Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Before hunting the gryphon, I need to run an experiment first. When I tested the portal a few months ago, it appeared 1 meter in front of my line of sight. No matter what was in front of me, it would spawn without fail—it even appeared on the floor if I lay down on my stomach. But, since there would be nothing in the air, the question remains as to what will happen if I open the portal while I’m falling.

Having said that to Da-jeong, she tilted her head as she sat crossed-leg on a rock. “Ummm…wouldn’t you just hit the floor and die?”

“I need your help to figure out exactly what will happen, I need to go beyond theory. I want you to be ready to catch me with your zombies.”

“With your current stats, I don’t think you’ll die if you just hit the ground, though?”

“Isn’t that different from what you just said?”

“Tsk. My evil conspiracy has been uncovered.”

She pretended not to know and pointed to the tree.

“Are you going to jump from there? Hurry up.”

“I believe in you, Choi Da-jeong.”

“Huhuhuhuh, you made a mistake by trusting me.” Da-jeong said as she smirked like a villain.

I put my backpack down on the floor and started climbing the tree.

“Oh, you look like a stone monkey!” She shouted gleefully.

Was that a compliment or an insult?

By the way, Stone Monkey was a monster that always attacked survivors in groups. On top of being agile and strong, they also had a knack of throwing things. If you get caught in a bad situation by them, you wouldn’t be able to get close to them without getting hurt. Therefore, everyone hated dealing with them.

“Are you going to jump now?”

“Wait a bit.” After I answered, I stepped onto the branch in front of me. I hope it doesn’t break. Looking down, the friendly zombies had their arms stretched out, they were ready to catch me.

I was not familiar with this composition. Back in the game, jumping down like this was what we did when we were bored. However, instead of zombies, what caught us were reinforced ghouls. I hope the zombies won’t attack me.

My breath hitched as I let my body fall. Then in the next second, “Open the portal!”

Soon the cold floor could be seen in front of me.

“Ugh!” I grabbed my head and prepared to roll over. This was an action to reduce the impact and pain. But surprisingly it didn’t hurt at all.

“…” I slowly stood up and realized that I was in my cave. The four scarabs who were eating, stared blankly at me.

“Keep eating. Don’t worry about me.” I waved my hand towards the scarabs.

Let’s see… If my plan goes well, I will eventually need the ballista from the shelter. If it’s an adult gryphon which had collapsed after being injured, it will die in one or two hits of the ballista. Attacking it directly with a long knife until it dies was not an option since there’s a risk of getting hurt by its retaliation. After all, they were creatures with insane vitality.

“In order to do that, I will need a bait.” I need a zombie to catch its attention and die on my behalf.

By the way, how do I get out of here? The portal was not formed vertically on the air or horizontally in the wall or floor like usual but was formed horizontally in the air since I called it when falling down. For now, let’s go out first and tell Da-jeong I was fine.

I took a chair and pushed my head towards the portal. Once my head passed through, Da-jeong was looking up at me. “Why are you just half out like that? That raccoon world of yours is really strange?”

“It’s not a raccoon world.” After I said that, I returned to the cave and packed all the necessary things for the hunt. Then, through the same chair, I climbed out. I jumped out of the cave and fell to the ground in front of Da-jeong before closing the portal.

“5 points for not doing either a flip or a backflip.” Da-jeong clapped like a seal.

“Shut up! By the way, how many zombies can you sacrifice?”

“Hmm… Who should I sacrifice, I wonder…? They’re all good kids.”

“Once we return to Earth, you can just catch more anyway. This time, just catch some ghouls.”

“I mean, those ghouls are disgusting.” Da-jeong shuddered.

Aren’t these guys more disgusting with that foul smell they exude from their entire body?

After chatting for some more, I proceeded to explain my plan in detail to Da-jeong. However, once she heard the last step of my plan, her brows furrowed. “Can you really give them enough damage by doing that? You know the gryphon’s vitality is insane, right? If you just shoot a few arrows and stab them a few times, they won’t die.”

“Don’t worry about that. I will attack them with a heavy one.”

“Survivor 1 will be infuriated then. He told people he was the best, but he won’t get anything since we are going to steal his prey.” Da-jeong laughed.

“What do you mean by stealing? We’re just robbing the nest. But unfortunately, the gryphon returned in anger.”

“Oh right! Gryphons guard their nests tightly.” Da-jeong gave me a fake surprised face and giggled.

Anyway, I can’t say with 100% guarantee that this plan of mine would work. But, even if it does not work, I could just use another method since I have several baits that gryphons love.

Da-jeong gently pushed her arm around my shoulder. “I’ll give you the skill and points, so the nest is mine, right?”

“Of course…” To be honest, I wanted to have all of it, but since this hunt was a collaborative hunt between us, naturally I had to give her what she deserved. There’s nothing great in the nest anyway. At most, a few shiny things that the gryphon cub and the adult gryphon love.

We checked our plans one last time and waited for the gryphon under the nest.

“Your acting will be important. Geom-in might come and suspect you. In case that happens, you just need to say that you are robbing the nest, but because he couldn’t kill the gryphon, your zombies were sacrificed.”

“Wouldn’t he know what’s going on in the nest?”

“Well, we don’t know what his unique skills are. So it’s useless to think about that.”

“Okay then.”

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Currently, Geom-in was brimming with confidence. With such a large number of people following him to the hunt, forget about a teen gryphon, he could even hunt a fully grown one. And naturally, the last hit would be his. What he promised in return to the people for the last hit could be said to be expensive, but it was still worth it. After all, he would get Gryphon’s unique skill. On top of that, he would also gain a reputation for successfully hunting a gryphon which would take him one step closer to his goal.

Geom-in’s unique skill required the trust of many people with various characteristics to truly shine. Even if it wasn’t affection or allegiance, they had to believe in him and follow him. The problem was, there were only a handful of people who felt that way towards him. As of now, there were only two or three who believed in him.

‘What a pity…’ Geom-in agonized. If only he could win either Rapwi or Duck’s heart, he would get a tremendous unique skill. Even though his unique skill couldn’t copy the additional effect, both Rapwi’s and Duck’s unique skill were great even without it. The more he thought about the immortality and zombie control unique skill, the more thrilled he became.

At the same time, he was also annoyed by Gimbap. Based on the information about Rapwi’s and Duck’s movement, it seems like both of them had met him. Otherwise, there was absolutely no reason for both of them to go to Gyeongnam.

‘As always, it’s just me and the three of them again.’ Back in the game, this situation also happened often. The reason was because he preferred to be holed in his shelter. However, Geom-in quickly shook those feelings out of his heart.

‘If I continue doing what I am doing right now, I can soon do whatever I want.’ Once he successfully takes over the government shelter, expands its territory and eventually becomes the king of all survivors, the three of them wouldn’t be able to ignore him anymore.

The only obstacle preventing him from doing so was Jang Won-taek. The halo of the former president was strong to the point it relegated his fame as stagnant water into nothing but a supporting actor. The more people gathered around him, the stronger Jang won-taek’s power became. To overcome that, Geom-in had no choice but perform an outstanding feat.

‘This Gryphon hunt is just the first step.’ Geom-in said to himself, his hand clenching the long knife’s handle.

At that moment, one of his followers delivered the news.

“Geom-in, the gryphon is returning to its nest! Shall we set off fireworks now?”

“That’s right. Let’s get started!” Even though firework was precious in the current ages, the situation called for its usage. As the wick ran out and sparkling fire exploded in the empty air, the Gryphon that was flying low turned its head. It opened its beak straight away, signaling that he was in the vicinity and descended to the ground. When it landed on the ground, Geom-in shouted.

“Now!” A man jumped out of the bushes at the gryphon’s left and right and threw a net at it. Almost at the same time, spears and arrows rained on it. The gryphon suffered a shallow wound from all the attack and thrash wildly in anger.

Kiaaaakkk–!!

“Don’t let it spread its wings!”

“Throw the net again!”

The important thing when hunting a gryphon was to prevent it from flying into the sky. However, because it thrashed around so much, the poorly-landed net failed to contain its wings. The gryphon spread out its wings, blowing a strong wind in all directions.

In the current situation, the hunter had to get the gryphon’s attention.

“Let’s go!” Geom-in shouted as he decided what to do. Unfortunately for him, the people around him hesitated. They had no intention of becoming the gryphon’s target. They thought, since Geom-in took all the important and sweet rewards, he should also bear all the dangerous risks.

In this kind of hunt, a moment’s hesitation had fatal consequences. Since Geom-in was the one who ran at the forefront, he was exposed to the gryphon. Seeing that Geom-in suddenly popped out, the gryphon ran towards him in anger. Because of its size, its speed was also fast. Geom-in eyes went wide, however it was only for a split second as he quickly used his blink ability to move behind the gryphon.

Kiaaakk-!!

The gryphon twisted its body as it felt something clinging into the back of its neck before flapping its wings and ascending to the sky. At that moment, spears and arrows flew towards it. But just like before, it failed to fatally wound it.

“Heup!!” Geom-in, who was standing in the gryphon’s back, put all of his weight on the long knife and thrust it towards its exposed neck in front of him. The moment the long knife dug into the strong feathers and flesh, Geom-in lost his balance and fell from the gryphon’s back.

“Ugh!” He used blink in mid-air again and land on the ground. The effect of using blink almost successively kicked in, his head started throbbing like crazy.

On the other side, the gryphon was hanging still in the air with a long knife stuck on its neck. Its furious eyes were scanning Geom-in and his party members.

Geom-in was sure, at this moment, a lot of his party members must have wanted to run away. Nevertheless, he shouldn’t treat them badly. Having told them his unique skill, he had to make them his.

“It will come back to the ground soon. Let’s do it for sure this time.” Geom-in said in the calmest tone he could muster as he tried to suppress his anger.

“Oh, yes.” The party members were hesitant, so they didn’t say anything more.

Now, if only the gryphon comes down, the second round will begin. In Geom-in’s mind there was little chance that the angry gryphon would go anywhere else instead of attacking them. However, a strange thing happened as the party members recovered and prepared the spears and arrows once again.

“Huh? The gryphon is flying away!”

“What? Why did it leave us?”

At the news, Geom-in was startled and climbed up the tree with his blink. The gryphon was really flying to the nest in the distance. At that moment, a myriad of curse words poured out from his mouth.

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Blink?

I’m sure I clearly witnessed it. Geom-in, who was in front of the gryphon, moved towards its neck in an instant. It was something impossible without Blink.

His unique skill wasn’t Shelter Enhancement?

Or did he by chance have multiple unique skills?

Whatever it was, it was clear that Geom-in had Blink or similar movement-type unique skill. I moved my head away from Geom-in’s direction and watched the zombies plunder the nest. The question right now was whether Geom-in saw what we did or not.

Kieek-!!

Seeing the zombies rummaging its nest, the gryphon flew in a straight line to the nest. In order for me to hit it, the zombies have to attract its attention. At that moment, the young gryphon cub which we killed a few minutes ago was pulled into my portal. Seeing its cub disappearing, the gryphon rushed faster than before.

Kieeekk-!!

When it landed, the zombies quickly moved towards it and showed some resistance. But in front of its claws and beak, any resistance was meaningless. With one swoop, the zombies were cut into bits and pieces and strewn all over the nest. I took the opportunity to sneak towards the nape of the gryphon.

When I thrust the long knife in my hand, it pierced the gryphon’s neck after meeting some resistance from its feather and muscle.

Kieek-!!

Perhaps, because it couldn’t stand the pain, the gryphon twisted its body and started to flail around. I mustered all my strength and held on to its feather as hard as I could, in hope to not be flung away.

But… Why are there two long knives here? Is it Geom-in’s long knife? Should I be grateful for it?

While I was frantically holding on to the feathers, the gryphon flew up again. However, after circling its nest several times, its flapping wings started to slow down.

Kiee-!!

The cry which earlier sounded like it could easily tear the sky now only had little strength in it. Okay… if things continue like this… I just have to preserve for a little bit more. Opportunity will come soon, I’m sure of it.

A few shouts could be heard from below. It seems like they wanted the gryphon to come down soon. Unfortunately for them, even though the gryphon had suffered a lot of wounds, it had no intention of going down at all. Because it seemed like it didn’t have any more strength to flap its wings, it was gliding in the air following the wind.

As we slowly moved away from the rocky mountain, the flailing gryphon had become a lot calmer. I finally pulled out two long knives and shoved them towards its wings.

Kieeekk-!!

The gryphon thrashed for one more time to flung me away. To be honest, because its power was incomparable to the previous one, I could continue to hang on if I wanted. But I loosened my grip and began to fall to the ground to continue with my plan. I only opened the portal once I knew what the shape of the grass that grew on the ground was.

When I crossed the portal, my momentum was cushioned by the dead gryphon cub’s body

“Huh… What a relief.” When I stood up and looked around the cave, I could see the scarabs were hiding in their nests, only their eyes sticking out. It seems like they were terrified because so much happened all of a sudden.

I reassured them, shoved the gryphon cub’s corpse into one side, and placed the two long knives into my weapon shelf. Then, I focused on the sound outside.

Thud!

Soon enough, the sound of something heavy falling to the ground echoed. Now, I have to move quickly. I ran towards the cave’s entrance, loaded the ballista and walked out through the portal I opened in front of the ballista. When I went to the place where the gryphon had fallen, it was still gasping for breath. However, its eyes were still staring viciously at me. Even though it was in such a state, it still had the power to send me into the afterlife. It was still dangerous to approach it.

“Just lie there.” I entered the portal and aimed the ballista at it. I could see the gryphon’s eyes moving after me and then stopping. Well, it would feel strange if something just disappeared in front of you suddenly so I couldn’t judge him.

When I pushed a lever forward, the elasticity of the string pushed the bolt away in an instant.

Tuck-!!

Kieek–!! Kieek-!!

The gryphon was in agony when the large arrow lodged itself into its eye. I hurriedly loaded one more bolt and fired. When the follow-up shot dug into its head, the gryphon limped to the ground.

Moment later, a notification which signalled the death of the gryphon appeared in front of me.

「You have earned 50 points」

「You have acquired ‘Gryphon’s Eyes’ skill」

I’d like to see what items I got as well, but I simply didn’t have time to check them right now. I made a few more cuts on the knife wounds on the gryphon’s neck and removed the bolt from its eyes. Now, no one will know for sure how the gryphon died.

At that moment, a shout could be heard in the distance.

“I think it fell over there!”

“Someone call Geom-in, quickly!”

I opened a portal in a suitable place to watch and entered. Then some people ran up to the corpse and sighed.

“Hey… this…”

“It just fell and died?”

“Did it hit its head too hard?”

Then, Geom-in suddenly appeared in front of the gryphon corpse. Now I’m sure that it’s Blink. He looked at the gryphon’s corpse and smiled in dismay.

“Ha… Really.” Because he was in front of people, he could not express his anger. But his anger was palpable as his body was trembling violently. I’m sure if someone said or did something wrong right now, he would explode.

He knelt and looked closely at the gryphon’s corpse.

“The long knife is gone. I’m sure I stabbed it.”

“Maybe it fell off while the gryphon was falling?”

“Or because it struggles so much.”

“…” Geom-in’s gaze turned to the severely damaged head.

“This is not a wound from falling…”

The party members looked back at the gryphon’s corpse and chatted.

“Is there anyone apart from us here?”

“Or, perhaps, it’s the zombie queen who did it?”

“Ah, it can’t be. After all, zombies are nothing in front of the gryphon.”

“Anyway, I think this guy’s meat will be delicious.”

“If we cook it well, it will be edible.”

“From what I’ve heard before, the cub tastes better than the adult.”

“Isn’t that natural? Because it’s still a cub, its skin will be soft… yet it’s still big because it’s a gryphon…”

“If you add soju to it, it will be insanely delicious heh heh…”

“Isn’t the nest empty now?”

“Shall we go catch the cub?”

“That’s not important right now!” Geom-in, who was still very angry, finally exploded. The party members momentarily faltered at his outburst, but soon talked back at him.

“It’s important to live and eat, what is more important than that?”

“It’s not our fault that we failed, so why are you screaming like that?”

“Who was it that gathered us in the first place?”

In Geom-in’s eyes, I could see a hint of ‘I screwed up.’

His party members turned their eyes away from him and just talked amongst themselves.

“Ah, put it away, put it away.”

“Let’s go to the nest and catch the cub or whatever.”

“It will be hard to butcher it.”

“Geom-in, please make sure you pay us what you promised.”

At those words, Geom-in lost his energy and collapsed on the ground.

I’m sorry… probably?