Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Became the Last of the Giant Clan 6
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The bustling morning commute.
In the subway car as suffocating as the evening rush hour, Kang Hyuk stared at the mask clutched in his hand.
Steel Beak Goblin's Mask
Grade: Magic
The mask worn by the Steel Goblin chieftain. The moment you don it, all goblins feel an instinctive fear.
The message visible only to Awakeners confirmed that the mask in his hand was no ordinary item.
Kang Hyuk's eyes gleamed as he muttered to himself.
'An artifact... and a pretty solid one at that.'
Though it was the lowest-ranked Magic grade, this item induced fear akin to crowd control effects on all goblins, earning high praise among low-rank Hunters.
Its average market price hovered around 50 million won.
For an F-rank Hunter, that was an astonishing haul.
But compared to the gains from last night, this mask was trivial.
Power of the Last Giant Clan activates.
Partial Giantization activates!
Giantization Assimilation Rate: 0.2%
Duration: 10 seconds
As the new ability triggered, the sleeve of his suit jacket around his right arm swelled visibly.
The change was unmistakable to anyone watching, and Kang Hyuk's lips curved into a grin.
'Power of the Last Giant Clan... A new ability gained alongside the name change.'
He then channeled another of the Giant's powers into his transformed arm.
Power of the Last Giant Clan activates.
You acquire Giant's Fist.
Power of the Last Giant Clan: 2%
In that instant, an indescribable, overwhelming power settled into his right arm.
Kang Hyuk clicked his tongue in awe.
'Even seeing it again, it's hard to believe.'
At first glance, it was just 2%.
But considering the destructive might of the Giant's power, it was no number to dismiss.
It had taken him three years to master even this 2%.
And after those three years, the Hunter rank he'd achieved was D-grade.
D-grade Hunters were premium talent that any guild would eagerly recruit.
Yet here he was, accomplishing in a single day of awakening what had once taken three years.
'To reach in one go a milestone that should've taken three years... But the real surprise is that this power's potential still seems limitless.'
The Giant's power grew by absorbing monster soulstones, enhancing physical abilities to unleash even greater destruction.
This new ability showed similar promise in its displayed metrics.
'Unlike the original Giant's power, it has a structure that increases duration and assimilation rate... If the growth pattern matches, it could double—no, exceed—my previous progress.'
He swallowed dryly.
If his hunch was right, he'd surpass the heights he'd once reached, and far faster, soaring even higher.
'Even those past heights were called the pinnacle. If I surpass them...'
He couldn't even fathom where his journey might end.
Excitement and anticipation had kept him up all night.
'...But not everything I gained was good.'
As he muttered, Kang Hyuk tamped down his elation.
He recalled the bizarre phenomenon from the previous day.
'What the hell was that? That voice?'
A voice had suddenly echoed in his mind.
No warning, no prelude—just a sudden bellow rattling his skull.
But since leaving the scene, it hadn't returned, as if it had all been a dream.
Kang Hyuk had pondered possibilities all night.
Perhaps it was part of the changed ability from awakening as the Last Giant Clan, not just the original Giant's power.
One facet of that new power manifesting as a voice.
'The problem is it hasn't spoken again. If it's an ability, it should respond to my will.'
As he delved back into his overnight dilemma—
"Kang Hyuk!"
A familiar voice called out.
He turned to see his mentor, Lee Yeon-hee, waving with a bright smile.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning."
He set aside his thoughts for the moment and exchanged greetings.
Their conversation naturally turned to the incident from a few days prior.
"Ugh... that USB case, right? Because of it, I got sent on this business trip!"
"A business trip? At a time like this?"
"Right? It's ridiculous! Statistically, gates pop up way more in summer than winter, so we're already swamped with work!"
Kang Hyuk nodded along with her complaints and asked,
"So what's the reason for the trip? Escorting Hunters, maybe?"
"Probably. F- to E-rank gates opened simultaneously around Haeundae and Gwangalli in Busan, and the monsters that came out seem to have fled into the nearby mountains."
"Fled to the mountains... That's pretty dangerous."
"It is. Honestly, post-gate cleanup is more critical than the initial break, but with so many at once, they were underprepared."
As Kang Hyuk nodded at her explanation—
'Busan?'
A memory flashed through his mind, widening his eyes.
"And now more gates are popping up unexpectedly, so they're short on manpower to hunt down those hidden monsters."
Right after gaining the Giant's power and becoming a Hunter.
His very first mission.
"Normally, they'd call in a nearby guild for the sweep... But who wants to take on a job that doesn't pay? So they requested help from our Hunter Management Office..."
That mission had been a mop-up operation for those very monsters in Busan.
'In that mission, I...'
Was on the same team.
And got backstabbed by the 2nd Team Leader from Gangnam District Office Station.
A brutal blow to the back of the head.
Right after becoming a Hunter, he'd naturally been reassigned to the Gangnam District Office Station's Hunter team.
That's when he'd been placed under a man named Lee Yong, the 2nd Team Leader of the Gate Response Team.
Even charitably, he wasn't a good senior or boss.
An E-rank Hunter—as team leader, that was dismally low—and he was a seething mass of inferiority and resentment.
'A half-baked guy who couldn't get scouted by a major guild. Stuck as a national Hunter, taking out his rage on his team. Trash.'
Talented Hunters didn't stay national affiliates.
They jumped to guilds with better pay and perks.
By that metric, Lee Yong was third-rate, and his personality matched.
Of course, back then, Kang Hyuk hadn't known any of this. He'd blindly obeyed his "esteemed senior."
'And got smacked in the back of the head for it. A massive one.'
In the past, during the Busan dungeon sweep.
A massive winged beast that had escaped a gate—a Big Butter Fly—had nested in Bongrae Mountain, building a horde.
Not an elite boss, and the horde wasn't huge, but given the Big Butter Fly's abilities, it was a tough nut for Lee Yong's Gate Response Team.
'Ha, what do we do? We found it, so let's clear it.'
But blinded by the Big Butter Fly's soulstone, Lee Yong forced the assault.
Luckily, no major incidents at the outskirts.
But the moment they reached the heart of the colony, everything flipped.
'B-Big Butter Fly?'
A colossal butterfly-shaped monster.
The superior form of Butter Fly flapped its wings.
D-rank by monster grading.
An E-rank Hunter would have to risk death to hunt it solo. Lee Yong freaked and bolted,
Sacrificing his ensnared teammate and Kang Hyuk as bait.
'T-Team Leader, s-save us!'
'Fuck off! I don't know nothing!'
Everyone was stunned, hurling curses.
They'd broken protocol on the 2nd Team Leader's whim to enter, only for him to abandon them at the critical moment.
'Aaaargh!'
Meanwhile, the Big Butter Fly closed in to devour the trapped 2nd Team members and Kang Hyuk.
Kang Hyuk trembled in terror at his first brush with death.
Yet he desperately clung to survival.
He'd started this Hunter life full of dreams—no way was it ending like this.
Bzzz!
To live, he unleashed the Giant's power.
Back then, beyond what his body could handle—3% power into his right arm.
'Aaaargh!'
Forgetting the agony piercing his body amid death's terror, he swung his fist.
In that moment.
Absorbing Big Butter Fly's soulstone!
Physical abilities slightly increase!
Incredibly, he'd managed to hunt the Big Butter Fly.
'What!?'
The team members' shocked faces and cries.
They gaped at Kang Hyuk with expressions as stunned as when Lee Yong betrayed them.
'N-Newbie!'
But Kang Hyuk couldn't afford to care.
The price of overexerting the Giant's power had come due.
'...!'
His right arm's bones shattered to pieces, leg joints snapped in two.
Instant death for a normal human.
Even for a Hunter, a fatal injury.
After that first mission ended, he was hospitalized and spent six months in rehab.
But even after healing, he couldn't return to the field easily.
Trauma from that day had set in.
And then, unbelievable news hit.
'That bastard Lee Yong retired with a Rare item from the Big Butter Fly.'
'The item had self-regeneration, they say.'
'Auctioned it for five times the average Rare price.'
The coward team leader had snatched the reward from the Big Butter Fly Kang Hyuk had risked his life for, cashing in big.
The betrayal and emptiness gnawed at him for a long time.
'Even after becoming Association President, that memory haunted me now and then.'
But now.
A chance to flip the script on that traumatic event had arrived.
Kang Hyuk's lips curled as he muttered,
'Unexpected luck... striking again.'
He'd gained an amazing ability, but his current state was still unstable in many ways.
Considering that, the Rare item from the Big Butter Fly would be a huge boost.
'Even low-rank Hunters can skyrocket with good artifacts. Not a bad deal.'
Plus, the Big Butter Fly's soulstone would be a massive help in his current state.
Not having registered as an Awakener yet.
Absorbing that soulstone might outvalue the artifact.
'...In conclusion, it's a solid opportunity. Worth moving for.'
With that thought, Kang Hyuk looked up.
'I know the dungeon's location and what's coming. No reason not to act.'
He glanced at Lee Yeon-hee, who was still rambling on.
"So after thinking it over, the Old-timer Chief—er, Section Chief Kim Shin-nam—is sending me down because of that day..."
"Mentor Lee Yeon-hee."
"Yes?"
"Has anyone been assigned to go with you on that Busan trip? Don't they usually send pairs? Especially with Hunter escorts."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Lee Yeon-hee stammered,
"W-Well... Not yet. Section Chief Kim Shin-nam just told me to find someone and head down."
Kang Hyuk smoothly proposed,
"Then how about I go with you on that Busan trip?"
Her eyes widened.
"With you, Kang Hyuk...?"