ALL NOVEL Chapter 233
Chapter 233. Kabuum (2)
Yoo Ji-han pointed to the sky with his hand and said, “It’s getting late, so let’s move in the morning.”
“We are the strong warriors of Kabuum! We’re not afraid of the night at all!”
“Yes! Not afraid!”
“Our nights are much more beautiful than your days!”
The warriors of Kabuum were determined to return to Kabuum even if it meant staying up all night. Considering they hadn’t even brought horses, it seemed they intended to move by walking or running without a care.
Yoo Ji-han pointed at the strange creature lying on the ground and said, “Looks like they don’t want to take these guys with them.”
“No! We want to take them!”
“But we want to leave in the morning.”
“…Thinking about it, resting first might be nice.”
“Right. Resting first does sound good.”
The warriors of Kabuum quickly caved under a bit of intimidation. Kim Si-hu looked at them with a slightly incredulous expression. Chilla, with his shield lowered, laughed amusingly.
“Chirp, chirp! The warriors of Kabuum are very amusing!”
“Hm, is that a compliment?”
“Of course! Chirp!”
“Yes! The warriors of Kabuum are very fun!”
At the word “compliment,” they seemed to brighten up. They were people who really liked being recognized by others.
“Just in time, we were about to prepare a meal. Come eat with us.”
“Mmm! We can’t refuse food.”
“Food is our hope.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party invited them to their meal. They had plenty of extra food packed in the cart, enough to accommodate everyone.
“What is this?”
“It’s the meat of an animal called Ruyok.”
“I’ve never seen this kind of meat before.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of it a few times.”
When Yoo Ji-han’s party prepared a dish similar to curry from Earth with the food prepared by Alo, the majority of Kabuum’s warriors, including Tuta, couldn’t recognize most of the food.
“Is this really edible meat?”
Some had their eyes darting around with the delicious aroma, but not a single person picked up a spoon before Yoo Ji-han tasted the curry first.
It was entirely possible that it was secretly poisoned.
“Mmm! Tastes good!”
“It’s a wonderful and stable flavor!”
“Are there more foods like this in other regions?”
“Not many.”
“I can somewhat understand why our companions left Kabuum.”
Afterwards, they seemed to really enjoy it, licking their bowls clean of curry.
“Should I give you more?”
“Is that okay?”
“I’d like another bowl!”
Seeing their satisfied expressions as they enjoyed the food, Lee Mi-a, who prepared the meal, also looked pleased. Yoo Ji-han thought as he watched them devour the food hurriedly.
‘They’re so closed off that they really don’t accept outside food.’
The meat from Ruyok was quite popular, much like pork or beef on Earth in the regions of Leron and Maz.
The unique texture was clear when looking at the cross-section of the meat, making it easy to identify.
Yet, seeing their ignorance of it, the rumors about Kabuum seemed to be true.
They weren’t particularly keen on spreading their culture outside and were slow to accept external influences.
However, they knew export could bring in money, so they had established trade with some guilds.
“So you’re Tuta?”
“Indeed.”
The leader of their party was a man named Tuta. Yoo Ji-han looked at his incredibly solid muscles and asked, “How old are you?”
“I’m 18 this year.”
“…You’re not even 20?”
“There are still 3 years until adulthood.”
In Kallem, the age of majority is set at 21. Tuta was still a minor, yet Yoo Ji-han couldn’t help but suspect he was lying about his age.
‘What kind of 18-year-old has a body like that?’
It was rare even among the heroes of Earth to see such a solid and thick build. Most warriors of Kabuum shared similar physiques.
When compared to the guards and mercenaries Yoo Ji-han had encountered in Leron, they boasted exceptional physical conditions.
After finishing most of his meal, Tuta surveyed Yoo Ji-han and Lee Mi-a with his eyes and said, “You two are quite strong.”
“I’m not particularly weak.”
“From my cold and discerning eyes, I can say you’re about equal to us.”
Tuta acknowledged Yoo Ji-han’s party as peers in terms of warriors.
Considering that a proud warrior of Kabuum said this first, it likely indicated a great respect for the other party.
“Especially that lady over there.”
“Me?”
“Your punching power is quite impressive. Very fiery.”
Tuta showed particular interest in Lee Mi-a. He was quite taken with her fighting style, which focused on hand-to-hand combat rather than relying on weapons.
“If you want, you can be my woman! You have plenty of qualifications for that.”
“I’ll pass.”
“What a shame.”
“I dislike weaker people.”
“Now that’s a spirited woman for a girl.”
Tuta looked a bit disappointed by her quick rejection, licking his lips.
At that moment, Yoo Ji-han spoke, “What about this person?”
“Which one?”
Suddenly pointed out, Min Yu-ri paused with her spoon in her mouth.
“A warrior who was throwing weird things from afar.”
“…Weird things?”
“Certainly strong, but not our type.”
The warriors of Kabuum seemed uninterested in long-range attackers who strike from the back. They preferred more aggressive and rough personalities like Lee Mi-a.
‘Maybe my guess was right.’
Compared to humans from other forces, they were exceptionally wild.
Looking at Tuta, Yoo Ji-han recalled the barbarian tribe he’d encountered a few times before.
‘They might not be human but a different race.’
Barbarians. They were a different race so similar to humans in terms of body structure, except for their exceptionally large and sturdy forms.
Kabuum might be a force made up of barbarians rather than humans.
They simply had no specific term for barbarians in Kallem.
“Are you really human?”
“Chirp, chirp! I’m probably human!”
“You’re dressed rather peculiarly.”
“This is my pride! Chirp!”
As Chilla continued to make excuses pretending to be human in front of the warriors of Kabuum, Kim Si-hu pointed to a group of strange creatures.
“By the way, what are those?”
“Those? They’re Chaos.”
“Chaos?”
“They appeared suddenly about a year ago.”
They had the appearance of various animals merged into one. These creatures were new to Kallem within the last year.
Due to their wildly inconsistent appearance and the many differences between individuals, they were collectively called Chaos instead of having unique names.
“We regularly dispatch warriors to eliminate Chaos.”
“Today, we happened to meet you while doing just that.”
While Tuta’s party was out on a mission to exterminate the Chaos, they encountered Yoo Ji-han’s party.
They had to return to Kabuum with some hunting results, as that was the only way to get rewards and maintain their warrior status.
“Outside, I’ve heard the King of Kabuum is a great person.”
“You know well! Our king is truly magnificent!”
“No one can rival the king!”
They had immense pride in their king. A person who possessed great and arbitrary power, he was regarded with great respect by his subordinates, contrary to public opinion.
It was said that even a single word from him could affect the political landscape of Kallem.
‘How great could he be?’
Yoo Ji-han thought about the King of Kabuum he had heard rumored. He must possess strength comparable to a Rank 1 Hero.
Though he wanted to see him with his own eyes at least once, it seemed unlikely he would have the opportunity to meet him in this world, as Kabuum maintained a closed-off policy toward outsiders.
*
The next day.
As morning broke, Yoo Ji-han’s party organized their campsite. Tuta’s group was already ready to depart.
“It’s a bit crowded to fit on the cart.”
As the cart had limited seating, they couldn’t take Tuta’s group along.
Tuta scoffed and said, “A cart? Hah, I never intended to ride one in the first place.”
“Our cart is quite fast. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“Ha! A cart’s fast, but it’s still just a cart.”
“We’ll match your speed, so don’t worry too much.”
They showed great confidence in their running ability, even declaring they would run slower to match the cart’s speed.
However, just after departing the campsite and starting towards Kabuum—
“Huff!”
“It’s too fast!”
“What kind of cart goes this fast?!”
Once the cart, powered by various magic, began racing at top speed, they found themselves unable to keep up, gasping for air.
Tuta gritted his teeth, determined to maintain the pride of his leadership, but found himself insufficient to overtake the cart.
“C-Can you slow down a bit?!”
“There’s a direction we have to go!”
Their initial confidence in catching up was completely gone. Yoo Ji-han slowly reduced speed, bringing the cart down to match theirs.
“Is this okay now?”
“This… this will do.”
“Losing to just two horses is so humiliating…”
The expressions of Tuta’s group darkened as they felt defeated while competing against the horses pulling the cart.
“It’s because of the magic.”
“Is that so? It was magic.”
“If it’s not that strange magic, we would’ve won.”
“Yes! We would’ve won!”
At least hearing that it was magic that enhanced the cart relieved some tension.
With the number of mages being rather low, magic was regarded as something very special and wondrous in Kabuum.
When they clashed with the pure strength of others, it was a matter of principle that they wouldn’t lose.
“Is that Kabuum?”
“That’s Kabuum!”
Yoo Ji-han saw many buildings of all sizes come into view.
The region closest to Leron among the forces of Kabuum. Tuta referred to it as Area 11, a place that had not been designated as a city by name.
“Access for outsiders is only permitted in Areas 11, 12, and 13.”
“You mentioned three areas.”
“The companions you spoke of are likely in one of those three areas.”
It was highly probable that the three teams that had gone ahead to Kabuum had remained in one of those regions.
Tuta expressed willingness to help Yoo Ji-han’s party find them if they wished.
“If you help, that would be great.”
“Then, would that mean the debt disappears?”
“That’s impossible. It’s separate from the debt.”
“Ugh.”
After their quick travel, they finally arrived at Area 11.
The warriors of Kabuum, who had taken two breaks while running, caught their breath and wiped their sweat away.
“Chirp! Drink!”
“Oh! Thank you.”
“Ugh! This water tastes great!”
After drinking the water Chilla handed over, Tuta said, “We’ll be heading to report our findings at the warrior’s resting place.”
“Alright. Later, come to the inn you mentioned.”
Parting ways with Tuta’s group, Yoo Ji-han booked a room at the inn they recommended and unpacked his things.
Then, he moved to where the external guilds were gathered and searched for the three teams who had arrived here.
But…
“They disappeared two days ago?”
“It seems they followed the warriors of Kabuum…”
“It looked like something happened.”
The three teams in Area 11 had apparently moved somewhere two days ago, following the warriors of Kabuum.
Since then, none of the merchants had seen their faces.
In the end, unable to find his companions, Yoo Ji-han’s party returned to their lodgings.
“Are you from the Yogo Guild?!”
At that moment, a woman walked into the inn where they were staying.
She was quite large with muscles bulging in various places.
She seemed to be a local from Kabuum.
“Yes, we are from the Yogo Guild.”
“I-I’m the person who was originally supposed to trade with the Yogo Guild!”
“Oh, really?”
She was the one who had been scheduled to deliver goods from Kabuum to the Yogo Guild.
Min Yu-ri welcomed her with a bright smile, but for some reason, her expression didn’t look very good.
“We’re in big trouble!”
“Excuse me?”
“What happened?”
“Those who came here before were captured by the warriors!”
“Wha—”
News that the three teams who had arrived in Kabuum had been captured by its warriors.
Just as everyone frowned at the news, a loud bang resonated through the inn!
A group of people burst through the entrance with weapons like long spears and swords, and among them was Tuta, his face tense.