HG Ch 21

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As he dodged a Chang-gwi that charged in like a bolt of lightning, a roar rang out from behind. The moment he bent low at the waist, another Chang-gwi leapt right over Eunho’s body.

If I hadn’t dodged that, my upper body probably would’ve been separated from my lower half, right?

Even if the pain here was dulled compared to reality, getting kicked in the ribs by a Taekwondo black belt elementary schooler would’ve still hurt like hell. A shiver ran through him, and his body trembled.

He rolled forward in a somersault.

Boom!

The spot where Eunho had just been was crushed beyond recognition.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Even when he pushed his concentration to the limit, it was impossible to dodge them all. A person who could defeat even a single tiger in combat would be praised as a legendary hunter, but to fight ten of them on equal footing? That wasn’t a hunting game. That was a supernatural fantasy story.

“Urgh!”

[HP] 1126/2450

In the end, Eunho was hit by a body slam and went rolling across the ground. The whole world spun around him, and he couldn’t stop it with his own strength. Only after slamming into the cave wall did he come to his senses and stagger to his feet.

Is soloing really impossible after all? This is driving me nuts. If I get reset, how am I supposed to level all the way back up to this point and push through the main quest again?

Why didn’t the novel explain patterns like “Ten tiger monsters charge into the cave”? How was someone who transmigrated mid-read supposed to deal with a crisis like this? Shouldn’t the author have shown more responsibility? They should’ve just dumped all the worldbuilding in excruciating detail. Think of it as saving a life and go full exposition dump already.

Still, the one bit of hope was that the paralysis and poison effects had worn off, so moving around was much easier now.

Eunho threw another explosive bomb.

Boom!

The bodies of two Chang-gwi caught in the blast from the bomb shook violently. Eunho’s gaze sank into a dry, quiet stillness.

Ever since it became ten of them, it feels like my attacks haven’t been landing properly. They’re just passing through.

The age-old “illusion” pattern in games.

Among several named enemies, identify and eliminate the real one.

Eunho had already considered the possibility. The chances were high that out of the ten Chang-gwi, nine were illusions, and only one was the real thing.

But so what if he knew? This was a virtual reality game. In a PC game, you could observe everything from a god’s-eye view and weave through pattern or charge attacks with ease, but Eunho was stuck in first-person protagonist mode. If just two Chang-gwi overlapped, his field of vision was blocked, and he couldn’t tell what was happening at all.

How the hell am I supposed to figure out which one’s real in this situation? Even the Chang-gwi’s parents wouldn’t be able to tell which is the real one.

Just then, a Chang-gwi appeared out of nowhere and trampled him. This time, the impact hit so hard it made him want to retch. As Eunho let out a long groan—

“…Huh?”

Was it just his imagination?

The moment he was struck by the Chang-gwi that had lunged from behind, the fur of the Chang-gwi directly in front of Eunho darkened for a brief instant, as if a dark, gloomy shadow had lingered for a moment.

As Eunho kept his eyes fixed on that strange Chang-gwi, another one appeared from the left and swung its forepaw.

[HP] 516/2450

It was the same this time. As he focused and watched closely, a pitch-black shadow swirled briefly around the Chang-gwi.

Eunho immediately took aim at the odd one and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

At once, all ten Chang-gwi twisted and howled in agony.

That’s the one.

The moment that thought hit, he hurled an explosive bomb aimed squarely at the strange Chang-gwi.

[SYSTEM] Explosion effect triggers stacked fire damage. [SYSTEM] Low chance burn effect activated! [SYSTEM] Additional damage is dealt to Chang-gwi for 15 seconds.

This time, the burn effect was triggered.

As Eunho quickly got to his feet and reloaded the gun with smooth, efficient movements—

“Urgh!”

[HP] 151/2450

God, that hurts. Does it actually get more painful the higher your level gets?

He wasn’t just saying it. If he ever made it to a max-level dungeon, he’d probably die from shock. Unless you were into masochism, who the hell would play a game like this?

Please, tone down the pain settings. Seriously.

[SYSTEM] HP has fallen below the threshold. Fatigue rises rapidly. Use recovery items to manage HP.

Like I don’t want to manage it? I already used up all the healing herbs I farmed.

He didn’t even have the energy left to snap back at the system.

[SYSTEM] Fatigue: 275/300

His breath came short, his ears rang, and he started to feel chest pain. Gritting his teeth, Eunho raised his shaking hands and aimed at the Chang-gwi once more.

At this point, it had become pure stubbornness.

“If I… huff… Even if I die… I’m taking you down… with me.”

How much HP did he lose from a single hit again? Was it 125? Then yeah, they were both going down together.

So this is how it ends, with a reset.

As he reached his limit, his mind went blank. Staring at the Chang-gwi charging straight at him, Eunho lit the fuse.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the earthen ceiling, with wooden beams supporting the roof clearly in view. Eunho blinked in a daze and managed a fleeting thought.

It’s so Joseon Dynasty…

As he tried to sit up, something hard pressed down firmly on his solar plexus, forcing him back down.

The feel of a folding fan. The scent of musk.

“Lower your fatigue a little.”

A low, almost hushed tone.

He could feel it.

Lying back down on the straw mat (for some reason, the inn in Saenyeok Village didn’t even have blankets), Eunho waved his hand at Yoon Iseo.

A cold voice followed.

“Oh, aren’t you the Sworn Nemesis who never shows up no matter how much danger I’m in? Hi there. I guess you got killed by the Chang-gwi too.”

He was too scared to even open his profile and check his status. If he saw that his Spiritual Power level had dropped to 1, he might just pass out on the spot.

Eunho, who only wanted to escape from reality, simply lay still until a flurry of system windows popped up right before his eyes.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

[SYSTEM] Loading. [SYSTEM] …… [SYSTEM] You have defeated “Chang-gwi”. [SYSTEM] You have gained 81,300 experience points. [SYSTEM] The whole world praises your courage, unyielding even before those stronger than yourself. [SYSTEM] You have gained 67,100 bonus experience points. [SYSTEM] Required EXP met. Spiritual Power has increased. [SYSTEM] HP and MP have been restored. All status effects have been removed. [SYSTEM] You have defeated the Chang‑gwi and obtained the title “Guardian of Jirisan”. [SYSTEM] Item “Damaged Talisman” obtained from defeating the Chang-gwi has been bound to you.

The barrage of notifications left his mind spinning.

Eunho frowned and turned his eyes toward Yoon Iseo. He still couldn’t believe what had happened.

“I… cleared it?”

“Yeah, just barely. That was impressive.”

So I didn’t die?

Eunho tentatively felt his own body. Then, all of a sudden, anger welled up and he abruptly sat up again.

“Seriously, while I was out there rolling around on my own, what the hell were you doing?”

Yoon Iseo gently pushed Eunho back down with the folding fan.

“Lower your fatigue first.”

[SYSTEM] Fatigue: 195/300 [SYSTEM] Your fatigue has exceeded a certain threshold. Sitting down to eat or resting at a village inn will help reduce fatigue.

He was so sick of tarakjuk by now. Lying flat again, Eunho glared up at Yoon Iseo with only his eyes.

Responding to that pointed gaze, Yoon Iseo finally spoke.

“I get that you’re pissed, but I was sealed too.”

“Sealed?”

“Maybe it’s because I’m max level. The moment the entry notification popped up, my body turned translucent.”

Yoon Iseo lowered his dark eyebrows and blinked slowly at him. His expression looked like a cat caught in an unexpected downpour, sullen and soaked. For some reason, the sight nearly softened Eunho’s heart…

But hold on a second.

That made him even angrier.

How dare someone hiding behind a full character customization mask try to pull the emotional card using their face?

The fact that Yoon Iseo was max level also struck Eunho like a colossal shock.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were max level?”

Yoon Iseo didn’t answer. He just looked at Eunho as if he was observing something unfamiliar.

Just as he was about to glare harder, something suddenly snapped open and blocked his view.

“Stop glaring at me. It hurts.”

“You’re seriously acting like that in front of someone who just barely survived? I said, why didn’t you tell me you were max level?”

The fan in front of his face folded halfway.

Through the gap, Yoon Iseo’s eyes peeked out as he asked, “Does my level matter? Your main quest is what counts.”

You’re talking nonsense.

“If I’d known you were max level, I would’ve found some way to make use of you! At the very least, I could’ve gotten some carry.”

“Carry?”

“When a high-level player power-levels a low-level one. Tagging along in high-level dungeons for fast EXP gain. You don’t know that?”

You can’t use what you don’t have, but if you do have something, it’s always useful.

And there he was, soloing everything with a max-level Sworn Companion right beside him.

In the novels, other transmigrated characters got every cheat loaded into their brains and breezed through their second lives like it was easy mode.

But Joo Eunho? He had a cheat code sitting right next to him and still went and dug his own grave.

Whether he noticed how he felt or not, Yoon Iseo simply repeated the word “carry” under his breath.

“Well, I guess this works out. We don’t have much time anyway.” Yoon Iseo added as if something had suddenly clicked.

“That’s what I’m saying. Leveling up goes fast if you get carried. And here I thought you knew a lot, but you don’t even know the basics.”

Really, he was just whining. After nearly dying, he wanted a little sympathy. Maybe even some babying.

Of course, Yoon Iseo would only shoot him a sharp look and mock him with that annoying expression of his.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

At the moment Yoon Iseo replied so calmly, Eunho couldn’t help but be taken aback.

“…What?”

“That I didn’t even know the basics.”

What the hell? Responding to a meaningless whine like that just makes me look like trash.

Eunho, now suddenly wracked with guilt, glanced nervously at him.

“Um… Hyung-nim?”

But something felt off as he looked at Yoon Iseo.

He was definitely smiling…

Yet it chilled him to the bone as if the Chang-gwi he’d defeated had come back to life.

“One must always stick to the basics.”

And so, hell began.