Champion
As I looked around, something suddenly came to mind—professional wrestling I had once happened to see long ago.
That was because the current situation had a lot in common with it: countless spectators, and two fighters standing on the stage. On top of that, the gorilla beast resembled a villain wrestler—huge and muscular.
Bigfoot suddenly bared its fangs.
"Grrrrrooooar—!"
With a thunderous howl, the gorilla beast pounded its chest repeatedly with both fists. The drum-like sound heightened the atmosphere even further.
'Quite the showman.'
How should he cook this one?
For some reason, Woojin didn't feel like using a weapon. He habitually fiddled with his machete for a moment, but soon seemed to give up and removed his hand from the handle.
He stepped forward with his bare hands. At the same time, Bigfoot slowly approached from the other side.
"Grrr!"
Bigfoot curled up the corner of its mouth with a snorting sound. A mocking attitude. The gorilla beast was clearly looking down on Woojin.
Which was understandable. Judging only by appearance, the difference in weight class was overwhelming.
Even while standing in a hunched posture, the gorilla's eye level approached nearly three meters, and the muscles wrapped around its body were as massive as boulders.
Did it think the difference was just too big?
Bigfoot tapped its own chin twice with its fingertips, then thrust its face toward Woojin—as if saying try hitting me if you want.
It was an absurd situation.
'Has it lost its sense of fear?'
Woojin blinked at Bigfoot. Was this thing really that desperate to get beaten up?
There was no reason to refuse. Clenching his fist tightly, he swung it straight at the gorilla's face as if striking a punching machine.
BOOOOM!!
Something burst. For a moment, the explosive sound was loud enough to drown out the murmurs of the spectators.
The gorilla, its eyes unfocused, staggered before collapsing onto the dirt ground as if sinking. Seeing that, Woojin let out a small note of admiration.
'It didn't die.'
The gorilla's jaw seemed to have dislocated as it hung slack, but somehow it was still breathing.
Its endurance really was impressive. It must have trusted that durability when it provoked Woojin to hit it. But as seen, the result wasn't good.
Thanks to that, the spectators became furious. Monkeys perched on branches began shouting loudly.
"Boo!"
"Kyaaak! Kya-kyaaak—!"
Chaotic jeers echoed everywhere. The monkeys shouted angrily and started throwing things like rotten fruit toward the collapsed Bigfoot.
A change of atmosphere was needed. Judging so, another gorilla climbed onto the stage.
"GRAAAH!!"
Bigfoot let out a bold roar. It charged straight toward Woojin.
It was a ferocious sight, like a truck rushing forward.
Using the momentum of that charge, the gorilla beast thrust out its fist with all its strength.
'Strong.'
But the trajectory was simple.
Instead, Woojin ran straight toward the incoming fist.
Thud!
He grabbed the gorilla's arm with both hands. Then, twisting his body while pulling—using the opponent's strength against it.
The gorilla's center of gravity rolled over Woojin's shoulder.
A judo shoulder throw.
As if it were a joke, Bigfoot's gigantic body lifted into the air before flipping over and being slammed into the dirt.
KRAAAANG!!
A tremendous crash erupted. The impact matched the noise. The gorilla beast lay face-down on the ground, wriggling like an earthworm.
But it seemed not enough for a knockout. Soon Bigfoot tried to push itself up.
Of course… Woojin didn't just stand there watching.
SMACK!!
He kicked the creature square in the head.
Struck by the follow-up blow, Bigfoot lost consciousness and collapsed.
Two down.
At the same time, as if filling the empty space left by the fallen one, another Bigfoot rushed in.
BOOM!!
Bigfoot kicked off the ground with all its strength and leapt high.
Its massive body fell toward Woojin, intending to crush him under its weight.
A crude but effective attack.
In response, Woojin made a couple of gestures upward.
Fwoosh!
A massive fireball condensed in his hand.
The spell was cast in the blink of an eye.
Recently, whenever he had nothing to do, he had spent entire days studying magic. As a result, both the casting speed and the power of his spells had improved tremendously compared to before.
Like shooting a free throw, Woojin tossed the fireball he had just created high into the air.
Seeing that, Bigfoot panicked.
"Guh? GRAAAAR—!"
The creature screamed as if pleading for something. But it was already too late.
Like a moth drawn to flame, the gorilla beast plunged straight toward the fireball.
BOOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion burst in midair.
The recoil blasted the charred Bigfoot far away. The gorilla's corpse crash-landed on the ground and rolled through the surrounding trees, smashing them as it went.
Three down.
Since this was something he did all the time, Woojin didn't feel any particular emotion about it.
'…It suddenly got quiet.'
The monkeys surrounding him had fallen silent, like people struck dumb.
The atmosphere felt like a library.
That was only natural. The promising Bigfoot warriors had all been defeated in a single blow.
This opponent was no ordinary enemy.
Realizing there was no answer if things continued like this, the monkeys turned their heads toward one direction—as if checking someone's reaction.
Where their gazes gathered stood an especially large gorilla beast.
'The champion of this arena.'
In other words, the leader representing the group.
Woojin took a good look at its appearance.
A Bigfoot with four arms.
Its back was covered in white hairs—what would be called a silverback, indicating that this gorilla was far older than the others.
In the Demon Realm, older beings were usually more powerful. As the leader of such a large group, the silverback likely possessed considerable strength.
'This might actually be fun.'
Woojin grinned and beckoned toward it.
A gesture inviting it to come up onto the ring.
But despite being called out like that—
The moment their eyes met, the silverback trembled violently and quickly backed away as if burned by flames.
"GRAAAH!!"
The leader beast roared.
In response to that signal, the monkeys put blowpipes to their mouths.
Immediately, poisoned darts rained down from all directions.
Since there was nowhere to dodge, Woojin crawled beneath the Bigfoot he had kicked earlier.
Thud, thud-thud—!
The incoming darts continuously struck the gorilla's body.
Using the creature's corpse as an umbrella, he held out.
'Things got a little messy.'
He had intended to lure the leader beast onto the stage and beat it down, but that plan had failed.
The experienced silverback clearly knew when it was time to retreat.
After pinning down the powerful enemy with poisoned darts, the silverback quickly began to flee.
'That coward.'
What should he do?
Letting it go felt like a waste.
After all, it was a good prey he had finally found after quite some time.
'I'll have to tank it with my body.'
Even if he got hit by a few poisoned darts, he would have to chase that creature. Just as Woojin made that decision and was about to stand—
"GRAAAAH!!"
A desperate scream pierced his ears.
The gorillas began to howl in panic. The monkeys that had been firing blowguns also shouted in confusion.
Soon, the barrage stopped.
'…Did something happen?'
To check the situation, Woojin pushed aside the Bigfoot corpse he had been using as an umbrella and stuck his head out.
Inside the forest, where thick shadows lay across the ground, a monster walked out.
A gigantic male lion beast.
Its size was enormous. It looked as if two fully grown elephants had been stitched together. On its back were bat wings almost as large as its own body.
Crunch, crunch—
The sound of bones being chewed echoed continuously. The lion moved its jaw, gnawing on meat.
That meat was none other than the silverback.
It was being dragged along by its neck, clamped in the lion's jaws. Apparently, the silverback had run into the lion while trying to escape from Woojin.
'My prey got stolen.'
Unfortunate, but it couldn't be helped.
The gorillas and monkeys had made far too much noise. When such a commotion dragged on, it inevitably attracted powerful monsters wandering nearby.
Still, the situation wasn't entirely bad.
Pfft! Phew-phew-pfft!
The monkey beasts began firing blowguns wildly at the lion. It seemed they judged that creature to be a bigger threat than Woojin.
Thanks to that, he had a moment to breathe.
As he quietly observed the situation—
The tail attached to the lion's rear came into view.
It was the tail of a gigantic scorpion.
The stinger at its end aimed toward the monkeys.
BOOOOM!!
Suddenly, something like a green beam shot out from the tip of the tail.
Three monkeys caught in its trajectory melted like wet tissues.
The poisonous beam continued firing, sweeping across the surroundings.
It was a very strange and unusual attack.
'Compressed venom… fired like a projectile?'
It seemed similar to a water-jet cutter. By applying tremendous pressure, the poison was compressed and then fired through the hole in the stinger at the tail's tip.
The force was so fierce and intense that it looked like a beam of light shooting out.
Seeing that, Woojin realized what it was.
'A manticore.'
A monster mentioned in Yurgis's Demon Realm Travelogue.
A giant lion beast with bat wings and a scorpion tail that fired poisonous beams.
It was such a rare and powerful monster that even Yurgis had only seen one from afar. It was said he had never actually hunted one.
Judging by its appearance, this must be the troublesome monster Veshkan had mentioned.
But—
It was strong. Very strong.
'How do you even kill something like that?'
The manticore fired venom beams everywhere, slaughtering the surrounding monkeys.
It possessed power comparable to the ancient beings.
And it even had wings. If pressured too much, it would probably just take flight and escape.
A troublesome prey in many ways.
'…Still, the situation isn't that bad.'
Right now, Woojin was hiding beneath a Bigfoot corpse.
It had been something he was forced to do to avoid the monkeys' blowgun darts.
But in a twist of fate, it had produced an unintended advantage.
'That thing doesn't know I'm here.'
The manticore had arrived here a moment later than everything else.
Because of that, it had no idea Woojin was hiding beneath the gorilla's corpse.
He could simply watch the situation calmly and ambush it at the right moment.
Just as he was thinking that—
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy footsteps grew closer.
The manticore was approaching.
Woojin inhaled deeply and suppressed his presence.
The lion, which had been strolling leisurely, suddenly stopped.
Its gaze fixed directly on the Bigfoot corpse.
Woojin swallowed dryly.
'…Did it notice me?'
He wasn't sure.
He considered jumping out right then, but decided to watch the situation a little longer.
The manticore stared curiously at the gorilla.
The corpse was covered with poison darts, making it look almost like a hedgehog.
What is this?
Tap, tap.
The lion poked the gorilla corpse a few times, then suddenly placed one forepaw on top of it.
Creeeak—
The manticore pressed down with its full weight.
It was like flattening a pancake.
For Woojin, trapped beneath it, it was absolute misery.
'Y–you damn beast…'
Did it know and was doing this on purpose?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the manticore lifted its paw off the corpse and began strolling away like it was out for a walk.
…
'Now it's my turn.'
Thump!
Behind the creature, Woojin—who had been hiding like a ghost—quietly rose.
He kicked off the ground and leapt high into the air.
In midair, he activated a skill.
'Weight Amplification.'
His body weight multiplied instantly.
Dozens—hundreds of times heavier.
Woojin's body dropped straight down onto the manticore's back.
BOOOOM!!
"KYAAOOO—!!"
Woojin descended like a meteor and stomped hard on the manticore's back.
A sharp scream burst out.
Startled, the lion thrashed wildly, trying to throw the human off its back.
Naturally, Woojin had no intention of getting off.
'It's been a while since I've done this.'
Time for a rodeo.
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