Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Ambush
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ji-yoon, you're okay now."
Jeong-hyeon's whisper.
Her expression was still furrowed.
In truth, the pain was excruciating.
He had deliberately offered his right arm to lure Ga-ryeong and Han-seok into complacency, but in that instant, it felt like certain death, unable to move a muscle.
- "Next time, I'll take an even more severe injury on purpose."
- "Pardon?"
- "If Han-seok and Ga-ryeong suggest leaving the gate, you don't need to worry about it. But if they say you can't leave, don't be surprised and keep healing me until I say I'm okay. They probably won't stop you from doing that much."
Those were the words he had pleaded with her on the way back to the clearing.
It was practically a gamble, half-blind at that, but he couldn't find any other sure way to make the two drop their guard completely.
Just as he had pretended not to see the goblins when he spotted them, he had no choice but to pretend he was oblivious to their scheme.
Jeong-hyeon had staked his life on his sole E-rank trait, 「Slight Enhancement of Physical Abilities」, bolstering his natural healing, and the pair's carelessness in utterly dismissing him as a worthless hunter.
And the result?
"Uh, what the—! Who are you!"
His arm still screamed with tearing pain every time he moved it, but he retained enough presence of mind to charge at Ga-ryeong.
But no matter how much they were villains, these were professional hunter killers.
Ga-ryeong unleashed several mana bolts in an instant.
Faster and more powerful than the ones she had fired at the goblins.
They had been hiding some of their skill, too.
But Jeong-hyeon had concealed himself far more thoroughly.
'I see them!'
Jeong-hyeon dodged the projectiles by a hair's breadth.
It was the maximum movement he could show right now.
If Ga-ryeong had been at full readiness, it would have been impossible, but this was still a surprise attack.
Closing in on Ga-ryeong faster than she could have imagined, Jeong-hyeon suddenly—
"Ghck!"
—he plunged the mace's iron spike deep into her chest.
No matter that she was a D-rank hunter; with her heart pierced, there was no saving her.
Jeong-hyeon yanked the mace free from Ga-ryeong's convulsing body.
Her tensed muscles resisted, but enduring the pain, he gave it a slight twist, and the spike slid out.
*Thud—*
Then Jeong-hyeon smashed the iron ball into Ga-ryeong's head.
"You..."
Wearing an expression of utter defeat, she crumpled to the ground.
Jeong-hyeon watched her, panting heavily.
Even though his life had been in danger, killing someone with his own hands for the first time was another matter.
The sensation was no different from goblin or zombie, but the emotional impact hit differently.
Ga-ryeong's corpse spewed blood in thick spurts from the hole in her chest.
Ji-yoon, who had been staring blankly in shock at the sight of a person dying right in front of her, suddenly pointed in surprise.
"Huh? Her face changed!"
Perhaps the magic applied to her face lifted with her dying breath.
Ga-ryeong's features reverted to those of some unknown person—her true appearance.
Starkly different from the photo on her hunter license.
Confirming the kill, Jeong-hyeon collapsed onto the ground.
"Hm?"
And then a notification window appeared before him.
[「Faint Combat Sense」(F) proficiency level has increased from 1 → 2.]
A level-up notice he never imagined seeing in a situation like this.
He was glad, of course, but there was no time to savor it leisurely—the situation was too dire.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah? Oh, yeah. Somehow..."
Ji-yoon approached him and applied her healing trait to his arm again.
No matter what he said, that deep wound wouldn't heal easily.
It was fortunate it hadn't reopened during that brief, intense struggle.
"Urgh."
Jeong-hyeon let out a groan.
The physical ability enhancement trait was truly remarkable.
Without his natural healing amplified—even with focused E-rank healing—no amount of it would have let him move like Ga-ryeong had described.
But having dealt with Ga-ryeong didn't mean he could relax.
As soon as the pain subsided a bit, Jeong-hyeon restrained Ji-yoon and said,
"We need to move now."
"Oh, right."
Han-seok was still out there.
Truth be told, Ga-ryeong had been the more favorable matchup for him out of the two.
Once he closed the distance, the odds tilted heavily in his favor.
But Han-seok?
What could he do against a guy swinging that massive axe like it was nothing?
Even with 「Faint Combat Sense」 at level 2, it was still just F-rank.
***
Han-seok was on his way back after finding a pack of goblins nearby.
"Damn, took longer than expected."
It had taken more time than anticipated, but such variables only delayed the fun briefly.
Jeong-hyeon was probably still lying helpless, and Ji-yoon trembling foolishly at his side.
"Kerrrk! Kerrrk!"
Glancing back at the goblins chasing him—all for the sake of killing the humans ahead—Han-seok smirked.
"Just wait a bit; I'll introduce you to some kills."
But when he returned to the clearing, no one was there.
No—precisely, only Ga-ryeong's corpse lay cooling.
"Hee-soo!"
Shocked, Han-seok unwittingly called out Ga-ryeong's real name as he rushed over.
The goblins screeched and tried to interfere as he bent down to check her.
"Kerr—"
"You fucking things!"
It was unclear who his curse was aimed at.
The goblins couldn't block the axe of Han-seok, whose rage boiled over.
He rampaged wildly, cleaving every goblin he had brought back in half.
Only then could he properly examine Ga-ryeong's body.
A hole in her chest, likely the direct cause of death.
And marks on her head from a blunt weapon.
It couldn't have been Ji-yoon.
Recalling the distinctive shape of Jeong-hyeon's mace, Han-seok ground his teeth.
"How the hell!"
It had clearly been impaled by a goblin spear.
Even with an E-rank healer and his delay, it shouldn't have healed that quickly.
That left only one possibility.
"He pulled some trick to fool us."
Jeong-hyeon had turned the tables, deceiving him and Ga-ryeong.
Laying Hee-soo's body back down, Han-seok touched his own face.
He couldn't see it, but the texture felt different.
The face-altering magic had undone itself with Ga-ryeong's death.
Han-seok picked up the axe he had set on the ground.
He hadn't planned to kill them personally at first, but now there was no holding back.
He would kill them with his own axe.
Eyes bloodshot, Han-seok scanned the surroundings.
It wasn't hard to spot two sets of footprints.
Having hunted hunters inside gates before, he was skilled at tracking.
Short strides, irregular.
Somehow managed to kill Hee-soo, but still badly wounded, it seemed.
The footprints headed toward the gate exit.
"Rookies running won't get them far."
Jeong-hyeon's movements had been fairly quick.
Even as a mage, if he took down Ga-ryeong, his true skill must be far superior.
If they had time, they might have hidden the tracks, but failing to do so meant they were fleeing in panic.
Han-seok began pursuing the footprints.
At his speed, catching an injured F-rank scrambling around was no problem.
"You bastards! Stop right there!"
Han-seok's roar echoed through the forest.
So intimidating that any fleeing target would instinctively freeze.
Whether they had exited the gate or not didn't matter.
His use of the axe would expose him anyway.
Even if they escaped, he'd chase them down and kill them.
***
"Stop right there!"
Han-seok's furious shout echoed from behind.
It was quite a distance, but loud enough for Ji-yoon to hear clearly.
"What do we do?"
Ji-yoon's face was one of despair.
She knew Han-seok was the tougher opponent, even after killing Ga-ryeong.
Luring him into complacency like before would be nearly impossible.
"Just a moment."
Jeong-hyeon bit his lower lip and sank into thought.
Even with one trait leveled up amid his injuries, the gap in power between him and Han-seok hadn't narrowed—if anything, it had widened.
The exit wasn't far, but Han-seok would surely catch them before they reached it, and even if they escaped, he might go berserk outside.
With his crimes exposed, there was no reason not to.
In the end, it had to be settled inside the gate.
Jeong-hyeon summoned the trait shop.
Three coins from the earlier hunt.
The only thing Han-seok couldn't even dream of—something with potential for dramatic change—was his EX-rank trait, the trait shop.
He had no choice but to upgrade one of his current traits.
And if he could get another copy of 「Faint Combat Sense」, which he already had two of at level 2...
'Please, please!'
Jeong-hyeon prayed fervently in his mind thousands of times as he refreshed the list.
With things this dire, he couldn't skimp on coins.
[The list has been refreshed.]
And as always, the trait list updated indifferently.
Jeong-hyeon, scanning it frantically, let out a sigh of relief.
「Faint Combat Sense」
The one card with any chance glowed brightly, signaling synthesis was possible.
For it to appear on the first refresh was beyond fortunate.
"Ji-yoon. Sorry, but let's try one more time."
"Pardon?"
A flicker of hope crossed Ji-yoon's face.
In this desperate moment, if Jeong-hyeon said that, it meant he had found some foothold.
A way to pull them from the villains' grasp.
But after hearing his explanation, Ji-yoon's jaw dropped.
***
Still a good distance from the exit.
With his face restored to normal, Han-seok smirked triumphantly at Ji-yoon, who had frozen in terror upon being caught.
"You could've stopped here, but you ran—"
But his smug words were short-lived.
Han-seok glanced around, with Ji-yoon right in front of him.
"Where's that bastard?"
Jeong-hyeon was nowhere to be seen.
Ji-yoon didn't matter.
He could kill her easily anyway.
But Jeong-hyeon was crucial.
The guy who had landed a one-shot kill on Ga-ryeong—Hee-soo.
First, he needed to locate him.
But Ji-yoon shook her head, trembling.
"I-I don't know."
"That supposed to make sense? You ran together."
Han-seok advanced on her step by step, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Unable to bear it, Ji-yoon screamed unusually shrilly.
"I don't know! He was hurt bad, couldn't even move properly. So I ditched him halfway!"
"Is that so?"
Han-seok pondered briefly.
Could the timid Ji-yoon have done that? But people change when their life is on the line.
How many times had he watched and enjoyed such transformations?
Meanwhile, watching Han-seok hesitate, Ji-yoon shouted desperately.
"I-I won't say anything outside! I'll call it an accident! Please spare me! Please!"
"What?"
Han-seok scoffed as if it were absurd.
If Ga-ryeong were alive, maybe.
But with face alteration no longer possible, how could he let Ji-yoon live?
Han-seok raised his axe high toward Ji-yoon, who trembled leaning against a tree.
It'd be a hassle, but circling back to check tracks would easily reveal a severely wounded guy.
He must have missed it in his excitement coming.
"Eek!"
Ji-yoon raised her arms over her head and screamed.
Futile.
Those frail arms would be shredded effortlessly by the axe.
Han-seok inhaled to swing down.
And in that brief moment, a black silhouette dropped silently behind him.
*Crunch—*
The grotesque sound of metal clashing with skull.
Behind Han-seok stood Jeong-hyeon, breathing raggedly.