"Shield soilder!"
At the knight's shout, the soldiers stepped forward and raised their shields.
Thump thump thump-!
Monsters in the form of white wolves, a pack of Snow Wolves, collided with the shields.
"Hold your ground!"
It was no easy task to block the charge of a large pack of nearly a hundred wolves with a shield.
Nevertheless, the Massive Guardian soldiers maintained their ranks without wavering.
"Spear, thrust!"
At the command once again, shields opened, and spears thrust out from between them.
Clang!
The sharp-pointed spear precisely pierced the throat of a Snow Wolf, causing the white ground to be instantly dyed with hot spurting blood.
Now that the vanguard was defeated, it was time to start the hunt.
"Slaughter them all!"
Swords were drawn, and the soldiers began to rush towards them.
'Holy shit!'
Seo Woojin ran among the soldiers, cursing amidst their ranks.
It was an action he would never have taken if he were alone.
Charging at a wolf larger than himself with just a single sword?
But now, he had no choice but to move under the current circumstances, swept along by the movements of the soldiers.
"Excessive tension doesn't help in battle."
Irene's calm voice admonished Seo Woojin.
However, such words were of little help at the moment.
"If I don't stay tense right now, what kind of person does that make me?"
Seo Woojin shouted as if rebelling.
He felt that if he didn't act like this now, he might truly go insane.
Growl!
At that moment, a single Snow Wolf appeared in front of Seo Woojin, blocking his path.
It seemed to be one of the creatures that the soldiers had failed to deal with earlier.
Though its fur was stained white and red, as if it had been cut by a sword, its appearance was even more menacing to Seo Woojin.
"Hold the sword."
As Seo Woojin stopped, Irene began giving advice beside him.
The soldiers, too, naturally avoided the two and rushed forward.
They were aware that this was the first battle for the Hero.
The fact that they were aware of their surroundings without being caught up in the frenzy of battle allowed us to see how powerful they were.
"Huuk, huuk!"
On the other hand, Seo Woojin, caught up in tension, couldn't even breathe properly.
Compared to Draconis, it was a weak monster that didn't give off much pressure.
However, to Seo Woojin, they were all the same monsters that could sever his life at any moment.
Kraaah!
Did he smell the scent of fear?
Snow Wolf, who had been cautious of Irene, leaped towards Seo Woojin, baring its teeth.
"Fuck!"
Simultaneously, Seo Woojin threw his body to the side, but due to tension, he couldn't completely avoid the creature's attack.
Zzzick!
A long gash appeared on his left arm.
Fortunately, the injury inflicted by Snow Wolf didn't lead to a severe wound.
At most, it was just a slightly torn skin.
Feeling a sharp pain in his arm, Seo Woojin regained his senses.
"You bastard!"
Fear vanished in an instant, replaced by anger.
Realizing that the creature wasn't as threatening as he thought, Seo Woojin turned his body and swung his sword.
Swish!
"Hold the sword properly."
Unfortunately, Seo Woojin's sword missed its target.
Since he had never received proper swordsmanship training, he ended up hitting the creature with the side of the sword instead of the blade.
"Calm down. Cool your head."
Thanks to Irene's cold tone, Seo Woojin gradually regained his composure.
At that moment, he realized that Snow Wolf, which seemed huge and terrifying, was only slightly larger than a large dog.
"Darn it."
Despite being a monster, his face turned slightly red at the fact that he was so scared because of just one creature.
'Pathetic, how pathetic.'
To exhibit such a disgraceful appearance.
'Not in the movies or animations but in reality!'
Actions that seemed easy when watching movies or animations didn't work out as expected when actually attempted.
Still, he thought he could handle this much.
Snow Wolf, slightly shocked, stepped back.
It seemed to be exploring to find a gap in Seo Woojin's defense.
'Treat it like an injured beast.'
Although Snow Wolf was classified as a monster, it was more like a wild animal.
Being categorized as a dangerous species due to living in groups, a lone one like this posed little threat.
Moreover, it wasn't even seriously injured from the sword.
No matter how dangerous a wounded beast is, Seo Woojin had a weapon.
'Just one proper strike!'
There was no need to split the body in two with a single blow.
Just piercing the neck once would be enough to kill it.
They stood still, waiting for an opportunity.
Then, the wind blew, lifting the snow piled on the ground into the air.
'Now!'
Seo Woojin's sword extended forward.
The tip of the sword wavered, and the speed was slow, but
Whoosh!
It was enough to pierce the approaching Snow Wolf's neck.
Feeling an unfamiliar sensation at his fingertips, Seo Woojin's entire body shivered.
And…
As Snow Wolf, with a hole in its neck, died, Seo Woojin felt something rising within his body.
'What is this?'
I instinctively knew.
This feeling is like gaining experience.
Even with just one Snow Wolf, there wasn't a significant change, but what if I catch a few more like this?
'I can level up.'
I couldn't be sure of how many more I needed to hunt.
Is it ten, a hundred?
Or maybe just one.
But what was certain was that if I continued hunting like this, I could level up.
"It wasn't bad."
Irene, who had been watching the battle from behind, approached and said
"Oh, thank you."
From Irene's perspective, it must have been a pathetic fight to the point of sighing.
Yet, she didn't hesitate to praise him.
Just the fact that he pierced the monster's neck with one blow when he first held the sword was praiseworthy.
Of course, at first, it was impossible to watch, but still.
"Now, are you feeling a bit more relaxed?"
The trembling hands had stopped, and the panting breath had calmed down without him noticing.
"It seems so."
For the first time, he had killed something alive.
Naturally, he thought he would be shocked by that fact.
But was it because of the madness of battle?
Or perhaps the fear of death?
It didn't feel as strange as he had expected.
Seo Woojin took a deep breath and looked down.
He could see the blood-stained sword and the hand holding it.
Originally, he should have been horrified, but his calm appearance was awkwardly surprising.
"This is strange."
"What's strange?"
Irene chuckled at Seo Woojin's muttering.
"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that I killed a monster, but I don't feel anything special."
"Why is that strange?"
Seo Woojin smiled at Irene's response, as if it were only natural.
Although he often felt it, people in this world were too different from him.
'Maybe it's because of the environment I've lived in.'
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
The environment of a world where monsters actually exist and a world where they don't must be inherently different.
If Seo Woojin had lived in this world, he would have had the same way of thinking as Irene.
'This too must change from now on.'
To become stronger.
And to survive.
"The battle is not over yet."
Irene, who felt that Seo Woojin had calmed down to some extent, began urging him on.
He had only hunted a single monster so far.
There were still hundreds remaining, and soldiers were fiercely engaging in combat.
He needed to get involved in the midst of it as soon as possible.
"Is that so?"
Seo Woojin nodded his head.
Honestly, he didn't have enough confidence yet, but much of his fear had subsided.
And…
"I want to feel it again."
A feeling as if something was surging inside his body.
Even though he hadn't even reached level 1 yet, it gave Seo Woojin a great sense of fulfillment.
"Am I going to get addicted to this?"
Thinking such a foolish thought internally, he headed back to the battlefield with Irene.
Amidst the sounds of blood and screams…
* * *
"He still haven't leveled up, huh?"
"It seems so."
In response to Van Slaine's question, Testeron politely answered.
The two were observing Seo Woojin from a distance.
"A Hero who levels up is said to be engulfed in a bright light."
"That's recorded. There have been reports of such phenomena occurring with growing Heroes in other kingdoms as well."
Of course, the principle behind how that was possible remained unknown.
"Looks like facing just a Snow Wolf is not enough."
Van Slaine didn't miss a single movement of Seo Woojin.
From his footsteps to the direction of his hands, even his gaze.
Although it was just a battle with a Snow Wolf, Seo Woojin was struggling in his own way.
But what Van Slaine wanted to confirm wasn't something like that.
'Was it just a coincidence after all?'
The scene where Draconis momentarily intimidated Seo Woojin and came to a halt vividly came to mind.
Although the reason was unclear, if Draconis reacted that way, Snow Wolf was likely to be the same…
Snow Wolf, judging Seo Woojin as weaker prey, simply charged fiercely.
'No, it wasn't an illusion.'
Someone with that level of skill wouldn't have been mistaken.
So, on that day, Draconis truly felt something from Seo Woojin.
"I wonder what that could be."
The difference between Draconis and Snow Wolf.
Although they were monsters under the demon king's command, there was a difference between them.
It wasn't simply a matter of strength.
It was the difference in caliber.
Naturally, Draconis' caliber far surpassed that of Snow Wolf.
And that may have made the difference between whether or not one could feel something from Seo Woojin.
"After the subjugation, I should properly investigate."
Van Slaine smiled as he looked at the bright light that erupted in the distance.