Chapter 3

The screams were drowned by the rain, the odor of death hidden by the shower, this was the perfect hunting ground for the wendigo. I spun around confused by the muffled sounds of footsteps that seemed to circle me, the rain; no help to my vision either.

FOCUS BOY! The wolfs call strangely cleared my head. I managed a deep breath, straining my senses. A splash in a puddle at my left made me drop, the wendigos abnormally long arms stretched out above me. Spinning to face it and instinctively throwing a blow, my arm plunged elbow-deep into its exposed rotten flesh, the organs spraying pus and what I wanted to believe was water all over my arm and the ground by me, waves of nausea- the ones my previous rage had clouded before -threatened to knock me over. Willing it, mana shot off my arm blowing its back out and throwing the rotted entrails all over the wet grass. It collapsed in front of me, its left-over bowels showing off the parts of the camp members it had eaten. Tilting my elbow to have the rain rinse the crap from my arm, I glanced at the camp, frowning at the strange thought- no, it was more like something I just knew -that the people were all dead by now. A growl I noticed too late caused me to spin- and slip -as a jaw barely hanging firm with its rotting muscles widened just in front of my face.

I jolted up clutching my chest, cold sweat coating my body. I sighed- The nightmares just wont stop. Is this some way of that voice from my death reminding me that I failed the people at the camp? I wonder if Yonghoo survived -I wiped my brow and glanced around meeting the wolfs- I meant Styrkur as he called himself -eyes.

"What?" I asked turning away from him

"I was wondering how long you were going to sleep in." He replied in a low voice

"I'll be ready in a sec." I stated taking off my loose sleeping wear. Pausing before putting on my shirt, I inspected my body; a long scar ran across the side of my abs, a "trophy" from the wendigo assault, another unsightly one on my chest. It looked like a star from a kid's coloring book. I had a hunch about the cause but I had never gotten the chance to confirm it.

Turning to Styrkur, I swallowed- a part of me didnt want to know the answer but I had to find out -and asked. "Did I die during the wendigo battle?"

"Of course, you did. Did you think that in your first time using mana, you would defeat a horde of one of the best man-hunters in the middle of heavy rain? I'm surprised you were able to take some of them head-on in the first place and kill them." Styrkur stated lowering his head as he rested. The entire death thing was a blur but now that Stykur had spelt it out to me I could remember it clearly. I eyed my arm, the scar from its bite had faded mostly, there was no need to go out of my way to hide it. Holding my head as a headache set in, I sighed and put on my t-shirt and my rag-like cloak around it. It was the same thing that happened with the chimera. I remembered that it killed me but it was vague. How it happened and what happened a few moments before were unknown to me.

Maybe its some sort of defense mechanism so I won't go insane

"I've changed a lot in three months. I'm not as weak as I was then." I stated, tying up my lengthy brown hair.

"Well you look more like a homeless person compared to before and you've been having that nightmare for three months, boy." He said his eyes still shut and his voice nothing more than a low rumble. I carried my bags frowning at his comment.

"Lets get going." I stated climbing on Stykur's back

"I'm letting you ride upon me because you've proved you're not as pitiful as before." He stated knocking down the wall to expose the bodies of several redcaps.

"Scottish goblins." I muttered staring at their carcasses as vultures fed on them. Styrkur glanced at me sighing. "You humans go all the way to classify even beasts by your different myths?"

"Yes, thats exactly how it works. The beasts have different depictions depending on who's telling the story." I answered bluntly, covering my nose from the stink that had become familiar; that of the dead. Stykur's face scrunched up, I couldn't tell if he was disgusted at the smell of carcasses or my statement.

"Hold on." Ending his statement, he dashed forward, leaping over and through the ruins of Seouls outskirts. We planned to get to a popular market in Banghwa-dong where I could restock my supplies. Nearing the airport, I noticed several watchmen observing any travelers approaching. Stykur stopped and retracted into my shadow- Because yeah, he could do that.

Getting past the guards will be difficult if I want to hide the fact that I'm a tamer. But if I use that skill you taught me I could do it easily.

IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELEPORT TO A PLACE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TO AND EVEN MORE DANGEROUS IF THE PLACE IS NOT THE SAME AS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW IT.

You had never been to my cell but you were able to teleport there

THAT WAS A SUMMON HUMAN AND IF YOU WISH TO RISK IT GO AHEAD. JUST DO IT EXACTLY AS I TAUGHT YOU. I nodded and ducked into an alleyway, closing my eyes and focusing, I sunk into the shadows and slowly re-emerged in an alleyway in the market. Glancing around I noticed a person sitting by the side covered in rags with a bowl in front of them, I squatted in front of them and dropped a can of corn inside his bowl.

"I'm just a regular hunter looking for work, so would you be so kind as to point me to the food market and a place where I could do some side jobs?" I asked with a small smile. The man studied me for a moment, pointing at a district a distance from the alley.

"You'll find food and other things you might need there he whispered." With a smile, I placed a can of fish in his bowl and walked out of the alley.

YOU SENSED IT DIDINT YOU?

Yeah, he's a hunter.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT CONCLUSION?

I didnt sense the mana of any mythical beast.

THE BEAST COULD EASILY HIDE ITS PRESENCE JUST LIKE I AM DOING

But it wouldn't be able to hide from you. I spared a glance at him to find him watching me, smiling back, I covered my face and turned away, blending in the market.

Patting my filled bag satisfied, I strolled around, a blade catching my eye a moment. Rushing to the store, I took a closer look at the blade; it was a large silver two-handed greatsword with patches of black on different spots along the blade. It had a curved tip that was still sharp from how it looked.

I turned to the yawning store owner. "Excuse me, sir, how much is that blade?"

He glanced at the blade then back at me. "The blades poisoned and it eats away at the wielder's life force. Trust me kid you dont want it."

"Poison? Its poisoned?" I raised a brow.

"Yeah, it's made from lead and the venomous part of a mythical beast so it infects whoevers cut by it with deadly poison but it takes a portion of the user's life force in exchange." He explained tiredly.

"Thats an unfair exchange." I muttered.

"Well life ain't fair kid, deal with it." He replied with a frown, "Besides, the blade was made for a sole purpose." He continued.

Raising a brow, I asked "Purpose?"

He glanced around nervously then leaned forward whispering. "It's for slaying a high-ranked mythical beast."

My eyes widened and I asked. "Like a Chimera?" The store owner recoiled surprised, frowning a moment after.

"Yes."

I smiled at his words ok I lied, my mouth spread out in a twisted grin. The satisfaction of knowing that I could kill that beast when I caught up to him gave me joy. Noticing the disturbed expression of the owner, I plastered a bright smile.

"I'll take it."

"A months worth of medical supplies and nothing less." He stated sternly. I frowned at his price and pondered- If I traded my medical supplies, I would have nothing to use and my food supply is just enough for a month so I can't trade that off either, what do I do?

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to him and handed him my medical bag "Wrap the blade up if you would." He checked the bag and sighed, using a rod, he placed the great sword in a pile of what looked like bandages. Picking the edge of the bandages and using the rod to lift the sword when he needed to, he skillfully wrapped it and pushed it across the desk to me.

"That's a sealing cloth I covered it with, as long as the cloths still wrapped around it, you wont get affected but you won't be able to cut anything with it either." He described pushing a sheath with a strap towards me. Muttering a thank you, I hung my sheathed great sword across my back and set off.

HUMAN, YOU NEVER CEASE TO BAFFLE ME. YOU TRADED A MONTHS WORTH OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES, THAT WOULD HAVE LASTED YOU LONGER, FOR A CURSED BLADE TO ACHIEVE A FAR-FETCHED DREAM.

It's still a dream I will achieve or die trying after all gaining all this strength was mainly for taking out that bastard. Besides, I have you at my side, dont I?

WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT, NOW DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT HUMAN WHO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING YOU. I paused and spun around, my hand on my swords handle.

The man rose his hands with a chuckle. I glanced around and then focused on the man before me; his brown hair was short and trimmed, his stubble as well. What made me cautious was the mana level I could sense from him, he was strong.

"What do you want?" I asked still glancing around for any other observer.

"Don't worry, I'm not an enemy. A friend of mine mentioned your sketchy entrance into the district so I volunteered to find out what you were up to." He explained.

I scowled "And?"

"And I commend your commitment, I mean trading a months worth of medical supplies for a cursed blade is nothing to scoff at." He responded with a snicker.

I eased my posture, my hand hovering above the blades handle, and stated. "So? I don't believe you went through all this trouble to make humor based on my pain or are you that kind of guy?"

He waved it off with a smile. "I'm not that kind of guy, I just wanted to let you in on a way you could get more supplies than what you lost, well if you perform well."

I believe my doubt was plastered on my face from his chuckle. "It's not one of those shady deals, I can assure you. I just need to get people who would be fully invested in the job." The man who had still not revealed his name stated.

",By holding their needs as the bargain." I muttered getting a small smile from him. Scratching at my hair, I asked Stykur- What do you think?

FIND OUT WHAT ITS ABOUT FIRST, THEN GO FOR IT.

"Alright, so what exactly am I doing?"

"It's a bodyguard mission. Walk with me I'll fill you in along the way." He stated gesturing to the path behind him.

"Is this the part where you remember to tell me your name." I uttered expressionlessly?

He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "The name's Park."

The Park I met in the alleyway was a completely different park from the one that stood by the board addressing the guard units. I had never been in a place with so many mana emitting humans, scanning the crowd, my eyes landed on the lone female. She had her long black hair tied up in a ponytail, her short-sleeved jacket showed off the elaborate tattoo on her left forearm. I studied her face; though half of it was covered by a bandana she had tied around it; her brown eyes complemented her bronze-like skin and her shapely body didn't go unnoticed by me including her legs. Looking up to her eyes, she was looking directly at me with a frown.

IDIOT. Stykur's voice boomed in my skull as I turned away annoyed.

There goes my chance I irritably muttered.

CHANCE AT WHAT HUMAN?

What other chance do you think I'm talking about dude? I haven't had any action in close to a year. Though I couldn't see Stykurs face, I could tell he was disgusted.

OF ALL THE HUMANS I COULD BE PAIRED WITH IT HAD TO BE A DOUCHEBAG LIKE YOU.

She's hot plus she's a foreigner, wait did you just say douchebag?

YES, I DID, IF ONLY YOUR INTELLIGENCE COULD DEVELOP HALF AS FAST AS MY UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN VOCABULARY THEN WE WOULD BE HAVING A MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION. I frowned and spared a glance at her, turning back to the focus on the debriefing.

"Huh? Wait a moment! Why are we going far as passing Inchon-dong?" I asked getting several distasteful stares and whispers. Park sighed and gestured at the marked points on the map. "Try listening this time okay. The bridge at Inchon-dong is the only usable bridge under our control, so its our safest bet."

As the meeting ended, I approached Park with a major question in mind. "Who am I meeting for my pay?"

"Oh, I haven't introduced you to our contractor yet." Park stated walking forward to a blonde-haired man with blue eyes.

Turning to me, Park whispered. "I never actually got your name."

"Chan-yeol." I whispered with a deadpan. Sheepishly grinning, he directed the blonde to me.

"Chan-yeol, this is Michael our contractor, Michael this is Chan-yeol, the latest addition to the team."

With a smile, he shook my hands. "Welcome to the team."

Raising a brow, I turned to Park. " Does he not know how to speak Korean?" Noticing his mistake, Michael gave an apologetic smile "Forgive my mistake."

I waved it off with a smile of mine. "It's no problem, I'm quite familiar with English as well." Glancing between the two of us, Park sighed and called out to the others.

"We're moving out in ten!"