Mirror World: Destined Return

Four birdfolk led over a thousand birdfolk as they flew in formation.

“Hoot! I see them!”

“Hoot! Those humans insulted Brother Saurix’s death!”

“Hoot! Catch those thieves!”

“Hoot! Sir Rermus will be joining us soon! Capture them before he arrives!”

The four birdfolk in the lead were all owl birdfolk and siblings of the dead Saurix. They were Paurix, Chaurix, Taurix, and Kaurix, all Rankers within the top one hundred of the birdfolk ranking. They had black eyes, round heads, beaks curved like a fishing hook, and wings of white and brown feathers.

They were enraged at the thieves who fled with the artifacts excavated from the Pollon Nest dungeon. They believed the dungeon was cleared thanks to their eldest brother Saurix’s sacrifice, but the humans had taken the spoils for themselves.

“Hoot! We will head to the aforementioned place!”

“Hoot! As briefed, your mission is to lure them there!”

“Hoot! Let’s settle this before sundown!”

“Hoot! For Saurix! For Sir Remus’s triumphant return!”

The four leading owl birdfolk took a detour to cut off the fleeing Seong-Hwi and his teammates.

***

“Hup!” Seong-Hwi grunted as he activated a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Ace of Wands]

[Two of Wands]

...

[Six of Wands]

Twenty-one red wands appeared and shot fireballs into the sky.

“Sonya!” he shouted.

Sonya blew on her Tannesberg Pinwheel, activating a skill as it spun.

[Activating Unique Skill: Wind Emission.]

The pinwheel generated a powerful gust and made the fireballs bigger. The fireballs exploded in midair, spreading a sizzling heat wave. The birdfolk struck by the fireballs fell to the ground, but there were over a thousand; the damage was negligible.

Dozens of skills rained down on Seong-Hwi and the others.

[Activating Race Skill: Beak Arrow.]

[Activating Race Skill: Flame Flapping.]

[Activating Skill: Water Bomb.]

...

“Dammit!”

“Don’t stop! I’ll block them!” Seong-Hwi shouted as he activated a skill.

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Ace of Pentacles]

[Two of Pentacles]

...

[Six of Pentacles]

Twenty-one golden plates appeared over his teammates’ heads like turtle shells.

“Kurgh!” Seong-Hwi grunted as he defended the barrage of skills, his face reddening.

The pentacles cracked; they would have broken instantly if his Magic stat hadn’t been of intermediate caliber A-rank.

Seeing the cracks, Enrique shouted, “We won’t last long at this rate! They have wings! They’ve shot down all my drones!”

“We still have half a day to go until Glasgow! At this rate...” Frank trailed off.

Seong-Hwi shouted, “I’ll draw their attention! In the meantime, get as far as you can! I have wings, too!”

[Operating Wings of Evolution.]

[Six Wings.]

Six iridescent wings sprouted from his back like blades and amplified all his stats. The wings flashed, and Seong-Hwi instantly reached the same height as the birdfolk.

“Screech! A human? A fairy?”

“Chirp! He has wings! They’re beautiful! I’m jealous...”

“Kill him! He’s alone!”

Dozens of birdfolk flew at Seong-Hwi simultaneously from all directions because they were in the air.

But that also means my attacks aren’t restricted! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly as he pulled out a card from the Tarot Deck of Destiny.

[Activating Unique Skill: Borrowing Destiny.]

[Chok Chun-Gyong the Unfortunate Martial God]

[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]

[Sword of Koksan.]

[Activating Exclusive Skill: Chok’s National Sword Technique.]

Seong-Hwi’s eyes blazed with blue will-o’-the-wisps once he borrowed Chok Chun-Gyong’s destiny.

“Chaaa!” he shouted, displaying Chun-Gyong’s swordsmanship.

Fierce Tiger Hides in the Forest was a charging stance where the sword was held at an angle. Direct Correspondence was a stomach thrust. Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake was a slash from the upper left to the lower right. Striking Down the Head of a Leopard was a linked movement of a downward slash and an evasion to the right.

Rising Sun was a stance where one raised the sword over their head like the sun rising in the morning. Turn Right to Repel the Enemy was for cutting the enemy on the right by stamping one’s right foot on the ground and lifting the left. Step Forth and Slash was a movement of stepping forward with the left foot as one raised their sword, and stepping forward again with the right as they slashed the enemy downward.

Clash of Rhinoceroses was a thrust resembling a rhinoceros’s charge. There were also Right Evade and Left Evade, which Seong-Hwi used between each movement when needed.

Seong-Hwi could barely be followed with the naked eye due to his masterful use of the Wings of Evolution’s mobility. However, they could guess what he was doing based on the fountain of blood and the corpses falling like hail.

“He’s a Ranker! Don’t charge at him directly!”

“Screech! Kill him with ranged skills!”

“How are we supposed to hit him when we can’t even see him?!”

“Just hold on! He won’t be able to swing his sword forever!”

The birdfolk switched to an evasive strategy once they realized they were no match for Seong-Hwi in close range. Seong-Hwi chased and killed them, but human endurance and mana were limited.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!” he panted heavily as he looked backward; his teammates had fled quite far.

How much longer? he wondered.

His body was getting heavier each second. He had not even fully recovered from the fatigue accumulated inside the dungeon. It was only natural that he would be exhausted more quickly.

“Step aside!”

“We’ll take care of him!”

Several birdfolk with noticeably larger wings and more powerful auras than the others showed themselves.

“Chirp! It’s the Semi Ranker, Sir Tataju!”

“Sir Furuan is here too!”

“Kill that human!”

Seong-Hwi fixed his grip on the Sword of Koksan and thought, Birdfolk Semi Rankers... I don’t know what their ranks are, but they might be dangerous to face in my current state.

However, he had no choice. He caught his breath and assumed his stance. Just then, a golden carrot flew up from the ground like a missile.

A golden carrot?

[Activating Race Skill: Golden Carrot - Break.]

A golden carrot, made with mana, tore apart one of the birdfolk Semi Rankers and exploded in midair. Seong-Hwi looked down and saw hundreds of rabbit beastfolk looking up at the sky with frightening black eyes.

At the front of the group was an extremely muscular rabbit over three meters tall, exuding the imposing force of a general. He was covered in scars, and half of his left pink rabbit ear had been ripped off.

Next to him was a small rabbit beastfolk, around a meter tall. He had soft white fur, upright pink ears, beady black eyes, a stubby tail, and two buck teeth.

“Thumper...” Seong-Hwi mumbled.

“Friend Seong-Hwi~! Baby Rabbit Thumper is here! It’s been a while!”

***

Seong-Hwi had realized something when he examined the Mirror World map on the wall before he entered the warp gate. Pollon Nest was in the southwestern region of the third zone, and the closest human city to them in the direction of the Capital, in the eastern region of the first zone, was Glasgow.

They couldn’t reach Glasgow directly through a warp gate because of the birdfolk’s intervention. The travel distance via warp gate was halved, and no human cities existed anywhere in the area.

However, that didn’t mean the cities of other races weren’t in the area. One of them was Carrot, a beastfolk city where mainly rabbit beastfolk resided. Seong-Hwi had recalled a conversation once he noticed the city’s name.

“Thank you so much, Friend Seong-Hwi! We are friends for life. Come to Carrot if you need my help!”

“I will.”

Carrot was the hometown of Thumper, a rabbit beastfolk he had befriended in the Tin Can. Seong-Hwi still had the fluffy furball, which Thumper had ripped off and given him as a token of their friendship before they separated. He had given it to Kwan Hoi-San and had him contact Carrot.

What a relief. Thumper answered my cry for help.

Seong-Hwi withdrew the Wings of Evolution and landed on the ground. Thumper hopped toward him and jumped on Seong-Hwi’s shoulders to ride on them.

“Friend Seong-Hwi! Friend Seong-Hwi! You’ve gotten into another mess, haven’t you? You troublemaker!”

“Who are they, Thumper? Fellow rabbit beastfolk?”

“Of course, they are! They look exactly like me!”

They did not look similar at all. Thumper was a small rabbit, only a meter tall, while the other rabbit beastfolk were at least over two meters tall and extremely muscular.

“You... seriously were a baby rabbit, huh?” Seong-Hwi remarked.

“Huh? That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time! I’m Thumper the baby rabbit!”

Seong-Hwi stared at Thumper dumbfoundedly.

Just then, the three-meter-tall rabbit approached Seong-Hwi and asked, “Are you the human who saved our Thumper from the filthy goblins’ den?”

Seong-Hwi stared at the rabbit beastfolk and sensed his unreal aura.

His caliber is insanely high... He must be the High Ranker, Pippin, fifth in the beastfolk ranking.

He had heard many rumors about Killer Rabbit Pippin, but had never met him in person. There were various animals among the intermediate race, the beastfolk, and Pippin was a rabbit beastfolk who proudly took one of their High Ranker positions.

“Yes, I am Thumper’s friend,” Seong-Hwi responded.

“Yeah, Mr. Pippin! This is my friend, Seong-Hwi!”

Pippin’s threatening face wrinkled as he laughed, “Kekekek! I’ve heard much about you from Thumper, but you truly are as tremendous as he said. Are you at war against the birdfolk?”

“Nothing of the sort. I was just running away from them. Thank you very much for your help,” Seong-Hwi replied.

“Keh! Don’t think I am helping you because of Thumper’s request. We’re only here because of our business,” Pippin snorted as he glanced at Seong-Hwi.

He looked up and took a deep breath, his pecs ballooning. He roared, “How dare you fucking pigeons trespass on Carrot territory?! I’ll grind you all into protein juice!”

The birdfolk were left confused by the sudden appearance of the rabbit beastfolk group.

Thumper said excitedly on Seong-Hwi’s shoulders, “Now’s our chance to run, Friend Seong-Hwi! I’ll be back, Mr. Pippin! I’m gonna go play with Seong-Hwi!”

“What? Thumper! Where the hell do you think you’re going?! Come back here before you get captured again!” Pippin shouted.

“I’ll be fine as long as I’m with Seong-Hwi! He’s super strong! Hurry, Seong-Hwi!” Thumper urged.

Seong-Hwi raced through the forest as Thumper requested.

Thumper pulled on his ears and shouted, “Yahoo! I’m free! I’ve been forced to stay in Carrot ever since I returned from the Tin Can!”

Seong-Hwi chuckled and said, “You’re quite loved.”

“Hehehe! There aren’t many baby rabbits in our city. There aren’t even thirty, including me, so the adults are always worried about us. Huh? But where are you going?”

“I’m following my comrades.”

“Following your comrades? But... you’re heading toward a dead end.”

“What?”

“There’s a huge cliff blocking the path that way. The canyon has no exits!” Thumper shouted.

Seong-Hwi instantly realized the birdfolk’s plan.

They’ve been luring us to the cliff this whole time!

It was a trap. If that were the case, powerful individuals who would guarantee the birdfolk’s victory were waiting for them there.

“Hang on tight, Thumper.”

“Huh?”

“I’m gonna speed up,” Seong-Hwi said as he sprouted the Wings of Evolution again.

“Wow! I saw them earlier, but what are these? They look awes—AAAAAHHH!”

Seong-Hwi flapped the Wings of Evolution, ripping through the air at tremendous speeds before Thumper could finish.

His heart pounded as he thought, I’m getting a bad feeling.

He clenched his chest as he raced forward; it felt as if he could hear the flapping of the wings of death.

Who is the hunter?!

If they were being lured into a trap, there was bound to be a hunter who laid it. He had a feeling it would be an excruciatingly long day.