Arena
Chapter 17: Bloodshed (1)
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Now that the fight is over, the smell of blood was wafting everywhere. The heaps of red ape carcasses that was now laying around was oddly unreal.
In the first exam, killing just the one was enough for me. After barely managing to strangle its neck with a vine, I was in a shocked daze for a while.
But today, 11 of them died at my hands. It was much easier than it was in the first exam.
âIâm supposed to become used to this shitty feeling? Do I look like that kind of person to you?â
âYes, you do look like that kind of person.ââ
In the end, the baby angel was right. Iâm a person capable of doing that and more. But there are those that seemingly are not.
âOo-eck!â (Puking noise)
Lee Hye-su was gagging. Seeing her face smeared in tears, the sympathy floods over.
âAre you okay?â
âYesâŠ. Iâm sorryâŠâ
She could barely hold in her crying to reply.
âWhy wouldnât she be okay? All she did was stand around in the back and spectate.â
The openly sarcastic Park Go-chan. Perhaps those words were hurtful enough because Lee Hye-suâs crying gets louder.
âYou didnât really have a big part either, okay ajusshi?â
Park Go-chanâs clear intentions make me hate him more.
Not just because heâs a dick, but he continues to smother Lee Hye-su this way and suffocate her.
I will protect you but in turn, give me your body; to justify a kind of deal like that.
âThis is big. In order to overcome a situation like this, I myself have to take up the courage and actively fight.â
Lee Hye-su was more useless than I thought, which worries me.
If she continues to be a burden this way, a place for her in the team will disappear. The gazes from the other team members, who see her as just a hindrance, continues to grow colder and eventually it may become just the situation that Park Go-chan wants.
âHyung, do you think this was it?â
âNo way.â I shook my head. âIf it was to end like this, they wouldnât have given us the mission to survive for a week.â
âAnyway, it was like you said, the enemy to fight turned out to be the red apes.â
âItâs a good thing at least that it wasnât an enemy we didnât know. ButâŠâ I look around at the corpses strewn before the cave and sigh. âWe cannot stay here anymore.â
âCanât we just stay here? We can fight like we did today and endure for a week.â
Perhaps. I am of the mind that we have to hurry and leave this place, but I guess I should ask for everyoneâs opinion.
I ask them all.
âI think we should leave before more of the bastards come, but what do you all think?â
âThis place is safe.â
Kang Chun-seong disagrees. Itâs an important matter so this guy is putting forth an opinion.
âIf we fight in the forest, I canât guarantee anything.â
That is true. This cave here has an expansive space in front of it and makes it easier to fight. But the forest is different.
There are too many things the bastards can hide behind and itâs not only left, right, front, back but they may attack from above from the trees. Such a 3-dimensional attack is much more beneficial to the bastards, who have numbers on their side.
âBut staying in this place is just as dangerous.â
âAnd why is that?â
âFirst, I will point out the red apesâ intelligence. They not only set up an ambush attack, but they will also wait until nightfall to strike. They also have the decision making skill to go after the fire first.â
My explanation continues.
âIn that case, instead of coming out and attacking us first, might they not surround the place and attack us when we go out to gather water or food?â
ââŠ. Indeed.â
Kang Chun-seong agrees.
At my opinion, everyoneâs faces freeze in seriousness. Itâs not a time to rejoice because we won one fight.
âBut the fortunate aspect of this is that we killed them all and didnât leave a single one. We have some time before they may attack again, so how about in that time we look for another base?â
âOkay.â
âMe too, hyung.â
âMe tooâŠâ
Kang Chun-seong, Joon-ho, Lee Hye-su all vote yes and lastly, Park Go-chan nods his head too.
And so, we decide to leave the cave but before departing, I take off the three sets of underwear and socks, one by one.
I wrap them around the ends of the sticks we collected for firewood and put it in the fire.
Hwa leo leok â (swoosh)
âOh ho ho, it works.â
I look at my makeshift torchlight and am proud of myself.
âHyung, is this why your underwear and socksâŠâ
âI wore three pairs.â
Can you not treat me like Iâm obviously going commando?
âWow, hyung, your preparedness is really incredible. I hadnât thought that far at all.â
The day was still dark, so I hold up my torchlight and lead the way.
âSylph, can you find out if there is another cave nearby?â
-Meow
Sylph flits away. In a short while after searching the entirety of a 1.1 km diameter, Sylph shakes her head. Of course, caves probably arenât that common here.
Thankfully, the red apes are not within this perimeter.
âFor now, we will have to walk. Earlier, the bastards tried to flee in that direction so we will go in the direction opposite that.â
As I led the way, the group blindly follows. Perhaps it is due to my role in killing 11 of the apes that even Park Go-chan isnât hostile and has become compliant.
Somehow, it seems I have become the leader of the group. I didnât want to be in this position, but the situation strangely became so. Kang Chun-seong was originally disinterested and Park Go-chanâs inhospitable attitude naturally left the leadership role to me.
As we continued to walk, the sun began to rise. As the day grew brighter, I threw away the torchlight and continued to walk.
I did not forget to summon Sylph every 5 minutes and scout the area for 60 seconds.
According to Sylphâs reconnaissance, there are plenty of herbivores like rabbits, deer, and monkeys within this forest.
âIt seems there are a considerable number of the red apes here.â
âHave they appeared?â
At Park Go-chanâs question, I shake my head.
âWe have been going through the forest since yesterday and we have only discovered herbivores. Compared to how plentiful the prey is here and, aside from snakes and owls, the only predators that remain are the red apes.â
âThis forest is their area.â
Kang Chun-seong speaks up.
I nod my head.
âIf indeed they use this space as their area, they will be a considerable group.â
And there will definitely be a head to command them all.
That head may be, at this moment, looking on at his 21 dead comrades and consumed in rage.
***
âKi-aaaaaak-!â
It is a roar of anger.
The red apes are in fear in concert and cringe.
A physique up to 2 meters. Fur as red as blood.
The outward appearance brags an overwhelming majesty and its owner is full of wrath.
There is a type of red ape called Rode. Every generation there are but one or two that are born with this mutation and they are twice as big and strong as the average type. They have no choice but to be destined to be the leader.
But of course, to get there, they have their own trials they must face.
The current leader had to go through them too.
The red ape, Rode, appeared no different than the average type at birth, but as time went on, the characteristics of the special type start to show.
The existing leader had expressed strong hostility towards his potential competition. Because of this, before the young one was trampled, he had to flee.
Separated from the group, Rode survived alone in the forest through a bitter adolescence.
Then one day, Rode realized he himself had grown as big as the leader and returned to the group. The leader he met was not scary the way he had been when Rode was younger.
He challenged, and he won.
From then to now, it was an omnipotent rule.
Another special type was born, grew and challenged, but Rode won. After defeating two challengers and preserving his seat as leader, Rode emerged as the strongest ruler there ever was.
And this Rode was in a full rage.
âKi-aaaaaak-!â
Hundreds of red apes shivered in horror. There were plenty of beasts of prey and monsters that flowed into this rich forest. And every time, Rode eradicated them. Leading the pack and at times, using his own strength, he showed the majesty of being a leader.
Their area continued to grow and, without precedent, they reproduced to great numbers. And then from this forest, their breed began to die.
An enemy had come into their domain and so he had sent his subordinates.
But the time had passed and without any word or news, he came out himself and his subordinates were but corpses. And it happened on their own land.
It cannot be forgiven.
He must punish those who ignore his authority.
âKi-eeeeeek!â Rode gives out an order.
âKi-eek!â
âGgi-ek!â
âKi-eeek!â
Hundreds of red apes barked and growled their agreement.
Revenge for blood!
The bloodbath to protect their groupâs domain was about to begin.
***
We followed the flow of the small river and walked. On account of not having a canteen, I felt it was a good idea to stay close to water. The river had plenty of large fish and so it was easy to get food too. Using Sylph, rabbit hunting is easy, but prepping and cooking a fish is even easier.
Using a wooden stick, I shaved it sharp to create a simple knife, and using this, Lee Hye-su prepped and cooked the fish. Per my suggestion, she was trying to take care of the small things.
In the fight the previous night, she was a burden and she must have been aware of it. If she doesnât help even with things like this, she wonât receive any karma and will continue to be of no use.
âAnyway, itâs weird.â
Observing from yesterday and today, her body physique doesnât look any different to me than the average woman. It was obvious when she trying not to show that she was tired and her feet were hurting from the walking.
âDidnât she say she got the entry level 1 physical strength buff?â
I heard that the entry level 1 physical strength buff was the level of a healthy adult male. It means itâs better than my crappy health condition.
Sylph and I started a fire and she grilled the fish and handed it out to everyone. As soon as the cooking was done, I quickly put out the fire. Itâs possible our location can be given away from the rising smoke.
âIf youâre all done eating, letâs go. We have to get rid of the smell on our bodies so please donât forget to wash as well.â
âUgh, how annoying.â
Park Go-chan is mumbling and washing his hands in the brook. The rest of the group follows my words obediently.
The biggest reason for following the brook is this.
If we follow the flowing water, Iâm hoping our body scent might dissipate a little bit.
Normally, carnivores have an acute sense of smell and I think the red ape is no different. It uses tools and has intelligence, but they do look closer to beast than to humans.
As we begin to move, I summon Sylph and send her out to scout.
Like her namesake, she flies away like the wind and returns after scouting and very much unlike her, she isnât being aegyo* and instead, screams.
(TN: There isnât an English equivalent word for this. It means to act in a cute manner. Watch this video)
-MEOOW!
âIs there something wrong?â
Sylph draws a number in the dirt.
â293 meters?â
-Meow!
Sylph shakes her head. Then do you meanâŠ
â293 of them?â
-Meow!
Sylph is nodding her head.
âWhat is she saying? Thereâs 300?!â Park Go-chan freaks out.
âMaybe she means something d-different? Like a group of ants or miceâŠâ Joon-ho asks in disbelief and I ask Sylph to be sure.
âThere are 293 red apes?â
-Meow!
âWhere are they?â
Sylph spins round and round. I couldnât tell what that means and I ponder for a while. As Sylph spun around us in circles, I finally understood.
âAll around us?â
-Meow!
âHave they surrounded us?â
Sylph is shaking her head.
âSo they are dispersed and searching through the forest for us?â
-Meow!
After the fight last night, we had briskly escaped. But the bastards are already all around us!
âHey you shit, whatâs going on! You said we had some time before they came again!â Park Go-chan gets angry at me.
Why are you asking me?
The answer is simple!
Theyâre moving faster than we are.
â
Turns out his name is actually Kang Chun-seong, not Kang Chan-seong. Iâll have his name as Chun from now on.
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