I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 65: Don’t hurt PAPA!

[CHP 64: The Hunger...? before Truth (V)]

Seorin looked at me.

Her eyes twitched.

"Oh... yea..." she muttered.

The pause after that was longer than it should have been.

"...Nevermind."

She sheathed her katana in one smooth motion and, without another word, walked over to the pile of dead mole-rats. Then she sat down on it.

Not casually.

Not lazily.

Just... deliberately.

Like someone settling in to watch a performance.

Then—

Something shifted behind one of the thicker trees ahead of us. Just a slow movement— like the trunk itself had peeled open. Then it stepped out.

A Munches.

This one was bulky, its frame heavy with muscle beneath thick, uneven gray fur that looked matted in places from dried blood and forest grime.

Its shoulders were broad, arms long and powerful, ending in blunt but solid hands capable of crushing bone without effort.

It wasn’t holding a makeshift bat like the others I’d seen before. No weapon. It didn’t need one. The way it stood— slightly hunched, head tilted forward, glowing white eyes peering out from beneath its heavy brow— made that very clear.

The fur along its neck shifted as it exhaled slowly, steam faint in the cold air, and then it snickered.

Then—

It snickered.

Actually snickered.

(What the fuck?! Why is it snickering?) I thought to myself.

"Human," it said.

Its voice was deep— far too deep for the simple tone it used. Thick and rumbling, like stones grinding together, yet the way it spoke was childlike. Clumsy. Almost curious.

"Long time... since I see one."

It tilted its head slightly, glowing eyes narrowing as if proud of forming the sentence properly.

"You look... soft."

"Bitch I’m soft!" Then I stared at it.

It scratched its chin thoughtfully.

"Human smaller than I remember."

Then—

"Ahem."

Seorin’s voice cut through.

"Si Hon," she said calmly, almost lazily. "I want you to kill that thing."

The Munches tilted its head.

"...What human talking about?" it asked, glancing between us.

We both ignored it.

"It’s only one," Seorin continued, resting her elbow on her knee. "So... I’m sure you can do it, tehe (⁠◕⁠દ⁠◕)."

I slowly turned toward her.

My face felt stiff.

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ... No, what the fuck?" I demanded. "How am I supposed to kill that thing?"

She didn’t answer.

I looked down at my hands.

Empty.

No weapon.

No training.

Just the clingy, semi-sentient goo-ring wrapped around my finger like it had signed a lifetime contract.

"ಠ⁠,⁠_⁠｣⁠ಠ... I don’t have a weapon."

Seorin blinked.

"...Oh. My bad."

She pulled her katana halfway out, then casually tossed it.

It landed on the ground right in front of me with a dull thud.

For a second, I just stared at it.

"No I don’t wanna take it."

"Take it." Seorin replied immediately.

I immediately nodded and crouched quickly and reached for the handle—

Smack.

Something then hit me so hard my vision went white.

Air left my lungs in a violent burst as my body lifted off the ground. I didn’t even register the movement before my back slammed into a tree trunk. Bark cracked. Pain exploded through my ribs.

I slid down the trunk, wheezing.

"Human ignore me!" the Munches snapped, its voice suddenly sharp. "Human die!"

I forced myself upright, clutching my side.

"Ow! What the fuck!"

The Munches didn’t even look at me after that.

Instead, it turned.

Slowly.

Its glowing eyes shifted toward Seorin.

And then it walked toward her.

Each step was cautious now.

Curious, It stopped right in front of her.

Close enough to touch, but Seorin didn’t move.

She didn’t look at its face.

She was looking slightly downward.

At its chest.

At its heart.

Her expression wasn’t angry.

It wasn’t hostile.

It was— Measured.

The Munches twitched.

Its shoulders jerked once.

Then again.

Its grin faltered.

"...Human scary," it muttered quietly.

It took one step back.

Then another.

Seorin finally spoke.

Her voice was flat.

"Try your best," she said, raising one hand and lazily pointing at me without even turning her head. "And kill that human there."

My brain short circuited.

"ಠ⁠,⁠_⁠｣⁠ಠ... huh!?"

"And," she added calmly, "I’ll let you live."

Silence dropped into the clearing like something heavy and suffocating.

The Munches slowly turned its glowing eyes back toward me.

This time, there was no playful curiosity in them.

I pushed myself fully to my feet, ribs screaming in protest, snow clinging to my clothes, lungs still struggling to catch up. My hand trembled slightly— whether from pain or adrenaline, I couldn’t tell, actually.

The ring pulsed again.

"Hu— !?"

The sound tore out of my throat before I could even process what had happened.

"Blegh!!"

I barely had time to turn my head before something thick and metallic flooded my mouth. I put my hands over my mouth instinctively, and a violent splash of something dark red hit the snow beneath me.

It spread too quickly. Too bright. Steam curled faintly from it, in the cold air.

Blood.

Thick.

(Fuck, it’s my blood...)

For a second, I just stared.

(And that’s... a lot of blood.)

My stomach twisted.

I coughed again, a raw, tearing sound scraping up my throat, and more red dripped from my lips.

"What the fuck!?" I wheezed, clutching my side as a sharp, jagged pulse of pain stabbed through my ribs. Breathing felt wrong. Too shallow. Too tight. "Are my ribs broken?!"

Breathing hurt.

Thinking hurt.

(Fuck everything hurts!)

I forced my head up.

Seorin was still sitting there.

Watching.

I locked eyes with her, annoyance practically leaking out of me like I hadn’t just coughed up blood two seconds ago.

(This... this woman!)

She held my gaze for exactly half a second. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Then— She looked away... actually looked away.

And shrugged.

(Shrugged?!)

Like I had tripped over a rock instead of being folded like laundry by a gray-furred fucking monster.

My eye twitched.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The sound of heavy footsteps in snow pulled my attention back.

The Munches was walking toward me.

Slowly.

Not rushing.

Not snarling.

Just walking... confidently.

Like it had already decided the outcome.

I slid down the tree trunk behind me, vision slightly unfocused, snow cold beneath my palm and more blood dripped from my lips, red stain beneath me, my blood spreading thru the snow.

Oh.

(This is cringe but... fuck... I have an internal bleeding energy right now.) I thought to myself once again.

The Munches stopped right in front of me.

Close enough that I could see the clumps in its gray fur.

Close enough to smell it.

It raised its arm.

The muscles under its thick coat shifted heavily, snow sliding off as it lifted its massive hand.

The shadow of its fist swallowed my face.

I couldn’t even lift my arm properly.

My ribs screamed if I tried.

So this is how—

Out of the corner of my vision—

Seorin flinched.

Just barely.

But she did.

And then— A dark... no the slightly dark window flickered into existence.

Right between me and the descending fist.

Sharp.

Angled.

Angry.

「(｀へ´) Don’t hurt 아빠.」

The air changed.

The Munches froze mid-swing.

Its fist stopped inches from my face.

The forest felt like it inhaled.

The creature’s glowing white eyes widened, and for the first time since it appeared— it looked uncertain.

Behind it, Seorin, who had been very strategically silent this whole time— finally made a face.

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ..."

The Munches jerked backward immediately, stumbling two steps away like it had touched something it shouldn’t have. Its fur bristled. Its shoulders hunched.

I blinked slowly.

"What...?"

The dark window remained floating protectively in front of me.

Like a tiny angry shield.

A miracle.

(Fuck, this is a miracle. Thank you, my goo-like ring.)

Adrenaline slammed into me all at once.

I forced myself upright using the tree, biting back a groan as my ribs protested violently. My legs felt unstable. My vision slightly blurred.

But I moved.

I lunged forward with absolutely zero grace.

The Munches reacted instantly and dodged to the side.

Of course it did.

(Dumbass.)

But that wasn’t the point.

I threw myself sideways instead, rolling through the snow like a wounded idiot, shoulder screaming in protest, and my hand closed around the katana lying half-buried in snow.

Cold steel met my palm.

Solid.

Real.

I ended the roll on one knee, breathing hard, left arm clutched tightly around my ribs while my right hand gripped the hilt.

I must have looked ridiculous.

Blood on my chin.

Snow in my hair.

Half-collapsed stance.

And then—

Tiny sparkles appeared around me.

Actual sparkles.

They shimmered lightly in the cold air, drifting upward in slow, dramatic fashion like this was some legendary awakening scene.

They hovered.

Paused.

Shone brighter.

「Passive: Random Sparkle Appears During Cool Pose.」

I stared at it.

"...Fuck this shit."

The sparkles dimmed slightly.

Like they were offended.

Then began fading awkwardly.

The Munches tilted its head, clearly confused.

I inhaled slowly.

Deep.

Pain, cold, metal in my hand.

I focused.

A new window appeared.

Blue this time.

Clear.

Steady.

「Stamina Flicker — Gain energy equal to one deep breath」

"...Oh?"

Warmth spread faintly through my chest.

Not healing.

Not fixing anything.

But stabilizing.

My legs felt firmer.

My grip tightened.

(Interesting.)