Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: No Need for Questions
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Kang Jin-hyuk felt no need whatsoever to question his opponent.
Why they had done this, whether they really intended to kill him, and so on.
No matter what answer he got, it wouldn't make sense within his own common sense.
So instead of questions, he did exactly what they had tried to do to him.
Even swinging with all his strength pulled back, the sound from Ahn Do-yoon's head hitting the bat was like a watermelon bursting.
After seeing him collapse like a puppet with its strings cut, Kang Jin-hyuk turned his back and walked away.
Whether he lived or died from here on out was none of his business.
"What a crazy bastard."
It was baffling enough that someone who wasn't even an enemy had ambushed him out of the blue.
What wrong had he committed for them to charge at him like he was mortal foe?
Whatever grudge they held, when it came down to it, Kang Jin-hyuk was the real victim here.
Any harm or punishment Ahn Do-yoon suffered was the consequence of his own actions.
There was zero reason for Kang Jin-hyuk to take responsibility for that.
"He got hit hard once, so he won't come at me again."
Even beasts learn after a beating.
After crashing down in such a pathetic state, embarrassment alone would keep him from charging again.
To shake off the lingering unease, Kang Jin-hyuk went searching for a strong monster.
That's when he spotted a Minotaur swinging an axe as tall as a man, and he charged forward.
Not a single Titan Hunter stepped up despite witnessing the scene.
Even though a comrade had been beaten unconscious, no one intended to hold Kang Jin-hyuk accountable for it.
Ahn Do-yoon's reputation had hit rock bottom.
Anyone watching would agree it was clearly Ahn Do-yoon's fault.
Kang Jin-hyuk had simply responded appropriately to the attacker.
"We should at least send him to a Cleric, right?"
"Yeah. Even if he's a piece of trash, he's still an A-rank Hunter in our guild."
If they left him like this, he might end up trampled into a meat paste.
No matter how much they disliked him, they couldn't just let a fellow guild member die.
The burliest man among the nearby Titan Hunters hoisted up the fallen Ahn Do-yoon.
"I'll take him and report to the Guild Master."
"What're you gonna say in the report?"
"That he rushed in like an idiot and got wrecked. We can't say he got his ass kicked by some nameless Hunter—that'd be too embarrassing."
The Titan Hunters nodded in full agreement without a single objection.
It was better for Ahn Do-yoon's position and the guild's image to gloss it over like that.
"Sigh... To think that guy was once our Vice Guild Master..."
At the blunt disparagement someone voiced, the Titan Hunters showed their tacit approval.
To them, Ahn Do-yoon's existence was fast becoming a dark stain on their history.
It was a self-inflicted end that left him with no one to blame but himself.
* * *
The Minotaur rampaging against the Hunters instinctively sensed the threat and looked around.
Its keen senses picked up two powerful figures heading its way.
To shake off the fear and confront them, the Minotaur let out a mighty roar.
"Moooooo!!"
Emboldened by their reliable ally's bellow, Goblins and other small monsters found their courage.
The Hunters, seized by fear, found their movements slowing unwittingly.
Satisfied at how the atmosphere had shifted, the Minotaur was pleased.
In this heightened mood, it was confident it could take on anyone who dared charge.
But fights couldn't be won on momentum alone.
Especially against opponents with a clear skill gap.
"Moo!"
The Minotaur swung its axe at the faster of the two approaching figures.
No enemy had ever survived intact against this heavy 'whoosh' of a strike.
It had never even considered the axe shattering in reverse.
When that unimaginable scene actually happened, the Minotaur floundered, unsure how to react.
"Yeah. That's the face I wanted to see on you bastards."
Seo Sang-ho, who had shattered the axe barehanded, relished the Minotaur's panic.
Monsters that strutted so arrogantly against Hunters—seeing their overconfidence shatter the instant they met a real opponent never got old.
"If you're not finishing it, get out of the way."
"What?"
While Seo Sang-ho was caught off guard, Kang Jin-hyuk's bat followed up and smashed into the Minotaur's temple.
The critical hit sent the Minotaur's eyes rolling back as it crumpled to the ground.
Kang Jin-hyuk immediately checked the Minotaur's score on the counter.
"Huh? The score hasn't changed?"
Finding it odd, he inspected the Minotaur and realized it was just knocked out—still breathing.
Clicking his tongue in mild disappointment at the realization, Kang Jin-hyuk expressed his regret.
"Guess I still can't one-shot a Minotaur."
Even with passive skills boosting his stats, the fundamental level gap set clear limits.
But what Kang Jin-hyuk saw as lacking was only by his own standards.
To Seo Sang-ho, Kang Jin-hyuk had already surpassed the norm.
'A Hunter who just hit C-rank taking down a Minotaur?'
Even with Seo Sang-ho blocking the attack, knocking it out in one blow was impossible for a C-rank Hunter.
On top of that, Kang Jin-hyuk was a Cleric by trade.
A class with zero combat skills.
The more he watched, the more anomalies piled up.
And that's exactly what Seo Sang-ho liked.
A clear departure from ordinary Hunters.
That uniqueness had captured his attention.
Right now, Seo Sang-ho could understand why Cao Cao had been so obsessed with talent.
'My eye for people was spot on.'
He held back the urge to invite him to the guild again right then.
Based on Kang Jin-hyuk's reactions so far, he'd just feel burdened and back off.
"You must be here as a mercenary."
Kang Jin-hyuk nodded at Seo Sang-ho's question, confirming it.
"They said they'd pay based on kills, so here I am. Is it okay if I land the finishing blow like this?"
"Do whatever you want."
At the response, Kang Jin-hyuk swung his bat repeatedly at the downed Minotaur.
No matter how tough the skull, it couldn't withstand repeated aura-infused blows.
Finally, after seven strikes, the Minotaur bled from its head and breathed its last.
Kang Jin-hyuk knew it was dead from the rapid level-up notification.
"Looks like I'll hit 150 soon."
Level 150 was the B-rank Hunter benchmark and the threshold for second job change.
Since the second change was random based on Hunter activities, Kang Jin-hyuk was eager for his.
Joining this massive hunt might be the perfect opportunity.
"Then I'll leave this to you and head out."
No time to dawdle—he moved to leave immediately.
The guild would recover the monster corpses later and distribute based on contributions.
'With the score on the counter, they won't screw me over.'
He had his suspicions, but decided not to dwell on it now.
Lucia had drilled into him over the past week: stray thoughts lead to sloppy movements, which become openings.
"Things are wrapping up, so no need to rush."
As Seo Sang-ho said, while Kang Jin-hyuk had been rampaging, the monster incursion was entering a lull.
It was possible thanks to the many mercenaries participating alongside him.
Titan's gains would be smaller, but so were the losses.
Seo Sang-ho was highly satisfied with the outcome.
Kang Jin-hyuk, however, was not.
"If it's almost over, I need to hunt even harder."
It was too soon to call it quits.
Having borrowed tomorrow's stamina with potions for once, he wanted to push through to his second awakening.
"Then team up with me."
"Pardon?"
Kang Jin-hyuk openly grimaced, making it clear he wasn't thrilled with Seo Sang-ho's proposal.
Burden aside, he had no confidence competing for kills against an S-rank Hunter.
Seo Sang-ho could guess his feelings.
"Don't worry. I'll only step in if it's dangerous."
"Then why bother teaming up with me?"
"It'll be fun to watch."
Seo Sang-ho's absurd reply left him speechless.
They said the best spectacles were fires and fights, but he'd never met someone admitting it so brazenly.
"I'll get periodic updates on strong monsters nearby. Stick with me, and you won't wander aimlessly."
As he touted his usefulness, Seo Sang-ho touched the earpiece in his ear as a call came in.
Connecting the comms, a guild member's urgent voice came through right away.
[Guild Master! B-big trouble!]
"Yeah, yeah. What showed up where this time?"
[Look at the sky!]
"The sky?"
At the sudden command to look up, Seo Sang-ho raised his head.
Kang Jin-hyuk followed suit, and a dark thundercloud entered his view.
The surroundings were clear sky, but only the battle area was shrouded—an eerie sight.
"What's so bad about that?"
[Monster reactions are detected inside that thundercloud!]
"How many? Size?"
[Just one! Size... it's over 500 meters long!]
As the report came in, a flash lit the center of the cloud.
By the time his brain registered it, it had become lightning striking down into the heart of the battlefield.
"Aaaargh!!"
Hunters struck by the sudden bolt screamed as they fell.
The lightning didn't discriminate targets.
Monster or Hunter, it mercilessly charred everything at the impact point.
Witnessing the disaster, Seo Sang-ho fell silent for a moment.
Not only was it firing lightning—an absurd power.
A monster seven or eight times the size of a passenger plane floating way up there? He'd never heard of such a thing, and it was utterly despairing news.
Even without lightning, a crash from that height would devastate the area.
"Why report this now?!"
[Communications were jammed, so it took time to confirm!]
"Damn it... What about the government?!"
[They're sending helicopters right away!]
"How the hell are helicopters supposed to handle that...?"
Conventional weapons were useless against monsters.
Only Hunters could respond, so they'd have to fly up and take out the one hiding in the clouds themselves.
But against that thing? Impossible.
Get close, and one bolt would grill them with the chopper.
"Why the hell is that crazy thing moving now?!"
At Seo Sang-ho's frustrated gripe, Kang Jin-hyuk offered his own theory.
"From the lightning drops, it doesn't seem to distinguish friend from foe. Probably waited until our monster numbers thinned out."
"...You think a monster could strategize like that?"
"Wouldn't put it past one."
With a new monster like that appearing, there was no guarantee smart ones didn't exist.
"Right now, our only option is to call in Hunters with long-range skills for the subjugation."
"...Haa."
Rubbing his forehead with a sigh, Seo Sang-ho regained his composure and issued orders to his guild members.
"Round up every Hunter who's job-changed to Mage—immediately!"
[Got it!]