Ch.11Chapter 11. This Is Absurd

Quite unfortunately, a snowstorm had begun to rage on the snow-covered mountain.

“Huff, huff…!”

“Lin, duck!”

“…!”

At Lucy’s shout, Lin immediately bent forward at the waist.

With a sharp metallic sound, a blast of air pressure swept over his hair.

Had he not ducked, Lin would surely have been sliced in half at the waist, his upper and lower body rolling separately across the snow.

‘This development wasn’t in the DLC!’

It wasn’t just the succubus that was threatening to choke the life out of him.

The limitations of his stamina—better than an ordinary person’s but far from heroic—left him breathless.

They had been running non-stop since leaving Epfalterga.

When the succubus took Lucy’s strike and crashed through the doorway into the shop across the street, the sudden commotion drew people and guards.

“What in tarnation is going on!”

“Guard sir! Someone just flew through the wall over there!”

“Hmm? Aren’t you the one from yesterday…?”

After quickly hiding Lucy back inside his clothes and exiting the weapon shop, all eyes turned to Lin.

Making eye contact with the guards who had searched for him last night, Lin’s mind raced.

Something was off.

In the game, the succubus did seduce the porter, but she didn’t block the door, so he could have sneaked out backward.

That’s when the hide-and-seek was supposed to begin, avoiding the demon and secretly escaping the city. The proper chase mission would start around halfway up the snowy mountain.

But now, the succubus had blocked the door until an enraged Lucy struck her in the stomach, sending her flying far away.

The damage must have been significant, as the succubus still hadn’t emerged from the cloud of dust.

Lin’s mind was spinning.

If things continued like this, he could be captured by the guards, restrained, and left helpless to face the demon’s revenge.

Alright.

Lin finished his thought.

The strategy for certain victory was always the same.

Strike first.

Lin immediately contorted his face, trembled violently, pointed his finger, and caused a commotion.

“Demon! It’s a demon!!!”

“What did you say?!”

“Hey, you! Do you understand how serious that accusation is? If you’re just spouting nonsense—guherk!”

Before the people’s murmurs could subside, the guard who was about to interrogate Lin was impaled through the abdomen by the succubus who appeared behind him.

Red blood soaked the ground as the demon tore the guard’s body apart.

Everyone froze at the surreal scene.

“You…! You’re not just some pot-bellied nobody!”

With bloodshot eyes glaring at Lin, the succubus flicked the blood from her claws.

“And what about that woman? Magic power strong enough to send me flying… Is she some hidden hero?”

Lucy tapped his abdomen from inside his clothes.

Thanks to that, Lin, who had been frozen in shock, could move again.

“Eek! It really is a demon! A demon!!! We must light the signal fire!!!”

He turned around and shouted with all his might.

At that sound, the residents of Epfalterga snapped to attention, screaming and fleeing.

“It’s a demon!!”

“The signal fire! Light the signal fire!”

“Run, everyone!!”

As panic and chaos ensued, the succubus hesitated.

She wanted to chase after the two immediately, but if the signal fire announcing a demon invasion was lit, news would reach the archipelago within half a day and spread to the hero’s party.

That would mean she’d soon face pursuit from humanity’s strongest forces, the ones who had defeated the Demon Lord.

Should she chase the vermin who had humiliated her, or prevent the signal fire?

A dilemma.

In the midst of this, the succubus caught sight of Lin.

“Advanced: Shadow Following (Lv.8)”

As he pulled a scroll from the porter’s bag and tore it to cast the skill, he quickly dissolved into the darkness.

However, since Epfalterga’s streets were always covered in snow, leaving footprints was unavoidable.

“You little rats!”

Seeing him use a skill, the succubus became certain.

They must be members of the hero’s party or their associates.

If so, her existence was already as good as exposed to the hero’s party.

Judging that their communication would be faster than the signal fire, the succubus immediately chased after the footprints.

This was how they ended up in a direct chase without the hide-and-seek phase.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Lin was in agony.

He hadn’t been able to grab any cold-weather gear.

Sweat poured down his body from running like mad.

And the place he was running through was one of the snowy mountains in the frigid range.

He had entered the next map without any preparation.

Shiiiiing—!

“Coming from the left! Jump right!”

Twisting his body to the right like a ballet dancer, another metallic sound sliced through the air, striking down where he had just been.

If not for Lucy’s ability to sense presences, he would have died several times over.

Despite using an advanced skill to conceal himself, he was still defenseless and one misstep away from death, with no chance to reach into the porter’s bag.

“Damn it! If only Hunoni were here!”

No, if only his limbs were properly attached, he could have dealt with such a low-level demon himself.

But all of that was just wishful thinking.

“Stop now! If you quietly hand over that woman and your life force, I’ll at least spare your life!”

It sounded like she was right beside him.

When Lin turned his head while running, he saw the succubus running alongside him, staring right at him.

“Finally noticing me?”

The succubus’s long claws mercilessly pierced Lin’s shoulder as he recoiled in shock.

But even as a porter, Lin was still a member of the hero’s party.

“Got you.”

Firmly gripping the succubus with his shoulder muscles and hand, Lin used his other hand to search the porter’s bag and pull out a very thin glass vial, which he smashed against her claws.

Tssssssss

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The vial contained holy water.

And not just any holy water—it was premium holy water created through Saint Arsil’s prayers.

The holy water on her claws and hand burned the demon’s arm, sending up smoke.

The succubus kicked Lin away with a pain-filled scream.

After hitting a tree with his back and falling, rolling several times, Lin suddenly felt emptiness beneath his back and the ground.

“Again?!”

The place where the succubus had sent him flying was a cliff edge barely covered with snow.

Feeling the familiar sensation of weightlessness, Lin gritted his teeth.

“You bastaaaaard!!”

The demon’s roar grew increasingly distant.

Lin desperately curled up to protect Lucy in his abdomen.

THUD!

“Kugh…!”

Unfortunately, Lin’s body didn’t land on soft snow but crashed into a large black rock.

Lin exhaled a stale breath at the dull impact and hunched over in pain, tears streaming down his face.

“Where do you think you’re running! I’ll remember your blood scent!”

Move, nothing has been resolved yet.

“The moment I catch you, I’ll devour you until you shrivel up and die right in front of that hideous woman!”

Heat rose in his abdomen.

Lucy was enraged by the succubus’s provocation.

Both Lucy and the succubus were saying something, but the fierce snowstorm and pain prevented him from hearing clearly.

If only he had the art of teleportation.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to acquire more than two ultimate skills that surpassed the premium grade.

“Premium: Presence Concealment (Lv.Max)”

“Premium: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Lv.Max)”

Nor did he have an abundance of premium or advanced skills.

But this was no time to hold back.

If he died here, he couldn’t restore Lucy.

He had to fulfill at least his minimum role.

He erased his presence with a scroll and lightened his weight so he wouldn’t leave footprints in the snow.

Lin held his breath and lifted his knee.

Move.

Please move, I haven’t even cleared Chapter 1 yet!

“Kuhak!”

“Lin!”

But when he raised his head, he coughed up blood from his throat.

As he collapsed helplessly, Lucy pleaded with him.

“Lin, just leave me and run. If she knows I’m the hero, she’ll focus only on me.”

“I absolutely cannot do that…”

“Lin!”

“I will never abandon you.”

“Why? Why on earth…?”

Because without you, the world would be doomed from the start.

But beyond that reason, Lin didn’t want to abandon Lucy here.

He couldn’t understand why, but a stubborn refusal dominated him.

It was the most intense emotion he had felt in a long time, after being consistently calm throughout their journey.

“Kuhup! Kek!”

The coughing continued.

The blood wouldn’t stop, surging up relentlessly.

What injury could have upset his insides so badly?

His head was spinning.

His vision couldn’t find its center, swaying back and forth.

Lin collapsed again after taking just a few steps.

This was his limit now.

‘I’ll let you stay by my side like that.’

This was his limit now.

‘You can never close the distance between us any further.’

This was his limit now.

‘This position, this place is your limit.’

Is this… my limit?

‘Accept it and embrace it.’

Even if that’s true.

‘I’m doing this because I think of you as special.’

“If I say I will…!”

I refuse to accept it.

“If I say I’m going…!”

I said I would face you again as an equal.

“I will accomplish it…!”

Today was a strange day.

While the main plot progressed according to the game, the details were vastly different.

And now, even before the main story began, these painful memories that stirred his deadened heart had surfaced.

It was truly a strange day.

This agitated feeling within him refused to calm down today.

He rose to his feet.

He lifted his head and stared ahead.

His mouth was covered in blood, but he ignored it and opened wide to take in the cold air.

“Ha…”

Noticing something ahead, Lin let out a hollow laugh.

“How ridiculous.”

Even Lucy was left speechless at his uncharacteristic sarcasm.

A gaping dark space opened its maw before them.

Beside the cave entrance stood a small stone monument carved with a cross symbol surrounded by a halo.

It was the goddess’s emblem.

This cave was the place where the elixir to heal Lucy was hidden.

“Found it.”

But such unnecessarily perfect guidance was precisely what made it feel like a game.