Chapter 98
“…Grrrgh—”
A hoarse voice echoed from deep within the cave. A sound often made by abominations.
But this time, the owner of that voice was human.
Kim Woojin awoke from a long sleep.
“Cough—! Kgh, cough!”
Dry coughs burst from him in succession. His condition was far from good. His head throbbed as if he had overdrunk the night before, and his mouth was parched.
To quench this thirst, he needed water. Out of habit, Woojin reached toward his waist for his canteen—then stopped.
I lost all my belongings.
The dragon’s violent flight had scattered most of what he carried.
A few things tucked deep inside his clothes had not been lost… but even those were useless. They had all been scorched and ruined by lightning.
The jerky had turned nearly to ash, unrecognizable. Half-melted gold coins had fused together into a single hardened lump.
The only thing intact was his machete.
With just that, he would have to break through the inner region of the demonic realm.
“…First, let’s move.”
With nothing left, survival meant staying busier than ever.
He rose without hesitation and walked toward the cave entrance. Soon, he stood before the thick webbing stretched across it.
He swung the machete and tore through the webs.
Woojin stepped back into the world—like a silkworm tearing free of its cocoon.
Why did the spider help me?
The question resurfaced.
To find out, he would have to locate it. But scanning the surroundings, he saw no sign of the spider. It must have left while he slept.
A bit disappointing—but he quickened his pace.
He couldn’t afford to wander around looking for a spider. With nothing to his name, survival demanded urgency.
Water first.
To ease his thirst, he needed something to drink.
Fortunately, that wasn’t difficult. When he had fallen with the dragon, he had spotted a large lake from above.
Sniffing the air, Woojin followed the faint, fishy scent of water.
Before long, his destination came into view.
A lake filled with viscous, slime-like water. At a glance, it didn’t look drinkable. But in the demonic realm, even this was a precious water source.
There are already visitors.
Several demonic beasts had arrived before him. Massive buffalo-like creatures.
They had six insect-like legs, and sharp spikes protruded from their flanks and backs.
“…Never seen those before.”
An unfamiliar species.
The buffalo-beasts standing guard glared at him warily.
Grrrk, grrrk—
They scraped the ground with their hooves as if ready to charge at any moment. A clear warning not to approach.
Starting another fight would be exhausting. Woojin detoured widely around them.
Once the intruder moved to the opposite side of the lake, the buffalo-beasts relaxed and returned to the water’s edge. Lowering their heads, they began to drink.
Splash!!
A crocodile burst from the lake.
Its savage jaws clamped onto a buffalo’s neck. The beast thrashed desperately to escape—but it was futile.
“Gweeeek—!”
A pitiful scream vanished beneath the surface.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The herd retreated from the lake in fear. Yet before long, they cautiously crept back.
If they were careless, they would be eaten—but they had no alternative. Creatures of that size needed vast amounts of water to quench their thirst.
They gulped greedily.
Watching from afar, Woojin muttered,
Getting close to the lake is dangerous.
The crocodile was enormous.
Nearly the size of a bus. A longtime resident of the lake, it had grown powerful by preying on beasts that came to drink.
In the inner region, such predators were common. Even Woojin would need to brace himself to hunt something like that. In his current condition, fighting it would be foolish.
So instead of approaching the water directly, he knelt and dug a small pit in the soil near the lakeshore.
This should do.
He sat down and stared at the hole. After some time, water slowly began to seep up from the bottom.
Lake water filtered through the soil and filled the pit.
This way, he could drink safely—and the fine lakeside soil would act as a filter, making the water cleaner.
Woojin snapped off a hollow reed growing nearby and used it as a straw.
He took a sip.
“…Not bad.”
It had a slight bitterness, but finding water this decent in the demonic realm was rare.
The problem was that it took time to refill.
Yawning lazily as he waited, Woojin glanced down at his clothes.
His coat and trousers were made from demonic beast hide.
He had favored this outfit. A hunting set crafted from the hide of a bear-beast from the inner region. The creature had possessed a Stonehide ability, and its leather was tougher than most steel armor.
But even that sturdy gear had reached its end.
Soaked in dragon poison and scorched by Firestorm, it was ruined.
The charred black hide clung to his skin—like melted gum stuck to asphalt.
I’ll just rip it off.
He tore away the burnt hide piece by piece.
Once it was all removed, Woojin stood completely naked.
Being without clothes felt… uncomfortable.
Dragon scales armored his entire body, yes—but it was a matter of feeling. He wasn’t used to wandering around bare.
Guess I’ll have to hunt something.
He would need to craft a new hunting outfit from beast hide.
As he bent down to drink again—
…multiple presences stirred behind him.
Woojin turned his head.
Lion-beasts.
The same pride he had fought before.
He had barely left the cave, and yet they had found him. It seemed they had been searching for him the entire time.
One lion stood out.
A particularly massive male with a magnificent mane.
The pride’s leader.
Hunting and securing food was the lionesses’ role. Guarding the pride from outside threats was the male’s duty.
Some beasts never forget grudges.
Woojin had slain several lionesses before. The male, having lost them, now appeared in fury.
How should I handle this?
Gripping his machete, Woojin locked eyes with the male lion as it approached.
Its stride was confident, imposing.
It was an apex predator of this region.
Fwoosh—!
Blue flames flickered around its forepaws.
The lion kicked off the ground and leapt. Twin streaks of blue fire trailed behind like sparklers, carving a long arc through the air.
That arc was aimed at Woojin’s head.
He ducked and threw himself sideways.
BOOOOM!!
The lion’s forepaw grazed his shoulder and smashed into the dirt.
A thunderous explosion followed, scattering sparks and debris in all directions. The fragments lashed against Woojin’s body.
The shockwave hurled him backward.
He tumbled across the ground, posture broken, and tried to push himself up—but the beast did not miss that opening.
The male lion pounced upon its fallen prey.
Crunch, crack—!
The savage sound of jaws chewing echoed repeatedly. Its brutal maw bit down again and again upon the victim beneath it.
The fight was over.
So the lionesses thought. They approached their leader with pleased expressions. The male continued biting, as if to ensure the kill.
“…Kgh, khhng.”
A weak sound suddenly slipped out.
The male lion convulsed, choking.
Pinned beneath it, Woojin had wrapped both hands tightly around the lion’s throat.
Skrrk, skraak—!
The lion raked its forepaws across Woojin’s flank, claws tearing wildly. But with its airway crushed, it could not exert proper strength. The claws left only long scratches across the dragon scales.
After a moment, the lion’s forepaws lost force, drumming weakly against Woojin’s side—like a tap of surrender.
Woojin had no intention of letting go.
Crack!
He twisted and snapped the lion’s neck.
Its tongue lolled out as the black-maned beast collapsed. Its breathing ceased. Woojin shoved the corpse aside and stood.
The lionesses recoiled in shock.
They blinked blankly, unable to process what had just happened. The scene before them was the exact opposite of what they had expected.
Then you die.
He charged into the pride.
The machete swung wildly, like the blade of a blind swordsman dancing in frenzy. Each arc carved cleanly through a lioness’s body.
Only then did they grasp reality. The lionesses scattered in all directions and fled.
Woojin did not bother chasing them.
“Ah… that stings.”
He rubbed his neck repeatedly. Several bite marks marred the scales there, dark red blood seeping through.
Predators of the inner region were strong. The lion’s bite force had pierced the dragon scales and torn flesh beneath.
“Still, worth the trouble.”
Woojin had deliberately killed the male without using the machete. He wanted the hide intact.
He intended to craft a new hunting outfit from the magnificent hide of the pride leader.
“First, restore some stamina.”
He gathered the carcasses—three lionesses and one male.
After splitting open their bellies and extracting the inner cores, he chewed through them one by one like snacks while working.
Scrk, scrape—
He sharpened one of the lionesses’ fangs into a blade with his machete. Skinning was easier with a short dagger than with a long machete.
“Eating the cores helps.”
After consuming the male’s core, his condition improved noticeably.
But he gained no new ability. Ever since he had absorbed the dragon’s core and acquired Firestorm, inheriting new traits from other cores had become nearly impossible.
If he had to describe it—
“…Like that crocodile in the lake.”
Just as the crocodile devoured any beast that approached the water, Firestorm greedily consumed the power of any core he ingested.
That was why, in the past, Woojin had readily yielded cores to the wolves.
I wonder how Rex is doing.
He had ordered the wolves to guard Saint Cecilia. They were likely carrying out that duty faithfully.
Faces from the south came to mind one by one—Cecilia, Roland, Bow, the gnoll tribe, the arrogant nagas… and Claire.
“…I promised I’d return soon.”
A sigh escaped him.
He had promised to return within four months. But given the situation, he could no longer guarantee when he would make it back to the city.
A truly worst-case scenario.
And yet…
Another part of him found the situation strangely exhilarating.
He had never set foot in this region before. His usual hunting grounds were in the northwestern reaches of the demonic realm. This was the northeast—its complete opposite.
He possessed nothing. Everything around him was unfamiliar—terrain, beasts, abilities. And here he was, crafting a hunting outfit from lion hide in the middle of it all.
“…It feels like a new beginning.”
A subtle excitement and sense of liberation stirred within his chest.