Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Party Hunting
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‘What a load of bullshit, and they’re actually buying it?’
I sneered inwardly at them. The gear I’d just pulled out of thin air might look like store-bought stuff at a glance, but it was nothing of the sort.
‘Because it’s all looted from other summoners I killed.’
Tigers leave behind their hides when they die, and summoners leave behind their gear.
Actually, the first thing I noticed was the option to resell gear at the shop, but I dropped the idea quick once I saw the thug-like prices—chopping it down to 10% of retail.
Still, I couldn’t just leave it for someone else to snag, so I crammed it all into my inventory. And now it was finally coming in handy. You never know what the world might throw at you.
For the record, I had the orcs clean off all the bloodstains. Their intelligence might be on the low side, leading to the occasional screw-up, but when it came to grunt work like that, orcs were unmatched.
In the end, my actual investment in Han Yu-ra’s group amounted to zero points—all I’d spent was a bit on convenience store snacks that other summoners might buy.
‘Plus, this group is crawling with potential customers, so it’s hardly a losing deal.’
It was like a promotional bait item in the modern world.
‘A steal for brainwashing and devouring an entire group.’
Anyway, the group members had all fallen hook, line, and sinker for my flawless performance. Han Yu-ra especially was gazing at me with eyes brimming with admiration, one step away from becoming a full-on devotee.
I picked out a decent-looking woman from the bunch and appointed her as the ‘manager,’ tasking her with tracking who borrowed what gear and how many points they’d earned.
It was a fancy title with no business card to back it up, but I sweetened the deal with promises of modern goods only I could provide.
The effect was tremendous.
“Just leave it to me—I’ll work my ass off!”
Her posture evoked the image of a fresh-faced private eager to prove themselves in a new unit.
A few more members volunteered after that, and I decided based on their looks and figures. Needless to say, the guys were all sent straight back to hunting duty without a second thought.
Even with the gear loans and modern goods as bait, the overall volunteer rate was pretty low.
But the spark had been lit.
The moment even one person finished the job and claimed their reward, invisible class lines would form within the group.
You could already see it in the faces of the women who got the manager gig versus those who didn’t.
How damn valuable that sweet title was.
With the urgent stuff sorted, Han Yu-ra approached me with a resolved expression and made an unexpected proposal.
“Joo-hyuk. If it’s not too much trouble, would you join me for a hunt tonight?”
“Night hunting?”
“Yes. Fighting that named orc earlier really drove it home—if we keep going like this, we’re as good as dead. And… I know it’s shameless, but if you have some spare points, could I borrow enough to replace my broken gear? I’ll work hard to pay it back.”
I accepted readily.
“Sure. But in exchange, can I bring one of my colleagues along?”
“I don’t mind.”
And just like that, our temporary hunting party with Han Yu-ra was formed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That night, Han Yu-ra headed to the ratmen habitat with Kim Joo-hyuk and his colleague, Im Ji-hye.
‘Ratmen. Grotesque things that look like a mix of rats and humans. They live in packs, ambush from the dark, and while individuals are weak, they swarm in numbers, making them tough for archers to handle.’
Han Yu-ra gripped her bow tightly, tense. But the two beside her looked utterly relaxed, like they were on a picnic.
Especially Kim Joo-hyuk’s colleague, Im Ji-hye—she came off like a total newbie with zero combat experience.
‘Is it really okay to bring someone like that…?’
This time she was hitching a ride on their party, so she hadn’t said anything outright, but Han Yu-ra was starting to worry about the hunt.
However, her concerns shattered the instant the first ratmen pack appeared.
“I’ll take the first shot and draw their aggro. You two support from—”
Before Han Yu-ra could finish, Im Ji-hye stepped forward.
“Spirit, mind clearing out that trash over there?”
At her words, a massive fireball materialized in the air and plummeted straight into the ratmen pack’s center.
💥 BOOM! 💥 The explosion from the fire spirit turned dozens of ratmen to ash in an instant. The survivors screeched and charged, but Im Ji-hye didn’t even blink.
“Elemental wall, earth attribute. Nah, let’s go with fire.”
She thrust out her hand, and a towering wall of flames erupted in front of them. The ratmen slammed into it, shrieking as they burned to cinders.
But the ratmen didn’t panic. Like a well-drilled army, some drew aggro at the fire wall while the rest scaled it toward the ceiling, trying to flank.
‘No way! They’re smart enough to attack like that?’
As Han Yu-ra reeled in shock, a few ratmen started dropping from the ceiling.
But they couldn’t even get close to attacking.
Kim Joo-hyuk was already there at their landing spots, moving at speeds invisible to her eyes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His sword traced silver arcs through the air, batting them away like falling raindrops.
And in that instant, every airborne ratman’s head cleanly severed, plummeting to the floor.
‘Holy shit!’
His movements weren’t flashy. No big swings—just fast, efficient, minimal motion. He dodged attacks with the least effort and struck vital points with pinpoint precision.
But that precision was terrifyingly perfect.
Even with Han Yu-ra’s elite marksmanship and reflexes, she’d be defenseless against enemies swarming at close range.
Yet Kim Joo-hyuk perfectly shielded both Im Ji-hye and Han Yu-ra while smoothly handling the ratmen pouring over the fire wall and from the ceiling.
There wasn’t a hint of tension on his face.
Han Yu-ra just stood there, dazed by the overwhelming firepower on display.
‘Who the hell are these people…?’
When she’d hunted with Jae-ho and Min-su, she’d always been the top contributor. Her party members were just support tools following orders.
But here?
There was nothing for Han Yu-ra to do.
‘If this keeps up, I’ll look like dead weight…!’
In her panic, she belatedly nocked an arrow, but at best she could hit three at once—six if she got a lucky pierce.
Two hours passed like that.
“……”
Han Yu-ra stared at her point total, speechless.
In those two hours, they massacred ratmen coming in waves of hundreds, even thousands. Ratmen were weak individually, but their erratic movements outdid goblins by far, and their pack tactics earned five times the points.
The result?
They’d earned in two hours what her elite team had grinded for a full week.
‘4,000 points from one hunt….’
All she’d done was snipe targets charging under Kim Joo-hyuk’s protection during breaks in Im Ji-hye’s fire wall and spirit cooldowns.
‘Does that mean everything I’ve done so far was just child’s play?’
Han Yu-ra had started with the tower’s blessing—overpowered base stats. She’d leveled steadily through hunts, and just into week two, she’d considered herself among the strong.
But it was all delusion.
‘These people live in a whole different world… How do you even get that strong?’
The hunt ended, and the quest completion message popped up.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Party member completed personal mission: Destroy Ratmen Nest. Reward: 5,000pt and 3 Random Consumable Boxes acquired. ‘Whoa! Rewards this huge?’
Han Yu-ra had never imagined personal missions could pay out like that.
Hers usually topped out around 300pt—maybe 800pt for the toughest ones.
Of course, she wasn’t complaining about the points. She just felt lucky to be in Kim Joo-hyuk’s party right now.
‘Random consumable boxes, huh. They give those as rewards too?’
『Random Box』 Non-tradable - Remaining: 3 Description: If you're lucky, opening the box might yield something good. Effect: Generates random consumables at random probabilities. Han Yu-ra casually opened the box hovering above her hand.
⚠️ MISS! ⚠️ Try again next time! 🎉 JACKPOT! 🎉 1 Chilled Water acquired! “……”
She’d gotten her hopes up at “jackpot,” but nope—it was just the 1pt bottled water from the shop.
“Oh? You’re not supposed to just open those.”
“Huh? Was there a special way to use them?”
“Not really, but… words might not explain it well. Easier to show you. Yu-ra, mind handing over that consumable box you just got? I’ll open it for you.”
“…Is there a difference between me opening it and you doing it?”
“Yeah. Random boxes seem picky about who opens them.”
‘Is she messing with me right now?’
Thinking that, Han Yu-ra still handed it over, figuring it didn’t matter who opened a dud anyway.
And moments later.
Han Yu-ra stared at Im Ji-hye kneeling in prayer, utterly baffled.
‘Do you really need to go that far for one box?’
But when Im Ji-hye opened it, the difference was night and day. Light poured from the random box!
🎉 SUCCESS! 🎉 1 Low-Grade Agility Potion acquired! One more! 🎉 SUCCESS! 🎉 2 Low-Grade Strength Potions acquired! The exact same box, but wildly different results.
And from one box, three items emerged.
“How did you do that!?”
“Oh, this? You saw the message, right? Sometimes ‘one more’ pops up if you’re lucky, and it counts as opening an extra box. Doesn’t happen often.”
“……”
In short, pure luck.
Han Yu-ra gave up trying to understand.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Anyway, thanks to Im Ji-hye, Han Yu-ra boosted three stats and stood with a satisfied smile after a quiet thank-you.
“Phew, finally done. We heading back to base now?”
“What are you talking about? The real fun’s just starting.”
“Huh?”
“Yu-ra. Your personal mission quests. You’ve still got a ton left, right? Checked your tablet lately?”
“Yeah…”
“Our goal tonight is to sweep every personal quest in the area, starting with the best rewards. And night’s still young, isn’t it?”
The tablet clock read just past 1 a.m.
Kim Joo-hyuk nodded at Im Ji-hye’s words.
“Sounds good. We’ve rested plenty. Let’s hit the next hunting ground.”
Han Yu-ra, feeling like barely five minutes had passed since the fight ended, stared at them in complete shock.
She barely managed to ask,
“Um, what do you two do out there in the real world?”
Han Yu-ra wouldn’t have batted an eye if they’d said government agents or special forces prepping to conquer the tower.
But their actual answers were way off script.
“Business major in college.”
“College student too.”
“????”
‘College students…? I thought college was just classes and studying. Wait, I heard about mandatory liberal arts courses—guess modern students take combat classes to prep for the tower!’
Han Yu-ra, who’d devoted her life to archery, just unlocked her hilariously misguided view of college life.