Chapter 15: Monsters are Knocking!
Finn just sat there for a long time, absorbing everything that had happened so far. He didn’t care if he was a mess or that his clothing—which was still a bit damp—got soil stuck all over it.
He was betrayed, assassinated, nearly minced to death, drowned with water in his lungs and brain, and then almost eaten by beasts.
Hopefully, this type of stress was the first and the last.
"Hearth Inn" sounded so good and relaxing. Hopefully, he could make things work like that. He just wanted to focus on cooking and setting up the inn, reliving the peaceful childhood he had back then.
Heaving a deep breath, he rolled to face the Inn, just staring at it for a while while he was lying there on the grass, unable to find the energy to get up.
The inn had a quaint design that reminded him a lot of those medieval inns he had seen in shows. It probably wasn’t an entirely accurate comparison, but the feel and aesthetics were similar enough.
Its stone foundation extended about a meter above ground, which was why there was a wide staircase heading to a front porch and the entrance.
This was good because it’d protect the wood if it flooded (his trauma, don’t blame him) or something similar happened.
"Would the building rot or get burned?" he couldn’t help but ask. Even if it used stone, it was still predominantly wood.
"No, la~" Pang said, relaxing with him (this seemed like the panda’s default mood). "Although it is wood, it is engineered wood from the best planets under the cosmos.
Then he looked smugly at him. "It’s much more durable than your reinforced concrete from your home planet. Termites, rot, and flames can’t do anything to it
"Even if you try to chew on it, it’d be your teeth that’d get damaged."
Finn looked at him. "Why would I chew on it?"
"Some innkeepers had done so. Pang has seen it happen."
"..."
Which one was it? The cultivator or the interstellar warrior? He was so curious...
Before he could ask, Pang continued with his speech, child-like voice and all. "At the current level, even rank 4 monsters wouldn’t make a dent, let alone pests."
Finn opened his mouth to ask, but Pang cut him off. "Don’t ask me what Rank 4 is. They’re called differently in each world."
"...I see..." Finn said, skipping the question. "What about pests?"
"Parasites and Pests—unless you allowed them inside—wouldn’t be able to enter, either."
No pests in the kitchen and the storage room? Oh, a chef’s dream, indeed.
Anyway, he ought to get to the inn soon. He knew the bedrooms had extra regeneration effects that he needed.
Thinking of this, he gestured to sit up, rolling to the other side to gain momentum to lift himself up.
But then... the first thing he saw after sitting up was a monster not too far away!
It turned, as if it sensed him, its lifeless eyes meeting his amber ones.
"AH!" he screamed, dragging his ass back as the monster lunged directly towards him!!
BANG!
Its face flattened a bit as it hit an invisible wall, and only then did Finn remember there was a barrier there.
"Damn, that scared me!" he yelled as he grabbed his palpitating chest. He had stood up by now, though his legs were still shivering from the previous exhausting effort on top of the shock.
He heard tutting beside him and saw the panda shake his head in disapproval. Finn felt annoyed. "You get rid of it, then!"
The panda gave him a look. "Pang told you before he cannot exist outside the barrier, did you not hear?"
Finn’s eyes twitched. If he nodded, the panda would definitely repeat his speech from before.
"Then what am I supposed to do, then? Kill it?" he asked, and Pang looked at him as if he had just answered his own question.
He shivered when he reluctantly turned to look at the enemy. His jaw clenched when his golden eyes met its empty, bloodthirsty ones, and his joints shivered when he looked at those extremely sharp teeth.
An image of the massacre from before passed his head, and his active brain helpfully gave him a vivid image of what his own sinew would look like pulled out by fangs.
Ugh
Finn pushed down his fear and observed the monster, which was continuously tapping its head on the barrier, continuously trying to enter. It was about as big as a cow, and he could definitely be headbutted to the heavens if he went outside.
"Look, here—I’m not a fighter! It had been nearly a decade since my last fight!" He might’ve been a "kid gangster" but he calmed down a lot soon after that, okay?
Plus, his enemies at the time were just random bullies and maybe a couple of gangsters.
These... were monsters, not even wild animals!
"Did you push the other masters like this, too?" he asked.
"Not really. The other Innkeepers usually had combat experience, la," he said.
"..."
He’d think about that later and just forced his eyes to the enemy at hand.
The monster was a low-slung quadruped with thick skin and an oversized jaw that split open to the side. Its mouth was big, as if it evolved to eat critters whole.
BANG!
BANG!
He watched as the monster continuously tried to bump into the barrier, though to no avail.
"Can it sense me?" he asked. This was unlike the first barrier he had, the mobile one.
"Yes, la," Pang said. "The bigger the barrier, the less it can cover to make up for it, at least at the initial levels. You’d have to do a bit of upgrading to improve its quality."
Finn nodded. That made sense.
"Still, the scent from the inside are still muted to a degree. You are just very smelly right now."
For his own mental health, Finn decided to ignore the panda.
Regardless, he confirmed that the barrier was working well and—as long as he didn’t go outside—he should be fine for a while.
To be honest, it had been really annoying to helplessly run around for his life the past hour or so. Maybe he could see this as his chance to vent!
At this, Finn grabbed out his bone sword and approached the monster, stopping a meter away from it.
"HYA!" he yelled, gathering strength on his core, and then stabbing at it. Interestingly, the sword felt much lighter in his hand compared to how it was when he first received it.
Could it be due to the [Blade Proficiency]?
When he slashed his sword, the next move seemed instinctual. Like in a split second, he saw the plethora of moves he could take next, and his muscles and reflexes would be able to accomplish it.
His eyes sparkled. This...might not be so hopeless, after all!