Chapter 9: Ogre Junior (Part 2)
Kuuuung!
Cheol-du's body slam sent the monster sprawling.
"Kuooooo!"
But this thing was a monster, and it wasn't about to lose a strength contest. It swung its club at Cheol-du with everything it had.
Cheol-du didn't block it, but ducked to avoid it and approached.
Aside from when he was a kid, this was Cheol-du's first time fighting anyone bigger than him.
Cheol-du got low, closed the distance fast, and threw a punch at the monster's gut.
Thud!
"Damn, this thing's tough."
It was like hitting solid steel, not leather.
"Kuo!"
The ogre didn't even flinch and grabbed Cheol-du's shoulder.
"Keuh."
The grip on his shoulder was insane.
"It's stronger than me."
This thing was a giant, easily ten feet tall and weighing over six-hundred, maybe seven-hundred pounds. It had the physical advantage, no question – stronger than Cheol-du in every way.
"A straight-up strength contest is a losing game."
Cheol-du broke free from the monster's clumsy grip and fired off a low kick.
Crack, crack, thud!
He landed three quick kicks and then jumped back.
"I've got this, get out of here! This thing's a beast!"
Cheol-du's voice roared across the battlefield.
"W-what?"
"Chang-jin! Take care of Ju-mo!"
"Yes!"
"Lee, get up!"
The soldiers were stunned for a second by Cheol-du's sudden appearance.
Kim Sang-cheol barked out orders and slapped in a new magazine like a machine.
Click-clack!
"What the fuck is going on here?"
Some giant dude had just shown up and was trading blows with an ogre.
'Is this for real?'
Going bare-knuckle with an ogre?
Nobody would believe this, even if they saw it with their own two eyes.
Next to the ogre, Cheol-du looked tiny, and he was getting pushed around.
But Cheol-du was quick, dodging the ogre's clumsy grabs and landing some solid hits.
"Run away quickly!"
Cheol-du yelled at the soldiers who were just standing there gawking.
The monster was strong as hell, but luckily, it fought like a total amateur, so Cheol-du could just about handle it.
Cheol-du was already gasping for air from going all-out, he couldn't protect them too.
Just then, Jin-tae showed up out of nowhere and said urgently,
"Get out of here while Cheol-du's holding it back!"
"Huh? It's you..."
Kim Sang-cheol knew this wasn't the time for introductions.
He'd just been shell-shocked by the crazy scene.
"I'll lead the way. Chang-jin, get Ju-mo on your back."
"Got it!"
PFC Im Chang-jin threw Private Lee Ju-mo on his back.
Jin-tae helped steady him, and they took off.
Corporal Kim Sang-cheol took out any goblins that popped up and kept moving.
"Aaaaargh! Im, that hurts like hell!"
"Shut up if you want to live!"
Im snapped back.
Byeong-chun, whose neck had been snapped, was his buddy.
Tears streamed down his face, but he didn't make a sound.
"Damn it, what is this."
After ten minutes of hauling ass,
They could see the portal up ahead.
A blue force field, covering about five hundred yards around the portal.
"Safe zone! We're almost there!"
"Kim, behind you!"
Im yelled, and Corporal Kim, who'd been leading the way, spun around and aimed.
Thump, thump!
Something was approaching.
And at a very fast speed.
The ground was shaking and the trees were swaying.
The sound of branches breaking.
'Is the ogre already chasing us?'
Then what happened to that person?
Click.
He flipped the switch to full auto.
Just before he squeezed the trigger, he saw what it was through the bushes.
"Run away!"
"Kang...?"
What was his name again?
Whatever. Is this the time to worry about that?
"Go, go, go!"
Right behind Cheol-du, the pissed-off ogre was gaining on him.
"Uwoooooo!"
Cheol-du blew past Corporal Kim, scooped up PFC Im and Private Lee, who were lagging behind, and threw them over his shoulders.
"Let's move!"
Cheol-du hauled ass with two guys on his shoulders, Corporal Kim yelling behind them.
"Move your asses!"
Thump, thump!
"Kuooooooo!"
The noise brought the other soldiers running from the safe zone.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
They opened up on the ogre junior, and it decided to get the hell out of there.
"Huff, huff!"
"We made it!"
Private Lee yelled in relief, his broken leg forgotten for the moment. PFC Im cheered, but then the tears came, thinking about his buddy who hadn't made it.
"Ha, damn it."
Corporal Kim collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
"Heh heh, ha."
Was it the adrenaline, the fight, the sheer terror? His emotions were all twisted up.
All he could do was let out a shaky laugh – it was all so insane.
"Haa."
It's really absurd.
A baby ogre's still an ogre.
The idea of a human going toe-to-toe with one of those things was just... unreal.
'Kang Cheol-du. That's the name.'
Crazy, right?
Kim Sang-cheol looked for Kang Cheol-du, but the guy was already sitting there cross-legged, eyes shut.
"Kang Cheol-du, are you sleeping?"
Jin-tae, who was standing in front of him, shook his head.
"He's meditating. Said not to disturb him."
"He looks like he needs a medic..."
He was a mess – bruised shoulders, split lip, one cheek all puffed up.
Under his clothes, it was probably even worse.
"He said absolutely not to touch him."
Jin-tae looked panicked, stopping him.
"Uh oh, Corporal Kim. Here comes Sergeant Park."
The soldiers who'd been providing covering fire were staring, clueless. Then, a guy with two stripes on his uniform came over.
"Hey, Sang-cheol. What's going on?"
"Sergeant Park! Reporting, sir! We found an ogre junior, engaged, and retreated. PFC Park Byeong-chun is KIA, Private Lee Ju-mo has a fractured left leg."
Sergeant Park suddenly kicked Corporal Kim Sang-cheol.
"You dumbass! You see an ogre, you run like hell! Why the hell did you engage?"
Then Private Lee Ju-mo, who was on one side, stepped forward.
"Sergeant Park, that's not..."
"Shut your trap!"
"Private Lee, shut up."
Corporal Kim Sang-cheol lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
"Goddammit. You, stand by. Jang-sik."
"Corporal Kim Jang-sik."
"Take two squads and recover PFC Park's body."
"Yes, sir, understood."
Sergeant Park, looking pissed, jerked his chin towards Kang Cheol-du, who was sitting off to the side, and Kim Jin-tae, who was standing in front of him, looking terrified.
"What are those guys?"
"Civilians who helped us out."
"Help?"
Sergeant Park's eyebrows furrowed.
"He carried Private Lee Ju-mo on his back and ran."
"...Is he just sitting there sleeping?"
Sergeant Park looked displeased at Kang Cheol-du, who was sitting still.
"He's injured. I'll take care of him."
Sergeant Park glared at Corporal Kim. A guy about to be discharged in a few days, pulling this shit.
"Do what you want."
Sergeant Park watched for a while and then stepped back to report to his superior, and Corporal Kim Sang-cheol sighed.
"Haa."
"Corporal Kim... I'm sorry. This is my fault."
"Shut it! Don't say another word. I'm gonna lose it. Medic! Get a splint on this leg."
A medic approached Private Lee Ju-mo and began to administer first aid.
Cheol-du could hear everything.
'Ugh, I feel like death.'
If it weren't for those two Strength Beads, he'd be dead for sure.
His boosted muscles and strength had barely let him trade a few blows with the ogre junior.
He'd felt like he was on his last legs, so he'd used a wrestling move to shove it away and get the hell out of there.
'I'm gonna pay that thing back!'
At first, he'd thought he could handle it, but the thing was not only strong as hell, but it had stamina for days. And its hide was like freaking steel.
What else could he do? Fighting any longer was just a death wish.
'Live to fight another day.'
'This was definitely the right answer.'
This was a whole different ballgame from sports – a rush of emotions he'd never felt before.
The anger of losing, the shame of running, and now, this... this hunger to get back in the fight.
'I'm going back in. I'm gonna make that thing pay.'
To do that, he must first heal his body.
Two broken ribs, muscles torn all over. He was in no shape to fight – he'd get slaughtered.
'Barbarian Meditation.'
His dad was a barbarian warrior, his mom a barbarian shaman.
He was supposed to be a warrior, so he didn't know any shaman stuff, but he'd been practicing the Barbarian Meditation his dad taught him.
Thump, thump.
He focused on the strong beat of his barbarian heart, blocking out everything else.
He closed his eyes to the outside world, focusing inward.
Shutting down his senses one by one, he focused all his energy on his body.
He felt his heart.
The blood surging through him. The throb of his veins.
He followed the flow of blood, feeling the muscles connected to the branching network of veins.
He focused his will.
From the big, obvious muscles to the tiny ones he could barely control.
Total control, pinpoint awareness.
Barbarian blood surged into his injured muscles. The slow healing sped up, regeneration kicking into overdrive.
He felt the broken, splintered bones.
The gap between the bones, which had been slowly knitting together, started to close rapidly.
Every cell in his body went into overdrive, focused on repair. He held that focus, breathing deep, for a long time.
"Hoo."
Kang Cheol-du opened his eyes with a long breath.
His face, which had been pale as a ghost, had some color back.
"Cheol-du!"
"How long was I out?"
"About two hours!"
Two hours, and he was back.
Kang Cheol-du nodded.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
All that energy spent on healing left him ravenous.
He felt like he could eat a whole ogre.
"Hang on. Corporal Kim... never mind. Just a sec."
Kim Jin-tae went to the group of soldiers and soon returned with Corporal Kim Sang-cheol, carrying a box.
"It's not much, but take this."
"Thank you."
Cheol-du nodded, grabbed the lunch box, and dug in with the plastic spoon.
Watching Cheol-du wolf down the food, Corporal Kim Sang-cheol thanked him again.
"Thank you so much. You saved my life."
"Don't mention it."
"Seriously, I still can't wrap my head around it. A guy fighting an ogre, even a baby one, hand-to-hand."
"......?"
Cheol-du swallowed a mouthful and asked,
"You said it's a baby?"
"It's just a kid."
"......"
Shock spread across Kang Cheol-du's face.
'I got my ass kicked by an ogre kid?'
No wonder it fought like a newbie.
Getting manhandled by a kid ogre.
Me.
"Heo."
How strong would a full-grown one be? He started to shake.
But not from fear.
He'd realized it during the fight – that near-death experience.
'This is it. This is what I'm meant to do.'
There were a lot more challenges ahead.
How much stronger could I get?
Excitement for what he could become.
His barbarian heart pounded, thinking about all the fights to come.
"Is it dead?"
"It ran away. Ogres themselves are originally cunning creatures."
"Hmm, so there's still a chance for revenge."
"Pardon?"
Corporal Kim Sang-cheol thought he had misheard.
"Revenge?"
"I can't just run away and leave humiliation behind."
Cheol-du took out his second lunch box.
Once he fills his stomach, he's going to go find that guy again.
Ah, of course, after catching a few more goblin shamans and powering up first.
"I'm going to go catch that guy."
Munch, munch.
"......"
Then Private First Class Im Chang-jin, who was behind Corporal Kim Sang-cheol, stepped forward.
"I'll go with you too. No, I'll help."
His eyes, having lost his comrade, were burning with revenge.
Cheol-du nodded.
"Let's go together."
Of course, after eating about 3 more lunch boxes.
