novelraw Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23. Heosan (4)
The hunters were bewildered.
“……?!”
“What the……?”
Something had suddenly dropped between Riman and them.
It was a corpse.
Of course, a human corpse itself was nothing to be surprised about here.
Heosan Village was littered with them.
But the moment the hunters who had ambushed Riman saw that corpse, they couldn't help but freeze.
“What……?!”
“You son of a……!”
Because that corpse was their comrade, the archer.
Riman smiled faintly and spoke.
“It’s two against one now, isn't it?”
* * *
One minute earlier.
On the rooftop of a building, about a block away from Riman’s battle.
A man was pulling an arrow from his quiver.
“The little rat is good at dodging.”
He muttered and nocked an arrow on his bowstring.
The target the arrowhead was aimed at was none other than Riman.
He was the archer who had been continuously firing arrows at Riman.
Vwoooong-
A blue light began to flow from the arrow he held.
This archer was a Superhuman, a being who knew how to use mana innately.
The superpower he possessed was ‘Mana Conferral.’
It was the ability to inject mana into an object he touched, enhancing its physical properties or granting it special attributes.
He primarily utilized this ability by infusing mana into his bow and arrows.
And the result was an arrow faster and more powerful than a bullet.
Whoosh!
The arrow cut through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.
But once again, it failed to hit Riman.
“Tch……”
Should I try a curved shot this time?
The moment he thought this and picked up his next arrow.
Swoosh-
“Hm?”
Something quickly passed by him.
He didn't get a good look, but it was a flying object about the size of a drone.
Though it was much faster than a drone.
He lowered his bow and briefly surveyed his surroundings.
At that moment.
Crunch!
He was bitten.
A black sphere that had suddenly flown in bit into the archer’s neck.
It was Saya.
“Gack……”
The archer desperately tried to pull it off, but the more he struggled, the deeper Saya’s teeth dug in.
“You bastard……!”
The archer gripped the arrow he had drawn in reverse like a knife and infused it with mana.
The ordinary arrow transformed into something harder and sharper.
Just as he was about to stab Saya with it.
Riman transmitted a single magic spell to Saya.
The magic sent by its master manifested from the golem’s body.
[Discharge]
Crackle!
Black electricity began to course through the archer’s body.
“Kugh-guh-guk……!”
The bite to his neck was already a fatal wound.
The electric shock dealt to such a body completely snuffed out his life.
The archer’s body went limp.
And Riman had watched all of this through their shared senses.
‘Good.’
With that, the most troublesome one, the archer, was dealt with.
Riman summoned Saya back.
Saya flew towards Riman and the hunters with the archer’s corpse in its mouth.
And it dropped the archer's body in front of them.
Swoosh-
Splat!!
And that was how the archer's corpse came to be sprawled before them.
* * *
This was the reason Riman had been on the defensive for a short while.
He had been concentrating more on controlling Saya to take down the enemy's ranged support first.
In other words, he had to assassinate a distant enemy while simultaneously dealing with the two in front of him.
A division of his gaze and concentration.
Naturally, he had no choice but to take a defensive and passive stance for the moment.
But now, the enemy archer was dealt with.
The one who had been sniping at Riman from a distance had been turned into a corpse.
Now, the only enemies were the two before his eyes.
There was no longer any reason to be defensive.
All he had to do was focus all his strength on killing the enemies in front of him.
Riman smiled faintly and spoke.
“It’s two against one now, isn't it?”
“You……!”
Just then, Saya, having completed its mission, landed on Riman’s shoulder.
And then……
“Grrrrr……”
It began to growl lowly at Riman’s enemies.
Riman stroked Saya and said.
“No need for you to step in this time. They're just pushovers now.”
“This son of a bitch……!”
Thump!
The one with the shield charged towards Riman.
Riman’s eyes scanned the man’s attire.
A thick metal shield, a large axe, heavy full-plate armor.
His body, draped in all sorts of heavy things, was even massive in stature.
The man was heavy.
Being heavy also meant the downward force was stronger.
Downwards, below, towards the ground beneath his feet.
The optimal magic to deal with him was to attack the ground beneath his feet.
Tap.
Riman bent his knees and placed his palm on the ground.
‘A halted vortex, a devouring maw.’
The constructed magic spread from his palm into the ground.
[Quicksand]
Magic that turned the ground into a swamp of sand.
Ruuuumble!
The ground beneath the shield-man crumbled, and a quicksand pit suddenly formed.
A gluttonous pool of sand that sucked in whatever it touched.
A being with more than a certain amount of weight couldn't resist this suction.
Especially for a man as heavy as this shield-bearer.
“Huooorgh……!”
The shield-man was instantly sucked down into the quicksand.
The mana-infused sand clung to him, making it impossible to move properly.
All he could do was barely keep his head above the surface and hold on to his breath.
Riman fired an [Incision] at the man’s head.
Slice!
The head was split horizontally.
Thus, following the ranged dealer, the tanker was also taken care of.
Riman’s gaze now turned to the last one remaining.
A tall, thin man with narrow eyes.
In his hand was a long, narrow sword in the shape of a rapier.
Riman spoke to him.
“Now, it’s one-on-one.”
“……”
The man’s mouth twitched silently.
An expression that was hard to tell if it was anger or a smile appeared on his face.
Looking at that expression, Riman muttered to himself.
‘He must be having mixed feelings.’
He had been thoroughly prepared, and until just a moment ago, he had been pushing his opponent into a corner.
But in just a few seconds, the tables had turned.
One of his comrades was dead, and the other was stuck in a quicksand pit.
On top of that, since they were the ones who attacked first, they had no ground to stand on.
A moment later, the man spoke to Riman.
“…I’ll give you all the tags we have. So……”
“No need. I’m just going to kill you and take them.”
“Think carefully. There’s no reason to go to such trouble……”
“There is. I’m the type who doesn’t like to leave loose ends.”
Cold sweat trickled down the man’s back.
Riman said.
“Are you scared?”
“……”
“You were so full of yourself when you first tried to kill me. Your perspective changes when the tables are turned, doesn’t it?”
“That……”
“Come at me. I have no intention of letting you live, no matter what you do now.”
The man sensed it.
That every possible escape route was truly blocked.
Now, there was only one path left for him: straight ahead.
Upon the blade-like, one-way path he had created himself, he had no choice but to finally take a step.
Tap!
The man charged at Riman again.
At that moment, the man’s eyes once again flashed red.
Seeing that, Riman thought.
‘So his ability is in his eyes.’
He was correct.
The man was an Enhanced Human who had strengthened his ‘eyes.’
Thanks to that, he could see much farther than with ordinary eyes.
That was how he was able to witness Riman’s mob luring from a distance.
Moreover, the function of these eyes wasn't just telescopic vision.
He could perceive things that came into his field of view in much greater detail.
He could faintly see not only the opponent's movements but even the flow of mana.
On top of that, he possessed the physical abilities to utilize this vision to its maximum potential.
Swoosh!
The man’s sword thrust forward.
A powerful thrust, a clean sword path.
It was a destructive swordsmanship that could easily pierce a concrete wall.
Enhanced vision, immense physical ability, and clean swordsmanship.
He was undoubtedly a skilled swordsman with few flaws to be found.
His only misfortune.
Was that he had targeted Riman.
Swoosh!
Slice!
Tzzzzt!!
The man unleashed a fierce flurry of sword strikes.
But not a single one of them reached Riman.
Because Riman had dodged them all.
To an onlooker, Riman's reaction speed was on a level close to clairvoyance.
No matter how enhanced his vision was, it was nearly impossible to surpass that and land an effective hit.
‘…Is this even possible?!’
It felt like fighting a ghost.
Like being trapped in a swamp.
No matter how violently he struggled, the outcome wouldn't change.
Just as his wide-open eyes felt like they would pop out and the muscles all over his body began to scream.
The man’s movements revealed an opening, and Riman didn't miss it.
[Incision]
A blade of compressed wind was launched from Riman’s fingertips.
Slice!
A diagonal slash erupted across the man’s upper body.
“Keoheok……!”
He saw it.
His eyes clearly saw the incoming blade of wind.
But his body couldn't react to it at all.
A disconnect between his senses and his body.
His body, exhausted beyond its limits, couldn't properly use the information his eyes were sending.
It was because his stamina had been too depleted from unleashing a flurry of strikes at Riman with do-or-die determination.
This was also why Riman had simply dodged the man’s sword slashes without any particular counterattack.
The final blow could be delivered after he was tired.
‘…Where did it go wrong?’
He had expected Riman to be strong.
‘But he must have consumed a large amount of mana from that massive explosion earlier…….’
On top of that, he had been extremely cautious, employing a surprise attack and teamwork.
And yet……
‘I didn't think he would be this strong…….’
Thud.
The man fell to his knees.
He could no longer muster any strength in his body.
It was the end.
“Huu, huu……”
He looked up at Riman from his knees.
An endlessly indifferent expression, as if he had simply won a battle he was meant to win.
He said to Riman.
“…Congratulations.”
“For what?”
“With your level of skill, you could probably take all the tags from the hunters here.”
“Am I you? Why would I do something like that?”
“What……?”
“You must think everyone in the world is just like you. In case you forgot, this is why you're dying right now. For coveting what belongs to others.”
“Puhuhu……”
“Don’t laugh, you idiot.”
“……”
Looking down at the man, Riman thought about the morality of this place.
This world was cruel.
There were probably plenty of guys like this.
He couldn't live in a place like this while adhering to the moral code he had learned in his past life.
Here, violence had to be prioritized over law, and if necessary, one had to be able to commit murder without hesitation.
But even in a place like this, he wanted to maintain the minimum line of being human.
Not the line written in ethics textbooks or law books, but the minimum line one should protect for having been born human.
And in truth, there was a more practical reason for needing to protect this line.
It was this necklace around his neck.
A surveillance necklace that transmitted Riman’s location to Lancelot in real-time.
Riman was not a completely free man right now.
He was just another prisoner who had gained temporary freedom in exchange for cooperating in the killing of escaped convicts.
In other words, if he was caught committing acts that crossed the line, he could be sent straight back to prison.
That was perhaps the biggest reason why he didn't go around killing all the hunters here and stealing their tags.
‘If this were a game, I would’ve killed them all and taken their stuff by now.’
As various thoughts crossed his mind then.
“…Hm?”
Riman felt it.
The feeling of the air changing.
And Riman wasn't the only one who felt it.
“Hey, you felt that too, didn't you……?”
The man who had just been cut down by [Incision] said to Riman in a desperate voice.
“The flow of mana has changed. Something big has woken up in this Heosan Village.”
“So?”
“You can’t possibly face that monster alone.”
“……?”
“Give me a potion. Once I’m healed, I’ll help you.”
“What……?”
“My gut tells me it's a monster you can never face alone. Let's cooperate. If you just let me live……”
“Your gut? If your gut is only good enough to get you into a fight with me, it doesn't seem very useful.”
“……!”
Riman drew his finger horizontally.
[Incision]
Slice!
Blood spurted from the man’s neck.
“Gack……!”
“And how can I trust someone who tried to kill me and watch my back?”
However, what this man had said was true.
That something big had awakened in this village.
The real hunt, as it were, hadn't even begun.