Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Now, Even Without Snacks, It's Fi, Fine. Hehe.
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I had planned this field trip to treat Lee Ha-eun's trauma.
The plane took off the very next day after I learned about her trauma.
"Wow! It feels just like a school trip!"
"I thought the military academy wouldn't do stuff like this...!"
How could a temporary instructor push for an overseas field trip, you ask?
Lee Hyung-seok's grandfather—the man whose life I saved—is the chairman of this academy's board.
And who donates the most money?
The parents of the White Tiger Trio. And the president of the Hunter Association.
Need I say more?
I just invoked the name of Blue Vest, and the parents approved without a fuss.
And since I was actually going along, it wasn't even a lie.
"Um... Instructor...!"
Inside the tourist bus heading to the gate, Lee Ha-eun cautiously raised her hand.
She was trembling.
A trip with her classmates.
A tourist bus.
And the destination? An S-Rank gate swarming with Red Ogres.
Trauma triggers were everywhere.
The fact that she wasn't puking was already impressive.
"But where's Blue Vest...?"
"He's right there... in your heart."
The moment I grabbed the bus mic and said that.
A signed sheet of paper coated in protective film appeared in Lee Ha-eun's arms.
It was Blue Vest's autograph...!
"......No. I mean, where's Blue Vest? You could do something like this too, Instructor."
Lee Ha-eun was dead serious.
My joke didn't land. Her trauma must be pretty bad.
"The Valley of Rage is an S-Rank gate that the Japanese government has completely given up on conquering!"
Gates fall into two categories.
Ones that hunters enter to clear, and ones left abandoned for decades.
The Valley of Rage was the latter.
With Red Ogres—rated A-Rank threat level—roaming around like mere trash mobs, the Japanese government figured it wasn't worth the cost to raid.
Especially since even an S-Rank hunter getting hurt would be a disaster they couldn't handle.
'But is it really that bad?'
From what I could see, the Valley of Rage wasn't particularly dangerous.
I'd take a freshly generated presumed B-Rank gate over an S-Rank that's already been poked around by tons of people any day.
Why? Because you never know what might come out of it.
Who knows if there might be a vegetarian who turns yellow-headed when pissed, or a Japanese high schooler who picked up a Death Note.
The Valley of Rage, on the other hand, was famous enough to have guidebooks published about it.
You could easily find monster info and dungeon maps online.
Perfect spot for a class field trip.
"Without Blue Vest, we might all die...!"
"Blue Vest is right nearby, watching over you all. He's just a bit shy."
"Really?"
I nodded with a warm smile.
Even Kim Cheol-su could deliver a signed paper at light speed, so I had nothing to say to that.
"Alright, we're here. Everyone off."
As we stepped off the bus, Sapporo's chilly air hit us in the face.
Seo Jin-wook had booked a place near the airport on his own and was grinding ranked matches.
[Instructor. Ping here sucks!]
I chuckled at the message he'd sent an hour ago.
He's grinding hard even in Japan.
The guy's got what it takes.
"Ugh... a real S-Rank gate..."
"Instructor. We're really going in there?"
"The mana pressure is insane."
As we stood before the massive dimensional rift, the once-boisterous Class A students suddenly clammed up.
"Just relax and stick behind me."
"Teacher... we don't have to write wills, right?"
I gave a thumbs-up to the kids shivering as they asked.
"Just trust me."
We slowly stepped into the gate.
We traversed the red rock mountains.
The sky was stained blood-red, and beastly screams echoed endlessly from somewhere.
"Eek!"
Na Yeo-rin, the homeroom instructor for Class A, collapsed to her knees the moment we entered.
"Instructor Kim Cheol-su... I can't do this..."
"You can't say that with the kids here."
"Nooo... This is a real S-Rank gate!"
Na Yeo-rin's fingertip pointed shakily at a distant shadow.
A pack of ten muscular red giants lumbered about.
Red Ogres.
They clutched clubs as thick as a person's torso.
"Gulp..."
Na Jin-il, Class A's self-proclaimed leader, swallowed hard.
Hearing about it from the instructor was one thing; facing a 3-meter monster radiating killing intent was another level entirely.
"Jin-il, carry Instructor Na Yeo-rin."
"Me? My legs are jelly right now too..."
"An A-Rank tank scared?"
"W-who's scared! Fine, I'll carry her!"
Na Jin-il grumbled as he hoisted the near-fainting Na Yeo-rin onto his back.
His legs shook like a sewing machine, but he scurried after me.
Lee Ha-eun, my biggest worry, was predictably pale as a sheet.
Her hand instinctively reached for her snack pocket.
But it was empty.
She'd already devoured them all on the bus.
"Ha, haa... Snacks... snacks..."
"Ha-eun, stick right behind me. And keep your eyes open."
"I-Instructor..."
"You need to get used to it. If you can't avoid it, enjoy it, right?"
"I'm... trying..."
Lee Ha-eun made a tearful face.
That was when it happened.
"Grrrrowl...!"
The lead Red Ogre spotted us.
Its roar made the ten ogres whip their heads around.
Their blood-hungry eyes gleamed at us.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ground began to shake.
The massive monsters were scaling the valley walls at terrifying speed.
"Aaaah! They're coming! They're coming!"
"Teacher! Run! Hurry!"
"Where's Blue Vest! Where is he!"
The kids panicked, screaming.
150 meters away.
50 meters.
It was instantaneous.
The lead ogre leaped, raising its massive club high.
"Groooaaarrr!"
One solid hit from that, and even an A-Rank tank would be down for three days.
Na Jin-il squeezed his eyes shut.
Lee Ha-eun slumped to the ground, mouth agape.
In that instant.
The world stopped moving.
"Blue Vest is on the move."
I stepped forward into the frozen scenery.
The ogre hanging in the air had a dynamically fierce expression.
Yellowed teeth, dripping saliva—everything was crystal clear.
I lightly leaped behind its neck.
"Yap."
One hand chop.
A precise strike to the vital point snuffed out its life.
No fancy dismantling this time.
Lee Ha-eun needed real Red Ogres to overcome her trauma.
I severed the carotid arteries of the giants with hand chops, balancing them so they stood frozen like statues.
Nine. Ten. Eleven. Done.
After cutting the nerves of every ogre climbing the valley, I returned to my spot and clasped my hands behind my back.
Time resumed.
"We're dead!!"
"Mom!!"
The kids screamed and ducked.
But after 5 seconds, then 10, the club didn't crash down.
"...Huh?"
Na Jin-il was the first to look up.
Right in front of him, just 2 meters away, stood the club-wielding ogre—frozen.
"W-what?"
The ogre was rigid like a statue, unmoving.
Drool dripped, but its unfocused eyes stared into space.
The ones behind were the same.
Frozen mid-stride.
"What... is going on?"
"Safety measure."
I lied calmly.
"Brought an S-Rank stealth artifact. When I deploy the field, monsters can't perceive us inside."
"Whoa... but why aren't they moving?"
"'Cause their prey vanished."
The kids' jaws dropped.
"That explains it! Your face always gets blurry when I try to remember it at home! You're an assassin type!"
"Yeah! You barely have any presence. Always sleeping!"
That was thanks to the saintess's buff.
But if they interpreted it that way, it worked for me.
"Ha-eun. Look up. They can't see us anymore."
"Y-yes...? Hic..."
Lee Ha-eun raised her head.
An ogre loomed just meters away.
"Gasp, haa!"
She hyperventilated.
"Easy, breathe slow. It won't bite. Won't even bark. Think of it as a big stuffed doll."
I tapped the ogre's thigh with my foot.
"See? It's staying put."
Lee Ha-eun trembled but desperately tried to stare it down.
Facing trauma head-on.
A bit crude, but the surest cure.
With dungeons looming, what other way to get used to monsters?
We wandered the rocky mountains for three whole hours like that.
Of course, I handled every approaching ogre.
At this rate, it was less Valley of Rage and more Valley of Corpses.
"Ah~ Teacher, can't we use a return stone and go home now?"
"These ogres are so ugly, I feel like puking."
After three hours, the kids' reactions shifted.
From terrified shaking to boredom with the unresponsive ogres, no matter how close they got.
"Hey, Jin-il. Stick your finger in the ogre's nostril."
"Gross! You do it!"
Fear turns to familiarity, familiarity to boredom.
That's human nature.
But one exception.
Lee Ha-eun was still stuck in place.
She kept 5 meters from the ogres, breaking out in cold sweats.
Without snacks for so long, withdrawal mixed with fear distorted her face.
"I-Instructor... I can't be a hunter... Sorry for dragging you here..."
"Nothing to be sorry for. Not fearing ogres would be abnormal."
"Sob... sob... I can't do it..."
Lee Ha-eun sniffled.
It was intense shock therapy, for sure.
But quitting now meant a half-baked hunter who couldn't enter dungeons without snacks forever.
I silently checked my watch.
'About time.'
We'd looped the valley and returned to the gate entrance when it happened.
Someone stepped through the dimensional rift.
Long straight hair flowing, she smirked inappropriately for the place.
Ignoring the surrounding ogres like they were nothing, striding like a runway model.
"W-who are you?"
Na Jin-il asked warily.
The woman took off her sunglasses and beamed.
"Hey there, chicks."
"......Hunter Yoo Na-yeon?!"
The kids' eyes bulged.
Domestic rank 7. The Witch of Fire, Yoo Na-yeon.
An S-Rank hunter from TV appeared out of nowhere.
"You must be Ha-eun."
Yoo Na-yeon went straight to Lee Ha-eun.
Lee Ha-eun was too shocked to breathe.
Her lifesaver. Her eternal idol.
The savior from that day with the snacks stood before her.
"Y-Yoo Na-yeon Hunter... how did you...?"
I shrugged.
"Truth is, I'm kinda friends with her."
"Whoa...! Whoa...!"
Yoo Na-yeon gently stroked the frozen girl's head.
"That little kid from back then grew up so big. I heard. You're joining our guild next year?"
"Y-yes!"
"Our guild isn't that strict."
Yoo Na-yeon pulled something from her pocket.
Chocolate chip cookies.
"You can fight with snacks. I chew chocolate when my blood sugar drops sometimes. Want some?"
The moment she saw the cookie, Lee Ha-eun's eyes wavered.
"No..."
But she held back.
The snacks she'd always craved obsessively faded; all she saw was Yoo Na-yeon's warm smile.
The Witch of Fire's permission paradoxically gave her the courage to go without.
"No..."
Lee Ha-eun shook her head, tears welling as she grinned wide.
"Now, even without snacks, it's fi, fine. Hehe."
"Really? You're not forcing it?"
"Yes! Um... c-can I get your autograph?"
Yoo Na-yeon signed it, then hugged her proudly.
"Tough little thing. Good. You're in! A-Rank, right? Come straight to me after graduation. I'll train you myself."
"R-really? Is that okay?!"
"Of course. You ever seen an S-Rank go back on their word?"
Lee Ha-eun beamed with utter bliss, ogres forgotten.
The other students watched enviously.
"Straight under her...?"
"Lucky. I got rejected from Phoenix."
Yoo Na-yeon's presence was something else.
Just showing up, ditching the shades, and smiling—that was her power.
'......And she ditched my autograph on the seat.'
I gave a wry smile, slipping my hand into my pocket to grip the gate's core.
There are two ways to escape a gate.
Use an expensive return stone, or find and smash the core.
For efficiency-obsessed me, the choice was obvious.
"Instructor Kim Cheol-su! Thank you so much!!"
I smashed the gate core while gazing at Ha-eun's smile.
Playing the supporting role like this wasn't half bad sometimes.