Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Scout Leader
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"Kyaaaak!"
The Gray Man collapsed, letting out a bizarre scream.
Pinned to a tree with a sword in its chest, the creature soon dropped its head.
‘The tenth one. Cleared.’
After hunting the first Gray Man, Do-jae continued to face the ones that appeared.
One or two at a time.
He hunted them quickly, before they could call for others.
And the more he hunted them, the more a strange feeling began to stir within him.
‘What is this unsettling feeling?’
Is it because they look so much like humans?
Or is it because of their reactions?
The Gray Men kept trying to say something to him.
It was the same with the Red Orcs.
Facing stronger foes stirred up a peculiar emotion.
After fighting only unintelligent Grade 7 to 10 monsters, it was confusing to now face creatures that tried to communicate.
‘Are other hunters unfazed by this?’
For a long time, there have been consistent attempts to coexist with monsters.
There were a few who argued for respecting the right to life for monsters, and scholars who sought to communicate with them.
But such people are treated as heretics.
Countless people have suffered and been hurt by monsters.
They have always shown unconditional hostility toward humans, and never before has a monster tried to interact with them.
In the end, monsters are humanity's arch-enemy.
That was why Do-jae had always treated monsters as prey, but he couldn't shake the strange feeling he got from the Gray Men who tried to speak to him.
And yet, it wasn't pity or guilt.
‘I want to kill them.’
A fierce animosity.
A powerful urge to kill monsters—an overwhelming feeling that they *must* be killed—welled up inside him.
*Slap, slap.*
Do-jae lightly slapped his own cheeks.
‘Monsters are just monsters.’
I can't let my emotions get the better of me.
Not being swayed by emotion is a fundamental principle of hunting.
It seemed to be the fault of the Eye of the Golem.
The ‘Spirit’ stat, which he started investing in after acquiring the Eye of the Golem, seemed to be influencing him.
"Hm?"
Even though the hunt was over, he felt his mana continuously being consumed.
It wasn't at a worrying level, but it was a noticeable change.
‘That direction… is that Kim Jun-seo's group?’
The continuous mana consumption was from the golem he had sent to each team—one per group—as it repaired itself.
And the golem was with the team led by Kim Jun-seo.
‘He said they were resting in a safe zone.’
Of course, a safe zone isn't a guarantee of 100% safety.
Besides, since he was still connected to the golem's core, all he had to do was hurry over to Kim Jun-seo's location.
‘But why hasn't the clear message appeared?’
Aside from the golem, another strange thing was that he had completed the quest requirement of hunting ten of them, yet there was no notification.
Normally, the alerts should have popped up the moment he finished.
Just then.
*Throb-.*
His temples pulsed with pain.
It was a signal.
A danger signal from his instincts!
‘Something’s here!’
The moment he looked up, he saw a new Gray Man standing on a tree branch.
It had been looking down at him without making a sound or showing any presence.
"Kkyaeuk."
As their eyes met, its pitch-black pupils fixed on him, the creature muttered lowly.
This one was different from the others.
While the previous Gray Men had openly displayed their aggression, this one did not.
‘Something’s different…’
First, its appearance was distinct from the others.
It wore a vest of interlocking metal pieces that resembled scale mail and carried a dagger instead of a bow.
And it was looking down at Do-jae as if observing him, a smile on its face.
Do-jae immediately used the Eye of the Golem on it.
[Monster Information]
Name: Salreuta
Classification: Monster (Gray Man)
Details: 187 years old, 191cm, 89kg, Kalia Tribe Scout Leader, skilled in daggermanship.
Status: Hostility / Rage / Grief
‘It has a name?’
Monsters don't have names.
He had used the Eye of the Golem on monsters a few times since acquiring it, but the name always appeared as [None].
There were no special details, either—just well-known facts, so there was no useful information.
That's why he hadn't really thought to use the Eye of the Golem.
But the moment he saw Salreuta's information, he realized this was no ordinary monster.
‘The Kalia Tribe must be the name for the group of Gray Men in this area.’
There were cases where humans gave monsters names, like the ‘Demon Dragon Auvergne,’ named after the Auvergne region in France where the dungeon break occurred.
But this was the first time he had learned a monster's actual name.
"Kyawooreu."
The creature slowly drew its blade and then landed softly on the ground, as light as a falling feather.
‘It’s coming!’
***
"Hey, what's going on? It's not regenerating anymore."
"I know, right? What's with it?"
Jang Pil-ho and Lee Ji-woong stopped their attacks.
The golem, which had regenerated quickly even when cut in half, was now healing at a remarkably slow pace.
"It seems to have slowed down a lot, too."
"Right? I've been noticing that for a while now."
*Clatter-.*
The golem moved sluggishly, its core completely exposed.
Even the light from its core flickered precariously, as if about to go out.
It was regenerating, but so slowly that it was nerve-wracking.
"This is weird. You don't think something happened to the captain, do you? They said this thing was connected to him."
"Nah, no way."
As the golem's regeneration slowed, they sensed that something was wrong.
It had been fun messing with the golem, but now they were starting to get worried.
"Hey, let's stop. This is all your fault for telling me to fight it."
"What? You were the one having more fun with it."
Just then, the sound of the ground rumbling came from the distance, along with Kim Jun-seo's shout.
His voice was filled with urgency.
"Jang Pil-ho! Lee Ji-woong!"
The two of them hurriedly ran back to where they came from.
And there, they witnessed a fierce battle unfolding.
"A t-troll?"
"Dammit, where did these trolls come from all of a sudden!"
Son Jeong-gyu, Kim Jun-seo, and Yook Hyun-jae were each fighting one of the three trolls.
Son Jeong-gyu was holding his own, his body bulked up, but Kim Jun-seo and Yook Hyun-jae were barely managing to dodge their opponents' attacks.
"I'll go help Hyun-jae."
"I'll help Jun-seo!"
After assessing the situation, the two immediately split up and joined Kim Jun-seo and Yook Hyun-jae.
***
Going back in time a little, to when the eleventh Gray Man attacked Do-jae.
*Clang-!*
Sparks flew as sword met sword.
"Haha!"
Do-jae started to laugh.
A laugh escaped him as their blades clashed.
‘This is fun.’
Salreuta's blade carried immense weight.
Moreover, its speed was incredible, judging by how it instantly retreated after their exchange.
‘Let’s see how skilled it really is.’
Do-jae and Salreuta began to exchange blows.
Moving through the mountain forest as if it were its own home, Salreuta launched surprise attacks from unseen angles.
But each time, Do-jae easily parried them.
He didn't stop there; Do-jae began to counterattack, bit by bit.
He pushed his next attack with more speed and power, letting Salreuta know he was getting serious.
"Kyawoo. Kiaaa."
The creature looked as if it were surprised.
Then, its eyes widened as it glared at Do-jae once more.
Such a wide range of expressions.
Do-jae found this interesting.
Though it was a different kind of interest.
‘This will be a satisfying kill.’
All sorts of hunting methods surfaced in Do-jae's mind.
A head-on sword fight.
Summoning a new golem with a mana stone for a pincer attack.
Storing his sword in the subspace and using his speed for a barrage of strikes.
His thoughts were filled with nothing but the need to kill the creature.
"Kiyaoo!"
The creature kicked off the ground again, flying toward him.
Do-jae didn't just stand there.
*Shraaa-!*
Do-jae swung his opposite arm forcefully.
The Golem Armor covering his arm broke apart, sending a fierce volley of stones flying.
*Clang-.*
*Clang- clang-!*
With swift slashes of its blade, the creature deflected the dozens of flying stones.
Its sword was so fast that not a single one of the many stones touched its body before falling to the ground.
However.
*Shk-.*
The stones were merely a distraction to obstruct its vision.
Do-jae slid forward and slashed one of the creature's legs.
"Kuaaargh!"
The creature screamed in pain.
Thick, black blood flowed from its thigh.
‘It dodged in the nick of time.’
He had intended to sever the leg completely, but the creature was agile.
The moment Do-jae's sword touched its skin, it twisted its body, narrowly avoiding amputation.
However, the amount of blood flowing out showed that the wound was quite deep.
*Shuk-!*
The creature leaped up into a tree on its injured leg.
It tore a piece from its fluttering clothes, apparently intending to stop the bleeding.
‘You’re not getting away!’
Do-jae gave it no opening.
Before it could even tie the bandage around its leg, he kicked the tree, knocking it over.
"Kuieegh!"
Clutching its mangled leg, the creature moved to another tree.
Each time it did, Do-jae knocked the tree down, thwarting its escape.
‘Nowhere left to run.’
With all the nearby trees felled, the creature landed on the ground, keeping its distance.
The bleeding was still severe, and it staggered, unable to stand properly.
‘Was this all it had?’
When they first crossed swords, he had thought it was a dangerous opponent.
But he hadn't expected it to become this easy after a single attack.
He even felt a sense of disappointment, a feeling of waste.
"Kyaeuu."
The creature limped backward.
Do-jae slowly closed the distance between them.
*Shk-.*
He slashed its good leg.
The creature raised its sword to block, but Do-jae's strength simply made it lose its grip.
*Thud-.*
With both legs useless, the creature collapsed to the ground.
Now it began to crawl.
*Stomp-.*
*Crack-!*
Do-jae stomped on one of its arms.
From the sound of bone breaking, that arm would be useless now too.
"Kuyaaaargh!"
The creature glared at Do-jae and let out a desperate scream.
He couldn't understand its meaning.
No, he didn't want to.
*Press-.*
Do-jae pressed his foot down firmly on the creature's torso.
And holding his sword vertically.
*Pshk-.*
He plunged it into the space between the creature's eyes.
[You have leveled up.]
[Quest cleared.]
[You have acquired the rewards.]
[A new effect has been added to ‘Eye of the Golem’.]
[Achievement Exceeded!]
[You have acquired an additional reward.]
[‘Purple Box’]