The Aztec Bird God and the Shaman's Frenzy
'Shit...! Hic... All I've done for years is roll around like a damn idiot in these gates and that one—never even met a woman once, and now I've finally graduated from being a virgin... and this is how it ends?!'
'No way, snap out of it! Min Jihun! What matters most? Never give up! The two weeks locked inside the dungeon—I'd forgotten that already? Compared to then, this should be way better than okay!'
But right now Jihun's state was anything but okay. The overwhelming pressure radiating from Huitzilopochtli had him barely hanging on, legs trembling as he struggled to stay upright.
“L-Lee Cheol-uk? Still? Come to your senses and tell me what the hell the status window says!”
Jihun wondered why an A-rank like Lee Cheol-uk was so dazed. Exactly what is written on that info window?
Lee Cheol-uk finally came back to his senses and managed to speak. “Huitzilopochtli, level 135.”
'A level-135 boss monster? A-rank gates usually top out at 100 to 120. Cheol-uk must be panicking.'
Jihun's face showed clear disappointment. Cheol-uk ignored him and kept reading.
“According to myth, Huitzilopochtli is the being conceived when the mother goddess of the earth absorbed a feather from a hummingbird that fell from the sky.”
“The moment he was born, he tore himself out of his mother's womb. From the very first breath, he was armed with turquoise snake and armor.”
“The next instant he severed his sister's head—Koyolchicuatl—whom he had just tried to kill, and tore his own body to pieces. After that he was worshipped as the god of sun and war, dwelling in the temple of Mayur.”
“He is also a renowned glutton for human flesh, a symbol of terror and overwhelming power.”
The last line about enjoying human flesh sent a cold shiver down Jihun's spine. He finally understood what the finger snap had meant.
'If my guess is right,'
“Cheol-uk. That bird brain is totally off its rocker right now.”
????
Cheol-uk stared at him with wide eyes, no answer coming.
“You guys think we're priests—sacrificers, right? Everyone standing here.”
“What the hell are you talking about, comrade?”
“That means all those people lying there are the sacrifices. War captives, offerings to the god of inquisition.”
“That finger snap... you mean...!”
“Exactly. He wants live offerings brought to him.”
“You... you can't be serious!”
Cheol-uk bit his lip hard. Jihun placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered to calm him.
“No... don't get worked up, Cheol-uk. My gut says we won't die here.”
Jihun whispered a plan directly into Cheol-uk's ear with absolute conviction.
“Are you... insane?! That damn bird!”
Cheol-uk immediately exploded in curses the moment he heard the plan, while Jihun watched him with sparkling eyes full of trust.
“He hasn't figured out the situation yet. Cheol-uk, trust me once.”
Cheol-uk's eyes finally softened. He circled his thumb and index finger—okay sign.
'Alright, let's start.'
Jihun shook off his entire body's tension, stretched his limbs, and marched straight toward Huitzilopochtli with heavy steps.
Lee Cheol-uk felt a strange resolve in Jihun's eyes and, without realizing it, agreed to the mad plan.
'I'm crazy too. Hanging around this guy must have rubbed off on me.'
Once he cleared his head, he wondered if this was really a plan. But it was too late to stop now—Jihun was already right in front of the altar where the monster was sitting.
'Backpedaling is impossible.'
Cheol-uk took the most respectful, lowest stance he could manage, avoiding the monster's gaze as much as possible, and began delivering Jihun's plan to the other hunters one by one.
“!?”
“!?!?”
“!?!?!”
Everyone stared at Cheol-uk with the same expression: Team leader, are you out of your mind?
Especially Han Sia, the team leader.
“What on earth are you saying? We're just supposed to run into the forest while you leave Min Jihun behind?”
“No! Team leader, please hear me out! As soon as Jihun gives the signal, we... we run!”
“What? Someone who runs together leaves him like that? If we're running into the forest, we should stay close to the edge!”
“B-but... please, Team leader, just trust Jihun once? That guy's got something planned!”
“Shh... shh...!”
“No! That's what I'm saying! Haa...!”
Jihun had turned around and told them to stay quiet. Han Sia's eyes filled with resentment toward Cheol-uk.
Following Jihun's plan, Sia and Cheol-uk personally forced every hunter to their knees and lined them up in a row.
Far enough from the forest to not raise suspicion, yet not too close.
Once the line was set with appropriate distance behind Jihun, Cheol-uk called out.
“Jihun! Comrade! We're ready!”
Jihun nodded and spread both arms wide toward the sky. He began dancing with a rhythm that seemed to match an invisible beat.
“Heung~ Huhuhung~~!”
His movements grew wilder as strange sounds started escaping his mouth.
Soon it looked like a possessed shaman performing a gut dance—shoulder shaking wildly to the bizarre sounds.
“Hehhe~ It! Hongalhongalhongal~! Hururrurrurrur!”
The half-man, half-bird monster's eyes widened in surprise. Then it sat up straight like a human watching something interesting and gazed down at Jihun.
It seemed to think, 'Whoa! This shaman is pretty skilled! I've been bored with the same old stuff lately—lucky break.'
While the monster was mesmerized by the unfamiliar Korean gut-dance sounds, Han Sia and Lee Cheol-uk quickly checked the final status of the other team members.
They had barely convinced the two uncles, Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee, who had insisted they couldn't leave Jihun behind alone, to come along.
The two of them bowed politely to the half-man, half-bird monster as if they were simply offering to eat.
Yet the monster glanced at them once, gave a casual wave, and turned its full attention back to Jihun's performance.
“Hururururur! Warararararar! Hututututut!”
That's right. Right now Huitzilopochtli was completely captivated by Min Jihun's performance.
'I never knew I had such talent in me.'
'A guy who's never even visited a fortune-teller in his life can put on such a real gut dance...'
'Are you watching, Ilgwang-gun? There's an excellent shaman right here—me.'
'A little embarrassing, but that monster is properly appreciating my gut! My movements!'
Thanks to the monster staring fixedly at him alone, Jihun's inner artistic soul finally ignited.
At first the shame was so overwhelming he almost regretted it, but with such an enthusiastic audience, it felt like a luxury.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Once the team members finished preparing, Sia whistled the signal.
But even as the whistle echoed, Jihun kept dancing on his shoulders.
“Min! Jihun! Are you even listening? How long are you gonna keep shaking those shoulders?!”
Jihun, lost in the gut dance right in front of the half-man, half-bird monster, finally looked up toward the sound.
“Comrade! We're all ready!”
The hunters were still on their knees, heads bowed, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
They had adapted to the suffocating pressure and were ready to bolt into the forest at any second.
Jihun gave Sia the signal. Like the climax of a performance, he dropped to one knee, arms stretched toward the sky, and shook his head left and right as if possessed, unleashing the dialect.
“Hururut! Kiieehit! Hic! Hiririririric! Three, two, one!”
As Jihun's signal rang out, the twenty hunters—including Han Sia and Lee Cheol-uk—used their skills and charged into the forest at full speed.
“Enhanced Strength!”
“Shadow Step!”
“Body Modification, Weight Reduction!”
“Paper Folding, Ground Folding!”
“... ... ...”
“Swift Wind, golden breeze blowing on the sail! Help us! Pure wind!””
Thanks to Sia's area-of-effect skill, even the hunters without personal movement skills safely reached the forest.
'We did it!'
At that exact moment, a loud crash echoed from behind and a man's scream followed.
“Kyaaak! What the hell?! My arm! Aigoo, my arm is gone!”
Sia's cat-like sharp eyes widened like a deer's, and suddenly she remembered someone.
'Min Jihun!'
She turned around. The spear Huitzilopochtli had thrown had smashed the stone floor and was stuck deep. The monster's face twisted in rage, having missed his sacrifices right in front of him.
Before Sia could even check Jihun's arm, Jihun grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her deeper into the forest.