Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: With a Beast's Heart (1)
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"Have it your way."
In the end, Jo Gwangsu relented.
It was, quite literally, a bolt from the blue.
But in truth, a shock like this was nothing compared to the countdown echoing above our heads.
"However."
Jo Gwangsu added, spitting out his words.
"If things don't go as planned, you'd better be ready to take responsibility."
"That's a bit strange. I'm not the one who asked for help."
Of course, I wasn't the type to let such a condition slide.
"Everyone is responsible for their own actions. You were the ones who sought my help, and you were the ones who agreed to listen to me."
He had nothing to say.
"...So, what do we need to do?"
Jo Gwangsu finally asked, his face sour.
"First, obviously, we need to rescue the Pigmallets."
"How are we supposed to know where they are in this forest...?"
"Don't worry. You all just have to do as I say."
With that, I picked up a stick and began to draw something on the dirt ground.
"This is a map of the 'Lake'."
A flicker of doubt passed among the Hunters, as if asking how I could possibly know this.
"I have a search skill. Thankfully, it works properly here too."
I simply brushed off their skepticism and continued drawing.
Soon, a map that looked like a boot lying on its side was drawn.
After drawing a round hole in the middle of it, I continued.
"There's a large lake in the center, and the structure is such that streams flowing from all over the forest weave together like a spiderweb and flow into it."
"A search skill can tell you all this?"
Jo Gwangsu finally voiced his question.
True, most 'Search' skills couldn't confirm such detailed terrain.
But I could.
[Viewing the 「Bird's-Eye View of the Garden of the Beast's Heart」 provided by the Dream Lord's Castle.]
Because before my eyes, a map incomparably more detailed than the drawing on the ground was spread out.
Of course, this too was just a map.
It didn't show the real-time locations of the Pigmallets like a GPS.
Guessing their locations was entirely up to me.
But that wasn't difficult.
I marked a total of eight spots on the map.
"The Pigmallets will be scattered around these points."
Six of the spots were clustered in the area corresponding to the calf of the boot.
"You can tell that, too?"
"It's a guess. But I'm almost certain. We don't have much time, so I'll explain briefly."
The Hunters' gazes gathered on my face.
"Pigmallets like mud and water. And they're timid. That's why they usually bury themselves in damp soil to move around. Normally, the area near the central lake would have been their ideal home."
- The Pigmallets have given up moving at the scene of the slaughter.
They've given up moving.
In other words, these creatures chose not to run, but to stay put and hide.
Finding a place they deemed suitable for hiding.
In that case.
"Staying near the lake in this situation is tantamount to suicide. The area around the lake is wide open, so they'd be easily spotted even if they buried themselves."
I nodded and continued.
"Therefore, they'll head for places with plenty of water that are also suitable for hiding."
The eight points I had drawn fit those conditions perfectly.
Swamplands with thick mud and overgrown vegetation, with a sizable stream flowing alongside.
"To add to that, our current location is about here."
I tapped the pointed part of the map, corresponding to the toe of the boot, with the stick.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Look at the ground we're standing on. The soil is dry, and we can't hear the sound of a stream. And according to my search, this is the only place where no streams flow."
"So we're quite far from where the Pigmallets are gathered."
"That's right."
I drew an O with the stick.
"Then you should know what needs to be done from now on, right?"
"So we just need to find the hidden Pigmallets and rescue them?"
one of the Hunters asked.
"Correct. It doesn't matter if you carry them by hand or herd them like sheep. Move as many Pigmallets as possible to a place you think is safe. It should be dry land, like here."
"Dry land?"
"There's no way the slaughterers don't know about the habits we're aware of. They're probably searching the wet areas first."
['Slaughterer' has turned three Pigmallets into jerky! Current remaining Pigmallets: 115]
Indeed, the speed at which the slaughterers were catching Pigmallets was increasing.
The count was also decreasing by the moment.
"That's all I have to say."
"From west to south, take charge in your assigned order. If you've memorized the locations, move."
The Hunters were quick on the uptake.
As soon as Jo Gwangsu finished speaking, the Hunters disappeared into the forest.
"What about you?"
Jo Gwangsu, the last one remaining, asked.
I shrugged and replied.
"I'll be doing my own thing."
"..."
Jo Gwangsu gave me a displeased look before vanishing into the forest like his guild members.
Only I and the map drawn on the ground remained in the clearing.
"Alright, now then."
I muttered to myself after erasing the map on the ground with my foot.
I'd easily passed off the tedious work.
[The Dream Lord's Castle has provided hidden information about the 'Lake' in the Garden of the Beast's Heart.]
[A hidden mission exists. Find the mission and obtain a suitable reward.]
Now it was time to find the hidden mission given only to me.
* * *
The information that 'a hidden mission exists in the Lake'.
And a bird's-eye view that showed the structure of the 'Lake' at a glance.
That was all the support I got from the Dream Lord's Castle.
It was up to me to make something of these ingredients.
'I should get moving.'
There was something I needed to find out first.
The identity of the slaughterers who preyed on Pigmallets.
And I was able to confirm that identity not long after.
"Ssshiik, sshiik."
Right after spotting a 'slaughterer' with gleaming eyes roaming through the forest.
I hid myself in the bushes and nodded silently.
A humanoid monster with a reptilian body, clad in leather armor.
"Lizardmen."
They were D-Rank monsters, Lizardmen.
A monster ranked lower than an Ogre, and only one rank higher than a Goblin.
But I remained hidden in the bushes, watching them.
'More of them than I thought.'
When Lizardmen form a group, their combat power rises to a level equivalent to a B-Rank or higher.
This was possible because they were cunningly intelligent and skilled with various weapons.
'Even in MonMonMak, the group bonus for Lizardmen was insane.'
As my thoughts drifted to that crappy game even in this situation, I shook my head to clear away the distractions.
And then I carefully assessed the situation.
There were a total of eight Lizardmen, treading through the thick mud.
They carried crossbows and bucklers, and the large one that seemed to be the leader even wielded a fearsome glaive.
Dangerous.
Eight Lizardmen were a tough opponent even for a B-Rank Hunter to face alone.
'The best course of action is to let them pass without a confrontation.'
Their primary prey is the Pigmallets.
Letting them go by without wasting any energy was the best option.
I would have done just that.
"Kkyuit!"
"Shit."
"Sshiik?"
If only I hadn't heard that cute cry from just beyond the path the Lizardman squad was taking.
The moment I heard it, I swore out loud.
The Lizardmen's glistening eyes narrowed in satisfaction.
"Sshiik."
My gaze also turned toward where the Lizardmen were staring.
And soon, I could see a pink ball of flesh, trembling with only its face poking out of the mud.
A monster that looked just like what you'd get if you brought a piggy bank to life.
A Pigmallet.
There were five baby pig heads sticking out of the mud.
"Kkyu, kkyuit!"
The Pigmallets didn't move, even after making eye contact with the Lizardmen.
They just let out pitiful screams.
"Sshiik."
The Lizardmen slowly began to advance.
And suddenly, a new status window popped up before my eyes.
[You have encountered Pigmallets being hunted by Lizardmen for the first time! A piece of advice: You do not need to save all the Pigmallets!]
This status window was a sleek hologram.
Meaning it was a status window that appeared for all Hunters who encountered this situation, not just me.
'So that's how you're gonna play it?'
The status window was emphasizing the obvious.
The mission never said we had to save every single Pigmallet.
It's impossible to save those Pigmallets without confronting the Lizardmen.
The best method would be to use those baby pigs as a sacrifice and find the others nearby.
"...Hah."
A dilemma.
"Kkyuit, kkyuit!"
The Pigmallets' mournful cries reached my ears.
After some thought, I let out a low sigh.
Yeah, this is the right call.
"If, ugh. If the Lizardman group bonus wasn't so damn good, I wouldn't be doing this."
No, really.
This is purely to strengthen my own forces.
That's how ridiculously overpowered the Lizardman group bonus was, one of MonMonMak's all-time greatest synergies.
I walked out from the bushes and strode between the Pigmallets and the Lizardmen.
"Sshiik?"
"Kkwiik?"
The Pigmallets stared at me, their eyes wide.
Faced with a sudden intruder, the Lizardman squad narrowed their eyes and aimed their weapons.
And I continued with a sigh.
"Now that it's come to this, you're all mine."
The purple orb in my hand rolled across the ground.
[Summoning Goblin Slave.]
Fwoosh!
Along with the status window, the Goblin Slave appeared from a cloud of smoke.
"Kiruk."
Gono was still decked out in dazzling items from head to toe.
As he bowed to me, the earring on his ear glinted, emitting a brilliant light.
That thing was probably worth a million won in real money.
"It's been a while, Gono."
"Kiruk, kiruk!"
Gono swung the club in his hand and scanned the surroundings.
His sharp, slanted eyes met the glistening eyeballs of the Lizardmen.
Then, as if he'd grasped the situation, he nodded and looked at me.
In that case, I had to give the order.
"I want them."
My finger pointed at the Lizardman holding the glaive.
"Kiruk."
[Gono activates 「Jackdaw Set Effect - Jackdaw's Wingbeat (A)」.]
The status window flickered, and Gono vanished from my side, leaving an afterimage.
"Sshiik?!"
The Lizardmen's eyes widened.
"Sshiik!"
As the goblin disappeared in an instant, the leader of the group, the glaive-wielding Lizardman, let out a sharp cry.
It seemed to be an order to calmly maintain formation.
"Kiruk."
"Sshiii-iik?!"
Crack!
Unfortunately, before it could give the command, the head of the Lizardman at the very front exploded.
One that came to its senses aimed its crossbow, but the goblin that bounced in and smashed its head was faster than the bolt could fly.
Crack!
Crack!
That made three: the one with the crossbow and the one next to it with a dagger.
Having lost three in an instant, the glaive-wielding Lizardman turned its head in a daze.
They were unlucky.
When they were clumped together, they were creatures that could toy with opponents two ranks above them.
But they weren't intelligent enough to immediately counter an opponent that was off the charts.
"Sshi, sshiik!"
In the end, only after two more Lizardmen were helplessly taken down did the glaive-wielder make a decision.
It charged at me, who stood as if protecting the Pigmallets.
It was a very sound choice.
It knew that I was the goblin's master.
And it knew well that 'I', at this moment, was weaker than it.
The timing was good too.
"Kiruk?!"
It had aimed for the moment Gono charged at the two remaining Lizardmen.
As expected of the group's leader, I suppose.
It was truly a plausible plan.
[Activating Lord's Afterimage Lv.1.]
[The stats of Count Gular, the Dragon Child, are being added!]
It really was, right up until it met my fist.