Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Master Ring (1)
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'It's loosening up!'
Team Leader Gil Jiho could feel it.
The Goblin Commander's orders weren't reaching the battlefield.
Big gaps were opening up in the goblins' movements, which had been as tight as a net.
The number of berserk ones rampaging wildly had dwindled sharply.
The rookie, Kim Gunja, had infiltrated the fortress, taken out the shaman, and successfully drawn the Goblin Commander's attention.
Kim Gunja had perfectly fulfilled his role.
He had trusted them and plunged alone into the heart of the enemy lines.
Now it was time to repay that trust.
"Hup!"
Bwoooong—!
He explosively surged the mana he had been holding back.
Slash— Splatter!
Gil Jiho's blade sliced through three goblins shield and all.
Gripping his sword tightly, Gil Jiho bellowed.
"Everyone, prepare to break through...!"
Gil Jiho couldn't finish his sentence.
"The rookie's done it!"
"Get out of the way, you bastards!"
"Don't slack off!"
"Push through! Raaah!"
His team members were already giving it everything they had, even without his orders.
Just as Gil Jiho had noticed, the rest of Team 8's hunters could feel it in their bones too.
When weapons were clashing, there was no missing it.
Something had gone wrong in the enemy lines.
And there was only one person who could pull off something like that.
Rookie Kim Gunja.
The absurd guy who had responded to their lynching with trust.
That guy was in the enemy camp.
Trusting them!
"Rawrgh!"
Vice Team Leader Choi Do-hyuk swung his greatsword wide and charged forward.
Kaboom—!
Five goblins were shredded by the greatsword infused with powerful mana.
Gil Jiho paled in horror.
'That idiot!'
His movements were too big.
It wasn't Choi Do-hyuk's usual fighting style.
Gil Jiho chalked it up to excitement leading to a mistake.
And sure enough, arrows and spears flew into the opening created by that wide swing.
Completely defenseless.
'Damn it!'
As Gil Jiho desperately lunged to intercept—
Clang! Clang!
"...!"
Two defenders who had been nearby threw themselves in, shielding Choi Do-hyuk from both sides as they shouted.
"We've got your back!"
"The fortress gate!"
Choi Do-hyuk nodded, steadying his stance.
"We'll clear the path!"
The strikers charged ferociously, carving out a route.
Choi Do-hyuk leaped over them, greatsword raised.
To plunge deep into the fortress as fast as possible.
Watching his team, Gil Jiho's hands trembled faintly.
He could hardly believe his eyes.
What unfolded before him was a combat flow built on absolute trust in one another.
Ideal, yet utterly unrealistic.
Had Team 8 ever fought this desperately before?
Had they ever entrusted their backs to each other without a shred of hesitation?
Never.
'Unbelievable...'
Teamwork.
They had synced up over years together, sure.
But no one ever fully entrusted their life to another.
Not even to comrades.
It was basic instinct.
Trusting yourself over others.
But things had changed.
The teamwork he had longed for but never thought possible was right there before his eyes.
—Then who should we trust?
The rookie's calm words echoed in Gil Jiho's mind.
"Ha, haha..."
It was probably that one line.
The decisive spark of this change.
The question no one there—including him—could answer.
—If we can't trust the comrades we entered the gate with, then who the hell should we trust? The goblins up ahead? Or some Slayer who could pop out of nowhere?
And then, without a moment's hesitation, the guy had leaped into the jaws of death to prove it with his actions.
Grip—.
Gil Jiho clenched his sword until his knuckles bled and roared as he charged to the front lines.
"Rawrgh—!"
And with his back to his team, he began breaking through.
To reach the fortress where Kim Gunja waited!
Team 8 smashed through the goblin wall at terrifying speed, reached the fortress's main gate, and blew it apart.
Kaboom—!
It had to be the fastest time ever.
No one had breached the fortress gate this quickly.
It was that flawless teamwork.
Drenched in blood, they stormed into the fortress.
And they could scarcely believe their eyes.
'No... way...?'
Under the moonlight.
Kim Gunja was dancing a sword dance.
With the Goblin Commander and its elite guard as his backup dancers.
The elite guard's L-shaped spear grazed Kim Gunja's earlobe.
The Goblin Commander's greatsword whistled over his head, shearing off strands of hair.
In that razor-thin margin between life and death.
There was no fear in Kim Gunja's eyes.
A leisurely smile played on his lips instead.
That must have been why.
Everything felt like a beautifully staged scene from a play.
'My... God...'
'Is... that even possible?'
'What the hell is that guy...?'
In an atmosphere utterly divorced from the blood-soaked chaos outside, Gil Jiho snapped to his senses first and bellowed.
"Everyone! Save the rookie!"
At his shout, Team 8 sprang into action.
To aid the rookie, Kim Gunja.
A-rank Swamp Gate.
The fortress, surrounded by an unfathomably deep mire, looked incredibly sturdy.
The gear of the dark-skinned lizardmen patrolling the walls was as fine as any hunter's.
In normal circumstances, it would take ten A-rank hunters clinging desperately just to dream of clearing it—a nightmare setup.
But they had picked the wrong opponents.
"Guild Master. I leave it to you."
A mild-mannered middle-aged man politely requested it of the white-haired elder.
"Tch, Team 1 Leader works me too hard. Getting old means I've got no energy left, you know."
Infinite Guild's Guild Master, world rank 19.
Mountain King Hong Gyu-hyun grumbled.
But Infinite Guild's Team 1 Leader, Ji Sang-il, merely smiled faintly.
He knew it was all talk.
Everyone in the hunter world knew how passionately the first-gen hunter Hong Gyu-hyun had hunted and contributed to humanity's survival.
And as if to prove it, Mountain King Hong Gyu-hyun stepped forward slowly.
"Oof, my aching bones."
With that complaint, white fur began sprouting on the backs of his hands.
White Tiger.
The unique trait of one of the apex predators in the animal kingdom activated.
Wooooong—
Terrifying mana gathered in his hands.
Shifting from blue to pure white, it was truly beautiful.
Gang Qi.
It wasn't mere mana compression—it was a feat only top-tier hunters could achieve, one step beyond.
If mana was water and compressed mana was cubed ice, gang qi was eternal polar glacier.
Its power was incomparable.
Claws resembling the Mountain King's emerged from his ten fingertips.
His gang qi-infused hands crossed in an X and slashed forward.
Swoosh— Swoooosh—!
The gang qi rent the air, a drum-like boom echoing through the swamp.
"Kerrrk—?!"
"Keruk! Keruk!"
The dark lizardmen sensed something amiss too late.
Tick, tick! Crumble—!
A section of the sturdy fortress shattered to pieces and collapsed entirely.
The lizardmen on the walls plummeted and were crushed.
As the dust settled, the scene revealed looked like a massive white tiger had raked one side of the fortress with its paws.
Terror filled the eyes of the surviving dark lizardmen.
"Cough, cough. Whew. Not like the old days."
Back to normal already, Hong Gyu-hyun wiped non-existent sweat and perched on a nearby rock.
In his stead, Team 1 Leader Ji Sang-il issued orders to wrap up the hunt.
Watching Infinite Guild members begin their one-sided slaughter, Hong Gyu-hyun spoke up.
"Sua, that girl's stirring up trouble again?"
Hong Sua, Infinite Guild's scout team leader.
Mountain King Hong Gyu-hyun's beloved granddaughter.
She resembled his younger self so much that people said she was passionate about everything.
Which often made her the subject of guild gossip.
Ji Sang-il chuckled.
"Yes, there was a bit of a fuss with the accounting team over contract money."
Hong Gyu-hyun tsked in disapproval.
"Tsk tsk. When's she gonna settle down instead of burying herself in work? Shouldn't have let her join the guild if I knew it'd be like this. Sheesh."
As Hong Gyu-hyun shook his head, Ji Sang-il hesitated briefly.
Should he mention what he'd heard?
But with a dangerous figure involved, the Guild Master should know. He spoke.
"Actually... there are rumors she's fixated—or rather, interested—in a certain man outside of contracts."
"Oh? For real? Who's the guy? Name? Age?"
Hong Gyu-hyun's eyes lit up with intense delight.
At news his granddaughter had her eye on a man.
Seeing the Guild Master beam like a kid, Ji Sang-il smiled and replied.
"Name's Kim Gunja. 29 years old. Re-awakened, currently B-rank hunter. It started when Hong Sua Team Leader scouted him pre-reawakening and tried approaching from all angles."
"And?"
"But he signed with Hero Guild. Still, Hong Sua Team Leader keeps tabs on him. She'd normally cut losses cleanly."
Hong Gyu-hyun's brow furrowed at "Hero Guild."
"Out of everyone, why Hero Guild? Tch..."
"Not sure on the reason yet. But she seems careful not to cross White Flame. No direct meetings so far."
At "White Flame," complex emotions swirled in Hong Gyu-hyun's eyes.
"Kid was just a brat yesterday, now he's an untouchable tyrant... Tch, changed too much. Could've been a great hunter."
Calling White Flame a "kid."
Probably only he in the world could say that.
Hong Gyu-hyun muttered and gave Ji Sang-il orders.
"Dig into this Kim Gunja. Gotta check if he's worthy of our Sua myself."
"Understood."
"Kim Gunja, huh. Hope he's a stand-up guy..."
Gazing at Team 1 wrapping up the hunt, Hong Gyu-hyun murmured a small wish.
The next dawn.
After clearing the mid-sized gate, Kim Gunja boarded a train straight to Sokcho.
Team Leader Gil Jiho had suggested drinks after the hunt, but Kim Gunja declined citing prior plans.
He had to meet Pentagram's Monjiro.
Maybe out of regret.
Team 8 loaded him up with food and drinks.
Insisting calorie replenishment was essential post-hunt.
'But this is overkill...'
Truly, his hands were stuffed with bags of snacks.
Way too much for one person.
Considering their initiation attitude, it was a world-shaking shift.
Kim Gunja kept just enough for himself and distributed the rest to fellow passengers in his car.
A quick nap later, he arrived at Sokcho Station.
Bwoooong—
Before exiting, his phone buzzed.
Choi Jinseung.
—Where are you?
He'd gone to the academy on schedule but found him absent.
Kim Gunja replied.
"Ah, forgot to mention. Got personal business today, so I'm out on a quick trip. Enjoy your rare day off."
—...Understood. Take care.
With Kim Gunja so busy, personal manager-cum-secretary Choi Jinseung had no breather either.
So this would be a sweet holiday for him.
Weekdays or vacation days.
Kim Gunja had no intention of granting any—until that day came.
He left the station and arrived at the meeting spot with Monjiro.
"Kim Gunja!"
Monjiro waved, still in his flashy Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses.
Beside him, a blonde beauty stared at Kim Gunja with blue eyes.
Monjiro stepped forward.
To introduce Kim Gunja and Captain Chris's alias.
"This is the new Pentagram recruit Kim Gunja, and this is Jane, who'll be hunting with us this time..."
Before Monjiro finished.
Chris strode toward Kim Gunja.
And without hesitation, reached out.
Toward Kim Gunja's left hand—the one with the ring.