Chapter 1430: Side Story 39
Chapter 1430 - Side Story 39
Master of Barriers Rayden was once a Pillar Candidate. However, after seeing the Pillar and the Pillar Candidates who rose to prominence in the Western Continents, he was convinced that he could not carve a place of his own in that land.
‘The God of Assassins Boleyn, Evil God Obren, and the Pillar of the Gourmands, who’s also the Master of the Western Continents.’
There was no way that he could shine and stretch his hands out with these prominent figures out there.
‘I’d rather be the head of the snake rather than the tail of a dragon.[1]’
Then, an idea had flashed in his head. He thought of coming over to the Grania Continent. Of course, there were many powerful people in the Grania Continent. In fact, there were even those whom he could not dare to fight on his own.
‘Nonetheless, the story will change if I can awaken the Mountain King.’
With the Mountain King, which was believed to be one of the Three Sacred Beasts, he would be able to transform and become the head of the dragon in the Grania Continent.
Scritch, scritch.
Rayden slowly skinned the tiger, the final tiger he needed, that he had just hunted, and dripped its blood into a small jar. Drip, drip.
[The Mountain King’s Jar has been filled with the blood of 10,000 tigers.]
Bubble, bubble.
The blood of the tigers boiled, the bubbles growing enormous and forming the figure of a gigantic tiger. Initially, it was nothing but blood. However, as it formed, flesh, bones, and skin also came into existence. When the formation process was done, the majestic figure of the Mountain King appeared. It was three times the size of an ordinary tiger, with fur as black as the night and a long and deep scar on its left eye.
Rayden admired the Mountain King’s magnificent figure for a brief moment before hurriedly using the Barrier of Control upon the being. A black circle appeared around the Mountain King and moved to bind its large body.
Vwooooong!
Crack!
[Barrier of Control.]
[The barrier has failed to form.]
“...?!”
Only at this moment did Rayden realize that the Mountain King was a being that he could not control, even if it had yet to awaken as one of the Three Sacred Beasts.
[Are you the one who awakened me?]
Rayden trembled as the Mountain King’s fierce, sharp, and terrifying gaze landed upon him. Just one glance, and he could tell that this was an opponent that he could never win against.
[I shall spare your life.]
“Th… Thank you.”
The Mountain King turned around, walking with poise and elegance as he climbed up the mountain. The Valkain Kingdom, under the leadership and command of King Alrak, came into view the moment the Mountain King stepped on the peak of the mountain.
[Today is no different from the past. However, we tigers once ruled these lands.]
The Mountain King was the ruler of all the mountains. His only instinct was to kill everyone except the tigers and the animals living in the mountains.
[First, I will wipe out all of the people in that kingdom.]
Rayden looked at the Mountain King in confusion. “Aren’t the Three Sacred Beasts those who protect humans?”
[The Three Sacred Beasts, huh? Indeed, there is a tiger among the Three Sacred Beasts. However, make no mistake. Do not ever compare me to that runt.]
Yes, the Mountain King had nothing to do with the Three Sacred Beasts.
“Then… Where is that tiger now?”
[There’s nothing to worry about. That guy will have a hard time going back to their previous self. Besides, they’re nothing but a coward.]
The Mountain King stared at the world beneath the mountain once again. Then, he opened his mouth and released a deafening roar.
[ROAAAAAAAR!!!]
The roar shook both the heavens and the earth and sent all of the birds in the mountain flying away.
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
At the same time, the blood of the dead tigers slowly rose from the Mountain King’s Jar, one drop after another. Each drop of blood produced a tiger, creating 10,000 skinned and hideous tigers that gathered behind the Mountain King.
Not long after, the Mountain King charged down the mountain. The 10,000 hideous tigers and Rayden followed him.
***
“Hee… Heehee… I’m Cho-Rong, my eyes are chorong~ chorong~... Brother Alrak pushed me down the mountain…”
“...?”
“When I asked why he pushed me, he said, ‘I’m doing it so you can become stronger.’ Heehee… I’m the strong Cho-Rong. Hnggh!”
Minhyuk’s eyes welled up with tears. ‘Cho-Rong! That’s a lie. Alrak pushed you down to make fun of you. Unfortunately, you actually fell, so he had to make up a lie!’
Minhyuk had already returned after dealing with the Mountain King Family. Alas, when he came back, Cho-Rong was still drunk off her horses and was still under the influence of the hallucinogenic herbs.
“Oh? Now that I look at her…”
Cho-Rong obviously was a Siberian tiger, a species that was considered extinct in the wilderness of the Korean peninsula. The Siberian tiger had reddish-orange fur and black, narrow stripes. Regardless, the easiest method to recognize them was their size. They were huge.
Anyway, Minhyuk decided to help Cho-Rong come back to her senses first.
Thwack! Thwack!
“Hey, Cho-Rong! Get back to your senses! Cho-Rong!”
“Chorong~ chorong… Hnggh? Huh?!” Cho-Rong, who was slowly coming back to her senses, instinctively shouted, “Hnggh! Give me a piece of tteok. Then, I won’t eat you!”
“There’s no tteok, Cho-Rong.”
“Hnngh? Hnnnngh?!”
Cho-Rong’s expression stiffened when she finally and completely came back to her senses.
“Hngghh! I’m in trouble! My children! My children are starving. Hnnngh!”
“Is that so? Ah. I really can’t just let this be. I don’t want to see any starving babies. Come on, let’s go.”
“Hnnngh. Why should I trust you?”
“I saved you, Cho-Rong.”
Cho-Rong was easily convinced by Minhyuk’s words. Just like that, the two headed to the cave where Cho-Rong and her children lived. The moment Minhyuk entered the cave, he was greeted by the sight of two equally cute tiger cubs. They immediately hopped to where their mother, Cho-Rong, was.
“Grrr!”
“Roar!”
They looked at Minhyuk warily and even showed off their tiger fangs and roared at him. However, there was no deterrent factor. In fact, the only thing that they did was to… assault his heart. The tiger cubs just stared at him warily for a while. After a while, they turned into cute little kittens that rubbed against Minhyuk’s legs affectionately.
[You have received the Three Sacred Beast’s Children’s Aegyo[2].]
[Your HP and MP have increased by 0.2%.]
‘OMG…’
At this moment, Minhyuk realized that Cho-Rong was one of the guardian deities protecting the Grania Continent, the Three Sacred Beasts—the very same existence that Ghost was talking about before.
He secretly glanced at Cho-Rong.
“Hnnngh?! Let’s get this straight. I won’t let you go if you dare to touch my children!”
Shake, shake, shake!
Although she shouted like that, Cho-Rong’s entire being was shaking like a leaf.
‘Is she… a coward?’
Minhyuk was confused.
“Did you save King Alrak when he was still a crown prince?”
“...Save? Me? There was a bug stuck in my ear while I was passing by him. I cried once, and all of those things around him ran away.”
“Aha.”
He never expected that there would be such a surprising story hidden there.
Seeing Cho-Rong still wary of him, Minhyuk decided to feed them first. So, he threw raw chicken at her tiger cubs. He looked at the tiger cubs, who ran excitedly toward the chicken, and said, “I heard that Alrak was looking for you?”
Minhyuk had chosen to search for Cho-Rong first. Nonetheless, to get the omegitteok, the two had to meet first.
“Hngggh! Big Brother is a liar! I’m never going back there again!”
By now, Minhyuk was fully convinced of the king’s personality and behavior.
‘The scammer king lied about his age because he wanted to hear this tiger call him big brother…’
The king’s character was definitely… broken and skewed.
Then, at that moment…
[The Mountain King has descended!]
[The Mountain King’s roar resonates all over the place.]
ROAR!!!
The roar of a tiger echoed from a distance. When Minhyuk turned to look in the direction from which the roar came, he saw a gigantic tiger and around 10,000 bloody tigers running toward the kingdom.
Ring!
[Hidden Quest: Awaken One of the Three Sacred Beasts.]
Rank: SSS
Requirements: The person who got close to Cho-Rong.
Rewards: ???
Penalty for Failure: Alrak’s death. The destruction of the Valkain Kingdom.
Description: After suffering from a severe and almost fatal injury in the past, Cho-Rong realized that it was impossible to regenerate and recover. So, she decided to get reborn as an egg. But unlike her personality and character in her previous life, Cho-Rong had grown more withdrawn and easily frightened. Help Cho-Rong awaken into her role as one of the Three Sacred Beasts and save the kingdom in crisis.
“Hnngh? Big… Big Brother…?”
Cho-Rong’s pupils shook. Even if she ran away from home and declared that she hated her big brother, she still loved her Brother Alrak deep inside. She obviously looked worried after knowing that the kingdom was in a massive crisis.
Cho-Rong tried to take a step forward and run to the kingdom. At that moment, Minhyuk hurriedly climbed on her back and said, “You’re one of the Three Sacred Beasts (Samdaesoo) [3]!”
“Samdasoo[4]?”
“Ah… Let’s go for now. I’ll explain it to you as we go!”
Cho-Rong ran swiftly. And Minhyuk? He explained to her the contents of the quest. Not long after, the two reached the vicinity of the kingdom.
It looked like all hell had broken loose in the kingdom as the 10,000-strong ambush of tigers charged at them. The knights and the soldiers of the kingdoms rushed out to try and drive out the charging tigers, but even thirty soldiers working together could not push back a single tiger.
[ROAR!!!]
The Mountain King, who was standing atop one of the roofs, roared once again.
[The Mountain King’s Roar.]
[The stats of all tigers will increase by 27%.]
[Their AGI will increase by 30%.]
[Their defensive power will increase by 25%.]
Baaaang!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
With every swipe of the tiger’s paws, a building would crumble. Even the tall and sturdy buildings were no exception. It did not take too long for the troops to break apart in front of the gate.
King Alrak stood atop the walls, his expression somber and grave. He watched as the Mountain King charged toward the already messy gates, where hundreds of thousands of people were gathered together.
The soldiers and knights that blocked the gates were easily swept away with one swipe of its paw.
[Grrrrrrrrrr!]
That was not the most terrifying part. The Mountain King snapped and devoured one of the soldiers, chewing it and swallowing it down. The moment he swallowed the soldier, all of the injuries on the Mountain King’s body slowly began to heal.
[Mountain King. Level 878.]
[The only ones that can stop the Mountain King are the Three Sacred Beasts.]
[If someone other than the Three Sacred Beasts tries to face the Mountain King, all of their abilities and skills will drop by 40%.]
‘So, are you saying that this is not something that I can stop by myself?’
If Minhyuk fought the Mountain King, then his abilities and skills would be lowered by 40%. Even if Minhyuk possessed power that went beyond Level 1,000, if all of his abilities and skills were reduced by 40%, then he would still be hindered by numerous restrictions.
The charging Mountain King slowly approached the walls of the kingdom. As for the 10,000 bloody tigers? They followed after him while tearing apart the soldiers with their bare teeth.
King Alrak looked at the Mountain King in fear.
“Hey, Cho-Rong! Hurry up and awaken! If you don’t awaken, then Alrak will die!”
They urgently needed time. Alas, how much time could they spare? A minute? Thirty seconds? Minhyuk could not predict it.
“Hnnnggh. But… But I’m just Cho-Rong. There’s no way that the Samdasoo you’re talking about is me. Hnnnghhh…!”
“Then are you going to watch as your big brother dies in front of you?”
“Hnnngh. I won’t sit back and watch!”
The trembling Cho-Rong rushed to save Alrak even though she was scared. Regardless, Cho-Rong was just an ordinary tiger at Level 600. If she could not awaken, she would be unable to do anything.
‘Shall I cook for her? No.’
Minhyuk could see things clearly. They were already out of time. There was no time for him to cook for her at all. The scaredy Cho-Rong could not win a fight with the Mountain King.
‘Is there another way to awaken her? Maybe I should try inducing it with anger?’
What was the point of awakening her if Alrak died here?
‘I don’t think it will work though?’
Unfortunately, Minhyuk had no other options. In the end, he decided to just go with it.
“Hey, Cho-Rong! To be honest, Alrak pushed you down to make fun of you. But you really fell down the mountain, so he lied and said that he’s doing it to raise you and help you become stronger!”
“H… Hnnngh? HNGHHH?!”
At that time, Cho-Rong fell from a height of fifty meters.
“Then, was it also a lie when he pushed me again and said that he would help me become stronger?”
‘He pushed you twice?’
At this moment, Minhyuk took on the role of Alrak, the person with a broken character and personality.
“Hey! He pushed you again to see if you’ll come back alive!”
[Cho-Rong is furious!]
[Cho-Rong is furious!]
“Hnnngh?! Then, what did it mean when he ‘accidentally’ hit me with an arrow before?!”
“Ey! That’s just an experiment. He wants to see if it will pierce through your skin or not!”
“ROAAAAAAAR!!! Grrrrrr! There’s no way Big Brother Alrak will do that! He used to give me precious and rare food! Although I always have a stomachache whenever I eat it.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s precious and rare. But they’ve obviously been there for a long time. They’re old and expired. He wondered if it was edible. So, he fed you to test if it’s 100% okay!”
When Cho-Rong’s stomach grew upset back then, Alrak threw the dish away and said, ‘This can’t be eaten. Hey, throw this away.’
“Grrrrrrrrrrr. ROAAAAAAR!!!”
[One of the Three Sacred Beasts, the Mountain Deity: Mountain Sovereign, has awakened!]
“GRRRRRRRR!!!”
Minhyuk’s jaw dropped when he saw the bright and almost blinding sparkle that appeared in Cho-Rong’s eyes.
‘It actually worked?’
***
King Alrak’s temples grew numb as he watched the Mountain King slowly approach the walls. The being that was slowly stalking toward the gates looked like he could not be stopped at all.
One swing of his mighty paws and the knights’ armors were crushed. Not only that, they were also sent flying hundreds of meters away. His fangs could also chew through swords, steel, and bones.
“This… This bastard… Cho-Rong…” Alrak mumbled, unknowingly calling out his younger sister’s name.
At that moment, the Mountain King leapt up to the sky. His goal was King Alrak. The Mountain King leapt almost ten meters with just one jump, his sharp claws ready to tear apart the frightened king.
“Cho… Cho-Rong…”
When he was sick, sad, happy, or having a tough time, Cho-Rong had always been with him. At this moment, he wished that he had his younger sister by his side.
‘If she’s with me… If she’s with me, then I can push her forward, and I can use that time to run away! Aaaaaah! Cho-Rong! You brat!’
Just when the Mountain King’s wide open maw was about to enclose upon him…
BANG!
A tiger swooped in at the blink of an eye and pushed the Mountain King away. The tiger roared at the Mountain King, who was more than three times its size, that it had pushed away so easily.
“GRRRRRRRR!”
[The Three Sacred Beasts’ Mountain Sovereign is furious!]
The tiger who was roaring at the Mountain King was none other than Cho-Rong, the tiger whom Alrak knew and accompanied all the time. Alrak was very happy. He thought that Cho-Rong came here to save him.
“You punk! Cho-Rong!!!”
Then, when Cho-Rong turned to look at him, Alrak saw killing intent in her eyes.
“GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!”
‘Urk? Why does it look like she wants to kill me?’
1. An idiom suggesting the preference over being the head of a smaller and lesser faction than being the subordinate of a bigger and stronger one. ☜
2. 애교 - Aegyo, a cute and charming way of acting or behavior. ☜
3. 삼대수, actually derived from the Four Guardian Deities (사신, 사대수) ☜
4. Jeju Samdasoo (Korean: 제주삼다수) is a brand of mineral water produced by Jeju province development corporation. It’s a gag ☜