Chapter: 23
“So, you understand now why I did that, right?”
How much time had passed?
Perhaps his anger had finally subsided, because Eugene had returned to speaking politely.
After hearing his question, Isia didn’t even have the strength to move a finger, but she barely managed to nod.
Because if she didn’t…
She would have to experience that hell all over again.
What exactly am I supposed to understand?!
Of course, she hadn’t understood a single word Eugene had said.
She had been so desperately focused on avoiding even one more blow that she hadn’t had the mental capacity to listen to him.
His voice had been nothing more than faint background noise slipping through the constant impacts, like white noise.
Even so, the Sword Queen didn’t ask him to repeat himself.
“Good.”
Only after stopping his assault did Eugene nod in satisfaction.
“That takes care of this side.”
After glancing at the Sword Queen, Eugene shifted his gaze toward Park Jihoo, who was lying face-down without moving.
“Hey. You dead?”
He casually nudged Jihoo’s head with the tip of his foot.
“U… ugh…”
Fortunately, he was still alive.
Though all four of his limbs had been broken after resisting so fiercely.
“So, what did you say this guy’s name was?”
He wanted to hear it directly from him, but it looked like it would take quite a while before Jihoo regained consciousness, so he asked Isia instead.
“P-Park Jihoo.”
As expected, it was a name he didn’t recognize.
“How did you end up traveling with this guy?”
“Well…”
Isia quickly explained everything that had happened in Terra.
“So the people who came up from the same tutorial floor as Jihoo all call him the Battle Demon.”
“What?”
Eugene’s eyes gleamed.
“T-The Battle Demon…”
“Pfft!”
The moment she confirmed it, Eugene burst into laughter.
“So my suspicion was right after all?”
To think this brat was actually that Battle Demon.
He’d had no way to track him down, so he’d been planning to search slowly after reaching the higher floors.
And yet I found him this easily.
He’d set out to recruit the Sword Queen…
And had ended up finding the Battle Demon as well.
Things really couldn’t be going any better.
It’s only the first floor, and I’ve already found two of them.
Now there was only one person left.
Although he still hadn’t decided who that final person would be.
Of course, neither the Sword Queen nor the Battle Demon had ever expressed any intention of joining Eugene.
But that trivial detail didn’t matter in the slightest.
Once he’d made up his mind…
They no longer had a choice.
The Battle Demon…
Unlike the Sword Queen, he still hadn’t found an appropriate gift for him.
What would be good?
During the first timeline, the Battle Demon had used Dragon God Armor [A].
An item that combined armor and gauntlets into a perfect balance of offense and defense.
But unlike Black Wing [A], Eugene had absolutely no information on where to obtain it.
Besides, there’s no way something like that would appear on the first floor anyway.
That meant he’d have to find something suitable for immediate use.
As Eugene frowned in thought, Isia swallowed nervously.
She was terrified of whatever insane thing he was about to do next.
“Oh, right.”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Eugene looked at her.
“What’s your name?”
Come to think of it, he only knew her as the Sword Queen.
He’d never learned her real name.
“I-I’m Isia.”
After hesitating briefly, she let out a small sigh before telling him.
She truly hadn’t wanted to.
But if she refused…
She might end up reliving that hell again.
“My name’s Sung Eugene, so just call me whatever’s comfortable.”
After speaking, Eugene reached toward Black Wing [A] hanging from his waist.
Flinch!
W-Why?
Isia shuddered.
Did I do something wrong?
Is he picking up the sheath again?
In less than a second, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
But her guess was wrong.
“Here, take this. I wanted to give it to you as a gift before, but I only got around to it now.”
“…Huh?”
A gift?
She tilted her head, unable to understand.
“It’s a sword called Black Wing [A]. Right now it’s an A-rank item, but once it becomes yours, it’ll probably drop to C-rank.”
She didn’t understand what he meant.
But compared to her own sword, Crimson Lotus [E], it looked incomparably better.
Without thinking, she reached out.
“Ah…”
The feel of the hilt against her palm was almost intoxicating.
She hadn’t even done anything.
Yet it felt as though she had become one with the sword.
With dazed eyes, Isia stared at the black blade.
“It’s a growth-type item. Raise it well, and it’ll eventually become far better than most swords.”
Eugene added a few more explanations.
But Isia wasn’t listening.
Her entire consciousness was absorbed in the feeling of unity with the sword.
Heh.
Seeing her reaction, Eugene smiled inwardly.
She really was the Sword Queen.
Her talent and concentration when it came to swords were unmatched.
Within the Tower…
Aside from Eugene himself, there was probably no one capable of surpassing her.
Looks like she likes it. That’s a relief.
It had originally been the Sword Queen’s sword.
There couldn’t possibly be a better gift than this.
Things turned out a little differently than I’d planned.
Still…
What did it matter?
As long as the destination was the same.
In fact, thanks to how things had unfolded, he could start their training even sooner.
This is actually more exhausting than I expected.
Eugene hadn’t simply beaten up the Sword Queen and the Battle Demon.
In fact…
It had been the opposite.
As he relentlessly rained blows upon them with his scabbard, he had forcibly drilled proper combat posture into their bodies.
They weren’t used to it yet, so it would take time before the effects showed.
But if they repeated this for a few more months…
Their fundamentals will be rock solid.
It was hundreds of times faster than hunting monsters alone or grinding skills through experience.
Granted…
There was the rather serious side effect known as excruciating pain.
But that was something they’d have to endure on their own.
Anyway, the Sword Queen’s training is more or less done.
Now it’s this guy’s turn.
Eugene searched through the memories buried deep within his mind.
Until he found Dragon God Armor [A]…
He needed another item the Battle Demon could use.
“Hm… That should work.”
It was completely useless to Eugene, who fought with a sword.
But for the Battle Demon, who specialized in hand-to-hand combat…
It was perfect.
“Champion Gloves [C].”
The name sounded cheap.
But performance-wise, they were good enough to remain useful all the way up to the fiftieth floor.
“Getting them is a little troublesome, but Champion Gloves [C] should be more than enough for him for now.”
Good.
Decision made.
“Let’s get moving.”
Eugene hoisted Park Jihoo over his shoulder.
“A-Are we going back to the city?”
“Back? It’s not even dark yet.”
“…Then?”
“Didn’t we come out here to hunt?”
“Well… yes.”
“Then let’s hunt. We’re not going back until both of you reach Level 10 today, so keep that in mind.”
Level 10?
She had no idea how long that would take.
But judging from Eugene’s expression…
It certainly didn’t look like it would be easy.
“Let’s see… Where are those Red Goblins?”
The hunt had been interrupted for a while.
But he had absolutely no intention of returning now.
If anything…
They needed to work even harder.
He had to train the still-inexperienced Sword Queen and Battle Demon.
And raise their levels.
Looks like we’ll be staying longer than I expected.
Smiling, Eugene reached toward his waist—
Then suddenly froze.
“Oh, right. I gave you my sword.”
He looked somewhat regretfully at the blade now resting in Isia’s hands.
She instinctively hugged it protectively against her chest, staring at him with an expression that practically screamed:
You’re not going to take it back after giving it to me… right?
“Tsk.”
Eugene clicked his tongue.
“I really liked that sword.”
Where else was he supposed to find an A-rank sword on the first floor?
It would probably be a long time before he found another weapon that good.
“Well, can’t be helped.”
Until he reached the upper floors…
He’d just have to make do with what he had.
He moved the hand that had been resting at his waist up to his arm.
“Huh?”
Isia’s eyes widened.
She’d been so busy getting beaten earlier that she hadn’t noticed.
Something was dangling from Eugene’s arm.
“A bear?”
It was an adorable teddy bear, only slightly larger than the palm of a hand.
Wait… that’s a real bear!
She’d thought it was just a stuffed toy.
But it was actually alive and moving.
What on earth is that?
As Isia stared curiously at the cute little bear—
“Open wide.”
With a rather uncomfortable expression, Eugene shoved his entire hand straight into the bear’s mouth.
“AAAAAAAH!”
The horrifying sight made Isia scream.
“GROOOAAAR!”
The bear, Chunbae, let out a tremendous cry as well.
Then—
Srrrrrrk.
A crimson blade slowly emerged from Chunbae’s mouth.
Fire Dragon Blade [E].
Compared to Black Wing [A], it was practically garbage.
But what else could he do?
For now…
It would have to suffice.
“At least there’s no weird slime on it.”
The Fire Dragon Blade [E] looked exactly the same as when he’d stored it inside Chunbae.
If it had come out covered in some mysterious liquid…
That would’ve been seriously unpleasant.
“Groooar!”
As if telling him not to worry, Chunbae patted Eugene’s arm with one of his tiny paws.
“Now that I’ve got a weapon again, let’s go. The Red Goblins should be over that way.”
After casually performing that grotesque spectacle, Eugene simply started walking.
He’s definitely insane.
With trembling eyes, Isia stared at his retreating back before slowly following after him.
Like a prisoner being led to the execution grounds.
Enond was once again standing guard at the eastern gate.
Things were quiet for the moment.
But before long, this place would undoubtedly become busy.
The players hiding inside Terra would begin heading out to hunt one by one.
I hope things stay peaceful this time.
Every player he’d ever seen had been the same.
At first, they acted like the biggest cowards in the world.
Then, as they gradually grew stronger…
Their true nature emerged.
They bullied ordinary residents of Terra.
They casually swung their weapons around.
Countless civilians had died at the hands of players.
Whenever that happened, Enond and the city guards would step in and punish the worst offenders…
“…Sigh.”
A deep sigh escaped him.
It was always the same concern.
And, as always…
He would probably end up witnessing the same tragedies again.
Long ago, Enond had completely given up expecting anything from creatures known as players.
Honestly, it’d be better if they’d just level up quickly and move on to the upper floors.
I wonder when they’ll finally start hunting in earnest this time.
“Hey, Enond.”
Lost in thought as he gazed at the dark night sky, he heard a fellow guard call out.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Someone’s approaching.”
At those words, Enond immediately became alert and looked beyond the gate.
The first floor at night was dangerous.
The monsters became even more vicious.
Creatures that never appeared during the day often emerged after sunset.
Naturally…
There shouldn’t have been any players wandering outside Terra at this hour.
“Are those… people?”
Silhouettes gradually came into view.
They looked nothing like monsters.
They were people.
Three of them.
They’re not residents.
Could they possibly be players who had just cleared the tutorial floor?
Gripping his weapon just in case, he carefully watched them approach.
A moment later—
“Damn it! Finally made it back!”
Definitely humans.
Players.
“N-Noona… I’m exhausted…”
“Stay awake! Don’t fall asleep here!”
One woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
One staggering teenage boy.
And—
“Quit whining over one day of hunting and get inside already. I need a bath. I feel disgusting.”
A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties.
“W-What in the world…?”
Their ages and genders were all different.
But they had one thing in common.
Every single one of them looked as though they had just taken a bath in blood.
Enond couldn’t even imagine what they had been doing outside.
“Yo, Enond. We meet again. No need to check our identities this time, right?”
The bloodiest-looking man among them casually raised a hand and greeted him.
