Wandering Mercenary in an Open World

In the first couple of years, when he was desperate to survive, and in the last few years, when he began to wander in earnest, Luon was able to learn the one thing he needed most to survive.

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It was not a game-related factor such as skills or stats, but Luon’s own pure intuition, which he obtained after countless experiences.
The greatest weapon that allowed a modern man, who was nothing short of empty-handed, except for a few perks, to survive in a cruel world disguised as extreme freedom.

That intuition said “it’s going to be a long night”.

Luon swung the sword thick with black blood in the air several times.
After taking heavy breaths for a few moments, he frowned and looked at the ghoul corpses all around him.
‘Crazy, how many are there?’

There were three groups of ghouls.
Luon, who dealt with the first ten ghouls without difficulty, was bound to be hurt here and there by them and new ghouls who were rushing at him nonstop.

Fortunately, there were no problems.
There were no major wounds that could hinder movement, and the ghoul’s most fearsome weapon, its claws, had no effect on Luon due to his high physical strength.

Luon, who roughly rubbed the wound with his palm, recalled the location of the mistress’s tomb that Median had told him about.

The cemetery was arranged according to the time of death, and the grave of the relatively recently deceased (murdered) mistress was located to the south.

No longer needed to act cautiously, Luon started running towards the south.
Occasionally, ghouls appeared from nowhere and rushed at him, but he slaughtered them all with a single sword strike and proceeded without hesitation.

Around the time when the situation of moving forward and killing was repeated four times, Luon finally found the tomb where the mistress was buried.
No, he had no choice but to find it.

“···What’s that?”

Luon frowned as he saw a bizarre-looking monster half-buried next to the messed-up tomb.

The monster, with both hands covering its swollen belly like that of a pregnant woman, did not move much even when a stranger appeared.

Luon, who had been awakened to fantasy through novels and games since childhood and has extensive knowledge, was hesitant for a moment, unable to rush towards the monster he saw for the first time in his life.

At that moment, the monster’s mouth slowly opened.

Geu-oooo-ooh

Starting with a sound as if it were ringing in a cave, the monster’s bloated stomach swelled and cracked, and two ghouls poured out with a terrible stench.

At the terrible sight that was different from the beauty of a pious birth, Luon quickly grabbed the bow hanging on his back.
Two arrows shot in an instant, each lodged in the foreheads of the two newly born ghouls.

Luon, who was loading his third arrow after leaving behind the screaming ones, rolled quickly at the sight of the tentacles flying in front of his eyes.

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Bang!

The ground on which Luon had been standing before was caved in and dust scattered everywhere.
Inside, the tentacles that changed their direction flew toward Luon again.

In the meantime, Luon, who quickly changed his weapons, swung his sword strongly and collided with the tentacles.
After the heavy collision, he realised that the tentacles were much stronger than he had expected.
He had to cut them in one go!

Clang!

Luon swung his sword with both hands at full strength.

The overwhelming force cut off the tentacles in an instance.

Geu-oooo-ooh

The monster howled in a higher tone than before.
The tentacle flew into the monster’s wide open stomach, and it seemed to have been directly hit by Luon’s attack just now.

Chwararag!

This time, instead of one, three tentacles flew out of nowhere.
Luon clenched his teeth and moved his body with explosive momentum.
The blurred sword cut through the tentacles that came out from various angles.

Luon ran through the tentacles swaying in pain and immediately blew the monster’s head off.
The moment he crushed the monster’s head and it fell to the floor, the feeling of exaltation that had accumulated inside him spread throughout his body.
It was a level up.

Luon, who had awakened his senses and invested his bonus stats into his strength, clicked his tongue at the monster in front of him.

“That’s crazy.”

The level up after a long time was good news, but the scene in front of him was so shocking that there was no time to be happy.

A monster that gives birth to ghouls.
He had encountered all sorts of monsters before, but this was the first time he’d encountered such a terrible one.
Luon cleared up his dubious thoughts.
There was no way such a terrible monster could have been born naturally.
As per Median’s concern, this was clearly the work of a witch.

As he approached the mistress’s tomb, he saw a pile of dirt dug out from the inside and a coffin half-opened inside the grave.
As expected, the coffin was empty.
Luon’s head pounded at the thought that this terrible monster must have crawled out of it.

It was hard to understand why a woman who was once a human was turned into such an anti-human monster just because the affair was unacceptable.
Of course, he didn’t know whether Median or the witch had expected such a result.
Shit, there is a line that should not be crossed.

But regardless of the thought, Luon’s hands looked at every nook and cranny of the dead monster’s body.
Because he had to do what he had to do.

***************

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“How can you get things done so fast? I never saw a person do things so fast.”

Median gave a satisfied smile.
Dissatisfied with the triumphant smile, Luon threw the object in his hand onto the table.

Ting.

The ring, which was spinning, lost its strength and fell over.

Median spoke sharply, as if Luon’s behavior was uncomfortable.

“Explain yourself.”

“The mistress, whom the witch had killed, turned into a monster that gave birth to ghouls.
It appears that the witch buried her body deep in the ground and sucked in the other corpses of the cemetery with the tentacles from within.
The corpses dragged in that way were reborn as ghouls in her womb.”

At the horrifying ending, Median’s face, which was still powdery white, turned worryingly pale.

“····You’re not lying, are you?”

“If you’re curious, you can have someone check the graves.
You’ll get a report that all the coffins are empty.”

It was Luon, who dug up the surrounding tombs one by one and confirmed it, because there was no way for a monster to create something out of nothing, and he remembered the story of a ghoul resembling a friend the soldiers were talking about.

It caused a mess in the cemetery, but it was for Median to deal with.

“I brought the ring as evidence.
It was on the ring finger of the monster.”

Luon shrugged his shoulders.

“Is this enough?”

Median, who nodded and made the maid remove the ring, looked at Luon.
Before long, she had recovered her characteristic relaxed expression.

“Alright, what do you want?”

“Gold coins.
I will decline the jewels in advance.”

There were many troublesome situations when exchanging jewels.
Whether in the Middle Ages or modern times, cash was the best.

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“Very well.”

Median nodded once again, and the maid held out a seemingly luxurious leather bag toward Luon.

“You can check it.”

Luon immediately put the leather bag in his pocket.

“I’m sure you were generous.”

“Anything else you would like to know?”

Luon’s eyes lit up at Median’s question.

“I would like to know some of the credible rumors and legends that you have heard.”

“Credible rumors and legends? It’s too broad.”

After pondering for a moment, Median opened her mouth.

“I’m not interested in gossip.
If I had to find one, there’s a rumor that the King will soon go to war for conquest.
It seems like there will be a strong backlash because of the word that even the private soldiers of the nobles will also be mobilized, but we don’t know yet.
I don’t know if this is of any help.”

Median’s story could be of great importance depending on who the listener was, but Luon was not interested in it.

“I see.
I will take my leave now.”

“I guess it was of no help.”

“It’s not the information I need right now.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Median, who was smiling softly, added.

“I think I know why your face is not known much compared to your reputation, it’s because you leave without hesitation.
It looks like too much fame gets in the way of your journey, right? You can relax.
I won’t even wonder why you’re going after rumors and legends; I don’t have any plans to talk about you or make you my own.
So why don’t you just relax and have a cup of tea?”

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It was quite sharp to point this out, she was Grungrad’s mistress for a reason.
For the first time, Luon thought he liked Median, even if only a little bit.

“Thank you for your consideration, but I can’t find any reason to stay here.”

“…Then there is nothing I can do about it.
You may leave.”

After Luon turned around and left the room, Median whispered quietly.

“You’re living a life like an awl in a pocket, so you won’t be able to keep it hidden for long, Wyvern Slayer.”

As he walked out of the mansion, the bright light tickled Luon’s face.He wanted to take a good rest for a few days at a nearby inn, but he went straight out of the city.

He didn’t know when Median would change her mind, and would urge her men to pick up a mercenary’s head.
It seems like she doesn’t have such thoughts right now, but nobles change their minds 12 times a day.

Luon knew that he had not completely solved this problem.
There must be something unresolved between the unknown witch and Median, and a plausible script may have been prepared for the ring that was handed over .
In terms of games, it feels like a chain quest in waiting?

If he drank the tea that Median recommended, the next quest would have progressed naturally, but the sharp instinct that had been maintained since the night was saying that it would be better to finish this quest just like this.
And Luon believed that feeling.

In fact, this may have gone too deep.
The wealth of a nobleman would be useless to him, and his life would be in danger.

‘I leveled up and got paid, it’s good enough.’

Luon cleared his mind.
His conclusion was that this incident should be remembered simply as ‘a sad story of a woman who touched another’s husband and turned into a monster.’

Luon, who was hurrying his steps while organizing his thoughts, suddenly stopped.

The sunlight, which remembers Grungrad’s history, caressed every nook and cranny of the city to announce the early morning, and people who woke up from it were busy moving.

‘Is it because I’ve been facing terrible monsters all night? The scenery I haven’t been interested in for the past few days was so beautiful.
How can I think of this overwhelming spectacle as mere data?’

‘It was funny.
The fact that I miss my small bedroom full of mold, leaving behind this scenery.
The chicken and beer that I used to order for money I didn’t have are still in my dreams.’

‘As always, there is no need to get depressed again by this thought.’

‘Until the day I return, wandering without any promises will continue.’

Luon withdrew his gaze and moved forward with his back to the sun.
His stay in Grungrad was over, so he had to find someplace else.