Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Moonlit Night on the Plains, Walking the Fields
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The wind rustled gently across the plains.
Two moons hung in the sky.
And a giant wolf with silver fur that shimmered under the moonlight.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[You have encountered the Ancient God 'Garia'!] [The Queen of Wolves has taken a liking to you!!!]
"Reveal your name."
The Queen of Wolves asked for her name.
At that, Seong Ha-rin gathered her courage and answered.
"M-My name is Seong Ha-rin."
[Good. Human, Seong Ha-rin, are you prepared to receive the blessing of the Full Moon?]
As Garia spoke, a notification window appeared before Ha-rin's eyes.
⚔ CLASS CHANGE ⚔
You can change from Barbarian to Blue Moon Beast!!! Class change conditions not yet met!!! You can become a Blue Moon Beast once you meet the class change conditions!!!
Ha-rin chose the class change without hesitation.
It was the moment she believed that with her current class, she would eventually be unable to keep up with Jang Jo-jun and the other women.
She had come to the Mangujeon as a last resort, clinging to a straw, and now that she was able to face a divine being Jo-jun always spoke of and form a connection, there was no reason to refuse this priceless opportunity.
"Yes. I am prepared..."
As she willingly said she would accept the blessing of the Blue Moon, all the wolves surrounding her howled at the night sky to welcome their new family member.
[No hesitation. Good, I shall accept you as one of our family.]
"F-Family..."
[However, the scent of the Sabaseon world still clings too heavily to you. We must purge that scent. Garum.]
"Awooooo!!!"
At Garia's call, an old, one-eyed male wolf answered loudly and pushed through the pack, stepping forward.
[This child is my first fang, Garum. From now on, he will teach you the laws of the Blue Moon. Follow him and learn the law. And if you earn Garum's acknowledgment, I shall grant you three trials. If you pass all of them, I will make you my avatar.]
"Yes..!"
Garia immediately turned and entered the forest. The other wolves did the same.
As they departed, only the one-eyed wolf, Garum, remained before Ha-rin.
"Grrrr..."
Garum bared his teeth and circled Ha-rin once.
Then, he warned her in a sharp voice.
"It seems Mother considers you family, but I have not yet acknowledged you as one of our kin. So I will grind you to the absolute limit. If you want to give up, do it now. If you show me even a hint of weakness after the training begins... I will chew you up right then and there."
The killing intent emanating from the wolf, the size of a car, was overwhelming.
Receiving that viscous, skin-prickling killing intent head-on made her legs feel like they would give out.
Yet, despite that ferocious warning, she did not back down. She couldn't back down here.
"Oh ho... You think you can endure this?"
Garum's pressure intensified.
But as the pressure grew, Ha-rin's stubbornness swelled, and her fighting spirit boiled over.
If she gave up and turned back because of a mere threat like this, she would eventually fall behind everyone else and be left behind.
She might even be abandoned.
'I hate that. To be abandoned... To be thrown away because I'm useless... I can never allow that...'
Seong Ha-rin had been quite exceptional before the world ended.
She was an all-around honor student type who was good at everything, whether it was sports or studies. A person with a personality that saw everything she put her hand to through to the end.
However, now that the world had ended and all sorts of monsters began to crawl out, she was gradually falling behind.
The Barbarian class was specialized in individual survival, but it wasn't a class with any other particularly outstanding traits.
In the end, she herself had admitted that she was the weakest in the team.
At first, she felt like her heart would break.
She felt her presence gradually fading as she was overshadowed by the other women who boasted of their skills.
Of course, there was Lee Eun-ji, specialized in stealth who slit throats before the enemy could even notice, and Kang Yeong-hwa, who manipulated blood to cause widespread destruction. The Han sisters were also gradually growing stronger than her as their levels rose.
Furthermore, Kim Ye-won had clear advantages in that she could freely manipulate three summoned creatures. And Melherene was a powerhouse so strong that she couldn't even be compared to anyone else in the team except for Jang Jo-jun. Kang Hee-seon, the Druid who controlled spirits, was an indispensable existence.
She was the most useless human among the eight.
An ambiguous existence, nothing more and nothing less than a heartbeat detector.
That was the cold assessment she had given herself.
Leader Jang Jo-jun had never openly discriminated against her or given her the cold shoulder, but she couldn't stand her own weakness. Her pride wouldn't allow the fact that she was lagging behind others.
'That man isn't the type to express or show such things...'
Jang Jo-jun was a man who blindly protected his women. Ha-rin knew that too.
He didn't show it openly, but all the women knew that he cherished all eight of them equally without discrimination.
That's why she hated the thought of being abandoned by him or being considered useless. How could she abandon a man who cherished her so blindly just because she slept with him once?
Thinking that, she felt annoyed at this utterly useless task she was doing now.
Since the Queen of Wolves had already permitted it, she didn't like this wolf pup who was evaluating her.
"I don't have time, so just tell me the law already!! You damn bastard!!!"
She finally broke free from the pressure crushing her entire body.
She glared at the one-eyed old wolf with eyes full of rage and spat out a curse.
For a moment, she realized her mistake. Her emotions had flared up for a second, and she had cursed without a filter. At this giant wolf.
"What? Bastard? Are you talking to me? You're calling me a bastard? Ha... Hahahaha!!!"
Garum laughed out loud.
A tiny novice who wasn't even ninety years old dared to call a wolf who had lived for hundreds of years a bastard. He couldn't help but laugh at that audacity.
As the wolf's laughter grew louder, Ha-rin broke out in a cold sweat. She had spouted off whatever came to mind to escape the pressure, and now she started to worry that she might have crossed the line.
'Calling a wolf a bastard was a bit much... Am I going to die here...?'
After laughing for quite a while, Garum straightened his face and looked down at Ha-rin, who was sweating profusely.
Then, he shoved his face in front of her and unleashed a torrent of rough words.
"You damn human wench...! But you've got guts. Good. You damn scum. Since you want it, I'll throw courtesy out the window and hammer the law into you straight. Got it! Answer!"
"Yes..!"
"Your answer is too small. Louder!!!"
"Yes!!"
"Is that even an answer?! Is that all you've got? Louder!!"
"Yes!!!"
"Still not enough!!! Show me your guts! Scream with all your might! Hah! Repeat after me! Hah!"
"Aah!"
At Ha-rin's roar, Garum snorted with satisfaction.
"Good. From now on, I will teach you the law of the Blue Moon! Recite it back!! Begin!!"
"B-Begin!!"
It was hard to keep up with the tension, but Ha-rin did as Garum said for now.
She was swept up in the unique madness of a wolf walking under the moon and an strangely cheerful atmosphere.
"First, we never abandon our comrades."
"First!! We never abandon our comrades!!"
"Second, we protect our family."
"Second!! We protect our family!!"
"Louder!!! Third!!!"
"Third!!!!"
"We never retreat!"
"We never!! Retreat!!!"
"Lastly, we are warriors of the Blue Moon who know honor, revere bravery, and fear no defeat."
"We! Know honor! Revere bravery! And fear no defeat!!! Warriors of the Blue Moon!!!!"
After mindlessly shouting Garum's words, her throat began to hurt. But there was no time to stand still and rest.
"To not abandon our comrades and run away, we must be savage. To protect our family, we must be fierce. And to never retreat, we must be strong. Follow me. I will turn you into a warrior of the Blue Moon who can keep our law."
Saying that, Garum headed for the forest. At this, Ha-rin rubbed her aching throat and followed the wolf into the woods.
Several hours later...
"More!!! Run faster!!! It's the path you chose!!! Don't give up!!"
"Got it!!!"
Ha-rin, who was rolling around in the mud, shouted.
Then she thought to herself.
Thinking about it, it would have been better if she had just turned back.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A considerable amount of time had passed.
During that time, Garum had told her.
That time flowed slightly differently here compared to reality.
He said that only a few days would have passed on the outside.
Thanks to that, Seong Ha-rin was able to run through the plains with the wolves to her heart's content, gradually becoming a beast.
Although she herself didn't realize it, this crazy field, where the blue moon and the yellow moon alternated and night persisted all year round, awakened the madness latent within her and brought forth bravery and cheerfulness in place of her former caution and hesitation.
While running through the plains as usual, Ha-rin suddenly realized that she had changed quite a bit since entering this place. But by the time she realized it, it was already too late.
Now, the scent of the human world had almost completely vanished from her. As if she were a wolf boy born and raised in nature, the proportion of wildness and instinct had grown even larger.
The timid, low-self-esteem woman was no longer here.
Now, Seong Ha-rin was a brave and mighty warrior of the Great Plains, no different from a rough and fierce beast that worships the Blue Moon.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!!!"
"Your fighting spirit is excellent."
Thanks to training together in the forest and fields for quite a long time, Garum and Ha-rin had become quite close.
At first, Garum had tried to eat her, but he was impressed by her spirit to never give up and follow him to the end. He was also moved by her growing bravery day by day.
Now, Garum considered Seong Ha-rin a wolf who walks the Blue Moon, just like himself.
Of course, in his eyes, she was still a novice.
"You will soon go to meet Mother to face your trial."
"Finally..."
Ha-rin was excited at the thought of finally meeting Garia.
Although she didn't properly realize it herself, thanks to living with the wolves for a long time, her personality had become quite lively, and she could get excited over small things.
She was excited and thrilled at the thought of meeting that giant wolf, her mother, whom she had faced on the first day.
"Now, I'll stop here. Go straight along this cave. Meeting Mother is your first trial."
"Yes...!"
"You've worked hard. Let's meet again outside next time, our brother."
"Thank you for everything!!"
Seong Ha-rin bowed her head in greeting.
Garum immediately turned and disappeared into the forest.
Seong Ha-rin stood alone in front of the cave.
'Once I pass through this cave...'
She could meet the Wolf Queen again and return to reality. Then she could see her Master and comrades who were in reality again.
Meeting them was an incredibly thrilling and exciting prospect.
Already feeling excited, Ha-rin strode forward fearlessly.
As expected, the cave was extremely dark and gloomy.
Moreover, it was a place that instilled a fundamental fear above all else.
"Hm...?"
As she was quickening her pace, thinking she needed to get out of here quickly, she suddenly realized she couldn't smell anything.
'I can't smell anything...'
But that didn't mean she could stop walking.
She continued to move forward.
If she stopped, she felt she would be eaten alive by the cave.
As she continued to walk straight into the endlessly stretching cave, her ears became clogged, and soon she couldn't hear any sounds.
That wasn't all. As she went deeper, her senses were blocked one by one.
Soon, even her last remaining sense of sight was blocked, and Ha-rin couldn't even tell if she was walking or standing still.
'Wh-What is this...'
She was lost.
She couldn't grasp where she should go, and she began to doubt if she was really moving forward.
Gradually, she experienced fear in a state where she could feel nothing.
Panic set in, and her thoughts gradually became paralyzed. Her anxiety grew, and she wanted to run away from here.
'A wolf never runs away.'
Suddenly, the law of the Blue Moon came to mind.
No matter how afraid it is, a wolf that has started to move forward never retreats.
Whether it ends in a mess or a success, it only moves forward to clear the path.
That is the role of the vanguard and the essence of a Blue Moon beast.
Ha-rin steeled her resolve once again and moved forward.
At that moment, a voice echoed in Ha-rin's mind.
"Do not be bound by the limits of your five senses." "What we must see lies beyond." "Do not create your own limits, trust your instincts." "Do not stop, move forward." "Cut through the wind, turning your back to the moonlit night."
Those words became a guide, allowing Ha-rin to narrow her complicated thoughts into one.
She abandoned the thought of seeing.
She also abandoned the thought of hearing and smelling.
She simply felt.
The surroundings and herself.
"I've got it."
Soon, she could feel it.
She could see without using her eyes, and she could know without using her ears.
She moved forward again.
Her footsteps were incredibly light, no longer containing any hesitation or confusion.
"Congratulations. You have safely passed the first trial."
As Ha-rin reached the end of the cave, she saw a woman waiting for her in a massive cavern.
"Huh...?"
She was a woman with shimmering silver hair.
And a beauty with beastly ears perked up...
"This must be your first time seeing this form. Come here. My child."
It was Garia, the master of the Blue Moon.