The Journey (2)

The scent of human blood. Kim Bongpal knew it meant to give off such a smell since he often smelled similar.

Tap.

Kim Bongpal stopped and looked at the crowd that reeked of death. His mana was recovered into his body, but he didn’t hide his presence. Instead, he moved deliberately to announce his appearance.

The distance between Kim Bongpal and the Otherworlders was about 500 meters. It should be easy for most Awakeners to notice even if he tried to hide.

“Hey, what is that?”

These Otherworlders were no different. As Kim Bongpal intended, they recognized his existence. Men in bizarre attire that gave off Asian vibes, different from Johan’s own, were waiting ahead.

“Hey, where are you from?”

The language they spoke made Kim Bongpal even more certain. Just as Johan said, it wasn’t in sync with their lips, but it wasn’t the same language he spoke. Then there was only one conclusion: people from Moorim.

“What the? Seems like you don’t understand our language, huh? Are you from Lupaine?”

“Looking at his black hair, it doesn’t seem so….”

There were a total of five men. Some had weapons, and some didn’t.

“Are you from Dreimoor?”

Kim Bongpal asked.

“Oh! He uses interpreting magic, so he must be from Lupaine.”

“I am the 5th Blood Mage of Dreimoor, Wan Yue-chuan. Where do you belong to?”

His prediction was correct. They were from Moorim, and more than that, they were the Blood Mages of Dreimoor. According to Johan, these people used martial arts and spells with blood as their medium.

“Where do I belong? You don’t need to know that.”

The group of Blood Mages frowned in response to Kim Bongpal’s answer.

“…?”

“That guy!”

“Stop!”

The moment when one of the Blood Mages tried to raise his voice, Wan Yue-chuan, the highest of them, stopped the others. This remote area was far from Dreimoor, and they wouldn’t have come to this place if it weren’t for what they were supposed to do unless they made a hobby of dealing with dozens of monsters every hour.

That was why they also came here in a group of five. However, this unknown person in front of them was walking around alone. Moreover, Wan Yue-chuan clearly introduced himself as the 5th Blood Mage. Although he might not be comparable to the 7th and 6th Blood Mages, the position of the 5th Blood Mage could not be easily ignored. Yet to show this disregard…

Wan Yue-chuan wasn’t so ignorant that he could not interpret its meaning.

“I don’t know where you came from, but we are currently carrying out the secret mission of the Blood Master Shi Wu-yuan.”

“Blood Master?”

“Yes. One of the Three Blood Masters of Dreimoor is our teacher.”

Therefore, Wan Yue-chuan borrowed their teacher’s name. No one near Dreimoor would dare touch them after hearing the Blood Master’s name. It must be the same for this man exuding a unique vibe. We don’t know who you are, but we don’t care, so let’s go our separate ways.

“Hmm. What is that?”

Kim Bongpal’s reaction was slightly different than expected. He took a step closer, his eyes focused on the campfire in the middle of the Blood Mages. Specifically, he was focused on the pot boiling over the flames.

“We were making Young Blood Soup.”

“Young Blood Soup?”

“Yes. Don’t you know? The Young Blood Soup of the Blood Mages.”

Looking at the situation, it seemed this soup was at least known to all people in Dreimoor.

“Open it.”

“Yes?”

A fishy smell wafted through the slightly ajar lid. It was a unique scent, stronger than pork or chicken but different from a monster’s. It was a smell that Kim Bongpal had encountered before.It was a story of a time when he didn’t curse as much as he did now, but it pertained to why he was called the Butcher. It wasn’t that he simply cut down monsters better than anyone else.

But when was it? There was a time when the awakened North Koreans gathered together and went south. After the Outbreak, the situation in North Korea was quite different from that of South Korea. Their government collapsed. The North Korean soldiers became outcasts and deserters, and food no longer came from outside aid. Many resorted to cannibalism.

And in the end, only the Awakeners survived. Cannibal Awakeners clashed with South Korean hunters several times. Kim Bongpal knew what happened to the hunters who did not return. Kim Bongpal’s skill in cutting people improved during those days.

“Ha!”

Bulb-bulb.

Kim Bongpal walked towards the pot, and when he lifted the lid, he could clearly see what Young Blood Soup meant. Human flesh.

His expression froze. However, the Blood Mages didn’t notice the change.

“Haha. It’s execution. Do you want to try eating the Young Blood Soup?”

One Blood Mage chuckled as he said something that he thought funny.

“As you know, it is rare for Blood Mages to serve Young Blood Soup to others. But how can we turn a blind eye since we met you in a remote area like this? If it’s okay with you, let’s have a plate.”

Wan Yue-chuan asked then. In fact, as he said, it was true that giving away Young Blood Soup to someone who wasn’t a Blood Mage was regarded as a great favor within Dreimoor. Looking at Wan Yue-chuan, Kim Bongpal thought again.

Right. Did this mean that this was normal in Dreimoor? Earth after the Outbreak was pretty damn crazy, but it wouldn’t be as bad as this place. Kim Bongpal was, in a way, a simple human being. He made no distinction between good and evil and didn’t look for morality.

For he had already seen with his own eyes that they were useless. He just did what he pleased. But even a man like that had his own line.

Kim Bongpal was guilty of too many crimes to blame others simply for murder, but that didn’t mean he could pass everything over. In fact, Kim Bongpal was a little different from his usual self after entering the Shire. Not only was he a stranger, but he also had a goal of finding Seo Ha-yeon. Therefore, Kim Bongpal, who usually didn’t tolerate anything, endured a lot. Really a lot.

So he wasn’t going to put up with it this time. What they called Young Blood Soup was something that crossed the line.

“It looks like shit.”

“…What?”

Kim Bongpal’s cursing was uttered through the interpretation of magic and accurately conveyed to the Blood Mages.

Swoosh.

At the same time, Kim Bongpal stretched his mana around him. The Blood Mages reacted immediately.

“You. What are you going to do…?”

Wan Yue-chuan asked, unleashing his own mana.

“Shut your mouth.”

That was Kim Bongpal’s only response. Then.

Stomp-!

“You guys smell like shit. Fuck.”

The arm of the Blood Mage closest to Kim Bongpal went flying. He aimed at their neck, but it was a little off.

“Aargh!”

A scream rang out to signal the start of their battle.

*

The Blood Mages’ response was pretty quick. They attacked Kim Bongpal, forming a circle with Wan Yue-chuan as the center. The first to attack was the Blood Mage, whose arm was cut off. A newly formed arm made of crimson blood rose from his shoulder.

Blood Technique. As the name suggested, it was a technique using blood. However, Kim Bongpal didn’t panic and rushed the Blood Mages. Would that strange power grow another head for them?

Kim Bongpal tried to resolve his sudden question.

“You will regret it! As I said before, we are protected by the Blood Master…!”

Cried Wan Yue-chuan. He was in a position to avoid a fight if he could. There were one of two things possible if that guy still wanted to fight after hearing their teacher’s name. Either he was a madman who didn’t care about his life, or he didn’t care about the Blood Master Shi Wu-yuan’s name.

“Damn it.”

Of course, Kim Bongpal was the latter. Maybe it was both, actually.

Deformed arms and whips made of blood surround him. However, Kim Bongpal didn’t back down. Instead, he pushed deeper into their ranks.

Clank-!The sound of metal clashing resounded when Kim Bongpal’s sword came into contact with the blood. He parried their attacks, refusing to let a single one through.

“What kind of combo is that…?”

Did someone shout something? Combo? Kim Bongpal’s movement was too far away to be called that. Rather than swinging it according to a combo, he followed his instinct. However, because of that, every attack was full of murderous intent.

Slash-

Kim Bongpal aimed at the nearest Blood Mage, and one of his questions was resolved.

“Brother!”

If he cut the head, nothing would come out.

“You motherfucker!”

There were four Blood Mages left. Three aimed at Kim Bongpal’s sides while Wan Yue-chuan was muttering something with a seal in the back. The whips of blood continue to hinder Kim Bongpal’s movement.

It was a pretty good joint attack. He could tell at a glance that they’d been fighting together for a long time. However.

“Argh!”

Kim Bongpal’s sword slashed, and each time it was swung, the Blood Mages’ limbs flew off one by one. Suddenly, two of the remaining four had their throats cut.

“Wait! What’s wrong with you? We don’t want a fight!”

Now, when only Wan Yue-chuan and one of his sect-brother were left, they desperately cried out. Someone was persecuting the Blood Mages in the vicinity of Dreimoor even after hearing their teacher’s name. However, Wan Yue-chuan had no time to be angry.

“I told you.”

Kim Bongpal ignored his cry.

“You guys smell like shit.”

For a moment, Wan Yue-chuan saw a flash, and with that, his last remaining sect brother died. Although Blood Mages had no weaknesses, there were two weaknesses all humans possessed, their head and their heart.

“———!”

Wan Yue-chuan screamed with the sense that it was his turn next.

“You fucking bastard!”

Johan’s token interpreted it just like that.

*

“That’s a lot.”

Kim Bongpal murmured, checking a bag of Mana Stones from the Blood Mages. He’d brought a considerable amount of Mana Stones from Lee Kang-chul, but there were several times more from the Blood Mages. Even the amount of mana contained in them was higher. Besides those, they also had several miscellaneous items that were difficult to guess the usefulness of. Plus, there was a strange object with Wan Yue-chuan.

“…Compass?”

It looked like a compass with an arrow and several inscribed letters around the edge. However, it didn’t seem to point to the north like a compass, and the shape was more like an arrow.

Kim Bongpal looked in the direction the arrow was pointing. It was aimed down the path he’d come – meaning it was pointing to Earth’s outpost.

“Hey. What’s this for?”

“…You fucking bastard.”

Wan Yue-chuan murmured. Surprisingly, he was still alive. Kim Bongpal intentionally spared him to obtain information about Dreimoor and the Shire. Wan Yue-chuan confessed all of it under the torture inflicted by Kim Bongpal. Of course, the authenticity was up for question, but it seemed that Wan Yue-chuan had no tolerance for pain.

Human flesh-eating scumbags couldn’t bear the pain that much? Kim Bongpal felt some contradiction there.

“What is the use?”

But did he have his own determination?

“…Fuck you!”

Wan Yue-chuan cried. At that, Kim Bongpal raised his sword again.

However, Wan Yue-chuan’s head snapped before he could touch him.

“…Hmm.”

Kim Bongpal stood up, smacking his lips. With these enemies slain, it was time to leave again. However, when Wan Yue-chuan stopped breathing, something changed in the compass-like object Kim Bongpal was holding. The arrow that previously pointed toward the Earth’s outpost was now swaying.

Swirl-

As a sudden thought came to mind, Kim Bongpal cut his finger. Then he dripped his blood on the compass. It was a simple thought that it might react to blood as it was an item carried by a Blood Mage. But to his surprise, it worked.

Swirl-

The arrow spun rapidly for a moment. It then stopped and pointed to where he was headed: Dreimoor.