Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Episode 007 (3)
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Red Bone Mountain Range
True to its name, this vast mountain range—strewn with red sand and jagged, bizarre rock formations—was located at the northwestern edge of the continent, even within the Jordic domain.
Several dozen kilometers tall and spanning hundreds across.
Rumor had it that the Red Bone Mountains had transformed into their current state thousands of years ago, after a colossal Red Dragon met its end here and returned to the natural world.
For whatever reason, the inner depths frequently yielded fruits or roots with unusually high mana density, along with metal ores.
Yet despite all that, one insurmountable problem remained.
The monsters infesting the range were ferociously savage, far exceeding any normal standards.
Even beasts of the same name could vary wildly in strength—up to sixty percent, by some accounts.
Recalling a passage from a book he'd skimmed out of idle curiosity, Kuhn lightly kicked off the ground.
Whoosh—.
Evidently, his year of secluded training had paid off. Kuhn's form leaped effortlessly several meters per stride as he bounded up the mountainside.
The landscape around him blurred and shifted with every gliding step over the slopes.
—Groooar.
———Grrraaah!!
Even though the sun hadn't set, ominous roars echoed from deep within the range.
Tuning them out, Kuhn mentally reviewed the trial's conditions once more.
'Survive deep in the Red Bone Mountains for about a month... and hunt as many powerful monsters as possible.'
On the surface, it didn't seem overly demanding.
After all, viewed in isolation, it was on par with end-of-term assignments or exams at any standard academy.
But...
'The catch is that it's happening here, of all places—the Red Bone Mountains.'
They had provided three days' rations and real steel swords instead of wooden practice blades, just in case.
Even so, it was no easy feat for trainees not yet twenty.
'Hunkering down on the outskirts for the full month would make mere survival a breeze.'
The monsters might be vicious, but that applied only deeper in.
The perimeter dwellers were no worse than your average mana beasts.
However—
'The real issue is having to plunge into the monster-infested depths for a shot at a high score.'
With the explicit directive to hunt powerful prey, it was obvious they'd use that to score and rank them.
'It's a straightforward dilemma: settle for low points, or risk your life for high ones.'
Without knowing the passing threshold, he had no choice but to aim high.
'And then there's...'
One more nagging detail: the senior instructors' declaration that prey type wouldn't matter.
Mid-thought, Kuhn's brow twitched.
'...So it's not just monsters—any "hunt" counts?'
Why else issue real swords to everyone and drop that line?
Snatch one from another trainee and bring it back as proof? That'd count too.
The rules made it as good as official.
——Zing!
From the moment he'd entered the range, his senses—honed razor-sharp—blared a warning.
This was no wild beast's primal fury. It was cold, refined killing intent!
'...What the—?'
Before the thought could finish—
A shrill whistle sliced the air as something hurtled straight at Kuhn's face!
———Whiiish, thunk!
.
.
'An arrow?'
Embedded at his feet, the shaft still quivered with unspent force.
A crudely fashioned arrow, whittled hastily from wood.
Instinct had halted him just in time—otherwise, his thigh or flank would've been pierced.
"Well, well. Dodged it, huh?"
Rustle—
Parting the underbrush emerged a boy about Kuhn's age.
Matching attire, matching sword at his hip.
No—not just one.
"Heh. I figured the scrawny runt for an easy mark, but looks like you've got some moves after all."
"Tch. Moves? You just whiffed with the bow I slapped together for you, idiot."
Not just clothes—even their faces were identical. Twins? No, triplets stepping out from left and right to block his path.
The one on the right—the bowman—snapped back at his brother's jab.
"What? If you'd made a proper bow, this wouldn't have happened!"
Evidently triplets. As the two bickered, the last eyed Kuhn with a mocking sneer.
"Too bad. That sneak attack could've ended you quick and painless."
He let out a creepy giggle—reek of blood hung thick around them.
Not fresh from a recent kill, but something deeper... stale, ingrained.
Distinct from soldiers in battle or assassins on duty.
Kuhn knew this scent all too well.
'Criminals. Serial killers, used to the act.'
His gaze hardened instantly.
...Fwoosh.
'These guys...'
Even from the obvious clues, pinpointing them wasn't hard.
No familiar faces from the first three dens, so fourth den trainees.
And among them, only one trio of triplets reeked this badly of blood.
"The Shagal Brothers, right?"
The Shagal Brothers.
Triplets born to a back-alley killer father—executed after dozens of innocents—and a worthless whore mother.
Inheriting his blood, they'd claimed plenty of fourth-den trainees as prey, or so the rumors went.
The tale was so striking and brutal, Kuhn had committed it to memory from trainee gossip.
'Quality-wise? Below Barison's crew.'
His words lit up the triplets' faces.
"Oh? You know us?"
"Makes this easier then."
"Hand over that sword at your hip nice and easy. We'll make it quick—no pain."
Not even mercy—a painless death. Kuhn snorted softly.
'Come to think of it, they've been eyeing me ever since seclusion ended.'
Marking him as prey from the start.
'And now I've split from the Silvers and Taylor.'
No need to guess how a lone target looked to them.
'Like a stray lamb... or a duckling separated from the flock.'
His scoff seemed to sting.
One triplet scowled fiercely.
"Laughing? And slow to answer? Guess you don't want the easy way out."
His brother nodded eagerly, gripping a shoddy bow of wood and vines.
"Yeah."
"No helping it then. We'll make it hurt—!!"
Before the words finished—
Kuhn exploded into their midst! His sword flashed between them in a blur!
—Slash!
"G-Gaaah!"
No warning whatsoever—just Kuhn's sudden strike!
The sharp cleave echoed, screams shattering the forest silence.
The bow arm severed clean, flopping like a fish on dry land.
"A-Aaagh! M-My arm...!"
Not an instant kill, but the agony was blinding.
For pain-givers like them, an utterly novel sensation.
The one-armed triplet thrashed on the ground, howling.
"You bastard! What the hell—...!!"
"Shut up and kill him! —Kill him!!"
Finally grasping the situation, the brothers raged toward Kuhn, swords raised.
'Hmph.'
A curt snort, and Kuhn kicked off—springing upward in an acrobatic spin!
Their blades whistled futilely through empty air.
Swish, whoosh!
"Wh-What?"
"Huh?"
Stunned as their attacks missed, they gawked at each other.
Couldn't fathom escaping their range. The gap was that vast.
'No need for arts or mana here.'
If they were scavenging jackals, Kuhn was the lone lion dominating the entire plain.
Proud and mighty enough to claim it solo.
"G-Gaaah!"
The jackal pack's fatal error: underestimating his level.
They never realized that one misstep was dooming all three.
Too late now, even if they did.
—Slash!
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4.
"G-Gaaah!"
While Kuhn crushed the Shagal Brothers with overwhelming skill—
In a cave where walls, ceiling, and floor gleamed entirely red...
A golden-furred kit fox barely managed a pitiful whine.
...Grrrrowl.
As if sensing something—heart-wrenching.
Yet its four legs and three tails lay utterly still.
Not even a flicker of its precious 'foxfire' remained.
Responding to the cry, a massive presence huddled deeper in the cave emitted a low, viscous drone.
—Screeech, skreeee.
Like grinding misaligned fangs... or ill-fitting armor scraping.
An eerie noise bordering on repulsive echoed through the Red Bone Mountains' cavern.