Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Triple Rewards
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Employees dispatched from the association waved glow sticks as they guided citizens to safety.
In the event of a large-scale invasion like this, major guilds would typically cooperate to mount a defense.
That was why monsters rarely made it into the city proper.
But right now, monsters were being spotted all over the sky, the ground—everywhere.
"Did it start earlier than expected, catching them off guard?"
Looking around calmly, he saw that the monsters rampaging through the city streets were mostly trash mobs that even D-rank Hunters could take down.
Even in a massive invasion, the fact that only these kinds of monsters were loose gave him a rough idea of what was going on.
"They're picking off the prime targets at the defensive lines and dumping the scraps on the low-tier Hunters."
For low-rank Hunters without guild affiliation, even that was a godsend.
Just a while back, Kang Jin-hyuk himself would have been breaking a sweat hunting trash mobs like these.
But now that he'd found his dungeon, there was no need.
His dungeon was overflowing with trivial monsters like these.
Hunting them now would just waste stamina pointlessly.
"Better head home and get some sleep."
Even without him stepping up, other Hunters would handle it just fine.
These large-scale invasions weren't anything new, and it wouldn't fail just because it started a bit early.
Kang Jin-hyuk let out a massive yawn that brought tears to his eyes as he hurried toward home.
But he hadn't gone far when a blaring alert tone and an incoming message brought him to a halt.
[Notice to all Hunters.]
[Given the current urgent situation, any Hunter who hunts monsters invading the city will receive triple the usual reward.]
[This offer is valid today only. Hunters seeking compensation should collect proof items and visit the association once the situation has ended.]
Kang Jin-hyuk could hear cheers erupting from all around.
No doubt, other Hunters reacting to the same message.
"Triple, huh..."
It was a legal chance to sell monster corpses without going through a guild—and with triple pay to boot.
Turning his back on an offer like that to crawl into bed would be pure idiocy.
Kang Jin-hyuk immediately spun around and dashed toward the city center.
"Stick your necks out, you bastards!"
* * *
At the epicenter of the large-scale invasion, Titan Guild members had erected barriers to encircle the area.
Most guild members dove into the hunt, leaving the bare minimum to hold the encirclement.
With manpower stretched thin, they couldn't block every monster.
"Don't waste your stamina on low-level trash! It'll make it harder to hold formation!"
The executives dashed about, directing the guild members.
They were the sort who usually schemed in the shadows for profit, but in a crisis like this, they fulfilled their true roles.
Greedy they might be, but incompetent they were not.
That was the force keeping Titan among the major guilds.
"Pull ten from the west—it's got some breathing room—and send them to reinforce the front!"
"Got it!"
Even amid the chaos, the guild members faithfully followed orders.
Under proper command structure, their swift movements were no different from soldiers.
Thanks to the executives and members holding the line, Seo Sang-ho could focus on fighting without worry.
"Guild Master! Yoon Tae-yoon's side is getting pushed back!"
"Tell them to hold on—I'll be right there!"
Seo Sang-ho swept away the monsters swarming him with a single punch, then bolted to the vulnerable spot.
An S-rank Hunter's power shone brightest in dire situations like this.
"Hah!!"
As he crisscrossed the battlefield, the pressure from his fists shredded all but the toughest monsters before they could even get close.
Only massive monsters over five meters could withstand that force.
Seo Sang-ho, sweeping them aside with single punches, looked every bit the protagonist of a wuxia novel.
The guild members cheered wildly at the sight, recharging their morale—but Seo Sang-ho himself felt like he was dying.
"Goddamn it! Kill one, and ten more pop up."
Normally, other guilds pitched in, so it never got this brutal.
Rivals who snarled like enemies the rest of the time.
Who knew he'd miss them this much without them around.
Why did they all have to jet off overseas for some damn commission right now, of all times?
"Feels just like doing a group project solo..."
Letting out a bone-deep sigh, Seo Sang-ho snapped his head up at a guild member's shout.
"A two-headed ogre!"
"All B-rank and below, fall back!"
The beast—twice the size of a normal ogre—was rampaging, threatening to collapse the right flank.
"Not even giving me a moment's rest."
Before things worsened, Seo Sang-ho closed in on the Twin-Headed Ogre and swung his fist.
"Grrrk...!"
A-rank Hunters had barely been holding it at bay, but one punch blew a hole straight through its gut.
With more than half its innards gone, the Twin-Headed Ogre had no choice but to collapse on the spot.
It was an awe-inspiring sight, but there was no time to gawk.
Seo Sang-ho and the guild members immediately sought their next targets.
"This invasion's a real beast."
When a nearby guild member half-jokingly commented, Seo Sang-ho gave a wry smile.
"Yeah. Can't see the end of it."
The real issue wasn't the monster numbers—it was bosses like the Twin-Headed Ogre popping up.
A few extra trash mobs? The guild members could handle that.
But something like a Twin-Headed Ogre was another story.
Monsters at that level required multiple A-rank Hunters piling on.
Whenever A-ranks clustered in one spot, the formation weakened elsewhere, forcing Seo Sang-ho to step in.
That was why guild members rotated with the rear guard every thirty minutes for rest.
While Seo Sang-ho had been fighting nonstop for over two hours.
Finally unable to watch, his secretary leaped into the fray and grabbed his shoulder.
"Take a break. At this rate, you'll collapse before the battle's over."
"I just rested."
"Don't lie. You haven't taken a single break since the invasion started."
"...If I pull back now, the fight just drags on longer."
With manpower this tight, a prolonged battle raised the odds of the defensive line breaking.
He couldn't push the guild members who were already giving their all, so Seo Sang-ho decided to push himself.
Handing command to the executives was just a ploy to let him focus on combat.
"Worry about the clerics more than me. The longer this goes, the more vital they become."
"I've already assigned them plenty of escorts. What you need to worry about is your condition."
"I'm fine, I said."
Before she could nag further, Seo Sang-ho plunged back into the fray.
He looked fine for now, but to the secretary, his back seemed perilously unsteady.
"No way running around like that is okay..."
The executives who should support him were busy maintaining the line, leaving no one to cover his absence on the battlefield.
For a split second, An Do-yoon crossed her mind, but she immediately shook her head.
"Asking that guy for even a moment's help? I'd have to be insane."
Better to entrust a fish to a cat than rely on him.
"We need to request reinforcements from other Hunters after all."
The executives saw this as Titan's golden chance to shine, so they'd minimized mercenary hires.
Seo Sang-ho had opposed it, but they'd shoved through using that damn psycho as an excuse.
Considering Titan's forces and Seo Sang-ho's abilities, it wasn't an unreasonable call.
But who could predict how things would unfold?
If high-level monsters swarmed in numbers, their current numbers wouldn't cut it.
For safety's sake, the secretary believed they needed to hire outsiders before it was too late.
No way the executives would approve now, so she slipped away from the defensive line, avoiding their eyes.
* * *
Kang Jin-hyuk confirmed no more monsters in the area and plopped down on nearby stairs.
He could hunt more by moving districts, but other Hunters had already claimed those spots.
Kang Jin-hyuk had no desire to poach their shares.
That was exactly what the major guilds had done to him endlessly just weeks ago.
He wasn't about to stoop to their level.
"Let's see..."
To tally today's kills, Kang Jin-hyuk checked his inventory.
"Roughly thirty, huh."
At triple rewards, that was nearly a hundred-monster profit.
No complaints calling it quits here.
"Time to head home."
As he hauled himself up with a grunt and turned toward home, his eyes met those of a familiar-faced woman.
Rushing by in a hurry, she was definitely the one who'd been at Seo Sang-ho's side last time.
She recognized him too.
Seo Sang-ho's secretary halted her run and approached.
"You're Kang Jin-hyuk, right? Got a moment right now?"
"No, I was just on my way home..."
"If you're free otherwise, could you help out for a bit?"
Urgency laced her tone.
It gave Kang Jin-hyuk déjà vu of the time a Titan Hunter had begged for aid.
"Don't tell me Titan's the one holding back the monster invasion?"
"Yes."
"And you don't have enough manpower?"
"Word's already gotten around? How do you know that?"
"..."
Kang Jin-hyuk nearly laughed in disbelief.
Somehow, the situation hadn't changed a whit from last time.
Titan's specialty seemed to be scrambling for fixes after shit hit the fan.
'No learning curve, huh.'
Irritated as he was, ignoring someone in a bind might make for sleepless nights.
With no choice, Kang Jin-hyuk pulled his baseball bat back out of his inventory.
"How much pay?"
"Hourly? Or performance-based?"
Clerics usually preferred hourly.
They specialized in support, so they didn't dash around like other Hunters.
But Kang Jin-hyuk chose the latter without hesitation.
"Per kill."
"Pardon? Aren't you a cleric, Mr. Kang?"
"Correct."
"Then why choose that?"
In response to the secretary's question, Kang Jin-hyuk fired back.
"Do you know what true healing is?"
"Uh... bringing the dead back to life?"
"No. It's eliminating the source of damage entirely. That's the ultimate heal."
The secretary stared blankly, wondering what nonsense this was.