BXBX NOVEL Chapter 51: Bounty (2)
Unfortunately, there wasn't any time for them to think about the dead. After all, the ogre had turned its attention toward the rest of the group.
The ogre let out a deafening roar and charged toward the shop as everyone rushed inside. They were soldiers, trained to be calm and collected in dire situations. But against a monster like that, they lost their cool and trapped themselves inside.
"Ready your weapons!"
No one cared who was giving them the orders. They just did as they were told and raised the guns. The ogre stood outside, curiously gazing inside before tearing through the walls.
The soldiers opened fire. But like before, their bullets did not affect the ogre. Well, the bullets had an effect—they made the ogre even angrier.
"YuWon can save us! Where's YuWon?!" someone yelled, realizing their weapons were useless.
But YuWon was nowhere to be seen. The soldiers could only think YuWon had abandoned them. All they could do was curse their luck and keep firing. Finally, the ogre had enough and raised its mace again, ready to strike them.
However, just as the ogre was about to swing, the ogre screamed in pain. The mace slipped from its grip and fell to the ground. Nobody knew what was going on until they spotted YuWon standing behind the ogre.
YuWon's sword was buried in the ogre's elbow. Although the sword hadn't severed its arm completely, the wound was deep enough to cause significant damage.
"Go!" YuWon shouted. "Get out of here! Now!"
The soldiers didn't hesitate at all. They grabbed their backpacks and ran out of the shop as fast as they could. Once the soldiers were gone, YuWon smiled, yanking the sword out of the ogre's arm.
Let's have some fun, shall we?
[Skill: Soul Bind has been activated.]
YuWon raised his hand, and a soul slipped out of the mark, slithering towards the ogre. YuWon watched closely, expecting the same outcome as with the soldier. But something felt off.
The soul tried to latch onto the ogre, but the monster roared in fury, before punching itself twice. The pain helped the creature resist the control, swatting away the invading soul like a fly. A second later, the soul dissipated into the air.
[Skill: Soul Bind has failed to possess the target.]
[The skill is in cooldown.]
"What...?"
Since it was YuWon's second time using the skill, he was surprised that it failed. Since it worked on a human, YuWon thought it would work on a mindless creature as well. But it seemed the ogre wasn't about to be controlled by the soul of some lowly creature.
"Tch," YuWon clicked his tongue. "Guess I'll have to handle this the messy way first."
The ogre reflected YuWon's emotions and grabbed the mace with its non-dominant arm. Watching the ogre drag the weapon behind it was a weird sight. Humans did not have such willpower. Well, most of them didn't.
As the 10-foot ogre swung the mace, YuWon jumped sideways, dodging the attack with ease. The ogre's injured arm was giving it quite some trouble.
Thanks to that, the ogre's moves were sluggish. However, the power behind those swings had barely reduced. One direct hit and YuWon would be chatting with the dead soldier.
"I need to slow it down more," YuWon mumbled, looking at the skill cooldown. "Three minutes to go."
YuWon rushed towards the ogre, aiming for its leg. But the ogre wasn't a fool. It immediately swung the mace downwards, barely missing YuWon as he rolled out of harm's way.
The ogre's swings were slow, but it was quick on its feet despite its size. YuWon kept trying to attack it, but nothing he tried worked.
This isn't going to work for long.
He raised his hand once the cooldown was up. Again, the pale soul emerged out of his hand. It hovered in the air for a second before rushing toward the ogre's head.
Once again, the ogre snarled, sensing the soul's presence. With another angry growl, the ogre shook off the soul just as before, and the spirit faded away into nothing.
[Skill: Soul Bind has failed to possess the target.]
[The skill is in cooldown.]
But this time, YuWon was prepared. While the effects of [Soul Bind] confused the Ogre, he rushed toward it and swung the crimson sword with all his might. Slashing away at the creature's leg.
Unlike the arm, the leg was easier to slash, and just like that, the ogre lost a leg. The ogre howled in pain before falling as blood gushing out of the wound.
[Berserking Ogre's weakness discovered!]
"God, you're loud," YuWon said, ignoring the prompt.
While the creature withered in pain, YuWon walked over and stabbed his other leg, for good measure. The ogre tried to move, but with one leg gone and the other injured, it couldn't even budge.
YuWon looked at the cooldown timer. Three and a half minutes remained before he could use [Soul Bind] again. As he looked around, he spotted a chair, dragged it over, and sat just out of the ogre's reach.
"Guess I'll just wait," he mumbled.
The ogre felt humiliated. Being defeated in a battle was one thing, but YuWon's actions were unbecoming of an opponent in the ogre's eyes. Infuriated, it tried to drag itself toward him, only for YuWon to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, keep trying," he said, leaning back in the chair.
Once the cooldown was up, he raised his hand one more time. The soul floated toward the ogre again and struck its head. The ogre's eyes widened once more, but this time, the ogre didn't resist.
It was probably tired and had given up on survival, or maybe the blood loss made it weak. Either way, the possession was complete. The ogre's growl stopped, and its body froze, much like that of the soldier's from before.
"Alright, let's wrap this up," YuWon commanded. "Now, be a good boy and hit yourself with that mace."
The ogre obeyed, striking itself. But once wasn't enough, and it kept hitting itself repeatedly. After a few hits, the ogre could barely lift the mace anymore.
"That's it, huh?" YuWon said, getting off the chair.
He climbed onto the creature's chest, looking down at the ogre on death's door. Without another word, he raised the blade and buried it in the ogre's neck. It flinched a bit before going still. YuWon twisted the blade for good measure before pulling it out.
[Hunt successful! The contract is closed. Gold +400]
[You have absorbed a unique monster soul.]
[Max HP +20]
[Max Mana +10]
[Strength +7]
[Endurance +3]
[Defense +2]
"A unique soul?"