Chapter 43
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 043
Chapter Title: A-rank Hunter Nguyen - [1]
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This month, we couldn't proceed with the Incheon reclamation project.
It wasn't because we'd slacked off. Lately, gates had been opening so frequently that we'd been stuck on 24-hour standby, deploying every single time something happened.
I already knew the culprit behind this exhausting situation. That damn Behemoth.
Seong Mun-yeong grumbled irritably from inside the helicopter carrying us.
"Behemoth that bastard, when the hell is it going back?"
Earlier, Behemoth had approached near Seoul, but Kang Jun-chi's march on the capital had halted the colossal monster's advance.
However, Behemoth hadn't retreated along its path or turned toward anywhere else.
It had simply stopped at that spot close to Seoul. Perhaps the giant monster was hoping that if it waited long enough, Kang Jun-chi might leave that position.
If Kang Jun-chi held out like this, Behemoth would eventually leave, but no one knew when that would be.
And the real problem was that Behemoth didn't travel alone.
Its movements were always accompanied by swarms of tens of thousands of monsters. To be precise, the monsters followed Behemoth of their own accord, drawn to the massive benefits of sticking near it.
So when the 400-meter-long rock spirit Behemoth manifested in reality, the chaos it created from the colossal gate it spawned was followed by tidal waves of monsters eager to hunt amid the disorder.
Monsters breaking away from those waves were the ones assaulting Korea. They probably had zero patience, lunging out because humans teemed nearby for easy prey. The damage had been immense.
In the midst of it all, not just Seoul but nearby Incheon was suffering too.
Gates popped open constantly, whether in Seoul or Incheon. There was no time to rest.
Recently, gates had opened for four straight days, forcing us into four straight deployments. We'd already mobilized that morning, but another gate had opened in the evening. That's why we were heading to the scene now.
"We've been deploying for four days straight now, hyung? You could've just rested this time, and no one would've blamed you..."
I responded to Seong Mun-yeong's words.
"No can do. I need to keep hunting without a break to raise my apartment floor higher."
"But hyung, you've already saved up enough money..."
I started to say something to the guy who kept complaining, then stopped. Non-awakeners couldn't be expected to keep up with an awakener's pace, after all.
"That tough on you? I do feel a bit sorry if so."
"Nah, it's not that I'm struggling. The problem isn't me—it's you working yourself to death, hyung. Every deployment, you end up taking down more than half the monsters there single-handedly..."
As Seong Mun-yeong trailed off awkwardly, a groan came from Lee Jong-ho.
"Ah, looks like we're almost there..."
I could sense it too. All sorts of emotions spilling from the gate were starting to muddle my head.
Unlike the first time I'd experienced this, though, it was bearable now. Probably thanks to hunting so many monsters since then, growing spiritually in the process.
Because of that, even from inside the helicopter, I had the luxury to spread my mental web and assess the situation below.
Situations unfolding within a roughly 2km radius flooded into my mind. My head throbbed as I desperately tried to process the info...
Once I'd successfully sorted all that data in my head, I spoke up.
"I'm heading out first."
By now, everyone was used to my solo actions—no one protested. Jang Byeong-gon quickly said,
"We'll report our position once we land and set up!"
I nodded and prepared for the hunt.
From atop the helicopter, I assumed a firing stance with my hunter rifle. I set the trigger to full auto, then placed my finger on it.
And the moment I pulled the trigger, I teleported. To where?
The most urgent spot I'd scouted—the flank of a Deathclaw about to pounce on a family.
My view shifted. The Deathclaw and the trembling family came into sight.
"Aaa—"
Since I'd already pulled the trigger before teleporting, the rounds fired the instant I arrived.
30mm autocannon shells poured from the muzzle, shredding two Deathclaws in succession.
Set to full auto, the barrage continued nonstop, but I kept my finger on the trigger. No need to let up.
I had no intention of wasting ammo either.
"Wha—what? Kim Geuk Hun—"
No time to wave "Incheon forever" to the guy who'd recognized me.
I teleported to the next pre-scouted spot.
As my view changed again, a pack of manticores—lion-like monsters closing in on some surrounded cops—took incoming rounds already in flight.
Meat exploding sounds rang out ahead.
Before I could even confirm the fake lions' deaths, I was already eyeing the next teleport spot.
"Huh? Huh?!"
The cops who'd narrowly survived looked stunned, but again, no time for a wave.
About four or five seconds later, I lowered the muzzle and teleported once more.
I landed on the rooftop of an eight-story building.
Shells were still pouring from the downward-pointed barrel, letting me immediately rain autocannon fire on Deathclaws scaling the walls without pause.
As chunks of Deathclaw rained down, I teleported to yet another critical spot I'd marked.
I gave those monsters no chance to resist either, unleashing a hail of rounds...
Like that, in less than a minute, I teleported eleven times. I'd eliminated every monster caught in my web, saving the people who'd nearly become their meals.
It was a trick I'd gained after experiencing Kang Jun-chi's hallucination—chaining short-range teleports outside my line of sight, precisely and repeatedly.
And after pulling that off once, I always ended up on the verge of collapse.
This time was no different. Amid horrific vertigo, I could barely distinguish objects.
I was leaning against a wall, gasping for breath that wouldn't come easily.
Then Seong Mun-yeong's voice crackled from the radio on my chest.
「Hyung, we've set up! We're at—」
Nowhere near able to teleport, I still forced myself to try for their position.
Failed twice, succeeded on the third.
I appeared amid my hunter team.
The instant I finished teleporting, my body lurched, nearly collapsing. I fought to hold onto consciousness.
I couldn't pass out yet. The hunt was still ongoing.
But willpower meant nothing—my whole body burned excruciatingly hot.
It was the overheating from ability overuse and neural overload, just like a few days ago.
In this state, even super regeneration wouldn't activate. If it went on, I'd really die.
Even I felt scorching hot, on the brink of collapse, as I stared at my round girl (or at least tried to— she looked like four of her now) and mumbled.
'Hurry with that thing...' But no words came out.
Luckily, Baek Dam-bi got it and was already prepped. She rushed over, pressing her palm to my back.
And, ah...
Something cold flowed from her palm, racing up my spine and spreading through my body. My protein-denaturing fever plummeted sharply.
I might actually survive.
Once my overheated nerves cooled to normal, super regeneration kicked back in. Fried brain cells began regenerating one by one, and I finally came to.
I could make out Baek Dam-bi's voice now, which hadn't registered properly before. She asked worriedly.
"You okay?"
My voice returned too.
"Thanks to you. Oh, and I just emptied my mag..."
As I muttered and glanced sideways, they were already on it—no words needed. Lee Jong-ho and Seong Mun-yeong hefted my 55kg hunter rifle while Jeong Jin-yeong swapped the mag.
I snatched the reloaded rifle one-handed, drawing a fresh "Whoa..." of awe from Lee Jong-ho.
Im Hyeong-taek asked,
"Kim Geuk? You looked half-dead again, like a few days ago... Pushing too hard. So, how is it? All dead?"
I nodded.
"Every one that was out there."
Im Hyeong-taek's eyes widened in shock at his own question.
Seong Mun-yeong clicked his tongue.
"Damn, you're a killer... Hyung, tell Incheon City to renew your contract quick. Everyone on HuntWeb's saying you're contracted way too cheap."
I basked in my team's reactions and praise to my feats while trying my best not to think at all.
I focused on resting my brain and nerves.
Resting for the next fight.
Reports indicated this was a large gate. And large gates always birthed large monsters.
It hadn't shown itself yet. When it did, I'd have to hunt it.
I couldn't rest long. A familiar voice blared from the radio.
「Large monster! Bus-sized one! Luring it to the main road, but it's too fast—can't pinpoint position!」
It was Naito-san. He'd arrived on-site around the same time as our helicopter, apparently scouting the gate alone. Now he'd run into that large monster.
I endured my throbbing head and spread my mental web.
When I teleported, even though I'd already grasped the situation through it, I was still shocked anew.
A roaring motorcycle engine blared. And the ground shook too.
Like an earthquake, the earth trembled, accompanied by heavy thuds in improbably rapid rhythm.
I spotted two fast-moving things racing down the road ahead.
Naito-san was gunning his silver bike at near top speed. To lure the pursuing monster, he stuck to the empty main road...
Chasing him fiercely was a house-sized monster hot on that ridiculously fast bike's tail.
Not some cliché expression—it was literally house-sized. About the bulk of a large bus.
I couldn't make out its exact shape because it moved way too fast.
My eyes doubted themselves. How could something that enormous move at a speed leaving afterimages?
Of course, my job came first.
I pulled the trigger, and it ratcheted with a drrrk.
Golden beams from my hunter rifle hammered its massive body without missing a shot, despite the blinding speed.
Far off at its rear, blood and flesh sprayed.
Only then did the large monster halt. Its sudden stop kicked up a massive dust cloud, and from within, Naito-san's voice rang out—like he'd met a savior.
"Kim Geuk!"
But I had no attention for some non-awakener's reaction.
The large monster's head burst from the thick dust.
How to describe it? A wild boar with ears, nose, and tusks torn off, face smashed in?
A grotesquely ugly, ferocious beast—hairless, exposing rippling muscles all over its quadrupedal frame—glared at me.
The large monster kicked off the ground, charging me.
Insanely fast. Eerily, almost surreal.
I had no choice but to teleport.