SWNOVELXO Chapter 87 - Tiger Hunting (1)
Chapter 87: Tiger Hunting (1)
Yuri and his friends exited the training center.
Creak— Clang— Thud!
The rusty iron door closed with an eerie noise.
“Haah!”
Yuri spread his arms wide, filling his lungs with air.
The chilly wind filled his chest, causing the corners of his mouth to lift slightly.
“Ah… The scent of society.”
They had only been inside for a day, yet the scent of the outside world felt incredibly refreshing.
“Ha! Haaah!”
As if trying to wash away the stench of the confined space, Yuri flared his nostrils, inhaling the cold forest air repeatedly.
Behind Yuri…
“Ugh…”
“Urgh…”
Poppy and Arin, moving like zombies, slowly passed by Yuri.
Yuri placed a hand on their shoulders.
“Hey—. Where do you think you’re going?”
Arin and Poppy slowly turned their heads.
Their expressionless faces startled Yuri for a moment.
“…Why do you both look like that?”
The response came in a cold tone.
“Who are you? A stranger talking to us? Hmph!”
“I’m hungry!”
The two of them snorted and turned their heads away from him.
Yuri smiled brightly and joked.
“Hey, what’s the matter? We’ve been comrades for 17 hours and 44 minutes.”
“Eek! Who wanted to be comrades with you?!”
“I’m hungry!”
“Why did we have to pay for crimes we didn’t even commit?!”
“I’m hungry!”
Poppy eagerly nodded in agreement with Arin’s protest.
But Yuri just shrugged casually.
“You were the ones who asked to stay by my side.”
“What does that have to do with this?!”
“Think of it as a seat fee.”
“…Seat fee?”
“A fee for allowing you to stay by my side. Well, it’s still far from enough, but think of it as just the down payment for now. I’ll collect the rest gradually.”
“…Are you a thug?”
“…I’m hungry?”
Even as they stared at him like they’d never seen such a shameless thug before, Yuri just smiled.
But the next words that came out of his mouth were quite at odds with that smile.
“You should get used to it. I’ll say it again, staying by my side was your choice. So tough it out.”
“……”
Poppy and Arin were at a loss for words.
When someone says something so brazenly with a smiling face, it drains the energy to respond.
No, at this point, even if he pushed them to leave, they wouldn’t be able to. They’d stick with him out of sheer spite!
“Ahhh…”
“I’m hungry.”
Watching the two of them sigh deeply, Yuri softly smiled with his eyes and asked.
“If you’ve got nothing else to do, why don’t you join me for something?”
“For what?”
Yuri’s answer came out immediately.
“Tiger hunting.”
The reactions were split.
“Tiger hunting?”
Arin, who didn’t yet know what a tiger was, looked intrigued.
Flinch!
But Poppy, who had already been dragged off by a tiger before Yuri, shuddered in surprise.
Seeing their contrasting reactions, Yuri nodded.
“Yeah, I’m going to catch a tiger.”
“I’m hungry.”
Poppy shook his head.
Even though he wasn’t precise, his actions conveyed what he wanted to say.
“You think we can’t catch a tiger?”
Nod—.
Anyone who had been a victim of a tiger could say that.
But Yuri was firm.
“No, we can catch it. If you both help me.”
Over the past time, Yuri hadn’t just endured hellish training.
He kept thinking, again and again.
How could he catch the tiger?
He pondered and deliberated until he finally came up with a plan, and that plan required Poppy and Arin.
Hearing Yuri’s words, Arin’s eyes sparkled as he asked.
“Oh? So you’re asking us to become your comrades now?”
“No need to go that far. Let’s just work together to catch the tiger.”
“That’s the same thing! So, we’re a squad now?”
“Well, think whatever you want.”
Yuri shrugged his shoulders.
Still, Arin looked excited.
On the other hand, Poppy still seemed worried.
Yuri turned to Poppy and asked.
“What about you? Will you join us?”
Poppy didn’t erase the worried look on his face, but he nodded.
Since he had already decided to stay by Yuri’s side, he didn’t have a choice.
With the formation of their three-person squad, Yuri rubbed his hands together.
“Alright, let’s talk about the reward first. If we catch the tiger, it’s 5 million points. Considering your contributions, that’s 500,000 points each…”
“Sounds good to me!”
“I’m hungry.”
Without even listening to Yuri’s full explanation, Arin and Poppy nodded their heads.
Yuri’s eyes changed slightly.
“…It’s 250,000 points each. Are you in?”
“I don’t mind. Sounds fun.”
“I’m hungry.”
Seeing the two nodding purely, without any interest in the points, Yuri was somewhat moved.
‘Are these… angels?’
Yuri had originally intended to give each of them 10% of the 5 million points.
But then, Arin eagerly agreed and even roped in Poppy without hesitation.
How could Yuri miss this opportunity?
He immediately changed it to 250,000 points each.
And seeing them react as if they didn’t care, he was deeply touched.
‘I think… I made some really good friends.’
Seriously, what kind souls—no, what great friends.
Yuri was extremely pleased with the first friends he had ever made.
And he had a feeling that things were going to go well.
“So, what now? What should we do first?”
“Well, first….”
When Arin urged him, Yuri responded in a cheerful voice.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
Although the recommended daily sentence was 8 hours, the three of them had endured 17 hours and 44 minutes straight to get out as quickly as possible.
Thanks to Poppy’s healing touch, Yuri had recovered, but he had still been weakened by the aftereffects of overusing Thunder Wing not long ago.
Given that condition, enduring nearly 18 hours of grueling training was exhausting, even for him.
‘The sun will rise soon.’
There was plenty of time before night would fall again.
They needed to rest fully and recover their strength by then.
Step—.
Yuri took the lead, with Poppy and Arin closely following behind.
Thus, Yuri and his friends returned to the Forest of Beasts.
By noon.
Yuri and his friends reappeared.
After a good rest, their faces looked much better compared to when they had just been released.
As she stretched lightly, Arin turned to Yuri.
“So, what are we doing now?”
“Follow me.”
Yuri gestured with his head.
He led Poppy and Arin through the forest.
The place he was heading to was none other than the Wolf Zone.
The reason Yuri was going to the Wolf Zone was simple.
‘I need information.’
To strategize against the tiger, he needed various pieces of information.
So, he was heading to the Wolf Zone to conduct some experiments to gather that information.
Arin, recalling the time she had fought alongside Yuri, looked excited.
“Are we going to hunt wolves?”
She seemed slightly excited, assuming she’d have another such experience.
However, Yuri didn’t bother to answer her.
Soon, Yuri and his friends arrived at the Wolf Zone after silently making their way through the forest.
Fortunately, they immediately encountered a lone wolf.
“Woof.”
The wolf they encountered was from the 49th batch.
He flinched in surprise at the sight of Yuri and his friends, momentarily hesitating.
Yuri stepped forward, drawing his sword.
In response, Arin and Poppy immediately followed, readying their weapons.
“I’ll help!”
“I’m hungry!”
Despite their enthusiasm, Yuri lightly waved them off.
“No, you two stay back and rest for a moment.”
“Huh?”
Poppy and Arin tilted their heads in confusion.
They had formed a squad to hunt wolves, so why were they being told to rest?
Their thoughts were clearly visible in their eyes.
Meanwhile, the wolf seemed slightly offended, perhaps due to his pride.
“You’re going to face me alone?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
Just as the 49th batch wolf was about to frown, something caught his eye as he carefully observed Yuri.
“You’re… that guy. Yuri Holland.”
“You know me?”
“Of course. There’s no one in this cradle who doesn’t know your name.”
“The kids from the 50th batch don’t know my name. Oh, except for those two.”
Yuri pointed his thumb over his shoulder.
Although he hadn’t specifically introduced himself, Poppy and Arin had learned his name during the trial.
They were the first among the 50th batch to know Yuri’s name.
Corrected by Yuri’s remark, the 49th batch wolf changed his words.
“…Excluding the 50th batch, there’s no one in this cradle who doesn’t know your name.”
“Wow, look at you change your words so quickly. Spineless.”
“…For someone with skills, you sure lack manners. Where’s your respect for your seniors?”
“Sell it? I never had any to begin with.”
Irritated by Yuri’s snappy tone, the wolf drew his sword.
“Looks like I’ll have to teach you some respect for your seniors.”
“Hey, with your skills? Don’t bother, you’ll just get hurt.”
Yuri’s taunting grin and the crescent moon-shaped eyes were infuriating.
As killing intent flashed in the 49th batch wolf’s eyes, he drew his sword and charged.
The battle began.
Clang— Clang— Clang—.
Or should it even be called a battle?
Watching Yuri and the wolf clash, Arin felt something was off.
‘What is this? Something’s strange about this.’
The fight between Yuri and the wolf was fierce.
It certainly seemed that way, but there was an oddly lacking sense of urgency.
Arin felt this way because she had previously seen how Yuri fought against two wolves.
Compared to that time, now it was as if…
‘It feels like they’re deliberately pretending to fight evenly.’
Soon, Arin was convinced of her thoughts.
‘I’m sure! They’re acting!’
Realizing this, she couldn’t help but be surprised.
If she hadn’t seen Yuri fight those two wolves before…
And if she weren’t observing the fight from a broader perspective now…
She might have believed that Yuri and the wolf were evenly matched in an intense battle.
That’s how perfect Yuri’s performance was.
As if to prove this, the wolf fighting Yuri let out a wild shout, thrilled.
“Is this all you’ve got? It seems your fifteen steps in the Hundred Steps Ceremony were just pure luck! Hahaha!”
“Urgh!”
The wolf, exhilarated by the belief that he was pushing Yuri Holland back, saw urgency in every expression on Yuri’s face.
Arin muttered softly.
“…He’s just a natural-born con artist.”
Look at that acting.
It’d be harder not to be fooled.
As she clicked her tongue in disbelief, Arin suddenly remembered something the wolf had said and was startled.
“Wait… Fifteen steps in the Hundred Steps Ceremony?”
Her eyes widened.
‘He… took fifteen steps?’
Oh my gosh! How is that even possible?
She had barely managed six steps… No, she had fainted before she could even complete six full steps.
Just before she passed out, Yuri had been leading at the front, and she had been curious about what happened afterward… but to think he had taken fifteen steps.
Poppy, who had also heard that Yuri had taken fifteen steps, was equally shocked, blinking in disbelief.
But the real surprise for them was yet to come.