Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 231
Chapter Title: A Hero for the Little Ones (1)
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“…What?”
Oh-jin frowned upon hearing the scream.
It wasn’t the scream itself that made him frown.
‘Sounds like a kid’s voice.’
Oh-jin changed direction with Lightning Step and fired his wire shooter toward the source of the scream.
*Swoooosh!*
Soaring swiftly through the air, Oh-jin reached the location of the scream in just over ten seconds.
“Aaaah! Help me! *Cough, cough.* Ah, my throat hurts from screaming so much.”
There, a young girl was crouched inside a cave, coughing.
She looked to be about ten years old.
She had unique hair with green highlights.
“Grrrrr! Grrrowl!”
A monster stood about ten meters in front of the girl, growling.
The snarling beast bared its vicious teeth and charged at her.
“Grrrraaaawrr!”
*Fzzt!*
But only for a moment.
The green necklace around the monster’s neck glowed, and the beast thrashed about, stumbling backward.
“Hehe. You mad? Catch me if you can! Catch me if you can~!”
The girl stuck her tongue out and taunted the monster that couldn’t reach her.
“……”
Oh-jin let out a dry laugh, feeling as if he were watching a crude skit.
‘So this is what they meant by safety measures for the civilians.’
The monster, its eyes bloodshot, kept trying to charge at the girl, but each time, the necklace would activate and push it back.
“Oh, Mister! Over here, over here! There’s an innocent citizen being threatened by a scary monster!”
Spotting Oh-jin, the girl flashed a bright smile and waved her hands excitedly.
When he first heard there was a mission to rescue civilians, he couldn’t quite picture how it would work, but now he was starting to get it.
“Grrrrrr!”
Perhaps the monster had spotted Oh-jin as well.
Its fiercely glowing red eyes turned toward him.
The beast, which looked like a leopard, kicked off the ground with its legs and rushed toward Oh-jin at a terrifying speed.
As expected of a tournament to select the Seven Stars, it was a monster that looked powerful enough to be a rare sight, but…
“Changnoe.”
It was no match for Oh-jin.
*Fzzzzzt!*
A fan-shaped wave of blue lightning spread out and engulfed the monster.
“Grraaaawr!”
The monster thrashed, enveloped in lightning.
He ducked to avoid its flailing arms and swiftly drew the folding knife from his waist.
*Shhhlick, chak!*
In the blink of an eye, the knife transformed into a spear, piercing the monster’s neck and burrowing into its skull.
*-Ding!*
[You have defeated a Blue-grade monster.]
[You have acquired 30 points.]
It wasn’t a blue message window that appeared in the empty air like a system window.
The voice came from the silver bracelet on his wrist.
Looking down at the bracelet, he saw the number that was 0 had changed to 5.
“Wow! You took it out in one shot!”
The girl giggled and clapped her hands.
Oh-jin approached her and asked.
“How long have you been here?”
“Ah! Mister, points deducted! Points deducted!”
Why, though?
“You were supposed to ask if I was hurt anywhere first!”
“……”
He had seen with his own two eyes that the monster couldn't lay a single finger on her because of the necklace. There was no way she could be hurt.
‘So this is how they’re scoring this.’
Indeed, just as the girl said.
If this had been a real rescue of a civilian and not a staged act, asking about their safety first would have been the right thing to do.
“Sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hehe. Since you apologized quickly, I’ll let the deduction slide. Yep! As you can see, I’m not hurt at all!”
The girl stood up energetically and dusted the dirt off her knees.
Now, if he could just get this girl safely to a safe zone, he would probably earn more points.
‘This messes with my plans a bit.’
His original plan was to head to the underwater terrain, monopolize the monsters there, and rack up points.
But now, it seemed finding a safe zone while on the move had to be the priority.
“Mister, you’re Noerang, right?”
“I’m Noerang, but I’m not a mister.”
“I’m a huge fan of yours! A huge fan!”
This damn kid.
“What’s your name?”
“Ah, my name is ‘Civilian No. 2’!”
That’s a bit too impersonal.
“Hehe. They said I’m not allowed to give out my name because of the rules. Hmm… but it’s a little weird to call me Civilian No. 2, so please call me ‘Io’!”
Io smiled brightly and raised her hand.
Oh-jin chuckled and nodded.
“Let’s get moving for now.”
The moment he was about to move to find a safe zone.
“Ah! Mister, points deducted! More points deducted!”
Now what?
“You have such a delicate girl here, you should hold her hand as you go! How can you just go by yourself?”
“If I hold your hand, it’ll be hard to move if a monster attacks in an emergency. It’s safer for you to stick close to me.”
When he offered a reasonable counterargument.
“…Huh?”
Io’s eyes widened as she scratched her head.
“N-Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Ahem. I’ll cancel the deduction!”
“Our examiner here has some very strict standards.”
“Hehe. The regulations say I have to score properly.”
Io scratched her head, looking embarrassed.
‘That wasn’t a compliment, it was sarcasm.’
Oh-jin smirked and started down the mountain path with Io.
“Do you know where the safe zone is?”
“We don’t know that either! But I heard that when we get close, it’ll show up on the map? Or something like that!”
Oh-jin glanced down at the silver bracelet on his wrist.
So far, the only marker appearing on the map was his own.
‘I guess I have no choice but to wander around.’
Just as he thought that and took a step.
*Rustle!*
The sound of rustling bushes reached his ears.
“Mister?”
“Quiet.”
He brought a finger to his lips and activated Canes Venatici.
The scent of a predator filled his nostrils.
‘Just one.’
Location.
‘Below!’
*KABOOM!*
A mound of dirt shot up as a monster that had been moving rapidly underground revealed itself.
Its overall appearance was similar to a shark, but instead of fins, it had four limbs with vicious claws.
‘Blue.’
Confirming the necklace on the shark monster’s neck, Oh-jin gripped his spear.
“Grrrrrr!”
The shark monster let out a savage cry and stomped the ground with its two legs.
The ground rippled like a wave, and sharp shards of rock shot up.
Bluish mana clung to the tips of the rock shards as they flew like buckshot.
‘So there are even monsters that can wield mana.’
Most monsters possessed mana, but it was rare to see a type that mixed mana into its attacks like an Awakened using a Stigma.
“They really prepared for this thoroughly.”
*Fzzzzzt!*
Blue lightning spread out wide, deflecting the shower of rock shards.
“Noeyeom.”
A fierce blue flame blazed along the spearhead.
Oh-jin violently brought it down on the charging shark monster’s head.
*CLANG!*
The spear bounced off with a heavy metallic sound.
A jarring shock traveled up the shaft.
“Damn, it’s tough.”
Oh-jin frowned as he observed the shark monster.
Even though it had deflected the spear, it seemed the impact wasn't completely negated, as it was staggering.
‘If its skin is tough, then…’
He looked at the monster and curled his lips into a grin.
“Charge.”
*Fzzzt!*
Blue lightning gathered at the tip of his spear.
After completing three stacks, Oh-jin waited patiently for the shark monster to recover.
Considering the typical pattern of monsters, its next action after taking a blow to the head was predictable.
Recovering from the shock, the shark monster glared fiercely at Oh-jin.
And then.
“Kraaaaaaaaaah!!”
“Right, open that mouth wide.”
A roar after being staggered.
Not missing the most common pattern among all types of monsters, Oh-jin threw the spear in his hand into the beast’s mouth.
“Discharge.”
“Kweeeeeeegh!”
The shark monster collapsed, black smoke billowing from its mouth as the lightning exploded from within.
*-Ding!*
[You have defeated a Green-grade monster.]
[You have acquired 5 points.]
“So it’s a five-fold difference from the green grade.”
It was certainly a monster on a different level from the Green-grade.
“Wow! Mister, aren’t you a high-ranking Awakened? They said monsters above blue grade are tough even for high-ranking Awakened!”
Io, who had been hiding behind a distant tree, clapped her hands and exclaimed in admiration.
He had been slightly worried she might get hit by a stray rock shard, but thankfully, she seemed perfectly fine.
“Hold on.”
Activating the Stigma of Canes Venatici to confirm there were no other monsters nearby, Oh-jin turned back to Io and asked.
“By the way, isn’t this job too dangerous for a kid like you?”
Even if minimal safety measures were in place.
They were, quite literally, ‘minimal.’
If Oh-jin hadn’t deflected all the rock shards, she could have been injured.
“It is. That’s why in the contract? Or whatever, when I signed it, there was a part that said if I get hurt or die in an accident, I can’t hold the Council responsible.”
“…What?”
Oh-jin’s expression twisted harshly.
Making a child barely ten years old sign such a contract.
‘Has the Council gone mad?’
No matter how crazy the world had become, this was just wrong.
“Hehe. But don’t worry! If I’m ever in danger, you’ll save me, right, Mister?”
“Didn’t your parents say anything?”
“I don’t have any.”
Io continued with a bright smile.
“I heard my mom and dad left me a long, long time ago to go on a faraway journey.”
“……”
Oh-jin stared at Io with a hardened expression.
Seeing his stiff face, she burst into a fit of giggles.
“Heehee! Your face is funny, Mister!”
Io playfully poked Oh-jin’s side and continued.
“Don’t make such a scary face. The teachers and all the kids at the orphanage are su~per nice to me!”
“…Really?”
Having only bad memories of orphanages, Oh-jin looked at Io with a worried expression.
“So you volunteered for this job yourself?”
“Yep! I saw the posting and went to apply myself!”
“Why would you do something so dangerous….”
“Because they pay a whole lot of money!”
“……”
It was an extremely simple reason.
But it was also more convincing than any other.
“If I just hide quietly for six hours, all the kids and teachers at my orphanage can eat lots of delicious food! Where else could I find such a great opportunity?”
The way Io’s eyes sparkled as she spoke left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“…Weren’t you scared?”
Even though he knew it was a foolish question.
Oh-jin looked down at the brightly smiling Io and asked.
“Umm. I was scared at first. But I’m okay now.”
With a bright smile, Io shrugged.
“Having to eat su~per tasteless oatmeal every day is way scarier than this!”
It wasn’t hard to imagine the financial state of an orphanage in a crazy world overrun by monsters.
When everyone was busy trying to save their own skin, who would donate to an orphanage?
They must have lived a harsh life, likely struggling to even have one proper meal a day.
“……”
Oh-jin felt a heart-wrenching bitterness as he looked down at the brightly smiling Io.
Why was it?
In Io’s radiant smile, he saw an overlapping image of a young Ha-eun.
“…Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
There was no time to wallow in useless sentimentality.
Oh-jin started moving again to find the safe zone.