Chapter 16: Split in Half.
Chapter 16: Split in Half.
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in the Hall Plain, a Deadman barely even qualifies as a monster. Its only abilities are a bit of intelligence and the power to infect. Since the Hall Plain was meant to test one’s qualifications, any able-bodied adult male with a steel pipe has an over 80% chance of killing a Deadman. (Assuming, of course, it’s a one-on-one fight and the man is thinking rationally.)
Ahn Hyun was equipped with a longsword and shield, and his base stats were decent. With a strong will and the knowledge of how to wield a weapon, he had the potential to grow far stronger than he was now—strong enough to treat Deadmen as trivial opponents.
Once he broke through his initial hesitation, his movements became more aggressive, and the slashes he swung were relentless. Ahn Hyun was a smart, natural-born fighter. Still, unable to shake off a sliver of anxiety, he was tackling the Deadmen by prioritizing defense and looking for opportunities to counter. Once he gained more confidence, he’d probably be able to handle three or four of them with just his longsword.
After choosing to break through head-on, we began to move quickly out of the forest. While searching for an escape route, Kim Hanbyul found traces of a small path, giving us hope that we could escape the forest if we followed it. Naturally, our group’s pace picked up. However, the farther down we went, the more frequently the Deadmen appeared. It couldn’t be helped. We decided to treat it as an opportunity for Ahn Hyun to gain combat experience, and indeed, he handled most of the fighting.
Four Deadmen, having caught the scent of humans, let out grating cries and opened their jaws wide. Ahn Hyun’s eyes were filled with confidence; it seemed his aggressive nature was beginning to surface. As he raised his sword and shield, Ahn Sol spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito’s.
“Oppa… be careful…”
“I will. Just wait a minute. Hyung, please protect Sol and the kids.”
“Don’t worry about the kids. I’ll keep them safe.”
“Who are you calling a kid?” Lee Yoojung shouted. He chuckled for a moment at her words before charging forward with a rough, fierce momentum.
He had handled two at once before, but this was his first time facing four. I loaded a bolt into my crossbow, preparing for any unforeseen trouble.
As the monsters charged toward him, Ahn Hyun waited until they were about a meter away before stepping diagonally to his left. Human bodies were flexible, but the bodies of these monsters were not. The Deadman that had been rushing in to bite him could only flinch to a stop, its joints stiff. Exploiting the opening on its flank, Ahn Hyun thrust his sword into its head. One down. He immediately pulled his sword out to keep the other three at bay.
Watching him, I thought, He really was a find. What I liked most was that he wasn’t just mindlessly attacking and defending; he knew how to target his opponent’s weaknesses. He knew Deadmen were vulnerable to turning, so his diagonal move was definitely worthy of praise.
With a squelching sound, one of the monsters staggered back a few steps. A Deadman’s only means of attack was its bite. When striking with a shield, aiming for the upper chest was both more efficient and safer. And Ahn Hyun, without anyone teaching him, had figured this out on his own. As the Deadman with the dangling teeth looked on, Ahn Hyun’s sword shot forward like a meteor. With a thwack, I shouted inwardly, ‘Two down.’
With two of them sent to their graves, only half remained. Perhaps because he’d dealt with the first two monsters with relative ease, the shield on his left arm seemed to be held more loosely than before. One of the monsters lunged, trying to get in a bite no matter what. Ahn Hyun watched it calmly and reversed his grip on his longsword. My eyes lit up. Don’t tell me he’s going for a one-handed quick-draw?
He calculated the distance of his swing and adjusted his timing. I was quite the master when it came to quick-draw techniques, so I understood the principles. The Deadman with its jaw agape entered his range. At the same time, I saw Ahn Hyun’s hand tighten around the hilt of his longsword. Now.
Shlick!
The gruesome sound of flesh being sliced echoed in the air. It was clumsy, but with a single well-timed arcing slash, he succeeded in splitting the Deadman’s head through the middle. A look of something akin to ecstasy appeared on his face. But for the first time, my brow furrowed as I watched the fight. There was still one monster left.
The moment the Deadman in front of him collapsed, the one charging from behind pounced on Ahn Hyun. It was good that he reflexively brought his shield up, but he was holding it loosely, and I didn’t think he could withstand the force of the charging Deadman. I quickly aimed my loaded crossbow and watched the two collide.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
As expected, Ahn Hyun lost his grip on the shield. Unlike before, when he’d absorbed the impact with his whole body, this time he’d taken it with just his left arm. His hand was surely tingling by now. In any case, the force of the collision left his front completely exposed. Seizing the opportunity, the Deadman’s teeth shot toward his chest like a snake. The moment I saw it, I fired the bolt. ‘Sorry, but he’s too valuable to become your meal.’
The bolt flew with a sharp whistle and pierced straight through the Deadman’s head. As the monster, which had been about to bite his neck, collapsed, Ahn Hyun stared blankly before slumping to the ground, looking as if he’d aged ten years.
“Hoo…”
“Nice shot, Boss-nim.”
Whether or not she understood how dangerous the situation had just been, Lee Yoojung tossed a joke my way. Ahn Hyun was good in a fight he could see, but he couldn’t yet read one step ahead. Then again, he was doing more than enough already; expecting more might be greedy. Ahn Hyun, who had been rubbing his neck in a daze, looked at me and spoke with relief.
“You saved me. Thanks, hyung.”
“It was nothing. I just helped with one of them. You worked hard.”
At my casual remark, Ahn Hyun shook his head and muttered in disbelief.
“I never thought it would attack like that. If it hadn’t been for the bolt you fired, hyung, I would’ve been…”
I glanced at Ahn Sol and saw her lips pouting, on the verge of tears. Seeing her shudder as if she didn’t want to hear any more, Ahn Hyun trailed off.
“It happens. The timing of its attack was perfect. In cases like that, I’ll do my best to support…”
“Waaah!”
Before I could finish, Ahn Sol couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into tears, running toward her brother. It was a truly tear-jerking display of sibling affection. Feeling a bit awkward, I uncocked the crossbow and returned the bolt to its pouch. Lee Yoojung, whose belligerence was second to none, watched the two of them and spoke with a hint of envy.
“Maybe it’s just because I’m watching, but I feel like I could do that too… Tch. I should’ve picked a weapon. Hanbyul-ah, do you have one?”
At Lee Yoojung’s question, Kim Hanbyul rummaged in her clothes for a moment and pulled out a short sword. It was a poor weapon for effective combat, as you’d have to get extremely close to land a solid hit, unless you were throwing it. In the hands of a sword master like me, it might be different, but if an ordinary person tried to swing it, they’d be more likely to get bitten while trying to bash a skull in.
“I don’t think that’ll be much help. But why are you carrying that around anyway?”
“Just in case. It’s better to take my own life than to suffer a terrible fate.”
“…What are you, some virtuous maiden from the Joseon Dynasty?”
At Kim Hanbyul’s calm voice, Lee Yoojung shook her head with a fed-up look, then her gaze fell on my left arm. She eyed the crossbow mounted there covetously, but then seemed to remember she didn’t know how to use it and grumbled in disappointment.
“Isn’t the steel pipe that guy was carrying around here somewhere? Hanbyul-ah, see if there’s anything nearby.”
“There’s nothing.”
From Kim Hanbyul’s uncomfortable expression, it seemed Lee Yoojung had started speaking informally to her without permission. Suddenly, Park Donggeol’s group came to mind. Compared to my own Rite of Passage, our journey down was truly comfortable. Back then… the first two days were a constant string of escapes. What were they doing now? Were they running for their lives? No, they might have already been torn to pieces and ended up in the bellies of Deadmen.
Of course, it was none of my business, so I immediately pushed the thought from my mind. Whether from the aftermath of the battle or from calming Ahn Sol down, Ahn Hyun approached us with slightly weary steps.
“Hyung, the traces of the path are getting clearer. I think we’re almost there. How about we get moving right away?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Listening to our conversation, Lee Yoojung, frustrated at having no weapon, made a snide remark.
“Tch. Look at you, all excited. You could get wiped out in an instant, you know. Be careful.”
“I’d rather not sit still and get eaten. It’s better to fight back like this. Anyway, let’s hurry down.”
“I know. I’m sick of this forest too. I want to get out of here as fast as possible.”
Having dealt with the four Deadmen, we quickly continued down the path. It was clear that following this trail would lead us out of the forest. However, the number of Deadmen lingering faintly at the outskirts bothered me. My Sensing was picking up well over twenty of them. But it didn’t seem like going in another direction would make much of a difference.
Facing four monsters versus twenty was a world of difference. In that case, if a frontal assault was out of the question, there was only one way to open an escape route. I sighed internally and thought about how best to persuade the others.
*
As expected, the outskirts of the forest were teeming with Deadmen. A single glance confirmed there were more than twenty, and the air was filled with their growling cries from all directions. That was just counting the ones in front of us; if we caused a commotion here, we couldn’t ignore the number of monsters that would pop out from the left and right.
In the distance, I could see a stone wall, a sign of human presence. Beyond it, I could make out the end of a wide path that, while uneven, could still be called a road. We were just one step away from leaving this forest. The others seemed to know it too, their insides churning with anxiety. As skilled as Ahn Hyun was, there was no way he could take on over twenty Deadmen. Yet, the thought of turning back now felt like a waste.
“You’ve got to be kidding me… How the hell are we supposed to get through that?”
Lee Yoojung’s dejected voice reached everyone’s ears. Even if we turned back, there was no guarantee that another area would be any different. Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul also seemed to have no good ideas, silently staring at the ground. ‘Was this really the only way?’ I let out a soft sigh and decided to step up.
“I have an idea.”
The moment I spoke, I could have sworn I saw everyone’s ears perk up. I decided to get straight to the point.