Shortly after the door was forced open, O'Connor frowned at the scene before him.
His nose showed signs of shrinking as he smelled the stench of a corpse with several body parts lying on the wooden floor.
After confirming that there was only one body in the living room, he tried to observe the other side of the room, wondering if there were still people here.
As he looked around—
"Ueekh!"
O'Connor was startled as an ominous sound rang in his ears. Less than two seconds later, as he looked back, his sense of sight revealed Rudger vomiting and puking his stomach contents.
His trembling face stared blankly at the brutally dismembered corpse. His legs were shaking and his hands were clutching his chest.
"I... I..."
Noticing that Rudger was stuttering, O'Connor asked curiously.
"Didn't you see something like this when they attacked your village?"
Frozen, he turned his gaze to O'Connor and replied in a pitiful tone.
"I'm sorry, no matter what I see... such horrible events in front of my eyes even many times. My nose... and my mind can't adjust. Even that for a boy my age, in general... Ugh."
Knowing that he had no intention of continuing his explanation, O'Connor focused once more on the wooden deck full of scratch holes.
Then he approached the tragically dead body. As the distance began to decrease, O'Connor asked after shifting his gaze to the corpse's stature.
"White hair, a long shiny white beard, and a wrinkled face on the forehead and cheekbones. He seemed to be bleeding and then was torn apart by the goblins. Meanwhile, his sword was stuck in the center of his heart so deep that it pierced the surface of the ground. If you look at it, the period of time when he lost his life was about four hours ago, or three hours ago, or maybe more than that... "
After a brief pause, O'Connor continued with the question he had intended to ask earlier.
"Though his face was disfigured and destroyed, it did not prevent me from seeing his true face. The white sword stands dead with him. I can feel the soul of the knight coming out of that sword. Rudger, could this be the old man you're talking about?"
Hearing this, Rudger did not answer, but instead nodded.
Seeing the boy, O'Connor frowned slightly, but quickly wiped it away.
For a moment —
The room fell silent, leaving only O'Connor and Rudger.
As the minutes passed, O'Connor's instincts told him that there was a presence, albeit a small one, at the back of the room, next to the kitchen.
Not wanting to waste any time, he walked slowly towards the suspected place after drawing the sword of the village chief.
*Sreungh—
"I'll borrow this colleague of yours."
He did not forget to ask for permission even though the owner had passed away. Because the memories of the Sword God were in him, and it didn't mean that such a great existence could be suppressed by his weak body.
*Creaking..
*Step...
Small steps, but watchful. O'Connor also told Rudger to take the situation more seriously.
At this time—
The lanterns, emitting a yellowish light, slowly flickered and gradually disappeared from the face of the earth.
Beneath the cloak that covered half of his face, O'Connor pursed his lips as he watched several flies buzz around the blood-soaked subject.
Another corpse!
'This...'
O'Connor's eyebrows twitched slightly, causing him to deliberately search his innermost thoughts.
As if he had found what he was looking for in his memories, he said.
"He is..."
And before O'Connor could say anything, the boy behind him interrupted and shouted, pointing at the corpse.
"Mr. Carl...!"
"I know."
"Pardon?"
"..."
O'Connor did not answer, but hastily checked the condition of the body.
He took a few steps and crouched down, extending his hand to the face. O'Connor blatantly wiped away the blood.
When he saw the familiar face, he was slightly startled and his emotions gradually became sad, as if guilt was in his heart.
'That's right, Mr. Carl...'
The tragic death of a Gatekeeper he knew left O'Connor feeling a bit devastated.
The final face of Mr. Carl's death felt like it was trying to transmute and force itself into his memory.
It can be said that the death of a person does not affect him when he has the "Mighty Mind" trait, but it is a bit different when that person is someone O'Connor knows. Besides, he was the one who had been helping his all along. And he was also the first person he felt comfortable talking to since he fell into this world.
However...
For now, he had to hide the sadness that he still had to act as a cold and unsympathetic person.
Shaking his head reluctantly, O'Connor belatedly realized that Mr. Carl's one leg and one hand were missing and not attached to his body, unlike the rest of his body.
As his eyes searched, O'Connor heard a "thud" beside him.
Spontaneously distracted, he saw Rudger shaking his index finger under the kitchen table, then he said.
"Th-There's somebody's hand there!"
'It might be Mr. Carl's, by the way.'
O'Connor's guess came quickly and he believed it to be true.
Before walking in the direction Rudger had indicated, O'Connor clasped his hands and prayed indiscriminately, as if it were a funeral prayer.
"May Lady Elena take you to heaven..."
'For there is no God or Goddess to trust in this world. I am forced to pray to my lover, even though he is not God.'
O'Connor didn't know if it helped or not, but it was definitely the only thing he could do to pray for Mr. Carl.
As the moment flew by, O'Connor calmly took the hand he believed to be Mr. Carl's and asked Rudger from the side.
"Is that all?"
"No. There's more, only under the hand before there was a big wooden box that made ghostly noises. Hic, it's probably an evil and vengeful spirit. Hic, I hope the priest will come here soon... ."
"They may not come..."
A moment of silence, O'Connor continued.
"Maybe."
—|—
In a kitchen room filled with all kinds of broken and creaking furniture.
O'Connor and Rudger insisted on removing a wooden box the size of an adult's upper body.
First, they were forced to dismantle the kitchen table, to the point of wanting to smash it if necessary.
The goal was to make room for them to remove the box.
*Thud!
-Hue!
"Wait a minute..."
"What is it, Generous?"
"First, put down the crowbar in your hand."
Hearing O'Connor's order, Rudger immediately stopped the forced demolition with iron and sharp objects.
After obeying, the brown-haired boy looked at O'Connor, who had a serious face despite being covered by the hood of his cloak.
"You hold on from there, I'll pull the lid."
O'Connor instructed him to move the upper and northern positions while O'Connor himself would use his strength to open it.
"Okay."
Rudger didn't ask many questions, as that was their intention from the beginning.
"Huk!"
But that was then.
When the lid of the box was successfully opened.
"Hue! Hue!"
"A baby girl?"
O'Connor's mind and eyes went blank immediately after discovering and being shocked that a baby girl, about half a year old, was hidden inside the wooden box.
'What kind of whore hides her child in this damp place?!'
On the other hand, Rudger was silent for a long time. His mind was a bit confused and he remembered that he had seen this baby before.
"Isn't it Mrs. Joanna's baby?"
"Do you know her mother?"
"Of course, who doesn't know the most beautiful widow and flower of our village back then? It is rumored that Mrs. Joanna's husband died while serving in an area, her husband was also a former soldier of this village who was promoted two years ago. He was also the village chief's disciple, and it was rumored that he had died."
'Wait, why are you telling me someone else's tragic story? And isn't his wife also entitled to compensation for her husband's death? When you tell someone else's sad story, you even experience it...'
O'Connor gave a strange look without Rudger noticing.
"...There is also another version that says her husband was taken away by a noblewoman and seduced by the body of the rich prostitute."
"So which one is right?"
Rudger groaned slightly with half-closed eyes at O'Connor's question.
"I don't know. It was all just a rumor that the neighborhood ladies were gossiping about at the time."
At this innocent answer, O'Connor paused and silently scolded.
'If it's just a fake, why are you wasting your time on something that's not obvious?'
Realizing his daydream of punching the boy in front of him, O'Connor closed his eyes and grinned.
'I want to throw him to the goblins.'
Of course, it was just a joke he was making to suppress his anger.
After the topic was interrupted, O'Connor stood up and changed the subject.
"Take the baby girl."
Hearing this, Rudger remained silent and frozen,
"But, but. She's heavy, Generous! My hands are already full with the bag of magic stones. And how can a child like me carry so much weight?"
"Yes, yes. Shut up and give me the bag."
The debate didn't last long, as O'Connor decided to make a fair decision and doubt the whining of the boy in front of him.
To make a long story short, O'Connor switched role. He carried the bag with the magic stone, and Rudger carried Mrs. Joanna's little girl in return.
As he was complaining about why he had to carry such a heavy burden, a flash of lightning flashed through his head.
Of course, he knew that it was this premonition that had helped him a few days ago.
Without opening his mouth, O'Connor frowned and walked towards the dining table, then took two steps back in a clockwise direction.
Rudger was confused by O'Connor's actions, but he remained silent, trying to calm the little girl in his arms.
After that—
O'Connor kicked the dining table with his foot until it toppled over, making a loud noise outside.
*BOOM!
Soon, the red-orange ball that came out of nowhere shot towards their position, no, rather towards the direction of the sound the dining table was making.
"It's magic!
Seeing the magic that was about to attack them, O'Connor unconsciously jumped back and then yelled at Rudger.
"Run to the backyard!"
Rudger was panicked and confused by the events of a few minutes ago. But he did not underestimate the warnings and orders of his Generous.
For the sake of mutual safety, he ran quickly before finally reaching the part of the park that bordered the glowing trees.
Holding Madame Joanna's baby to keep her own from slipping away, Rudger heard the screams of the goblins and the sound of swords behind him.
- Kiek!
*SLASH—!
In this precarious situation, while running with all his might. He suddenly braked, forcing him to choose between two different paths. Either left or right.
At that time—
"Go left!"
O'Connor's cry reached the brown-haired boy's ears, though he flinched slightly and finally got control of his body, taking the initiative to kick the ground and run in the designated direction. Rudger finally heard the sound of panting slowly approaching.
As if Rudger knew that the source of the voice belonged to O'Connor, he asked while maintaining his running speed.
"What was that? And who threw that fireball earlier?"
"Fool, who else but the goblin shaman. Among the types of goblin monsters, no one can use magic unless he is a shaman!"
Hearing this answer, Rugger's face paled slightly. He had heard about it in a bedtime story when he was a child. As scary as it was, it was twice as scary to experience it firsthand.
The fear rose in Rugger, but was subdued by O'Connor's words.
"How is the baby girl?"
"Her name is Lia, Generous."
"Okay, how is she?"
"She seems fine, but come to think of it, we haven't fed her yet..."
The statement triggered O'Connor's desire to curse with words.
'Dogshit! Why in this situation? Is this karma for what I did in my previous life? If I let it starve, the quest I'm on will automatically fail. Asshole!'
O'Connor's emotions were a bit chaotic, but he kept his rationality in check.
'If you calculate the time with the original content, I think they will be coming soon. Therefore, if I can avoid the prying eyes of the goblins that are after us, there is a chance that I can survive the ascension. One drawback to this plan, however, is our limited endurance...'
O'Connor made mental notes, immersed in a dilemma that forced him to devise a plan to get out of this crisis.
Not knowing how many seconds had passed, O'Connor caught up with Rudger and asked.
"Where is the plain of this village? Like a topographical location that gives us clues as to the direction of a river or something. Whatever the place is, but it's obviously related to water."
"I'm not sure, but I think there's a place related to what the Generous said..."
Look at his face, as if he was remembering something.
Then he shared the contents of his mind with O'Connor in detail, without a word of lie.
Instead, O'Connor just listened intently to the explanation and slowly his blue eyes lit up. What made Rudger uncomfortable was that the person in front of him said nothing and there was not a single response.
Two minutes passed....
"Phew~ I thought this was a way out..."
Although Rudger didn't know what it meant, he knew it had something to do with what had been explained earlier, namely the location of the waterfalls around this village.
Still, it bothered him a bit, and certain premonitions were heard, trying to be conveyed to him.
But that was then.
*Woosh—!
A spear shot between the two, making O'Connor look back and say again.
"Follow me, I'll install aggro."
The two realized that the goblins had not given up chasing them, as the goblins ran blindly, with the goblin shaman behind them, using speed-enhancing magic.
'Dealing with a goblin shaman one-on-one is an act of suicide. Even though my swordsmanship has reached the realm of God, it is of little use if the body you use is too weak. I bet I wouldn't last ten minutes...'
O'Connor came back to reality as his ears heard a panting sound from the side.
"Huff... Generous... I can't take it anymore... Ugh."
'Actually, I don't have much hope for this child's endurance. However, if I let his die, I will lose the chance to eliminate the Coward trait I have.'
O'Connor also did not dare to guess whether there would be another quest with such a reward or not.
Thinking back, he never took a single shower when he entered Death Valley, which he considered to be hell.
' Huh~ No matter what, I'll sacrifice myself.'
Shortly after, the baby named Lia suddenly burst into tears.
"Hue! Hue!"
So much so that Rudger, who was right next to him, frowned as if his eardrums were in pain.
"Chups~ Beautiful Lia! Don't cry, oh~ my beautiful angel!"
' I don't know if he was trying to comfort the baby or make her cry even more. But...'
Glancing over and checking the baby's condition, O'Connor gave the order.
"Turn right and hide to avoid being caught. I'll increase my aggro to further provoke them to follow me."
"Yes!"
After the two men had acknowledged each other, O'Connor suddenly braked and turned, holding his sword tightly.
Meanwhile, Rudger hugged Lia tightly with his boy's body, as if to protect her from the falling sharp branches.
Then he turned his steps to the right, hiding from the goblins.
"Come here! You bastard!"
He challenged death by provoking the goblin leader. O'Connor saw the goblin shaman raise his staff and cast a spell.
He did not give his a chance to chant. He boldly charged, kicking the ground and cutting down one to three of the Goblin Shaman's subordinates.
The goblin shaman had read his intentions and ordered the other goblins to prevent the human from approaching.
But—
Contrary to the green shaman's thinking, O'Connor shamelessly turned and ran away from them.
The goblin shaman stared blankly at the incident, his face filled with rage. His sharp teeth chattered and his pupil-less white eyes glared at the human who dared to show his back during the fight.
On the other hand, O'Connor tried to apply the knowledge from Legaloth's memories of what "He" knew about the principles and customs of the Goblin Shaman's ancestors.
Instinctively, a thought came to his.
'Is it true that goblins and orcs are still one species?'
They are both green, but the difference in height is too obvious. In a way, it's the orcs who will triumph over the goblins when it comes to fighting spirit.
From O'Connor's point of view, it was clear that the Goblin Shaman was provoked.
' This is really dangerous...'
Sweat trickled down his forehead as he looked back and observed the Goblin Shaman's behavior as he cast magic on his subordinates.
-Kiek!
*CLANK!
"Keuk!"
What the Goblin Shaman gave his subordinates turned out to be an acceleration spell that made their distance disappear in no time.
O'Connor bent his arm slightly and raised it.
*SRINGH—
As sword and dagger rubbed against each other, he kicked the goblin in the chest and continued his delayed escape.
'Dangerous! Fighting against the hordes of goblins and the witches behind them makes me want to die...!'
The combination alone is terrifying enough, especially for a low stat anchovy like O'Connor.
It was a sweaty, endurance-sapping ride that reached its climax.
The more he ran, the more he heard a faint sound ahead of him.
'Waterfall!'
He felt an unspeakable sense of hope as he was soaking wet. The master key to eliminating the goblin horde in one fell swoop was in front of him. Still, O'Connor had no idea how far he was into the water-filled abyss, but his instincts told him,
It's time!
The twitching muscles in his entire leg, forced to work, made them psychologically confused and shaky.
All O'Connor could do was run and run while the goblin shaman cast acceleration spells on his subordinates!
O'Connor didn't notice that saliva dripped from his lips, often soaking the clothes he was wearing. Sometimes the morning breeze would parachute in the opposite direction of where he was running.
At that time—
*CLANK!
Turning to deflect the spear that was about to reach his neck, O'Connor immediately saw the horde of goblins running fast, unable to control their speed.
'Heh, the weapon itself ate its master! Kekeke...'
The wicked grin on his face made his heart and pulse pump blood cells so quickly that he chuckled again.
"Κουφαβόλα κάθαρμα! Χαχαχα...!" (Fool Bastard! Hahaha....!)
O'Connor, of course, mocked the goblin shaman by using the Magic Language that witches generally used to cast spells. Besides, he had already considered the consequences of such actions, so he was not too worried about the future.
As if to prove his speculation correct, he saw the Goblin Shaman tremble as if his green face was full of tomato red color.