49 – My Miseries – 4

Chapter 10. My Miseries – 4

Tolchi admitted that he had fallen into a trap.

He had thought that perhaps Gi-jun might notice.

However, he believed that as long as he could drag him into the dungeon, he could easily kill him by joining forces with the vampire.

However, the trap prepared by spending thousands of gold coins did not weaken Gi-jun in the slightest, and the vampire, who was the hidden card, was cleanly annihilated.

On top of that, Tolchi was surrounded by Gi-jun and five Orc warriors.

“You didn’t trust me from the beginning.”

“I wanted to trust you. Even the Lord asked me to turn a blind eye to your actions.”

“……The Lord did.”

To Gi-jun, even the loyalty he showed to the Lord was abominable.

If that loyalty was genuine, and if he knew that Gi-jun was indeed a being who could influence the Lord.

Should he not have dared to even dream of doing such a thing?

Therefore, this insect of an Orc was not a knight.

“But you didn’t have the slightest value to be trusted. Not only did you try to kill me, but you also tried to frame Chabanbesh’s group, and you even joined hands with the undead.”

“Grrrrr…!”

“Shall I tell you? You’re just a pathetic loser who wants to play a noble knight all by yourself.”

―As expected of my contractor, you said exactly what I wanted to say!

Gi-jun raised his shield, pointing it at Tolchi, and spoke.

“Still, I will help you end this like a knight. Chabanbesh, I want you to keep watch so that the two of us can fight.”

“Jun!”

“Do you not trust me?”

“……I understand. You are a true, true warrior.”

Chabanbesh nodded as if moved by Gi-jun’s words and told the other Orcs to form a large circle so that the two could fight.

Of course, they had every intention of jumping in if Gi-jun fell into danger, but to be honest, Gi-jun had told them to back off because he was afraid that Chabanbesh and the other Orcs might get killed by Tolchi if they stepped in for no reason, so he had absolutely no intention of letting them intervene.

“You are trying to humiliate me to the very end. You took away my achievements, and now you want to take away my honor as well…?”

The Orc knight gripped his greatsword in rage.

Throwing off his helmet as if frustrated, he roared, revealing his fiercely grimacing face.

The earring hanging from only one of his ears seemed to tremble.

“I won’t… let you!!”

Seeing the Orc’s wide-open eyes and brown skin dye bright red, Chabanbesh cried out in shock.

“Berserk…?!”

“Yes…!”

As if he had already lost half of his reason, he made a guttural growl like a wild beast.

“High Orc, Berserk…! It’s my power, a poweeeeer that a bastard like you cannot resist!”

In an instant, even his greatsword dyed red, and in the next moment, he rushed right in front of Gi-jun.

Gi-jun quickly cast Moonlight Blood Fangs and thrust out the King of the Well to deflect it, but surprisingly, he was being pushed back by sheer force.

“Don’t take it head-on, Jun! According to the stories passed down among Orcs, Berserk is said to increase one’s strength by nearly twofold!”

Chabanbesh cried out desperately.

But it was already far too late.

Gi-jun retreated a couple of steps from the Orc’s ridiculous strength, gritted his teeth, and activated both Salutaris and Adamant simultaneously to strengthen his body.

“Is that so? Interesting. Come at me more.”

“Even without a traaaaaap!”

Boom! The greatsword swung by the berserker without a second thought created a massive crater in the earth, sending vibrations throughout the area.

It was probably a skill, as a vibration greater than the impact of the greatsword shook Gi-jun’s center of gravity.

Not missing that opening, the Orc kicked off the ground and swung his sword once again.

“I can kill you as many times as I waaaaant!”

“That’s why.”

But he had already experienced such shallow tricks to the point of satiety through thousands and tens of thousands of spars with Biche.

Regaining his balance in the blink of an eye, Gi-jun easily avoided the greatsword and slammed his shield into the Orc’s face.

“Kahak!”

“Try me.”

Once an opening was revealed, he could easily hit him three times.

If he had shields in both hands, he could have hit him twice as many times, but since he was short a shield now, he had no choice but to settle for raising flames in his hand and firing them.

“Arrrrgh!”

The Orc, whose face was scorched by the flames, howled fiercely and swung his greatsword horizontally.

It was a strike that felt less like swinging a sword and more like clawing the space in front of him, resembling the claws of a giant beast.

Gi-jun raised his shield and blocked it.

It was not out of bravado; he felt he could block it.

It was also to level up his weapon techniques, whose growth had slowed down after reaching the Legendary grade.

“Kuuuugh!”

“Hoo.”

The result was quite satisfying.

Although he had to take a step back, he was able to block the attack roughly with just the shield in one hand.

This was only possible thanks to the utility of the Legendary-grade skill, Adamant, which turned his entire body, and even his shield, into divine iron.

And as a reward for taking such a risk—he was also able to scorch the wide-open Orc with flames once again.

“Kuaaaaah!”

“You have gotten a bit cleaner, insect.”

Gi-jun mocked him as he dodged the Orc’s greatsword, which flew in at a clearly visible angle.

He did not forget to beat and scorch the bastard with his shield and flames in between his attacks.

“Do you feel me purifying you? Be grateful.”

“Dieeeeee!”

At that moment, surprisingly, the Orc’s greatsword accelerated once again.

It was a moment that made him realize that the Summoned who had survived on this continent as long as Tolchi and reached a high position hid at least one trump card skill, just as Gi-jun did.

Of course, he was able to block it somehow this time too, but he realized a bit late that the strike just now had been executed by the Orc with only one hand.

“You too—are wide open—!”

“Tsk.”

He blocked the Orc’s fist, which came twisting in as if to crush his shoulder, with his palm enveloped in flames.

Being able to react to such absurd speed was entirely thanks to his Dexterity, which had reached the Legendary grade.

“Annoying, you are so annoying!”

He must have been frustrated by Gi-jun’s ghost-like quick reactions, as the Orc let out a bizarre shriek and wildly thrust his greatsword.

Thinking it was an attack even a slug could dodge, he easily avoided it and was about to counterattack, but in the next moment, Tolchi finally crossed the line.

“You bastards are annoying too!”

As soon as Gi-jun stepped back, the bastard turned his body directly toward the Orcs!

He had realized that Gi-jun had pushed them back for their safety!

―He is absolute trash. I wish he would say one more time that he protects the weak.

There was no time to think deeply.

Gi-jun pulled out an object boasting the most suitable grip for throwing, activated Flash Throw, and hurled a fireball that flew at the speed of light toward the Orc’s head!

“—I was waiting for that!”

However, surprisingly, it was caught in midair.

Caught in a trap that exhibited immense elasticity and viscosity as if a spider web had suddenly appeared, it stopped without even a chance to budge!

“Kuaaaah!”

Having blocked Gi-jun’s attack with the trump card he had saved until this very moment, the Orc quickly kicked off the ground and rushed at Gi-jun, swinging down his completely blood-red greatsword at his head!

It was the same strike that had finished off the Lizardman just a while ago, likely the fastest and most powerful blow Tolchi could deliver—!

“Let’s see you block this without a shield—huh?”

“But, ta-da.”

―Screeech!

Gi-jun’s shield, emitting a brilliant light, deflected the Orc’s greatsword beautifully.

Something popped right into the mouth of the Orc, who was wearing a dazed expression as he failed to comprehend it.

And a powerful uppercut followed!

“Keohup!”

Gulp.

Realizing that he had swallowed something, Tolchi gagged and retreated, but he could not throw it up.

“W-what did you feed me?”

“Something left behind by the woman who wanted to take revenge on you.”

“What about the thing you threw earlier…?”

“A Dullahan’s head.”

He only had one shield, so did they think he was crazy enough to throw it?

Tolchi, who was retching, looked back at the Dullahan’s head that was still caught in midair and faltered with a hollow expression.

“I don’t know what you fed me, but—”

“You don’t need to know. Because you’re about to die now.”

“No, you who underestimated the regeneration of Berserk will fall by my hand first—”

Gi-jun stared intently at Tolchi.

The basic yet core ability of Flame Eyes was activated.

An absurdly cheat-like ability that consumed the target’s mana to immobilize them while simultaneously burning them.

“You think you can hold me with just this level of mystic eyes—!”

Of course, a living creature would have resistance, so stopping their movement completely would be impossible, but in the case of the Banshee, who was a complete spiritual body, she had helplessly fallen victim to this and had to stop in midair.

However, activating Flame Eyes on him now was not so much to stop his movement, but rather…

“Now, the fire must have caught inside you as well.”

“…Huh?”

Indeed.

Boom!

―Kaboom!

The result of the Mana Bomb—which could blow away the entire area and was even packed full of fire spirit energy—exploding inside his body was truly disastrous.

Tolchi’s upper body evaporated without a trace, and as if proving the sturdiness of a High Orc, his barely remaining two legs that had managed to hold up burned in the flames and collapsed in different directions.

―You have obtained 25,388 points.

―Updating civilization information.

―The Flash Throw (R) skill has become level 3.

―You have obtained 25,388 points.

―Updating civilization information.

―The Flash Throw (R) skill has become level 3.

Gi-jun gave a faint smile to the Orcs who were staring blankly at the scene and walk toward Tolchi’s corpse.

Truly surprisingly, despite his upper body being completely blown away, the earring that had been hanging from his ear was half-intact.

“Yeah, it’s exactly the same. So stop crying already.”

Gi-jun pulled out the other earring from his inventory and threw it onto the Orc’s two legs, which were burning like firewood.

He also tossed the greatsword, which was rolling on the ground half-broken, on top of them, and stepped back as he quietly called the name of his contracted spirit.

“Ur.”

―Kiiiii.

The pile of garbage collecting everything related to Tolchi began to burn even more fiercely.

This was to wipe out his traces and clear any suspicions that might arise… and at the same time, it was a requiem ritual.

―Now, you disappear too. Be grateful that the contractor even used a Mana Bomb that he didn’t really need to, just to get revenge for you!

―…

As expected, Lucy caught on.

Frankly speaking, there was absolutely no need to use a Mana Bomb at the last moment.

Although it was true that Tolchi, who used Berserk, was strong, he was at best only slightly stronger than a Dullahan.

He could not defeat Gi-jun, who had become much stronger after receiving several rewards from this quest.

Then, what was the reason he went out of his way to use a Mana Bomb—which cost hundreds of gold coins each and was hard to obtain in the first place—to finish him off?

Well, it was because he thought, as Lucy expected, that it would be cleaner to end it with the item left behind by the woman who wanted revenge on him.

―Since Ur will be able to produce that kind of destructive power easily once he grows just a little more. It’s not a waste, not a waste at all.

‘Thank you for saying so, Lucy.’

As he replied while pretending not to notice Lucy’s words, which were dripping with regret, and watched the burning Orc corpse, he felt the Banshee’s soul, which had been clinging to him until then, gently detach from him.

Was it because her grudge had been resolved, or was it because she had clung to him during that short time and fed on the crumbs of the vast spiritual power flowing out of him?

With her severed arm and lower body regrown, she seemed to have fully regained her beauty from when she was alive, even though she was in the form of a spirit.

Perhaps because she was fundamentally an evil spirit, she could not hide a somewhat dark air.

―Thank you so much…!

“It wasn’t for you. I have no intention of justifying your making tears of blood flow from the eyes of countless others for your revenge, so if you are satisfied with this, quickly fall to hell and atone.”

To the ghost who was expressing gratitude with a peaceful smile, Gi-jun snorted in disbelief and replied coldly.

However, the ghost’s attitude remained unchanged.

―I know your warmth now. Thank you, thank you so much…!

―Ah—seriously, you are such a nuisance, so could you just disappear quickly?

For a split second, the ghost glared at her with a venomous look, but upon sensing Gi-jun’s gaze, she instantly changed her expression as if performing a face-changing act and bowed politely to him once again.

―I hope the day comes when you seek me again. Thank you, thank you…

Leaving behind words of gratitude that echoed like an echo, the ghost threw herself into the burning fire.

Astonished by that, Lucy closed her eyes tightly and stamped her feet in the air.

―I shouldn’t have told her to disappear. What should I do, Contractor? This is my fault!

‘No, Lucy. Maybe that was just her own way of passing on.’

While Gi-jun comforted Lucy with a bitter smile, the flames that had finally burned everything to ashes died down.

Gi-jun gently scratched the scruff of Ur, who let out a sharp cry as if saying he had completed the task, and approached the spot where the fire had vanished.

He was astonished.

At the place where everything had burned away.

There was an item that still remained.

* * *

Having heard that a disaster called Overflow had occurred in the western part of the Gratia Kingdom, where the remaining 500,000 people of Earth’s civilization were presumed to have been summoned, Ye-min’s party spent the entire day searching for information.

Only toward evening, after obtaining information from the Mercenary Guild that ‘the region where the humans were newly summoned is outside the influence zone of the Overflow,’ were they finally able to calm down.

Indeed, because most of the Earthlings summoned to the west were too terrified to even step outside the protective barrier, there had been zero chance of them getting caught up in the Overflow in the first place.

The reason information about them had come in at all was because news had spread that some of the humans had barely managed to reach a nearby town after a few days.

Since the Earthlings summoned to the eastern part of the Gratia Kingdom along with Ye-min’s party would likely have held out inside the barrier as much as possible as well, the group, to whom this was by no means someone else’s problem, returned to their lodging with sighs that carried half relief and half pity for humanity.

“Ah, Jun-i oppaaaaaa…”

Perhaps because she was overly relieved by the fact that Gi-jun was outside the Overflow’s zone of influence, Ye-min gulped down alcohol and ended up collapsing face down right there.

Although she usually only looked for Gi-jun, today she cried out for him like crazy.

When she passed out like that, the party was relieved in a sense.

“Is she really asleep?”

“Noona, stop—”

When Ji-hye, holding a beer mug in one hand, poked Ye-min’s shoulder, Eun-shin stopped her in shock.

“If she wakes up, who else would she look for but that guy Jun? Let her sleep.”

Mok-su, who spoke, was also drinking with a fairly relieved expression, but Ji-hye actually had a slightly worried look.

“I wasn’t going to say this because I was afraid it would bring bad luck… but what if Gi-jun oppa started moving early? What if he somehow ended up in the Overflow’s zone of influence because of that?”

“So that’s why you just checked if Min-i noona was asleep.”

If she had heard what Ji-hye just said, she would have started throwing a fit again.

At Eun-shin’s dumbfounded words, Ji-hye showed a huffy expression.

“You never know. Even if there’s nothing we can do, we still have to consider all the possibilities…”

“He’ll be fine. He’s Jun, after all.”

Mok-su grinned, reassuring Ji-hye.

“Would that guy move alone, leaving behind the other humans he’s afraid of? That good-natured fellow? Unless he gets betrayed first, that will absolutely never happen. He’s the type who would try to help somehow, even while making a crying face and saying he doesn’t know how to persuade people.”

“That’s true, Jun-i hyung is really—such a good person that you wonder how a human can be like that. I wish I had known him since we lived on Earth.”

“He was like the incarnation of agape.”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

Ji-hye, who had been frowning despite being the one to bring up the anxious topic first, only showed a relieved expression after hearing the two speak.

In other words, she had an extremely exhausting personality where she had to voice every anxious element and could only feel relieved after it was completely denied.

“Right, Gi-jun oppa would definitely do that. That’s why, with that ordinary face of his…”

At this point, Ji-hye checked once again if Ye-min was sound asleep.

Then, feeling relieved, she continued.

“He went around seducing all the amazing women.”

“What’sthattellmemoredetailsquicklyI’minahurryI’mgoingtobuymorealcoholnow.”

“Uncle, take a breath while you talk. And stop drinking.”

While Eun-shin held Mok-su back, Ji-hye giggled and continued.

“Neither of you knew. Well, it makes sense since the one who was openly popular in our party was Uncle Su.”

“The important one right now isn’t me. I’ve already put on my coat; if you don’t tell me quickly, I’m really going to buy alcohol by the crate. And I’m going to drink until you tell me.”

“Jun-i hyung… was popular? I mean, he was a really good hyung. He and I hung out almost all the time, so why didn’t I know?”

Still, I thought we were comrades in being unpopular, Eun-shin murmured only to himself, feeling slightly hurt.

Ji-hye looked at him as if he were cute and explained.

“He was quite popular among the heroes… the Summoned, too. But as everyone knows, the Summoned knew Min-i had claimed Gi-jun oppa early on, so they didn’t dare to even think of hitting on him. If they had a brain, they couldn’t even think of competing with Min-i in the first place.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“Min-i noona’s attitude was rather blatant, after all…”

“Where he was truly exploding with popularity was among the NPCs.”

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

Mok-su and Eun-shin both showed understanding expressions at those words.

If Ye-min was the one who captivated the NPCs with her unique charisma to obtain or lead quests,

it was Gi-jun who approached the NPCs, treated them warmly, and served as a buffer so that the quests could proceed smoothly.

“We know now because the tutorial is over, but those NPCs were also real people in the end.”

“Right.”

“Many of the other Summoned approached it like a game in the first place, and there were many cases where their ugly true nature was revealed when pushed into a corner, right? But Gi-jun oppa… how should I put it, he was serious about everything. Or should I say he genuinely cared for the NPCs.”

“Jun-i hyung is a hero.”

Eun-shin spoke in a serious voice.

“At least to me, he is. That hyung’s heart is that of a true hero.”

“Yeah, there were quite a few NPCs who thought exactly like Shin. Among them, there were even people who seriously tried to make a move on Gi-jun oppa…”

“Hmm.”

At the voice suddenly made by someone, Ji-hye’s mouth shut tight.

Mok-su pretended to be drunk and collapsed onto the table immediately, while Eun-shin used his innate ability, which was the same as his name, to hide himself entirely.

Left all alone after being betrayed by everyone in the blink of an eye, Ji-hye slowly turned her stiffened neck, only to find Ye-min, who had regained her senses at some point, staring at her with an expressionless face.

“So, what did those NPCs do? I’m curious. Tell me.”

“Huh? Oh, nothing, just that those people had to give up in the end, too. Ha, haha…”

Sooner or later, the NPCs had no choice but to notice the existence of the misery… Ye-min, who was glaring with eyes like axes by Gi-jun’s side.

Ji-hye ultimately could not bring herself to say those words and had to keep her mouth shut.