Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: One-Person Squad
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Whoosh!
[You have changed jobs to One-Person Squad.]
[Your stats have increased.]
[One-Person Squad-exclusive job skills have been added to your skill window.]
[You have achieved an amazing feat.]
[Title: A-Rank Job Change in the Second Tutorial has been granted.]
‘Good.’
He acquired yet another title alongside the job change.
Kang Hyun-soo immediately checked the job skill information.
Job-exclusive skills: [Squad Leader – F-Rank] [Squad Formation – F-Rank] [Squad Summon – F-Rank] [Squad Recall – F-Rank]
[Squad Leader – F-Rank]
-Passive skill
-The job rank and skill rank are fixed to be identical.
-All stats increase by 1%.
[Squad Formation – F-Rank]
-Active skill
-Consumes mana and one stack to form a squad.
-Current stacks: 2
-Stacks recharge one every 24 hours.
[Squad Summon – F-Rank]
-Active skill
-The job rank and skill rank are fixed to be identical.
-Summons the squad.
[Squad Recall – F-Rank]
-Active skill
-The job rank and skill rank are fixed to be identical.
-Recalls the squad.
‘As expected of a hidden job.’
Even though it was merely an F-Rank job, its efficiency was incredibly high.
‘Now, let’s get back to hunting.’
Kang Hyun-soo resumed monster hunting.
But soon, he hit a limit.
[You have achieved an amazing feat.]
[Title: SSS-Rank Reached the Limit of the Second Tutorial has been granted.]
He reached level 15 and snagged another achievement.
After that.
‘Experience isn’t coming in at all.’
Was it because he had grown in a manner befitting the title Reached the Limit of the Second Tutorial?
Hunting low-level monsters like Blood Wolves that appeared in the Second Tutorial no longer yielded any experience.
Items that had occasionally dropped before stopped appearing entirely.
In truth, there was no need to be disappointed.
It was a phenomenon he had already experienced in the First Tutorial.
‘During the remaining time, I have to get my hands on the Sword of Gluttony no matter what.’
The anecdote about Sword God Lee Kwang-ho acquiring his beloved sword, the Sword of Gluttony, during the Second Tutorial was quite famous.
‘It dropped when he took down the Blood Wolf Lord.’
The Blood Wolf Lord was a monster that automatically revealed itself after slaughtering Blood Wolves like this.
‘I should’ve gone after it sooner. Why is it so quiet?’
He had massacred so many Blood Wolves that he even earned the title Blood Wolf Slayer.
Yet the Blood Wolf Lord hadn’t shown so much as a glimpse.
“Let’s head back.”
The day was gradually darkening.
It was time to return.
“Yes, that sounds best.”
Song Ha-na nodded in agreement to Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“You’re really strong.”
Song Ha-na murmured while looking at Kang Hyun-soo, a hint of envy in her voice.
“If you just level up, Ha-na, you can get plenty strong too.”
“Level up?”
“Have you ever killed a monster in the First Tutorial?”
Song Ha-na shook her head at Kang Hyun-soo’s question.
“No. I just climbed a tree, aimed my crossbow, and stayed there. I didn’t even shoot because I was afraid of wasting arrows.”
“I hunted quite a few monsters during the First Tutorial. That’s how I leveled up. And I got stronger.”
“You must be even stronger now. You’ve taken down hundreds of them, at least.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Hearing Kang Hyun-soo’s response, Song Ha-na gripped her crossbow tightly.
There was no way she had ever used a crossbow in modern times.
Naturally, her accuracy was low, and her reload speed was slow.
Unless she aimed for a vital spot in one shot, hunting solo without help was impossible.
But she had even less confidence in handling close-combat weapons like swords, spears, or axes.
That’s why she chose the ranged weapon, the crossbow.
‘Was my choice wrong?’
The thought suddenly crossed her mind.
But it was too late to switch weapons now.
“Want to borrow this?”
At that moment, Kang Hyun-soo held out a sword to Song Ha-na.
It was Oh Sung-hyuk’s sword.
“Yes.”
Song Ha-na answered quickly.
She planned to shoot her crossbow from range and try melee if a monster got close.
Of course, that was only possible if Kang Hyun-soo gave her the chance.
So far, he had decapitated monsters the moment they appeared.
Because of that, Song Ha-na hadn’t even had a chance to hunt any.
“On the way back, I won’t hunt any monsters.”
A faint smile bloomed on Song Ha-na’s lips at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“Thank you for the consideration.”
Song Ha-na bowed her head in gratitude.
‘I have to do well. This is a chance he’s giving me, even putting off his own growth.’
Song Ha-na couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity.
Kang Hyun-soo scratched the back of his head as he watched her determined expression.
‘It’s not really consideration.’
He wasn’t yielding his own chance to grow for her sake.
Kang Hyun-soo had already reached the max level possible from monsters in the Second Tutorial.
When the Blood Wolf Leader still didn’t appear, he gave her the chance just to test something.
‘Well, if she thinks that, it works in my favor.’
Kang Hyun-soo intended to turn Song Ha-na into one of his own.
He had no intention of correcting her misunderstanding.
Besides, he wouldn’t withhold help entirely.
‘I can’t let her die pointlessly in the tutorial.’
Beyond the achievements, considering her growth potential, he had to keep her alive and bring her along.
Decisively, if Song Ha-na turned out to be the Slaughter Emperor?
Kang Hyun-soo would have landed the biggest catch in the tutorial.
“For now, I’ll teach you how to hold a sword.”
Kang Hyun-soo briefly taught Song Ha-na basic grips, thrusts, and slashes.
After the simple lesson, the two set off again.
Kyaaang!
They hadn’t gone far when a Blood Wolf charged at Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na.
Kang Hyun-soo stepped back.
Swish!
Song Ha-na fired her crossbow.
Thud!
The arrow from the crossbow struck the Blood Wolf’s front leg.
‘It’s not a critical hit.’
It only slowed its movements slightly.
Kyaaak!
The Blood Wolf attacked Song Ha-na.
Instead of reloading her crossbow, Song Ha-na swung her sword.
Stab!
Her sword lodged into the Blood Wolf’s body.
But lacking strength, it didn’t penetrate deeply.
The Blood Wolf bit into Song Ha-na’s leg.
“Urk!”
Suppressing a scream, Song Ha-na brought her sword down.
Stab!
Her sword pierced the Blood Wolf’s throat.
“Die! Die!”
Song Ha-na repeatedly struck down with her sword.
Moments later, the Blood Wolf stopped breathing.
“Haa! Haa!”
Song Ha-na panted heavily.
The crushing pain in her leg was one thing, but the shock of ending a life with her own hands hit her hard.
It was different from hunting Blood Wolves with her crossbow.
The sensation of her sword piercing flesh transmitted vividly through her hand.
Each thrust sprayed hot blood onto her face and body, imprinting the reality of taking a life.
“Did I do well?”
Song Ha-na asked Kang Hyun-soo.
“Yes, you did great.”
“Phew!”
Only then did Song Ha-na exhale in relief.
‘Beyond expectations.’
Kang Hyun-soo smiled in satisfaction.
His praise just now was sincere, not empty words.
Song Ha-na hadn’t panicked even after being attacked by a monster.
She had thrust her sword into a living being for the first time and ended its life, yet she didn’t seem mentally shaken.
Proof of her strong mentality.
“Is your leg okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Can you show me the bite wound?”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s request, Song Ha-na removed her leather boot.
Her calf emerged from inside.
The spot where the Blood Wolf had bitten was red.
“Hold on.”
Kang Hyun-soo examined her calf bone and muscles.
“The bone and muscles are fine. Probably thanks to the leather armor.”
Without it, her calf would be a bloody mess.
“Let’s go.”
Song Ha-na nodded and stepped forward at Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
On the way back, she engaged in fierce battles.
Even though Kang Hyun-soo had already cleared the area once, monsters kept coming relentlessly.
Kang Hyun-soo only intervened when her life seemed in danger or she was about to take a fatal injury.
As a result.
By the time they reached their destination, Song Ha-na had leveled up three times.
‘As expected.’
Upon arriving at the cave, Kang Hyun-soo saw Choi Woo-seok and Park Ji-myung covered in dirt, and Oh Sung-hyuk lying cleanly dressed.
‘They barely got any food.’
The only edibles were a few mushrooms and arrowroot roots.
They had gathered branches but couldn’t start a fire.
In truth, Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na hadn’t secured proper food either.
With monsters swarming nonstop, they couldn’t leisurely forage.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyun-soo tossed a few fruits he’d picked from the forest next to the mushrooms and roots.
“We should start a fire first.”
Night after sunset was quite cold.
“That won’t be easy.”
Choi Woo-seok muttered with a frown.
They had tried desperately to make fire with branches, like in documentaries or YouTube videos.
But no matter how hard they tried, it wouldn’t catch.
Tsss!
Then Kang Hyun-soo effortlessly sparked a fire.
Using just a small stone and his sword.
“You can easily start a fire with this stone.”
Kang Hyun-soo said as he placed a white stone on the ground.
He had picked it up while foraging; he’d often used it in the field before regression to start fires.
“Let’s eat first.”
With that, Kang Hyun-soo picked up a fruit and began eating.
The others followed suit and started their meal.
The meal didn’t last long.
The meager amount was bound to run out quickly.
After finishing, Kang Hyun-soo settled in the cave and closed his eyes.
Seeing this, the others gradually closed their eyes to sleep.
Everyone except Song Ha-na.
“Hyun-soo.”
Song Ha-na woke Kang Hyun-soo.
“It’s your watch.”
“Okay.”
Kang Hyun-soo rose from sleep.
“Go to sleep.”
“Yeah.”
That night.
Only Kang Hyun-soo and Song Ha-na took turns on watch.
* * *
The next morning.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyun-soo took Song Ha-na back into the forest.
Naturally, to hunt monsters.
Raaangh!
“Die!”
Song Ha-na fought fiercely, hunting monsters.
As a result, her level rose quickly.
When Song Ha-na hit level 5.
“I think it’s best if we split up from now on.”
Kang Hyun-soo, who had been quiet until then, spoke up.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Don’t I need to hunt too?”
Song Ha-na’s face flushed at his words.
Come to think of it, from yesterday evening until now, she had hunted every single monster that appeared.
“Why not hunt together?”
“That would lower efficiency. You’ve leveled up quite a bit, so you shouldn’t be in danger.”
“Got it.”
After a brief hesitation, Song Ha-na nodded.
‘Any more would just burden Hyun-soo.’
The reason she reached level 5 without incident was Kang Hyun-soo’s protection.
Thanks to that, she had grown to the point where she could handle Blood Wolves easily.
Meanwhile, Kang Hyun-soo hadn’t hunted even one while guarding her.
“Then I’ll be off.”
With that, Kang Hyun-soo vanished into the forest.
As soon as he disappeared, Song Ha-na’s heart pounded wildly.
The difference between having a reliable protector and not was huge.
‘I have to do this alone.’
Gritting her teeth, Song Ha-na began hunting solo.
Raaaangh!
A Blood Wolf bared its sharp fangs and charged at Song Ha-na.
She calmly fired her crossbow.
Thud!
The arrow embedded in the Blood Wolf’s muzzle.
Just a day ago, hitting the body was her best.
But now, she could usually target the face for critical hits.
With good luck, she could kill in one shot.
Kyaang!
Song Ha-na swung her sword at the screeching Blood Wolf.
Slash!
The sword cleanly severed the Blood Wolf’s head.
‘I can do this alone just fine.’
Gaining confidence, Song Ha-na steadily hunted the monsters.