First Battle Translator: Xzy ***
As if he had done some intense exercise, all the strength drained out of his body.
On top of that, an indescribable spiritual exhaustion was added, to the point that his mind was becoming hazy.
Fortunately, the boiling heat was quickly cooled by the night's chill held within the primeval forest.
And whether it was because the forest's life force was strong or because that was the original nature of the flames that had been shot out, the fire did not spread and extinguished on its own.
However, the problem was the fact that the terrible smell of burning was enough to numb his nose.
'What do I do?'
At 25 years of age, Han Yu-jin had naturally completed his military service.
And in the military, he had learned that in the mountains at night, an alien smell like that of a burning cigarette spreads over an incredible range.
The terrible smell of burning here must have spread over a wide area of the forest and been caught by all the wild beasts with a developed sense of smell.
Scrambling outside, he identified the beast that had died from a hole in its head.
He thought its face looked like a monkey's, and indeed, its whole body was also monkey-like.
Except for the fact that it was incredibly muscular and its fingernails and toenails looked as tough and sharp as a bird of prey's.
Moreover, the hard calluses on its elbows, knees, stomach, chest, and sides gave the impression that it was wearing armor.
Even its fur was exceedingly coarse, looking like it could just absorb any moderate impact.
'Is it about two meters tall…?'
Its specs were such that if you put it up against a human gym rat, the gym rat would be brutally killed in seconds.
The result would likely be the same even if you gave that human armor and a weapon.
In short, this was less of a beast and more of a monster.
'To think I killed a monster like this.'
It looked like a creature that would toughly charge even if shot by a bullet, yet it couldn't even let out a scream before the flames of the Five Elements Sword.
As he admired it for a moment even in his daze, he soon came to his senses.
And he thought hard.
Could it be that this creature was the one that ruled this section of the forest? Now that he had killed it, was he safe?
Or should he move right now and look for another shelter nearby? Couldn't the terrible smell of burning actually mask his movements and presence?
At that moment, Han Yu-jin activated the Mind Calming Spell from the Origin Reversion Art to quickly organize his thoughts.
As the Dharma spell unfolded, his wavering mind immediately stabilized.
As his concentration improved, the things that had felt chaotic revealed their clear forms.
'Abandon wishful thinking.'
Everything became clear as he recalled the lesson he had learned from his previous experience.
This creature might have been the one that ruled this section of the forest, but it also might not have been. Even if it was, there was a chance that a predator from another area might come over out of curiosity.
He must not underestimate the agility and cunning of wild beasts.
Besides, there was a high probability that it would be useless to run away to another place.
Considering how he was discovered in the first place, the creature had found him as if it could see him clearly, even though he had been staying completely still in the pit under the tree roots.
It had clearly come to hunt, even silencing its steps in case its target ran away.
'More will come.'
The beasts, the natives and hunters of this forest who were after his life, would surely come.
Han Yu-jin tightened his briefly loosened tension and began to recover his strength with all his might.
He didn't go back into the pit this time, because although it reduced the number of directions he had to guard, it also blocked his escape route.
The result would tell him whether this judgment was right or wrong. The thing to do now was not to constantly doubt himself.
Keeping the Spirit Eye Spell active, he meticulously guarded his surroundings and breathed deeply.
To be precise, he inhaled Spiritual Energy to recover from the physical and spiritual exhaustion as much as possible.
At the same time, he began to grasp the structure of the Five Elements Sword in his hand.
His use of it just now had been nothing more than a desperate, reckless act, so he needed to know the basic usage to fight more efficiently in the battles to come.
'I won't die easily for them.'
He knew that even if he died, he would just wake up in reality, and perhaps it might be more convenient in many ways to just die once and visit this place again later.
But for some reason, he didn't want to. It was a rather emotional judgment rather than a rational one, but on the other hand, it didn't feel entirely like that.
He didn't want to easily think of death just because it was a little difficult and scary.
No matter how you looked at it, wouldn't that be running away? Was it right to think of running away every time a hardship came?
Good luck and bad luck were two sides of the same coin, and opportunity arose in the midst of crisis.
'If I am victorious today, then this section of the forest will truly become mine.'
With the Five Elements Sword, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
How much time had passed like that?
Han Yu-jin's expectations, or perhaps his worries, were not betrayed.
From all over the dark forest, bright yellow gleams of light appeared and began to stare at him.
Seeing the forms of those hidden in the bushes with the power of the Spirit Eye Spell, Han Yu-jin unnaturally raised one corner of his lip and smiled.
It was an expression that also looked as if he were half-crying.
"Fuck… is this Planet of the Apes, you monkey bastards?"
Fortunately, he had recovered a decent amount of strength and had also grasped the structure of the Five Elements Sword at a very basic level.
It was thanks to the transcendent language comprehension granted to him, which helped him interpret even the Dharma script restrictions of the Dharma artifact.
It was clear that they took Han Yu-jin's muttering as some kind of provocation.
One by one, the monkey monsters revealed their bodies from outside the bushes and threateningly puffed up their muscles; there were a total of seven of them.
It wasn't that many, but on the other hand, it was too many.
There was no way they would fight him in a one-on-one tournament, so the chances of victory were probably slim.
However,
Despite that, Han Yu-jin's will was not broken.
Because the price of death was just waking up in reality, one might easily give up and think of running away, but on the other hand, because only such a light price awaited, one could also become endlessly reckless.
"First strike means victory!"
Han Yu-jin bravely shouted and aimed the Five Elements Sword at the nearest monkey.
KRA-KOOM!!
Immediately, the Dharma script restrictions that surfaced on the Five Elements Sword flashed, and with a deafening roar, a streak of lightning was shot out.
No, the moment he felt it was shot, it had already hit and electrocuted the monkey monster to death.
All of its fur was burnt black and stood on end, and its limbs convulsed madly as it fell backward.
The enemy, which had been seven, was reduced to six.
"How dare you attack a human, the lord of all creation?! You damn beast bastards…!"
- KUWAAAAAAARGH-!!!
An incredibly heavy roar erupted, swallowing Han Yu-jin's shout, which was intended to seize the initiative.
Starting with that one monkey's roar, the remaining five joined in and let out their own roars, making it feel like his eardrums were about to burst.
Before he could even let out a surprised exclamation at how loud they were, they kicked off the ground from all sides and charged.
The ground rumbled as if a legion of cavalry was charging, and the sight of them rushing in an instant was more powerful than most blockbuster movies.
It was clear that his body would be shattered if he was hit just once, so he reflexively activated the defensive function of the Five Elements Sword and raised it above his head.
The Dharma script restrictions changed shape and flashed, and the brilliant golden light that was emitted briefly took the form of a large bell, covering and protecting him.
DOOONG-!!
The fist of the first monkey monster to approach, filled with all its strength, struck the bell, and a loud roar erupted. It truly sounded as if it had struck a real, incredibly sturdy bell.
- KUWAAAAAAARGH-!!
The wildly excited monkey monsters surrounded him and madly swung their fists and feet, beating on the golden bell barrier.
Blood flowed from both of Han Yu-jin's ears, who was positioned inside, due to the ceaselessly erupting roars.
"You… ignorant bastards…!"
Despite the defense only trembling slightly, the creatures continued to beat on the barrier as if they had some kind of certainty.
They showed no sign of stopping even as their own hands and feet became covered in blood.
SKREEE-!!
Han Yu-jin, whose eardrums were already damaged, scowled at the noise of their tough claws scratching the surface of the barrier as if to tear them out.
As if they had been waiting for that reaction, the creatures howled and added scratching attacks to their pattern.
At that moment, Han Yu-jin was certain.
That these monster bastards were truly more ferocious, intelligent, and cunning than apes.
That they would absolutely not give up their attack on him, even as they died.
For a moment, a streak of fear pierced through the madly erupting excitement of adrenaline.
He wondered if he was going to be helplessly torn to shreds and killed by the claws of these monkey monsters.
Just before it could spread into uncontrollable panic.
The effect of the Mind Calming Spell, which was still maintained, felt like cold water being poured on his head.
At the same time, what blazed was anger at the fact that he was scared, and at the monkey monsters that had made him so.
The sensation of maintaining that hot and cold state of mind was truly new and surprising.
If he could continue to maintain this state, he thought that would be the mind of a veteran among veterans, a battle-hardened old general.
With wide-open eyes, he glared at the monkey monsters that continued to beat on the barrier.
At the same time, he focused on the Five Elements Sword and tried to activate another function.
His soul, squeezed to its limit for Spiritual Energy, screamed, and in turn, his body's legs trembled as if they would collapse at any moment. The feeling of a double nosebleed erupting was all too clear.
One had to remember that it had only been about half a day since he had entered the Path of Immortality.
'So I was able to hold on until now because this place is so rich in Spiritual Energy…!'
Adding another secondary realization in the midst of it all, he gripped the hilt of the Five Elements Sword with all his might.
How could the barrier of a mid-to-high-grade Dharma artifact only have the function of silently blocking attacks?
In very many cases, the best defense was, in fact, offense.
The additionally poured-in Spiritual Energy activated another Dharma script restriction.
The moment the sword, which had been emitting a brilliant golden light, resonated and rang out.
The bell-shaped barrier exploded and scattered in all directions.
It didn't just scatter; all the pieces took the form of sharp blades and tore apart everything in all directions without a single gap.
The loud roars and sounds of impact were at once replaced by mournful screams.
The gruesome sound of bone and flesh being severed and split echoed once, and a large amount of blood burst out and flew wildly.
After the loud sound of heavy lumps falling haphazardly to the ground passed.
In the middle of the forest, which had become quiet as if it had never been noisy, Han Yu-jin, covered in blood, bared his teeth and smiled.
"I won… you Planet of the Apes sons of bitches…"
With that declaration, or whatever that muttering was, he fell backward as if fainting.
Of course, fortunately, he was not dead. He was just in a state where he had exhausted too much strength and couldn't even stand anymore.
Probably, another, stronger predator would not come. If that were the case, the monkey monsters would not have fought while making such a commotion.
Han Yu-jin, who was unable to move right now, wanted to believe so.
And in fact, right now, he felt that it would be okay even if such misfortune befell him and he died.
Wasn't it an irresistible force?
He had done his best but had unfortunately died; in any case, he hadn't run away, so he could just wake up refreshed in his bed.
"Heheheh…"
In the midst of a thick sense of accomplishment and the ecstasy of victory that was hard to describe, he foolishly let out a continuous stream of laughter.
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