I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 66: A guy Vs a Massive hairy, bulky monster.
(Interesting...)
I then closed my eyes for just a second, felt the weight of the katana in my hand, the texture of the hilt and the cold air filling my lungs.
And most of all, the pulse of the ring on my finger.
Behind me, I could feel Seorin watching again.
Silent.
Evaluating.
The Munches lowered its stance, thick muscles coiling under its gray fur.
No more playful tone.
No more childish curiosity.
Just readiness.
Snow drifted lightly between us.
My ribs still throbbed though.
The ring pulsed once again.
Excited.
I exhaled slowly.
Then—
"Zwooop."
***
(Si Hon, 3rd pov switch — his unstable right now.)
"Zwooop."
Si Hon opened his eyes.
Nothing happened.
No burst of power.
No dramatic aura.
No legendary transformation.
Not even the one where he usually teleports and goes limp... Just the cold forest.
And Seorin...
Sitting very comfortably on top of the pile of dead mole-rats like it was a throne made just for her.
Her hands were clasped in front of her chest, eyes shining with pure excitement.
Si Hon looked toward her.
"Woah..." she said, leaning forward slightly. "My bad. I thought you were about to use that mysterious skill so I added the sound effect. For another effect, obviously."
She scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.
Si Hon stared at her, his expression flattened into a pure, exhausted disbelief.
"ಠ_ಠ... Fu—"
The snow then Infront of him exploded.
The bulky Munches had already closed the distance.
It didn’t snicker this time.
It didn’t speak.
It just lunged toward him and swung.
A brutal right hook, heavy and merciless, cutting through the cold air straight toward Si Hon’s left side ribs.
(F-fuck—!)
His body reacted before his mind did.
The ring pulsed violently.
A translucent window flashed in front of his vision.
「All-Directional Movement has been activated.」
His arms lifted.
Not smoothly.
Not skillfully.
But precisely enough.
The katana rose at an angle that barely intercepted the incoming fist.
Steel met muscle.
The impact didn’t stop at the blade though.
The force traveled straight through his arms and sent him flying sideways, his whole body carving a messy line through the snow before he slammed into a tree trunk again, bark cracking under the collision, and he dropped face-first into the snow.
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Then—
He coughed.
Blood splattered into the snow beneath him, spreading like spilled ink across a white blank page. The metallic taste filled his mouth. His lungs burned. His ribs screamed every time he tried to breathe.
Through blurred vision, he saw hair feet... no, a massive gray hairy feet! Step into a view.
The Munches was walking toward him.
Slow.
Certain.
Like it was approaching something already dead.
(Fuck... thank god I remember I have that FUCKING skill.)
He tried to push himself up.
Pain shot through his side so sharply that his arm collapsed.
"Agh!"
"I— I can’t stand up!"
His fingers clawed weakly at the snow.
Then—
The slightly darker window flickered into existence beside his hand.
Small.
Worried.
「(◞‸◟) 아빠... Skill, skill, USE!」
He stared at it, breathing ragged.
(Yea... shit. I forgot I have that skill.)
The Munches’ shadow fell over him.
He could hear its slow exhale.
It lifted its arm again.
Si Hon squeezed his eyes shut for half a second and focused— not on the monster, not on the pain, but on something embarrassingly basic.
His feet.
Stand.
Just stand.
The ring pulsed.
A subtle force rippled down his spine, like an invisible hand pressing against the correct points of his body. His shoulders straightened involuntarily.
His core tightened.
His knees, which had been trembling and half-collapsed, snapped into alignment as if a hidden wire had been pulled taut through his skeleton. The trembling didn’t disappear though... but it reorganized itself.
His weight shifted properly over the balls of his feet. Snow compressed under his fooy. His balance recalibrated in one sharp, unnatural motion, and before even he fully processed it— he was upright.
(Yea... I can’t find the words so balls it is...) The author/narrator thought.
Then a blue window shimmered into view before Si Hon.
「Quick Get-Up — Stand faster after falling (10 second cooldown)」
The Munches froze mid-step.
"Gah!? How Human stand up fast?!"
Its glowing eyes widened.
That hesitation— just that flicker of confusion— was enough.
Si Hon lunged.
It wasn’t graceful. It wasn’t trained. It wasn’t heroic.
He simply ran at it with a half-broken body and blood still staining his lips.
He raised the katana awkwardly above his shoulder and screamed—
"AGHHHH!!!"
The sound was raw. Desperate. Unhinged.
The Munches instinctively stepped back.
Just one step, but it was still a long step back distance.
Si Hon’s eyes locked onto it.
He glared.
Not coolly. Not elegantly.
Just with pure, stubborn hostility.
A small system window popped up.
「Intimidating Glare (very weak): has been activated.」
He glanced at it for half a second.
Then—
(Get the fuck away from my face.) He thought.
The effect was subtle— but real.
The Munches stiffened.
Its shoulders twitched.
A primal instinct brushed against it— something about the blood on his chin, the unstable stance, the fact that this fragile human kept standing back up.
For half a second, the monster hesitated.
Si Hon took that half second.
He didn’t slash.
Instead he thrust.
The blade drove into the left side of the Munches’ chest.
Both of them lost balance.
They tumbled into the snow.
The impact sent a burst of snow into the air as Si Hon landed on top, straddling the creature’s torso.
Si Hon on top, The munches on bottom.
He didn’t pause.
He didn’t confirm.
He yanked the katana out— And stabbed the right chest of munches too.
Harder.
"Fucker!" he wheezed, voice cracking. "I once read a book where the guy’s heart was on the left instead of the right!"
***
(At the Seorin...)
"ಠ_ಠ... the hell is this guy saying..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
The familiar window appeared beside her.
「ಠ,_｣ಠ agree... 」
***
(Back to Si Hon)
The Munches convulsed.
Its thick arms flailed once.
Then weakened.
Then stopped.
Its glowing eyes flickered.
Dimmed.
Snow began settling over its fur.
Silence slowly reclaimed the clearing.
But Si Hon didn’t move.
He stayed on top of it, breathing heavily, staring down at its chest.
(What if it’s different?)
His paranoia didn’t allow victory.
He slid off its torso, staggered toward its leg, and drove the katana down into its foot.
Hard.
"Dumbass," he muttered hoarsely. "There’s a chance your heart might be here."
***
(Back to Seorin.)
"ಠ_ʖಠ... The fuck...?"
「ಠ,_｣ಠ I don’t even know... how he got choosen...」
***
(Back to Si hon of course.)
The Munches showed no reaction.
No twitch.
Nothing.
He kept staring at it, waiting for something— anything— to move.
It didn’t.
Then—
A translucent system window appeared in front of him, clean and emotionless.
「600 XP acquired.」
"See! Fucker! Your heart was in your feet!"
But for some reason, that made it feel real.
The forest felt heavier after that. Quieter. Like the sound had been drained out of it.
Si Hon remained standing there, shoulders rising and falling, blood staining the snow beneath him, steam rising faintly from his body in the cold air.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t celebrate.
He just kept staring at the corpse like it might suddenly grab my ankle if I blinked.
Behind him a snow shift.
Seorin stood up in her mole-rat throne.
She didn’t clap.
She simply watched him with an unreadable expression.
Si Hon didn’t celebrate.
Didn’t smile.
He just stared at the corpse like he was waiting for it to move again.
"...Ah," she murmured softly.
Si Hon slowly turned his head toward Seorin.
She stood there a few feet away, hands clasped behind her back now, rocking lightly on her heels as if she had just watched a mildly entertaining street performance instead of a near fatal fight.
"...Ah," she said again.
Then she smiled.
"Congrats!"
The word hung in the cold air like it had no business being there.
Si Hon stared at her for a long moment.
His face was pale. His lips were stained red. His breathing was uneven and shallow from the strain on his ribs.
Then, without saying anything, he started walking toward her.
One step.
It hurt.
Two steps.
His vision flickered slightly at the edges.
Three steps.
His grip on the katana loosened.
Four.
The snow felt uneven under his boots.
Five—
His knee trembled.
There was no dramatic slow-motion.
No cool collapse.
He simply pitched forward and face-planted directly into the snow.
Flat.
A soft whumph sound followed.
Silence.
Then, from the snow...
"Hkelp..."
It came out muffled. Pathetic. Slightly bubbling because there was still blood in his mouth.
Seorin froze for half a second.
Then—
She burst out laughing.
Not a polite giggle.
Not a hidden chuckle.
Full, unrestrained laughter.
"Pff— HAHAWHHAHAHAHAHHA!"
She walked toward him casually, feet crunching through the snow, still laughing as she reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair.
She lifted his head up just enough so his face came free from the snow.
His eyes were half-lidded.
Dead inside.
Glaring at her with what little strength he had left.
"Congrats! Lololol. ༎ຶ‿༎ ຶ KWAAHAHAHHAH"
Then the familiar blue transparent window flickered into existence beside her face.
It vibrated slightly like it was also wheezing from laughter.
「KWAAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!! ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ」
Si Hon’s eyes twitched.
"Fuck... both of you."
