Chapter 14 – How to Make a Milk Hunter Strong
“Seoksam old man. What do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“No, about the meeting this week. Do you agree, or say, to burn the forest down?”
“Whoa-“
Grandpa Seok-sam flicked a cigarette at Grandma Yong-seon’s question.
“Grandma? Would you agree?”
“That’s right.”
The grandmother did not answer right away and fiddled with the brim of her hat. I hesitated for a long time, wondering if I was deeply worried about the agenda from the village head, or I finished thinking about it, but I didn’t want to come up with a conclusion.
“Shouldn’t it be burned?”
These were the words that came out of the mouth of the old woman.
She was the one who insisted on never burning the forest until a month ago.
However, the opinion changed to give up, as the dog Bok-soon, whom he had cherished and raised, was eaten by a centipede that came down from the forest, and the corn field he had cultivated in the forest became occupied by monsters and was unable to approach.
This was the position of the majority of the villagers.
People who didn’t even know what a monster was.
People who had only watched the battle between hunters and monsters on TV realized that their forest was encroached on by cracks and monsters threatened their survival.
If they are left alone, the village property, heritage, and gardens that have been cultivated for a long time are not the problem, but their lives are in danger.
Grinding my teeth, tying my waist strap, and enduring it with an evil spirit.
Small dewdrops formed around Yongseon Grandma’s eyes.
“There is my father’s grave in that forest…”
“…”
“There’s my mother’s grave, there’s my grandfather’s grave, and there’s also my grandfather’s grave above it.”
“…”
Grandpa Seoksam looked at the distant mountains.
“I couldn’t even get the ashes. Parents who pampered and nurtured their ugly children, but the children couldn’t even keep the ground they had handed down.”
The tobacco was all burnt out, and only a small ember flickered.
“I would agree too.”
Grandpa Seoksam dropped a cigarette and rubbed it into the ashtray.
“Still, people’s lives aren’t more important.”
He also lowered his head.
As if he didn’t want to raise his face, he stared at the ashtray for a while.
“I hear Ki-cheol these days is funny.”
“?”
“I don’t think they said that a young Hunter went into the forest three days ago. That she’s the Arachne Queen or she’s going to catch a scary baby spider.”
“Ah, the hunter who killed the centipede that appeared on the Kim family’s farm downstairs with one shot?”
It was Ki-cheol, the guide of the village.
“Hehe, that friend hasn’t let go of hope yet.”
“That’s right. If three days had passed, that hunter would probably have died too.”
Among the elders in the village with a high average age, Ki-cheol, who greeted Cheon-woon, belonged to the younger generation.
“Heh heh, I don’t know what they are doing. I feel like young people who are young are not dying because of the stubbornness of the old people. We must finish that cursed forest quickly…”
“Ki-chul said that the number of bugs that came out after the hunter entered was significantly reduced.”
“…”
Grandpa Seoksam pondered at the words of Grandma Yongseon.
Come to think of it, after the hunter entered, monsters rarely came down to the village.
“It must be a coincidence.”
I took out a new cigarette.
I’m going to die from lung cancer, but it’s hard to endure the reality without relying on nicotine.
Whoop-
It was then.
What the wind has changed.
The light from the lighter that Grandpa Seoksam had lit flickered lightly before going out.
Arachne Forest.
I thought the air was swaying, but outside air was coming in and out.
Ordinary people also felt the wind and air flow changed.
“What does this feel like?”
Grandma Yongsun straightened her back and turned her head.
Grandpa Seoksam jumped up from his chair.
Villagers came out of their houses and into the streets and murmured.
A change in the forest that everyone is feeling.
Birds that hadn’t twittered in years were chirping, and the dogs in the village were barking.
People gathered and headed to the forest.
“Hasn’t the air changed?”
“Why is there such a cool wind blowing?”
“Whoa, it’s dangerous, so don’t go near it.”
They smelled in the forest.
Fragrance from nature. It was the clear grassy scent of midday.
It’s different from the stuffy air so far.
“Heh heh, what the hell is this?”
“How did you feel?”
Faces brightening one by one.
With rising anticipation, they huddled together at the entrance of the forest and watched them change.
Then, in the forest, a hunter trudged out.
*
Clots of slime, dirt and blood.
The combat uniform was already damaged to the point where it was difficult to use.
Take out extra clothes from your inventory and change them,
I found a way out and got out.
There were no bugs on the way back.
Perhaps because the magic power supplying them was cut off, bugs that had been transformed into monsters for a long time were lying everywhere.
When they got out of the forest without difficulty, there were many people gathered there.
“?”
“What are you?”
Grandmothers and grandfathers.
The elders of the village seemed to have gathered and looked at me with canes.
“You! Did you come back alive!”
There was an uncle who greeted me with a loud voice.
The man who guided me to the forest when I first came to this village.
I guess you waited for me
“Ah, yes. Hello.”
I opened my eyes to the crowd gathered and greeted the uncle.
“What happened inside! Could it be that you killed Queen Arachne?”
“That’s right. I just killed him and came out.”
“… !”
“… !”
When I answered calmly, the people who were listening to our conversation widened their eyes.
“Is it a field or something, is it a foreign world or something, is that over, then?”
“Yes. Since Queen Arachne, the boss of the field, is dead, there will be no more contamination. Bugs don’t turn into monsters either. Still, we will have to be careful of the forest for a while, but if you call the field management headquarters, they will carry out the cleanup work as soon as possible.”
“Haha…”
The old man was speechless and laughed.
“Did you really catch the giant spider?”
“Doesn’t it feel like we don’t have to burn the forest?”
“Does it feel like monsters don’t appear anymore?”
A grandmother wearing a hat, a grandfather holding a lighter in one hand for some reason, and elderly people holding agricultural tools.
Everyone surrounded me and poured out various questions.
I answered kindly.
It relieved them of their worries and anxieties.
“The 3m giant spider is dead. You don’t have to burn the forest. Also, as long as there are no cracks, you don’t have to worry about monsters for a while.”
“Haha…”
“Haha…”
A smile spreads from the lips of the elderly.
“Aigoo~ Aigoo~”
There is also an old woman who collapses on the spot and bursts into tears due to her hardships.
“It’s great, it’s great, really.”
There was also a grandfather who repeated the same words as if he had forgotten what to say.
“Aww, bachelor. Guess where did you come from? Where did such a bachelor come from, haha.”
“Did you say Hunter? What’s your name yes?”
“Where are you not hungry? Hick! My God, what kind of body is this? How much must you have suffered in me?”
They hugged me
My body is muddy with sweat and blood, and it’s a mess from not washing for three days, but they held my hand and stroked it as if they didn’t care.
Their emotions and gratitude were conveyed through their tightly held hands.
“Come here, we must have a feast.”
“I need to catch Yongsik’s cow. Please don’t run away.”
“Would you like a drink? There is snake wine that has been stored in our house for a long time.”
The elders dragged me to the village.
The power to hold my hand and lead me was weak, but it was hard to resist.
It would be an expression of joy and gratitude.
‘I have to go see why.’
While worrying about why I would be waiting at home, I headed towards the village led by the villagers.
I’ll have to call you saying I’m going in late today.
*
The feast continued into the evening.
I was able to return home after barely shaking off the elders who told me to drink and stay for a few days.
I might have become a hunter to save these people.
People who need help.
When Arachne Field collapsed, people were more than happy, relieved, and cried and laughed.
Looking at them reminded me of old dreams.
As the hardships in Arachne Forest were washed away, her heart became more generous.
I arrived home with the luggage packed by the elders in my inventory.
It was after I had already washed and cleaned my body.
“I’m here?”
I see Yuna.
A comfy tee and shorts, loose straight hair.
He seemed to have a lot to say to me, but first he looked at my details and his expression relaxed.
Brightened face.
Eyes round.
“Why are you so late?”
Are you angry or are you happy?
He asked in a rather pointed tone, but his eyes were smiling.
“The village elders, well, they wouldn’t let me go. It was hard to come after refusing to stay for a few more days.”
I grumbled a little.
The hospitality of the elders was good, but I returned early to see Lee Yu-na.
And when I got home, I felt even more relieved.
“Hey, they said they would clear the field in one day at the earliest and come back, but three days have passed, three days. Why is it so late Do you know how sick I was?”
“Sorry. Arachnes are quite strong, so it took a long time. Did it hurt a lot? Are the wounds okay?”
“No, it didn’t hurt as much as before…”
The reason why you are pouting but your expression is relaxed.
The treatment had progressed a little, so the wound wouldn’t have gotten so bad in about 3 days.
He tried to complain, but when I worried, he stopped talking.
“Anyway, you have to come early. Contact should not be lost.”
“Okay.”
Lee Yu-na said that and quickly turned around.
It seemed that he wanted to hear something of a promise from me, but it seemed that words that were stronger than I thought didn’t come out well.
I guess I’m trying to express that I’m hurt like that.
“Her grandma and her grandparents packed a lot of presents.”
“Gift?”
I took out the bot pack carefully packed by the village elders from my inventory.
Korean beef, kimchi, soybean paste, refreshments, crackers, medicinal herbs, makgeolli, soju, etc…
Miscellaneous food spilled out.
“Wow, what is all this?”
“I said it was okay, but what did they pack so badly?
He could only be released by filling up his inventory.
Thanks to that, the bag I dumped on the floor weighed about 20 kg.
“There was an old woman with a hat on her head, and she said that Boksoon was a pup and took one of her puppies. She refused because I thought it would be difficult to raise her at home, and she was the one with a lighter in her hand, but she kept pouring me a drink to say thank you, so I had a hard time accepting it all. And Ki-cheol, the village guide, said he would give a reward like that. It was hard to say no.”
As I told them one by one about what had happened in the village, Lee Yuna also listened intently.
“I saw Arachne for the first time, you know. I thought she was a ghost. The size is 2m, and it moves between trees with 8 legs…”
“Therefore? How did it go?”
When I start talking about what happened in Arachne Forest, he sits down in front of me and asks what’s next.
We ate the snacks the elders had packed and talked about what had happened.
Of course, I didn’t bring out a single thing about milking.
That night. After taking a shower, Lee Yu-na put on her pajamas and lay down on the bed.
I washed my body and came out to the living room.
[Cares LV.5]
Level up milking skills. It was time to check how helpful it was for wound healing.
