Chapter 63 - The Regressor Loves Sweet Payback (5)

“Run!”

All three of us started sprinting toward the passage we had entered the cavern through.

“Raaagh!”

As though unwilling to let us leave so easily, the monstrous wolf leaped high into the air.

Was it going to pounce on us from above? I tightened my grip on my sword, bracing for the impact, but...

“?!”

Its target wasn't us. It meant to block the passage we were running toward with its body.

It was smart enough to hide on the ceiling, so had it immediately figured out we were trying to escape? The wolf had blocked our only exit. In an instant, we were trapped.

“Wh-what do we do?!”

Just as a panicking Ahn Gyeongjun began to slow down...

“Just keep running!”

Dok Suhui swiftly shoved him forward, then drew two daggers from inside her clothes.

“Hup!”

She hurled the dagger in her right hand straight at the wolf.

“Grrrr!”

Wary of the attack, the monstrous wolf leaped sideways to dodge the dagger, but...

CLANG!

Dok Suhui's dagger merely struck the wall feebly and fell to the floor.

“Now!”

Regardless of the dagger's pathetic power, the wolf's excessive caution had created an opening. An opening we could squeeze through to reach the passage.

The three of us kept running without slowing down.

“Grrrrr!”

Apparently realizing it had been fooled, the giant wolf landed and charged after us.

“Hah!”

With another shout, Dok Suhui threw her dagger.

CRUNCH!

This time, however, the monstrous wolf chose to catch the dagger in its sharp teeth rather than dodge it.

Having just seen that the dagger posed little threat, it had opted to charge straight ahead instead of getting out of the way.

And that was exactly what Dok Suhui had intended. Lull the wolf into a false sense of security with the first dagger, then deal a critical blow with the second.

KRAAANG!

With a spine-chilling metallic shriek, her dagger exploded inside the wolf's mouth.

“YEEELP!”

No matter how enormous it was, a wolf was still a wolf. It writhed in pain, blood streaming from its mouth, and we slipped into the passage while it was distracted.

“Well? Pretty useful, right?”

Dok Suhui flashed a grin even as she ran.

The ability she had revealed to us was Enchant.

Enchanting generally focused on improving equipment, such as granting weapons additional effects. The same was true for Dok Suhui.

“I enchanted the dagger with ‘Explosion.’ I bet its mouth is stinging now.”

She could imbue her weapons with all sorts of useful properties, the most destructive of which was Explosion.

With a dagger blade exploding inside its mouth, the wolf couldn't have come out unscathed. Her ability also seemed absurdly versatile. Unlike Ahn Gyeongjun, whose abilities seemed somewhat flawed, Dok Suhui was the real deal.

“... But wouldn't something other than a dagger be better for making the most of Explosion?”

“... I'm not strong enough to wield something like a spear.”

Whatever the case, we could catch our breath now. That wolf was too big to fit into this narrow cave passage. It would have to smash through the walls to force its way in, and that would take a considerable amount of time.

“Raaaagh!”

“It shrank?!”

No. Having any breathing room had been an illusion.

As though it came with a built-in size-adjustment feature to meet the needs of today's consumers, the monstrous wolf had shrunk itself to fit the tunnel and was chasing us like mad, blood dripping from its mouth.

“Damn it!”

Flustered, Dok Suhui threw another dagger enchanted with Explosion.

Rather than catch it in its teeth, the monstrous wolf simply twisted aside to dodge it.

KRAAANG!

“Ugh...”

The dagger exploded near the wolf's flank, but failed to penetrate its thick fur and hide.

“...”

“...”

The three of us exchanged a brief glance.

“Run!!!”

Then we started running as though our soles were on fire.

* * *

Back to the present.

“Hah, hah... ‘Iron Wall’!”

As we ran, Dok Suhui enchanted my sword with a defensive property.

“Grrrrr!”

CLANG!

I barely managed to block another charge from the wolf. Over and over, the same thing repeated.

“Fuck, fuck...”

Thanks to Dok Suhui's enchantment, I was somehow holding off its attacks for now, but we were clearly at a disadvantage in a battle of attrition. This tunnel didn't go on forever. I couldn't help growing anxious.

My Hero trait had activated ages ago. There were too few people for it to help. What should I do? Have her enchant my sword with Explosion and stab it into the wolf like a madman? Did I need to take a desperate gamble?

“L-look! Look at the wolf!”

But it seemed I wasn't the only one growing impatient.

“Grrrrr...”

The monstrous wolf's fur, which had been flickering faintly blue, now blazed entirely blue.

Snow-white steam poured from its muzzle, and rays of light streamed from its eyes.

I could feel its ferocity. It looked ready to wrench my head off at any moment.

There was no doubt about it. The wolf had made its own all-or-nothing move.

First the city's ruler, and now this. Was carrying around an awakening skill just a basic requirement in the tower? It was utterly ridiculous.

I sucked in a breath.

Could I win? It seemed unlikely. Even without my Regression ability, I didn't think I could count on winning a head-on fight.

As I ran, weighing my chances...

“Gyeongjun! Are you out of your mind?”

Ahn Gyeongjun, who had been running just fine until now, stood rooted to the spot like a statue.

“...”

With a vacant expression, he slowly removed his glasses.

CRUNCH!

He gripped them in both hands and crushed them completely. The shattered lenses pattered to the floor.

TAP.

He tossed the mangled frames at the blue-glowing monstrous wolf.

The remains of his glasses sailed weakly through the air, struck the bridge of the wolf's nose, and bounced off.

“...”

“...”

Silence fell for a moment.

Dok Suhui and I were too bewildered by what was happening to make a sound.

“Grrr...”

The monstrous wolf crouched low, wary of something.

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

Seemingly unconcerned by the silence, Ahn Gyeongjun murmured those words and stretched his right hand out to the side.

At some point, a crude wooden spear had appeared in his hand.

A streamlined shaft. A sharply honed tip.

All I had seen was its shape, but I was certain. That was the throwing spear Ahn Gyeongjun had mentioned.

“...”

Without a word, he held the wooden spear out to Dok Suhui.

“Oh! Just a moment! ‘Explosion’!”

Realizing what he intended, she gripped the wooden spear tightly, and it gave off a faint glow.

“Raaaagh!”

Perhaps realizing its own life hung in the balance, the monstrous wolf seized the opening and lunged.

It moved with speed and agility beyond anything it had shown us before, but...

“Much has changed, but my calling remains the same.”

It was already too late.

The monstrous wolf charged with all its might. Ahn Gyeongjun's arm swung forward.

“The hunt.”

THWACK!

The spear shot straight as a laser and buried itself in the wolf's shoulder. At the very last instant, the wolf had twisted its body to avoid a fatal blow.

But it couldn't overcome the overwhelming force carried by that old wooden spear. The weapon drove deep into its body.

CRACK!

The wooden spear exploded violently inside the wolf.

“!!!”

With a dying cry, the monstrous wolf collapsed, its eyes rolling back.

“Hah, hah...”

“Whew...”

Dok Suhui and I struggled to catch our breath.

“Uh, huh... What just...”

Ahn Gyeongjun, apparently released from Spirit Possession, stood there babbling in confusion.

The process had been rather chaotic and messy, but...

We had won.

“... What do we do now? That door from earlier should be open, right?”

“I'd imagine so.”

“Oh, just a moment. Let me search the corpse. There might be an item or something.”

Ahn Gyeongjun and I sat on the floor to rest while Dok Suhui prodded around the wolf's corpse in search of any possible items.

STEP. STEP.

Footsteps, at once familiar and unfamiliar, came from down the cave passage.

“... A moment too late.”

Kang Chan approached alone, a trickle of blood running down his forehead.

His well-trained body still radiated a faint killing intent.

“Seriously! Where have you been all this time? Do you realize we nearly died?”

Dok Suhui scowled and demanded an explanation for his long absence, but...

“... There was another giant wolf. I just finished dealing with it.”

Expressionless, he took a bright red orb out of his clothes.

“... It gave me this as a reward.”

Blood Orb [B+]

- An orb that grows as you defeat enemies. Can be consumed once fully grown.

As he spoke, Kang Chan casually wiped the blood from his forehead.

“Oh, um...”

With Kang Chan saying that he had been fighting too, Dok Suhui apparently found herself at a loss for a retort and had no choice but to fall silent.

And as I watched it all...

“... Hmm.”

I seriously began to wonder whether Kang Chan was actually a total fucking scrub.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

I really meant to post this last night...

But I passed out... I'm sorry...

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