episode_0069

69. Dung Flies.

Greed follows what shines. Both humans and insects are fascinated by what is bright and brilliant.

In that sense, there wasn’t much difference between humans and insects. At least, not for Johann.

Crack! Pa-ba-ba-ba-bak!

Johann’s Magic Missiles battered the dung flies flying towards the car center.

Each individual’s power rivaled the sword strike of a top-level swordsman. Dozens of such attacks were pouring in. Who could resist that?

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. Could it be her? Sadly, it wasn’t. The owner of the presence wielded a weapon.

Clang!

It was too weak to be her attack, and if it were Sarah, she wouldn’t have attacked Johann.

“You, who are you! What did you do to my comrades! Tell me!”

“······.”

Johann didn’t answer. He simply stretched out his finger without even turning around.

Pa-ba-ba-bak!!

“······Keugh!”

He heard the attacker’s groan. Not dead yet. Johann finally turned around and approached him. And asked.

“What did you bring out from inside?”

He was in a miserable state. Both knees were dangling powerlessly, and there was a large hole in his right arm. The only usable limb left was his left arm.

“Go, go fuck yourself. Do you think I would tell you that so easily······ Keoeoeoeok!”

Crack!

Even his remaining left arm lost its original function. Johann said in a mechanical voice.

“Next is the neck. Or maybe the glabella.”

“Heo-eok, heok, ple, please! I’ll tell you!”

“Do it.”

The man paused to catch his breath, and when Johann raised his hand, he hurriedly spewed out words.

He seemed so desperate that he even choked in the middle. Johann kindly poured dew on his face.

“Eopu-pupu! Keok, you’re so kind.”

“Stop with the nonsense, you said you deal with parts that can upgrade the car’s functions?”

“Ye, yes! And I’m selling food too!”

“How much is it?”

“Uhh, that’s······.”

Ppeo-eo-eok!

A Magic Missile, deliberately weakened, struck the man’s cheek.

The man screamed, complaining of a tingling pain. He looked very aggrieved.

“Ah, shit! How am I supposed to remember! Do you think I’m a genius!”

“There’s no way you can’t remember something that simple······ Hmm.”

Johann was about to say something absurd but stopped. Come to think of it, it’s understandable.

Not everyone has the same characteristics as him. Johann felt a slight pang of guilt. It was such a faint emotion that it quickly faded.

“Okay, whatever. That’s fine. Here.”

“······?”

The man’s eyes widened. He looked at Johann with an innocent expression. Johann’s brow furrowed.

“Why are you acting like you don’t know? Was your etiquette education lacking?”

“······Shit. Are you even going to let me live?”

“If I say that, can you believe it?”

“Shit, how did it come to this······.”

He shook his head and took out various items from his inventory. Bread, jerky, vegetables, vitamins, cheese······ etc.

There was some food, but that wasn’t the important part. The next item that came out was important.

It was similar to a glass marble. Inside, a sleek car part was miniaturized.

It felt like a snow globe decorated with mechanical parts instead of snow or a Christmas tree.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

Johann and the man stared at each other for a long time. Johann decided to show mercy.

“Alright, I’ll let you go. Go.”

“······Wh, really?”

“Do you want me to kill you that badly? If that’s your wish, I’ll grant it.”

“Ah, no! Thank you! Haha! Thank you!”

The man smiled foolishly and turned his back. He didn’t know how he was going to navigate the hell on earth, but he would figure it out. Johann thought so and turned his head. At that moment, he felt a strange sensation behind him. Johann’s brow distorted.

‘I spared him, and yet······.’

Johann rapidly gathered his magic power but stopped.

Puuu-uuk!

A dagger that flew from somewhere grazed Johann’s ear. It was simple, but it drew a fast straight line and pierced the man’s glabella. Johann didn’t bother to look back. He had no doubt about her skills. He gave a gentle smile.

Sarah smiled back. It was faint, but Johann could feel it.

“Let’s go now. You’ve worked hard.”

“Yes. You’ve worked hard.”

Pu-hwa-aak!

“Eopu! Twet! Are we finally leaving?”

Deok-su, who popped out of the ground, responded, shaking off the dirt from his tongue. He was resting in the sanctuary that Johann had prepared through a Dig spell.

Sarah said while fixing her gaze on Johann.

“Let’s get out of here first. It’s not suitable for driving the car.”

“Understood.”

“Ooh! Finally!”

In the next moment, they quickly left the car center. Johann’s physical abilities were terrible, so Sarah slung him over her shoulder and ran. Thanks to that, Johann could watch the rear. The posture was a bit awkward, but it was practical.

‘There’s no need to kill them all.’

As Johann and his party began to leave the car center, players emerged one by one. They were people who had been watching the group’s every move. Johann decided not to bother cleaning them up. After all, this trial is not a killing game, but a racing game.

Before long, they arrived in a sparsely populated area. Sarah had a calm face, and Johann was also neat. Only Deok-su was panting.

“Heok, he-eok! It’s, it’s freaking hard! My thighs feel like they’re about to burst!”

“······I’ll take it out.”

Sarah ignored Deok-su’s grumbling and opened her inventory. Soon, she took something out. It was a glass marble with a small car model inside. She threw it to the ground.

Clang-!

At the same time as the unpleasant sound echoed, a cold metallic sound was heard. They moved fluidly, forming a shape as if they were engaging in a fierce mating ritual.

What was eventually completed was a familiar appearance. The sleek design and smooth gloss made the elegant curves stand out even more.

If a flame were shaped into a sports car, would it feel like this? Even Johann, who wasn’t very interested in cars, was slightly taken aback.

However, Deok-su was different from Johann. He spat out foamy saliva from his thick lips and made a fuss.

“Ooooo! It’s, it’s freaking awesome! I’ll, I’ll, I’ll drive! Just leave it to me!”

Sarah pulled out her longsword and cut away Deok-su’s saliva one by one. It was a rapid sword strike that unconsciously triggered [Acceleration].

“······Go ahead.”

“Oooooooo!!!”

Taat, Deok-su jumped into the driver’s seat as if flying, even though there was a door. He shouted towards the passenger seat, excited like a child.

“Then! We’ll depart!”

“Yes.”

Vrooooooooom-!!!

The sports car departed with an exhaust sound like a monster roaring. For reference, this was a two-seater. So Johann and Sarah were sitting in the passenger seat as if squeezed in.

In the first place, Johann wasn’t very muscular, and Sarah only possessed superhuman strength, and her frame was slender. They were able to get in somehow. Suddenly, a question popped into Johann’s head.

‘Why did she bring a two-seater car? Weren’t there any five-seaters or four-seaters?’

She’s not an idiot, and it was obvious that this situation would occur if three people rode in a two-seater. Johann didn’t quite understand.

Well, it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable. So Johann quickly erased the question and enjoyed the fluttering wind. It was the first high-speed drive he had ever experienced in his life. It wasn’t a bad feeling.

At that moment, something suddenly popped out from the side. It was Sarah’s hand. Between her slender fingers was a fluffy-looking bread.

“······Did you purchase it?”

“Yes. Please eat.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Johann bit into the bread she gave him without saying anything. It was a soft cream bread. It was Johann’s favorite type of bread. He liked cream bread with 100% animal cream. He had once mentioned it to her in passing, but could it be?

‘Hmm, probably not. There’s no way she’d remember that.’

It was a topic that he briefly mentioned when eating at the ‘Giant Rose’ inn on the first floor. What’s your favorite food, what’s your hobby······ etc. It was just simple small talk. Johann decided to dismiss it as a coincidence. Such meticulousness didn’t suit her.

“Deok-su, please have one too.”

“I’ll eat well!”

Deok-su shouted cheerfully and stole the bread from her mouth with his teeth. So, they had a light meal while speeding through the wilderness.

‘There aren’t many people.’

They had been holed up in the car center for quite some time. They would have to drive quite a bit further to catch up with the leaders. Johann wasn’t particularly worried.

‘She said I can buy car parts or passenger cars using gold.’

Johann had transferred most of his gold to her just before entering the battle. Johann trusted her enough and believed that she would buy a car with decent specs.

‘She’s definitely getting her money’s worth.’

The speed of the passing scenery is incomparable to before. It felt like they would find the leader soon.

Vrooooooooom-!

They sped through the wilderness for a while. How long had they been driving when Sarah said from the side.

“There’s a player ahead.”

“I see.”

Up until that point, he didn’t have any thoughts. However, after a while, Johann smiled slightly at her next words.

“They’re gradually slowing down. I guess they want to take this car.”

“Our car is definitely flashy.”

Johann slowly gathered his magic power and said to Deok-su.

“Deok-su. Speed up a little.”

“Yes!”

Vroa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ng!!!

Foolish fish bit the bait. They, the skilled fishermen, had no intention of missing the big catch they had set their eyes on.