The Player Returns – The Hunt Begins
I've already gone through the regression many times. Each time, I found myself in a completely new situation and met my end in countless different ways. Even though I knew the future, I didn't expect the same circumstances to repeat. I simply had to survive as favorably as possible using the knowledge I had. And Yoo Dahui was no different. Ah, but Yoo Dahui was a little different. Every time she regressed, she received a blessing called 'Gahoe'. The most famous one was Blessing of Pain Nullification — a blessing that came from her first death, when she couldn't endure the agony she felt.
Among the common fantasy dimensions, the Dark Elf was one of the elf races that lived there. Unlike other elves, their lifespan was extremely short, and they were the only elf species that ate meat.
'Can we win?' Honestly, we were still a lot weaker. Because we were summoned to the fantasy dimension, we were slightly sensitive to mana.
Two Dark Elves had appeared. I didn't think there were more hiding behind them. The chance of meeting the same race in the same dimension on the same floor at level zero wasn't that high. Thanks to the protagonist's compensation, there were a lot of Korean parties. It looked like it would be worth a try.
My strength was at Level 2, so excluding my archery skill, I wasn't the kind of person who could lose to a Dark Elf. A Dark Elf who couldn't use mana was only a little stronger than a human. Plus, the gear of the enemy Dark Elves was garbage. Because they were levelled down when summoned to the Tower of Struggle, it became even easier. We could just beat them if we wanted.
Completely impossible? Not really.
“Khhhh. Human hunting after a long time… I hope it’ll be interesting?”
One Dark Elf trembled. She flicked her tongue and swept her lips with it. She was staring at us without even thinking we were dangerous.
That was complacency.
Among the weapons I could use, the most efficient and threatening one was… I looked at Yoo Dahui. I wanted to check what she was thinking, whether this was part of her plan or not, and then move accordingly.
'She’s startled.'
Yoo Dahui had the dumbest expression possible, looking flustered. She was showing me that her carefully planned scheme had failed.
Krrrrrr-.
The undead surrounded us and approached.
The Dark Elves on the trees were laughing loudly as they looked down at us.
“What should we do?”
The Korean party closed the distance and huddled together. From the way they whispered, anxiety was dripping everywhere. The feeling of moisture was there too, so it seemed like there was no hope or dream left.
“Let’s start with the Dead Men.”
More and more undead were coming. I couldn’t ignore the ones staggering forward with arms flailing.
One hundred, two hundred — I could easily kill them all. But the Dark Elf watching from the tree was the problem.
I swung my sword. It wasn’t just cutting — it was more like crushing.
Even if I killed the Dead Men and removed them, other undead filled the gaps. Because of the occasionally appearing reinforced Dead Men, the Korean party lost their will. Blocking them properly would be impossible.
“For now, one!”
Schwack-!
“Aaaargh!”
The arrow shot by the Dark Elf pierced Myeongchi’s thigh.
They clearly had no intention of leaving us alone. As someone who was playing with us, that was only natural.
“Aaah, aaaaah!”
Myeongchi grabbed his thigh where the arrow was stuck and only screamed. He forgot to swing his spear, tears pouring down as he flailed around desperately.
His eyes looked abnormal. It felt like he was desperately searching for an escape route while glancing around.
'Aah, shit.'
The situation was strangely off. It was as bad as my first regression. The strategy I thought of — 'Hunting' — wasn’t this at all. Picking a moderately strong player and having the whole party gang up on them. In short, the goal was to use the Korean party as bait for a raid.
But this wasn’t even a raid. I was the prey? The feeling was familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Damn it.
'Yoo Dahui…'
Was our regressor trying to fight the Dark Elves? It didn’t seem like a good idea yet. At least she’d have to regress another ten times or so to take out other players.
'Oh?'
Yoo Dahui, who had been startled until a moment ago, had regained her composure. She was just a normal regressor who was flustered by the sudden situation — far from someone close to death.
Her eyes sharpened. If I could bring those guys down to the ground, I could handle them easily.
“Aaaah!”
At that moment, Myeongchi, thinking he saw an opening, broke through the Dead Man cordon and started running.
His thigh where the arrow was stuck twitched as he dashed through the suddenly opened path.
“W-Where are you going…!”
Glasses-chan called out desperately, but Myeongchi had no intention of stopping. The path that had opened closed in an instant. His acting had completely dropped.
From now on, the Korean party was no longer a party. It was whoever ran home first. Hesitate for even a moment and it was straight to the third, fourth, and fifth regressions.
“I’ll go kill the one who ran away.”
One Dark Elf leaped over the trees.
She left her spot to finish off Myeongchi.
'This is my chance.'
One. A single Dark Elf was enough for a one-on-one fight. I wasn’t weak enough to lose to one who was complacent.
If I just knocked her down from here… it was definitely possible.
I looked around. Dealing with the Dead Men wasn’t that hard, but everyone was being passive because of the Dark Elf aiming from above.
'Can I hit it…?'
I picked up a suitable stone. Tick-! The moment I grabbed it, an arrow flew and hit my hand, bouncing off.
Thanks to my 'hard skin', it only scraped rather than embedding. Along with the stinging sensation, blood welled up like dew. A fresh red drop that woke up my senses.
“S-Shit…!”
I stood up abruptly, threw my sword, and set my stance. Pitcher, wind-up. Focus. More focus. Somehow I’d hit it.
“What the hell are you doing…!”
Yoo Dahui’s eyes widened in surprise. I simply ignored her and threw the pebble.
Strength Level 2 was an ability on a completely different level from ordinary humans — national team player level.
The stone I threw flew toward the Dark Elf.
Puck!
“Kyuk!”
It hit exactly. The thigh. A sturdy, exposed thigh took the hit.
The Dark Elf I hit staggered. She didn’t fall. It was a foolish thought from the beginning. But an opening appeared.
I shouted loudly.
“Shit, everyone run!”
“W-What are you doing?!”
I grabbed Yoo Dahui’s hand, pushed through the Dead Men, and ran.
As if they sensed the moment, the Korean party started scattering in all directions.
Schwack-!
“Kruuuuuaaaak!”
“N-No! Save the people!”
Loud sounds echoed from behind. The Dark Elf had shot an arrow, and someone was hit and fell.
It even flew toward my side, but the Dark Elf couldn’t hit us. Anyone hit by the arrow would definitely not survive.
“Hah… hah…”
“Let go!”
Yoo Dahui, who was running led by my hand, shook it off. I gave her as much strength as I could, but it was surprisingly weak. I was surprised.
'Since it’s still my fourth regression, it’s natural for her to be weak.'
I caught my breath roughly and looked at Yoo Dahui. She was glaring at me with a strange expression. All kinds of emotions mixed together — suspicion, wondering why she helped, gratitude, but somehow it felt like crap. I understood. In the novel, Yoo Dahui had a subtle caustic side.
The important thing was that regressors and normal players had completely different thoughts about life and death.
'I’ll just gain some points and reset.'
We would reset eventually. We were weak, but there were too many strong people. To start over, I was prepared to sacrifice myself instead of Yoo Dahui. We’d have sex when we survived.
“You’re not going to run away?”
“I will. I’m going to run. Why are you… holding my hand like that…”
She wasn’t softening at all, but she reacted sensitively. Thanks to the novel, I thought I knew everything about Yoo Dahui. Every time I saw a different reaction, it was only frustrating.
“It’s because I’m in a hurry.”
“I can run on my own too. You don’t have to catch me…”
“Yeah yeah, from now on I won’t catch you…”
A smell was coming. The smell of players…
I raised my shield. It was Yoo Dahui’s head. Schwack-!
An arrow flew and embedded in my shield.
“Aah…”
Yoo Dahui looked at me with startled eyes.
“Khhhr… Those disgusting bugs… Trying to run away…”
She had escaped, but I had caught up. The Dark Elf glared at me with eyes gone red.
Her thigh where my thrown stone had hit was swollen bright red. It really wasn’t normal Strength Level 2. It was like being hit directly by a baseball pitch from a major leaguer. Not getting broken was a blessing.
'Trouble.'
I had nothing to say. Since she climbed the trees like a monkey, it was impossible to fight her normally.
I immediately picked up another stone. A slightly larger, sturdy one that looked threatening.
Pew!
An arrow flew.
“Ugh!”
The arrow shot by the Dark Elf grazed my shoulder and passed by. My combat clothes tore. It got soaked in blood. A wound formed.
“Shit…!”
I threw a larger stone. With full concentration, I aimed at the Dark Elf’s torso. Hitting the head was almost impossible.
“Disgusting bug…!”
The Dark Elf easily dodged the stone I threw. It wasn’t impossible to hit if I concentrated. Since my strength was Level 2, the Dark Elf could also be quick or have better mana. But I wasn’t giving up.
Puck!
“Kyuk!”
It wasn’t even me who threw it. I looked at Yoo Dahui.
Yoo Dahui looked away from my eyes and muttered.
“…My hobby. I was in the university baseball club.”
That kind of thing wasn’t in the novel…