Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Troll Hunter (8)
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"Lower your gun first and let's talk. No other buddies around? Troll hunting's usually a small-team gig, but I've never seen anyone do it solo."
"They'll be here soon."
"I hope you don't think we're just messing around. This is life-or-death for us too. You get what I'm saying, right? If you're a troll hunter yourself. You know how tough this job is..."
This was actually his first time, and he'd basically been carried here by Suhyun, so he had no real clue how tough it was. But Kim Chang-sik didn't let a hint of that show, nodding with a stony expression. He looked every bit the grizzled troll hunter.
"That's why we can't just let a troll we've tracked slip away. Try to understand where we're coming from. At least..."
"What the hell are you doing?"
Pushing through the underbrush came Suhyun. He'd chased down the escaped crocodile bird like a madman and taken it out, only to return and find these uninvited guests. Suhyun wore a look of utter disbelief.
"No, uh... these guys are saying they have a claim on this troll too."
"??"
"Hey. Say that again."
The hunters eyed the suddenly appeared Suhyun closely. He didn't look like much. Going by appearances alone, Kim Chang-sik seemed like the leader, with Suhyun subordinate to him.
"This guy's your partner?"
"Just explain it already."
"Fine. I'll explain again. We're troll hunters. We've been tracking this troll for weeks, finally cornered it, but the damn thing ran. We were pissed, but we chased it all the way. And what do we find? You two draining its blood. You caught it, sure, but don't we have some rights too?"
As they spoke, the hunters watched Kim Chang-sik and Suhyun's faces. Kim Chang-sik's expression didn't change.
'Tough customers. Did we pick the wrong ones?'
'No need to worry. We outnumber them anyway. That looks like all they've got.'
With his experienced look and unchanging face, Kim Chang-sik put real pressure on the hunters. But that wasn't the reality. Kim Chang-sik figured this was Suhyun's call, so he'd completely emptied his mind.
'Whatever he says goes.'
A few days in, and Kim Chang-sik had fully settled into his role as Suhyun's subordinate.
"What do you think?"
"We're not asking for everything. Let's negotiate. For some share at least..."
Suhyun let out a sigh. It came off like a resigned acceptance. The hunters inwardly cheered at the sight.
'We got 'em!'
"It's hot and humid enough already—why drag this out? Over something so obvious."
"Uh, yeah? S-sorry."
Hearing Suhyun, Kim Chang-sik thought he must've messed up by not knowing the custom.
'Hunters split the spoils like this, huh. Makes sense—fighting monsters in a hellhole like this..."
Bang!
"?!"
No one noticed Suhyun draw his pistol until the low gunshot rang out. He whipped it out like lightning and blew the frontmost hunter's head clean off.
"Wha..."
The second hunter didn't even finish his dying word. The instant he got out "Wha," Suhyun's next bullet erased his head.
"You fuck—"
The third hunter, cursing as he tried to aim his weapon, realized with horror that his body wouldn't move. He wanted to open his mouth and surrender, but even that failed.
'????'
Suhyun's gun barrel swinging toward him felt agonizingly slow. The hunter realized he was hallucinating in the face of death.
Thud!
The bullet hit true, and the telekinesis binding him released. Suhyun calmly holstered his pistol. Drawn and fired in under a second—three perfect headshots. Chilling speed.
"Wh-what the..."
"If you see any more bullshit artists like that from now on, just shoot them. Don't waste breath."
Suhyun said it like he was shooing off street peddlers.
"It's okay to just shoot?!"
"What? You've never shot a person before?"
"No, that's not the issue. Legally!"
"What're you on about... No witnesses around, right? Leave 'em. The monsters'll clean them up."
Suhyun's calm attitude made Kim Chang-sik briefly wonder if he was the one overreacting. But no matter how he thought about it, he wasn't. This was something to freak out over!
"Hey. Hold up. Explain this. I have no idea what just happened. Why'd you shoot them?"
"?"
Suhyun glanced at Kim Chang-sik. The look screamed, "Another clueless guy wasting my time," leaving Kim Chang-sik red-faced.
"Look, I know I'm clueless about a lot! But I don't get why you shot them!"
"Obvious bandits who'd gotten a taste for it."
Not all hunters just hunted monsters. Some had developed a taste for hunting other hunters.
It made perfect sense, really. Civilized cities were a long haul from here, and this was total uncharted wilderness—zero chance of getting caught no matter what you did. Plus, humans were way easier prey than monsters.
Catching a troll meant risking your life, but snagging a human who'd already caught one got you the troll's blood without the hassle. And all their gear to boot.
"Well, some don't bother taking the gear."
"Why not?"
"Cause hauling it back to the city risks getting busted."
"...!"
Kim Chang-sik felt a cold chill crawl down his back. If Suhyun had been even a little later, he could've been the one in trouble. Hell, even lowering his gun might've prompted a counterattack.
"Legit hunters don't even approach like that from the start. Too much risk of misunderstanding. They know one wrong word out here means bullets flying. Guys who talk like that are either greenhorns or bottom-feeders. These weren't newbies. They spotted what they thought was an easy mark and moved in."
"Those fucking..."
Finally grasping the full picture, Kim Chang-sik whipped his head toward the bodies they'd left behind and spat a curse.
"So if a troll slips away during a hunt and someone else bags it, we just back off?"
"That doesn't happen. Trolls don't run unless they're on death's door. And at that point, with those wounds, they're basically done anyway."
Only possible if their regen failed or they'd been pounded so hard it was tapped out.
That's why Suhyun clocked their lie the second they opened their mouths. They were here to scam some blood one way or another.
If they got it, great. If not, jump them depending on the vibe. And they weren't the type to back off even if you handed some over. They'd tail you sneaky-like and go for the rest later.
A warning that you knew their game might've scared them off without a fight. Those types only hit soft targets, not hunters who had their number.
But Suhyun didn't bother.
He already had enough headaches dealing with monsters on Cameron Planet without some annoying tails cramping his style.
That settled it—he drew and dropped all three. They'd gotten cocky with numbers, but for Suhyun, it was like breathing.
"What if word gets out?"
"Even legally, self-defense. If we'd looted them, we'd have taken the gear. Besides, stuff in the wilds rarely leads to charges. No evidence sticks. Their bodies won't last a day."
"...."
"Let's move. Might be time to head back soon. No trolls, just trash like this..."
Kim Chang-sik silently vowed never to defy Suhyun again in a pinch, at least.
* * *
"By the way, you ever gone deeper into this place?"
"Yeah."
"For real?!"
Even the Calcutta Jungle Zone was unfinished frontier, and he'd pushed beyond it? Kim Chang-sik wondered inwardly.
'What the hell do his parents do?'
"More dangerous?"
"Huh? No. Cameron Planet isn't a dungeon. It doesn't ramp up the deeper you go."
"Oh. Right..."
"If it got deadlier the farther in you went, humanity never would've set foot here to develop it. Sure, plenty of spots rougher than Calcutta Jungle Zone."
"Where've you been?"
"Hmm..."
Too many, and half were classified. Suhyun recalled vaguely around here.
"How far in are we now? Farther than I thought. Little more east from here, you'll hit Ames Plains. Never been there myself."
"Ooh. What's there?"
"Dunno..."
"You don't know everything, huh."
"If I did, why would I be out here doing this?"
Ames Plains weren't like Calcutta Jungle Zone. Fewer monsters, and the open terrain cut ambush risks.
That's why Suhyun never went. He was always thrown at the hardest nuts. Places like Ames Plains—safe and mild—had no draw unless passing through.
"What's there? No pricey monsters?"
"More like good resources than big-ticket monsters... Companies galore out that way."
"Damn, wild. Wouldn't it be easier to do business there instead of Calcutta hellholes?"
"Red ocean already—too much competition. And resources? Finding 'em ain't easy. Plus, out there they've got..."
Suhyun's words cut off. He'd spotted something.
"Troll."
"Huh? Where?"
"Over there... You won't see it."
"Shit. Gotta get that enhancement surgery. This sucks."
It wasn't eyesight—it was focus and experience—but Kim Chang-sik didn't know that.
"Gonna chase?"
"Have to. Not every day you spot one."
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