MEMORIZE

Chapter 18 Split in half. =========================================================================

There were quite a few dead men lying in front of the stone tomb. One arrow was inserted between each eye, and when counted, it looked like seven. Of course, there were still more than twice the number of Deadmen killed. As I stepped on the body of my fallen colleague and climbed up, I felt like I wanted to take a bite out of myself somehow.

“I’m trying, I’m trying.”

He hummed and poked his hand in his pocket to hold the arrow, but nothing was caught. It was not until the bottom of the pocket was scratched while stirring the empty space in the pocket that the two deeply embedded arrows could be taken out. On the way back, I felt like I’d have to pick up at least the arrow I had already shot.

Not all the dead men have gathered yet. I could see the dead men rushing in from afar, but I thought it would be better to step down at this point. Even if three or four of them stay and aim for the party, Ahn Hyun will be able to handle that much.

Soon after, I looked down, and the dead men were shouting back and forth with their mouths open. The way he looked was funny and shook his head the same way, riding the head beat without realizing it.

‘What am I doing?’

As soon as I saw them and saw a fishy smile, I covered my mouth reflexively.

I think I’m too excited. I’ve had little mood swings since I became a Sod Master during the first-time user of Hall Plain. Especially before the battle, I always tried to be as cold and cool as ice. Therefore, I was able to survive the Battle of Atlanta, which is considered the most difficult battle of all time, and the Battle of the Siege of Ragnarok.

It’s been a really long time since I felt this way. I was swayed by the feeling of slaughter, which didn’t blink at all by the coalition forces with overwhelming power differences. And I couldn’t seem to control that feeling even now. It wasn’t as unfavorable as it was then, but I felt like I was melting into my whole body with the excitement of expecting something.

The more I saw monsters on the stone tomb, the more I thought my emotional nature would explode, so I jumped into the inner direction of the forest. As I was soothing myself to endure a little longer, the dead men who were climbing up the rubble cried loudly. I came up as high as I could, but when I went down, my fever seemed to be spreading out.

“Guys, I have a lot of eyes to do things here. So let’s go a little further inside.”

Growl!

I don’t know if you understand me, but he followed me with a Deadman cry.

I deliberately started to walk slowly into the forest. The original purpose was to run with all my might and spread the distance in an instant, but I changed my mind. I’ll make sure you follow me to some extent so I don’t miss you in the middle.

As soon as I came up to the stone tomb, I shot a crossbow lightly at Deadman, who was falling down. Deadman, who climbed the hardest, was hungry and had an arrow in his head. After I checked the guy with his head drooping, I turned and walked right into the forest.

Growl! Growl! Growl! Growl! Growl!

Listening to that crying made me feel somewhat used to it. When I ran as fast as I could get caught, I seemed to be quite angry. It was a unique thrill to hear the clashing of teeth right behind me. It was then.

Tight!

“Uh.”

But I was too excited. I felt like I was biting something on my left arm while drawing S-shaped lines between trees for a while. I was surprised and looked next to him and saw a dead man biting my left wrist with a strange face. Maybe I wasn’t the one who dragged him, but I wandered around here and luckily got caught in the path and had his teeth in.

Honestly, it didn’t hurt much, but I was more surprised at the bite on my arm. And the surprise soon came as anger. No matter how lucky it was, it hurt my pride. I said in a grumpy voice, looking at the dead man who bit my wrist.

“What are you looking at?”

Growl.

“You scared me…”

Deadman’s eyes with a bite on his wrist were strange. I bit it, but it’s because my teeth don’t go in. Of course. You want me to chew my body with a durability of 92 points? I could see my head explode with a bang when I wielded my right hand of anger with swearing.

While struggling with the monster for a while, the dead men who were rushing after me surrounded me in layers. Some seemed to think that grinning was all food they had caught. After measuring the distance I had run for a while, I relaxed my wrist thinking it would be okay.

Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl. Growl.

I could hear crying everywhere, but I was never afraid. When they fell into the abyss of hell, they were cute compared to their counterparts. However, I desperately hoped and hoped that these would satisfy my needs at all.

“Nice to meet you.”

When he greeted him kindly, Deadman responded, pushing his teeth in. They don’t know how to be polite. I also stretched my fingers at Deadman’s head, which pushed in simultaneously. The one in the front.

Crack!

The feeling of fingers digging into the head was, what should I say, not the soft flesh of a human being, but penetrating through some rotten logs. As he raises his arm while looking at Deadman who was hit to the back of his head, he hangs on my finger and hangs down. And the dead men who witnessed the scene stopped at once.

Fear. Do people who always think of humans as food know that? That they can be hunted unilaterally. But I had a surprising idea inside. I don’t know if it’s thought or instinct. Those who rush at the sight of prey stopped for a moment because of the presence I’m giving off.

I’m proud of you, but I didn’t mean to let you go. I lightly released mana, crumbling the head of the monster in my hand and flipping my fingers. Despite the signal to hurry up and dump, the deadmen took a step back.

I wasn’t going to use a long sword. It doesn’t matter if there isn’t. I can turn it into a weapon of sufficient destruction if I hold it by breaking a branch or ripping off a leaf of grass right away. But I was thirsty for slaughter and wanted to feel the taste of my hands to quench that thirst. He broke the joints of his hands and asked with a deep smile. And a thought flashed through my mind. I thought I knew why I couldn’t stop laughing.

I was hungry for my instincts. After wielding a sword and repeating the flesh to live for 10 years, his nature itself seems to be soaked in blood. I twisted my lips as I watched the monsters gradually retreat.

*

“I think you did a good job. Everyone, get up. We need to get over that wall quickly.”

The forest where the monsters wandered just now became as quiet as a lie. Looking at the quiet forest, Ahn Hyun said in a powerful voice, but the atmosphere of the group was sinking to the fullest. As Ahn said, Kim Soo-hyun succeeded in dragging them all around him. The monsters, which were swarming a while ago, were not even able to see their noses pulled out. Apart from that, however, there seemed to be a sense of hopelessness circling around everyone.

“Are you going to be all right? You know, let’s just….”

When Lee Yu-jung spoke in a discouraged voice, Ahn felt a sting inside. But it couldn’t be revealed on the surface. Su-hyun believed in him and said he should protect his party. I couldn’t betray that expectation.

“No, don’t talk nonsense and get up quickly. What if they come back?”

“You’re not even worried about your brother?”

“I believe in you. You were like that, too. Don’t ever make a fool of yourself to come back.”

Ahn’s calm words kept Lee Yu-jung quiet. However, seeing her face as if she was weak, Ahn seemed to feel helpless all over her body. However, he soon shook his head and told himself to stay alert, comforting himself and speaking in a powerful voice.

“Let’s believe it. I’ll trust you the way you trust us.”

After talking, Ahn stood up and looked around. Fortunately, there was not a single Deadman in sight. When Ansol carefully got up and followed him out, Lee Yu-jung was forced to get up from her seat. Lee Yu-jung, who was about to leave the hiding place, tapped Kim Han-byeol’s shoulder, who was sitting blank, and talked to her.

“Hey, wake up. Why are you spacing out all of a sudden?”

”…….”

There was no answer from Kim Han-byul. She looked at Lee Yu-jung with a cold face like the first time and slowly got up and went outside. After confirming that everyone came out, Ahn Hyun opened his mouth looking at the stone wall ahead.

“Cheer up, everyone, if you go over the stone wall in front of you, you’ll get out of this horrible forest. Let’s act together in front of the wall and I’ll do the climbing first. There might be some other danger out there.”

Ahn Sol and Lee Yu-jung nodded and agreed with Ahn’s words. However, Kim Han-byul was still silent. She has been staring into the forest where Kim Soo-hyun disappeared since earlier. Then she turned her head and said, “Maybe I felt Ahn Hyun staring at me.”

“I got it.”

What do they know? Ahn Hyun sighed inside, but did not express himself. When my brother was there, we only helped each other and moved well, but now that he was gone, I don’t know why, but I felt like I was creaking from the beginning.

“…It’s not like you don’t know how you feel. I’m the same. But if we go into the forest like this, your sacrifice will be meaningless. It’s an opportunity that Suhyun made with his life on the line. And you asked me for your safety. All we can do right now is get over that wall and wait for your safe return. Everyone, wake up.”

Even so, the depressed mood still hasn’t improved. One-time fraud is not easily recovered. I knew that Ahn Hyun was trying his best, but everyone kept their mouths shut. Ahn Hyun also felt that Kim Soo-hyun’s gap was bigger than expected as he spoke. Inside, there seemed to be an unprovoked anxiety. Ahn eventually closed his eyes due to the mounting pressure.

The rest of the party were always recalling a man with a calm face with a crossbow. Just half a day after the meeting, Kim Soo-hyun had settled in their hearts. It was Kim Soo-hyun who was able to quickly get out of the vacant lot, saved Ansol, who was almost bitten by monsters, and when the team was on the verge of splitting up by Park Dong-gul, who fought with monsters and shot arrows whenever it was dangerous. He was nothing short of a fence in which he was always a strong supporter of his party in important respects.

But now the fence is gone. It may not come back again. And the rest of the people felt empty in his absence.

============================ Review of the work ============================

1. typos and contextual corrections.