Chapter 7 – Chapter 1. Tutorial.
“Mr. Lee Seong-han. Seonghan Lee—!”
“Yes… , Yes?”
Jihyeok called out the name of the anchovy man who was sitting in a daze. The boy suddenly came to his senses and looked at him.
“A dead person is a dead person.”
Jihyeok calmly said that one word. Forget the dead now and take good care of yourself, such a deep meaning was hidden. There’s no way the anchovy man wouldn’t know that either.
“Ah… , Yes…”
However, the anchovy man seemed to be unable to escape from the overwhelming shock. That’s also true, because if the arrow had aimed at him first, it would have been him who died, not her.
Only then did he realize that an invisible knife was close to his throat. He knew how dangerous this place was, but this time he felt it very vividly.
“It’s not your fault.”
“… Yes, I know you’re out of luck.”
The anchovy man has now come to his senses. As Jihyeok said, the dead were the dead. He can’t die along with her just because her heart hurts.
… Fuck.
“Who the hell attacked us?”
Jihyeok pointed to the sky with his finger.
“It must be a fairy.”
“A fairy, huh?”
“Yes.”
The anchovy man had a confused expression. The fairies he knew were such a beautiful race that loved the forest and respected life.
Jihyeok smiled. I can see what the anchovy man is thinking. Because there was a time long ago when he too was caught in such stereotypes.
Unfortunately, however, the fairy here kills life easily, eats delicious meat, and does not love the forest. If there is only one thing they have in common, it is that they are a very beautiful race.
If the warriors from the fairies sometimes do worse than the orcs, I’ve said it.
“Let’s move.”
First of all, Ji-hyeok doesn’t have to hunt monsters anymore because he has one sign, but it was good to show that he does his best for Anchovy. Otherwise, because of the sign, you could be stabbed and searched for while sleeping. It’s only been 4 days, but I needed an anchovy man to survive the other 3 days.
Of course, Jihyeok kept in mind that if the sign remained one, he could betray Anchovy Nam at any time. When it comes to his own life, he can change drastically to anyone of any race or gender.
Therefore, obtaining one more mark was the safest way. Then there is no need for the anchovy man to betray Ji-hyeok.
If you think about it coldly, it wasn’t all bad that the head count was reduced by one at this point. Although there is a downside of less sleep, there is definitely a point of being comfortable.
Of course, Jihyeok didn’t show off like that. Even if it’s not on the inside, pretending to be kind on the outside is more helpful in many ways.
Anyway, Jihyeok continued to pursue the monster. This time, Anchovy Nam also actively helped. Jihyeok decided to leave the original nest, so he didn’t even bother to leave a mark on the tree. He wasn’t stupid enough to use the exposed place like an idiot again.
The deeper the forest, the thicker the air. Jihyeok could clearly feel it through his skin. That he had grown thicker to live.
A lot of monsters must have smelled it and came here.
The anchovy man also trembled at the eerie energy, but he didn’t know if it was because he was alive.
Jihyuk knew that there was another group of beings not far away. The existence of a monster was also felt. With only a few days left, the participants’ monster hunting has become more active.
… No, monster hunting wasn’t everything. The number of fights among participants over signs will increase dramatically.
Even now, the two groups were approaching each other. Of course, that was all Jihyeok knew. He was still at a low level, so he couldn’t figure out what his identity was or how many there were.
“Follow me. Be quiet, don’t make a sound.”
The anchovy man swallowed his saliva with a very nervous expression and nodded his head slightly. The two of them lowered their bodies a bit, kept their footsteps still, and approached somewhere cautiously.
And they soon heard a tearing scream.
Not too far away, the two saw two groups fighting each other fiercely. It was a group of Lizardmen and Orcs.
Huh-.
Anchovy Man held his breath and hid himself behind a tree as much as possible before watching the fighting scene.
It was a really bloody battle. The crudely made wooden spears quickly broke, so they fought with stones. It was normal to sprinkle dirt and sand on his face, and he mercilessly picked the fallen guy’s eyes with his fingers.
Evil, ah ah-.
It was a fight only to kill the opponent. Fighting with fists like playing house was not here.
Among them, Jihyeok knew that one person stood out. It was the Orc, Giranosh. To begin with, he was on a different level from his other cubs. Even the Lizardmen were a formidable race, but Giranosh was so powerful and powerful that he could take down a group of ferocious Orcs at once.
There was one more lizardman in number, but they were eventually defeated by a group of orcs. Giranosh relentlessly followed and killed even the one who ran away. He was a very lonely kid.
The Orcs let out a victory roar and began dismantling the dead Lizardmen with sharp stones. They liked it and said they would eat today.
Giranosh held out one of the tokens held by the Lizardmen to his men. It was as if he was congratulating a subordinate who had fought the most courageously.
Anchovy man and Jihyeok met their eyes for a moment. It seemed clear that there were several marks in the orc group.
The current number of orcs is four. It wouldn’t have been if it were ordinary orcs, but Giranosh was stuck there. If so, fighting should be avoided unconditionally. It would be okay if I fought Giranosh alone, but it was difficult to deal with three more.
Just as Jihyeok was about to give up and retreat, an arrow suddenly flew and stuck in the orc’s head.
“Gwaiik-.”
The orc hit by the arrow let out a strange scream and fell forward. When Giranosh saw it, he screamed and glared at the place where the arrow had come from.
“You bastard aaaaa!!”
The work of the goddamn fairy pup was evident. It seemed that he was constantly harassing the Orcs.
However, there was no way for the orcs to catch the fairies jumping up and down the trees. It’s probably all about just venting your rage from below and using evil.
Anyway, thanks to that fucking fairy, the number of Orcs decreased by one. Jihyeok thought that maybe there would be an opportunity. Since even the fairies know that the orcs have their mark, they will harass them even more relentlessly.
It wasn’t long before an arrow pinged again. However, because the orcs were still on guard, it missed slightly to the side of its head. In the end, Giranosh couldn’t stand it and ran towards the place where the arrow flew, screaming.
It is at this time.
Jihyeok did not miss this golden opportunity. He immediately ran to where the orcs were. Still, he had the confidence to outrun at least two orcs.
ㅡㅡ!!
Of course, the Orcs screamed as they saw the humans running towards them. A human holding only a wooden spear posed no threat to them.
If it was an ordinary human being, the orc’s judgment was not wrong. However, the opponent was the legendary S-class warrior Kang Ji-hyeok. No matter how much his physical condition changed, it wasn’t difficult to pick up the heads of two orcs. … However, he had to keep in mind that Giranosh could return at any time.
First… , One guy-!
Jihyeok, aiming for the head, lightly dodged the wooden club swinging horizontally, and then stabbed the wooden spear directly into the eye.
“Ahhhhh!!”
One orc collapsed with a scream. A colleague rushed in immediately. Again, the orc swung his arm holding a stone with the force to break his head. Jihyeok straightened up and immediately picked up a stone from the floor and jumped off the ground. Then, he mercilessly struck the guy’s cheekbones with a stone.
“Evil-!”
The orc stumbled. Of course, he didn’t fall down with that one shot. However, Jihyeok’s purpose was not to kill them. It was a coveted mark on the floor over there.
He tossed the boulder he had in his hand at the orc, hurriedly gathered his mark, and started running. They realized after a while that their tokens had been stolen.
“Keep it off!!!”
The orc roared. But Jihyeok ran and ran. The anchovy man hurriedly followed Ji-hyeok with a happy expression on his face.
With this, both tokens were obtained. There was no need to be here any longer. So I just ran until the sweet smell came out of my mouth.
I never thought a fucking sprite would be so helpful.
They ran for a while If you stay here, they won’t be able to track you until you want to.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
The two breathed heavily. It would be difficult even if I ran barefoot, but it was even harder to run with a heavy sign.
“I was really lucky, Mr. Jihyeok.”
Anchovy Man said it was luck. As Jihyeok looked at him blankly, he quickly realized his mistake and corrected his words.
“No, that Jihyeok-ssi suffered a lot. Yes thank you, really. I will never forget this grace.”
“Sunghan suffered, too.”
Jihyeok said something he didn’t even want to say. I don’t really like Anchovy Man, but I still needed it.
“Ayu, what is suffering? Jihyeok did everything, what?”
You seem to know
The two caught their breath, took the tokens again, and stood up. Since they both sought the mark, there was no need to go deeper into the forest.
Of course, it was difficult to get out of the forest completely, as drinking water and food were needed. Then you have to go around the edge to take your time.
The two men started walking again. Then they reached the pool they used before. They went near the pool to drink water, but the body of the teacher was nowhere to be seen.
“… Uh? Ji, Mr. Jihyeok. There is no body—!”
The anchovy man had hopes that she was alive and not dead. However, Jihyeok shattered those expectations at once.
“Ah, it looks like you picked it up.”
“… Yes?”
“Others must have taken it. There are goblins nearby, or maybe others.”
“Ah…”
The anchovy man became afraid of Ji-hyeok, who said such things so calmly. He seemed like it was normal.
“Don’t mind that, drink some water.”
Is that so…
However, the anchovy man had to listen to Ji-hyeok. No, his body moved like that on its own. Deep inside him, he was afraid of a person named Kang Ji-hyeok.
They both drank water until their stomachs were full. And walked on the road again.
Anchovy Man felt strange. … There seemed to be something here that made people go crazy.
Jihyeok turned his head and looked at Anchovy Nam with a complicated expression.
He said like a child.
“Well, it doesn’t feel bad, does it? It’s because I’m a bit strong. Sometimes people misunderstand.”
The anchovy man smiled slightly as if nothing was wrong.
“Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay. It could be.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Jihyeok’s smile evaporated at once as he turned his head to the front again.
The two walked for a long time without speaking. The sky was already turning red.
Even as Jihyeok walked, he was constantly wary of his surroundings. I kept checking to make sure no one was following me. In particular, the mean fairy pup was the most troublesome.
“Let’s get out of the forest today.”
“May I?”
“That would be better.”
The anchovy man nodded in agreement. Jihyeok is a scary person, but even so he always made a wise decision.
The two barely left the forest when the sky was half dark. Woo woo woo. The cry of an unknown beast could be heard in the distance. The anchovy man’s body trembled.
“Sleep first.”
Jihyeok recommended Anchovy Man to sleep first. He was suddenly terrified. Maybe he killed himself while he slept. There’s no reason for that, but it’s a strange thought.
“Yes.”
Still, I couldn’t sleep. The eyelids were already too heavy.
… Guess I’ll have to kill it
Anchovy man fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
He took a long breath of air through his nose and exhaled it through his mouth.
The sun has completely disappeared. In the clear night sky, countless stars were studded and embroidered. It was a truly beautiful sight.
Occasionally, I heard what sounded like faint screams from somewhere. Jihyeok looked at the place where the sound came from with an expressionless face.
The forest was already hell. In the future, it was clear that a blood battle would unfold every night as they ate each other over signs.
Heh, try it well.
Jihyeok’s heart was at ease. He felt at ease for the first time in a while. After finishing the tutorial, he pondered what to do first.
There were more screams and screams. He suddenly had a drink. I wished that the alcohol of the hagi would have soaked his throat once and passed it.
Shall we have a drink when we go out?
Then a loud explosion was heard. It was definitely magic. … It seemed that a very fierce blood battle was going on there.
The anchovy man did not wake up from the noise and slept well.
Haam-. Jihyeok also yawned loudly. He was very tired But his spirit did not let go. If you’re not paying attention, you could go to the goal with a single arrow like yesterday’s female teacher.
After a while, the forest became quiet.
Just like that, Jihyeok’s heart sank deeply.
