Giant Subjugation Quest #7
Giant Subjugation Quest #7
Before my night watch shift began, I had to belt out the national anthem inside my head.
Because my rock-hard erection just wouldn't go down on its own.
But even while singing the anthem, I kept reflexively thinking about Rebecca.
'My party member is fucking hot.'
The image of Rebecca slumped on the floor, her underwear completely soaked.
That sight of her panting, covering the space between her thighs—it was unbearably lewd.
The moment I remembered that image, even the national anthem lost its power. A woman so obscene she turns even a sacred anthem into dirty music.
I admitted defeat and had no choice but to take refuge in Buddhism.
'Maha-prajna-paramita-hridaya Sutra-. Maha-prajna-paramita-hridaya Sutra-.'
Buddha, please.
If you're listening to my prayer, kindly make my erection stop.
- I see your eyes are clouded by demons, Dream Demon!
- I shall grant your prayer!
The imaginary Buddha in my mind answered my desperate prayer.
Bathed in fervent Buddhist devotion, I finally managed to calm my erection down.
My strengthless cock drooped and went limp.
"Thank you, Buddha."
Having regained my composure, I was able to deploy for night watch duty when the time came.
"Oh, Mongma hyung. You're out early? I didn't even wake you yet."
When I stepped outside the tent, the adventurer who'd been on the previous watch waved a hand at me. He'd been heading toward the tent to wake me up anyway.
"My eyes just opened right on time while I was sleeping."
"Did you actually sleep well? Your face looks seriously tired."
"I've got night watch. Of course I look tired."
"Fair point."
As I received the handover and was about to head to the duty post, the adventurer suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, about the adventurer you'll be on watch with. He's an old barbarian with a huge reputation in the subjugation squad."
"A, a barbarian?"
"Yeah. When I tried to wake him up, the look in his eyes was terrifying. Almost pissed myself right there. Like, why the fuck was he sleeping with his eyes open?"
"Oh my god-."
"Be careful! You must never make a barbarian angry. Always be on your guard when you're on duty with him. They say those savages enjoy cannibalism. You might end up turned into Mongma steak tonight."
The adventurer warned me about the barbarian and left.
But despite hearing such a horrifying warning, my heart was racing.
To stand duty with that incredible barbarian!
This was no longer just guard duty but a chance to observe a real savage in person. Maybe I could even go beyond observing and have a primal conversation with the savage.
"Ooga! Ooga-booga!!"
Just in case, I'd prepared some savage language in advance.
When I walked out to the wide-open duty post, the old barbarian was indeed standing watch there. He was seated atop a high boulder, staring out toward the sea. Probably keeping an eye out for monsters that surface from the beach side.
"Ah, h-hello there-."
I awkwardly spoke to the old barbarian.
I was worried I might get lightly ignored like back in the wagon, but unexpectedly, the old barbarian answered my greeting right away.
"Greetings. Blond young man."
"Oohyo-."
"Oohyo? What does that mean?"
"It's kind of like a greeting among us Dream Demons. You don't need to pay it any mind."
"I see. Oohyo, was it? Quite a pleasant-sounding greeting."
The old barbarian nodded and looked back out at the sea. He had been chewing on jerky for a while now. But it seemed he'd run out of the jerky he was eating. The old barbarian rummaged through his chest pocket and soon stopped chewing.
"Hey, Old Man. I happen to have some leftover jerky. Would you like some, if you don't mind?"
"You eat it."
"I-it's fine. I got it for free from the other adventurers anyway."
Seeing my chance, I held out the jerky to the old barbarian.
I wanted to have a more savage conversation with this old barbarian. I wanted to hear a primal voice brimming with wildness.
"Thanks for the meal."
The old barbarian chewed and swallowed the jerky I'd given him with relish.
To think I'd end up using the jerky I'd received as gifts from adventurers like this.
I didn't particularly mind.
I'd gotten to talk with a savage just as I'd wanted.
"Can't just take food without giving something in return. You, what's your name?"
"I'm Luke."
"My name is Nickel. My full name is longer than this, but just call me Nickel for short."
I learned the old barbarian's name was Nickel.
"I got a good look at you slaughtering crustaceans earlier today. The way you swung that whip was quite exhilarating."
"I-is that so-?"
Hearing Nickel's praise lifted my mood.
I'd thought I was just butchering hermit crabs like a madman, but he'd been watching my performance all along. Did he have eyes on the back of his head or something?
Anyway, my whip show really had drawn the savage's aggro, so to speak.
The Korean spirit infused in my NANTA must have been truly incredible.
"I'd like to see that Water Whip again. Could you make one for me here? If you don't mind, I'd like to try swinging it myself."
"Making a Water Whip? That's nothing difficult."
I created a Water Whip and handed it to Nickel right in front of his eyes.
Nickel grabbed the end of the whip, his expression one of deep fascination.
"I've used many kinds of weapons in my life, but this is the first time I've held a Water Whip. The slippery texture is strange. How do you even swing a slick whip like this?"
"I fix it to my hand with magic. I'll do the same for you, Old Man."
I formed a hand seal and fixed the Water Whip onto Nickel's hand. Only then, able to grip the whip properly, Nickel started swinging it toward the ground.
"Ohhh."
The whip, loaded with a savage's strength, displayed incredible power. Every time the whip struck the earth, the ground split and stones shattered apart. Nickel looked highly skilled in the way he swung the whip.
"I used a whip as a weapon once myself, back in my younger days. I've tried just about every weapon regardless of type. Still, the whip was one I used for quite a long time."
Nickel soon handed the Water Whip back to me.
"You there, can you copy the movement I just showed?"
"Why would I need to copy it?"
"Learn the technique of swinging a whip. Your whip work lacks skill. If you want, I can coach you for a bit."
"Ah, I understand!"
This old barbarian said he'd teach me whip work?
This is something I'd pay money to learn!
The hand movements Nickel used with the whip were extremely refined. His proficiency with a whip seemed deeper than a foreman lashing slaves at a construction site.
To think he'd teach me whip work in return for jerky.
It didn't seem like a remotely fair trade. But if I stupidly pointed that out and Nickel stopped teaching, I'd regret it, so I just swung the whip diligently.
"Like this? Sir Old Man Nickel!"
"Rotate your wrist a bit more when you swing."
"Yep!"
"Aim to strike the target at the exact moment the whip is fully extended. Learn to correctly exploit the impact point where the force is loaded."
Was this savage grandpa some kind of top-tier whip instructor or what?
Nickel's advice sank right into my ears. I was able to correct my whip-swinging posture without much difficulty. At some point, my Water Whip started producing a sound like it was ripping the air itself apart.
"Heok. Heok."
My body was soaked with sweat from performing unscheduled whip drills under the moonlight. But Nickel's instruction was definitely effective. By the time the watch shift was almost over, the power of my whip work had increased noticeably.
"Th-that's amazing, Sir Old Man Nickel. The power of the Water Whip has doubled. My magic proficiency hasn't even gone up."
"No need to flatter me. That's strength your muscles originally possessed. I simply taught you how to draw out the muscle's power in your whip technique."
It made sense that the whip's power had increased in a short time.
I hadn't really been using Geum Tae-yang's muscles properly until now. I'd only ever done ranged sniping and never fought mobilizing all my muscles at once. Nickel had brought out the potential of my muscles.
No, wait, bringing out that potential is plenty amazing on its own.
"That's good enough. It seems you've learned almost all the techniques I taught. There's still more you lack, but you can improve your proficiency in real combat."
"Thank you!"
I bowed my head to Nickel to show my gratitude.
"Thank you for teaching me the combat technique. This is far too much just in return for some jerky."
"It's nothing. To be honest, I had thought about speaking to you even without receiving jerky. Ever since you and your party member beat those crustacean bastards to death."
"Huh? Why?"
Could it be he was moved by my whip NANTA performance?
Did my soul-infused whip work awaken a savage's sensibilities?
But unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the reason.
"You seem to be in a party with that red-haired swordswoman. The one who was holding the shield."
"That's right."
"When you two synchronized your attacks while exterminating the crustaceans, it reminded me of my younger days. It's quite a nostalgic memory."
"What does your youth have to do with us?"
"In that era, I also wandered the continent together with my lover. We had nothing to our name, but they were extremely joyful times."
Lover?
Rebecca isn't my lover though?
It was a misunderstanding, but I quietly kept my mouth shut.
Well, it didn't feel entirely bad to be misunderstood as Rebecca being my lover.
Lately, I'd been slowly starting to think such thoughts.
"You can think of the whip lesson as repayment for making me recall those days. My lover I wandered the continent with... is now gone, vanished from this world."
"Don't tell me."
Nickel was gazing up at the moon with a sad expression.
It's hard to explain a rough brute of a barbarian looking sad, but anyway, he looked fucking sad.
Enough that his worm-like muscles were writhing.
"Your lover died."
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
But an unexpected answer came back.
"Hm? She's not dead though?"
"What?"
"Perfectly alive and she became my wife."
What kind of bullshit is this?
"...Then why did you talk about her like she's dead?"
"She died as a woman. She became an old hag who nags me half to death."
"Ah, I see...."
"Young man, do you know why I became an adventurer at this age-?"
Nickel smiled bitterly and spoke.
"I ran away from home because my wife nagged me so much. So I looked for something to do and ended up becoming an adventurer."
"That's sad."
"So you should enjoy life while you're young! Absolutely never get married. That's the last lesson I can give you."
Nickel looked back up at the moon with a sad expression again.
Seeing that sight, I was dumbfounded.
A barbarian who ran away from home because his wife nagged him-?
That's not the badass hyper-macho man I'd imagined.
"Haha, fuck."
My fantasy about barbarians shattered in an instant.
Until the night watch ended, I didn't exchange any more words with Nickel.
*
Morning broke.
After night watch ended, I helped the other adventurers take down the camp. Once we'd packed up the tents and put out the campfire, it was already time to depart. Yet even though quite a bit of time passed, I couldn't shake the feeling of deflation. The fantasy I'd held about savages had been completely shattered.
How the hell can a barbarian not even win against his own wife?
Is being family-oriented the trend among barbarians these days?
I struck up a conversation with Rebecca, who was beside me.
"Rebecca. What do you think about a family-oriented savage?"
"Sounds like a nutjob-."
"Right? It's not just me who thinks that, is it?"
"Still, being family-oriented isn't a bad thing. There could be a nutjob sort of charm to it."
"Is that a compliment? Or an insult?"
"An insult that's sort of a compliment."
We chatted as we climbed aboard the wagon.
The subjugation squad leader off in the distance was giving the command to signal our departure.
I looked around just in case Nickel might overhear our conversation.
But fortunately, Nickel was out of sight inside the wagon I'd boarded.
It seemed this time he'd correctly chosen the right wagon to ride in.
"The atmosphere in the wagon should be pretty peaceful today."
"Because that savage grandpa isn't here?"
"Mm."
It was when I went straight to the same spot I'd sat in yesterday. After taking my seat, I stared blankly at the seat in front of me. It was the seat where Nickel had definitely been sitting asleep yesterday.
Who's going to sit there today?
A moment of idle curiosity.
"Good morning, Mongma-nim-!"
Kate suddenly came up to the seat right in front of me.
She gazed at me with a provocative smile playing on her lips.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Hm...? Why are you asking me?"
"Why? Am I not allowed to ask?"
Turning the question right back at me, Kate plopped down in the seat ahead. It seemed she had absolutely no intention of caring about my answer from the start.
If she was going to do that, why the hell did the crazy bitch even ask? Is this her way of picking a fight?
Crossing her legs as she sat, Kate haughtily lifted her chin.
"So, I have an item I'd like to give you, Mongma-nim."
"An item?"
"A gift, it's a gift-!"