Female Hunter (1)

The final part of the training is practical field education.

Practical field education. Just as the name suggested, it meant entering a real gate, clearing it, and closing it themselves. The idea was that experiencing what a gate was like at least once would be far better than suddenly being thrown into one with zero prior experience. And after this practical training was introduced, the actual mortality rate among hunters had dropped by a noticeable margin.

Of course, the Association couldn't afford to inconvenience other hunter parties or guilds. Since the whole point was simply to give them the experience of "this is what a gate is like," they reserved the lowest rank and most common type of gate—an F-rank one. They picked one of the F-rank gates nearby and used it exclusively for training new hunters. Because F-rank gates appeared quite frequently, other hunters didn't usually complain about it.

"Including myself, two C-rank hunters will be entering with you. This is purely for safety reasons. We'll try not to intervene unless absolutely necessary."

After all, this was still training, and the goal was to let them experience a gate firsthand.

"......"

"......"

The others seemed tense at the prospect of facing their first real gate.

"Hmph. Whatever. I'll clear it in no time."

Kang Sigyeong, on the other hand, who had received his C-rank, looked a little different. As for Park Jihun...

Dungeon, huh... I wonder if I'll run into any female-type monsters? It's only F-rank, so maybe not?

His mind had already wandered off into the fields of fantasy.

Anyway, the rookie hunters followed their instructor and soon arrived at their destination. There were four new hunters including Park Jihun, plus two C-rank veteran hunters to supervise them. Six people in total.

They stood on an ordinary stretch of road, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the surrounding area had been closed off for safety reasons. The cause was the hole right in front of them. There was no other way to describe it except as a gaping hole ripped open in midair. A pitch-black, unidentified space stretched out before them. The way it looked like a hole punched through empty space strongly reminded Jihun of the "black holes" he'd often seen on YouTube.

"Whoa..."

Park Jihun had seen them in online articles before, but this was his first time seeing a real gate in person. He stared at it with genuine fascination.

So this is where we're heading in now.

And inside waited an unknown world he'd never seen before. Tension. Anxiety. And anticipation. Carrying that complicated mix of emotions, the rookie hunters stood before the gate.

"This is an F-rank gate. The monsters that appear are goblins. We already covered goblins during the earlier lecture, but..."

In front of the gate, the veteran hunter instructor continued his explanation. Goblins were small in stature with strength no greater than a child's, but they moved in groups of at least three. As humanoid monsters, they used weapons, and because of their cunning nature, they also set traps. Among F-rank monsters, they boasted quite a high difficulty level. They weren't ideal for a first gate, but with veteran instructors watching from behind, it was fine. In fact, experiencing a relatively difficult gate would heighten their sense of caution toward gates in general, making them more likely to prepare thoroughly and stay alert in future ones.

That's what the instructors had thought, at least.

"Ugh, this is annoying. Can we just go already?"

Kang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sigyeong. The rookie who'd received his C-rank and was now flooded with scouting offers from mid-sized guilds. Perhaps because of that, he'd grown arrogant. He spoke with a bored expression. From his perspective, goblins were nothing more than F-rank monsters. He probably thought all this briefing was overkill. If his stats alone qualified him as C-rank, he could probably kill a goblin just by kicking it hard enough.

...Tsk. What a cocky bastard.

The instructors, being veterans, knew full well that no matter how high your rank was, that kind of complacent attitude wouldn't let you survive for long. An F-rank dungeon. Just goblins. But they never let their guard down. In a gate, anything could happen. That was the most basic mindset a hunter needed.

Well, his guild can deal with him.

The instructors had neither the duty nor the right to interfere any further. Since he'd already been scouted by a guild, they figured the guild would handle his training from here.

"Let's just get this over with."

With those words, Kang Sigyeong strode ahead on his own.

"W-wait! We need to enter together!"

The instructors hurriedly tried to stop him, but he had already stepped into the pitch-black hole.

"Sigh... Let's go in."

"Y-yes."

With no other choice, the other rookies and instructors followed him into the gate.

He doesn't even have the basics down. We literally just taught them how important teamwork is.

Even though this was practical training, they were still a party. Deciding positions and planning strategies among party members was the absolute foundation. They'd taught that during the lecture earlier, of course. But Kang Sigyeong had ignored even that basic principle and entered the gate alone.

If there was an actual hunter exam, you'd fail for sure.

No matter how high your rank was, if you didn't have the fundamentals, it was a big problem. In that sense, honestly, the other rookies weren't much better.

Shin Jeonghun keeps eyeing everyone else warily.

Maybe because he hadn't received any scouting offers, he was on guard against Kang Sigyeong, who had a high rank, and even against Imina, who had been offered a spot as a figurehead hunter despite her lower rank. He was even wary of Park Jihun, whose rank was lower than his own. In Jihun's case, it was probably because someone weaker than him was being treated the same way, which rubbed him the wrong way.

And then there's Imina.

Ever since she heard she was only being recruited as a figurehead hunter, she'd been depressed the whole time.

Mental management is basic.

Bringing that kind of gloomy mood into a gate could lead to mistakes. That was obviously unacceptable.

As for Park Jihun...

Mentally, he was the most stable out of all of them, but he'd been muttering to himself and grinning strangely the whole time, lost in his own thoughts.

These kinds of guys are the ones who cause big accidents...

There wasn't anything specific to point out, but something about him felt unsettling. That's what the instructors thought.

Whether he knew it or not, Park Jihun was still fantasizing in his head about the encounters waiting for him inside the gate.

The monsters in this gate are goblins, right? Hehehe, so does that mean the boss is a green-skinned, pointy-eared lady?

Pointy ears. Tattered clothes that barely covered the most important parts. Smooth, slightly greenish skin exposed everywhere else. And every time she charged in to attack, those bouncy, jiggling breasts and ass that looked like they'd spill out any second!

"Hmm, goblins are pretty hot, actually. They're kinda gross before humanization, but after they humanize, that smooth otherworldly green skin is..."

While Park Jihun muttered to himself, a low hum rang out.

The rookies were practically shoved through the gate.

An F-rank gate. The name Goblin's Small Forest. The fact that they could exit again after thirty minutes of entry. The moment you entered a gate, it kindly provided you with information.

Does it not distinguish between male and female monsters?

As he looked at the information, that thought suddenly occurred to him. Of course, he was probably the only one wondering about something like that. Naturally, there was no such information provided. Using this system, there were even people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who specialized in gathering data on a gate's environment, appearing monsters, rank, and so on within the thirty minutes before exiting, then selling that information to the Hunter Association. They were called "information hunters." Hunters who found it difficult to hunt monsters directly or lacked the confidence to clear gates often formed information parties. There were even guilds that specialized in this. Although they earned less than hunters who cleared gates themselves, the income was pretty good compared to the low risk. More people than you'd think worked as information hunters. The fact that this gate was F-rank and featured goblins had also been learned through them.

Anyway. The four rookies who had entered the gate for the first time each held the weapons provided by the Association.

"Hey, hurry up and get over here."

Kang Sigyeong had already gone quite far ahead by himself.

"...Sigh."

The instructors let out a deep sigh at the sight. Usually, almost no monsters appeared near the entrance of a gate. That was why information hunters could safely explore the surroundings right after entry. But that didn't mean they could let their guard down. Especially not against cunning monsters like goblins.

"We'll proceed together from here."

They began moving through the dungeon, walking while staying alert to their surroundings.

"Hmph. Bring out whatever you've got. I'll crush it all."

As Kang Sigyeong said that, he glanced sideways at Imina. Then he smirked, clearly trying to subtly show off how cool he was.

How pathetic... What the hell is he doing inside a gate?

To the instructors, it was just an eyesore.

"Kiiik!"

"Kieek! Krrk!"

Before long, three goblins jumped out. Dull green skin, pointed ears and noses. Slit yellow eyes. They stood just over 130 centimeters tall. In their hands, they held small but well-sharpened daggers. They looked somewhat human, but weaker and far more grotesque.

"Monsters spotted! Prepare for combat!"

The instructors quickly identified the goblins and shouted for battle readiness, but...

"U-ugh...!"

"Huk..."

Everyone, including Kang Sigyeong who had been so arrogant about his C-rank, froze ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up the moment they saw the creatures. It made sense. No matter how much of a hunter you were, no matter if you'd received C-rank, facing an unknown monster that was actually holding a weapon and trying to kill you was completely different. There was no way a person wouldn't feel instinctive fear. Even if you theoretically knew the opponent was weak, if a bizarre-looking monster came charging at you with a knife, a first-timer might even piss themselves. Plus, these things looked somewhat similar to humans. Even if you didn't feel fear, it was natural to hesitate before attacking something that resembled a person.

Tsk... They always freeze up like this.

The instructor let out a familiar sigh. Of course, the way to ease their tension was simple.

Just kill one.

All they had to do was show them how easily one could be killed. It would prove the enemies were weak and give them the moral clearance that even though these things looked like people, it was okay to kill them. Once someone took the first step, the ones following would find it much easier. Just as the instructors were about to step forward...

Unlike his frozen fellow rookies who were looking at the goblins, Park Jihun had frozen for an entirely different reason.

"...W-what the hell is this."

It's not just applied when facing a female... As long as there's a female among the enemies, the effect lasts throughout the entire fight?

Realizing that his skill was far more overpowered than he'd imagined, Park Jihun froze in place.