Chapter 45
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 045
Chapter Title: A-rank Hunter Nguyen - [3]
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A sound like striking metal—"clang"—rang out.
As soon as my feet hit the ground, the ogre staggered. That hammer blow must have shaken its brain violently inside its skull. It looked like it could barely keep its balance.
One more smash to the back of its head, and finally, the ogre collapsed flat.
I was thrilled at the chance to finish it off, but just as I reared back for another swing—my eyes widened.
The ogre, still sprawled out, was cradling its head with both hands. Unbelievable.
Already back to its senses? After taking that brutal ambush to the head?
I knew Super Regeneration types recovered from impacts fast, but even so... this was ridiculous.
Even after taking repeated hammer blows, the ogre started to push itself up. Not with some force field shield—just raw flesh and muscle, tanking hits like that.
Soon enough, it stood fully upright. Its beastly gaze locked straight onto me.
Facing down that massive monster, one powerful emotion surged through me.
Boredom? No. Fear? Not that either.
Awe.
My Physical Enhancement-enhanced body would shatter under a few machine gun rounds, yet this thing had tanked a barrage from me without batting an eye—and even after the sneak attack, it still had this much fight left.
They said gigantification and Physical Enhancement were basically the same ability type. I desperately hoped I'd reach that level someday.
And I already knew how. Kill this bastard and steal its power.
This ogre had probably followed Behemoth around, devouring countless people. Like that wild boar earlier, it'd rampaged freely in Australia. How many lives had it claimed to gain such overwhelming strength?
I wanted that power for myself.
So hand over your strength and your life, you ugly gorilla bastard.
The surging desire invigorated my exhausted body. As I glared daggers at the ogre, a low, rage-filled rumble poured from its mouth.
"Grooooaaaarrr—"
The ogre bellowed at me. A warning to stay back? Or a declaration that it'd kill me no matter what? Didn't matter either way.
I charged in without warning. Its jaws were still wide open from the roar—I smashed my hammer right into them.
"Crack!" Its jaw and teeth shattered together, blood spraying everywhere.
The enraged ogre screamed in agony and swung its fist down—but I was already gone, Teleported away.
Just a short hop sideways, enough to dodge the punch, then I brought the hammer down again. It slammed into the ogre's fingers on the ground. The impact hit them full force.
My hammer strike cracked concrete like eggshell—"crunch." And from the ogre's fingers came a gruesome sound, like their bones exploding into shards.
The ogre screamed again. Its hands had already taken a beating protecting its head earlier—bones probably cracked all over. One more direct hit, and it looked ready to die happy.
The ogre hid its mangled hand. Then it swung its good one at me—so I decided to wreck that too.
I swung the hammer wide. Target: its fist.
The ogre's fist and my hammer cleaved through the air toward each other.
They collided in midair. The shockwave clawed at my face. The hammer vibrated, sending a sharp jolt up my arm.
And the ogre?
It let out a wretched scream and leaped back, putting distance between us. Rage faded from its eyes, replaced by fear.
Seeing it tuck both hands between its legs, I figured they'd both been completely ruined.
The ogre didn't try to buy time for its broken finger bones to heal or even kick at me.
Like any beast sensing defeat, it leaped back and...
"Hey, don't run!"
I yelled at the ogre as it turned tail and bolted. Of course, it just kept running farther away.
Should I chase it down and hammer it? No—it's faster than me; catching up would be a pain. I'd have to spam Teleport to swing my hammer, and that'd be a huge waste of energy.
I Teleported right away.
Back with my hunter team, they'd already swapped my magazine. Cute kids—they knew how to treat an Awakener right.
"Where's Dam-bi?"
"Sister Dam-bi's scouting for the Gate!"
Quick exchange as I raised my hunter rifle. Just as I was about to Teleport again, Jeong Jin-yeong's voice cut in.
"You got this!"
His cheer let me grin through the fatigue as I Teleported.
View shifted. There was the ogre's back, fleeing full speed ahead.
I squeezed the trigger on its exposed back.
Like an archer threading one arrow through another—I pulled it off.
A golden beam from the hunter rifle linked to the ogre's spine, fully exposed.
Full-auto machine gun rounds tore into its back relentlessly.
No misses, no stray hits. Precise shots, all on the same spot—it couldn't hold out.
The ogre staggered a few more steps before collapsing face-first. I closed in, fired a few more rounds, and that was that.
With the mighty foe's death, the hallucination started chanting my name in my head.
'Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk—!'
This cheer was louder and longer than usual, and the new power surging through me felt greater than ever.
And the euphoria...
Far beyond any I'd felt from past kills. Why?
My guess: because this thing was the same type as Physical Enhancement Awakeners. They said defeating same-type awakened beings boosted spiritual absorption way more. This might be my biggest spiritual growth yet...
"Kim Geuk! Kim Geuk!"
Oh—real audience this time. A voice from reality jolted my euphoria-addled nerves.
"Totally one-sided! No wonder—just one-on-one, and it was monster chow!"
I turned toward the voice. It was that self-proclaimed fan.
He'd been filming me with his smartphone the whole time, holding it out. He asked,
"Can I upload this to YouTube?"
I nodded, and he thanked me profusely before pressing on.
"Now for that earless wild boar? You're going after it next, right?"
"Have to."
"Then, uh, could you maybe take me along...?"
What an idiot.
I scowled and snapped,
"What kind of dumb question is that?"
"S-sorry..."
"Of course you can."
As his face lit up, I grabbed his wrist and Teleported. Dropped him on a building rooftop and peered over the railing.
There was the wild boar monster—and Nguyen.
No flashy action between them.
Both looked worn out.
The boar had machine gun marks all over. Blisters everywhere, it just stood there.
Scraping the ground with its hooves like it'd charge any second—but it was all bluff. It didn't actually lunge. Probably exhausted from failed charges before.
Nguyen, hunkered behind a shop building, seemed low on ammo and stamina too. His T-shirt soaked in sweat, hunter rifle aimed but not firing.
And me? Not in great shape either. I'd spammed Teleport, then beat a gorilla to pulp with my hammer.
Conclusion: end this fast.
I radioed,
"Nguyen? No idea how much ammo you got left, but can you unload everything into its forehead?"
"Kim Geuk? Okay, okay..."
He popped up and fired. Rounds hammered the boar's brow just like I ordered—but its skull was too thick. Barely any damage, just a scratch.
But to me, that was plenty.
"Film this good!"
I yelled as I Teleported—landing atop the furious boar's head.
Stomped down with all my strength.
Shoved my foot into the fresh brow wound.
Its Super Regeneration was already kicking in. New flesh swelled around my foot, locking it tight.
Insane regen—even I felt my foot crushing. But I endured. The pig had to hurt worse.
Sensing the intruder, the boar went berserk. Pig squeals pierced the air.
It slammed its jaw into the ground to shake me off, but my foot stayed lodged—I didn't budge.
Thrashing wildly, I still aimed my hunter rifle. At its softest spot for sure—its eyeball. Fired. "Rrrat-tat-tat!"
Gunfire roared; the boar screamed louder, drowning it out.
Bullets pierced the eyelid, burrowing deep as it charged wildly.
Probably aiming to smash me against a building.
Reminded me of that hallucination fight with Kang Jun-chi. There, my foot stuck in concrete, Teleport failed.
Same here—no escape via Teleport. But whatever. No energy left for it anyway.
I kept firing nonstop as it rampaged. Rounds steadily shredded eyelid and eyeball.
Eye destroyed, the dumb pig couldn't even track direction—zigzagging blindly.
I poured on the fire. Those machine gun rounds finally reached its brain. Tough skull, but brain matter? Mush.
Something burst with a pop. The death charge halted.
Boar dropped to its knees, massive body crashing sideways. My name echoed in my head again.
Ah... aaaah...
This pig was stronger than the gorilla. The euphoria and new power dwarfed the ogre kill...
I yanked my foot free; without Super Regeneration, its flesh couldn't hold.
Bloody foot planted on the huge corpse, I stood tall. Looked down at my fan from on high.
Mouth agape, smartphone trained on me. Time for a pose for the cameraman.
Under the brilliant lights shining on the octagon before me, I raised one arm high, declaring victory.
He went wild—"Awesome!" "Insane!"—as Nguyen's voice chimed in.
"As crazy as they say? Half-mad, for real..."
Glanced over—eye contact. He grinned wide, flashing white teeth. Same smile from when we met. No clue what kept him so happy.
I ignored it. Just basked in the euphoria and triumph, striking poses for a solid five minutes.
Soon helicopters and tanks rolled in—but it was all over.