NOVEL WEB Chapter 58: Disgusted
Their bodies were human-like, at least in shape, but their heads were all those of pigs. Curly tails stuck out from their backs. They held crude weapons, stone axes, jagged blades, and wooden clubs.
They stood around a cage.
Inside the cage, a girl around his age sat crying. She was surrounded by the pig-headed beings, who grunted and "onkkked" loudly, thick snot dripping from their snouts as though celebrating a new catch.
But what disturbed him the most wasn't that.
Further from the main group, four pig-people stood near a large fire, roasting meat.
But it wasn't animal meat.
It was a human.
A man, skewered from mouth to stomach, rotated slowly over the fire. His skin had blackened, but his face was still intact enough to show a twisted expression of horror and pain. His mouth had been open when he died, frozen in a final scream. His eyes were empty now, lifeless.
The expression made it clear he had been roasted alive. Most of his lower torso had already been eaten, his body chewed apart. The pig creatures laughed and grunted as they tore off charred limbs, devouring them hungrily.
Tarkan's whole body tensed.
A chill crawled through his spine as he took in the gruesome scene.
He had the urge to turn around and run for dear life, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't stumble into a fate even more horrific than this.
After all, this was his first entry into the Dimension. He wasn't even sure he could defeat those things.
That was when he remembered, he hadn't checked his panel to see what new upgrades he had.
His heart was set on the timer. He was hoping that this time, it had unlocked an offensive ability.
--
[Timer: 00:19:38 (Lvl 2)]
> Reverse – Reverse time without restriction, as long as you have enough time.
Revert – Reverse time on a single target, unrestricted, as long as you have enough time.
Storage – Store non-living things in time, unrestricted, as long as you have enough time.
Time Manual (Lvl 1)
> Absorption – Extract energy while meditating according to the manual. (Timer can be used for faster absorption.)
Physique: Eternal Monarch Physique (Partial)
--
[Prime Stats]
Feral: 0
Awakened: 0
Crowned: 0
--
Talent – Eyes of Comprehension (SSS Rank): The Eyes of All Understanding
Croak Boost
Rush (C-Rank)
> Temporarily doubles the user's movement speed for 30 seconds per activation.
Charges: 3 (6-hour recharge per charge)
--
As soon as Tarkan checked his panel, a searing headache struck him, intense and sudden, and just as quickly, it disappeared.
Left behind was the full knowledge of how to practice the Absorption Manual.
Tarkan's expression darkened.
"What is this bullshit?" he muttered.
Reading through the timer's new additions, he felt nothing but disappointment, and a creeping sense of depression. He had genuinely been looking forward to what the timer would unlock, only for it to give him things that would eat away at his already small time reserve.
Tarkan stood still, gloomy. His only consolation was the hope that the timer's daily increase would increase. He didn't know by how much, but he wished it could go up by at least ten minutes. His battles were only going to get tougher from here on out.
After wallowing in his disappointment for a while, Tarkan finally shifted his focus.
The girl in the cage had already been brought out. The M|V|LE&MPYR team worked hard on this chapter.
One of the pig-people was rubbing a yellow substance on her body. It didn't even bother taking off her clothes, probably some sort of seasoning. Her legs were tied up like an animal's.
The girl had a look of absolute despair in her eyes. She wasn't even trying to resist the pig-man's touch.
The other boy, the one who had been roasted on the stick, was nowhere to be found now, likely already eaten. New firewood had been added beneath the roasting stand. They were getting ready to roast the girl next.
Every fiber of Tarkan's being screamed at him to leave, and run.
But he couldn't.
He wanted to take the girl, not because he saw himself as a knight in shining armor, but because he knew absolutely nothing about this dimension.
He needed information, badly, and she could help..
Tarkan moved away from the uphill and silently made a roundabout into the village .
Onnnnk... onnkkkkk... onnkkkkk...
Startled, he began hearing sounds from a nearby side. As he crept toward the source, Tarkan couldn't help but feel both embarrassed and disgusted.
Two pig-people were going at it, screaming in pleasure without a care in the world, right in the center of the village. They weren't even trying to hide what they were doing.
Tarkan felt a surge of revulsion. It was disturbing to watch.
Quietly approaching from behind, sword in hand, he readied himself.
He immediately activated his speed talent.
--
[Rush -- (C-Rank)]
> Temporarily doubles the user's movement speed for 30 seconds per activation.
Charges: 3
Recharge Time: 6 hours per charge
--
Tarkan jumped, using all his strength to drive the blade into the pig-headed creature.
But contrary to his expectations, the sword shattered. Not even leaving a scratch on the pig-human's body.
The creature, still caught in the middle of its act, suddenly felt a dull thud against its head. It turned, confused, then saw a human running away.
A glimmer of excitement lit up its grotesque face.
Grinning widely, it abandoned its pleasure and began to chase after Tarkan.
To its surprise, the human's speed was nearly identical to its own. No matter how it pushed, it couldn't close the distance.
Onkkkkkk! Onkkkkkk!
The pig-creature shouted.
Moments later of not being able to catch it's prey
Onkkkkkk... onkkkkkk... onkkkkkk...
Similar calls echoed from multiple directions.
Pig-headed figures began emerging from buildings, tents, and behind wooden shacks.
But despite all that, Tarkan's face remained calm.
He kept running through the village without looking back. He had no intention of leaving just yet.
What had started as one pig chasing him had become four. Then ten. Now, there were over thirty pig-creatures on his tail.
Turning and glancing back at the group behind him, Tarkan couldn't help but feel pleased.
Everything was going according to plan.
He had long since studied the village's layout from the uphill position he had scouted earlier.
Tarkan had already anticipated he wouldn't be able to kill any of them. After all, he had just entered this dimension. But what he hadn't expected, what truly caught him off guard, was that the sword, a weapon capable of dispatching Crowned-tier creatures in the first dimension, would break without even leaving a mark on one of these pig-creatures, and even with his speed talent activated he could only barely match upto their speed.
Still, the plan wasn't about winning a fight.
It was about baiting them.
After running for a while, with the pig-people still in hot pursuit, he reached a familiar area, where a fire was burning and a roasting spit stood ready.
Tarkan sprinted toward the spot where he had seen the girl being seasoned.
But his face turned ugly.
Contrary to his plan of luring every last pig-person away, one of them hadn't taken the bait.
The same pig-humanoid that had been rubbing the yellow seasoning onto the girl was now standing in front of him.
The girl was tied to its back.
It spread its filthy arms wide, baring ugly, jagged teeth, clearly waiting to capture Tarkan.
...
..
.
John_poland
Thank you for the Golden ticket
Phil_Rous409
Thank you for the power stones