Chapter 3
"My name is Sasuke. I'm a rogue ninja."
Leaving Pinkie, who was trying to work a nine-year-old to death in a potato field, behind, I was peacefully strolling through the forest.
It was a perfect escape.
By now, Isabel was probably gritting her teeth as she dug up potatoes, while Uncle Bob filled the sacks with a satisfied look. And I was carrying out the important duty of supervision!
It was a very important job, checking whether the potatoes were growing well and whether there were any dangerous beasts in the forest.
I was absolutely not playing around!
…Though I did feel a little guilty.
I walked slowly along the forest path.
Sunlight broke into fragments as it fell through the leaves, and I could hear nameless birds chirping.
[I, a Former Tower Hunter, Ended Up Farming??]
I had hardly ever seen a forest like this in the tower.
Whenever they called somewhere a forest, it was usually covered in poisonous herbs or filled with traps that went off if you took even one wrong step.
I was more familiar with screams than birdsong, and with the smell of blood than the scent of flowers.
But this place was different.
The birds above me were making a racket, as if they were fighting, while the breeze blowing between the trees was peaceful enough to make me sleepy.
Retirement is supposed to happen somewhere like this, you know?
Though, strictly speaking, this isn't retirement. Anyway.
Plant potatoes.
Eat potatoes.
Read web novels.
Ah. Web novels.
I suddenly remembered.
My side story….
I never got to finish it.
I was going to save the world first and then keep reading.
Hmm.
What a shame.
Dear author!
You didn't go on hiatus while I was away, did you?
That would be seriously unfair.
Actually, since that story is this world, maybe it doesn't matter!
It was then, while I was walking and thinking about all sorts of things, that it happened.
-Rustle
I heard something moving beyond the bushes.
I stopped walking.
A rabbit?
No, those footsteps are heavy.
A moment later.
A huge wolf with red fur emerged from the bushes.
It was as big as an adult man, with sharp fangs and eyes that glowed red.
It was obviously no ordinary wolf.
"Oh. Wolfy."
I had just come up with the name.
I didn't plan on becoming friends with it, but wouldn't it be easier to call it if it had a name?
"I look forward to working with you…."
ㅡGrrrroar!!
"So that's a no."
Wolfy kicked off the ground and charged.
Its enormous jaws came down over my field of vision.
But it was slow.
I tilted my head slightly, and its teeth grazed the tip of my nose before slicing through empty air.
"No manners."
Before I could finish speaking, its massive forepaw came crashing down toward my face.
-Thud!
I raised my arm and redirected the force.
The heavy impact traveled from my fingertips all the way to my shoulder.
"……”
Strong.
Or have I gotten weaker?
In the tower, that forepaw would have shattered my bones the moment it struck me.
Wolfy didn't stop.
It twisted its body and swung its long tail like a whip.
-Whoosh!
I ducked, and the tail swept over my head before smashing into the tree behind me.
Crunch!
A fairly thick tree snapped halfway and tilted to the side.
It has some strength.
Wolfy charged again.
This time, it attacked with its forelegs, fangs, and tail.
They all moved almost simultaneously.
What the hell is that? How does it even move like that?
Would that be considered obeying the laws of physics?
An ordinary person would have wondered which attack to dodge first and been bitten before they could decide, but I wasn't ordinary.
I drew in a short breath, and my field of vision widened.
I could read the direction of every movement in its gaze and muscles.
Ahaha!
My body is weaker, but my senses are intact?
Something about this situation is hilarious.
I stepped to the side, and its jaws sliced through empty air.
I ducked half a beat later, and its forepaw grazed my hair as it passed.
I immediately twisted my body.
The swinging tail missed me by a hair.
The smallest movements and simplest motions were things I had repeated countless times in the tower.
"Now it's Rowoon's turn!"
I slipped into its guard in an instant.
Before Wolfy could open its mouth again, I formed a knife hand.
I don't need a sword.
Only my body has gotten younger. My techniques still belong to me.
-Thrust
My fingertips pierced precisely between its ribs.
The shortest path to the heart.
In the tower, ogres, wyverns, and even dragons had all gone down from this one blow.
Well, the dragon part is a bit of an exaggeration.
But then.
"…Hm?"
My fingertips stopped.
I was certain the blow had landed cleanly.
Both my technique and senses were perfect, but….
Too shallow?
It stopped after only two finger joints, barely that deep.
ㅡKeh-hehng!!
After letting out a shriek, Wolfy rolled several times before hurriedly getting back on its feet.
It glared at me for a moment.
It seemed to hesitate briefly between fighting and running, but soon it tucked its tail between its legs and fled into the forest.
"……"
I silently watched its back as it ran away, then slowly clenched and unclenched my hand.
A small, childish hand came into view.
This was the hand that had once torn through ogre hide and cut dragon scales.
And now I couldn't even properly finish off a single wolf….
"…It's more serious than I expected."
I had expected it.
Since my body had gotten younger, my strength would have weakened too.
But I hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Still, it didn't matter.
Only my body had gotten younger.
My techniques, experience, and senses were all still there.
Once my body grew with time, I could recover the strength of my prime whenever I wanted.
…It would have been much easier if I could use my Trait.
A familiar sensation gathered at my fingertips for an instant, but I immediately withdrew the power.
"…Forget it."
It's too dangerous.
My body is still too frail to unlock all my Traits.
I started walking along the forest path again.
After taking several steps, I suddenly stopped.
"…?"
The direction of the wind had changed.
Cool air swept across the forest, and along with it, a familiar smell brushed the tip of my nose.
The smell of iron.
…No.
It was the smell of blood.
It was the first time I had smelled it since coming to this world, but it was a scent I had encountered countless times in the tower.
The smell of human blood.
***
【Tower of Original Sin, Floor 57】
"…Starting today, I, Iro-un, will be joining Obelisk. I look forward to working with you."
"…That's the Blood-Heaven Ghost King?"
"That murderer…? No way! He's so young?!"
"Captain! What in the world are you thinking?"
Discontented voices erupted throughout the meeting hall.
Nineteen.
The news that a boy who wasn't even an adult yet would be joining humanity's strongest raid team was difficult for anyone to accept.
"Enough."
At that one word, the meeting hall fell silent as if by magic.
Golden eyes slowly swept over everyone.
"Blood-Heaven Ghost King Iro-un.
As of today, he is an official member of Obelisk.
I will not entertain objections."
"…”
No one raised any further objections.
Everyone knew there had to be a reason the captain was going this far.
The nineteen-year-old boy, Iro-un, was already a name feared by countless hunters.
-Blood-Heaven Ghost King. A monster that grows stronger the more human blood it is drenched in.
Wherever he had passed after climbing the tower alone and slaughtering countless monsters and criminals, blood had always flowed like a river, with nothing but corpses piled up like mountains.
People feared his name more than they feared monsters.
The only Trait he possessed "at the time" was this one.
【Heaven-Slaying Star (天殺星)】
【Blood is power.
【Slaughter is a blessing.
【The more blood you are drenched in, the more your limits disappear.
A star of calamity, a murderous aura feared even by the heavens.
That is who you are.】
***
"……"
The scene spread out before me was quite grotesque.
Several people hung upside down, their limbs twisted at bizarre angles.
Some corpses had been dead for a long time, while others were still visibly trembling.
Blood flowed across the ground like a river, while severed organs had been scattered in precise patterns, as though they were offerings.
Following the flow of blood, a massive magic circle had been carved into the middle of the forest.
And before it, three people wearing black robes and red masks knelt while chanting spells in low voices.
Wait, wasn't this a romance fantasy?
Wasn't this supposed to be a peaceful healing story where I dug up potatoes and ate tomato stew?
Dear author.
If you suddenly change the genre, your readers are going to be very confused.
This is tag fraud.
…No.
I was confused too.
I forcibly suppressed the corners of my mouth, which were trying to curl upward.
Perhaps because of my Trait, whenever I smelled a strong scent of blood, my body tried to get excited on its own.
I still hadn't managed to break that habit.
"……"
I watched the situation for a moment.
Should I stop them?
Should I watch?
Should I run?
…No, wait.
The people hanging there might be bad guys!
Then again, maybe those suspicious people were actually the good guys?
Right!
I'm different from Pinkie.
I'm a man without preconceptions.
So let's verify things first!
Beating people without checking first would be kind of wrong, wouldn't it?
I suppressed my presence as much as possible and slowly closed the distance.
"…O great and omnipotent master."
A low, ominous voice echoed through the forest.
Master?
…No way.
Are these people just into some unusual things?
Like hell.
It's obviously a demon-summoning ritual!
"…I offer the fertile nourishment of this land to my master."
"…Please descend and save this world."
웅—
The magic circle inscribed in blood began to glow red.
At the same time, the surrounding mana began pouring into it like mad.
The leaves shook, and the ground trembled faintly.
Even the air grew heavy.
A shiver ran all the way up my spine.
‘…Dangerous.’
It was the instinct engraved in my body after crossing the line of death hundreds of times in the tower.
That ritual.
It absolutely must not be allowed to reach completion.
"…Hah."
A short sigh escaped me.
I didn't want to use it with this body if I could help it.
【Heaven-Slaying Star (天殺星)】
【You are a killer sent by the heavens!】
Iro-un!
TRANS! FORM!