Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Lycus Chieftain
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The hunt proceeded smoothly, just as always.
Whenever Dun swung his foot, items dropped. Whenever he swung his hand, monster corpses piled up into mountains.
Nng... nng... kiiing...
A Lycus in front of Dun whimpered pitifully, its ears and tail tucked in tight from fear.
"Don't cry. Or die."
Dun spoke up, annoyed by the Lycus's incessant whining. His light threat and murderous smile silenced them.
Even without shared language, murderous intent was the universal tongue for monsters.
Dun gazed at the items in his inventory, lost in thought for a moment.
I've got all the basic items from regular Lycus kills. Just missing the boss item.
I'm getting tired now. Time to take down the boss and bail.
"Take me to your leader. Lead the way."
Dun stretched, then massaged his numb legs. As he locked eyes with them and murmured lowly, a notification window popped up.
[Skill, [Lycus Language lv.1] has been created.]
With high Intelligence stats, he picked up languages quickly just from a bit of interaction turning into skills.
After acquiring the 'Lycus Language' skill, he tried talking to them, and they reacted with shocked expressions.
[What? This human speaks our tongue.]
[Take him to the boss? Let's discuss.]
The Lycus growled at each other in conversation.
"Who wants to die first?"
Crack.
Dun wrapped one hand around the fist of the other, cracking his knuckles. The Lycus tucked their ears and tails tighter, trembling.
[...Follow us, human.]
"And carry me. My legs hurt."
[No way.]
* * *
Lycrin, the chieftain of the Lycus pack.
He reigned at the pinnacle of all predators in this fiery land of Yoharum. Among the many leaders here, he was especially powerful, so he'd lived his whole life without ever knowing fear.
That made the Lycus chieftain insufferably arrogant. From birth, every creature bowed before him, and he saw it as natural.
Born to lord over others, born to rule the weak with strength.
Drenched in hubris, Lycrin believed his pack must unconditionally surpass all other species. To that end, he strictly managed any underperforming Lycus.
Which was why he couldn't tolerate what his subordinates had done this time.
[Boss, human kid. Wants to see you.]
[Killed our kin, gave us shame. Wants revenge.]
Not only had they given their lives to a mere human brat, but they'd brought him right to the heart of their lair. And apparently, the kid had ridden one of them because he was too tired to walk. What an utter humiliation.
Lycrin slowly raised his bright yellow eyes arrogantly toward the human brat.
The kid was wandering their territory with curious eyes, holding some plain wildflower he'd apparently picked on the way.
A reckless human child without a proper weapon or any armor.
[You're the first non-corpse human to enter our den. What's your name?]
When Lycrin asked with intrigued eyes, the human child rolled his eyes.
"Dun."
Lycrin recoiled greatly at the short, one-word name.
This was that famous Dun?
Dun.
A name whispered among high-level monsters. They'd made such a fuss about needing to kill him ASAP, so he'd assumed the kid was dead. But here he was, strolling around fine. Bunch of useless loudmouths.
To struggle against a pup like that. Monsters from Montgihail were nothing special after all.
Lycrin narrowed his yellow eyes.
[So, Dun. Why'd you want to see me?]
"To take something good if you've got it."
[What?]
Dun swished the wildflower he'd picked on the way as he answered. Intrigued by the response, Lycrin narrowed his eyes further.
[And how do you plan to take it?]
"Kill you and steal it, like you guys do."
[You? Kill me? You plan to kill me?]
The Lycus burst into grating, metallic laughter at Dun's words. Lycrin joined in.
[Oh? I'm quite interested in how you'll do it. Care to explain?]
"Just, y'know, like this."
Dun kicked lazily at the air.
[That's it?]
"Or like this?"
Dun raised his hand and threw a sloppy punch at the empty air.
Lycrin stared in disbelief, so Dun scratched the back of his head.
"Tch, don't expect too much from me."
[...You seem pitifully unaware of how fearsome we Lycus are.]
Lycrin tilted his head lightly toward his subordinates. Understanding the signal, the Lycus headed into the storage cave and dragged something out.
Plop.
What they brought were traces of humans they'd killed before. Bloodstained clothes, worn swords once used by people, and so on.
[Kikil. Scared now?]
[Your friends, off to the afterlife.]
They piled the human remnants in front of Dun and cackled mockingly.
Dun glanced indifferently at the battered old toy that thudded down before him.
"So what?"
[Your future, kid. Kiki.]
[Boss, revenge. Revenge!]
The Lycus circled Dun, baring their teeth to intimidate him. But Dun didn't budge, standing there with a bored look.
[Oho. Not even flinching? Impressive.]
"I've seen plenty of human remains. Sick of it."
This intimidation tactic was a monster cliché. Dun shrugged it off nonchalantly.
[Now that you're here, you won't leave in one piece.]
"Blah blah blah."
[Arrogance has its limits. It's amusing, but too much stupidity isn't fun.]
From the moment Dun entered the cave, Lycrin had felt a strong urge to kill radiating from him. He unsheathed his claws sharply.
[Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill him and take his power.]
A small voice echoed relentlessly in his head.
Never had he felt such a powerful murderous instinct. Even for a child, the aura wafting from this human was extraordinary—it promised an enjoyable fight. And since it was that Dun, his expectations soared.
[This insolent brat killed our kin, you say? Did he really?]
[Yes! Yes! Revenge!]
[Step aside. I'll handle the kid myself.]
"Ah, finally."
At Lycrin's low growl, the Lycus moved to block the entrance, trapping Dun.
[You're dead. Our boss is super strong.]
[Gave us shame. Kill him.]
Gone was their earlier cowering; now they strutted with renewed bravado.
Lycrin descended gracefully from his stone perch and approached Dun slowly.
[Boss, careful. That kid's strong! Don't let your guard down!]
[Many kin died to that kid!]
As Lycrin drew near Dun to fight, the Lycus who'd carried him shouted warnings to their chieftain.
Lycrin, planting his feet to lunge at Dun, paused and bared his fangs savagely.
He hated how his subordinates spoke as if defeat by this brat was a given. Weaklings like them always dragged down pack morale.
Before swinging his claws at Dun, Lycrin turned his talons on the subordinates who'd brought the feeble child to their lair.
Keeiiiik!
Lycrin slashed the subordinate who'd carried Dun with his claws. It was a light strike, yet the damage was immense.
[No need for weaklings who whine.]
His glowing yellow eyes brimmed with killing intent.
After slaying the whimpering subordinates, Lycrin shook the blood from his front paws and fur.
"Whoa, harsh."
[Don't worry—I'll send you as their companion!!]
Lycrin kicked off with his hind legs and charged at Dun.
An incredible speed. The air currents shifted around a mere monster's sprint.
Lycrin closed in on Dun in a flash, pinning his shoulders to the ground with both front paws. Dun toppled limply and tilted his head up at Lycrin.
Dun was supposed to put up a fight, but collapsing so easily soured Lycrin's mood. The reaction wasn't even entertaining. Annoying brat.
Lycrin leaned in with his razor-sharp fangs to end Dun's life.
Awoooo!
Awoooo!
The cowering Lycus, seeing their chieftain gain the upper hand, howled in delight.
Looking at his pathetic subordinates trembling over a mere child soured Lycrin's expression. Time for a purge.
Lycrin chomped down on Dun's upper body.
<...>
Dun lay there listlessly, arms crossed for a moment, then suddenly thrashed and flicked Lycrin's belly.
Thwack!
One flick sent Lycrin flying into the distant wall.
"Ugh, drool everywhere."
Crack, crack.
Drool pooled thick on the ground. Dun wiped his saliva-soaked face with his t-shirt, grimacing. He swept back his damp light-brown hair with both hands, only for more drool to splatter and puddle on the floor.
"Anyway, being a rare level 300-something means you're tougher than most."
With his stamina at its limit, Dun sat cross-legged instead of standing.
[...No ordinary brat.]
Lycrin approached, blood dripping from his mouth after the single flick, his fur matted with stone and dirt debris.
Too sore to close in, Dun crooked a finger lazily at Lycrin, beckoning an attack.
He desperately wanted to charge, but the hit spot throbbed wildly.
Lycrin staggered in confusion before bellowing at the Lycus blocking the entrance.
"What are you doing?! Don't just gawk—attack him!"
They'd expected their boss to at least hold his own against the kid, but seeing him get pushed back threw the Lycus into chaos.
[Boss got hit.]
[First time bleeding.]
Hesitating and eyeing each other, the Lycus finally bared claws under Lycrin's intense pressure and lunged at Dun.
He'll die soon. They charged with similar thoughts, varied in detail.
Some Lycus faltered briefly in fear but mustered courage, baring teeth dripping red corrosive saliva.
Fangs sharp enough to pierce iron clamped hard onto Dun's shoulder.
It wasn't just one fang. Lycus swarmed, biting shoulders, legs, head, arms—tearing at him with all they had.
They bit down with tendons bulging in their jaws, but their teeth couldn't pierce skin. They left only marks.
Now covered head to toe in monster drool from the bites, Dun made a disgusted face and grabbed them one by one, hurling them off.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like swatting mosquitoes, he smashed the clinging Lycus against the walls one after another.
[Kiiiiing...]
The wall-slammed Lycus whimpered. Still alive, they curled tails to attack again, but soon died, dropping items.
The remaining Lycus, who hadn't attacked yet, flattened ears and glanced warily between Dun and Lycrin.
"What are you waiting for?! Guard the nest while I recover—keep him away!"
The Lycus heard Lycrin's order but hesitated to obey. Their boss felt too frail.
The preparing Lycus huddled heads briefly in quiet talk, then clustered behind Dun.
[We follow the strongest. New boss.]
Suddenly, the Lycus abandoned their chieftain Lycrin and swarmed to Dun.
[Successfully bonded with monsters.]
The familiar notification appeared again. Stunned by their abrupt allegiance shift, Dun let out a hollow chuckle.
"What about your old boss?"
[Our boss is weak. We ditch.]
In an instant, stripped of his pack, Lycrin glared ferociously at Dun and his traitorous subordinates.