Chapter 11: Go, Next time we meet as not an enemy

KWAOOOOOOO!

Dust and debris flew everywhere.

The Hunters on the trembling ground had to cling to each other to avoid being blown away by the aftershock.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

The roar and gale continued.

The greatsword Hunter, at the forefront, braced himself, his sword planted firmly in the ground, and roared.

“Ugh!”

With his F-rank strength, he could only hope to survive this disaster.

The greatsword Hunter squeezed his eyes shut against the onslaught of dust and wind.

And then,

As the oppressive storm subsided, he slowly opened his eyes.

His vision was blurred with dust.

He rubbed his stinging, teary eyes and finally regained his sight, taking in the scene.

“…!”

Ashes.

That single word described the sight before him.

The goblins, except for a few that retained their shape, were reduced to ashes scattered on the ground.

Even those that remained were frozen in grotesque postures, as if caught in lava mid-scream.

Sizzle.

The greatsword Hunter looked up and saw the giant monster.

Embers fell from its mouth, as if it had just stopped breathing fire.

The greatsword Hunter, momentarily stunned, had to move to avoid the falling embers.

The giant monster’s eyes flicked down to him.

He flinched.

He froze, like prey caught in a predator’s gaze.

WHOOSH.

The giant monster lowered its head, looking at him.

The difference in their size was immense.

It seemed like the giant monster could crush him with a single movement.

“D-D*mn it.”
“Is it our turn now?”

The Hunters watched nervously.

The goblins had angered the giant monster and were reduced to nothing.

The Hunters, who had struggled even against the goblins, were no match for the giant monster.

They couldn’t read its intentions.

『…….』

The giant monster stood still, then moved its arm.

Its hand began to draw something on the ground.

The greatsword Hunter’s gaze followed the giant monster’s drawing.

-!%#&%$^#

It was clearly writing something, but he couldn’t understand it. Just like the words it had spoken earlier.

“This is….”

As the greatsword Hunter looked on in confusion, the giant monster opened its mouth.

『@!%@#$%@#%.』

“What?”

Again, he couldn’t understand the giant monster.

But thanks to that, the greatsword Hunter realized what the giant monster was trying to do.

“Are you….”

The greatsword Hunter swallowed.

“Trying to ‘talk’?”

THUMP!

The giant monster stomped the ground as if excited and nodded.

“Ah.”

The giant monster understood him.

The greatsword Hunter stared up at the giant monster in a daze.

“You understand our language?”

That meant the monster’s unintelligible words probably had meaning.

“Impossible.”

Monsters didn’t possess the intelligence for human-level communication.

He had heard rumors about some apex species, but this was the first time he had witnessed it.

It wasn’t an experience an F-rank Hunter should be having.

The greatsword Hunter couldn’t articulate his astonishment.

“H-Hey, what are you doing!”
“Run while the giant monster is still calm!”

The other Hunters shouted at the greatsword Hunter as the giant monster roared triumphantly at the sky.

“This is our chance!”

But the greatsword Hunter didn’t move.

His curiosity, overriding his fear of a superior being, rooted him to the spot.

It was the unique courage only a Hunter in this situation could possess.

“C-Can you understand me?”

The greatsword Hunter spoke again.

The giant monster paused and looked at him again.

“Oh, d*mn it!”
“You’re attracting its attention again!”

The other Hunters cried out in terror, but the greatsword Hunter didn’t avert his gaze.

“If you can understand me, let us out of here.”

The greatsword Hunter wanted to learn more about this giant monster, but he prioritized his frightened comrades behind him.

Many of them were injured by the goblins.

They had avoided the breath attack, but some were lying on the ground, unable to move.

This wasn’t the time to satisfy his curiosity.

The greatsword Hunter pleaded with the giant monster, which seemed to understand human language.

“Please understand our situation. We need to get them treated.”

The greatsword Hunter held the giant monster’s gaze.

The giant monster stared back.

And then, a miracle happened.

THUMP, THUMP!

The giant monster stepped aside, opening a path. The Hunters’ eyes widened.

“The giant monster, it made way for us.”
“Unbelievable.”
“How is this….”

The Hunters gasped, witnessing something they had never heard of before.

There might be undocumented cases, but as far as they knew, this was the first time a giant monster had made way for humans.

“…Everyone!”

The greatsword Hunter shouted at his fellow Hunters.

“Move quickly!”
“What?”
“The path is open! Hurry before it changes its mind!”

Before it changes its mind.

Those words jolted the Hunters back to reality.

They looked at each other, swallowed, and started moving one by one.

“Y-Yeah, we can’t just stand here.”
“We need to survive.”

The Hunters helped their fallen comrades and started escaping.

“Is this for real….”

The Hunters held their breath as they passed by the giant monster.

The giant monster remained motionless, but the Hunters couldn’t relax, fearing it might suddenly move.

“…We made it.”

But the giant monster didn’t move until all the Hunters had escaped.

The greatsword Hunter, the last one remaining, looked up at the giant monster and said,

“Thank you.”

All he could offer was gratitude.

“I don’t know if you really understand, but I’ll just believe you do. Thank you. You saved us.”

『…….』

“I’ll be going now. If there’s a chance… let’s meet again.”

The greatsword Hunter turned to leave.

The giant monster watched him from afar.

The greatsword Hunter glanced back several times, as if checking if the giant monster was following.

But the giant monster didn’t pursue him, not even after he disappeared from view.

---

“It doesn’t get through.”

Jo Sung-Il, now alone, looked at the words he had written on the ground.

-Nice to meet you.

He had written a simple sentence, but the greatsword Hunter hadn’t understood.

He had only realized that Jo Sung-Il could understand him.

“It’s not just spoken words.”

Even written words seemed to cause cognitive distortion for others.

“Then how did Han So-Yeon understand me?”

Jo Sung-Il tilted his head, then realized.

“I see.”

High-ranking Hunters could overcome the cognitive distortion and communicate.

“So it’s about rank.”

It seemed communication was only possible between individuals of similar rank.

Of course, he wasn’t on the same level as Han So-Yeon.

[Quest complete.]

The mission completion message finally appeared.

The Hunters must have reached a safe zone.

[Goblin subjugation complete.]
[Rescue of 30 or more Hunters complete.]
[Reward will be granted.]

Reward.

“Is this the reward you mentioned after I accepted the mission?”

It was supposed to be a palate adjustment.

“What is a palate adjustment….”

He didn’t know what it was, but judging by the name, it didn’t seem harmful.

[Palate adjustment in progress.]

The reward was granted before he could even speculate.

His tongue tingled for a moment, then returned to normal.

‘Is that it?’

He couldn’t discern any immediate changes. His eyes fell on his remaining energy.

[Remaining Energy: 12%]

“Huh?”

Almost all his energy was gone.

“W-What is this?”

Was it because he used Breath? The energy consumption was too high for a single use.

[Energy consumption will decrease as you recover components or increase your skill proficiency.]

“Tell me these things beforehand.”

But the unhelpful blue window only delivered its messages, ignoring his complaints.

[It is recommended that you consume food now that your palate adjustment is complete.]

It actually recommended eating after receiving the reward. Jo Sung-Il chuckled.

“I burned everything, so what is there to eat?”

Then, he noticed the goblins, not completely incinerated, but frozen like statues.

“Hmm….”

Growl.

He was hungry.

He reluctantly walked over and picked up a goblin corpse. The moment he put it in his mouth,

“No way, this is…!”

Jo Sung-Il’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but gasp.