I Became the Descendant of My Favorite Character

Chapter 3: Descendant of the Hero (3)

Upon realizing something unusual was happening in the Gullok Mountains, my initial plan was to cautiously exit the range.

There was no need to act recklessly; I could simply inform the village of the strange occurrence.

As I carefully descended the mountains, a familiar scent reached me.

Amid the pervasive smell of grass and animals blanketing the range, a faint but distinct scent wafted through.

‘Gerd? Why is Gerd’s scent here?’

Having lived under the same roof for fifteen years, I knew the man’s scent all too well.

My senses, sharpened since the Dragon Heart began assisting me, didn’t miss Gerd’s scent.

It seemed mixed with the odor of animal droppings, but it was unmistakably Gerd.

I hurriedly moved toward the direction of Gerd’s scent.

As I swiftly descended the slope, Gerd’s roar echoed.

- Polarin!

- Run to the village! Get down the mountain! Don’t come here!

By then, the beastly stench of a creature had already replaced Gerd’s scent, stinging my nose.

I quickened my pace and soon spotted the beast confronting Gerd.

Thud!

There was no time to think about how to fight it.

Driven by the sole desire to save Gerd, I recklessly kicked the Shaber’s body.

Grrrr.

The Shaber bared its teeth and growled at me.

I wasn’t even sure I could defeat a regular adult Shaber, but luck wasn’t on my side.

Its saber teeth were longer than a human head.

This wasn’t an ordinary Shaber—it was closer to an alpha.

Despite the strong scent of Freya Root emanating from me, it didn’t back down.

I didn’t know why Gerd was here.

But I could guess the desperation with which he had shouted my name.

I glanced back.

Gerd’s eyes were closed.

But his steady breathing suggested he had only lost consciousness.

I needed to deal with this creature quickly.

To save Gerd—no, my father—this was the only way.

Having been attacked by a Shaber, if I delayed, the beast’s magic could infiltrate his body and kill him.

In the game, I had faced Shabers countless times.

Their attack pattern was singular.

They gathered strength in their hind legs and leaped forward.

This ability, called “Rush,” was what made the Shaber a Grade 4 Beast.

The Shaber watched me with blood-red eyes.

It seemed torn between its instinct to flee from the Freya Root and its urge to tear apart the enemy that had attacked it.

I pulled the Freya Root from my pocket.

The Shaber flinched but didn’t retreat.

I slowly smeared the root’s powder onto my wooden sword.

‘First, I need to get out of here.’

I didn’t have the confidence to fight while protecting my fallen father.

I threw the Freya Root toward where Gerd lay.

Then I moved slowly.

Staring at the Shaber, I slipped between the dense trees.

As intended, the Shaber’s gaze followed only me, ignoring my father.

I turned and started running.

As I wove through the trees, escaping, I heard it.

Crack!

The sound of breaking wood accompanied the flapping of birds’ wings.

The continuous sound of trees crashing behind me echoed.

Neither of us could sprint flat-out.

But I didn’t run aimlessly.

I had a plan for where to go.

I had traversed this area daily and knew how to handle a Shaber.

The soft soil beneath my feet gradually gave way to hard ground and rock.

‘Just a little more…!’

I was almost there.

Then.

Feeling a chilling sensation, I instinctively leaped.

But it seemed the Shaber’s charge was faster than my dodge.

Cough.

Its claws grazed my body.

Thanks to my heightened senses from Heart Predation, I barely reacted in time.

Had I been even slightly slower, my body would surely have been torn in two.

One attack landed.

It wasn’t even a direct hit, yet a large gash appeared on my thigh, and I tumbled to the ground.

“Damn it…”

This was the gap between me and the Shaber.

The sting of the wound mixed with the cold touch of stone.

Lifting my head, I saw a sheer cliff and the village’s scenery come into view.

‘I made it, barely.’

I pushed myself up, feeling the solid ground under my palms.

The rocky terrain of the Gullok Mountains.

This was the only place I could think of to face a Shaber.

Given the Shaber’s habit of digging its claws into the ground to leap, the hard rocky terrain would limit its mobility, even if only slightly.

I stared into the Shaber’s eyes and said,

“This will be your grave.”

The wound I’d just sustained made it hard to stand, but I rose and gripped my sword firmly.

The Dragon Heart was supporting my body.

Grrrrr!

Before attempting a leap, the Shaber approached me step by step.

Saliva dripped from its long saber teeth.

The beast’s stench overwhelmed my nose, numbing my sense of smell.

My life hung by a thread.

Every sense in my body sharpened.

Just as the Shaber observed me, I observed it.

Finally, I noticed the faint unease I’d been feeling.

‘This thing isn’t in good condition.’

There were no visible wounds, but it limped slightly, and its movements were unnatural.

It wasn’t because of my kick to its flank or the broken spear still lodged in it from Gerd’s attack.

I knew it wasn’t a creature that could be harmed so easily.

I backed against a massive rock and slowly moved again.

While moving deliberately, I focused on the Dragon Heart.

I had changed.

I no longer needed to move cautiously, fearing the Dragon Heart might burst.

I took a deep breath.

Right after Heart Predation, I had experienced mana from the Dragon Heart flowing into every part of my body.

Using that experience as a guide, I stimulated my heart.

Soon, mana began flowing through my veins according to my will.

I tightly gripped the handle of my wooden sword.

‘I’ve reached the Second-Rank.’

My heart burned as if it might explode.

My veins were nearly complete.

The Dragon Heart had forcibly expanded, greedily devouring mana.

Finally, the mana erupting from the Dragon Heart extended from my heart to my body.

While I was realizing this, the Shaber dug its hind claws into the ground, tensing its calves.

Its muscles bulged as if they might burst.

Crunch!

Reality and the game are different.

That didn’t apply to me.

Since this game became reality, I had swung my sword countless times to emulate Adjak’s movements from the game.

Facing a formidable enemy, I mimicked the preparatory stance Adjak had used.

‘Left foot forward, right foot back.’

I ignored the fear creeping in with the beast before me.

I slightly twisted my raised sword, waiting for the Shaber to charge.

One.

Two.

Three!

Roar!

As I finished counting, the Shaber let out a monstrous cry and lunged at me.

Just as Adjak had done, and as I had repeated countless times.

I swung my sword downward.

Even with mana unleashed, no aura coated my wooden sword.

It was merely slightly faster than the hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of swings I’d practiced.

Crack!

The trajectory of my wooden sword passed the Shaber’s sharp claws and long fangs, striking its mouth directly.

The distinctive bluish pollen from the Freya Root entered the Shaber’s mouth.

The wooden sword couldn’t cut the Shaber or shatter its teeth.

No matter how fast I swung, it was just a wooden sword, and the Shaber was a Grade 4 Beast.

But I succeeded in momentarily pushing it back.

Moreover, the pollen from the sword disoriented the Shaber, causing it to fly in the direction I pushed, crashing its head into the rock.

‘It worked.’

The Shaber flew as fast as it had charged at me, smashing its head into the rock.

It was a speed sufficient to crush its skull.

As I struck the trembling, bloodied Shaber’s head once more, its movements ceased.

At the same time, my tension released, and all strength drained from my body.

“I survived…”

The scenery visible behind the Shaber’s corpse was beautiful.

Sometimes, when I missed Earth.

When I climbed this rocky terrain to clear my mind, unsure of how to live.

I had thought, more than once, that falling from this cliff might miraculously return me to Earth.

But I didn’t.

Because I knew that here, effort led to growth.

The joy of survival was fleeting as worry surfaced.

‘Gerd, is Gerd okay?’

I picked up a broken stone and cut through the Shaber’s hide.

Reaching into its chest, I felt the soft texture of its heart.

As I tried to extract the heart from its chest.

The world spun.

I felt the adrenaline that had been sustaining me fade.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of my heartbeat rang in my ears.

Looking down at my chest, I saw blood streaming.

In my excitement, I hadn’t noticed, but the Shaber had succeeded in tearing my chest as it was pushed back.

My body swayed, but I stood firm, forcing strength into my toes. I had to reach Gerd.

Blood gushed from the wound on my chest.

The pain wasn’t the only issue.

From the gash, magic began to seep out.

This was the most terrifying aspect of beasts.

Attacks from creatures tainted by magic didn’t merely wound.

The seeping magic infiltrated my body.

It felt like a school of tiny fish swimming through my veins, tearing through my insides.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

But the Dragon Heart, as if unwilling to let magic invade my body, pounded fiercely, driving it out.

The pain from the wound on my chest was overshadowed by this greater agony.

Yet I staggered forward. I had to reach Gerd, no matter what.

As I struggled down through the forest.

‘Damn it…’

I saw six or seven Shabers charging toward me, crashing through the dense trees.

My luck was truly rotten.

I bit down on the Shaber’s heart I was holding and swallowed it.

The pain from my first Heart Predation returned. I gritted my teeth, suppressing a scream.

But I couldn’t just writhe in pain.

I raised my wooden sword.

Roar!

As they leaped from the ground.

I felt a change in my body.