008. The Hungry Yeti
The crystal model behind Bin's back gaped its mouth wide open. Then, drawing in a deep breath, it began sucking him toward it.
Sensing the pull on his body, Bin braced his legs with all his strength.
“……”
Looking at it, Bin couldn't help but nod. The crystal model had opened its red eyes, revealing the unmistakable head of a yeti.
Dirt, dust, and crystals from the surroundings were drawn into its maw. The suction grew stronger, pulling Bin closer to the creature.
Bin furrowed his brow, straining his legs harder.
“This pulling force is no joke……”
Ching!
Realizing this wouldn't do, Bin drew his Bow Sword and slammed it into the ground.
At that instant, a look of relief crossed his face. His body, which had felt on the verge of being yanked away, now held firm. With his enhanced power, he could stand his ground on both feet—a stark difference from before.
It was thanks to the 'boar spirit' imbued in the Bow Sword.
The gap between an 8th Class knight and a 6th Class knight's physical prowess was staggering.
Seeing Bin hold steady with ease, the yeti clamped its mouth shut. It seemed to realize sucking in air was no longer working.
The yeti shook its body side to side, then used its arms to haul itself fully out of the earth.
Thud! Thud!
Crystal Yeti. Also known as 'Bigfoot' or 'Sasquatch,' it was a 5th grade monster. Standing three meters tall and weighing around 500 kilos, it had horns on its head and a massive frame covered in crystals. Its feet were disproportionately huge compared to its bulk.
In a word, the yeti looked like a bear crossed with a human.
Humans were its staple food. But humans fled at the sound of its massive footsteps, so it had formed a symbiotic relationship with the harpies. The harpies lured humans in, and the yeti disposed of them just like this.
Now fully emerged, the top-heavy yeti—with its enormous head on a squat body—glared at Bin.
“Food?!”
The yeti was an intelligent monster capable of human speech. But its hulking frame came with a sluggish, dim-witted drawl.
Viewing Bin as a slab of meat, it lumbered forward, drool dripping in thick globs.
“Food…. food……”
Drip. Drip.
Its saliva spilled from its jaws, soaking the ground. It had lost all self-control at the sight of prey right in front of it.
But Bin, seasoned through countless trials, refused to be intimidated.
“Food? In your dreams. Today, I'm claiming that head of yours.”
Far from cowering at its massive size, Bin fixed it with a piercing glare.
The yeti scowled at his words, slobbering even more.
Drip. Drip.
Enthralled by the prey(?) before it, the yeti charged without restraint.
Bin raised his Bow Sword to meet it.
Cling.
The yeti closed in swiftly, clasping its fists together and smashing down at Bin.
Boom!!
Bin dodged nimbly and glanced at the spot where he'd stood. A deep crater marked the floor, the imprint of the yeti's enormous fist etched clearly into the stone.
Bin's eyes widened.
That raw power is something else…!
Instinct had kept him from blocking with his sword. A wise call—if he'd met it head-on, his skull would be shattered on the ground.
Before Bin could catch his breath, the attacks kept coming.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom……!
The yeti's barrage cratered the floor around them, shaking the cave. Startled harpies shrieked and flapped away into the air.
Eek! Eek!
But Bin wasn't one to go down easy. Empowered by the Bow Sword, he moved with the agility of a 6th Class knight.
Swish.
His evasion wasn't just survival—it carried a hint of leisure.
“Not even close.”
The yeti's strikes packed power and speed, but its wide swings made the attack paths predictable.
Boom!!
Even as Bin stood relaxed, the yeti swung again—and missed, as expected. Against a prestigious family's 6th Class knight, heir to the Bascon bloodline, such attacks were laughable.
“With that skill? Forget meat—you're fit for scavenging bugs.”
Provoked, the yeti bared its fangs and hurled its bulk forward in a reckless lunge.
That's when Bin switched the sword from his left hand to his right. A blade of black wind erupted, slicing toward the yeti.
Shraaa!
Too close to dodge, the attack cleaved cleanly. With a sickening slice, the yeti's head parted from its body.
Thud!
Bin sheathed his Bow Sword and checked the fallen yeti. Black blood pooled on the ground as the severed head's jaws worked feebly.
“M-meat……”
The head mumbled its last words before its eyes rolled back. Its twitching finally ceased.
The body stilled too—or so it seemed.
Then, an unbelievable sight unfolded before Bin's eyes.
A skeleton emerged from the severed body, raising one arm.
“……!”
Creak. Creak.
The eerie figure dragged itself out with grotesque sounds. Goosebumps prickled Bin's skin at the horrifying scene.
The skeleton—head, neck, and one arm—scraped across the floor toward him.
Creak. Creak.
As Bin reached for his sword again, it bowed its head.
“My lord, you've come to save me at last. This lowly one shall serve you until my dying breath. My. Lord!”
Bin blinked in confusion at the skeleton's words.
My lord? And 'dying breath'…? It's already dead.
He tilted his head at the contradictory phrasing from a lifeless skull.
To clear up the mystery, the skeleton continued.
“The one chosen by my lord is my lord to m……”
But Bin had no time for nonsense. Dismissing it as drivel, he casually stepped on the skull.
“My, my… lord……!”
Crack!
Ignoring its fluster, Bin stomped lightly. Undeterred, the skeleton kept talking.
“Unlike your appearance, you're quite brusque……”
Bin ignored the creepy skull's prattle. Time was slipping away thanks to Shabest—he couldn't afford distractions.
“What a freakshow.”
Shaking it from his mind, Bin scanned the surroundings and rested his chin in thought.
“Combining the two clues—'eternal ice that never melts' and 'hungry yeti'—this has to be the place……”
As Bin pondered, something zipped overhead.
Swish. Swish.
The harpies, which had hung still since the yeti's fall, were now darting about, snatching crystals in their beaks.
Swoop— Swoop—
Bin's gut twisted as they flew toward the floor. His eyes widened when his hunch proved right.
“……!”
The harpies were sticking crystals onto the bisected yeti corpse, piecing it back together.
Soon, the two halves fused completely. A bead of sweat trickled down Bin's forehead.
“N-no way……?”
His worst fear came true. The yeti he'd just felled rose again, mouth agape.
Gulp! Gulp!
It inhaled sharply, swallowing harpies whole by the dozen.
Swoop.
“Eeeek!”
“Eeeek!”
Short cries echoed as harpies flew limply into its maw. Infused with their essence, the yeti's form had changed. More crystals bulked it up beyond three meters, spikes jutting like a porcupine.
The Crystal Yeti lumbered toward Bin once more.
Gulp! Gulp! Thud!
“Not escaping this time.”
Despite the menace, Bin met its gaze with steely resolve.
“Bring it. I'll bisect you again.”
The yeti's lips curled at Bin's icy glare.
“Hahaha. This is different now.”
It shoved a hand into its mouth and pulled something out. Bin's jaw dropped.
Th-that's…!
The yeti held aloft the very Shabest Bin sought—a sword of transparent crystal, like frozen shards fused together.
As the yeti gripped it, white frost billowed out. It leered at Bin with smug confidence, drool pooling.
“You're just a meal.”
Drip drip.
The yeti charged, saliva flying.
It's faster now…!
In a flash, it lunged, jaws wide for Bin's throat. Bin thrust up his Bow Sword.
Sharp fangs met blade with a resounding Clang!!
The cave reverberated, scattering harpies.
Eek. Eek.
In the deadlock, Bin grimaced.
Insane strength. No wonder it's a 5th grade monster…
His arms trembled. The yeti grinned.
“Tender meat.”
Bin scoffed back.
“I told you—I'm taking that head.”
He hid his strain, but knew the truth: at this rate, his life was at risk.
As he focused on the fangs, a translucent blade flashed from nowhere—the yeti's Shabest swing.
Bin leaped back. Crack! Ice shards exploded outward.
In the chaos, Bin deflected flying fragments with his sword.
Ting! Ting!
Regaining his stance, he eyed the yeti. The ground, solid moments ago, was now cratered and sheathed in transparent ice.
Shabest's power…
While Bin stared, the yeti's voice boomed.
“Die already!”
It unleashed a flurry of Shabest swings.
Boom! Boom!
Bin predicted arcs, dodging with minimal effort.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each blow hit harder than before. The area filled with frozen floor and shattered ice.
Bin taunted further.
“Keep that up, and you'll starve first.”
The yeti gnashed its teeth, provoked.
“Grrrrr… Insolent meal!!”
As Bin predicted, rage simplified its patterns—it had relied on brute force anyway.
The more it lost control, the surer Bin felt of escape.
But then—
His foot slipped on the iced floor.
Skid.
The watching yeti pounced on the opening, closing in with terrifying speed.
“……!”
As it raised Shabest for the killing blow—
“N-no, my lord!”
The one-armed skeleton leaped, throwing itself at the yeti.