Chapter 66

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Sneaking glances, I stealthily observed Kang Chan.

 

Kang Chan was touching the wall leisurely, without any suspicion.

 

Despite more than 10 minutes passing by, the monstrous wolf showed no signs of revealing itself.

 

“…”

 

Could it be... scared?

 

Was it intimidated by the overwhelming presence of Chan Hyung? It’s plausible. Wolves are naturally sensitive creatures.

 

Even from this distance, the aura emanating from Kang Chan, faint yet perceptible, might be felt by the wolf many times more intensely.

 

In that case, I had to give it a push.

 

“Uh, uh uh! Up there!”

 

Pretending to be startled, I pointed towards the glowing eyes of the wolf on the ceiling.

 

“Grr, Grrraaargh!”

 

It seemed to be genuinely scared, as the wolf let out a panicked howl.

 

Hesitating on the ceiling, it eventually decided there was no other choice and lunged towards Kang Chan.

 

“What the?!”

 

But Kang Chan was just as surprised.

 

The wolf’s movements were so swift in its desperate attack that it was too late for Kang Chan to dodge.

 

Eventually, Kang Chan’s fist began to shine again.

 

The monstrous wolf was striking down from mid-air.

 

Gazing at the ceiling, Kang Chan launched his fist towards the wolf’s snout.

 

Flash!

 

“…Wow.”

 

The distance between Kang Chan and me allowed me to fully appreciate his punch.

 

Boom!

 

A powerful beam of light emitted from his fist. It was more like a phenomenon than a mere punch.

 

A natural disaster that destroys everything it touches.

 

The monstrous wolf, just before meeting Kang Chan’s fist, was engulfed in the light and vanished into thin air.

 

“Ah, Aaaah!”

 

A sharp, biting wind whirled through the space, late to the scene, roaring in the aftermath of that punch.

 

“Ye-Yeah, as expected…!”

 

Even while groaning in the swirling wind, I didn’t forget to admire Chan Hyung’s incredible punch.

 

The heavens haven’t abandoned me. I might have missed the bus named Choi Ji-won, but there was another, a bigger bus named Kang Chan waiting for me.

 

Bring it on. Kang Chan is a god, and I am invincible…!

 

Rumble.

 

While I was smugly thinking this to myself, an ominous rumble echoed from the ceiling.

 

“Huh?”

 

Kang Chan’s punch had pierced a huge hole in the ceiling, and the impact caused cracks to spread all over it.

 

These cracks extended to the walls, causing torches to fall one by one to the ground.

 

“…”

 

Crash!

 

Then, as the ceiling collapsed, showering countless rocks down upon us-

 

“Damn…”

 

-I calmly closed my eyes.

 

 

 

***

 

Kang Chan Hyung is not at fault.

 

If there is a fault, it lies with this fragile cave ceiling that can’t withstand his powerful fist.

 

Regardless of who’s to blame, the fact that we can’t rely on Kang Chan’s help against the wolf was quite a setback.

 

The worry was that even if we managed to knock the wolf down, Kang Chan’s punch might bring down the ceiling.

 

Kang Chan was too strong, and the walls of the cave too weak. We had to deal with the wolf ourselves.

 

Therefore, when we reached the entrance of the cave again, I stopped everyone.

 

“Everyone.”

 

“…Yes? What’s up?”

 

“Let’s take a moment to explain our abilities in detail. The cave ahead looks quite suspicious.”

 

I didn’t mention the wolf hiding in the ceiling. If I did, Kang Chan might just go off hunting another wolf.

 

My intention was to get An Kyung-Joon and Dok Su-hee to reveal their abilities. If I didn’t gather this information now, what I planned to say next would seem rather awkward.

 

So, I initiated the conversation about everyone’s abilities.

 

“My ability is... ‘Kangshin’. Specifically, it’s the spirit currently attached to me that’s my ability. When I’m in mortal danger, a spirit adept at javelin takes control of my body.”

 

“My trait is enhancement.”

 

“...Fist.”

 

“My specialty is swordsmanship. More precisely, the ‘swordsmanship’ trait.”

 

Just like the previous iteration, everyone shared their unique traits.

 

This set the stage for me to take the lead in the conversation.

 

“First, wouldn’t it be better to fully prepare before entering that cave? We don’t know what might jump out at us, right?”

 

“...Uh?”

 

“So, wouldn’t it be advantageous for An Kyung-joon to enter the cave in a spirit-possessed state, ready for any variables?”

 

“...Uhh?”

 

“However, right now, Kyung-joon isn’t feeling a life-threatening crisis... But what if we could forcibly induce his spirit possession?”

 

“...Is that possible?”

 

At An Kyung-Joon’s question of whether that was possible, I turned my head to look at Kang Chan.

 

“Chan Hyung.”

 

“…What is it?”

 

“I noticed earlier that your aura is incredibly powerful... Could you, maybe, focus your killing intent on one person? Oh, you can emit killing intent, right? Sorry for assuming.”

 

“…It’s possible.”

 

Having experienced Kang Chan’s killing intent firsthand, I knew.

 

That killing intent. It’s something that can’t be endured with just any level of mental strength. Even my mind, toughened through repeated regressions, struggled to withstand it.

 

But what about the more fragile An Kyung-Joon?

 

Instead of feeling a threat to his life, he might even pass out.

 

“...Wait a minute.”

 

“Ah, even if you sensed the aura of another monster, could you first direct your killing intent intensely toward Kyung-Joon?”

 

“...”

 

Roarrr.

 

And so, after Kang Chan intensely unleashed his killing intent on An Kyung-Joon, he disappeared somewhere.

 

“Ah, Aaaaah...!”

 

An Kyung-Joon, whose eyes almost rolled back in shock, seemed to have successfully invoked spirit possession. He suddenly summoned an old wooden spear with a stern expression.

 

“Alright, let’s go in now!”

 

Without hesitation, I pushed both of them forward. An Kyung-Joon’s eyes were fixed on the ceiling. It was clear he had sensed the wolf’s presence with his sharp perception.

 

And so, the three of us entered the cave.

 

Whoosh!

 

An Kyung-Joon, in his spirit-possessed state, immediately hurled the wooden spear toward the ceiling.

 

“Yelp!”

 

The startled wolf hastily jumped down from the ceiling. It seemed it hadn’t expected to be caught so quickly, its posture awkward in surprise.

 

“Enchant! Quick!”

 

We couldn’t miss this opportunity. I charged at the wolf as it plummeted to the ground.

 

“Uh, that... ‘Explosion’!”

 

Dok Su-hee didn’t hesitate to enchant An Kyung-Joon’s wooden spear with ‘Explosion’.

 

“Phew!”

 

Swoosh!

 

The monstrous wolf barely dodged my sword, leaping back at the last second.

 

But its leap was a mistake. We had a formidable ranged attacker on our side.

 

“Hunting time.”

 

Swoosh!

 

The enchanted wooden spear, now completed, plunged into the wolf’s body suspended in mid-air.

 

Boom!

 

“Yelp!”

 

The explosion deep within its body instantly ended the life of the monstrous wolf.

 

“Phew, phew…”

 

An Kyung-Joon, released from the spirit possession, collapsed onto the spot.

 

“...Bravo.”

 

Clean. No, perfect.

 

We entirely skipped the unnecessary process of running away from the wolf.

 

Now, we have a strategy to capture the wolf without any damage.

 

This is the beauty of regressing. Repeating the same situation to derive the best possible outcome.

 

I couldn’t help but show a satisfied smile.

 

***

 

About 30 minutes later.

 

Kang Chan returned, a trickle of blood running down his head.

 

“...There was another wolf.”

 

So, both wolves were perfectly dealt with.

 

The next challenge is how to overcome the mirror room.

 

Entering the mirror room unprepared would only lead to a predestined disaster.

 

“Um… Kyung-Joon?”

 

“Yes? What is it?”

 

“Can you explain your trait in detail?”

 

“Ah, my trait is…”

 

As I opened the discussion, An Kyung-Joon slowly started to explain his trait in detail.

 

An Kyung-Joon’s trait is essentially about the soul itself. Changing the body’s owner is just a secondary aspect; the main trait is the spirit that constantly follows An Kyung-Joon.

 

“So, does this mean you share senses? It’s just the control of the physical body that changes?”

 

“No. The spirit perceives the world in its own way, and I perceive it in mine. The spirit and body can’t be too far apart, though.”

 

So, it’s not like that movie, where the protagonist sits somewhere and shares senses. Instead, the spirit floats around in an ethereal state, independently observing the world.

 

“Hmm…”

 

This means that blinding An Kyung-Joon’s eyes doesn’t mean the spirit won’t be able to perceive the mirror room.

 

If we enter the mirror maze in this state, it is obvious what will happen.

 

I imagine the native, screaming ‘Are you trying to deceive me!’ in a frenzy, will forcibly invoke spirit possession and start smashing the mirrors wildly with his spear. I’d be hit by mirror shards and quickly forced to regress.

 

Staying far back to avoid the mirror shards might be possible…

 

But there must be a gimmick in the mirror maze. If the spirit-possessed An Kyung-Joon goes on a rampage and falls prey to the gimmick, further progress would be impossible. We need four palms to open the stone door.

 

A way to blind the spirit following An Kyung-Joon... a way to prevent him from having an outburst...

 

“Ah.”

 

Suddenly, I remembered how Kang Chan had concentrated his killing intent on An Kyung-Joon to forcibly invoke spirit possession while catching the wolf.

 

What if… we invoke An Kyung-Joon’s spirit possession again and blind him...

 

The spirit entering the body wouldn’t recognize the mirrors, right?

 

It seemed highly likely to succeed. No, it would work.

 

The important thing now is…

 

“Everyone.”

 

How persuasively can I convince the others? How can I convince them that we have to blind the spirit-possessed An Kyung-Joon and proceed?

 

“Wait… Doesn’t this passage seem suspicious??”

 

 

And this is something I’ve done countless times in the tutorial.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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