“Thank you for the compliment. As thanks, I will gift you a piece of information on your way to Hell.”
Zich bent one of his knees and met the man’s eyes.
“You might not believe me, but I am trying to live a kind life. No matter how much I think about it, you guys are the bad guys, and you also attacked me.”
They were bad guys who antagonized him, and for Zich who tried to live a kind life after his regression, he needed to kill them at all costs.
“So, I plan to wander around the world to find people in your organization. And I will send each and every one of them to your side. How does that sound? You won’t get lonely in Hell then.”
“Your post-death service seems to be on-point. But would you actually be able to do that? If you become our organization’s enemy, you will quickly join me in Hell.”
“It’s a pity that I can’t make a bet with you about that. Even if you told me to swear on the whole world, I would have done it.”
“I pray that you’ll always remember those words so that once the time comes, you’ll feel fear to your very core.”
“I will keep your words in my mind. Then, let’s say our farewells. I must go to Snoc quickly. Whether I stop or save him, it’s better the faster I go.”
“Save? That guy?” The man chuckled. “It’s impossible to save him. Ah, I think I know what you are thinking. Since I forcefully fused them together, do you think that if he just makes a contract with Nowem, he will return back to normal? But Snoc will never be able to accept Nowem. Even if he goes over that huddle, there’ll be another huddle for him to go over. That’s his fate that was decided before we formulated this plan.”
“Fate? That’s a good word. It’s a word that I really like to crush.”
“Let’s see you try.”
“I will try.” After saying these words, Zich swung his sword. He aimed his sword straight at the man’s neck.
Slice!
The man’s head went flying high up in the air and then fell and rolled on the ground. Was the man teasing him until the end? His head rolled to Zich’s feet and stopped as if the man was looking up at him. The man’s face was smiling widely; it was as if he was sending his chilling intentions to laugh at him even after death.
It could have become a trauma for ordinary people, and even for brave souls, it would have made them feel uncomfortable or unpleasant. However, Zich was indifferent. In comparison to many of the things he experienced in his life, this wasn’t even considered a curse.
Kick!
Zich kicked the man’s head as if he was kicking a ball, and the battle ended like that.
‘Then should I go looking for Snoc?’
Zich widened his senses. Because the man’s transformed state had been far superior to him in sheer strength, Zich hadn’t been able to spread out his senses. He had to focus all his attention on the man; thus, unlike usual, Zich couldn’t check his surroundings.
“Huh?”
He sensed a presence that had recently regenerated; it was an absurd and contradictory presence that felt familiar yet unfamiliar. It was Snoc. Feeling the earth’s energy pouring out of him, it was definitely him. The problem was that there were two other presences besides Snoc.
‘Why are they here?’
After listening carefully, he heard battle sounds from far away. Zich began to move towards them.
* * *
Even though it was such a bizarre happening, Hans couldn’t process the significance of seeing a person he knew drop down dead center in a barren mountain in the middle of the night. But in a way, it was understandable. Hans couldn’t afford to assess the situation.
Craash!
A boulder came flying his way. The rock was 1.5 times bigger than an average person. A person who was directly hit by that would obviously suffer grave consequences. Hans bit his lips and straightened his sword.
“Haaa!”
With a shout, he swung his sword at the stone piece.
Slice!
Although his hands felt slightly numb, he was able to successfully cut the boulder. The boulder, which split into two pieces, fell on either side of him.
Rumble! Rumble!
He heard vibrations that were strong enough to shake the mountain. However, Hans didn’t even have the time to focus on that and blocked the next attack.
Pop!
It was a colossal stalagmite this time. Sharp stalagmite shot up from the ground and surged forward like spears sticking into their enemies.
‘Damn!’
His heart thumped. Still, Hans calmed his emotions and sliced the stalagmites coming his way. ‘Don’t panic no matter the situation’—it was what Zich had told him while forcing Hans into all kinds of adverse scenarios under the guise of training.
During training, Hans felt great resentment towards Zich for making him go through so many hardships, but as a result, he was able to maintain a surprising level of composure; and that element allowed Hans to show 100% of his skills.
‘Damn! Now, I won’t even be able to insult him in my mind.’
Since he experienced the result of his training first-hand, he couldn’t complain about it anymore. While he was thinking this, his body moved. His movements were fluid, making it hard to believe that he had lived a life far away from swordsmanship or physical work just recently. However, that didn’t mean that he was at an advantage.
Thanks to Zich’s harsh training and Hans’ natural talent, Hans was able to block Snoc’s attacks. However, Snoc wasn’t an easy opponent. Although Snoc’s attacks were rough and simply based on instincts, the combination of Snoc and Nowem’s natural mana created a convergence of powers that was truly formidable. Besides, Hans had an additional burden to consider.
Buurst!
The ground rose up like waves. A massive mass of dirt came upon Hans like a violent wave.
‘Shit!’
After judging that he couldn’t block this attack with a sword, Hans tried to quickly escape the area. However, there was another person he had to consider.
“Grab tight!”
Hans carried Sam like a piece of luggage and backed off in a hurry.
Craaash!
A heap of soil swept over the area where Hans was standing. However, as if it wasn’t satisfied by that, the earth rushed over the ground like a tsunami and chased after them. If he had been by himself, Hans would have been able to move effortlessly with little mana, but with the addition of Sam’s weight, his mana consumption increased by several folds.
He had no choice but to pour in more mana in his legs and increase his distance. He tried to let Sam escape many times, but for some unknown reason, Snoc also kept ruthlessly attacking Sam without exception.
“Snoc! What are you doing? Stop! It’s me! Sam!”
While hanging onto Hans’ shoulders, Sam screamed out to Snoc. Sam also felt like he was going crazy since Snoc, who he cared for like a brother, gained a strange power and was trying to kill him. Yet, all he could do was yell at Snoc while Hans protected him.
“Kuuaaaaaah!”
All that came back to him were Snoc’s beast-like cries and his merciless attacks. Hans dodged with his head and flung away stone pieces that came flying in his direction.
‘I think it will be hard for me to escape while carrying Sam. But I can’t just throw him away as bait to make my escape.’
Hans’ sense of justice didn’t allow it.
‘I can’t do much but hope that Sir Zich will sense this battle and come rushing here.’
Hans didn’t even want to think about a situation where Zich wasn’t nearby or failed to sense them. Surprisingly, it didn’t even cross Hans’ mind that Zich might lose the battle.
Crash!
Hans sliced a stone that was the size of a fist.
‘Why is this my first actual battle without Sir Zich?’
Hans had to protect a civilian while facing an opponent with special power; he lamented the fact that his luck must have run out ever since Zich broke his nose. Hans continued to block all of Snoc’s attacks—so well that even he was impressed by himself. Finally, his hard work was paying off.
Craaaash!
Turbulent waves of strong mana rushed in. After tormenting Hans in all kinds of ways, Snoc looked stunned. A mass pile of dirt rose in front of him; boulders formed a wall, and rocks clumped up together. However, a giant mass of mana squeezed into the barrier.
Craash!
An explosive sound swept over the area. Piles of dirt scattered away, stone walls split off into pieces, and clumps of stones broke away. The last line of defense—the rock armor that Snoc had hurriedly wrapped around himself—disappeared at the mana’s touch. However, these barriers didn’t fully dissolve the mana’s impact, and Snoc rolled on the ground.
“Why are you guys here?”
It was a calm voice, indifferent to the feelings Hans felt while fighting with his life on the line. Something negative seemed to stir up inside Hans’ heart; but Hans overlooked that feeling and recognized that he was more glad than anything to see Zich.
“Sir Zich!”
“Zich!”
Hans and Sam’s voices overlapped. Their responses were like those of children who had reunited with their parents after a couple of decades. However, Zich didn’t pay attention to their feelings and waved his hands.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s me.”
Zich ignored their sparkling eyes and stared at Snoc. He wondered why Sam and Hans were all the way out here, but he could always ask them later. Snoc was a more pressing problem.
“He is still out of control.”
“Out of control? Do you know why Snoc became like that?” Sam responded as Zich seemed to know something.
“He was mixed up in a troublesome matter. I came here after killing the guy who made Snoc like that.”
“What do you mean by a troublesome matter… Snoc is just a miner! Why would he get mixed up in something like that?!”
“Sam, even if you live a normal life, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get dragged into troublesome matters. The people who usually cause these troublesome matters don’t think about things like, ‘I must not cause harm to others as much as possible.’”
Zich could say this with certainty as someone who used to instigate these ‘troublesome matters.’
“Furthermore, I think Snoc is not just a normal miner. He has talent.”
“A talent?”
“Yeah, talent. A quite remarkable one at that. That’s a good enough reason to get mixed up into troubles.”
A person with outstanding talent usually attracted attention from other people. Depending on the situation, they sometimes received bad or good attention; and unfortunately for Snoc, he had attracted bad attention this time.
Sam was shocked to hear someone like Zich, who based his life on self-worth and pride, praise his childish, younger-brother; Snoc must possess something amazing for Zich to say that Snoc ‘had talent.’ But that wasn’t the important issue now.
“Are you saying that Snoc became like that because of his talent?”
“It’s definitely a factor.”
“Then, can he ever return back to normal?”
Even Zich couldn’t give him a clear answer.
“I have something in mind. We have to do something about that magical beast of the earth that has been forcefully fused into him.”
“Beast of the earth?”
“It’s probably what you guys call the mining monster.”
“That’s just a legend…!”
“Among legends, there are some that are real and give people a real headache. This one is probably that case.”
Zich fixed the grip on his sword. Snoc got up from his fall and exuded bloodlust.
“From now on, I am going to fight him so stay a good distance away. And Hans!”
“Yes, sir!”
“I don’t know why you are protecting Sam here, but let me say a few words.”
Was Zich angry at him for not protecting Sam properly? Or was he planning to scold him for not defeating Snoc? Hans nervously gulped his saliva back down. However, Hans did not receive criticism but a thumbs-up.
“Great job! Your response was amazing in a difficult battle where you had to protect a person while simultaneously fighting a tricky opponent! I will give you full marks for this battle!”
For an entire minute, Hans couldn’t comprehend Zich’s words. Zich’s words had been completely out of his expectations, but after processing what Zich said, Hans’ face brightened up.
“T-Thank you, sir!”