Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Human Hunter (2)
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“What the hell are these guys!”
“Get out of the way!”
The enemies attacked Kang Hyun-soo’s summons.
Crack! Thud!
The summons were no match for the enemies.
Even rotten, they were chub mackerel—the enemies were in the mid-to-late 100s for levels.
There was no way summons based on mere level 40-50 monsters could hold out.
But.
‘I can buy plenty of time with them.’
Kang Hyun-soo smirked as he picked off the enemies one by one, their ankles caught by the summons.
A moment later.
He managed to take down all the enemies except for one he’d captured alive.
“You guys human hunters?”
Kang Hyun-soo asked the captured enemy.
“No! We were just passing by…”
Stab!
Kang Hyun-soo’s sword pierced the man’s hand.
“Aaagh!”
A wretched scream burst from the man’s mouth.
“No lies. Answer honestly. You human hunters?”
“Yeah!”
“Any more comrades?”
“No, we’re all there is.”
“Know anything about your business partners?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s question, the man’s eyes flickered.
“You do know.”
A bright smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
* * *
Stab!
Having extracted all the info, Kang Hyun-soo ended the human hunter’s life.
The suffering human hunter met death with a relieved expression.
‘Got quite a haul.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s lips curved happily.
At first, the sudden enemies had him on edge.
But their levels turned out lower than expected.
‘Turned my anger into fortune.’
The human hunters had given Kang Hyun-soo many gifts.
First, a massive amount of experience.
Second, D-Rank and C-Rank skill books.
Third, items to feed Devouring Sword.
Fourth was.
“Squad Composition.”
The human hunters themselves, mid-to-late level 100s.
Shaaa!
Ten summons made of mana were born.
At the same time.
[One stack has been consumed.]
[Stats have been permanently consumed.]
[You have composed a new squad.]
[The existing squad has been disbanded.]
[Squad Composition has grown from E-Rank to D-Rank.]
Squad Composition reached D-Rank.
‘As expected, low ranks level up fast.’
Kang Hyun-soo tossed the newly acquired items to Devouring Sword as fodder.
[Devouring Sword has grown from D-Rank to C-Rank.]
‘Won’t be easy from here.’
Growth gets tough from C-Rank on.
‘Keep feeding it, and it’ll grow.’
There were ways to raise skill ranks and grow Devouring Sword.
The one thing nagging at him was.
‘How the hell do I grow Guardian Ring?’
Kang Hyun-soo had been using Guardian Ring steadily to level it up.
But it remained stubbornly F-Rank.
‘I’ll figure it out someday.’
Kang Hyun-soo checked the fifth and final reward.
‘This one’s the real prize.’
The previous gifts were nice.
But the fifth gift’s value was unmatched.
An achievement.
[You have achieved something remarkable.]
[Title: Slayer of Players 100+ Levels Higher (F-Rank) has been granted.]
[You have achieved something remarkable.]
[Title: Guardian of the Beginner Hunting Grounds (C-Rank) has been granted.]
Two achievements, no less.
‘Thought achievements would be tough outside tutorial.’
Sure, earning achievements in tutorial wasn’t easy either.
But compared to Atlantis dimension’s difficulty?
They handed them out like candy.
‘An unexpected gift.’
Kang Hyun-soo knew plenty of ways to snag high-rank achievements in Atlantis dimension.
But none involved getting ‘Slayer of Players 100+ Levels Higher’ or ‘Guardian of the Beginner Hunting Grounds.’
‘Feels like a bonus.’
And it didn’t seem like a one-off.
‘Gave an F-Rank title for 100+ level gap players, so higher gaps mean more.’
He could get bonuses for beating players 200, 300 levels higher.
That wasn’t all.
‘If players work, monsters probably do too.’
Beating a player 100+ levels higher was generally impossible.
Hence the achievement.
‘But beating a monster 100+ levels higher is just as impossible.’
Hunting such monsters would likely yield achievements.
‘Plus, Guardian of the Beginner Hunting Grounds.’
Similar to tutorial’s guardian achievement.
‘This might go up to EX-Rank too.’
No, with tutorial guardian upgraded, this one surely would too.
“Hyun-soo, get an achievement?”
“Yeah, Slayer of Players 100+ Levels Higher and Guardian of the Beginner Hunting Grounds.”
“Thinking of raising Guardian of the Beginner Hunting Grounds higher. What do you say?”
“I’m all for it. We get stronger, and we protect the players in beginner grounds.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na shifted from monster hunting to human hunter hunting.
* * *
“Today’s pretty lucrative.”
“Yeah. Hunting clueless newbies is the easiest.”
The human hunters smiled in satisfaction at the low-level players they’d captured.
Business had been slow lately.
But with new grads flooding out of training camps, profits soared.
“If we didn’t have to pay those guys, profits would be even better.”
“Yeah. Those pretentious bastards love money more than anyone.”
“But we gotta endure. No payoffs, and they’ll come for our heads.”
As the human hunters vented about tribute.
The captured low-level players sank into deep despair.
They hadn’t gotten good skills.
No good gear either.
No combat sense, no standout talent.
But they’d pushed nonstop to get stronger.
And their reward? Slavery?
‘Should’ve never left the city.’
Then they wouldn’t be in this miserable state.
“Time to head back.”
At the leader’s word, the human hunters dragged their low-level captives and started moving.
‘Gotta escape somehow.’
‘Can’t end up a slave.’
The captives eyed chances to flee.
But these were folks who’d lost even armed.
Bound hand and foot, mouths and eyes gagged—escape was impossible.
‘Damn, slave life ahead?’
‘My life’s over.’
As despair thickened in the low-level players’ eyes.
Roar!
Boom!
“Aaagh!”
“Ambush!”
Red flames brought a golden lifeline of salvation.
Slash! Slash!
Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na ruthlessly cut down the enemies.
The human hunters had been too careless.
Never imagined anyone in low-level grounds would attack them.
Carelessness hurt bad.
Five down the instant combat started.
“Kill them!”
“How dare they touch us!”
The remaining nine, furious, charged at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na.
‘Stronger than the last bunch.’
These were early-to-mid 200s in strength.
But Kang Hyun-soo was stronger too.
Plus, he now had summons worth using in real fights.
“Squad Summon.”
Most summons were from low-level monsters.
But these ten were different.
Human hunters like them, mid-to-late 100s strong.
Boom! Boom!
A fierce battle erupted.
Low-level monster summons vanished first.
Even the ten human hunter summons were pushed back hard.
“These guys are nothing!”
“Push!”
Human hunter morale soared.
“Squad Composition.”
Then Kang Hyun-soo used his class skill.
That instant.
Shaaa!
The five human hunters just killed revived as Kang Hyun-soo’s summons.
“What the fuck!”
“What kind of skill is that?”
Human hunter morale plummeted.
Dead comrades revived to attack them—terrifying.
‘And damn strong too.’
The new squad members, high-level as they were, packed serious punch.
With them joining, human hunters were cornered fast.
Stab!
Kang Hyun-soo’s sword plunged into a human hunter’s heart.
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
……(omitted)……
A whopping 11 levels gained.
At the same time.
[You have achieved something remarkable.]
[Title: Slayer of Players 200+ Levels Higher (E-Rank) has been granted.]
A new title acquired.
‘Not upgrading the title—duplicates instead.’
Beat even higher-level players to stack titles?
He could grab every rank from F to EX.
Stab! Slash!
Under Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na’s onslaught, enemy numbers dwindled fast.
‘Squad Composition.’
Kang Hyun-soo used Squad Composition again.
His class Lone Platoon had grown to Lone Squad, stacks from two to four—plenty left.
Shaaa!
Kang Hyun-soo’s mana flowed in, reviving dead enemies as summons.
“Eek!”
“How is this possible!”
Human hunters panicked.
Ambushed into a bad start.
At first, they’d had the edge.
But dead allies turning enemy flipped the script.
“I wanna live!”
“You bastard, where you going!”
Deserters appeared.
That sparked it.
“Damn it!”
“You bail too, what then!”
“Then you wanna die here?”
More deserters.
Infighting broke out among human hunters.
‘Criminals got no loyalty or trust.’
Swallow allies whole, spit ’em when done—that’s criminal thinking.
“Ha-na, those guys!”
“Got it, I’ll handle them!”
Song Ha-na broke off to chase fleeing enemies.
“Aaagh!”
“Stay back, you bitch!”
Fugitives fell one by one to Song Ha-na’s sword and magic.
‘Perfect.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s eyes gleamed with ecstasy.
‘Getting Song Ha-na was my tutorial jackpot.’
Alone?
Would he have ambushed a big, high-level human hunter group for achievements?
‘Too risky, probably skipped it.’
Wait for them to scatter, or hunt smaller fry.
But with Song Ha-na, everything changed.
‘Achievements are per person anyway.’
She wouldn’t steal his.
Both got theirs.
Mutual aid.
Together, they racked up achievements fast, growing stronger.
Most crucial?
‘She trusts me completely.’
Opening her status window for him.
Yielding tutorial boss to him.
Following his order to hide strength, forgoing easy riches in kingdom army or big guilds.
To Kang Hyun-soo, Song Ha-na was…
The ultimate partner, unmatched by any.