Episode 97
A giant scorpion, showing off its golden body, rushed at Kang Jin-hyeok.
Kang Jin-hyeok swung his bat again at the giant scorpion’s pincers reaching out toward him.
Kang Jin-hyeok witnessed the surface of the giant scorpion slightly ripple in the brief moment it made contact with the aura.
The arthropod’s skin could not possibly absorb shock in that way.
Kang Jin-hyeok guessed that the ripple was similar to an aura.
Kang Jin-hyeok ducked to avoid the giant scorpion’s counterattack and then stepped back far away.
“Did you find out something?”
Cheon Sang-ho approached Kang Jin-hyeok, thinking that he would not try again to attack him after being blocked once without any meaning.
“I think I know why attacks don’t work on that scorpion.”
“That means it’s not because the words are hard.”
“I wish it were like that… … That scorpion’s body is protected by a thin membrane-like thing.”
“Does that mean that all of our attacks were blocked in just one shot?”
That would be impossible with any material on Earth.
Kang Jin-hyeok continued his explanation to the shocked Cheon Sang-ho, showing his aura.
“Please note that what is covering the scorpion’s body feels similar to this.”
“By the way… … Is there some kind of weakness to that power?”
“No. I meant literally ‘for reference’.”
The meaning behind Kang Jin-hyeok’s remarks was ‘patience.’
Since there was no way to physically pierce the aura, the only option was to just engage in a reconnaissance battle by blindly colliding with it.
‘If that power is really like an aura, it’s definitely consuming MP.’
If the battle becomes protracted, there is a high probability that the giant scorpion’s MP will be completely depleted and its protective shield will be released.
“It’s going to be a long fight.”
Kang Jin-hyeok advised Cheon Sang-ho to prepare himself in advance.
“Does stalling seem like a viable option?”
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
“You are being unreasonable.”
Cheon Sang-ho adjusted his posture with a faint smile.
It’s a simple and ignorant method, but sometimes it’s better than using your head.
Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho moved their feet diligently, paying attention to the scorpion’s tail.
As the two moved in symmetrical positions, the scorpion hesitated over which one to attack first.
The giant scorpion’s stamina was depleted faster than usual due to the guarding it took to alternate between left and right.
However, it was not the case that Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho were able to fully preserve their physical strength.
The hot sun of Qatar made sweat pour down from their bodies like rain.
The clothes I was wearing were soaking wet, as if I had fallen into water, and as time passed, my breathing became more labored.
“If this continues, I’ll be the first to fall… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok had no choice but to search through his inventory and take out the potion.
What he picked up was not a potion to restore stamina, but a stamina boosting potion that he had used once before.
It was something I was reluctant to use because of the downside of feeling miserable the next day after eating it, but now I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that.
“Take this.”
Kang Jin-hyeok took out another one and threw it at Cheon Sang-ho.
The potion, which barely passed between the scorpion’s pincers, safely arrived at Cheon Sang-ho’s hand.
“This is… … .”
Cheon Sang-ho knew at a glance what kind of potion Kang Jin-hyeok had given him.
“So you’re trying to finish it today?”
If you continue fighting until the next day, you will suffer in return because your body will become heavier than a thousand pounds.
Cheon Sang-ho decided to agree with Kang Jin-hyeok’s wishes and drank the potion.
As the bitter liquid passed through my throat and reached my stomach, my body, exhausted from the heat, felt energized.
Kang Jin-hyeok moved his body with renewed energy and attacked the giant scorpion with all his might.
If the protection of the scorpion’s outer skin is the same principle as the aura, then it would also be similar in that the more it is used, the faster its energy is consumed.
Kang Jin-hyeok’s prediction turned out to be correct.
Scorpion’s shield consumed mana for regeneration every time it was hit by Kang Jinhyuk’s aura.
“Ugh.”
The giant scorpion, sensing danger, moved much more aggressively.
Kang Jin-hyeok, who almost lost his neck to the fiercely swung tongs, smiled.
“It’s starting to fall behind.”
Kang Jin-hyeok sensed that the time he had been waiting for was approaching and stepped up his attack.
The giant scorpion wanted to focus on Kang Jin-hyeok’s fierce attack, but Cheon Sang-ho wouldn’t let him.
On the right, Kang Jin-hyeok’s baseball bat poured down like a shower, and on the left, Cheon Sang-ho’s swordsmanship poured down like a shower.
The giant scorpion fought back, swinging its pincers hard.
The giant scorpion, which could not stand being beaten like this, threatened the lives of the two people by using the stinger on its tail from time to time.
But since both of them were hunters accustomed to fighting, such obvious attacks could not hurt them.
“It seems like you’ve become anxious.”
Cheon Sang-ho easily dodged the giant scorpion’s stinger.
It was an immature attack with an excessive amount of force, and the trajectory was clearly visible.
“Being impatient is proof that there is a reason you shouldn’t waste time.”
Kang Jin-hyeok believed that he just had to push a little harder and approached the giant scorpion closely.
The vertical swing of the baseball bat was blocked by the giant scorpion’s pincers, but unlike the first time, the result was different.
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The part of the tongs that was covered in gold lost its luster and turned black.
Kang Jin-hyeok was certain that this was evidence that the membrane protecting the body had disappeared.
“Now! Attack quickly!”
While Kang Jin-hyeok was wrestling with the giant scorpion, Cheon Sang-ho received the signal and ran out.
Then he swung his sword with all his might and aimed for the scorpion’s arm.
The giant scorpion, unable to maintain its defensive barrier, gave up its right claw to the blow.
The giant scorpion quickly retreated, spewing fluid.
Since arthropods cannot scream, the giant scorpion expressed its pain by shaking its body.
“I think it’ll be over after two or three times.”
“Why do you have to hit it so many times? Just one shot will do.”
Kang Jin-hyeok further enhanced the aura contained in his baseball bat.
The giant scorpion instinctively knew that if it were to get hit by it, it would not be able to recover even its bones in its current state.
The giant scorpion, its survival instinct triggered, started to run away without looking back.
“Huh? Is that guy crazy?”
You made me suffer under the blazing sun, and now you’re trying to run away because it’s disadvantageous.
Kang Jin-hyeok couldn’t tolerate that.
Cheon Sang-ho also drank the stamina potion, so he did not want this request to be postponed until tomorrow.
The two men who were running in pursuit witnessed a giant scorpion entering a hole leading into the ground.
The inside was a dark space without any lights, so Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho couldn’t enter hastily and stopped at the entrance.
“Do you have anything that could be used as a light?”
Kang Jin-hyeok silently handed over the flashlight to Cheon Sang-ho in response to his question.
When I turned on the switch of the heavy flashlight, a huge beam of light stretched out beyond the hole.
Cheon Sang-ho let out a small exclamation of admiration in front of the light that was almost like a lighthouse.
“Where did you get this?”
“It only costs 50 thousand won at Amax, what is it?”
A long beam of light reached deep into the hole, but the giant scorpion was not visible inside.
It would have been nice if the holes were straight, but unfortunately they were curved.
“To find him, I guess I’ll have to go in there myself.”
“What… … . I guess you didn’t prepare a trap with the scorpion theme.”
Kang Jin-hyeok entered the hole made by the giant scorpion, led by Cheon Sang-ho, who was holding a flashlight.
The flashlight beam revealed a line of fluid flowing down the hole from the giant scorpion’s body.
“If you keep following these traces, you’ll find it.”
Cheon Sang-ho started walking through the hole, following the path of bodily fluids.
“What trick did you use to keep this huge hole from collapsing… … .”
Kang Jin-hyeok was amazed at the fact that this huge hole maintained its shape without any support.
Normally, it would not be able to support the weight of the soil and would have to sink.
The hole made by the giant scorpion was clean without a single dent.
“Even if it looks fine on the outside, it may collapse immediately if shocked.”
“Then it would be impossible to fight here.”
“Let’s try to find a way to lead it outside if possible.”
Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho thought that if they continued through the hole, they would soon catch up with the giant scorpion.
But the hole continued endlessly, and there was no sign of the giant scorpion.
“I guess this is… … It looks like they did a good job of constructing it while I was quarantined.”
It made no sense to dig a tunnel of this scale in just a day or two.
Not only was it incredibly long, but the number of paths branching off into it was also enormous.
If there had been no traces of bodily fluid on the floor, Kang Jin-hyeok and Cheon Sang-ho would have wandered helplessly through this tunnel.
“It might be difficult to reach a decision today.”
“Then I guess it would be better to go out and prepare again.”
If you wander around a place like this and suffer the side effects of the stamina potion, you’re in big trouble.
Kang Jin-hyeok took out his cell phone and checked the current time.
“It’s only 4 o’clock, so let’s take a look a little more and then withdraw.”
Cheon Sang-ho nodded and took the lead again, heading deeper into the tunnel.
Then, when they reached a fork in the road, Cheon Sang-ho stopped walking with a serious expression on his face.
“Why are you suddenly like that?”
“… … the traces have disappeared.”
On the floor that Cheon Sang-ho illuminated with his flashlight, the body fluid of the giant scorpion that had been there all along was no longer visible.
“I wonder if the wound has stopped bleeding?”
“For something like that, the timing of the disconnection is just too exquisite.”
It was at the exact moment when the path forked that the traces disappeared, as if by design.
“It seems that the intelligence of a scorpion is low compared to other scorpions… … .”
“It’s a monster before it’s a scorpion.”
“That’s it.”
The giant scorpion was a new type of monster about which there was no proper information at all.
In that situation, it was a hasty judgment to conclude that he would have low intelligence.
“There have been many paths that have diverged over the years, but this is the only place where it has divided into two.”
“There are two of us too.”
“Just looking at the situation, it seems like it would be a trap.”
Assuming that this is not an accident but an intentional situation.
The giant scorpion’s intention to drag them in and deal with them one by one was clear.
“Then are you going to step back from here?”
Cheon Sang-ho let out a short laugh at the question Kang Jin-hyeok posed.
“That can’t be.”
Cheon Sang-ho returned the flashlight back to Kang Jin-hyeok.
Then he turned towards the tunnel on the left.
“It’s okay if I don’t have one, so Kang Jin-hyeok, please take the flashlight.”
“You seem confident.”
“I’ve been doing various things with the association, so I’m used to it to this extent.”
Since Cheon Sang-ho chose the left tunnel, Kang Jin-hyeok had to automatically go to the right.
No one knew yet which side the giant scorpion would be waiting on.
