Chapter 92. The Tiger Who Repaid a Favor (1)

Seeing the long gash and the blood on the tiger girl's shoulder, Yurie sighed.

‘I felt something was off, but the sword must have grazed her shoulder while sliding along the chest armor.’

Realizing this, Yurie let out a frustrated groan.

“Isn’t it cheating to wear such things when just dealing with a new cadet?”

The tiger girl scratched her cheek.

“This is my basic equipment, so I always wear it.”

“Basic equipment or not, I’m fighting bare-handed, and it seems a bit unfair that you’re wearing that, doesn’t it?”

“Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t get hit by a sword, so I didn’t bother taking it off…”

She hadn’t expected that a mere new cadet’s attack could reach her, so she hadn’t bothered to remove her armor for the sake of fairness.

However, even to her, Yurie’s attack a moment ago was quite an effective strike that could have inflicted serious damage.

The tiger girl glanced at her deeply cut shoulder and said,

“That was the seventh, right? Hmm… Since I have a conscience, I’ll count this one as an extra, making it eight.”

“Wow, you’re so conscientious. I’m really curious where that conscience is. But… huh? What? Why can’t I see your conscience? Where is it?”

“Cough, just think of it as bad luck.”

“Come on! Don’t be so petty and just admit you lost!”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she shook her head firmly.

“It’s because… I’m a bit… excited right now.”

“…Auntie, calm down.”

“I’m only twenty-seven!”

“An eleven-year age gap is enough to call you an auntie. Besides, I don’t have a thing for older women. Even if I did, not today.”

“Haha, I never thought I’d have a thing for younger men. But a mere new cadet playing with me like this… Haah…”

A breathy moan escaped her lips.

She licked her lips, moistening them, and stared at Yurie intently.

The cruel look in her eyes sent shivers down Yurie’s spine.

‘…If she gets any more aggressive, I won’t even have bones left.’

And just like that, Yurie had two more attacks to endure.

It seemed too late to renegotiate after the last one, so he had to be satisfied with the one less round.

“Phew…”

Yurie, who had already used the Brain Edge four times, suppressed the sharp pain rising in his body with deep breaths.

Thud.

He gripped his sword again and readied himself.

The tiger girl, seeing this, exclaimed excitedly,

“Here I come!”

* * *

In the forest not far from the clearing where Yurie and the tiger girl were fighting,

Bang!

“…”

The moment the first explosion was heard, Poppie also recalled the conversation Yurie had with Arin and herself.

[You’re hiding something, I know. I am too. But this time… don’t hide it. Give it your all. Otherwise, you won’t be able to create an opportunity with just any method.]

Yurie was right.

On the first day she entered this forest of animals, she too had encountered a tiger.

She had fainted almost instantly, unable to put up any resistance.

It was the first time in her life she had felt so powerless, since the days she received teachings from the elders of her tribe as a child.

Therefore, to help the one fighting the tiger now, she had to reveal everything she had been hiding.

So Poppie took off her clothes.

Swish, swish.

In an instant, she was in her underwear, neatly folding the clothes she had taken off and placing them to one side.

Crunch.

She planted her shield in the ground in front of her.

The shield, which had dug about 15 cm into the ground.

Then, Poppie placed her hands together in front of her chest.

Snap.

As if in prayer, her clasped hands.

“Phew…”

Poppie exhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

“Grr.”

At the same time, a groan of pain escaped her lips.

The transformation began.

Bulging, the blood vessels on Poppie’s entire body stood out.

Soon, a light emitted from the T-shaped red tattoo on her forehead.

And then,

Creak, creak.

Poppie’s body began to tremble.

Crunch, crunch.

An unbelievable sound, as if something was being torn and realigned, continued as Poppie’s body gradually changed.

Her copper-colored skin darkened.

Her body, already towering at 2.3 meters, grew even larger.

2.5 meters, 2.8 meters, 3 meters, 3.3 meters.

She grew over a meter taller than her original height, but Poppie’s transformation didn’t stop there.

3.5 meters, 3.7 meters, 4 meters…

And finally,

5 meters.

Poppie, now as tall as a tree, stood there.

The three of them, seeing this, exclaimed in shock.

“A monster!”

“A giant?!”

“Oh my God, giant transformation?!”

Yurie was the first to shout.

The tiger girl followed.

And the last voice belonged to Arin.

Yurie’s head tilted in confusion upon hearing Arin’s exclamation.

‘…Giant transformation? What’s that?’

While he was pondering this,

The giant who had entered the clearing let out a roar.

“I’m so hungryyyyy!”

“Huh? That’s…?!”

Yurie’s eyes widened as he realized the identity of the monster… no, the giant.

‘Poppie?!’

Only then did he understand what Arin meant by ‘giant transformation’.

‘The Yum clan, who inherited the blood of ancient giants, has the ability to transform into giants.’

He couldn’t help but laugh.

‘These guys… are more capable than I thought.’

Arin and Poppie.

While hunting the bear with them, Yurie had felt that they were holding back something.

Or, perhaps, suppressing something?

As if he was secretly using the existence of the demon current without revealing it to others.

So he had somewhat probed them to bring out everything they had been hiding.

But…

‘They were hiding something like this?!”

Arin had a bizarre archery skill that could bend arrows in mid-air.

Poppie could transform into a 5-meter-tall giant!

This was beyond useful; it was absolutely incredible.

‘Go! Poppie! Take a bite out of it!’

As Yurie clenched his fist,

Thud!

Poppie’s massive legs pushed off the ground with great force.

Boom!

The force was so strong that her footprints were clearly imprinted on the ground, and cracks spread in all directions.

However, while her legs moved forward, her upper body remained behind.

Creak, crunch.

The giant’s muscles instantly tensed, producing a tremendous noise.

Yurie, watching this, realized that this was the opportunity Poppie was creating for him, and he immediately readied himself.

‘I can end this with this.’

He had to prepare.

To take advantage of the perfect opportunity Poppie had created.

As Yurie watched, Poppie roared and pulled her upper body forward.

“Baaaaa!”

At the same time, Poppie’s muscles emitted a loud noise.

Grrrr!

The reaction force from pushing off the ground, the rotational power from twisting her waist, and the immense strength of the giant all combined and traveled through Poppie’s arm, which swung like a whip from behind.

Whoosh!

And in Poppie’s hand was a 1.6-meter-tall massive shield.

“Huuuuuungryyyyy!”

Poppie, roaring, swept her arm forward and released the shield.

Bang!

The shield, which had torn through the air, shot straight toward the tiger girl.

In its wake,

Crash.

A gale of wind erupted.

“…?!”

Whoosh!

The moment the wind from the shield’s passage swept through the forest, Yurie was already in motion.

‘Now!’

Yurie, using his footwork, dashed toward the tiger girl in an instant.

With his thoughts speeding up, the surroundings seemed to slow down, and the shield, which was almost upon the tiger girl, was caught.

‘Even a tiger can’t avoid this!’

The shield, though simply thrown with great speed, carried an immense force.

Wasn’t it said that a certain level of physical power was no different from magic?

This shield, flying toward the tiger girl, must be that magic.

It was an attack that the tiger girl, no matter how skilled, couldn’t avoid.

Of course, Yurie didn’t think it would knock her down.

He was aiming for the opening that would occur when she caught the shield.

As he approached, targeting the opening,

‘…Huh?!’

Yurie saw the tiger girl’s metal gauntlets changing.

Until now, her gauntlets had been at the level of steel.

But suddenly, they surpassed steel and reached the levels of silver, gold, and magic.

However, the problem was that this wasn’t the end.

Hum.

In an instant, they reached the level of magic, enveloped in a translucent barrier.

Then, the barrier gradually turned opaque.

The barrier that had instantly enveloped her gauntlets turned opaque and soon caused a massive explosion of light.

The light quickly condensed.

The moment Yurie’s eyes widened in shock, the tiger girl punched the shield without hesitation.

“Ha!”

A short battle cry.

The shield, thrown with immense force, was effortlessly stopped and hung in the air.

Boom!

The explosion of sound and the unbelievable scene before him were enough to make Yurie stop in his tracks.

And then, another unbelievable scene unfolded.

Bang!

The shield, which she had punched, stood vertically.

The tiger girl then punched the center of the shield.

Boom!

With a roar, the shield flew back the way it came.

Poppie, surprised by the shield returning to her, reached out to catch it.

“Huuuungry…”

Creak, thud!

The 5-meter-tall giant, now a mass with the shield, flew into the forest.

Crash, crunch, thud!

Seeing the conifers collapse where Poppie had flown, Yurie swallowed hard.

“Crazy…”

Even if Poppie hadn’t had time to brace herself, the strength to send a giant flying with a shield was unbelievable.

Yurie looked at the tiger girl with tense eyes.

No, more accurately, at the gauntlets on her arms.

‘Those are…’

They didn’t look like metal gauntlets but rather as if they were made of light.

Yurie instantly recognized what they were and murmured softly.

“The level of the Holy…”