Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Shape of Resolve
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Hwan-in led his companions, steadily pressing toward Baldhead Mountain by shifting from one ridge to the next as each one tapered off.
They replenished their water whenever they heard the sound of a stream, while the smoked bear meat amply fulfilled its role as their rations.
Though the quantity was enough for five people to eat heartily for a full month, spoilage due to the weather had been a concern. Fortunately, the ridges featured wide diurnal temperature swings and constant dryness day and night, creating an ideal environment for preserving the meat and easing their worries.
Thanks to this, the group maintained a grueling 14-hour march each day, rain or wind be damned. And on the tenth day...
They finally had the yellow Baldhead Mountain right in front of them.
'Even "right in front" means it'll take another five days to reach the foothills.'
Atop a hill where parched yellow plants sprouted from the gravel cracks, the women gasped in awe at the stark silhouette of Baldhead Mountain looming clearly in view.
=Whoa. Baldhead Mountain is seriously tall!=
=Way bigger than I imagined.=
=It looked small from afar, but up close, it's downright intimidating.=
=Things look smaller the farther away they are, even if they're the same size. That's probably why.=
Hwan-in, too, marveled at how Baldhead Mountain, standing alone, appeared several times larger than the Himalayas.
Even from a distance that would take days to reach the base, they had to crane their necks fully just to glimpse the peak. It was impossible not to be impressed.
'Its elevation has to top 20,000 meters easily.'
As he gauged the mountain's height while watching cumulonimbus clouds drifting past the foothills, snippets of the women's conversation reached Hwan-in's ears.
=Going around a mountain that big is gonna take forever!=
=At least we're out of the labyrinth now, so there shouldn't be anything too dangerous left.=
=Yeah, no more monsters in sight, and the animals are all in herds, so it's a bit reassuring.=
=Ryuhi sis. I see it differently.=
=Huh?=
=Monsters from that mountain could come down here, right? And ones living on a mountain like that have to be even stronger.=
=Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.=
The truly powerful beasts tended to roam solo. The weak ones banded together to compensate for their shortcomings.
And so far, the beasts that had attacked them had mostly been in packs.
Listening to the women, Hwan-in swept back his overgrown bangs—untamed for over two months—and spoke up.
"Anyway. If we keep pushing forward as far as we've come, your village should come into view."
=Somehow... our village couldn't see this mountain.=
Ryuhi's eyes drooped apologetically at the realization they'd have to travel just as far again as they already had.
Hwan-in ignored it, gazing instead at the peak where eternal snow should have crowned it but was instead dusted with something yellow.
"That means we're halfway there—fortunate indeed. Now we need to decide on the route ahead."
The yellow Baldhead Mountain stood as a solitary high peak.
To its right stretched a vast plain all the way to the horizon; to the left lay more ridges and forests like those they'd traversed.
After quizzing the women on details, Hwan-in chose the left path.
"The right side has no rivers and barely any animals, so fewer beasts and safer in that sense. But considering our food and water consumption, it's unfeasible."
Even after smoking all the Malay Kodiak meat, five people's appetites were no small matter.
Food could be rationed somewhat, but without water, they'd last three days at most. Getting stranded on barren plains with depleted supplies meant certain death.
By contrast, the left offered forests and hills where, if needed, they could dig for edible roots.
"Oljote's Great Lake is relatively close that way too, so we'll head left."
Aware of their limited survival knowledge and judgment, the women accepted Hwan-in's decision without protest.
Ryuhi, Ephnis, Huini, Ennel.
The four knew their place. They were also conscientious, harboring deep gratitude and admiration for Hwan-in, who had rescued them from death.
Thus, they strove to handle everything outside of combat.
Unable to match even his toe in fighting prowess, they sought to contribute elsewhere: hauling gear, setting up camp, preparing meals, and even satisfying the urges any man would have, great or small.
It wasn't just Ryuhi and the three girls—unmarried or unwed women in rural villages had a custom of readily offering themselves to outsiders.
A tale passed down from great-grandfathers' great-grandfathers.
Without fresh blood from outside, successive generations birthed more deformities and frail children.
No one knew where the story originated, but anyone from a village of decent size knew it well.
Reject new blood, and the village would vanish.
Of course, they didn't accept outsiders' seed solely for that reason.
More family meant more hands for work, aiding the village's prosperity. Even childless widows enjoyed legal protection until birth if impregnated.
Most rural areas practiced communal child-rearing anyway, so lone women could resume work unburdened after delivery.
Above all, for village-born women, bearing children earned full membership status. If that child grew into a mighty warrior, she'd earn envy from peers and greater influence, status, and standing.
For these reasons, Ryuhi and the girls felt no aversion to giving themselves to Hwan-in.
Quite the opposite—they subtly hoped he'd take them whenever the chance arose. In their eyes, he was their lifesaver, a warrior supreme who had slain even the monstrous Barthul.
What if they bore his bloodline...?
Anyway, the women yearned to be held by him as often as possible. Yet at some point, he stopped wanting them.
They couldn't well proposition him first.
Not out of shame or propriety. They knew how much vitality a single coupling drained from a man—and it felt brazenly shameless to demand such from their lifesaving warrior out of mere desire.
So inwardly, they pleaded desperately.
Please, if they'd erred in bed or if something displeased him, give them a chance to correct it.
Unlike their inner turmoil, Hwan-in's reason for halting intimacy was simple.
The warmth in their lower abdomens had nearly run dry.
No point expending stamina nightly on carnal pleasures when he couldn't even absorb more. In their current straits, it was peak inefficiency.
Had they a safe haven to rest easy, he'd have accepted. But risking danger for an act that offered zero benefit now? Unnecessary.
'At this rate, fully recovering their warmth will take about three months.'
Yet around half a month after leaving the twin peaks, Hwan-in noticed the women's lower-abdomen warmth slowly regenerating.
He realized it replenished after a fixed time post-absorption.
Ryuhi, who had depleted first among the four, was recovering first—bolstering his hypothesis.
Thus, Hwan-in refrained from touching them, merely observing. Tracking daily warmth regain.
Gauging warmth quantity visually was impossible, of course.
Spotting a 0.1mm swell in a fingernail-sized orb? That'd require a microscope, not eyes.
'My superpower must now let me sense warmth levels.'
Whenever spirits appeared, he'd consistently performed Spirit Possession on himself and the four women, honing soul arts through relentless training.
His capacity had risen to 16 soul orbs, and he'd gained warmth-sensing ability.
Now, harvesting souls yielded 16-hour orb maintenance, with possessions lasting 16 minutes.
Hwan-in's current fixation: Would his powers evolve again at 18 orbs?
He'd started at six; at twelve, they'd grown once.
'Thresholds usually escalate...'
Even at 18, growth seemed unlikely—but hope springs eternal.
Buzzing with anticipation, his senses subtly sharpened amid Baldhead Mountain's Everest-dwarfing majesty. At a campsite by a moonlit river, Hwan-in took Ryuhi into his arms.
There was a reason. To test if warmth truly reset after about 15 days' respite.
Sitting, he explored her, absorbing the faintest trace from her lower abdomen—just enough not to harm her.
'...I can control absorption now too, apparently.'
The hunch felt right, but Ryuhi's near-empty warmth precluded further trials.
After climaxing inside her once, Hwan-in sat on a rock, stroking the head of naked Ryuhi kneeling between his legs, face buried there.
Her gray puppy ears, which had twitched busily with her bobbing, perked straight up.
Ryuhi, his member in her mouth, glanced up with a small smile before burying her face back in his thighs.
'Tomorrow with Ephnis, then I'll confirm.'
As he pondered his superpower's mysteries, Ryuhi finished cleaning him orally. Flushed with afterglow, she asked timidly.
=Um... benefactor? Did I please you today?=
"...?"
Hwan-in froze, uncomprehending her intent.
Hoot—
Hoot?
Rustle, swish.
Emergency Ration lifted its head at an owl's distant call, rustling about.
Snapping to, Hwan-in rubbed his forehead briefly before asking the tense-looking Ryuhi.
"Er. Correct me if I've misunderstood. But you just asked if the sex was satisfying... right?"
=Yes.=
"... "
Hwan-in rarely flustered. He couldn't recall the last time he'd been this thrown.
Not some inexperienced lad asking a woman, but he fielding such from her?
Unwittingly touching his lips, Hwan-in noticed Ephnis, Huini, and Ennel listening intently.
"May I hear why you asked?"
Given Ryuhi's devotion thus far, there had to be cause.
Blushing furiously in her stead, Ephnis explained. Hwan-in sighed softly.
Aphrodisiac countermeasures evolved into wife-lending customs, huh.
Seeing all the women shrink at his sigh, Hwan-in softened his expression and calmly explained why he'd abstained.
=Ah...!=
Ryuhi's face cleared with understanding.
She finally recalled he needed male-female union to fuel his "blessings."
Ephnis, Huini, and Ennel—ignorant of details—had offered themselves in repayment and hopes of strong seed. Learning the truth eased them visibly.
"It wasn't that you lacked appeal or had issues. Such fatigue-inducing acts don't belong in perilous places."
The women gazed at Hwan-in anew with fresh respect.
Village lads, idle post-harvest, hounded women like dogs in heat all day.
Compared to their utter lack of restraint, how gentlemanly he was.
"Today, circumstances required intimacy with you, Ryuhi. I'll ask once more tomorrow, but after that, we'll abstain until the village. For safety, as I said."
=Yes, benefactor.=
Ryuhi's reply dripped honeyed sweetness, like she'd fallen deep in love. Her sisters' glares sharpened.
Why's sis answering?
Tomorrow's request can't mean her again, right??
We can't just stand by!
That night.
Hwan-in overheard the women, gathered secretly during watch, bickering in whispers over tomorrow's bedding order. He stayed out of it deliberately.
He'd just wait for whichever cake came to his mouth.