Chapter 7: The Other World's Mission (5)
'If I fight the feral dog head-on, my chances of victory are extremely slim.'
He had taken down the first dog because he had seized the timing perfectly.
A dog completely focused on him was not an easy opponent to bring down.
The sharp fangs protruding from its snout looked ready to chew Akan up, bones and all, at any moment.
'The fortunate thing is that the others are fighting well.'
Akan glanced around to check the situation.
By taking down one dog himself, four dogs remained.
With two people rendered combat-incapacitated, eight people excluding Akan and I Minyeong were fighting three dogs.
One of them didn't look to be in good shape, having been struck by Akan.
The eight people were more or less holding their own against the dogs, centered around Go Changhyeok.
Just as Akan had expected, Go Changhyeok had quick judgment and outstanding physical ability.
Go Changhyeok, who had been so confident in fighting that he had been an alley boss during his school days, took the lead and pressed the dogs back.
At this rate, the people including Go Changhyeok would take down all the dogs.
For Akan, it was a fortunate thing amidst misfortune.
'Let's not force a fight. If I buy time, the others will help.'
Akan was still weak.
The reckless decision to step forward for I Minyeong was enough.
Akan looked at the dog slowly approaching him and thrust his dagger forward to threaten it.
Grrr! Grrr!
But the threat didn't work at all.
Akan gritted his teeth at the sight of the dog kicking off the ground.
'Fast!'
Just as he thought the dog was surging forward, it was already hurling its body at him.
Akan hurriedly backstepped.
'Blaze Step.'
Tap.
The dog that had reached right before him lost its target.
By a hair's breadth, Akan had dug into the space to the dog's right.
The dog that had narrowly missed its target immediately rushed at Akan again, but this time too, Akan aimed for the space to the dog's right.
It was as if he was circling around the dog.
'An opening!'
Swoosh!
Akan didn't miss the opening the dog revealed while changing direction.
An attack shooting out like lightning aimed for the dog's eye.
The dog avoided a fatal wound with quick movement, but Akan's dagger grazed the corner of its eye, sending dark red drops of blood flying.
Grrrr!
Flames ignited in the dog's eyes.
It was thoroughly enraged by Akan's provoking fighting style.
The wrinkles on its snout twisted severely, and it charged at Akan with explosive speed.
Snap!
"Hup!"
Akan recoiled in shock at the dog's attack that bit into empty air.
Even though Akan was using Haste, it was becoming difficult to compete with the dog's speed any longer.
'If only I had enough mana, I would have finished off the dog already.'
The Blaze Step Akan used was not simply a means of evasion.
It was a close-combat technique favored by the War Mages of the Blaze Magic Tower; every step made flames soar up.
If one circled around the enemy, the enemy would end up trapped in flames.
It was a very powerful technique that consumed the enemy in this manner, but Akan's technique, unaccompanied by mana, could only be used for the purpose of evasion.
With the dog's accelerated speed, even evasion was no longer easy.
Crunch!
"Kuk!"
Akan's expression twisted sharply.
The dog that had stuck to him like a demon finally bit into Akan's arm.
Fortunately, thanks to Akan blocking the dog's attack with his dagger, only a chunk of flesh about the size of a thumb was torn away.
Watching his own flesh being pulled away by the dog's fangs, Akan's pupils shook.
If his reaction had been even slightly slower, that piece of flesh would have been the size of a fist rather than a thumb.
'This is dangerous.'
Akan glanced around.
The people from the chicken restaurant held an advantageous position, but they still seemed to need time to finish off all the dogs.
If he waited for their help, Akan would end up being killed.
The current situation couldn't be broken through with a defensive stance alone.
"Damn it."
Akan quickly retreated.
Pain surged up from his attacked arm, but he had no time to worry about it now.
Having tasted blood, the dog went even more berserk and stuck to Akan.
'I have to finish this on my own.'
There was no other way.
If he didn't kill it, he couldn't survive.
If he gave up on I Minyeong, the situation would be resolved, but for Akan, the option of abandoning his own person did not exist.
'I'll fight to the end.'
Looking at the charging dog, Akan's eyes blazed fiercely.
If only Akan's physical ability had been at Go Changhyeok's level, he could have taken down the dog in a one-on-one fight.
But a past spent holed up in laboratories and an age reaching 40 had made Akan's body far too weak.
'I stake my life on a single strike.'
Akan cursed his lacking physical ability but had no intention of dying whatsoever.
Just as he had shortcomings, he also had areas where he surpassed others.
Akan was a man who, rather than collapsing on the ground in a desperate situation, would somehow find a way to survive.
Akan's greatest advantage was magic.
'I've gathered enough mana to use 1st Circle magic.'
Mana had naturally recovered while he was fighting.
It wasn't enough mana to use attack magic, but it was just barely enough for a basic elemental spell.
In that instant, a Simulation began in Akan's head.
The demon's talent that had made Akan the greatest mage on the continent!
During the brief moment the dog took to charge, countless trials and errors were repeated in Akan's mind.
Grrr!
The dog kicked off the ground.
Even at the sight of the dog flying at him with its jaws wide open, Akan did not run.
Akan, who had stood rooted to the spot like a rock, detonated his mana just before the dog's fangs dug into his flesh.
'Light!'
Flash!
Light erupted.
The small beam of light attacked the dog's eyes directly.
If the mages of the continent had seen this, they would have recoiled in shock at such a magic application.
He had compressed the Light spell, which simply produced light, to produce the effect of Flash, a 2nd Circle spell.
Under the baptism of light that pierced the pupils in an instant, the dog's body twisted.
The moment the dog's sharp fangs dug into Akan's forearm, Akan's eyes gleamed.
'Giving flesh.'
Crunch!
Pain surged from his forearm.
But perhaps because its vision was obscured, the dog couldn't bite Akan's arm properly.
'To take the bone!'
Stab!
Crack!
Akan's dagger pierced through the eyelid.
The relatively weak eyelid was pierced in one go, mangling the eyeball within.
At the attack that gouged out its eye without a moment's hesitation, the dog let out a pitiful cry and tried to flee.
But.
'I won't let you escape.'
Akan was tenacious.
The current situation was the only opportunity created through the Simulation.
Forgetting even the pain, Akan stepped forward.
Before the dog could flee, Akan's dagger dug into the dog's other eye.
Stab!
With this, the dog lost sight in both eyes.
The dog staggering and wandering no longer had the strength to face Akan.
Akan didn't miss the momentum he had seized and decided the victory in one go.
Stab! Stab!
Stab! Stab! Stab!
He wildly thrust his dagger in.
The dog's hard and tough hide eventually gave way after being attacked multiple times.
Akan's attack didn't stop until the movements of the dog flailing to escape subsided.
Finally, as the dog's body went limp, Akan slumped down in place.
And at that moment.
Ding!
[You have cleared the Feral Dog Extermination Mission. As a reward, all survivors will be granted ten Fragments of Strength and a low-grade skill book.]
'Was this the last dog?'
Around the time Akan finished off his dog, Go Changhyeok and the others had also killed all the dogs.
As if he had obtained an item, Go Changhyeok raised the long sword in his hand high and let out a shout of victory.
"We survived!"
"Waaaaah!"
"Go Changhyeok! Go Changhyeok!"
A total of three people had died during the process of clearing the mission.
But they couldn't hide their joy at having survived right now more than the sorrow of death.
Akan had fought in a place where people couldn't see, but Go Changhyeok had taken the lead and resolved the mission.
To the eyes of those who didn't know the truth, Go Changhyeok's achievement looked the greatest.
At the sight of people calling his name, the trembling appearance of Go Changhyeok disappeared, and he was enjoying the current situation with a triumphant look.
But.
Ding!
[A special reward is granted to Akan, who achieved the greatest merit.]
Just because it hadn't been revealed doesn't mean Akan's achievements disappeared.
Akan had killed two dogs by himself and inflicted a fatal wound on another dog.
No matter how outstanding Go Changhyeok's performance had been, it was impossible for him to surpass Akan and receive the special reward.
Soon.
Whoosh!
The mission was over.
Just as the fairy had said, a bright light erupted and swallowed the survivors, including Akan.
- To be continued in Episode 8 -