Chapter 68 – LV.Five Martial Artist Gaeulbi – [Three]

The other warriors weren’t idling either. They all charged toward the bear. The bear, stabbed in the belly, seemed worried about bleeding if it moved and was lying flat on its stomach. They had to stab and slash while it remained immobile like that.

“Go to the sides! The sides! The rest, go behind!”

But Seo Yun ran straight toward the bear’s front, leading the charge among the running warriors.

Seo Yun’s body weight was absurdly light, but the muscular strength of that insignificant body, amplified by spells, had reached the pinnacle of humanity. That imbalance created a bizarre running speed. Explosive leg power propelled the small body forward from the ground.

The bear came into view right ahead. Even lying down, the bear was taller than her. Just its head facing this way was that large.

She thrust the Burning Sword toward that massive head. As the bear swung its front paw to block, Seo Yun slashed its paw pad.

There was a sensation of cutting.

The bear roared, “Grrrheung!” from the burning pain. Seo Yun didn’t flinch and stubbornly stabbed its nose.

She twisted the sword and pulled it out, simultaneously leaping back.

The bear’s front paw, swung again, passed through the spot where Seo Yun had just been. The bear, having missed, snarled, smoke billowing from its nose and palm.

Seo Yun stepped back and wiggled her fingers.

Come here. Come here.

Whether it understood the taunt or decided it must take revenge was unclear. The bear finally raised its body and approached. Blood and entrails streamed down from its belly.

A thick red line formed on the gray snowfield where the bear walked.

As Seo Yun took a step back, the bear also advanced. Thus, Han Siwoo, who had been pinned under its body, was freed. They could now evacuate him with the other warriors.

Seo Yun glanced to confirm that and then glared at the bear.

The bear was just gathering strength in its hind legs.

“Charge!”

The warriors rushed at the bear from its sides and back. They thrust their respective weapons.

Most weapons didn’t pierce, but several axes and spear blades did. They were the magic weapons sold by the troll. The bear howled, trying to shake off the surrounding warriors, but each time it moved violently, more entrails poured from its belly.

Eventually, the bear was forced to lie flat on its belly again, unable to move. The warriors surrounding it adjusted their distance, stabbing and stabbing again. Seo Yun joined the warriors. She thrust the Burning Sword several times into its anus, flanks, and such.

Amidst that, Gaeulbi’s arrow flew in and hit the bear’s eye again. The bear, stabbed in the eye, nose, and even its belly, was completely incapacitated. The warriors stabbed and stabbed the bear, which crouched, only flailing its front paws.

Finally, the bear’s head slumped. The massive head hit the ground, scattering snow in all directions.

Soon, a sense of fullness seeped into Seo Yun’s mind. Experience Points gained.

Confirming the death, Seo Yun looked at Han Siwoo again.

The armor he supposedly stole from the troll’s warehouse seemed quite good. He survived being crushed under tons of weight. A priest was casting Heal on him.

Seo Yun approached and spoke.

“Are you okay?”

Han Siwoo put on a brave face with an expression that clearly said he wasn’t.

“I’m fine…”

And Seo Yun was about to say a few more words but stopped. She couldn’t relax yet.

A vibration on her chest made Seo Yun flinch.

Lowering her head, she saw the necklace shaking violently. Seo Yun immediately activated Spirit Vision to look around, then warned everyone.

“Be careful! Right now, some wolves over there—”

“Wolves?”

There was no time for detailed explanation. Seo Yun pointed her sword in a specific direction and assumed a guarded stance, and experienced Players followed suit.

A moment later, the Players’ eyes widened.

Nine wolves pounced on the giant bear’s corpse. They were pitch black all over, wolves that should have been visible from afar as they ran through the snow.

Except for Seo Yun, who was watching through Spirit Vision, the others wouldn’t have known where those beasts appeared from.

“What’s that now?”

In response to a Player’s question, Gaeulbi answered.

“Kusht I guess. They have both stealth and Invisibility abilities. They haven’t used it yet, but also an ability that induces fear.”

“What’s that again…?”

Were they hiding and watching to eat those who fell or fled after the fight? While two Kusht barked “kyang-kyang” toward them, the remaining Kusht began viciously tearing out the bear’s spilled entrails. Watching those beastly forms, Seo Yun remained tense.

It was literally adding insult to injury. Another fight might be coming.

The Players were still pointing their spears toward the wolves.

Seo Yun looked at the Kusht guarding against them. Those wolves’ eyes were blazing. Just seeing those supernatural eyes, it wasn’t hard to guess they possessed several magical abilities.

“They even have a fear-inducing ability?”

To Seo Yun’s question, Gaeulbi replied.

“Yeah. Howling. If you hear it once or twice, you fall into a fear Status Effect, and if you hear it three times, you die instantly.”

Seo Yun bit her lip hard.

‘I haven’t learned the Calm Spell either. There aren’t monsters on the Korean Peninsula that cause Status Effects like fear.’

The Priest Lady learned the proper spell but didn’t come along.

Seo Yun anticipated the worst-case scenario: roughly half the group failing their Status Effect resistance, falling into panic, fleeing in all directions, and those monstrous wolves hunting them. It seemed likely some would die.

Based on that speculation, Seo Yun thought. Should I call the troll? Isn’t this a life-threatening situation?

She had already told the entire leadership of Happy Village about the troll’s actions and proposal. The troll not only stopped time in Happy Village but also walked inside the village in that state. Since they didn’t know what it might do, she judged it was a problem for the entire village, not a personal one. She informed them all that the troll stopped time and even gave her a magic item to call it.

Oh Haengbok didn’t rejoice upon hearing that, saying they’d gained a Level 24 paramedic. He had said in a serious voice:

‘Calling that guy creates debts. A life debt would be especially heavy.’

‘That’s true, but…’

‘You think so too, right? If you call it recklessly, you don’t know what might be taken as collateral, so don’t call it unless you’re really about to die, okay? Only use it when you’re truly in a life-or-death situation. Don’t try to seek help too conveniently.’Perhaps Oh Haengbok was simply annoyed that the Troll had been distracted twice while talking to him. Still, Seo Yun agreed with the perspective that one shouldn’t casually incur debts.

And Gaeulbi, who would be more wary of that Troll than anyone else…

When she told the girl about the matter, the reply came back: absolutely do not summon the Troll. That much was expected, but Gaeulbi demanded that she never summon it under any circumstances.

‘Even when you’re not around, Eulbi?’

‘Yes, absolutely! Don’t summon it even when you’re alone, Seo Yun! Unless it’s really, really right before you die…’

‘What on earth happened between you and that Troll?’

‘I can’t tell you that!’

‘You don’t really think I’ll be convinced by that kind of explanation, do you?’

When Seo Yun pressed her, Gaeulbi thought for a moment and then exclaimed.

‘It’s not that I’m hiding it; there’s some kind of Magic Spell on me. That’s why I can’t talk about it!’

That was a bit chilling. What on earth had Gaeulbi seen that the Troll had to use Magic to hide it?

Hearing that, she had to downgrade her assessment of the Troll, whom she had thought was some kind of hermit carrying out a grand plan. And she upgraded the danger of summoning him.

But rather than watching a few people die, summoning him, no matter how dangerous, seemed better…

While Seo Yun was pondering this for a while, the Kushi switched roles. That is, the ones who had been guarding this side started tearing into the bear meat, and the ones who already had bear meat in their mouths started guarding this side.

Eventually, all the Kushi had bear meat in their mouths. They chewed it noisily while glaring this way. It was unclear whether they were satisfied with the secured Provisions or still intent on fighting. The situation remained tense, a hair’s breadth from conflict.

Then a Mage’s voice rang out. Oh Haengun, who had approached unnoticed, said.

“Scram.”

Seo Yun felt an eerily oppressive force mixed into that voice. It was the Supernatural Charisma Spell. It had the effect of intimidating or captivating multiple targets.

“Get lost, now!”

The Spell was effective. The Kushi with meat in their mouths slowly backed away and then ran off into the distance.

Only after confirming with Soul Sight that they had truly gone far away did Seo Yun look at Oh Haengun. And even in her tense state, she was surprised. Oh Haengun’s entire body was covered in blood, and one of his ears seemed torn off.

“Why are you so injured?”

“From fighting that Mage over there. I managed to drive him off, but got hurt. Ah, heal me later. Looks like there are more urgent folks. Seo Yun, you should also hurry…”

Seo Yun sighed and followed his words, Healing others. Fortunately, the danger had passed.

Next, Seo Yun looked in the direction of Oh Haengbok and the elite Warriors. Should she help them now?

It seemed unnecessary.

Oh Haengbok and the elite Warriors were fighting Wyverns, but it wasn’t exactly a desperate struggle. It was closer to a precise hunting operation.

Oh Haengbok threw a spear attached to a chain, dragging two Wyverns down to the Mortal Realm. While he held the two giant birds, now crashed to the ground, immobile, the Warriors stabbed and slashed wildly. The remaining one Wyvern was blocked from approaching in the air by Gargoyles poking at it with spears. The hunt looked so smooth that it seemed fine to leave them to it.

Eventually, even the last Wyvern was dragged down and hacked apart, and everyone finally caught their breath.

A Player approached Seo Yun and spoke. His voice trembled slightly.

“Do you guys always hunt so dangerously?”

Seo Yun shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, it just sort of turned out this way.”

“I don’t know whether to scold or praise this. Thanks to you, we barely managed to kill that bear cub, but praising kids with blood still fresh on their heads for doing dangerous things feels wrong.”

Seo Yun nodded, looking at Han Siwoo.

“Siwoo over there did do something incredibly dangerous. I’ll have a word with him later.”

Then the Player narrowed his eyes at her.

“He’s one thing, but you, Seo Yun, need a talking-to as well.”

“Why me?”

“Why is the Priest, who should be protected, charging out? I was too excited to stop you, which is also a problem, but you really…”

Seo Yun’s expression turned serious. Indignant that a mere Level 4 was lecturing a sky-high Level 6, she retorted.

“So, I should just stand there blankly watching with this fine sword while a Party Member gets crushed? Besides, I fought well without getting hurt.”

“You certainly stabbed that bear incredibly well, and I get that you didn’t just survive slaughtering all those Centaurs and jumping Levels for nothing… But still, does it make sense to charge out like that without even a set of Armor?”

“I have 11 Health, so it’s fine, right? Besides, I’ve heard the prophecy about becoming a Goddess. Doesn’t that mean I won’t die even if I roll around in thorns?”

As Seo Yun acted so nonchalantly, the adult Player seemed about to say something but then stopped.

“Is that really what that means…”

A short while later, Oh Haengbok and the elite Warriors returned.

Oh Haengbok’s Armor, soaked in blood, was now red instead of black. The excitement of battle didn’t seem to have faded yet.

With a growling voice, Oh Haengbok asked.

“Anyone hurt?”

Oh Haengun answered.

“Well, there are plenty of injured folks and people with broken bones. But at least everyone’s still alive, right? It’s a huge relief everyone had good Armor this time. That bear was enormous; it wouldn’t have been strange if most people were split in two.”

But Oh Haengbok didn’t pay attention to that.

From Seo Yun’s perspective, Oh Haengbok’s two eyes were fixed on her. Somehow, it seemed like he was waiting for her answer, so Seo Yun replied.

“So-so, I’m okay.”

“Yeah? In that case…”

Seo Yun cautiously looked at Oh Haengbok. She couldn’t tell if the Orc was smiling now or not because of the Helm, but she could tell his Eye Light was directed at her.

It was chilling. More so than when that giant bear had glared at her.

Oh Haengbok’s excitement subsided after about five minutes had passed. During that time, people Healed and tended to the wounded. There were about seven Players incapacitated from the fight.

Oh Haengbok finally grumbled in a voice that no longer held an infrasonic rumble.”Anyway, what on earth is this? How many different kinds of monsters popped out in just one battle?”

“Various types of Skeletons, some Mage… Snow Bears, Kushies, Wyverns… roughly five types. So what about that Mage?”

“He ran off. When we tried to catch him, he turned into a bat and flew away in a flash. After putting some distance, he tried to cast a spell on us, but Haengun blocked it.”

Oh Haengbok continued grumbling about what kind of place this was and how hunting here would probably kill half of them, then said,

“Anyway, since we even helped them, I think we can slowly approach the village now? Let’s go.”

The Players pulled out several flags from their Bag of Infinity. They were flags with a white background and a dove drawn on them, brought to show they had no intention of fighting.

Everyone kept their weapons at their waists, held the flags, and approached the fortress wall. As mentioned earlier, around the fortress wall floated the Sun Priest’s Small Suns, radiating golden light.

Looking at them, Seo Yun said,

“Is it okay to pass through there? I heard those are made by Sun Priests and are treated as sunlight, so Chief, you…”

Though she wasn’t speaking to Oh Haengbok, it seemed he heard her. He turned his head toward her and abruptly asked,

“Are you worried about me now?”

Seo Yun nodded awkwardly.

“Yeah, well.”

“Right now, I’m wearing thick armor and even a helm, so if I just cover my eyes well, it should be fine. If I take off either the helm or the armor, then I’d really be screwed.”

Saying that, Oh Haengbok covered his eyes with his hand and passed through the space where warm sunlight streamed down.

It was just as they finally reached right in front of the fortress wall. English came from above the wall.

“Stop!”

Again, it was strange that it wasn’t French, but anyway, everyone stopped. They all waved their white flags vigorously.

Naturally, they didn’t just open the gate outright upon seeing that. However, they didn’t completely ignore the side that had just helped them either, as a rope ladder came down and several men descended from it. They seemed to be villagers from inside the fortress wall.

“Oh, looks like they’re willing to talk.”

The French interpreter stepped forward and started chattering away.

“Bonjour? Nous sommes…”

Seo Yun couldn’t understand what he was saying, but she could roughly tell it was French.

And the reaction of the Frenchmen upon hearing their language was unexpected.

The moment they heard the French, their eyes widened. Then, with voices on the verge of tearing, they shouted,

“Speak English!”

The French interpreter flinched in shock and shrunk back.

In the end, Oh Haengun stepped forward. The two of them continued the conversation.

Did you help us? That’s really appreciated. But who are you?

In response to the Frenchman’s question, Oh Haengun answered.

We came from Korea.

Korea?

Korea, don’t you know it?

We know. We know, but why are you here…

All that conversation was in English, and Seo Yun couldn’t understand this situation. She had imagined scenes of getting cursed at for using English in France, but she had never imagined the opposite.

Could they be NPCs? Like the Centaurs, maybe these guys, being intelligences created by Westerners, use English unconditionally no matter where they live?

Oh Haengun continued talking with the Frenchmen.

We came to hunt monsters.

Why hunt monsters?

To earn Experience Points by hunting. It seems monsters are swarming nearby, can we hunt some?

As you wish…

Permission came out too easily, without even exchanging many questions and answers. It was unexpected. Perhaps here, there was no concept of hunting monsters being some kind of right.

Anyway, they gave gifts in exchange for permission. They had prepared items.

“Alright, take out the diplomatic gifts.”

The players began rummaging through the Bag of Infinity. As items were pulled out one by one, they could feel the Frenchmen’s gazes drawn toward them. At first, they seemed surprised that items larger than the bag’s volume were pouring out, but later, they appeared astonished by the items themselves.

“These are gifts. Please take them.”

When they offered several crates of potatoes, smoked chicken, frozen foods, canned goods, and other items they often gifted to other villages, the Frenchmen’s eyes widened.

One of them asked, as if finding it hard to believe.

“You’re giving all of this?”

Especially a few of them seemed to light up at the sight of the canned Spam. Watching their interest in the items, Seo Yun continued to ponder.

They seem to recognize what Spam is—so they’re not NPCs after all? But even Arnold handled electronic devices without much surprise and moved them just fine.

While she was still uncertain, the man who appeared to be their leader spoke up.

“All these gifts are tempting, but for now, we’ll gratefully accept only the chicken and potatoes.”

Potatoes weren’t actually part of medieval European cuisine, but since Immortal Kingdom wasn’t a particularly historically accurate game, the Rulebook’s food list proudly featured illustrations of potatoes.

Even those “medieval foods” were quite plentiful. Once those items were sent up the Fortress Wall, the atmosphere of the conversation eased considerably.

The French Man suddenly asked.

“Don’t you folks use English?”

Oh Haengun replied as if it were absurd.

“We’re Korean, you know.”

“No, even if you’re Korean. In this day and age, you don’t use English?”

She translated the question for Oh Haengbok. Oh Haengbok snorted.

“What kind of question is that? Do those bastards think Korea was one of Britain’s colonies and ask like that?”

“Well, I don’t think so.”

“Then again, seeing them use English themselves, there must be some reason.”

Then the French Man, watching this side conversing in Korean with uneasy eyes, earnestly advised.

“Whether you’re Korean or Japanese, I hope you’ll use English. Especially near our village.”

The French Man added that if they didn’t, something terrible would happen. Though no one knew the reason, everyone fell silent. Only then did the man ask, seemingly relieved.

“But if you’re here to hunt monsters, do you plan to keep roaming around this area not just now, but in the future too?”

“Yes. Would that be alright?”

“It’s not impossible, but could a few of us follow you back to your village? We’d like to see whether you’re dangerous or not.”

Hearing this, Oh Haengbok nodded.

“That much is fine.”