FRSBS 09

Chapter 9

“Ah…”

The sight that unfolded before Yena’s eyes was horrifying—
her teammates, bloodied and barely conscious.

They had somehow escaped fatal injuries,
but it was clear they couldn’t keep fighting.

As the dust slowly settled, the orc turned its thick neck,
searching for its next prey.

Thankfully, it hadn’t noticed them hiding in the tall grass.

Grrrk…

It let out a low rumble as it glanced at the two mangled bodies.
Deciding they weren’t worth finishing off, it began scanning the area.

They’re not dead yet… but they’re bleeding out fast.

Right now, what they needed most was quick, decisive leadership.

Juhyeok turned to Yena beside him.

“….”

Even though every second mattered,
Yena was frozen in shock, her mind blank.
Seeing her teammates crushed so easily had broken her composure.

She was the leader—yet she just stared.

He wanted to slap her awake, but any noise could expose them.
So instead, he reached over and pinched the inside of her arm hard.

“Mmph!”

“Snap out of it. Think.”

He’d pulled her out of danger with split-second timing—
but if she kept spacing out, it would all be for nothing.

He didn’t have the experience she did.
Right now, they needed her instinct as a seasoned leader.

He forced her to look at the grim scene, then laid out two options.

“Before the dust clears—either we grab one each and run,
or we lure it away and fight together.”

Given their current condition,
those were the only two viable choices.

For Juhyeok, who’d never been in a real-life emergency like this,
it was hard to know which gave them the better odds of survival.

“You’ve got five seconds. Pick the smarter one.”

There was no time to hesitate.

They had to move before the dust cleared
and the orc spotted the wounded.

“….”

The pain snapped Yena out of her daze.
Her brown eyes darted between her teammates and the orc’s silhouette.

After a few tense seconds of calculation, she made her decision.

“We run.”

A strategic retreat.

“If that orc’s holding a weapon, it’s at least D-rank.
Our support and frontliner are down—there’s no way we can handle that.”

“Understood.”

Juhyeok nodded at her answer—
but one word in her explanation caught his attention.

D-rank?

A D-rank monster meant a far better mana stone than any F-rank.
And since this one was armed, it had to be a mutant—
stronger, faster, and packed with higher-purity mana.

It’s not every day you find something like that.

He still didn’t know how many mana stones he’d need
to fill his mana gauge completely.

That D-rank mutant’s stone was an opportunity too tempting to ignore.

Can I win?

The fact that it wielded a weapon meant it had intelligence.

Could he handle a creature that thought while it fought?

Honestly… I don’t think I’d lose too badly.

If it was intelligent, that was actually good.

It meant the combat skills he’d honed in human duels
would work here, too.

But can I show my real ability in front of her?

So far, he’d only been fighting at about half his strength.
If he went all out now, rumors would spread fast.

He wanted to grow quietly—without drawing attention.

Caught between risk and opportunity,
he finally asked her quietly,

“If it’s a mutant, it might be faster than a normal orc.
You accounted for that possibility?”

“Even if I did,” she said, “that just makes it worse.
Two of us can’t take that thing head-on.”

She was right.
The sheer power it had shown—and now maybe speed, too—
made fighting it suicidal.

But another problem arose.

“Remember—our support’s scan couldn’t detect it even within 200 meters.
That means it jumped at least that far in one leap.”

Something that moved that silently and that quickly
was no ordinary monster.

“Can you carry two people and cross 200 meters in under ten seconds?”

“….”

She couldn’t answer.

If they didn’t have injured teammates,
escaping would’ve been possible.

But now, with two bleeding hunters to carry—
and the orc ready to attack any sign of movement—
it was nearly impossible.

“That’s…”

Her plan’s weakness was obvious now,
and her lips trembled with frustration.

Juhyeok seized the moment.

“I’ll lure it away from the gate. You take them and run.”

“What?”

“I’ll hold it off for an hour. Come back for me then.”

He rose to his feet before she could argue.

In situations like this,
someone always volunteered to stay behind—
and the others would fall silent, knowing there was no choice.

He expected the same reaction from her.

But instead—

“No!”

Yena grabbed his arm tightly.

“You might be talented for a rookie,
but you seriously think you can last an hour against that thing?”

Her hand was trembling.
No matter how composed she tried to sound,
her fear was leaking through.

“There has to be another way. Just—give me a second to think.”

“….”

He had thought she was kind,
but he hadn’t expected her to reject a self-sacrifice like this.

Most people would’ve accepted it silently.
But she—she was different.
Someone who couldn’t bear to let others die for her.

That’s… kind of moving.

If not for the artifact inside him,
he might’ve accepted her guild offer on the spot.

Shaking off the thought, he gently pried her fingers off his sleeve.

“There’s no time left to think.”

“But—”

Before she could finish,
he filled his lungs with air—

—and roared.

“RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

Grrrk?!

The orc’s head whipped toward the sound,
eyes locking on their patch of grass.

Perfect.

He’d drawn its attention.

He gave Yena a calm look and said,

“Well? What are you waiting for?”

“….”

She stared at him blankly,
then looked past him—
at the orc slowly stomping toward them.

“…Damn it.”

There was no time left for debate.

Grinding her teeth, she smacked his shoulder hard.

“I’ll be back in thirty minutes. You’d better still be alive.”

“Don’t trip while running.”

With that, Yena dashed off through the foliage,
moving with the speed of a true archer.

The orc’s gaze snapped toward her motion—

—but Juhyeok muttered,

“Not that way.”

The moment its body turned,
he saw an opening.

If I strike now… maybe I can finish it instantly.

But the orc reacted on instinct,
blocking the surprise attack aimed for its neck.

“Tch.”

If that had worked,
he could’ve brushed it off as a lucky hit later.

But of course—
it wasn’t that easy against a creature with intelligence.

Grrrk! GRRRRRAAAHH!

Enraged, the orc swung its massive sword downward.

Juhyeok rolled away in the opposite direction from the wounded,
avoiding the crushing blow by inches.

Thankfully, its swings were powerful but unrefined—
not true swordsmanship.

Figures… she’s already gone.

He could no longer sense Yena or the injured nearby.
Good. That meant no one was watching.

He no longer had to hold back.

“…Alright.”

His body tingled with anticipation.

Since the tournament, he hadn’t truly unleashed himself.
He’d always restrained his speed and power under others’ eyes.

Now—he didn’t have to.

A small, fierce smile crept up his lips.

“Let’s do this.”

GRRRRAAAHH!

The orc charged.

And the life-or-death battle began.

Yena stumbled through the forest,
hauling both unconscious teammates over her shoulders.

Every step felt like dragging lead.

[What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go.]

He’d saved them.

A rookie—barely six months out of the academy—
had calmly analyzed the situation,
chosen the only survivable option,
and offered up his own life without hesitation.

“Ha… ha…”

If only she’d spread the team out faster when the scan failed,
maybe no one would’ve been hurt.

If only she’d thought of a smarter plan sooner,
maybe Juhyeok wouldn’t have had to stay behind.

Each breath carried the weight of regret.

Everyone’s going to hate me for this.

A D-rank mutant had appeared,
and the team leader fled while a rookie stayed to fight.

It was a humiliation she’d never live down.

Her chest burned with guilt and self-loathing.

The only thing keeping her going
was the image of Juhyeok’s final stance—
the brief, razor-fast movement he’d shown
when ambushing the orc.

She’d seen enough to know.

He was holding back all along.

That sharp, fluid attack—
so much faster than when he fought goblins.

Maybe he hadn’t needed to go all out before,
or maybe he’d just been hiding his true ability.

Please… just hold out a little longer.

She didn’t dare hope he’d win.
She just wanted him to live—
so she could face him again without shame.

A prayer escaped her lips.
For someone who’d never believed in any god,
she prayed to every one she could think of
as she dragged her half-dead teammates forward.

Finally, after what felt like hours,
the shimmering shape of the exit gate came into view.

“You’re… a little late—”

The gatekeeper’s bored greeting cut off mid-sentence
when he saw her bloodstained form.

Yena, still clutching her two teammates,
met his eyes with a desperate, trembling voice.

“Please help us… there’s still someone inside…!”