Reeds, Wood, Bricks, and Wolves
Reeds instead of straw, wood, bricks, and houses. And finally, wolves. It was one of those stories she'd read so many times it made her sick of it. Separate from the fact that there weren't many books at the orphanage, she genuinely liked the content itself. The way it rewarded hard work. And she loved the unbreakable house.
"So this is what an event is like."
Anomalies and events. Things that hadn't been in her fate originally. In a word, they were unknown territory, far from familiar. But this time, she was experiencing them firsthand, one by one. A faint sense of excitement was starting to bubble up.
What you see isn't everything.
The rankings at dusk weren't the whole picture. They were just a list ordered by speed. What mattered was what you filled them with. Probably the next stage. How you faced the 'Sanctuary' state would be key.
"Let's go. Bricks next."
"Bricks? You mean actual bricks?"
Shin Gaon kept asking, still not getting it. Of course, Yeonwoo had no intention of scolding her. She figured Shin Gaon's reaction was pretty normal.
"Yeah, bricks."
"I mean, the kind you use to smash people with?"
"......Shut up and hurry."
Scratch that. Seeing this lunatic made her apologize to all humanity and hunters for her hasty judgment. Anyway, they needed to move faster. Yeonwoo pulled out her axe and charged at the trees, with Shin Gaon grinning ear-to-ear, baring her teeth as she followed.
How much time left?
When this phase ended was crucial.
"Hup!"
With that thought, Yeonwoo swung her axe. Kwachak!Kwak!Kwak! The reeds weren't ordinary, and neither were the trees—their durability was no joke. It took several heavy hits before one finally tilted and crashed down.
"Hahat! Yeah! That's more like it!"
Shin Gaon, on the other hand, was ferocious. She swung her axe wildly, almost barbarically, smashing the trees to pieces. And she looked thrilled. Not just because she could use her strength, but because she'd finally caught up to Yeonwoo. Her mood soared beyond the dusk rankings.
What a brute.
Yeonwoo adjusted her stance. Back before becoming a hunter, she'd tried everything. From odd jobs to heavy labor, all to trigger innate awakening. She'd chopped wood in that process too, so with a hunter's power backing her veteran theory, it exploded into action. Kwaak! A diagonal slash. Then kwachak! another diagonal, carving a perfect ◁ into the trunk. The rest was easy. Knock it into the groove, and it fell.
Wooddrack! It toppled as if showing off.
"Fuck yeah, let's do this!"
Shin Gaon gritted her teeth and obliterated trees like they were her household enemies. Kwaang!Kwachak!Kwang!Wujjeok!Wuddrack. Amid the racket, she shot forward. She looked utterly insane, but hey, she was her lunatic.
Easier to handle than I thought.
At first, Yeonwoo wondered what kind of maniac this was. But together, guidelines formed in her mind, making it simpler to manage. Call it the Shin Gaon user manual.
"Anyway, faster the better."
She couldn't predict exactly when this phase would end. They had to hurry.
Of course, she had a guess.
Probably like the first phase.
She recalled slaughtering seven wolves at once. While drunk on that joy and the bubble rewards, the first phase ended abruptly, as if on cue. The rankings proved the order. So if the first to reach the goal triggered it for everyone...?
Same here—the leader hitting the target might end it.
When she'd climbed onto Shin Gaon's shoulders to scout, Nade Man's zone was fastest. Fortress's rising star lived up to the hype; his skill wasn't just bluster.
Competing like this, huh.
Reeds versus wood, or unknown bricks ahead. Not a fair fight, but winning meant overwhelming rewards.
"Hyat! Ha! Uwaaaah!"
Then Shin Gaon let out a near-scream. Simple reason: the end was near. Beyond the densely packed trees like a wall, a new landscape appeared.
Kwaduk!Wajak!Kugugugu—!
Trees crashed into the clearing opposite.
"......Bricks. Whoa, fuck. Actual bricks!"
Shin Gaon yelled in disbelief. Just as Yeonwoo said, bricks were there. Red bricks piled knee-high, stretching endlessly. Viewing the whole zone as a giant circle—a pizza—the bricks ran along the edge like cheese crust.
And not just bricks.
-Grrr......?
-Krrrarar!
The clearing's occupants noticed them too. Werewolves marching in proved this was the 'Wild' phase. Well, technically, they were marching to plunder.
Anyway, bricks confirmed—time to fight. Yeonwoo and Shin Gaon leaped out almost simultaneously. Same choice, same form: dual-wielding axes, jumping with full power.
-Krrroo!
-Kya aaa!
Werewolves charged, crossing their arms to block. But kwachak!kwadduk! No matter their sharp claws, they couldn't stop it. The massive axes dug in, shattering claws with overwhelming force and slashing diagonally through necks.
"Hahat!"
The thrill of smashing something finally hit Shin Gaon. Her face lit up; she was ready to rampage.
Yeonwoo scanned quickly.
Just werewolves.
Some even held weapons. Those were beyond standard werewolves—gate elites. Among them, cloth-wrapped ones were stronger. She spotted three right away.
"Bricks first!"
Yeonwoo crouched and shot forward, stowing her axes and slapping a hand on the bricks. She tried stuffing them into her Bag.
"......Tch."
But an annoyed click escaped. As expected, they wouldn't fit. Reeds had gone in thanks to the 'Harvest' special effect. No choice—Yeonwoo hugged an armful. Neatly stacked, she grabbed plenty.
"You too, hurry!"
"What? Ugh, damn it. Was getting fun!"
Shin Gaon grumbled but hugged bricks too. Her height let her grab more than Yeonwoo.
"Tch."
The difference felt oddly depressing. Yeonwoo clicked her tongue.
Clunk.
But meanwhile, bricks slipped from her ample chest and dropped. All because of her voluptuous figure.
"Ow, seriously!"
A cutely indignant shout, and Yeonwoo bolted for the woods. Good thing: the trees formed a dense but thin wall. She returned to their zone in seconds. Werewolves didn't follow beyond the forest.
Warururu!
Yeonwoo and Shin Gaon dumped the bricks in their zone.
Bricks recognized as material. Position rising!
A light tick rang out. Bricks counted as materials, boosting their rankings. Their zone's shadow filled slightly too.
But the amount was pitifully small.
"One or two trips won't cut it, huh?"
As Shin Gaon said. Efficiency was low.
"We'll run out of time like this."
Urgency gripped her. Bricks were overwhelming rewards. The fairy tale said so. Guarded by werewolves confirmed it. But failing to gather enough before end meant nothing.
"Shin Gaon. Keep hauling bricks. But......"
Yeonwoo scanned quickly. Hunters battling reeds, their zones—then theirs. Plenty of unharvested reeds left, thankfully.
"Hide them inside the uncut reeds where they won't show."
"Easy enough. But you?"
"I'll......"
Her trailing voice matched her complicated expression. As a veteran rolling in the dirt, she'd seen it all. Where people gathered, scum, thugs, brazen criminals existed among hunters too. Crawling the bottom, she'd felt that injustice firsthand. She knew the raw underbelly better than most.
"Haa."
Yeonwoo sighed. Not lamentation—a resolve to shed a layer of herself. Knowing the bottom meant:
I can mimic it anytime.
She already saw how to buy time.
Right. It's an event anyway.
A competition to win. Yeonwoo resolved. Switched her weapon to a sickle.
"I'll go do what you're good at!"
Sacrificing Shin Gaon's morals for her last scrap of conscience. She bolted for her target.
"Yeonwoo, that way?"
"Hey, Shin! Quit nagging and haul those bricks!"
A sharp retort at Shin Gaon, and Yeonwoo left their zone. Crossed into the neighbor's, diving into reeds unnoticed. But she had no intent to hide.
Seogeogeogeok—
Crouched, sickle extended, reeds parted as she ran.
"Y-Yeonwoo Hunter?!"
"Wait. Uh. Why......"
Zones scaled by rank. Yeonwoo-Shin Gaon's combined 1st-2nd was huge, but averages were half that—or less. So Yeonwoo freely harvesting?
"Wait! Yeonwoo Hunter! You'll leave us short......?!"
"Take that and we can't fill ours!"
Shortages inevitable. Her overwhelming massacre left massive quotas unfilled. Plus, 'Harvest' bagged every reed tracelessly.
"I-It’s an event!"
Yeonwoo shouted excuses as she ran, crossing to the next neighbor. Sagagagagak—!
Cheerful sounds as she slaughtered reeds wholesale.
"Why's that one here... Huh?!"
"No! Wait! Even if she's a beauty, what the hell!"
Dispossessed hunters yelled, but couldn't stop her.
"Yeonwoo Hunter! Where you going?!"
"Damn it, talk for a sec!"
Neighbors chased her across zones. Seeing that, the first pair followed too. As Yeonwoo seogeogeogeok—! ran, hunters trailed like a wave.
"Stop! Give back the reeds!"
"Stealing hearts wasn't enough, now reeds too?!"
"You thieving cat!"
"Unnie, you're too pretty!"
"Beauty aside, she's just crazy!"
"Ugh, seriously. Losing my mind!"
Yeonwoo rampaged freely through the reed fields, snatching as many as possible, circling the vast round field clockwise. And finally.
Dragging nearly every hunter behind her after a full lap.
"Huh? Yeonwoo-ssi?"
She arrived at Nade Man's zone. Top rank meant vast land, nearly filled with cut reeds—shadows almost covering it.
"Hoo... not... too... late......!"
Yeonwoo panted triumphantly. Her flushed, joyful face, backlit by dusk's glow, was richer and more beautiful than an autumn harvest.
"What brings you here? Finally need this body's help? Uhihihi."
Nade Man's face split into a grin. Top rank confidence sparked fantasies with courage. He stopped harvesting, rubbed his neck, beaming openly.
"Tier III through blood, sweat, and tears—Fortress's rising star, that's me! So if Yeonwoo-ssi wants, I can help with the event too..."
"Outta the way!"
But Yeonwoo's response was prickly as hell. She sidestepped him, stopped at the shadow zone, and—in front of the trailing victims—bent greedily, scooping a huge armful of reeds.
"All mine!"
Yeonwoo bellowed possessively, then bolted back to her zone.
"Wha—huh? What the......!"
Nade Man chased in panic. But the other hunters? No more pointless pursuit.
"......"
"......Wait."
"Ah. I see."
"Got it perfectly."
Hunters mobbed in Nade Man's zone exchanged glances silently. Then, as if scripted, they all bent and grabbed handfuls of floor reeds.
"Hey, Nade Man! Wrong time to worry about her!"
"What......"
Son Phillip—fellow Fortress hunter—yelled. Nade Man whipped around to new thieves filling his land.
"What the fuck! Drop 'em, you bastards!"
Nade Man growled. But no one listened. Tier III or not, he couldn't block everyone alone.
"Screw it!"
"Run!"
"Yeah, it's an event!"
Hunters snatched reeds and scattered every which way.
Tick. T-tick. Tick.
Ranks fluctuating wildly!
Thanks to them, cheerful, rapid tick sounds rang out as rankings flipped.