Chapter 42

As the four people, who had been muttering about Jun-sang running off, began to divide roles based on their respective abilities, and just as they proudly started to boast about their skills, Jun-sang had already arrived at the village and began searching for the person with the sub-quest.

Upon entering the village, surrounded by shabby, low stone walls, with thatched houses nestled together, the villagers eyed his unfamiliar appearance with caution.

“Hmm…” With a slight feeling of “just in case,” Jun-sang opened his phone and checked the minimap. He then noticed a yellow exclamation mark blinking in one corner of the minimap. Anyone who had played even a little bit of games would immediately recognize this yellow exclamation mark as a quest indicator.

As he tried to locate the quest-giver by estimating the position on the minimap, a gray-haired man suddenly approached and spoke to Jun-sang. “Excuse me, are you by any chance a traveler…”

But before the man could finish speaking, Jun-sang had already begun to move, intent on finding the sub-quest.

“Th-there…” The flustered man instinctively reached out to grab Jun-sang. However, before he could even grasp his clothes, he froze upon meeting Jun-sang’s gaze as he turned his head to look.

“…” “…” Jun-sang stared at the man for a moment, then moved directly towards the quest indicator on the minimap. The man finally sighed in relief, clutching his chest as Jun-sang moved away, muttering, “Phew… what a stare…”

Meanwhile, Jun-sang followed the minimap and arrived in front of a small house.

“Is this it?” According to the minimap, the person with the sub-quest should be inside this very house. Jun-sang checked the minimap once more, then immediately opened the door and entered.

As he suddenly opened the door and walked in, a woman with a clearly tired expression, who had been sweeping the floor, widened her eyes and stared at him.

“Wh-who…” Jun-sang checked the minimap again, then spoke to her. “Jesse, right?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

“I’m a traveler. If you have a request, I’ll help you.”

“…” Jesse was flustered by the sudden appearance of this man, but she reacted to his unusual attire, his solid build visible beneath his clothes, and the word “traveler.”

“A traveler… you say?”

“…” As Jun-sang nodded silently, Jesse quickly clung to him, earnestly pleading. “Traveler! Please, help me!”

Jun-sang frowned slightly and replied, “I said I’d help.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” Jesse quickly got up and began to speak. “Actually, I have a son. He wasn’t usually like that, but ever since some time…” She began speaking in a heartfelt tone, but Jun-sang raised a hand to stop her.

“Just the main point.” Jesse was flustered but, perhaps due to her years of experience, immediately understood what Jun-sang meant.

“Th-that is… please save my son, Dian, who ran off to deal with the swamp monster! He looks like…” But Jun-sang once again raised a hand to stop Jesse, then checked the message on his phone.

(Sub) Jesse’s Request.

• Jesse is worried sick because her son, Dian, ran off to deal with the swamp monster. Help her son return safely to his mother’s arms.

Seeing the quest updated, Jun-sang spoke to Jesse, who was looking at him with an anxious expression. “Do you have any of Dian’s clothes or belongings?”

“What?” Jesse tilted her head for a moment. She wondered if she had ever told this traveler her son’s name. But Jun-sang didn’t give her time to resolve her doubts.

“Do you have it, or not?”

“Y-yes, I do.” Jesse quickly took out a pair of foul-smelling shoes from a shelf.

“…” As Jun-sang silently frowned and stared, Jesse, wondering if this wasn’t it, quickly pulled out a shabby top that looked perfect for a rag.

“C-can’t this work either?” As Jun-sang silently stared at the clothing that seemed about to sprout fleas, Jesse, apparently realizing it wouldn’t work, finally pulled out a relatively clean handkerchief.

“Th-this, then…” Only then did Jun-sang snatch the handkerchief and say, “Dian will return.”

“What?” And then he immediately ran out of the house. Jesse, with a confused expression, just stared blankly at Jun-sang’s retreating figure. Anyone who witnessed this scene would have thought he was robbing a quest, not accepting one.

As soon as Jun-sang left Jesse’s house, he checked if there were any other quest indicators in the village.

“Hmm…” However, no matter how much he looked, no more quest indicators appeared in the village. Jun-sang looked around, then asked the children hiding behind a nearby wall, peeking at him. “Which way is the swamp?”

The children looked at each other, then pointed in one direction and said, “That way!”

“Thanks.” Jun-sang said that and then dashed like the wind in the direction the children pointed. Since Jun-sang had a track record of running from Seoul to Odaesan Mountain, it didn’t take him long to run from the village to the swamp.

As the swamp, enveloped in a dark mist, came into view, Jun-sang opened his phone again and checked the minimap. He then noticed a red exclamation mark slowly moving within the dense undergrowth of the swamp. Jun-sang surveyed the minimap and ran directly towards the moving red exclamation mark. He wondered if it might be Jesse’s son, Dian, but…

What was there was a monstrous wild boar, fitting the description of being as large as a house. It was a bit smaller than the monster bear he had seen before, but its gleaming red eyes and sharp tusks were enough to make it resemble a tank or armored vehicle. The monster wild boar was buried snout-deep in the mud, crunching on something.

“Martial Artist.” A short command escaped Jun-sang’s lips, and the card slots activated, ejecting the previously equipped cards and inserting new ones. Frenzy, Counter, Shoulder Charge, Crushing Blow. And the spirit effects of the cards already equipped in the other slots combined, activating the combo card ‘Dark Martial Artist of the Underground Fighting Arena’.

As the combo card activated, Jun-sang initiated Shoulder Charge towards the exposed flank of the monstrous wild boar. Instantly, the air before him parted left and right, creating a path connecting Jun-sang and the boar. As if pulled by an invisible string, Jun-sang’s body shot straight along the opened path towards the boar. And finally, as Jun-sang reached the end of that path,

CRASH! With a violent explosion, the wild boar was sent flying sideways.

SQUEAAAAAL! The boar, caught by surprise, thrashed its legs and screamed, but red foamy blood was already gushing from its mouth. The unsuspecting ambush, combined with the damage amplification from the Martial Artist Combo and a critical hit, shattered the boar’s ribs in a single blow. The broken ribs then pierced its lungs and liver, tearing them to shreds. No matter how monstrous the wild boar, this was a fatal wound.

Jun-sang slowly approached the side of the monstrous wild boar. The monster wild boar shook its head, trying desperately to get up, but it couldn’t withstand Jun-sang’s final blow as he closed in and finally drew its last breath.

(Hidden) Subdue the monstrous wild boars lurking around the wetlands. (Solo) -> Complete!

Having instantly resolved one hidden quest, Jun-sang once again checked the minimap and began to search for another quest marker. However, this time, a dozen bizarre creatures, shaped like iguanas with limbs, appeared before him.

Screeeech! They were armed with short spears and threatened Jun-sang with shouts, but to Jun-sang, they were merely laughable.

“Wolfpack.” As a small voice escaped his lips, three gigantic wolves suddenly appeared out of thin air. Tired of manually calling out each of the three wolves with the “Open” command, Jun-sang had found a way to summon them all at once with a shortcut command, similar to Mad Dog or Berserker. The command he created using this method was Wolfpack.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the enormous wolves, the monsters flinched with surprised expressions. But at that very moment, the wolves and Jun-sang, emitting brilliant red eyes, charged simultaneously.

Screeeech! One of the iguana monsters, though terrified, quickly thrust its spear at Jun-sang. Seeing the spearhead coming straight for his eye without wavering, Jun-sang realized that this iguana monster’s spear-thrusting skill was surprisingly sharp. Jun-sang slightly tilted his head to dodge the spearhead and activated Counter towards the monster.

THWACK! Jun-sang’s knuckle-duster, shooting out as if crossing paths with the spearhead, instantly shattered the monster’s head. It was truly a one-hit kill!

As their comrade fell, spewing yellowish brain matter and greenish blood-mixed fluid from its head, the monsters’ eyes flickered with agitation, yet they did not drop their guard. Indeed… feeling that these were on a completely different level from the dog-headed monsters he had taken down in the mine, Jun-sang charged towards the next monster.

The monsters quickly gathered, raising their short spears like hedgehogs to block Jun-sang’s attack. But the moment they formed a line and aimed their spears at Jun-sang, the wolves circling around them plunged into their formation, targeting the monsters’ backs.

Screeeech! A massive red wolf leaped into the air and dropped onto the monsters’ heads, followed by a silver wolf and an ash-gray wolf instantly biting the necks of the monsters standing on the outer edge of the formation.

As their formation crumbled under the wolves’ assault, Jun-sang finally plunged into the monsters.

Screeeech! Amidst the chaos caused by the three wolves, one of the iguana-headed monsters lunged its spear at the charging Jun-sang. As the spear extended towards his chest, Jun-sang, instead of dodging, slammed his knuckle-duster into the spearhead. The monster, suddenly losing its balance as the shaft it held was violently jerked in one direction, staggered, and in that opening, Jun-sang’s elbow smashed into its head.

With Jun-sang’s infiltration completely breaking their formation, the monsters realized that this type of combat offered no chance of victory and quickly dashed towards the surrounding swamps and waters. Judging by their appearance, they were clearly stronger in water than on land, so Jun-sang picked up the short spears scattered on the ground and aimed them at the back of their heads.

Screeeech! He was lucky enough to take down two more with the spears, but it was impossible for Jun-sang’s spear-throwing skills to catch all of them as they desperately fled.

“Tsk…” Jun-sang clicked his tongue, took out a cabinet from his inventory, and began pulling items out of it.

The monsters that had plunged into the swamp and water breathed a sigh of relief for the moment, biding their time, intending to drag Jun-sang into the water if he approached, or at least launch a surprise attack if that failed. But Jun-sang put on the items he had taken from the cabinet, approached the water’s edge, put a long pole into the water, and then pressed a switch.

CRACKLE! Instantly, the monsters felt an intense jolt that made their whole bodies tremble, and they lost consciousness. The equipment Jun-sang had taken out was a type of electric shocker that used batteries to catch fish, along with rubber boots and other gear. Naturally, the output was higher than a typical fishing electric shocker. Having to face enemies bare-handed, he had prepared for various difficult situations, and these preparations were now shining through. He even had a plan to release pesticide into the water if this didn’t work, so that pretty much summed it up.

Jun-sang immediately turned off the battery switch, had the wolves retrieve the floating monsters, then wiped the equipment dry and stored it back in the cabinet. He gave the fish that had floated to the surface to the wolves as a reward, then opened the monsters’ heads to acquire Seeds.

“Quite lucrative.” Since these monsters were somewhat stronger than zombies, quite a few Seeds dropped. Though, they were mostly low-tier attribute Seeds.

After roughly tidying up, Jun-sang began searching for Jesse’s son, Dian, to fulfill her request. He had the wolves try to track the scent from the handkerchief, but perhaps because of the swamp’s abundant water, they struggled to find Dian’s location. As he continued his search, Jun-sang noticed a yellow exclamation mark moving along the waterfront on the minimap.

“This is…” Recognizing it as another sub-quest from the yellow indicator, Jun-sang and his wolves quickly began to track the yellow exclamation mark on the minimap.