Feast at the End of the Snowy Camp
—Chik, chik. “Hoo—” The creature’s empty eye sockets stare steadily at me.
“You can still see even without those decorative eyeballs?”
Even the slightest motion of lighting a cigarette draws the creature’s head to follow with tiny, precise movements.
“……”
The thing that had looked ready to charge at any moment now stands perfectly still. Despite its brutish, charging appearance, it seems oddly cautious.
“Not coming?”
“……”
“Then I’m coming to you.”
Tap. Bang!
My body accelerates and shoots forward, closing the distance to the self-proclaimed demon in an instant. A flicker of belated confusion shows in its hollow eye sockets.
“Peek-a-boo.”
—Kwaaaang!!
Just before my axe connects, its thigh swells as if about to burst, then it flaps its wings and darts backward. My axe slices through empty air and slams into the ground instead.
For something with such a massive, sluggish-looking body, it’s surprisingly quick.
“Cockroach?”
“Y-you crazy! What kind of priest……!!”
“First a mage, now a priest. You really flip-flop on your story.”
Swish! A gash opens across its cheek, spraying black blood.
Moving my body after so long feels invigorating, but I can’t afford to waste time. The three people collapsed on the ground twitch intermittently. That “demon energy” the creature mentioned seems to be eating away at them.
“Baek Seol, hang on tight.”
“Eung!”
Tap. I lightly stomp the ground and a path of wind opens before me.
One Gust of Mad Wind
Bang—!!
The moment I close the gap in the blink of an eye, the creature’s eyes bulge as if they might pop. Its self-plucked eyeballs have already regenerated and are back in their sockets.
“Hup!”
As I swing the axe, a curtain of black light flares around the creature and blocks the strike.
Critical Strike!
—Kwaaaang!!!
Thud! A heavy impact echoes after the explosion.
When I look at the axe handle in my hand, the head is gone.
“I only swung it once……”
Since Ppongppong-i’s head was sacrificed, the demon’s head is now split clean in half. Yet its eyeballs still roll around restlessly.
—Chik, chik.
“Hoo— You really are a cockroach.”
I approach the demon whose head is split from crown to chest. It’s still breathing. Demons are more troublesome than they look. They use magic even though they seem built only for brute force.
“Keck. Krrrk……”
“Your head’s split in half and you’re still talking? You’re a whole different breed of bug.”
Crunch, crunch. Every step I take leaves footprints in the snow with a satisfying sound.
“If you don’t want to die, tell me what you were doing here.”
“Kuh……huh. Tearing through a higher demon’s barrier……with pure strength. What a monster……of a woman……”
“Stop the flattery and answer the question.”
Black filth oozes from the split in its head. Even while leaking, it keeps grinning. If anyone here is a monster, it’s the demon, not me.
Smack!
“Guaaaagh!!”
“Your balls grew back? Talk before I twist all four of them off, you little shit.”
“Graaaagh!! Stop!! Stooop!!!”
I pause, worried it might die before answering. It gasps for air.
“Haaah! Haaah!”
“O-one, two, three……”
“We were creating Lagrimas!”
“What’s that?”
The pain from the ball-twisting must be worse than expected, because it answers in a rush.
“Lagrimas are commonly called the Devil’s Tears. If a non-demon consumes one, they transform into a demonkin.”
“So you’re turning humans into demon lackeys?”
“Y-yes……”
I don’t need to ask what demonkin are. The word itself makes the meaning clear. Given the mess they’ve caused, these creatures are far more insidious than their power suggests.
“How do you make them?”
“……”
The demon glances around nervously, which looks ridiculous on its face.
“Want to die?”
“I-I’ll talk!”
“Then talk fast.”
“Hunters have bodies overflowing with mana. We crush them together with high-mana monsters, knead the mixture, then mix in demon blood and refine it……”
“Fucking disgusting bastards.”
Thud! I stomp on its head. The sound is like a watermelon bursting. Black liquid spreads across the pristine white snow.
Ding! Ding! Ding!……
[Healing skill already exists]
[You have reached level 50 and have been promoted]
Ding!
Just for popping one demon head, the messages keep pouring in. Inside and out, everything’s in chaos.
“Hoo— Status window, open.”
Han Ga-eul Lv. 9 ▷ 51
Class: White Saint (Supporter)
Strength: F- Agility: F- Intelligence: F-
Stamina: F- Mana: F-
Weakness
White Peach Transformation
Cure Blessing Purification
Whatever level the demon was, I gained forty-two levels in one go. Thanks to that, three specialized skills now fill the previously empty status window. Counting White Peach Transformation, that’s four. Weakness seems like a passive that boosts all supporter skills overall, but I still can’t quite grasp what White Peach Transformation does.
“What’s a White Saint?”
While I stare at the status window, the demon’s corpse finally goes still. Even after its head was split and burst, it kept twitching; only now does it seem to have truly died. I toss the body into my inventory space. The headless Ppongppong-i looks at me pitifully.
I swung lightly the first time and put real power into the second. Even then I didn’t go all out, yet the result was Ppongppong-i losing its head.
“My seventy-five million won enchanted Ppongppong-i turned into a one-time use item.”
“Ppongppong-i!”
It’s a training axe with six layers of weight enchantment, so the outcome is hardly surprising.
“Baek Seol, this friend has gone far away.”
“Bye-bye!”
Baek Seol stretches her short front paws toward Ppongppong-i’s head. She liked that friend too. It’s a shame.
“Let’s see if we can get it repaired later.”
“Eung!”
After quickly finishing cleanup, I check on the three people. They’re still unconscious and in pain. I tried healing earlier, but it didn’t work. The demon’s energy is probably still inside them.
“Cure.”
Light from my hand sinks into the three. No reaction.
“Purification.”
Another wave of light is absorbed. At the same time, black smoke pours out of their bodies and disperses into the air.
“Kugh.”
“You okay?”
Thankfully it worked. The first to regain consciousness is Shinyong.
“Han Ga-eul……”
“Yeah, it’s Ga-eul.”
“Your body……is it all right?”
“Geez, who’s worrying about who here?”
The guy’s completely exhausted, yet he’s worrying about me.
“Wait a sec.”
I pull the tent the three of them had set up out of my inventory.
“Lean on me.”
Shinyong has no strength left to stand, so I help him up. He groans as I support him into the tent. Warm air still lingers inside.
“Stay put until I finish cleaning up.”
“I’m sorry. We’re below standard.”
“Daeryu, stop with the dramatic lines. You’re killing my appetite.”
“Mmm.”
Once all three are lying inside and I light the stove, the tent quickly warms up.
“When Chanyong and Noah wake up, tell them not to do anything stupid and just rest.”
“Understood.”
Their faces have all relaxed. The worst of the fire seems to be out. When I step outside, the freezing cold rushes back in.
“Baek Seol, anyone nearby?”
“Over there.”
Baek Seol found them right away, so they must be close. Following her directions, I spot a circular pattern drawn in black blood.
“All the deadweight was gathered here.”
Elite B-rank hunters and their underlings lie unconscious on top of the drawing. Thankfully, no one appears dead. Just as the demon said, they were trying to do something strange by mixing hunters and monsters. Besides the Silver Wing guild members, an orc boss is also lying there.
“Good grief.”
After finishing my cigarette, I step back into the tent. The men’s eyes all turn toward me. They blink sleepily, as if they’ve just woken up.
“I told you to rest. What are you all staring for? Keep it up and I’ll pluck your eyeballs out.”
“Gong!”
Each of them has a piece of jerky in their mouth. The most ridiculous sight is Shinyong chewing his jerky with a face like he’s eating shit, as if it were cattle feed.
“Tastes awful…… This is below standard. I want the food our supporter made.”
The Silver Wing guild members must have shared their rations.
“This is jerky made from the best-selling synthetic meat at the Hunter Store. It’s highly nutritious and efficient, but the taste……”
“It’s not just ‘below standard’……”
Even Noah, who never complained in the dungeon, is saying that. It must really be tasteless.
“It’s light and easy to store, so it’s the staple food for hunters entering dungeons. You can’t carry heavy rations inside, after all.”
Even Bong Sanghun, who says this, doesn’t look happy. He chews the jerky with a face like he’s dying.
“I’ll cook.”
“Wow!”
“Hooray!”
“Excellent.”
The moment I finish speaking, the three spit out their jerky. The Silver Wing members look bewildered. Meanwhile, Bong Sanghun quietly raises his hand.
“What.”
“What happened outside?”
“I knocked out the one that looked like the orc boss. Once we eat, I’ll cut its head off and the gate should open. I waited until you woke up because I didn’t know how fast it would close.”
Even after my answer, Bong Sanghun’s face is full of questions.
“Could you explain in detail what happened? It’s embarrassing, but we went to gather information, failed to respond, and got subdued.”
“Some demon or whatever was trying to turn you three into paste, so I killed it. That’s all.”
“W-what? A demon!!?”
Bong Sanghun’s eyes bulge.
“I’ll explain the details while we eat. Yong, wash the rice. Noah, set up the table.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Got it.”
At my words, Shinyong and Kim Chanyong leap up and glare at each other.
“I’m Yong.”
“I’m Yong too.”
They bicker constantly, yet they have surprisingly good chemistry.
“Don’t fight, just wash it together. It’s cold, so I’ll make beef radish soup.”
The kids are sick, so they’ll need some strength. I wave my hand and the status window appears.
Ding! Ding! Ding!……
├─ Ingredient Prep ✓
├─ Seasoning ✓
├─ Fire Control ✓
├─ Knife Handling ✓
├─ Dry-Heat Cooking ✓
├─ Moist-Heat Cooking ✓
├─ Baking ✓
├─ Brewing ✓
├─ Poison Cooking ✓
├─ Medicinal Cuisine ✓
├─ Full Course ✓
└─ Last Supper — UNLOCKED ★
“Food’s ready. Bring the bowls before it gets cold.”
“Leave it to me.”
Shinyong takes the soup bowls and carefully carries them to the table.
“Eat up. Our supporter made it.”
Shinyong hands the food to the Silver Wing members with a proud expression. He’s not a kid, yet the way he acts is cute.
“Baek Seol, let’s eat too.”
“Exciting!”
There’s plenty I need to ask the Purple Pot, but first things first—filling our stomachs comes before everything else.