Chapter 15
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: By the Heart of a Beast (2)
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No need to make a big deal out of it.
This was practically my first time fighting a monster directly.
It was Gono who had dealt with the ogre and goblins after I synced with ‘MonMonMak’.
And I was certain.
At least for now, I was tearfully untalented when it came to fighting monsters head-on.
“Sh-sheek!”
It was a realization I had right after clashing with a hulking Lizardman wielding a glaive.
Ah, this body of mine truly had no talent!
“Sh-sheek!”
*Thwack!*
“Sorry, I’m not talented with blades.”
*Thwack!*
“Sh-sheeeik…”
So here I was, straddling the Lizardman on the ground and raining down blows.
Anyone watching would think it was nothing more than a dogfight or a street brawl.
The sight of a two-meter-tall Lizardman lying on the ground with me mounted on top, throwing punches, was all the more surreal for it.
If Yoon Sua had seen this, I would have died of shame, one hundred percent.
*Thwump!*
My punches were crude, but the Lizardman was taking a one-sided beating.
Even for a monster, it was impossible to withstand the phenomenal strength of Count Gular of the Dragon Fangs.
At first, it had tried to resist, swinging its glaive, but after my uppercut sent it to the ground, it couldn't even manage that.
It could only take the beating, feeling the overwhelming difference in our stats.
“Ki, kiruk…”
Gono approached my side, a fed-up look on his face.
Only then did the one-sided assault come to an end.
“Shee… sheek…”
The Lizardman, its face bruised and swollen, stared weakly at Gono.
“Kiruk.”
*Crack!*
Gono nodded solemnly before swinging his club, smashing the Lizardman’s skull.
There was no need for such a poignant scene, anyway.
They would simply be revived in the Dream Lord's Castle.
If I paid gold to hire them, they could even have the honor of becoming my summons.
“Kiruk!”
Gono held something out to me.
Seven crystal chunks, each the size of an egg.
Even while smashing heads, he had meticulously collected the mana stones.
“Good work, Gono.”
I took the mana stones with one hand and patted Gono’s head with the other.
“Kiruk!”
[Gono’s affinity has increased by 10! Gono’s Affinity: 45/100]
This damn affinity system… I’ll never get used to it.
I extracted the mana stone from the Lizardman leader lying before me and tossed all eight into the rift that had appeared.
[Selling a total of 8 Low-Grade Mana Stones.]
[240 Gold has been deposited from the Dream Lord's Castle.]
*Ting!*
[Current Gold: 370 Gold]
[You have sold a mana stone containing a Lizardman's soul for the first time! The Lord's Castle has issued 1 Premium Draw Ticket.]
Only after confirming the draw ticket did I dismiss the status window.
With a decent amount of gold saved up, maybe I should start thinking about hiring other monsters.
Just then, I heard a cry from behind me.
“Kkyuit.”
“?”
It was the Pigmallets.
Their large eyes sparkling, they were huddled together behind me.
Their pink bodies, now completely free of the mud, bounced up and down.
I could sense they were incredibly grateful, but…
Naturally, their gestures were impossible for me to understand beyond that.
I gestured with my hand and said, “Stay hidden.”
“Kkyuit.”
“The lizards that wanted to eat you have been taken care of by yours truly, so hide well.”
“Kkyuit!”
“…”
I had a strong premonition.
A terribly ominous one.
I tried to shake off the feeling and stood up.
*Scurry, scurry.*
“…”
Just as I thought.
Every time I took a step, the Pigmallets followed, their short legs scrambling to keep up.
“Don’t try to do anything, just stay hidden here, I said.”
“Kkyuit!”
“Kkyu, kkyuit!”
At my words, the Pigmallets shook their bodies violently.
*Damn it.*
What in the world do you guys want?
I looked to Gono for help.
If it came down to it, I was planning to have Gono swing his club to chase them away.
But this guy managed to frustrate me in his own way.
“Kiruk.”
*Tap, tap.*
He suddenly started tapping his wrist and kiruk-ing.
[7 minutes remaining until the Goblin Slave returns to the Lord's Castle.]
“Ah.”
Right, this guy had a time limit.
I hadn't factored that in.
There were still quite a few Pigmallets scattered about, and I had no idea how many more times I'd run into Lizardmen like this.
Sending Gono back in this situation would be a problem.
Especially since it had become clear that my own combat ability was, in a different sense, abysmal.
“Isn’t there any way, Gono? It’ll be a huge problem for me if you go back already.”
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
It was a skill, after all, and to extend its duration, I’d have to level up the skill itself…
“Kiruk.”
“?”
Gono nodded.
*There’s a way?*
The goblin made a circle with its thumb and index finger.
As I stared at the information window that appeared simultaneously, I quietly cursed under my breath.
“…Shit.”
I had forgotten.
[You can pay Gold to extend Gono's summon duration! 5 Gold will be consumed per 10 minutes.]
My skills were entirely derived from an unprecedentedly crappy game obsessed with money.
Still, what could I do?
Whether monster or human, it was a world where you had to pay for labor.
“…Yeah, I guess I have to pay you overtime.”
“Kiruk!”
Gono nodded, satisfied.
“We'll circle around from the outer areas of the map. Report immediately if you notice anything strange.”
“Kiruk.”
Gono and I quickly began to delve deeper into the forest.
“Kkyuit!”
And behind us, the suddenly brave Pigmallets followed.
***
Three hours had passed since the mission began.
*Crack!*
“Sheek…!”
The skull of the Lizardman trying to stab me with its pike shattered.
After wiping the green blood from my face, I tossed the mana stones Gono handed me into the gate's opening.
[Selling a total of 5 Low-Grade Mana Stones.]
[Current Gold: 860 Gold]
[The Lord's Castle has insufficient funds to purchase mana stones! Until funds are secured, you cannot collect mana stones from hunting monsters.]
[The unit limit for the Lord's Castle has been exceeded. This unit cannot be reinforced through mana stones. Lizardman Warrior 10/10, Lizardman Crossbowman 5/5, Lizardman Spearman 5/5]
I had hunted a total of twenty Lizardmen so far.
“Kiruk.”
And behind me were Gono, still energetic after crushing twenty monsters, and…
“Kkyuit!”
Fifty Pigmallets, swarming as they followed.
The sight of the round baby pigs gathered together was so overwhelming it bordered on terrifying rather than cute.
The fact that they were all staring at me with wide, clear eyes didn't help.
In any case, over three hours, I'd rescued a quarter of the original number of Pigmallets.
However.
“It’s still broad daylight.”
Even though a full three hours had passed, the sky was still stained crimson.
There was no sign of nightfall.
And there was another problem.
[Three Pigmallets have been butchered by the Slaughterers! Remaining Pigmallets: 82]
The number of Pigmallets was still steadily decreasing.
While I had been rescuing fifty, the others had barely managed to save more than half that number combined.
One thing was certain.
Jo Gwangsu and the other seven Hunters weren't putting their all into rescuing the Pigmallets.
“…”
The current situation was proof enough.
In fact, this place wasn't the outer region of the map I was assigned to.
It was one of the dots marked on the calf section of the boot-shaped map.
Specifically, it was the area assigned to Jo Gwangsu.
But before I arrived, this place had already turned into a paradise for Lizardmen.
“Kkyuing.”
A Pigmallet at my feet rubbed itself against a body half-buried in the mud.
It was a Pigmallet that had already been brutally killed by the Slaughterers.
Such corpses were scattered everywhere.
“Kkyuuuu.”
The Pigmallets cried beside their fallen comrades.
I watched them in silence.
Jo Gwangsu had thought logically.
He wouldn't want to risk his life for some worthless monsters.
He probably grabbed just one Pigmallet and didn't even bother trying to find the rest.
- Protect the Pigmallets from the hands of the Slaughterers.
The Gardener only said to protect the Pigmallets.
It didn't specify the number of lives to be saved.
It was up to us to decide how many to save, and to what extent.
That's why I couldn't say I didn't understand Jo Gwangsu.
But, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Gono.”
“Kiruk.”
“I’ll make sure you’re well-paid. Let’s go for another walk.”
Gono slung his club over his shoulder.
Maybe it was my imagination, but its snout was parted as if in a smile.
***
Another three hours passed.
Six hours since the mission began.
The number of Pigmallets following me had grown to sixty.
A quarter of the day had gone by, but the sky was still crimson.
Night did not come.
But it wasn't without its rewards.
[Remaining Pigmallets: 71]
The giant countdown information window floating in the sky.
The number hadn't changed for over an hour.
“Sh-sheek!”
*Crack!*
The head of the Lizardman that had been putting up a final resistance in front of me exploded.
*Splat.*
The lizard's body collapsed, and behind it, a Pigmallet stared at me with sparkling eyes.
I couldn't get any more mana stones from killing Lizardmen.
Which meant I had nothing to gain from working so hard to save these creatures.
All this effort, and all I got was an increase in the number of sparkling eyes.
I really wasn't in my right mind.
“Kkyuung.”
The rescued Pigmallet bounced over and joined the group behind me.
And then, suddenly.
“Kkyuit!”
“Huh?”
The Pigmallets behind me all started moving at once.
“Wait, what?”
It was a sudden, unexpected action.
I quickly followed after them.
“What is it, where are you guys going?!”
I called out urgently, but they didn't even look back, sprinting in one direction.
The absurd part was that they were incredibly fast.
How long did we run?
Suddenly, the undergrowth and trees blocking my view disappeared, and my vision opened up.
“A lake?”
The lake that had been in the center of the bird's-eye view map.
That lake was right in front of me.
The water's surface was black.
Beneath the black backdrop, it held the reflection of a full moon.
A full moon.
Only then did I realize.
While I was frantically chasing the Pigmallets, night had fallen.
[The Slaughterers no longer hunt the Pigmallets. Night has arrived.]
Beneath the blackened sky, the giant status window changed, and a voice echoed.
The Pigmallets gathered before me again, huddled by the lake.
*Rustle.*
And then, from my left, a Pigmallet and a Hunter emerged from the bushes.
“What the, did the dying little piglet go into heat or something… Huh?”
Jo Gwangsu.
“Yo, pal. You were here first. I saw you running around looking for these damn piglets. What's with the goblin next to you? If you save a lot of piglets, do you evolve into a goblin or something? Hahaha!”
“…”
As expected, he had only brought a single Pigmallet.
Even that one soon collapsed, breathing laboriously.
As I stared silently, Jo Gwangsu spoke up, as if feeling defensive.
“What? What's with that look? It's not like they said how many we had to save, right?”
Fortunately, he didn't have to make any more excuses.
Hunters began to appear from various directions, surrounding the lake.
“Hey, how could you not save a single one? You're a real piece of work.”
“Ah, this one just suddenly ran here and died. You’re one to talk, stashing away one puny piglet yourself.”
“Isn't that obvious? Who's gonna fight Lizardmen just to save these damn piglets?”
“You got a point there. We D-rank Hunters have to use our heads. That's how you get the sweet gigs.”
Most of the Hunters appeared with just one Pigmallet each.
One of them was even carrying a dead one.
“Ms. Jiseon, you managed to save five even in this mess. Why would a healer push herself so hard?”
“It’s nothing. I wanted to save more, but with my abilities…”
Only the soft-hearted looking healer was surrounded by five Pigmallets.
“Look at that. Why are you taking out your stupid hard work on me? You’re so inflexible.”
Jo Gwangsu sneered from the side.
“Keruk?”
Gono's eyes sharpened.
But I stopped him with a hand gesture as he was about to lower his club.
Yes, I might look stupid.
Inflexible?
I never had any of that to begin with.
It was just my nature to always do my best.
[Congratulations, you have protected the Pigmallets from the hands of the Slaughterers! You have completed the mission.]
[To complete the mission, 70 or more Pigmallets must survive. The hidden completion condition has been met.]
“What, a hidden condition?”
“So there was a set number. Shit, that was a close call.”
That's right.
I had saved sixty Pigmallets.
If the soft-hearted healer hadn't saved five, we wouldn't have met the condition.
For now, it seemed sharing the information with the Indomitable Guild members wasn't a mistake.
“Ugh. This damn dungeon, I’m getting out of here as soon as the mission’s over. Making us herd pigs, how pathetic.”
Jo Gwangsu said, poking the Pigmallet lying collapsed in front of him.
It no longer showed any reaction.
And then.
“…Huh?”
[From now on, the Trial of the Gathered Heart (收心) begins.]
On the surface of the water that held the night sky, new words were inscribed.