Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: No Shelter Here
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the spirit of the land otter settled into his body, Hwan-in's mind fizzed like it'd been plunged into ice-cold soda straight from the fridge.
Opening his mouth felt like it'd unleash a gasp as shocking as dumping ice water over himself in the peak of midsummer heat, so he clamped his jaw shut and held his breath.
Quietly raising his staff, Hwan-in took aim at the four bloodsucker horses sleeping sprawled out with their bellies fully exposed.
He then fired off two mid-low grade soul orbs and two low-grade soul orbs.
"Boom."
Dududum—Kawhoom!!
The explosions rang out four times.
Puhihihihihing!!
Purruk?!
Eehihihihng!
Startled by the sudden blasts, the bloodsucker horses sprang up and frantically scanned their surroundings.
'Impressive power.'
The soul explosions from the mid-low grade spirits, amplified by the land otter's spirit possession effect, were overwhelming.
The two directly hit by the faint grayish-white mid-low blasts had their legs utterly shattered.
One caught in the blast radius had its left front and rear legs snapped.
The two swept up in the low-grade explosions each had one leg broken—serious injuries.
In an instant, half the pack was combat ineffective, but the bloodsucker herd didn't lose their will to fight.
On the contrary, they radiated a murderous aura that made his skin prickle.
Eehihihihihng!
Dududududu......!!
A particularly massive dark-gray bloodsucker horse spotted Hwan-in, reared up on its forelegs with a piercing cry, then charged toward him alongside the others, shaking the ground.
With savage fangs and teeth bared, blood-red eyes gleaming, it was clearly enraged to its limits.
Their killing intent screamed they would tear and devour the one who attacked them.
Hwan-in welcomed it.
If they'd used their mobility for hunting instead of a blind charge, he'd be in a tougher spot.
And ignoring what kind of attack hit them? Charging ahead regardless?
'If they worried about that, they wouldn't be beasts—they'd be monsters.'
Staring down the bloodsucker horses barreling toward him, manes whipping in the wind, Hwan-in raised his staff toward the lead one.
"Go."
With a quiet murmur, the soul arrow crafted from a bloodsucker horse's soul orb streaked forth as a beam of light.
Pusplat!
The power of the enhanced mid-low grade soul arrow was astonishing.
Leaving a faint grayish-white trail, faster than any arrow, it pierced the lead gray bloodsucker horse straight from chest to anus in a line.
'Is this the gap between low and mid-low grade?'
The instantly slain gray bloodsucker tumbled across the dirt kicking up dust, but the other four leaped over their kin's corpse without slowing.
Remaining distance: 20 meters.
Hwan-in calmly fired low-grade soul arrows, one at each of two other bloodsuckers.
Siiiit—
Puheheheng?!
Purruk!
Not as potent as the mid-low soul arrow, but one slammed dead-center into the ochre bloodsucker horse's torso.
The other grazed another bloodsucker horse's flank, carving a deep gash exposing ribs.
The ochre one with the soul arrow in its torso gradually slowed, then collapsed to its knees.
But the remaining three accelerated further.
Moments later, the trio reached Hwan-in—but he was ready to receive them.
"Huwook!"
Flash!
Empowered by mid-low spirit possession, Hwan-in's spear sliced through the thick neck of the mottled bloodsucker horse like a chilling gleam.
The mottled one collapsed, spurting a fountain of blood from its severed neck.
Right after, a brown bloodsucker lunged from the side, needle-like fangs aimed at Hwan-in's head—but a grinding kakang echoed in the air like rocks scraping, and the bite failed.
Puhhing!?
The brown one, ribs exposed from its wound, couldn't comprehend the situation.
The enemy was in biting range; he'd been certain he could chomp down.
Sting!
Puhihihihihng!
A burning agony like fire in its chest made the brown bloodsucker rear up screaming, strength draining from its body as it slumped.
And it saw it: a creature not even half its size thrusting a long skewer into its flank.
Having blocked the attack with a soul shield and pierced the brown bloodsucker horse's heart with his spear, Hwan-in sensed icy breath at his back.
He immediately leaped sideways, raising another soul shield.
Kwak, kwajajak!
The massive translucent pane, big enough to cover his whole body, shattered under the dark-gray bloodsucker horse's headbutt followed by a body slam.
Eehihihihihng!!
The dark-gray bloodsucker raged at the invisible wall blocking its path.
Without it, it could've trampled that worm!
Reason drowned in fury, the dark-gray bloodsucker went berserk like a rodeo bull.
Bouncing wildly, kicking backward in all directions, clacking its bone-severing fangs as it snapped everywhere.
Fearsome enough to terrify anyone, but Hwan-in's face remained impassive as he waited for an opening and whipped his spear like lightning.
His amplified strength from the bloodsucker horse's spirit possession birthed a silvery flash.
The reaper's scythe-curved light severed the dark-gray bloodsucker horse's neck; blood erupted with a pusplat, and its frenzied thrashing slowed to a halt.
Watching it slump and drop its head, Hwan-in swung his spear wide to flick off the blood coating the blade.
Then he approached the five bloodsuckers with shattered limbs writhing helplessly.
After claiming the souls of all ten bloodsucker horses, Hwan-in used his black club to extract and pocket their long, sharp fangs.
He hadn't bothered with byproducts from beasts he'd met before, figuring even novice hunters could handle them.
But bloodsucker horses were different.
Their fangs were forearm-length, incredibly tough and sharp for bone.
If this world was anything like he imagined, there'd be demand.
Gazing at the ten sprawled corpses, Hwan-in pushed aside his regrets and headed for the valley.
All the bloodsucker horses were huge.
Bigger than mid-sized Earth draft horses like Belgians, Dutch Drafts, or Clydesdales.
Their hides would be useful peeled off, but lacking tanning knowledge, it was just frustrating.
'The sun should be peeking through by now, but it's weirdly dark.'
Glancing up at the leaden gray sky as he returned to the valley, a thought flashed through Hwan-in's mind, furrowing his brow slightly.
"No way."
Using spirit possession outside combat was wasteful, but if his hunch was right, one soul orb was no big deal.
Possessing a bloodsucker horse's soul, he skipped stamina allocation and sprinted full-tilt.
The wind whipping his ears harshly, he covered what would've been an hour's walk in nine minutes.
Panting raggedly, he stuffed all the meat drying outside into his tuxedo coat and hauled it into the cave.
Then he raced to the western Twin Mountains, reaching a thicket of enormous leaves big enough to cover his body, scraping them up frantically.
Plip, plop. Plip plop...
"Damn it!"
Feeling thick raindrops hit his head, Hwan-in cursed, clutching armfuls of leaves as he slid down the mountain.
He blanketed the hearth-style smoker with the massive leaves.
'Stack them like tiles to keep water out...!'
The moment he covered the smoker with dozens of leaves—
Shwaaaaa—
Kwak? Kwuk. Kkuek!
As heavy rain like a downpour began, Emergency Ration scurried into the cave in a panic.
Hwan-in braved the downpour to the cliffside, grabbing the haphazardly placed lean-to smoker panels and rigging them into a roof.
Overlapping three wide panels, tying them staggered, tilting slightly for drainage—the rain now streamed off harmlessly.
With leaves blanketing and the roof shielding the smoker from direct hits, Hwan-in doused the fire and pulled out the smoking meat.
Rain meant humidity would ruin the smoking 100%—better to yank it all than risk bacteria and mold.
"At least it was smoking well... that's some consolation."
Unlike his first attempt, the meat in the hearth smoker had dried evenly, no soft spots.
Pale white, infused with smoky aroma, no off smells.
He chewed a piece about 1/3 smoked.
'Not bad.'
Taste linked to smell, they said. The smoke scent brought smoky flavor. Chewy texture like jerky.
His body was soaked through from the rain.
Hwan-in fetched his ebony spear and dug drainage ditches around the smoker to divert water.
He piled stones like levees too.
Having done all he could, he returned to the cave—but the sky offered no mercy.
Kwak. Kkuek.
Sitting at the entrance, playing tug-of-war with Emergency Ration using a stick like with a puppy, Hwan-in glanced outside.
Kwarrrrrr—
The swollen valley stream roared deafeningly fast. Nearby rain gathering upstream and funneling here.
Vortices dotted it—falling in looked deadly.
"......"
The hearth smoker had long vanished into the torrent.
All his efforts wasted, but Hwan-in's temper wasn't hot enough to rage at a natural disaster.
Remake after the rain. Simple.
More surprising: the downpour raged on for five hours straight.
No typhoon signs yesterday—clear skies.
'One night, and this? Is rain normal here, or is this dangerous? Did the land otters migrate expecting it?'
Mulling it over, Hwan-in eyed the floodwaters rising along the cliff with concern.
Beyond the cliff: hilly basin. Water wouldn't rise endlessly, but the cave flooding worried him.
After a moment's thought, he decided to wait and see.
No safe spot outside, and dozens of kilos of raw meat piled in the cave. No way to move it all.
'Luckily, food's plentiful.'
Dozens of kilos raw meat, plus naturally drying chunks, gathered greens, fruits, wild crops in abundance.
Eat perishables first: five days. Factor in nuts, roots: ten days holed up easy.
Kkwoou?
Hwan-in's hand stilled on the branch; Emergency Ration tilted its head like 'No more play?'
He shook it again; tailfeathers perked, it eagerly grabbed and yanked excitedly.
Then a sneak tickle to belly and side sent it flopping cat-like, flapping wings and kicking legs—pure pet vibes.
After some play, Hwan-in retreated deeper, pearl stone in left hand, deer-antler staff in right, focusing his mind.
Imagination or real, this drew in more cool and warm energies.
Guessing: more cold ki boosted technique power; more warm ki let him use more.
The more he absorbed, the stronger he got.
No reason not to try with nothing else to do.
During the torrent, Hwan-in checked meat periodically, alternating meditation training and physical conditioning.
No set mealtimes: when soul vision showed spoilage starting, small fire with inner cave firewood, eat fresh, rest 30 min, then train till starving.
Bodyweight full-body: squats, burpees, planks trio, plus spear thrusts.
Post-training: collect rainwater in wooden bowls, wipe down, meditate; grill spoiling meat, rest, train, meditate.
Two days of this: only naturally dried meat left.
Entrance grass/netting curtain, mid-coat/leaf secondary barrier kept humidity out.
So dried meat lasted surprisingly well.
Devouring dozens of kilos over two days while grinding conditioning—Hwan-in poked his visibly bulked muscles and emerging six-pack thoughtfully.
'What's up with this body.'
Impossible: muscle in two days.
With pros micromanaging diet/sleep/training, temporary pump possible.
But this wasn't balloon-muscle.
Balanced everywhere, handstand pushups viable—perfect proportions/sense.
Mysterious, but causes there (bodyweight + protein overload), so results followed, he figured.
He tweaked training.
No more perishables. Rain still pouring like sky holes—time to ration.
Shift focus: more meditation.
Unbelievably, the deluge lasted full five days.
Finger-thick drops like world curtains for five days straight.
Basin probably a lake now. Leaving day one? Disaster.
Two hours post-rain.
Kwarrrrrr......!
Peeking out: valley torrent deafening.
Cliff view: water level, up 3m during peak, dropping fast.
'Few hours, back to normal.'
Skyward: blue peeking through belching clouds, receding as fast as they'd come.
'Once stream calms, hunt time.'
Worried if animals/beasts survived.
Meat gone: dried stock finished morning, plus overripe fruits.
Left: long-shelf staples, bitter greens bits, some nuts.
No firewood— all raw eating now.
'Twin Mountains though: flood refugees in hills.'
No soul orbs left, but five-day honed body rivaled lowliest spirit possession.
Enough for small game. Or forage edibles.
Sharpening weapons, meditating with pearl, time passed till stream roar eased.
He checked outside.
Sun first in five days lit the turbid stream.
"Total mess."
Valley wrecked: snapped trees, split rocks/gravel, silt from floods everywhere.
Level slightly higher than pre-rain.
Scanned thoroughly.
'......No dangers.'
Puddles aplenty, but no venomous bugs/snakes.
Gearing up with Emergency Ration, Hwan-in descended, thick silt stench hitting as he headed basin-ward.
Check basin status first.
"......"
But halted before ten steps, brow furrowed.
Spotted a nude woman's corpse snagged on a bent tree trunk, roots half-uprooted by rapids.
Not shocked by the corpse.
"A tail?"
Wolf-like tail sprouting from hip bone, beast ears atop head.