TSCU 10

Chapter 10

Thud.

Kang Hyuk jumped down from the fence, immediately crouched low, and looked around.

‘Good choice.’

Fortunately, there was no one nearby.

He kept himself hidden in the shadow of the fence as he walked.

‘There are no guards until the next checkpoint.’

The training camp was, quite literally, a place for training.

It was far removed from a prison or a detention center, which would have been built from the very beginning with the purpose of confining people.

The trainees were summoned directly to the central training ground, and afterward, they were only allowed to walk along paths surrounded by tall fences.

Moreover, trainees normally moved under the supervision of assistant instructors except when going to the bathroom, and they were forbidden from entering areas outside their designated zones.

In other words, even if someone wanted to escape, finding a viable method was difficult.

If you didn’t even know what was beyond the fence, how could you possibly escape?

‘From here, I turn left again…’

But Kang Hyuk was different.

Thanks to his memories of the past, he knew the geography of this place perfectly.

In his previous life, he had once obtained a blueprint of the training camp because he had intended to raid it. He had memorized it thoroughly and even conducted several reconnaissance missions.

In the end, he hadn’t been able to put the plan into action.

‘The guard post should be right ahead.’

Thanks to that knowledge, Kang Hyuk was able to formulate a plan to escape despite being only Level 11, even though the assistant instructors and instructors were mostly between Levels 20 and 40.

The fact that, unlike in his previous life, he now had a decent selection of skills and items also played a part.

Step, step.

After walking for a while, Kang Hyuk suddenly heard footsteps approaching from ahead.

He immediately lowered his body and hid behind a nearby tree.

An orc walked along the route where Kang Hyuk had been standing just moments ago.

Their conversation reached his ears.

“Sniff. Why are the important bigwigs coming tomorrow?”

“You didn’t hear? Apparently, they heard that the quality of these monkeys is good, so they’re coming to see them for themselves.”

“Grr. They’re still just monkeys. Aren’t they going to end up as cannon fodder anyway?”

“Heh heh. True. Still, it’s better than falling behind and getting dragged off to the mines to swing a pickaxe all day, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but isn’t there something even more horrifying than that?”

Kang Hyuk narrowed his eyes as he listened to their conversation.

This was exactly why he wanted to escape.

The orcs fundamentally did not regard the humans from Earth as their equals.

“If they can’t even get into a raiding party, they’ll leave with nothing but a mountain of debt, right? Nine out of ten can’t even keep up with the interest and end up getting dragged off to the mines.”

“That’s true. It might be better not to have any hope from the beginning.”

Their conversation gradually faded along with their footsteps.

Kang Hyuk deliberately waited another ten minutes after the sounds had completely disappeared before moving again.

‘Modern-day loan sharks are angels compared to those bastards.’

The amount of debt they were forced to take on in the first place was beyond imagination.

Even someone truly talented would probably need to spend a full three years working desperately to pay it off. And if they lacked even that talent, they would naturally end up as slaves again.

Kang Hyuk had absolutely no intention of wasting his precious time in such a place.

‘I’m almost there.’

Fortunately, luck had been on his side during this escape.

Aside from encountering one patrol along the way, nothing unexpected had happened, and the outer wall was almost within reach.

‘If I can reach the outer wall like this and wait for the shift change…’

He moved cautiously.

There were patrols stationed along the outer wall.

As he waited for quite some time, he heard footsteps.

Step, step—

“Sniff. What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Braised Maytang fish served with mint chocolate sauce.”

“Ah, fuck.”

The voices approached and then quickly faded into the distance.

Exactly ten minutes after they passed, Kang Hyuk stood up and ran toward the outer wall.

Then he took out the talisman tucked into his waistband and activated it.

Vmmm—

His body instantly became lighter.

Using that momentum, he leaped straight toward the outer wall.

Thud! Thud-thud!

He kicked off the wall several times in succession before reaching out his hand.

Grab.

Whoosh—!

Kang Hyuk threw his body forward.

After hanging in the air for a moment, his body rapidly descended toward the ground.

Thud.

A clean landing.

He turned around.

The outer wall stood behind him.

He had successfully escaped the training camp.

‘Yes!’

Unlike the inside, where patrols were stationed, there weren’t many guards outside.

Kang Hyuk immediately ran away from the outer wall, thinking that all he had to do now was make it to the city.

But nothing was over until it was truly over.

Less than five minutes after he started running, he heard someone pursuing him from behind.

Kang Hyuk flinched and turned his head.

“This monkey bastard… I thought he was a monkey, but now I see he’s actually a rat.”

A familiar face appeared before him.

---

Thick Molars had been heading toward Kang Hyuk’s quarters, intending to vent his frustration on him somehow.

However, when he approached the area near the dormitory, he caught a familiar scent.

He flared his nostrils.

Although the source was far away, he could still detect it.

The darkness that had descended posed no problem at all.

If his vision was limited, his already-sensitive sense of smell simply worked even harder.

‘What is this?’

Even as he followed the scent, he couldn’t shake his doubts.

‘Why?’

At first, he thought the monkey might simply be taking a walk around the dormitory now that they had been given free time.

But he had gone far too far for that.

No, it wasn’t merely far.

He had crossed into an area where the monkeys were absolutely forbidden to go.

‘Could it be?’

Thick Molars thought.

Could that bastard be trying to escape?

Once the thought entered his mind, his excitement only grew.

Even though he was furious enough for his blood to boil, beating the monkey to death for no reason would be dangerous.

The main camp would be coming tomorrow specifically to see the monkeys. If Thick Molars did something like that, Black Hammer would tear him apart.

But what if the bastard was actually trying to escape?

“Sniff.”

A puff of air naturally escaped Thick Molars’ nose.

He put away the club in his hand and pulled out the axe he had brought along just in case.

The scent was getting closer.

After thinking for a moment, he deliberately slowed his pace.

Maintaining a suitable distance, he continued following the scent until he confirmed that it led beyond the outer wall.

‘Got you.’

Now that the bastard had crossed the outer wall, this was no longer merely an escape attempt.

What better justification could there be?

Perhaps because blood was rushing to his head from excitement, the empty space where his tusk had been began throbbing.

Without hesitation, he charged toward the wall, planted his feet against it twice, and vaulted straight over.

Whoooosh—

While his body was briefly suspended in midair, his gaze locked precisely onto a single spot.

There he was.

Thud.

“This…”

After landing, Thick Molars spoke with a vicious grin.

“I thought you were a monkey bastard, but now I see you’re actually a rat.”

The bastard slowly turned around.

Kim Kang Hyuk.

The monkey bastard who deserved to be chewed to death.

---

‘Perfect.’

Kang Hyuk looked at Thick Molars.

There had been only one thing that bothered him before escaping, and it was the bastard standing right in front of him.

Black Hammer leaving was an opportunity that might never come again, but if he escaped then, he would have to give up on dealing with Thick Molars.

He had agonized over that for quite some time.

‘Even heaven is helping me.’

But Thick Molars had walked right into his path of his own accord.

Without even realizing that he had entered a land of death.

Kang Hyuk barely suppressed the smile threatening to escape as he examined the area around Thick Molars before speaking.

“You came alone?”

“Sniff. That’s right.”

“No, I mean… You didn’t even tell any of the other orcs?”

Thick Molars grinned.

“Yes. Why? Are you scared? Sniff. I suppose you’re wishing another orc had found you instead.”

If another orc had discovered him, Kang Hyuk might have gotten away with nothing more than a beating, since he was valuable merchandise.

Of course, Thick Molars had no intention of doing that.

‘I’ll just throw him to one of the monsters nearby. There won’t even be any bones left.’

Kang Hyuk heard that and answered with the same indifferent expression.

“Okay. Then come after me.”

He immediately turned around and began running.

Thick Molars was momentarily dumbfounded before his face twisted violently and he chased after him.

He couldn’t even shout, afraid that another orc might hear his voice and come running.

An orc’s running speed wasn’t particularly fast.

Their Agility was relatively low compared to their other stats, and their body structure wasn’t particularly efficient for running.

“Huuk, huff.”

However, they possessed excellent stamina, so even after stopping, Thick Molars wasn’t particularly out of breath.

Kang Hyuk, on the other hand, looked exhausted at a glance.

He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

“Huuk, huff, huuu. Damn, you’re pretty good at keeping up for a pig.”

“What, what?”

Thick Molars looked flustered before asking as though he were genuinely curious.

“I don’t understand. Where do you get that courage? If you’d simply knelt down and begged earlier, I would have spared your life.”

“You would have. You would’ve broken my arms and legs and smashed up my face a little. Right?”

“Still better than dying.”

As he said that, he raised his axe.

Kang Hyuk looked at the heat haze rising around Thick Molars’ body.

He was already drawing upon his mana, apparently intending to fight at full power from the beginning.

“Goodness. How scary. But do you know something?”

Kang Hyuk spoke to buy himself some time to catch his breath and retrieve the items he needed from his inventory.

Thick Molars, apparently believing that his prey was already caught, answered leisurely.

“What?”

“Every time you talk, only one of your tusks shows. It looks hilarious. Honestly, shouldn’t you stop using the name Thick Molars now? You look like you need an implant.”

“You little—”

“No, your pattern is always the same. Hey. I’ll only say one thing.”

Kang Hyuk smiled slyly and spread all five fingers on one hand.

“I’ll give myself exactly five minutes to deal with you.”

Talking had been worth it.

He had managed to finish all his preparations without attracting Thick Molars’ attention.

“Grrrr.”

There was another unexpected benefit as well.

Thick Molars’ eyes had turned red, just as they had before.

It was proof that he had entered a state of Berserk.

It was a skill that made the user much stronger at the cost of becoming somewhat more stupid. Its severe aftereffects were a drawback, but in a one-on-one battle like this, that wasn’t much of a problem.

Usually, the opponent would be dead before the skill ended.

Kang Hyuk stopped talking and scattered a bundle of talismans across the ground.

In his other hand—the one not holding his spear—he held a black rod.

“GRAAAAH!”

Before Kang Hyuk could even finish his preparations, Thick Molars launched himself forward.

Boom!

It was like watching a bison charge.

Instead of meeting the attack head-on, Kang Hyuk leaped sideways.

Whoooosh!

The axe swept past the spot where he had been standing by the narrowest of margins.

Thick Molars immediately turned his head toward Kang Hyuk, but he couldn’t charge forward right away.

Crackle!

“Grrr!”

Blue electricity shot up from the ground beneath his feet.

It wasn’t strong enough to inflict any substantial damage, but it was more than enough to stiffen his body for a moment.

‘Just as I expected, the power isn’t very strong.’

What Kang Hyuk had scattered across the ground were talismans imbued with the power of lightning.

Attack talismans were quite difficult to create in the first place, so he hadn’t expected much from them.

Still, as he had just seen, they were more than sufficient for restricting movement rather than directly inflicting damage.

Kang Hyuk closed the distance and thrust his spear forward.

Stab!

The spearhead grazed Thick Molars’ elbow.

The orc had recovered faster than expected and twisted his body away.

But it wasn’t completely ineffective.

The slime’s acidic fluid had already accumulated along the spearhead and was eating into his elbow.

Whoooosh!

Even in a Berserk state, pain couldn’t simply be erased.

Thick Molars’ counterattack was delayed by a beat.

Slash!

His axe grazed Kang Hyuk’s chest.

“Grrk.”

If Kang Hyuk hadn’t used Acidic Fluid, the axe wouldn’t have merely grazed him.

It would have cut straight into him.

And he would have died.

‘My injury…’

There was none.

He quickly backed away and touched his chest.

Fortunately, he was wearing chain mail, so he felt only a stinging pain, and there was no blood at all.

It didn’t seem like any bones had been damaged, either.

After confirming his condition, Kang Hyuk looked at Thick Molars, who was preparing to charge again, and spoke.

“Confusion.”

The Confusion ability he had devoured from Hiro struck Thick Molars.

Because Kang Hyuk had devoured an ability that hadn’t properly bloomed yet, its effect was considerably weaker than the original.

But it was enough to create an opening.

“Ghk?”

Thick Molars staggered backward, as though he were seeing something that wasn’t there.

Before the effect disappeared, Kang Hyuk thrust his spear toward the orc’s eye with all his strength.

Stab!

The spearhead plunged cleanly into his eye.

Even then, Thick Molars grabbed the shaft with both hands and tried to stop it.

“HRAAAAH!”

Rather than thrusting the spear deeper, Kang Hyuk continuously used Acidic Fluid.

Perhaps because he had already done it once, the acidic fluid flowed smoothly through the spearhead.

Thick Molars desperately tried to pull the spear out.

The difference in their Strength was so enormous that the shaft slowly began to rise.

Kang Hyuk quickly took a talisman from his inventory and stuck it onto the orc’s body.

Crackle!

Because it was only a single talisman, the electricity it emitted wasn’t particularly strong.

But it was enough to throw Thick Molars off balance.

“Graaagh…”

Thick Molars groaned.

His hands, which had been gripping the spear shaft tightly, loosened.

Seeing this, Kang Hyuk released the spear, quickly moved to the side, and struck the back of Thick Molars’ knee.

The orc dropped to his knees.

Kang Hyuk then grabbed the back of his head and slammed it directly into the ground.

Crack!

The spear, unable to withstand the force, snapped.

But it didn’t matter.

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

The battle was already over.

With one foot planted on the orc’s head, Kang Hyuk picked up the battle axe lying on the ground and spoke.

“See? I told you it would be over quickly.”

Thick Molars couldn’t answer.

He was already dead.

But another answer came instead.

[You have killed an opponent stronger than yourself! 2 bonus points have been awarded!]

[The Predation Ability has activated and absorbed part of Thick Molars’ ‘Strength’.]