episode_0039

039

Fear.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

Fear is the most primal emotion that humans possess.

It is the irrational sensation of extreme anxiety, disgust, and fear that dominates the body in specific situations or towards certain objects.

The emotion of fear, deeply ingrained in the brain, heart, or genes, can be considered an essential element for survival.

Humans fear the dark, fear unfamiliar creatures, fear heights because they know that these things pose a threat to their survival.

Feeling fear is synonymous with feeling the threat to one’s life.

Therefore, it can be said that Mateo’s fleeing for his life was a very natural choice as a human being and a living creature.

After all, wasn’t he almost killed by that man’s hands?

The sound of blood dripping.

The red liquid staining the walls and floor.

The foul smell of blood and the screams of his comrades.

All of these memories from just the other day vividly resurfaced in Mateo’s mind.

The bleak memories of the past that he wanted to forget.

But the memories of the past had become like sharp thorns stuck deep in Mateo’s mind, refusing to let go.

He had almost managed to forget about it, especially after being rescued by Seong Yura, but he never imagined he would encounter that man again in this place.

Why of all places…

“Damn it, damn it.”

Mateo muttered curses under his breath.

The more he thought about it, the less amusing it became.

Wasn’t he someone who made a living off of people’s lives?

Having worked as a mercenary, he had taken countless lives and sometimes even instilled fear in others.

Mateo, who was once known as the “Grim Reaper” in the underworld, now found his current situation utterly ridiculous.

Fleeing without even considering fighting back.

Wasn’t it pathetic?

“Haah, hoo…”

Mateo gasped for breath intermittently, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his left hand.

He had run as fast as he could, fearing that the man might change his mind.

Thanks to that, he had managed to completely escape from Jinhyuk’s sight, but he had expended too much magical and physical energy.

Normally, Mateo would have calmly distributed his magical and physical energy and fled, but today was different.

No, he couldn’t.

Because he wasn’t the usual Mateo.

People who are immersed in trauma often exhibit behaviors that are different from their usual selves.

They may show severe anxiety symptoms, tremble uncontrollably, display extreme lethargy, or react violently towards others, among other things.

While these behaviors may seem irrational, trauma is often the cause of such actions, isn’t it?

Mateo, who had suffered from severe trauma beyond what he had thought, couldn’t make a proper rational judgment, fearing that Jinhyuk might still be after him.

But…

“Haah, hoo, now that we’ve come this far, we should be safe, right, Jojang?”

“…”

“Jojang?”

“…”

This time, he didn’t lose these kids.

It might seem absurd to consider a criminal who mocks and tramples on the lives of others as a comrade, but isn’t it a precious law even for beasts to protect their young?

Mateo, who had dreamed of being a hero in his youth and had a trauma of losing comrades from Villerante, perhaps unknowingly began to see them as comrades.

Although he now lived the life of a mercenary, Mateo once…

‘Why did I end up on this path?’

Suddenly, a memory from the past brushed through his mind.

In the past, with a hopeful heart, I enrolled in the hero training institution, but my lack of superpowers and fatal weaknesses in the battle against giant monsters made me a target for ridicule by my fellow students.

At that time, there were quite a few students who were immersed in the belief that superpower users were a superior race, almost like a chosen people, so being a non-superpower user like Mateo made him a target.

During a large-scale combat training session, I accidentally turned one of the students into a half-dead state, and after facing numerous criticisms and condemnations, I finally dropped out and wandered into the underworld.

When I committed my first murder, my heart was pounding and my mind was half-blank with fear, but now I felt nothing but indifference.

Guilt, heinous crimes, brutal murders – they all eventually dulled over time.

Mateo, who once dreamed of being a hero, had now become nothing more than a villain.

“Why are you like this, Captain?”

“It’s nothing.”

At the sound of Han’s voice, Mateo subtly regained his composure.

“How is Park Sooyoung doing?”

“She’s bleeding quite heavily, so she briefly lost consciousness. It seems like she’ll need a blood transfusion.”

“I see. In that case, we should probably head back for now.”

Park Sooyoung was in a state of unconsciousness, her head bowed deeply, with vivid bloodstains on her pants.

It seemed urgent to return as she appeared to have fainted due to excessive bleeding.

“Let’s regroup and head back…”

Just then,

“Oh, Captain?”

“Quiet.”

Mateo, holding a dagger at an angle, peered intently beyond the bushes.

“Growl, growl.”

Silently approaching like nocturnal predators, there were several blade-wielding wolf-like creatures hiding their bodies among the bushes.

“Grrrr.”

Baring their sharp fangs, they observed intently, ready to pounce.

“Is it a monster? It seems they’ve caught the scent of blood and come looking.”

The sight of these wolves, salivating at the sight of prey with flowing flesh, was truly unsettling.

Although Mateo was considerably weak in monster battles, having almost depleted his stamina and magical power, he could still handle such creatures.

Moreover, Han and Park Sooyoung were also present.

Han was a sturdy tank and sub-dealer, capable of taking down such monsters without much damage on his own.

As for Park Sooyoung… well, she was unconscious, so she wouldn’t be of much help.

“Tsk. There may not be many monsters in this forest, but we shouldn’t waste time here. If we delay, more monsters may be attracted by the scent of blood, so let’s quickly take care of them.”

“Understood.”

Han nodded in agreement.

“I’ll take care of those wolves, so Han, you watch over the unconscious Park Sooyoung.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Mateo slowly raised his twin swords.

He was a non-superpower user.

Having received little blessing in terms of superpowers and magical abilities, he was extremely vulnerable in monster battles.

To take down tough monsters with thick hides or special alloy armor, overwhelming firepower was key, rather than psychological warfare, offbeat rhythms, or sharp and intricate skills.

Even if a monster was pierced in a vital spot like a human, it wouldn’t die immediately.

Many monsters couldn’t be killed by blades at all, and even if they were, they could quickly regenerate or resist physical attacks.

But those wolves were different.

Even in a situation where both mana and stamina were almost depleted, these kinds of monsters could be easily taken down with a few slashes of a sword…

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“What’s this presence?”

A massive entity with considerable mass was charging towards them like a raging bull.

The blade-wielding wolves glanced back briefly before swiftly changing their pace and leaving the area.

Furrowing his brow, Matteo quickly commanded Han, “Prepare for battle, something is coming.”

“Yes.”

Avoiding the situation would have been the best course of action, but with Park Sooyoung unconscious, fleeing was not an easy option.

With no other choice, Matteo assumed a defensive stance.

And then, in the distance, a massive wild boar charging towards them, tearing through the dense trees. It was a monstrous creature with sharp tusks and a thick, rugged hide.

“A wild boar…?”

“No way, is that a giant horned black wild boar? I never thought such a creature would be in this forest.”

A giant horned black wild boar.

With sharp tusks that could pierce through prey and a sturdy hide that could deflect even bullets, it possessed the durability to withstand attacks.

Moreover, its size was akin to a living tank.

“Le-lead, that…”

“It’s getting annoying.”

It was safe to say the odds were not in their favor.

Matteo had once been humiliated in a school monster battle, where he was outmatched in every way.

To a powerful esper like him, the giant moving target was nothing more than a nuisance, but to Matteo, lacking in offensive capabilities, it was quite a troublesome opponent.

There was not enough mana left to pierce through its thick armor-like hide. Even if there were enough mana, it would take some time to hunt down such a resilient creature.

To easily bring down the creature, Matteo would have to set up a trap and then unleash a powerful psychic attack.

But at the moment, neither Matteo nor Han had that kind of firepower.

If only Park Sooyoung, who possessed massive firepower, were conscious, they could easily deal with it…

“If only I had brought Han and Park Sooyoung as a precaution, but when I actually need her, Park Sooyoung is…”

Glancing at the unconscious Park Sooyoung for a moment, Matteo quickly turned his gaze back to the black wild boar.

The black wild boar was panting heavily, staring intently at Park Sooyoung as if excited by the scent of her blood.

If left alone, it seemed like it would charge at Park Sooyoung any moment.

Unable to block its massive mass, Matteo was in quite a predicament.

“And on top of that…”

Matteo subtly spread his senses.

A few monsters were quietly hiding, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

They were not a significant number, and they were not particularly dangerous monsters, but attacking during the fight with the wild boar or after the fight could be quite troublesome.

Furthermore, they had to protect the unconscious Park Sooyoung while fighting.

Without the firepower to bring down the large wild boar in one go, they had to keep drawing attention away from Park Sooyoung to prevent her from being targeted.

Under normal circumstances, they would have had enough strength to deal with it and more.

But now, with their stamina and mana depleted, facing the black wild boar with unfavorable odds, the unconscious Park Sooyoung, the need to protect her, and the lurking monsters waiting for an opportunity…

Considering the overall situation, Matteo realized that escaping from this place was the best choice.

“…Using Han and Park Sooyoung as bait, I can easily escape.”

From the start, Han and Park Sooyoung were meant to play that role.

Spare parts attached to Matteo, who lacked offensive and defensive capabilities.

In case of emergency, Mateo knew that the meaning behind Sungyoo’s attachment was to use them as bait.

Mateo had a sense of camaraderie, but in a life-threatening situation and for the sake of the mission, he could make bold choices if necessary.

However…

– Oh, trying to run away?

– Just like bugs, you don’t have an ounce of loyalty?

– Go ahead, run away like a coward. Your comrades will either become idiots or die.

Why did memories from that time come flooding back?

The memories of running away miserably in order to survive alone.

“J-Jo, what should we do?”

“….”

Mateo casually glanced at Ihahn and Park Sooyoung.

If Mateo were to flee now, those two would surely lose their lives.

In Ihahn’s case, he wouldn’t easily abandon his colleague Park Sooyoung, so the probability of him staying behind with her and facing death together was high.

In that case…

“Ihahn, take care of Park Sooyoung. I’ll try to divert their attention as much as possible.”

“Yes? Oh, okay.”

Adjusting his face mask lightly, Mateo pondered.

They say you die if you do things you’ve never done before.

But was it because he had encountered Villerante today?

He didn’t want to run away alone like in the past, abandoning his comrades.

Of course, if it was a situation where he would definitely die if he fought, it would be a different story, but for now, it was a manageable situation.

He believed he could overcome this danger with Ihahn.

So he had to try.

He didn’t want to run away alone like in the past.

“Squeak, squeal!”

“Phew. Here it comes.”

The large horned black boar began to charge towards Mateo, its heavy body thudding on the ground.

Mateo raised his twin swords to face the black boar.

***

How much time had passed since parting ways with the unidentified villains?

‘He’s here.’

I lay flat among the bushes, peering cautiously at a cave.

That rugged cave seemed to be the dwelling place of the large horned black boar.

Following the footprints and trampled grass, I successfully tracked down the black boar’s lair.

‘Where’s the big horned black boar? Did it go hunting or something?’

I scanned the shallow interior of the cave with binoculars, but the black boar was nowhere to be seen.

Considering its large size, it couldn’t easily hide itself, so it was likely that it had temporarily left the area.

Should I just go into the cave and look for the Void Ring?

‘…Just kidding.’

I have no death wish.

What if I went in to find the ring and the black boar returned?

Facing the black boar head-on in a dead-end situation would be suicidal, so it was best to refrain from entering the cave until the black boar was killed.

‘The big horned black boar is so sturdy that it can withstand considerable firepower. That’s why… I brought all these.’

I fiddled with the various special arrows in the quiver.

The best way to deal with the black boar was with strong firepower! Overwhelming strength! Even a novice like me could easily hunt with the right tools.

Now that I knew the black boar’s lair, I could set traps in a distant location, lure it with blood packs, and everything would go smoothly.

Then, I could use magic scrolls, explosive arrows, clay grenades, etc., to bring down the big horned boar.

Armed with an excessive amount of powerful firepower, I was confident that I could take down the black boar.

Shall we start moving now?

“Alright, let’s first move to a suitable location to set up traps… Huh?”

Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of heavy footsteps, indicating a massive mass, was slowly approaching this way.

The movement of such a large mass that the ground trembled slightly.

As far as I know, there is only one creature in this forest that fits the description, the large horned black boar…

“Already back?”

I turned my head towards the direction where the footsteps were coming from.

And then…

“Grunt, eeee, grunt, grunt.”

Wasn’t it the large horned black boar dragging its bloodied body weakly towards me?

Its entire body was covered in blood.

One eye was missing, and a sharp horn was broken off. Its back, belly, legs, face, everything was full of wounds.

Especially, there was a dagger stuck in its side, wasn’t that the same dagger one of the villains used?

“Grunt, grunt, grunt…”

Thud.

Seemingly exhausted, the mighty black boar finally collapsed right in front of the cave.

It was struggling to breathe with all its might.

It seemed like it would soon run out of breath.

“Could it be that it fought with those villains?”

It seemed like it had caught the scent of the blood of the female mage who had been injured and chased after them.

Judging from the appearance, it didn’t seem like the villains would come out unscathed…

“They might have even died… There are other monsters in this forest besides that one.”

Am I going to end up like the one I killed?

I did injure the female mage enough to bring this black boar here.

“…”

I softly bit my lower lip for a moment.

I had prepared myself, but I didn’t feel good about it.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure if it had died, but still…

“Sigh, they were villains, right, villains. Just like with Kate, let’s not worry too much.”

I quickly organized my thoughts.

I may not have directly killed a person, but if it was a villain, I had mentally prepared for it.

So, let’s not be needlessly depressed.

“Anyway, let’s quickly deal with this boar and search for the ring.”

Since the scent of the black boar’s blood could attract other monsters.

Well, honestly, besides that boar, there shouldn’t be any other dangerous creatures.

“By the way, it’s fortunate that I can save a lot of items. The boar was taken care of by them…”

Hmm.

What can I say?

I went through various dangerous processes, but if I only think about the result, I didn’t receive a single injury, so maybe today’s luck is somewhat believable?