Chapter 41: The First Fully Unmanned Autonomous Driving

The ones who kidnapped me were beastmen riding on a giant scops owl—specifically, wolf beastmen.

Their proper name was the Lang (狼) Tribe.

Normally, I wasn’t one to care much about stories or lore.

But I did remember one thing clearly.

In the beginning, there were humans and animals.

And those humans, who harbored an excessive fondness for animals, eventually broke a taboo.

That transgression led to the birth of the beastmen, or so the myth went.

Frankly, they could only be described as lunatics.

Anyway.

There’s a saying that even if you’re dragged into a tiger’s den, you can survive as long as you keep your wits about you.

Though in my case, it wasn’t a tiger beastman but a wolf one.

And instead of a den, I was in a rather luxurious bedroom.

Somehow, that only made me more anxious.

At least I had one thing I could rely on.

“Ellis, I have a bad feeling about this…”

Ellis, my floating SD guardian spirit, had stayed by my side even as I was being kidnapped.

Honestly, she was the main reason I was able to keep my composure.

And if things got really dire?

If I had no other choice?

Even though it would be an immense waste?

I could always use my party’s emergency summon ticket.

If I did, Ellis—fully equipped with max-level gear at Rank 5—would appear at my side with a sparkle.

“Hehehe, this is definitely that kind of situation.”

“What kind of situation?”

“Oh my, are you trying to make a proper lady say something improper? Ark, you’re quite the wicked one, aren’t you?”

…Was she about to say that kind of situation?

These guys… their Korean localization was unexpectedly well done.

With my legs bound tightly and my arms loosely tied to the bed, I lay still.

Then—

Kwajiik!

With a thunderous crash, the entire window—frame and all—was ripped from the wall.

…This was the fifth floor, last time I checked.

And the one who appeared was—

A face I was quite familiar with from 2D illustrations.

“You’re surprisingly obedient. Are you a virgin?”

The moment she opened her mouth, the cool image I had of her shattered into pieces.

Renatel.

A wolf beastman of the Lang Tribe.

Five-star unit.

Sheds a little fur.

An earth-element melee attacker.

Top-tier in earth decks.

For reference, Rumi was tier 5 on the ranking chart.

As I sized up the short-haired wolf girl before me with the calculations of an adult gamer—

“It seems you don’t quite grasp what it means to be taken by the Lang Tribe. You’re fairly decent-looking, so it’s no surprise my kind have gone into heat. But to kidnap you even after another beastman has left their mark on you? Has our tribe truly fallen so low after mingling with those damn cats?”

…Wait.

Was this really that kind of situation?

My gaze drifted downward.

At the red ribbon tied neatly around my waist.

While I was still trying to process things—

“If you don’t want to lose your chastity, follow me. I’m here to rescue you.”

Renatel sighed, making it hard to tell whether her words were a threat or an offer of goodwill.

At the same time—

Shhk!

With a speed my eyes couldn’t follow, she sliced through the ropes binding me.

“Uh, but… if I just wait here, won’t my party members come to save me?”

I believe in them.

I believe in my heroes.

“I snuck in, and from what I overheard, the leader of the Lang Tribe—the one most eager to savor your purity—will arrive in about ten minutes. If you prefer to be overpowered and ravished by an entire pack, I won’t stop you.”

“…Please take care of me.”

I bowed deeply, my gratitude genuine.

…She wasn’t going to take advantage of me, right?

Please, tell me that’s not where this is going.

I should’ve paid more attention to the story instead of skipping through it.

Resigned, I followed Renatel—

“Uwah?!”

“Be quiet.”

He began to moved, wrapped in his side like a bundle.

***

Meanwhile, the hero’s party arrived at Zone 1 of the 16th floor—a vast canyon.

“Hmm.”

Ark wore a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong, Ark?”

“Well, normally, there should be a guide to explain how to clear this zone, but nothing’s showing up yet—”

“I hear something strange, woof!”

Ark was still frowning down at the Tablet of Revelation when Rumi’s sudden shout cut him off.

Thud, thud, thud…

The ground began to tremble slowly, accompanied by a rhythmic thud, thud, thud…—a sound like a stampede of beasts drawing near.  

“Behind us!”

At Saha’s shout, the heroes quickly took defensive positions, preparing for an ambush.  

Saha, at the forefront, slammed his hammer into the ground with a resounding thump.  

Rumi, stationed at the outermost edge, kept an eye on the cliff above in case anything decided to jump down.  

Johanna and Ari guarded the rear, while Ark and Tina stood at the center, scanning for blind spots.  

Thud, thud, thud.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The pounding footsteps grew clearer, louder, more intense—until:  

“Boars! It’s a herd of giant boars!”

A horde of massive boars was charging straight at the party.  

“Woof! Something’s weird about these boars, woof!”  

At Rumi’s warning, Ari, who had the sharpest vision in the group, squinted and observed closely.  

“They look… frightened! Like they’re being chased! And… a giant… bird…?”  

Ari blinked in disbelief.  

Behind the rushing boars—  

Birds resembling long-tailed tits at a glance, but far too thick-legged to be called birds. Wings so tiny they seemed incapable of flight.  

And bodies so large that the boars looked small in comparison.  

These creatures, known as “Pokorongs” in the Great Forest, looked like oversized chickens raised to the size of a car, with adorably round faces.  

And atop each Pokorong—  

A beastfolk rider, shouting as they charged like a lawless biker gang, eyes fixed on their prey.  

“Feast!” 

“Meat!”  

“Boars!”  

“Hunt!” 

The problem was—  

The hero party was right in the middle of their path.  

“What do we do, Ark?”  

“Not all beastfolk in the Great Forest are enemies, though!”

Ark was right.  

The heroes had a way of discerning enemies—a faint red aura would appear around hostile targets.  

The boars, fleeing for their lives, were wreathed in red.  

But the pursuing beastfolk had no aura at all

“Then, maybe we should just move asi—”

“Look out, Ark!”

But dodging wasn’t an option—the charging boars and Pokorongs were too fast.  

In an instant, the hero party was swallowed into the stampede.  

Tina, always stuck to Ark like glue, fought desperately, throwing small but fierce punches to keep the boars away from him.  

But the boars weren’t even interested in the heroes—only focused on running for their lives.  

The real problem was—  

“Aha! A man!”

“Handsome!”  

“Outsiders bringing tribute!”  

Every beastfolk that passed Ark commented on his appearance.  

Then, as one particularly massive Pokorong rushed past—  

“Urgh—!”

“Master?!” 

A ‘thick whip’ lashed out of nowhere, wrapping tightly around Ark’s torso.

Before he or Tina could react, he was ‘yanked upward’ into the air.  

“Outsiders! You bring such a fine offering—your respect is commendable! We shall feast well tonight! Welcome to the Great Forest!”

A deep, commanding female voice echoed from atop the towering Pokorong.  

“Wait! He’s not a tribute—he’s Tina’s master!”  

Tina shouted desperately.  

But her voice was drowned in the rumbling of the stampede. No one heard her.  

“Master! Maaasteeer! Ark! Onii-chaaaan!” 

Tina sprinted after the enormous Pokorong, reaching out in vain.  

But she was tiny—even compared to a human—and the bird’s massive strides made catching up impossible.  

“Huaah, huaaaah…!” 

In the end, like a child who had just dropped her favorite snack, Tina collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.  

A few moments later—

At that moment, the warriors finally grasped the situation and gathered around Tina to hear the full story.

But the carriage had already left, and Ark had vanished.

“Damn it! Even if we had to slaughter them all, we should have stopped them…!”

Saha, unable to contain his rage, struck a rock with his fist, shattering it into pieces.

Everyone was filled with fury, resentment, and grief, their expressions heavy with emotion.

But among them, one warrior expressed their anger most intensely—
and yet, in the quietest manner.

“……Those ill-mannered wolf bastards. If this keeps up, Master will be defiled…!”

Rumi, whose speech pattern had never faltered before, now ground her teeth so hard it seemed as if she had shredded a hundred yellow cards in a paper shredder.

“Rumi-mung… sniff, do you know something…?”

“This place… resembles Rumi’s homeland, the Great Forest. In the Great Forest, offering a man as tribute can only mean one thing. Grr…”

Rumi didn’t explain further.

But the warriors had already connected the dots from the words that had slipped out of Tina’s mouth—

Man. Handsome. Tribute. Delicious.

At that moment, a notification appeared before the entire party.

[Tower of Wishes, 16th Floor – Great Forest: Outer Zone 1 of the Langin Tribe’s Territory]

[★☆☆ Find the traces of the Revelator.]

[★★☆ Complete the mission within one hour.]

[★★★ Do not harm the beastkin while completing the mission.]

Normally, such mission windows only appeared before the chosen Revelator, Ark.

But now, it had appeared before the entire warrior party.

“This is…”

“So this is what Ark always meant by three-star clears…”

“Since our master isn’t here, they’re making us look at it? This is so damn annoying!”

The warriors shared their thoughts, and soon, all eyes turned to the temporary leader in Ark’s absence—
the Saintess.

“We can’t just sit around like this. Rescuing Ark is our top priority, but for his sake, we should also consider fulfilling all three mission conditions.”

Johanna spoke calmly.

Rumi, who was seething with fury after having her cherished groom-to-be stolen away in an instant, growled in frustration.

“Grrrr… The Lang tribe… I want to pluck out all their fur, but since we’re told not to hurt them… Rumi will endure… for now.”

In times like these, unity was crucial.

Everyone agreed with Johanna’s decision.

Until now, they had been like knights on autopilot.

But now, for the first time ever, they were shifting into fully autonomous drive.

With teeth clenched in determination, they marched forward.