TL : Swan
PR : Hayath
#004 Episode
Yohan focused on the sound of footsteps. Standing at the point where the rocks jutted out, he tensed his muscles as the approaching footsteps grew louder.
Step by step, thud-thud thud-thud—
He gripped the handle of the staff tightly. In his other hand, was a small bomb, that he had always cherished.
“Should I use the bomb, or try to block them with just the staff?”
Yohan had always relied on the advantages of his weapons to win the battles, as his overwhelming stats alone couldn’t crush monsters.
Bombs, arrows, bows, close combat—each weapon had its advantages. If none of these were suitable, he would resort to fleeing.
“There are four visible Kobolds right now.”
He glanced down to confirm the number. Normally, Yohan would look for openings while running away, but things were different now.
He was no longer the old F-ranked adventurer. He could now face the kobolds head-on without running away.
“Deceased bodies will be stored in the ‘Abyss’. Feel free to use the staff.”
As soon as he made up his mind, he swung the staff with all his might—
Thud! With a fierce sound, the staff blew away the Kobold at the front.
Bang!
The creature flew away like a severed thread. Its front bones shattered, and it convulsed intermittently on the ground.
“That’s unbelievable.”
The solid and sturdy staff was like a rock. To a small Kobold weighing less than 30 kilograms, it was to the equivalent of a traffic accident.
Kwang!
Seeing their comrade collapse lifelessly, the other Kobolds reflexively stepped back.
Empowered by his newfound confidence, Yohan closed the distance between them. “My body feels lighter, as if gravity itself has decreased.”
His truly awakened body was significantly different from before.
He struggled to adapt to the unexpectedly lighter body and staggered for a moment.
Kak!
The Kobold swung its battle axe without avoiding him. Yohan also didn’t dodge, but slightly raised the staff.
Ting!
A ringing sound echoed. The axe bounced off due to the recoil, and the Kobold staggered, its arms showing signs of numbness.
“What if I use the staff to smash them?”
He immediately put his plan into action. Spinning the staff like a hammer, he hit the Kobold’s chin.
Kojik!
With an eerie cracking sound, the creature’s figure disappeared. When he raised the staff, the Kobold’s head was scattered on the ground.
“Two left, huh?”
Raising his head, he saw the two remaining Kobolds trembling, preparing to escape. Even these relentless beings, who were not afraid to retreat despite their tremendous destructive power, were now filled with fear.
“Oh, the staff is too heavy!”
Yohan knew this and deliberately acted with exaggeration, pretending to drop the staff. He waved his empty hands proudly.
Ki-reuk!
Seeing him discard the dangerous weapon, the expressions of the two Kobolds changed. Without a rock-like weapon, Yohan seemed easy enough.
“Come at me! There are still things I want to test.”
Of course, he didn’t abandon the staff just to show off. Yohan was not foolish enough to be arrogant on a battlefield, where life and death were at stake.
[Species]
Rank: S
– Creates creatures with high stats. Strength is determined by their abilities from past lives.
It was a device, that was designed to receive a rare skill ranked at Grade 5. It seemed to be similar to the skill of a “Necromancer” who raises skeletons, but what kind of performance did it have to be an S-ranked skill?
“Analyze.”
He first examined the relatively intact Kobold’s corpse in front of him.
[Kobold]
Rank: F
Karma: 30
– A monster that enjoys tormenting enemies from birth. It killed and ravaged two people and slaughtered numerous herbivorous animals for pleasure rather than survival.
The Kobold indeed had a higher “Karma” than the limbless corpse. It was a suitable value for utilizing the Species skill.
Zing—
From the corpse, Yohan saw a peculiar ‘Gray’ light, visible only to those who could use the skill.
“This is the Species.”
Without hesitation, he cast the skill. As soon as he spoke, a subtle movement occurred within the staff.
Swoosh—
The lid opened noiselessly.
Like a living organism, the staff opened its lid revealing bandages, resembling the tentacles of a ‘Kraken’ in the dark.
Even though Yohan had directly cast the skill, he trembled at the eerie sight.
The bandages quickly wrapped around the corpse as if repairing it.
Then, the staff carried the repaired body inside.
After disposing of the corpse, the staff closed its lid on its own.
Its grotesque appearance left Yohan speechless. The Kobolds, who were about to charge ahead, also took a step back in fear.
“[The remains of 1 species are stored. ‘Magic’ stats are converted to ‘Deception’ stats.]”
The Magic stat had changed. This was also a stat that Yohan had never seen before.
Whoosh—Instead of emitting a faint blue light, the surrounding darkness absorbed the dark black energy, that seemed to suck in the surrounding light.
Even though it was his own energy, it felt bone-chillingly cold.
“It consumes a bit of energy every time I use a skill that increases stats, according to the number of species I can control.”
Although it served a similar purpose to magic, Yohan couldn’t increase this stat with personal effort in the past. However, it was now completely different. He could now increase even the stats in the domain of absolute talent.
Thud thud—
Someone stepped forward. It was a foot wrapped in white bandages.
Then, the being revealed itself.
Yohan’s half-dazed mind struggled to process the strange sight.
“M…Mira?”
Instead of the scaly and scraggy skin, its entire body was wrapped in white bandages.
Although the eyes should have been in their place, a blue glow replaced them, but the form was undoubtedly that of a Kobold.
Sniffle—Mira wiggled its nose and approached Yohan, kneeling before him in a submissive posture.
Mira’s attitude showed submission.
“Well done.”
After the initial surprise, happiness overwhelmed Yohan.
Though Mira was a tiny Kobold, its presence was far from small. He felt its determination, to smash anything before him if given the command, conveyed through his heart.
It was as if they were connected.
“Kill those two and bring them in front of me.”
Nodding slightly, Mira went towards the axe lying on the ground.
Although it seemed grotesque with its skin covered in bandages, it also appeared somewhat cute like a doll.
Kiruk kiruk—The two remaining kobolds exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.
They were undoubtedly of the same race, but Mira’s approach with hostility confused them.
Kirrr—
However, they soon resolved their minds.
Kobolds were a species born to torment and mock enemies.
The one who charges is the one who kills. That was the essence of their existence.
The Kobold with the axe rushed towards Mira. With a strong swing, it attempted to bring the axe down on Mira’s neck.
Pook—
However, the sharp blade couldn’t cut through the tough bandages. Instead, the axe got tangled in them.
Thump—Mira grabbed the Kobold’s arm, preventing it from escaping, and swung the axe casually.
Pook—Mira’s axe plunged into the Kobold’s neck.
The only difference was that one had an immortal body, and the other did not.
The creature spewed blood like a fountain, but it couldn’t move, only convulsing. It was clear that it would soon die, and Mira grabbed one of its legs and dragged it to Yohan.
“You really brought them.”
Mira, having dutifully carried out the command, went after the next target.
The last remaining Kobold trembled for a moment, then started running away in fear.
Despite being a monster driven mad by battles, it couldn’t withstand Mira, who slaughtered its own kind with bandages wrapped around it.
Whirr—
Instead of chasing after it, Mira forcefully threw the axe.
The axe flew in a circular path with tremendous speed.
Pook—The axe pierced the Kobold’s back.
The creature, running at full speed, was impaled by the axe and couldn’t stand up, only convulsing.
Thump—Mira grabbed its ankle and dragged it towards Yohan.
Both Kobolds were brought before Yohan in an instant.
Mira, kneeling in front of Yohan, seemed proud of its successful mission.
“Good job. Now go inside. See you next time.”
Stoak—
Without a sound, Mira entered the staff. Yohan imagined dozens of Mira’s coming out of the pitch-black staff.
A one-man army, capable of hunting without forming a party. Now Yohan had become a perfect hunter equipped with skills.
Twinkle—
He pulled out marbles from the bodies of the dead Kobolds. The sizeable marbles caught Yohan’s attention.
“Today, I didn’t even use a weapon. All pure profit!”
Except for the one handkerchief that was wasted before using the skill, he hadn’t used any weapons. Now that he had the staff, he didn’t need the handkerchief either.
He would have zero expenses and all the money earned would go into Yohan’s account without any waste.
“I’m dead, Mr. Mangle, please take care of me in the future.”
“Here!”
As he exited the dungeon, instead of the management office staff, someone else called out to Yohan with great fervor.
It was a middle-aged woman with tightly permed hair.
Seeing the heavily frowning woman, Yohan suddenly remembered an item he had collected from the remains earlier.
“By any chance… you’re my landlord, right?”
“Yes. You’re the client for the request.”
“Ah, yeah, I see. So, do you want this…?”
He took out a lottery ticket from his bag and flicked it. It was the only item with any value among the collectibles.
“It’s a 5th prize-winning lottery ticket. Would you like to have it?”
“Ugh, you smartass! Then, does that mean that I have to pay all of this reward money?”
The enraged woman stepped on the wheel that came out of the portal. Even after being faced with her fierce demeanor, Yohan didn’t bat an eye.
This was a sight he had seen dozens of times already. Money was one of the reasons he was afraid.
He burned a whopping 200! Two hundred!
“So, most people give up on finding them. Even if they find them, it’s not worth any money…”
“Who’s going to compensate me for this? What about my money?”
Suppressing the sigh that was about to burst out reflexively, Yohan took a deep breath. It wouldn’t be respectful to sigh in front of the dead.
“I even lost my deposit of just half a ban. I applied thinking you hunters would have something at least. I should have just kept the room and pretended I didn’t know!”
Her anger was quite justified. It wasn’t just a few pennies; it was practically a bolt out of the blue.
In fact, this was a situation that even the con artists couldn’t interfere with.
“Some even asked me to sell my organs for money. They said hunter organs were useless because of their toxicity.”
Yohan waited quietly for the aunt’s anger to subside. By the end of the ninth rage, one would finally give up.
“Sigh. Still, he was a nice gentleman to me…”
The aunt trailed off. What remained after the anger was a sense of regret.
“Oh, I have a will. Would you like to read it?”
She carefully unfolded the crumpled paper and handed it to him. The messy will was teary in various places.
She had lived as an extra all her life and now could finally rest. It was a life full of sighs, but now she could finally be at ease.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble. I caused nothing but trouble. I will go to my wife’s side.”
“There are so many spelling mistakes… The hunter pension will come out soon, so please be patient…”
He sneaked a glance at her reddened eyes. Yohan silently accepted the will once more.
“I’m sorry for being angry, Hunter Sir.”
“It’s alright. You showed your gratitude in the end, and that’s enough.”
Humans are endlessly weak and fickle. However, what couldn’t be hated was the process of feeling regret like this.
“Yes.”
As he calmed down the aunt and sent her away, a management office staff member approached, waving his hand with a well-timed appearance.
“You’re out early. It must not have been easy to find clues in such an old crime scene.”
“You came at quite an opportune time. Meeting the client is always awkward.”
“Hehe, how can I be so rude? Even if she’s the queen, she’s still the client!”
The staff member’s laughter was awkward, but it was a laughter that further emphasized his certainty of the situation.
“It’s alright. What do you want?”
“Did you handle the body well? As a special offer, we’ll add 20% to your reward today!”
The exaggerated body language of the staff member was irritating, but money was always the best medicine for all troubles. Earning 200,000 won with a brief ruckus was a profitable business.
Thud—
He put the staff on his back. The staff’s unexpected appearance made the staff member step back.
“W-What is this?”
“Is this your first time seeing a staff?”
“Did you get promoted to manager or something?”
Anyway, it was a strange remark. Show me your handkerchief. I have to move the body.”
The bewildered staff member spread the handkerchief while moving slowly. His expression showed that he didn’t know what was going on.
Yet, Yohan flipped the staff over onto the handkerchief.
“If you flip it like that, the body will be damaged!”
Ignoring the staff member’s cry, Yohan touched the list of bodies that appeared like an ‘Inventory Window’ in front of him.
Stoak—
A gentle breeze accompanied the body as it floated away. With the help of the wind, the body gently landed on the handkerchief.
The body touched the handkerchief like flower petals.
He handed the handkerchief to the dumbfounded staff member. The staff member shifted his dumbfounded expression along with the handkerchief.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yohan, are you some kind of medical examiner?”
