Chapter 63

 

“Run!”

 

All three of them simultaneously started sprinting towards the tunnel they had entered through.

 

“Roaar!”

 

The monster wolf, as if refusing to let them go easily, leaped high into the air.

 

‘Is it trying to pounce from above?’

 

I braced for impact, gripping my sword tightly.

 

“?!”

 

But the wolf’s target was not us; its goal was to block the tunnel with its body, the very passage we were running towards.

 

With intelligence enough to hide its body in the ceiling, it must have quickly realized our attempt to escape and moved based on it, creating the situation where it had blocked the only exit. In an instant, we were trapped in a sealed room.

 

“What do we do?!”

 

An anxious An Kyung-Joon’s steps began to slow.

 

“Just run!”

 

But, in a swift motion, Dok Su-Hee pushed An Kyung-Joon’s back and drew two daggers.

 

Swish!

 

With her right hand, Dok Su-Hee hurled a dagger straight at the wolf.

 

“Growll!”

 

The monster wolf, sensing the attack, leaped to the side, narrowly dodging the dagger.

 

Clang!

 

Dok Su-Hee’s dagger merely hit the wall harmlessly and fell to the ground, powerless.

 

“Now!”

 

Despite the feeble power of the dagger, the wolf’s excessive caution had created an opening - a gap to squeeze through towards the tunnel.

 

Continuing our sprint without slowing down, the three of us were suddenly accompanied by a furious growl.

 

“Grrrrr!”

 

Realizing it had been fooled, the gigantic wolf, landing on the ground, charged at us.

 

“Haah!”

 

Dok Su-Hee, with a battle cry, threw another dagger.

 

Clash!

 

But this time, the monster wolf chose not to dodge. Instead, it caught the dagger with its sharp teeth, immediately understanding that the dagger posed no real threat and opting to continue its charge.

 

This was exactly what Dok Su-Hee had anticipated. She had let the wolf become complacent with the first dagger, planning to deliver a fatal blow with the second.

 

Boom!

 

With a chilling metallic sound, Dok Su-Hee’s dagger exploded right inside the wolf’s mouth.

 

“Yowl!”

 

Even for a wolf as large as this one, a wolf is still a wolf. It writhed in agony, blood oozing from its mouth, creating the perfect opportunity for us to slip into the tunnel.

 

“How’s that? Pretty useful, right?”

 

Dok Su-Hee, still running, flashed a triumphant smile.

 

She was referring to when she had claimed that her trait was useful while explaining her trait called ‘Enchantment’.

 

Typically, enchanting meant enhancing a weapon with additional effects. This was true for Dok Su-Hee as well.

 

“I enchanted the dagger with ‘explosion.’ Bet its mouth feels pretty numb now.”

 

She could imbue her weapons with various useful attributes, with explosion being the most destructive.

 

With the dagger’s blade exploding inside its mouth, the wolf couldn’t possibly remain unscathed. Furthermore, the versatility seemed incredibly high, making Dok Su-Hee a true powerhouse, unlike the seemingly less competent An Kyung-Joon.

 

“…But wouldn’t it be better to use something other than a dagger for maximizing the explosion?”

 

“…I don’t have enough strength to wield something like a spear.”

 

Regardless, we had bought some time. The wolf’s size was too large for this narrow cave passage. If it tried to force its way through, it would have to break down the walls, which would undoubtedly take time.

 

“Krrrrooaaaar!”

 

“Did its body shrink?!”

 

No, it was a misconception that we had the upper hand.

 

Whether it was equipped with an inbuilt size-adjustment feature to meet the current consumer needs, the monstrous wolf, which seemed to have reduced its size to fit the cave, was chasing us like crazy, drooling blood from its mouth.

 

“Darn it!”

 

In a panic, Dok Su-hee threw her dagger, which she had enchanted with ‘Explosion’ once again.

 

However, the monstrous wolf dodged the dagger by twisting its body, rather than trying to catch it with its teeth.

 

Boom!

 

“Eek…”

 

The dagger that exploded near the wolf’s flank couldn’t penetrate its thick fur.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

The three of us, who exchanged glances for a moment, started running as if our feet were on fire.

 

“Run!!!”

 

***

 

Gasp! Gasp!

 

“...‘Iron Wall’!”

 

As I sprinted, Dok Su-Hee enchanted my sword with a defensive attribute.

 

“Krrrrrrr!”

 

Swish!

 

A series of me barely fending off the charging wolf continued.

 

“F*ck, f*ck…”

 

So far, thanks to Dok Su-Hee’s enchantment, I’ve managed to withstand its attacks. But if it turns into a battle of attrition, we’re clearly at a disadvantage. This cave, to begin with, doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. Impatience was starting to get the best of me.

 

My hero trait had been activated long ago, but the low number of people made it ineffective. What should I do? Should I enchant my sword with an explosive and pretend to go berserk on the wolves? Should I throw down the gauntlet?

 

“Hey, um! Look at the wolf over there!”

 

But it seemed like impatience wasn’t unique to just me.

 

“Krrrrrrrr....”

 

The fur of the monstrous wolf, which had been faintly glowing blue, was now completely inflamed in blue.

 

White steam was spewing from its snout, and its eyes were streaming with bloodlust.

 

I could sense its wildness, an air as if it was about to twist my head off at any moment.

 

It’s clear. The wolf too had thrown in its all.

 

“Haah...”

 

Can we win? It seems difficult. Even without the disadvantage of regressing the moment I was hurt, I believed I couldn’t guarantee a head-on fight.

 

In the middle of such contemplation, while running...

 

“Kyung-Joon! Are you crazy?”

 

Kyung-Joon, who had been running well all along, was standing still as if in a daze.

 

“...”

 

Kyung-Joon, with a blank face, slowly took off his glasses.

 

Crack!

 

He held the glasses with both hands and then completely crushed them. The shattered lenses fell to the ground with a clatter.

 

Kyung-Joon, who crumpled the glass frame, threw it at the blue-glowing monstrous wolf.

 

The remnants of the powerlessly flying glasses hit the wolf’s nose and bounced off.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

An eerie silence ensued.

 

Dok Su-hee and I were so taken aback by the situation that we couldn’t utter a word.

 

“Grrr…”

 

The monstrous wolf was crouching as if guarding against something.

 

“...I am the first son of the great mother, a great warrior, and an eternal stranger.”

 

However, Kyung-Joon, seemingly indifferent to such silence, was murmuring in a low voice and stretching out his right hand.

 

At some point, in his hand, he was holding a crude wooden spear.

 

The streamlined body. The sharply split spearhead.

 

Just by looking at its shape, I was certain. That was the ‘spear’ Kyung-Joon had mentioned.

 

“...”

 

Kyung-Joon silently handed the wooden spear to Dok Su-hee.

 

“Ah! Wait a moment! ‘Explosion’!”

 

Dok Su-hee, who realized what he was trying to do, grabbed the spear tightly, and soon after, the spear glowed faintly.

 

“Krrrroaaar!”

 

Whether the monstrous wolf realized that its life was in danger, it didn’t miss a beat and charged at us.

 

Its speed was so swift and agile that it couldn’t be compared to the wolf’s movements we had seen so far.

 

“A lot has changed, but my karma always remains the same.”

 

But it was already too late.

 

While the wolf was still in mid-air, Kyung-Joon swung his arm.

 

Puch!

 

The spear shot in a straight line like a laser was stuck in the wolf’s shoulder. At the last moment, the wolf twisted its body and escaped a fatal wound.

 

However, the spear penetrated deep into the wolf’s body.

 

Boom!

 

And then, the wooden spear exploded violently inside the wolf’s body.

 

“!!!”

 

The monstrous wolf, as if its strings were cut, collapsed with its eyes closed without a whimper.

 

“Ha ha ha… “

 

“Whoa… “

 

Due to the long run, I and Dok Su-hee were still struggling to breathe.

 

“Huh… W-what… “

 

Even An Kyung-Joon, who couldn’t seem to get his head around as well, began to make stupefied sounds.

 

The process was rather chaotic and messy, but…

 

We won.

 

“… Now what? The door that was closed earlier must have been opened, right?”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

“Oh, wait a minute. First, let’s search that body. There might be something lootable.”

 

As Kyung-Joon and I sat on the ground to rest, Dok Su-hee was rummaging through the wolf’s corpse, hoping to find any possible items.

 

Thump. Thump.

 

A familiar yet strange sound of footsteps echoed from the other end of the cave.

 

“...I’m a step late.”

 

Kang Chan walked in alone, a trail of blood streaming down his forehead. However, he didn’t seem too miserable; his well-trained body still radiated a faint vitality.

 

“What! Where have you been all this time? Do you know we almost died?”

 

Dok Su-hee frowned at his late arrival, but...

 

“...There was another giant wolf. I’ve just dealt with it.”

 

He pulled out a bright red bead from his pocket with an expressionless face.

 

“...It gave me this as a reward.”

 

 

He showed the bead as he gingerly wiped the blood trickling down from his forehead.

 

“Ah, um...”

 

Hearing that Kang Chan had also been fighting, Dok Su-hee seemed to be at a loss for words and shut her mouth.

 

And as I watched this entire scene unfold,

 

“...Hmm.”

 

I seriously contemplated whether Kang Chan was really a piece of shit or not.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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