"Ugh, fuck... My head!" Woon groaned, a wave of nausea hitting him from the teleportation.
"Hey, Woon, it was just a quick jump, and you're already throwing up!" Eric teased, doubled over with laughter. "Hahahaha! You still have a long way to go!"
'You bastard!' Woon cursed internally. "The hell with that! My head feels like it's about to explode!"
"Alright, stand up. We're going hunting right now, so brace yourself!" Eric's voice suddenly shifted, becoming sharp and serious.
'He suddenly got serious!' Woon noticed the drastic change. "Okay. So, what's the plan?"
Eric's gaze swept the forest, his silence heavy. "..."
"Hey, what are we doing?" Woon prodded, growing impatient.
"..." Eric remained unmoving, his expression unreadable.
"Pffft..." A faint sound escaped Eric.
"What?" Woon frowned.
"Hahahahaha! You're so tense, hahaha! Come on, let's just walk; we'll find them as we go, so relax!" Eric finally burst out, a wide, mocking grin on his face. "I was just kidding! Why are you so strung up?!"
"Hahahaha!.." Woon forced a strained laugh. "You son of a bitch!"
"Wait! Stop. Do you hear something?" Eric's playful demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by intense focus.
'What? He was just messing around, and now he's dead serious again!' Woon's mind raced. "What do you hear?"
"..." Eric strained his ears, completely still.
"..." Woon held his breath, listening intently.
"Pffttt! Hahahahaha! You fell for it twice, hahahaha!" Eric exploded with laughter, clapping Woon on the back.
"Stop joking, you bastard!" Woon snapped, his patience snapping. He swiftly kicked Eric.
"Ouch, hahaha! Alright, alright, let's stop now! It's just a rabbit, don't be so jumpy!" Eric yelped, rubbing his shin.
"What?! Of course, I'll be tense! We're in the middle of nowhere! All I can see around is god-damned trees!" Woon retorted, gesturing wildly at their surroundings.
"I know this place like the back of my hand, so calm down!" Eric reassured him with a confident smile.
'I really should calm down!' Woon tried to tell himself. "Seriously, what's the plan now?"
"For now, let's run. We'll be hunting those beasts!" Eric declared, already starting to move.
"..."
Woon and Eric sprinted through the dense forest. After a while, they noticed something colossal: a hulking, humanoid figure looming near the mouth of a dark cave.
"Stop, Woon!" Eric hissed, grabbing Woon's arm.
"What?" Woon whispered back, eyes wide.
"I see it—an Ogre. The request mentioned an Ogre with a stolen broadsword escaped its cage, and I think that's the one we're looking for!" Eric explained, his voice low and urgent.
"What? An Ogre!?" Woon's blood ran cold.
"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" Eric asked, surprisingly nonchalant.
"You prick! You didn't tell me a single detail!" Woon exploded, his voice laced with panic. "That thing is almost 10 feet tall! That beast is freaking enormous!"
"Don't worry, it's gonna be easy. Go for it! I'll cover your back!" Eric said with a confident grin, already taking a position behind a thick tree.
"Me?" Woon asked, pointing at himself.
"Yeah, you're the swordsman here. My main weapon is a gun!" Eric explained, brandishing a sleek firearm.
'Fuck.' Woon thought, a grim determination setting in. "Alright, let's just do this!"
"Here goes nothing!" Woon muttered, taking a deep breath.
Woon charged towards the Ogre, aiming for a surprise attack on its thick hide.
"Hmmmp!" Woon grunted, his blade biting into the Ogre's back.
The Ogre roared in agony, a monstrous sound that shook the very trees. "Ughhhhrrrr!"
"Shit, it noticed me!" Woon cursed, immediately scrambling back.
'Run!' Woon's instincts screamed, and he swiftly moved, trying to put distance between himself and the enraged Ogre.
"Hahh, ahhh, is it really this tiring? I only swung my sword once!" Woon gasped, his lungs burning.
The Ogre lumbered towards Woon, its massive broadsword whistling through the air. But Woon, with surprising agility, managed to dodge every heavy blow.
"Hmmp!" 'The only thing I can do is dodge! Where the hell is that bastard?!' Woon thought, sweat stinging his eyes.
"Haaah, ahhhh!" Woon cried out. "Frickin' Ogre, stop for a second! I'm exhausted!"
"Harrrrrrg!" The Ogre roared, relentless.
'Fuck!'
"So, you don't want to stop, huh?!" Woon snarled, finding an opening and plunging his sword into the Ogre's stomach.
"Hahh, ahhh! Now how does it feel to have a hole in the stomach, hahaha!" Woon laughed, a chilling, almost crazed sound.
"Haargh!" The Ogre staggered but didn't fall.
"Still not stopping, huh!" Woon, fueled by adrenaline, unleashed a furious barrage of slices, left and right.
"Hahaha! How does it feel to have so many wounds? Does it hurt, hahaha!" Woon's laughter grew more unhinged.
'Is that his true nature? He's sure a pervert in fighting!' Eric thought from his vantage point atop a tall tree. "Go, go, go, Woon, go!"
'What?' Woon glanced up, momentarily distracted. "Hey, you fucking bastard, come down here! Why are you in the top of a tree?!"
"Fuck...." 'This Ogre keeps attacking me no matter how many wounds it receives!' Woon thought, narrowly avoiding another swing.
"By the way, Woon, it's not going to stop attacking even if it's near death, so make sure to kill it swiftly!" Eric called down, offering no real help.
"Fuck!" 'This bastard isn't helping me! He's just watching me die here!' Woon raged internally.
"Haargh!" The Ogre lunged again.
"Fucking stop screaming!" Woon roared back. He leaped, twisting his body in mid-air, and precisely stabbed the Ogre's right eye, then immediately scrambled away to create distance.
"Now how does it feel to lose a right eye, hahahaha!" Woon taunted, a wild glint in his eye.
'He's a total maniac here!' Eric thought, watching Woon's horrifying transformation.
"Now fight more, more, more! Hahahahaha!" Woon charged back in, unleashing a brutal barrage of slices and stabs while the Ogre, now blinded in one eye, bled profusely.
'What was that energy I just sensed?' Eric wondered, a frown creasing his brow. 'It was ominous!' "Hey, Woon, hurry up and finish it!"
"Shut up!" Woon snapped, completely lost in the frenzied battle.
"You beast don't have manners! I'll open your stomach wide!" Woon roared, slashing deep into the Ogre's stomach, widening the wound he had previously inflicted.
'He's covered in blood. His attacks on the Ogre are undeniably effective, but he's just senselessly attacking it!' Eric observed, a growing unease in his gut.
"Now for the final blow! I'll take your organs out!" Woon declared, his voice chillingly calm as he plunged his hand into the Ogre's stomach, beginning to pull.
'What? Did he just put his whole arm in the stomach of an Ogre? What is he trying to do?' Eric's eyes widened in horror.
"Hahahaha, you're done, fucker!" Woon shouted, tearing out the Ogre's stomach and other organs, a sickening squelch filling the air.
"Haargh!" The Ogre let out a final, agonizing scream before collapsing.
"Yeah, keep screaming, bitch, hahaha!" Woon laughed maniacally, completely drenched in the monster's blood.
'Shit, he's no different from a beast... Wait, why is corrupt energy kept leaking from him?' Eric realized, his face paling. "Hey, Woon, stop now!"
"What? I can't hear you?" Woon's eyes were unfocused, his movements erratic.
"Stop it now!" Eric urged, his voice filled with urgency.
"What....." Woon's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness, slumping to the ground.
"Haaaa, good thing he lost consciousness, otherwise it would have been truly bad!" Eric sighed in profound relief.
Eric descended from the tree and quickly moved to pick up the unconscious Woon.
"You're really heavy, Woon!" Eric grunted as he lifted him. 'Why would corrupt energy be leaking from Woon? Just why?'
'It's basically impossible. He should have already turned into a monster if he had corrupt energy in his body.'
'Did he just keep his mind stable somehow?' Eric wondered, a new mystery weighing on him. 'Just how?'
Woon slowly regained consciousness, his senses returning little by little, while being carried by Eric.
"Hmmmm... Eric?" he mumbled weakly.
"Yo, you're awake now?" Eric asked, relief in his voice.
"What just happened?" Woon's memories were hazy.
"It's nothing, just that you won against the Ogre. Good job!" Eric said cheerfully.
'although I already shot the Orge in it's weak points to help him!' Eric said to himself
"What..?" 'Wait, didn't this bastard just watch me fight that thing?' Woon thought, a surge of irritation overcoming his weakness.
"Hey, you prick, put me down! You just watched me fight that thing! Do you want me to die or what?" Woon yelled, trying to struggle.
"Don't worry, it's all good! You managed to dodge pretty well against the Ogre's attack, and on top of that, it was a corrupted one, so I'm impressed!" Eric replied, completely unbothered.
"Corrupted?" Woon questioned, his anger momentarily forgotten.
"Yeah, its heart was made out of the remnants of that DISASTER!" Eric's voice dropped, filled with an unsettling gravity.
"DISASTER? What do you mean by that?" Woon pressed, noticing the stark change in Eric's demeanor.
"You'll know it eventually, but I'll tell you later so just wait." Eric's expression remained grim, his gaze distant.
'This guy just got serious incredibly quickly just by mentioning that word!' Woon realized, a shiver running down his spine. "So what do we do now?"
"We'll go back!" Eric stated simply.
"We're in the middle of a dense forest. Do you actually think there's a clear way for us to get back?" Woon challenged, looking at the endless trees.
"Yeah, don't worry, just follow me!" Eric said with a confident smile. 'Shit, I don't know how to go back either!' Eric's internal thought was a stark contrast to his outward confidence.
Eric and Woon continued walking through the dense forest. As they trekked, they encountered a group of five people, all dressed in practical gear, clearly adventurers or monster subjugators.
"Hey, Eric, there are people there! Let's go!" Woon exclaimed, a flicker of hope in his eyes.
"Eric?" Woon turned to find Eric was already gone.
"Hi there, beauty! I'm Eric. Is there anything I can do for you?" Eric's smooth voice drifted back, already charming a woman in the group.
'What just happened?! His personality just changed so quickly!' Woon thought, utterly bewildered by Eric's abrupt transformation.
"Hey, Eric, wait! You were so fast to get there!" Woon called out, jogging to catch up.
"Hello, I'm Jol. How are you? Is there anything I can do for you too?" A friendly male adventurer from the group approached Woon.
'Fuck, I'm getting ignored!' Woon thought, feeling a little exasperated. "Hey, Eric!"
"Hi, I'm Jol. I'm the leader of this party. What's your name?" the leader asked Woon, offering a warm smile.
"I'm Woon!"
"Nice to meet you, Woon!" Jol said, extending his hand for a firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you too!" Woon replied, shaking his hand.
'They're being too friendly!' Woon mused, a little surprised by their openness. "So, what brings you here in the forest?"
"Ah, we're doing some requests from our client!" Jol replied easily.
"We're just on our way to go back!" Woon added, gesturing behind him.
"Good for you, hahahah!" Jol laughed good-naturedly.
"By the way, your handsome friend of yours is energetic!" Jol commented, nodding towards Eric, who was still deep in conversation with the women.
"Yeah, I don't know why he's acting like that!" Woon sighed, a familiar weariness setting in.
"By the way, should we set up camp here? It's getting late too!" Jol suggested, looking at the fading light.
"Yes, sure!" Woon agreed readily.
"Eric!" Woon called out again.
"Yo?" Eric replied, briefly looking away from the group.
"We'll set our camp here with them, so help us get ready!" Woon instructed.
"Sure, sure!" Eric said, then turned back to the woman. "Wait for me, Sugar! We'll talk again later!"
"Yes, Eric..." the woman giggled, a blush on her cheeks.
'This bastard! He's born to be a playboy!' Woon thought, shaking his head with a mixture of annoyance and begrudging admiration.