Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Became the Last Giant Clan
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Lee Hyun-min thought he had used up all his luck in life.
That made sense. By sheer coincidence, he had captured on camera the first battle of Kang Hyuk, the hunter with S-rank talent who was drawing the hottest attention worldwide.
But the fortune that came his way that day didn't end there.
"Lee Hyun-min-ssi. I'm Lee Yeon-hee from the Gangnam District Office Hunter Management Office."
"From the Hunter Management Office...? Then...!!"
"Yes. You can think of it as a department connected to the Association. So, I'd like to make you an offer..."
An even greater stroke of luck.
No, an opportunity had come knocking.
An opportunity that could change his entire life.
"Would you like to become our Association's dedicated streamer and handle the filming?"
Naturally, Lee Hyun-min didn't turn down the opportunity.
As talks of the contract proceeded smoothly, Lee Hyun-min heard something unexpected.
"On-site filming... isn't allowed? Don't dedicated streamers usually film right at the scene?"
"Normally, yes. They need sensational footage to rack up views, after all. But even though Mr. Kang Hyuk allowed filming, he didn't permit entry to the actual site."
"...Kang Hyuk? The hunter with S-rank talent?"
"Yes. He said he doesn't want to boost his fame by showing those kinds of scenes. In other words, Mr. Kang Hyuk agreed to the filming to let citizens know that such a hunter exists—not for money or fame."
Completely unexpected.
Lee Hyun-min's jaw dropped.
Money and fame.
Kang Hyuk had turned down those temptations that anyone would be swayed by.
That choice shocked him all the more, making him desperate not to let this opportunity slip away.
"I didn't become a streamer for money or fame."
He admired and looked up to hunters who fought for humanity.
But most of the hunters captured on his camera seemed to fight more for 'money' than for humanity.
Yet the man who could earn more money than anyone had made that decision. It deeply impressed him.
"I felt something from the moment he said he'd join the Association... He's truly an amazing person..."
A strange sense of mission welled up in him.
A hunter who fought solely for the safety of citizens, not for money or honor.
The chance to capture that hunter's image had been given to him.
So he cheered fervently.
"The Giant!!! Korea's Giant is coming!"
He had arrived at the scene after getting prior notice.
There, not as the dedicated streamer, but as a fan and supporter, he shouted his name.
At the same time.
The chat exploded while viewer numbers surged.
In the midst of it, a man in a black suit arrived at the scene.
"......"
Giant Kang Hyuk.
Korea's supernova hunter.
Over the past month.
Kang Hyuk's life had spanned two worlds, totaling 180 days.
"The world through the coffin. And the present world."
After finishing hunts in the other world, he returned to the present.
Prepared for gate incidents again.
Once the gate incident was resolved, he crossed back to hunt orcs and ogres.
This led to explosive growth.
Absorbing orc soulstones and ogre soulstones daily, he could now wield 8% of the Giant's power.
"At this level, I'm a top-tier C-rank hunter. Unbelievable results."
This affected his gate raids in the present world as well.
"Lee Yeon-hee-ssi, briefing please."
"Yes. The gate at Cheongdam M Building is E-rank. Appeared monsters: 60 Big Rats, and the boss, Red Big Rat. Fortunately, thanks to citizens spotting the gate precursor early and evacuating, no casualties. However."
Lee Yeon-hee paused, emphasizing the Big Rats' danger.
"Considering Big Rats' habits, we can't ignore secondary damage. If they spread through the building's basement and create nests, Cheongdam entire could become their lair."
Kang Hyuk nodded.
He turned to his team members behind him and issued orders.
"Lee Hwan-seung-ssi. Park Seo-jun-ssi."
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Head to the basement immediately and block their movements."
"Yes, understood!"
Park Seo-jun and Lee Hwan-seung moved swiftly at the command.
Unlike their first mission, they followed without complaint. Kang Hyuk turned his gaze.
He looked at the team's mage, Lee Ye-sol.
"Lee Ye-sol-ssi, erect a barrier over the entire building to contain them."
"Yes."
With the order, mana bloomed from Lee Ye-sol's hands, forming a barrier enveloping the whole building.
Confirming it, Kang Hyuk finally moved.
Kang Na-eun followed behind.
The order dropped simultaneously.
"From now on, I'll hunt the Red Big Rat alone."
Kang Na-eun's eyes widened.
"Team Leader alone?"
"Yes. The Red Big Rat is the mother of the spread Big Rats. Eliminate her, and their command structure falls into chaos. We'll use that gap to cleanly wipe them out without secondary damage."
Kang Na-eun mulled it over briefly.
Then nodded.
"Got it. So my job is hunting the remaining Big Rats in the building?"
"Exactly. Even if it's cleanup, be cautious with Big Rats' habits. Buildings like this are their main stage."
Kang Na-eun thought.
"Heading to their main stage—the Big Rats' domain—to hunt the strongest one alone."
Meanwhile, Kang Hyuk slowly turned and headed upstairs.
Kang Na-eun shifted her gaze.
Squeak squeak squeak squee!
A mouse cry rang out as if waiting.
Unlike ordinary mice, it was like a soprano from a famous theater actress.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak!
The sopranos overlapped.
At the dissonant high notes, Kang Na-eun drew her beloved weapon.
Longinus Spear.
A Unique item ranked 324th among Korean artifacts.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak!!
At the spear's appearance, the Big Rats' movements quickened.
Unique items exuded a unique aura on their own.
"Six in total. Three in the adjacent shop, hiding on the escalator above."
Having grasped their numbers, Kang Na-eun's eyes turned red.
Vital Point Strike.
Her noble B-rank rated ability activated.
"Shop side first."
Muttering, she leaped from her spot.
Her leap—even among top E-rank hunters—closed the distance to the Big Rats in one go.
Squeak squeak squeak!
Three Big Rats peeking from the collapsed shop scattered in surprise.
Narrowing her eyes at their speed, Kang Na-eun swung the Longinus Spear.
"Back waist. Their weak point."
The thrust spear curved like a wave, piercing a Big Rat's lower back.
Squeak squeak squeak!
The critically hit Big Rat thrashed, but a follow-up strike ended it.
The surviving Big Rats fled in panic.
Squeak squeak squeak!!
Unlike most monsters that wouldn't flee before a hunter, Big Rats' behavior was unique.
That's why they couldn't be spared.
Big Rats cunningly targeted civilians instead of confronting hunters head-on.
"That's why they're one of the monsters causing the most secondary damage. Insane breeding rate, and they smartly go after civilians."
With that thought, Kang Na-eun hurled the Longinus Spear, eyes gleaming.
Thwack!
The released Unique spear curved its own trajectory, cleanly hitting another fleeing Big Rat's lower back.
Squeak squeak squee!
The last Big Rat panicked and dove toward the basement.
Kang Na-eun swiftly drew the bow slung on her back.
"Hoo..."
Deep breath, nocking an arrow.
Her hand felt far more stable than with the spear.
Perhaps because of that.
It felt much more comfortable than gripping the spear.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak!
The remaining Big Rat zigzagged desperately for cover.
Its nimble movements belying its size made Kang Na-eun hold her breath.
She narrowed her eyes and released without hesitation.
Whoosh!!
The mana-charged arrow struck the Big Rat's rump precisely.
Squeak squeak squeak!!
The clean strike drew a scream, and Kang Na-eun leaped.
Retrieving the Longinus Spear, she plunged it into the rolling Big Rat's nape.
Squeak!
The Big Rat met its end with a final cry.
Kang Na-eun took a deep breath, lost in thought.
About her changed fighting style.
"It's always amazing no matter how many times I see it..."
Her combat method had drastically changed a month ago.
From close-range melee—her mainstay—to incorporating ranged strikes.
An astonishing shift.
Even hunters were human.
Basic habits and postures.
Breaking ingrained habits wasn't easy.
Especially since a hunter's combat style tied directly to survival.
On a battlefield against monstrous beasts defying common sense, changing decades-honed methods was, exaggeratedly, a gamble with one's life.
Yet her combat habits had transformed from one man's offhand advice.
"If it didn't fit so well, I wouldn't have changed... But it fits too perfectly not to."
The new archery style he suggested.
Archery meshed unexpectedly well with her.
Especially synergizing with her Vital Point Strike ability, doubling its effect.
That's why it amazed her.
How did the man who advised her spot this hidden strength she didn't know?
As Kang Na-eun pondered and looked up.
Boom!!!
An explosion rocked the upper floor shelf collapsing.
Kang Na-eun muttered amid it.
"Got it."
The 1st Team Leader who went upstairs moments ago.
Kang Hyuk had hunted the E-rank gate boss, Red Big Rat.
She forgot her earlier musings.
"Seeing that... my advice isn't so surprising."
A rookie hunter with just four real battles.
While she, with years in the field, took down three Big Rats, he soloed the boss.
Naturally, no such precedent existed anywhere.
Considering that, his advice to her was probably unprecedented too.
"Still, I should repay him somehow... Maybe treat him to a meal."
Shaking off the thought, Kang Na-eun moved.
Thus, the 1st Team's fourth real battle ended in another resounding success.
After handling the gate incident and finishing his report, Kang Hyuk left the Association.
As he prepared to head home, he spotted his waiting team members and tilted his head.
"What's up?"
Lee Hwan-seung stepped forward at the question.
"No, Team Leader! Forgot? We planned drinks today!"
Kang Hyuk recalled belatedly.
"Right, we said welcome party cum drinks today."
He'd forgotten amid reporting.
Kang Hyuk stopped the car and looked at his team.
"Hmm..."
He wanted to go home, cross via the coffin to the other world immediately.
"By now, new territory awaits. Higher-level orcs and ogres."
Then, soonest this week, latest next—via absorbed soulstones, he'd wield 10% Giant's power.
"That'll restore power not even yielding to B-rank hunters."
Entering true 'superhuman' territory.
"Considering Shaolan's B-rank now... Incredible growth."
Prepping for Seoul Station catastrophe and other events would be far easier.
But Kang Hyuk had no intention of stopping.
With momentum, he wanted to accelerate further.
Yet seeing his waiting team stirred new dilemma.
"If I head home now... This good rapport turns awkward."
Not bad, but no need to force distance either.
"Either way, these are future pillars of Korea."
And currently his team members.
Building bonds would efficiently prepare for coming events.
"Plus..."
Kang Hyuk glanced sideways at Lee Ye-sol.
"Need to investigate Lee Ye-sol, who was called Nightmare and active in the worst evil group Meteors."
Unlike the other three, she becomes a globally infamous villain.
Why the worst archmage-turned-villain is in the Association now—he hadn't figured it out.
"This drinks might yield hints."
Deciding, Kang Hyuk nodded.
Lee Hwan-seung brightened and shouted.
"Oh!! Team Leader treating?"
"Of course. Any cravings?"
"Drinks mean meat, right?"
"Hmm... Beef place then?"
"Kya~ As expected of S-rank talent hunter, big spender!"
As the 1st team moved to go amid Lee Hwan-seung's jest.
"1, 1st Team Leader!"
Someone rushed desperately from afar.
The whole team halted and turned.
Hunter Association President's.
Chief Secretary.
"Chief Secretary Lee Ye-jin?"
Kang Hyuk tilted his head, and the panting woman urgently handed documents.
Taking them, Kang Hyuk read carefully before asking.
"...This real?"
"Yes. All Hunter Management Office team leaders are gathered now."
Kang Hyuk nodded and addressed his puzzled team.
"Everyone, looks like drinks postponed."
"What!? Suddenly?"
Disappointment settled on the four faces, including Lee Hwan-seung.
They'd thought today a chance to close distance with the 1st Team Leader—now gone.
But the follow-up made eyes widen.
"So, let's do drinks in Jeju instead."
Kang Hyuk smirked.
"Black pork over beef should do."