Date
58.
Orc Chief.
An upper-tier species among orc-type monsters. Its bulk was larger than an ogre’s. Height alone stood around four meters. Though it was generally rated weaker than an ogre, its raw strength was said to be something even an ogre couldn’t match.
Its main weapon was the greatsword most orcs carried—a monster better described as cleaving with a greatsword than cutting with one.
Whoosh.
That greatsword was dropping straight toward me. A terrifying size that matched its bulk, moving with a speed that didn’t belong to something so massive. I rolled hard to the side and got clear of the ground.
CRASH!
“Ugh…”
Just the impact and the aftershock of the greatsword slamming into the earth made my whole body shudder. Because of that, I couldn’t dodge the second strike.
Whoosh.
The greatsword came down with enough force to crush me clean in half. I didn’t even consider drawing the orc blade strapped to my back. No time, and it would have shattered on contact anyway. Instead I raised Ttanttani.
With Ttanttani, at least it wouldn’t break!
CLANG!
Ttanttani Mjolnir—the hammer’s head was tiny compared to the Chief’s greatsword. But it didn’t break. As expected of Ttanttani. Of course my arm couldn’t hold. The bladeless greatsword was about to crush me right in front of my eyes. Even with everything I had, the blade only slowed a fraction.
“Chwiik!”
The pressure vanished thanks to Keira’s attack. I scrambled sideways, rolled, and got back on my feet.
Crunch. Crunch.
The Chief smashed the ice pillars sprouting out of thin air. No special technique—just one swing of that greatsword and the ice Keira had formed shattered into pieces. Not a single bloodstain marked the Chief’s body. Even Keira, who had been landing nothing but clean hits until now, was helpless in front of an A-class monster.
“Jungmin! Sexual desire!”
My secret weapon—the one Gate monsters never noticed. I had no idea whether it could punch through the Chief’s thick hide, but right now I had no other choice. I bolted into a nearby building, sprinted up to the second floor, and through the window I had a clear view of the back of the Orc Chief’s head.
“Chwiik!”
The Chief was swatting away the endless ice pillars like they were nothing more than a nuisance. How long could Keira hold out? Two seconds? Three? I had to finish the Sex Sword Aura before then.
Throb.
Maybe it was the life-or-death pressure. The erection was already complete. A low hum filled the air; sexual desire saturated everything around me. Appetite, sleep, lust—the three great human drives. Even at the edge of death I wanted to fill the last one. To make the strongest attack possible, I poured every scrap of lust I had into the greatsword.
Then the problem hit.
Crack.
A fracture raced across the blade; in the next instant the whole thing crumbled into powder and blew away.
“…What the hell!”
I had no idea why, and I didn’t have time to care. I flung the remaining hilt aside and scanned the room. Even though this was the artisan district, the building I’d ducked into was a café. Nothing that could pass for a weapon. The only thing that had already stopped the Chief’s sword once was Ttanttani. It wasn’t even edged—would it work? No time to hesitate. The ice pillars were thinning, and the Chief had clearly locked onto Keira’s position. Other attacks were landing on him too, but he only snorted as if they were a joke.
“Chwiik, chwiik.”
I gripped Ttanttani and gathered lust. Sword aura was only an image anyway. A blade just made the image easier to form. Even with a hammer, if the image was sharp enough, it would cut!
My imagination never stopped dirty fantasies even in the middle of a desperate fight.
Hum.
…Huh?
Something felt off. The more lewd images I fed into the hammer, the more it flushed pink. I hadn’t even pictured anything sharp yet, and already the hammer was changing color—then it started growing.
“Aaaah!”
From that moment the hammer began forcibly draining my power. It vacuumed up every scrap of surrounding lust, then scraped out the little mana left in my body. Next came the crushing pressure on my heart and brain.
“Ugh…”
Dangerous. This was life force being sucked out. At this rate my brain might melt. Letting go would reset everything, but I couldn’t. Instinct told me this process could kill the Chief. Mana—somehow I had to gather mana. Even through the pain I forced runes into my mind and shoved ambient mana toward the hammer. It helped a little; the pressure on my heart and brain eased. Only then did I see what the hammer had become.
A massive blood-red hologram of a hammer now floated around the real one. The head was roughly the size of the Chief’s skull. Overall length matched his greatsword. And it was still growing.
“Chwiik?”
The Chief must have sensed the energy. He turned and locked eyes with me.
“Chwiik!”
I couldn’t see the street clearly, but I didn’t need to. He was raising that greatsword high, ready to erase the building and me in one swing. Not happening!
“Haaap!”
I swung the hammer the same way—sideways, then upward.
Crunch-crunch-crunch.
While the hammer smashed through café furniture, the Chief’s greatsword punched through the wall. The two massive weapons met.
BOOM!
The greatsword snapped in half; the broken piece went spinning into the air with a vicious whoosh-whoosh-whoosh. Ominous as the sound was, the Chief who had just lost his weapon stood completely open. I stepped in and brought the hammer down on his head.
“Chwiik!?”
He tried to backpedal, but the hammer was still swelling, still drinking my essence. He couldn’t fully clear it. The hammer raked across his chest.
Crack-crack-crack.
A sickening sound—every rib shattering. The Chief’s chest split wide open, innards fully exposed. That grotesque blue heart was still pounding hard.
“Chwiaak!”
“Ugh!”
The Chief screamed and toppled backward. I screamed too and dropped Ttanttani. Another second and I would have died with him. The moment I let go, Ttanttani snapped back to normal size.
Crack.
Ice pillars froze solid. Keira’s final strike. With the chest open and the heart bare, the Chief was finished.
“Hoo… hoo…”
I caught my breath and stood. Closing my eyes would have dropped me into sleep instantly, but it wasn’t time to rest. I dragged Ttanttani over with my foot and planted it between my boots. No telling when the Summoner might show up to reclaim it. Until this was over, I had to guard it.
“Jungmin! Are you okay? Jungmin!”
Keira was the first one up the stairs. She looked wrecked—soaked in sweat, face drawn with exhaustion. She had pushed her magic to the limit too.
She slammed into me and wrapped her arms around me, hands running over my body, my face.
“Are you okay? You’re okay, right?”
“I’m fi—mmph.”
“Haah.”
Sudden, but a kiss from Keira was always welcome. More than that, this kiss was confirmation—proof to each other that we were still alive.
“Haa… haa…”
“Haa… haa…”
After a long kiss we finally pulled apart. Keira looked at me with flushed cheeks; I looked back at her.
“…Thank god. We made it again.”
“Thanks to you. Thank you, Jungmin.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
“I… no, how’s your body really?”
Exhausted, nothing more.
“I’m fi—”
Crack.
The ring shattered. My only artifact—‘The Last Shot’. It split clean in half, then crumbled into dust and scattered. Same fate as the orc’s greatsword.
“…Does that mean we’re okay?”
“…For now, yeah. But next time…”
“I shouldn’t use it? Yeah, I think so too.”
This time we’d gotten lucky. Next time it would probably kill me.
“Outside? What about the Summoner?”
“Hold on. I’ll check.”
Keira leaned out the window and scanned the street. I stayed back, listening only.
Silence.
Were the orcs all dead? Had the Summoner run?
“Jungmin, come here.”
“Huh? Why? Something wrong?”
“Maybe… and bring Ttanttani too.”
Even Ttanttani? I picked up Ttanttani Mjolnir carefully, deliberately not stirring any lust. Thankfully the hammer stayed quiet.
“…What is it?”
“Just a second…”
Whoosh.
Keira cast her usual cleaning magic on me. For some reason my clothes stayed dusty, but my face felt completely fresh.
“Okay. Look outside.”
“…What’s go—”
“Waaaaaah!”
The moment I stuck my head out, the people gathered below the building erupted in cheers. I jerked back inside, startled.
“Waaaaaah!”
The roar didn’t stop.
“What are you doing? Get out there.”
“Wait, no, I just—”
I wanted a second to breathe, but Keira shoved me. I leaned out again and the crowd kept cheering.
“Waaaaaah!”
“You’re the best!”
“Thank you for saving us!”
Every Keeper’s face was lit with pure relief. They were Keepers; they knew exactly how strong an Orc Chief was. That was why they were shouting. They understood better than anyone that they had just brushed death. And I knew it too. Coincidences had lined up, but the one who took that orc down was me. Yeah. Me.
I raised Ttanttani high in my right hand.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
The cheers doubled. As if answering them, the public announcement sealed everything.
“Look, even so…”
“It’s fine. We already have another appointment. Please send my entire share to GGC. Lee Jungmin of GGC.”
“No, but still…”
Keira and I brushed off the Shinyongsan Crew leader who kept trying to hold us back and left the artisan district. From their side they clearly wanted to treat us to dinner and more, but I already had a reservation at a five-star hotel sky lounge that mattered more. One of the rare meals that was just Keira and me.
Keira’s magic cleaned the grime from our clothes and bodies. We ate a full course dinner against the backdrop of Seoul’s night view. Food and atmosphere were perfect. Unexpected trouble had interrupted us, but all things considered, wasn’t this a pretty good date?
Of course, after coming all the way to a hotel we weren’t going to end it there. Next was the room I’d booked in advance…
“…Want to rest a little?”
“…Yeah.”
We didn’t. Completely unlike our usual selves, we both agreed to rest without either of us having to say it first. Still fully dressed, we lay side by side on the same bed.
“….”
“….”
Keira and I gently held each other and drifted off to sleep.
You worked hard, Keira.