Chapter 16: 16

Chapter 16

Rastus’ huge body rose from the ground.

Crack, crack–

Broken branches fell off his body.

Even on second look, he was still as huge as ever.

Maybe around 50m?

Compared to the radio towers found throughout the city, Rastus appears to be much bigger.

— Keuh…I’m going to kill you, human!

He was surprisingly fine after what I thought was a considerable hit just now.

What kind of ability did he use?

His current strength was quite unbelievable even if it was his trump card.

A purple haze was rising like smoke around his body.

While looking at it, I recalled the mysterious dark energy I felt from the demons in the past.

Is it related to them?

…I don’t think so.

Looking back on the previous round, there was still about 20 years left before the demon army will show up.

There was no reason for the sudden change of such a large scale update.

Well, who cares.

More than that right now, it was more important to appreciate his strength and enjoy this moment to the fullest.

— Graaaawr!!

The ground shook as Rastus charged at me. A clumsy posture like a bookworm who is fighting for the first time.

But given his size, it wasn’t something I could take lightly. The nearby mansion shook with each step he took.

I faced such a guy head-on. And he, who is like a living disaster, was stopped by me in an instant.

Boom–!

One of his huge legs was blocked by my body. A long line on the ground was dug out as every muscle in my body contracted.

Keu…good.

It was very refreshing to be able to use my strength after a long time.

— H-how the hell.

I could hear Rastus’ shocked voice. But this was far from what I was aiming for.

The gravity that acts on the body is always anchored on the human body’s center of gravity.

And the law of kinematics is equal to all, even for this huge bastard.

Rastus’ center of gravity was located high above me.

Which means,

It’s just as easy to break his balance.

*Wrestling Lower Tackle

Frankly speaking, our size difference was like that of a hamster and a human. But that hamster was now lifting the foot of the human.

Creak–

His huge body slowly tilted backwards. Then while floundering his arms in the air, he fell onto his mansion.

Boom–!

Another cloud of dust rose. One side of the mansion was completely destroyed beyond recognition.

I smiled while looking at such a sight.

Passable.

Supreme Martial Arts, which I used to enjoy in the past, was a skill that dealt with all kinds of modern martial arts.

It incorporated the whole science of modern martial arts.

With the exception of skills that use mana, there were no better martial arts than ‘Supreme Martial Arts.’

In other words, as long as my physical strength can support it, there is no skill more powerful than this.

— Keuaak! How dare you, human!!

Rastus let out a horrible shriek.

Countless tree trunks began to erupt from his body.

His appearance looked similar to when hundreds of cluster bombs are fired.

Bullet hell games are fun too.

*Acrobatic.

I flipped between the gaps of the spear-like branches that were inserted into the ground. His attacks couldn’t even leave a scratch on me.

— You little rat!!

Climbing along the slope of his body, at the end, I was met with a face that was the size of a house.

His eyes shook nonstop when it made contact with mine. I reached out toward his huge eyeballs.

— W-what are you trying to do?!

“Punching bags don’t need eyes.”

*Kyokushin Karate Horn Reach

Pak–!

Both eyes were cleanly pulled out along with their optic nerves.

Although he looks like a tree through and through, strangely enough, his eyes were like those of humans.

— Kueaak!!

Rastus grabbed his empty eye sockets as he screamed in pain.

Because of his floundering, other parts of the mansion that were intact began to turn into ruins.

In the meantime, I opened my status window to check the remaining time. 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Nearly half of it has already been spent in this short time.

“There’s not much time left until I have to give it back, so I’ll have to make the most of it.”

I charged at Rastus.

Kick, poke, twist, throw, press, break…

All sorts of modern martial arts poured out in the brief moment.

— I-it hurts!! Stop! P-please stop!

Rastus screamed like a child. He cried and begged me to spare him.

But I didn’t stop. It was a rare moment for me to enjoy myself after a long time, so why should I?

I stripped the bark that covered his body like armor little by little.

Then, underneath it, thick flesh that pulsated like human blood vessels came into my view.

It looks similar to what I had seen in the garden.

The gardener called it a failure, right? Rastus seemed to have turned into one of his failed creations.

It’s a shame, but I think it’s time to wrap it up.

As soon as I thought so,

Suddenly, under Rastus’ pores, something thin and long stuck out like tiny threads.

At first, I even thought it was his hair, but on closer look, it looks similar to the roots of a sapling.

Then, those roots dug into the ground without any time for me to grasp the situation and began to suck in the nutrients around them.

As if it had become a desert, the fertile land and trees in the mountain began to quickly dry up.

On the other hand, Rastus’ body began to grow exponentially.

50m, 60m, 70m…

When it finally reached about 200m in size, Rastus slowly raised his gigantic body.

Boom–

He simply raised his body, but the entire mountain shook loudly as if there was a landslide.

— Just a human…how dare you oppose mother nature.

A flat echo like a boat horn rang in my ears.

However, when I raised my head, I couldn’t even see the face of the bastard who was talking. All I could see was a foot that was as high as the surrounding trees.

In just a few seconds, Rastus had become a giant from myths.

The very same giant spoke to me in a relaxed voice.

— Thanks to you, I was able to become one with nature. So I’ll allow you a comfortable death as my last mercy.

His huge palm began to slowly descend as it covered the sky.

Was this how Wukong felt when he was trapped in the palm of Buddha? Anywhere I looked, all I could see was Rastus’ hand.

The whole world seemed to have shifted to night.

Even though it wasn’t very fast, clouds of dust swirled from all sides due to the overwhelming air pressure from his palm.

A violent sound of a gust dug into my ears.

And then…facing the palm, I smiled.

“It’s the finale so this much is expected.”

My stance widened by the span of my shoulders and the tip of my toes bent 45 degrees.

After taking a deep breath, I lowered my body with a short exhale.

*Wushu Fajin

Boom–!

A heavy wave spread out and shook the whole mountain.

Then the land, which had been barely holding out, split like a spider web.

From the tip of my feet, the kinetic energy contracted and amplified every muscle in my body.

And what lies at the end of the force was a single point.

Finally, the giant’s palm made contact with mine.

At that moment.

Boom–!

A huge shock wave strong enough to burst a person’ eardrums exploded.

The dirt on the ground spread out like a ripple and the surrounding trees swayed as their pollens scattered.

Soon.

Crack–

The sound of a tree splitting was heard and the giant’s body began to crack like dry firewood.

— Graaah!!

Rastus screamed in pain. However, the crack that had started didn’t stop and began to spread faster and faster.

His huge body had lacked the durability to withstand it.

Eventually, he crashed to the ground along with numerous debris.

Just in time, a message window popped up in front of my eyes.

[The effect has expired.]

[All skills and stats borrowed will be returned.]

[ has been sealed for the time being.]

Body: 2.15

Dexterity: 1.35

Mana: 1.08

Spirit: 1.12

*2 Fragments of Growth

As soon as I saw the message, I felt a deep sense of quagmire.

Like when I first started the second round, my whole body felt heavy just from standing. How did I ever survive with such a normal body?

Huu…I felt terrible after my senses returned to normal.

I was already missing the feeling from a moment ago.

Perhaps that’s why I felt disappointed even though I had fun. It was like having fun with a game only for it to be turned off after one round.

But there will come another chance. I’ll just have to be satisfied with this for today.

I smacked my lips and headed in the direction where Rastus fell.

The bastard, who had returned to his original size, was wriggling on a pile of debris piled high like a hill.

— Keuk, keuh…

He was barely alive. He’ll soon die even if I just left him alone.

I can’t believe I dealt with the Elf King like this.

If it was the first round, I would have still been rolling around the streets of Pyongyang with only a pistol…

It was naturally possible because he hasn’t gained the power of the World Tree at this point, but it could still be said to be a major development compared to the past.

But…What should I do with this guy now?

I checked my status window once again.

[Challenge – Flower of Shadow (Chain Quest).]

Condition: Save ‘Elizabeth.’

Period: 3 months.

Reward: 1x Random Box (Medium).

The question that constantly bothered me while doing this challenge.

How the hell do I clear the condition of saving Elizabeth?

Saving means getting someone out of danger.

Wasn’t it enough to kill Rastus, the source of her problem?

In most RPG games I’ve played, the word save worked in the same sense as defeating the villain.

But…is that not enough this time?

Just like a while ago. Not only did she not thank me, but she even stopped me.

So the problem can only be solved if Rastus dies, but Rastus can’t die?

It was contradictory.

I felt a headache because I never thought I would have to think very hard about this Challenge.

…Should I just kill everyone and loot the cash?

The moment I felt annoyed, Elizabeth, who sat like she was out of her mind, caught my eyes.

I looked at her briefly and soon realized the answer to this problem. I see…

This wasn’t my problem in the first place.

As I dragged the dying Rastus, I began to approach Elizabeth.

* * *

Elizabeth stared at the ground with a blank look.

Scenes she saw a moment ago were constantly replaying in her head.

Her uncle who had suddenly turned into a huge monster, and the little boy who had played with him like a toy.

It was hard to believe even when she saw it with her own eyes.

As she raised her head, she could see the collapsed mansion and what was left of the surroundings.

At such an unrealistic scenery, she could only blink her eyes.

‘Maybe…I’m still dreaming?’

However, the cold air from the ground that touched her butt told her that all of this was definitely reality.

She shook her head.

‘It doesn’t matter if it’s a dream or not…’

For her, dreams are realities that’ll happen.

At that moment, she could see the boy walking toward her.

And behind the boy was her uncle being dragged like a piece of trash.

“?!”

Her uncle’s appearance was gruesome. Sharp branches were embedded all over his body, and his broken legs were fluttering like a carpet as it was dragged across the ground.

The boy threw her uncle over.

“U-uncle…”

— Keuh…

Judging by his feeble breathing, it seems that he was on his last breath.

“H-how did this…”

Even though he was someone who had just tried to kill her, she began to worry about his condition when she saw his terrible figure.

She wanted to approach him, so she unknowingly lifted herself up.

At that moment, the boy spoke.

“Nuna, what should we do?”

“H-huh? W-what do you mean?”

She answered while avoiding the boy’s gaze. And her voice cracked because she was tense.

“We still can’t kill him?”

“…”

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The boy’s words dug into her chest like a dagger.

In fact, she knew well that everything would only end with her uncle’s death. And that he was already too far gone to turn back.

Nevertheless, however, her heart ached when the boy tried to kill her uncle. So she stopped the boy without realizing it.

As a result, she almost died, and the boy, on the other hand, threw himself to protect her.

Therefore, it was natural for her to hate her uncle.

‘I’m really the worst.’

If she had been in the boy’s shoes, maybe she would have already been fed up.

She couldn’t lift her head because she felt remorseful.

“Well, the decision is up to you, nuna. I won’t force you at all.”

“Mmm…”

And even in this situation, she hated herself for not being able to answer.

As she remained silent for a while, the boy opened his mouth again.

“Nuna.”

Elizabeth slowly looked up at the voice calling her. The boy was still smiling as brightly as when she first met him.

Then, he threw something in front of her. It was a glossy, pitch black pistol.

“Are you giving this to me…?”

As she looked at it with curiosity, the boy smiled brightly and spoke.

“Life is meant to be enjoyed. And whether to enjoy it or not, nuna needs to decide.”

“…”

The boy said and went somewhere without looking back. The words left by the boy kept replaying in her head.

‘I…have to decide?’

Maybe the boy’s words were right.

She already knew. Her uncle will continue to go down the wrong path in the future.

‘The first time uncle brought in a child to be used as an experiment, if I had stopped him then…’

If she had been a little more courageous back then…

Maybe everyone would be living happily and well now.

‘Was this the only outcome?’

Even though she could see the future through her dreams, she thought she didn’t have the power to change it anyway. The more she struggled the more pain it caused instead.

So at some point, she gave up on making her own decisions.

Just like how a shadow cannot resist being drawn to the sun, she had accepted the fact that fate was absolute.

Even when children died because of the experiments…Even when her body was modified with the knowledge that her uncle had obtained…

She had turned a blind eye to it all, hoping that someone would change her fate.

‘Maybe that boy saw through me…’

The mysterious child who had suddenly appeared in her room.

He burned and destroyed everything, just like the beast from her dream. It was enough to be called cruel.

Perhaps the boy who had appeared before her isn’t an angel but the devil.

But…

He did her a favor. He gave his own life.

As a result, even her fate, which likely never would have changed, has changed.

The powders that her uncle was going to make her spread over the city have now disappeared without a trace. She was no longer a tool to be used by her uncle.

‘Why did I…’

The boy was able to do it, so why did she give up without even trying?

She felt so grateful and pathetic that she couldn’t stop crying. For a long time, she cried.

Then, when tears no longer flowed down, she grabbed the pistol with a determined look.

‘This…was a problem that I should have solved from the beginning.’

The boy had shown her that fact.

If the boy had killed her uncle instead, she might have had to live in the shadows for the rest of her life.

In fact, even now she wasn’t confident. But…

‘If I can’t change the sun, then I’ll at least decide what kind of shadow I’ll be.’

Elizabeth stood up. And then she slowly approached her uncle.

* * *

“Hmm…What will the result be?”

I thought while looking at the burnt garden that had already turned black.

To be honest, I still don’t know what to do to save someone.

Well, if it wasn’t for this challenge, it wasn’t a problem that I had to think about, and in the first place, I wasn’t interested in such a thing.

But as a veteran gamer, I can say one thing for certain.

You shouldn’t play games in other people’s stead.

It’s like getting stuck on a cramped bus ride. In the end, everyone is bound to get off.

So whether you’re good at games or not, it’s only meaningful when you play it yourself.

In that sense, it may have been impossible for me to save her from the beginning.

This Challenge was in fact for Elizabeth, not me.

I’ll have to filter out this kind of task from now on.

It’ll only be me who will suffer a loss if something goes wrong, and I might not even get a reward at the end.

As soon as I thought that, a faint shot came from afar.

Bang–!

I guess she finally made her choice.

And as a result…

[Completed Challenge ‘Flower of Shadow.’]

[Gained 1x Random Box (Medium).]

Jackpot.

My gamble paid off.

I don’t know what kind of problem she had, or why she made such a decision, but…

In any case, I got the reward, so it didn’t matter.

I’ve never read the dialogues in games and have always spam-clicked past it when I played MMORPGs.

Ding–!

At that moment, a welcome notification came.

[Level has risen.]

[Level has risen.]

[You’ve reached level 19.]

[Gained a Fragment of Growth.]

.

.

.

[Level 15 Skill Selection will not be given due to the Special Selection previously.]

[Gained achievement title ‘Giant Hunter.’]

[Giant Hunter]

Tendency: Feat

Description: I can’t believe you won against a giant by yourself. I can’t help but admire it.

.

.

.

“Ooh.”

I defeated Rastus and rose five levels at once.

As expected, he’s a villain who will become an S-class in the future, so the experience he gave didn’t disappoint.

But one more level and I would have been level 20. That part felt a little disappointing.

The messages didn’t end there.

[You’ve eliminated an existence that meets the standard of ‘evil.’]

[You’ve saved those who were in despair.]

[Warrior’s Journey grade has increased.]

[A new effect has been added.]

It’s already my second time seeing this message today.

The skill had just leveled up, so it was unbelievable that it would level up so soon…

Was the opponent that strong? Or is it supposed to be an easy skill to level up?

I didn’t know the answer and could only open my status window to check the new effect.

Classification: General

Grade: D (Grade E -> D)

Description: A warrior grows through hardships.

Grade Effect:

Grade F: Favorability increases easily.

Grade E: Awaken at the moment of crisis.

Grade D: You become stronger when you are with your colleagues. * New *

Mark, destiny, and then….friendship.

It looks like the typical warrior clichés found in RPGs are appearing one after another.

Anyway…

I couldn’t see whether it was a good or bad skill even after I read the description.

First of all, the effect seems to be intended for combat, but the skill description was a little more abstract than the last one.

Well, the grade is higher than the last one, so the effect should be better.

As soon as I was organizing my thoughts, I noticed Elizabeth walking towards me.

Come to think of it… How should I deal with this woman now?

Although her fate has changed due to this incident, there is no guarantee that she’ll not grow into a villain.

If I fight against the demon army, something very annoying may happen if the witch is on their side.

Hmm…Should I just kill her and reduce the number of variables?

Thinking back, it was a shame that we never got to fight properly in the past before she suddenly disappeared.

I don’t know how much fun it’ll be to kill her this time.

Considering the times the witch bothered me in the first round, and then the trouble I went through with today’s Challenge, I think it would be better to kill her.

While having such thoughts, Elizabeth, who had appeared in front of me at some point, bowed to me.

“In many ways, thank you.”

In the meantime, I thought about how I should kill her.

I wanted to do something suitable when I thought of all the trouble I had gone through…

But nothing good came to mind.

“You saved my life…and you also gave me a reason to live. If you hadn’t enlightened me, I might still have given up everything.”

Hm…rather than a gun, I think it would be better to use a knife.

I reached behind my back and pulled out a military knife from my inventory. I don’t know who was managing this knife before, but the blade was very well taken care of.

“You are my precious savior who taught me the meaning of life.”

I approached Elizabeth step by step.

She was still looking at me, but fortunately, she didn’t notice anything strange.

Our distance was getting closer and closer.

About 1m apart. Enough to even see the small facial movements.

She looked me in the eyes and spoke.

“So…the life that you saved, you can take it if you want.”

Elizabeth said with a big smile.

And then, I stared at her face for a while.

For some reason, my excitement suddenly cooled. I didn’t feel like it would be much fun to kill this woman anymore.

I secretly put my knife back into my inventory and reached out my hand.

“Don’t say something weird, just return my gun.”

“H-huh?”

Elizabeth gave a puzzled look. Then I snatched the gun from her and turned around.

Looking up at the sky, the sun was slowly setting. There won’t be any pork cutlets left if I don’t head back quickly.

“W-wait!”

I heard a voice from behind me, but I just ignored it.

Nevertheless, she persistently said what she wanted to say.

“Y-you said it a while ago, didn’t you? It’s up to me whether I want to enjoy my life or not…S-so I’ve decided. I’m going to pay you back for your grace.”

“…”

“F-for a child as great as you, there still must be something else you need. Maybe you don’t need anything from me…B-but I’ll try every day to be a person who can be of help to you.”

I turned around. I wondered what nonsense she was talking about, but her expression showed that she was very serious.

I’ve always known that the witch wasn’t normal…but it seems there’s been a problem since she was young.

It was such a ridiculous proposal that I laughed in vain. What kind of thinking process does one have to have to say something like that?

“Nuna, do you even know me?”

“No…I don’t.”

“Then, what do you think I’m going to do?”

“Whatever it is. I don’t care.”

“What if I become a villain worse than your uncle?”

“I’m sure that won’t happen, but…If it does, I’ll help you from the side. My decision to be of help to you is my own choice.”

“…”

“So…Just let me be your shadow.”

I looked her in the eyes. It’s not the expression that existed a while ago.

Naturally, there was still a childish side to her, but nonetheless, maybe because she has killed a person since then, but she feels more useful now.

Hmm, never mind. I can’t risk not knowing when she’ll betray me.

At that moment, in front of my eyes a new message came to mind.

[The effect has activated.]

[Elizabeth’s favorability has risen.]

[The level of favorability has reached a certain level.]

[You’ve met the requirement to recruit ‘Elizabeth’ as a companion.]

[Companions cannot betray you once they’ve joined your party.]

I was wondering what was wrong with her. Was it the effect of ? Then everything would make sense.

Recruiting teammates…

I thought while slowly observing her again.

Either way, it was too much to deal with the demons alone.

So I thought I would try to collect heroes who will become promising stars in the future whenever I have the chance…

And to be honest, in terms of talent, there is none like the witch.

Also, there was that.

— Companions cannot betray you once they’ve joined your party.

Her biggest flaw will have disappeared if this is the case.

And there would be nothing more reliable than if the insidious witch, whose thoughts are impossible to read, becomes an absolute ally.

“D-did I say something weird? That…W-what I meant by shadow…It’s a figurative expression I just thought of…”

Elizabeth’s face turned red as she rambled to herself.

When I saw that, I had a thought.

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This will be a stepping stone towards the final content.

And so, today I got a witch who will grow into an SS-class in the future as a companion.

== Translator’s Note ==

1. Some skills and items’ names will be kept as KR/CN because there’s no English equivalent.

2. Please report any typos, grammatical/spelling errors, sentences you find weird, and other etc…in the comment section.

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