I Hate These Linked Quests - 6
The creatures that lunged at the excavation team were black tigers. Fur, eyes, teeth, claws—everything about them was an eerily black color. But their size wasn't even comparable to a normal adult tiger; they were more on par with ordinary dogs. Given the cramped confines of this tomb interior, smaller and nimbler foes were actually more threatening.
Still, they're just tigers.
Threatening or not, their appearance and combat power were merely tiger-level. To an excavation team boasting four Hwa-gyeong masters, such beasts were hardly a post-meal exercise. Unless they were the divine beast White Tiger—but they weren't.
"Something's inside, alright."
The first battle, right after entering the tomb, wrapped up in an instant, but Dong-gu Wang's expression soured.
"Tigers leave their hides behind when they die, or so they say. What a load of crap."
Gu Gangwang tossed out the quip as a joke. Just like he said, the tigers that charged the team vanished like smoke upon collapsing on the floor. Tigers disappearing without even leaving a pelt? That was too much. Black tiger hides would've fetched a nice price as spoils, at least.
"We'll probably run into more of these until we reach the heart of the tomb. Who knows if it'll be tigers again next time."
I tamped down the regret at Grandfather's words. Right now, the stingy tigers vanishing without loot wasn't the point. What mattered was how many obstacles we'd face before reaching the chamber with the grave goods.
Honestly, whatever came at us—and however many—wouldn't pose a real threat. To menace this excavation team, we'd need something like a jiangshi made from the Sercho Paewang's corpse, or one of the Sa-hung. Anything short of that couldn't stop us.
"You all know this without me saying, but pace your stamina. No telling how long this'll take, and we can't afford to tire out midway."
"Heh heh, don't worry. If any weaklings show up, we'll ditch 'em."
Gu Gangwang spouted something anyone would find alarming, but Grandfather just nodded as if it were obvious. Abandon the weak without mercy on a forced march—that was the norm for war veterans from the founding era, apparently. Brutal.
It reminded me of games from my pre-reincarnation world. Monsters popping out every three steps in the grass. Ones that respawned almost immediately even if you ran. In the end, you had to use bug repellent—no, monster-repelling items—just to get some freedom.
Bug bastards.
I never imagined I'd feel that pain in a tomb.
- Grroooowl!
- Grrraaarak!
"Here they come again."
"Hah, don't they ever get tired?"
The black tiger pack from the tomb's entrance. Identical ones kept charging endlessly. Naturally, it wasn't a real threat. The super peak experts up front could fell them with a few sword swings—no need for the Hwa-gyeong masters to step in.
Any super peak who got hurt by mere tigers would go down in history for all the wrong reasons.
But "not threatening" and "annoying" were different beasts entirely. They popped out after a short walk, then again, and again. Enough to drive you mad.
- Kki-iiing!
- Kki-oong!
Even worse, the spirit beasts beyond Kkieak were starting to show their displeasure. Especially Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i, the hefty pair who caused the most chaos when riled. They were letting out faint, irritated cries.
No good.
You two can't go berserk here. It's fine in open spaces, but this tomb's too narrow. Two rampaging deer in tight quarters? Unmanageable.
"Let's wrap this up quick and move on. Just hold it together a bit longer."
- Kki-ing...
- Kki-oong...
I stroked Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i's necks, soothing them gently. One rampaging Kkieak was headache enough; adding these two would be pandemonium. Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i could rein in a solo Kkieak, but all three at once? We'd need multiple super peaks to wrangle them.
No clue how long these assaults would drag on. Burning super peak energy to calm beasts now would be wasteful. And we couldn't just knock them out by force.
"Exquisite."
As I kept pacifying the grumbling pair, Yangyang Wang—who'd been silent—finally spoke.
"These things. Their sizes and numbers match from the start. It's like the same initial attackers keep respawning."
The team's eyes turned to him.
"What do you mean, match?"
"Yes. If it were just the numbers, I'd brush it off. But the sizes, fur length, claw shapes—they're identical. Not new ones; the same ones keep coming back."
Fur and claws...
I blinked blankly at Yangyang Wang's observation. I knew the numbers matched—thirty each time, like clockwork every interval. But I hadn't clocked finer details like fur or claws. They vanished into smoke right after a hit; how was I supposed to inspect them?
"Looks like these thirty don't come in waves—they die and revive in a loop."
"Ho ho."
Grandfather stroked his beard with interest, lips quirking up.
"Next batch, capture them alive."
If Yangyang Wang was right, it'd break this endless relay battle.
- Groowl, grroooowl!
- Grrraaarak!
- Grrooong, grrrooong!
With the thirty tigers' roars as BGM, we pressed toward the tomb's heart. A bit ear-grating, but fine. Better than constant fights.
Thank goodness they're small.
I sighed in relief watching the tigers subdued by the super peaks. Dog-sized was a mercy; full-grown tigers would've been hell to haul. Thirty adult tigers through narrow corridors? Nightmare fuel.
"Annoying racket. Shall I silence six or seven?"
"Won't killing allies in front of them make it worse? Just endure."
"True enough."
The thirty beasts' howls grated even on Hwa-gyeong masters, but Grandfather and Gu Gangwang preferred it to endless assaults, sacrificing some hearing.
Damnable tomb. Sneaky ambushes on entry, now this tedious defense system. Fitting for a king's grave—full of surprises.
- Buooong.
"Right this time."
Amid the chaos, our spirit beasts quietly found the path. Good job, my kids. Dozens of forks bypassed via high pass already. We'd be suffering without you.
"Spirit beasts make this a breeze. No wonder ancients revered them."
Gu Gangwang patted Kkieak's head, impressed by their prowess. Kkieak looked indifferent, still sulky from the Sa-hung aura. Better than before, though. On entry, it'd wailed like the world was ending. That was worse than a little grumpiness.
- ...Kkieeeeeak!
No sooner had I thought that than it started howling again.
- Kkiaak, kkieeeeeak!
Even Buong-i up front bolted ahead.
What the—
Sudden outburst—I couldn't stop it. Was it playing possum for the perfect moment? Striking when unguarded? Terrifying if so. Gotta stay vigilant with the beasts, noisy or quiet.
"Hey! Don't go alone!"
Fear or no, grabbing Kkieak came first. The tomb had no traps beyond tigers so far, but we couldn't let it solo. Who knew what lay ahead to doom it? Plus, losing Kkieak would sour ties with Shaolin. Catastrophe averted.
The humans' auras drew ever closer.
A thousand and six hundred years. Not a short span sealed away, yet now my eyes open to human greed aimed my way.
Good. Truly delightful.
Facing human greed is always a pleasure. Watching it peak into explosive violence? Utterly fascinating.
Of course, no violence, no power could match that one. His might shook heaven and earth, cleaved mountains and rivers.
If only you'd lived thirty more years.
Bitter. If he'd lasted thirty—no, even ten more years—how much fun we'd have had.
Our first meeting? I thought, What kind of mad bastard is this? Beat me senseless, then babbled about making me his steed from that day. Even I never imagined a Sa-hung like me enduring such treatment.
Odd start, but time with him was secretly enjoyable. The bloodbath he wrought, the despair, the screams. Chaos unseen since mythic times, rare even in the Warring States.
No two like you exist.
So when he chose death, I followed. Seal those memories in that life; start fresh in the next.
But awakening? This tomb. And escaping? A nightmare. Still, someday I'd break out—relive our times till then.
Never dreamed it'd be sixteen hundred years. Anyway, chance had come.
Farewell.
The humans nearly upon me, I rose. Our time was short, but I'd remember you eternally. If reborn, let's unleash bloodbath again.
- A-bu-oo-eu-ga a-bu-a!
...?
What the fuck.
I just meant a parting word—why this garbage from my mouth?
- U-bu-gu-euak!
Fuck, seriously. Did I forget how to speak? Alone sixteen centuries, lost my language?
- Grraaak...?
Three tries, same result. Fuck! Humans incoming soon!