slowing to wrench his blade free with a full-body twist.
Shraaazzz—!!!
Dragon Heaven activated. Lightning erupted from his blade, devouring the foes around him.
“Kaaaaak...!!”
“Kak...!!”
As their bodies convulsed from the shock, Woojin's sword claimed another neck.
Thud—.
The head hit the ground, and silence blanketed the area.
“Glurk... Glurk...”
“Urk!!”
Here and there, men knelt vomiting blood-mixed bile.
“Y-You bastard!! You think you'll get away with this?! Do you even know who we are...?”
“Nope.”
Slice—.
Woojin methodically slit the throats of the fallen.
“Don't care to.”
It was strange.
He'd just butchered over a dozen men in seconds, yet he felt no tremor, no tension.
Not like murder's in my blood or anything...
Woojin cracked a wry smile.
He'd rather stay a successful businessman, if he could.
Impossible in this world, though.
“Hoo...”
Small mercies.
The feel of slicing flesh wasn't pleasant, and the sprawled corpses still made him grimace. Guess it wasn't his nature.
“Th-Thank you.”
The surviving elves began gathering around him.
“If you hadn't helped, sir, we'd all be dead.”
“How can we ever repay this debt...”
“Didn't do it expecting anything. Someone I know just flashed in my head...”
Woojin sheathed his sword as he replied.
“Who were those guys, anyway?”
“You don't know?”
“Why else would I ask?”
“Ah...”
His retort made the elves recall the hunters' "backwater villager" jab, it seemed.
“They're collectors. They hunt subraces.”
They nodded awkwardly.
“Elf eyes, gnome fingers, dwarf bones... Demons love subrace body parts.”
“Demons...”
The world where Labyrinth Tower's final floor failed, monsters overrun everything.
This was the reality Raoul had described...
But not the whole story.
Woojin frowned up at the sky.
No demon mentions in the community... Probably 'cause it's still early Labyrinth Tower floors.
Demons were monsters too.
No surprise they existed.
Rumble...
Time had passed, but the unconquered island still floated overhead.
Lots to learn.
“For now... we should leave this place. There might be stragglers.”
The elf cautioned him carefully.
“Somewhere to hide?”
“Yes. A bit farther, there's a maze-like cave.”
The direction the elf pointed...
Woojin knew what lay there.
“...Blood Cave?”
“Oh... Yes. You know it.”
Lucky break?
Elves pointing him right where he needed to go.
“Doesn't seem like an elf-friendly spot...”
“With the kingdom fallen, who cares about fitting in.”
They gave wry smiles at his words.
“It's spacious inside, plenty of hiding spots. Perfect shelter. Our other comrades are holed up there.”
Not wrong. In-game, PK players camped dungeons instead of towns for the same reason.
Great for hiding meant great for ambushes too.
If I learn the cave layout...
Not bad.
“The entrance caved in—collectors won't find it. We have a secret passage. No worries.”
“Secret passage?”
Woojin's cheek twitched.
“Yes. Leads near the boss room on the lowest floor. We're treating the wounded there.”
The elf pulled out precious herbs she'd guarded through the raid.
“Let's hurry.”
“Got it.”
Woojin watched the elves' backs with a peculiar smile.
Secret passage, huh...
He might've just stumbled on something huge.
“Here it is.”
Blood Cave.
From the surface entrance, paths split into countless branches underground—but all eventually led to the boss room at the bottom.
That's why most PKers ambushed near the boss room entrance, preying on players heading there.
The Blood Cave boss room had another name for it.
Slaughterhouse.
Just a den for beasts waiting to pounce on prey.
To take down Blood Cave's boss, clear the trash hiding in front first.
That was the community consensus—which turned Blood Cave into a skipped, abandoned dungeon.
“...Or so it was.”
Woojin let out an involuntary chuckle.
He was standing in the Blood Cave boss room right now.
A bypass to the boss room? Unreal.
The elves hadn't led him to the main entrance. It was a narrow rock crevice far off.
Puzzled at first, but slipping through revealed a straight path leading right to the boss room.
“Gowoon. Got a question.”
The elf beside him turned.
“Yes, speak.”
“This passage here. How old?”
“Hmm. At least 500 years? My grandfather told me about it.”
“500 years?”
Woojin nodded.
If it's been around 500 years, high chance it existed in-game too.
Boss room in under 10 minutes from the passage.
This'll slash time attack records.
Wonder what reactions that'll get.
Curious already, but logout first.
“This way.”
Gowoon guided him through a side path in the boss room.
Didn't know this was here.
“Blood Cave's boss, the Crimson Centipede, loves burrowing to hide—its body heat, you know.”
Innumerable holes pockmarked the inner walls.
“Probably cooling off with the ground's chill. Thanks to that, we get spots like this in the back...”
Gowoon dug into a piled mound of dirt.
Rumble...
Unlike the ancient hardened holes, this fresh pile collapsed easily.
“Another space opens up.”
And as he said, signs of life stirred within.
Woojin looked up.
“...?!!”
His eyes widened in shock.