51
Chapter 51
The Old Man and the Porter.
The two spent the night camping in the mountain range.
And when morning dawned, they resumed their movement.
They didn't have a specific destination.
They were just wandering aimlessly.
In order to discover new monsters and fill the Old Man's Monster Encyclopedia.
While they were traveling like that.
The Old Man sensed a massive Killing Intent wafting over from a certain direction.
A blatantly exposed Killing Intent.
This was a silent warning telling anyone not to approach unless they intended to fight the owner of the Killing Intent.
The Old Man figured out the intention of the Killing Intent.
"How amusing. I should go see what kind of bastard it is."
The direction where the Killing Intent could be felt.
The Old Man didn't care and headed straight toward it.
Because he was confident he could easily defeat any monster that exuded this much Killing Intent.
The Old Man and the Porter approached the source of the Killing Intent without hesitation.
Then they finally arrived at the place where the Killing Intent was flowing from.
The place they reached after passing through a lush thicket.
A crushed Boxwood situated in the center of an empty clearing.
And a single towering Flag along with a Portal that looked like the entrance to a Dungeon could be seen.
The Old Man stopped in his tracks.
While he was looking back and forth between the Flag and the Portal.
Lalala.
Two monsters revealed themselves from beyond the Portal.
A Teddy Bear and a rabbit Doll were walking out while holding hands amicably.
The Porter looked at the monsters and asked the Old Man.
"Could it be that the Killing Intent you mentioned, employer, is flowing from those monsters?"
"As if."
The Doll monsters spotted the Old Man and froze right where they stood.
The Old Man briefly took his eyes off them, pointed at the Flag, and spoke to the Porter.
"The thing emitting the Killing Intent is that Flag. It seems to have been installed to protect the weak monsters inhabiting the inside of that Dungeon."
"Ah, I see. Come to think of it, there's no way such stupid-looking monsters could emit something like Killing Intent."
After the short conversation.
The Old Man immediately used the Swiftness skill.
It was a Swiftness skill of a much higher caliber than the Swiftness skill Ailee possessed.
The Old Man instantly approached right in front of the Teddy Bear.
"Nice to meet you."
He grabbed the Teddy Bear's head with one hand and lifted it up.
And bringing his face close, he carefully observed the Teddy Bear.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a Doll type monster. But it doesn't seem like... a Doll controlled by a Puppeteer?"
If it had been any other monster, he would have just killed it first.
Since the Old Man's purpose was only to register monsters in the Encyclopedia.
However, he didn't do that this time.
Because he couldn't sense any feeling of the Doll type monsters he was facing now being connected to another entity.
Could it be a Doll with an ego?
A monster that gained life on its own without a Puppeteer?
It was surprising and fascinating.
Because while there are many inanimate object type monsters with egos, a Doll type monster had never existed until now.
At least as far as the Old Man knew.
The Old Man's face was dyed with joy.
How amusing, truly amusing.
To think a monster like this even existed.
He thought it was a good idea to come to this continent once again.
"■□■, ■■■□!!!"
While he was observing the Teddy Bear, the rabbit Doll below attacked the Old Man with an angry face. It punched him wildly and unleashed attacks using every skill it could use.
The Old Man did not counterattack.
He ignored it, bursting into a hearty laugh as if he found it ridiculous.
And right when he made up his mind to slowly dissect the Teddy Bear.
Thump.
He was struck in the face by the Teddy Bear.
It was a weak cotton punch that wouldn't even leave a single scratch.
However...
Thud.
The Old Man collapsed powerlessly.
***
The Porter was standing there blankly.
He was staring ahead absentmindedly with his mouth wide open.
Just what in the world happened here?
Why did he collapse after getting hit by such a weak cotton punch?
Is he playing a prank?
No, he doesn't have the personality for such pranks.
It didn't take long for the Porter to grasp the situation.
The Old Man was dead.
A being worthy of being called humanity's strongest.
The Astral Slayer was instantly killed by a single punch from a Teddy Bear.
The Porter realized this fact.
And without a moment's hesitation, he took the best Action to survive this situation.
"P-please spare me! I have no connection to that geezer who just acted disrespectfully toward you, Mr. Teddy Bear!"
Groveling flat on the ground and begging for his life.
He judged this to be the only and best way to overcome this desperate situation.
If he fought, he would undoubtedly lose.
There was no way he could defeat a monster that killed an Astral Slayer in one hit.
Running away wasn't a good choice either.
With a level high enough to kill the Old Man, it would easily catch up to him if he tried to flee.
He believed that somehow begging for forgiveness was the only way to survive.
The Porter bowed his head while his body shivered.
As he did so, he thought to himself.
He shouldn't have ignored that Teddy Bear.
That was the cause of defeat.
To think that an Astral Slayer, practically the strongest Human and a veteran who had been through thick and thin, would make a mistake only a rookie Slayer would commit.
Far from mourning, the Porter wasn't sad in the slightest.
Rather, he fiercely resented and cursed the dead Old Man.
Because the Old Man needlessly picked a fight with that monster, his own life was now threatened too.
Arrogant old geezer!
He should have properly gauged the opponent's level before fighting!
No matter if he was an Astral Slayer, this was the Unknown Continent where Human feet had never touched before, so why didn't he take cautious Action? How could he act under the assumption that there were no monsters stronger than him!
The Old Man had a skill to measure an opponent's level.
From the looks of it, that Teddy Bear was hiding its strength with a special skill, which was clearly why the Old Man failed to gauge its level properly.
The Porter had reasoned that far, yet his resentment toward the Old Man didn't cease. He thought that someone of an Astral Slayer's caliber should have at least noticed that the opponent was hiding its strength.
Everything was the Old Man's fault.
He should have just died gracefully of old age.
Why did that old fart suddenly get all energetic and set foot on the Unknown Continent?
He achieved the Astral Slayer rank in his youth, so now that he's completely old, he definitely wouldn't be at that past level! Compared to a young Astral Slayer currently in their prime, he was just a worthless geezer overflowing with overconfidence!
Coming to this continent had indeed been the Porter's own choice.
He had followed the Old Man, lured by the massive payout.
Still, he thought he was completely free of fault.
It was the fault of the Old Man who made the proposal.
'Fuck... I should have just stayed on the main continent and lived normally... I'm about to die because of one senile old bastard...'
Shivering all over,
the Porter slightly raised his head to check the Teddy Bear's reaction.
The Teddy Bear was staring at the Porter expressionlessly.
It was a face from which he couldn't guess what it was thinking at all.
It was terrifying.
He was so afraid of the viciousness that might be hidden behind that stupid face.
"P-please spare me! I'll give you everything I have, please!"
The Porter, lost in his own delusions, became preemptively terrified and jumped up from his spot.
Then, he used his Subspace Storage skill to dump out everything he had been storing.
The items the Porter personally owned.
He generously released everything, even the monsters the Old Man had hunted down until now.
There were no exceptions, even for precious items.
In this situation, the only precious thing was his own life.
Therefore, he shook out every last spec of dust and offered it to the Teddy Bear.
If he offered everything he had as tribute, at least one of them might catch the Teddy Bear's fancy. That might prompt the Teddy Bear to specifically spare his life. In other words, to increase his survival chances even a little, he had to present every single item. If he held back just one item, and that turned out to be the only thing the Teddy Bear would have liked, he would be doomed.
Furthermore.
Losing this much wouldn't be a blow to him.
Because the wealth the Porter had accumulated so far was thousands of times greater than this.
All of that wealth was safely stored away on the main continent.
Of course, he had no intention of offering up his Soul Weapon.
To the Porter, a Soul Weapon was an item as precious as his life.
If he lost his Soul Weapon, he'd be as good as dead anyway.
"I will give you all of these things here!"
After releasing everything in his Subspace Storage.
The Porter politely pointed at the carcasses and items he had taken out.
And after gulping down his saliva.
He checked the Teddy Bear's reaction once again.
This time, it wasn't expressionless.
The Teddy Bear put on a surprised expression, alternately pointing at itself and the carcasses and items the Porter had dumped out.
Are you giving these to me?
It seemed like that was the question it was asking.
The Porter's face began to light up, thinking a path to survival had opened.
The Porter nodded vigorously and replied.
"Yes! That's right! I'm giving all of them to you, Mr. Teddy Bear! So please, just spare my life!"
Of course, the Teddy Bear couldn't understand the Porter's words.
It just kept staring at the mountain of monster carcasses with a surprised face.
The Porter cautiously asked.
"Excuse me... Y-you're sparing me, right? I can go now, right?"
Asking that, the Porter slowly backed away.
Then he slowly turned his body and started walking.
He didn't break into a run right away.
Because showing a fleeing appearance for no reason might provoke the Teddy Bear's temper.
Slowly, very slowly.
He decided to leave this place.
Taking one step and looking back.
Taking another step and looking back.
The Porter repeated that Action dozens of times, gradually getting farther away from the Teddy Bear.
When the Teddy Bear was finally out of sight, only then did the Porter run away at full speed.
***
Even if it's not exactly a flame punch, the Spicy-Sweet Fist can be used.
By swinging an ordinary punch just like before.
Grabbed by the Old Man, I flailed wildly and swung my fists.
Then my left hand tapped the Old Man's face, and the Spicy Fist was activated.
.......
The Old Man died instantly.
Having escaped his grasp, I came down to the ground.
"Woooong!!!"
While Tosuni was clapping like a seal.
I stared blankly at the Old Man's corpse, unable to believe this situation.
What is this.
The 1% chance activated?
Does it make sense for Luck to strike again like this?
At this point, it's practically probability manipulation.
No, more importantly, how did the skill even activate?
Something was strange.
I didn't show any intention of using the Spicy Fist.
Yet the Spicy Fist activated anyway.
There had never been a case like this before?
Even when the skill is fully charged, it normally doesn't activate if I just throw a punch.
I absolutely have to exert my will for the Spicy-Sweet Fist to be cast.
This was a result proven through many experiments so far.
But this time, the skill activated on its own.
...Could it be that if I'm in a dangerous situation, it activates automatically even without me consciously intending it?
That seemed to be the case.
Other than that, it was hard to find a reason why the skill was used on its own.
Well, anyway, I survived thanks to it, so that's a relief.
Ah. First of all, I should apologize to the Spicy Fist.
I'm sorry, Spicy Fist!
I sincerely apologize for thinking you would be useless!
You are my Hero!
And all hail the Luck Domain!
Luck, luck, luck!
Cheering inwardly, I took in the sight of the Old Man's corpse again.
Hehe.
No matter how high-leveled and strong a Human is, they are powerless before the Spicy Fist.
The Soul Weapon is of the Unique grade, but
The Human's own grade was the Uncommon grade.
It was only natural that the Spicy Fist worked.
Hey, old Human.
You should have killed me in one go.
Who told you to be so leisurely?
You foolish bastard who reached the peak of arrogance!
Whack! Whack!
I kicked the Old Man's corpse and made a mockery of it.
"Woong!!!"
Tosuni, who was next to me, joined in on the kicking.
She intensively kicked him in the head.
After taking out our anger like that.
I shifted my gaze to the Human who was still remaining.
It was a Black Human with golden hair.
Huh? His face suddenly turned pale blue.
The Human turned into an Azure Human only on his face.
Does his race change according to his emotional state or what.
Putting that aside.
That Human is also not an opponent to be underestimated.
Although he was infinitely weaker than the Old Man, he was an overwhelmingly stronger opponent than Tosuni and me.
[Human lv.30]
┗Pw.60 (+60)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Soul Weapon]
┗Pw.60 (+60)
┗Rnk.Superior
He didn't seem to be a Monster Slayer.
Because he wasn't wearing a Badge.
Anyway.
Should I deal with that Human using the Sweet Fist?
Fighting with the expectation that Luck would strike again this time was too reckless.
It was when I was keeping my guard up against the Human.
The Human suddenly groveled flat on the ground.
In that state, he began to bow his head.
Is he bowing?
Why out of the blue?
The moment I was having my doubts.
The Human suddenly sprang up, and then abruptly created a massive Portal.
Countless monsters poured out from within it.
At first, I was scared.
Because I wondered if he was using Summoning Magic or something.
And I thought the bowing just now might have been some sort of summoning ritual.
If that was Summoning Magic, we were dead meat.
Since the Sweet Fist could only be used 3 times, I couldn't face such a large number.
But fortunately.
That Portal was not something like Summoning Magic.
Looking closely, only dead monsters were pouring out.
In other words, he was releasing monster carcasses.
Why is he suddenly pulling those out?
Is he bragging that he caught this many monsters?
I am this strong! So submit! Something like that?
...No, if that were the case, he wouldn't have pulled out his personal belongings too.
As I was looking at the Mountain of Corpses with a surprised expression,
the Human soon pointed at the carcasses and items he had pulled out with a polite attitude.
Uh...
Could it mean he's offering them to me as a gift?
If so, I'd be thankful, but why?
Was the Old Man who just died perhaps that Human's enemy?
And he was secretly plotting an assassination, but since I killed him instead, he's expressing his gratitude... is probably not it, of course.
It's just a guess, but.
I suspected he might be terrified, mistakenly thinking I'm an incredibly strong monster, and offering a tribute.
Meaning that I should take this and spare his life.
Anyway, I am a being who dispatched that strong Old Man in a single strike.
Even though in reality, I'm just an infinitely weak insignificant creature compared to the Old Man.
Well, whatever the reason may be.
For now, this is a total win!
The Human began to stealthily run away while constantly reading my mood.
I had no intention of chasing him.
There was no guarantee that Luck would strike again and the Sweet Fist would activate, and recalling the story Ailee provided an Interpretation for last time, the target of revenge wasn't that Human, but the Old Man I just killed.
Alright.
As a reward for the tribute, I'll make an exception and spare you. Ahem.
With my arms crossed, I leisurely watched the back of the departing Human.
And when the Human's figure disappeared from my sight.
I slowly took in the sight of the carcasses I received as a tribute once again.
Countless items and monster carcasses.
In addition to that, the legacy the Old Man left for me.
[Soul Weapon]
┗Pw.400
┗Rnk.Unique
Even a Unique grade Soul Weapon.
Looks like I'll be experiencing explosive growth today, huh?