[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 168

Something is approaching.

As the footsteps grow louder, their figures start to become visible to the naked eye.

Ping!

The three companions draw their swords simultaneously.

—Swipe, swipe.

“Phew— they look so grotesque.”

Even in this situation, you can hear stifled laughter from the trio. Despite it being their first battle with a monster, they don’t seem too tense.

“Han Ga-eul, smoking during battle…”

Thud!

Pushing through the skinny winter branches, a muscular monster with a grotesque figure appears.

He’s about 180cm tall. Not as big as the monster we saw on the first day, but the problem is his arms, which are as thick as a human head.

“Roided-up freaks. How much steroids did they pump into these guys?”

His skin isn’t green or blue. It’s pale like ice.

Anyone can see it’s clearly a non-human monster.

“Ice Orc. I saw it in the monster encyclopedia.”

The monster’s name comes out of Kim Chan-yong’s mouth.

“Who named this? They really half-assed it.”

“Probably the hunter who discovered it first?”

“Haha.”

“Focus.”

Since only one showed up, we can probably gauge its strength through the battle.

The trio lowers their stance, ready to leap forward at any moment.

“Ice Orcs have thicker and tougher skin than regular Orcs. So everyone, be careful.”

At Kim Chan-yong’s words, everyone nods and sharpens their focus.

“It’s coming.”

The Ice Orc, who had been looking around, locks eyes with us.

—Groooar!!

Just from its roar, it seems pretty low on intelligence.

Click.

—Bang!

A deafening roar echoes, and a pile of snow from the trees falls to the ground.

Splat!

Thick, blue blood oozes from the monster’s skin.

I thought monsters wouldn’t be affected, but it seems firepower works just fine.

Guess it’s still a low-level monster.

—Groooar!

Startled by the sudden gunshot, the trio quickly refocuses on the front.

“Lightning Ball.”

Zap zap zap!

———

[Lightning Ball Lv.1]

Summons a thunder orb.

Skill level increases with each purchase.

[Price: 60 million won]

———

The electric orb flies forward and gets sucked right into the roaring Orc’s mouth.

—Gurgle!

The Ice Orc drops the axe it was holding and flails.

“He dropped his weapon. Trio, move out!”

Whoosh!

Before the words even finish, the trio dashes forward like lightning.

In an instant, they reach the Orc and start slashing.

Even though they practiced coordination in the cave, their movements don’t overlap.

With every swing of the sword, red blood splatters onto the pure white snow.

—Groooar!

The Orc, screaming from the sword strikes, ignores its wounds, picks up the axe, and swings it at the trio.

Crash!

The piled-up snow scatters as the ground is deeply gouged.

If we took even one hit from that, we’d be split in half and dead.

Thankfully, the wide swing gives Shin Yong a chance to get behind the Orc.

Slash!

Shin Yong’s blade grazes the back of the Orc’s neck, and it finally collapses.

Ding!

[Lv.8 ▶ Lv.9]

The level on the status window goes up, meaning we definitely took it down.

“Hey, kids, gather up.”

The three companions, still on high alert, finally gather around.

Since it’s their first life-or-death battle, everyone is breathing heavily.

“Good job, everyone. Anyone hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

“Me too.”

“Same.”

Kim Chan-yong, who answered last, had a fresh scratch on his face.

Judging by the wound, it wasn’t from an axe but likely from a rock that flew when the orc slammed the ground.

When I reached out to touch his face, he flinched.

“Heal.”

He forced out the word unnecessarily, all for the sake of party communication.

If we don’t get into the habit, serious injuries could happen during the already hectic battles.

“All better now.”

“Thanks, Autumn.”

Kim Chan-yong touched his face and grinned.

Despite his sharp eyes, he looks good when he smiles.

“Considering the orcs I’ve only heard about, they’re easier than I thought.”

Orcs are nicknamed “newbie crushers.”

They wield sharp weapons with their brute strength.

“Is this an extermination mission? How many are usually in an E-rank dungeon?”

“It varies by dungeon, but usually no more than twenty.”

At first glance, it might seem small, but in this world, that’s a lot.

This isn’t a game where you can sweep through hundreds or thousands at once; each battle requires full focus.

As the three of us were discussing after the fight, Bong Sang-hoon, who had been watching from the side, approached.

“Sorry, but this doesn’t seem like an E-rank. It’s more like D or C.”

“You guys prepared this. What are you talking about?”

“Sorry. I’ve got nothing to say.”

“Don’t just apologize, explain.”

I thought he was messing around, but he bowed his head.

“An E-rank dungeon would never have this kind of environment.”

“Didn’t you review the difficulty beforehand?”

“Of course. We consulted renowned linguists, and the monsters were confirmed to be orcs. The gate’s color was also measured.”

“So?”

The three of us were steaming.

What Bong Sang-hoon was saying didn’t match what was in front of us.

“I was going to intervene earlier, but you guys were doing so well, I just watched. And ice orcs have never appeared in an E-rank dungeon before.”

“Then why is this happening?”

Bong Sang-hoon stopped explaining.

“No idea?”

He nodded and bowed again.

His expression showed regret, but no immediate threat.

Whether it’s an E-rank or C-rank dungeon, it’s all the same to the five who came to protect us.

“Ice orcs are classified as D-rank. But this environment feels like C-rank or higher. This is clearly abnormal.”

After finishing, Bong Sang-hoon stared straight at me.

He was asking if we should continue or leave it to him.

“Are you saying this situation is beyond the usual dungeon variables?”

“Yes. As tedious as it sounds, dungeons are always full of variables. But even then, they’re reported and logged in the database. This level of mismatch between monsters and environment is a first.”

—Click, click.

“Whew—”

Just now…

After catching Marie, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

“Guys, what do you wanna do?”

“It’s not a complicated maze-type dungeon, it’s just an open-field extermination, right?”

At Shin Yong’s words, the remaining two nodded.

Though it looks more like a mountainside than an open field, the sparse trees don’t block the view much.

“The monsters are only D-grade, so we can probably hunt them one by one, right?”

Successfully hunting one seems to have boosted their confidence.

*Thud!*

When I opened the space and pulled out some items, everyone’s eyes turned to the ground.

“Hey, you three guys, set this up. Just pump some air into it.”

“A tent? You really carry all sorts of stuff around.”

“Already taking a break?”

“You guys didn’t even distribute your strength properly and just moved recklessly. Just because it’s this weather doesn’t mean you’re not sweating. Hurry up and set it up before you freeze.”

I never thought the tent I bought from the old hardware store owner would come in handy here.

“It’s huge!”

“It’s a 12-person camping tent. It’s an air tent, so you just need to pump air into it.”

Once it’s set up, you can just store it in the space and take it out whenever.

“I know how to do it.”

Surprisingly, Shin Yong stepped up first.

“You like camping?”

“I do.”

It’s a hobby that doesn’t seem to match Shin Yong’s stoic demeanor.

But it doesn’t seem like he’s lying, as he starts clearing sharp branches and rocks to prepare the ground before setting up the tent.

*Creak, creak*

While he’s doing that, I pull out another item from the space, and everyone’s eyes are drawn again.

“Autumn, what’s that?”

“An industrial generator.”

“……I have no words.”

What clatters out of the space is an industrial generator that Man-wook managed to get.

And it’s a 20-million-won soundproof, high-capacity generator at that.

*Click*

Turning the key next to it, it starts vibrating briefly and enters preheat mode.

Next, the most important things are the frequency and voltage.

Set the frequency to 60Hz and the voltage to 220v, and it’s perfect.

*Drip, drip*

While I’m filling the generator with oil, following the manual, the tent team is causing a ruckus.

“It’s gonna collapse, hold it!”

“I’m the leader. Follow my lead.”

“Yong-ah, grab that part.”

It feels like we’re on a camping trip with friends.

The Silver Wings team is looking at us like they can’t believe what they’re seeing.

“Autumn, the tent’s all set.”

“Good job. Now take the cable and connect it to the heater.”

When I show the cable from the generator, Noa comes over and takes it.

“Yong-ah, go and chop some wood.”

As soon as I finish speaking, the two turn and start glaring at each other.

“What? I’m the real Yong.”

“I’m Chan-yong, you know?”

They’re bickering over something trivial.

“Baekseol, go play before you come in to warm up.”

“Yay!”

She jumps into the snow and disappears in an instant.

*Crunch, crunch*

“Whew—”

We came to hunt monsters, but suddenly it feels like we’re camping.

Everyone seems excited.

Except for the Silver Wings team, that is.

As time passes, everyone finishes their tasks and gathers around.

“Autumn, the tent’s warm inside.”

“Nice. Now I’ll cook something delicious. Let’s fill our stomachs and go chop off some orc heads.”

“Ah, you’re the best, our supporter.”

“Hmm.”

“Haha.”

As the three companions rushed into the tent, they felt a gaze from behind.

“What are you staring at? You guys come in too.”

“…Are you out of your mind? I tried not to interfere with the students as much as possible, but this is going too far.”

“What’s going too far?”

“Setting up a campsite inside the dungeon. If we weren’t here, you’d become monster food without even a mouse or bird noticing.”

“Nah, right, Baekseol?”

Hearing her name called, Baekseol poked her face out from the snow pile.

“Yes!”

“Come here. Let’s go inside and eat something tasty.”

“Okay!”

Even as she carried Baekseol into the tent, she could still feel the gaze burning the back of her head.

“Are you just going to stay outside?”

“…..”

“Stubborn. Come in if you change your mind later.”

***

“….Bong Captain.”

“What.”

“Are you done with the tough act?”

A sigh naturally escaped from Bong Sang-hoon’s mouth.

“Sigh…. What’s the point? They don’t even pretend to listen.”

“But, can’t we go in too?”

At his subordinate’s absurd question, Bong Sang-hoon’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

“Stop talking nonsense. The dungeon situation is messed up right now. We’re splitting into pairs. Gather as much information as possible.”

“What about the remaining one?”

“Someone has to guard this place. Is that even a question?”

『Giggle, giggle』

The subordinate’s dazed gaze was fixed on the tent.

“Bong Captain, just a little….”

“Move it.”

Even a B-rank hunter is still human enough to feel the cold.

Bong Sang-hoon also found it hard to take a step.

Yet, what was even stranger than this situation was that Han Ga-eul, a mere student, was ruthlessly using what appeared to be a spatial storage.

Only now did Bong Sang-hoon feel like he somewhat understood what Yu Bit-na had said.

***

─Click, click.

“Phew— what the.”

When he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette, there was no sign of anyone.

Unless they got upset and went home, the Silver Wings guild members should have been here.

“Baekseol, are there people nearby?”

“Over there!”

“Somewhere other than the tent.”

Baekseol tilted her head and twitched her ears repeatedly.

“None!”

Something must have happened.