Chapter 53: Hunter of the Wilderness #3

Chapter 53: Hunter of the Wilderness #3

A group of adventurers walked wearily through the wilderness.

Their foreheads were matted with salty sweat, and their faces lacked vitality.

“Damn it…”

One adventurer stopped in place, bent over, and gasped for breath.

Their tongue was so dry that they couldn’t even speak properly.

“Fuck, this is impossible. We’re all going to die if we keep this up.”

“It didn’t make sense from the beginning. Do you really think we can be faster than those bird bastards just by blindly chasing them?”

It had been a week since the adventurer exam began.

Many adventurers had lost their motivation.

The quick-witted ones had already given up on the exam and returned to Garden.

They were wandering the wilderness, regretting the time they had already spent, but they had no hope.

‘It’s not too late. Let’s go back.’

Giving up brings peace.

As the adventurers wavered before that sweet temptation.

“Huh?”

A faint shape appeared, pushing through the hazy sandstorm.

It was a pure white outfit, out of place against the brown earth of the wilderness.

As the shape drew closer, the adventurers squinted their eyes.

“It’s a priest… isn’t it?”

One adventurer muttered.

Priest Eden walked before them without a single drop of sweat, even under the scorching sun.

“May the blessings of Justitia be with you.”

Eden made the sign of the cross. The adventurers awkwardly followed suit.

“Excuse me, but could you tell me the way? Is this the correct path to Garden?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Thank you.”

Eden smiled, bowed his head, and then disappeared back into the dust cloud.

The adventurers gazed blankly at Eden’s retreating back, heading towards Garden.

“Wait, isn’t that Eden from the Solar Ministry?”

A late adventurer spoke up.

“Eden?”

“You don’t know? Isn’t he Michael’s comrade? But why did that guy come all the way here?”

The adventurer tilted his head, but none of them could provide an answer.

Priest Eden, the faithful servant of Justitia.

He was also famous for another epithet.

‘Merciless’ Inquisitor.

The adventurers felt a sense of foreboding.

***

It wasn’t just the incompetent adventurers who were struggling with the exam.

Mitchell was keenly realizing her own shortcomings.

“Augh, shit.”

Half of the scheduled exam period had already passed.

Despite diligently tracking the Nitro Birds without slacking off, there had been no results.

Her legs were just sore from running so much.

“It’s not easy.”

Mitchell took pride in her legs.

No one had ever been faster than her before. Whether human or elf, if Mitchell decided to run, she could outrun anyone.

However, Mitchell’s speed was exceptional among people.

In the face of an outlier creature like the Nitro Bird, Mitchell’s pride in her speed was meaningless.

“Sniff, sniff.”

Mitchell sniffled. The temperature difference in the wilderness was truly brutal.

During the day, the entire land heated up like a furnace, but at night, the temperature dropped instantly, making her shiver to the bone.

Mitchell wrapped herself in a blanket like a cocoon.

Her body was already cold, and swallowing the rock-hard hardtack only made her colder.

“I miss you, kid…”

Mitchell huddled her shoulders and longed for Estel.

She missed Estel’s warm and delicious cooking.

She missed Estel’s skill in effortlessly setting up a cozy camp.

‘Come to think of it, she’s been doing all the troublesome work until now.’

She hadn’t realized it until now.

She had taken it for granted. Mitchell’s ability to focus on hunting was solely due to Estel’s support.

‘When I see her again after the exam, I’ll have to treat her better.’

Mitchell vowed inwardly.

It wasn’t just Estel she missed.

Her comrades’ faces flashed through her mind. Even Wagner.

‘What is it? I wasn’t like this before.’

Mitchell was surprised by her own weakening heart.

Before meeting her party members, she had always been accustomed to being alone.

Spending the whole day without speaking a word to anyone, hunting alone, bandaging her own wounds alone.

Taking all the profits for granted, and squandering any money she earned at the gambling house.

That life had slowly begun to change.

She felt awkward about relying on her companions.

But it wasn’t as bad as she thought.

Sharing hardships, and sharing joys.

Mitchell realized that she could no longer go back to her old life.

‘I miss them. Everyone.’

A cold wind blew. Mitchell burrowed into her blanket, her teeth chattering.

‘Maybe tomorrow, I’ll look for my friends. Just for one day. You never know. We might run into each other somewhere by chance.’

***

Day broke.

It was time to tackle the Giant Worm.

I climbed onto the hill and looked around.

The skeleton monsters, lined up in an orderly fashion, waited for my command without the slightest movement.

‘This is not bad.’

My necromancy skills are not yet very high, so the quality of each monster is not outstanding.

The strength of the skeleton monsters is less than 30% of their strength when they were alive.

However, I plan to compensate for my lack of necromancy skill with the sheer number of them.

The number of skeleton monsters I’ve raised over a week is approximately one thousand.

“That’s amazing, Estel. I never knew telekinesis was such a powerful magic.”

Flora, who knew nothing, marveled as she looked around at the monsters.

By now, she should have noticed something strange, but Flora seemed to have no particular thoughts about it.

“Senior, just do as we discussed. Don’t step forward at first, and conserve your strength from the back.”

“Yes!”

“Then, let’s go.”

At my nod, Doggy No. 1 ran forward with a flag in its mouth.

Thump, thump.

The skeleton monsters began to move in unison.

Commanding such a large number is no easy task.

The doggy monsters, which had been herding monsters until now, were now assigned the role of relaying my commands and busily ran between the troops.

“It’s magnificent.”

It’s only a thousand skeleton monsters.

Yet, their majesty was quite impressive.

Flora and I climbed onto a skeleton mammoth.

‘If I hone my necromancy further, I’ll be able to command a much more terrifying army than now.’

I could already see the near future.

My future self, having gathered the holy relics of El, the goddess of death, and regained the power of a Lich that sends shivers across the continent.

I already know who possesses El’s holy relics.

One was originally mine, Estel’s, but now Michael, the Brave Warrior, must have it.

The scythe ‘Master of Death.’

And the other, ‘Star of Rest,’ must be held by the vampire queen Camilla.

‘I don’t have them in my possession now, but I will reclaim them all soon.’

When I first fell into this world, it seemed hopeless, but now I could see the path.

Just wait a little longer.

“Estel, we’re here.”

Flora’s words brought me back to my senses.

Next to the river flowing by the rocky plateau.

Monsters blocking the waterway were waiting for my command.

“Let’s begin.”

The doggy skeletons changed the flags in their mouths from white to red.

Dong- Dong-

In response to the signal, the Ogre skeletons rhythmically beat large drums.

Working together, the skeleton monsters destroyed the structure blocking the river water.

ROAR-

The blocked waterway burst forth all at once.

A torrent that swept away everything surged, and a portion of it flowed into the pre-constructed side channel.

Rumble.

The river water poured incessantly into the Giant Worm’s burrow.

-Kieeeek!

The young Giant Worms and parasitic monsters living inside the burrow floated on the water and flowed out.

It would be quite profitable to gather and process the corpses of those drowned, but now is not the time to be distracted by side matters.

“It’s coming soon.”

I stared at the entrance of the Giant Worm’s burrow.

Thump-

Thump-

The ground shook. As if an earthquake had occurred, something was twisting its body deep within the earth.

The prelude to the field boss that would appear soon.

“Estel!”

“Senior, hide behind me.”

Several layers of skeleton monsters overlapped to form a shield wall.

Flora and I hid behind it, preparing for the impact.

The next moment.

CRASH-!

Along with the rocky cave, the surrounding land was completely shattered.

A massive sinkhole opened in the earth, and the surrounding land and water mixed and poured into it.

And then, in the center, a colossal monster revealed itself.

-Kuoooo!

The Giant Worm.

As its name suggests, it is classified as an insect.

However, upon actually facing it, the word ‘mere insect’ did not come to mind.

It was a form like a wingless dragon, writhing as if to crush the earth and soar into the sky.

-Kro!

As the Giant Worm roared, the air of the wilderness trembled in unison.

As it broke through the burrow, fragments of rock that had flown into the sky rained down.

“Warning! Field Boss, the King of the Wilderness, Giant Worm, has appeared.”

With just the Giant Worm twisting its body, dozens of skeleton monsters positioned around it were blown away.

“What are you staring at blankly for? Attack!”

The battle began at my shout.

The skeleton monsters charged towards the Giant Worm like an ant swarm.

“C-can we catch this?”

Flora’s voice trembled.

I hadn’t fully understood it when I only heard about it, but seeing it in person, the scale of the Giant Worm was finally palpable.

“Yes. According to my calculations.”

I didn’t just spend a week constructing this for fun.

The Giant Worm is a creature that lives in dry, arid environments.

The large amount of river water poured onto it is like potent poison.

The surging river water not only dragged the Giant Worm out of its burrow but also depleted nearly half of its stamina.

‘This is what makes hunting enjoyable.’

Poisonous spines rained down from the Giant Worm’s shell.

Skeleton monsters charging at the front line fell like soldiers hit by bullets, and the monsters in the rear line advanced again, stepping on their fragments.

This place was truly like a battlefield.