Survivor (2)
As the sun set, darkness descended and a chill moonlight flooded the sky where warm sunlight had been. I walked slowly through the forest beneath that sky, heading for the cave I had claimed as my base.
After eradicating the entire goblin pack, I had decided the cave was serviceable enough to serve as a stronghold. It contained a surprising number of goods—most likely supplies the goblins had stolen after ambushing and slaughtering people.
“Goblins love treasure, after all.”
As cunning and cowardly as they were, their greed for valuables was instinctive. Anything that glittered—gold, jewels, fine silk, armor, weapons—if it looked expensive, goblins hoarded it.
“At least I get to reap the benefits. I suppose I should count myself lucky.”
Thanks to that habit, I had been able to salvage clothes, weapons, and armor from the goblin den I had cleared. The items fell short of true “treasure,” but they were far better than nothing. Food, however, I still had to secure myself. That was why I left the cave every day, hunted monsters, gathered provisions, and returned.
“……”
I suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky. Moonlight drenched the dark night overhead. I had once believed I would never see it again, yet now the sight had become familiar. How much time had truly passed since my death? What year was it now? How were Lumia and Hayoon doing? What about the others?
These questions I kept asking myself were closer to anxiety than curiosity. They were also prayers—that everyone had survived the battlefield where I had fallen.
Awooooooo!
“……!”
The howl echoed through the forest. I reflexively turned toward the sound. The beast’s cry cut clearly through the dense underbrush and trees, stabbing into my ears.
“This is… a hound?”
It was the cry of a hound. I could identify the sound, but the phenomenon itself made no sense. Hounds had never produced howls loud enough to fill an entire forest like this. At least, I had never encountered it in my previous life or since my resurrection.
Yet I had no time to ponder the reason. I moved.
“No way…”
I couldn’t know the cause of a phenomenon I had never experienced before, but I understood the intent. If that howl meant “calling for allies,” then the hounds were currently fighting someone. And that someone was most likely human.
The moment that possibility occurred to me, my stride lengthened into a run.
“Huff…”
I drew in a deep breath as I ran. Mana responded, circulating through my body. The enhanced muscle strength accelerated me even further. The distance wasn’t far—about ten minutes at a normal sprint. With my reinforced body, it would take only two or three.
I wove between massive boulders and thick tree trunks, sprinting in a straight line toward the howls.
Found them.
After roughly two minutes at full speed, I spotted the people and the pack of hounds. I grabbed one of the several weapons at my waist—a mace with a round iron ball at the end of its handle—and planted my feet.
I twisted from the waist through the shoulders, pouring every ounce of strength into the throw. The mace spun around its iron head as it flew toward the nearest hound.
It struck the creature’s skull dead center.
Boom!
The weighted iron ball, carrying the full force of its velocity, exploded through the hound’s head. The mace continued in a straight line and embedded itself in the ground. Both the surrounded humans and the hounds that had been encircling them froze at the sudden thunderous impact.
I stepped forward slowly, revealing myself. I allowed a trickle of the mana circulating inside me to leak outward. The moment they sensed the aura I released, every eye—human and hound alike—snapped toward me.
Humans might not notice, but monsters were especially sensitive to the flow of mana. Whether it was their powerful survival instincts or some sixth sense unique to beasts, drawing a monster’s attention was easy. Of course, releasing too much pressure might make them flee, but I kept it measured.
Because if I’m too strong, they really will run.
These creatures were my prey. Just as they viewed humans as food, I—in a strange twist of irony—could treat them the same way.
“……”
Heavenly Fate flowed from the corpse of the hound whose head had been crushed by my thrown mace. I watched the energy naturally stream into me, then glanced at the people’s faces. They all wore expressions of shock at my abrupt appearance.
As I thought, they can’t see it.
Only I could see the Heavenly Fate and the act of absorbing it. That wasn’t a bad thing. It meant that even if I eventually returned to live among humans, it wouldn’t cause any major problems.
After confirming that fact, I studied their faces again. My gaze settled on one man who was staring back with a complicated expression.
He must be the leader.
Given the formation, the man standing at the very center was clearly the commander of this unit. I looked at him and gestured.
“Ah.”
The man let out a small gasp of understanding. He had grasped the meaning of my gesture toward the hound pack. At his signal, the squad received their orders.
In the brief window while every hound’s attention was fixed on me, the soldiers drew their weapons in unison and struck. Three hounds collapsed with fatal wounds.
They’re strong.
I had never seen them before, but their combat ability was impressive. They had instantly understood their leader’s hand signal and launched a perfect ambush. Moreover, they used their weapons efficiently and coordinated with stable, precise teamwork. They had clearly fought together for a long time.
There was one injured man, but the wound didn’t appear life-threatening. No need for serious concern.
Then… it’s my turn.
I drew the sword from my waist and walked forward slowly. The snarls seemed to shake the very air. Reacting to my steps, one hound moved first.
Grrrr!
It bared its fangs and growled threateningly. Its hackles rose as it glared at me, then crouched low. It kicked off the ground.
I didn’t dodge the frontal charge. Instead, the instant the hound leapt upward, my left foot stepped half a pace forward and my sword slashed out.
A dull blade couldn’t cut cleanly, so I drove the point straight into its skull.
Thud.
The hound impaled through the head convulsed violently. Before it could even let out a proper scream, it crumpled to the ground.
The second and third hounds charged at the same time—one from the right, one from the front. I thrust my sword into the gaping maw of the one in front. The blade pierced the throat, slicing the esophagus and tearing through the innards. I didn’t withdraw it immediately. Instead, I twisted the hilt, rotating the blade, then wrenched it sideways with all my strength. The hound’s torso split in two, spraying blood.
The third hound lunged for my neck. I leaned my upper body back and twisted my waist slightly. Its snapping jaws bit empty air. As it passed, I drove my knee upward into its jaw.
Crack!
The jaw shattered. The hound staggered. So it doesn’t die instantly from that. I followed up with an elbow strike to the head. I felt the skull shatter completely.
Next.
The fourth. Perhaps excited by the blood scattered everywhere, the hound came rushing in wildly. But its leap was clumsy from overexcitement. I waited. The moment its jaws reached right in front of my face, I took one twisting step sideways. My sword swept upward in a clean arc.
Slice.
The hound’s head dropped to the ground with a dull thud.
“……”
I turned my head and looked at the remaining hounds. The two closest ones froze at the same time. Instinct had carved the truth into their minds: I was not prey. I was a hunter who killed and devoured creatures like them. They realized that they, not I, were the ones being hunted.
They weren’t completely mindless. Instinct simply took priority.
Grrr!
The two hounds moved simultaneously, but not in the same way. One attacked. The other fled.
I won’t let you escape.
I swung my sword horizontally, severing the attacking hound’s jaws from top to bottom. A sharp gust of wind followed, then blood sprayed as the body collapsed. I crouched to chase the fleeing one, condensing every bit of mana I could into my leg muscles—just as a hound would before a great leap.
I released all the power I had stored.
Bang!
The sound of my foot kicking off the ground was like an explosion of wind. I caught up to the escaping hound in an instant, then slammed my foot into its torso with everything I had.
The hound’s body flew into the air. I leapt after it, sword already swinging. The blade pierced clean through its falling body and drove into the ground, leaving the creature impaled like meat on a skewer. It looked almost comical.
I retrieved the mace I had thrown earlier to burst the first hound’s head. Then I brought it down on the sixth and final struggling hound.
Crunch!
Flesh, bone, and everything inside were completely pulverized, sending fragments flying.
“……”
I felt the Heavenly Fate of six hounds pour into my body in an instant. An inexplicable exhilaration made my heart race. Little by little, slowly but surely, I could feel myself growing stronger.
I immediately looked behind me. Garan and his squad members, who had been watching in case I needed help, were all staring at me. They had quickly finished off the remaining hounds, but the sight of me slaughtering six in the blink of an eye left them utterly stunned.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence hung between us.