You need to be more cautious of an old wolf than a large one.
Surviving in that harsh nature until old age means that it possesses a certain level of wisdom and hunting skill.
While a large wolf might have the advantage in a frontal fight, you cannot let your guard down against the old one. You never know when or how it might bite your throat.
And this isn't a story limited to wolves. In any place, growing old in a harsh environment means you have survived.
The Mountain Lord, the guardian of this forest, is no exception. I am also curious as to why it has "Mountain" (山) in its nickname despite living in the forest. But it's not that important, so let's move on.
What's important is that it's a survivor.
It was born as a Great Tiger (大虎).
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.
That would surely give it an advantage in survival. It likely had no worthy opponents.
However, even considering that, the depth where it lives is teeming with monsters.
There are carnivorous plants everywhere, and high-level monsters abound.
Life also involves luck, so there might have been times when it found itself in a crisis.
Nevertheless, it must have overcome them.
Using its physical strength and cunning animal wisdom.
Of course, I haven’t seen its battle scenes.
But even without seeing, I can understand. The countless scars on its body testify to those fierce battles.
Its strength doesn't come merely from physicality; it emerges from the many years it has endured.
Thus, it has survived until old age in this forest.
That's why it is called the Old Tiger (老虎).
Being old is not a derogatory term; it’s a title of reverence bestowed upon it by explorers.
Even if its body may decline and grow weaker, its cunning will shine brighter than ever.
In short, I’m screwed.
Even in pure combat ability, I fall short, and on top of that, it is more cunning than any monster I’ve seen.
"When was the last time I met it? A few years ago?"
It was when I foolishly entered deep into the forest.
At that time, I encountered it, and I was nearly killed.
Through desperate efforts, I managed to leave one biochip in my side, but that was about it.
Even if I had regeneration abilities, I was barely able to fight at all.
Its tenacity was also terrifying.
Last time, it had chased me all the way from the middle layer to the surface.
Honestly, I was lucky then. I accidentally managed to throw it off, and fortunately, there was another monster in front of me, so I could mask my scent with the smell of blood.
If luck hadn’t been on my side back then, I wouldn’t be here now.
"What about now...?"
Well.
I involuntarily frowned. Positive thoughts were hard to come by.
One thing is certain: if I want to live, I need to run for my life.
Huh! Huh!
As I ran, I occasionally threw daggers in the direction of the beast.
Since it was such a large creature, aiming wasn’t necessary.
To be honest, I didn’t know if it would be effective.
I usually refrained from throwing daggers like this.
Good-quality throwing daggers aren’t cheap, and if I throw them while fleeing, I won't be able to retrieve them.
However, there was no choice this time.
If I could hinder its pursuit even a little, I had to bear the loss.
“Haah, haah, you’re going too fast...!”
“Don’t stop! You’ll die if you do!”
“Haah, but...!”
“Ugh.”
At one point, Im Ha-neul was so slow that I ended up carrying her. It was faster to carry her than to run alongside her.
I even briefly considered this thought.
Since she’s an otherworlder, shouldn’t I just leave her behind...?
But I quickly discarded that idea. How could I do that to someone I barely knew?
For now, I’ll take her as far as I can.
“?!”
Suddenly, I heard her surprised voice behind me.
“Hold on tight! I can’t support you right now!”
I said that and ran again.
Her large... well, something large touched my back. Very strongly.
Since I couldn’t support her with my hands, Ha-neul had no choice but to cling to my body as tightly as she could.
Swoosh.
Every time that happened, a warm, heavy sensation was intensely felt on my back.
What can I say... it felt like a warm water balloon was pressing down on me. Honestly, wasn’t this enough to warrant taking care of her?
As much as I wanted to enjoy the sensation a bit longer, there was no time for that. A monster was chasing us from behind.
And honestly, my reason for taking care of her wasn’t solely out of friendship.
“I’ll need you to cast some magic.”
As I mentioned before, she was a support-type mage.
Even if the effects were minimal, it was better than nothing.
Whooosh—
As she cast her spell, wind enveloped my feet. It was the spell called "Haste."
A simple spell that lightens the target’s feet slightly.
It was extremely simple, but at this moment, such a buff was invaluable.
“Gwaaaah!”
Even so, shaking off the Old Tiger was no easy task.
There were limits for a cephalopod-like human.
But it was fine. At least we were maintaining our distance. I didn’t think for a second that I could shake it off in one go. This would be a prolonged chase.
The scenery changed rapidly. Huge trees zipped past, gradually becoming smaller.
That meant we were slowly returning to the middle layer.
Despite being far from its territory, the Old Tiger chased us without concern. It was determined to make us its prey.
Finally, it swung its front paw toward us. I quickly ducked.
Whoosh!
An overwhelming pressure of wind brushed over my head.
Several trees were cleanly cut down and fell to the ground. Just because it was the middle layer, the trees weren’t small or weak; this was truly monstrous strength.
‘This won’t do.’
It was clear that running away wouldn’t shake it off.
So what should I do?
I needed to make it turn back. I had to injure it enough for it to realize that chasing us was dangerous.
No matter how strong it was, it couldn’t have the stamina to go back and forth between the deep and middle layers.
And I also had to prepare for situations where I might encounter competitors when returning to the deep.
The Old Tiger might be the ruler of this forest, but that didn’t mean there weren’t hyenas targeting it.
So the conclusion is simple. I injure it. And then somehow escape.
Now that I had a rough plan, it was time to put it into action.
Just then, I spotted a giant tree blocking our path.
I said to Ha-neul,
“Let’s hide behind that.”
“Huh? But that thing is chasing us. It’ll figure it out quickly!”
“No, listen. I have a plan.”
As I ran, I briefly explained the simple plan to her. This time, her role was particularly important.
“...Got it.”
She nodded firmly after hearing my explanation.
Soon, we arrived at the planned tree. Without hesitation, we hid behind it.
We then silently waited for an opportunity, preparing ourselves.
“...”
Fortunately, the opportunity came quickly.
“Grrr!”
The Old Tiger stopped in front of the tree.
With its keen sense of smell, it must have known we had halted behind it.
An overwhelming killing intent pressed against my skin.
I shook off my hesitation and immediately threw my spear toward it.
Normally, it would react. Even if it had to suffer a wound, it might have swung its foot to crush me.
“Grr?”
But this time, its reaction was one of confusion.
Naturally, it would see me as two people right now.
It was a light trick created by an illusion.
I silently chuckled to myself.
‘Gotcha.’
In that brief moment, many thoughts would race through its mind.
What’s real? What should I attack? No, what if both are real?
And that confusion would lead to hesitation.
With that degree of hesitation, I could strike.
Thwack!
Finally, my prepared strike pierced its front paw. The attack smoothly sank into its flesh, even more easily than I had anticipated.
Considering its massive body, it wasn’t a particularly large wound.
But it was a definite injury that caused it to bleed. It was something not to be taken lightly.
Seeing that, I quietly cheered.
‘Got it!’
Now, as long as I can run well, I can survive.
With that thought in mind, I turned back to take care of Ha-neul and attempt to escape.
And that’s when it happened.
Whoosh!
Its ridiculously large front paw swung.
It wasn’t its injured right paw but its left front paw.
I quickly lifted my spear to block its attack.
However, that was only an attempt.
The place it attacked was not me but behind me, where Im Ha-neul was.
“Uh?”
Slash!
With a sharp sound, her body was struck by its front paw.
Before she was taken down, she turned her gaze toward me one last time.
“Ah, no, Yor...!”
Swoosh.
With those words, she was dead and logged out.
What remained was only a wizard's hat that fell to the ground.
“...Huh.”
I let out a hollow sound.
I had at least figured out that she was the caster during the attack.
She must have found me troublesome and attacked first.
Truly a cunning creature.
“Grrr?”
The beast tilted its head.
It probably had never seen an otherworlder before.
The scene of the corpse turning into light particles and disappearing would certainly be shocking if seen for the first time.
“...”
To be honest, I didn’t suffer any loss.
She was an otherworlder, and in three days, she would be resurrected and come back as if nothing had happened.
Rather, she took the hit that I would have received, so I could say that I preserved my stamina.
But what is this disgusting feeling?
No matter how much I didn’t suffer any loss, watching a friend disappear right before my eyes wasn’t a pleasant sight.
“You damned cat.”
That’s why I decided to change my stance.
I would run away.
But since I had already inflicted a wound and had come down to the middle layer, wouldn’t it be alright to run away a little late?
So, perhaps it would be okay to indulge a little.
Holding my spear, I made a small incision in my skin.
Slowly, blood oozed out, wrapping around the spear's blade.
“Let’s make another scar today.”
It would be a bit risky, but the beast should take some damage as well.