Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Capturing a Large Bird
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The Yu siblings knocked the Hunters unconscious and tied them up.
There was one reason they hadn't killed them. This wasn't their home.
They simply knocked them out and hung them from trees, intending to hand over the right to dispose of them to Cheon Doun, the owner of the house, when he returned.
“Anyway, is this the spot Cheon Doun picked for his house?”
Yu Beom looked around with an interested expression. Yu Jia also wore a look of fresh wonder.
It was the first time she had been to a forest since she was a child.
Back then, she’d been too busy just trying to avoid Monsters to have the luxury of admiring the scenery like this.
“The forest is definitely nice. The air is so much fresher.”
“I know, right? The seaside is nice too, but nothing beats the forest for that crisp feeling. It’s different from the sea breeze…”
The siblings’ voices of admiration gradually trailed off. Their gazes, which had been scanning the surroundings, found Cheon Doun’s house and froze.
A strangeness they hadn't noticed when looking down from the sky. An eeriness. A creepiness.
“A house…? Is that a house?”
The log cabin, draped in drooping, pure-white threads, looked like something out of a horror movie.
The walls, where a green, web-like liquid had trickled down and hardened, added to the eerie atmosphere.
Contrary to its appearance, a gentle lavender scent emanated from the house.
Combined with the effect of the warmly shining sunlight, it calmed the mind and body.
The sound of insects in the surrounding grass and the fresh scent of soil. The distant sound of a valley stream somewhere.
The mind and body, calmed by these things, were plunged back into a chilling feeling the moment they saw the house of horrors before them. Then, the lavender scent soothed that feeling once again.
This unending, infinite cycle left Yu Beom feeling dazed.
What kind of house would it become if a fence that glittered with jewel-like stones were added to this?
“This is quite… um. It’s Cheon Doun’s house, alright.”
There were no other words to describe it. Yu Jia’s mouth was also agape at the sight of a house that defied imagination.
What broke their bewilderment was a presence they sensed from the garden.
-Hmph, hmph!
-Hmph!
The plant roots that had been circling their feet. They had now surrounded the Hunters' bags.
-Hmph!
Come out, invader. We know you are hiding there. The largest Mandragora stepped forward and roared. As if in response, a rustling sound came from behind a bag.
Peek. What emerged was a metallic, silver root. Trembling, it extended its rootlets and brandished them.
Patter, patter. Flecks of dirt flew. The Mandragoras stepped back at its ferocity.
As if gaining confidence from this, the silver root fully emerged from behind the bag.
-Hmph…! Hmph!
Don’t come closer. Go away. You will get hurt if you approach me. I am very ferocious.
The Machine Mandragora brandished its rootlets with a threatening gesture.
The rootlet tornado attack. A violent technique that applied 360-degree rotational force by spinning its body.
But its momentum didn't last long.
-Hmph… hmph….
Thud. The Machine Mandragora, gasping for breath, collapsed to the ground, exhausted by its own efforts.
It was dizzy. Its stamina was not yet sufficient to use such an advanced technique.
It was too harsh a skill for a young root that had been artificially cultivated and subjected to Chimera experiments.
-Hmph, hmph!
When the silver root collapsed, the Mandragoras rushed over in alarm.
They didn't know what it was. But they had detected the faint aura of their own kind, so they didn't hesitate.
The Mandragoras tried to take the silver root to the garden to bury it. But they hit a snag from the very beginning.
-Hmph, hmph?
It’s heavy. Why is it so heavy when it’s smaller than us? The Mandragoras were bewildered by the weight of the root, which was mixed with liquid metal. But they couldn't just leave their kin like this.
Formation D. Mandragora Unity. The four roots each grabbed one of the silver leaves and a root and began to push.
It moved an inch. Then another inch.
-Hmph!
Seeing progress, the four roots let out a motivated roar.
“That’ll take about a year.”
Unable to watch any longer, Yu Beom picked up the silver root. As he walked toward the garden, the startled Mandragoras followed.
-Hmph, hmph!
-Hmph!
You cruel sparrow. Put down our kin. The four roots chased Yu Beom, brandishing their rootlets.
Patter, patter. Ignoring the tickling on his ankle, Yu Beom placed the silver root in the garden.
As he set it down in the center of the garden, the plump Mandragoras surrounded it.
-Hmph!
That giant Monster couldn't withstand our attack. We have reclaimed our kin! The Mandragoras let out a roar of victory.
The four roots began to bury the silver Mandragora in the garden.
Even though it was mixed with liquid metal, its base was still a Mandragora.
As the mana-filled earth enveloped its entire body, the silver leaves rustled. It hadn't regained consciousness yet and was still limp, but its condition was good.
-Hmph.
-Hmph, hmph.
The Mandragoras looked at each other and nodded.
This was a mystical land where high-density mana surged whenever the big Mandragora came and went. Buried here, it would surely get better.
Convinced of this, they too burrowed into the garden soil.
The Yu siblings, who had crouched in front of the garden and watched the whole process, smiled without realizing it.
“Oppa. There’s something great about them.”
“I know.”
“Their camaraderie is amazing. It’s kind of epic.”
“You feel it too?”
The siblings looked at the Mandragoras and then touched a leaf.
Invader, do not touch so carelessly. A light green leaf coldly slapped away the siblings' fingers.
Smack. The siblings clutched their chests at the cold attack. They’d been rejected. They weren't sure why, but it hurt right here.
“They looked gentle, but they’re so cold.”
“Yeah. I guess they’re just for looking at.”
“Well. They’re still Monsters, after all. They probably won’t take to people.”
The two stood up, leaving their disappointment behind. At that moment, a Gate opened near the house.
Out came a bald man carrying a large camping bag.
“I’m back, sir! I have returned… Ah, right. Everyone went to the sea. I came back too early… Gulp!”
Nam Giseok looked behind him and recoiled in horror.
A muscular man with the head of a bird. A woman in a horned skull helmet.
Both had wings on their backs. One had pterosaur wings; the other had feathered wings like a bird.
It was obvious they weren't human. It wasn't just their appearance; it was the aura they exuded.
‘My god, what are those! Why are monsters like that here…!’
Nam Giseok wasn't foolish enough to misjudge the difference in power between them.
I'll die if I stay here. Open a Gate and escape. Nam Giseok immediately took out a return stone.
He prepared to shatter the stone after buying some time by throwing a fireball.
But Yu Jia was faster. With a single flap of her wings, the fire split in two and vanished. Before he could break the return stone, she grabbed his arm.
The pain was so intense it felt like his arm would break, and Nam Giseok dropped the return stone he was holding.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A grip so powerful that he, a B+-rank Awakened, couldn't even budge.
Goosebumps erupted all over Nam Giseok's body. Having lost the return stone, there was no way to escape.
A chill ran down his spine as he met the bright yellow eyes beyond the skull-like helmet.
‘Is this it?’
Hunters lived lives where they could die at any moment. Nam Giseok had a premonition that his head would fall here.
If he had one wish, it would be for a painless end. He squeezed his eyes shut, but no pain came. Far from it, his arm was released, and Nam Giseok cautiously opened his eyes.
The woman in the horned helmet looked Nam Giseok up and down. The bird-headed man, who had approached at some point, also had an interested look on his face.
“That bald head… are you by any chance Nam Giseok?”
The preceding adjective was bothersome, but he nodded anyway.
The fact that the Monster could speak, that it knew his name, that it was dressed like a person.
Belatedly, the shock of it all hit him, and he couldn't get his bearings.
“Well, you did come out of a Gate in front of Cheon Doun’s house. So you must have been here before.”
Cheon Doun. At the familiar name, Nam Giseok’s eyes darted around.
Do they know him? There’s no hostility in their voice. That means they have a friendly relationship. Activating his social skills honed over the years, Nam Giseok opened his mouth.
“A-Are you acquaintances of Sir?”
Even as he said it, he wondered what he was doing. Acquaintances with Monsters, is that right? Such doubts arose, but this was not the time to question it.
Nam Giseok flinched as both their gazes turned to him at once.
“You.”
“Ye-Yes!”
“You’re the one with the chef’s license, right?”
No, I'm not. He almost answered that way for a moment, but Nam Giseok cannily nodded his head.
“So you’re the talent Cheon Doun plans to raise to A-rank.”
At Yu Beom's words, Nam Giseok's eyes widened. Sir said that? Something surged up from within Nam Giseok's chest.
His potential, which no one else had believed in. The one and only mentor who believed in it so firmly.
‘Sir… I will follow you to the very end!’
Nam Giseok clenched his fists and swallowed back tears.
The Yu siblings tilted their heads at his reaction. They recalled what Cheon Doun had told them.
[He’s a really good worker. Has the potential to be an A-rank handyman. He’s so full of motivation, he’ll probably get home before me. When you see him, work him hard so he builds up some stamina.]
What part of that was supposed to be touching?
‘Well, it doesn't matter.’
The siblings looked at each other and nodded. Their benefactor, Cheon Doun, had asked them to work him hard.
In that case, they would just have to train him properly.
‘Huh, what’s this? Why do I feel such a chill?’
Nam Giseok shuddered from an inexplicable coldness.
* * *
On a rock in the northern sea. A large pile of yellow ore was stacked there.
It was the ore that Cheon Doun and Kim Nari had mined from the deep sea.
“This should be enough. It’s more than enough to build a wide fence.”
As Cheon Doun smiled with satisfaction, Kim Nari’s head popped out of the water.
“Mister, I found more ore. I have brought it.”
Kim Nari was hugging a piece of ore the size of an adult’s torso.
Normally, she would have sunk under the ore's weight, but not Kim Nari.
Underwater, Kim Nari's feet were kicking at super-speed. The impact made the surface of the water ripple like waves.
“Come out of the water now. Let’s just take that one and go home.”
“Understood. The ore mining is now over.”
Kim Nari shouldered the ore and climbed up the rock face.
After setting down the ore, Kim Nari spun around with an excited look on her face.
“We are going home now. But mister. There is too much ore. How should we move it?”
“That is indeed a problem.”
The amount was too much for a person to carry.
Moreover, they were in the middle of the sea. It was impossible to carry this much all the way to the forest where the house was.
“But making multiple trips back and forth is a pain.”
Wasn't there a fast and easy way to move it all?
Just as he was pondering, a loud screech echoed from the sky. Looking up, he saw a familiar large Monster flying in the sky.
The eight-meter bird he had once asked Nam Giseok if he could make chicken with. A flock of those large Monsters was flying in formation.
“That should do it.”
Cheon Doun grinned. He had found a good means of transport.
He watched the flying birds and crouched into a jumping stance.
“Kim Nari, you wait here.”
With those words, Cheon Doun leaped. He grabbed the foot of a bird dozens of meters in the air and used the momentum to swing his body around and land on its back.
-Screeeech!
Sensing something on its back, the bird began to fly at high speed. It tried to shake off what had boarded it by flipping its body over.
When that didn't work, it charged toward a cliff. It intended to crash its back against it to kill the rider.
“You sure about that?”
At the low voice that sounded at that moment, the Monster’s feathers stood on end.
Even though it couldn't understand human words, it felt that it would regret what it was about to do.
-Screeeech!
But it was too late to change direction now. At this point, it would just crash at full speed.
The bird accelerated toward the cliff. At the perfect moment, it prepared to turn its body to slam its back.
“Go on. Give it a try. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. I’ll let this slide.”
At the relaxed voice, the Monster realized something was wrong.
Just before it hit the cliff, the low voice continued.
“What should I name you?”