Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 74

74. The Top Warrior (4)

“Kuaaaa!”

Hirei suddenly screamed, his body twisting grotesquely.

‘What is it?’

[Something feels off.]

Crack!

His fractured limbs bent at unnatural angles, moving as if possessed.

“That bastard! Is he really trying to become a monster!”

Grantel clicked his tongue.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening to him?”

“……Have you ever heard of ‘Bongchae’?”

“Bongchae…….”

Bongchae (封體) [a technique used by demi-humans to suppress their primal instincts]. He’d heard the word before.

“Isn’t that a technique demi-humans use to suppress their instincts?”

Half-human, yet burdened with the instincts of a beast.

It was an act of sealing one’s own body to control those bestial urges. By limiting their abilities as a beast, they clung to the thread of reason…….

“That’s right. But right now, Hirei is… releasing his Bongchae.”

He knew Bongchae could be released – a process of drawing out hidden instincts, transforming into a monster.

[They say it’s similar to humans using their Jinki, right?]

Jinki [a fundamental power source for humans, drawn from within]. It was a similar principle to drawing out dormant power within cells and using it explosively.

However, unlike Jinki, which came at the cost of one’s life…….

‘Yeah. Instead of life, it costs them their reason.’

The price was their ego. They would no longer live as a demi-human, but as a beast driven solely by instinct.

“If he releases his Bongchae, he won’t be safe either.”

“It must mean he wants to punish us so much that he’s abandoning his dignity. What’s he so upset about…”

In other words, he was giving up on life, surrendering to instinct, without even knowing what he had done.

“It might be dangerous; we should move away first.”

Grantel began to release the trees blocking their retreat.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

A roar that sent shivers down his spine.

[That bastard seems to have already changed?]

Where Hirei had been lying…

‘Huh… Is that what the Tiger Tribe looks like in their true form?’

A monster with swollen muscles all over its body glared at them.

The muscles were even bigger than when he had fired the Gipa [a technique that focuses and releases internal energy] earlier. Beyond the limbs, even the muscles of the torso were hypertrophied.

“Kuaaaa!”

It was like a giant tiger standing on two feet. No trace of human form remained.

Hirei kicked off the ground, firing Gipa. The difference now was that even when he fired Gipa, his muscles wouldn’t shrink.

‘Is that the original Tiger Tribe…?’

A feeling that the excessively formed muscles were harmonizing. That was the appearance of the Tiger Tribe after releasing Bongchae.

Paaaaak!

The leaping monster struck Shark’s lower jaw, as if to avenge his earlier suffering.

Paang! Puh-uh!

He kept pounding away at him, each fist delivering a stronger Gipa than before.

‘…It’s brutal.’

[I agree. It felt like he was borrowing power before, but now it seems like his true self.]

‘Is there no limit to that martial art?’

The Tiger Tribe, having lost their reason and only possessing potential, was truly worthy of being called a monster.

However, even so, it wasn’t easy to penetrate Shark’s thick hide. Shark’s face rippled slightly, but his expression didn’t betray any major damage.

“Kuaaaa!”

Hirei, growing increasingly frenzied, roared again.

Paaaaang!

He began to move by detonating Gipa in his legs mid-air.

Hirei harassed Shark, darting here and there as if performing acrobatics.

“You little thing!”

Of course, Hirei was huge compared to a human, but from Shark’s perspective, who was absurdly large, he was still a small being.

“Okay, I’ll show you properly too.”

Finally, Shark opened his mouth to unleash a torrent of water.

Paaaang!

Hirei detonated Gipa in the air once again, thrusting his body into Shark’s open mouth. He infiltrated Shark’s mouth in an instant.

‘Could it be! Was he aiming for this moment?’

Soon after, a strange, alien sound echoed.

Kuuuuuuuu……! Kuuung!

It wasn’t just the sound.

“Keup!”

Shark let out a low groan, unlike anything he had shown so far.

[He instinctively aimed for the weak spot.]

‘The skin inside the mouth wouldn’t be strong….’

Hirei instinctively targeted the opponent’s vulnerability. Having lost his reason, he was like a war god.

Puaaaa……!

Half out of his mind, Shark hurriedly shot out a stream of water. Only then did Hirei jump out of Shark’s mouth.

Kuuuuuung…….

Shark’s giant body collapsed onto the stream. His huge form fell helplessly into the river.

“Shark-nim! Are you okay?”

Karis took a step closer, worried about Shark.

“Be careful!”

At that moment, Hirei, who had leaped out of the water, approached her.

‘Damn it!’

Shark was still unconscious and unable to help.

Paddeuk!

Suddenly, tree trunks wrapped around her. The trees controlled by Grantel surrounded her in an instant.

‘That won’t work!’

There was no way they could withstand Hirei’s punches.

Puh-uh-uhng!

The tree trunks were all blown away with a single punch, no different from pieces of paper in front of the much stronger Gipa.

“Kuaaang!”

Finally, Hirei lunged at Karis, his sharp teeth about to tear into the little girl’s face.

Chwaaaak!

Slender branches grabbed Hirei’s body once again. Grantel had reached out his hand again.

However, this time he wasn’t using the surrounding plants.

His arm was growing rapidly, wrapping around Hirei’s body like a whip.

“Ch-, Chieftain-nim! Please let go!”

Kral, flustered by the sight, hurriedly tried to dissuade Grantel.

“Kral! I’m fine, so run away quickly.”

“But!”

Hirei struggled to break free of the branches. Kral’s expression hardened.

“That’s the Chieftain’s real arm, isn’t it! If that bastard attacks, you’ll be directly harmed!”

The Chieftain’s real arm. It meant something different than manipulating the surrounding trees.

It was much stronger than other trees, able to hold Hirei for a while.

‘But Hirei will definitely cut it off.’

Because it couldn’t withstand the monster’s power forever.

“I’m, I’m fine. Run away quickly. Tell the other tribes to stop Hirei!”

“B-, but!”

“Are you going to let everyone die here? This body is already old and useless anyway. You guys survive and save Ego.”

“I, I will stay here with you, Chieftain-nim!”

Kral’s eyes were already filled with tears. Grantel’s resolute eyes met his.

“No. You have to guide them, don’t you?”

Kral could no longer speak.

“Kuaaaa!”

Hirei began to bite Grantel’s arm. There was no time to delay.

Kral, unable to answer, bowed his head silently and began to lead them away.

“This way……!”

After dismantling the trees blocking the back road of the waterfall, Kral went ahead.

Endless sadness emanated from his back as he urged them on.

‘Chieftain Grantel…….’

Following Kral, Ian looked back.

Grantel, with his eyes closed, was firmly holding Hirei.

* * *

In the middle of Ego’s forest, their location unknown, Ian moved forward with Kral and Karis.

“Let’s go find the Tiger Tribe Chief.”

“The Tiger Tribe Chief?”

Kral asked, not stopping.

“Yes. He might be able to stop Hirei.”

The remaining Tiger Tribe members, including the Tiger Tribe Chief, might be able to stop Hirei if they joined forces.

“……Okay. Let’s go this way. It’ll be safest to follow the river.”

Kral’s expression was more determined than ever, a testament to his will to seize the opportunity his Chieftain had given him.

“I-, Ian-nim.”

A voice called out from the back. It was Karis, chasing after them.

“What if the Tiger Tribe Chief doesn’t help us? Wouldn’t it be better to go to where our Water King Tribe is?”

Of course, it made sense. There was no guarantee that the Tiger Tribe Chief would readily lend them their strength.

‘If it’s the Water King Tribe Chief, he’ll be able to stop him without any damage.’

But Ian shook his head.

“It’ll take too long to get to the Water King Tribe’s residence. The Tiger Tribe village won’t be far, so we have to go there.”

The Water King Tribe’s village was located at the very bottom of the Ego River, too far to reach from their current upstream location.

“But the Tiger Tribe Chief might not believe us.”

“Not believe us?”

“He might not believe that Hirei is a traitor. He might even think that we’re to blame for Hirei turning into that form.”

She had made a fairly reasonable judgment in a short period.

“Well, maybe.”

“……Y-yes? What do you mean maybe? If that happens, we’ll be targeted by the Tiger Tribe Chief too. I think it’s better to go to my father.”

Karis’s words definitely made Ian hesitate.

“But what if that bastard harms other residents of Ego while we’re going to see the Water King Tribe Chief?”

“Ah……?”

“He might give up chasing us and seep into the forest of Ego. Then innocent residents will lose their lives.”

“Ah ah!”

Eventually, Karis also bowed her head. Whether to go to the Tiger Tribe Chief or the Water King Tribe Chief, they were at a crossroads.

“What do you think, Kral-nim?”

Kral, who was running ahead, stopped for a moment and was about to speak.

Kuuuuung! Kuuuu!

A roar came from behind. Huge trees in the primeval forest were collapsing in the distance.

‘Has he already been released!’

Surely, that bastard was approaching.

“Karis, you go into the river first!”

Karis, as a member of the Water King Tribe, was faster in the water, and the Tiger Tribe instinctively hated water. That was much better.

“Ugh, yes!”

Karis jumped into the water right away.

“Excuse me for a moment!”

Kral hugged Ian and climbed onto a tall tree near the river.

The old trees collapsing helplessly came into view. Hirei was destroying everything in his path.

The monster seemed to have missed their tracks and was destroying the forest in a different direction.

“Heut!”

Kral immediately gasped.

“What’s wrong?”

“That side is… where the Leaf Tribe is.”

It was heading towards another tribe, of all places.

‘I wish he had gone to the Tiger Tribe instead.’

[What are you going to do?]

‘There’s no choice. I have to draw his attention.’

It was time to make a decision. He couldn’t just stand by and watch innocent Ego residents suffer.

“Kral-nim. Take me to that bastard. I’ll stop him.”

“What? How can you do what Grantel-nim can’t?”

“It’s okay. I have a way too.”

Ian held up the guardian necklace he was wearing.

“With this, I can stop that bastard too.”

“What is that?”

“You’ll see when you see it. Let’s go quickly.”

“Uhm…….”

“Quickly! Are you just going to stand by and watch the Leaf Tribe suffer?”

“Ah, okay!”

Only then did Kral start to move.

“Ian-nim! W-, where are you going!”

Karis’s voice echoed from the river behind them.