Chapter 16: An Unexpected Situation (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: An Unexpected Situation (3)
“We have to take that orc down.”
At my words, the ajumma’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of her head.
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Running is impossible. You know that, right, ajumma?”
We were both exhausted, and that thing was full of energy.
The physical difference between us was also enormous.
There was no way we could outrun it.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d rather….”
The ajumma bit her lip hard.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke with a determined expression.
“I’ll lure it away in another direction, so you should run, Do-jin.”
She was willing to lay down her life for someone who wasn't family, someone she had only just gotten a little closer to.
Her noble sincerity, completely devoid of any falsehood, made me realize something anew.
Just how charming this woman was.
I offered a rather bright smile, one that didn't quite fit the situation.
“Then shall we die together? I think I’d be okay with dying, as long as it’s with you, ajumma.”
“Wh-What…!”
The ajumma’s face flushed, her expression shocked as if she were at a loss for words.
Half truth, half lie.
It was true that I wouldn't regret losing my life if it was with a woman like her, but I had no intention of actually dying.
“But it’d be a shame to just give up and die, wouldn’t it? Will you trust me and do as I say, just this once?”
A glimmer of light entered the eyes of the ajumma, who had been staring blankly at my face.
“You’re right. I don’t want to just give up and die. Let’s do it.”
I immediately pushed myself up.
I had tripped on a tree root, and while my body ached with bruises, it wasn't bad enough to stop me from running.
“Let’s run for a bit first.”
The distance between us and the creature had closed significantly.
I helped the fallen ajumma to her feet, and we started running between the trees.
Even as we ran, my eyes never stopped scanning our surroundings.
One spot, in particular, caught my attention.
I pointed with my index finger.
“That way!”
We weaved through the densely packed trees as much as possible to confuse it, then circled around to the spot I had first pointed to.
It was a place where the gap between two trees was very narrow.
I had the ajumma stand under one of them.
“Ajumma, stand right here and don’t move an inch.”
“Is-is that all I have to do?”
“Yes. But no matter what happens, you can’t move.”
Her trembling eyes met mine.
I clasped her hands tightly to soothe her anxiety and continued.
“Please, trust me. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”
The trembling that had spread throughout her body slowly subsided.
The ajumma finally nodded with a faint smile.
“The way you say it with such confidence, Do-jin… I have no choice but to trust you.”
I was about to move away from the now-calmer ajumma when I remembered something I’d forgotten to say and approached her again.
“Ah, and there’s just one more thing I need to ask of you….”
“What is it?”
“When the orc comes charging… could you, uh… strike a sexy pose or something?”
“S-Sexy?! Do you really think a 40-year-old ajumma can pull that off?”
I nodded with the most serious face in the world and replied.
“Other ajummas couldn’t, but you can.”
“D-Do-jin?!”
Her startled expression was cute.
But I had no time to get lost in it.
“This is part of the plan, so you have to do it.”
Leaving the bewildered ajumma behind, I turned my back.
My destination was the tree directly opposite the one she was standing by.
“Hoo.”
I released the mana I had diligently gathered in my core, letting it flow into my arms and legs.
Ignoring the screams of my weak muscles, I leaped with all my might toward the tree and hugged it.
Then, I began to climb.
“Hup!”
My arms and legs, trembling from the strain of supporting this body, stretched upward.
My limbs, temporarily enhanced by mana, barely reached their target.
“Hoo, hoo…!”
The muscles in my arms and legs burned and stung as if they’d been seared by fire.
“D-Do-jin. Are you okay?” the ajumma asked worriedly, watching me from the opposite tree.
“From now on, don’t look where I am. When you see the orc, you must only look at the orc.”
“O-Okay.”
Thud! Thump!
I could see the creature approaching, wildly swinging its fists at the trees blocking its path and vision.
It was closer than I thought.
As the reality of death drew near, my concentration sharpened at an incredible rate.
“Ugh…!”
The clarity of my mana-seeing eyes sharpened to an extreme degree.
The transparent grains of mana reflected the color of whatever they touched. I would now give them a color of their own.
This time, the color would be brown.
The mana of the earth—unfailingly solid, providing a stable foundation beneath one’s feet.
I gathered the transformed mana and pulled out the image that was vividly formed in my mind.
Something materialized in my empty hand.
A crude handle, and above it, a sharp awl.
「Earth Drill.」
As I spoke its name, cementing the image in my mind, the unstable mana clinging to the surface stabilized and merged.
“Looks pretty solid.”
The Earth Drill, created using most of my available mana.
On the outside, it looked incredibly sturdy.
I wanted to test its strength by hitting it against the tree a few times, but that was too risky. I decided against it.
Right now, this was the only thing that could kill it.
Most of the mana I had gathered so far had been used for physical growth.
As a result, my mana reserves were always pitifully low, so I couldn't kill the creature with some flashy magic in my current state.
So, what other choice did I have?
“I have no choice but to hold it and stab the bastard myself.”
It was the first time for this body, but I trusted the experiences ingrained in my very soul.
Clutching the Earth Drill, I pinpointed the creature’s location.
Finally, it was in a straight line from me.
Kueeeeeek!
Spotting the ajumma, the creature let out an excited roar and began to charge.
It didn’t seem to care in the slightest that I had disappeared.
At this rate, I probably didn’t even need to ask her to strike a sexy pose.
“L-Like this…?”
The ajumma awkwardly bent her waist and twisted her body, further accentuating her curves.
“Damn.”
Her wide hips and full chest, already prominent even when she stood still, were now empowered by the pose, unleashing an explosive, seductive aura.
Kueek! Kueeeeek!
Drool dripped from its half-open mouth, unable to keep up with its speed and splattering all over its body.
As it neared the ajumma, its speed began to decrease.
As if it knew that charging in recklessly would kill her before it could even make her bear its young.
That was my golden opportunity.
Kueheeek!
There was only one thing this body had in overflowing abundance: fat.
These masses of fat that jiggled relentlessly with every movement.
Something that ought to be eliminated was, for this moment, my weapon.
One step, another step.
The moment the creature arrived beneath the tree I was on.
Without hesitation, I leaped down toward it with all my might.
My massive body began to plummet, with barely a moment of airtime.
The awl in my hand was aimed at the nape of its neck.
“Hup!”
With a short grunt, I tried to plunge the awl, held in both hands, into the back of its neck.
Kueek!?
The creature’s head snapped up.
At the same time, with incredible reflexes, the orc grabbed my arm.
However, it seemed unable to overcome the momentum of my accelerating body, as it fell backward while still gripping my arm.
“Nngh…!”
I forcibly twisted my body to land on top of it.
Then, I put the entire weight of my body into my captured arms.
Kueek!
“Argh…!”
My arms, caught in its grip, screamed in protest.
I felt like its tremendous grip would snap my bones.
Kueeeek!
Its arms began to push my body away.
At this rate, I was going to die.
The creature was slowly getting up.
What do I do?
I tried a low kick to its unfolding knee, but it only made my own leg hurt.
“Fuck…!”
Ah, I really can’t die to a D-rank monster like this.
The moment its other knee, the one still on the ground, rose, I would meet my end.
Just then, a brilliant idea struck me.
I overlaid a chilling blue color onto the grains of mana being crushed beneath its knee.
Water? No, ice.
Just as it was about to put strength into its knee, I would freeze the ground, ever so slightly.
「Ice!」
Kueek?
The creature’s knee, which it had put all its strength into, slipped.
Simultaneously, its awkwardly rising body collapsed.
So much so that its grip on my arm loosened.
Confident of my victory, I smiled and spoke to the creature.
”Nope.“
Puk!
The awl, backed by my immense weight, found the nape of its neck.
It pierced through the unripe, light-green hide without resistance, disappearing into the creature until only the handle remained.
Kueek, kueheee….
Making a sound like a deflating balloon, the light faded from the creature’s eyes.
At that moment, a very interesting phenomenon began to appear before my eyes.
From the dying orc’s body, black grains of mana began to bubble up.
They floated above the orc’s body for a moment, then slowly began to lose their form.
”Oh no, you don’t.“
Instinct guided my body.
As if I couldn’t let it disappear, I waved my hand and pulled the fading mana toward me.
The black grains of mana were sucked into my pores.
The mana, which had been drifting around, finally settled into my core.
At that moment, a message appeared before my eyes.
[Successfully absorbed mana from the orc’s corpse.]
[Mana has increased by 3.]
[The absorbed mana can be used after it has been purified.]
[Time remaining until purification: 23:59:55]
”Whoa.“
I had never heard of anything like this.
A story about a Hunter absorbing mana from a dead monster’s corpse.
Was this body special, or was my soul having some kind of effect?
Well, it didn’t matter which it was.
Either way, they were both mine.
”D-Do-jin!“
As I was silently celebrating, I heard the ajumma’s voice.
I paused my thoughts and turned to look at her.
”Ah.“
I felt it.
That feeling of my body being completely empty.
Again?
I could see the ajumma running toward me.
I gave her a thumbs-up.
”Ajumma, nice pose.“
I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that pose anytime soon.
The thought, one that should never be spoken aloud, echoed in my mind.
At the same time, my vision went black.