The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Strongest in Our Neighborhood (11)
“Oh! Jang Ga-in, that’s a new outfit I haven’t seen before.”
Sai-ran’s eyes widened when she saw Jang Ga-in wearing clothes that were not made by her and her sister.
“Ah, this is something the villagers gave me as thanks for saving the children.”
“Oh! I thought another woman was trying to seduce— ahem!”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
In that moment, Sai-ran’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“Oh, never mind. Just talking to myself. But did you only receive clothes from the villagers?”
“No. I received clothes, herbs rich in Spirit Power, potions to cure ailments, and more.”
When Jang Ga-in pulled out the gifts he had received from the villagers over the past few days, Sai-ran’s eyes widened in surprise.
“These are not ordinary treasures…”
“If any of these should be needed by you, you’re welcome to take them.”
“The villagers gave these to you out of gratitude, so I couldn’t possibly take them.”
“These herbs rich in Spirit Power are said to greatly aid Spirit Power cultivation when brewed and consumed. Would you like some?”
“No. My Spirit Power has long since passed the stage where herbs would be of any help. Those are the kinds of things that would aid a beginner like you in cultivating Spirit Power.”
“I see.”
As Jang Ga-in set aside what he had brought out, Sai-ran pulled something from her bosom.
“Oh, that’s right. My sister told me to give this to you.”
“What is this?”
“It’s an Ogre Core.”
“A Core? Wasn’t it said that a high-grade potion could be obtained with this?”
“Elder Elena said the Ogre’s blood and hide were sufficient, so she gave us the high-grade potion and didn’t take the Core. Since you were the one who actually defeated the Ogre, we thought we should return it to you.”
Jang Ga-in took the Core from a leather pouch and examined it.
‘Is this strange energy what Eldom called Mana? The nature of the energy is quite different from the Inner Cores of spirits I once knew, so it doesn’t seem like it would help much with Internal Energy cultivation.’
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
Suddenly, Shabel Tiger approached and rubbed his face against Jang Ga-in’s waist, licking his lips.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly doing that?”
As Jang Ga-in tilted his head in confusion, Sai-ran guessed the reason.
“I think it’s because he wants that Ogre Core.”
“He wants this? It’s hard as a stone—it doesn’t even look edible. Why would this creature covet it?”
“When one Monster kills another, the first thing they always eat is the Core.”
“They eat a Core? Hmm, now that I think about it, the strange energy that forms the center of this creature’s body is quite similar to the energy that makes up this stone. Go ahead, eat it.”
When Jang Ga-in offered the Core, Shabel Tiger gulped it down in one bite.
“Ah! J, Jang Ga-in, isn’t it a shame to just feed that to Shabel like that?”
“I have no use for it, Elena already obtained a high-grade potion, and most of the villagers seem to be cultivating Spirit Power, so a Core filled with foreign Mana serves no purpose, does it?”
“But Cores are highly coveted by mages, so you could sell it to merchants for a substantial sum.”
At the mention of a substantial sum, Jang Ga-in’s eyes gleamed.
“How much would that be?”
“If it’s an Ogre Core that has become a Mana Stone, you could easily get 300 Gold for it.”
Jang Ga-in’s mouth fell open.
“300 Gold! Didn’t you say Eldom’s spear was purchased from the Dwarves for 10 Gold?”
“Yes, for 10 Gold.”
“No, wait! Hey, you! Spit it out right now!”
As Jang Ga-in grabbed Shabel Tiger’s jaw and pried it open, the tiger shook his head and whined.
“It’s already past the throat, so spitting it out won’t help. We need to hit his stomach hard to force him to vomit.”
As Sai-ran gathered Spirit Power in her fingertips to strike his belly, Shabel Tiger thrashed about and resisted.
Thwack.
But with his jaw already gripped by Jang Ga-in, he couldn’t escape and took the punch squarely in the stomach.
Waaaah! Woooh!
Shabel Tiger then let out cries as if he were dying.
“Do I need to hit harder?”
“The Core hasn’t made it down to the stomach yet—it’s stuck around the middle of the esophagus. Try hitting a bit higher.”
“Ah! Right.”
As Sai-ran gathered Spirit Power again to strike his chest, Shabel Tiger strained and tensed every muscle in his body.
Thwack.
But a rather forceful blow landed, and Shabel Tiger let out a pitiful cry from his jaws.
Of course, even in that state, he did not vomit the Core.
As Sai-ran gathered Spirit Power to strike his belly again, Jang Ga-in stopped her.
“That last impact shattered the Core that was lodged in the esophagus, and it’s already gone down into the stomach. You don’t need to hit him anymore.”
“Ah! If it’s shattered… all that money has gone to waste.”
When Jang Ga-in released the Shabel Tiger’s mouth, the beast bolted as if its tail were on fire.
“Wait! Shabel, you can’t go that way. Come back!”
The panicked Shabel Tiger paid no heed to his warnings and charged straight toward the Barrier he’d been told to avoid, disappearing beyond it even as Jang Ga-in called out.
“The fact that she won’t come even when I call suggests she’s thoroughly sulking. I’ll need to find her and make peace.”
Jang Ga-in’s sheepish expression betrayed his guilt, and Sai-ran offered him a wry smile.
“I didn’t hit her that hard though…… What if Shabel starts to hate me?”
“She’s simple-minded. Offer her something tasty and she’ll forget everything, tail wagging and all.”
As Jang Ga-in approached the Barrier’s curtain, Sai-ran reached out to stop him.
“Jang Ga-in, if you enter the Barrier without knowing its layout, you’ll be forced straight out of the Village. You’d be better off going back and waiting.”
“Ah, that’s right. Understood.”
Though Jang Ga-in could move freely in and out of the Barrier regardless of direction, the Shabel Tiger could not—so he turned instead toward the path leading outside the Village.
“Aren’t you coming, Sai-ran?”
“No, I’ll gather something to placate Shabel and follow after you.”
“Understood. I’ll head out first, find her, and calm her down.”
Jang Ga-in bowed to Sai-ran and walked toward the Barrier’s exit.
After a brisk ten-minute walk, he stepped beyond the Barrier and felt the crisp forest air turn slightly stale.
‘The air of a forest is supposed to be fresh. How strange.’
It occurred to him that the appearance and temperament of the Village people might have been shaped by their environment.
Once outside the Barrier, he unfurled his Aura Sensing but detected no trace of the Shabel Tiger.
‘Has she wandered far? She must be genuinely upset.’
The thought that she might have fled entirely made his heart quicken.
‘And she’s the one who swallowed that expensive Ogre’s Core.’
Using his Lightness Skill, he scaled the tallest tree nearby and searched for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
‘When she’s hungry, she usually heads for that forest where the Monsters are thick.’
After a moment’s deliberation, he descended and began running toward the forest where the Shabel Tiger was likely to have gone.
‘That aura—it’s human, isn’t it?’
After roughly thirty minutes of searching for the Shabel Tiger’s traces, Jang Ga-in felt human presence amidst the abundant Monster auras in the dense forest and tilted his head in confusion.
If it were someone radiating strong power, the Monsters would pose no threat and he could pass by without concern—yet here was a frail woman, barely able to carry a child on her back, wandering through the forest.
‘There are no vagrant settlements in this forest because of all the Monsters…… What’s happened here?’
Sensing several wolves closing in around her, Jang Ga-in deployed his Lightness Skill and rushed toward them.
“Get back! Get back! I said get back!”
As he drew closer, he saw a woman wielding a long spear, holding her ground against the circling wolves.
“Lucky I arrived in time. And look—I needed something to feed Shabel anyway. That biggest one will do nicely.”
Jang Ga-in drew a Short Sword from his waist and hurled it at the largest wolf’s skull.
Screech—thud.
The wolf died instantly, never knowing what struck it. The others, momentarily bewildered by the sudden turn of events, caught sight of Jang Ga-in and rushed at him with bared fangs.
Roooar, growl-growl, roooar.
Thud, thud-thud.
Crack, crack-crack.
But as Jang Ga-in kicked them aside one by one, the wolves flew like balls, slamming into trees or tumbling across the ground before yelping and fleeing.
As the wolves fled, the woman, who had been gasping while gripping her spear, stared at Jang Ga-in with wide eyes of shock.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I can’t thank you enough!”
Jang Ga-in regarded her as she repeatedly bowed, her spear still in hand.
Even to an untrained eye, it was obvious she had never studied any martial art.
“This forest is extremely dangerous with so many Monsters about. What brings someone who can scarcely hold a spear to venture here with a child?”
“Ah, well, you see—my son is gravely ill. I heard that if one meets a Druid Clan child in this forest, any illness can be cured…”
“What? Who told you such a strange thing?”
Jang Ga-in’s expression grew bewildered, but then he recalled Binson mentioning that he often treated injured animals near the Village.
If that were his nature, perhaps he had also healed sick or wounded people.
Jang Ga-in extended his Aura Sensing to examine the child strapped to her back.
The boy’s breathing was shallow, his body limp from weakness, and his heartbeat faint.
‘What illness is this? Can Binson even treat something like this?’
Since there was still much about the mysterious abilities of the Immortals that he didn’t fully understand, he would need to ask directly.
“Your clothes—they look like those the Druid Clan wears. Do you happen to know where the Druid Clan child is who can heal the sick?”
As Jang Ga-in paused to think, the woman spoke.
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you’re not of the Druid Clan by appearance, but your clothes are theirs, so I thought you might know them.”
“Ah, the clothes. I received them as a gift, more or less…”
The woman’s eyes suddenly gleamed with hope.
“You received them as a gift? Then you must know the Druid Clan boy who heals people!”
“It’s possible that I know the boy you mean, but I can’t be certain.”
“Well, you know something about him. Please, I’m begging you—save my son Smith.”
Jang Ga-in was startled at first by the woman’s sudden pleading, but he found himself understanding her desperation—she had ventured into this dangerous forest willing to risk death itself for her son’s sake.
“There’s a child I have in mind, so I can ask him, but I can’t promise he’ll agree to cure your son’s illness.”
“He will heal him. They say that when Drago was mining, Welton fell off a cliff and broke his leg, and this boy healed him with no payment asked. Smith’s illness will certainly be cured.”
“I’ll go speak with the Druid Clan child about your situation. If he agrees to treat Smith, I’ll bring him back. But if he refuses, I can’t force him.”
“I understand.”
“This place is dangerous. Let’s go closer to the Druid Clan Village together.”
“Yes.”
Jang Ga-in walked for roughly an hour, leading her to the edge of the Birch Forest where he had once stayed.
“Ga-in, oh? Who’s this person with you?”
When they arrived at the Birch Forest, Sai-ran was there holding a large bundle of meat wrapped in leaves, searching for Shabel Tiger.
“Sai-ran, this is Lahena. She came because her child is sick, and I wanted to ask Binson if he could treat him.”
“Ga-in, you shouldn’t bring outsiders here.”
“But surely it’s all right to come this far?”
“We did bring you here before, but that was because you were special enough to warrant it.”
“I see. I didn’t know. I apologize.”
“Are you… by chance, of the Druid Clan?”
Lahena, who had been watching carefully, spoke up then.
“Yes. I am of the Druid Clan.”
“Then please, save my son.”
Thud.
Lahena suddenly dropped to her knees before Sai-ran, and the woman’s cold expression faltered into shock.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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