I Start with a Bad Hand!

It’s said that ignorance is bliss.

There was a time when a certain noble foolishly flirted with Roxanne, who belonged to the Ducal House. The innocent girl didn’t know how to react, and Prince Elius hurriedly intervened, dispatching the noble. In the process, the noble who had bothered Roxanne was lightly cut by the prince’s sword.

‘And then, a monster appeared out of nowhere, attracted by the smell of blood, and attacked that noble,’ so the story went.

It was unclear who had unleashed the monster, but that wasn’t important. The hunt involved nobles armed for combat facing a creature of considerable size, not just an ordinary animal but a monster.

Capturing just this one monster would earn enough extra points to win the hunt. Thus, luring this monster to me would be much more efficient than wandering around on an injured leg looking for prey.

‘In the original story, the injury was just a slight cut on the forearm, probably.’

If a monster had come seeking just that small amount of blood… I definitely needed to be a more attractive option for the monster. Only then would it come to me of its own accord.

I rolled up my trousers. The long scar from when Dietrich’s leg was broken. I lit a match and heated the knife I had brought.

‘It’s regrettable to create new scars on someone else’s body, but if it’s already scarred…’

Hesitation comes with prolonged thought. I decisively cut over the scar. Doing so, I wondered why I hadn’t thought of this method before.

‘Crazy! Wow, this is so painful!’

It was a foolish method that no one would want to imitate. Clutching my leg from which blood was now streaming, I swallowed the painkillers I had brought. The pain was curse-worthy.

Thump, I threw the empty bottle. Now, all I had to do was wait.

And then,

Thump, thump, thump!

I felt vibrations so intense I couldn’t tell if they were from my own heartbeat or the monster’s approach. But, it must have been my heart. No, upon closer inspection, those were the sounds of the monster knocking down trees as it approached.

Either way, it wasn’t the monster making that noise.

Because… because the monster I faced didn’t thump as it walked. It moved with a hissing sound.

It was…

It was a giant cockroach. A monstrous cockroach the size of a five-story villa lying down.

‘Damn it… No one said the monster would be a cockroach!’

Right, monsters can’t always look pleasant. How could monsters only appear in forms that humans find acceptable? That’s just human selfishness.

But still… but that thing…

The original story didn’t specify what the monster looked like. The victim had been almost half-eaten by the monster before being rescued, and it was only mentioned that he had lost his mind after the attack. I had assumed it was simply due to the sudden injuries and shock from the monster’s attack…

“It’s insane to release that! Are they crazy, damn it…”

Hold it together, hold it together. I murmured to myself while facing off against it. Overwhelming fear caused tears to start forming. My hands shook as I drew an arrow from the quiver.

But I couldn’t back down now. Even though it was so revolting I felt like fainting, even though I wanted to lose consciousness. If I ran away now, there would be no other chance.

I cast a magic eye spell to steady my nerves. With blurred vision, it looked just like a large, glossy black Hangang Bridge. I tried to think positively about its size.

‘A bigger target is easier to hit. That’s good.’

But contrary to my thoughts, my instincts were on edge, and my hands sweated. I kept having to wipe my hands on my clothes because I kept losing grip on the bowstring. Facing the actual cockroach monster, its aura was truly more imposing than I had anticipated.

Seeing a cockroach in such detail was really…

“God of this novel, please grant me your protection…”

I grasped at my waning sanity and took another deep breath. Again, calmly. I mulled over every reason I had to stay composed.

‘One, I’ve trained to death to catch this monster. Two, with its size, even if I can’t kill it with one shot, hitting it is definitely possible. Three, really… if worst comes to worst, I could still use a magic circle to escape.’

The cockroach monster was still standing there, looking at me. Feeling it watching me made me somewhat wish I were dead. I repeated a chant of encouragement to myself.

God, oh my god, god…

Just then, the cockroach monster moved its legs. It was charging at me. Perhaps because of its many legs, it moved faster than the wind! The hissing sound was confusing, whether it was from its legs or from cutting through the wind.

I steadied my trembling hands on the bowstring, closed my eyes briefly, and took a deep breath. Calmly.

‘The truth is, cockroaches aren’t scary. Not even dying crushed by that cockroach monster is scary. What’s truly frightening is…’

“Continuing to live in this world.”

I released the bowstring.

The arrow flew swiftly. When I saw the aftermath of the arrow I had shot, I was speechless.

“Wow…”

This is why you shouldn’t skimp on equipment!

A single hit caused several of the monster’s numerous legs to detach. The wind activated by the artifact pushed it back considerably.

The trees crushed by the cockroach monster made a creaking sound as they broke. But I couldn’t let my guard down. Just like a cockroach hit by a shoe moves faster, a monster that has been attacked once could act unpredictably.

‘Alright. I’ll finish it within the next five shots.’

I pulled another arrow from my quiver and fired. Twang! The monster slightly changed its direction, and this time the arrow pierced part of its torso. Yet, it didn’t stop moving. The sound of its legs scraping against the grass in the clearing was incessantly grating on my nerves.

‘Next, aim for the head…’

However, I had overlooked one crucial aspect due to its overwhelming size.

Cockroaches could usually fly. Flap, flap.

And then it took off into the air.

Just as I had released another arrow.

‘Oh no, there goes the cost of a dress!’

In haste, I grabbed another arrow as the giant creature ascended. I changed my aim towards the sky.

The problem was the sun. The sudden glance upwards met direct sunlight, blinding me momentarily.

“Ah, damn it!”

I rubbed my eyes harshly, and as I looked up again, the giant monster was casting a shadow as it dived towards me like a leap. I instinctively stepped back, but behind me was a cliff.

Thud, I could retreat no further; the cold cliff was now against my back.

‘Is this it? Should I give up now… Should I use the scroll to escape right now?’

A deeper despair than when I first encountered the monster seemed to engulf me. But that’s when it happened.

As I looked up at the slowly descending monster intending to crush me, someone appeared in my line of sight. Like an angel without wings falling from the sky, someone jumped down from the cliff without hesitation.

It was Prince Icarus.

“…!”

Watching him in this slow-motion reality, it felt like I was thinking:

‘It’s been a long time.’

He landed on the monster and swung his sword violently. However, its shell seemed too tough. He glanced at me and raised his sword as if to strike a final blow.

No…

‘No! Not my prize!’

I couldn’t let the prince take credit for a monster I had almost defeated.

“Ah…!”

A sigh escaped me. However, unexpectedly, Icarus did not strike. Instead, he swung his sword to block the monster’s gaping mouth aiming at him.

As I watched, unsure of what to do, he still held the monster’s mouth shut with his sword and turned to shout at me.

“What are you doing? Shoot!”

His shout snapped me back to reality. I took a deep breath and aimed calmly.

‘The face is too risky, I might hit the prince. Aim for the torso instead…’

Please, let this be accurate.

Thwack! The arrow swiftly left my hand.

The wind artifact attached to the arrow pushed the monster away from Icarus while piercing its torso. Fragments scattered on the ground.

‘Insane!’

I slowly relaxed from my shooting stance and stared at the shattered monster. Half of its torso had flown off, but it had been moving before. I couldn’t truly relax until I was sure it was no longer moving. Fortunately, it didn’t move anymore.

“Phew…”

I did it. I caught the big one. Unknowingly, my legs gave out, and I slumped down.

“Dietrich!”

Suddenly, he was rushing over to me, checking me over. But his complexion was ashen. It seemed Icarus was not in his normal state either.

“Your Highness, your complexion… Are you alright?”

“This isn’t really the time to worry about me.”

Blood on his lips… He gently wiped my lips as he spoke. I must have been too tense, biting my lips until they bled. But it was usually my lips that would crack even in the winter cold. Right now, this little wound was the least of my concerns.

“No, you jumped from the cliff, and you… you faced that thing up close, really…”

“Wait.”

He suddenly covered his mouth with a pale complexion.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ugh—”

Having had a pale face throughout, he suddenly hardened his expression and withdrew his hand from me. Then, abruptly covering his mouth, he hurriedly moved away from me. Startled, I called after his retreating back.

“Your Highness? Are you okay?”

I glanced once at him disappearing behind the bushes, and once at the remains of the monster, or rather, the pest I had killed. The sight was too repulsive for my eyes, let alone my brain.

Could there be anything as revolting as what I had just seen in my entire life? The reason for his gagging became apparent, and just as I realized it, my tension dissipated, and nausea surged.

“Ugh—”

For a while, only the sound of our retching echoed quietly across the clearing.