Chapter 8: My Sword…

Shuffle, shuffle.

It might have been the shape of a person.
At least, until I saw it from the front.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at its truly remarkable appearance.

“Grrrrrrrrrrr…”

Patches of flesh were missing here and there.
Beneath the skin, bluish muscles bulged in and out.

Its arms and legs were twisted at bizarre angles, making me wonder if they were even human joints.
Ah, it wasn’t human.

A common monster, a ghoul?

[Ah, f*ck.]
[Hurry up and turn on the monster filter.]
[Damn, I was eating chicken;]

But for that, the viewers’ fuss was considerable.
Just a moment ago they were complaining that they couldn’t see, and now they wanted me to cover it up.

Of course, I understood their feelings to some extent.

-Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click.

A sound of something hard constantly clashing came from the monster.
It was the kind of sound born from the creature constantly moving its jaw.

-Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click.

But for it to be just the sound of teeth, it was overlapping indiscriminately.

I roughly counted the number with my eyes.

[How many are there?]

“Hmm… I wonder? About 8?”
First, one on the face.
Another on the empty crown of its head.
And one on each palm.
Its two thighs and stomach were also clicking away.

Focusing my hearing, there were 8 similar but different sounds.
There was probably one more on its back.

The monster before my eyes had a whopping 8 mouths.

They opened and closed at will.
The lips had long since worn away, and saliva of different viscosities dripped down.

Some mouths were filled with sharp fangs, while others just showed off dark, blackish gums.

A rather disgusting sight.
Shivers might have run down the viewers’ spines.

[Please turn on the filter ㅠㅠ]
[It’s still f*cking gross even after seeing it for a while..]

“Looks like a rare friend, huh?”

[More than 6 mouths is a real rare mob.]
[That’s because no one intentionally tries to meet them..]
[F*ck, this is why you don’t use fire.]

“Fire? Is this the problem?”

At a viewer’s chat, I waved the torch I was holding back and forth.

“Grrrr…”

Then, the creature’s dull and faint eyes moved back and forth, following the flame.

“Ah… so that’s why. But wouldn’t it be the same with a flashlight?”

[No no no no no no.]
[What do you even know?]
[Monsters are only aggroed by heat.]

“Okay, okay. I get it all. So stop now! Anything more is a spoiler. My broadcast is a real adventure from the very beginning.”

[lol]
[What do you mean, after asking everything you wanted to know lol.]
[I’ll see how long you keep up the concept.]

“It’s not a concept, I’m serious. If you go to my broadcast community, I’ve posted a monster bestiary. Please read it and give it a thumbs up! Of course, right now there’s only one Chain Wolf.”

[What’s a Chain Wolf?]
[How is having only one a bestiary? I really don’t know.]

–Shing!

Enough with the chatter.
I drew my beloved sword.
Today, the blade shone with a bluish tinge, matching the moonlight.

I naturally aimed for the monster’s neck.
The monster, unaware that it was about to die, continued its meaningless clicking.

“Let’s see…”

To get a rough idea of the danger, I picked up a pebble from under my feet and gently threw it.

The pebble flew accurately towards the creature’s mouth, or rather… the main snout on its face.

–Crunch!

Soon, a cheerful sound was made, and the monster chewed on it and swallowed it.

“Wow…!”

[Wow lol.]
[It’s a dangerous one, hurry up and run while you still can.]

A dangerous one.
Hearing that made my blood boil even more.
Should I say a knight’s fighting spirit was ignited?

–Slice!

In the blink of an eye, my sword strike exploded, and the creature’s left wrist fell to the ground with a thud.

I have no excuse for why it was the wrist, but anyway, I succeeded in cutting it for the first time.
Even so, the cut surface was bumpy.

“Ooh…”

Black blood dripped down the sharp blade.

Was this the legendary ‘hand-feel’ I had only heard about?
The part that got stuck in the middle was a bit disappointing, but it was still a satisfying experience nonetheless.

[So clumsy lol.]
[The sword is wasted on her, f*ck.]
[It’s not too late. Switch to a mace.]

The atmosphere in the chat wasn’t too bad either.
Since combat would take up a large portion of my future broadcasts, it could be considered quite a good sign.

The problem was—

“Huh?”

–Crack!

With a bizarre joint sound, a new hand began to sprout from the creature.

[This is a real rare one, isn’t it?]
[Wow, a special individual, that’s insane lol.]

Beyond just regenerating, its skin started to get tougher each time the process repeated.
The more it fought with me, the more it was evolving.

-Thud!

“Ah.”

In the end, by the time it happened about 5 times, I could no longer cut it.

“Grrrr… hehehehehehe…”

Did it realize my attacks weren’t working?
A sound like it was mocking me leaked from its mouth.

Between its widely torn lips, a greenish liquid dripped.
It looked as if it was licking its lips.

Then—

–Grab!

“Oh my!!!”

Something grabbed my ankle tightly.
I let out an uncharacteristic scream at the unexpected surprise attack, and my vision shook back and forth.

[Fck fck fck.]
[Warn us before you get surprised, you btch;]
[Ah, my heart hurts..]

The one that surprised everyone was…

“…a hand?”

It was the hand of the monster I had cut off earlier.

Its fingernails had grown long, and white bones were visible.
The creature was grinding its teeth, trying to chew on my ankle.
Of course, it couldn’t even leave a scratch on my body.

“As if… you could!”

I hastily shook my foot to get it off, then grit my teeth.

–Smash!

At the same time, I stomped on it.
Perhaps because I put a little bit of sincerity into it, the ground sank a little, and I felt a somewhat mushy sensation.

[Ah, please, the filter.]
[What kind of strength is that lol.]

When I lifted my foot, there was nothing but a blackish liquid to be found.
It was cleanly crushed, so it probably couldn’t even think of regenerating.

The shoes I had bought along with the sword were soaked and dirty.

“It’s been a while since I met a friend who’s a real monster.”

But far from being sad about it, a bright smile began to spread across my face.

“This is what makes hunting worthwhile.”

To be soaked in the blood of monsters, to roll around in the mud.
I prefer armor stained with battle scars over clean armor.
Because that was a true adventure.

“Graaaaaaah…!”

A monstrous cry erupted from 8 mouths.
The monster strode towards me, closing the distance.

I had no reason to back down either.
No, if anything, I accelerated and ran forward.

The creature opened all its maws wide as if to welcome me.

“Eat… this!”

I expressed my gratitude for its grand welcome and thrust my sword.
Into the large mouth on its stomach.

Stab, the sword went in quite deep, passing cleanly through the creature’s body.
Despite its rough exterior, the inside of its mouth was so soft.

“Geaaak!!”

Screams came from two mouths, while drool still flowed from the other six.

Whether it had some leeway or not, the creature clenched its two mouths and held my sword from the front and back.

“Wow, look at this one.”

[Isn’t this f*cked?]
[You can’t beat it with a sword.]

The creature seemed to have no intention of letting go.
Its grip was like that of a crocodile, or perhaps even stronger.

“…Wait a minute.”

That was the problem.
A crunching sound echoed in my ears.

“You crazy son of a b*tch!!!”

I quickly pulled out my sword.
Ugly teeth came out with a craaack.

The sight that met my eyes next was extremely gruesome and tragic.

The blade was bent, and teeth were embedded in it everywhere as if to cut off its life.
A beep- sound played in my head as if my heart had stopped.

“Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah…”

[She’s going dark ㄷㄷ]
[lol]

“Ah!!!”

This time, the one who screamed wasn’t the creature, but me.

My treasured sword, which I had bought by selling everything I had, and which I had planned to fill with affection and memories.

The journey with that beloved sword had come to a truly futile end.

“Die!!!”

I lost my reason and rushed at the monster.

The hand that held the sword was now empty, and instead, something hot and heavy rose up.
Without me even realizing it, my emotions, my fist flew first.

“Guek!”

Struck squarely in the face, the creature was thrown quite a distance back.
But the attack didn’t stop there.

“Die! Die!”

I got on top of the creature and relentlessly threw my fists.

Thud, thud sounds echoed repeatedly, and-

“Save me…”

-a clumsy imitation of a human voice burst out about a minute later.

Before I knew it, its face was impossible to recognize.
Whether it judged regeneration to be meaningless, no new flesh sprouted.

“Save…”

That was the monster’s last word.
Its breath cut off, the creature could no longer move.

[She beat it with her fists lol.]
[I will never mess with her again..]