Level Up Monster
Chapter 37
"…. Wolf Wolf."
Kim In-Soo muttered with a heavy voice.
If someone wants to be technical, then Sae-Jin isn't really a Werewolf. No, he was actually an Ebony Wolf that used Beast Mode. But, seeing that the Werewolf was a rare Monster with little known facts about it, to distinguish it with such small details was impossible.
"T, team leader !! We have to escape! The werewolf that's what I …"
"What do you mean, run ?! It's a monster, right?" (Women's Knights.)
"No, no, it's Beast Spirit …."
A war of words between two men threatens to explode again, but is quickly controlled by Kim In-Soo pulling out his sword.
"T, that ... Do you plan to fight against it, Mister? Even if we evacuate, the Werewolf won't come after us, you know?"
"Wolf Wolf is a very dangerous monster. You could say it did not belong at the Mid Tier hunting grounds. And one of the jobs that the upper middle rank knights had to do, was to defeat dangerous Monsters that were not included in the particular hunt of reason. "
Kim In-Soo pointed his sword at the Wolf. The tip of the blade is now directed towards the creature's head. Sir, you are not upper Mid Tier yet. The subordinate male knight watched him do his best to swallow these words: Sir, you are not yet above Mid Tier …
"You can evacuate because you won't be of much help here."
"No way! I will fight with you!"
When the female Knight boldly answered and pulled her bow from her back, Kim In-Soo nodded in satisfaction.
It was extremely difficult to find archers among the Knight ranks. That was because, the arrows fired had to be guided and loaded with Mana by the archers until it caused damage to the target. Of course, such a thing required an extraordinary talent to perform. One needed Affinity with Mana that approached witches to do this, even.
"Knight Soh Yeo-Jin, protect me."
"Yes!"
Seeing the energetic duo talking like this, the two remaining male Knights had no choice but to draw their swords as well.
"They must be crazy. '
Kim Sae-Jin's eyebrows tighten in annoyance. Although it was a simple change in his facial expression, on the Wolf's face it became much more frightening. And that caused the subordinate Knights to stumble a little.
"You don't have to worry."
Kim In-Soo assuaged the fears of the Knights and focused Mana on the sword. Unlike the usual Mana blue color, pure white light gathered around the blade.
"Wow…"
Confused by the spectacle, the female Knight, Soh Yeo-Jin admires this purest white Mana show.
It was the 'Saviour of Light' in action – Magical properties that supposedly increased destructive power when dealing with Monsters.
…Khhrrng . " " … Khhrrrng. "
As expected of the famous Trait, even Kim Sae-Jin feels it is dangerous. dangerous . No, it's not on the level of just being dangerous. The Ebony Wolf actually feared for its life after seeing that white Mana. His trembling hand was the inescapable proof of this.
However, Sae-Jin's self-esteem stops her from escaping.
When the instincts of monsters, and the consciousness of man become mixed, the chaos has been replaced by a new kind of ego.
And in this situation, a burning desire to fight suddenly exploded in his heart.
* SFX for another loud roar *
That's the strangest thing. He really did not plan to shout like a ferocious beast, but his mouth opened and a loud roar came out by itself.
Just then, his consciousness blurred, and his body began to move automatically.
[Skill 'Warrior of Reversal' has been activated ….
"…. !!"
Exploding into a windstorm, Sae-Jin lunges forward towards the Knights. The amount of reaction time to the sudden speed rotation was almost zero. Kim In-Soo quickly covered his body with Mana, but alas, the Wolf's target wasn't him.
* SFX for a woman's shout *
A high-pitched scream could be heard from his back.
The wily wolf attacked the female Knight behind trying to provide protection and immobilize her first. The bow was sliced in half, and his slender wrist had deep wounds on it, blood spurting from the new wound.
"… This is !!"
Kim In-Soo and the two Knights hurriedly attacked the Wolf.
"Yes !!!"
With a powerful and explosive shout, the subordinates swung their swords towards Kim Sae-Jin. Unfortunately for them, the attribute of 'Weapon Destruction Level E' was currently active on his body. He simply slashed their swords with his claws.
* SFX for the piece of metal being cut *
The broken blade part danced in the air.
After their Mana-infused blades shattered easily, the subordinate Knights panicked and had to retreat a few steps.
So, Sae-Jin stops paying attention to them and turns around to the back where he can feel the ferocious and explosive Mana.
With his entire body glowing white, Kim In-Soo slashes with his sword at Sae-Jin.
KWAAAAAAAHANG
However, his sword only managed to turn the ground because the Wolf had escaped into the air and retreated to a safer distance.
"… Team leader! What do we do?"
One of the subordinates asked worriedly. Kim In-Soo glanced at him and gave the order.
"Bring Soh Yeo-Jin and evacuate. There are still potions left, so recovery shouldn't be difficult."
"…."
"Without weapons, you'll only get in the way. So, move!"
When the Knights hesitated and did nothing, Kim In-Soo shouted loudly. Only then did the subordinate flee in earnest, while he pointed his sword at the Wolf.
"You're smart."
Sae-jin's only weapon against the Mana-infused sword is the claw.
"You're sneaky."
The intensity of the light obscuring Kim In-Soo's body increased by a degree. Sae-Jin squints her eyes into a mere slit, as the brightness makes it very difficult to keep her fully open.
Right at that moment, from Kim In-Soo's body, countless Mana blades shot towards Sae-Jin like a nest of exploding snakes.
"…!"
Countless rays of light, bright enough to blot out the sun, filled the sky and began raining down on a single target ….
Impossible to escape.
However, Wolf claws can slice both corporeal and incorporeal. In other words, its claws could cut Mana as well
Sae-Jin slashes at the falling droplets of light rays, over and over again. One could say that it all looks rather easy, even. As soon as the Mana rays touched the claws, they helplessly shattered and disappeared like morning mist.
It is now Kim In-Soo's turn to panic after witnessing this incredible scene. Staring at Wolf with eyes of disbelief for a while, he then stopped his ineffective attack and rushed towards the creature.
Klang !!
Wolf's claws were at odds with his sword. A sharp screech echoed throughout the forest, with sparks of red flames blazing out from the point of contact.
"Oraaahhh !!!!" (TL: I'm this close to TLing this part as OraOraOraOra x1000 LOL)
The sword came down, accompanied by an incredible shout. But the Wolf lightly slid out and easily avoided it.
Right after, the claws swung upwards from below.
"Look!"
Kim In-Soo can barely block him in time. However, once that happened, he had to open his eyes wide. He noticed that on the surface of the blade that came into contact with the Wolf claw, cracks began to form.
"… !!"
He quickly kicked the Wolf's stomach and retreated.
He couldn't understand what had just happened. How could a very small Monster leave a scar on the Mana-infused sword?
Of course, right now, the time to think was a luxury he could not afford. The wolf attacked him again. Kim In-Soo hurriedly dodged.
* SFX for claw cutting stuff *
Kim In-Soo stomped on the ground, violently, and thrust his sword into the creature's neck.
It was the beginning of a fierce battle. Harsh melee battles occurred within a person's regular two-step radius. The swung sword was blocked by the claw, and the claw aimed at his neck missed as the target dodged with a swift movement.
As the battle progressed, their battle arena became even more destroyed than before. The sword aura, which seemed to be missing its mark, carved the forest vegetation while on the ground, many terrifying scars were left behind.
However, the end of the fight was not far away.
Perseverance of man and a savage beast – is pointless to argue, the latter only has an edge in that field.
While Kim In-Soo's movements became very sluggish compared to the start, the Wolf still maintained a shocking speed without any problems.
Kim In-Soo gritted her teeth. He has to make a choice here. Hold for a while and die, or bet it all on the next attack.
He didn't suffer much, really.
He eroded the last remaining part of Mana inside him and forced it onto his sword.
Yet…
Snap-shit
"…."
Before he could do anything, the sword could not hold on, and it broke.
Kim In-Soo stared at the fallen sword piece, confused and wordless. Then, he raised his head to look at the wolf.
The wolf beast was staring at him, waiting.
But there's something different. Her previously red eyes had regained the clarity of the golden color, and the emotions she saw were calm and attentive. It was as if he was looking into the eyes of a human.
'… What just happened?'
Kim Sae-Jin averts her gaze between Kim In-Soo and and the warning message window while failing to control her panic thoughts.
He could understand the fading sanity lost by the animalistic instinct, thanks to this window that appeared.
[Condition finished (1/3): Achieve victory after putting everything on the line. ]
– All Stats up 10.
– When the remaining two conditions are met, the Ebony Wolf Form will evolve.
– All stats related to Wolf Form will go up.
The remaining problem now is .. Kim In-Soo.
The weapon is. He was a top Mid Tier Knight, but he only used Mid Quality weapons. Of course it will break easily.
“Don't expect him to be poor. Very surprising. '(TL: the author simply wrote: "He's a beggar?" That doesn't sound right to me, so I'm playing around a little ..)
"…Kill me . "
When Sae-Jin tilts her head in confusion, Kim In-Soo utters words of defeat.
' . What's this guy saying? '
Sae-Jin has no desire to kill this man. She accidentally locks her gaze with Kim In-Soo's gaze and snorts mockingly before casually walking away.
Left alone, all Kim In-Soo can do is follow the back of the wolf with absentminded eyes.
*
Located in the richest district of Seoul, the headquarters of the Dawn Knights Order is famous for its stylish exterior, favorable location, as well as its state-of-the-art training facilities. Plus, there is another source of jealousy and pride, in the form of an online networking app called 'Dawn of Today' that can only be used by current and former Knights Knights members.
"…You did it . "
"No, you did it. Why are you asking me?"
"Hey, you went to the same training camp as him!"
And now, this place was the Dawn Knights Order training facility, where the concentration of Mana was supposedly higher than the mountain side thanks to the man-made Mana Spring located in the center. Two new members of the Order were busy arguing here.
"It doesn't matter if it's practice or bullshit, we never talk, not even once, you know."
The topic of their conversation was the training of the beautiful girl alone there, Yu Sae-Jung. It was always the center of attention whenever he came here to practice, but the interest that attracted him was a little more special this time around.
"And even if we ask him, we won't be able to join. You know this."
"Why not? They even have Mid Tier Hunter as members, so why can't we?"
Their interest in him this time was due to the Institution he founded together, The Monster. Although the name was not too cool and the Class was only D-, it was currently the most mentioned Society in the 'Dawn of Today'.
Not only because of the Dawn mascot – and the most talented Knight – Yu Sae-Jung and the participation of unknown witches in that Society.
No, it was because the news about the current trending Alchemist, Goblin, who joined this Society appeared out of nowhere.
"But that…"
"Only once. Once. He doesn't even know my face. And look at my mug, huh? So then? You think I have a chance?"
"… Fuuuu."
"Really, man. You do this right and we join that Union, then our lives will be smooth from now on. I mean, you also heard rumors going around, right? That one, Orcs and Goblins are both 'Monsters? "
"Hey, moron. It's just an empty rumor."
And there are strange but interesting rumors circulating as well. And that, Orc Blacksmith will join this Society as well, soon.
Not only in the 'Dawn of Today', all the other Knights who heard this rumor could not easily ignore this idea just due to the fact that the Society was called The Monster, but also because of the fact that it was called The Monster, plus the Orc Blacksmith and Goblin Alchemist had similar naming concepts.
"Whatever, man. Just go and talk to him."
The hope of these two comrades was like that: The institution wanted to receive more members, but since no one dared to approach, there were only four core members so far. So, if one gathers courage and makes his intentions known, then he will be welcomed with open arms. In other words.. .only the brave gets the prettest girl .something like: only the brave get the prettiest girl.
Haaaaah, Fine . The wait here . " "…. Haaaaah, Fine. Wait here."
The cool and handsome looking male knight sighed grandly and walked towards Yu Sae-Jung. His work was stiff like an old robot because he was filled with nervousness.
Her friend tried to control her agitated heart and waited for the arrival of good news.
"Howoo…"
Breathing in again.
Arriving in front of Yu Sae-Jung, she began to speak in a trembling voice.
"Uh .. I heard that, you, you have formed, uh, S, S, Society …."
And ... Yu Sae-Jung expertly replied as if he had already experienced the exact same situation dozens of times.
"The Head of the Institution is not me, but Mr. Kim Sae-Jin. If you want to join, please find him."
"… . . Yes yes . "
The poor man heard that as a total rejection.
He walked back to his friend with heavy footsteps and crossed his arms at the X sign in front of his chest. And they majestically sighed at the same time.
'… Why are there so many requests to join the Union?'
Yu Sae-Jung glanced at the two and tilted his head. He did not know why they wanted to join the small Society with only three members. He did not understand, as he had already stopped using his phone altogether because it was time for the school exam.
Of course, as Yu Sae-Jung, she was fully aware of the true value of building a private bridge with him. But isn't this Institution formed just to foster friendship and goodwill? Even Kim Sae-Jin himself said that he formed this Institution to get promotion.
But now, he is in training. He didn't have enough time, because after training, he would study for the exam.
So, he eliminated all thoughts pertaining to the Society and concentrated on training for the time being.
And exactly an hour later, Yu Sae-Jung can finally hear the answer to the mystery from the butler who came to take her home.
"…Huh?"
"You don't know?"
"I'm studying for an exam, you know. I was too busy studying and practicing, so …. But this is real? Totally real?"
"So, I guess you really don't know. Two days ago, a new herb in the Goblin series called 'Pure A Goblin' came out. And on the label, it says 'From Alchemists affiliated with The Monster'. "
"…."
Yu Sae-Jung's expression was shocking as she leaned against the back of the chair.
