Enduring my aching eyes, I secured my vision through the blurry mist of blood.
Vooom—
‘Left.’
A massive fist, cutting through the wind, slammed into the spot where I had just been.
I leaped diagonally in the direction of its attack, leaving a small scratch with my dagger.
Chpat-!
Koooong-!
Simultaneously, the ground shook from the formidable impact.
As the blood mist cleared with a fierce gust of wind, I could see the blood-soaked Cyclops clutching its red eye.
Its eye wasn't originally red.
…To get straight to the point, that was my handiwork.
I had stabbed its eyelid while it slept, causing blood to leak out and cover the pupil.
“…A pity. I really should have gotten the 5-stack before picking a fight.”
The original plan was to take away its sight completely, but seeing as it was keeping its eye open, it seemed its vision wasn't entirely blocked.
Apparently, the attack had been a little too shallow.
But it couldn't be helped.
Gulp—
—KRRWAAAAK!
My body's current stats were far too lacking to cut its carotid artery and then go for the eye.
It was a misstep to have rushed in with only a 4-stack.
But I had anticipated taking at least one hit.
The initial opportunity to attack was that important, even knowing the risk.
Cough— Ptui—!
As I coughed up a lump of blood, the bitter taste of flesh told me that even though I’d avoided a direct hit, one of my internal organs must have ruptured.
“Damn, this really hurts like hell……”
Moving through the pain was something I was so used to that I was sick of it.
But my regressed body was screaming that it couldn't take it anymore.
That was understandable.
This body had lost all the durability and resistance I had built up over a long period.
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', eyes sparkle at your ferocity.]
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', lets out a low groan at your boldness.]
As if my suffering was a delight to them, the Constellations were excitedly sending up messages.
‘…They must be thrilled.’
It was only natural.
Though a direct comparison was impossible because the trials of the Gateway Zone changed with the progress of the War against Demons.
I was probably the first Plane Transcendent to ever try and hunt a ‘Cyclops’ in the Gateway Zone.
It was bound to be an interesting spectacle, coupled with the anticipation that a useful Plane Transcendent had arrived.
Especially for warmongers like Ares who felt ecstasy from battle itself, they were probably dying of joy.
Heh—
Of course, from my perspective as the one being watched, I hadn't liked the Constellations' voyeuristic attitude in my past life.
It felt like being a monkey in a zoo.
‘Well, still…….’
But now.
As someone who had participated in the War against Demons, I could roughly understand the emotions they were feeling.
They were the ones who had been parties to the longest war, after all.
From their perspective, the mere hope that this Plane Transcendent, ‘Seo U-jin’, might be different was probably more than enough reason to enjoy this scene.
[<Trait: Slaughterer(★☆☆)> is active… +50% (Attack Speed)]
[Time Limit: 01:31]
[<Skill: Muscle Up(★☆☆)> is active… +5 (Overall Strength)]
[Time Limit: 02:10]
“This is intense……”
—KWWAAAK!
Thud- thud- thud- thud-!
Unable to bear even a moment's pause, the Cyclops charged again.
Vooom—
Its fist flew at me again.
Chpat-!
And again, I left a scratch on its body.
For now, as long as the 5-stack of Slaughterer and Muscle Up were active, I felt I could maintain this state, even if it was tight.
That is.
A stalemate where I could dodge attacks and inflict minor scratches, a state that could hardly be called meaningful.
…In fact, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for me to hunt the Cyclops.
The Guardian Cross Order wasn't some amateur club; the system's ‘Physical Power’ and ‘Magic Power’ stats weren't created carelessly.
Based on a database accumulated over hundreds of years of commanding the War against Demons, ‘Physical Power’ and ‘Magic Power’ were the most objective indicators of combat ability.
I couldn't remember exactly, but if my memory served me right, the difference between the Cyclops's physical and magic power and my own was about double.
It wasn't a small gap, and a numerical difference of more than double left no room for ‘variables’ or ‘possibilities’.
In reality, while the best I could do was inflict meaningless scratches, my body was in a state where just one more punch from it would send me to my grave.
Even worse—
—Keong!
“Hyaaah—!”
I also had to dodge the attacks of the Cyclops's hounds, the ‘Black Frenzy Hounds’, which occasionally charged with bared fangs.
Puk—
—Kiiing!
Well, they had a positive side in that they automatically refreshed my Slaughterer trait… but they were still a nuisance.
Tiring-!
[The time limit for <Trait: Slaughterer(★☆☆)> has been refreshed.]
[Time Limit 04:59]
My plan to hunt the Cyclops was simple.
‘Exsanguination.’
To cause the Cyclops to bleed out.
With my ordinary hunting dagger, I couldn't target the giant race's weak point, the heart, nor could I pierce the Cyclops's characteristically hard skull, so it was the only method I could choose.
That's why I had deliberately taken a hit during the first ambush to sever an artery and block its vision.
Of course, at this point, some might ask.
Then why not just run away without fighting further?
Since the artery was cut, it was already bleeding, so wasn't that enough?
…But it wasn't.
It wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Heal, heal—
‘…Looks like it’s already half-healed.’
No matter how much it had degenerated into a lowly Magical Beast.
The Cyclops still had the blood of the ‘Titans’ who once ruled Olympus flowing through it.
It possessed the powerful life force characteristic of the giant race.
Therefore, if I ran away now, the Cyclops would likely reappear, perfectly fine, in just a few hours.
That's why I had to stick to it, inflicting even small scratches to spill its blood on the ground and induce exsanguination.
Thud— Scrape-!
Thud— Paat-!
Thud— Riiip-!
And so.
As I continued to repeat the process of dodging its attacks and carving scratches, doubtful messages from the Constellations began to appear.
[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human than Anyone', doubts the success rate of your plan.]
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', frowns at the unexpectedly tedious development.]
They, too, had vaguely realized it.
That there was a fatal flaw in this plan.
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', predicts your hunt will fail.]
That fatal flaw was that time was on its side.
Paat-!
The traits of the giant race, which enhanced all physical abilities including life force, were a characteristic affected by ambient mana activity.
As morning approached and mana entropy increased, the giant race's power was bound to grow stronger.
Simply put, it was a foregone conclusion that when the sun began to peek over the horizon, I would lose the slight advantage I was barely maintaining now.
At my current attack speed, it was nearly impossible to defeat the Cyclops before then.
To make matters worse.
Keuk—.
The fact that my own condition was worse than I thought was also a problem.
The bitter taste of blood kept rising in my throat, and the pain was intensifying.
Honestly, I didn't mind enduring the pain, but if I made a mistake and took one more hit, it was highly likely my brain would shut down and I'd enter a black-out state, regardless of my endurance.
…In other words, I could enter a state of 'blackout' where I couldn't control my actions normally.
In the worst-case scenario, I could pass out completely.
So, if there was no suitable way to solve this flaw, it was safe to say that the Cyclops hunt would fail.
Which meant.
“I think it’s about time.”
…I had a way to solve both of these problems.
[It is currently ‘Night’. The Cyclops has released its hounds to guard its farm.]
[Time until Daybreak: 9:01:58]
There was a reason I had been just timidly dodging in front of the Cyclops all this time.
I was waiting for the moment when mana activity hit rock bottom.
The Hour of the Pig (Haesi, 9-11 PM), when the Cyclops's power would be at its weakest.
To secure the highest possible chance of a successful hunt.
‘Let’s see…….’
The method to solve the aforementioned fatal flaw was very simple.
Since it would be dangerous when day came, I just had to hunt the Cyclops before daybreak. And since I couldn't take another hit, I just had to not get hit.
It might sound like a word game at first… but I had a—
Rummage, rummage—
—'miracle drug' that would make both of those things actually possible.
“Here it is.”
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', cannot hide its astonishment at the item you have taken out.]
[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human than Anyone', shakes its head from side to side.]
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', is flustered by your unexpected action.]
It was only natural for the Constellations to be surprised.
The ‘miracle drug’ I had taken out was none other than the ‘Black Olive Fruit’, which that Cyclops had raised with so much love.
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', sends a warning about the Black Olive.]
In truth, just as their reactions suggested, eating a Black Olive in a situation like this to enhance one's animal senses was an act of madness.
The Black Olive was a drug that suppressed human reason and brought out animal instincts.
The moment I consumed this, my plans and rational functions like logical judgment would vanish from my mind.
Instead, I would move according to the desires pursued by my animal instincts.
If I was hungry, I would move to find food.
If I was tired, I would sleep.
Perhaps, driven by the more fundamental survival instinct, I might even run for my life.
For a person left with only instinct, an unfulfilled desire itself becomes the motivation for action.
So their attempts to stop me were natural.
[Survival Instinct] - [Three Primary Desires] - [The Rest].
The hierarchy of this pyramid of desires, engraved in an animal's DNA, was so solid and firm that no other desire could ignore this order and intervene.
In conclusion, no matter how extraordinary my actions had been so far.
It was impossible to only take the good effects of the Black Olive that enhanced animal senses and overcome the disadvantage of acting on desire with mental strength alone.
…But.
But there was one thing.
One thing they had overlooked.
“Don't you worry. I'm not running away.”
Just one thing.
That there was a factor that could ignore the hierarchy of the pyramid of desires and intervene.
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', shakes its head at your groundless confidence…….]
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', warns you to stop that action immediately…….]
“…Despite how I look, I'm a person with a rather deep story, you see.”
A series of emotional threads, formed as memories piled up and emotions enveloped them.
When those emotional threads become so entangled and twisted that they form a person's entire life.
When they become established enough to act as a principle of action, the story changes.
…Accumulated trauma.
A mass of emotion, engraved layer by layer onto the brain over a very long time.
That sticky, heavy lump of emotion could act in defiance of even the survival instinct etched into DNA.
Wadeuk-!
As I bit through the inner skin of the Black Olive, a hazy feeling washed over me, and a huge mass nestled deep within my memory began to rise to the surface.
[Warning! You have consumed <Item: Black Olive>.]
The other side of my unconscious, a place even I couldn't normally recall.
A primordial mass of emotion located in that deep place slowly began to raise its head.
[Your reason is being suppressed by the drug's effect.]
[Warning! The instinct in the deepest part of your inner self is inducing action.]
The fear of losing comrades.
The hatred for Magical Beasts.
The rage from failing to protect.
Self-loathing, disillusionment, guilt, despair.
All of it piled up into… a killing intent for Magical Beasts themselves.
Kadeudeuk-!
‘…Not a single one left.’
That.
That was the number one behavioral principle that existed in the lowest depths of my subconscious.
‘…This time, for sure.’