Chapter 8: S-rank Adventurer Bak
Steps echoed throughout the area as a large man climbed the stairs with a little girl in his hands.
Bloodstains riddled the stairs as he climbed up and sometimes rotting corpses blocked his way.
((Bak bury or burn the corpses we need to prevent any possible spread of disease))
A far off memory and a very familiar voice echoed in Bak's mind.
((Why do we have to do that? Well when corpse starts to rot they become a breeding den for sickness and diseases and any human near the rotting corpse can be infected by disease))
This memory was when he was still a young man in a peaceful village, the familiar voice belonged to the village pharmacist and the one who raised him.
**Step** **Step** **Step** **Step**
Bak continued walking up the stairs while ignoring and staying away from the rotting corpses. At the same time being wary and cautious if one of the corpses were to move.
**Step** **Step** **Step** **Step**
As Bak reaches the top of the staircase he slowed down in order to take a peek outside.
There were corpses, broken glasses and strange carriage like objects spread around. Tall buildings that can rival the most royalist of castles were lined neatly beside the paved road.
And of course....
"Ghouls..."
Ghouls are a specific group of monsters belonging to the Undead category, they are known because they are living corpses of dead humans with the sole purpose of eating human flesh. Most ghouls are dead humans while others are henchmen of a much more powerful undeads like a Lich and vampires. And currently the road was occupied by numbers of those said Ghouls.
"Hah I still remember Alsyel referring to them simply as Undeads"
Bak laughed as he was reminded of the times their party leader nearly got them killed because he refused to learn the specific undead species.
((Da Fuk Alsyel!? You should've said it was a freaking Vampire!!))
A bastards voice echoed as he screamed.
((I did say It was an Undead!))
((Yeah? well F*ck you!!))
((The hell's your problem?))
((You! You Alsyel! You're the Goddamn Problem!!))
This was the conversation that transpired as they ran away from a greater vampire.
"Hah good ol times"
His great frame shook as he let out a small chuckle.
Maybe it was because of his chuckle the little girl in his hands let out a small voice.
"Papa..."
The little girls voice contained the emotions of longing and sadness but the world was unforgiving and would no longer let this little girl see her father ever again.
"Her father is probably one of the corpses down there... I should at least spare her the pain from seeing her father's corpse"
Bak looked back down below to where the boarding area was and after a few seconds he continued to climb up the stairs.
"Graa?"
Right after he reached the surface a Ghoul welcomed him with wide open jaw.
Out of reflexes he attempted to punch the Ghoul but he stopped as he needed his hands to carry the little girl. He hastily attempted a front kick but narrowly missed.
"Grahh!!"
Now Out of options Bak used the momentum from his kick to move his body away from the attacking ghoul.
"Grah!?"
The ghoul looked surprised and went straight down the stairs with the help of gravity.
**Crack** **Splat** **Psht** **Crack**
The sound of bones cracking and flesh tearing and splatting accompanied by groans echoed down the stairs.
"Phew... That was close"
Bak who managed to dodge at the last second was staring down the stairs, fresh blood stained the stairs all the way down to the bottom.
"There's no way that ghoul survived that"
Thankfully there were no ghouls in the near vicinity that noticed the scream of the fallen ghoul.
"Its hard to fight since my hands are busy"
Bak looked at the little girl sleeping on his arms, she was still pale but unlike before her breathing is much more relaxed and she has stopped shaking from the cold.
"She needs nutrients fast"
Bak began walking stealthily avoiding the attentions of the Ghouls as he moved.
"Ghraaa!"
But unfortunately due to his tall and huge build he was like a stick in a mud. Even if he tried hiding he still gets spotted by the ghouls.
"Damn it!"
[Herculean Strength: Activated]
Without a choice Bak began kicking the ghouls that tried to attack him.
**Psht** **Crack**
He kicked one straight on the stomach causing it to fly a few meters off away and broke its head.
"GHRAAA!!!"
One ghoul tried to Jump at him and he reacted with a high kick hitting it straight on the neck.
**Snap**
A loud snap came from the neck and the Ghoul crashed to the ground unable to move its entire body aside from the head.
"Gra—"
**Psht** **Splat**
Bak quickly crushed its head and grey matter and blood colored the pavement.
"Graaa!"
And finally the last ghoul belatedly attacked Bak with its claws.
Bak dodged the attack and knee-kicked the stomach of the ghoul.
**Snap**
Its spine snapped and the ghoul dropped to the ground unable to move its lower body.
"Graah!"
It tried to crawl but before it could even move Bak kicked its head like a soccer ball disconnecting it from the whole body with a loud **snap**.
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"Huh his doing pretty good"
"Who is?"
"The soul I'm assigned to"
"Oh that guy named Bak?"
"Yeah"
"Well aren't you lucky you got a soul that doesn't willingly charge to his death!"
"He's found a kid and wants to make a soup so that she could be nourished back to health"
"Hah! and his responsible at that! By the way where is he?"
"Well his in a city in a place called 'South Korea'??"
"Wow his pretty far off!"
"What do you mean?"
"Well we're in a place called 'Japan' and based on the geography of this world 'South Korea' should be across the sea to the west"
"Huh that is pretty far I wonder where the others are"
"Who cares just help me out"
"Nope why would I a lady do that?"
"Well at least look for Alsyel's soul if you aren't gonna help me carry his body"
"Yeah, yeah whatever... Let me just send a message to my assigned soul"
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"Huh?"
[Message: Find a place called 'Supermarket' you should be able to find Ingredients there]
A transparent window appeared in front of Bak although this was the first time he saw it he knew that it was a message from his Grim Reaper.
"A supermarket? Where would I find that?... Oh"
Coincidentally Bak was already standing in front of it
Although the place doesn't look like a market Bak could still see some vegetables and other perishables within and of course Ghouls wandering around.
Without hesitation Bak entered the marketplace.
Ghouls noticed him and began walking,running and jumping towards him.
"I've seem them run, walk, crawl and even use weapons like swords and bows but I've never seen a Ghoul jump like a Frog before"
[Herculean Strength: Activated]
Bak started kicking his way through the ghouls, one ghoul got disconnected from its body the other lost half its face, the other had their neck snap while others got their face smashed and head smashed.
[Message: oohh!! you're doing good 👍]
After wiping out the ghouls in the area a sudden message pop-up appeared in front of him, it was from his grim reaper spectating him somewhere.
"So you're watching huh?"
[Message: Yup!]
Another came with a reply.
"Well this is convenient, you can help me through this right?"
Bak stared at the message window waiting for another reply.
[Message: well not necessarily]
Unfortunately the reply that came was the opposite of what he expected, but he merely shrugged and didn't give up.
"Oh is that so? Well I guess I should go and die then"
Bak smiled like a mischievous child at the message window, he knows for a fact that his grim Reaper can't allow him to die in this world.
[Message: F**k... fine]
Feeling as if he acquired an achievement Bak was filled with the feeling of accomplishment.
Without skipping a beat he quickly asked a question.
"Well then how do I make soup?"
[Message: huh?]
"What do you mean 'huh'? Tell me how to make one or I'll jump from a building right now"
[Message: alright... Just give me a minute.]
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"Hey how do you make soup?"
"What?"
"How to make soup?"
"What the? Do I look like a cook book to you!?"
"Just shut up and tell me"
"**Sigh** what kind of soup"
"Hmm probably one that uses old and rotten vegetables as ingredients"
"What the? Are you sure you want a soup not a poison?"
"Soup!"
"Fine... Here take a look at this one it uses old vegetables as ingredients"
"Ohh this should do"
[Type Message:———]
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While the grim reaper was looking for a recipe Bak has already started scavenging for ingredients he scanned each store and kicked any ghouls he finds.
"Hmm most of the meats are already rotten while the vegetables are old and nearly rotten"
[Message: here a recipe for a soup that uses old vegetables as ingredients....]
Bak stared at the message window and reads the whole message, he kept nodding his head as he memorized the essentials and process. The little girl in his arms was still sleeping soundly, her paleness still present.
The area was filled with silence for a couple of minutes as Bak kept reading the message.
"That's good and all but I don't have water, any kind of cooking utensils, and lastly fire, how do you expect me to make a soup?"
Bak complained and the message window visibly shook in front of him as if mad and suddenly disappeared. Silence once again filled the area.
[Message: do you see a small cylinder like metal that seems to poke from the wall in any store? If so there should be some kind of switch on it or right beside it works like a lever and allows the water to flow out from the cylinder metal, that thing is referred to as 'faucet' next is....]
The sender was visibly frustrated as the message window was shaking and dyed red and at the same time radiating a pissed off vibe.
After a couple of minutes Bak found a perfect place to cook
He slowly lays the little girl down at a makeshift bed that he made and quickly gathered ingredients from the surrounding store.
Fortunately Bak has already exterminated the ghouls in the area so the sleeping girl was safe from any immediate threat.
"graa..."
Well that's only the case for the ground floor.
What about the other floors?
The market place isn't just limited to the ground floor, it has a second floor and the store that Bak left the little girl was right beside the stairs to the second floor.
"Graa.."
**Step**
A step echoed from the said stairs.
**Step**
And a shadow was casted on the wall.
**Step**
"Graaa..."
And a deep groan from a living dead echoed throughout the stairs.
**Step** another step echoed.
**Slip**
Followed by a familiar **slip** sound.
**Crack** **Splat** **Psht** **Crack**
And the ghoul fell down the stairs and crushed its own head in the process.
Nobody knew about what just happened, not Bak, not the little girl, and not even the now dead ghoul itself knew what just happened.
"I need onion... It's this one right?"
Bak picked up an onion from an abandoned store. Seeing as he didn't have any kind of experience in cooking he was having a hard time identifying the ingredients.
"Is this... ginger?"
He picked up another one this time.
[Message: That's a Garlic]
Meanwhile his Grim Reaper was helping him with his gathering through the message screen. The message screen was still shaking in frustration as did the sender.
"Then how about this one?"
Bak picked up another one and showed it to the screen.
[Message: that's Ginger]
"Hmm I see so this is ginger"
This kind of routine continued as Bak kept gathering the ingredients. Every time Bak makes a mistake his grim Reaper would always correct him through messages.
After a couple of minutes Bak returned holding the ingredients in his hands.
He started making soup as soon as he returned.
"Alright wash the ingredients..."
Bak turns the water on and the sound of water running and clashing into the soft vegetables reverberated around the place.
[Message: make sure to look out for worms]
The grim Reaper didn't forget to point out little things as Bak continued.
[Message: Oh and remove the parts that are obviously no good]
"Yeah, yeah I at least know that much"
Without much of an issue the cooking went well and soon the aroma of a well prepared soup drifted all throughout the market.
"Huh I'm pretty good at this"
Bak looked proud as he looked down at the soup infront of him.
Despite it being made from old and nearly rotten ingredients the result was much more satisfying than anything.
[Message: Hah! You wish!]
If it wasn't for his Grim Reaper ruining the mood Bak would have stayed there only staring at the soup.
"Ah I need to start feeding the little girl"
Bak took a small bowl of soup and sat right next to the girl, he made sure to position her upright to prevent her from choking.
He took a spoonful of soup and cooled it down before slowly letting it enter the girls mouth.
This was the first time that Bak ever done this so he was nervous if he was doing it right.
"Am I doing it right?"
As He anxiously waited for the girl to swallow the soup.
[Message: Don't worry you're doing it right]
The Grim Reaper assured him through the message.
**Gulp**
Just then the sleeping girl automatically swallowed down the soup in her mouth and seeing this Bak was relieved.
[Message: slowly feed her until her paleness disappears]
Now assured that the girl can swallow Bak was much more optimistic this time.
The process was slow but Bak could see that the girl was slowly regaining her color.
It was a very surreal sight to see even the Grim reaper would agree.
Bak's current body was big and bulky in terms of both muscles and height compared to an average person.
And right now the scene was similar to how a gentle giant is trying to feed a small human.