A t-tiger… with a sword, and its neck severed in a single strike?
A chilling sensation permeated the air, causing goosebumps to prickle over every inch of his skin.
Not only the Captain, but every Tiger Hunter around him was in the same state of shock.
Without realizing when it had happened, even the Tiger Hunter Captain, who had been directing from afar, found his face splattered with the tiger’s crimson blood.
‘This is dangerously potent. Perhaps… even if our entire force launched a surprise attack, we might not prevail.’
The Tiger Hunters were a formidable group, a collection of individuals who had passed Joseon’s martial arts examination.
Within the Tiger Hunters, only Wolyeong surpassed the Captain in sheer martial prowess.
Every single one of them was not just knowledgeable about tigers, but an absolute expert.
Yet.
“I didn’t… see a thing.”
There was no record anywhere in the Eight Provinces of Joseon of a tiger being killed with a single strike, let alone by decapitation.
As the man wiped the blood from his sword, the Captain instinctively knew he was no ordinary human.
A chilling thought occurred to him: the entire force could be imperiled by this man’s caprice.
The Tiger Hunter Captain swallowed hard.
Watching the man extract the tiger’s heart and then crush it, the Captain felt an even more profound, bone-chilling aura of slaughter.
‘He seems to already know about these monstrous phenomena…’
What kind of man was he, truly?
A seed of doubt nearly took root in his mind.
However.
“Brother. Why do these things only happen to me…?”
“Are you… alright?”
The truly fortunate aspect was this:
The man took good care of his subordinates—or, more precisely, Wolyeong’s subordinates.
Seeing him offer his sleeve to wipe away the fresh blood, the Captain let out a sigh of relief.
An enemy would hardly go to such trouble.
It had been a grave error to treat this man as an adversary from the very beginning.
A trustworthy, immense power.
The Tiger Hunter Captain decided to assess Siyoung in this new light.
‘I knew he wasn’t an ordinary human, but was he a monster capable of subduing other monsters?’
Without letting him burst.
He would be a talent they needed to manage carefully.
Clearing his throat, he declared,
“Everyone, we’re heading straight to the plateau!”
As the commander leading the unit,
he resolved to prepare for the possibility of another colossal tiger emerging from the thicket.
“Wolyeong, come here.”
“What is it, sir?”
And though he hated to admit it,
the scene he had just witnessed was seared into his memory, impossible to forget, so he decided to add one more order.
“You and that man will take the lead.”
Wolyeong was already a troublesome soldier, notorious for not readily obeying orders.
The Captain expected him to once again cite principles and rattle off dozens of reasons why it couldn’t be done.
‘No matter what you say, that man will lead the vanguard, absolutely.’
The vanguard of a mountain expedition must always be someone capable of confronting threats and identifying them first.
Given that man’s martial prowess, his sensory perception would surely be extraordinary.
“Yes, those damned principles…”
“I will convey your orders.”
Wolyeong bowed his head in a gesture of respect.
“I understand that well, but… wait, what did you just say?”
The Tiger Hunter Captain felt as if his jaw might drop.
His mouth hung agape in sheer disbelief.
Wolyeong, the stubbornly unyielding man he knew, had actually accepted immediately.
With bewildered eyes, the Captain watched Wolyeong hurry towards Siyoung.
“Hah, hah hah.”
****
“If we take the lead, do you think we’ll encounter more tigers?”
“Hmm… usually, they aim for the flanks of a group, but these particular tigers… they charge head-on.”
Wolyeong kicked the disintegrating black heart and then looked at me.
Watching the ashes drift skyward, I nodded at his words.
“I intended to take the lead anyway.”
To save as many people as possible while hunting monsters.
To fight against such variables.
This was my greatest objective at the moment.
And then.
“My blood ran cold at the thought that you might not say that.”
It seemed Wolyeong shared the same sentiment.
He grinned.
He chuckled, then quickly relayed my words to the Tiger Hunter Captain, and we took on the role of clearing the thickets at the very front.
Byeongson, who had wanted to follow, tucked his tail between his legs at the mention of the vanguard.
‘To proceed alone with Wolyeong.’
This felt like a rational choice.
“These are tiger tracks. They’re different in size from the one we just faced. There might be another one nearby, so be vigilant.”
As he scoured the ground, he also matched his pace to mine.
‘Did he send me, the one responsible for brute force, to the front, and pair me with Wolyeong, who is skilled in detection? And keep the soldiers behind me grouped together to block flank attacks?’
It seemed the position of Tiger Hunter Captain wasn’t earned through mere luck.
Despite his rugged appearance, he was surprisingly clever.
As I, too, walked, vigilant of my surroundings,
“…!”
The damp sound of breathing echoed in my ears once more.
“Wolyeong, it’s coming from the right.”
Wolyeong, in particular, held a position among the Tiger Hunters where he led his own subordinates.
Thanks to this, he was able to instantly convey his thoughts to the soldiers behind him using hand signals I didn’t understand.
ROOOOAARRR!!
A tiger, smaller than the one we had just slain, charged towards us, its eyes blazing with red light.
It was heading directly for the soldiers on the right, about ten paces from my position.
“Prepare yourselves!”
“Everyone, prepare to fire…!”
The military formation was, as expected, well-organized.
Like the tiger-killing experts they were, they swiftly began to form their ranks.
“Hmph.”
I imbued the knife I held with the Earth (TL Note: ‘Ji’ in Korean, representing the element of earth) attribute.
An immense weight immediately pressed down on my shoulders, and the ground beneath me cratered.
The mountain’s mud pulled at my feet, but
with the tremendous strength surging from my rooted legs,
“Duck!”
I swiftly hurled the knife.
And then.
THWAAACK!!
The cold, damp mountain air shrieked.
The knife’s trajectory, perhaps just a fraction unstable,
failed to pierce the tiger’s head, but completely impaled its shoulder.
THUD!
The surrounding soldiers recoiled, their faces etched with disbelief.
The leaders, however, were distinctly different.
“Now! Pierce it with your spears!”
“Close in and stab it!”
Thanks to my ranged support, the charging tiger’s speed had significantly diminished.
Wolyeong and the Tiger Hunter Captain simultaneously called for a close-quarters assault.
Their judgment—to use the long reach of their spears to stab and kill it, leveraging its reduced speed—
was exceptionally sound.
Arrows and ammunition needed to be conserved.
The soldiers quickly formed ranks, then swiftly advanced, plunging their spears into the body of the fiercely roaring tiger.
Thud, thud, thud…
The tiger snarled, attempting one last desperate struggle, but eventually, its breath left it, and its head slumped into the mud.
Soldiers, wiping away cold sweat, exchanged hushed whispers.
“Just now… was that, like, a cannon shot?”
“Good heavens. I’ve never seen a man like that in all my life.”
“Save your chatter for later! Gongpil, extract that beast’s heart and cut it into pieces. Throw it far away so no other mountain creatures are drawn here.”
Following the Tiger Hunter Captain’s orders, the tiger’s heart was dealt with.
[Level Increased]
Two tigers, one level.
That was a rather excellent outcome.
I grinned.
Someone rushed towards me, flustered, as I stood there smiling.
Hurriedly.
Byeongson ran up and handed me the knife I had thrown.
‘It seems the attribute effect quickly dissipates upon throwing.’
Seeing Byeongson pick it up so casually, I came to that conclusion.
This might be a bit inconvenient. I thought it would be helpful if I could conjure flames or electricity when I dropped my weapon.
“Thanks.”
“Haha! I’m your younger brother, why thank me for such a thing!”
Fortunately, no more tigers appeared after that.
Neither Wolyeong’s scouting nor my own sensory perception detected any large beasts.
However, I heard something rather strange.
It was as if the tigers had been chased by something.
‘As if they were forcibly pushed to charge forward, he said…?’
I decided to trust Wolyeong’s intuition a little.
Who indeed would drive tigers towards us?
And if so, what could their reason be? I pondered this for a long time as I walked.
Yet, nothing concrete came to mind.
We walked and walked.
“The plateau!”
Thus, we arrived at the plateau, a vast plain situated halfway up the mountain.
“Unpack your gear and prepare dinner! We’re starting night watch!”
It was already 8 o’clock, and dusk was beginning to settle.
Perhaps because we were in the mountains, stars were already starting to appear in the sky.
“You’ve worked hard.”
I addressed Wolyeong, who had approached me.
“Wolyeong. Do you know something?”
Gazing at those stars, I was seized by a certain emotion.
I shared a piece of scientific knowledge I had learned from my home, the modern world.
“Stars moving away… now that’s a truly frightening tale.”
“Frightening? Compared to those stars, aren’t we just specks of dust anyway?”
A snippet of common knowledge: that the universe expands, and stars drift away from us.
It was a memory from a science-related YouTube channel.
Once, in my childhood, I had wanted to be an astronomer.
When was that, I wonder? Why can’t I remember?
“Doesn’t that mean my descendants might one day be unable to witness that sight?”
“……”
This person isn’t from the past, are they?
In a ghost story… you could say they’re an extra, perhaps.
‘Still, I want to believe they’re human.’
I stated calmly,
“You can still see them hundreds of years later. Though the sky won’t be as full as it is now.”
“You’re more sentimental than you look…? Well, I should go help prepare dinner.”
Of course, he didn’t seem like the sentimental type with that face.
No, wait, his ears were bright red.
His stubborn attempt to hide his slight embarrassment was, in fact, very much like Wolyeong.
I whispered to Wolyeong,
“If you ever crave succulent, juicy meat… come back to this spot. I’ll tell you about the chicken’s blessing…”
“A b-blessing? Ahem… I understand.”
If I could introduce a person from the past to the taste of modern fried chicken,
how much would they enjoy it?
Anticipating his reaction, I quietly sat and gazed at the stars scattered across the sky.
‘Why can’t I truly remember?’
All the while, I struggled to unearth my childhood memories.
****
Dinner had concluded.
The remaining men organized their gear and erected a simple palisade, preparing for any potential bandits or beasts.
The night watchmen took their positions, and soon, faint snores seemed to echo through the camp.
Then, one of the Tiger Hunters stepped outside the palisade for a quick snack.
“Phew…”
Since it was only a few steps away,
he hadn’t bothered to bring anyone with him or inform anyone of his departure.
There was only one reason he chose to leave just as the night watch was changing:
‘If that crazy Wolyeong saw me, he’d raise hell. Starting with his lecture about not moving alone, oh man…’
It was to avoid Wolyeong’s nagging.
He chuckled. That crazy stickler for rules.
As he chuckled and briefly gazed at the sky,
A rustle.
“Hm?”
From the nearby forest, where they had just passed,
a brief rustling sound was followed by what seemed to be a glimpse of something white.
Just as he wondered if it was his imagination,
Someone.
called out to him.
In a cold, yet distinctly ‘human’ voice.
“Hey there, can you hear my voice?”
He paused, thinking the voice sounded familiar.
The clear, moonlit night, devoid of any chill, made it even more unsettling.
The Tiger Hunter then recalled the owner of that voice.
“Hm? Weren’t you supposed to be delivering a message?”
“Who are you?”
“Have you forgotten my voice? It’s me, Gongpil.”
“Did you turn back midway?!”
Only a few days had passed; there was no way he could have gone to the capital and returned already.
Gongpil was certainly a rigid fellow, but his strangely stiff manner of speaking was also puzzling.
And then.
“Gongpil… are you alone? What about that… man in black?”
Gongpil didn’t answer his question, instead abruptly asking if he was alone, which angered him.
The moon slowly began to hide behind the clouds.
“I am alone, but why are you speaking from the forest in such an unsettling way! Come out! Have you been drinking? Why is your speech so awkward!”
For a brief moment.
A profound silence descended.
Then, from his colleague, who had ridden out to deliver the message,
“Alone……”
A low, unpleasant.
Breath.
“Ah, ah, I see…?”
began to be heard.
****
Past the hour.
“…Something is terribly wrong here.”
A dark, foul energy, impossible to describe with the word ‘ominous,’ emanated from the mountain.
Suppressing the rising nausea, Yuihime Nanaho gazed at the mountain.
‘Smoke… Siyoung…!’
Smoke billowed from halfway up the mountain.
The Tiger Hunters and Siyoung must have headed there.
‘…’
Then, gripping the dagger in her hand tightly,
“Everyone. Prepare to ascend the mountain.”
She decided to inform Siyoung that something terrifying resided on that mountain.
