"Get back! Get back!" one soldier yelled.
Now all of them would have to pay for the mistake of one person. They still couldn't understand why one of them jumped the gun like that.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any time for them to think about the dead. After all, the ogre had turned its attention toward the rest of the group.
The ogre let out a deafening roar and charged toward the shop as everyone rushed inside. They were soldiers, trained to be calm and collected in dire situations. But against a monster like that, they lost their cool and trapped themselves inside.
"Ready your weapons!"
No one cared who was giving them the orders. They just did as they were told and raised the guns. The ogre stood outside, curiously gazing inside before tearing through the walls.
The soldiers opened fire. But like before, their bullets did not affect the ogre. Well, the bullets had an effect—they made the ogre even angrier.
"YuWon can save us! Where's YuWon?!" someone yelled, realizing their weapons were useless.
But YuWon was nowhere to be seen. The soldiers could only think YuWon had abandoned them. All they could do was curse their luck and keep firing. Finally, the ogre had enough and raised its mace again, ready to strike them.
However, just as the ogre was about to swing, the ogre screamed in pain. The mace slipped from its grip and fell to the ground. Nobody knew what was going on until they spotted YuWon standing behind the ogre.
YuWon's sword was buried in the ogre's elbow. Although the sword hadn't severed its arm completely, the wound was deep enough to cause significant damage.
"Go!" YuWon shouted. "Get out of here! Now!"
The soldiers didn't hesitate at all. They grabbed their backpacks and ran out of the shop as fast as they could. Once the soldiers were gone, YuWon smiled, yanking the sword out of the ogre's arm.
Let's have some fun, shall we?
[Skill: Soul Bind has been activated.]
YuWon raised his hand, and a soul slipped out of the mark, slithering towards the ogre. YuWon watched closely, expecting the same outcome as with the soldier. But something felt off.
The soul tried to latch onto the ogre, but the monster roared in fury, before punching itself twice. The pain helped the creature resist the control, swatting away the invading soul like a fly. A second later, the soul dissipated into the air.
[Skill: Soul Bind has failed to possess the target.]
While the creature withered in pain, YuWon walked over and stabbed his other leg, for good measure. The ogre tried to move, but with one leg gone and the other injured, it couldn't even budge.
YuWon looked at the cooldown timer. Three and a half minutes remained before he could use [Soul Bind] again. As he looked around, he spotted a chair, dragged it over, and sat just out of the ogre's reach.
"Guess I'll just wait," he mumbled.
The ogre felt humiliated. Being defeated in a battle was one thing, but YuWon's actions were unbecoming of an opponent in the ogre's eyes. Infuriated, it tried to drag itself toward him, only for YuWon to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, keep trying," he said, leaning back in the chair.
Once the cooldown was up, he raised his hand one more time. The soul floated toward the ogre again and struck its head. The ogre's eyes widened once more, but this time, the ogre didn't resist.
It was probably tired and had given up on survival, or maybe the blood loss made it weak. Either way, the possession was complete. The ogre's growl stopped, and its body froze, much like that of the soldier's from before.
"Alright, let's wrap this up," YuWon commanded. "Now, be a good boy and hit yourself with that mace."
The ogre obeyed, striking itself. But once wasn't enough, and it kept hitting itself repeatedly. After a few hits, the ogre could barely lift the mace anymore.
"That's it, huh?" YuWon said, getting off the chair.
He climbed onto the creature's chest, looking down at the ogre on death's door. Without another word, he raised the blade and buried it in the ogre's neck. It flinched a bit before going still. YuWon twisted the blade for good measure before pulling it out.
[Hunt successful! The contract is closed. Gold +400]
[You have absorbed a unique monster soul.]
[Max HP +20]
[Max Mana +10]
[Strength +7]
[Endurance +3]
[Defense +2]
"A unique soul?"