Chapter 44

“Just hold out for five minutes.”

With that, Team Leader Choi shot off like the wind. For better or worse, the Hobgoblin Great Warrior didn’t pay him the slightest attention.

“It’s coming this way.”

At my words, everyone nodded blankly.

“It is.”

Boom, boom, boom!

“It’s running this way.”

“Defensive formation—!”

The team snapped into formation. I gripped my spear and moved as ordered. Between the tank and the ranged dealers. Dead center—that was my position.

No, for fuck’s sake. I’m a porter…

Even if my life was going to go sideways, did it have to go this sideways?

They say an unlucky bastard can fall over backward and still break his nose. For 300,000 won, I’d run into two mid-grade Rare Monsters. This wasn’t just a broken nose. This was a broken nose and a cracked skull.

—Kuwaaaaah!

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior charged with a roar. Nearly three meters of muscle and green hide—overwhelming all by itself.

Why is that greatsword so damn huge?

The thought of that thing swinging at me made me swallow hard.

“Can we stop it?”

“We’ll have to try.”

Im Kkeokjeong planted his tower shield in the ground and shouted,

“Archers! Don’t hold back on mana! Pour it on!”

Swish, swish, swish!

Mana-charged arrows shot straight toward it. They carried enough force to punch through most shields, but…

Thunk, thunk.

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior gave its greatsword a casual swing and chopped every one of them in half. Even if they’d hit, I doubted they could have pierced that thick hide.

“Aim for the vitals! Keep shooting and slow it down!”

Then the Great Warrior’s eyes burned red. Once it drew up its mana, its strength and speed were on a whole different level.

“Kuwooooooh!”

With a thunderous roar, the green giant leaped into the air.

Im Kkeokjeong screamed,

“Scatter!”

Everyone threw themselves aside without a moment to think.

Boom!

The greatsword smashed the ground to pieces. A blast of air sent dust whipping around us like a tornado.

“Ghh.”

“Cough, cough.”

Groans and coughing erupted beyond the curtain of dust. I crouched as low as I could and thought,

What kind of monster is that?

It couldn’t compare to that guy from two years ago, but a chill still ran down my spine. In a fight like this, an F-rank Hunter like me was nothing but baggage.

I have to get as far away as I can while I have the chance.

Everything was a wash of haze. Nobody could tell friend from foe. This was my opening.

I stayed low and moved slowly, my spear in one hand while the other felt through empty air.

Then—

Tap.

My fingertips touched something solid. Very hard and damp.

It had to be the cave wall.

Already?

I’d thought I was pretty far from it, but it must have been closer than I expected.

Fine by me. If I followed the wall, I could—

Squish.

“…?”

What was this now? I carefully felt around the unpleasantly squishy object.

There’s fur, too. A person?

Maybe it was the head of someone who’d passed out. I held my breath and whispered,

“Kkeokjeong hyung?”

No answer.

“Who is it?”

This time, I got a reply.

From directly above me.

“Grrr.”

Just then, a gust of wind swept through from somewhere and cleared the dust. I slowly looked up and saw a pair of gleaming red eyes.

“Grrk.”

“…”

I looked back down. Between thighs as thick as pillars and hard as stone, my dainty little hand was clamped around something.

I groaned under my breath.

“Ah, fuck…”

That was a male’s instinct. Unbearable nausea. Disgust with myself. The next moment, my grip went slack on its own.

Slide.

My hand fell limply—and the greatsword rose with force.

“Grrk.”

“I let go! I let go, so why are you doing this?!”

“Kuwooooooh!”

Goddammit.

I wrung out every last bit of strength I had and ran.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior had completely lost it. It chased me like a lunatic, hacking wildly in every direction with its greatsword.

Whoosh—

“Aaaaah!”

That one was seriously close. I ducked at the last second, and the greatsword skimmed over my head and demolished the cave wall.

“Taekyung!”

“Shoot!”

The team pelted it with arrows and throwing weapons, but…

“Kuwaaaaargh!”

It wasn’t enough to draw the Great Warrior’s attention. It was already out of its mind with rage.

I rolled, then rolled again, lamenting my decision.

I should’ve just popped it.

Instinct had beaten reason. It was the heart of a man who’d wanted to get his hand off that even one second sooner.

Whoosh!

The greatsword missed me by a hair. It had been one close call after another, yet I still hadn’t let the C-rank Rare Monster land a single clean hit.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been through so much hell in Murim.

It sounded insane, but it was true. I could see its attacks. Moving half a beat ahead was what kept saving my life.

Boom!

Of course, one hit from that thing and I’d be a goner.

“Taekyung, this way!”

I veered toward the voice. The team was waiting there, back in defensive formation.

“Fall back!”

Im Kkeokjeong charged the Great Warrior chasing me. Blue mana sheathed his tower shield, packed with enough destructive force to smash most low-grade monsters to pieces.

“Hah!”

With a short shout, Im Kkeokjeong brushed past me. And then—

Crunch. Thud.

Something broke, and he shot backward at a vicious speed.

He flew a good ten meters, slammed into the wall, and vomited a gush of blood.

“Gweeehk.”

“…”

Was this for real?

I was stunned. The rest of the team, on the other hand, looked grimly determined.

“No! Kkeokjeong hyung!”

“We’ll buy time! Take hyung and get out!”

Then the greatsword sent another tank flying, tower shield and all.

Boom!

“Agh!”

“Jongmin!”

“We’ll buy time! Take Jongmin and hyung and get out!”

Thud!

“Aaargh!”

“Seokho!”

“…”

Smack!

That was the sound of the team being wiped out. The last member had charged in with a dagger, taken a knuckle to the skull, and gone flying. He twitched, then passed out.

At least they were all still breathing. Thank goodness for that.

—Grrr…

Scratch that.

Keeping my eyes fixed on the monster, I shouted,

“Team Leader!”

A fierce fight was still going on at the altar in the distance.

A tired voice came through the explosions.

“What?!”

“Are you still not done? It feels like it’s been more than five minutes!”

Boom! Boom! Fwoosh!

Lightning struck, and flames surged. Team Leader Choi screamed,

“Three more minutes!”

Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was a soccer referee. His bold call for extra time left me speechless.

—Karruk, karruk.

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior came on slowly. A cruel smile hung on its wide-slit mouth. I edged backward in time with its steps.

“That’s right. Come on. Come on.”

No choice. Same as before: run like hell and stall.

—Grrk.

But the Great Warrior didn’t move the way I expected.

“Huh?”

Its bulging eyes rolled toward my teammates sprawled unconscious on the ground. I had a very bad feeling about this.

“Don’t tell me…”

That was exactly it.

My heart sank as I watched its back heading for Im Kkeokjeong.

“Hey! Hey, you bastard!”

It ignored me completely.

Now I was the one panicking.

If I leave it like this, they’re all dead.

I had to draw its attention somehow. I grabbed one of the rocks scattered around me and hurled it at the monster’s head.

Thwack!

Direct hit.

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior turned and glared at me.

“Yeah. Come here.”

—Grrr.

Its narrowed eyes flicked between me and Im Kkeokjeong. Then it started running toward Im Kkeokjeong.

Boom, boom, boom!

“You crazy bastard!”

At this rate, not only Im Kkeokjeong but the rest of the team would be wiped out too. I was the only one who could stop it.

Stop that thing? Me?

A one-on-one fight against a C-rank Rare Monster.

A fight I could never win. But…

Ah, fuck.

I was already charging at it. Sometimes you have to fight even when there’s no chance.

This was one of those times.

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

Whoosh—!

The instant I thrust my spear at its broad back—

—Kururuk.

The green giant turned like it had been waiting. A smug smile sat on its mouth. The greatsword swept in horizontally, a streak of light shooting for my side.

That’s what you were after.

My mind went blank. Could I even block that? Had I made the wrong call out of some cheap guilt and heroics?

But the die was already cast.

I have to hold.

There are times you fight with your life on the line. This was one of them.

Please!

I clenched my teeth and turned the iron spear into the greatsword’s path. At the same time, the greatsword smashed into it.

Rrrrrumble—

A roar of impact. Then enormous pressure. The greatsword, iron spear and all, split straight through my waist—

“…Huh?”

The iron spear was fine. So was my waist. All that had happened was my feet had been pushed back a little. A very, very little.

“…?”

What was this?

—G-Grrk?

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior’s face flushed bright red. It pulled the greatsword back and smashed it against the iron spear again. Even through my confusion, I tightened my grip and blocked.

Boom!

My body slid back.

Maybe thirty centimeters?

“…Uhh.”

—…Grrk.

The Hobgoblin Great Warrior’s eyes met mine in the air between us. I’d been through this somewhere before.

That’s right. The duel with Lee Seogeun. It was exactly like this.

I’d freaked out after seeing his Level and thought I was dead, only to discover that he was a complete pushover. How could I forget a moment that absurd?

But I had the System backing me there.

This was reality. I was an F-rank Hunter with nothing. No System, no nothing.

How the hell is this…

Ding.

“Huh?”

I froze. For that instant, I couldn’t see or hear anything.

This can’t be. This seriously makes no sense.

Ding.

System

Synchronization complete.

All systems are inherited.

And yet, it actually happened.

“Ha… hahaha.”

A laugh slipped out of me like I’d lost my mind. The Hobgoblin Great Warrior stared at me like I was the crazy one.

System

Lv. 45 Hobgoblin Great Warrior

Right. So that was how it was.

“I don’t know what the hell just happened…”

I grinned at the monster.

“But you’re fucking dead.”

Gurgle.

A wrinkled hand clutched at its throat. But the old goblin had neither the strength to stop the blood pouring out like a waterfall nor the time to spit out the spell still hovering on the tip of its tongue.

“What a nuisance.”

With that from Team Leader Choi, the light went out of the Hobgoblin Priest’s eyes.

I’m tired.

But he turned around at once. He still had work to do. There was no telling how brutal the fight against a C-rank Rare Monster would be—

Slash—

“Kuwaaaaargh!”

Team Leader Choi thought he was seeing things.

That same Hobgoblin Great Warrior was screaming. One arm severed, it was staggering back.

Who did that?

He watched the fight, even forgetting he was supposed to help. Ghostlike movement. A spear-point pouring like water, carving the green giant to pieces.

Wait.

A spear?

Of everyone gathered here today, only one person used a spear.

The porter—no, Jin Taekyung?

It was him.

The F-rank Hunter who’d been carrying a backpack and skinning hides!

“What on earth…”

Team Leader Choi’s mouth slowly fell open.

“What’s going on?”