Chapter 7 - Trying to Unravel a Tangled Mess Just Makes It More Tangled
We must have thought of this other world as some kind of remote camping trip.
The Lumos Continent, which we experienced as soon as we left the village, was reality.
First, we couldn't use our smartphones.
We couldn't listen to music while walking, nor could we watch a quick You-Tube video during breaks.
And there were no smartphones.
We couldn't wash, change our clothes, and had to cook our own meals.
Without a simple You-Tube recipe!
And we couldn't use our smartphones.
We had to walk because there were no cars, and we had to look at a map because there was no GPS.
As if that wasn't unsettling enough, monsters, not just wild animals, appeared on the road.
'Most importantly, I can't use my smartphone. Damn it. Was I a smartphone addict?'
In any case, the kids were being forcibly adapted. Among them, some stood out.
The Protagonist Faction, centered around Hong-seop, and the Delinquent Faction, centered around Hyung-seok, were among those who were adapting well.
Ah, of course, I came up with all those names myself.
"Out of my way! I'm first!"
Hyung-seok was aggressive.
His goal, naturally, was to become stronger than Hong-seop.
Hyung-seok was the first to jump into every fight and hunted for the longest time.
Conversely, Hong-seop moved slowly, taking care of the alienated kids like Geun-ho one by one.
But the strange thing was that Hyung-seok could never catch up to Hong-seop.
"Damn it. Why can't I catch up!"
"Calm down, Hyung-seok. You're a talented kid, you'll do fine."
"Why the hell are you the one comforting me! Argh! This is so annoying."
But no matter how annoyed he got, he would never be able to catch up.
From my perspective, watching from a step back, I could see the reason he would forever lag behind.
First, rushing in.
By fighting without information, it took him a long time to defeat the first monster.
Second was scale.
The Delinquent Faction consisted of only 5 people, led by Hyung-seok.
In contrast, Hong-seop had the remaining 27 all together.
No matter how greedy someone was for hunting, it was difficult to leave Hong-seop.
As they say, there's strength in numbers; in the end, the Protagonist Faction was superior in both the quantity and quality of their hunts.
Me?
I aimed for the benefits of both sides.
My default position was within Hong-seop's party.
When Hyung-seok acted out and Hong-seop went hunting, I watched them intently.
What were the monsters' weaknesses, what were their habits?
What was the best way to fight them?
After grasping their level and habits, all I had to do was stab them from behind, and it was over.
Actually, at this point, I didn't even need to know the habits of each individual creature.
When I hid, the monsters couldn't sense my presence.
Whether the goblins became kobolds, or the kobolds became gnolls, that fact did not change.
Instead of simply repeating the hunt, I checked various things.
Where to stab so they couldn't scream.
And where to stab so less blood would splatter.
The monsters' hides were thick and tough.
No matter how I slashed at their necks from behind, just cutting wasn't enough.
What was needed was a stab.
I had to pay attention to the angle and stab with all my might.
Just stabbing from behind activated Rear Attack, but if I stabbed the stomach or back, there were times they wouldn't die.
That's when Smoke Bomb came in handy.
"Smoke Bomb!"
[Smoke Bomb (Lv.1) - Assassin Exclusive Skill]
[Detonates a smoke bomb to hide your presence.]
[The smoke becomes denser as proficiency rises.]
The shimmering blue energy momentarily turned gray.
A cloud of smoke billowed out.
It hid my form without needing any other medium.
They already had trouble finding me, so what if they couldn't even see?
Naturally, it was my turn again.
"Double Step!"
[Double Step (Lv.1) - Dagger Exclusive Skill]
[Quickly stab twice.]
[Its power increases as proficiency rises.]
This time, the blue energy gathered in my arm.
Simultaneously, my arm stabbed the kobold twice in a row at an unbelievable speed.
The speed was so fast that even I couldn't comprehend it.
'A movement that ignores the laws of physics. Is this the goddess's blessing?'
It was beyond amazing; it was baffling.
Thanks to that, my level shot up as well.
'Status Window.'
[Lv.9 (Assassin) - Strength: 15, Agility: 20, Intelligence: 18, Total Combat Power: 300]
Just one more level and I would reach level 10, the level at which you could change jobs.
What would happen to me, who had already changed jobs?
The mere thought made my heart flutter.
On the other hand, the items that dropped weren't that great.
I had killed the chieftains of the kobolds and gnolls all by myself, just like the Goblin Shaman. But the items they dropped were somewhat lacking.
[Kobold Champion's Spicy Pepper Powder (Common)]
[A spice that has an effect greater than poison on kobolds, who have an excellent sense of smell.]
[A spice that can potentially wipe out an entire clan, it can only be handled by a true warrior among kobolds.]
[It is a symbol of valor for the kobold tribe.]
[Adding a small amount to food improves its taste.]
It had a plausible description, but in the end, it was just pepper powder.
Pepper powder with a slight mala flavor.
It was genuinely delicious, but I wasn't a gourmet, and I had no intention of fussing over taste while trying to survive in another world.
The loot I got from killing the gnoll was on a similar level.
[Gnoll Chieftain's Tooth Necklace (Common)]
[A necklace made from the molars of warriors killed in battle.]
[A symbol of the Gnoll Chieftain's glory, the number of teeth directly shows its power.]
[The foul smell of the gnoll masks other odors.]
[Possessing it will earn you the fear of gnolls.]
[If you resemble them, you might even earn their respect.]
Gnolls clearly resembled hyenas, so how on earth would one have to look to resemble them...
Anyway, it was an item so mediocre it didn't even need to be compared to the Goblin Shaman's Jewel.
Well, I suppose it can't keep dropping great items all the time.
While I only half-succeeded in monopolizing the items, the massive level lead was a satisfactory achievement in itself.
"There it is! Carroty Village!"
It seemed Choi Joo-hye had good eyes as well as a good nose.
She had spotted a sign that was invisible to my eyes.
"Is this that swamp?"
The path to the village certainly didn't look easy.
A purple swamp that radiated ominousness spread out before us.
Right in front of the swamp, there was a sign that was clearly written for us to see.
[Danger Ahead.]
[Many monsters weak to fire. If you wish to cross the swamp, burn the hay.]
[Cross only when the swamp is dry.]
Just as it said, a line of dry thornbushes stretched along the swamp's edge. It was enough to burn the entire swamp even if you lit a fire at the entrance.
"That's it, right? Get your ass out here now! If you don't want to die!"
Hyung-seok was on edge. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up to Hong-seop. To make matters worse, the more he tried, the more taunts followed him.
Hyung-seok's beet-red face looked like it was about to explode.
"Let's not be so confrontational. We can just wait here for a day. I'm sure they will step forward then."
Hong-seop seemed to have decided that I was just a shy kid.
That I couldn't come out because Hyung-seok was making such a fuss.
Let me be clear, I did speak up.
You guys just didn't hear me. Well, the place to light the fire has been made clear, so now I'll just sneak out and light it myself.
"I'm only waiting one day. After that, I'll find him myself."
"Do whatever you want. Even if that happens, we'll just turn around and go to Carroty Village."
"We have to take a three-day detour!"
"That's better than harassing a friend."
"You son of a—!"
Hyung-seok looked ready to pounce at any moment, but he couldn't actually do it.
As I said before, it was because of the taunts that grew worse by the day.
"Oh my, he's so barbaric."
"I know, right. If Hong-seop says something, he should just accept it."
"They say ugly people have ugly personalities."
Hong-seop had no malicious intent.
He was just trying to follow through on what he believed was right.
But the people around him were different.
There were always kids who just assumed that whatever Hong-seop said was right. I called them the Fangirl Legion.
A group worse than the Delinquent Faction. For competitive kids like Hyung-seok, that must be hell itself.
"Will you shut up? You pathetic bitches couldn't even take care of yourselves if Hong-seop wasn't looking out for you!"
"Ugh, the worst."
"He starts swearing the moment he gets even a little upset."
Watching them scurry away as soon as Hyung-seok got angry was enough to make my own blood pressure rise.
What can you do, Hyung-seok.
Hang in there.
You're not the protagonist, are you?
For some reason, I understood Hyung-seok and hoped he wouldn't end up as just Villain #1 who was jealous of the protagonist.
And so, night fell.
A grimy night of camping began, and as the kids fell asleep from the exhausting march, I began my activity.
"I'll definitely catch you. You sneaky bastard!"
Hyung-seok and his Delinquent Faction were searching for me with fire in their eyes.
Sorry to say, but with just that, you won't be able to find me.
Am I not Kim Jin-woo, a.k.a. Ghost Kim Jin-woo?
The plan was simple.
Go to the swamp, light a fire, the monsters will retreat, and the swamp will dry up.
Then everyone can cross safely.
It was a task so simple a five-year-old could do it, aside from handling the fire.
Eh, so why did things turn out like this?
Avoiding Hyung-seok's eyes and preparing to light the fire wasn't difficult.
But I couldn't actually light the fire.
"Get away! Won't you get away? I'll kill you all!"
It was a small girl who looked like she had just started high school. Was there a girl like that in our department? Absolutely not. Her attire was a perfect fit for the Lumos Continent, not Korea.
"Mrrgl, mrrgrrgl..."
Ugh, what is that now?
A fish head with arms and legs.
Is this the famous Little Mer… no.
I wouldn't call that a princess if you killed me and brought me back to life.
Anyway, it was a fish-man monster.
A jet-black fish-man at that.
Five fish-man monsters were surrounding the young girl.
If I lit the fire now, the fish-man monsters would all burn to death, but so would the girl.
Although I didn't have any grand sense of heroism, I wasn't ruthless enough to kill a person with my own hands.
People tend to feel squeamish about killing someone with their own choices.
I decided to solve the problem in the most me-like way possible.
Step, step. Stab.
"Mrrgl? Mrrgrrglrgl!"
[Your level has risen.]
As if to prove it was a damn fish, it spewed green blood like a fountain, not red.
The fountain was so intense that it was perfect for hiding my body.
"Huh? What's happening?"
Before the kid I saved could finish her sentence, I sent another fish-man to hell.
Finally, the fish-men noticed my presence.
Even for me, it's impossible for none of them to notice even after I've killed a hundred of them.
"Smoke Bomb."
This skill was made for times like this.
Gray smoke billowed out.
The fish-men hurriedly rushed to the spot where I had been standing, but I was already gone.
"What are you doing? Run."
"Ah, the one who saved me..."
"Stop saying that and run."
There was no need to defeat all the fish-men here.
They would die or piss off on their own once I set the swamp on fire anyway.
Even more so now that my presence has been revealed.
I grabbed the wrist of the kid who was standing there dumbly and ran.
Hmm… this kid.
Is she an otherworlder too?
For a kid, her wrist is pretty firm.
Her forearm might be thicker than mine.
We completely escaped the smoke, but we couldn't shake off the fish-men. It seemed that with a piece of baggage attached, things didn't go as smoothly as when I was alone.
"This is a disaster..."
The fish-men, who looked like they lived in water, were damn fast runners.
If we couldn't escape, it was best to use Smoke Bomb again.
If I could reduce their numbers before the smoke cleared, it was worth fighting them head-on. I had gotten quite a bit stronger, after all.
"Excuse me? My savior?"
"What?"
"This area is Murloc territory. If we keep running around like this, more Murlocs will swarm us..."
She was right.
How did I know?
Because the fishy bastards were already starting to crawl out.
Seriously, why are fish bastards building log cabins instead of living in fish tanks?
"You should have said so sooner."
"I thought you had a reason for running away so slowly. Like luring the Murlocs on purpose..."
"What nonsense are you talking about, I'm sprinting at full speed."
"Ah, really? Oh my..."
That's rude.
That's definitely rude.
Hah, is there no choice?
I have to stand and fight here.
I gripped my sword.
That is, until the kid grabbed me.
"Then, please excuse me for a moment."
"You've already been rude—huh?"
All her previous rudeness was nothing.
A little girl, barely 160cm tall, had lifted me up as if pulling a radish from the ground.
In a pose that could only be called a 'princess carry.'
This pose is so embarrassing!
I could never understand why girls liked this kind of pose. It was a completely passive and helpless position where all you could do was wrap your arms around their neck.
"Aaaah, we're tipping, we're tipping over!"
"Please be quiet. Unless you want to wake up all the Murlocs."
"Hey, I'm the one who saved you..."
At this point, I don't know who saved whom.
The girl running while carrying me was unbelievably fast.
"Ugh..."
When I came to my senses, I was in a tent filled with a nutty, savory smell.
It was a soft tent with a thick layer of sawdust on the floor.
"Don't you think you can put me down now?"
"Ah! S-sorry."
The kid put me down and took off the hood she was wearing.
Aside from her thick forearms, she looked quite normal.
The round ears that sprouted from above her hair also looked quite soft… wait, ears?
"Uwaah, what are you!"
I took out the dagger I had put away.