Chapter 14 – LV.One Warrior Kim Ak – [Four]

Kim Ak thought. ‘Did I kill it?’ It was a scene where it wouldn’t be strange if it had been finished off just like that.

But it seemed his strength was still insufficient.

Seo Yun’s sword succeeded in piercing through the snake’s eyelid and stabbing its eyeball, but it probably didn’t reach the brain. It only had the effect of stopping that charge.

The basilisk, unable to withstand the terrible pain, stopped in its tracks and began shaking its head convulsively. Seo Yun had to hastily retreat.

In the midst of this, Park Taeyang… that fucking bastard.

Seeing the guy still standing there blankly, Kim Ak gritted his teeth.

That bastard Park Taeyang, he’s really proving his Spirit score of 4.

Since a Class Change to Priest increases the Mental Stat by 1 point, Park Taeyang’s original Spirit score must have been a mere 3 points. That’s two steps below average. And even that 1 point increase from the Class Change probably hasn’t settled in his head yet? That Spirit was still, excessively weak.

“Park Taeyang, what are you doing! Move!”

At Kim Ak’s shout, Park Taeyang moved unsteadily. No, he wasn’t moving on his own; it was Kim Jihyeok, who had been invisible, appearing and forcibly dragging him away.

In the end, it was faster for the two Warriors to arrive there than for Park Taeyang to leave that spot.

“Juri!”

“Yes!”

Kim Ak reached the front of the snake and gripped his spear. Seong Juri, who had just managed to pull out her sword, also came running a beat late.

The two Warriors stabbed with sword and spear from both sides of the snake.

Kim Ak was so excited he forgot he needed to control the distance. The moment he stabbed with his spear once, his position was pinpointed.

Ugh…

In the end, Kim Ak was hit in the head by the basilisk and rolled on the ground, but thanks to being armed with Armor, he could get back up.

Still, his head was spinning, and he paused for a moment.

It seemed the Party Healer was observing the flow of the situation.

Seo Yun was already behind him. A thin voice was heard from behind his back.

“Grace.”

As the Healing Miracle enveloped his body, the dizziness also disappeared. Kim Ak picked up his spear again and charged at the basilisk. There was no longer any tactic in his head. Only surging adrenaline moved his limbs.

Meanwhile, Seo Yun still looked calm amidst this. She repeatedly extended her arm, maintained distance, and stabbed the basilisk with the tip of her sword. It was an attack that couldn’t even pierce its scales, let alone wound the basilisk, but it had the effect of confusing it about who to attack.

Even though they diligently stabbed from three directions, the basilisk only writhed in pain and wouldn’t die at all.

The excitement gradually subsided. Sweating profusely, Kim Ak thought. When the hell is it going to die? Then again, while basilisks have low defense and are weak in terms of toughness, their HP seemed quite substantial…

Just as he was starting to feel frustrated, a large rock suddenly fell on the basilisk’s head. The basilisk, struck hard on the head, slumped down.

“What?”

Seeing Kim Jihyeok’s figure suddenly appear there, Kim Ak belatedly understood the situation. It seemed Kim Jihyeok, after moving Park Taeyang to a safe place and returning, used Invisibility to launch an ambush.

They didn’t miss the opportunity of the basilisk slumping down. The three of them slashed and stabbed its torso.

Even while attacking one-sidedly, Kim Ak groaned. The spearhead went in well, but the flesh was just too thick. Still, he struggled, almost pushing with his whole body, to drive the spear shaft into its body. Only after nearly dozens of seconds did he finally succeed in embedding it deep inside.

It seemed the spine was severed.

Finally, the basilisk died. The giant snake continued to writhe for a while before stopping its movements.

Even after the fight ended, Kim Ak couldn’t relax. He stared at the corpse for a long time, panting heavily, then slumped to the ground. Unknowingly, a curse flowed from his mouth.

“Fuck…”

It wasn’t that he expected some splendid execution, but it was just too shabby. None of the tactics established before the fight were carried out. It felt like they barely managed to scrape through by sheer force of will. Kim Ak lamented. Damn it, is this what real combat is like?

Then, he felt something seeping in. A sense of fullness, as if vitality was spreading throughout his entire body, took over. He knew from hearing his Seniors what this sensation was.

Level Up.

He briefly enjoyed the good feeling, but it didn’t last long. Kim Ak looked around with a clearer mind.

As he belatedly grasped the situation, he became dizzy again. How on earth should he handle this situation?

Kim Ak looked despondently at the two who had turned to stone, then glared at Park Taeyang, who was something like their leader.

“Hey, Park Taeyang, you son of a bitch!”

Park Taeyang had already been freed from panic and regained his senses. Perhaps recalling his disgraceful behavior, his face turned bright red.

But did he not want to reflect? Park Taeyang’s mouth opened.

“What did I do?”

“You don’t know what you did wrong? You fucking bastard…”

Park Taeyang began to ramble in a defensive counterattack.

“Isn’t the problem leaving the Priest to be attacked first? From the start, Jongho and Sang-guk were placed in the most dangerous frontal position… That’s why only those two got Petrified, and you, being older, were on the side and were fine…”

At this point, Kim Ak couldn’t retort that as the leader, observing the overall situation and giving instructions, such a Position was a natural thing.

Furious, Kim Ak poured out explicit criticism.

“You should be happy those two bastards got Petrified, you bastard!”

“What?”

“If those two bastards had seen your panicked state, they would have cut ties immediately! Just because the Chief’s adopted son became a Priest, those two bastards are kissing your ass, but if they saw you acting like such an idiot without turning to stone, just watch, you bastard! Chief’s adopted son or whatever…”

Seo Yun’s voice intervened.

“Enough. You’re excited.”

As Seo Yun gestured, Seong Juri carefully took Park Taeyang to the back. Kim Jihyeok also approached and guided Kim Ak in the opposite direction.

While Kim Ak was still fuming, Seo Yun spoke.

“Let’s send a rescue request first.”

There was no need to explain that the Petrification Removal Spell was a Third-Tier Spell, so the Priests here couldn’t use it, and they needed the help of the village Priests to dispel the Petrification.

Kim Ak spoke to Kim Jihyeok.

“Jihyeok-ah? It’ll be tough, but I’m asking you.”

Kim Jihyeok nodded, and then his figure disappeared. Now it would take quite some time for him to reach the village and call for support.

What should they do in the meantime?Kim Ak glanced at Park Taeyang. The lingering anger on his face suggested it would take a long time for his fury to subside. No, perhaps their relationship might be permanently ruined like this. That would be a real problem. He didn’t particularly want to be close to that guy, but having a party member turn into an enemy was a headache, wasn’t it?

Seo Yun approached Park Taeyang.

“Are you okay? You didn’t get crushed by the snake bastard?”

Perhaps flustered by the girl he usually treated like an enemy showing concern? Park Taeyang didn’t react by telling her to get lost as he normally would.

“Huh? Um, yeah.”

“That’s a relief. Then… go apologize.”

“Huh?”

“He worked hard to protect you. Hurry up.”

As Seo Yun pushed Park Taeyang’s back, Park Taeyang awkwardly shuffled over to Kim Ak.

“Sorry.”

It didn’t seem like a particularly sincere apology, but well, Kim Ak could endure that much.

“No, I’m sorry.”

And then Kim Ak sank back into self-loathing. He looked at Seo Yun and thought. Leaving the situation cleanup to that tiny girl?

As an adult before being a leader, it was shameful. Actually, as a leader, he was already disqualified.

Because of his reckless plan, two people turned to stone, and the party almost got wiped out, didn’t it? When that fact was attacked, his anger had exploded just now.

Contemplating the results of his own decision made him want to die all over again. He’d finally mustered some enthusiasm as a leader, only for things to turn out like this.

‘Well, everything I do ends up like this…’

Even though the hunt succeeded and everyone gained one Level, his mood was naturally terrible.

The support team arrived about an hour later. The two turned to stone and the remaining five party members returned to the village.

On the way back to the village, Kim Ak had prepared himself to get an earful from Oh Haengbok. He’d messed up the training and returned with two party members turned to stone. He deserved to get cursed out plenty.

Even though he’d prepared for it, actually facing that situation made him feel dizzy.

Entering the tent alone, Oh Haengbok’s voice, mixed with ultra-low frequencies, reached him.

“Report. What happened?”

In a thoroughly cowed state, Kim Ak stammered through an explanation of the situation. As he stared at the ground, something suddenly sparked against his head.

Only after seeing the chair rolling beside him did he realize Oh Haengbok had thrown something in anger that hit his head.

Kim Ak, utterly terrified, looked up and gulped. He saw the face of an Orc that looked ready to kill someone right then.

A roar erupted from the angry Orc’s mouth.

“You bastard, just do what you’re told properly! What’s with this hunting nonsense! Are you gambling with kids’ lives, you bastard!”

He probably got cursed at for about ten minutes—what lunatic chooses a Basilisk for their first real battle, can’t you distinguish between reality and a game, and so on.

With a curt dismissal, Kim Ak left the tent.

The remaining party members were waiting in front of the tent. For Kim Ak, thinking they must have heard him getting cursed out just now was mortifying to the point of madness. To shoo them away, he spoke quickly.

“Well, everyone, go on. You worked hard today…”

Kim Ak walked alone across the village, then stopped and briefly looked up at the sky. When a color matching his own mood entered his vision, tears involuntarily streamed down his cheeks.

He was in the midst of trying to push back the moisture threatening to spill from his eye sockets.

“Got chewed out, huh. Right?”

What the hell is this now?

About to curse, Kim Ak closed his mouth. Seo Yun’s face came into view.

You only take out your anger on someone you can handle. He couldn’t bring himself to say something harsh to that girl.

“Yeah, that’s right…”

At Kim Ak’s feeble words, Seo Yun made a completely unexpected proposal.

“So, about that… want to get a drink?”

Even in his depression, Kim Ak was taken aback.

“No, it’s fine.”

“It’s okay. I have a lot of contribution points. Kim Jihyeok?”

The two grabbed Kim Ak’s arms and dragged him somewhere. Kim Ak couldn’t resist, not due to strength but momentum.

Being dragged along with an “uh, uh,” he found himself at some tent. Kim Ak asked.

“Where is this?”

“My home.”

At the indifferent answer, Kim Ak flinched. Glancing over, Kim Jihyeok also seemed surprised, his shoulders hunched.

Meanwhile, Seo Yun was moving nonchalantly. Seo Yun took something out from a piece of furniture in the tent—it was makgeolli.

Pouring the drink into cups, Seo Yun said.

“Drink.”

Kim Ak tried to refuse, but being persistently urged, he ended up drinking several cups anyway. As the alcohol took effect, his tightly shut mouth opened on its own.

“I really have nothing to say.”

“What do you mean?”

Kim Ak muttered.

“Losers… when they’re with people, they feel this obligation to show some presence, you know? They worry that if they just keep their mouths shut, they’ll look even more like losers.

So they force themselves to join the conversation, opening their mouths, but since they don’t usually talk much, they make verbal mistakes. They end up ruining the mood and shrinking into themselves. From my perspective, this incident was like that.”

So, roughly speaking, it meant he tried to act like a leader, messed around, and ruined things. Seo Yun seemed to have understood at least that Kim Ak was being self-deprecating.

“You don’t need to blame yourself so much.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing again?”

“Because I acted out and almost got screwed…”

Seo Yun shook her head.

“No, from what I saw, it was an okay decision. The result wasn’t all that bad either. It succeeded in the end, right? Nobody died, after all.”

Even in his gloom, Kim Ak laughed hollowly.

“Didn’t you oppose it when I said let’s hunt?”

“After hearing the explanation, I kept my mouth shut. That means I agreed. The others would have all opposed if they really hated it, but they kept quiet, so that means they consented.”

Kim Ak was about to say that even if the kids silently followed, as an adult he had responsibility, but Seo Yun didn’t let him say such things. Seo Yun continued.

“And that scolding from Oh Haengbok, Sir… he probably just didn’t like that you didn’t do as told, right? Not because you actually did something wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh Haengbok, Sir, has a dictator temperament by nature.”

“Dictator?”

Seo Yun grumbled.”Look. Is it normal to interfere by personally checking every single thing down to how the new recruits pack their gear? If he really needs to supervise, he should delegate to his subordinates, but he’s giving orders for every little thing from A to Z. That’s the classic dictator style, you know. And then what happens when a subordinate acts a little differently from his instructions? He gets all hot-headed thinking his authority has been disrespected.”

Kim Ak suddenly recalled the rumors about this girl within the village and spoke.

“Weren’t you the one who ignored the Chief’s orders and kept running off alone to gather supplies? I heard he was absolutely furious every time.”

“I did it prepared to get hit. Once, he seemed to really explode—he clenched his fist.”

“Did he really hit you?”

“He raised his fist, then suddenly stopped, took a deep breath, and apologized, saying he was sorry. After that, he never said anything even when I openly disobeyed his orders.”

Seo Yun poured him another drink and continued.

“Anyway, that’s the point where Oh Haengbok gets hot-headed. Being openly reprimanded by the supreme leader probably makes him feel a sense of failure or something, but don’t pay it too much mind, okay?”

“Hmm…”

“Just watch. I bet that Oh Haengbok guy will apologize by tomorrow or so.”

“But still…”

A small hand covered Kim Ak’s mouth. Seo Yun looked at Kim Jihyeok and asked.

“You did well today. Right?”

Kim Jihyeok, who seemed to have been brought along to play the role of a yes-man, chimed in.

“That’s right.”

In the end, Kim Ak, thoroughly drunk and having received all sorts of praise and comfort, left the tent.

Staggering back to his quarters, he recalled what had just happened.

So, the two-headed guy had received mental care this time from that little girl. He felt an indescribably strange mood.

‘As I thought, no matter how I look at it, she doesn’t seem like just a tiny little girl…’

Revisiting a thought he’d had many times before, Kim Ak also thought this time: The leader role suits that seventeen-year-old girl far more than it does me, a twenty-eight-year-old.

Of course, that would never happen. No matter how high her Spirit is at 9, or how much tolerance she has to comfort a twenty-eight-year-old adult, you can’t put a girl who’s being ostracized by three Party Members in charge as Leader.

Then Park Taeyang? That’s absurd, and considering having to watch his mood, he’s even worse than those two underlings. It’s also difficult to entrust the leader role to the remaining two.

In the end, he would continue to play the leader role, which didn’t suit him at all.

Thinking that made him gloomy again, but still, he felt better than before. Whether it was because he was drunk or because he’d received comfort from the tiny girl, he didn’t know, but anyway.

The next day, Oh Haengbok called Kim Ak and the Party Members together and said.

“I’m sorry.”

He approached Kim Ak, gave an awkward smile, and said this.

“You know I have anger management issues, right? I wasn’t like this before, but after becoming an Orc, I just can’t control my impulses at all…”

Kim Ak glanced at Seo Yun. She was smiling, seemingly meaning something like ‘See? I was right.’

Feeling that strange sensation again, Kim Ak also smiled slightly and replied.

“It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about it. Anyway, when can we finish this failed training?”