"BEHIND YOU!"
Being unable to fight back, Joon basically fell to the ground along with that beast. I pushed myself and rushed towards him while gritting my teeth with the dagger pointed towards that creature. Before I knew it, the dagger slit through its neck, splashing its peculiar blood all over Joon's face."It was stung. Or else I'd be dead by now!" He said as he pushed away the body. He inhaled and exhaled sharply, one of his eyes was closed due to blood hardened. "What about Benjamin?""He's unconscious" I tore a piece of the rag I was wearing and covered his wounds that were visual to me. Joon steadily tried to pace with his breath and stood up. "They're coming here now." He said with warning mixed in his voice, pointing me to back off."They're weak now! So aim for their cords. We can finish them all at once." He said while clutching the broken piece of his sword. "Are you crazy? You want to fight in that situation?" I nagged while throwing the flint towards him to help him sharpen the tip of the broken sword. Under the gleaming red firelight, the smirk on his lips was visible when he scoffed, "You have no idea what I'm capable of." As soon as he finished his words, the ogres and hounds started bustling before us. Their yelping and grunting surrounded the whole area. Thanks to my black belt in Taekwondo, I knew how to defend and attack, and that body was light, so it was easy for me to move. Within a minute, pointing out the dagger and focusing on the ogre ahead of me, I bolted towards it and in the corners of her eyes, everything became a blur. With the pressure on my feet, I leapt high with the speed to find the dagger deep inside its cord, slashing through the nape. It felt more Victorious than I'd thought. I peeked from my left shoulder and saw Joon twirling around in the middle of the dark-green bloodstream. He looked breathtaking. When my mind was elsewhere, the last hound attacked me, but it was weaker than before. All I had to do was push it down and stab its vocal cord. Glancing around, I noticed there was one missing. There should've been two left, but there was one in front of Joon resisting him."Where did it g-" Before I could finish my sentence, I felt a hard smash on my back as if I was hit by a giant rock that smashed my bones from the inside. With the speed of the wind, I got hit by a tree log."Gargh." I gasped in pain as I felt my vision going blank. My breathing stopped. "Ella!" I heard Joon's voice and forced my lids to open. "Tch! This...body is weak." I mumbled as I tried harder to push myself to stand up on my feet and felt no strength in them. With the wobbling body, I grabbed my arm to prevent it from pain and felt an immense presence in front of me. I slowly looked up to see the horrid gaze on me from those dark orbs. Its giant slimy arms gradually grabbed my feet, lifting me into the air upside down. One more throw and I might lose my senses for good. It felt as if all the fluids of my body flowed down to my head, making my breath unstable. My mind was unable to think, feeling that might be my last breath, until Joon stabbed its nape from behind and it started yelping in pain, loosening its grip. I fell on the ground with my head facing the ground and was back to my senses. The pain felt even more vivid in every part of my body because of that. Clenching a fist on the ground, I lifted my head to see Joon almost out of his breath resisting it. That one managed to escape from the Shelps therefore, it appeared that strong. My teeth gritted, thinking if I didn't strike when it was busy with Joon, killing it wouldn't be an easy option."Hang on to it, Joon!" I mumbled while consuming some of the oil left in the bottle and picked up the dagger. I pounded my feet across the ground as my lungs strained and aimed for its eyes. Left one was punctured with my dagger and the other was squashed by my right hand. It swung its body rapidly to get rid of me while I refused to let go clutching my fingers deep inside its vitreous."Kugh" A grunt slipped out of my mouth, feeling pain in my hand but still refusing to release it since that had to be ended. With the dagger pulled out of his eyes, I slashed its cord without a blink of an eye, leaving its body shuddering in silence. Crawling out through its blood and peeking out from its dead body, I stood under the faint glare of the fire that was ready to fade. My hands were painted in a green and red blood mixture, emitting a foul smell. I tilted my dizzy head towards Joon, who fell to the ground immediately after smiling once at me.My legs gave out from under me, and I felt myself falling. I tried to grab onto something to steady myself, but my hands found nothing but air. My heart raced as I realized I was losing control of my body. I felt a sudden pressure in my chest as if something heavy was crushing me from the inside. I gasped for air, but it felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen into my lungs.As I fell to the ground, I saw Joon's body spinning before me, and soon everything turned blank.For a split second, I felt like I was floating, weightless and adrift in a sea of darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I heard a strange noise around me and smelled the faint scent of blood.I tried to move to reach out and touch something solid, but my limbs felt heavy and unresponsive as if they were floating in the air and felt the motion of something carrying me, like a gentle breeze that lifted me up and carried me away as I felt a sense of comfort and safety in the embrace of the thing that carried me. I was trapped in that strange, blurry sensation, unable to make sense of anything."Joon?" I tried to call out his name, but my voice was silenced by the weight of my unconsciousness.But then I heard his voice calling my name, and it was like a bolt of lightning that jolted me back to consciousness. I felt my eyes snap open, and I saw Joon's injured face and those grey orbs looking down at me. As I sat up, I felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It was like I had
All the times I've run after coming here, there was one thing I noticed, my body seemed to move at an incredible speed, almost as if I was weightless. The ogres that I had encountered so far were slow and lumbering.I knew from the story, about the Regal members being dangerous and intelligent, and I knew that they wouldn't be easy to fight. But I was determined to see for myself what they were truly capable of.We planned to ambush the Regal camp that we had to cross, and Joon and I had prepared carefully for the attack. I was hiding in a pit that I had dug, waiting for Joon's signal to make my move.As I stared ahead at the camp, my nerves were on edge. I knew that this was just the first of many Regal camps that we would encounter, and each member was more powerful than the last.Right at the moment Joon stepped into the courtyard, she appeared before him in a flash. She was covered in a long fur coat and wore a helmet with wavy horns made of iron. Her eyes were a deep red, and the
The air was thick with the stench of death as I stood before the silent, lifeless body. Joon stood beside me, his eyes darting over the body as he calculated the size and vital parts. My gaze flicked to his, and I caught a glimpse of unease in his expression. But we both knew what we had to do. "So, who's doing the butchering?" Joon asked, his voice low and tense.It was a crude term for such a delicate task, but it was the only way to get what we needed. We had taken the body out for one reason and one reason only - weapons. We needed its bones, and we needed them badly. In this harsh and monstrous world, we couldn't afford to be caught unprepared. "I don't think butchering would be the right idea," I said, my voice low and hesitant. "It's gross as it is. Aside from that, it's going to take forever." As I spoke, I absently caressed my wounds, the pain a constant reminder of the danger that surrounded us. Joon nodded in agreement, his eyes still scanning the body with a mixture o
Blood was draining away from her severed left arm and the deep wound near her chest as Maria pointed the gun towards the massive unsightly creature in front of her."Grrragh!" It growled with its long crooked teeth held out as it prepared to jump at Maria any moment."GO! I can't hold out much longer. Leave without me!" She screamed at Johan who was shivering at a distance, being unable to do anything. His tears, sweat and blood were mixed together on his cheeks. His chapped lips trembled, "No! I wo-""JOHAN!!!" She pulled the trigger while moving further away from him, and her lips curved into a genuine smile, "Don't make our deaths futile! Live for us, go!"The second after Maria finished her words, Johan observed her getting slashed and devoured by the horrid green-skinned ogre.His legs wanted to give up as he turned around and began sprinting towards the white light. He could sense the creature chasing after him when he gritted his teeth and rushed with all the strength left in h
The eastern border of Baraddurn was filled with dreadful creatures, poisonous saplings and ogres with less intelligence."Still, it didn't take them even two minutes to realize I was missing," I muttered as I heard their rushing sounds getting closer from inside.Forcing myself to stand up, I kept my breathing steady and pushed harder to run faster.But this time, I ran towards them to prove the saying, "Sometimes the riskiest zone is the safest zone." Cold air bit into my lungs because of my sprint. I didn't get the opportunity to feel fear, although my heart was jumping inside of my chest. I passed over them, making some of them lose their balance, and some didn't even notice me. I felt my legs flying over stones and leaves as the ground was shaking because of their tumble.I turned my body and entered the forest. The trees were more suitable to cover me. I steadily peeked through the limb of one of the Aurepavers and saw them spreading around. I let out a long sigh as I collapsed
My spine tingled with fear, my mind unable to think as my death flashed before my eyes when I saw the monster in front of me. A deep snarl came from its slimy body covered in thick black scale with an appearance as large as a bear.It halted as soon as it heard a roar from behind. My fear grew as I noticed another two of them coming over. A foggy view of them carrying something in their mouth caught my eye while they kept getting nearer. My heart gave a lurch as I swallowed hard, seeing the corpses held by their teeth. These creatures were probably the hounds here. My body was paralyzed with terror as I couldn't move a muscle and stared at those sunken, black eyes and decayed faces, revealing a set of rotten fangs and black gums of the corpses they kept beside me. Seeing them unheeding, I slowly groped around my waist to grab a stone as I prepared my legs to run. "But how am I going to outrun them?" I thought in anxiety. They were as fast as a wolf and large as a bear with dreadful
"I'm coming for you, Dae hyun joon!" As I inched my way toward the cliff, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the coldness of the rock beneath my feet when my toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival."It was good when I climbed up, but why am I feeling heavy again?" I sobbed internally as my heart raced like a trapped bird, desperate to flee. The gravity there seemed to work in a very peculiar way. Gazing down the sheer drop, I nearly fainted. I could hear stones breaking free and fiercely tumbling downside, plummeting into the dark abyss of the forbidden black water, splashing down the surface. "At least there's water?" An awkward smile of fear curled into my face as I stared at the dark river at the foot of the border. The trees began to rapidly close in around me in a suffocating clench as I gradually climbed down, and the faint sight of the ground did ease the distress. The cool breeze felt like needles upon my bare skin, leaving a trail
"This is him, Dae Hyun Joon!"Seeing my favourite character standing before me my stomach flattered as I smiled through the green blood smudged on my face, making my face look more like a psychopath."Describe your existence in summary before I chop off your head."He drove his sword closer to my face. The tip was glazing as I stared at it while taking a big gulp down my throat- as expected from a 'Kumdo'- Korean swordsman. "W-well, sir...I escaped from the eastern border. I'm a human."I stuttered from anxiety, after seeing his cold alluring face up close. My small secret- I'm weak towards handsome faces."You escaped from...there?" He slowly withdrew his sword and stared at me with a frown, and his silky black bangs brushed against his brows. After hesitating for a moment, he cleared his throat while inserting his sword inside the sheath wrapped around his waist."Can you stand?" His voice switched from harsh to gentle."Yes." After standing up on my legs, I tried to wipe the sli
The air was thick with the stench of death as I stood before the silent, lifeless body. Joon stood beside me, his eyes darting over the body as he calculated the size and vital parts. My gaze flicked to his, and I caught a glimpse of unease in his expression. But we both knew what we had to do. "So, who's doing the butchering?" Joon asked, his voice low and tense.It was a crude term for such a delicate task, but it was the only way to get what we needed. We had taken the body out for one reason and one reason only - weapons. We needed its bones, and we needed them badly. In this harsh and monstrous world, we couldn't afford to be caught unprepared. "I don't think butchering would be the right idea," I said, my voice low and hesitant. "It's gross as it is. Aside from that, it's going to take forever." As I spoke, I absently caressed my wounds, the pain a constant reminder of the danger that surrounded us. Joon nodded in agreement, his eyes still scanning the body with a mixture o
All the times I've run after coming here, there was one thing I noticed, my body seemed to move at an incredible speed, almost as if I was weightless. The ogres that I had encountered so far were slow and lumbering.I knew from the story, about the Regal members being dangerous and intelligent, and I knew that they wouldn't be easy to fight. But I was determined to see for myself what they were truly capable of.We planned to ambush the Regal camp that we had to cross, and Joon and I had prepared carefully for the attack. I was hiding in a pit that I had dug, waiting for Joon's signal to make my move.As I stared ahead at the camp, my nerves were on edge. I knew that this was just the first of many Regal camps that we would encounter, and each member was more powerful than the last.Right at the moment Joon stepped into the courtyard, she appeared before him in a flash. She was covered in a long fur coat and wore a helmet with wavy horns made of iron. Her eyes were a deep red, and the
For a split second, I felt like I was floating, weightless and adrift in a sea of darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I heard a strange noise around me and smelled the faint scent of blood.I tried to move to reach out and touch something solid, but my limbs felt heavy and unresponsive as if they were floating in the air and felt the motion of something carrying me, like a gentle breeze that lifted me up and carried me away as I felt a sense of comfort and safety in the embrace of the thing that carried me. I was trapped in that strange, blurry sensation, unable to make sense of anything."Joon?" I tried to call out his name, but my voice was silenced by the weight of my unconsciousness.But then I heard his voice calling my name, and it was like a bolt of lightning that jolted me back to consciousness. I felt my eyes snap open, and I saw Joon's injured face and those grey orbs looking down at me. As I sat up, I felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It was like I had
"BEHIND YOU!"Being unable to fight back, Joon basically fell to the ground along with that beast. I pushed myself and rushed towards him while gritting my teeth with the dagger pointed towards that creature. Before I knew it, the dagger slit through its neck, splashing its peculiar blood all over Joon's face."It was stung. Or else I'd be dead by now!" He said as he pushed away the body. He inhaled and exhaled sharply, one of his eyes was closed due to blood hardened. "What about Benjamin?""He's unconscious" I tore a piece of the rag I was wearing and covered his wounds that were visual to me. Joon steadily tried to pace with his breath and stood up. "They're coming here now." He said with warning mixed in his voice, pointing me to back off. "They're weak now! So aim for their cords. We can finish them all at once." He said while clutching the broken piece of his sword. "Are you crazy? You want to fight in that situation?" I nagged while throwing the flint towards him to help him s
Without delaying another second, Joon grabbed Benjamin's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, "Go! Go!"Both of us darted past trails, logs and trees. Thankfully I kept a spare bottle of oil around my waist, which could be used to cover ourselves. Shelps despised the scent of Oil, so they avoid going near it. However, we didn't have kerosene with us."Joon! The oil!" While keeping pace with his fast sprints, I tossed the bottle to him. All of a sudden, we were hit by spiky bushes and our feet halted. I could hear the slow, dragging beat of my heart as panic rushed through me since it was hard to select which part would be safest to set foot in without light. My mind stopped working. A deep sense of uneasiness held me rigid. It felt even heavier when the trees shook up with rustling sounds getting closer to us from behind. I glanced at Joon and saw his sweaty face when his widened eyes gave me a quick nervous glance before looking ahead with hopes shattering, and Benjamin almost pas
A bone-chilling wind brushed against my body as I wrapped my hands around my legs while sitting on the massive branch. I glanced down to see those barely visible black trails snaking through the undergrowth and the moon shining through a lattice of leaves. Benjamin and Joon seemed to be sound asleep further away from me. However, my eyes couldn't shut down due to my tumbling anxiety. Every nerve of mine felt as if someone was watching me. I sprung my head behind, hearing a rustle to see Joon coming closer to me while saying, "Can't sleep?" "Ah! No...But weren't you sleeping just a while ago?" I said as I felt relieved seeing him awake. "I was trying to, but the 'ambush' matter kept bothering me. What's keeping you awake?" His firm shoulder brushed against mine as he sat beside me."I dunno...Flies?""You mean Shelps? I don't think they're in this area." His ash eyes wandered around the tree to make sure what he said was right.Shelps, was it? It's a venomous species of flies. Its b
"This is him, Dae Hyun Joon!"Seeing my favourite character standing before me my stomach flattered as I smiled through the green blood smudged on my face, making my face look more like a psychopath."Describe your existence in summary before I chop off your head."He drove his sword closer to my face. The tip was glazing as I stared at it while taking a big gulp down my throat- as expected from a 'Kumdo'- Korean swordsman. "W-well, sir...I escaped from the eastern border. I'm a human."I stuttered from anxiety, after seeing his cold alluring face up close. My small secret- I'm weak towards handsome faces."You escaped from...there?" He slowly withdrew his sword and stared at me with a frown, and his silky black bangs brushed against his brows. After hesitating for a moment, he cleared his throat while inserting his sword inside the sheath wrapped around his waist."Can you stand?" His voice switched from harsh to gentle."Yes." After standing up on my legs, I tried to wipe the sli
"I'm coming for you, Dae hyun joon!" As I inched my way toward the cliff, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the coldness of the rock beneath my feet when my toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival."It was good when I climbed up, but why am I feeling heavy again?" I sobbed internally as my heart raced like a trapped bird, desperate to flee. The gravity there seemed to work in a very peculiar way. Gazing down the sheer drop, I nearly fainted. I could hear stones breaking free and fiercely tumbling downside, plummeting into the dark abyss of the forbidden black water, splashing down the surface. "At least there's water?" An awkward smile of fear curled into my face as I stared at the dark river at the foot of the border. The trees began to rapidly close in around me in a suffocating clench as I gradually climbed down, and the faint sight of the ground did ease the distress. The cool breeze felt like needles upon my bare skin, leaving a trail
My spine tingled with fear, my mind unable to think as my death flashed before my eyes when I saw the monster in front of me. A deep snarl came from its slimy body covered in thick black scale with an appearance as large as a bear.It halted as soon as it heard a roar from behind. My fear grew as I noticed another two of them coming over. A foggy view of them carrying something in their mouth caught my eye while they kept getting nearer. My heart gave a lurch as I swallowed hard, seeing the corpses held by their teeth. These creatures were probably the hounds here. My body was paralyzed with terror as I couldn't move a muscle and stared at those sunken, black eyes and decayed faces, revealing a set of rotten fangs and black gums of the corpses they kept beside me. Seeing them unheeding, I slowly groped around my waist to grab a stone as I prepared my legs to run. "But how am I going to outrun them?" I thought in anxiety. They were as fast as a wolf and large as a bear with dreadful