Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Strength Without Apology
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Hwan-in and the women left the village of the brown monsters, the Hobs, and hurried toward the Twin Peaks.
'At this pace, we're doing about 3 km per hour.'
The straight-line distance from Crescent Moon Rock Mountain to the Twin Peaks was roughly 23 km—about twenty minutes if he used Spirit Possession and sprinted at full speed.
At the grueling pace they were managing now, with him being supported every step, it would take seven or eight hours.
They couldn't traverse a forest teeming with beasts and predators for seven hours with four naked women who had almost no combat ability and one patient who had temporarily lost all of his.
After about two hours, they reached a river leading to a valley. Hwan-in, sweating coldly, said,
"Let's rest here a bit before we go."
=Yes... Whew...=
=Haa... haa...=
At the suggestion to rest, Huini and Ennel collapsed onto the gravel bank, panting heavily.
They had exhausted all their strength hauling considerable loads through pathless, rugged forest terrain.
Thanks to the women's consideration, Hwan-in sat on a suitable rock. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he examined the women's emaciated bodies, their ribs starkly visible.
'Must be the toll from their lives as playthings.'
Ephnis brushed the straw-colored hair stuck to her forehead and said to the two girls sprawled out, heaving,
=Ennel, Huini. Even when resting, stand while you do it.=
=Why?=
=If you collapse like that when you're worn out, your body goes limp. It'll be even harder to move later. See? Ryuhi sis isn't sitting either.=
=Okay.=
=Yeah...=
The two stood up obediently. They kept stealing glances at Hwan-in, pretending not to, their eyes filled with pure concern.
Then Ryuhi cautiously spoke to him.
=Um, benefactor?=
"Speak."
=If it won't mess up the plan, could we rest a little longer? It's not anything else—the kids' bare feet are getting hurt. I want to make them some simple strap sandals at least...=
Hwan-in's gaze shifted to their feet at her words.
Sure enough, the girls' pale soles were red and raw.
Recalling how they'd stumbled several times along the way, he nodded. Ryuhi bowed deeply with a brightened face, then took the rusted sword Ephnis had grabbed from the cave and cut down an armful of reed-like plants growing near the riverbank.
She sat on the gravel with her thighs spread wide, deftly snapping reeds, weaving, tying, and tightening them. In just over four minutes, she produced a single sandal resembling a flip-flop.
Hwan-in let out a small sound of admiration, recognizing it wasn't her first or second attempt.
For a young woman—not even that old—to craft such high-quality sandals from mere grass strands...
'This world's civilization level must be pretty low.'
But what came out of his mouth was different.
"Impressive skill."
=Huh? Oh... Th-thank you. I made them all at home, so...=
As she answered, Ryuhi glanced down and blushed at her fully exposed crotch, subtly closing her thighs.
She continued crafting the strap sandals.
Hwan-in watched her work, recalling the moment he'd used Spirit Possession on the blade-boar spirit.
It was undoubtedly a side effect of Spirit Possession. The backlash from handling a spirit beyond his level.
'From now on, I need to do a preliminary check on any new spirit I encounter.'
He'd vaguely sensed the danger from the three-eyed dog's Spirit Possession, but he'd been confident he could improvise through minor physical changes.
This time, though, improvisation wouldn't cut it.
To avoid carelessly losing his life, he had to be cautious.
'Maybe I need allies to mitigate the risks...'
More curiously, what was that aura enveloping the blade-boar's spirit?
Was that what caused this backlash?
"..."
It didn't seem like side effects or aftereffects depended on the presence of an aura.
The six-legged deer-stag was mid-to-high tier just from the corpse, yet its spirit had no such aura. Only the women's spirits and that blade-boar had them.
"Hoo..."
A chill surged through him; he shivered with a sigh. Huini brought over a crudely carved wooden flask and offered it.
=Benefactor. If you're still cold, have this...=
"I'll take it gratefully."
He accepted it with a small smile. Huini twisted her body bashfully, grinned widely, then trotted back to her sister.
As his train of thought shifted, Hwan-in's eyes deepened.
Not just Huini—even Ephnis, who seemed sensitive, and the pure, pitiable-looking Ryuhi showed no shadows on their faces.
That fact stirred various thoughts, muddling his mind.
They must have been toyed with by monsters for at least ten days or more. They'd even watched someone they knew get devoured right before their eyes. How could they smile so uncreased?
Moreover, naked and presumably embarrassed, they followed his orders without whining or dawdling, giving their all.
At least they wouldn't drag him down or annoy him with foolish antics. That was a relief.
=I wanna wash up. Eph sis, Nel, wanna wash together? Feels gross with all this on us.=
=Sure.=
=...Okay.=
Hwan-in watched the three girls whisper, then squat by the river to wash. He wondered if he'd been dropped into a world where survival as a human was brutally hard.
'So accustomed to death, using nature's bounty without hesitation, mature beyond their years...'
He turned from the naked girls' backs and addressed Ryuhi, still making sandals.
"I have a few questions. Can you answer?"
=Anything I can answer, I will.=
"How did you all end up captured by the monsters... the Hobs?"
=Well... It's a long story...=
It's fine, he said—just until she finished the sandals. She hesitated, then began.
=We're all from the same village.=
They'd grown up together there, fishing at the lake of the sacred beast Oljote near the village when its sudden wrath wrecked their boat in a tidal wave.
When he asked what Oljote was, she said it was a colossal whale ninety meters long.
'Horned Scale Whale? No way that lake is...'
=The tsunami split the boat in half. We clung on and barely survived, but the beast god offered no blessing. We got swept to the labyrinth's core.=
"...What's the labyrinth?"
=Huh? This... this is the labyrinth...=
"...?"
=...?=
Hwan-in couldn't comprehend. The labyrinth? This was a vast wilderness of forests, mountains, fields, lakes, and rivers.
Just then, Ephnis returned from washing, wiping water from her body with her hand, and asked cautiously,
=Um... benefactor, what race are you?=
"Human."
=...?=
Seeing her baffled expression at his answer, Hwan-in countered,
"Are there no humans in this world?"
=Never heard of that race from traders. Books say the world is upheld by the four great races: Lukrang, Plroe, Proud, Flavius...=
She explained Lukrang had dozens of sub-races like human-wolfkin, human-catkin, human-monkeykin, human-bearkin; Plroe had forest, sea, mountain, plain, lake varieties; Proud and Flavius had many too—but no "human" sub-race in any.
"I see... Understood. Please continue."
=Yes. Swept to the beach at the labyrinth's core, we panicked at stepping into it and ran blindly toward the village.=
They hadn't died in the wreck, but tales from childhood said anything could kill you in the labyrinth, so they bolted.
But the gravel beach ended abruptly, forcing them into the forest. From then, some strange force led them astray, wandering...
=Exhausted from the wandering, that's when the brown Hobs ambushed us...=
There were seven survivors from the wreck.
Over days of monster attacks, their strongest fighter sister died first; the rest were captured alive and dragged to the cave under the hill.
Ryuhi said she didn't know how much time had passed since.
Confined in the cave, time lost all meaning.
Ephnis looked like she had questions, but Hwan-in offered brief comfort to Ryuhi and fell silent.
Her condition wasn't up to continuing. Ephnis understood too.
By the time Ryuhi finished four pairs of strap sandals and Huini and Ennel sisters returned clean, Hwan-in stood and asked,
"Do you know the way out?"
=I have a vague idea of the direction...=
Ryuhi raised her hand tentatively. Ephnis, Huini, and Ennel seemed clueless.
'So if something happens, save just Ryuhi and we can escape.'
Hwan-in figured rescuing them from that hell had fulfilled basic duty.
Of course, having confirmed the village existed, his baseline intent was to save and bring them all if possible—but if forced to choose one, he'd abandon the other three without hesitation.
The trek back to the Twin Peaks outpost was long.
They narrowly avoided fierce beasts midway, but Emergency Ration's timely warnings kept things from escalating to fights.
A sudden chill made Hwan-in shudder violently, exhaling white breath.
His condition wasn't improving.
Seeing his white breath, Ryuhi and Ephnis—supporting him from both sides, sharing body heat—looked worried.
=Benefactor, you okay?=
"Honestly, not great, but I can move. We need to arrive before nightfall. Let's keep going."
Supported by the women, Hwan-in faced crisis sooner than expected.
Right after crossing the river at a shallow spot, nearby bushes rustled loudly.
Everyone froze. Precisely, the women did.
Momentarily, Ryuhi gripped the hand axe with both hands, face set in resolve, and stepped forward.
Huini and Ennel took positions to protect her, clutching a broken rusted sword and a slightly bent spear, flanking Ryuhi.
Hwan-in eyed Emergency Ration circling anxiously overhead.
The dense forest beside them had apparently hidden the approach.
Krrrowl...
The shaking bushes parted left and right, revealing two sleek black panther-like beasts slinking out. Each easily 50 kg.
Huini's wolf tail curled between her legs.
=Ku... Ku'ar.=
Her ears flattened back. From behind, Ryuhi and Ennel's tails stiffened, fur bristling explosively.
Hwan-in's gaze fixed on the small mist clumps orbiting the two Ku'ars.
First time seeing them.
'Lowest-grade spirits? But small, and the color's slightly off.'
In that brief standoff, women tensed opposite the predatory panthers eyeing gaps.
Hwan-in furrowed his brow.
The Deer-Antler Staff was strapped to Ephnis's back, supporting him. Reaching for it might provoke the agitated panthers, breaking the standoff.
The three women rigid with tension had no armor, naked, and scant combat skill. If fighting erupted, they'd be slaughtered instantly.
Losing Ryuhi or her severe injury would waste all his efforts.
If only Huini and Ennel were upfront, he might cautiously retrieve the staff—but with path-knowing Ryuhi in the middle and panthers fixated on the tallest her, no room to move.
Hwan-in racked his brain desperately. The standoff wouldn't last. To break it...
"...?"
Then he sensed the three small spirits around the panthers turning toward him, interested.
A feeling they would come if called.
No time for caution—he commanded them over. They approached joyfully, like rippling waves, adhering to his hand and forming spirit orbs.
'Lowest-grade spirit orbs.'
Instinct told him he could use Spirit Possession without the staff.
Setting aside how, Hwan-in projected killing intent at the panthers. Sensing it, both turned sharply to him.
Grrrowl.
Groooowl.
"Which of you three has the best physical abilities?"
He whispered lowly; Huini and Ennel quickly replied, "Me."
Lukrang's human-wolfkin sub-race? Sub-races varied in prowess, he briefly thought, then murmured again,
"I'm about to bless you two. No need to fight. Just keep them at bay until I step in."
Unsure what thrice Spirit Possession in his state would do, but better than all dying.
Like with the staff, he attempted it on Huini and Ennel. It succeeded.
Feeling the change? Huini's tucked tail slowly uncurled; her ears perked up.
Ennel radiated heat from shoulders and hips, flushing red.
Confirming their eased tension, Hwan-in checked himself.
'Still good.'
Twice used, no worst-case yet. One more should be fine.
Cautiously lowering a hand to his waist, he realized no hand axe—cursing inwardly.
'Forgot to retrieve the stone axe. Must've been out of it.'
Huini and Ennel edged apart to Ryuhi's sides, but panthers still eyed Ryuhi and her.
Observing, Hwan-in gripped the sharpened-end Black Club at his opposite waist. Clutching a pearl-like stone in his empty hand for placebo, he used the last orb for self-Spirit Possession.
Heart pounded hugely post-possession, pumping hot blood; heat surged through him, resurfacing pain drowned in chills.
"...!"
Excruciating agony blurred his vision momentarily, but with chills gone temporarily, Hwan-in welcomed the pain.
Pain he could endure.
Limbs creaked at joints, but with Huini and Ennel harassing, this penalty was nothing.
Shrugging off Ephnis's support, Hwan-in slowly advanced toward the panthers.