Chapter 18: Tutorial (18)

Carrying out the plan was easy.

The Yoo Ha-na of my past life, the Revenant, had told me about her life before conquering the 99th floor.

Her stories mostly revolved around the three leaders of Cerberus.

“Here we are.”

I arrived at their hideout without difficulty.

The Ha-na of my first life had lived a hellish existence here, which fueled the burning vengeance in her heart.

But the current Ha-na lacked that vengeance. To embrace the inferno, one must first enter hell.

It would be a painful process, but sometimes, drastic measures were necessary. And now was the time.

“Come out.”

I took out the Homunculus Flask, a hidden piece I’d acquired, and poured its contents onto the ground.

The liquid homunculus possessed its own will and intelligence, capable of transforming into any creature its user desired.

Sizzle!

The homunculus quickly took the shape of a rat. This rat would be my familiar, scouting the interior of the hideout.

“Go.”

Squeak. The black rat let out a short cry and scurried into the cave. Moments later, I saw through its eyes.

“Just as Yoo Ha-na described.”

The familiar’s senses were transmitted to me.

Inside the hideout were torture devices, wooden cages, and n@ked women imprisoned like livestock.

If it weren’t for Go Hyun-joon, Yoo Ha-na would have been one of them. My original plan was to rescue her from here and recruit her into my party.

“This is my chance while they’re gone. I need to hurry.”

My homunculus had confirmed that the Cerberus trio was out. I entered the hideout.

My task was simple: burn their food supplies and free the women.

That alone would be enough provocation. Then, I’d leave a trail to lure them to a specific location.

“Uh…? Who are you?”

“Who… are you?”

After retrieving the homunculus, I went to the cages. The emaciated, n@ked women were frightened by the appearance of a stranger.

“You’re free. Take what you need and leave.”

I broke open the cages and cut their restraints. They hesitated for a moment before fleeing.

They were free now. But in this wilderness, they would either survive or perish.

I had no obligation to care for them.

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

“We… we have nowhere to go. We’ll die if we leave!”

“Is that so? Suit yourselves.”

“Please, take us with you! We’ll do anything!”

Some of the women remained, still n@ked, staring blankly at me.

Based on my past experience, these types of people fell into three categories:

Cattle, parasites, or both. None of which were useful to me.

“I don’t need you. Just leave.”

“No, you’re responsible for us. If you leave and those men come back, they’ll hurt us even more.”

“Then just leave.”

“Are you telling us to die in the wilderness with no food or tools?”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Take responsibility for us. You caused this, so you should fix it.”

It was ridiculous. I saved them from drowning, and now they wanted me to carry their baggage?

This was why I hated doing good deeds. The world was full of leeches who mistook kindness for entitlement.

It was better to live for myself than sacrifice myself for these people.

“Fine. What are your names?”

“I’m Im Yeon-ji, and this is Lee Ji-hye.”

They eagerly told me their names, assuming I would take them in. But I had no such intention.

I only asked because I felt it was the least I could do to remember the names of those I killed.

I pressed the gem on Crota’s pommel.

Vwoong.

The awakened sword vibrated faintly. Women’s flesh and blood. A feast for Crota.

Perhaps it would even enhance the sword’s power. While the women were startled by the sudden sound, I lunged, thrusting Crota forward.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Wh… Why?”

Confusion and terror filled their eyes. The dying woman’s gaze questioned my actions. But I felt no remorse.

My goal was to provoke the Cerberus trio, not rescue these women.

If these useless women stood in my way, I would eliminate them.

In fact, given my objective, their deaths might be more beneficial than their survival.

“Ah, it’s hot. So hot.”

“The ground is muddy from the rain last night.”

“Ugh… I’m already sweating.”

Yoon Jae-ho, Yang Yong-hyun, and Shin Yu-geon, the Cerberus trio, walked through the forest, having left their hideout. The rain had left the path muddy and humid.

Shin Yu-geon, the most obese of the three, was already drenched in sweat.

“Hey, Yang Yong-hyun, do all three of us have to go? One of us could stay back at the hideout and relax.”

“Y-Yeah. W-What if s-someone attacks the h-hideout…”

Yoon Jae-ho, the boisterous one, and Shin Yu-geon, the timid one, whined to Yang Yong-hyun.

Yang Yong-hyun didn’t show any annoyance, despite the irritating whining.

“I wish we could, but it’s not possible. We’re going to collect food and women from those bandits. We only managed to subdue them because of our combined strength. If only two of us go, they might get ideas.”

“True, those b@stards have a lot of men.”

Yoon Jae-ho was impulsive, and Shin Yu-geon was lazy. It was always up to Yang Yong-hyun to mediate and reason with them.

Convinced by his logic, they stopped whining and continued walking.

“Hmm?”

As they neared their destination, Yang Yong-hyun spotted something.

A corpse. Maggots swarmed around the decaying body.

“What the… Isn’t that one of the bandits?”

“Ugh… Gah…”

Yoon Jae-ho and Shin Yu-geon also saw the body, their faces contorted in disgust.

“He was stabbed in a vital spot from behind without a chance to resist. It seems he was killed while trying to escape. Something’s happened to the bandits. Let’s hurry.”

Alarmed by this ominous sign, they quickened their pace toward the bandit camp.

And what they found there was even more disturbing.

“Ugh… Gaaaaah!”

“The smell…”

“They’re all… dead.”

Every single bandit in the camp was dead. The rain had hastened their decomposition, filling the air with a putrid stench.

“Let’s investigate. You two check for food and women.”

Yoon Jae-ho and Shin Yu-geon nodded.

Their primary reason for venturing out in this heat was to resupply their food and women. They needed to salvage something from this trip.

“No arrow wounds… It must have been a one-sided fight.”

Yang Yong-hyun recalled their previous raid on this camp.

They’d had to use Shin Yu-geon as a meat shield against the volley of arrows from the ten bandit archers.

“The archers were all stabbed in vital spots with knives. They didn’t even have a chance to resist. The same wounds as the corpse on the road.”

But there were no signs of arrows being fired this time.

The archers had been killed before they could even draw their bows. Several other corpses bore similar wounds.

“Thirty-four… The number of bandits killed by the assassin alone. Impressive skills.”

Yang Yong-hyun then noticed a different type of wound. Decapitations and long, deep cuts. Sword wounds, not knife wounds.

“There was a swordsman among the attackers. They targeted the strongest among the bandits. The boss… was decapitated.”

Yoon Jae-ho, the Berserker, was the strongest fighter among the Cerberus trio.

But even he couldn’t defeat the bandit boss with his tower shield.

Their fight had been a close call, and Yang Yong-hyun had had to intervene to subdue him.

And now, that formidable opponent lay dead, his head severed.

The tower shield that had withstood countless blows from Yoon Jae-ho’s frenzied attacks was now rusting from the rain and blood.

“Yang Yong-hyun, I checked the storehouse. The women are all gone. There are signs they were released.”

“Ugh… No food either.”

Yoon Jae-ho and Shin Yu-geon finished their search, their report confirming his worst fears.

“Did you find anything else?”

“Yes, the attackers were a two-person team: a swordsman and an assassin. The assassin killed most of the bandits, while the swordsman took out the elite. See the boss’s corpse?”

“He’s dead… Any signs of the assassin intervening in their fight?”

“No. No knife wounds.”

“…D@mn it.”

“Let’s go. There’s nothing left here. We’ll need to discuss our future food supply.”

Empty-handed and frustrated, the Cerberus trio returned to their hideout. The mud clinging to their shoes made the journey even more unpleasant.

“You b*tches! Your master is back!”

Yoon Jae-ho roared as they entered the hideout. He was in a foul mood and intended to take it out on his playthings.

But his usual greeting was met with silence. The women, who normally would have crawled towards him whimpering, were nowhere to be seen.

“Those sl*ts!”

Infuriated by their absence, Yoon Jae-ho stormed into the cave. But what awaited him wasn’t his playthings.

He found open cages, two cold corpses, and a trail leading deeper inside.