NOVEL WEB Chapter 13
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My knees didn’t even exist, yet they were giving out.
There’s absolutely no way I can win. Even if I just took down ten black wolves, I wouldn’t stand a chance against this guy. Adult vs. child. Rabbit vs. tiger. Snake vs. frog. The differences were horrifyingly bleak.
‘Ah.’
This is where I die. He glanced over at me for a moment, then shifted his attention back to a woman collapsed against a tree.
“Grrr…”
Whether he was going to kill me or her, I couldn’t stop it. I’d put up some resistance, but if I lasted ten seconds, it would be a miracle. Drool dripped down, soaking me below. Just when I thought I was really done for—
“…?”
He suddenly turned away.
Why? Does he actually plan to spare me because I fought back? Or do I not even seem worth the effort to kill? Leaving us behind, he slinked off into the shadows. I froze for a moment, wondering if he might come back, but there was no sign of it.
‘Am I alive…?’
Even if I tried sensing with my skills, he was already out of range. He had truly vanished.
‘…….’
The tension melted away, and my body slumped. Is this what mental exhaustion feels like? I took a few breaths to stabilize my mind and pulled up the messages I hadn’t gotten to read yet.
[Experience has reached maximum. Lv.16 → Lv.17]
[Hunger has reached maximum. Gluttony…]
…That’s a bit too much, isn’t it?
I checked my status first, feeling like reading was a waste of time.
[Fear of Snake’s Spine (Amorphous Gel) Lv.20] [EXP 1041/11062]
[Size 4.07m] [Height 17.7cm] [Weight 51.6kg]
[Strength 66 (79.1%)] [Agility 45 (43.1%)] [Health 146]
Talk about a dramatic leap in growth.
I was at level 15 when the fight started, but I reached level 20 just by eating the black wolves. I thought maybe there was a condition like last time at level 10, but when I sifted through the messages, it said [Level 20 achievement condition: Defeat a Worg].
So, I cleared the achievement condition just by eating him. Lucky—no, there’s no way that was luck. It must be how the system wanted it.
‘…….’
It doesn’t feel entirely good. But for now, I have no choice but to go along with it. The only guiding force I have right now is the system.
That was a close fight.
If his injuries had been just a bit lighter, it would have been me lying there instead of him. I mean, jumping five levels… On second thought, it makes sense. I just devoured a monster bigger than a tiger; they better had some compensation for that.
Considering that, the reward was fair.
[Skills Held]
Gluttony(E) Lv.7, Tentacle Burst(E) Lv.1, Heat Detection(E) Lv.1, Weak Regeneration(E) Lv.6, Weak Stealth(E) Lv.7, Espionage(E) Lv.1, Presence Detection(F) Lv.9, Weak Hearing(F) Lv.7, Weak Sixth Sense(F) Lv.5, Weak Vision(E) Lv.3, Physical Damage Reduction(E) Lv.5, Weak Hardening(E) Lv.5, Transformation(F) Lv.9, Weak Poison Resistance(F) Lv.1, Threat(F) Lv.3, Hunger(E) Lv.4, Swimming(F) Lv.4, Diving(F) Lv.4, Elasticity(E) Lv.7, Insight(E) Lv.2, Charge(E) Lv.2
While the status itself was one thing, the skills made remarkable progress.
Gluttony and Weak Stealth both managed to hit a hefty Lv.7 in E grade, so D grade can’t be too far off, and I remember Tentacle was around level 8, but it’s gone up. When I used it, dozens of tentacles squirmed around aimlessly.
…It feels like my eyes are going to rot.
At least I could combine them into one if I wanted. Heat Detection turned into Heat Tracking, and Observation probably turned into Espionage.
‘Espionage?’
The name seems a bit sketchy.
Aside from the skill that had nothing to do with fighting the black wolf, everything else rose in overall performance. It’s definitely a promising sign. Most importantly, the Transformation skill, which was stuck at F grade, looks set to rise to E grade soon.
As I was enjoying this moment of satisfaction, my brows furrowed.
Just like the first evolution, something suspicious began to surface. Still indescribable, unwelcome, and something I didn’t want to know.
[Possible Evolutions]
1. Worg (Amorphous)
A message popped into my head.
Though I still couldn’t figure out what that something was, I was now allowed to evolve into a Worg.
[Worg: A monster resembling a wolf. Fast and persistent.]
[Worg (Amorphous): Can evolve into a Worg while retaining the properties of Amorphous Gel.]
‘…Retain properties, huh?’
Amorphous… I tried to picture a squishy wolf in my mind, but it felt too surreal to imagine.
For now, the evolution can wait. I need to do something about the collapsed woman first. When I bent down to move her, I caught sight of her lowered head.
‘…She’s pretty.’
That was a genuine thought. Among everyone I’ve seen so far, she ranked in the top tier of beauty.
So, I stood there dumbfounded, staring at her.
A mischievous-looking girl with brown bobbed hair leaned against a tree, her eyes closed, almost like a scene from a story.
I felt glad I had upgraded my vision. I stared blankly at her and used Observation.
‘…….’
[Euna (Human)]
[Height 164.4cm] [Weight 46.2kg]
[Strength 31] [Agility 44] [Health 21] [Magic Power 316]
During my time with Observation, I couldn’t see the status, but with Espionage, it seems like it became possible. Though I hesitated to know her name, the performance was undeniably impressive.
Looking at this woman’s stats, Euna’s was extreme.
Even if everything else was low, her Magic Power was a staggering 316. Even doubling my highest stat, health, wouldn’t match up.
‘Magic Power does actually exist, huh.’
I really felt like I was in a novel now. I’d never seen anyone use magic power, whether it was the Owner of Snake’s Spine or the Worg. The fact that this girl before me had over 300 magic power was hard to believe, but recalling the world of the novel, it makes sense. She’s probably a Hunter.
[Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.5 has reached maximum proficiency. Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.5 → Weak Sixth Sense (F) Lv.6]
My sixth sense moved on its own and brushed against Euna’s hand.
‘……?’
The reason for that was a mystery, but the system gave me a message.
[You have awakened your magic power.]
‘……!’
My mind snapped back to attention. When I checked my status again, I saw it boldly stated [Magic Power 1].
Finally, finally, I had awakened magic power, synonymous with fantasy novels. And at that moment, I sensed someone’s presence nearby.
To be safe, I had hidden up in the tree and used Stealth, but a man in his late twenties stepped out, looking down at the collapsed woman with a sigh. He must have come to look for her.
‘This must be his party, right?’
A kidnapper wouldn’t sigh while looking at someone who’d collapsed. I hesitated for a moment since I remembered getting caught by the Owner of Snake’s Spine last time I used Observation, but trusted the newly upgraded Espionage. After all, its very name was Espionage.
[Jeon Woo-taek (Human)]
[Height 179.7cm] [Weight 76.4kg]
[Strength 517] [Agility 449] [Health 578] [Magic Power 405]
Is this thing broken or what? No matter how many times I blinked, the numbers stayed the same, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was I seeing things? I turned off my vision and back on, but it remained unchanged. Two stats over 500, and his magic power was even higher than that girl’s. Is this really a normal human’s status?
However, despite those alarming stats, I felt nothing from this man.
‘…An outlier?’
There’s commonly known sage-like figure who seems like an ordinary person after reaching a certain level… Maybe he’s like that, keeping his power in check compared to the girl.
‘…….’
I hadn’t seen the wolf’s status, but if anyone could deal with it, it would be this man. No, I’m sure of it.
Probably the reason the monstrous wolf vanished without a trace was that guy. They thought, if they delayed the fight while I was still hurt, that guy would show up soon. I came to understand the behavior of the monster that let us go at the last minute.
Damn. Just when I thought I had grown stronger, someone even more powerful shows up. Sure, I know how messed up this world is.
After scanning the area with a grim expression, the man quickly shouldered the girl and disappeared.
In a delayed reaction, I let out a long sigh. With the intruder gone, there shouldn’t be anything else to worry about.
Now then… It’s time to evolve. Facing that ominous thing again, my excitement plummeted.
Do I really have to go through this every time I evolve?
[Beginning Evolution into Worg (Amorphous)]
…….
***
A headache more terrible than any hangover I’ve ever experienced throbbed in my head. I realized I had been changed into hospital gowns and was lying down.
‘Why am I in a hospital…?’
Before I could finish that thought, my last memory came rushing back. I almost got eaten by the Worg, right…? Then the door swung open suddenly, and I gasped.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“What now? Why?”
“Se-sunbae?”
When Euna lowered the bedcover that was covering her face, it wasn’t the Worg that walked into the room, but my sunbae. It was a stupid thought to think there would be a Worg in a hospital.
“Yeah. Are you feeling a bit better?”
“A bit. Could you knock before entering?”
I grumbled for no good reason. Looking around, I found it was thankfully a private room. At least I avoided embarrassment.
“Did you think I’d know when you were going to wake up? You’ve been asleep for three days straight.”
“…Three days?”
“Yeah. Three days.”
When I was stunned by the news that so much time had passed, Woo-taek began peeling an apple with his bare hands from a basket at the side.
“Ah. What are you doing! That’s dirty!”
“As if my hands even touched it, so stop worrying.”
Even though he was wrapped in magic power, the fact that he was peeling an apple with his bare hands still made me uneasy. I flatly refused, and Woo-taek just shrugged as if it was no big deal and took a big bite out of the apple.
“It’s supposed to be a honey apple, and it tastes great. So, you good?”
“Huh? Not really. I feel perfectly fine.”
“Then you can start work tomorrow.”
“…Suddenly, I feel really sick. I think I’m dying.”
I pretended to writhе in pain, clutching my stomach, but I genuinely felt sore and tears welled up in my eyes. I noticed my elbow was brushing against my bandaged side.
“Ugh…”
“Quit fooling around and rest. I already applied for your sick leave.”
……Come to think of it, I think my ribs were broken last time. Remembering that made me ask Euna about everything that had happened.
“What are you talking about?”
“I clearly…”
I almost got eaten by the Worg, didn’t I…?
“I want to ask you, though.”
Woo-taek, having finished the apple in one bite, looked at me with earnest eyes.
“Uh, well…”
Euna, nervous as she swallowed, began to confess what had happened, leading to a deep sigh from Woo-taek.
“So, you didn’t say anything because you thought you might miss it?”
“Yeah. I almost had it, you know? But there happened to be two of them, so…”
“You’ve got to be kidding…”
He looked like he wanted to scold me for being out of my mind, but seeing that I had just woken up, he just rubbed his aching head.
…Right. He probably thought I could easily deal with one Worg by myself. That makes sense. But still…
“You almost got yourself killed.”
“…….”
“Get a grip. Do you think they’ll cut you some slack just because you quit being a Hunter?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“You should have…”
Should have let me know ahead of time. Just as Woo-taek was about to say that, he let out a sigh and stopped talking. He might as well already know the drill. Of course, I needed to press on now so that I wouldn’t make the same mistake again… But if I thought about it, the problem began with sending a washed-out person like me from the admin office. It was what the team leader wanted, but I never really felt right about it from the start.
No, actually, it might be better this way, bursting before things really start to go downhill.
“……Just take it easy.”
“Yeah…”
Leaving the sulking Euna behind, as I tried to leave the room, I turned at the sound of her voice.
“Se-sunbae. Did you see anything… at the end?”
“What?”
“……Nothing at all.”
Shaking her head as if it were nothing at all, Euna stayed there pondering. It felt like she had seen something at the end, even just a glimpse…
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