Chapter 39 The Submissive Wolf

“It seems she’s not really sleeping.”

An Se-ah collapsed.
At first I thought she was sleeping, but it doesn’t seem like she’s sleeping.

She must have been knocked out by the Ice Golem.

Otherwise, there’s no way she would be lying face down in a corner like that.

Moreover, I was slightly worried if she might be dead.

But that didn’t seem to be the case either.

It’s subtle, but I can see slight movements indicating she’s breathing.

“Sigh.”

After rushing off so confidently, to end up like this.

I’m starting to feel a bit dumbfounded in this situation.

But I’ll save such complaints for later.

“Shall I take care of that first?”

Now was not the time to worry about An Se-ah.

The Ice Golem in front of me now, I need to deal with this guy first.

I don’t intend to get distracted while facing a Red Gate dungeon boss.

Boom…

“Groooo.”

Just then, the Ice Golem recognized me and began to move.

I also drew my sword in response.

At this moment, I don’t particularly feel like I’m going to lose.

Perhaps if it were the past me.

Honestly, the past me couldn’t properly use the [Hero] skill despite having it.

Even with an EX skill, I struggled with just an A-class gate.

It would be right to say I couldn’t get a feel for how to use the [Hero] skill, and it didn’t fit me.

But. Now it’s different.

Now I have perfectly adapted to the [Hero] skill.

Every time I took down gates of dungeons one by one.

Every time I beat someone like the 6th ranked S-class Inquisitor.

The [Hero] skill, which originally didn’t suit me at all, now felt like it had become perfectly mine.

“Phew…”

I breathed in and gripped my sword.

And faced the Ice Golem.

It doesn’t seem like it’ll take long.

An Se-ah of the [Witch’s Temptation] guild.

A girl with the alias Explosive Wolf, the 9th ranked S-class expert.

Such an An Se-ah is a promising talent who receives more attention than expected, and her value is remarkably high.

A girl who inherited the genes of the SSS-class beast, White Fang.

Moreover, a girl who overcame all side effects of losing reason despite having the [Beast Transformation] skill.

A girl evaluated as the next-generation ace of [Witch’s Temptation].

A hunter who truly has both lineage and talent.

That is An Se-ah.

Because of that, such an An Se-ah has always lived hearing expectations and praise from those around her.

And An Se-ah also felt that was natural.

She never doubted that she was the best hunter in the world.

But.

‘Am I… weaker than I thought?’

An Se-ah collapsed.

She couldn’t help but feel depressed right now.

In the battle with the Ice Golem, An Se-ah was defeated and collapsed.

And quite one-sidedly.

In An Se-ah’s memory

The battle with the Ice Golem was… not even worthy of being called a battle, it was like hitting a rock with an egg.

Despite An Se-ah’s all-out attack, the Ice Golem was not damaged at all.

Yet she collapsed so ungracefully just from being grazed by the Ice Golem’s slight strike.

In this situation, An Se-ah felt so miserable.

An Se-ah now felt miserable about her weak self.

‘I thought I was the strongest in the world…’

In fact, An Se-ah had never had a proper battle until now.

She had always only subjugated A-class gates because her body would be strained.

And even that, she hunted only about once a month.

She had no opportunity to test her skills.

So a lack of knowledge about her own power arose.

And the disappointment coming from such ignorance was too great.

The difference in power was too obvious.

She is weak.

She was a being of little significance, less than expected.

‘It’s frustrating…’

Because she had thought she was the strongest until now, An Se-ah couldn’t help but feel wronged.

An Se-ah thought no one could compare to her.

She thought she was a hunter with the qualities of a hegemon.

But reality was harsh.

As harsh as the chill felt on her skin now.

Far from a hegemon, she wasn’t even the leader of the forest.

‘If I’m not strong, I have no use…’

For her who only pursued strength.

For her who learned the [Beast Transformation] skill to become stronger, not being strong is a very big mistake.

To the point of having no hope to live…

In nature, power is justice.

In the world of beasts, there exists the law of claws.

But… in that justice and law, An Se-ah was merely a loser.

‘I don’t want to get up…’

So An Se-ah didn’t particularly have any lingering attachment.

She had a little energy left to stand up, but her heart had long been broken.

She decided to meet her end at the hands of the Ice Golem without getting up…

She decided to just end her fate.

BOOM!

But, her life didn’t end.

No matter how long she waited, death didn’t come to her.

She only heard the sound of a massive earthquake.

Why doesn’t it come to finish her off?

An Se-ah concentrated her senses.

And she felt the sensation of someone fighting seeping through the tips of her fur.

“Ugh…”

As time passed and death didn’t come, An Se-ah gently opened her eyes.

And she could discover the reason why death didn’t come.

“Wow…”

An Se-ah now discovered Lee Si-woo fighting with the Ice Golem.

Every time Si-woo swung his sword, the Ice Golem was chipped away.

It didn’t fall despite her all-out attack, but the man before her eyes handled it too easily.

Slash.

So slowly.

Like sculpting, first the arms, second the legs.

Finally…

Even the core at the center of the golem.

Everything was blown away.

And soon after, the golem ceased to function.

After just a few exchanges, the Ice Golem became merely a giant chunk of ice.

‘Is he really human…?’

An Se-ah watched that scene continuously.

And she couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

That appearance seemed more like a weapon than a human.

There was no sense of biological limitations at all.

It was like a different creature, not a human.

It was to the extent that she felt awe at that strength.

Until being sucked into the gate, he would have looked like an ordinary human…

So the man she had treated like a fool was now stronger than anyone else.

To so simply handle a being she couldn’t do anything against.

The difference between herself and the Ice Golem was too obvious,

But that man clearly created a difference with such an Ice Golem.

‘Scary…’

Seeing that appearance, An Se-ah’s emotions soon couldn’t help but be filled with terror.

Instinctively, she couldn’t help but realize that man was very dangerous.

Overwhelming strength.

The only emotion that she, a beast, could feel towards that strength was fear.

She realized that compared to such strength, she was merely a puppy, and the fear felt at the tips of her fur reached her skin distinctly.

‘But why… is he coming this way…?’

The battle was over and the golem had fallen.

And the man’s gaze soon turned towards her.

An Se-ah felt the man’s gaze looking at her.

And she also felt that gaze gradually getting closer.

The man began to walk towards her with big strides.

With each step closer, An Se-ah felt her heart somersaulting.

The instinct of a beast.

In the world of beasts, it’s a world of strict survival of the fittest.

In that world, An Se-ah had never felt fear because she thought she was the strongest.

But seeing an opponent clearly stronger than herself, she was feeling a sensation of her entire body trembling for the first time in her life.

And.

‘Co-Could he be coming to retaliate against me?’

She couldn’t help but have an ominous feeling.

A scene from the past flashed through An Se-ah’s mind.

She recalled herself biting that man’s hand, ignoring him as insignificant, and running away.

Reaching that thought, An Se-ah couldn’t help but realize the reason the man was approaching.

She had touched the pride of the man who reigned at the top of the food chain.

She had made a mistake, so rudely and foolishly, to have her pride scratched by a mere dog.

So… the reason the man was approaching her now is simple.

To punish the insignificant beast that had wounded his pride.

To erase her thoroughly from this world.

‘Sa… save me…’

At this moment, An Se-ah had to live.

So, she just did as her instinct told her.

She carried out the best judgment as dictated by her beast instinct.

That was to submit and beg for mercy to be granted.

I defeated the Ice Golem.

And now I was approaching to check if An Se-ah was safe.

I was just going to ask An Se-ah if she was okay.

But.

No matter how I look at it, An Se-ah’s condition seems a bit strange.

“Kiiiing… I’m sorry.”

As I approached, An Se-ah trembled, and when I fully approached, she immediately lay down on the spot.

And slightly lifting her top with her hand, she showed her belly while sending me a pitiful gaze, begging for her life.

It was like the appearance of a herbivore just before being eaten.

“Please forgive me…”

But, I wasn’t going to do anything…

Why is she acting like this?