Finally Got Stronger but Ended Up Regressing - Chapter 41



Chapter 41 The Treasure of Gwisusan (4)

There are cases where derived abilities are more powerful than the original abilities, but this [Swordsmanship of the Mystic Snake] was beyond that.

It was truly beyond imagination.

Calming his excited heart, he swung the sword again.

Towards another Quive Bear.

From the slash that drew a half-moon, this time, instead of a large snake, a blue energy of the same size was shot out.

Like a [Sword Wind].

Swoosh!!

It tore through the body of the Quive Bear that was a bit further away, as if pressing down on it.

The thick fur and skin were crushed in an instant.

Red flesh and twisted intestines poured out.

Bang, something filled with blue dots burst.

It was his heart.

It was sent away in a single blow.

“!”

“!”

Eyes wide open, they all turned to me.

What they had thought was just a flower snake seen in the countryside fields had suddenly transformed into a monstrous serpent that swallowed a giant bear’s head and burst its body, and they were shocked.

The soldiers of the 333rd unit, who didn’t know me well, were momentarily frozen.

Regardless, I launched an attack with the [Mystic Serpent Swordsmanship].

The usage was very simple.

I just had to perform the swordsmanship as I usually did.

The result was obvious.

In an instant, I took down three more.

They couldn’t even come near me, let alone attack me.

Every time they approached, a giant serpent swallowed and burst them.

The problem was that there was nothing after that.

My energy rapidly depleted.

The [Mystic Serpent Swordsmanship] required a significant amount of energy.

Considering I didn’t have much energy to begin with, it was a miracle I lasted this long.

There was no hindrance to the battle.

Even with my existing abilities, it was enough to deal with the Quive Bear.

It just took a bit more time to bring it down.

‘As expected, energy is the issue.’

The regret was very brief.

By tonight at the earliest, or by dawn at the latest, it would be resolved.

Energy could no longer be my weakness.

“Take them all down without exception!”

“Yes!”

The battle had already turned into a one-sided massacre.

The soldiers maintaining their formation without giving any gaps was also significant.

It was thanks to knowing and preparing for the ambush in advance.

《Due to the influence of [Strong Bones], the stats related to physical strength have increased.》

《Due to the influence of [Soul of the Iron-Blooded Knight], the proficiency of abilities related to swordsmanship has increased.》

The increase in stats and proficiency of abilities directly leads to an increase in combat power.

Unknowingly, I was growing.

After a while, white hills were formed everywhere. A red river flowed beneath them.

It was truly a sea of blood and corpses.

“Phew.”

Major Yeom Dong-cheol, who had caught his breath, finally checked the battlefield.

The serene snowy field returned.

He walked towards me with steady steps.

“Thank you, Corporal Gu Yoon-ho.”

“Corporal Gu Yoon-ho. I just did what I had to do.”

“From the way you speak, you are indeed a commendable hunter.”

The characteristic condescending gaze had completely disappeared.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t a completely rigid person.

It might be because he almost became a pathetic commander who led his troops to their deaths due to wrong tactics.

You could tell just by listening to his next words.

“If it weren’t for Corporal Gu Yoon-ho, we would have suffered great damage.”

It wasn’t just Major Yeom Dong-cheol.

The soldiers of the 333rd unit around us also showed a different attitude, thanking me.

“We apologize for all the trash talk.”

“We won’t be arrogant again.”

They even reflected on their mistakes as if repenting. It was a relief that they knew their faults.

Major Yeom Dong-cheol spoke again.

“But truly, your ability is amazing. To be able to detect the enemy in real-time.”

In fact, it was more about identifying the presence of the enemy through the red and blue dots shown by [Kiri’s Eye] rather than detection, but well, the context is similar, right?

Major Yeom Dong-cheol, who was looking around the corpses of the Quibe Bears, kept admiring.

“Considering the speed at which these guys were charging, the detection itself was done quite early. Haha.”

“-”

“You unlocked it last night?”

“Yes.”

“Corporal Koo Yoon-ho, were you ever part of the reconnaissance platoon?”

There was no need to answer.

He answered his own question first.

“That can’t be. Your skills are too exceptional to have been in the reconnaissance platoon.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m not just saying this out of gratitude. You are on par with the soldiers in our unit.”

Major Yeom Dong-chul, who had more pride in the special forces than anyone else, said this.

If he said this much, it meant he truly acknowledged it.

“Thank you for everything, Corporal Koo Yoon-ho.”

“No, sir.”

“Let’s put that aside for now. I think we’ll need your help continuously from now on.”

Major Yeom Dong-chul laughed heartily and pointed forward.

He was asking to keep detecting the enemy until they completely occupied the 4th floor.

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That was easy.

Even just standing still, [Kiri’s Eye] would tell me everything.

“Understood.”

Major Yeom Dong-chul made a gesture of thanks and went towards the officers.

He seemed genuinely impressed.

Seeing him bow like that.

“Koo Yoon-ho, you did very well. Excellent job.”

Captain Oh Joon-beom followed him and said a word. His expression had not been good throughout the mission due to his assigned role, but now it had brightened up.

Sergeant Sun Ah-rin just winked silently. It was her habit when praising soldiers.

But had she done that so often?

Well, anyway.

“Wow!”

“Amazing, unbelievable!”

As soon as the officers left, exclamations burst out from all around.

They surrounded me, talking for a long time about how unbelievable it was.

I could hear the voices of Corporal Kwak Woo-hee and Corporal Jung Ye-som.

“This is how good our Yunho is.”

“Did everyone see that?”

I don’t know why they are taking credit again, but it wasn’t bad since they were taking care of my image(?).

Of course, they were just as curious.

“They say abilities can be unlocked even while sleeping, and it was true.”

“But it’s still amazing. The ability to detect enemies? Did such an ability exist?”

“If you think of it as similar to [Search], then yes, it did exist.”

I answered.

It actually does exist.

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Corporal Jeong Yesom, who was nodding, asked.

“Wait, so Yunho, can you also use [Search] from now on?”

“No. I can only detect enemies.”

“Oh, right. You can only detect monsters?”

“Yes.”

Come to think of it, that’s a bit disappointing. It would be nice if I could detect traps too.

Is that too much of a cheat?

Leaving behind Corporal Byeon Jitak, who had been making a face like he had chewed on something unpleasant, I faced Major Yeom Dongcheol again.

Not from the rear, but from the front.

And at the very forefront.

“From this moment, all existing tactics are nullified! All troops will move while maintaining formation 2!”

“Yes!”

Major Yeom Dongcheol had completely set aside his pride as a special forces officer.

He patted my shoulder and said.

“Corporal Gu Yunho, you will lead the vanguard.”

Vanguard.

It was a term used to ask me to assess the enemy’s movements while advancing, but it still felt strange.

I had only done such things long after becoming a non-commissioned officer.

“Corporal Gu Yunho! Understood.”

And so, with me at the forefront, 114 troops began to move.

The surprise attack obviously didn’t work, and instead, we launched the first strike.

There were traps here and there, but they were handled by Major Yeom Dong-cheol and the other officers.

I could leisurely infiltrate and pick off the monsters one by one.

In the afternoon, we struggled a bit due to the snowstorm, so we slowed down our advance to take it easy.

After all, it ends on this 4th floor.

The dangers that exist in the tower.

Several more hours passed.

No more red dots, no more blue dots were visible.

The endless snowy field was blocked by some transparent barrier.

It meant we had reached the end.

The stench of the monsters’ blood came up belatedly.

Despite the harsh winter weather, the fierce battles continued.

But the sweetness of victory quickly made it all fly away.

“Is it finally over?”

“It was tough.”

The soldiers threw off their cold weather masks and gloves, roaring with joy.

The hot heat of their exhilaration made their bodies warm up.

“It’s our victory!”

Major Yeom Dong-cheol raised his sword.

I also raised my sword high.

This is why I can’t let go of being a hunter.

It’s thrilling.

More than anything else.

“It’s late and the weather is bad. We’ll stay here for the night and leave the tower slowly tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir!”

With the monsters gone, every place we stepped on the snowy field was a safe zone.

Because of the weather, there weren’t even any wild animals.

We could just quickly set up the tents and all lie down to sleep.

However, even in this situation, sentries and guards were essential.

At least the former could sneak a nap in the tent, but the latter had to go outside without any respite.

“It looks like we have to stand guard again. Sorry, guys.”

Sergeant Sun Ah-rin was once again caught in the middle of her duties today. Her cautious voice was just pitiful.

Of course, the squad members understood her.

I was rather grateful.

Standing guard and going there is quite tough in many ways.

So I was going to volunteer to stand guard instead of the soldiers who weren’t feeling well.

Thanks to Sergeant Sun Ah-rin, there was no need to do that.

“It’s okay. Can we stand guard in pairs?”

“Yes. Woo-hee and Ye-som will be one pair, Yoon-ho and Ji-tak will be the other pair. Fortunately, the time slots are good. It’s the first and second shifts.”

Naturally, Corporal Gwak Woo-hee would take the first shift, so we would work during the second shift-

“We’ll take the second shift.”

“Will you? Okay. Then Yoon-ho and Ji-tak will take the first shift.”

I asked curiously.

“Corporal Gwak Woo-hee, isn’t the first shift more comfortable for you?”

“Of course, it’s more comfortable.”

“Then why the second shift?”

“I don’t want to make someone who has suffered more suffer again.”

“…I’m touched.”

“Instead, wake me up five minutes before, not ten.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Oops.

“Corporal Jung Ye-som, are you okay with this?”

“Of course. And do you know how sad I am right now?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes.”

Corporal Jung Ye-som put her hand on my cheek and turned my face from side to side.

“Look at your face, which used to be healthy, now it’s half gone. Finish the first shift quickly and get some good sleep.”

“Haha, such consideration again.”

“I’m the only one who takes care of you. You know that, right?”

“Hey, I took care of you first?”

Corporal Kwak Woo-hee laughed incredulously from behind. Then, as if something had come to mind, he spoke again.

“Hey, Yun-ho.”

“Corporal Koo Yun-ho.”

“Tell me about that thing later.”

“What thing, sir?”

“The snake you materialize with your sword. At some point, it became enormous, didn’t it?”

“Oh, right! I was curious about that too.”

Corporal Jung Ye-som’s eyes sparkled with interest.

Sergeant Sun Ah-rin, who had been listening to the conversation with a clear smile, chimed in.

“Yun-ho, the squad leader is curious too.”

Well, it’s not a difficult story to tell.

“Yes. I’ll tell you the story of how the small snake suddenly evolved into a giant snake.”

“Pfft, sure.”

We finished our small talk and set up the tent.

After solving dinner with combat rations and telling the snake story, it was already night.

I went on the first watch with Corporal Byun Ji-tak.

A place quite far from the tent.

As expected, he hid himself in a corner as he pleased.

“Do as you wish.”

It was a remark that didn’t even require a response. There was something more urgent I had to do now.

Anyway, I also had to momentarily abandon my duty as a guard.

Having completely left the tent, I gauged my position and moved to the final destination of this tower.

There weren’t many landmarks, but that made it easier to gauge.

After running through the snowfield for a while.

The surroundings were still a continuous expanse of snow.

But at a certain point, when I concentrated my energy, something amazing happened.

A hole appeared in the air.

It looked like the entrance to a dungeon.

Hwaaak.

It looked like it was going to suck something in, like a black hole.

It was indeed so.

As I reached out my hand, my body was sucked into it.

My eyes closed involuntarily.

When I opened them again, the whole world had changed.

The snowy field where the cold wind blew had disappeared without a trace, and a beautiful beach unfolded under the blue sky and dazzling sun.

Even the outer coastal unit could not show such a sight.

It was that beautiful.

“This is the place to come for a vacation.”

The appreciation was short.

I could go on vacation anytime, but the items I was looking for had no promise if not now.

I threw off my combat uniform.

I threw down my combat helmet, combat boots, dog tags, and cold weather gear on the beach.

I only carried a necessary sword on my back.

And then I plunged into the sea without hesitation.

In that place, which spread out like an ocean, there was a large island that seemed to be at least hundreds of meters long. It had a unique shape like a turtle’s head.

But you see.

In fact, that is not an island.

It is an unknown existence in our country’s folklore.

The monster Gwisusan.

From its shape alone, I could tell that I had arrived at my final destination.

I showed off my swimming skills for the first time in a while.

It was time to get the ‘treasure’ of Gwisusan.