6
Standing right next to the corpse of a Ratman that had been bisected diagonally, Baek Woo-jin planted his sword into the ground like a walking stick and stared at the creature he had just slain, replaying the recent events in his mind.
'So.'
Red lines had suddenly begun appearing on the Ratman's body. He had initially dismissed it as a phenomenon related to the Ratman's knowledge that had flowed into his mind.
Then, just like the first time, he had silenced his footsteps, approached the Ratman from behind, and swung his sword along the red lines that bothered him whether he wanted them to or not. The Ratman's body split cleanly along the red lines.
Considering his current strength stat, bisecting a Ratman's body was not impossible. If he swung a well-forged weapon with all his might, it would cleave through leather and muscle, and even cut through the final barrier of bone.
Good equipment and a full-power swing.
At least these two conditions had to be met to bisect a Ratman's body in a single strike. This was an objective assessment. Yet the Ratman before him had been split apart despite neither of these prerequisites being fulfilled.
"Haha."
Having simply concluded the situation, a laugh mixed with subtle emotion escaped Baek Woo-jin's lips.
"Just when things get tangled up, it drags me deep into the muck until I can't see the bottom."
Shaking the blood off his sword, Baek Woo-jin moved to find the next Ratman to confirm that his conclusion wasn't just a mere assumption.
Squeak. Squeak.
Squeak?
Two Ratmen came into Baek Woo-jin's view as he hid behind a tree. Ratmen don't form groups, but there is one exception—when it's their breeding season.
During this time, males and females pair up together, dig burrows, and gather food. Once the female safely gives birth, the male Ratman leaves.
'Seeing as they're looking for food, they probably haven't given birth yet.'
Originally, whether it was fish or anything else, if a pregnant female was caught, it would be released once that fact was discovered.
Squeak?
Squeak. Squeak?
When he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it in the opposite direction, the Ratmen's gazes turned toward the bushes where the stone had flown. Confirming that both of their attention had completely shifted, Baek Woo-jin calmly stepped out of the bushes and swung his sword at the male Ratman that had been making squeaking sounds.
Swinging his sword along the red line that ran from its right waist to its left pelvis, the Ratman's body was cleanly severed along the sword's trajectory as if he had wielded a legendary blade.
Squeak?!
"Sorry, but I'm too busy taking care of myself."
Baek Woo-jin's sword rushed toward the female Ratman without a moment's hesitation.
Gack...
The Ratman whose heart was pierced struggled briefly before going limp.
The female Ratman's red line ran from her chest to her lower abdomen, but Baek Woo-jin deliberately pierced her heart. Aside from simply dispatching it, it was partly because he felt a bit reluctant about that area, but more importantly, he wanted to confirm once more the difference between swinging along the line and not doing so.
'It's certain.'
Generally, piercing the heart requires much less effort and is easier than bisecting a body. Yet these red lines overturned this obvious principle as if to mock it.
Setting aside the difficulty, even though he had only applied a level of force similar to piercing a heart, the Ratman's body split apart far too easily.
That the head and heart are weak points is common knowledge.
This applies to monsters as well, and creatures instinctively try to protect their vital spots. Without a considerable surprise attack, targeting these two areas should be considered virtually impossible.
'With this...'
His original plan was to raise his stats a bit more in an F-rank dungeon before moving on to an E-rank dungeon. But with these red lines, he was now certain that he could attempt soloing an E-rank dungeon on his own.
Of course, there was no reason to insist on soloing. But considering how the association and those around him would react if someone who received an F-rank in today's examination showed up for a practical test just days later with all stats at E-rank—and even magic power measured at D-rank—it would be better to maintain this state at least until next year to attract less attention.
"Then should I just get a feel for it and head back?"
Baek Woo-jin moved on to find his next target.
**
"Sniff, sniff. Well, there's no smell at least."
He had deliberately fought Ratmen by stepping on fallen branches or such, but didn't achieve the results he expected. Since their only means of attack were swinging their front paws or biting, without even using tools, he could easily dispatch them with just two or three swings of his sword even without targeting the red lines.
Thanks to that, no mishaps like blood splattering on his padded jacket occurred.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back."
"Yes."
It was just an ordinary return home, but Baek Woo-jin forced down the corners of his mouth that were trying to rise without any sense of propriety as he went inside to change his clothes.
"Fa—where's Dad?"
"An acquaintance's father passed away."
"I see."
This must have happened before the regression too, but it was the first time he was learning of it. Back then, he had been so devastated by the shock of being F-rank that he had lost his mind.
"What? You said oppa would be late."
"When did I say that."
"Did you not? Never mind then~"
Baek A-yeon, who came out of her room, helped Madam Jang move the utensils and side dishes to the dining table in the living room.
"What about this time?"
"What about your room?"
"Pfft!"
At his sister's action of pretending to stick her tongue out and spit at him, Baek Woo-jin reached out his hand toward Baek A-yeon's head, whose crown was fully visible.
"Kyah?! Are you crazy? My hair's all tangled up!!"
"Dear, your hair might get in the food."
"Mom!! Is that what's important?!"
Only after roughly ruffling Baek A-yeon's hair for quite a while did the situation calm down, and the three of them sat at the table and picked up their utensils.
"You didn't get into a fight with your friends, did you?"
"Not at all."
He hadn't even met them in the first place, so how could he have fought? But if he did see them, he might have to do some groveling. After all, he had broken his promise right after waking up from the dream.
"Did you drink?"
"Why would I?"
"What? Why? You said you'd drink to your heart's content once you became an adult."
He did vaguely remember saying something like that.
"Who am I."
"An F-rank Awakened?"
"What. Did you see it?"
"Mom told me everything~"
When Baek A-yeon laughed brightly, Baek Woo-jin stared blankly at her before letting out a small chuckle and picking up his utensils again. Before the regression, he had been too slow to realize it, but now he knew this was Baek A-yeon's own way of comforting him.
'It's delicious.'
That night, with the lingering disappointment from the morning added on, Baek Woo-jin emptied three bowls and was called a pig by Baek A-yeon.
**
Somewhere in Seoul.
'That way, I suppose.'
Unlike yesterday when he had been completely unprepared, Baek Woo-jin—who had changed clothes after stopping by a subway station with a large bag—walked toward the management office situated behind the E-rank dungeon entrance.
"Are you perhaps the one who's going to be our porter?"
As he approached the management office, three men and women who had arrived early and were waiting came over to speak to him.
They were the ones who had posted a party recruitment notice on the community forum last night.
"I'm Baek Woo-jin."
"You came earlier than the appointed time."
"You all as well."
"Ah, we live around here."
Since they weren't people he'd be seeing for long, they only exchanged perfunctory conversation before the party entered the dungeon first.
Left alone, Baek Woo-jin handed his ID to the government official watching from the management office, just like yesterday, borrowed a single sword, and headed for the entrance.
A strange sensation of weightlessness briefly enveloped his body, and the deep blue view was instantly replaced by lush greenery. It was a dungeon with a forest terrain similar to yesterday's.
"The shares will be distributed equally, but we may not be able to protect you from unexpected surprise attacks. You understand, right?"
"Yes."
Baek Woo-jin briefly showed the sword at his waist, and the party leader nodded before entering the bushes.
Keruruk!!
The main monsters of this dungeon were Goblins. Aside from the fact that they could use tools, their individual stats were only slightly better than Ratmen.
The reason they were E-rank despite this was because, unlike Ratmen which don't form groups, Goblins—with their higher intelligence and ability to use tools—typically moved in packs of two to five.
'They fight well.'
The party composition of a shield-bearing tank and two melee dealers was quite a departure from the standard, but against Goblins, there seemed to be no need to strictly consider party composition.
Following them around while collecting hearts for a short while.
When the bag was about half full, Baek Woo-jin casually spoke to the party.
"Could I get one Goblin?"
"Sure. Would that be a problem?"
"No, no. That's totally possible. Honestly, you're much better at butchering than we expected, so I was actually thinking we should pay you a bit more."
"The pay is fine. Just please prepare one Goblin in an easy-to-eat way."
"Haha, sure."
Not long after, they encountered a group of Goblins, and the party dispatched all but one as Baek Woo-jin had requested. Then they brought the remaining one with all its limbs broken and placed it in front of Baek Woo-jin.
"Thank you."
Baek Woo-jin pierced the Goblin's heart with his sword.
Not long after, the Goblin went limp, and Baek Woo-jin retrieved his sword, bracing for the headache that would soon come.
"……."
"……."
However, about a minute passed, but there was no headache—nor even a tingling sensation.
"Woo-jin ssi?"
"Ah, yes."
Baek Woo-jin quickly picked up a dagger and approached the sprawled Goblin. Then, skillfully splitting open its chest to extract the heart, he thought:
'So the structure doesn't work when I eat it?'
Having collected all the hearts, Baek Woo-jin slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up.
"Shall we get going?"
"Let's."
As he followed behind the party, he pondered situations where he could naturally draw his sword alongside them before leaving the dungeon.