Glass shards flew as an ogre was sent flying to the stairs of the mall. Metal clicking against each other filled the ground floor with Kang Minho holding an axe against an ogre.
Earlier, when he saw Kang Minho punching ogres mindlessly each time, Baek Haemin had scolded him.
"You idiot. At least use their axe as your own weapon if you have none of your own! Don't just ignore it! That's why you ended up using more of your stamina!"
Baek Haemin was just watching from the sidelines, silently lending his support to Kang Minho when needed. However, when he noticed himself using the Maiden's Sanctuary more than a few times, he paused.
Whether it was because of the boost he got from Baek Haemin giving him confidence on his strength or his lack of experience, Kang Minho was not being resourceful in his fight against the ogres.
Either way, things got easier for Minho when he finally got ahold of a weapon. He wasn't used to handling axes, but he got the hang of it after fighting a few ogres along the way.
Since he awakened only recently, he has neither proper equipment nor gear yet. He could rent out the ones that the Blue Dragon Guild provides when raiding a dungeon, but he hasn't purchased his own weapon yet.
Hunter equipment was usually made of dungeon byproducts, which makes them more expensive than an average one without special properties. Kang Minho, who was born in a household with a middle-class income, could not afford to buy one for himself.
He earned a good amount of money as a porter last time, but he hasn't put it to good use yet.
The axe in his hands cracked until it shattered apart. Kang Minho gritted his teeth as he ended up using his fist to hit the ogre.
As expected, he really has to invest good money on weapons. A weapon used by a B-Rank monster naturally couldn't handle it when he applied all his strength to it.
Kang Minho grabbed another axe on the ground after defeating the last ogre around. Baek Haemin's eyes glowed, turning them from dark brown to golden.
[Skill: Divine Indication (S)
Activated.]
This skill allows him to see anomalies and malignancies inside people. When he first used it, Baek Haemin noticed that his eyes also could see through walls and objects, as long as a malignancy was identified.
His field of vision becomes darker in general, but when he sees someone in pain, the injured part of their body glows blue.
Haemin had been using this skill to find people he had to save since the quest started.
It's actually more convenient than I thought. It's like my eyes had x-ray visions.
He hadn't paid this skill any attention before, but now that he's using it, he found it cooler than he first thought. They managed to find several people in hiding as they were fighting the ogres, making his job easier to complete the quest.
On the furthest right corner of the mall, a pharmacy exists. Multiple blue dots gathered at that spot, making his eyes narrow.
Seo Hyunwoo noticed his expression, and tugged on his hands. Haemin looked at the young boy and his lips curled up.
"There's a lot of people there. Let's go."
Inside the pharmacy.
Chains swung all over, grabbing the head of the monsters approaching the group of people trembling.
Some people's foreheads were bleeding, and the others hugged their child or partner as they watched the female hunter send her chains flying, squeezing the violent monsters.
A few large axes laid on the ground, left behind by the dead ogres. Han Jiwon huffed heavily as a bead of sweat fell on her eyelid.
She clenched her fists.
"Haa, haa…"
How long has it been since she started gathering people inside this pharmacy? She had no idea, but she kept on swinging around her chains.
When are the hunters getting here? She was starting to get tired. Activating her skill one after the other with little intervals made it hard for her stamina to last. It was even more difficult since she has people to protect behind.
She wanted to go find her young master, but the moment she leaves, everyone here would definitely die. She tried to send him a message earlier, but she couldn't find her phone anywhere.
Most probably, it fell from her back pocket while fighting the ogres. Han Jiwon wanted to curse when she realized it. She prayed to the gods that he saw the people flocking away, and didn't go to the ground floor.
One ogre behind her raised its axe, its large teeth dripping blood.
"Seriously, you guys are never-ending, huh?"
She almost wanted to laugh. Jiwon dragged her chains and it grabbed the monster's axe, pulling it away from her.
"Uga!"
The ogre roared at her, its spit touching her skin.
Han Jiwon frowned at the disgusting smelly breath of the ogre that has the scent of human blood. Her grasp on the chains tightened, getting ready to use her skill.
However, before she could activate it, the ogre was immediately sent flying. Once the smoke dust cleared, she saw a man standing.
"Ah, there she is! Jiwon-ssi!"
Kang Minho waved at her, his face almost too bright for the current situation.
Her eyes narrowed.
"...Hunter Kang Minho?"
Two shadows followed behind the young hunter. A familiar figure of a man she knows well, and a child in his hands.
Han Jiwon's eyes widened.
"Haemin-nim!"
She quickly ran forward when she saw her young master's face outside. More relief than excitement, it felt as though a huge burden was taken off her shoulders.
Even while fighting the ogres and shielding civilians around her, one person couldn't leave her mind. If something happened to her young master while she was gone, she had no idea how she would react.
However, seeing that he was with Kang Minho all along and seemed to be doing much better than she thought, Han Jiwon couldn't help but hug Baek Haemin.
"Young master! I'm sorry, I should have been by your side all this time!"
Looking at her face, Baek Haemin couldn't push her away.
"It's okay. I'm alright, as you can see."
She was so relieved to see him, she failed to notice the kid between them getting squeezed. Seo Hyunwoo frowned at the woman he just met.