Chapter 105
Chapter 105
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Fastest (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
●
“...Five minutes?”
The perfectly predictable response flew straight from Liru.
First came the utter disbelief.
“...Five minutes? What are you planning to do, stroll right in there?”
“...Hunt down the regional boss of this zone in that time.”
Second came the denial.
“This isn’t the time for jokes. The Scorching Zone is crawling with beasts way more dangerous than anything in that sea we hunted before—”
“Yeah. And I’m saying I’ll take down the strongest and most dangerous one of them all in five minutes.”
“...”
By the time I repeated myself, she seemed to finally realize I wasn’t misspeaking or spouting nonsense.
Her face shifted from shock to something almost like despair as she stared at me, then she pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“...There it is again, that look of yours.”
“Huh?”
“You had that same face when you said you were going to take down the sea dragon.”
Liru crossed her arms and glared at me.
“Anyone else would call it complete bullshit. But you? You’re the guy who’s absolutely convinced it’ll work no matter what.”
“...”
Weird.
It sounds like a compliment, so why’s she saying it in such an angry tone?
“You always drop these insane ideas like it’s no big deal.”
“...”
“Spit it out. What crazy scheme are you dragging me into this time? You didn’t bring me along just to use me for another one of your impossible stunts, did you?”
She nailed every single point. I had no comeback.
Elnor, paired with Talion.
Yuria, paired with Eliya.
I’d assigned them that way for specific purposes.
Liru was the same.
I’d pulled her into my group for a very clear reason.
“Liru.”
I said her name, then grabbed both her arms with my hands.
“...Huh?”
She blinked blankly at the sight for a moment.
As I closed the distance, her face flushed bright red.
“...W-what are you doing?”
Her voice trembled just a little.
I’d half-expected her to slap me for laying a hand on her, but thankfully, it hadn’t escalated to that.
She hadn’t smashed my head in last time when I joked about making her my concubine, so she must like me at least a little.
Which meant.
She wouldn’t kill me outright for what I was about to do.
“I have something to say.”
I locked eyes with her shaking gaze and pressed on.
“...What?”
“It’s about you and me.”
“...”
She realized my expression wasn’t just serious—it was dead serious. Her body started trembling faintly.
The shaking soon spread through her whole frame. The blush on her face deepened.
“...W-what kind of talk? Don’t drag it out—just say it.”
“...”
Why’s she getting so embarrassed?
She’s the type who’s rolled through hell, beating down anyone in her path.
I hadn’t expected getting this close—
To destabilize her to the point of looking dangerously fragile.
Her face was flushed like a ripe tomato. Her eyes spun wildly. Her breathing even seemed a bit ragged, or maybe that was my imagination.
[This type’s secretly weak to skinship. No other guys dared come near her because she scares them off.]
‘Kaliban.’
[Yeah?]
‘You barely dated yourself, so why do you act like you know everything?’
[...]
I knew all about how he spent his time training with the sword and knighthood instead of romance.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, double-checking before letting my thoughts spill out.
So...
[Gift-Related Character Alert]
▼ Liru Garda
[ Trust Stage 1 ]
[ Collectible rewards available! ]
This.
Rewards aside.
Trust Stage 1 should mean she likes me enough for what I’m about to pull off.
“Do you remember when I said I’d take you as my concubine?”
“...Y-yeah?”
“That was a lie. Just like you suspected. I have no intention of making our relationship something like that.”
“...Th-then what?”
“Concubine is an insult to you. A woman like you deserves something far better.”
Liru’s eyes spun even faster.
“B-better than concubine?”
“Yes.”
“Th-there’s already that, uh, official wife or whatever, right?!”
“Elnor doesn’t matter.”
I cut her off cold.
As if she had no business meddling in whatever was between us.
Liru flinched, her lips twitching.
Her face couldn’t get any redder.
Her breathing grew noticeably heavier now.
“...Hey, you idiot. This stuff—you can’t just spring it like this!”
“Yes.”
“P-put some mood into it, pick a nice spot, give me time to think! I’m a woman too, you know! At least hear my side!”
I nodded as she rambled on, eyes brimming with tears.
See.
My goal here was to “use” her to clear this place in five minutes.
Yuria and Elnor, sent to the other zones, would finish their hunts on time.
‘...Can’t throw her into direct combat.’
Even though the boss fight’s broad strokes had shifted, Liru still had a major role in taking down the Apostate of the Reversed Tide.
Unlike Elnor or Yuria, she hadn’t fully fused with her fragment yet, so her stats weren’t maxed out.
I had to handle her with extreme care. She couldn’t get hurt.
And.
To finish my hunt in five minutes without sending her into the fray.
I had to handle it myself.
“Yes. So I’ll ask your opinion.”
And to do that, this method was the most...
Effective.
At least, it stayed within manageable limits.
“What do you think about being friends?”
Liru froze solid.
“...What?”
“You’re a woman with her own dignity. Isn’t being friends—bound by trust and camaraderie—way better than letting a scumbag like me drag you in as a concubine?”
“...”
“You think so too, right?”
Her face went blank as she processed my words calmly in her head.
And then.
“...What did you say?”
Blue energy began billowing from her body.
Exactly what I’d been waiting for.
[System Message]
[ Crisis detected. ]
[ A powerful entity is on the verge of turning hostile against you. ]
[ Skill: Desperate Situation applied at A-rank. ]
[System Message]
[ Demonic energy detected! ]
[ ‘Seal of the Fallen Heavens’ reacts! ]
Hm.
Yeah.
As a vessel for a demon, I figured she’d lose it just hearing that from me.
‘...Booster secured.’
Thanks to daily workouts with Liru lately, my base stats had climbed enough that Desperate Situation’s boost put me on par with even the toughest foes.
Not to mention.
[ Infinity Gauntlet ]
[ Equipment: Unique ]
[ A gauntlet crafted from premium materials, imbued with various effects. ]
[ ▶ Dragon Scale: Unbreakable and unwearying durability in any situation. ]
[ ▶ Ectoplasm: Extremely high compatibility with all abilities. Buff and enhancement skills cast on the equipment have double the effect. ]
[ ▶ Star Iron: Extremely high resistance to curses, highly reactive to divinity. ]
[ ▶ Adaptive Leather: Copies target’s attributes on first strike. Weakens target’s attributes on second strike. ]
With this on top.
Even solo, I could pull off some ridiculous feats.
“...”
Still.
A-rank might fall a bit short.
“Oh, and Liru.”
“...”
I added one more line to Liru, who was glaring daggers without a word.
“I don’t really like women with nasty tempers.”
“...”
“Work on that habit of snapping and blowing up over everything. Elnor doesn’t do that.”
[System Message]
[ Crisis detected. ]
[ Judged as an extreme, colossal, absolute threat to life. ]
[ Skill: Desperate Situation applied at EX-rank. ]
[System Message]
[ You’ve voluntarily pulled off an insane stunt that throws your life away like trash! ]
[ Reinforcement condition for ‘Skill: Desperate Situation’ unlocked! Condition added to Gift tab! ]
“...”
Okay, the drug’s kicking in strong.
Maybe too strong.
●
Hatan Woozul’s steps into the command room were resolute, almost grim.
The Hunter’s Night—one of the Crucible’s most critical events—was underway.
Even as chief and dean, he couldn’t escape the heavy pressure.
“Scorching Zone, control systems normal.”
“Frostplain Zone, control systems normal.”
“Jungle Zone, control systems normal.”
He nodded slowly as the reports rolled in.
“Track all students’ vitals.”
With that order, he checked the screens showing each “hunting ground.”
The scenes were brutal beyond compare—truly historic.
Mid-tier beasts that normal students couldn’t even flee from littered the areas.
Large beasts that should’ve been dormant this season appeared frequently.
Some zones even showed signs of the “rulers”—beasts sighted once every few decades.
The sea dragon, ruler of the ocean, had already appeared.
‘Normally, it wouldn’t be this savage.’
Something was off.
From a veteran hunter’s view, dormant beasts waking meant a stronger predator nearby—the most logical explanation.
But.
What could scare even these zone rulers? It didn’t add up.
‘...At least this year.’
The brutal environment had drawn out someone who shone brighter than the rest. Small mercy.
Hatan chuckled dryly, recalling the madman who’d pulled off that “dragon hunt” recently.
No doubt about it—the guy was something else.
‘If it’s him...’
He might not stop at the sea dragon. Might bag another ruler from a different zone.
A feat warriors who’d made history couldn’t dream of, let alone a student.
Maybe even three.
And if so.
He’d receive the “Grand Hunter” title—unbestowed since the tribal alliance formed—in front of every chief.
A title even Hatan, hailed as the modern era’s greatest hunter, wouldn’t dare claim.
More than the title, it was the authority: every chief acknowledging him.
In beast hunts, the entire alliance would heed his word.
“—Chief. Dean!”
Someone rushed up, voice urgent, snapping him from his thoughts.
“The rulers in all three zones have appeared—s-simultaneously! They’re in combat now!”
“...”
Hatan glanced at the clock.
Just three minutes in.
And what?
“...Recheck for glitches—”
“The Jungle Zone ruler and Frostplain Zone ruler are dead!”
“...”
They’d just appeared.
Combat had barely started.
Before Hatan could press further, the report came in a strangled gasp.
“F-first, sending the feed from Scorching Zone—the only zone where the ruler’s still alive!”
The screen switched to Scorching Zone.
Dead center: Liru Garda, blue energy pouring from her body, and one man.
The spectacle unfolding around them.
Was unmistakably.
A natural disaster.
●