Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Where Fear Hardens
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Upon hearing that they were setting off tomorrow, Ryuhi—who had been scolding Huini—immediately started tidying up the riverbank and the cave interior.
The cave, which had gotten a bit messy from five people living there, was restored to the pristine state it had been in when Hwan-in first arrived.
In one corner inside, all the daily necessities were neatly arranged so that even if Hwan-in returned alone later, he could live comfortably without issue. The gravel beach along the river was also cleared of any artificial traces, like the hearth-shaped smoker.
All that remained was Lua's grave, marked by a small tombstone.
Having finished cleaning up, that night before their departure, Hwan-in looked with puzzled eyes at the three naked women kneeling before him.
"We want to lend our strength to you too, Soul Shaman."
"Me too!"
"M-Me too..."
Their hair was still damp, as if they had just bathed outside.
"......"
Though they had been violated by the Hobs, Hwan-in wasn't the type to dwell on such things, and it wasn't as if they were approaching him out of coercion.
Hwan-in had no reason to refuse.
It happened to be the perfect time for another experiment on warmth absorption. And all three of them carried a considerable amount of warmth in their bodies—not less than Ryuhi's, and perhaps even more.
While absorbing the warmth gathered in Ryuhi's lower abdomen every night, Hwan-in had never assumed it was infinite.
As expected, the size of the warmth had gradually diminished the more their bodies intertwined, shrinking to the size of a marble by last night, on the fourth day.
And that was when Ryuhi had worn an apologetic, guilt-ridden expression as she complained of pain.
"U-Um, benefactor. My lower abdomen feels stinging and painful, like cold energy has settled there..."
Since he had strictly instructed her to report any bodily discomfort immediately, she had spoken up—but her demeanor clearly showed remorse, as if she would have kept silent otherwise.
He himself experienced chills when his own warm ki diminished.
If that warmth played a similar role to warm ki, it was only natural for problems to arise as it dwindled.
'So that's why she convinced the three of them.'
Hwan-in pondered as he gazed at the three girls looking up at him with eyes full of longing.
He had been eager to test whether warm ki could be continuously replenished and accumulated, so their offer to embrace him was something he welcomed with open arms.
Moreover, all three were beautiful enough to be idols.
But Hwan-in hesitated to respond right away.
Even though he had risked his life to save these women, embracing them all might provoke unpredictable reactions from the men in their village.
"......"
"......"
"......"
He asked the girls, who were watching his silence with tense expressions.
"If you're doing this out of a sense of debt, then it's fine. Thanks to Ryuhi's help these past few days, I've recovered quite a bit."
"That's part of it, but we want to do something for you, benefactor."
"Yeah! Once we get to the village, women will flock to share your bed anyway! Before that... mmph!"
Efnes spoke in a small voice, her cheeks flushing pink, as Ennel covered Huini's mouth to silence her muffled protests.
"Our village doesn't have many men either..."
"......"
From what they explained, out of the village's roughly 300 residents, 50 were children or elderly without reproductive capacity, leaving 250 able-bodied people—of whom only about 40 were men.
Even with each man having 2 or 3 partners, that still left around 100 women without mates.
'If she says "our village too," then the other villages must be in a similar state.'
As Hwan-in sank into thought, Efnes spoke up timidly, looking thoroughly intimidated.
"W-We have our flaws too. If it disgusts you..."
"I don't mind that at all."
Cutting off Efnes, Hwan-in confirmed there were no issues and immediately pulled all three into his embrace at once.
Back on Earth, he could manage twice in a night, or three times if he pushed himself. But after falling into this strange world, his stamina had apparently increased further—Ryuhi had shown him he could even go four times in one night.
That was the limit for functioning normally the next day.
If he ignored tomorrow, maybe even seven times.
'Once each should do it.'
In Ryuhi's case, it wouldn't be for absorbing warmth but to avoid making her feel left out. Still, as a man, Hwan-in had no desire to push away a beautiful woman throwing herself at him.
After satisfying Efnes, Huini, and Ennel in turn and absorbing their warmth, Hwan-in grabbed Ryuhi's wrist and pulled her close.
As long as he didn't touch the lump of warmth, no absorption would occur. The act of union itself was fine.
"I-I'm here to help restore your energy..."
"Does that mean you don't want to?"
"......"
Ryuhi, who seemed far from unwilling as she bashfully lowered her eyes, was also embraced.
Perhaps because her younger sisters were watching with rapt fascination from the side, she seemed even more embarrassed than usual.
Hwan-in didn't know the maximum capacity for warm ki. He simply gauged it in percentages relative to the flow of cold ki.
The recovery amount varied depending on the remaining level.
Below 10%, natural recovery was negligible without external aid.
If Ryuhi and Efnes hadn't warmed him with their body heat—and if Ryuhi hadn't provided warmth—he would have died of hypothermia back then.
At 20-30%, recovery was slow but possible. He would shiver from cold and chills, but activity under sunlight gradually built it up.
From 30% to 70%, recovery was most vigorous—about eight hours under the sun would suffice.
Above 70%, it slowed again, and at 90%, it barely recovered at all.
At 90%, the warm ki spent daily on hunts balanced with what he recovered nightly from embracing Ryuhi, so it never exceeded 95%.
Thus, to test if it could accumulate beyond the max, Hwan-in had embraced Efnes, Huini, and Ennel—and succeeded in accumulating warm ki at nearly a 1:1 ratio.
'But... it's bothering me.'
The group, having finished tidying up the evening before, rose early, ate breakfast, and set off toward the women's village.
Two hours after leaving the cave...
As Hwan-in ascended upstream along the river, he subtly frowned where no one could see.
Ryuhi, following behind, still had a marble-sized lump of warmth in her lower abdomen. It was minuscule compared to the fist-sized one at her heart.
The problem was that two days had passed since it shrank to that size, yet it hadn't recovered at all.
The conversation from that morning replayed in his mind.
'Does your stomach still hurt?'
'No. It's fine now.'
'No matter what, I won't abandon you all. You don't need to hide any pain.'
'Ah. R-Really, it doesn't hurt at all. I swear.'
Ryuhi hadn't looked like she was lying then.
'Does that mean once the warmth is depleted, it doesn't replenish? Or...'
If the amount of warmth obtainable from one person was fixed, his plans for utilizing it would fall apart.
He needed it most right after overusing skills against the greatsword monster, when warm ki dipped below 10% of cold ki.
That's why he had planned to build a team including trustworthy female companions—but this changed everything.
Hwan-in tabled the issue in his mind for now.
'I'll check it step by step once we reach the village.'
Carrying his spear and deer-antler staff, with stone axe and black club at his hips, Hwan-in walked along the river without stopping as he glanced back.
Right behind him, Ryuhi and Efnes bore bundles larger than themselves.
Further back, Huini and Ennel carried slightly smaller packs.
Ryuhi and Efnes had the food and water.
Other items—spare weapons, large animal hides for night use, wooden utensils Ryuhi made—were on Huini and Ennel.
The reason for giving them the heavy loads: though lacking combat prowess, they had stamina, and they needed protection anyway.
Better to bundle protection with the loads for efficiency.
As a result, Huini and Ennel carried packs with non-essential tools, ready to fight if beasts appeared, plus hand axes and iron spears.
Hwan-in insisted they, with stronger Inlang blood and superior physiques, protect the other two if needed.
Pace was a steady 5 km per hour.
The four were sweating lightly but keeping up without strain.
Hwan-in checked the soul orb's duration to gauge time and called for a break.
"Let's rest for about 10 minutes."
"Yes."
"Got it!"
The women set down their bundles carefully and sighed in relief. Some drank from the nearby river or soaked their feet.
Hwan-in summoned a nearby spirit to swap out the low-grade soul orb, then approached Huini and Ennel, who were fanning themselves with their hands.
"Huini, Ennel. How's your stamina?"
"Great! We ate tons of meat, so we've got energy to spare!"
"Me too. I could walk all day."
"Good. Then I have a request for you two."
Huini's eyes sparkled excessively at "request."
She seemed to hope for a call to join the fights, but Hwan-in ignored it.
"You two have superior hearing and smell. While following behind, keep an ear out for approaching beasts or monsters. Call me if anything comes near."
"Yes!"
"Got it."
"Staying unharmed is priority. I'll bless you if a fight breaks out, but don't rush in recklessly."
"Okaay..."
"Yes."
Perhaps from hunting various beasts while roaming the receding basin with Hwan-in, Huini brimmed with overconfidence.
She showed obvious eagerness to prove herself, but pouted faintly at his warning—only to be ignored as Hwan-in moved to check on Ryuhi and Efnes.
Soon after, break ended, and as the group resumed, Ennel stuck close to Huini and warned her in a low voice.
"Compared to the benefactor, we're just weak girls. He did all the hunting in the basin."
"......"
"If you're thinking of charging in because you're itching for action, quit while I'm being nice."
"I-I'm not!"
"See? Forgot what benefactor said this morning? Keep your voice down."
"Eek."
"And you think I don't know you after all this time? You say you won't, promise to behave, then cause trouble and bother everyone in the village—how many times?"
"I-I'm really not gonna."
"...Huini."
At her sister's chilling tone, Huini gulped.
"If you do anything to put us all in danger... I'll stab you myself. Remember that."
"O-Okay..."
Unlike her usual quiet, docile self, her sister always followed through on threats.
It was then, as the trembling Huini whispered her response—
Squawk! Squawk!
Emergency Ration, scouting ahead, began sounding the alarm.
Hwan-in halted, and the women clustered together. Rustling followed from the bushes, and three brown jaguars emerged from the forest.
...Grrr.
The jaguars scanned the group of five.
Four seemed toothless, clawless, with soft hides.
Maybe they could eat their fill. But at the crunch of something shattering, one fell limp. The other two leaped back like startled cats and fled the way they came.
"Whoa..."
Huini let out a dazed murmur.
Before the brown-spotted one fully emerged, Hwan-in had gripped his spear. The moment they spotted the group, it was over.
Even Huini realized he'd thrown the stone axe only after it embedded in one jaguar's skull.
'So cool...'
"This'll do for lunch."
"Shall I prepare it now?"
"Blood scent will attract more beasts, so it'll taste off, but we'll take it as is."
In Huini's eyes, Hwan-in's calm back as he spoke to Ryuhi etched itself.
The fleeing jaguars didn't even register.
He was impressive hunting in the basin, but now at full strength, he embodied the warrior of her dreams.
"......"
Huini felt not excitement, but a bitter taste.
Minutes ago, she'd have bounced with thrill—but her sister's warning, followed by Hwan-in's display, left her with the sensation of a fleeting dream.
A true warrior would handle that effortlessly.
Even without the warning, she knew her place.
Her strength fell far short of a warrior's. She hadn't even awakened.
True warriors were said to possess immense power and renown even before awakening.
Someone like the benefactor would become a warrior—not her, not in a lifetime.
Snapping to as Hwan-in moved to hoist the carcass, Huini dashed over and snatched it.
"I'll carry it!"
"It'll make your load too heavy."
"This is fine! R-Really, it's okay... You need to fight, so I'll handle the luggage..."
"Don't neglect sound detection just because you're carrying more."
"Yep!"
Hwan-in couldn't fathom what this late-teens beauty was thinking...
'High school girls' thoughts aren't meant to be understood.'
Letting her do as she wished, he resumed walking.
But could one high school girl ever grasp another's heart?
Ennel silently stroked her sister's head, and Huini grinned sheepishly, scratching her nape.
On the second day after rescuing the women, Hwan-in revisited the Hob village to retrieve his stone axe.
The blade remained intact despite repeated skull-smashing. Its throw felt oddly satisfying—perhaps crafted for hurling, not melee.
Unable to discard it, he'd recovered it; after Ryuhi wrapped the handle in leather, throwing became even easier.
Power increased too—enough to disable lesser beasts in one toss.
Accuracy: 100 out of 100 hits.
Crunch!
Kyaaak...!
At the sight of a kin toppling with an axe in its face, the skunk-like pack fled in panic.
Hwan-in watched one idiot leap into the river, squealing as it floated away.
"With numbers on our side, beasts hesitate to attack."
"Have you been traveling alone all this time, benefactor?"
Ryuhi approached cautiously, gently massaging his shoulders as she asked.
"Yes. Alone, both monsters and beasts struck first without hesitation."
"That must have been tough..."
Hwan-in, who had never found it tough, chuckled softly. Retrieving the axe from a beast several times larger than a skunk, he said,
"We'll camp here tonight."