Chapter 88. Tiger Hunting (2)

Poppie and Arin tilted their heads in confusion.

"Huh?"

"......?"

They both had the same thought at the same time.

'Why... does it seem like they're getting closer to us?'

And this was not just a delusion of the two.

As they felt, the intense battle between Yurie and the wolf man was gradually getting closer to where they were.

By the time Arin and Poppie realized this...

Clang! Clank! Clank!

"Ugh, ugh!"

"I'm hungry!"

They were already caught up in the fight.

Or rather, Yurie had forcibly dragged them into it.

Yurie, having achieved her goal, called out softly.

"Switch."

Then she darted behind Poppie.

At that moment, Arin and Poppie saw something.

With a low voice suggesting a switch, a wicked smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

Only then did they realize that all of this was Yurie's doing.

But by the time they realized it, it was too late.

"Get out of the way!"

The wolf man swung his sword with a look of annoyance.

Seeing the wolf man approaching with a murderous intent, Arin let out a shrill scream.

"If you were going to do this, why did you tell us to rest?!"

Poppie huffed in agreement, blowing out a puff of air.

But they couldn't keep complaining forever, so Arin immediately drew her bowstring.

Whoosh.

Seeing the arrow loaded and fired in an instant, Yurie was slightly impressed.

'She's really fast.'

She had noticed this before, but it was indeed an amazing skill with the bow.

How skilled must she be to draw an arrow from the quiver and fire it in less than a second?

At this rate, it seemed possible to shoot one arrow per second.

Swish.

Perhaps because she had pulled the bowstring too hastily, the arrow Arin shot was a normal one.

It had already been proven that such an arrow posed no real threat to a recognized 1st-level fighter.

Bang!

Sure enough.

The wolf man easily deflected Arin's arrow.

However, it wasn't completely ineffective, as it made the wolf man hesitate slightly.

Meanwhile, Poppie pulled out the shield she had been carrying on her back.

Thud.

The massive shield, measuring 1.6 meters, hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Yurie whistled in admiration.

'How strong must she be to carry something so heavy?'

For an ordinary person, it would have covered their entire body, but to Poppie, it looked like a regular shield.

As Yurie watched Poppie from behind, a glint of interest appeared in her eyes.

'Let's see what you can do.'

One of the things Yurie wanted to experiment with this time was Poppie.

She had already gauged Arin's strength to some extent from their previous cooperation, but Poppie was a complete unknown.

What type of martial technique did Poppie use?

How could she be utilized?

These were some of the key points of this experiment.

Yurie watched Poppie's battle closely.

Screech.

The moment Poppie's shield appeared, the soles of the wolf man's shoes screeched against the ground.

At the same time, his body tilted to the right.

His target was only Yurie, so he tried to dodge the shield by slightly turning his body.

Just as the wolf man was about to dodge the shield and turn around...

Whoosh.

With a rough gust of wind, the massive circular shield swung towards the approaching enemy.

The wolf man felt as if a wall was coming at him.

But he snorted.

'So slow.'

The force behind the shield was clearly considerable.

But what did that matter?

If he were to be hit by such a slow attack, he wouldn't have survived this cradle.

Whoosh.

Just as the wolf man snorted.

The wind rose again, and the shield that had been charging at him like a wall suddenly disappeared.

No, it didn't disappear.

The wolf man's eyes widened.

'He raised the shield?'

The shield that had been approaching as a flat surface was now lying horizontally.

The attack that had been a broad surface suddenly became a sharp edge.

The speed at which the shield advanced towards the enemy increased dramatically.

Seeing this, a glint of interest appeared in Yurie's eyes.

'Slow, but with great strength, the destructive power is definite... and she can add unexpected elements to her attacks.'

Poppie's shield technique, which used the shield not just for defense but also for offense, was impressive.

A less experienced opponent might have struggled against Poppie's shield technique.

But Poppie's opponent was a second-year survivor who had faced countless battles in this cradle.

Creak.

The wolf man's waist bent backward, and the shield narrowly missed his face.

With the attack thwarted, Poppie's body, which had been hidden behind the shield, was now fully exposed.

The unexpected attack had backfired, revealing her own vulnerabilities.

Poppie tried to quickly return the shield to its original position, but the wolf man was faster.

Swish!

The wolf man swung his sword with a menacing aura.

"Die!"

Poppie's pupils dilated as the sharp blade approached.

She knew it was too late to retrieve the shield.

Just as she was about to accept a severe injury...

Crack!

A bolt of lightning struck from Poppie's embrace.

The lightning quickly turned into a dark shadow, and a sharp blade emerged from it, blocking the sword aimed at Poppie.

Clang.

Surprised that his attack was blocked, the wolf man's expression showed confusion.

But he quickly made a decision and retreated.

In the spot where the wolf man had fled, Yurie, who had used her lightning wings to save Poppie at the critical moment, shouted angrily.

"Who dares to torment my friend!"

Arin, hearing Yurie's shout, muttered in disbelief.

"Me."

This whole situation is because of you, isn't it?

You bad guy!

This isn't even like giving medicine after causing an illness.

Whether she didn't hear Arin's muttering or was pretending not to, Yurie raised her sword with a confident expression and pointed it at the wolf man.

"The price for tormenting my friend... pay with your skin."

With that, Yurie scattered her sword in a diagonal line and charged at the wolf man.

"......"

"......"

Arin and Poppie could only stare in disbelief at Yurie's back.

On the other hand, the wolf man, seeing Yurie charging at him, looked as if he thought it was for the best.

"Come on!"

This time, he seemed determined to catch Yurie, with a resolute expression.

However, it didn't take long for the confident and self-assured look on the wolf man's face to turn into one of confusion.

Crack!

'Huh?'

Clang!

'Huh?'

Clang!

'This guy...'

Bang!

'Why?'

Crack!

'His skills... have improved?'

The feeling of clashing swords with Yurie was completely different from before.

It was heavier,

and much faster.

Each block felt like a struggle.

The wolf man, who hadn't even suspected that he was being toyed with, was surprised by Yurie's improved skills.

As time passed, the number of sword clashes between Yurie and the wolf man increased.

Finally...

"Two hundred."

The wolf man immediately understood what the number meant when he heard Yurie's soft mutter.

He had been counting as well.

Therefore, the wolf man's face turned dark.

Following the rules, he sheathed his sword and began to desperately avoid Yurie's attacks.

Seeing this, Yurie's lips curled into a smirk.

"Aha, so that's how it is."

Having discovered what she needed to, Yurie decided to end the experiment.

She abruptly sheathed her sword.

Thud.

"Alright, now it's my turn."

Yurie, cracking her knuckles with a smirk.

"Hey, wait!"

The wolf man, panicking, reached out his hand, but Yurie was already gone.

Whoosh.

Yurie reappeared in front of the wolf man like a mist.

"Clamp down on this. If you don't want to lose your tongue."

Bang!

"Choke!"

The wolf man tried to dodge, but he couldn't keep up with Yurie's speed.

"Choke?!"

Yurie's knee struck his abdomen mercilessly.

The force was so strong that the wolf man flew away.

And Yurie wasn't about to let him go.

Swish!

Kicking off the ground, Yurie caught up with the flying wolf man.

Thud, thud, thud.

Her punches rained down like a storm, pummeling the wolf man.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Ugh!"

The wolf man was beaten around in mid-air.

Yurie's punches were so fast that the wolf man couldn't fall to the ground.

Just as he was about to fall, Yurie would kick him up again.

And just as he was about to fall again, she would kick him up again.

After being beaten for about five minutes, the wolf man finally fainted in mid-air.

Thud.

He fell to the ground in a pitiful state.

"Huff..."

Yurie, breathing a sigh of relief, pulled out the leather from the wolf man's embrace.

"You were a good test subject. Rest in peace."

Yurie wiped the sweat from her nonexistent forehead with a satisfied look.

On the other hand, Poppie and Arin, who had watched the entire process, had large beads of sweat on the back of their heads.

"Is the wolf... dead?"

"......"

Arin's question made Poppie hesitate to confirm if the wolf was still alive.

* * *

Before the darkness fully descended.

Yurie and her friends were resting by a bonfire, sharing the dried rations Yurie had brought.

'At least we didn't lose these.'

At the training facility, they had taken all the leather she had collected, but they returned the food she had bought from outside when she was released.

The amount of food was ridiculously insufficient for three people to eat for a day.

But it was enough to stave off hunger for the moment.

Still, it was a bit disappointing.

'If I had known this, I would have bought more.'

At first, she thought it was an unnecessary expense, but now, in a situation where they lacked resources, the dried rations were worth more than 1,000 points.

Munch, munch.

Chewing the hard and dry rations, Arin asked.

"So, what exactly were you trying to figure out by causing all that commotion?"

"What?"

"Killing that wolf just now..."

"I didn't kill him."

"Trying to kill him."

"Tsk, I never had such a bad intention."

"Yee! Turning the wolf into minced meat!"

"Ah... that's a precise description."

"Anyway, there must have been a reason for all of that!"

Poppie, blinking her eyes, looked at Yurie.

Her eyes seemed to be asking if what she said was true.

On the other hand, Yurie, receiving the question, looked at her with a curious expression.

'You're really unpredictable.'

Is she just a free-spirited troublemaker?

Or is she a genius with a free spirit?

'She's too perceptive to be just a troublemaker.'

To be able to deduce the meaning of her actions without an explanation...

This wasn't something that could be done with just quick perception.

'It requires the ability to read the context and analyze the situation.'

And someone who could do that couldn't be stupid.

'They say a genius and a fool are separated by a thin line... is this her?'

Yurie's intense gaze made Arin's eyes narrow.

"Hey, what's with that weird, creepy look?"

"What's wrong with my look?"

"It's like you're surprised that a kid you thought was a fool isn't a fool."

"......"

...It's clear, this kid is a genius.

"Look! You're still giving that weird look!"

In response to Arin's accusation, Yurie cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"The reason I did that just now..."

"Aah! You're changing the subject!"

"Be quiet."

"Mm."

Yurie glared at Arin, who then closed her mouth.

Only then did Yurie continue.

"I did that just now because, as you guessed, there were a few things I wanted to figure out."

"What things?"

"Are you hungry?"

Yurie smiled and gave a short answer to their curious looks.