Chapter 215
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Bravery, Caution, and Guts
First off, now that we'd confirmed everyone was safe, it was time to press on.
"Looks like it's a Rank 1, right?"
Everyone nodded at Jeong Oh-hoon's words. Given the situation, we had no choice but to assume this was a Rank 1 Erosion Core.
The moment we'd entered this castle, we'd been forced to confront all sorts of phobias right away—and overcome them.
But we still hadn't even encountered the Erosion Core's nucleus. Based on everything we'd been through so far, taking it down wouldn't be as simple as just beating the crap out of it.
Who knew what beautiful gimmick was waiting for us?
"Ha."
With a thud, a massive rusty Iron Maiden plummeted from the sky, landing smack in the center. As it creaked open, a red hole leading somewhere came into view on the other side.
It looked like the last place anyone would want to go. But there was no other path besides that one.
"No idea what that even means."
We wouldn't know until we went inside and checked. We exchanged glances for a moment.
"Not planning on camping out here, so let's go."
I said that and threw myself into the rusty Iron Maiden before me.
When I opened my eyes, I tilted my head at the sight of my arm. It gleamed like polished wood.
"...A mannequin."
My consciousness had left my body and possessed this mannequin. I moved the wooden figure and let out a small sigh.
It had the physical abilities and senses of a regular person. My mind was fully transplanted into this thing.
"If I run into a monster like this, I'm toast."
I was near a vast lakeside where the chirping of insects echoed.
A small abandoned village was visible in the distance. Though "village" felt like too generous a term. There were maybe ten crumbling houses left to rot.
Two crescent moons and six green stars hung in the sky. The moons glowed in different colors, giving off an eerie vibe at first glance.
Green, gold, red.
As I stared at the three-colored moons, I rubbed my eyes.
"Bravery, caution, guts."
They'd been mentioned exactly in that blood-written message we'd seen just before entering—along with a command to end the night. And now moons floated overhead.
When the moons set, the night would end. That much was common sense. It looked like we needed to collect something to wipe them out.
"And until then..."
I'd have to hustle around in this flimsy wooden body. The upside? Since it was just my consciousness possessing this fake wooden shell, I wouldn't get out of breath.
A faint crow's caw echoed. Then a thunk, followed by the rattle of chains and the screech of metal scraping the ground, sending chills down my spine.
"Shit."
Something loomed in the distance. A robed figure that reeked of mold even from afar.
A red glow flickered from beneath the hood obscuring its face. A crow with a torn-open mouth perched on its shoulder.
It gripped a scythe over two meters long in bony hands like dead winter twigs.
And something dangled from its waist, swaying as it moved. Faint enough to barely make out from this distance, but I could tell it was gold.
"...Please no."
I muttered that as I ducked into the reeds, having spotted the glow. No way one of the things we needed was that gold whatever hanging off that freak's belt.
Guts.
The word flashed through my mind. Yeah, that wasn't wrong at all.
Snatching something off that vicious-looking monster's belt would take some serious guts!
If I got caught sneaking up, one swing of that scythe would smash this fragile body like a cake under a hammer.
"Why not just put a bell on the cat's neck?"
Totally the same thing.
"I get what it's after."
Put simply, it was a chase. In our current state, if that thing caught us, we couldn't fight back—we'd just die. Best to stay hidden.
If spotted, we'd have to run for our lives. An unkillable monster chasing helpless people.
A cliché straight out of horror flicks.
Wonder if the other hunters got pulled here too, possessing these wooden bodies?
Probably. It couldn't create multiple spaces like this. A Great Eight might pull it off, but this was just a Rank 1 Erosion Core.
It wouldn't have that kind of power.
First things first, find the other hunters...
As I sorted my thoughts, I recalled the glow on that monster's belt.
Simplest approach: save it for last. Grab the other two, then snatch the gold one to end the gimmick.
"But that's not what guts means."
Guts isn't acting after securing safety. It's charging into danger to seize what you need.
A bit more thought, and yeah—it felt like I had to snag that one first.
With only one left, would that thing keep parading the gold glow openly? Nah, it'd probably guard the last piece desperately.
"Just confirm the locations of the other two..."
Then grab the gold right after. Success, and done.
Bravery and caution. If guts tied to that gold light, the other two linked to lights and words too.
No clue what green meant, but the others seemed like one each—except that one, which needed six gathered.
As I pondered, a thunk—something slammed into the ground nearby.
"Harpoon?"
The thick chain linked to it. I didn't even look back, bolting into the thick reeds.
The chain went taut with a clang, and the distant monster was yanked toward us by the pull.
Wondered where the harpoon came from—turns out it connected via chain to the end of the scythe's handle.
What a versatile bastard. Ranged attacks too. One hit from that, and instant death.
—Huff... huff...
The monster wheezed like some pervert, scanning the area.
Meanwhile, I faced another choice: bolt now, or use this chance to scout?
Obviously scout. Running achieves nothing. Just delays the inevitable.
I grabbed a small pebble and chucked it toward the lake.
Splash. The monster whipped its gaze that way.
And charged the lake.
Not that fast. Faster than me now, sure, but nowhere near impossible to outrun.
Senses weren't sharp either. Missed me picking up the pebble, missed the throw. If it heard, it'd be charging the reeds, not the lake.
Intelligence was low too. Still poking around the lakeside. It searched a while, then wandered off.
"This... I can do this."
Couldn't call it easy, but it wasn't impossible. Needs confirmed, I cautiously headed toward one of the lakeside shacks.
Hide-and-seek where getting caught meant death. Midway, I froze.
Damn, what the hell? Staring at the doll on the ground, I sighed in disbelief.
A dingy yellow rubber chicken lay there.
Step on it, and it'd squeak "Beeeek!" like a broadcast: "People here! Come hack 'em up!"
Unexpected crap could screw you in the dumbest ways.
I nudged the chicken aside carefully and approached a ruin.
Suddenly, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Been a while since I did this."
Hiding from real threats and pursuit, sneaking to avoid notice—felt like ages ago.
Hadn't needed to since getting strong. Sure, stealth missions happened out of necessity.
But creeping like this just to survive? Last time was maybe twenty years back.
Threats and fear are relative. Lion charging? No sweat with a rocket launcher.
Kid scared of a cat lunging.
"How'd I survive back then?"
Struggles from when I'd crash-landed in that other world.
Stale memories I'd buried resurfaced slowly.
Like a self-made billionaire dusting off his childhood diary.
Forgotten mindset, thoughts from back then...
Stuff I'd overlooked came rushing back. I stood slowly.
"Why the hell am I hiding?"
Fought and won with worse bodies against worse foes.
Twisted through impossible odds, found openings, slit throats.
Too strong now to notice tiny possibilities—but I'd seized, nurtured, and overcome them before.
"No reason I can't now."
More experience piled up. Strength made me ignore old priorities.
Plus, this wooden shell had infinite stamina—just like my early days there, when I was weak.
I slipped into the ruin, grabbed a steel pipe and kitchen knife, scanned around.
"Let's do this."
Rank 1 Erosion Core or not, that monster was low-tier—Rank 3 Erosion Zone level at best.
Regular folks? Dead without a fight.
But me...
I headed back to the chicken doll.
"Gimmick? Eat shit. No gimmicks today."
I say so.
I snatched the doll and squeezed.
It screeched "Kweeeek!"
Skulking like a coward, scrambling for shinies to "overcome fear"?
Bullshit. Courage isn't that limp.
I'll show 'em what real courage looks like.
"Come on."
Time for a cat to beat down a wolf. A bizarre treat.