Chapter 26: An Encounter with Familiar Faces.
Chapter 26: An Encounter with Familiar Faces.
Among the monsters that appeared in the Rite of Passage was a monkey-like creature called the Mangki. Unlike the Deadmen, it at least qualified as a proper monster. Mangki had virtually no defense because their bodies were covered in soft, fluffy fur, but they were extremely cunning and habitually traveled in groups of at least four or five. That made them troublesome for a novice User to face alone.
“Uki! Ukiki!”
At that moment, we were fighting five of those human-sized monkeys. With their heavy bodies and long tails, Mangki were strong but sluggish. They could suddenly leap high and slam down, but predicting the landing point and dodging made the attack relatively harmless.
“Ukiki! Ukiki!”
“Watch out!”
Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul were struggling against three Mangki. I was keeping one occupied, while Lee Yoojung handled the remaining one, so we were at a numerical disadvantage. Numerically, at least.
It was then, in the heat of the exchange, that I noticed one of the Mangki fighting Ahn Hyun slip back and crouch down. Judging by its direction, it seemed to be aiming for me. Normally, it would have targeted the struggling Lee Yoojung, but given their nature, they rarely went after the women first.
They were creatures with an intense sex drive and a strong obsession with reproduction, going into heat the moment they saw a female. They went especially crazy for elves (though personally, I think it's a long shot for Mangki to ever catch an elf) or human women—so much so that their eyes would glaze over. It seemed their plan was to deal with the men first and then capture the women.
“Hyung! Yoojung-ah! Watch out! I think one of them is missing!”
Ahn Hyun shouted at the top of his lungs. After frantically dealing with three Mangki, the disappearance of one seemed to have given him a little breathing room. Still a novice, and yet he let his attention wander during a life-or-death battle. The instant Lee Yoojung heard him, her stance became even more defensive. One Mangki was already more than she could comfortably handle; being told she might have to face two seemed to make her shrink back instinctively. Then the crouching Mangki shrieked and launched itself high into the air. That was the moment I had been waiting for.
Ping!
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger. The bolt flew with a sharp whistle and neatly pierced the Mangki’s head. Using the force of its fall was all well and good, but perhaps it had not considered that it could not move in midair. Or maybe it simply thought I could not hit it. I was only taking it easy because this was practice for the others. If I truly tried…
Why am I even bothering to say this?
“Oppa! Watch your side!”
I know. While I was aiming at the one in the air, another Mangki charged from the side and brought its palm down as if to crush me. Without even looking, I avoided the strike by a paper-thin margin and drove the bolt in my right hand into its head. A clean counterattack. I felt the bolt’s tip sink into soft flesh.
“Kieeeek….”
Thud!
The Mangki collapsed with a mournful cry just as the corpse of the one that had leaped into the air struck the ground. I had killed two of them in only three seconds. I quickly loaded another bolt and surveyed the battlefield. The others appeared to be fighting on roughly even terms.
Ahn Hyun was fighting with his longsword and shield as before, while Kim Hanbyul was swinging a long, slender sword, albeit clumsily. And Lee Yoojung was rampaging with two medium-length daggers with sharpened points.
From what I could see, Ahn Hyun would hold back two of them with his sword and shield, and when an opening appeared, Kim Hanbyul would thrust forward. If she landed a solid hit, the two of them would instantly launch a joint attack. Their technique was clumsy, but they were achieving decent results. Lee Yoojung, on the other hand, seemed to be having a hard time getting in close due to her lack of reach. She managed to wound the Mangki's arm on rare occasions, but she was constantly retreating, swinging her daggers uselessly at the empty air.
Then again, they had only been handling weapons for three or four days. Expecting more would have been unreasonable. If anything, they were adapting to the Rite of Passage at an astonishing rate, as though proving they were exceptionally capable Users. I sighed lightly and aimed my crossbow at the Mangki fighting Lee Yoojung. I did not intend to kill it; I only meant to create an opening as before.
Ping!
“Kieeeek!”
The bolt struck the Mangki in the right side of its chest. Unlike a Deadman, it could feel pain, so it staggered and screamed in agony. Lee Yoojung was not about to miss that opening. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the bolt embedded in its chest, and she swiftly ducked low and slipped inside its reach. It was the moment her base Agility of 50 points showed its value.
“Die, you fucking rape-monkey bastard!”
Spitting out a coarse curse, Lee Yoojung crossed her daggers with all her might, as if facing her mortal enemy. At the same time, I heard Ahn Hyun's battle cry from the side; it seemed he had landed a finishing blow.
One second, two seconds, three, four, five. After counting to five, I looked at the Mangki the others had fought. All of them lay on the ground in miserable condition. The one Lee Yoojung had faced bore a large X-shaped wound across its chest. The two Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul had fought each had one major wound and numerous smaller cuts. They seemed to have steadily accumulated minor injuries before finishing the weakened Mangki with decisive blows. Was this the satisfaction of raising them?
The three of them saw the two Mangki I had dealt with earlier, shook their heads, and collapsed onto the ground. They were panting heavily, clearly tense from the fight. It made sense. After dealing with only one monster at a time every day, suddenly facing five must have been much harder than usual.
“Ah… damn. I'm covered in monkey blood. Feels fucking disgusting.”
Shaking her short bob, splattering blood, Lee Yoojung spat on the ground. Covered in blood and sprawled on the ground, she looked as strong and beautiful as a goddess of the battlefield. Ahn Hyun and Kim Hanbyul weren't in much better shape. Their clothes were tattered, and their bodies were dotted with dried bloodstains. I guess Ahn Sol and I were the only ones in decent shape.
I slowly closed my eyes and sank into thought.
Three days had already passed since we left the city. Including the first day, we had survived for four days, which made this the fifth. If we maintained our current pace, we would reach the Warp Gate on the sixth day at the earliest and the seventh at the latest.
Our lives over those five days could have been called monotonous or spectacular. We had done nothing but walk, fight, rest, and repeat. In our first battle after leaving the city, against a Mandragora, we had nearly lost Ahn Sol. It had abruptly burst from the ground with its mouth open and tried to swallow her whole. Everyone except me had screamed and recoiled in shock.
Ahn Hyun, who had rushed in recklessly, was injured by the plant's thorns, but thankfully, I had sensed it beforehand and was able to react quickly. That incident seemed to have sparked something in Kim Hanbyul and Lee Yoojung. They picked up weapons from the save point we finally reached and declared that they would fight from now on. Ahn Hyun was reluctant to let the girls fight, but their resolve was firm.
I did not know whether they felt uneasy leaving all the fighting to Ahn Hyun and me or genuinely wanted to help. One thing was certain: I had seen a powerful desire to survive in both their eyes. I needed to begin training them sooner or later anyway, so I had readily agreed.
After that, as we left the save point and passed through the forest, we saw a person. To be precise, we found her at the entrance to the area where the Mangki appeared. It was a female User. She was quite pretty, but unfortunately, she was already a corpse by the time we found her. The clothes she wore were torn to the point of being nearly stripped off, and her entire body was covered in red bruises. From her vulva, warm, steaming white semen was still trickling out; it seemed the Mangki had been at her right before we arrived. Seeing the trickle of blood from her mouth, it looked like she couldn't bear it any longer and had taken her own life during the assault.
Lee Yoojung went berserk at the sight, becoming frenzied and screaming that we had to destroy the monkey bastards right away. Whether by coincidence or not, we found five Mangki nearby with their genitals exposed, and we immediately engaged them in battle. To be honest, the truth was probably that Lee Yoojung's loud screaming had drawn the Mangki to us. They had probably been enjoying themselves until the female died. Having caught the scent of new females, there was no way the aroused creatures would have just passed by.
And the result had been our victory. We just had to keep moving forward, one calm step at a time. With that thought, I emerged from my reverie.
“Sol-ah. Get Unni a towel and one Hanbyul of water.”
“What did you say?”
Kim Hanbyul shot back sharply at Lee Yoojung’s slip of the tongue.
“Ah, sorry. I’m so tired I misspoke. Not Hanbyul—one bottle.”
“Heehee… Okay… You worked hard, Unni.”
“Worked hard, my ass. What is with that Oppa? How does he deal with these monkey bastards so easily? Give me the crossbow! I want to use it too!”
I gave an awkward laugh at Lee Yoojung's childish tantrum. If you're so upset, then get stronger.
When I started, I had no one helping me like this. I had to crawl across the ground just to keep swinging my sword.
Of course, I couldn't say that out loud, so I just kept up my awkward smile.
Now that they had swung their weapons a few times themselves, they seemed to have noticed something different about the way I fought. Kim Hanbyul sat quietly while catching her breath, but Ahn Hyun kept his eyes fixed on me despite his panting.
“Hyung, were you in some kind of special forces unit? How are you so good with a crossbow?”
“…They teach you everything in the military these days.”
“Ah, Oppa, stop lying. Marksmanship, maybe, but who learns how to use a crossbow?”
“This is like the person who has never been to Seoul winning the argument. Serve in the army first, then talk. Do you think they only teach you to stand around firing guns? Bayonet fighting, Taekwondo, dagger techniques, throwing weapons, bows, and crossbows are all part of the basic martial-arts curriculum.”
My words made Ahn Hyun, Lee Yoojung, and Ahn Sol's expressions turn strange. Only Kim Hanbyul was smirking slightly, as if she knew I was lying. I wasn't particularly worried. Now that the team was firmly established, I figured revealing this much was within an acceptable range.
“Damn… Whatever. I’m going to rest for a while. This is only giving me a headache.”
“If you're going to rest, either sit up or stand. What will you do if we're attacked?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. Sol-ah, sorry, but bring Unni a piece of chocolate. I’m hungry.”
“Sol-ah, Oppa wants one too.”
“I'd like one too, please.”
“Okay~! Coming right up~!”
Ahn Sol hurried about in response to the successive requests from Lee Yoojung, Ahn Hyun, and Kim Hanbyul. At Ahn Hyun’s firm insistence, we had limited his sister’s direct participation in combat. Instead, she helped make things more convenient for everyone. Ahn Sol seemed naturally inclined to help others and showed no serious dissatisfaction, so this degree of errand-running was an acceptable compromise.
I watched Ahn Sol hand out water bottles with a bright smile, then slowly sat down.
I was reminded that humans were remarkably adaptable animals. When that adaptability combined with the desire to survive, the effect became even stronger. No matter how capable these Users were, only a few days earlier they had been ordinary women living ordinary lives. Now they swung blades at monsters with practiced ease. Remembering how long I had trembled after first killing a living creature brought a bitter smile to my face.
That did not mean I had no concerns. I could concede that, for now, they could swing their weapons without hesitation because their opponents were monsters threatening their lives. But what if they had to fight other people? Would they still be able to act without hesitation? I honestly wanted to train them for that as well if the opportunity arose, but unfortunately no such opportunity had appeared.
“Everyone, let’s start getting up. We’ll have to keep walking if we want to find another yellow roof today. You’re fine with that, right, Hyung?”
“Yeah.”
A Rest Room, huh? They would become harder to find the closer we drew to the Central Gate. There was no need to say that aloud, so I gave a simple answer. At Ahn Hyun’s words, Lee Yoojung nodded, looking somewhat less angry. I watched everyone brush the debris from their bodies and begin to rise. Just as I finished gathering my thoughts and was about to get up, several presences nearby made me stop. I had turned off Sensing for the sake of practice, but I could still sense them.
Then I heard something pushing through the bushes and turned my head.
“Huh, who are these guys?”
At that moment, our entire party saw four people emerge, parting the dense bushes.