Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Oson Ironhammer
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For about three hours, they followed the direction the branch pointed.
*Thud-!*
"Ouch!"
Sari had tripped on a rock and fallen.
Thick, black blood trickled from her knee.
*I’d forgotten for a moment that Sari is a Gray Elf.*
Having spent the whole day among Gray Elves, he had temporarily forgotten.
To him, they were monsters.
Do-jae looked away from the black blood, something he felt he would never get used to, and handed her a low-grade potion.
"Here, pour this on the wound."
A small cut like this could be healed in an instant with just a low-grade potion.
And just as expected, the moment Sari poured the potion on her knee, the wound began to heal rapidly.
"Thank you, Do-jae."
Sari said, her voice a little downcast.
After checking her condition, Do-jae had her sit on a patch of dry grass nearby.
"Let's rest for a bit."
"No, I'm fine now. Let's go!"
Sari tried to get up.
Do-jae gently pushed her shoulder back down.
Her forehead was damp with sweat, and her expression was clearly exhausted.
Night would fall soon. Traveling any further would only slow them down and add to Sari's fatigue.
"Let's rest here for the night."
"Rest here? It's dangerous to sleep out in the open. If we don't keep moving..."
"Don't worry, Sari."
Do-jae opened his Subspace and took out the golems.
These were the four golems that remained after the battle with Ridirian.
"M-monsters!"
Sari jumped to her feet in surprise.
The golems he had brought out to reassure her had ended up startling her instead.
"It's okay. They're my golems."
As Do-jae spoke gently, Sari let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed tension was a major contributor to her fatigue.
"These golems will protect us tonight, so relax and get some rest."
The golems spread out to the north, south, east, and west, taking their positions.
They were his strongest, made from one A-grade mana stone and three B-grade mana stones.
Even when he had ordered the attack on Ridirian, he had wanted to save these ones and had kept them separate. In hindsight, it was a good decision.
*Rustle-.*
Do-jae took out Sari's backpack and also pulled out a sleeping bag, unfurling it.
Then he leaned his back against a sturdy tree.
"Get in and get some sleep."
"Huh? In here?"
"Yeah, it's soft, warm, and comfortable."
Do-jae gave up his only sleeping bag for Sari.
He could get enough rest just by closing his eyes for a short while.
But Sari was extremely tired.
It was better for her to fully recover for tomorrow.
"Whoa... just like you said, Do-jae, it's really warm and cozy."
Sari said in a satisfied voice after crawling into the sleeping bag.
"It's the other way around."
Do-jae said, holding back a laugh.
Sari had actually crawled into the sleeping bag with only her feet peeking out.
"You just laughed! I might not know, how can you make fun of me?"
"I didn't laugh."
"Hmph... Sorry, Do-jae. Am I being a bother?"
"No, not at all."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
Just as he'd told her, Do-jae really didn't find Sari to be a bother.
She was knowledgeable about the mountain's terrain, and thanks to her, they were able to take a shortcut and cross a mountain quickly.
Besides, Do-jae wasn't walking slowly; he was moving at a brisk pace, and the fact that Sari could keep up proved she was a Gray Elf, not a human.
The only thing she lacked was experience.
She knew a lot about the mountains, but this was only her third time outside the village, and her nervousness was draining her stamina.
"Hey, Do-jae. Can you tell me a little about yourself? Your mysterious magic pouch, the cup ramen, the golems... Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about you."
Come to think of it, Do-jae had only ever asked questions and had never properly answered any of Sari's.
*Have I ever told anyone my story?*
For some reason, the Chilgok Unit's Team 3 and Eun-hee came to mind.
Do-jae wondered what to say for a moment before opening his mouth.
They were different beings from different worlds, after all.
He decided to just tell her whatever came to mind.
"The place I used to live was called Earth..."
*Snooze, snooze-.*
Just as Do-jae's story was about to begin, he heard the sound of Sari's soft breathing.
She was already off in dreamland.
Do-jae stopped talking and closed his eyes as well.
*What the heck, she fell asleep without even listening.*
***
*Rustle-!*
Dawn was breaking.
The sound of footsteps on grass could be heard.
The unfamiliar presence woke Sari from her sleep.
"Do-jae?"
Do-jae was already turned in the direction of the sound.
"Something's coming."
Do-jae drew his sword and aimed it toward the forest.
The footsteps grew closer and closer.
Soon, a massive figure emerged from between the trees.
"Kuaaaargh!"
A monster, a Horned Boar.
It was a Grade 5 monster, a powerful beast with horns that could pierce steel and a bite force that could crush rocks.
"Do-jae! It's a Honboar! Run!"
Sari grabbed Do-jae's arm, ready to run.
But Do-jae stood his ground and asked.
"Sari, is that thing a monster? Or another race?"
"You idiot! Can't you tell by looking? Look at it drooling. It's trying to eat us!"
"So it's a monster."
Do-jae drew up his mana.
The surrounding dirt and rocks crept up his legs.
It was the same method he had used when he first met Son Jeong-gyu of the Chilgok Unit's Team 3.
He used a partial Golem Armor.
*Swoosh-!*
*Slice-.*
"Whoa!"
Sari jumped back in shock.
The Horned Boar's head had fallen to the ground, and blood was gushing out like a fountain.
*Thud-.*
The headless body of the Horned Boar crashed to the ground with a loud noise.
"Do-jae, you're amazing! Back in our village, only a warrior like Kuhtan can hunt a Honboar! To think you killed it in one strike!"
Sari, amazed by Do-jae's skill, approached the Horned Boar.
Meanwhile, Do-jae slowly looked down at his sword.
*This is a pretty good sword.*
Do-jae's sword, Black Scale, seemed to be sucking in the blood.
The sticky blood of the Horned Boar flowed down the engraved patterns on the blade, leaving not a single drop behind.
It felt as if the sword was absorbing the blood.
*Poke, poke-.*
Sari picked up a fallen branch and poked the Horned Boar.
As expected of a monster, its body twitched every time Sari poked it.
"What a waste. Honboar meat sells for a high price, but we have to leave it behind."
"Sari, what did you just say?"
"Huh? Oh, fresh Honboar meat is really delicious. But it spoils quickly, so it's not easy to eat. That's why it sells for a high price. Let's just cut off the horns and go. Honboar horns are good material for trumpets, so they'll sell well too."
"I see... is that so?"
Do-jae took out a dagger and sliced off the Horned Boar's foreleg.
The dagger displayed incredible cutting power, creating a perfect cross-section without him having to exert much force.
He then opened his Subspace and had it swallow the rest of the torso in one go.
"That's right! Do-jae's mysterious pouch!"
Do-jae proceeded to carve out the Horned Boar's horns.
Again, he cleanly cut off the horns without much effort.
Even if this wasn't Sraka's Fang, it was an exceptionally good dagger for something he got for free.
"Sari, do you know how to cook this?"
Do-jae gave the Horned Boar's foreleg to Sari.
Sari nodded with a determined expression.
"I'll show you a dish that surpasses even cup ramen!"
Sari rolled up her sleeves and took out various cooking utensils from her backpack.
Then, with practiced movements, she began to cook the Horned Boar's foreleg.
*I never thought I'd be eating monster cuisine.*
Most people don't eat monsters.
Monsters are targets to be killed, not ingredients.
However, a small number of humans eat monsters, calling themselves gourmets.
But to others, it was bizarre food.
So most people just saw them as freaks.
And now.
Do-jae was about to become one of those people.
*If possible, I should avoid waste by using what I can get locally instead of dipping into my stash.*
Even though he had plenty of food in his Subspace, Do-jae judged it was best to conserve when he could.
And maybe a little.
Just a little, he was also curious about the taste of Horned Boar meat.
"It's ready! Try it. You'll be surprised!"
Sari brought out a stew with large chunks of meat floating in it.
With a mix of apprehension and anticipation, Do-jae brought the spoon to his lips.
*Slurp-.*
Do-jae tasted the stew.
His eyes widened, and he couldn't stop spooning it into his mouth.
*This is delicious!*
***
Do-jae and Sari continued toward the kingdom, slowly but steadily.
They had to take frequent breaks for Sari, and each time, Do-jae put on a spectacular monster-butchering show.
He had ordered his golems to go ahead and hunt any monsters they encountered, so he steadily filled his Subspace without having to fight much himself.
And around the time the sun reached its zenith.
The golems returned with their hunt, but amusingly, they had a dwarf in their grasp.
*What's this now?*
Do-jae carefully observed the dwarf's appearance.
A muscular physique that would put Juke to shame, a short stature that didn't even reach Do-jae's waist, and yet, remarkably large fists.
He looked exactly like the dwarves Do-jae had imagined.
"Let go of me, you things!"
The dwarf stomped his feet and yelled, extremely agitated.
"Huh? What's a dwarf doing here?"
Sari asked with a curious expression.
Just as she said, the short man was indeed a dwarf.
*I told them not to hunt humanoid monsters, so I guess they had no choice but to bring him here.*
Do-jae had ordered the golems not to hunt humanoid monsters and to let them go.
He was worried Sari would be shocked if they happened to hunt a Gray Elf wandering outside the village.
*If he had just passed by, they would have let him go.*
There were large wounds on the golems.
They were regenerating quickly, but the marks were clearly made by the small, double-bladed axe in the dwarf's hands.
Caught between Do-jae's orders and the dwarf's attacks, the golems had decided to subdue him and bring him to Do-jae.
"Dwarf, why are you in the Kuran Mountains?"
Sari stepped forward and asked.
It was another language, different from the one she'd used before.
Unlike the Gray Elf language, which was full of strong plosives like 'k' and 't', this one had many softer sounds.
"The common tongue? What a relief. Hey, elf lady, give me a hand here. These golems are unbelievably strong!"
The dwarf struggled.
Sari glanced at Do-jae.
Trusting Sari, Do-jae ordered the golems to release the dwarf.
*Thump-.*
The dwarf fell to the ground.
He rolled his shoulders for a moment to loosen them up, then puffed out his chest and spoke proudly.
"Ahem! I don't know why you dragged me all the way here, but with my magnanimous heart, I shall forgive what just happened! Now, if you'll excuse me."
The dwarf tried to leave in a hurry.
"Hold on, dwarf!"
But Do-jae stopped the dwarf in his tracks.
"Ahem! I am Oson Ironhammer, son of the proud Puson Ironhammer. I have a proper name!"
"Alright, proud dwarf. Are you just going to run away like this?"
"Hmph! What are you talking about! I, Oson Ironhammer, do not run away! Such nonsense!"
"Then, what are you going to do about them?"
Do-jae pointed at the golems.
The golems had stopped regenerating their wounds at some point.
No, it was more than just wounds; they looked like they were on the verge of collapsing.
"Wh-what! Why are they like that?"
"I think it's because of you. You're not just going to leave, are you?"
Oson was flustered.
Seeing this, Do-jae's eyes glinted with certainty.