Chapter 26: E-Grade Gate (3)

A wolf’s appearance, a monster with an impressive physique comparable to a hyena and brown fur covering its entire body.

Dire Wolf.

The pungent smell of beast and the fishy smell of blood spread through the subtle wind.

Un-dried blood was smeared on the Dire Wolf’s mouth, and an unidentified lump of meat was placed below it.

“Grrrrrr!”
“Grrrraaaak!”

The guys who were disturbed during their precious meal time rushed at me with loud cries.

Since I already knew that Dire Wolves were here, the response was very quick.

Three Dire Wolves simultaneously jumped at me, who was at the very front, and one slipped to the side and aimed for the back.

I first focused on the three in front.

• Posture first. Gaze forward. Stand your body sideways to minimize the hit area, and extend your arm towards the opponent.

I extended my arm and aimed the rapier at the Dire Wolf.

• Don’t use the rapier aggressively like a greatsword. You have to take advantage of the advantages of using a rapier.

The advantage of the rapier is its length.

• Use the overwhelming reach difference comparable to a spear to control the attack allowance distance. Well, if you use a greatsword, you can do it well… Ah, you were a fool who rushed to the enemy’s nose with a greatsword.

… I gauge the range between the rushing Dire Wolf and me.

• Don’t just block the attack, but deflect the attack and look for an opportunity to counterattack. You use sword ki, so it won’t be a big problem, but each of these actions has a big impact on the battle.

Just before the Dire Wolf’s sharp claws and the tip of the sword blade touched.

I concentrate only on the tip of the sword blade that directly touches the claws and apply sword ki.

It was a way to save the little mana I had.

Clang clang clang!

“Keheng! Keheheng!”
“Grrrrrr!!”

While deflecting the attacks of the three Dire Wolves at the same time, I prepared to counterattack the remaining one that was rushing straight ahead.

I put strength into one leg, and burst the gathered force at once, kicking off the ground.

I flew like a javelin and aimed the rapier at the enemy’s heart.

Stab!

“Grrrk! Grk…!”

The Dire Wolf let out a short death throe and collapsed.

I turned my head and checked the remaining three.

The guys, whose simultaneous attack was deflected so easily and fell down, quickly regained their posture and rushed at me again.

But this time, there was no one to distract my gaze.

The three Dire Wolves that rushed together lost their lives in vain to three consecutive stabs.

‘… It’s overwhelming…’

Park Hyena exclaimed in admiration as she watched Han Suhyeon kill the Dire Wolves one after another.

What the hell happened in a week, he had grown much more than during the Goblin Gate last time.

Every part, from the technique of handling the rapier to the movement of the body.

‘No, that’s not growth. It’s like… remembering something I had forgotten…’

The more Han Suhyeon wielded the rapier, the more natural and sharp his swordsmanship became.

A state of real-time growth while facing the enemy with a sword.

Park Hyena, as a hunter who also uses a sword, felt a kind of reverence for that miraculous sight.

But the most amazing thing was not that.

“Wh-What, the monster corpse…”
“Ah. I didn’t use this in the Goblin Gate then, did I?”

His awakened skill, Inventory.

Dire Wolves, each weighing at least 70 kg, disappeared with a wave of his hand.

At that moment, she remembered the countless things she had to leave behind in the gate during her hunter life.

The amount of monster corpses that would easily exceed tens of millions of won if added up, and the expensive items and precious belongings that were left behind when they escaped in a hurry just before the gate closed.

“Ah…”

Park Hyena, who remembered the amount she had lost, let out a groan as if her soul was escaping, as if she was experiencing Refractory Period.

Jo Hyeonchan was silently admiring.

‘S-So fast.’

He looked at the analog watch on his wrist.

The time on the precious watch that Park Hyena gave him as a gift for their 7th anniversary was still pointing to two o’clock.

‘We came in at 12:30… It’s only been an hour and a half…’

In less than two hours, more than half of the gate had already been cleared.

It’s not that we didn’t rest and marched hard.

Even though we rested to the point where we wondered if it was okay to do this inside the gate, the progress speed was much faster than the normal clearing time.

Even if he wasn’t as much as Park Hyena, Jo Hyeonchan had also participated in numerous gate raids as a gate cameraman.

But even considering his past experiences, he had never explored a gate this fast and, above all, ‘safely’.

Threats lurk anytime, anywhere inside the gate.

It is a phrase that all hunters in the world feel, and it means that many people have experienced threats in the gate.

But as if to make fun of those words, this gate raid was so safe that more than half of it was completed.

The reason for that was also Han Suhyeon.

“Suhyeon-ssi! Where are the next monsters?!”

They quickly became dependent on Han Suhyeon’s detection ability.

“I can’t use that skill anymore. I’m tired.”
“Ah… Is that so?”

At my current level, I couldn’t use mana detection more than twice.

The amount of mana consumed should be moderate.

Honestly, after using mana detection earlier, I realized that more than half of my stored mana had been drained in a lump.

It seems that I still have a tendency to use mana recklessly like when I was in Grandia.

At that time, my mana pool was so large that I didn’t get tired even with this much.

“Suhyeon-ssi, you seem a little tired. Shall we take another break around here?”
“It’s okay. It’s not that much.”
“Then let’s just change the formation. Suhyeon-ssi blocked three waves. This time, I’ll be in front.”

Fortunately, Park Hyena suggested changing the position, so I could catch my breath a little.

In this kind of one-way gate, the rear guard was quite comfortable.

Monsters rush from the front, and the number of monsters rushing from behind is much smaller than that of the vanguard.

It’s not a position to free ride, though.

It was a position where you had to protect the middle and always be prepared for possible surprise attacks.

“T-Thank you for your hard work… Suhyeon-ssi…”
“Yes. Was Ayeon-ssi filming well?”
“Yes… I captured all of Suhyeon-ssi’s appearance… I’ll show you when we get out later…”
“Okay. Let’s check the video together when we upload it later. Ago…”
“A-Are you very tired…? Sh-Should I… give you a piggyback ride…?”
“… A piggyback ride? Me?”
“Ah, no, I-I mean, not in that position like last time…”

Yu Ayeon shook her head in embarrassment, perhaps remembering the prince carry from before.

I was torn between the feeling of alienation, wondering if it was okay for a man to be carried on a woman’s back, and the honesty of following the desires of my heart.

But the 고민 didn’t last long.

“Then… Please give me a piggyback ride.”

Anyway, this is a gender-reversed world. It’s a natural behavior for a man to be carried on a woman’s back. Natural behavior.

“Ah, then… Just a moment… Ah. Get on now…”

Yu Ayeon crouched down and showed me her back.

Looking at Yu Ayeon crouching in front of me, I had countless thoughts about whether this was really okay.

The remaining bit of conscience (worn out/about to disappear) in my heart was sarcastic, saying, “Are you really this kind of guy, a garbage guy who gets carried by a woman even though you’re not that tired?”

Ignoring the bit of conscience (just disappeared), I eventually got on Yu Ayeon’s back.

I leaned my body and put my hands around her neck like a back hug.

“Then… I’ll get up…?”
“Yes, yes…”

Yu Ayeon got up with me on her back.

The first thing I felt was that the visible field of view was greatly increased.

Looking at the world from above Yu Ayeon, who has a large stature of over 190, it felt like I could feel the clear air.

The second sensation was.

Press.

The sensation of my pubic bone pressing against Yu Ayeon’s back.

“Huit…!”

Yu Ayeon’s body stiffened like a stone.

I asked with as much composure as possible.

“… What’s wrong?”
“… Ah, uh, ah… Ahhh… Hauuu…”

I could feel Yu Ayeon’s body temperature rising rapidly.

Unlike usual, looking down at Yu Ayeon from above, I also learned that when she blushes, her ears and even the nape of her neck turn bright red.

“… Is there a problem?”
“Th-That… Mmm… Y-Ye… No, it’s nothing… Hau…”
“… If there’s nothing wrong, let’s go quickly.”
“… Yes, yes, yes…”

Yu Ayeon, who was carrying me, began to move her legs slowly.

It’s obvious, but people tend to shake when they move their bodies.

When weight is applied and it’s pressed hard, it’s natural to feel good, and to get hard.

“…”
“…………”

We walked inside the gate silently for a while.

Jo Hyeonchan looked back at us, perhaps sensing the strangely quiet and sweet atmosphere.

“…?”

Jo Hyeonchan, who rubbed his eyes as if he had seen something wrong for a moment.

“…!!!!”

He quickly turned off the camera he was filming.

“S-Suhyeon-ssi…! How can a man be… so bold…!”

Park Hyena also turned around at the sudden commotion.

Park Hyena, who quickly grasped the situation, looked at Yu Ayeon with an expression that seemed to be crazy with envy.

“… Ayeon-ssi…! How many countries did you save in your past life…!”