Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Giant Hunt
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"...What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Just doing what needed to be done."
When the giant Pembr came down to the ground, only one human greeted him instead of four.
He'd descended fully prepared to slaughter countless humans the moment he spotted that tree branch during his stroll.
Yet after seeing them flee, he'd recklessly come down—numbing his knee joints in the process—and now this meager reward of a single human?
Pembr could hardly tolerate the situation.
"I'm not just going to kill you. I'm going to rip you apart limb from limb, let you die slowly, and make you feel every bit of your body being devoured while you're dying."
Pembr stomped the ground like a furious child, venting his rage.
His baby fat hadn't fully melted away, and with his protruding potbelly and pale skin to boot.
In actions and appearance, he was the spitting image of a seven-year-old kid—the only difference being his size, as tall as a five-story apartment.
And the axe in his hand, as big as his own body, wasn't just for show; it proved he was a predator.
"Out of courtesy, I'll tell you the name of the one killing you. That's giant etiquette."
I'm Pembr. What's your name, human?
Pembr assumed the human staring blankly at him without a word was frozen in terror.
From desperately making the others flee to staying behind alone.
That alone could be seen as an act of tremendous courage.
'Nothing left now, huh.'
It was rare even among giants—those who spouted honor and codes of conduct only to do filthy deeds behind closed doors—to act this way knowing death awaited.
"You seem to know a bit about giants, don't you? You know what happens when a giant appears on vibrant land."
Pembr had waited for the human to give his name but ended up continuing his own monologue.
No point in hurrying; the human couldn't escape anyway, and sharing a bit of wisdom with a brave soul before death didn't seem like a bad idea.
"When we're on land teeming with life, we suck it all up and grow... Especially on sunlit soil."
Giants were monsters banished from the surface, a race that yearned for the earth.
They could only grow when on land, which was why they craved descending to the surface—and why their power hit limits quickly up in the clouds, even if cultivated.
That was precisely why Kim Geon-ho had desperately kept the giant from emerging.
'This is when it's weakest.'
The Forest of Instinct was dead land, offering no vitality to absorb. Pembr was an immature giant, so failing to take him down here would spell disaster.
That split-second calculation had led Kim Geon-ho to this moment.
'Wanted to be the protagonist... and found one.'
He'd figured out how to find the protagonist, but not how to become one. Yet seeing the pint-sized giant Pembr before him now gave him a vague understanding.
"All I have to do is protect."
Protect the precious people, everyone around me.
Kim Geon-ho neatly reached his conclusion, pulling out his bladeless dagger and knuckleduster from his pocket and equipping them.
Thanks to the honing tool, the dagger and knuckleduster—fully repaired—were no longer their shabby former selves.
"Let me hunt you."
This was the moment the full power of Ferocious Tiger revealed itself to the world.
The early Ferocious Tiger didn't originally fight with specific weapons.
They mainly crafted weapons on-site using terrain and whatever was available.
But as prey grew tougher over time, Ferocious Tiger eventually created the Three Divine Tools.
Two of those were already in my possession.
A dagger optimized for ambushes and assassinations, and knuckledusters to always hold the edge in ultra-close combat.
I didn't have the third one yet—it wasn't obtainable right now—but these two alone were plenty.
"Hoo... First time using both together in real combat."
Having the knuckledusters and dagger in perfect condition—usually only wielded in my mental realm—feel so real in the actual world was strangely thrilling.
Shhhk.
A black blade sprouted from the bladeless dagger, while the knuckledusters extended like gauntlets up to my elbows, complete with claw-like protrusions.
"...What the hell is that?"
"No need to know."
You're dying soon anyway.
Ignoring Pembr's words, I kicked off the ground and charged straight for his ankle.
'Giant Hunt.'
The swung dagger's blade extended perfectly to sever Pembr's ankle without hesitation, scaling to the ideal length for the target's size—a power of Ferocious Tiger's divine tools.
I didn't know its true name yet, so it wasn't at full power, but slicing a young giant's ankle was child's play.
Clang!
"You... youuuu!!! "
I'd expected a clean cut through bone, but even a young giant was a giant; vitality instantly wrapped his ankle, shielding the bone.
Still, with tendons and muscles fully severed, proper movement was impossible.
Whoosh!
Moreover, flames rode the blade's edge, scorching the wound and using the giant's skin as kindling to blaze fiercely.
"Gaaahhh! Prey! What the fuck is this?!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Pembr had few options here. Resistance meant stomping wildly or swinging his axe with the recoil.
But in his agitated state, landing a hit on my small frame—when precision was already a stretch—was impossible.
'His lower body's messed up from landing, so he's not reacting properly.'
Plus, the dead Forest of Instinct offered no vitality to draw; instead, it was draining his.
If he'd emerged into the real world, I couldn't have taken him at this level—but the Forest of Instinct made it possible.
"Hey, say that stuff again. What were you gonna do to me?"
Cute little brat. Besides bellowing and flailing, what could you even do?
Got anything else besides swinging that axe you can't even land?
"Filthy human! Filthy human! You can't mock a giant like that! By Eltap's name, I'll kill you!"
My mocking sneer prompted Pembr to invoke a giant god's name, pouring all his power into the axe.
"Dodging rat! Shameless scum! I'll make you unable to move!"
Vroooom!
The house-sized axe cleaved the air viciously toward the ground, resembling a small meteor crashing into the earth.
Even a near-miss would deliver massive shockwaves.
But I was already in the safest spot from that attack.
"Told you—misses don't count."
"Wha... what?"
The vitality-drained young giant belatedly noticed the human he'd desperately wanted dead right beside his face.
'Heaven-Earth Shaker.'
All my Heaven-Earth Shakers so far had been watered-down versions of watered-down versions.
I hadn't even worn the knuckledusters properly, dialing back the power with extreme finesse to minimize damage.
'Not this time.'
Now I had them on, and there was no need to hold back anyway.
Krunch... Boom!
My clenched fist, brimming with Ferocious Tiger power, smashed through the knuckledusters into Pembr's jaw.
Snap—crack-crackle-snap!
"Uh... ugh... buh...?"
Whoosh!
His face whipped up and down like his neck was yanked out, body launching airborne from the impact.
Pouring everything into the axe left him wide open for defense—consequences laid bare.
"Hup!"
I leaped off his body to avoid the shockwave, landing safely.
Pembr flew like a home-run baseball, defying gravity.
"Hii... eeeaaahhh...!!!"
His lower jaw utterly shattered, his mid-flight cries were unintelligible.
"Still talking, huh."
Producing sound with his neck bones mostly pulverized was impressive. Giant anatomy resembled humans', yet their vitality was absurdly tenacious—racial difference, no doubt.
So I prepared the killing blow.
Kabooom!
Pembr cratered deeply into the ground, as if pulverizing the entire forest. I didn't miss the opening.
Crackle-crackle.
From overexertion nonstop, my body screamed at its limits.
Extending the blade long, wielding flames, ignoring physical bounds—none prioritized my safety, so backlash hit fast.
'Gotta do it anyway.'
Hesitating before a prey I could only kill now was nonsense.
Boom!
I maxed out power again, closing in instantly and extending the blade long and fluidly.
'Body Shredder.'
Shhhk.
The black blade rippled across Pembr's body.
Like a child scribbling crayons on a white wall, erratic lines slowly etched across him.
"Don't wanna die..."
Splatter!
The giant who saw humans as prey ended up minced like ground meat from a butcher shop.
"Hoo..."
Plop, plip-plop, plop.
Shredded flesh and blood sprayed wildly, plastering my body.
I wanted to clean it off with basic magic, but I'd burned through my strength—couldn't even twitch a finger.
I was drenched in blood, a full-on gore shower.
'Hup... hoo...'
Breathing was a chore; speaking impossible. Calming down came first.
'Rest a bit... then portal out.'
It hadn't taken long, so exiting quick might ease the anxious imaginings.
That thought lasted a moment before—as if to mock life's plans—the dungeon exit portal spawned right under me.
Congratulations!
You've cleared the variant dungeon and slain the little giant Pembr!
As reward...
The dungeon clear notice popped up before my eyes just as I tried to read it.
"Kyaaaaahhh!"
"Geon-ho! Don't die! You can't die! Geon-ho! Geon-ho!"
"Tataqum, save Kim Geon-ho! Kim Geon-ho! Don't die!"
"Cadet Kim Geon-ho has appeared here! Critical injuries at minimum! Medical team, immediately—with all equipment—to this location!"
The worried cries of countless comrades and rescuers blaring the emergency everywhere reached my ears.
'No... no, this isn't...'
Not my blood... really not... I'm fine...
I wanted to say that, but utterly exhausted, I couldn't move or speak—only watch helplessly.
"Why'd you do something so stupid! Why! Why!"
"Geon-hooo... you can't die...!"
Marren sobbing hysterically, Airi wiping tears as she approached.
"...You're an incredible warrior, Kim Geon-ho!"
And Tataqum, deeply moved by his own misconception.
The misunderstanding—beyond my power to fix right now—deepened by the second.