Chapter 17

“Tch…” Despite the unexpected gain, Jun-sang clicked his tongue. Naturally, he had been fired from his convenience store part-time job due to his month-long disappearance. Of course, finding another part-time job wasn’t a big problem. The real issue was that there was no telling when these damned quests would activate, and such unpredictability would inevitably have a fatal negative impact on his social life.

A don of gold… It was a lot if you considered it a lot, and little if you considered it little. If he could continuously earn this amount, even if he couldn’t make a fortune, it would be enough to get by. But Jun-sang was rather annoyed, feeling as though it meant he should quit everything else and just focus on the quests. Like it or not… the fact that he had to be dragged along according to the game organizer’s wishes was infuriating.

“Phew…” Jun-sang stood up and looked at the Crimson Wolf, which was waiting for his command, and said, “Next.”

The Crimson Wolf cocked its head, but when Jun-sang waved the zombie’s rag, it finally seemed to understand. It raised its head, sniffed, and then began to run off again. Jun-sang felt his breath gradually growing shorter from the continuous running and fighting, but he calmly regulated his breathing and followed the Crimson Wolf.

However, the zombie they finally found was already being taken down by someone else.

Thwack! The person was holding something like a mace in their hand and smashing the zombies’ heads. It was hard to see clearly due to the distance and the darkness, but after watching the fight for a moment, Jun-sang realized the blunt weapon was a blackjack. A blackjack is the easiest blunt weapon to make, created by putting sand, gravel, or coins into a pocket. It seemed very crude but had the advantages of being easy to make, highly portable, and powerful. Jun-sang guessed the person had probably made it by putting sand or stones in a sock they were wearing.

The person swinging the blackjack sat down, panting, after taking down all the zombies. Jun-sang watched for a moment, and once the slender person had finished off all the surrounding zombies, he unhesitatingly left the spot. He had no desire to create another scene like the one with the two kids earlier.

But just as he was about to turn away, the person spoke first.

“Hey, who’s there?” “…” Jun-sang realized the voice belonged to a young woman but simply pretended not to hear and slipped away.

This meant, including Jun-sang, there were now five people. Although the forest was quite large, judging by the frequency of encounters, it was clear that a considerable number of players had been deployed. Jun-sang urged the Crimson Wolf to find another target.

The Crimson Wolf, following Jun-sang’s command, ran again, but at a certain point, it suddenly stopped, bared its teeth, and began to growl. This reaction, different from before, immediately put Jun-sang on alert. And sure enough, a special creature, unlike the ordinary zombies they had encountered so far, appeared.

-Grrrroooowwl! As the seemingly sluggish, massive body appeared, Jun-sang involuntarily swallowed hard. The sight of a giant bear, at least three meters tall, standing on its hind legs and roaring, was enough to make even Jun-sang, who thought he was quite accustomed to combat, feel his heart clench in fear. He had easily defeated the zombies, but could he really face such a monstrous beast?

Jun-sang decided it was still too difficult. He might not know for sure, but the power of this absurd monster surely wasn’t inferior to his own. On the other hand, the effectiveness of Jun-sang’s punches and kicks against this monstrous bear was unknown, so it was better to avoid this fight. However, the monstrous bear’s thoughts differed from Jun-sang’s. It was already annoyed by the rampant zombies, and when a zombie-like creature approached, reeking of zombie stench from its hands and feet, it recognized him as another enemy.

-Rrrroooowwl! As the giant, tawny-furred bear bounded and charged towards him, Jun-sang could only click his tongue.

“Damn!” But he couldn’t just stand by and watch the bear’s charge. Without a separate command, Jun-sang and the Crimson Wolf split to the left and right, moving out of the monstrous bear’s charging range. The bear hesitated for a moment as its target suddenly split into two directions, then turned its head towards Jun-sang. It was at that moment that Jun-sang’s command burst forth.

“Open Will-o’-the-Wisp.” Immediately, a red-glowing Will-o’-the-Wisp appeared before Jun-sang’s eyes.

“Go!” As Jun-sang pointed at the monstrous bear and gave the command, the Will-o’-the-Wisp flew towards the monstrous bear’s head.

-Rrrroooowwl! The monstrous bear was startled by the sudden bright light appearing and flying towards it, retreating backward. But the Will-o’-the-Wisp, following Jun-sang’s command, immediately flew towards the monstrous bear’s head and collided with it.

Zap! Though it had almost no physical power, the Will-o’-the-Wisp continuously bumped into the monstrous bear’s head like a living ball, and each time, the monstrous bear was at a loss from the heat burning its skin and fur. It tried to swat the Will-o’-the-Wisp away with its front paws, but the Will-o’-the-Wisp skillfully dodged and continued to harass the monstrous bear.

“Huh…” Jun-sang was impressed, thinking it would be lucky if it just startled the bear, but it was doing much better than expected. Jun-sang had hoped it would just be startled enough to run away, but the bear instead unleashed a furious roar and began to rampage violently. Then, the Crimson Wolf, which had been circling and waiting for an opportunity, charged at the bear. The bear, already angered by the Will-o’-the-Wisp, irritably swung its front paw as the red wolf darted annoyingly in front of it. But the wolf cleverly continued to strike and retreat, irritating the bear.

Realizing that the bear’s attention was completely diverted from him by the Will-o’-the-Wisp and the Crimson Wolf, Jun-sang slowly stood up and took his stance.

“Hook… hook…” As he regulated his breathing and took his stance, his mind sharpened, and he felt as if every pore on his body stood on end. Jun-sang, waiting for an opportunity, instantly lunged at the grizzly bear like an arrow the moment the bear swung one paw towards the Will-o’-the-Wisp.

The bear belatedly realized Jun-sang’s lunge, but it was too late to raise its front paw again, so it bared its teeth menacingly. However, if such a threat could deter him, he wouldn’t have even attempted an attack in the first place.

“Hyaaah!” With a shout, Jun-sang unleashed a two-hit combo from his fists. Jun-sang’s rapidly thrown punches landed consecutively below the bear’s eyes.

-Grrrroooowwl! The bear, startled by the considerable impact, raised its front paw again, but just then, the Will-o’-the-Wisp once again flashed across its vision, causing its recently raised front paw to uselessly cut through the air. As the bear remained disoriented, the Crimson Wolf, which had moved behind it, began to bite at the bear’s vulnerable rump flesh.

With the situation like this, the bear seemed to decide it couldn’t take it anymore and suddenly reared up. This action was both to escape the threat of the Will-o’-the-Wisp and Jun-sang’s attacks and a preparatory movement for a fatal paw strike. The moment the bear reared up and its vision was free from the Will-o’-the-Wisp, it swung its front paw, putting its weight into it, towards the human standing before it.

“Hup!” Jun-sang’s eyes widened as he saw the enormous front paw tear through the air and fly towards him. If that paw hit him, Jun-sang’s skull would be shattered in an instant. No, it was obvious his neck would break from the impact before his skull. Even if he withstood the blow, being crushed by that physique would still result in death. Unlike felids like tigers or lions, bears pin down their prey with their front paws and tear at them alive.

Jun-sang quickly crouched. And the moment the bear’s front paw grazed his head, he slipped out from underneath its armpit like a spring recoiling. The bear, whose weighty blow had missed, and whose target had suddenly vanished from its sight, hurriedly turned its head to find Jun-sang. But its vision was once again blocked by the Will-o’-the-Wisp, which had flown back. Seizing that opportunity, Jun-sang, who had moved behind the bear, almost reflexively leaped onto the bear’s broad back and began to choke its neck from behind.

It was a back choke, unleashed!

-Grrrroooowwl! The bear howled as strong arms suddenly began to squeeze its neck. It tried to tear Jun-sang, who was clinging to its back, off, but the bear’s front paws were too short to break the perfectly applied back choke. Moreover… Jun-sang’s weapons were not just the two arms that solidly squeezed the bear’s neck like a noose.

“Mad Dog!” The moment that command burst from Jun-sang’s lips, the card slots emptied, and new cards took their place:

Bite, Two-Hit Combo, Rampage, Blood-Soaked, Blood-Soaked (R).

As these five cards were equipped into the slots in order, the combo card ‘Harias’s Mad Dog’ activated. For a smaller creature, even if a back choke was applied, it wouldn’t be very effective because Jun-sang’s head position would be higher than the opponent’s. But the monstrous bear’s large head allowed its occiput to maintain almost the same height as Jun-sang’s head, even in a back choke.

-Crunch! Jun-sang’s teeth precisely dug into the area where the back of the head connected to the spinal cord, and then red blood surged from the chunks of flesh that tore away, splattering Jun-sang’s face.

-Grrrraaaah! The monstrous bear, maddened by the horrific pain of the flesh tearing from its neck, wildly thrashed its body, but that action only helped Jun-sang’s arms to tighten their grip even more securely. Moreover, Jun-sang, spitting out the mouthful of flesh, bit the bear’s neck again.

Gnaw! This time, he felt his teeth touch the bear’s neck bone. The bear was now half-crazed, flailing its front paws, but it could only stagger like a drunk, unable to even control its own body movements. And with the third continuous bite, the bear’s neck bone finally dislocated with a grotesque sound, and the bear could no longer endure, falling forward.

As the bear fell forward, Jun-sang opened his teeth and tore at the cartilage in the back of its head. Once the muscles at the back of its head were completely severed, the bear’s head, unable to support its own weight, lurched forward, helping to close off the blood vessels leading to its brain. The bear was already in a semi-conscious state, but Jun-sang bit into the bear’s completely exposed inner flesh again.

Gnaw! That was the fatal blow. The bones connecting the head and neck dislocated and snapped, and the spinal cord inside also severed.

“…” The bear’s movements had now completely stopped, but Jun-sang, who continued to choke it as a precaution, suddenly felt a white light envelop his body, and his fatigue dissipated. It was a level up. This was a sign that he had reached level 11 through the experience of killing this gigantic monstrous bear.

Author’s Note There is indeed a real-life example of a person named Grković in Bosnia in 2013 who choked a bear to death in such a way. Believe it or not.