บท 37: Chapter 36: My Human (1)
On the other side.
Clang!
The nameless hunter dodged the spear that Sheryl threw at it. She gritted her teeth. Even though she missed the target, it gave Shane the opening he had been waiting for. He shot his crossbow right through the chest of the horse. It twisted in pain, throwing its rider on the ground.
Sheryl rushed into and thrust her sword into the nameless hunter.
"...!"
Blood splashed onto her face, and Sheryl choked on its taste as she sprinted away from the disintegrating monster. Then, the sound of galloping came from all around, piercing into her ears.
Sheryl looked around, panting.
It had taken around ten minutes for Shane and her to take down the first nameless hunter.
And there were still more than five of them left.
Sheryl spat out some blood and wiped the stains on her cheek. She held on tight to her sword as she stared at the monsters closing in. They had just killed the townspeople, so now they exuded a disgusting aura surrounding them.
The monsters turned to look in the other direction. It sounded as if there was some construction going on, but actually, someone was trying to break through the black curtain to help the people trapped inside. Sheryl and Shane stood together between the people and the nameless hunters. They knew they had to help as many as they could escape from this place before they did.
Sheryl was so exhausted that she felt like collapsing, but she still kept her guard up.
As the monster charged at her, something flew by and cut it in half!
Sheryl turned around and saw who did it.
His ears were overwhelmed by the chaos, and the taste of blood permeated his mouth.
"...Han!"
Everything he saw was painted over with blood. He panted, his body was frozen in rage.
"Han!"
Han snapped out of the trance.
Raydel raced toward him, swallowing hard when he realized Han was covered in blood. His face looked frightening with the bloodstains. He knew it would be in vain to try to clean all of this, so he just dragged Han away from the rain of blood that had just stopped.
Raydel sighed in relief when he saw that the light in Han's eyes seemed normal again.
"How did you get here?" he asked, glancing up at the black dome above them. "And what is that? A double dungeon?"
"Yes, it spawned over the downtown area."
"What is the boss?"
Han was about to say, 'The system hasn't found out yet,' but then he realized Raydel probably did not know about his ability. Instead, he replied, "I don't know."
I guess the system hasn't found out yet, Raydel thought.
"Thank you so much for helping me," he said, panting, and then he looked around the empty area. He did not know where the rest of the people and monsters had gone. "But we need to kill all those nameless hunters before they killed everyone."
Raydel concentrated his thought on the Plague Doctor and sensed that the boss was fighting. He could be protecting the townspeople, so Raydel decided not to call him back.
I'm so worried about him, he thought as he dragged Han by his sleeve. Firstly, he needed to find the Plague Doctor. There might be a lot of monsters around there. However, Han stopped him.
"Huh?" Raydel looked at Han, confused.
Han stared back, tightening his lips.
"Why was she trying to hurt you?"
"You mean Christa?" Raydel asked. "Just like what you saw. She just kept talking about you. I guessed when she didn't see you, she got angry."
"Don't tell me her name. I don't wanna know it."
"Okay…"
There was a moment of silence.
"She almost killed you."
"I wouldn't be killed." Because I was about to use all of my power to summon Cthulhu, Raydel thought. "Don't worry about me."
Han met his eyes.
"Why wouldn't I be worried?" he murmured.
"What?"
"You keep doing some dangerous stuff these days. You know you're the only friend I have. If I lose you, I have no one left."
Raydel felt his heart crumbling for Han. He patted him on the shoulders to console him.
"I get it now. Next time, I'll try not to get involved in dangerous stuff. But I just can't help it. It's like I attract these kinds of things," Raydel said as he held Han's shoulders, trying to drag him along. "Now, can we stop talking? I need you to help me fight with the nameless hunter. We should go over there. My boss is there."
"Your boss?"
"I mean the Plague Doctor from that A-ranked dungeon. I told you about my boss summoning skill. Now I can do it perfectly. See!"
Raydel finally found the Plague Doctor. He was really fighting against the nameless hunter. There were no townspeople seen around here; they might be hiding or had already escaped. Raydel felt relieved. It meant that he did not have to worry about accidentally hurting anyone. So, he concentrated and summoned the Plague Doctor to the spot he wanted.
The nameless hunter turned around frantically when its sword hit nothing. The Plague Doctor disappeared from its sight and threw the dagger at its chest!
"Aim at the shoulders! That's its weakness," Raydel heard Han said.
He nodded and concentrated again before shouting at the Plague Doctor.
"Aim at the shoulders!"
The Plague Doctor slashed at the shoulder of the nameless hunter. It fell down to the ground but was still alive. It gouged out the heart of the horse.
The blue heart was beating like a drum. The nameless hunter devoured it down. Suddenly, the smoke around its body spread out and merged its body with the horse. It transformed into a giant nameless hunter!
Whoosh.
[The monster has leveled up.]
[Level: 80]
The blood was still pouring out of the wound on its shoulder. The Plague Doctor seemed to really deal some fatal blow, but the horse's heart it devoured helped restore its health. Now, it stood tall and strong, casting a shadow as high as a skyscraper. It was as tall as a one-story building.
This is madness, Raydel thought, sweating.
"Its weakness still is the shoulders," Han said, "we just need to attack the other shoulder."
"But it's so tall!" Raydel yelled.
Han swung his sword out to the side.
"Let me fight," he said.
"We'll fight together. Just… collaborate, okay?" Raydel said, trying to stop the protagonist from soloing the monsters as he always did. Actually, he was worried that Han might lose, and it would be bad to lose one of his strongest allies. "Look for an opening to attack its shoulder. I'll have the Plague Doctor be the tank. But don't take too long. I don't want my boss to lose too many health points."
Then, he yelled a compliment at the Plague Doctor.
"You did great fighting all alone for a long time!"
He felt the health points of the Plague Doctor drastically rising up. Han looked at him expressionless.
"Why did you say that?" Han asked.
"It's how I can heal my bosses!" Raydel said and noticed that Han's face was even more expressionless now. "Now, Ready? Go!"
The protagonist instantly sprinted toward the monster. Raydel ordered the Plague Doctor to attack the nameless hunter and attract all its attention to itself. The nameless hunter needed no weapon since its body was so huge it became the weapon. The monster swung its arms around, trying to hit the Plague Doctor. However, each time it attacked, a blade would cut it so deep that blood gushing out.
Raydel tried his best to concentrate. He tried to move the Plague Doctor around to dodge the attacks as much as possible. At the same time, Han looked for an opportunity to climb up on the enemy. He slashed at the monster's chest, leaving behind a huge open wound. The monster screamed in pain but still kept fighting.
However, the attacks seemed to make the nameless hunter even more furious. It roared and started hitting the ground like a madman, not letting anyone get close.
The roar summoned a number of wolves and hounds to surround it. Raydel quickly summoned his dagger and attacked the first wolf that jumped at him without thinking, killing it right away!
"Kaff!" And the blood got in his mouth!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground shook like there was an earthquake. Raydel could barely stand still. The hounds jumped at him from his blind spot. He gritted his teeth as its claws drew blood from his arms. Then, he stabbed his dagger right in its stomach!
The hounds twisted before disappearing!
The smell of blood had permeated the area and his nostrils. Raydel spit out the blood in his mouth and wiped the stains off his cheeks. He held his dagger tightly. A sharp pain exploded in his head after he made the Plague Doctor appear in a new spot. He managed to kill three hounds in the meantime.
Han had already dealt with the rest of the monsters.
When all the wolves and hounds were gone, Raydel ordered the Plague Doctor to fight with the nameless hunter again.
Bang!
The monster hit the Plague Doctor in the arm. The powerful strike made the ground on which the Plague Doctor stood caved in. Raydel gritted his teeth as the pressure from the monster reached him. He knew that the Plague Doctor would not be able to hold on this fight for long. Han had just jumped on the arm of the nameless hunter.
He would need several seconds before he reached the shoulder. The Plague Doctor might have lost by then.
Raydel stared at Han and thought.
Then…
Raydel gave the nameless hunter a middle finger.
"Why would I want to eat Takoyaki!?"
Having to yell something like this out loud was really embarrassing!
Suddenly, tentacles shot out of the ground and headed toward the monster. They wrapped themselves around its hands and broke them into two pieces in the blink of an eye. Cthulhu spent Raydel's power so much that he almost fainted. His heart beat as if he had just finished a marathon. He kneeled down and clutched his chest as the tentacles wreaked havoc.
The nameless monster screamed in agony when its hands were broken. It stumbled backward, giving Han an opening to slash at its shoulder. His sword cut from the shoulder down to its stomach!
"...!"
The nameless hunter stepped back in pain. Then, its body exploded into smoke and dust!
Raydel let out a sigh of relief, feeling dizzy and empty-head from the huge power he used. He was so focused on watching Han jump down to the ground. He almost called him, but Han saw him first.
And Han's face was so cold that it frightened Raydel.
Huh? Raydel was confused.
Suddenly, Han took sprinted toward and slashed at him!
Raydel had no strength to dodge the attack. The Plague Doctor rushed in and pushed Raydel aside, but Han's strike was not direct at him. He attacked the tentacles that Raydel had just realized were caressing his body.
When Han saw that the tentacles could easily take his attack, his face grew even colder and more stressed.
"Han! He's on our side!" Raydel screamed.
The tentacles pushed the protagonist's sword away. Raydel heard Cthulhu's angry voice speaking in his head.
'Who's that human?'
What!? Raydel yelled in his mind. "Stop!" He called him back into the coin. Suddenly, he felt his strength remarkably recovering.
"You dreamed about those octopuses," Han said and stopped. Raydel noticed how outraged his eyes looked. He started sweating.
For God's sake, he thought.
As he was trying to come up with some explanation, a message box suddenly appeared above his head.
[It's not fun if you're together~]
"?!"
At that moment, a blinding light shone, forcing Raydel to close his eyes. When he could see again, he found himself all alone.
Raydel stood before a department store, the streets around him were empty, cars were parked everywhere. Many of the cars had their doors open, as if the passengers were running away from something. However, Raydel could see some townspeople hiding in alleys, everyone keeping their distance from the monsters on the horses.
Raydel looked around, searching for Han and the Plague Doctor, but he found no one.
Suddenly, a message box appeared in front of him.
[Taking you to the special place where no one can get in.]
[3… 2… 1…]
"Aah!" Raydel cried out. He bent down and hugged himself.
As the pain disappeared, Raydel, who was crying, looked up. This time he was in a whole new place.
It appeared to be the first floor of a department store.
It was the clothing zone which was void of people. The light and billboards were still working. Raydel sensed a cold breeze from an air conditioner. He heard an announcement guiding people to the way out. The Hunter Guild probably was evacuating everyone.
"What's going on?" Raydel murmured, attempting to summon the Plague Doctor but failing. The message box had already told him that this was a special place where no one could get in.
As he walked around, he heard someone running.
He looked at the sound and saw someone that was still stuck in the store. She hid under a clothing rack.
Raydel raised his brows. He was about to call her when suddenly sensed something flying past behind him!
"...!"
Raydel dodged it just in time. He turned around and saw Christa. She was as shocked as he was.
"How did you get here?!" she screamed.
Raydel was dumbfounded. Then, he thought, is it because of the message box…?
The boss of the double dungeon wants me to meet the heroine of the novel?
Plhugk!
The woman punched him in the stomach. Raydel almost choked because of the pain. This time he was so angry, so he punched her face in return.
"...!"
Christa was shocked that he punched back. Blood flowed out of her nose, and she looked like a madwoman. Her body was black and blue from her fight with Han earlier.
"It's all because of you! I'll kill you!" she cried.
And I'll kill you, Raydel thought.
Christa jumped at him, and the two fell down together. They both rolled around for a while before she sat on top of him. She tried to punch his face while Raydel bit her hand and elbowed her nose. Both of them had blood all over their face. Neither of them gave in. Raydel made up his mind that he would deal with her just as she wanted to kill him so badly.
Shluk!
Christa pulled a dagger out of nowhere. She tried to stab him in the face but missed, and it hit the ground instead. She gritted her teeth to the point where she looked crazy. Raydel pushed her face away as saliva and blood streamed down his hand.
At that moment, something flowed through his entire body.
[Activate the 'Unlocking Potential' skill]
His vision suddenly changed.
Even Christa loosened her grip, as if she was also affected by the skill. Raydel did not know what happened, but he found himself… standing at a funeral. The sky was cloudy and dark, and it was raining, making it a very gloomy day.
Raydel was confused. He did not understand why the surroundings kept changing. He stood still for a moment and recalled that he was in a similar situation before.
It was when he took Jinny to the dungeon. He had just acquired the 'Unlocking Potential' skill, and suddenly, it felt as if… he saw the childhood of Cadane, the enemy before.
Raydel looked around the funeral. He noticed a grave and a girl who was standing alone in the rain. No one was beside her. There was only her with her head hung low, crying.
Don't tell me…
Raydel realized she was the young Christa.
Christa's eyes were all red, and her lips opened wide as she tried to muffle her cry. Raydel heard her whispering "father…" again and again. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Raydel saw that, in her hand, there was a… small creature hanging. It looked like a rabbit… a dead rabbit.
"Mother said a life for a life… why won't you wake up?" Christa said.
She threw the rabbit down and stomped on it.
Christa started crying out loud.
Raydel, who was watching, was shocked.
In front of him appeared a message box of the skill.
[An opportunity to unlock the potential.]
[Fill the target's void to gain trust.]
[Difficulty: highest]
[You have only 1 chance.]
Raydel read the instruction for the skill again.
[Explanation: The user can get inside the mind of others for a short period. If the user can fulfill the memory, the memory's owner will unlock one stage of their potential. The potential includes an increase in power or being affected by the Hunter Attraction skill.]
"..."
Don't tell me that this skill… can change people's minds?
If he fulfilled any void in the target's memory, he could change the person. In this case, if he managed to do it, he might be able to stop this mad Christa from fighting with him.
What was with this skill?
Raydel swallowed. He stopped thinking and rushed toward the girl, who looked up because she heard him walking.
Their eyes met, but it seemed young Christa did not know him. She just looked at him blankly as if wondering where he came from. Raydel did not introduce himself or greet her. He just kneeled in front of her, his face was on the same level as hers. Then…
He held his breath as he hugged her.
Rain was pouring hard on them. Everything quieted down for a moment. Then, Raydel felt a sharp pain in his stomach.
He broke apart from the hug, realizing that young Christa had stabbed him in the stomach.
[Failed to unlock potential.]
[The target blocked their mind.]
The scene before him slowly disappeared and was replaced by the present.
Raydel was back at the clothing zone again. He was lying on the floor with Christa sitting over him. The pain in his belly felt worse. When he looked down, he saw that she had really stabbed him with her dagger, causing blood to spread out on his shirt.
She smiled madly.
"You can't change me," she whispered. "I disgust you. My mother's the only one who's not disgusted with me."
She pushed the dagger down to the edge before standing up to look at her work.
Christa panted heavily. This is the end, she thought. I killed him. She looked at the man who lay on the ground, drowning in blood, and felt satisfied. She looked away, searching for the others who were hiding in the store, like searching for dirty rats. Her heart pounded with excitement, blood rushing everywhere. She was excited to kill people.
Unaware that Raydel was standing up behind her.
As Christa was walking away, something suddenly pulled her back!
"...!"
The woman was confused, but when she turned around to see what was dragging her, she saw Raydel standing with his face down. She could not see what his expression was.
Raydel said nothing. He just grabbed the dagger and pulled it out.
Christa was stunned. She suddenly felt bloodlust radiating from him. When Raydel threw the dagger away, she noticed that his right ring finger looked weird.
His middle finger was bandaged, while the ring finger was broken and bruised.
When he looked up, his eyes completely changed.
"Are you trying to hurt my human?" he asked.
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