CH 9

Translated by cabinfourtranslations.

“Run … run away!”

I shouted sharply, but James didn’t move.

He just glanced back at the monster and waved his hand.

“Keeek!”

A fierce wind blew and the next moment, the flame raccoon split in two. The situation was over in a flash. James smiled leisurely at Jina and even reassured me.

“Don’t worry. I can defeat this monster.”

Thank Goodness.

I was afraid that a large-scale dungeon break would explode, but it must have been just one monster.

Unlike in the past, the crisis can be avoided. My heart finally calmed down when I saw the raccoon completely double-sliced.

Jina was away for a while to contact the main office, and James asked me.

“Tell me where I can buy this fantastic coffee.”

“Yes? If you come any time, I will serve you coffee.”

“I will return home in three days. I don’t want to go back home when I think that I can’t taste this perfect taste again. Please let me know.”

This is just an instant coffee produced by mainstream brand. The coffee mix that is sold in most supermarkets in Korea.

I just brewed it using the ‘Cafe in My Hand‘ skill.

Still, I was overwhelmed with James’s enthusiasm and stopped my honest answer.

“When you go to the supermarket, they sell coffee in bags like this. Yeah? Ah, I’ll write down the brand name and the address here, so if you ask the staff….”

I wrote down the supermarket address and the instant coffee brand’s name in a neat paper and handed it over to James.

But at that very moment.

Puk.

,Monster’s claws pierced James’ chest.

Segek.

Blood spattered with a creepy sound as if something was being crushed.

Its large mouth opened wide and sharp teeth bit James’ arm.

Drip, drip. The blood that flows down mixed with the monster’s saliva.

Uh? What is this?

My brain isn’t working properly.

I’m scared. My body trembled with instinctive fear and I couldn’t even move properly.

Big mouth and sharp teeth. The monster that appeared now was not like a C-class Flame Raccoon.

It’s much bigger….

“Ugh, Heukh, Euhuk … Ugh!”

James groaned and covered the wound with his hand. However, it was not enough to stop the pouring blood. Even at a glance, the wound just now was fatal.

“Run away. I will stop this monster.”

James, who staggered up, used his skill.

“Keeeeek!”

The monster that was cut by the blade wind screamed. Is it working?

However, even after the gust of wind stopped, the monster was still intact.

“Ugh….”

‘It’s disgusting….’

The monster I saw right in front of me resembled a bear. However, it was just so big and scary that it could not be compared to an ordinary bear.

The fur seemed as hard as steel, and the head reached the ceiling of the store. There were horns on the monster’s head and it seemed like a hole would be drilled in the ceiling.

[A Cave Black Bear (A) has appeared.]

It’s an A-class?

The late system notification delivered disappointing information.

“Keuuung!”

While screaming, the cave black bear swung its front paws.

Crack! The table, cut in half by sharp claws, fell sideways, and blocking our path.

I could hide behind the table, but it was only a matter of time before I died. If the monster hits an old wooden table twice, it will become powder.

James’ wounds were fatal at first glance.

I wasn’t confident of running away from that monster’s attack with James. No, it’s the same even if I was alone. No matter how I get out, the monster will come after me and tear me apart.

Ugh, it really hurts to be torn by a monster’s claws. Since I am speaking from experience, you can believe this claim. It’s an experience I never want to go through twice

“….!”

Crunch.

The heavy front paws tore the table like a piece of paper. Now it was time for the monster to tear me apart with just two steps.

Am I going to die again? In vain like this?

A few days’ events that I experienced after returning from the future ran through my head.

It was a second life that was too short.

The fate of dying in the monster’s hands doesn’t change, did regression just change the place of death?

Such pessimistic thoughts dominated my mind.

“Ugh….!”

The moment I foresee the pain that will follow and close my eyes tightly, a translucent barrier surrounded by light appeared in front of me. It was James’ skill.

I was relieved for a while, but when the cave black bear pounded the barrier, it began to crack little by little.

When the barrier did not break at once, the monster hit it with its horns this time.

Bang!

The barrier shook as if it were about to break.

“Unbelievable….”

James muttered with a look of despair. The pain seemed considerable. His face was pale, and his biting lips were almost purple.

He murmured in a harsh voice, perhaps determined to let only me run away.

“Run away. I cannot move.”

Even so, it hurts my conscience to leave the dying hunter alone and there is no way to escape in the first place.

“Mieum, is there any way? Mieum!”

I called out Mieum with the feeling of grabbing the last straw.

Agent of the system … it’s because she said she’s not an ordinary cat.

“Meooong (Why is that here….)”

“Mieum?”

“….”

But Mieum didn’t answer.

She just groaned at the cave black bear with her fur raised. I was hoping for a secret skill that could solve this situation, but there seems to be no other way.

You said you were an agent! You said you weren’t an ordinary cat!

“Why is that thing here … that’s not like a C-class Flame Raccoon! It’s a cursed apostle who now submits to a sealed higher being.”

Mieum?

“Hey, can’t you just tell me in words I know?”

I have no idea what you mean by being a higher being or an apostle.

It’s a completely fantasy world.

And right now, right before being torn by the monster’s claws, it was not an appropriate situation to talk about it.

“The cave black bear is not an ordinary monster. A long time ago ██ made ████….”

“Mieum?”

Again. I couldn’t hear some of Mieum’s words. Furthermore, a red system window blinked in front of my eyes.

[Warning: Abnormal Approach]

[System Error: —. —.—]

[System Error: —. —.—]

Mieum and the system window, the things I gained through awakening, were of no help in this crisis situation.

I’m glad Jina isn’t here. At least one person could have run away. I hope she wouldn’t be too surprised when she found out later.

The moment when I’m ready for my second death.

There was a twinkling red light on the inner wall.

A red light was leaking from the door leading to the space.

Was it originally that color? It used to be blue.

No, it wasn’t the time to think about it. Let’s go into that space first. Monsters won’t be able to get there, so let’s hang in there until another hunter comes to rescue us.

“….”

The thought of what to do calmed me down.

It’s too early to die. I’ve regressed, but I haven’t even completed the tutorial quest yet!

“Get up at once.”

“Leave me and run away.”

“Hurry up. We need to move before the barrier collapses.”

I put my arm under James’ armpit and got up. My legs trembled at the heavy weight of his body.

In the meantime, James’ face was getting worse every minute by minute. I was terrified that he might die like this.

No, there is still time. He can survive if he enters the space through the door. I somehow managed to support his large body and move inward.

It’s just a little further. Just a little bit….

Brak!

Just a few steps away, the barrier that had been close to the ground completely shattered with a bursting sound.

Ooooooh!

The cave black bear screamed and ran towards me.

There was a red-lighted door right in front of me, but it’s already too late. It would be faster for the cave black bear to tear me apart than for me to jump through the door.

“Ugh….”

Mieum said something at my feet, but I couldn’t afford to answer. I just pray that this death will be less painful.

“….Uh?”

The cave black bear that was running at us paused and hardened. Then it faltered back. It still drooled and showed its teeth, but there was no sign that it would be rushing foward.

What’s wrong with it?

The cave black bear seemed to be afraid of something. It looked at me, or to be exact, the wall behind us with terrified eyes.

A gate on the wall that emits red light.

Suddenly, I felt a tremendous pressure from beyond the wall. My heart is pounding at an unknown sensation.

There’s something. It’s something sinister.

I couldn’t figure it out, but the primal fear that knowing there was something terrifying took over my body. I was sweating profusely without realizing it.

But what the hell is in there? When I met Mieum, there was only a cozy lawn under the blue sky. I was embarrassed by the unfamiliar space itself, but there was no sign of danger.

Then, a voice came into my head.

[There’s someone who doesn’t know the subject and installs it in my ██.]

System message? No, it’s different. It sounds like the system message, but much lower … it was a deep voice.

I had goosebumps. It seems like James didn’t hear anything because he gave no respond.

Am I the only one who heard it?

Maybe I … should I go to the hospital?

[Go back, apostle. This is my ██, there is nowhere for you to set foot.]

It seemed like someone laughed.

An extremely rough laugh.

Almost at the same time as the voice stopped, a flash of light flashed.

Thud!

The cave black bear fell down.

“….”

“….”

The cave black bear turned into ashes and disappeared. The place where there was a huge body now only filled with soot and dust.

What happened?

It happened so quickly that I couldn’t understand the situation well. All of sudden, the monster disappeared. Is it really dead?

My head was filled with only doubts, then suddenly I heard a man’s soft voice from the entrance.