Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Monsters with Traits
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Chapter 186
Battles erupt as a matter of course inside gates.
Hunters unleash their strongest weapons toward monsters, and monsters do the same toward hunters.
But have you ever imagined monsters fighting other monsters?
Of course, the interior of a gate formed its own ecosystem, complete with predator-prey food chains. Still, it was hard to picture fierce battles breaking out between members of the same species.
And yet, that very scene was unfolding right before Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin's eyes.
"What... what the hell is that?"
"Oh my god..."
The two stood in stunned silence, barely able to exchange words.
Just as they had guessed from the sounds, two packs of centaurs were locked in a fierce melee, tangled together.
But they weren't shocked merely by the sight of them fighting.
"Kieeeh!"
The battle was already a chaotic brawl, with each side deep in the other's formation. Even at a glance, one side vastly outnumbered the other.
'About 50%? No, if that's how it looks from here, they probably outnumber them by double.'
From Jeong-hyeon's rough estimate, it seemed like around 50 versus just over 90.
That alone made it a massive clash, rare to witness. The real issue, though, was that the smaller group was overwhelmingly dominating the larger one.
And the reason wasn't hard to spot.
Ye-rin fixed her gaze on the one standout anomaly amid the chaotic battlefield and asked.
Fwoosh—
"That one... is it using magic right now?"
"If my eyes aren't deceiving me."
One centaur from the smaller group hung back safely from the melee, positioned at the rear.
To their astonishment, it was casting rudimentary fire magic.
Fire Bolt at best, or maybe Fire Strike—crude spells compared to high-grade fire magic. But in this situation, magic created an asymmetrical advantage that couldn't be ignored.
"And the smaller group's movements... they're on another level."
This time, it was Jeong-hyeon's observation.
Ye-rin nodded in agreement.
Magic alone couldn't overcome such a lopsided numerical disadvantage.
What made it possible was the vast skill gap among the individuals.
To an ordinary person, it might look like a simple difference in prowess. But any hunter would see it at once.
This was the result of traits.
"They're using axes and swords instead of spears—it has to be traits. Their movements are completely different too."
Centaurs, true to their nature as cavalry, typically wielded bows and spears.
The larger group was indeed employing those standard weapons effectively.
The smaller group, however, used not just spears and bows but a variety of arms.
Never mind where they got such weapons; the skill in wielding them was top-tier.
Centaurs didn't train under instructors to raise soldiers, so those movements could only be attributed to traits.
Not just weapon mastery traits, either—some unleashed superhuman strength, others darted across the battlefield with blinding speed.
"This... this is a disaster."
Ye-rin murmured softly.
She was right.
What had allowed frail humans to stand against monsters thus far?
Traits granted by the system.
If not one monster, but an entire group possessed traits, "disaster" was the only word for it.
Even Jeong-hyeon, who had encountered trait-bearing monsters occasionally while clearing absurdly difficult mission gates, found this bewildering.
'Regular monsters with traits? What the hell...'
First, these weren't boss monsters—they were common gate mobs.
Bosses were unique enough, with reports of variants now and then, so traits or similar abilities weren't entirely implausible.
But traits in regular monsters? That was a whole different story.
What if goblins had Throwing Skill or Stealth?
What if orcs had Axe Mastery, Strength Enhancement, or Toughness?
Monsters already tough for their level would become nightmarish with favorable traits.
'And this is a standard gate!'
Second, this was a standard gate, not a mission gate.
Mission gates could be handled by veteran teams handpicked by guilds. Standard gates were open to the public.
Dreadful scenarios flashed through both their minds simultaneously because of that.
'What if this is happening across all gates at once?'
As if on cue, they exchanged a glance and bolted quietly but swiftly back to the party.
"What the hell hap—"
"We'll explain outside! Full speed out of the gate, now!"
"Huh?"
Young-hoon, waiting for their return, tried to ask what was going on, but Ye-rin cut him off and urged the party onward.
She rarely acted this urgently outside of emergency call-outs, leaving Young-hoon puzzled.
The others felt the same, turning to Jeong-hyeon just as—
"Move, move! Hurry!"
Even Jeong-hyeon was just as frantic—if not more—driving the group.
With the party's core members in such a state, the four hurried out of the gate without fully grasping the situation.
"What's going on?"
As they sprinted toward the gate's exit, Ji-hee asked Jeong-hyeon.
He glanced back repeatedly alongside Ye-rin, hesitated, then answered.
"...Monsters with traits have appeared."
"Huh?"
Jeong-hyeon hadn't expected her to get it right away, and sure enough, Ji-hee looked baffled.
Who would believe it easily?
It was easier to doubt one's own ears than accept it outright.
But Jeong-hyeon offered no further explanation.
Soon, horror washed over Ji-hee's face.
***
Go Min-seok, the Director of the Investigation Bureau, was buried in his usual murderous workload.
Then his phone rang unexpectedly.
"Who now..."
Calls during work hours weren't unusual for an Association executive, but the caller ID gave him pause.
- Cha Ye-rin, Division Chief
It was Ye-rin, who had taken the day off.
"Hello?"
"Director, this is Division 3 Chief."
"Yes, Chief. Aren't you on leave today? What's up?"
"Emergency situation. Requesting immediate deployment of all available S-Rank hunters to 'Centaur Plains'."
"What?"
Min-seok's voice dripped with disbelief at Ye-rin's out-of-left-field request.
She'd said she was hunting with two S-Ranks on her day off—had she lost touch with reality?
"Has a crime occurred?"
He pressed, still thinking it absurd.
The party consisted entirely of vetted Association members or Jeong-hyeon, who was friendly to them.
Requesting S-Rank support implied a threat on that level.
Only one forbidden possibility came to mind.
'No way—Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon?'
Jeong-hyeon had caught the Bureau's eye after nabbing the duo villains, skyrocketing to S-Rank recognition.
Then his feats transcended the extraordinary.
Cleared a Level 5 gate, dove straight into mission gates, now tackling one a week.
No other S-Rank matched that pace.
If such a hunter turned villain...?
- That's not it.
Ye-rin's reply let Min-seok breathe easy.
If Jeong-hyeon had snapped, she wouldn't be calling now.
But her explanation forced Min-seok to admit he'd been dead wrong.
Jeong-hyeon turning villain would have been more believable.
- Centaurs with traits have appeared in large numbers. Heading back to the Association immediately.
"What?"
Min-seok echoed his earlier shock, but at much greater volume.
The line went dead.
"Am I dreaming?"
Or had Ye-rin, uncharacteristically, pranked him?
Both implausible—meaning her report was real.
"This is insane!"
Min-seok slammed his phone down and snatched the intercom.
***
"What do we do now?"
En route to the Association per Ye-rin's orders.
Jeong-hyeon asked her, riding shotgun in Won-ho's car.
She seemed normal at a glance, but her slightly accelerated speech betrayed her tension.
"First, we head straight to Gate Management."
"What about the gate?"
"An S-Rank team will scour the area. It'll be sealed off."
"And us...?"
"Spreading the word is priority now."
Jeong-hyeon nodded, fully grasping her intent, and fell silent.
Silence filled the car.
Won-ho's trailing vehicle was likely the same.
"Monsters using traits? What the...?"
Won-ho, at the wheel, broke the quiet with a mutter.
Even during their brief stop, he'd fidgeted restlessly—clearly rattled.
"Did you gauge their trait ranks at all?"
Jeong-hyeon pondered before answering the follow-up.
The magic was low-level, but that might be due to the monster's ignorance of proper casting.
Physical traits were trickier; monsters' base specs dwarfed humans', making assessment hazy.
"The ranks themselves are low. Generously, D-grade at best."
"How can you tell?"
"That's my job."
Ye-rin replied calmly to Jeong-hyeon's surprised question.
Villains ranged from low-rank, low-level to high-rank, high-level.
Facing them had familiarized her with traits by grade.
Meanwhile, Won-ho glanced at the back seat via the rearview.
"So, that's a relief, at least?"
"We can call it that... but we'll need more investigation."
What they'd seen was manageable, but if this plagued other gates beyond Centaur Plains, it was uncertain.
'In the worst case, we might barely manage brakes.'
A grim but plausible outlook.
No more casual party bookings or free hunter groups.
Stricter criteria, tighter personnel limits.
Finite hunters, rising demands per raid?
No more leisurely brake management.
"We're here."
Amid the grim forecasts, they'd arrived at Association grounds.
Surface-level seemed normal, but the basement—housing key departments—was abuzz.
People rushed about; on sublevel 6, Gate Management, a massive familiar figure awaited.
Investigation Bureau Director Go Min-seok.
He eyed Ye-rin beside Jeong-hyeon gravely.
"I've actioned your request, but if this is a false report, prepare for consequences."
An uncharacteristic threat from Min-seok, but the stakes made it fitting.
Ye-rin met his intimidating aura unflinchingly.
"I'll stake my hunter license on it."