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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Murder Star Trait
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-Keeieeek!
Another Ratman came charging in.
This one was gripping a crude knife, just like the last.
The faint glow from the Night Moss.
The knife's motion reflected in that light was clear as day.
-Whoosh!
I twisted my body out of the way without hesitation.
-Kagak!
The Ratman's knife embedded itself in the cave wall.
When it yanked the hilt free, the rusted blade snapped clean off.
-Ki, kit?!
Even monsters knew how to feel surprise, it seemed.
I readjusted my grip on the knife I'd taken from the previous Ratman.
-Puk!
And without a second thought, I plunged it into its throat.
-...!!
It couldn't even manage a dying screech.
-Spurt!
I twisted the blade right into its artery, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.
And at the same moment.
Something slipped from the Ratman's shrunken, milky eyes—now dulled and small.
I yanked the knife free.
No time to catch my breath.
-Keeieeek!
-Keeik!
There were more than just one or two lurking nearby.
At least five in the pack.
'Can I take on three of them?'
Doubt flickered through my mind for an instant.
But then.
-Drip...
The blood drenching the crude knife.
That hot, sticky sensation turned my doubt into certainty.
-Crunch!
I tore some glowing moss from the wall.
And scattered it across the floor.
The luminous moss fluttered down.
Scattering eerie green light in all directions.
The Ratmen barreled through the haze.
-Keeik!
I had them figured out.
These things always swung their knives first, no exceptions.
The first one, the second one—same story.
I dodged the blade that came slicing in up to my chest,
-Kwajik!
and drove my knife straight into the slipping Ratman's wrist.
-Keeieeeeeek!
Its piercing scream threw the remaining two into chaos.
At the same time, I snatched up the knife it had dropped,
-Shuuuk!
and hurled it at the ankle of another Ratman glowing on the luminous moss.
-Puk!
Direct hit.
The one with the knife in its ankle dropped its own blade too.
I rolled across the floor and scooped up another knife.
-Ki, keeik?!
Dealing with the last one, which hesitated and backed away, was the easiest.
-Puk!
All I had to do was stab it in the heart from behind.
-Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
Unlike the throat, it didn't die in one go, so I stabbed it several times until it finally collapsed.
Maybe its hide was just thicker.
"Hoo..."
Blood had splattered everywhere.
Not enough to soak me through, but still.
'Feels gross.'
I pulled my knife free, and the Ratman's body thudded to the ground.
-Keeieeek!
-Keeieek!
The one with the pierced wrist.
The one with the pierced ankle.
Both shrieked in agony.
But oddly enough, it didn't grate on me at all.
"...Why'd you even come here?"
I stomped down hard on the neck of the Ratman sprawled on the ground, clutching its ankle.
-Kwaduk!
Its neck vertebrae snapped, silencing the screams.
"This is a Survival War anyway."
I crouched down and pried the knife from the dead one's ankle.
"You could've just waited it out..."
Gripping knives in both hands, I trudged toward the last one.
-Ki, keeiee! Kit! Keeieek!
The Ratman flailed, its wrist pinned to the cave wall.
-Puuuk!
Two knives sank into its skull simultaneously.
Instant death.
No chance to watch the light fade from its eyes.
"Haa, haa..."
Taking them down in a frenzy had left me winded.
I'd thought my stamina had improved a lot...
Guess it was different inside a dungeon.
-Tszz...
That's when it happened.
The hairs on my body stood on end, and my vision sharpened crystal clear.
"This is..."
Level up.
No one told me, but I knew it instinctively.
"Whoa..."
Amazing.
It felt refreshing, like I'd just woken up from a deep sleep!
Bathed in Ratman blood, yet I felt fresh out of the shower.
So this was a level up!
I'd been thinking of taking a break, but no need now.
I pulled the knives from the dead Ratmen's bodies.
Four in total, excluding the broken one.
Crude as hell, but they'd come in handy.
I gathered them all.
Yanking one from a sturdy skull, I noticed something.
My strength felt greater.
It came out smooth and easy, like pop.
'Good.'
One thing I'd heard during training was that everything was great except the lack of power.
If strength went up with every level...
That offset the weakness nicely.
Anyway...
What now?
Remaining Time: 7 hours 30 minutes
7 hours and 30 minutes...
Longer than I'd expected.
Probably because it was a 'Survival War.'
"..."
But.
Did I really need to wait it out?
No matter that Tutorial 9 was a 'Survival War.'
'Just kill them all.'
A thrill shot up my spine.
Just like when I'd killed the first Ratman.
The thought alone was enough.
Was this the Heavenly Murder Star's effect too?
'Is this good or bad...'
Either way, better than hunkering down covered in Ratman blood for the next 7 hours and 30 minutes.
This wasn't empty bravado.
I'd realized I could kill Ratmen with ease.
Like seeing all the answers before a test.
No reason not to act when the path was clear.
That'd be the real stupidity.
'Alright.'
Let's do it.
I peered into the depths of the branching cave.
One path where the Ratmen had emerged.
The other covered in glowing moss.
"Hmm..."
I eyed both paths carefully, then headed toward the glowing moss.
No more monsters on the Ratman side.
If there were, they'd have swarmed when I took out the three.
That left one option.
I pressed on, stepping over the softly glowing moss.
Aside from the occasional drip, drip of falling water droplets, the cave was silent.
How long had I walked?
The narrowing tunnel suddenly widened.
And there...
-Drip, drip, drip...
A vast chamber, impossibly spacious for a cave.
In the center sat a sizable spring.
'A spring here?'
The sight of the clear water sparked thirst the moment I saw it.
Drinking anything willy-nilly was risky, but this spring looked pristine.
Even if I didn't drink, I could at least wash my hands.
As I approached the spring,
-Tszzt!
My scalp prickled sharply.
Like an invisible thread tugged at the crown of my head, pulling me.
I moved on instinct.
Toward the direction of the pull.
-Whish!
A spear slammed into the spot where I'd stood.
-Kagak!
A roughly carved wooden pole with a Ratman knife lashed crudely to the end.
Calling it a spear was generous.
A Ratman?
If so, time to kill it.
-Pa bat!
I hurled one of the Ratman knives I'd pocketed.
Nothing but darkness ahead, but I could feel it.
Something there wanted me dead.
'Die.'
-Kang!
But the knife ricocheted off something in the dark.
It spun wildly before embedding in the cave wall.
'What?'
A Ratman couldn't have blocked it.
Couldn't even dodge.
Which meant.
Whatever was there wasn't a Ratman.
-Shiiik!
A sinister hissing breath echoed.
A shadow emerged from the darkness.
At a glance, it looked like a hulking human.
But it wasn't.
'Lizardman...!!'
A reptilian covered head to toe in turquoise scales.
"Dodging my attack... Shiiik."
"..."
"Not some frail human after all. Shiiik."
It flicked out a forked black tongue and grinned.
Fangs sharper than any Ratman's.
Slitted predator eyes fixed on me.
Observing me.
And I was observing it right back.
'That...'
My gaze locked on the Lizardman's waist.
More precisely, on whatever it wore there.
'Humans.'
No mistaking it.
Crimson entrails draped like a belt.
Two severed heads bound into them.
One was the restaurant complainer.
The other, the chatty old guy.
Blood still dripping from their ragged necks.
Freshly cut, no doubt.
Probably killed the moment they entered.
"Meeting three humans in the Tutorial... Shiiik."
The Lizardman threw its head back in laughter.
"I'm one lucky bastard. Shiiik, shik."
Lizardmen weren't monsters like Ratmen.
Otherworlders.
Beings from other dimensions participating in Babel Tower's Tutorial, just like humans.
They were why Tutorial survival rates were hellish.
Most were stronger than humans.
And Lizardmen were infamous for their aggression.
Sometimes Otherworlders teamed up in Tutorials.
But some never mingled.
Lizardmen were among them.
Mingle?
Hell no.
Lizardmen relished cannibalism.
Humans had no scales, little hair, soft skin—prime delicacies.
'...Guess I have to kill it then.'
No talking this out.
Any more than a pig could chat with a human.
One option.
Kill before getting killed.
-Yeah, let's kill it.
-Kill it for the humans!
-Kill it!
-Kill it!
-Kill it!
Something flashed in my mind, then whispers began.
No time to wonder what.
The Lizardman had drawn its knife.
Had to move faster.
"You'll taste delicious, human!"
With a shik shik, it drew its blade.
In the same instant, I toed a fist-sized stone resting on the glowing moss and kicked it flying.
Never trained for this.
My body just moved naturally.
On pure instinct.
-Peurk!
The stone nailed the Lizardman's left eye dead-on.
"Graaaak!!!"
The Lizardman screamed.
I didn't waste the opening—charged straight at it.
-Whish!
Lizardman scales were legendary for toughness.
A Ratman's junk knife wouldn't scratch them.
Lucky if it didn't shatter.
So I didn't touch my knives.
Instead.
-Puuuk!
I jammed my fingers straight into its right eye without hesitation.
The vivid sensation of gouging the eyeball.
"Graaak!!!"
The Lizardman's screams grew louder.
To me, it sounded like triumphant fanfare.
-Clang!
It flailed and dropped its knife.
In a flash, I dropped low, snatched it up.
Nothing like the Ratmen's trash blades.
Solid hilt, razor edge gleaming blue.
With this.
I could skin a Lizardman no problem.