Chapter 71: Core (1)

After going through countless hardships, I finally defeated the guardian.

Honestly, I was pretty lucky.

If it hadn’t been a guardian made of orichalcum.

If Wonmo hadn’t gathered the courage to throw himself at it…

And lastly, if the Light magic hadn’t flickered at that critical moment I would no longer belong to this world.

More than anything, Wonmo’s contribution this time was enormous.

Thanks to him, I was able to discover the key.

What would have happened if I hadn’t brought him with me?

Just thinking about it gives me chills.

‘Since he was still a cub, he probably had much less mana too.’

It was a fight I could only win because every condition lined up perfectly.

Sloth couldn’t do much this time either, unlike during the saber-toothed tiger ambush.

Even though he could cut through an iron barrel like tofu, orichalcum was another matter.

Even if he could cut it, it wouldn’t have mattered against something that regenerated.

“Ow…”

How much time had passed since I defeated the guardian?

I was still lying on the ground.

I was already exhausted because it had absorbed all my mana.

And on top of that, I poured every last drop of mana remaining inside the crystal sphere before throwing it, so I ended up dried out like dehydrated squid.

‘Even so, this is too much…’

It wasn’t that I couldn’t move even a finger.

In fact, I did have strength.

How should I describe it…?

Like gravity had increased several times and was crushing my body?

Anyway, because of that strange feeling, it was extremely difficult to stand up.

“Wonmo.”

“Kyuu?”

“Come here. At least let me pet you.”

Instead, I started stroking Wonmo’s fluffy face.

Feeling my touch, Wonmo began purring in satisfaction.

Normally cats make that sound, but whatever.

‘First, I should drink some elixir.’

As I gradually recovered some energy, I was slowly able to compose myself again.

A sip of elixir, followed by controlling my body through breathing.

I still couldn’t use the cultivation technique, but focusing on breathing helped little by little.

“Agh…”

Letting out groans of pain, I slowly stood up.

After such a battle, my whole body hurt.

Especially my abdomen.

It hurt far more than anywhere else.

During the fight, I had endured it thanks to the adrenaline and the painkilling effect of the elixir.

But now that everything was over, it hurt so much that I automatically frowned.

‘I guess it’ll heal after a while.’

I had already personally verified the effectiveness of the elixir.

It instantly healed the arm destroyed by Mad Dog.

It was just that this time the problem was internal rather than external, so it seemed to take longer.

“Hmmm…”

Enduring the pain, I observed the corpse (?) of the guardian I had defeated.

Unlike before, when it had a humanoid shape, it now simply looked like a pile of rocks.

Among that pile of stones, the Heavenly Demon’s sword still stood out clearly.

‘Is this really the sword of a hero?’

Thinking nonsense, I grabbed the Heavenly Demon’s sword.

When I pulled hard something came out skewered on it, like a kebab.

‘Is this the core?’

The guardian’s heart and power source.

The core.

Now that it had lost its light, it no longer emitted that blue glow and instead had a dark color.

I didn’t know whether it had any value, but even if it didn’t, there was orichalcum everywhere, so I wasn’t too worried.

‘First, I’ll show it.’

I positioned the core skewered on the sword so it could be seen together with the pile of orichalcum behind it.

Then I took several pictures and uploaded them to the gallery.

I also uploaded one of Wonmo while I was at it.

Title) I defeated the guardian.

WildGrills

(Photo of the core skewered on the sword with the pile of orichalcum behind it)

(Photo of a pile of orichalcum shaped like limbs)

(Photo of the core skewered on the Heavenly Demon’s sword)

(Photo of Wonmo looking upward)

While exploring, a guardian suddenly appeared out of nowhere and almost killed me.

At first I thought I was screwed because it absorbed mana and could even reshape its body. But I managed to defeat it by the skin of my teeth.

The last picture is Wonmo, the true MVP of this fight. If it weren’t for him, I never would’ve figured out how to defeat it.

Though well, aside from the orichalcum, I don’t know if the core is useful for anything. Can this thing be sold?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Was that guardian strong?

ㄴWildGrills) Not as strong as the saber-toothed tiger, but it was definitely strong. If I hadn’t figured out how to defeat it, I really would’ve died.

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) It’s a bit late to say this, but there’s a simple way to deal with enemies that absorb internal energy like that.

ㄴWildGrills) What is it?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Pour so much internal energy into them that they can’t absorb anymore. Most end up self-destructing.

ㄴWildGrills) No…

ㄴSwordMaster) A guardian that absorbs mana? I’ve defeated plenty of guardians too, but I’ve never heard of something like that. Though reshaping the body is the same.

ㄴWildGrills) I think it was because it was made of orichalcum. Do the other guardians also reshape their bodies?

ㄴSwordMaster) Yes. A rock guardian controls rocks, a wood guardian controls trees, and a river guardian controls the river’s water.

ㄴWildGrills) And what about firing energy beams from the core?

ㄴSwordMaster) That’s completely new to me. What the hell did you kill?;;

ㄴWildGrills) Then this bastard really was weird hahaha

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Aren’t you injured somewhere? Every time I see posts like this, I get worried.

ㄴWildGrills) It hit my abdomen pretty hard. But I have elixir, so I should be okay.

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Thank goodness. But internal injuries require much more caution. They’re far harder to heal than external ones.

ㄴWildGrills) Yeah. I’ll be careful.

ㄴStarlightPrincess) I’m speaking from experience, so you should take it seriously.

ㄴWildGrills) Yes.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Hey look at all that orichalcum;; How much would that even be worth?

ㄴWildGrills) Can anything be made from it?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) A lot of things, but probably nothing useful for you. The core is also just an energy source.

ㄴWildGrills) Can’t anything be done with the core?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Like charcoal or something? Though at that size, it could probably be sold for a lot.

ㄴWildGrills) I don’t need money. Can’t it be connected to something like a refrigerator? Like a portable battery.

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) If that were possible, I would’ve already made a portable brewery.

ㄴWildGrills) Everything ends in alcohol with you;;

ㄴBut seriously, is Grills really a newbie? Everything he hunts is completely broken.

ㄴFor real. At first he won thanks to terrain advantage, but now I don’t buy it anymore. How can he be a newbie?

ㄴHe’s definitely pretending to be weak.

ㄴWildGrills) (Photo of his abdomen completely purple from bruises) What did you say?

ㄴSorry;;;

ㄴThat really does look painful;;

ㄴCould it be that he got hit on purpose? hahaha

ㄴI won’t believe it unless you show the whole process.

ㄴWildGrills) And how? If I record while fighting, the gallery blocks my vision.

ㄴNo idea.

ㄴMaybe the moderator knows.

ㄴAsk the moderator.

ㄴWildGrills) You people are so irresponsible;;

After wasting time in the gallery, I started gathering everything.

Though calling it “gathering” was a bit of an exaggeration.

Aside from the core, everything around me was orichalcum.

I picked several fragments of an appropriate size and stored them inside the dimensional storage bag. I also stored the core.

It was fairly heavy, but not enough to make movement difficult.

Besides, my mana was slowly starting to recover.

‘I guess I should give the core to AllFather.’

If it was AllFather, he would probably investigate the core with great interest.

Thinking that, I left the cave no, first I went to retrieve the Light crystal sphere.

Despite taking the laser blast directly, the sphere only had a few scratches and was still intact.

I felt like it would be incredibly useful in the future.

‘KingLeor practically saved my life.’

Though that doesn’t mean I’m going to support Leor.

I had to maintain my loyalty to DemonPrincess.

Still, as thanks, I should probably give him some orichalcum.

After leaving the cave, I tapped the crystal sphere twice.

Then the light floating in the air began to fade, and the sphere also lost its glow.

‘As soon as I get back, I need to practice the cultivation technique.’

My mana was almost empty, so I needed to recover it through the technique.

Besides, my abdomen was completely bruised, so I needed to rest until it healed.

‘At this rate, I won’t be able to get crabs again.’

I was feeling increasingly guilty toward the dwarf.

Good thing I gave him fish yesterday. Otherwise, I would’ve lost his trust.

If things got complicated, I could compensate him by giving him more orichalcum.

Though he’d probably end up using it for a brewery or a refrigerator.

But that was fine.

‘By the way there probably aren’t crystal spheres that can record, right?’

I remembered the comments from the gallery.

The ones asking if I couldn’t show the combat process.

At first I dismissed it as nonsense, but thinking about it carefully, there were many advantages.

People have always said it’s better to show something once than explain it a hundred times.

Even though I was learning thanks to the gallery’s regular users, doing everything through text had quite a few limitations.

‘I should seriously think about it.’

Even if there were limitations due to the point of view, it would still be a huge advantage.

The problem was how to record videos.

Smartphones didn’t exist here.

‘I guess I’ll have to ask the moderator.’

I needed to investigate the gallery’s functions more thoroughly.

Thinking that, I returned to the shelter.

Maybe because I had just gone through an intense battle, the place felt strangely comforting, like coming home.

‘I shouldn’t get used to this.’

What would happen if I ended up staying here forever?

Though I doubted that would happen.

I still had the desire to go outside.

I wanted to see human faces again.

Neither the adorable Wonmo nor Sloth, whom I was always bickering with, could fill that void.

Just being able to “talk” with someone already helped a lot, but right now that was impossible.

‘Will I end up talking to a ball or something?’

While organizing my things, I let out a small laugh.

Even I thought it was a completely idiotic idea.

But who knows.

Maybe that really was my future.

‘I’ll leave the core here and the orichalcum to the side.’

After finishing organizing everything, I checked the time.

There was about an hour left before lunch.

Until then, I could check the state of my body.

First, I examined my abdomen, which had previously been completely covered in reddish bruises.

Now the bruising had visibly decreased.

If I hadn’t had elixir, it might have been dangerous.

‘While some struggle desperately just to win, others send you to the hospital with a single hit…’

It was unfair, but there was nothing I could do about it.

After all, I was an absurdly weak human.

I gently rubbed my abdomen and then lay down on the soft mattress.

Maybe because of the hard battle, or perhaps due to my depleted mana, I felt sleepy.

‘Even if I sleep, I should eat first.’

Until then, I could kill time in the gallery.

I entered the gallery.

I searched for my nickname in case there were posts related to me.

[Honestly, I envy Grills.]

“Huh?”

There was a post that made me blink.

What kind of lunatic would envy me?

The title was so absurd that I inevitably ended up entering it.

Title) Honestly, I envy Grills.

(Photo of a completely destroyed slum)

(Photo of a tiny, miserable house)

(Photo of a roof full of leaks)

I’m just a normal user from the slums.

Everyone says Grills is pitiful, but honestly, I envy him.

I mean, as long as he has the gallery, at least he doesn’t have problems surviving, right?

Besides, he’s in the Four Seasons Forest, where expensive things are scattered everywhere.

There’s nothing like that here.

My father disappeared a long time ago, and my mother goes around selling her body.

My daily life consists of begging in the streets and ending up beaten.

I just want you to understand that what seems miserable to some people can be paradise to others.

Safety? That’s complete bullshit.

Recently, some bastard pointed a knife at me just to steal the bowl I used for begging.

This place is literally a damned hell.

I want to leave, but I don’t even know where to go.

That’s why I envy Grills, who can live in nature without worrying about money.

ㄴThen what’s the temple doing? Aren’t they supposed to help the slums?

ㄴThey do help, but it’s useless hahaha. It’s full of guys who use the aid money for gambling or just run away with it.

ㄴSlums aren’t slums for no reason. Unless they completely wipe them out, there’s no solution.

ㄴStay strong.

ㄴLooking at it that way, maybe Grills really is better off.

ㄴNah. Not that much. This guy can at least do things, but Grills risks his life every time he tries anything;;

ㄴIf living in nature were that great, everyone would already be doing it hahaha.

There were tons of criticism, arguments, and sympathetic comments.

While reading them, I ended up feeling strange.

So something like this existed too.

I understood it.

The hell this user lived in was different from mine.

Each of us had our own problems, but both were equally harsh.

‘I guess what other people have always seems better?’

Because honestly, I was the one envying him.

At least he had people around him.

That was far better than being completely alone in nature.

That’s why I ended up commenting.

More than an insult, it was practically an invitation.

ㄴWildGrills) (Photo of the cave with mattresses) Friend. Want to come here? It’s surprisingly cozy. If you come, we can do anything together.

ㄴWhat the hell is this? hahaha

ㄴI thought he was going to insult him, but this caught me off guard hahaha

ㄴFour Seasons Forest vs Slum. What an epic matchup;;

ㄴIf we’re talking about the future, honestly the slum wins hahaha. There’s no future or anything in the Four Seasons Forest hahaha.

ㄴIf it weren’t for the gallery, he’d have to do absolutely everything by hand;;

ㄴHow are people even comparing these hahaha. No matter what, it’s still better than the Four Seasons Forest.

ㄴWhat a ridiculous comparison, damn it.

ㄴAre you messing with me right now?

ㄴWildGrills) No no, I’m serious. If you come, I’ll do everything I can for you.

ㄴBut I’m a man.

ㄴWildGrills) I’m alone.

ㄴThis guy is gay.

ㄴWildGrills) I’m single.

ㄴFuck, that’s terrifying. No way I’m going. Get lost.

ㄴWildGrills) ㅠㅠ

ㄴHaha

ㄴHAHAHAHAHA

ㄴInstant emotional healing hahaha

The lamentations disappeared instantly.

Most people started scolding the author, saying he had gone looking for support in the wrong place.

But did they know anything?

‘Once again, I’m the only one who was being serious.’

Because I really did mean it.