Chapter 62
"Hmm..."
With a strange floating sensation, her consciousness transfers elsewhere.
Ha-neul gasps for breath as she opens her eyes inside the capsule.
"Hah...!"
She had been logged out in an extremely bad situation.
No matter how strong Yor might be, his opponent was a monster over level 170.
At minimum, it would take someone like a Knights' Order Commander to even attempt fighting such a creature.
And she had actually been logged out while being chased by such a being.
While she could log back in after dying, Yor, being an NPC, could not.
If he died, he would be permanently deleted from the world. And that would truly be the worst outcome.
"No, no...!"
Anxiety crept up inside her.
Her heart started pounding heavily, as if she'd been running.
Just in case, she tried to open the capsule to reconnect, but of course, that was impossible.
Ha-neul had no choice but to wait three days.
Because of this, her anxiety only grew stronger.
She found it strange that she was this worried about a game character... but she couldn't help it.
After all, emotions aren't something easily controlled.
After fidgeting anxiously, she finally called Chae-rin, her sponsor and younger sister.
She knew the game character was injured, but could she check if Yor was in danger right now?
-What, really? Alright, I'll check right away.
Receiving the call, she agreed to Ha-neul's request with surprise.
At least now she could confirm the outcome.
But her worries wouldn't easily subside.
So she prayed to the night sky. Praying that he would survive safely.
*
Pak-! Kung-! Kwak-!
The advantage of fighting large monsters is that...
...their individual attacks are big enough to be predictable.
Though it's cunning, it can't add feints to its attacks.
With such a massive body, any attempts at deception would be immediately obvious anyway.
Therefore, its attacks are intuitive and clear.
Kwajik-!!!
... The disadvantage is that each hit is ridiculously powerful.
It can snap trees like twigs.
Even with my regeneration, taking a direct hit from those front paws might be fatal.
'...Still.'
I thought while dodging its attacks.
'This is manageable.'
It wasn't impossible to handle.
At least I could predict the attacks, and though they were fast, I could dodge them in time.
I could at least hold my own against this monster.
Of course, it wasn't easy. Each dodge felt like walking on thin ice.
Tak tak, my nerves were fraying.
Focusing all my attention on dodging was incredibly draining. My breathing grew heavier as fatigue set in.
'But this is nothing.'
Still, I smiled.
When I met it a few years ago, I couldn't even think about facing it like this.
Back then, I barely managed to wound its flank, but I nearly died in the process.
Compared to then, this situation was much better.
Whether it had gotten weaker or I had grown stronger, I wasn't sure. But it was definitely a good thing.
'The problem is how to attack...'
Fortunately, an opportunity came quickly.
"Krung!"
The beast suddenly turned its body and swung its tail like a whip.
It was an irregular attack chosen because its claws weren't working.
And that choice was somewhat correct. I couldn't react quickly since I'd been focusing only on its front paws.
The attack had an incredibly wide range to begin with.
'Too late to dodge.'
I hurriedly raised my spear. If I couldn't dodge, I'd have to block.
The next moment, that massive weight crashed into me.
Kwang-!
"Kugh!"
A groan escaped involuntarily. Even being its tail, the power wasn't negligible.
The tail swung like a whip was a lethal weapon in itself. Unable to overcome the mass, my body was sent flying along with the tail.
Whoong!
Still, the fortunate thing was that at least it wasn't as bad as taking a hit from its front paws.
And the tail was still just another body part.
Kuluk, blood flowed in my mouth. A sign of internal injury.
But I paid no mind, even coating my spear blade with the blood from my mouth.
What I desired was sharpness.
I wanted a blade hard and sharp enough to cut anything.
After completing the transformation, I swung my spear straight at its tail.
Seogek-!
"Krooooo!"
With a chilling sound, part of its tail was severed. A chunk about as thick as my upper body falls limply to the ground.
The amount cut wasn't much. Just about 2 feet in length.
I only cut off the very tip of the tail.
But it was definitely a serious wound. After all, a body part had been severed.
After injuries to both its right foot and tail, it quickly distanced itself.
Those golden eyes glare at me.
I spat out the remaining blood in my mouth and said.
"How about we keep going? I'm still good to go."
No, actually I'm not good at all.
I'm getting tired so how about we call it quits here?
Though my true feelings were the opposite, I couldn't show that in front of it.
The moment I showed weakness, it would pounce fiercely again.
I projected fighting spirit toward it while pretending not to be tired.
Many thoughts must be going through its head right now.
While such injuries probably aren't much to it, considering the creatures in the deep layer, retreating would be the right choice.
Getting prey would now cause more losses than gains.
"...Krung."
Fortunately, it was a rational beast.
It growled once then started walking back toward the deep layer.
I quietly glared at its retreating form.
"......"
As long as I'm in this forest, we'll probably meet again someday.
And there's a high chance we'll clash again. I hoped that next time I'd be able to prepare its memorial altar.
After it completely disappeared from view, I let out a small sigh.
"Whew..."
Somehow I survived. Now it was time to head home.
*
"...Ah! Yor!"
The first thing Yor saw upon returning was Chae-rin anxiously pacing near his cave.
She must have rushed over right after hearing Ha-neul's story.
She quickly trotted over to Yor and checked his condition. Then let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, I'm glad you're safe. When unnie told me your life was in danger, I was so shocked..."
"It was dangerous, but... I'm fine now."
Yor reassured Chae-rin with those words. Then Chae-rin's eyes briefly moved to something behind Yor.
"But... what's that?"
"Oh, this? A trophy."
Yor had brought back the Old Tiger's tail.
Though he hadn't won, it seemed too wasteful to leave it behind.
And this was also food in a way. A nutritious health food at that.
It's not just herbs that are medicinal in the deep layer.
Creatures steeped in demonic power like that one can themselves become medicine.
And being the lord of this forest, the Old Tiger would surely qualify as medicine.
'First time having tiger meat.'
Well, it should taste good. Yor thought this as he stuffed the tail into storage.
Since it was late, Chae-rin only confirmed Yor's wellbeing before leaving.
She was still recovering after all, so she couldn't stay long.
Three days passed.
This time Ha-neul visited his cave.
"Yor! You really are safe!"
"Ah, uh."
Kwak.
Then she immediately hugged Yor's body.
Even though she heard from Chae-rin that he was safe, she had been worried sick the whole time.
After all, hearing about it and seeing it directly were different things.
Whether due to those emotions or not, Ha-neul's actions happened without her realizing.
"...Um, could you let go?"
"...Huh? Ah!"
Fortunately that awkward moment didn't last long.
Ha-neul quickly came to her senses. Her slightly reddened face was visible.
She seemed embarrassed by her own actions too.
Come to think of it, she had never shown such an intense emotional change before.
'Well, I guess it means she cared that much.'
Yor thought this while smiling slightly.
Having someone worry about him like this for the first time, he felt both apologetic and grateful. At least it wasn't a bad feeling.
Anyway, this concluded the deep layer exploration.
Though it was dangerous, he had achieved his main objectives.
He was able to roughly gauge his abilities, and though not herbs, he got some healthy tiger tail.
Several more days passed.
The new moon came, and Yor endured Rage Mode B.
And the day after enduring the rage, he heard some new information.
The altar of Kimaris, ranked 66th, had been destroyed.
This battle had ended in victory for the Knights.
However, a 13-year-old Demonkin had appeared.
That Demonkin had killed 120 people including knights, adventurers, and civilians.
The nations had no time to celebrate their victory, as they had to prepare for the next demon's advent.