Chapter 15: With Beastly Instinct (2)
There’s no need to make a big deal out of it.
This was practically my first time facing monsters directly.
It was Gono who handled the Ogre and Goblins after linking with MonMonMak.
And I was certain.
At least, in my current state, I had no talent for confronting monsters face-to-face without crying.
“Sss-ssik!”
I realized this immediately after clashing with a bulky Lizardman wielding a Crescent Blade.
Ah, this body of mine really had no talent!
“Sss-ssik!”
Thwack!
“Sorry, I have no talent for swordsmanship.”
Thwack!
“Sss-ssiiik…”
So here I was, pinning the Lizardman down and pounding it with a mounted punch.
If someone were watching, it would look no different from a street brawl or a dogfight.
The scene of a 2-meter-tall Lizardman sprawled on the ground, with me on top pounding it with my fists, looked even more surreal.
If Yun Su-a had seen this, I would have been mortified, one hundred percent.
Thunk!
My punches lacked any foundation, but the Lizardman was taking them without resistance.
Even though it was a monster, enduring the extraordinary strength of Dragon Child Gular Count was impossible.
At first, it resisted with its Crescent Blade, but after my uppercut sent it crashing to the floor, it couldn’t even do that.
It could only be hit, realizing the overwhelming stat difference.
“Ki, kiruk…”
Gono approached me with a startled expression.
Only then did the one-sided beating end.
“Sss…ssit…”
The Lizardman’s face, bruised and battered, struggled to look at Gono.
“Kiruk.”
Crack!
Gono nodded solemnly and swung his club, smashing the Lizardman’s skull.
There was no need to stage such a delicate scene.
They would fully revive in the Dream Lord’s Castle anyway.
If paid in Gold, one could enjoy the honor of making them your summoned unit.
“Kiruk!”
Gono handed me something.
Seven crystal chunks the size of eggs.
Even while smashing heads, he had meticulously collected Magic Stones.
“Good work, Gono.”
I took the Magic Stones in one hand and patted Gono’s head with the other.
“Kiruk!”
[Gono’s Affinity increased by 10! Gono Affinity: 45/100]
I still couldn’t get used to this affinity system.
I extracted the Lizardman Captain’s Magic Stones lying before me and threw all 8 into a newly appeared fissure.
[Sold a total of 8 Lower-Grade Magic Stones.]
[240 Gold deposited from the Dream Lord’s Castle.]
Ding!
[Current Gold: 370 Gold]
[First sale of a Magic Stone infused with the Lizardman’s soul! Received 1 Premium Draw Ticket from the Castle.]
Only after confirming the received draw ticket did I close the status window.
With Gold steadily accumulating, perhaps it was time to consider hiring other monsters.
From behind, a squealing sound reached me.
“Kyuuit.”
“?”
It was Pigmallet.
They gathered behind me, their big eyes sparkling.
Their pink bodies, finally free from the mud, were bouncing.
I could sense their immense gratitude, though…
Naturally, I couldn’t understand their gestures beyond that.
I gestured and said,
“Hide.”
“Kyuuit.”
“The lizards trying to eat you have been dealt with, so stay hidden.”
“Kyuuit!”
“……”
A strong premonition came over me.
An ominous, dreadful feeling.
I shook it off and stood up.
Poreureu.
As expected.
With every step I took, the Pigmallets’ short legs kept following behind.
“Don’t try anything, just stay hidden, I said!”
“Kyuuit!”
“Kyu, kyuwit!”
The Pigmallets shook their bodies violently at my words.
Crazy.
What exactly do you want to do?
I looked at Gono, hoping for salvation.
If anything, I thought Gono would swing his club to chase them off.
But he just frustrated me further.
“Kiruk.”
Tap, tap.
He suddenly tapped his wrist while chirping.
[Goblin Slave will return to the Castle in 7 minutes.]
“Ah.”
Right, this one had a time limit.
I hadn’t calculated that.
There were still quite a few Pigmallets around, and I couldn’t predict how often we’d encounter Lizardmen like now.
Sending Gono back in this state was risky.
My combat ability being at rock bottom in another sense only reinforced that.
“Any ideas, Gono? If you go back now, I’ll be in deep trouble.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect much.
After all, this was a skill, and to extend its duration, I’d have to level up the skill itself…
“Kiruk.”
“?”
Gono nodded.
There was a way?
The Goblin made a circle with its thumb and index finger.
At the same time, a notification popped up, and I muttered curses under my breath.
“…Shit.”
I had forgotten.
[Pay Gold to extend Gono’s summon duration! 5 Gold per 10 minutes.]
My skill came entirely from a money-obsessed, absurd game.
But what could I do?
Whether human or monster, wages must be paid in this world.
“…Fine, I’ll give extra pay.”
“Kiruk!”
Gono nodded in satisfaction.
“We’ll patrol the outer edges of the map first. Report immediately if anything looks strange.”
“Kiruk.”
Gono and I quickly penetrated the forest.
“Kyuuit!”
And behind us, the suddenly brave Pigmallets followed.
***
Three hours into the mission.
Crack!
“Ssit…!”
The Lizardman attempting to pierce me with a pike had its head shattered.
After wiping the green blood from my face, I tossed the Magic Stones Gono had given me into the Gate hole.
[Sold 5 Lower-Grade Magic Stones.]
[Current Gold: 860 Gold]
[Insufficient funds to purchase Magic Stones from the Castle! Cannot collect Magic Stones until funds are available.]
[Unit limit exceeded in the Castle. Reinforcement via Magic Stones is impossible. Lizardman Fighter 10/10, Lizardman Crossbowman 5/5, Lizardman Spearman 5/5]
I had hunted a total of 20 Lizardmen so far.
“Kiruk.”
Behind me, Gono remained lively despite smashing twenty monsters.
“Kyuuit!”
Fifty Pigmallets swarmed behind us.
The sight of these round baby pigs went beyond cute to intimidating.
Their staring eyes contributed to that feeling.
In three hours, I had rescued about a quarter of the original Pigmallets.
But…
“It’s still daytime.”
Even after three hours, the sky remained blood-red.
Night showed no signs of coming.
There was one more problem.
[Three Pigmallets were slaughtered by the Slaughterers! Remaining Pigmallets: 82]
The Pigmallet population continued to drop.
While I rescued 50, the others barely managed half that number.
One thing was certain.
The eight Hunters, including Jo Gwang-su, weren’t putting all their effort into saving Pigmallets.
“….”
Even looking now, it was clear.
This wasn’t the outer area of the map I was assigned.
It was one of the points marked on the calf of my boots.
Specifically, the area assigned to Jo Gwang-su.
But before I arrived, it had already become a Lizardman paradise.
“Kyu-ing.”
A Pigmallet at my feet rubbed itself against a body buried in mud.
It had already been killed by a Slaughterer.
Such corpses were scattered everywhere.
“Kyu-uu.”
The Pigmallets cried beside their dead comrades.
I silently watched.
Jo Gwang-su had thought rationally.
He wouldn’t want to risk his life for these monsters.
Probably he saved only one Pigmallet and didn’t even try to get the rest.
The Garden only instructed to protect them.
It didn’t define how many to save.
Deciding how many to save was up to us.
So I couldn’t blame Jo Gwang-su.
But it felt irritating.
“Gono.”
“Kiruk.”
“I’ll make sure you get paid well. Let’s take another walk.”
Gono placed his club on his shoulder.
His snout seemed to curve like a smile, though I could be imagining it.
***
Another three hours passed.
Six hours into the mission,
Sixty Pigmallets followed behind me.
A quarter of the day had passed, yet the sky remained blood-red.
Night still hadn’t come.
Still, there was some yield.
[Current remaining Pigmallets: 71]
A massive countdown hovered in the sky.
The number hadn’t changed for over an hour.
“Sss-ssit!”
Crack!
The head of the last resisting Lizardman exploded before my eyes.
Thud.
The lizard’s body collapsed, and the Pigmallets behind it stared at me with bright, gleaming eyes.
No more Magic Stones could be obtained from Lizardmen.
Even rescuing them now brought nothing back to me.
All that remained were those gleaming eyes.
I wasn’t exactly sane either.
“Kyu-ung.”
The rescued Pigmallets bounced behind me.
And suddenly…
“Kyuuit!”
“Huh?”
The Pigmallets behind me all began moving at once.
“Wait, what?”
A sudden, unexpected action.
I quickly followed.
“Where are you going?!”
I called anxiously, but they ran straight without looking back.
Even crazily fast, which made no sense.
After running some distance, the obstructing bushes and foliage disappeared, and my vision cleared.
“A lake?”
The lake at the center of the bird’s-eye view.
It lay before me.
Its surface was black.
Beneath the dark backdrop, it reflected a full moon.
The full moon.
Only then did I realize.
While chasing the Pigmallets frantically, night had arrived.
[Slaughterers no longer pursue Pigmallets. Night has arrived.]
Under the blackened sky, the giant status window changed and a voice echoed.
The Pigmallets gathered again before me, with the lake ahead.
Rustle.
And suddenly, from the left, a Pigmallet and a Hunter emerged through the bushes.
“What? Did a dying piglet get horny… huh?”
Jo Gwang-su.
“Hey, buddy. You got here first. I watched you well looking for the piglets. What’s with the Goblin next to you? Does a Goblin evolve if you save enough piglets? Hahaha!”
“….”
As expected, he had only one Pigmallet.
Even that one soon collapsed, barely breathing.
Seeing me silently, Jo Gwang-su began to speak as if his legs were restless.
“What, what? Need to look at me like that? Nobody said to save a specific number anyway.”
Luckily, he didn’t need further excuses.
Hunters appeared from multiple directions around the lake.
“Hey, how come you didn’t save a single one? Pathetic.”
“Ah, this one ran here and died. You only saved one weakling yourself, yet you talk big.”
“Of course. Who’d want to risk fighting Lizardmen for these piglets?”
“That’s right. D-rank Hunters like us have to think smart to get the sweet deal.”
Most Hunters appeared with only one Pigmallet each.
One even carried a dead Pigmallet.
“Ji-seon saved five. Why is the healer overexerting?”
“No, I wanted to save more, but I couldn’t with my ability…”
Only the seemingly weak-hearted healer was surrounded by five Pigmallets.
“See that? Why take out your frustration on me when I worked hard? Humans have no leeway, no leeway.”
Jo Gwang-su mocked from the side.
“Keruk?”
Gono’s eyes sharpened.
But I restrained him from swinging the club.
Yes, I might have looked like a fool.
Leeway?
There’s no such thing.
I always give my best in everything.
[Congratulations, you have protected the Pigmallets from the Slaughterers! Mission Complete.]
[To complete the mission, at least 70 Pigmallets must survive. Hidden completion condition fulfilled.]
“What? Hidden condition?”
“The number was fixed. Damn, that was close.”
Indeed.
I had rescued 60 Pigmallets.
If the weak-hearted healer hadn’t saved five, the condition would have failed.
For now, sharing information with Indomitable Guild members was the right call.
“Ugh. This cursed dungeon, I’m leaving as soon as the mission ends. Making me herd pigs like this, ridiculous.”
Jo Gwang-su poked a fallen Pigmallet in front of him.
It no longer responded.
And…
“…Huh?”
[From now, the Trial of Gathering the Heart begins.]
On the surface reflecting the night sky, new text was engraved.