“Umm…”
With a strange feeling of weightlessness, her consciousness shifted elsewhere.
Haneul opened her eyes inside the capsule and took a deep breath.
“Gasp…!”
She had logged out in an incredibly bad situation.
No matter how strong Yor was, the opponent was a monster among monsters, with a level exceeding 170.
At a minimum, someone at least the strength of the Empire’s Knight Commander should have shown up for her to even consider a chance of fighting.
However, she had logged out after dying while being chased by such a being.
She could reconnect even after death, but Yor wasn’t so lucky.
If he died, he would be permanently deleted from the world. And that was truly the worst-case scenario.
“NO, NO…!”
A creeping sense of anxiety began to rise.
Her heart started pounding hard, as if she’d been running.
She thought to try reopening the capsule to reconnect, but of course, that was impossible.
Haneul found herself in a position where she had to wait three days without any movement.
Thanks to that, her anxiety only increased.
Why could a game character make her feel this way…? Honestly, even she found it puzzling, but there was nothing to be done.
Emotions are inherently difficult to control, after all.
That’s how restless Haneul was when she called her younger sister and patron, Chaerin.
She mentioned that while knowing her game character had been injured, she was concerned about Yor, asking if Chaerin could check on him.
“No way, really? Alright, I’ll check right away!”
Chaerin, who answered the call, was surprised but accepted Haneul’s request.
With this, she could at least confirm the outcome.
However, her worries did not easily subside.
As a result, she prayed under the night sky, hoping that he would survive safely.
*
POW! BOOM! CRACK!
The advantage of fighting large monsters, it seems, is that predicting their attacks is easy due to their immense size.
Even though the creature was cunning, it couldn’t put any fakes on its attacks.
After all, its huge body would give it away if it tried to bluff.
So, its attacks were intuitive and straightforward.
CRACK!
…The downside? Each hit was incredibly powerful.
It could crush trees like twigs.
Even with regeneration, a direct hit from those front paws could spell doom for anyone.
‘…Still,’
I thought while dodging its attacks.
‘It’s manageable.’
It wasn’t beyond my capability.
At least I could anticipate the attacks, and despite their speed, I could dodge them in time.
I could at least hold my ground against that beast.
Of course, it wasn’t easy. Every time I dodged, it felt like I was walking on thin ice.
Tap tap, my nerves were fraying.
Focusing entirely on dodging was exhausting. I could feel my stamina tapering off, and my breathing grew heavier.
‘But hey, this is still something.’
I smiled despite it all.
Years ago, I could never have imagined standing face to face with this creature.
Back then, I had gotten lucky and had a nasty wound, but I had nearly died trying to get that far.
Thinking back to then, I realized how much better my circumstances were now.
Whether the monster had weakened or I had grown stronger, the outcome was the same: it was definitely a good thing.
‘The problem is how to strike back…’
Thankfully, an opportunity arrived quickly.
“GRRR!”
The beast unexpectedly turned and whipped its tail like a whip.
Since clawing didn’t work, it opted for this unorthodox attack.
And it was a smart choice on its part. I was too focused on its front paws to react quickly.
The attacking range was absurdly wide.
‘Too late to dodge.’
I hurriedly raised my spear. If I couldn’t dodge, then I had to at least block it.
In an instant, the massive weight came crashing down on me.
BAM!
“Ugh!”
A groan involuntarily escaped my lips. That tail was no trivial threat.
Whipped like a whip, it was as deadly as a weapon. My body was carried away by its sheer mass.
Phew!
At least it was better than taking a hit from its front paws.
Besides, the tail was still just another part of its body.
Coughing, blood trickled from my mouth. That meant internal damage.
Yet, I didn’t care; I smeared the blood on the spear tip.
What I desired was sharpness.
I yearned for a weapon that could cut through anything, tough and razor-sharp.
Once I had made the transformation, I swung the spear towards the creature’s tail.
Swoosh!
“GRRR!”
With a chilling sound, a portion of the beast’s tail was severed. A chunk the size of my upper body fell helplessly to the ground.
It wasn’t a massive amount, just about two feet long at most.
But it was a definite serious injury. After all, a part of its body had been cut off.
With its tail injured along with its forelimb, the creature hurriedly created distance.
The golden eyes reminiscent of a cat glared at me.
I spat the saliva left in my mouth and said, “How about I keep going? I can still handle it.”
No, actually, I was struggling.
I was starting to feel drained; maybe we should just call it a day here?
Though my inner thoughts were the opposite, I couldn’t let that show in front of it.
The moment I showed weakness, it would charge at me fiercely again.
Feigning courage, I radiated my will to it.
Right now, many thoughts must be swirling in that monster’s head.
That level of damage shouldn’t be significant to it, but considering others lurking in the Deep Layer, pulling back made sense.
After all, the loss of a hunting target would no longer be worth it.
“…Grr.”
Fortunately, it was a rational creature.
After a low growl, it began to walk back into the Deep Layer.
I quietly watched that sight.
“……”
If I remained in this forest, I would eventually meet it again.
And most likely, we would clash once more. I hoped that the next time I could prepare an altar for it.
Once the creature vanished entirely from sight, I let out a small sigh.
“Phew…”
I managed to survive. It was time to head back home.
*
“…Ah! Yor!”
The moment Yor returned, he saw Chaerin fidgeting near his cave.
It appeared she had rushed over immediately after hearing from Haneul.
She quickly approached Yor to check his condition and then let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew, I’m glad you’re safe. I was so shocked when I heard from my sister that your life was in danger…”
“It was dangerous, but… well, I’m okay now.”
Yor reassured Chaerin with that remark. Then, her gaze shifted behind him for a moment.
“But… what’s that?”
“Oh, this? It’s loot.”
Yor was holding the tail of the Mountain Lord Tiger.
Even though he hadn’t won, he couldn’t bear to leave it behind.
And in a way, it could be considered food. A rather nutritious one at that.
Not all the herbs in the Deep Layer consisted solely of plants.
Creatures like it, saturated in magic, could also serve as elixirs.
And with the Mountain Lord Tiger being the chief of this forest, it was certainly worth a potion.
‘It’s my first time with tiger meat.’
I’m sure it’ll taste good. Yor mused as he stashed the tail in his storage.
Since it was late, Chaerin only confirmed Yor’s safety and immediately left.
After all, she had been recovering, so she couldn’t stay long.
Thus, three days passed.
This time, Haneul came to visit his cave.
“Yor! You’re really safe!”
“Ah, uh.”
SQUEEZE.
Then, without warning, she wrapped her arms around him.
Despite hearing from Chaerin that he was safe, she had been mentally distressed during that time.
It was one thing to hear about it and another to see with her own eyes.
Maybe it was because of that feeling, but Haneul’s actions unfolded unconsciously.
“…Um, could you let go of me?”
“…Huh? Aah!”
Fortunately, that awkward situation didn’t last long.
Haneul quickly regained her composure. Her face had turned slightly red.
She seemed to realize her own embarrassment.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen such an intense emotional shift in her.
‘Well, I guess that means she was really worried.’
Yor thought and smiled slightly.
Perhaps it was the first time receiving such concern from someone, making him feel a bit guilty yet grateful. After all, it wasn’t a bad feeling.
In any case, this marked the end of their deep exploration.
It had been dangerous, but at least their main objective was achieved.
He had confirmed his skills to some extent, and even if not herbs, he had gotten the beneficial tiger tail.
*
Days went by again.
The new moon arrived, and Yor endured the Frenzy B.
And the day after surviving the frenzy, he received new information.
The 66th-ranked Kimaris’s altar had been destroyed.
This battle ended in victory for the knights.
However, a 13-year-old Māin had appeared.
It was said that the Māin killed a total of 120 people, including knights, adventurers, and civilians.
Before the states could celebrate their victory, they had to prepare for the next demon’s arrival.
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