Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Echoes Beneath the Lake
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=Grrr... H-Huh... Did you perhaps k-kill that Bartul?=
"There was interference at the end, so I couldn't finish it off. But the wounds were massive and deep, so it must have died shortly after."
As unbelievable as the story was, Brillit and Ssa exchanged glances, and even Isilite wore an expression that said she wanted to believe it but struggled to do so.
It was just then, as Hwan-in reached for the Bloodstone hanging around his neck—thinking it would ease their anxiety ahead of a potential battle with a formidable foe.
=Ahem~! Cough! Ahem!=
"...?"
Hwan-in spotted Isilite awkwardly clearing her throat and signaling her with her eyes. She shook her head subtly but firmly.
The meaning was clear.
'Don't show them the stone.'
=Miss Isilite, what's wrong?=
=Nothing. Just some dust in my throat. Anyway, I believe our master beat Bartul. You two should stop doubting and believe it too.=
=Huh? Who's doubting anything?!=
=You were giving each other all those looks and gestures because you couldn't believe it. I saw everything, you know?=
Ssa protested with an indignant expression like a wronged cheetah toward Isilite, who pointed it out with a smug look.
=Hey now, Miss Isilite, I didn't think you were the type to accuse innocent folks! It wasn't doubt—we were just sharing our shock with Brillit! Sharing, I say! Ever heard of eye contact? Eye contact! =
=Isilite's a lifelong virgin. She's clueless about emotional exchanges between men and women, so it's no wonder she doesn't get it.=
=What? Hey! Who's a lifelong virgin?!=
As Isilite bristled reflexively at Brillit's counterattack, Brillit shot Hwan-in a glance and sneered.
=You were just bragging about keeping your chastity a moment ago. Or was all that a lie?=
=...=
Ssa gazed proudly at Brillit, who had silenced Isilite with just a few words, then cleared her throat with a tense expression.
=Anyway, let's quiet down and stay alert. If that Urger really shows up... Brillit and Dinte, you'll have to fight for your lives. I'll join you then. Huseok, in the meantime, drive the wagon and flee as fast as you can.=
=Yes.=
=Yessir.=
=...Yes.=
=Soul Shaman, analyze the situation from the rear. If things look bad, escape on Isilite's Kue while we hold them off. At full speed with just the two of you, you can outrun any pursuit. Follow the road until you reach the city—don't stray from it.=
Hwan-in fell silent at Ssa's earnest advice before speaking up.
"No need to talk so pessimistically already. I agree with having the non-combatants flee first, though."
He wasn't entirely certain, but even if this Urger was stronger than the Bartul he'd faced, he figured they had a shot if he used Soul Possession on Isilite and Brillit and joined in with a well-timed strike.
He'd confirmed through repeated tests that Soul Possession enhanced physical abilities proportionally, not with fixed values.
Especially for Isilite—even at the lowest level, Soul Possession made her skin tough enough to withstand sword strikes unscathed.
A spear slash wouldn't cut the flesh; it'd just swell the struck area.
With the two of them keeping it pinned and him wielding his spear made from the fangs of a blade-tusked boar sacred beast...
"...If the two blessed ones handle the feints and distractions while I take one attack flank, I think our odds are good."
=Hearing the Soul Shaman say that gives me real faith it'll turn out that way.=
Hwan-in wondered where Ssa had drawn such confidence from his words.
His proposal was a straightforward plan anyone familiar with strategy games or party play could come up with.
Two durable tanks up front, one high-damage mid-to-long-range attacker in the rear.
A simple formula.
Moments later, upon arriving at the scene, Hwan-in instructed Isilite to watch for ambushes.
=Dinte, you go with her.=
=Yes, sir.=
Meanwhile, at the site where the wagon lay in ruins, Ssa and Brillit examined the traces to identify the enemy.
=Footprint shape... It's an Urger, alright.=
=This size puts it near 5 meters. The Kue's guts burst in one hit, the man was eaten in one bite, the woman in two—could be an old, crafty one.=
Ssa shook his head at Brillit's assessment as she inspected the woman's corpse, her upper torso gone from the waist up.
=Or maybe a picky young one.=
=...=
Brillit nodded at Ssa's retort after he checked the scattered corpses and Kue carcasses around the wagon.
=Speaking of which, the markings show it's from the Alpensys Merchant Guild. What a shame.=
=We could end up the same.=
=Haha... Ah, grab their emblem.=
As the two did so, Hwan-in scanned the area, regretting the lack of souls, and examined the woman who had died with her half-eaten head, side, and right leg torn off, her guts and brains splattered like graffiti.
"... "
The blood-soaked neck of the woman, her half-remaining face twisted in despair, was still warm.
'Her body heat hasn't faded yet.'
People in this world had the same body temperature as on Earth, around 37°C, and corpses cooled at about 0.8°C per hour after death.
Current air temperature was roughly 28°C. Less than 10 hours had passed.
Hwan-in shared his findings with Ssa, who was grabbing an emblem from the corpse.
=...=
"No thermometer, so I can't pinpoint the exact time, but around six hours is a safe estimate. At this point, it's probably moved on elsewhere."
=No... A normal beast or monster would've been satisfied with the kill and left. But Urgers tend to linger nearby after a hunt.=
"... "
Hwan-in's gaze drifted to the wagon frame's axle, planted vertically like a flagpole.
=In other words: 'I'm right here—come challenge me or avenge yourself if you dare!' =
"A highly aggressive species. But how does such a race appear between villages and cities? It defies my common sense."
=Hm. Since the Soul Shaman seems interested in the labyrinth, I should explain. In the labyrinth, all races and creatures emerge as variants.=
"...So the Urger that hit this wagon came from the labyrinth."
=Yes. True Urgers are said to live in villages across the northern sea in distant forests. This is Lukrang territory, smack in the middle of their racial lands, so if an Urger's here...=
"...!"
Hwan-in jerked his head up at the spirits' voices, just like when they'd warned him of the demon beast ambush before.
He could communicate with souls now, but the spirits had ignored his calls—though more importantly...
'Hiding? A monster, an Urger?'
The surroundings were gentle hills and open plains without a single tree. If it was hiding...
Hwan-in's eyes, enhanced by Soul Vision, quickly scanned the ground. He spotted one unnatural patch where three colors faintly blended, unlike the normal earth.
=...it must be a labyrinth escapee. The Evil Faction border has warriors on high alert to prevent that... ...?=
Ssa's eyes widened as his shoulder was grabbed. He instantly grasped the meaning from Hwan-in's expression, his pointing finger, and his suddenly casual tone.
"Even those evil-aligned races form villages and such?"
As Hwan-in walked away casually, Ssa matched his pace and replied in kind.
=According to Crepikel Pierre Den in the Xenobeast Chronicles, yes—they build villages and cities like us, though their culture is incomparably primitive. No real cuisine, tech limited to specific clans, and lower classes with poor communication.=
Ssa signaled Brillit near the wrecked wagon with a quick gesture, glance, and expression, all while speaking normally.
The sharp Brillit realized the Urger was buried underground and began slowly backing away from the wagon, just like Hwan-in and Ssa.
"So they might have a habit of burrowing underground like beasts to wait for prey?"
As Hwan-in drew his Black Spear, Ssa kept retreating and affirmed.
=Maybe it's got a twisted hobby of striking when people relax to see their despair... Gyaaah!=
Boom!!
Groooaaarrr?!
The ground erupted like an explosion, showering dirt clods and debris everywhere, mixed with shattered wagon fragments.
From the midst leaped a house-sized monster, bellowing a grating screech that clawed at their eardrums amid the flying debris.
At the blast and roar, Isilite spurred her Kue into a charge. In that instant, Hwan-in cast Soul Possession on himself, Brillit, Dinte, their Kue, and the incoming Isilite and her Kue.
Soul Possession (Low) applied to Brillit, Dinte, Kue x2, Isilite
Proportional physical enhancement / Duration: 10min / Cooldown: 1hr
All in two seconds.
=Labyrinth Urger! Soul Shaman, be careful! Brillit, Miss Isilite too!!=
The Urger, its male organ dangling, soared high—not targeting anyone specifically—before crashing into bare ground with a thunderous boom.
=Haaaah!!=
Brillit, closest, wrapped herself in intensified aura and thrust her spear into the half-crouched Urger's back from the landing shock.
Shluck—
Groooaaargh!!
Even with the Kue's momentum, only the spear tip pierced, forcing Brillit to retreat hastily as the Urger's log-thick forearm smashed the spot.
Hwan-in, suppressing his presence, observed closely in the gap.
A gray-skinned, hairless, grotesquely muscled gorilla monster. Urger—that summed it up.
Body like a gray ogre, gorilla-esque but with even longer arms. Standing bipedally, its hands scraped the ground.
'What a facial disaster.'
Gorilla-pig hybrid skeleton, yellow slit eyes, smashed nose, shark teeth, bat ears.
All ugliness crammed in one place, but muscles prioritized—arms abnormally thick.
Forearms half its torso girth. What size heart sustained those?
=You monster bastard, here!!=
As Isilite arrived with her Kue, Hwan-in extended Soul Possession to them too. Her faint aura flared brighter as she swung her multi-kilo greatsword one-handed.
The 2m blade arced viciously; the Urger blocked and swatted it with one arm.
Brillit complemented Isilite's moves, circling and jabbing with her spear to split the Urger's attention.
5 meters? He'd pictured a two-story house—not quite. 1.5 times larger than the mounted Isilite and Brillit.
Hwan-in analyzed sharply.
'No scavenger habits.'
The Urger ignored the weak wagon, roaring at the attacking Kue riders while swinging its 4m arms.
Torso-thick forearms ripped air with terrifying whooshes, but the two circled fearlessly, scraping hide with spear and greatsword.
'Insane physical defense.'
Under Soul Possession.
Even weaker Brillit could pierce Grade 3 beasts fatally; Isilite batted dozens-of-kilos beasts like soccer balls one-handed.
Yet only branch-scratch wounds on the Urger.
Kwooo!!
Brillit dodged a incoming fist with exquisite footwork, slashing its arm skin with her spear.
Skin tore slightly, blood beading; red spread through the Urger's yellow eyes like spilled paint.
The naked gray mass bellowed, belly flab jiggling.
Groooaaarrr?!
Sensing danger, Brillit gripped her spear's end, stabbed the roaring maw, spun, and fled. The berserk Urger pursued at horrifying speed.
'Impressive—bipedal, but quadrupedal gallop using arms.'
Thundering charge like a massive trailer, but Isilite closed on its flank mid-sprint without hesitation. Gripping her greatsword two-handed, she smashed its knee joint with full force.
Bam!!
Graaagh!?
The Urger's knee buckled sideways like on ice, toppling. It thrashed gorilla-like, then sprang up and lunged at Isilite—but her Soul Possession-boosted Kue sidestepped nimbly.
Isilite and Brillit resumed circling assaults; the Urger's responses sharpened.
'Fast left-right pivots, alert to rear attacks. Eyes too wide apart—wider field of view than humans?'
Rear attacks: elbow if close, spinning lariat if far.
Arm-based arsenal: everything possible.
Hwan-in narrowed his eyes.
Isilite's greatsword was more iron club than blade.
Urger's bone/muscle impact resistance was absurd, but Brillit's spear drew blood— her Black Spear should suffice.
Bam!
=Gahk!=
Then Isilite took a hit.
She deftly flat-blocked the punch, but unabsorbed shock hurled her and Kue a dozen meters.
Hwan-in felt Brillit's tension spike.
'Shockwave.'
Hard to see in the dust from ground strikes, but he'd caught the white blast on Isilite.
Recalling the massive bruise from a mere weak kick from Bartul, even glancing hits could be lethal.
Death sensed, Hwan-in's calm heart began racing.