The Chimera's Cataclysmic Beam
Park Sungu, the B-rank hunter who retired after an accident and now worked as a teacher at Hunter Middle School. He knew about Ha Yuna. Her father, Ha Seongjin—they'd had a rather complicated relationship. Maybe that's why his eyes kept drifting toward her. It was only natural for his gaze to linger on the daughter of an acquaintance.
'Even so, I wouldn't play favorites in judging.'
Park Sungu stared in disbelief at what he was seeing right now. Ha Yuna. Behind her, creatures no one could have anticipated were crawling out.
It was a grotesque being stitched together from monsters and more monsters. Its front legs looked like a wolf's, twisted with excessive muscle. But the claws were split like those of a bird of prey. Its body was covered in scales, irregular horns sprouting in a row along its back—some forked like a deer's, others straight like spears. The tail dragged long like a snake's, but the tip was something else entirely, split like a jellyfish's tentacles, leaving black slime wherever it touched the ground.
And finally, it didn't have just one head. Beneath the jaw of a massive beast skull, another face was forcing its way out. An empty face without eyeballs.
"Grrrlllrk."
Every time its mouth opened, two voices overlapped in a growl. This thing wasn't a mere combination—it was forcibly fused. The result of stitching together incompatible lives by force. It held its form, but the sight was too horrific to behold with open eyes.
"W-what the hell is that?"
"A monster? A monster?"
Terror-filled voices leaked from the children's mouths. A being so grotesque it was hard to even call it a monster. Every time it opened its maw, the kids froze solid, one and all.
And at the center of it. Ha Yuna stood there utterly unfazed. As if the thing's presence was the most natural thing in the world.
Ha Yuna had steadily climbed the Tower to the 9th floor. And every byproduct she'd gained, she'd poured solely into puppet crafting. Not once had she failed to shatter records on her way up to the 9th. In response, the Tower had rewarded her with only the best.
Her skill had grown alongside it.
New Skill Acquired: Puppet Synthesis
The Puppet Synthesis skill, which fused all the puppets she'd made. From the moment they'd received her summons inside the Puppet Workshop, the puppets had begun merging rapidly. Monster puppets, Tower materials. And at the core, the spider puppet. The special puppet form born from synthesizing it all.
"It's a Chimera."
The synthetic puppet Chimera, with its abyssal, crawling horror of an appearance. It was complete.
'I told it to go all out.'
The summoned Chimera cracked open its jaws. At the same moment, its front paws and all its legs dug into the ground, bracing for impact. Between its jaws, beams of light began gathering fiercely.
The more the light converged, the more intense it grew, turning the surrounding view pure white. A chill ran through them—an unease even the A-rank hunters up front hadn't felt. Everyone sensed something was wrong.
It took time for the light to gather. Unlike the previous A-rank hunter who'd unleashed output in an instant, the prep time was different. But the longer it went, the more dangerous the light felt.
"Sh-shouldn't we block it?"
"What the hell is it doing?"
The air currents began warping. Sensitive hunters hunched their bodies and stepped back.
"Huh?"
Not just Seo Harin—even Namgung Yuon, who usually cared about nothing, snapped his sleepy eyes open.
Sizzle!
Finally, sparks flew from the converging light beams, the sound echoing out.
――――――――!
The training ground ignited. The light pierced through faster than sound, sweeping away the measurement target. A specially made target that could withstand an A-rank hunter's output. It vanished as white ash.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The delayed explosion shook the entire Hunter Middle School. The impact was so strong that other classes in session peeked out windows in alarm.
Amid the whipping winds, the kids stared at the scene with shocked eyes under their tousled hair.
That output just now. Even if it took time, it was unmistakably far beyond A-rank power.
"……."
In the silence where no one could speak, Ha Yuna let out a casual 'whew' and finally turned around. Noticing the stares on her, she jumped in surprise.
Why are they all looking at me like that?
Her gaze soon reached the target area. Unlike with the A-rank, no trace of the target remained.
'Uh, wait, was I that strong?'
Honestly, Ha Yuna had no idea what output her puppet could produce. She had no frame of reference. Growing up, the only hunter around her was her dad. And she'd never even seen how he fought firsthand—that was something for the field. The last hunter she'd met was S-rank Yoo Chaerin, whose spatial abilities were all she'd shown.
Hunter feats on Nutube were mostly exaggerated anyway. And in novels or webtoons, she'd never gauged true strength. So Ha Yuna had no self-awareness of her own power.
Today, she'd made an irreparable mistake.
"Ha Yuna."
Finally, amid the silence, Park Sungu spoke.
"1000 points."
A girl who looked so fragile at a glance. All from a mere E-rank hunter.
＊＊＊
An E-rank hunter hitting 1000 points—an unprecedented event. It could've been a confidence boost for the lower ranks. But the kids' faces were all dark.
It made sense. They knew their own abilities. No matter what they did, they couldn't output like that.
Of course, that didn't mean they weren't trying. They put in real effort to max their scores. But reality was cruel.
A-rank average: 900 points.
B-rank average: 600 points.
C-rank average: 400 points.
D-rank average: 300 points.
E-rank average: 200 points.
F-rank average: 100 points.
The kids who tested later scored exactly by rank. The results were brutally honest. Lower ranks looked dejected; higher ones smug. A harsh reality.
Hunter society wasn't forgiving of ranks for nothing.
But one exception stood out.
'...Me.'
The more tests progressed, the weirder the looks from kids who'd already gone. Huddled quietly, they looked even more baffled. Faces screaming, How could a kid like that do that?
Among them, the one staring hardest: the snow-white girl, Seo Harin.
Can you stop staring? My face is gonna burn a hole through.
And it wasn't just her. Hwa Yeonhwa, who'd become my friend today, was also piercing me with her gaze. Stares from both sides. Nowhere to look; tears welled up.
I didn't know it'd be this bad. I just went all out like I was told.
The results stayed the same until the final test ended. Back in class after it wrapped safely, no one approached me. They just stared or whispered. Not a single direct approach.
Because of the spectacle? Or was our Chimera too threatening?
'My middle school life's ruined?'
Spending it so lonely. As I mulled the sadness,
"Yuna."
A voice came from the back of the classroom. Looking over, there was the one person who'd seek me out: Chaerin.
"Chaerin."
I jumped up, escaping the suffocating room. Break was only 10 minutes, but I could finally breathe.
In the hallway with Chaerin, other classes' kids stared as she walked. Even after my stunt, she was still the school's biggest celebrity.
Maybe from the entrance ceremony. Chaerin stayed timid beside me the whole time. If I left it, dorm life would be the same.
"Chaerin, how long you gonna stay all shy like that?"
Finally speaking up, she flinched and turned.
"I-I'm not being shy?"
Complete opposite of usual. Even her delinquent vibe melted into a gentle bestie around me.
"I'm over being mad now."
"...Really?"
"I don't know why you went that far, but that's why I was mad."
I grabbed her hand tight.
"I just don't want you hating the world so much."
I didn't know what happened to her these past months yet. But I'd learn in time. Right now, keeping her from hurting mattered most.
Chaerin gazed at me, then sighed.
"Who'd our Yuna take after to be this sweet?"
Then she pinched my cheek hard.
"So cute, makes me wanna gobble you up."
"Eeeek, let gooo."
"Nope. How could I let go of something this soft? Anyway, the class vibe was weird earlier—what happened?"
She'd noticed too. Embarrassed to explain, something else popped up.
"Oh, I made a friend today."
Though unsure if it'd last after today. Still, I had one.
"Huh?"
But hearing that, Chaerin flashed a creepy grin for some reason.
"Who?"