NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
Episode 46
The reason I stepped forward wasn’t because I was certain. After all, standing still would only lead to death.
None of my party members could bring down that enormous monkey. If that was the case, I had no choice but to at least try something, be it a shout or whatever.
As I slowly approached, I focused all my mind on the giant monkey’s movements. Once it started moving, it would be too late to do anything. I had to act before it got a chance to move.
I prepared myself to shout at any moment.
“Ku-kaka!”
The giant monkey laughed as it looked at me, seemingly amused. It was as if to say, “What’s this weakling thinking?” A fragile being, no stronger than a twig, approaching with a serious face was quite a sight to behold.
When would it move?
I gauged my timing, my eyes glued to the giant monkey’s exposed teeth. Just as its laughter stopped and its large mouth began to close, hiding its teeth—
With all my strength, I let out my scream.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”
The resounding noise echoed everywhere. Right after my shout, my face turned into a mask of shock. A shiver ran down my spine, and my body trembled uncontrollably.
The giant monkey was now right in front of me. I was close enough to see every single strand of its red fur. It had closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
If I had delayed my shout even a little, I would have been dead.
“What in the world….”
The watching hunters also gasped in disbelief. The moment the giant monkey appeared in front of me, they thought it was a done deal.
Eun-hye was shaking nervously, her face pale with worry, unsure of what to do.
Fortunately, it seemed the giant monkey was genuinely shocked by the sudden scream. It clamped its ears and staggered about like a drunken person, wearing an expression of great pain.
“Ku… Ku….”
It let out a groan I had never heard before.
‘This really is the Giant Monkey!’
Even amidst my shock, excitement bubbled within me. The fact that I had effectively captured it with my shout was a clear indication of the system’s workings. And as expected, the same method seemed to be working again.
I shouted once more, this time fueled by the unlimited magic energy that came from not needing to concentrate.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
But this time, it seemed less effective. Perhaps because the giant monkey was covering its ears with its enormous hands, its expression showed that the shock had lessened instead of escalating.
Dammit, this won’t do…
In that instant, a thought raced through my mind. With it came a surge of movement. I had no time to hesitate.
I dashed behind the still dazed giant monkey. In my hand, I suddenly held Po-ahim’s Restraint Rope.
I intended to use the Restraint Technique. Of course, I never truly believed I could bind that enormous creature completely. It was over three meters tall, and with its arms raised above its head, I couldn’t tie them up.
But if I could just bind its legs tightly, that would limit its movements.
‘Restraint Technique!’
I used the skill without delay.
My body moved at an incredibly fast speed. As expected, I felt that with my current ability, I couldn’t force its arms down to bind them, so my focus shifted to its legs instead.
One, two… Huh?
I opened my eyes in shock. As I counted to three in my mind, the giant monkey’s two legs were already securely bound by the rope! It seemed the speed was compromised because it wasn’t a perfect binding job.
After verifying that the giant monkey’s legs were bound, I took a small step back to observe its movements. It couldn’t rush at me now, so I wouldn’t be attacked in the blink of an eye.
The giant monkey, recovering from the shock, appeared bewildered, as if it had never been tied up before. It cocked its head, trying to break the rope by putting strength into its legs.
But the Po-ahim’s Restraint Rope was made from the sinew of expensive royal griffins. No matter how strong the giant monkey was, it wouldn’t be easy to break free, and despite its best efforts, the rope remained steadfast.
Unable to overpower it, the giant monkey glanced at me with its large eyes.
‘What are you staring at?’
I stared back at the giant monkey, observing its state for a moment. Something clicked in my mind.
‘Ah, look at that.’
It seemed the giant was trying to figure out how to use its hands to undo the binding. Yet, the memory of the shock from my scream kept it from easily lowering its hands.
Seeing its hand, which was covering its ears, fidgeting, I understood its psychology. I took a step closer, reducing the distance.
As soon as it took its hands off its ears to try and undo the Restraint Rope, I needed to be as close as possible to shout again.
“Ku-kaka.”
The giant monkey frowned, clearly frustrated by its bound legs. It looked as though it was on the verge of giving in and lowering its hands.
I readied myself to leap at any moment.
However, contrary to my expectations, the clever creature seemed to be thinking things through, being part of the primate family.
“Si-hyun!”
Seeing the giant monkey’s legs bound, Hyung-cheol staggered over.
However, his expression was incredibly pale. Healing couldn’t mend internal injuries.
Quick-witted, Hyung-cheol had a rough idea of what was happening. Gathering the last of his strength, he gripped his warhammer and poured all his remaining magic into the Divine Judgment skill.
“I will confuse its mind.”
Hyung-cheol began to strike the giant monkey’s head with the warhammer.
Puk!
Thud!
With its legs tied and hands covering its ears, the giant monkey had no way to defend itself. Although the hits weren’t devastating, they seemed to irritate it, causing it to squint its eyes.
Finally, the giant monkey reflexively swung its fist at the annoyance of the human continually pestering it.
Even if it was a primate, it was still a monkey. Annoyed, it forgot about me for a brief moment.
At that moment, I kicked off the ground and leapt towards the giant monkey’s ears, giving it my all for a thunderous shout.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”
“Ku… Ku…?!”
The giant monkey’s eyes widened in shock, staggering back. Given its bound legs, it lost its balance and started to topple over.
Thud!
With a loud crash, the giant monkey fell to the ground.
This time, I shoved my face directly into its enormous ear and shouted once more, using all my strength.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
“Ku… Ku….”
The giant monkey had completely blanked out. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had actually fainted with its eyes wide open. It seemed it was indeed very weak to my shouts.
Now was the time to finish it. I pulled out another Restraint Rope from my inventory. Although it wasn’t as fine as the one made from royal griffins, it was still durable and sturdy, crafted from the sinews of orcs. I had bought a few from an item shop, knowing that one piece alone wasn’t enough for real combat.
‘I’ll choke it out.’
I wrapped the rope around the giant monkey’s neck, turning it multiple times to secure it tightly and grabbing the ends firmly.
“Blessing.”
Hyung-cheol, noticing what I was about to do, gathered his last bit of magic and cast a blessing on me.
I felt a surge of vitality flow through my body. This time, I took out a Strength Scroll. I had learned from observing other hunters using them in emergencies and managed to procure one.
I ripped the scroll apart, feeling a rush of power coursing through my body.
‘Alright.’
Now everything was ready.
I gripped the rope tightly and pulled.
Crack!
I felt the rope dig into its neck, tightening powerfully.
I grit my teeth and pulled harder.
“Ku… Kuuh….”
The giant monkey’s mouth opened wide.
But it was a reflexive move. It still hadn’t regained its senses. Its breath had already started to fade.
I continued to apply pressure on the rope, aiming to cut off its blood flow as efficiently as possible. Only then could I ensure a swift and certain end.
“….”
Around twenty seconds passed as I tightened the rope, and finally, the giant monkey’s pupils completely relaxed. There was no need to confirm its death. A notification window popped up.
[Po-ahim gives his honest praise for your execution of a strong foe that you could barely handle. He feels greatly pleased.]
[Strength +100, Agility +100, Wisdom +100, Health +100, Mental Power +100 restored.]
Huh…?
An entire 100 stat boost all at once?
I stared in disbelief at the amazing reward.
But that wasn’t all.
[Magic Power +2 restored.]
“Huh….”
Finally, it increased.
My magic power.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Waaaah!”
Everyone cheered in delight upon confirming the giant monkey was lifeless.
“We survived! We actually survived!”
“Is this real? This is really happening?”
The people embraced each other, sharing their joy. They seemed unable to believe this situation was real.
As the surrounding jubilation continued, I belatedly realized I had taken down the giant monkey. I had choked it to death myself, but I still couldn’t quite grasp that I had done something so extraordinary. It felt surreal, as if I’d been moving in a dream.
Thus, I stood there with a dazed expression, watching the celebration unfold.
“…Si-hyun oppa.”
Eun-hye’s eyes were filled with tears. She had been completely shaken, thinking I would die when I approached the giant monkey alone.
“You did well.”
Min-jun merely said that.
But his gaze spoke volumes.
“Thanks to you, Si-hyun, we really dodged a bullet. I don’t even know how to thank you….”
Tae-seong bowed deeply. Everyone else was savoring the joy of being alive, while only Hyung-cheol wore a solemn expression, staring at Jin-soo’s gruesome corpse, lost in thought.
“Look! A Gate! A Gate has opened on the altar!”
Suddenly, someone shouted in excitement. Everyone’s gaze swiftly turned to the altar at the center of the village.
Indeed, a Gate had emerged there. This time, it was white, not red. After defeating a boss, the previously blocked entrance transformed from red to white, opening anew.
It seemed that the giant monkey had been the boss after all. Thus, the exit had been generated. Fortunately, we wouldn’t have to struggle through a long walk back to the entrance this time.
Thank goodness. I could have easily spent another half a day trudging back. It felt like the Double Gate was different from a standard Gate in some way.
“First, let’s gather the Magic Stones quickly.”
Though we had killed the boss, the strange fear of what could happen next from this Gate worried Tae-seong.
“Right.”
“Let’s hurry up.”
People shouted in urgency, seemingly wanting to leave this place as soon as possible. It felt like they wanted to gather their belongings and flee the Gate.
I felt the same. I wanted to get out of here as swiftly as possible.
The hustle and bustle of the crowd began. It seemed that the monkeys were so weak that the Magic Stones dropped felt inferior, like the lowest grade seen from E-rank Gates. Almost no items dropped and whatever did was junk. But despite the large quantity, I felt it would accumulate to a decent sum, easily matching the earnings from a few low-level Gates.
However, the giant monkey was entirely different. It dropped a massive, black Magic Stone the size of an adult’s head. It shimmered with an unusual sheen, enough to tell without testing that its quality was exceptional. And that wasn’t all.
“A Unique Item…!”
Tae-seong exclaimed in shock while inspecting the item. It was indeed a unique item that had a rare chance of appearing when defeating a boss from a high-rank Gate. Without a doubt, it was worth at least several billion.
This was also the first time Tae-seong had ever seen one from a raid.
“Unique, you say?”
“…The boss was truly a monster, confirming it was indeed a high-rank Gate.”
“Wow… Can such a thing actually drop? I’ve heard a countless number of times where it never appeared after grinding in high-rank Gates….”
With curiosity in my eyes, I too looked at the unique item. I had spent all my savings weeping to buy rare weapons and armor, but a unique item was several dimensions pricier.
Tae-seong shifted his gaze toward me.
“This is your share, Si-hyun.”
“Huh?”
“Of course, since you contributed the most to defeating the boss.”
When it came to dividing a high-value item dropped by a boss, it was usually done when the hunters’ contributions were similarly level. In exceptional cases like this, where the contribution disparity was clear, there was no question about ownership.
Hyung-cheol nodded in agreement that this was the right approach.
Taken by surprise, I received the unique item.
“The Magic Stone from the boss belongs to you, Hunter.”
Tae-seong said to Hyung-cheol.
He had dealt damage to the giant monkey using his expensive Rescue Scroll and had skillfully assisted me in bringing it down. Without Hyung-cheol, our party would have struggled enormously.
“…Understood.”
Hyung-cheol nodded. He still looked morose, affected by the shock of losing a comrade. If that weren’t the case, he would have led the situation instead of Tae-seong now.
“Now that things are more or less sorted, shall we make our way to the Gate?”
◈ ◈ ◈
“Uwa! What is this?”
Hyris had a face of disbelief, staring at the corpses of monkeys scattered all around. And right in the middle of it, the great monkey they had intended to hunt lay dead.
The traces on the bodies showed they had died in various ways—swords, magic, blunt force…
“Did someone send a hunting party?”
Hyris frowned.
“….”
Po-ahim’s face also showed a hint of agitation. He walked over to inspect the body of the great monkey.
Clear signs marked its neck where the rope had dug in.
Execution.
Who could it be?
Only a handful of people used ropes as a means of killing. A knight would never use such a tool. Even among assassins, I bet very few would do so.
Could anyone of that rare breed have the skill to choke such a large beast?
Nothing came to mind easily.
“Ah, being not human, I can’t read the dead’s memories. This is driving me insane.”
Hyris grumbled. It was clear she was somewhat irritated that someone else had stolen her prey.
“…Let’s go back.”
Po-ahim muttered. He too was curious about the identity of the stranger.
Yet there was no way to find out here.
But if someone possessed this level of ability, they would soon be known. If that individual were caught, they’d meet again.
“Are we really leaving already? I wanted to find out what happened….”
“….”
Po-ahim ignored her words, turning away as he walked.
“Ugh, seriously! Stop, Po-ahim! Stop!”