[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 170

─Click, click.”

“Whoo─”

The empty eye sockets of the creature stare at me intently.

“Can you see even without decorative eyeballs?”

Even the small movement of lighting a cigarette makes its head subtly follow.

“·····.”

The creature, which seemed ready to pounce at any moment, stands quietly.

Despite its appearance of being recklessly aggressive, it seems cautious.

“Not coming?”

“·····.”

“Then I’ll go.”

*Tap.*

*Bang!*

My accelerated body shoots forward, reaching the self-proclaimed demon in an instant.

A sense of belated confusion emanates from its hollow eye sockets.

“Poof.”

─Kwaaang!!

Just before the swung axe makes contact, its thigh swells as if about to burst, and it quickly retreats with a flapping motion. As a result, the axe slices through empty air and strikes the ground.

Despite its seemingly clumsy, massive body, it’s surprisingly fast.

“Cockroach, huh?”

“Wha, what the hell! What kind of priest…!!”

“First a mage, then a priest. Anyway, you sure change your words a lot.”

*Splat!*

Its cheek splits, and dark blood spurts out.

Thanks to moving my body after a long time, I feel a surge of energy, but I can’t waste any more time.

The bodies of the three companions lying on the ground tremble intermittently. It seems like the so-called demonic energy is affecting them.

“Baekseol, hold on tight.”

“Yes!”

*Tap.*

As I lightly stomp the ground, a path of wind opens before me.

**〈Gale Force (一陣狂風)〉**

*Bang─!!*

In the blink of an eye, I close the distance, and the creature’s eyes widen as if about to pop out.

Its eyeballs, which it had pulled out earlier, are now back in place as if nothing happened.

“Gasp!”

As I swing the axe, a black light barrier forms around its body, blocking my path.

[Heavy Hit imbues the strike.]

**〈Super Heavy Hit!〉**

─Kwaaaaang!!!

*Thud!*

The sound of something hitting the ground echoes belatedly.

Looking at the axe handle in my hand, the head is gone.

“I only swung it once….”

As much as the dummy head was offered as a sacrifice, the demon’s head is also split in half.

Even so, its eyeballs keep rolling around.

─Click, click.

“Whoo─ Are you really a cockroach?”

Approaching the demon, split from the crown to the chest, it’s still breathing.

Demons are more troublesome than I thought. They look like they only rely on brute strength, but they use magic too.

“Gag. Ugh….”

“Your head’s split in half, and you’re still talking? You’re really something else, you bug.”

*Crunch. Crunch.*

With each step, footprints are etched into the snowy field, accompanied by a satisfying sound.

“If you don’t want to die, tell me what you were doing here.”

“Kuh…. Huh. Upper de…mon…”

“Her barrier… torn apart by sheer strength… what a… monster-like bitch…”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you were doing.”

Black filth drips from the split head of the guy.

But seeing him giggling, it seems the monster isn’t me but a demon.

Thwack!

“Guwaaah!!”

“Did your balls regenerate too? Speak up before I crush all four of your nuts, you bastard.”

“Gwaaah!! Stop!! Please stop!!!”

The guy, already with his head split in half, looks like he’s about to die any second, so I stop, and he gasps for air.

“Huff! Huff!”

“Five, four, three…”

“I was making a Lagrima!”

“What’s that?”

The pain from the nut-crushing must be worse than expected, as he answers in a hurry.

“Lagrima is commonly known as the Devil’s Tear. If a non-demon consumes it, they turn into a Demonkin.”

“So you’re turning humans into demon lackeys?”

“Y-yes…”

I don’t even need to ask what Demonkin are; the meaning is clear from the word itself.

Thinking about the chaos they’re causing behind the scenes, they’re sneaky bastards for their level of power.

“How do you make it?”

“……”

The guy is oddly hesitant.

“Wanna die?”

“I-I’ll talk.”

“Speak up.”

“Hunters have bodies rich with mana. You crush them together with mana-rich monsters, mix in demon blood, and refine it…”

“Damn, disgusting bastards.”

Thud!

As I stomp on his head, I hear a sound like a watermelon bursting.

Black paint spreads across the white snow.

Ding! Ding! Ding!…

[Heal skill already exists]

[Level 50 achieved, promoting]

Ding!

Just from popping one demon’s head, the messages keep ringing.

It’s chaos inside and out.

“Phew─ Status open.”

───

Han Ga-eul

Lv. 9 ▷ 51

◇Class: White Saint (Supporter)

○Strength: F-

○Agility: F-

○Intelligence: F-

○Stamina: F-

○Mana: F-

◈Weakness

◈White Peach Transformation

○Cure

○Blessing

○Purification

───

I wonder what level the demon was; I jumped 42 levels in one go.

Thanks to that, the previously empty status window is now filled with three specialized skills.

Including the mysterious White Peach Transformation, that makes four.

Weakness feels like a passive that boosts supporter-related abilities, but I can’t grasp what White Peach Transformation is.

“What’s a White Saint?”

While I’m checking the status window, the demon’s corpse quiets down.

Even with its head split and burst, it kept twitching, but now it seems to have finally died.

As I toss the demon’s corpse into the subspace, the headless dummy pitifully looks at me.

The first swing was light, the second had some force behind it.

Even then, I didn’t put much strength into it, but the result was the dummy’s head flying off.

“My 75 million won enchanted dummy is a one-time use?!”

“Dummy!”

With six layers of weight enchantment on the training axe, it’s kind of an expected outcome.

“Baekseol, this friend has gone far away.”

“Bye-bye!”

Baekseol stretches her short forelegs toward Ppyongppyong’s head.

Baekseol also liked this friend, so it’s sad.

“Let’s see if we can fix it later.”

“Okay!”

After quickly finishing the cleanup, I check on the three companions—they’re still unconscious and in pain.

I tried healing earlier, but it didn’t work.

Probably because the demonic energy from that demon is still filling their bodies.

“Cure.”

A beam of light shoots from my hand and gets absorbed by the three companions.

No reaction.

“Purify.”

Another beam of light shoots out and envelops the three companions.

At the same time, black smoke flows out of their bodies and dissipates into the air.

“Ugh.”

“You okay?”

Luckily, it worked.

The first one to regain consciousness is Shin Yong.

“Han Ga-eul…”

“Yeah, it’s Ga-eul.”

“Are you… okay?”

“Ugh, who’s worrying about who here?”

This guy, completely exhausted, is worrying about me.

“Wait a sec.”

I pull out the tent the three companions had assembled earlier from the storage space.

“Lean on me.”

I help Shin Yong, who looks like he can’t even stand, and he groans as I support him.

When we enter the tent, it’s still warm inside.

“Stay still and lie down until we finish cleaning up.”

“I’m ashamed. This is below standard.”

“Hey, stop with the cringe lines, it’s ruining my appetite.”

“Ugh.”

After laying all three companions in the tent and turning on the heater, it quickly warms up.

“When Chanyong and Noa wake up, tell them to stay still and lie down.”

“Got it.”

The three companions’ faces look more relaxed now. It seems like the big fire has been put out.

When I step outside the tent, a freezing chill hits me again.

“Baekseol, are there any people nearby?”

“Over there.”

Baekseol figures it out immediately, so they must be close.

I follow Baekseol’s lead and find a circle drawn with dark blood.

“Looks like the trashy brats are all here.”

A bunch of so-called elite B-rank hunters and their lackeys are huddled together, unconscious on the circle.

Luckily, no one seems dead.

Just as the demon said, it seems they were trying to mix hunters and monsters for some weird plan. Alongside the Silver Wings guild members, there’s also what looks like an orc boss lying there.

“Ugh.”

***

After smoking a cigarette, I head back into the tent, and the guys’ eyes are all on me.

They’ve all woken up and are blinking their eyes.

“I told you to rest, why are you glaring at me like you’re so great? I’ll pluck your eyes out.”

“Here!”

Everyone has a piece of jerky in their mouths.

The funniest part is Shin Yong, chewing the jerky with a face like he’s eating cow feed.

“It’s tasteless… This is below standard. I want the food our supporter makes.”

Seems like the Silver Wings guild members shared their rations.

“This is jerky made from the best synthetic meat at the Hunter Store. It’s highly nutritious and efficient, but the taste is lacking.”

“Lacking is an understatement…”

Even in a dungeon, they’re still complaining about food. Typical.

Seeing even Noa, who usually has no complaints, acting like that, it seems like there’s really no taste at all.

“It’s light and easy to store, so it’s the staple food for hunters entering the dungeon. You can’t carry heavy food into the dungeon, right?”

Even Bong Sang-hoon, who’s saying this, doesn’t look too happy.

He’s chewing on jerky with a face that looks like he’s about to die.

“I’ll cook for you.”

“Wow!”

“Hooray!”

“Impressive.”

As soon as the words were out, the three companions spat out the jerky they were chewing.

In contrast, the members of the Silver Wings guild looked bewildered.

In the midst of this, Bong Sang-hoon quietly raised his hand.

“Why?”

“What happened outside?”

“I knocked out what looked like an orc’s head. Once we eat and cut off its neck, the gate will open. I waited until you guys woke up because I didn’t know how quickly it would close.”

Even after answering, Bong Sang-hoon’s face was full of doubt.

“Can you give us a detailed explanation? Pathetic as it is, we went to gather information but got subdued without being able to respond.”

“Some demon or something tried to turn you guys into dough, so I killed it. That’s it.”

“W-what? A demon!?”

Bong Sang-hoon’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“I’ll explain in detail while we eat. Yong, wash some rice. Noa, set the table.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Got it.”

At my words, Shin Yong and Kim Chan-yong stood up abruptly and glared at each other.

“I’m Yong.”

“I’m Yong too.”

They always bicker, but they seem to have good chemistry.

“Don’t fight, wash it together. It’s cold, so I’ll make beef soup.”

The kids are sick, so I need to muster some strength.

As I waved my hand, the Status Window popped up.

Ding! Ding! Ding!····

───

[Cooking Lv.8]

○Preparing Ingredients

○Seasoning

○Handling Fire

○Handling Kitchen Knife

○Dry Heat Cooking

○Moist Heat Cooking

○Baking

○Brewing

○Poison Cooking

○Medicinal Cooking

○Full Course

○The Last Supper

Skill level increases with overlapping purchases

[Price: 256 million won]

───

[Remaining Amount: 2.54853 billion won]

***

“The food’s ready. Bring the bowls before it gets cold.”

“Leave it to me.”

Shin Yong carefully carried the soup bowl to the table.

“Eat up. Our supporter made this.”

Shin Yong proudly delivered the food to the Silver Wings guild members.

It’s cute how they act like kids.

“Baekseol, let’s eat too.”

“Excited!”

I have a lot to settle with that purple pot, but filling our stomachs comes first.