Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Translator: M.N 1391
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Translator : M.N 1391
Title: The Awakened Ones (3)
Chapter: 18
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‘Damn it... Why the hell is something like that showing up already.’
Dae-shik gritted his teeth and muttered inwardly. Hye-na, too, realized the situation was turning bad and swallowed dryly over and over.
‘Even for a nation of “palli-palli” (hurry-hurry) people, this is way too fast.’
Goblin Totem. That was what they called those grotesque decorations made out of corpses in Achaia. There were goblins there too. Of course, they only shared the name, these weren’t the green-skinned monsters from RPGs or fantasy stories.
And the act of leaving behind “Goblin Totems” was one of the unique habits of those horrific mutants. They would twist and carve pieces from human corpses and display them, as if proudly showing off their trophies.
Like a dog marking its territory with urine, or a bear or tiger scratching its claws into a tree, it was their form of territorial marking.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Hye-na asked, her voice laced with fear and concern as she looked at Dae-shik.
“There’s something dangerous nearby. Whatever you do, don’t stand up. Just follow me.”
Finishing his words, Dae-shik crawled low to the edge of the rooftop.
“Ugh...”
Only then did Hye-na spot the Goblin Totem, letting out a low groan of disgust.
“I think I’m going to throw up. What even is that?”
“I don’t know either. But something feels seriously off. Check if there are any others like that around here.”
As he spoke, Dae-shik’s eyes slowly swept across the surrounding buildings.
Thankfully, they were on the tallest building in the vicinity.
On Hye-na’s map, the building heights were marked, and Dae-shik had deliberately chosen routes that moved from one tall building to another, even if it meant taking a longer path.
He hadn’t expected goblins to appear. He’d only wanted to secure a better vantage point and move safely. That cautious attitude was what saved their lives.
‘If that thing had spotted me first, I’d have had to pull out immediately. Or I’d already be dead...’
Then suddenly, Hye-na tapped Dae-shik’s arm urgently.
“Dae-shik, Dae-shik.”
Her finger pointed toward a grotesque, human-shaped figure loitering about.
“What is that thing?”
A face disfigured as if branded with a hot iron, a twisted leg, a hunched back, making it no taller than 130 centimeters. Patches of dark-green spots mottled its skin.
It was a vicious mutant that had driven countless Awakened to their deaths in Achaia…a Goblin. And in its hand was exactly the kind of troublesome item Dae-shik had feared.
‘Damn it, just as I thought, it's got a gun.’
That was the main reason he had hidden himself so quickly.
The corpse used to make the totem was wearing the vest worn by police officers on patrol. This grotesque mutant not only resembled a goblin in appearance, it even shared its temperament and habits.
Cruel enough to create those horrific totemic displays. Cunning enough to lay ambushes and use weapons.
In Achaia, they carried swords and shields at minimum, and some even used bows.
Here on Earth, it wasn’t impossible that they could fire guns.
If it had killed a cop and made a totem out of him, it likely already had the gun. That was Dae-shik’s deduction.
‘Why is it that bad premonitions never turn out wrong?’
Unfortunately, his assumption was right once again.
“Why is that monster holding a gun? D-Do you think it knows how to shoot it?”
Hye-na asked, her face pale, almost bluish.
“Who knows.”
His short reply made her shut her mouth tight.
She realized he needed time to think.
‘Should I just let it go?’
Dae-shik carefully weighed the risks and rewards.
With his current stats and equipment, taking on a goblin armed with a gun was extremely dangerous. But leaving it alone meant every survivor in this area, Awakened or not, was as good as dead. What worried him even more was the population density of this district.
A goblin would massacre the humans here, pile up corpses into a mountain, and feed off of it.
‘If it keeps multiplying using that as nourishment...’
Then even risking his life later wouldn’t be enough to fix it. The safe house he had painstakingly secured would be lost to them in no time.
That was something he absolutely couldn’t allow. Every part of his plan revolved around the safe house.
Losing it would mean more than just starting from zero, it would be a devastating setback.
By the time he rebuilt, the monsters would have grown even stronger.
There was only one answer.
Take it down now. No…he had to take it down now.
“Hye-na, can you do exactly as I tell you?”
* * *
After giving Hye-na a few specific instructions, Dae-shik carefully slipped into the adjacent commercial building.
He ran into a few zombies along the way.
But that was no problem.
His strength and stamina had increased considerably, and his equipment was far superior now.
The seasoned monster hunter quickly moved to the next building, using a hook and rope to cross over. From the rooftop, Hye-na lay flat on her stomach, watching Dae-shik approach the goblin’s building.
‘What was his job before all this?’
The more she watched, the more impressed she became.
He said he was an “ordinary office worker,” but that was impossible to believe. What kind of office worker could throw a grappling hook, scale walls, leap between buildings, even if they were close, and fight zombies wielding a shield and a crowbar like that?
To her eyes, Dae-shik was something beyond human.
‘He’ll be fine, right?’
But this time, she couldn’t suppress her anxiety.
The opponent was a monster she’d never even seen before. And it was carrying both a gun and a knife.
Just thinking about how he planned to take it on made her heart clench.
Then it happened.
Dae-shik, who had reached the building where the goblin lurked, raised his shield high and tapped it with his crowbar.
Hye-na quickly raised a red signal flag.
Calling it a “flag” was generous, it was just a broken broomstick with a piece of red cloth tied to it.
On the empty rooftop, the red flag fluttered wildly.
Hye-na waved it with all her strength.
“Kiik?”
Noticing the sudden flash of red, the goblin’s eyes widened. Its red pupils gleamed as it scanned the surroundings, then fixed squarely in that direction.
And then, something stood up.
A human…a woman.
The creature loved young women.
The young ones were just right, children were too soft, and men too tough. The flesh of a young woman was just the texture it liked best.
“Kiiiiiik!”
Excited, it shrieked madly, jumping up and down on its twisted legs.
“Kiik, Kiik!”
It turned its head frantically, searching for a way to reach its prey.
‘I-I’m scared.’
The sight of the goblin screeching and twitching with crazed movements made Hye-na’s legs give out beneath her.
Just then, a dark shadow appeared behind the goblin. Using the goblin’s fixation on its favorite prey, Dae-shik had successfully circled behind it.
He lowered his body as much as possible and closed the distance at maximum speed.
Then, with all his strength, he swung the crowbar at the back of the goblin’s head.
“Kiik!”
At that instant, the goblin turned.
‘Damn it!’
Thud!
The crowbar barely missed its head, striking its shoulder instead.
‘If I give it space, I’m dead!’
Dae-shik desperately threw himself against the goblin.
“Kyaaaaargh!”
The enraged goblin immediately aimed its revolver at the audacious human who’d ambushed it.
Bang!
The sharp gunshot pierced Dae-shik’s eardrums, but the bullet didn’t pierce his body. He had already thrown away his crowbar and grabbed the goblin’s wrist. Thanks to his enhanced strength, he barely managed to match the goblin in a contest of power.
“KyAAAAAAh!”
The goblin, its wrist held fast, lunged with bared teeth.
Dae-shik shoved its face back with the shield in his left hand.
The human and the monster wrestled, shoving and straining, Dae-shik clinging to the wrist that held the gun, the goblin trying to pull free.
Bang!
The goblin twisted its wrist, firing another round. But again, the bullet struck only the floor.
‘No blanks.’
Dae-shik quickly ran the math on the remaining bullets.
A live round from the start.
No blanks meant the dead cop had already fired those.
How many bullets had he managed to shoot before dying?
One? Two? Three?
If three, then the gun was empty.
If only one, two shots remained. Not a gamble worth taking, especially when the stakes were his life.
Swish!
At that moment, a sharp metallic sound sliced through the air.
Dae-shik instinctively shoved the goblin back and lowered his shield, which had been blocking its face.
Clang!
Sparks flew as blade met shield.
The kitchen knife’s edge shattered instantly against the reinforced shield.
“Kiik!”
As its attacks kept getting blocked, the goblin’s eyes turned an even deeper red, it had stationed zombies on the stairwell to the roof.
So how had this human gotten up here? How could a mere human match its strength? And what was with that shield?
And those monstrous hands holding its wrist, if it didn’t do something, it might lose its most reliable weapon. Even if not, there was no way it could aim properly like this.
Then the goblin acted on a quick idea.
Swish!
The knife in its hand flashed toward Dae-shik’s abdomen. The shield met the blade again with a ringing clang. And at that very moment, the creature opened its jaws wide.
But it wasn’t Dae-shik’s neck it was after. Its teeth went for Dae-shik’s arm, the one gripping the gun.
‘Shit!’
Dae-shik flinched violently and let go of the goblin’s arm.
Then he raised his shield and slammed it down on the creature’s warped head.
The goblin lifted its arm to protect its weak point.
Thud!
A dull impact rang out, and the goblin let out a shrill scream.
The searing pain radiated through its arm.
If the blow had struck its head, it might have been over right there.
But it hadn’t. It had managed to shake off the hand gripping its gun.
And now, there was distance between them.
“Kiik! Kiaaaaargh!”
The goblin’s shriek, full of rage, bloodlust, and excitement, echoed across the rooftop.
The gun muzzle swung toward Dae-shik. Even if he ran at full speed, he couldn’t be faster than a trigger pull.
And inside that revolver’s cylinder... There were still two bullets left.
Translator: M.N 1391