Almost an hour ago, where she had first killed a goblin archer using its own arrow, Joo-Hee collapsed to the ground, her limbs trembling under the weight of both fatigue and emotion.
Her breathing was ragged, and her skin felt clammy with cold sweat.
"Hah... this is getting annoying," she muttered, her voice laced with bitterness. "I thought this body had already overcome Lee Joo-Hee's trauma after I absorbed her soul fragment… but it seems I was wrong."
She winced, dragging a hand down her face. The pain in her healed shoulder still lingered like an echo. Her knees sank into the blood-stained dirt.
"Tsk. If it weren't for that damn goblin archer…" she gritted her teeth. "I might've spiraled into complete self-loathing by now. I don't want to experience that ever again... for goodness' sake..."
She clenched her fist and activated [Healing Touch], forcing the unnatural heaviness in her body to dissipate, a patchwork solution for a wound far deeper than skin.
With shaking legs, she rose again, her eyes drifting back to the mutilated corpse of Choi Eun-Bi.
She stared, as if confronting not just the death, but the weight of her own existence. Her lips parted, her voice low—not speaking to Eun-Bi, but to herself.
Or rather… to her inner self.
"Yeah… it's my fault that she died," she whispered. "It's all because of me. But how did you expect me to know that any of this would happen…?"
Her voice cracked as she bit her lip, the taste of iron mixing with guilt. She stomped the ground, and at her command, roots burst from the earth, twisting from nearby trees.
She willed them to gather gently, weaving a coffin of reinforced wood that encased the mutilated body of Choi Eun-Bi, and the other fallen hunter nearby.
She stepped closer, hand trembling as she touched the wooden surface. With each contact, letters etched themselves into the bark, slowly forming Eun-Bi's name in soft, glowing green script.
"...I'm sorry," she said, barely above a whisper. "It's too late now, but I really am sorry. I should've done more… should've known better."
Silence followed, only broken by the wind through the leaves. Then, softly, a strange hope surfaced in her voice.
"Don't worry too much. Time will be restarted… once Jin-Woo gets the Cup of Reincarnation. You'll be alive again… both of you. No... everyone who died will."
With those words, she turned, walking away from the makeshift grave. And as she moved, every step she took was blessed by her power, [Verdant Growth], activating with each stride.
White flowers bloomed behind her, pure and silent, carpeting the forest floor like a farewell gift.
It looked like a funeral for a friend.
Like a final goodbye.
Joo-Hee took a slow step forward, her gaze falling on the unconscious figure of Ryu Min-Soo, still collapsed on the ground, bloodied and pale.
She approached him carefully, but her steps halted as her ears twitched—a whisper of movement, faint yet many.
"Tch… more are coming," she muttered, annoyed, but unsurprised.
Activating her skill and using her heightened senses, she confirmed it—seven goblins approaching from the edges of her awareness, moving through the underbrush.
With a long breath, she crouched down and pressed both palms against the blood-soaked soil.
Channeling her energy through [Verdant Growth], she accelerated the decomposition of the goblin corpses around them.
The blood and flesh were quickly consumed, feeding the forest as the surrounding flora nourished even further in fast-forwarded life.
With each command, vines thickened. Roots cracked through stone. Shoots twisted and grew rapidly into a complex structure.
Soon, a protective dome of intertwined roots formed around Ryu Min-Soo, thick like a bunker yet alive—impenetrable to anything short of a powerful strike. She made sure the structure was breathable, stable, and lightproof from the outside.
And then, with a soft hum of her power, she conjured a small berry bush within the dome, its fruit glowing faintly with faint rejuvenating properties. A bottle of water she'd stashed from earlier was placed beside him
Lastly, she snapped her fingers, and several glowing bioluminescent flowers bloomed on the ceiling, casting a soft, warm glow across the former dark interior.
She looked down at him one last time.
"This should be enough… I was thinking of bringing you along as a porter, but that's a foolish idea," she whispered, her voice soft but firm. "You'd only die out there."
Turning back to the dried-up goblin corpses, Joo-Hee rifled through them, her fingers brushing against the brittle remains. Each touch caused their husks to crumble, the bodies disintegrating into dust as the essence stones rolled free, gleaming faintly with residual mana.
Without a moment of hesitation, she moved on to the fallen hunters, checking their worn satchels and bloodstained pouches, her expression unreadable as she muttered:
"I-I don't have the luxury of honor right now. I know it's wrong to steal from the dead and the injured… but I need these more than they do now."
She packed away 4 Health Potions and 3 Mana Potions, along with the essence stones she'd earned from the battle. Then, with a gentle tap on the wall, a portion of the root dome peeled open, like a door breathing, and she stepped out into the forest once more.
After stepping out, she immediately sensed the goblins drawing near. The scent of blood still clung to her, so she moved quickly. Spotting a patch of purple bushes, she reached out and touched them with her palm.
At her command, the leaves stirred and wrapped around her body, weaving into a full-body camouflage cloak. The soft rustle of magic blended with the breath of the forest.
Now hidden among the bushes, she crouched low, eyes sharp, breath steady, muscles taut with anticipation.
Seven goblins were approaching.
Inside the thick cover of the bushes, Joo-Hee crouched low, her breath calm but measured. Through the veil of woven leaves, she watched as the goblins scattered in confusion, sniffing at the air, their snouts wrinkled in frustration.
'Good… They haven't picked up the scent.'
She smirked faintly, satisfied that she had decomposed the corpses fast enough. Their monster instincts had no trail to follow.
Four of the goblins were just a few meters away now, their grunts and strange gestures loud and wild as they scanned their surroundings. Joo-Hee raised her hand, ready to silently cast a [Nature's Embrace] to suffocate them all at once. But then—
A sudden green notification pulsed into view:
_______________________
[The origin skill, Fragmented Tongue of Babel (???), is activating its passive effect: Comprehension of Nigh-Language.]
[The language of the monster, Goblin, has been registered.]
[You are now able to understand the language of Goblins.]
_______________________
Her eyes shot wide open. She froze.
"W-What…?"
Shock threatened to spill from her mouth, but she immediately slapped a hand over her lips to muffle the gasp. Her body trembled slightly—not from fear, but from bewilderment.
Her mind raced, 'This skill… it can let me understand monster languages?!'
Her heart pounded, and thoughts collided in her mind like lightning.
'Wait—earlier, I did hear something… faint grumbling but I just ignored it...'
Suddenly, her ears began to clearly pick up the goblins' voices—once garbled nonsense, now sharp and grotesquely intelligible.
[HUMAN… wheree… disappeared…]
[Yeh… sniff… find… KILL and EAT… heheheheh…]
[hehehehhehe…]
[KILL KILL KILL KILL—]
Their raspy, guttural voices scratched at her eardrums. It made her skin crawl—but the awe she felt drowned out the discomfort.
'Unbelievable… This skill is totally broken. I guess origin skills have really gone beyond the definition of common knowledge'
She clenched her fists, her thoughts filled with curiosity and awe.
'Just how strong and omniscient was that Heaven's Herald of the Worldview of the Tower of Babel for it to have a skill like this?'
Her eyes narrowed, but her lips curled into a grin.
'This power has endless tactical possibilities. If I can understand any monster—no, any creature—I can avoid fights, eavesdrop, and… well, negotiation is already out of the question. After all, we can't reason with them in the first place.'
She stared at the goblins again, this time not as prey to be eliminated, but as data to be extracted.
After a few minutes of observation and silent experimentation, Joo-Hee confirmed it. The passive effect of her skill doesn't consume any mana.
A small grin formed on her lips. That was all she needed to know.
Without hesitation, she dashed forward, bursting from the cover of the bushes. With a swift motion, she cast [Nature's Embrace], causing hexagonal barrier to emerged and wrap tightly around the weapons of the goblins.
Metal creaked and groaned as the crude blades and dull weapons were rendered useless, unable to break free from the barrier.
The goblins screeched, confused and alarmed:
[Attack… ENEMY!]
[Leaf beast… New enemy…]
[KILLLL...!]
[Kill!... leaves... don't eat!—disgusting!]
Joo-Hee chuckled under her breath, 'So even with just some leaves, they don't recognize me as a human? Pathetic.'
Her feet slammed into the ground, and the earth responded. Roots and thick grasses exploded upward, piercing into goblin hands, mouths, and torsos, binding them like prey caught in a living trap.
She could already hear the distant footsteps of the remaining goblins—three more, charging in from the left.
But she was prepared.
Before the first group could even squeal for help, she grabbed the fallen goblins' weapons—two axes and a jagged dagger—and hurled them with precision toward the approaching trio.
One blade lodged into a goblin's chest, and another struck the shoulder of the second, merely touching it. The final one grazed past its target, only to ricochet into the skull of the third with a sickening crack.
With perfect timing, she extended her palm and commanded the roots beneath the wounded goblins to surge up and coil tightly around their throats, squeezing until the air stopped.
As they choked and writhed, she calmly approached the remaining survivors.
Activating her passive skill [Basic Swordsmanship], Joo-Hee moved with smooth, practiced efficiency. She brought her blade down in clean, precise arcs, severing the heads of the bound goblins without wasting an ounce of mana.
When it was done, she stood still in the clearing, surrounded by twisted vines, fallen goblins, and weapons embedded in dirt and bark. Her breathing was slightly panting—not from exhaustion, but from constant motion and controlled skill usage.
"I still have 4/5 of my mana left," she noted, pleased. "That's pretty good for now…"
Then, as if on cue, a soft chime echoed in her ears, and notifications appeared before her eyes.
_______________________
[You have gained 419 experience.]
[...]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have reached level 6!]
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A/N: Just had a great day~ so here's the chapter for today! Happy 100 chapters, everyone!