Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.17
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That moment, a strange sense of incongruity washed over me.
I threw my gaze toward the area behind the man.
"…What the hell is that?"
But the man refused to follow my line of sight.
Instead, he glared at me even harder, spitting out words in a trembling voice.
"You lulled me into letting my guard down just to strike from behind? You think I wouldn't see through that…!"
Pfuk!
An arrow came flying from afar and embedded itself in the man's back.
"…Cough!"
The sudden impact made him vomit blood.
Only then did he whip his head around in horror, trying to check behind him.
But in that instant.
Pabababap!
Dozens of arrows rained down like hail.
"…!"
The man didn't even have time to scream before his body tilted.
Thud.
Dust billowed up from where he collapsed.
I clicked my tongue and looked back down at the Grave of Ten Thousand Demons.
"Tch. I was just trying to scare him enough to make him run off."
I glanced at the man's corpse.
Dozens of arrows pierced from head to toe.
The sight was utterly pathetic.
"What is this, a porcupine or something?"
At that moment, Tulip grabbed my arm tightly with her shaking hands.
I slowly extended my arm to block her view.
"Uncle, get behind me."
Tulip trembled as she hid behind me, and soon the dust began to settle.
Beyond it stood monsters holding bows.
'Fuck, what the hell are those…?'
A mummified, rigid form.
Clothing draped in thin fabric over a half-rotted body.
Deep eye sockets flickering like red flames.
These were completely different from the ghouls before.
'So the region's difficulty went up, and this is what that means?'
I instinctively clicked my tongue.
Sure, I was wearing the bulletproof vest and had pumped my Vitality stat, but I couldn't get complacent.
Arrows aren't bullets. Depending on the vest's performance, they might not stop.
'And above all…'
A monster that appeared right when the difficulty spiked.
Without knowing its traits and abilities, I had to stay cautious no matter what.
"Tulip."
She clung to my back and answered uneasily.
"Y-Yes…?"
"They're daring to draw bows in front of you. Aren't you going to put them in their place?"
"…Put them in their place?"
"Aren't you going to establish the pecking order?"
"…Pecking order?"
I squeezed my eyes shut.
What, we can't even communicate.
'More importantly, those bastards…'
Still, since it's early on, maybe I don't need to worry too much.
Hoping for useful info in the gallery, I checked the posts and spotted one.
The moment I checked the gallery, I instinctively bit my lip hard.
The bow's attack power itself isn't that threatening.
But there's a fucking serious problem.
Poison on the arrows?
Even just a graze?
I instinctively glanced at Tulip beside me.
Should I tell her right now?
'…No.'
In that moment, I suddenly became aware of the Constellations watching.
Even if I mentioned the poison and urged extreme caution, it might make me seem overly paranoid or like someone who overprepares for every scenario.
'In MBTI terms, it'd peg me as a J type.'
But for some reason, I felt cautious right now.
It felt like I'd stacked up too many impressions, and since I hadn't posted anything myself—but wait, I even left that self-defense post.
I shifted the conversation in a slightly different way.
"Tulip."
"…Yes?"
"Putting them in their place or establishing the pecking order means clearly showing them you're above them in the hierarchy."
She blanked out for a second, then her face lit up with understanding.
"Ah! Yes! I'll give it a try!"
Tulip raised her bow.
Being ranged suited her perfectly; she seemed far less burdened than in close combat.
Pyuk!
"Eek!"
Her scream startled me, and I whipped around.
"What? Did an arrow hit you? I didn't see any coming."
"N-No! I hit it… but it's so gross…"
"…You scared me."
That was when it happened.
"…Huh? What?"
"What's wrong?"
"Why are mid-grades popping up already, what the fuck… no, what's going on?"
Then, a sudden doubt hit me.
Come to think of it, I didn't kill it, so why?
Every time Tulip fired her bow, gold kept rolling in.
'No way…'
Gallery posts I'd seen flashed through my mind.
Was this the party function the Constellations mentioned?
'Jackpot?'
No, not jackpot—maybe it's split in half?
Even so, it's basically the same as sharing kills, right?
'…Fuck if I know.'
I'll think about it later. Focus on now.
That was when.
Shuuuk-!
An arrow flew at high speed.
Fortunately, with a clack, the bulletproof vest stopped it.
'Oh… shop gear's got good performance.'
The moment I thought that was lucky.
Kak!
Another arrow grazed my skin.
"…Huh? Not as bad as I thought."
I reflexively started to relax.
But… what's this?
A numbness slowly spreading from my forearm.
A feeling like my blood was boiling hot.
My forearm growing limp.
'…Wait a sec, fuck.'
This shallow hit and the poison's already spreading?
That's bullshit.
Even amid the chaos, my mind stayed cool.
'Gotta block the blood flow quick or it'll spread all over.'
I moved my hand immediately.
Shrrrip!
I roughly tore off the bottom of the curtain I was wearing.
I quickly wrapped the torn cloth above my forearm.
Then tied it tight.
Tight enough to stop blood flow completely.
'Fuck… fuck… fuck…'
The pain felt like ripping off my own arm; curses spilled out naturally.
It felt like my bones were being crushed.
But this was the only way to stop the poison from spreading through my body.
My tourniqueted arm throbbed and tingled.
'…Definitely shittier than ghouls.'
Even as I patched myself up, those fuckers kept firing arrows.
"Don't these bastards know basic manners?"
Bam!
I instinctively kicked the nearby metal shelf forward.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Incoming arrows bounced off the shelf.
The deflected arrows clattered pathetically on the floor.
'Good. Fuck… shoulda done this from the start…'
Then Tulip shouted.
"Uncle! I'm out of arrows!"
"Huh…?"
I paused while picking up arrows headed my way or stuck in corpses to hand to her.
Time to check something.
"Stay hidden. I'll handle it."
She nodded with a trembling face.
'Just three left now.'
But the real issue was elsewhere.
Even with the tourniquet, I couldn't guarantee the poison was fully contained.
And of course, it was my right arm tied up.
I quickly summoned a 'Low-grade Bio Recovery Potion'.
I hesitated again before drinking it.
'If I'm drinking anyway…'
Better to drink after taking out all these bastards.
Drinking now would just neutralize the poison in my arm, but after the fight?
I'd recover combat-consumed Vitality too.
The Constellations seemed to catch on to my intent.
That explained why the incoming posts were mostly similar.
I didn't care what the Constellations chattered about.
'Potions cost how much, you bastards… You think I'll waste it easily?'
With my resolve firm, I disbanded the party next.
The reason was simple.
I wanted to solo-kill one and check exactly how much gold they drop.
More precisely, to figure out the party gold split.
I gripped the Grave of Ten Thousand Demons tightly in my left hand.
The hilt felt cool yet sticky against my palm.
Arrows kept coming in the meantime.
Thwack!
I swung the sword to deflect the arrow.
'Huh?'
I stared at the sword that moved so naturally.
'This…'
I'd thought I was clumsy with swords, but it blocked perfectly as I intended.
Smoothly and skillfully, too.
Had I ever wielded a sword before?
Of course not.
Yet this sword followed my will naturally, exactly as I wanted.
'Or maybe I'm actually left-handed and just never knew?'
Like I had hidden left-hand talent.
Nah, that's ridiculous.
Thwack! Thwack!
But deflecting incoming arrows so cleanly made such delusions creep in.
I kept batting arrows away even as I charged.
But I couldn't deflect them all.
A few grazed my skin occasionally, but I never stopped.
'Fucking bastards… but it's not paralysis poison, so it won't spread too fast.'
The moment I reached the archer.
Slash!
Without hesitation, I lopped off its head.
The archer's neck sliced clean like tofu.
Shrring-
The faint runes on the blade reacted.
They glowed dimly in an ominous green light, then faded.
'…What was that just now?'