Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18. A Forgotten Presence
The closer the rhinoceros got, the more the tension naturally rose.
Even though I had faced him several times already, his massive body felt unfamiliar every time I saw it.
‘…Bastard. He’s damn big.’
The sense of pressure coming from that massive body was considerable.
A thick neck and a huge upper body.
A palm larger than my own face.
It was a body that seemed to have been born for slap fights.
It was no wonder he maintained the position of the strongest in slap fights here.
‘Well, if I go up to the upper floors, this guy will be a pushover too.’
Still, he was a fitting opponent to graduate from this place.
After all, I wouldn't be knocked down so easily anymore.
“How about 100 mana stones between us?”
“You’ve lost your damn mind for a mere human. Fine.”
Looking at the mana stones piled up next to the table, Hyunwoo steeled his resolve as a coin spun above his head.
The coin fell on heads.
It was the opponent's first turn.
‘Shit….’
As I cursed and looked at him, he was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist.
He curled the corner of his mouth and asked.
“What’s with the confidence? Are you that eager to die?”
“Me, die? You’re all talk and no strength… Does your Administrator not feed you on time?”
“…You arrogant bastard!”
The rhinoceros raised his pot-lid-like hand.
Although I had gained Pain Tolerance as a trait, I couldn't help but feel tense seeing his palm.
He swung his raised hand without hesitation.
KABOOM—!
Jiiing———
The moment his palm made contact, a ringing sound echoed in my ears.
I felt the pain.
Because it was Pain Tolerance, not Pain Immunity.
But the pain I felt was only to the extent of being hit by a light jab.
‘Phew, I got nervous for nothing. The effect is solid.’
Considering the time I fainted after being hit by him before, this level of pain was practically nothing.
“It’s my turn, right?”
“…This bastard.”
Hyunwoo started preparing as if nothing had happened.
I could feel the rhinoceros becoming visibly flustered.
Having used Sabla Swordsmanship in slap fights all this time, I had developed a knack for it.
It wasn't just about swinging as hard as you could.
In the end, a slap fight is a match where the one who causes brain damage and knocks the other down wins.
‘Aim for the jaw as much as possible. Then, add rotational force with centrifugal force.’
This was the secret to Hyunwoo’s initial winning streak.
A palm with added rotational force delivers a shock to the head sufficient to knock a living creature unconscious with even a small amount of force.
Hyunwoo immediately swung his palm.
KABOOM—!
“……!”
A slap combining centrifugal force and physical enhancement was effective in scrambling the opponent's brain.
“…Keuk!”
The staggering fellow grabbed the table and regained his balance.
There was definitely an impact.
It would have been nice if he had collapsed right then and there, but….
If that were possible, I would have already beaten him before.
His durability was as considerable as his size.
He opened his mouth, pretending to be fine.
“…Not bad.”
“Don’t force yourself to stand, just lie down. If you collapse while holding it in, you won’t even get treatment fees.”
“You’re all talk!”
The guy flared up and raised his palm again.
Watching the incoming slap, Hyunwoo grinned.
It wasn't scary anymore.
From now on, it was a fight of who could last longer.
KABOOM—!
KABOOM—!
As if refusing to lose, they exchanged slaps one after another.
The rhinoceros’s secret to victory was a strong body and powerful arm strength.
Hyunwoo used ‘Pain Tolerance’ to ignore that, and ‘Sabla Swordsmanship’ to deliver a direct blow to the brain through the tough body.
The outcome was as good as decided.
After a few slaps were exchanged, the rhinoceros finally collapsed.
THUD—!
“Th-The human… wins!”
With the referee's shout, the slap fight ended.
I had seized victory.
Hyunwoo staggered, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose.
“He was nothing special….”
My face had become more than just a swollen steamed bun, but I was quite proud.
Ssk—
Hyunwoo swept up the mana stones he had bet and left.
He had no energy left to do anything more.
‘I need to get some rest.’
Pain Tolerance wasn't an all-powerful ability.
Hyunwoo staggered out of the market and headed for his lodging.
* * *
As soon as I arrived at the lodging, I flopped onto the bed.
The pain wasn't severe, but I had no energy due to the accumulated damage to my body.
‘…I need to be careful.’
Not feeling pain is a double-edged sword.
One wrong move and I might not be able to properly gauge my own condition.
But in terms of combat sustainability, it was an excellent trait.
Hyunwoo looked up at the ceiling and organized what he had obtained so far.
‘First, Pain Tolerance is done. Next… Skirma Swordsmanship.’
Right now, it was just a swordsmanship that excelled at piercing.
But as the proficiency of the swordsmanship increased, it would become possible to move underwater using the swordsmanship.
‘I think I’ve set the first button for the Black Whale hunt.’
The rest was something I had to check while gradually increasing the swordsmanship proficiency.
I had obtained the most important swordsmanship for hunting the Black Whale.
What I needed now was time to master the swordsmanship.
‘And I guess there are just items left?’
It seemed daunting at first, but as I started preparing, I felt it was becoming more and more feasible.
‘Not bad.’
The Black Whale.
The day to kill that beast was not far off.
* * *
The next day came.
The first thing I had to do was to raise my swordsmanship proficiency.
That would increase the probability of success in the Black Whale hunt.
Hyunwoo headed straight for the underground waterway of the market to meet the Frogman.
‘He said he won’t be out selling for a while, right?’
In the first place, besides Hyunwoo, there was no one who would buy such junk items.
“You’re here.”
“Yes!”
Hyunwoo resolved to train seriously today as well.
The Frogman looked Hyunwoo up and down once.
His expression seemed much more at ease than the previous day.
“You seemed to have some worries yesterday….”
“I did. But I’ve decided to just accept it.”
“What?”
What on earth was he talking about.
Seeing Hyunwoo tilting his head, the Frogman pointed somewhere with his finger.
“Go in.”
“You mean… there?”
The Frogman’s finger was pointing to where the sewer water had pooled.
It was the source of the smell that had been wafting from this place all along.
The smell was atrocious.
It wasn't just the smell.
Occasionally, green bubbles would bulge up on the surface of the water.
A visual that naturally made my whole body feel repulsed.
He wanted me to go in there?
‘…Is he trying to assassinate me?’
As Hyunwoo hesitated, the Frogman urged him once more.
“Skirma Swordsmanship can only be properly performed when you feel the flow of the water.”
“The flow of the water…?”
Hyunwoo stared at the puddle.
Forget about a flow, it was clearly stagnant, rotting water.
“The water is stagnant, though?”
“…It’s an environment similar to our habitat, the swamp. No more talk, get in.”
Even though it seemed like the Frogman was just spouting nonsense….
I knew very well that what he said was true.
‘Still, this is a bit….’
I would rather have just not known.
The closer I bravely stepped, the more the terrible smell wafted over.
After hesitating, finally.
SPLASH—!
Hyunwoo jumped in at once.
“Ugh….”
As I entered the water, various pollutants stuck to my body.
It felt horrible.
“Perform the swordsmanship in the stagnant water and feel its flow.”
The Frogman began his lecture without even blinking an eye at Hyunwoo.
‘Focus.’
Now that I was in, anyway.
I had to get something out of it.
The smell attack was distracting, but I began to concentrate.
“It seems you still can’t feel the flow very well.”
No, sir…!
Hyunwoo couldn’t open his mouth for fear of the water getting inside.
He could feel it all too horribly well.
It seemed the Frogman didn't think so.
“Put your head in.”
“…Eugh!”
I once again repeated my goal in my mind.
‘To hunt the Black Whale…!’
Still, this was a bit hard to endure.
* * *
Hyunwoo dragged his exhausted body out of the sewer.
“Haa. Hiss. Was the air always this sweet?”
I stood there for a long time, concentrating on breathing.
Just coming out of the sewer felt like heaven.
Compared to inside the sewer, especially the puddle, anything would be….
Urp—
Just thinking about that brutal visual made my stomach churn.
Still, the hard training was worth it.
⌜Skirma Swordsmanship (2-Star)―33%⌟
It was a horrible training, but the swordsmanship proficiency rose at an incredible speed.
‘If I hadn’t checked it in between, I probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it….’
I barely endured it with the sole thought of increasing my swordsmanship proficiency.
There was still time left until the Black Whale Survival.
I had to continue training during the remaining period to raise the proficiency as much as possible.
Swoosh—
I washed my body using the water flowing from the sewer entrance as a shower.
I checked the smell on my body.
Sniff, sniff—
No matter how hard I scrubbed, it felt like the smell wouldn’t come off completely.
“It’s really awful.”
If I scrubbed any more, my skin would peel off.
It wouldn’t make a difference even if I washed more.
With a heavy heart, Hyunwoo moved to the market.
“It was around here….”
Leaving the alley, Hyunwoo headed for a shop he had scouted beforehand.
What he needed were things used for minor purposes.
There was no place that specialized in selling each of them.
So the place he found was here.
He looked up at the sign of the building he arrived at.
[Gen――]
The sign, which should have originally said ‘General Store’, was left in such a tattered state that the letters were illegible.
I could roughly guess the personality of the shop owner.
Tinkle—
Still, the bell hanging on the door rang with a clear sound.
An old Demon World resident, sitting slumped in a chair, stared at Hyunwoo and opened his mouth.
“If you’re not buying, get out.”
“……”
“Why do you guys who live day by day keep loitering around.”
What a way to greet a customer.
Is this a shop with a foul-mouthed old lady concept?
I couldn’t just speak informally to someone who looked significantly older than me, even if they were being rude.
After all, I was from the ‘Eastern Nation of Courtesy’.
“I came to buy, so shut up.”
“Oh. If you’re buying, hurry up and choose. We have everything.”
“……”
It seemed I was already tainted by the Demon World.
Although Hyunwoo spoke fiercely, the other party brushed it off as nothing.
It was a neighborhood that didn't consider exchanging courtesies a virtue.
Hoo—
Hyunwoo let out a short sigh, shook off his displeasure, and looked around the shop.
Unlike the neglected sign and the rude owner, the inside was a proper shop.
Literally a general store that had everything.
Unidentifiable items were placed haphazardly on various shelves.
Hyunwoo went through the shelves one by one, checking what was inside.
The shelves were full of various fruits, clothes, and miscellaneous accessories.
The first necessary item he found was the ‘Rigur Berry’.
The small, plum-sized berry surprisingly allowed one to breathe underwater for a short time.
Other than that, what I needed was….
Found it.
A black full-body tights.
Not only did it have a good ability to blend into the darkness and good elasticity, but it also had a waterproof function.
As Hyunwoo picked up the tights after the berries, the shopkeeper chuckled and opened his mouth.
“Well, well. We have a night guest, don’t we?”
“A night guest…? You mean thievery.”
“Yeah. Be careful when you’re robbing the lodging next door. If you get caught, you’ll just….”
“Stop with the nonsense and just ring me up.”
Hyunwoo brusquely pushed the berries and the tights in front of him.
He was not someone I wanted to deal with for long.
“150 mana stones in total.”
“Here.”
It felt a bit expensive, but I didn't want to talk to the shopkeeper anymore, so I just gave him what he asked for and left immediately.
Tinkle—
‘Now, what’s left is….’
Items that were hard to get in the market right now.
But they were absolutely necessary for hunting the Black Whale.
As I was returning to my lodging, pondering about the remaining items, someone called out to me.
“Human.”
When I roamed the market, there were quite a few guys who would pick a fight with me for no reason.
It was because I was human.
‘It’s probably another one of those guys.’
Dealing with them was a waste of time.
I had just dealt with an annoying shopkeeper, so I didn't want to get into a useless argument.
I tried to ignore him and pass by, but the opponent kept calling out to me.
“Human! Wait! Just a moment.”
Unlike the guys who had picked fights with me so far, his tone was polite.
‘Huh?’
Hyunwoo turned around.
A Demon World resident in flashy and luxurious clothes was standing on the street.
At a glance, he didn't look like a gladiator.
‘An Administrator? An Arena executive?’
The mysterious opponent opened his mouth.
“Your name is Hyunwoo…? Is that right? I heard you became a Rookie this time.”
‘Ah. This is….’
A forgotten presence came to mind.
The guys I could use in the Arena.
Administrators, black market merchants, information brokers.
And….
“You, by any chance, are you interested in receiving sponsorship?”
Belatedly, the existence of ‘sponsors’ came to mind.