Chapter 16: The Awakening of the Ogre

On the day of the large-scale monster hunt,

I woke up early in the morning and received the ice horn leather cloak I had commissioned.

Although it felt slightly heavy to wear, its sturdiness and insulation capabilities exceeded my expectations.

My condition was good, and I had completed all preparations for the large-scale hunt the day before.

I packed a rather heavy bag and headed to the adventurer’s guild.

As I walked slowly, I arrived at the adventurer’s guild to find a huge crowd gathered outside, even though it was early in the morning.

Some people, with grim expressions, were having breakfast, while others were clustered together, seemingly looking for teams to join for the hunt.

However, there were some who caught my attention even more.

Unlike the adventurers, soldiers clad in expensive metal armor stood out among the crowd.

They were probably the market’s personal soldiers, as mentioned by the receptionist.

Watching the soldiers’ disciplined demeanor brought back memories from my past life.

The guild’s receptionist was checking the participants’ details.

I approached him and handed over my wooden token.

“Cerise… Participant confirmation…”

As he retrieved the wooden token, he recorded my information on a thick document.

He nodded, indicating that it was all set, and then moved on to another area.

The eyes of the adventurers began to focus on me.

I was likely the youngest participant in the large-scale hunt.

Most of the gazes were filled with curiosity, but some looked at me with skepticism.

Yet, none of the adventurers confronted me.

It was probably due to the presence of the market’s soldiers.

“Everyone, pay attention!”

While I was idly passing the time,

a middle-aged man stepped forward, accompanied by the guild’s receptionist.

Seeing him, I couldn’t help but imagine the image of a knight.

He was clad in a full plate mail that covered him entirely, and a long crimson cloak flowed behind him.

The luxurious black sword adorned at his waist matched the image of a knight I had in mind.

“I am Knight Lycan. I will be your commanding officer for this hunt. From the moment we leave this city, I expect you to follow my commands.”

As Lycan finished speaking, the adventurers began to murmur among themselves.

They were adventurers who had lived freely their entire lives. It seemed difficult for them to accept that someone would be controlling them.

At that moment, an adventurer, wearing a dissatisfied expression, stepped forward.

“Who made you the one to decide that?”

“It is the will of the market.”

The will of the market, in other words, the will of the client.

The adventurer who had voiced his dissatisfaction fell silent and nodded his head.

Not only that, but Lycan’s response quickly quelled the adventurers’ discontent.

It seemed there were no adventurers willing to go against the wishes of the client who would pay them.

“How far do you intend to exert your control?”

“Meals, movement, and monster hunting—I will not interfere in anything else.”

Lycan skillfully continued his explanation.

Although the adventurers occasionally posed rude questions, he seemed well accustomed to conversing with them.

“If anyone has grievances, step forward. I will transfer command of the hunting party to anyone who can defeat me.”

It was a shocking statement.

However, no one stepped forward with a confident expression.

It seemed that the title of “knight” held more weight than I had expected.

Lycan glanced around at the adventurers as if to confirm this.

At that moment, our gazes met in the air.

There was a question in Lycan’s expression as he looked at me.

He tilted his head slightly, seemingly unable to understand why I was here.

I pushed my chest forward and placed my hand on the sword at my back.

It was an action to show that I, too, was participating in this event as an adventurer.

At that moment, the receptionist, noticing Lycan’s gaze, approached him and whispered something in his ear.

Lycan frowned at the receptionist’s words.

He snatched the document from the receptionist’s hand and quickly read the text within.

“When are we leaving?”

As the promised time passed and Lycan showed no sign of departure, disgruntled adventurers began to voice their complaints.

The disgruntled voices quickly spread to other adventurers.

“Hmm…”

While checking the document, Lycan cleared his throat and nodded.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to confirm something… We’ll depart now!”

A large-scale hunting party consisting of one knight, two hundred and fifty adventurers, and fifty soldiers left the city and headed towards the Karum Mountains.

Throughout the journey, Lycan explained the route of the hunting party to the adventurers.

Of course, few adventurers were paying close attention to his explanation.

The Karum Mountains were still covered in snow, and a cold wind blew fiercely.

I pulled the wolf-head hood tightly over my head to prevent my ears from getting frostbite.

When we reached about halfway up the Karum Mountains, we were given a brief rest period.

I also headed to a suitable spot to rest.

After brushing off the thick snow with my hands, a suitable rock appeared.

I sat on it and slowly exhaled.

“Phew…”

Over the past week, I had been endlessly pondering and researching.

How could I capture the mana floating in the air within my body?

The answer was surprisingly close at hand.

Just like in the Karum Mountains, when I attempted to utilize mana for my swordsmanship,

I realized that the mana in the city was different from the mana in the Karum Mountains.

The mana in the city center was chaotic and murky.

The mana near the sea was vast like the ocean and seemed to carry the coldness reminiscent of winter.

Thus, mana possessed the characteristic of changing its form according to the surrounding environment.

I found the answer here.

First, I changed the appearance of my inner world.

I shaped the endlessly spread world into a small sphere, creating a tiny orb.

This orb formed a shape that surrounded my heart.

The problem came next. The mana absorbed from the outside did not want to mix with my own mana.

The reason the absorbed mana was escaping was precisely this.

Therefore, I needed to form a small ring above the sphere surrounding my heart.

A blue ring made solely of external mana, endlessly rotating and gradually transforming to resemble my mana.

This was the birth of the mana circle.

The ring of mana created in this way would naturally blend and merge with my mana over time.

The ring of mana made in the city had already begun to twinkle like a tiny star, so it wouldn’t take long.

I formed a new ring of mana above it.

This circle was made from the mana of the Karum Mountains, possessing a piercing coldness and fierce nature.

“Departure!”

The brief rest quickly came to an end.

The adventurers, dragging their weary bodies, headed deeper into the Karum Mountains.

I had expected endless battles from the large-scale hunt, but in reality, we faced no monsters at all.

With about three hundred people moving together, the monsters were clearly avoiding us.

Thus, the first day of the hunt ended without any achievements.

The second day of the hunt dawned.

After breakfast, the hunting party followed Lycan’s orders and advanced deeper into the Karum Mountains.

It was around half a day later that it happened.

“Everyone, stop…”

Lycan, who was walking ahead, raised his hand, halting the movements of the hunting party.

Noticing his unusual expression, the adventurers quickly drew their weapons. I also unsheathed my sword and stared ahead.

At that moment, the white snowfield began to tremble, and an enormous number of goblins rushed out.

• Kieeeek!
• Kieeeek! Kyaaaah!

At first glance, there seemed to be over a hundred of them.

Goblins kept pouring out from the high hills.

“Attack!”

The moment Lycan’s roar finished, the excited adventurers rushed forward.

With a reward of 1 silver per monster promised, everyone was a competitor.

I, too, charged forward, swinging my sword.

As I took a large step forward, the sword that had been pulled back shot out ahead, firmly striking the ground.

The pale moon, wrapped in faint starlight, pierced through the goblin’s head.

Crack!

• Kieeeek!

Having dealt with one goblin, I couldn’t help but frown.

The goblins’ movements were not aggressive. It felt more like they were fleeing from something chasing them rather than charging to attack us.

As I looked around, I noticed several adventurers who seemed to have sensed something similar and had stopped moving.

However, most of the adventurers were blinded by the prospect of achievements and continued pressing forward.

It was then that I heard it.

Behind the shrieking goblins, a faint sound approached.

The ground beneath my feet trembled. It didn’t take long to recognize the vibrations passing through my legs.

An earthquake?

Boom!

At that moment, a clear rumble echoed.

It sounded as if something massive was moving beyond the hill.

“Everyone, stop!”

Lycan also sensed that the situation was dire and urgently called the adventurers back.

However, the adventurers, pumped up by the sight of blood, did not heed Lycan’s voice.

Boom!

Once again, but this time the gigantic rumble was much closer.

Swoosh—!

The shock was so immense that the snow piled on the branches tumbled down.

As the white snow scattered from the sky, obscuring my view, a massive shadow appeared from over the hill.

The shadow approached silently.

And the moment I thought the shadow was moving…

Five adventurers, who had been slaughtering the goblins on the hill, were flung into the air.

Whoosh!

The dull sound brought death along with it.

The bodies of the adventurers, soaring high, were torn apart and scattered, spraying red blood everywhere.

That blood mingled with the falling snow, creating a bizarre weather phenomenon of red snowflakes.

“Oh, an ogre…”

A voice trembled with fear as it revealed the shadow’s true identity.

At that moment, through the red snowflakes falling from the sky, a bright yellow gaze shot down at us.

The creature’s body was immense and thick.

Boom!

The source of the thudding sound that had been heard from a distance was revealed.

It was the footsteps of the ogre.

[Kwaaaaargh!]

The ogre, having sent five adventurers flying in one blow, looked down from the hill and let out a tremendous roar.

At that horrifying sound, the adventurers began to falter.

I, too, lost strength in my legs and collapsed.

The only one standing in this place was Lycan, the knight.