From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 63: Land of Ice Pt. 3

Jeong In-Chang felt something instinctively. Whether it was the running ogres or the ogre with the unusual red eyes, he knew he needed to avoid them.

There was something different.

He shouted, “You look just like that bastard!”

Almost like Heracles.

He thought that it must not have been a coincidence that the former ogres that had been gathered together looked like Heracles to him. It was because of that bastard, the red-eyed ogre. The energy and aura he exuded were so similar to Heracles’ that he had mistaken them for him. Jeong In-Chang gave up on finishing the blow and turned around and threw himself to the side. Although he had to move on short notice, Jeong In-Chang’s physical stats were outstanding.

Thud, thud, thud!

He succeeded in dodging, and the ogres stampeded by where he had just been.

“Whew…”

He exhaled in relief.

“Roaar!!!!”

However, it wasn’t over yet. The ogres turned again, their eyes boring into Jeong In-Chang. The red-eyed ogre shouted loudly as if he had been infuriated by Jeong In-Chang’s actions.

“What… what in the world?” he sputtered.

Something unbelievable was occurring right before him.

Rip.

“Roar!!!!!”

The red-eyed ogre was tearing apart the ogres that were next to it. It seemed to be in a similar state to Heracles when he had been eroded by madness. Unable to distinguish between its enemies, it was only able to unleash its ferocity.

Blood spewed from an ogre hit by the red-eyed ogre’s furious blows. But, as if it wasn’t enough, the red-eyed ogre started chasing after the rest.

“Blech…”

Even considering his experiences as a Hunter, Jeong In-Chang felt nauseated at the cruel sight. However, he couldn’t relax yet.

‘It’s strong.’

It had the power to turn another ogre into a puddle of blood with only its fist and had enough strength to tear a fellow ogre apart with its hands.

“Keugh…”

The other ogres didn’t attack as they normally did when provoked but instead started to step back at the gruesome sight.

‘It's stronger than boss-level monsters.’

.

Goosebumps crept up Jeong In-Chang's back. The ogre village’s boss, the twin-headed ogre, wasn’t even as strong as the red-eyed one. He wasn’t sure why there was a monster stronger than the boss or why there was a monster that didn’t match the gate grade. However, the scene in front of him was real.

‘It doesn’t look like I can even run away. Damn it.’

The red-eyed ogre had already blocked his escape route.

‘It’s too fast.’

He didn’t even have the confidence to run fast enough to outrun the weird ogre.

Gulp.

The monster’s anger was unstoppable as it erupted in rage. It was a bastard that released its own anger by killing its own species.

Jeong In-Chang could feel it.

‘It’s coming soon.’

Its anger would soon turn to him. However, he was conflicted. If he was going to run away, then he should have already begun. If he was going to fight, then he should have clearly made his stand.

“Think carefully about the identity of your Sponsor.”

But he just couldn’t figure out why he was thinking of George’s words at a time like this.

He muttered, “I mean, who the hell is <The Prince on a White Horse>?"

He had already thought through it dozens of times, but he couldn’t figure out the answer.

“Am I supposed to save a sleeping princess or something? Damn it!”

It had already been a while since he had gotten tired of the unsolvable riddle. That was why he had gone hunting, in hopes of raising his combat ability and hoping for more sponsorship.

‘Why am I thinking about it again…’

“<The Prince on a White Horse>! <The Prince on a White Horse>! <The Prince on a White Horse>!”

But no matter how much he rambled on to himself, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

“Screw this. Let’s fight!”

He didn’t want to do it anymore. He didn’t want to think. Thanks to George, his courage to fight had reignited. He wasn’t confident in using his head, so he decided just to hit the monster.

Jeong In-Chang didn’t even forget to shout toward the sky, “I’ll give it my best! So, if you don’t want me to die, please support me!”

[<The Prince on a White Horse> looks at you with an inexplicable gaze.]

“Ahhhh!”

The voice of a Sponsor had rung out, and finally, the bastard that had finished killing its own species began to run toward Jeong In-Chang.

***

When Jeong In-Chang was a child, he remembered that there was a child he didn’t know who would torment him at the playground. The child would insult him with harsh words and actions that didn’t match his age, and eventually, Jeong In-Chang had had enough and hit him back.

The problem was what happened after that. That child had an older brother in middle school, and that hyung was the so-called Hyung who was in charge of the neighborhood. The child quickly had called his brother, and Jeong In-Chang had chosen to fight back instead of running away.

There was no way that he, a fourth grader in elementary school, would have been a match for that child’s older brother, but he didn’t back down.

'Why am I thinking about that time?'

No.

“Actually, it kind of makes sense…” he said in an exhausted voice. There wasn’t much of a difference between then and now. There was as much a difference in strength between him and the current bastard in front of him as there was when he was an elementary schooler facing a middle schooler.

If he had to think of anything different from back then, then it was that the red-eyed ogre was much stronger than that middle school hyung.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Moreover, the monster in front of him wasn’t trying to punish him a little either. It simply wanted to kill him.

“You little motherfu–!”

He was the same as well. Jeong In-Chang ran towards the red-eyed ogre, his greatsword swinging forward, striking the monster’s fist.

Clang!

As the fist of the monster collided with the greatsword, it sparked and made a sound as if he had hit steel. However, Jeong In-Chang didn’t stop.

Clang!

The greatsword bounced off the fist, and as the monster moved, the sword flew again accordingly. He parried as if he had been possessed by something, as if he was dancing with his greatsword.

Every time he was thrown back in the fight, he got up again and ran forward. As time went by, his movements became increasingly sophisticated and precise.

Clang!

Nevertheless, the difference in power wasn’t something he could overcome. In the end, the monster’s fist glanced off Jeong In-Chang’s body, and even the force of that slight contact created an explosive sound. As a result, his shoulder immediately tore into ribbons.

“Gasp… gasp… gasp…"

Jeong In-Chang took a step back and gasped for air.

Still, he was satisfied.

‘That bastard also has been hurt.’

Although it didn’t look like it was tired, Jeong In-Chang had mainly been attacking its leg joints. It was slowly reaching a point where it was taking a toll on the red-eyed ogre. Jeong In-Chang quickly took out a potion, poured some on his shoulder, and drank the rest. If he didn’t take a potion to heal an injury when he had the time, it would become fatal.

‘It's already…’

He realized it was the second day. Two days had passed since he had started fighting the red-eyed ogre. They had just been clashing over and over again, not even taking the time to eat. To be honest, he had tried to run away several times, but the monster never lost sight of him.

In the end, it was just an endless fight.

‘Does this thing ever get tired…?’

The red-eyed ogre showed no signs of exhaustion. If Jeong In-Chang hadn’t attacked its leg joints, then there was a good chance that he would have already joined the ranks of the torn ogres.

“Keugah…”

The monster stood there, looking at Jeong In-Chang. Its bloodlust was multiplying from the madness, its red eyes were becoming even redder, and its appearance was turning even more menacing.

“I’m going to die…” Jeong In-Chang said in a self-deprecating tone. Fortunately, his stamina had still held up until this point. It was the result of the many sponsorships he had been granted while he had trained with Lee Jun-Kyeong.

[<The Prince on a White Horse> restores a small amount of your stamina.]

Moreover, he was able to hold on through the continuous support of <The Prince on a White Horse>. However, he wouldn’t be able to rely on this sponsorship forever.

‘I’m going to take him down.’

He reaffirmed his goal. He wouldn’t die. He would endure it. Three days, five days, even if it took a month, he would end the monster before him. His head was filled with such an unyielding attitude.

Thrum.

He hadn’t realized it, but all of a sudden, blue flames began to flicker in and out of existence around the blade of his greatsword.

***

Another day had passed, but before anyone knew it, both the red-eyed ogre and Jeong In-Chang had become complete messes.

"Gasp… Gasp… Gasp…"

"Keugah… Keugah…”

Their bodies were covered in a mix of each other’s blood and splatter in green and red. They had been covered in so many small cuts and nicks that their wounds seemed to blend together into gigantic scars.

“Hehe…” Jeong In-Chang chucked to himself. Even he had to admit it. He had done pretty well. At first, the monster had felt like an iron wall, impossible to scale. But, as time went on, little by little, things changed.

“It… seems… like… my stamina… is better… than yours…” he said to the monster in a dry voice. If anything, the situation had become amusing. After having fought continuously for three days, it felt like they had gotten closer.

"Keugah…"

The ogre let out a gasp as if in reply. Its red eyes still gleamed, but it was different from before. The red eyes that had flashed ferociously until only just yesterday were now shining with a glimmer of affection.

“Let's… finish this…”

“Keugah…!”

The situation was amusing, but the two were still fighting an unfinished battle. It would only end by killing one another.

Thrum.

Suddenly, without him even realizing it, a blue flame appeared on Jeong In-Chang’s greatsword. It morphed into a blade-like aura and wrapped around the greatsword.

Slice!

Finally, he was able to cut through the steel-like flesh.

“Keugah!!!”

The tiny cuts that he had only been able to inflict on the monster began to transform into proper blows. Jeong In-Chang moved as if he was possessed again, and the more he continued, the more the stiffness disappeared and began to flow naturally.

“Whew…”

Now, the excess power he had been wasting began to disappear and became focused on the edge of his blade. Jeong In-Chang had begun to learn how to achieve efficiency with the least amount of effort without even realizing it.

‘Although I still have no idea who <The Prince on a White Horse> is…’

Swish! Puheok! Clang!

Countless sounds echoed through the space. His sword cut through the monster and then returned to block its attacks. The sound of the angry ogre going crazy with madness and destroying the surroundings rang through the air. Jeong In-Chang continued to aim for the openings in the ogre’s attacks, sweeping his greatsword while he thought about his Sponsor.

“Although it’s hard to save a sleeping princess…” he muttered as if he was speaking to someone while swinging his sword.

Swish!

“Isn’t it enough to just…”

Puheok!

Finally, his giant greatsword pierced through the ogre’s stomach. The monster slammed its fists forward in rage, but Jeong In-Chang decisively moved forward under the greatsword and shoved it in further.

“...enough to wipe out all the villains threatening the princess…?”

He was speaking to <The Prince on a White Horse>, to the bastard who was impossible to identify. He questioned his Sponsor, wondering if it was enough just to wipe out all of the villains instead of protecting the princess.

Thud!

Jeong In-Chang collapsed at the dull blow, enduring the blow to pierce his greatsword through the ogre’s stomach. Looking up, he could see the ogre’s red eyes gradually disappearing. He took a second to process if he had won.

No.

‘Is this a pyrrhic victory?’

Since both of them had reached the end of their ropes, he was sure he would die if left like this. The dull blow he had just endured had caused a great amount of damage to his endlessly exhausted body. He would die unless he consumed a potion immediately.

– Would you be okay with being given one mouth-to-mouth?

“...?”

Jeong In-Chang looked forward with a blank expression. Suddenly, it wasn’t the ogre’s head but a floating skull, emitting blue light, that filled his sight.

“Hye…Hyeon-Mu?” Jeong In-Chang mumbled at the unbelievable sight.

– I mean, it’s not necessary to do it this way anymore. But if you want it…

Then, between his lips…

“AHHHH!”

…a potion trickled through. As Jeong In-Chang screamed, a notification rang.

[<The Prince on a White Horse> praises your achievement.]

[<The Prince on a White Horse> grants you a title.]

[<The Prince on a White Horse> reveals his true name.]

[Congratulations.]

The notification was for an achievement he had acquired.

[You have acquired the title of Siegfried.]

It was a title.