Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Ambush on the Road
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“That woman’s voice we hear whenever a quest appears… you said that when we were fighting the Abomination, it was different from usual, that it had emotion in it, right? And that it seemed flustered by the sudden change in the quest situation.”
The dispassionate female voice that accompanied the glowing text.
Kang-seok nodded.
“That’s right. It gave me information, too.”
The location of the Abomination’s weak point, the mana stone.
Back then, Kang-seok had clearly communicated with the woman’s voice. It hadn’t been a one-sided message; they had held a ‘conversation’.
Seong Yu-jin asked again.
“And nothing since then?”
“I think the connection only happens for a moment when a quest is generated.”
“Hmm.”
The owner of the voice was surely connected to the one who caused the Great Summoning. If they could just have a proper conversation, they could gain a lot of information.
In truth, Kang-seok had also been thinking about the voice.
Putting everything else aside, the owner of the voice had shown him favor.
She had wanted him to live and had even provided information to help him.
‘And… she’s not in complete control of the quests. I really can’t think of this as a game.’
It displayed time limits and assigned various quests, but it wasn’t in ‘control’.
If the situation had been under perfect control, the quests wouldn’t have been twisted in such a way, nor would there have been any flustered reaction to the rapidly changing circumstances.
It displays a time limit based on the progress of the ritual.
It assigns quests based on the various events that occur dynamically.
But that was the extent of it. The monsters existed outside the control of those who assigned the quests.
If so, who was the one who caused the Great Summoning?
And why on earth did they do it?
“Um, and, Kang-seok.”
“Yeah?”
Seong Yu-jin didn’t start speaking right away. She took a deep breath as if steeling herself before continuing.
“I’m thinking of changing my class.”
“Changing your class?”
Kang-seok asked in surprise. Seong Yu-jin nodded.
“I’m going to switch from being a hybrid tank to a dedicated one. Instead of a Gladiator, I’ll change to a Knight and follow the Paladin tech tree.”
“Is that possible?”
“In Exa Online, you get one free class change at the beginning, even without paying. Though it’s a limited change, only possible within the same warrior or mage class lines. Anyway, you get one chance when you reach a certain level, and I reached it with this last quest. While I was bathing, I fiddled with the glowing text, and it seems possible if I spend some Kron.”
Seong Yu-jin didn’t specify the exact amount of Kron it would cost. Kang-seok looked at her with concern.
“Are you sure about this?”
This was a completely different issue from deciding which character to build in a game.
Seong Yu-jin nodded again.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. As a mediocre hybrid tank, I can’t be of much help in a fight. My tanking skills are also inefficient since I’ve been focusing on skills shared by both Gladiators and Knights. I mean, during the fight with the Abomination, all I could really do was watch.”
Seong Yu-jin paused for a moment, pursing her lips a few times. Then, with a faint smile, she continued.
“If I follow the Paladin tree, I can also use healing and recovery magic. I’ll be much more helpful to the party in many ways.”
“Okay, I understand. I’ll be counting on you.”
Without thinking, Kang-seok reached out and patted Seong Yu-jin’s head. It was a slightly childish gesture, but Seong Yu-jin simply nodded, pleased.
And just as their eyes met.
“God, this is so frustrating. It’s nice to watch, but when are you two going to make some progress?”
At Choi Yu-ra’s slightly petulant voice, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin quickly looked away. Lying crookedly on her side with her arm as a pillow, Choi Yu-ra, who must have woken up at some point, was smiling slyly.
Contrary to her usual comments about wanting the two of them to get together, it felt more like she was trying to get in the way.
“I’ll clean this up. You must be tired too, Kang-seok, so go wash up.”
Seong Yu-jin, who regained her composure before Kang-seok, said as she cleared the table. Choi Yu-ra’s eyes darted around, and after a nod, Kang-seok rose from his seat.
“I’ll leave it to you, then.”
Grabbing a towel, Kang-seok left the hut.
“You’re the ones who saved our village… I’m sorry this is all we can offer.”
The next day, in the late morning.
The village chief stood before Kang-seok’s party as they prepared to leave, speaking with a warm expression.
Just like before, his hand, as large as a pot lid, was firmly grasping Kang-seok’s.
Kang-seok responded with the standard polite reply.
“Not at all, this is more than enough. Food, herbs, clothing… and you even gave us this cart.”
Behind Kang-seok was a hand-pulled cart.
It was loaded with Seong Yu-jin’s belongings, various miscellaneous items from the villagers, and Choi Yu-ra, who still had difficulty moving.
“If only we could have given you a horse…”
The chief’s voice trailed off, as if he felt deeply sorry for only providing a cart. Choi Yu-ra, sitting in the cart, giggled and said.
“It’s fine, really. Our Kang-seok has the stamina of a horse. He doesn’t even sleep at night, you know?”
“Ahem.”
The chief let out a cough at the mention of his stamina, then quickly glanced from Choi Yu-ra to Seong Yu-jin before his gaze finally settled on Kang-seok. It was a look of unmistakable envy.
Kang-seok responded to that look with a strained smile before heading to the cart.
He didn’t forget to give Choi Yu-ra, who was playfully sticking her tongue out, a light smack on the head.
The Temple of Gawain, the God of Honor.
Leaving the villagers’ farewells behind, Kang-seok quickened his pace.
* * *
The wooden cart, with one large wheel on each side, was a sturdily made object.
The cart was packed full with Seong Yu-jin’s shield, Choi Yu-ra curled up and wrapped in the lich’s cloak, the herbs and food provided by the villagers, the gear Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin already had, and Choi Yu-ra’s equipment.
As the chief had said, it would have been perfect if they had a horse to pull it, but unfortunately, there was no horse.
“Kang-seok, should we switch soon?”
Had it been nearly half a day since they left the village? Although they walked at a leisurely pace, Kang-seok had been pulling the cart by himself the entire time.
At the words of Seong Yu-jin, who had been walking alongside, not even riding in the cart out of guilt, Kang-seok shook his head.
“It’s fine. Maybe it’s because my class advanced to Intermediate Warrior, but my strength and stamina have improved. I also have the ‘Giant Slayer’ title, which enhances strength and stamina. This is nothing, a piece of cake.”
The cart’s load wasn’t several hundred kilograms; at most, it was just over a hundred.
For the original Choi Kang-seok, it would have been quite difficult, but this was the body of the superhuman Dark Destiny Lord.
Kang-seok hadn’t broken a sweat, and he honestly didn’t feel tired at all.
“Still, you’ve been pulling it by yourself this whole time…”
Seong Yu-jin looked at Kang-seok again with apologetic eyes. Kang-seok gave her another smile, and Choi Yu-ra, who had been watching them from the cart, waved her hand dismissively.
“Hey, hey, just leave him be. Imagine a delicate girl pulling the cart while Kang-seok strolls along beside her. Everyone who passes by would curse him out.”
At the rather realistic scenario, Seong Yu-jin pursed her lips and then approached Kang-seok again. She stepped inside the cart’s handles and said.
“Then shall we pull it together?”
The cart, large enough for one person and a fair amount of luggage, had plenty of space between the handles.
In the end, Kang-seok had no choice but to shift slightly to the side to make room for Seong Yu-jin.
“Gosh, how did such a nice girl get dragged into a place like this?”
Choi Yu-ra clucked her tongue again, and Kang-seok finally turned around. As he stared down at her, Choi Yu-ra twitched her nose.
“What?”
“Nothing, just thinking how shameless some people can be.”
“That’s just another one of my charming points.”
“I’ll let it slide since you’re injured.”
Kang-seok reached out and ruffled Choi Yu-ra’s hair—to which she, of course, bristled like a cat with its fur on end—before he and Seong Yu-jin began pulling the cart together.
But they had only taken a few steps.
“Kang-seok! The shoulder, get to the shoulder of the road!”
Choi Yu-ra suddenly shouted from behind. Startled, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin hurriedly pulled the cart to the side of the road. A loud noise echoed from far behind them.
After parking the cart on the roadside, Kang-seok turned to see a group of people galloping down the road at high speed.
There were four large carriages, each pulled by four horses, and all the people riding alongside the carriages were also on horseback.
“Is that a merchant caravan?”
They were riding so fast they were literally shaking the earth, kicking up an incredible amount of dust. As Kang-seok muttered, covering his mouth, Choi Yu-ra coughed and replied.
“Probably? The carriages looked loaded with goods.”
“Are they coming through the forest?”
The last question was from Seong Yu-jin.
The Temple of Gawain, the God of Honor, which the party was currently heading toward, was located west of the village.
Since the forest stretched longer from north to south than from east to west, it was highly likely that the caravan had come through the forest from either the north or the south.
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way.”
Kang-seok shrugged, dusted himself off, and began pulling the cart back onto the main road.
A caravan of that size would likely have many things to trade, but there was no need to stop them while they were on the move.
“Oh, they’re being attacked.”
Choi Yu-ra said in a dazed voice, and Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin simultaneously looked ahead.
A group of soldiers burst from the bushes, striking at the flank of the caravan, which was already about a hundred meters ahead.
It was a scene straight out of a movie or a game, but seeing it in real time, and from such a distance, made it feel almost unreal.
[Quest: Save the Caravan.]
[The Keyman Caravan has been attacked by Rat Scavengers. Defeat the Rat Scavengers and save the Keyman Caravan!]
As if to sound an alarm, glowing text appeared before the party. The final voice was tinged with urgency.
However, instead of moving immediately, Choi Yu-ra looked back at Kang-seok first.
She had never seen a monster like a Rat Scavenger before. Moreover, their numbers were not small, so it was natural for her to hesitate before rushing in.
Instead of saying anything to Choi Yu-ra, Kang-seok drew Durendal and ran.
Seong Yu-jin also quickly reached for her shield in the cart and followed after Kang-seok.
For the two of them, Rat Scavengers were not unfamiliar monsters. They had fought them endlessly on the second floor of the Labyrinthos Dungeon.
Since leaving Labyrinthos, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had grown stronger. A group of Rat Scavengers of that size was no problem for them now.
Kang-seok didn’t just run blindly. His eyes darted around, gathering information.
‘Eight caravan guards. All on horseback.’
The guards and the Rat Scavengers clashed.
The Rat Scavengers, slightly smaller than humans with rat-like heads, were armed with crude armor and glaives. Kang-seok quickly counted their numbers.
‘Roughly twenty!’
The distance closed. Without further hesitation, Kang-seok leaped among the Rat Scavengers like a thunderbolt.