Chapter 9 - The Rankol Hunt
Mithril. That brilliant light… No, it was Mongshil-i's pitiful, teary eyes that led me on.
"Alright. Let's do a check before we fight. What can you do?"
"I'm good at cooking. I also know how to make my own clothes. I'm a light sleeper, so I'm good at standing watch at night. I can't wake up in the morning, though."
"Are you kidding me? Not that stuff. Something useful for fighting Rankol."
"This is all I have..."
Mosilian took out a mace from her side. It was a rather large and thick mace compared to her, but to me, who knew of her strength, it looked like the perfect weapon.
"You don't have any useful skills?"
"Skills? What are those?"
Her reaction was as if she'd heard the word for the first time in her life. It seemed this race, at least, didn't have skills.
"I mean talents or special abilities."
"I'm good at digging holes and climbing trees. I've avoided predators with those abilities until now, but they were meaningless against Rankol. Rankol has a good nose and never forgets a scent it has memorized."
"So in the end, you're saying you're useless?"
All that was left was that she was just a little bit stronger and faster than me.
"Sigh… Listen up. Our plan is simple. You're the tank, and I'm the dealer. You'll be discovered if you get close anyway, so you're going to draw its attention from the start without hiding. Easy, right?"
"Yes! But I have a question."
"What is it?"
"If you take the tank's armor when I'm supposed to be the tank, won't I be in danger?"
"You said you'd give it to me. Am I wrong?"
The Mithril armor was already fitted snugly on my chest. It was a little tight since the tiny Mosilian used to wear it, but it felt as reassuring as wearing a bulletproof vest.
"No, that's not it, but..."
"Tsk, are you going to keep talking back? I'm just going to leave, you know?"
"N-no. Please, I'm begging you."
"Good. Then go and buy some time. I'll kill it in the meantime. Here, take this too."
"This is… Pff-choo! Achoo!"
"Ugh, damn. That's gross. Why'd you stick your nose in it as soon as you got it?"
"What is this? It's so spicy, cough, cough."
"It's the Spicy Pepper Powder that the kobold had. You said Rankol has a good nose, too, so it should be useful."
Just from holding the pouch containing what wasn't even very spicy pepper powder, Mosilian's eyes and nose turned bright red. It would surely work on a creature with an even better sense of smell than her.
Finding a use for a piece of loot I thought was useless was killing two birds with one stone. With this, Mosilian should be able to last at least one second longer.
"If that doesn't work, spit on it or something. Cats hate water, you know. And if it's spit, it'll feel even grosser."
"Isn't it going to kill me after I do that?"
"While it's killing you, I'll be able to kill Rankol."
"What? How could you..."
"Do you want to save your tribe, or do you want to save just yourself?"
"The tribe, of course."
"Then you have to be prepared for the final moment."
I am different from the protagonist, Hong-seop, who lives under that shining sun.
I'm someone who has to put in a desperate effort to gain even one thing.
The assumption that everything will turn out fine has no place in my life.
"Prepared… I understand, Hero. Even if I die, I'm counting on you to take care of Rankol."
"Don't worry. When I make an investment, I need to get a return."
"Pardon?"
"It's just a thing."
"Yes. I believe in you, Hero. I'm counting on you. I really am."
Mosilian looked at me with her characteristically bright Mongshil-i eyes. It really is hard to turn away. Not because of the jewels or the Mithril, seriously.
Mosilian ran out without hesitation. It meant she was that worried about her family that Rankol was looking for. On the other hand, I didn't rush.
It wasn't for the cruel reason that they weren't my family. The opponent was a monster with a good sense of smell. I needed to be careful.
More importantly, if it was a being that could sense me even before I got close, then it was completely out of my league. Sorry to say, but at that point, it would be important to survive even if it meant sacrificing Mosilian.
"Over here, you bastard! Taste the mace of Mosilian!"
"Who is this? Isn't it the little rat that abandoned its family and ran away!"
A chill ran down my spine.
A monster that could use language.
It was completely different from the monsters I had met so far.
If there was a silver lining, it was that even a creature like Rankol couldn't sense my presence at all.
I found the perfect spot to launch an ambush.
Mosilian and Rankol clashed once. Mosilian's mace was quite fearsome. Among our group, no one besides Hong-seop or Hyung-seok would have been able to block it.
But Rankol parried it lightly and sent Mosilian flying with a kick from its massive foot. Its movements were large, rough, and playful. It meant it was looking down on Mosilian, but today, that would be what aimed for its throat.
"Double Step!"
[Using Double Step.]
[A critical strike has been activated.]
[Attacking Rankol from the rear. Additional damage is applied.]
The attack was perfect.
One shot to the most vital spot, the neck.
The next to the second most important spot, the chest.
Double Step landed properly, and the critical hit activated.
On top of that, since I attacked from the rear, additional damage was applied.
It was an attack so precise that I cheered internally.
But there was just one thing.
One thing I had overlooked.
That was the base specs of the being called Rankol itself.
"Kuaaargh! You goddamn vermin!"
Rankol was not a being that could be brought down by just having holes blown through its neck and chest.
Rankol reacted the moment the dagger struck.
It spun its body frighteningly and swung its sword.
Because it was such a rushed counterattack, the distance was off and I wasn't cut, but its massive arm was a threat in itself.
"Keoheok..."
After getting hit by Rankol's arm, I flew through the air so lightly that I wondered, 'How is that possible?' The fact that I only stopped after practically demolishing a tree meant I was lucky to have survived.
No. It was too soon to call myself lucky. I had always subdued my enemies with a single blow. In other words, I had absolutely no combat experience in situations that weren't assassinations.
F*ck, would I have ever imagined a monster that could survive while spewing blood from its neck? In any case, I had to move. If I collapsed here, this time I would really die.
"Ugh, f*ck. That hurts like hell."
"A human? Don't tell me you borrowed the power of a human? You stupid creature. You're a disgrace to the beastkin."
"I'll do anything to survive! I won't let us all be killed by a creature like you!"
Mosilian swung her mace without tiring. It was still an attack that couldn't even reach Rankol, but she didn't waver.
"Hero. Just as you said, I'll draw its attention. I'm counting on you for Rankol. No matter how tough it is, if it takes another attack like that, it'll die. That thing is just pretending to be okay! Look there, Rankol's left hand!"
Only then did I check Rankol's condition. I could forgive the chest, which was hidden by fur, but its left arm was pressed hard against the wound on its neck.
Thanks to that, Rankol was facing off against Mosilian in an awkward posture. That alone wouldn't let Mosilian win against it, but I could tell the wound was no ordinary one.
No matter how monstrous it was, if it was injured and one of its hands wasn't free, then I had a chance of winning too.
"Hey, stray cat. I'll make you regret looking down on humans."
"With you in that state where you can't even stand properly? Well, I suppose a human as stupid as you would side with this tiny, useless race."
"Mosilian, now!"
"Hmph! Take this!"
Mosilian scattered the Spicy Pepper Powder.
"Kuaack!"
Rankol reflexively turned its head. But the spicy pepper powder spreads and seeps into the air. Rankol, its eyes and nose turning red, couldn't hold back a sneeze.
"It worked, Mosilian. Now!"
"Cough, cough! Achoo, pff-choo!"
"You too?"
Mosilian was out of it. At this rate, she couldn't land the final blow, let alone tank properly.
Tsk, do I have to do it myself? Rankol desperately forced its eyes open. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't stop its eyes from closing for a moment.
A fleeting gap as it blinked. For me, that fleeting moment was enough.
"Smoke Bomb."
Gray smoke rose in the middle of the forest. Because it had turned its head for a moment, Rankol couldn't find my presence even though I was right in front of it.
My goddess-deceiving presence wasn't going anywhere. My specialty was being overlooked by everyone, no matter what I did.
"Kuaaack! Playing tricks, you filthy human! I'll acknowledge your ability to hide your presence. But that ends the moment you approach me. My sword will butcher you."
"It's not scary at all when you're blabbering with snot dripping from your nose."
As soon as my voice was heard, Rankol stabbed wildly with its dagger. The dagger, as big as my thigh, pierced my body in an instant.
"Keuk keuk, to make a sound after going to the trouble of hiding. You foolish thing."
"Says the cat to the human?"
"...!?"
My body, split in half by Rankol's dagger, collapsed on the spot.
So what was the thing talking now? The real me, of course.
What Rankol had sliced through was nothing but a fake created by my new skill, 'Decoy.'
[Decoy (Lv.1) - Assassin Exclusive Skill]
[Creates a dummy to trick the enemy.]
Rankol was on high alert because it had lost me for a moment. So it was not only fooled by the dummy but must have swung with all its might.
Thanks to that, a wide-open gap. If I missed this chance, I didn't deserve to live on the Lumos Continent.
"Double Step!"
Stab, stab. Both dagger strikes landed, but they were shallower than before. The quality of the attack was different than when I had its back. If it had been like the first time, I would have killed Rankol, but it was still alive.
"It won't die even with this?"
"Kuaaaaaargh!"
Rankol swung its sword like a madman. Its momentum was so fierce that I couldn't find a way in to land the final blow.
"This isn't going to work. Just as you said, use me as a shield. While I take Rankol's attack, you stab it, Hero."
"Do you know what that means? It means you die."
Fighting it directly, I now understood. Mosilian could never defeat Rankol, not in a million years. No. If I hadn't stabbed it in the neck from behind, I would have been dead long ago.
To think she would take an attack from that Rankol directly. It was no different from saying she wanted to die.
"But there's no other way. If I can save my family with just my sacrifice, that alone is… Ouch! Why did you hit me?"
"Shut up, you brat. It's not over yet."
"But there's no other way."
"Then find one, you brat."
Those were words I was saying to myself, who had felt helpless for a moment. No matter what, a human couldn't lose to a cat and die.
"How dare you chatter in front of me!"
"You mean you? A cat that's about to die. Smoke Bomb!"
I used the smoke bomb one more time. Simultaneously, my chest throbbed. I knew instinctively. This pain was because I had used many skills in a short period.
There must be some concept of mana in this world too. I couldn't spam my skills anymore.
A situation where I couldn't spam skills and couldn't easily approach the mad cat.
How to stab it in the back… wait a minute, do I have to stab it in the back?
My specialty and forte, my curse and my talent, was my insignificant presence.
Until now, I had used that talent to stab from behind, but now that it was obvious I would come from behind, there was no need to insist on it.
Rather, something more unique.
Something that could catch it off guard, not from behind, but from…
As I thought that far, what I had to do became clear.
"The ground! It's the ground. I'll dig a hole!