Chapter 33: Bait and Blood

A single blood-red eye was staring straight at Choi Jungwoo.

The terrifying part wasn’t just the eye contact—it was the enormous wings spread out wide enough to easily wrap around a full-grown man.

“Bl-Black Bat…” Lee Hajun muttered in a voice filled with despair.

They had just taken down the King Medhead and wiped out a swarm of Medheads.

The monster before them had the form of a bat, with a pitch-black body and glowing red eyes.

Its level was the same as the King Medhead.

But its appearance was unnerving in a different way.

Its rotating eyes swept across Choi Jungwoo and the others.

“Ugh…!”

The Black Bat opened its mouth and let out a bone-chilling screech.

Everyone who heard it clutched their ears and staggered back.

It was an ultrasonic attack.

Only the staff, who had prepared with ear-protection artifacts, remained unaffected.

“Jungwoo hyung, slowly… step back…”

Lee Hajun, though struggling to stay upright, called out to snap Choi Jungwoo out of his daze.

Choi Jungwoo was drenched in cold sweat, utterly gripped by fear.

The Black Bat was far scarier than the Medhead.

The sharp talons at the ends of its wings looked like they could rake across his face at any moment.

Realizing he couldn’t stay frozen forever, Choi Jungwoo forced himself to take a step back.

Snap.

A branch on the ground broke under his foot.

At that moment, he thought he saw the Black Bat tilt its head curiously.

If a cute creature had done it, the gesture might’ve been harmless.

But coming from the Black Bat, it was horrifyingly eerie.

“Kiii! Kiii!”

The sound of the branch breaking acted like a signal.

With the Black Bat at the front, chilling cries echoed from all directions.

“Where the hell were they hiding until now…?”

“Beeeeep!”

Letting out a sigh, Roy ran a hand through his hair.

The only relief was that he wasn’t intimidated by the Black Bat’s appearance.

The same went for Ber.

In fact, Ber seemed to react to the cries of the Black Bats by letting out a loud cry of his own.

“Everyone, how far are you from reaching level 10?”

Lee Siwoo swallowed dryly and tightened his grip on his weapon.

The Black Bats didn’t charge right away.

Instead, they flew around, letting out threatening cries.

It felt like they were testing the humans’ capabilities.

Unlike the Medheads, who floated just within arm’s reach, the Black Bats moved much more freely through the air.

Some even hung upside-down from branches over five meters high, their red eyes glowing ominously.

Thank goodness for the torches.

Without them, the only light in the darkness would’ve been those glowing red eyes, and the pressure on the team would’ve been unbearable.

“I’m at level 6.”

“I’m also at 6…”

“I’m 5.”

“Me too, 5.”

The team members reported their levels.

Even Roy, who had leveled up the fastest, had not yet reached level 10.

To get there, they would inevitably have to fight the Black Bats.

“As you all know, the Black Bats are level 10. One-on-one won’t work…”

The bigger problem was that the number of Black Bats had already surpassed the number of team members.

Lee Siwoo looked around carefully.

“Right now, we’re surrounded. I think we need to split up into pairs and lure one Black Bat each.”

Everyone nodded.

It seemed like the best option given the circumstances.

Roy moved to team up with Lee Hajun.

***

“Kiii!”

“Ahhh!”

Just then, a Black Bat flew between Roy and Hajun.

It was Kangchul who saved Hajun from getting hurt.

Roy and Hajun had no choice but to retreat behind a large tree.

“…What the heck.”

“Beeeeep.”

“Hmph.”

An awkward silence fell between Roy and Lee Chulhun, who had ended up as a team by accident.

Lee Chulhun scowled at Roy and muttered in annoyance.

Ber and Roy didn’t look particularly pleased either.

Then, a faint, subtle smile crept onto Roy’s lips.

‘This might actually be a chance.’

Ever since he saw Lee Chulhun bullying Kim Chan, Roy had been biding his time.

From what he had observed, Kim Chan wasn’t the kind of person who would hurt others.

To Roy, Lee Chulhun was like a villain that needed to be taken down.

In this strange new world, Roy had been able to adapt quickly thanks to Kim Chan’s help.

Even back on the As Continent, Roy could tolerate insults to himself, but never to his comrades.

“Come here.”

Roy grabbed Lee Chulhun’s arm and pulled him close.

By now, Hajun and Kangchul had already moved far away to escape the Black Bat’s attack.

Lee Chulhun seemed to realize that too and followed along with a sulky look.

“One of us has to act as bait.”

“Then it should be you.”

Roy brought up the idea of bait, and Lee Chulhun quickly jumped at the chance to suggest Roy take on the role.

It was unclear how much of this scene would actually air, but it was obvious that defeating the Black Bats would look way cooler on camera than being the bait.

“Should I?”

Roy didn’t refuse Lee Chulhun’s suggestion.

He even boldly walked to a spot where the Black Bats could clearly see him.

Lee Chulhun watched Roy’s retreating back with a sour expression.

He hadn’t expected Roy to accept his suggestion so easily.

Suspicious, he narrowed his eyes, but all he saw was Roy swinging his hammer to draw the attention of a nearby Black Bat.

“Hey—!”

“If you shout like that…!”

Roy didn’t stop at just waving the hammer—he even shouted loudly.

Lee Chulhun flinched in shock.

Thanks to Roy’s booming voice, not only the Black Bats flying through the air, but even the ones crouched and observing the situation were provoked.

“KIIIIII!”

“KII—!”

Three Black Bats flew straight toward Roy.

“This is your fault…!”

Lee Chulhun started to say something but bit his tongue, aware of the nearby cameras.

For a second, he considered just staying crouched in the bushes while Roy got hurt.

The situation made his movements sluggish as his thoughts tangled up.

***

Just as Roy was about to be attacked by all three Black Bats alone—

“Huh?”

Roy let out an awkward squeal and rolled toward the direction where Lee Chulhun was hiding.

Ber, perched on Roy’s shoulder, had yanked his hair with its claws.

Roy winced at the sharp pain, but the sight that followed made him stifle a laugh.

“Go over there…!”

The Black Bats that had been chasing Roy spotted Lee Chulhun.

Roy slipped into the underbrush like a loach, quickly getting behind the bats.

The bait role naturally shifted from Roy to Lee Chulhun.

“KIIII!”

One of the Black Bats slashed at Lee Chulhun’s head with its claws.

Snapping out of his daze, Lee Chulhun ducked just in time.

The claws missed his face and scratched the top of his head instead.

“AAAGH!”

Blood began to bead along the cut.

It was deeper than a paper cut but shallow enough that it would stop bleeding on its own without any first aid.

However, judging by Lee Chulhun’s dramatic scream, anyone would think his entire face had been clawed off. It was overly dramatic.

“KIIIIII—!”

Agitated, the Black Bats became even more aggressive.

Lee Chulhun’s hair was shredded like a torn-up nest, and his clothes were ripped to shreds with every claw swipe.

“Pihee, pii—”

“Shh!”

Ber let out a delighted chirp, even stamping its feet—it clearly found Lee Chulhun’s situation hilarious.

When Roy gave a quiet signal, Ber quickly hushed.

Of course, Roy hadn’t just been standing by doing nothing while Lee Chulhun got attacked.

He had agreed to be the bait originally, and now that he’d backed out, it would’ve been easy to paint him as a coward.

But Roy had a reason.

He began picking up stones scattered on the ground.

Ber hopped down from Roy’s shoulder and brought over rocks about the size of its own body.

“You can fly up and drop this on a Black Bat’s head, right?”

“Pii.”

Ber gave him a look that said, ‘You think I can’t?’ Roy gently patted Ber’s forehead with his index finger.

The little spirit seemed pleased and took one of the stones in its claws, soaring into the air.

Because of its small size, the Black Bats luckily didn’t notice Ber.

It flew as high as it could, waited for one of the bats to pause, and dropped the stone right on its head.

Thunk!

“Kiiiii…”

With a sickening crunch, the Black Bat took the stone to the skull and started bleeding, staggering in midair.

Roy seized the chance and swung his hammer at the dazed creature.

“Kii…”

The continued blows left the Black Bat completely disoriented.

Roy had leveled up after defeating the King Medhead, and the difference was noticeable.

If he were still level 1, he wouldn’t have done much damage—but with his current level, Roy could clearly feel the impact of each strike.

Thunk. Thunk. Whack.

The heavy thuds echoed in the air.

Roy sensed that just one more hit would be enough to finish the job.

One of the Black Bats attacking Lee Chulhun suddenly turned its attention to Roy.

Unfortunately, Roy had both arms raised mid-swing for the finishing blow at that exact moment.

He saw the red eyes charging at him and instinctively stepped back—only to trip over the pile of stones he had gathered earlier.

“Urgh…!”

He fell backward, landing right on his tailbone.

The sharp pain made his eyes water.

But there was no time to dwell on it—an ominous shadow loomed over him.

“Kiiiii…”

To make matters worse, the dying Black Bat began a desperate last attack.

Now Roy was suddenly facing two of them at once.

Cold sweat beaded at his temples.