Chapter 27: Reunion with Unexpected Friends (2)

Ogre.

A monster known as the form of a giant and a disaster born of the earth.
It stood on two legs like a human, supporting itself on the ground, but its immense size was so powerful it could challenge the heavens.

It was a monster that trampled even knights clad in sturdy steel to death, as if they were dirt.

This was the description of an Ogre I had read in some book.
And not a single word of it was wrong.
Yu-shin frowned.
Honestly, if he were to consider it with full power, it wasn’t very good.

To express it a bit more accurately.

It would be correct to say that he was at a disadvantage in terms of compatibility.

An Ogre is a monster with incredibly formidable defense that simply nullifies most magic, and absurd regenerative power that can quickly reattach severed limbs.

Now, here’s a problem.

He was already tough.

How should I deal with an enemy whose regeneration is also absurd?

The answer is simple.

Kill him instantly with one blow, or deal with him by unleashing a powerful barrage of firepower that his regeneration cannot keep up with.
Unfortunately, the current Yu-shin was incapable of that.

In other words, there was no way to deal with the Ogre right now.

Even if he were to sever its neck with Unique Name Slash, the Ogre would just regenerate with a laugh.
But even so, Yu-shin had not the slightest intention of fleeing from this spot.

If you bow your head simply because you lack power.

That person will have no choice but to bow their head for the rest of their life.

That was something Hyung-nim often said in his lifetime.

And because Yu-shin knew the sorrow of powerlessness very well.
Conversely, he never wanted to return to that helpless self again.
Therefore, he chose to fight.

[Uwaaaaaaah!!!]

The Ogre displayed a very peculiar reaction.
It had just been loitering near the building when it suddenly discovered Yu-shin.
It began to let out a roar mixed with fury.

Its reaction seemed as if the Ogre recognized Yu-shin and became enraged.

But Yu-shin denied that possibility.
In the first place, with an Ogre’s level of intelligence, it was impossible for it to remember the face of a tiny human that it couldn’t even properly see.

Even if it did remember.

That would only be remembering the hero from the fantasy world.

Not Baek Yu-shin from this world.
That is, it wouldn’t recognize this body.

A fist mixed with fury slammed into the ground like a meteorite, with intense force.
Just the vibration alone was enough to make it difficult to properly endure.
If he allowed that to land, it would be over.

‘I’d be squashed like dried squid, my insides crushed.’

Indeed, in his days as an active hero, Yu-shin had seen countless corpses of soldiers and knights, their insides splattered, crushed to death by Ogres.

Naturally, Yu-shin had no intention of suffering such a fate whatsoever.

The silver lining in the misfortune was that Ogres were so unintelligent that their movements were not very difficult to read.
He thought that until he saw what happened next.

“…?”

Yu-shin momentarily doubted his eyes.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the Ogre was now taking a systematic stance, as if performing martial arts.

It was taking a systematic stance.

An Ogre doing martial arts?

Those guys who even forget to eat?

But Yu-shin’s sneer didn’t last long.
This was because the Ogre, having taken a stance like in Taekwondo, swung its fist with precise, decisive movements, sending it flying towards him.

Thwack!!

To be more precise, what is commonly called a ‘fist wind’ flew towards Yu-shin.
If Yu-shin’s reaction had been slow, he might have ended up like a shattered tree.

Goodness.

An Ogre shooting a fist wind.

An Orc using magic would seem less strange.

The already disadvantageous situation began to turn even more unfavorable.
In fact, not only was it shooting fist winds, but its movements were also different from a typical Ogre.

‘It’s like fighting a human.’

Of course, the movements themselves were closer to those of a beast following its instincts.
It wasn’t about seeing through or predicting the opponent’s intentions, but rather the feeling of simply manifesting what the body remembered.

That was the problem, as it felt like a skilled martial artist.

Martial arts performed by an Ogre with immense brute strength was a disaster in itself.
Thanks to that, Yu-shin had no choice but to evade here and there, looking for an opportunity.

‘I have no choice!’

Even if it meant pushing himself a bit, he had to at least restrict its movements.
Otherwise, he would get exhausted first and wouldn’t even be able to dodge.

必殺
Killing Blow (Pilsal)

固有名斬
Unique Name Slash (Gonikbegi)

A slash that pierces through all of the opponent’s movements like an eagle, and furthermore, is guaranteed to hit.
Its attack power was enough to sever both of the Ogre’s legs.

But even such a sharp and keen blade.

Could not cut off the Ogre’s breath.

A monster cursed by the earth, that could not die even if killed.

But despite that, Yu-shin did not stop moving.
If he decided to fight, he would fight to the end.
Even if the fight was unreasonable.

The Ogre’s massive body collapsed to the ground.
He wondered what kind of building it was; even though the Ogre’s body collided directly with the academy building like a falling log.

The building stood firm without any sign of collapse.

It was better that way.
It meant no collateral damage would follow.

Yu-shin climbed onto the Ogre’s massive, fallen body.
Now that the Ogre’s two legs were severed was his chance.
He would continue to slice as quickly as possible, focusing on vital points.

[Aaaaaaaah!!!]

The Ogre’s bizarre scream echoed.
An unsettling voice, as if a monster was imitating a human voice, to the point where he wanted to tear off his own ears.

But since Yu-shin had already gone through hell in the exile story.

He could endure this much without batting an eye.

But in that short time, Yu-shin wasn’t just observing.
He immediately climbed up and severed the Ogre’s neck.
Up to that point, it certainly wasn’t bad.

As if mocking Yu-shin’s efforts.

The Ogre instantly regenerated the wounds inflicted by Yu-shin.

Thanks to that, Yu-shin looked like he had just gone through hell for nothing.

But there was no way Yu-shin, who had already been through the wringer in the exile story, wouldn’t know that.

Yu-shin coughed roughly and stood up.
The Ogre violently shook its instantly regenerated body, and thanks to that, Yu-shin was flung far away like an insect.

It hurts.

It truly hurts so much I feel like dying.

But he didn’t let go of his sword.

Although there was no immediate answer, it wasn’t as if there was no method at all.
Anyway, as long as the Ogre was alive, it must be a living creature with a definite limit.

What does that mean?

“Kill until it’s dead.”

A very simple yet clear method.

Compatibility is originally very difficult to overturn.

Just as water wins when fire and water of equal size collide.
Conversely, for fire to defeat water, it has no choice but to grow much larger.
That is compatibility.

From that perspective.

The current Baek Yu-shin, who is not a hero, has a very difficult compatibility for fighting Ogres.

In the first place, it was so tough that nothing less than Unique Name Slash would work.

And even then, it regenerated its wounds instantly.

It even revives even if its heart or neck is severed.
That is an Ogre.
A curse born from the despair of the earth and the fury of the earth.

Yu-shin was currently pushing the Ogre to its limits.

As mentioned before, an Ogre is ultimately a living creature.
At least in the case of special Ogres, that is, intelligent Ogres Yu-shin fought in his hero days.

That was an exceptional case, having been specially born in the first place.

Thanks to that, it possessed intelligence, and with that intelligence, it could use the power of the earth.

Literally, as long as the earth was alive.
It could endlessly regenerate, and even use magic that shook the earth.
Thanks to that, Yu-shin dragged that Ogre into the sky and killed it.

Anyway.

Compared to such unique cases.

The Ogre currently in front of him still had limits.

And surprisingly, that limit came earlier than expected.
Before Yu-shin even got exhausted, the Ogre’s regenerative power visibly decreased.
Yu-shin clicked his tongue.

‘Seriously, there’s nothing easy in this world.’

Yu-shin exhaled a rough breath.
Excuses like being weaker or not being his original body don’t work on enemies.
Especially not on monsters without intelligence like this.

Still, utilizing his experience and the remnants of his techniques.

He barely came to the point of catching the Ogre, which could be called an extreme counter.

Although the problem was that the method was too barbaric.

Anyway, the Ogre was now crawling on the ground, having lost its regenerative power.
Now, if he delivered the final blow, it would no longer regenerate and would simply die.

Yu-shin walked towards the Ogre to finish it.

However, before Yu-shin could even finish off the Ogre.

A pillar of light suddenly fell from the sky, completely obliterating the Ogre.

The Ogre couldn’t even scream, and was completely reduced to ashes by that light.
Yu-shin frowned.
‘What is this?
Is it some new weapon from the academy?’

He was just having such idle thoughts.

“Is this where the Hero is?”

“Uh.”

Until a familiar voice was heard from within that light.