The Invading Bugbears (1)

A small flower bed ran along the edge of the school tennis courts. Hidden among the shrubs, a single figure crouched in silence, staring out at the athletic field.

You've got to be kidding me. What the hell is that? A Bugbear?

Sang-hoon was in a panic. Goblins were already more than he could handle — and now Bugbears? It was like the world was telling him to just lie down and die.

Damn it all. I only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survived because I lucked into a class, and this is what I get?

Sang-hoon was one of the fortunate few who had awakened a class — Spearman, a respectable one at that. When the catastrophe struck, he had been in the School Library. Giant Rats had appeared inside as well, and he and the others there had managed to barricade the entrance. Five people had died doing it. Everyone except Sang-hoon.

A day after the Giant Rats were killed, something far more vicious arrived: Goblins. Fortunately, the barricade held, and none of them made it inside. The real problem was food. A day passed, then two, and an unbearable thirst set in. It got so bad he actually considered drinking his own urine. Still, he told himself to hold on just one more day. A rescue team would come. That single, fragile hope was all he had, and he clung to it.

But nobody came. And so he had stepped outside — which had led him here.

Just get off campus. That's all I need to do. That was the only hope he had left. If he could make it outside, there would be people who could help him.

He crept carefully toward the edge of the flower bed. The Bugbears ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Goblins were too busy tearing into each other to notice him. The front gate wasn't far now.

Here goes!

Sang-hoon broke from cover and sprinted for the gate. The instant he emerged from the flower bed, the Bugbears — having already finished off most of the Goblins — spotted him.

KRRRAAAWW!

They came pounding after him, closing the distance with terrifying speed.

Just a little further!

The gap was shrinking with every stride. Even if he made it through the gate, they would run him down in seconds. But Sang-hoon had something in mind — the bicycle he rode to school every day. If he could just get on that bike, he could outrun them.

"Got it!"

He snatched up the bicycle and swung onto it. Thank God he was the type who never bothered locking it. He pedaled hard, shooting through the school gates. Just a little further and he would be out.

There won't be any monsters outsi—

He had assumed the world beyond the school would be clear. Or if there were monsters, that he could outrun them. He was wrong.

There were far more of them outside than anything he had seen on campus — and they weren't just Bugbears. Creatures that looked even stronger were tearing into the lesser monsters around them, devouring them with grotesque relish. The scene unfolded before Sang-hoon's eyes in all its brutality.

He knew it in his bones. Riding out there would be nothing short of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offering himself up as a meal.

"Goddamn it!"

He wrenched the handlebars around and pedaled back onto school grounds. The situation inside was still better than whatever was waiting out there.

"Fuck! What the hell am I supposed to do?!"

KRRRAAAWWW!

The Bugbears came pouring after him, smacking their lips as if they had just spotted a delicious meal. For a moment he thought about just giving up and dying — but the second he pictured those things catching him and eating him alive, the fear wouldn't let him stop.

He gasped for breath, driving the bicycle toward the rear gate on the opposite side of campus, clinging to the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, there would be no monsters over there.

He had nearly shaken the Bugbears and was closing in on the rear gate when the thing that appeared in front of him stopped his mind cold. It looked like a Goblin — but it was as massive as a Bugbear, and it was walking straight toward him with an enormous sword in its hands.

"Haha. Damn it. So this is how I die."

He had been starving for days, and he had just poured every last ounce of strength into running. He didn't have anything left to fight with. A Giant Rat, Goblins, a King Rat, and now this giant goblin besides. There was no way out. All he could do was accept his death, here and now, with whatever dignity he had left.

SLASH!

Huh?

Sang-hoon stared, bewildered. The monsters in front of him weren't coming for him at all — they had lunged past him and were tearing into the Bugbears behind him, cutting them down.

What the hell?

As if to answer that very question, a man appeared. In one hand he held a knife that looked built for carving monsters apart and eating them.

At those two words, Sang-hoon broke down in tears. He had already given up on living. And now, somehow, he had survived.

"Boss, take point and tank! Everyone else, support from behind!"

Bugbears were closing in on the building. I got the student inside first, then turned to deal with the ones coming our way.

Grrrrrk!

The Boss Goblin strode forward, each step eating up the ground. The three Bugbears that had been chasing Sang-hoon met it head-on, nostrils flaring as they hefted those monstrous axes, ready to swing. The Boss Goblin was no less imposing. I had given it back its original weapon — that enormous sword — and it brought the blade down on them in a crushing overhead strike.

CRACK!

A single blow from the Boss Goblin shattered a Bugbear's shoulder to pieces. That was a boss monster's presence, no question. The Giant Rat and the Goblin lunged into the opening — but they were out of their depth. A Bugbear's axe caught them both, and they went down dead.

Not that I had expected much. I had just watched them get slaughtered minutes ago. I had sent them in for a different reason. This one.

Apparently the system counted summons as allies too. The moment they died, Fury kicked in.

Okay. That'll do.

The Giant Rat and the Goblin — disposable pieces — had served their purpose perfectly.

"KRAAAHHH!"

My slightly embarrassing shout sent the Bugbears flinching back. The fear of us had been stamped into them for good. At the same time, the Boss Goblin let out a roar of its own — but the effects didn't seem to stack. A shame. It would have been nice if they had.

While the Bugbears were still reeling, the King Rat darted in and tore into one's left flank.

SHLAAK!

The King Rat's enormous fangs opened a massive gash along the Bugbear's side, and green blood fountained out of it. Not the familiar crimson — a vivid, unnatural green that began soaking into the ground. The Bugbear didn't even seem to care about the wound. It simply turned and swung its axe at the King Rat beside it.

WHOOSH!

The King Rat twisted its body and slipped the blow. In the same instant, the Boss Goblin drove its giant sword straight into the open wound.

SHUNK!

Oh? It gives Coins?

I hadn't landed the killing blow. The Boss Goblin had — and I still got the Coins. Which meant I was getting the experience too. Because they were treated as summons, apparently. An enormous advantage.

Alright, then.

I couldn't just stand around and watch. I charged the Bugbears that Boss and the King Rat were already engaging and started swinging the knife.

The knife's technique flared to life. The blade moved in a dazzling blur toward the Bugbears, and they actually seemed to flinch — wearing the exact expression of cattle being led to the slaughterhouse as they shuffled backward. Monster instinct. It was screaming at them that this knife was dangerous.

They couldn't run. The knife was already on them. It danced across their bodies the way a butcher works a carcass, breaking them down cut by cut — chuck, sirloin, tenderloin, ribs, hindquarter, foreshank, all the way through the belly.

The Coins rolled in, one after another. The other Bugbears that had been approaching seemed to sense something was wrong. They wouldn't come any closer — just stood at a distance and watched. I had no intention of picking a fight with those ones. Not yet. For now, I wanted to get a read on what Bugbears were actually capable of. So I only dealt with a few more of the ones nearby.

In a matter of moments, the dozen or so Bugbears that had been chasing Sang-hoon were slaughtered where they stood. And the instant I killed the last of them—

A shop?

A new system function. The moment I thought about it, a window bloomed in front of my eyes that looked exactly like an item shop out of a video game, packed with dozens of items. Next to each one was a number of Coins — the price, presumably.

So I'm supposed to buy items from here?

It looked like Coins could be spent on equipment and supplies. I decided to look through the shop later and turned to the Boss Goblin.

"Boss. Drag a Bugbear corpse inside."

No more of them were coming this way. They were afraid of me, apparently. The Roar from earlier had done its job. The moment Boss hauled a Bugbear through the doorway, I sealed the entrance again. A Bugbear's raw power could probably smash through a barricade like this without much trouble — but with fear still hanging over them, they wouldn't come near us easily.

"Teacher! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fine. Where's that student from earlier?"

"We laid him down over here."

He must have been completely spent. He had stretched out and fallen asleep on the spot. There were early signs of dehydration, so I told the kids to get some water into him, then walked over to the Bugbear corpse Boss had brought in.

Time to predate.

Once I consumed a Bugbear, I wouldn't just gain its abilities — I would be able to summon them too. I had just watched what summons could do. They even soaked up experience for me. If they died, I could just predate another one. Unlike the Boss Goblin or the King Rat, Bugbears were everywhere. Perfect for triggering Fury and throwing away.

I extended the fork toward the Bugbear's corpse. The others turned their heads as if on cue. They were used to this by now.

Alright. Let's eat.

That was when a new message appeared.

It wants me to grill it?

And just like that, I found myself wondering what a Bugbear would taste like cooked over a fire.