Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The Coming-of-Age Rite
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Rustle-
Crunch-
The sound of leaves crunching tickled Do-jae's ear.
Do-jae set down his spoon and looked in the direction of the sound.
‘Something's approaching.’
He couldn't see anything through the dense forest, but the sound was getting closer.
Judging by the rhythm, it was the sound of something walking on two feet.
And from the nature of the sound, it seemed to be soft feet treading the ground, not something hard.
‘A monster?’
Do-jae picked up his spoon again.
It was probably a monster drawn by the smell of the kimchi stew and rice.
Besides, hearing the sound before sensing its presence meant it was likely nothing special.
Do-jae kept eating, his gaze fixed on the direction of the sound.
And a moment later.
‘A child?’
A figure began to appear between the trees.
A human child with bronze skin was cautiously approaching Do-jae from a distance.
‘Were there human survivors…?’
The child looked around and sniffed the air as it slowly drew nearer to Do-jae.
Its hair was disheveled, its clothes looked like animal hides draped over its body, and it was barefoot.
It looked to be around Do-young's age.
‘But… it's big?’
The distance to the child was about 30 meters.
For some reason, the child's body seemed large.
Not that it was stocky.
Its height and frame just seemed large overall.
"Taktakot kukhaju!"
Do-jae and the child's eyes met.
The child's face lit up with joy, and it started running.
*Thump-*
*Thump- thump-*
The child snapped through obstructing branches as it ran.
Do-jae dropped his spoon, stood up, and froze on the spot.
Not out of fear, but more out of sheer disbelief.
‘A... giant...?’
The child was suddenly right in front of him.
Do-jae slowly tilted his head back to look up at this child.
It was a full head taller than Do-jae, with solid muscles for its apparent age.
"Butdakgok chuha tamjabu."
The child pointed at the stew and rice, then reached for them.
"Don't...!"
Do-jae tried to stop it, but the child had already touched the pot.
Though it had cooled a little, the broth was still hot, yet the child lifted the pot to its lips with one hand and gulped it down as if it weren't hot at all.
Then it picked up the rice with its fingers and stuffed it into its mouth, munching away.
"What... are you..."
Do-jae was experiencing the absurd situation of having his meal stolen by a suddenly appearing child, but what was even more absurd was that the child then sat down and started dozing off.
"What is this..."
- A Titan.
"A Titan?"
- A race with a very small population. They live mainly in the rainforest and have almost no interaction with other races.
"I see. They weren't in the books..."
- That's because the environment is harsh, so humans rarely venture into the rainforest. Besides, they don't often leave their territory.
"So this is Titan territory?"
- No. They live in the hottest and most humid western part of the rainforest. They are very resilient creatures.
- This is the north, so it's not Titan territory, is it?
Do-jae looked at the dozing Titan child.
It was probably about two meters tall with a sturdy body, but its smooth skin and baby fat showed it was still a child.
And as it nodded off, its head occasionally dropping, it even seemed endearing.
‘This is how Do-young looked when he waited for me at the hospital...’
Do-jae cleaned up his meal and leaned against the tree again.
He hadn't been eating out of hunger anyway, but to preserve his stamina, and he couldn't just leave this Titan child behind. There were too many things that concerned him.
‘No matter how strong their race is, there are too many monsters here. Why did it come all the way to the north?’
What if the Titan village had also been invaded and this child had fled?
What if it was a child wandering alone after losing its family and villagers?
It looked quite healthy for that to be the case, but he couldn't help but worry.
On the other hand, he also had another thought.
‘If the Titans are still alive, I'd like to meet them. It would be good to have someone familiar with the local situation, like last time.’
In the end, Do-jae decided to wait for the child to wake up.
In the meantime, he took out the earring Sarieta had made from his subspace and put it on.
It seemed the child didn't know the continental common language.
*Jolt-!*
About thirty minutes later, the child's eyes snapped open.
It stood up immediately, showing no signs of grogginess.
"That was good. Bye!"
The child said its farewells and turned to leave.
Do-jae also got up and spoke to the child.
"Child, where are you coming from?"
The child, who was about to leave, jumped in surprise and spun around.
"Huh? You can speak our language?"
"This isn't your language. It just sounds like it to you."
"How?"
"There's a way. More importantly, where are you from that you're wandering around here?"
In response to Do-jae's question, the child pointed somewhere.
A massive tiger could be seen approaching, parting the forest trees.
"To catch that!"
As soon as the child saw the tiger, it kicked off the ground and charged.
It was a beast-type monster, a Thunder Tiger, twice the size of a normal tiger, with long whiskers like a dragon's.
*Crackle-!*
Seeing the child charge, electricity coursed through the Thunder Tiger's whiskers, letting off sparks.
It was called a Thunder Tiger partly because of the intense current in its whiskers, but there was another reason.
"Graaaawr!"
A massive roar, like a clap of thunder.
This was why it was called a Thunder Tiger.
"That's too much for you to handle...!"
Do-jae rushed out to stop the child just before it clashed with the Thunder Tiger.
But the moment he witnessed the child and the tiger collide, Do-jae slowly came to a halt.
"What kind of strength..."
The Titan child was in a contest of strength, holding back the tiger's forepaws.
Of course, it was only a Grade 7 monster, but that rank was assigned after a clear strategy for hunting it had been established, making it easier.
To fight a Thunder Tiger bare-handed, one would have to be at least a B-rank hunter.
And a physical-type hunter at that, with a body resistant to high currents.
"Grrrroooar!"
"This bastard?"
The Thunder Tiger violently shook its forepaws, causing the child to stagger and lose its grip.
The Thunder Tiger then unsheathed its sharp, large claws and swiped at the child's body.
"Ouch!"
Seeing this, Do-jae was surprised yet again.
Faint, thin claw marks, barely visible, were etched onto the child's bronze skin.
It looked like a scratch from a cat would have been deeper.
"Grrr!"
"Hah!"
The Thunder Tiger let out a thunderous roar, opened its maw, and charged.
Even though the child was two meters tall, watching it face that maw made him worry it would be swallowed in one bite.
However, as if to prove Do-jae's worries unfounded, the child leaped with an agile movement and landed on the Thunder Tiger's back.
*Squeeze-.*
The child wrapped both arms around the Thunder Tiger's neck and began to choke it.
The electricity from the Thunder Tiger's whiskers made the child's hair stand on end, but it seemed unfazed, only tightening its grip on the neck.
"You're just a kitty!"
The Thunder Tiger thrashed wildly, but the child clung to its back, refusing to let go.
After about three minutes, the Thunder Tiger's struggles began to slow.
After about five minutes, it stopped moving and slowly collapsed.
*Thud-.*
The child continued to choke it for a while longer, until finally, with a sharp *snap*, it let go of the Thunder Tiger's neck and stood up.
"Finally caught it!"
With a refreshed expression, the child approached the Thunder Tiger's head.
And with a strong tug, it pulled out the whiskers.
"Hehe. Got it!"
The plucked whiskers were still sparking with electricity, but the child tucked them into its clothes as if it were nothing.
Having watched the entire scene, Do-jae approached out of curiosity and asked.
"What are you going to use those whiskers for?"
Do-jae had extensive knowledge of monster spoils, but he didn't know what a Thunder Tiger's whiskers were used for.
The whiskers would discharge after a short time, making it impossible to extract electricity, and they had no other use as medicine or weaponry.
"This? It's proof, proof!"
"Proof of what?"
"Proof that I've become an adult! I'm now a proud Titan warrior."
Do-jae nodded with a look of understanding.
‘I see... So a Titan warrior must be able to catch a Thunder Tiger bare-handed. They're a very strong race.’
Furthermore, he could infer one more thing from the child's words.
If they were still holding coming-of-age ceremonies, it meant the Titan village or city had not yet been harmed by the monsters.
Otherwise, would they have time for such a leisurely ritual as a coming-of-age ceremony?
"But why did you come all this way? My dad said dwarves live far away."
"A dwarf? I'm not a dwarf. Haha."
Do-jae laughed and denied it.
He figured that from the child's perspective, the robe pulled down over his head might make him look like a dwarf.
Still, being compared to dwarves, who were only 120cm tall on average, was a bit baffling, but he reasoned that since the Titans were an exclusive race, the child had probably never actually seen a dwarf. He took off his robe.
"You don't have a beard? Are you an elf then?"
"Sorry, but that's wrong too. I'm human."
"Human!"
When Do-jae revealed he was human, the child stepped back and raised its arms.
Fingers tensed, legs spread wide, ready to spring into action at any moment.
It was a posture that looked ready to attack at any time.
"They said humans are bad! And strong! You came to kill me, didn't you?"
Do-jae was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude and waved his hands.
"No, who told you that? I have no intention of harming you."
"Lies! My grandpa always said so. He said the reason we only live here is because of humans!"
The child glared, clenching its fists tightly.
It was the first time he'd seen the child's fists look so large.
Do-jae asked Altein what had happened.
‘Altein, what is that all about? Didn't you say all the races lived in peace?’
- Ahem. He's probably talking about the Hundred Years' War. A Titan's lifespan is only about 60 years, so that child's grandfather couldn't have experienced it himself. The grandfather must have passed on stories he heard about humans during the war.
Hearing Altein's words, Do-jae thought it made sense.
The era of peace was 300 years ago.
A long-lived race like the elves might remember that time, but for Titans, who only lived 60 years, the dark age that followed the peace would be etched in their minds.
He'd have to hear more to know what humans did during that period, but for now, he needed to show this child he wasn't a threat.
"It's okay. I'm not here to..."
"Stay back! Come any closer and I'll do the same to you as I did to this thing!"
The child glanced at the Thunder Tiger, then glared at Do-jae.
Just as he was wondering how to calm the child down.
A loud sound came from the child's stomach.
*Grumble-.*
"You're still hungry, aren't you? Want this?"
Do-jae took a chocolate bar out of his subspace and showed it to the child.