Chapter 26

00026 A Meeting with Acquaintances.

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Among the monsters that appear in the rite of passage, there is one called Manky, which resembles a monkey quite a bit. Unlike Deadman, it can be considered a monster in the true sense. Its body is covered in soft, fluffy fur, which provides no defense, but it is very cunning and tends to move in groups of at least four to five. This makes it a difficult monster for beginners to handle alone.

“Uki! Uki-ki!”

Currently, we were engaged in battle with five monkey-sized Mankies. Manky, with its heavy body and long tail, is a slow-moving monster despite its considerable strength. Occasionally, it can make a sudden high jump and strike from above, but if you predict the landing point, there is no real danger.

“Uki-ki! Uki-ki!”

“Be careful!”

An Hyun and Kim Hanbyeol were currently in a tough battle with three Mankies. I was keeping one at bay, and Yoojeong was handling the other, so we were at a numerical disadvantage. At least, that was the case in terms of numbers.

At that moment, while they were engaged in combat, one of the Mankies fighting An Hyun slipped back and crouched down, catching my eye. It seemed to be targeting me. Normally, it would target the vulnerable Yoojeong, but given their nature, they rarely target females. They have a strong desire for sex and a strong obsession with breeding, so they go into heat at the sight of female creatures, especially fairies (though I personally think it's unlikely for Mankies to catch fairies) and human females, to the point of going mad. They seemed to be planning to deal with the males first and then capture the females.

“Bro! Yoojeong! Be careful! One of them is missing!”

An Hyun shouted loudly. After dealing with three Mankies, the situation seemed to have improved a bit. Despite being a beginner, he was distracted during a life-or-death battle. The moment An Hyun spoke, Yoojeong's stance became more defensive. She instinctively shrank back at the thought of facing two Mankies instead of one. Soon, the crouched Manky let out a scream and leaped high into the air. That was the moment I had been waiting for.

Ping!

Without hesitation, I drew the bowstring. The arrow, whistling sharply through the air, pierced the Manky's head perfectly. It seemed to have underestimated the situation, thinking it could use the force of its fall to its advantage, or perhaps it didn't think I could hit it. I was just practicing with the kids, but if I really wanted to...

'Ah, what's the point of me saying this.'

“Bro! Watch out to the side!”

I knew. While aiming at the Manky in the air, another Manky rushed at me and tried to pin me down with its palm. Without even looking, I dodged the attack by a hair's breadth and struck the Manky's head with the arrow in my right hand. A clean counterattack. The feeling of the arrow's tip piercing the soft flesh was transmitted to my hand.

“Keeeee….”

Thud!

The Manky, emitting a mournful cry, collapsed, and at the same time, the Manky that had been in the air fell to the ground. I had taken out two Mankies in just three seconds. Quickly reloading my arrow and surveying the battlefield, it seemed everyone was fighting similarly.

An Hyun was fighting with his longsword and shield as he had at the beginning, and Kim Hanbyeol was awkwardly swinging a slightly thinner but longer longsword. Yoojeong was wielding two medium-sized daggers with sharp tips, swinging them wildly.

It seemed that An Hyun was using his sword and shield to hold off two Mankies from the front, and when an opening appeared, Kim Hanbyeol would strike. When a critical hit was landed, An Hyun and Kim Hanbyeol would quickly combine their attacks. The battle was clumsy, but they were achieving decent results. In contrast, Yoojeong seemed to be struggling to get close due to the reach disadvantage. She occasionally managed to wound a Manky's arm but was mostly retreating and swinging her daggers in the air.

Considering they had only been handling weapons for 3-4 days, it was unreasonable to expect more. They were adapting to the rite of passage at an unimaginable speed, proving their high level of skill. I sighed and aimed my crossbow at the Manky Yoojeong was facing. I didn't plan to kill it, just to create an opening like last time.

Ping!

“Keeeee!”

The arrow flew and embedded itself in the Manky's right chest. Since Manky can feel pain, it writhed and let out a pained scream. Yoojeong, who saw the opportunity, didn't miss it. Her eyes sparkled, and she quickly crouched and lunged. It was a moment where her base agility of 50 points shone.

“Die! Damn rapist monkey!”

Spitting out a thick curse, Yoojeong crossed her daggers with all her might, as if facing a lifelong enemy. At the same time, I heard An Hyun's battle cry from the side, suggesting he had landed a critical hit.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five seconds. After counting to five, I looked at the Mankies the group had been fighting, and they were all lying on the ground in a terrible state. The Manky Yoojeong had been fighting had a large X-shaped wound on its chest, and the Mankies An Hyun and Kim Hanbyeol had been fighting had one large wound each and many smaller ones. They seemed to have gradually worn down the Mankies' health with small, consistent wounds and then delivered the final blow. Ah, this is what it means to raise someone, I guess.

The three of them looked at the two Mankies I had already killed, then shook their heads and sat down on the ground. They were breathing heavily, clearly having been very tense. After all, they had been fighting five Mankies at once, which was much more difficult than their usual one-on-one battles.

“Ah... damn. I'm covered in monkey blood. It feels so dirty.”

Yoojeong, shaking her short hair to fling off the blood, spat on the ground. Covered in blood and lying on the ground, she looked both strong and beautiful, like a goddess of the battlefield. An Hyun and Kim Hanbyeol were in no better condition. Their clothes were torn, and there were dried bloodstains all over their bodies. The only ones in relatively good condition were me and An Sol.

I slowly closed my eyes and fell into thought.

It had been three days since we left the city. Including the first day, we had been alive for four days, and today was the fifth. If we could maintain this pace, we would likely reach the warp gate by the sixth or at most the seventh day.

During these five days, our lives could be described as monotonous or spectacular. We walked, fought, rested, walked, fought, and rested, repeating the cycle. In our first battle with the Mandragora, a monster we encountered after leaving the city, we almost lost An Sol. The Mandragora suddenly sprang from the ground with its mouth open, and everyone except me was so shocked that they screamed and fell over.

An Hyun, who rushed in without a plan, was injured by the plant's thorns, but fortunately, I was able to respond quickly. After that incident, Kim Hanbyeol and Yoojeong seemed to have realized something. They picked up the weapons at the save point and declared that they would fight as well. An Hyun was hesitant about the girls fighting, but their resolve was firm.

Whether they were worried about relying only on An Hyun and me for combat or genuinely wanted to help, I couldn't tell. But one thing was clear: I could see a strong desire to survive in their eyes. Since it was time to start training them anyway, I nodded in agreement.

After that, as we left the save point and passed through the forest, we encountered a person. We found a female user at the entrance where Mankies appeared. She was quite pretty, but unfortunately, she was already dead when we found her. Her clothes were almost completely torn off, and her body was covered in red bruises. White semen was still oozing from her genital area, suggesting she had been assaulted by Mankies until just before we arrived. A trail of blood from her mouth indicated she had committed suicide during the assault.

Yoojeong went berserk at the sight and was eager to take revenge on the monkeys. By coincidence or not, we found five Mankies with their genitals exposed nearby and immediately engaged in battle. Honestly, the Mankies had probably been drawn to us by Yoojeong's loud outburst. They must have been excited by the scent of a new female after the one they were enjoying died.

The result was our victory. Thinking step by step, I rose from my thoughts.

“Sol, give me a towel and a bottle of water.”

“What?”

Yoojeong's slip of the tongue was met with a sharp retort from Kim Hanbyeol.

“Ah, sorry. I was so tired, I misspoke. I meant a bottle, not Hanbyeol.”

“Haha... Okay... You worked hard, sis.”

“Worked hard my ass. How can that guy handle these monkeys so easily? Give me the crossbow! I want to use it too!”

Seeing Yoojeong throw a tantrum, I gave an awkward laugh. If you're upset, get stronger.

'I started by swinging a sword on the ground with no one to help me.'

Of course, I couldn't say that out loud, so I just gave an awkward smile.

However, it seemed they had noticed something different about my combat style. Kim Hanbyeol was sitting quietly, catching her breath, but An Hyun was staring at me intently, even as he panted.

“Bro, have you been in a special forces unit or something? How can you shoot a crossbow so well?”

“...These days, everyone learns in the military.”

“Ah, stop lying. You can learn shooting, but who learns to use a crossbow?”

“Some people who haven't even been to Seoul think they know everything. Go to the military and see. It's not just about shooting guns. You learn bayonet fighting, taekwondo, dagger techniques, javelin, archery, and crossbow as part of basic martial arts training.”

An Hyun, Yoojeong, and An Sol's expressions changed at my words. Only Kim Hanbyeol smiled, seeming to realize I was exaggerating. I wasn't particularly worried. Since the team was firmly established, I thought it was within the acceptable range to reveal this much.

“Damn... I don't care. I want to rest. My head hurts.”

“If you want to rest, sit down or stand up. What if we get attacked?”

“I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care. Sol, sorry, can I have a chocolate? I'm hungry.”

“Sol, give me one too.”

“I want one too, please.”

“Okay~. I'll bring them right away~.”

An Sol quickly moved to fulfill the requests of Yoojeong, An Hyun, and Kim Hanbyeol. An Hyun had strongly insisted that his sister not participate directly in combat, but she was helping everyone in other ways. Since An Sol seemed to enjoy helping others, she didn't seem to mind this arrangement.

Smiling, An Sol handed out the water bottles, and I slowly sat down.

Humans are highly adaptable to their environment, and this adaptability is maximized when linked to the survival instinct. I felt this was true. No matter how skilled the users, these women, who had been living ordinary lives just a few days ago, were now swinging their weapons at monsters with ease. Thinking back to how I trembled after killing my first monster, a bitter smile came to my face.

Of course, there were still concerns. Even if they could wield weapons without hesitation against monsters that threatened their lives, what if the opponent was a human? Would they be able to act as decisively then? I wanted to practice this with them if the opportunity arose, but unfortunately, there was no such chance.

“Kids, let's get up. We need to keep moving to find a yellow roof today. Bro, are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

A rest room, huh? They become harder to find the closer we get to the central gate. But there was no need to say that out loud, so I simply answered. Yoojeong nodded, looking a bit more relaxed. As everyone shook off the dirt and stood up, I also gathered my thoughts and was about to stand up when I paused. I had turned off my magic sensing for practice, but the presence of a few people nearby made me stop in my tracks.

Just as I turned my head at the sound of rustling bushes, I saw four people emerge from the dense foliage.

“Hey, who are these guys?”

At that moment, we saw four people push through the dense foliage.

============================ Author's Note ============================

1. Typos and context corrections.

2. Paragraph adjustments.