A Trivial Foe
Hot steam rose in thick, billowing clouds.
Green blood gushed in thick spurts from the neck of the ownerless variant subterranean, while its bright red head tumbled across the floor.
Kang Muho, a new recruit of the Hwarang Guild, locked eyes with the variant subterranean whose tongue lolled out.
“Hup.”
He hastily swallowed his breath and took a step back.
When he had first discovered the variant subterranean chieftain, he had been full of confidence. Subterraneans ranked among the stronger E-rank monsters, true enough—but he had endured the Hwarang Guild’s brutal training and wore the rare-grade gear the guild issued. The thought of losing had not weighed even a single gram in his mind.
Not until the thing bounced through the cave like a rubber ball and, with a sharp swish, raked its claws across the nape of Kang Muho’s neck.
“Muho-ssi. Are you okay?”
“……No.”
He instinctively fumbled at the wounded spot—the place where he would have bled out and died if he had not used a potion at once. The potion, laced with a healing spell, had left not even a scar, yet the agony of that moment remained carved into his mind.
A single surprise attack had completely shattered Kang Muho’s will to fight. Even though he held the tank position, he had been the first to turn his back. In the scramble to flee he had even abandoned a hunter he had never met before.
And yet—
【What a truly trivial foe it was.】
“You ate my left arm, so you don’t get to say that.”
【That is a problem that arose because the body Sir crafted for me was frail, is it not?】
“Passing the blame to me, huh.”
To cut down a monster like that so easily… and still have the leisure to trade jokes.
What the hell is this hunter?
The memory of their scuffle at the gate entrance rose unbidden. Come to think of it, hadn’t the man said he didn’t want to clean up corpses? Could he be planning to kill them here for picking a fight?
Fear made Kang Muho step backward. His back met the wall with a metallic scrape.
“Ah. The Hwarang newbie.”
“Y-yessir!!”
“I told you—if you’re going to force the honorifics, just drop them.”
“N-no, sir!!”
“You said there was one more free-agent teammate you recruited.”
“Th-that’s right, but we got separated while fleeing.”
“Not separated—you abandoned him, right.”
Minho let out a short sigh.
“How many minutes from here did you split up?”
“Judging by how that monster chased us, he’s already dead.”
“If that were true it couldn’t have chased right away. Looking at the speed, it probably tore off one leg or so and then came after you—to hunt even one more person.”
Minho’s gaze shifted behind him.
“Sir Isra.”
【Saving the weak is a knight’s duty.】
“I’ll catch up soon.”
【Will you be all right, Sir?】
“Two zombies should be enough, no?”
【Understood.】
Isra strode ahead. Minho’s eyes returned to Kang Muho.
“Hwarang newbie.”
“Y-yes. Yes.”
“You lived thanks to me, right?”
“That’s right!”
“You got unexpectedly caught up in this. Going empty-handed doesn’t sit right.”
What was he laying the groundwork for? Was he planning to kill them all and strip their items? The man certainly had the power.
That zombie earlier was incredible. And the ones still standing…
Two bipedal zombies remained. The memory of them unilaterally butchering the variant subterranean that had toyed with him was still vivid.
Can we even win?
His hands trembled. Fear gripped him. These undead shattered the common sense that they were weaker than same-rank monsters. Skilled in swordsmanship and combat, they had carved up the variant subterranean with ease. Beside him his fellow recruit seemed to share the thought; the tip of the man’s staff quivered.
“So—”
“Eek! Just spare our lives!”
“Huh.”
Minho’s face went blank for a beat, then he snickered.
“I’m asking you to pay for your lives.”
“What?”
“You lived thanks to me.”
“That’s right!”
“You’re not planning to just wash your mouths and walk away, are you?”
“N-no, sir!”
“As payment for saving you, how much are you thinking?”
Somehow it sounded as if unsatisfactory terms would mean death after all. Did they really have to haggle over the price of being rescued?
“Ah. And you guys mentioned something about a mission.”
Minho nudged the variant subterranean’s head with his toe.
“I think I’ll need this guy’s head.”
Kang Muho blinked.
“I’ll hand it over for a reasonable price.”
“……”
“The fee for saving you plus this head—two hundred million each.”
“I don’t have that kind of money.”
“If it’s the Hwarang Guild, even a credit loan would get you three hundred million.”
Kang Muho fought to keep his face from crumpling. How did the man even know the credit limit?
“I-I’ll give it.”
The answer burst out. His fellow recruit immediately whispered,
“If word gets out that we abandoned the free-agent teammate and ran, we’re finished.”
Two hundred million? Money an ordinary person might never touch even after ten steady years of work. Yet at the crossroads of whether they would be cast out of the Hwarang Guild, it was by no means a large sum. Not merely a credit loan—they would have to put up the house deed if necessary.
“I-I’ll give it.”
A beat late in grasping the situation, Kang Muho bowed his head deeply.
He reunited with Sir Isra, who had gone ahead, roughly five minutes later. The injured hunter beside her looked up with a face gone blue. One leg was gone. The long bone lying nearby confirmed Minho’s guess.
【I have treated the bleeding.】
How had she managed the first aid? Ask again and she would no doubt start on about a knight’s accomplishments.
He glanced at the Hwarang newbies.
“It’s your fault, so take good care of him.”
“Y-yessir.”
An arm or a leg could be regenerated in a few days with healing spells and potions. Spend more and it could be done in hours. Since he had already extracted two hundred million, he did not tell them to spring for rapid healing.
Sir Isra pointed at the zombies.
【Why did you bring those abominations?】
The two zombies carried the variant subterranean’s corpse. Green blood from its neck soaked them.
“For a necromancer, corpses are the most precious resource.”
【Well, they were corpses except for the corpses, after all.】
Was that supposed to be a joke?
【But are you planning to make a Dullahan or something?】
“I agreed to transfer the head over there.”
Variant corpses had many uses.
Parts saturated with mana. Thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body, I could identify the “useful parts” without any experimentation. The only useless piece was the head.
Those two would need proof they had taken the boss. I wanted the body. Wasn’t this a perfect win-win?
I had also secured one more side income.
◈ Consumes blood to enhance stats and grant elasticity to the body.
◈ While the skill is maintained, stamina consumption increases by 100%.
The secret technique that had let the Starving Subterranean Chieftain reclass into a rubber ball. The penalty was steep, but the effect itself was solid. I could get at least ten million won for it, no problem.
After cheerfully confirming my haul, I turned around again. On the way back to the entrance Sir Isra took the lead. With an injured man among us, shortening the return time was wise.
【But we killed the boss—does that not clear the gate?】
“Fixed types have no clear rewards. Think of them as mana-stone supply sources. In exchange the drop rate is a bit higher than ordinary gates, or so they say.”
“I’ll leave the return path to you.”
【Understood.】
Sir Isra once more butchered the subterraneans with ease using her refined bone blade. The way back proved longer than expected. Sporadic fights broke out. With the party larger, she alone could not cover the entire front.
“Open your eyes.”
I created additional zombies to cover both the front and rear of the formation. Producing the undead took a little time, but the investment paid off. Even with an injured member we reached the entrance safely, without a single casualty.
“We survived thanks to you.”
“I trusted it because it was the Hwarang Guild. We almost died.”
The free-recruit hunters bowed at a full ninety degrees the moment they stepped out of the gate. Receiving their thanks sent a sharp tingle through one corner of my heart. Five years since awakening, and this was the first time anyone had ever thanked me like that.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“Even if you’re leaving, settle the bill first.”
Without being told, Sir Isra seized the Hwarang newbie’s shoulder. Where did they think they were going without even taking the variant subterranean’s head?
“Ah, ha, haha. I was in a hurry for the bathroom.”
“I get that feeling. My stomach always hurts when I get tense. Irritable bowel syndrome, they call it.”
“Still, you should take what you need to take.”
I shook the cloth-wrapped head. The Hwarang newbie accepted it with obvious reluctance.
“Thank you.”
“For reference, I have a body cam, so don’t even think about pocketing everything.”
I tapped my chest. A body cam—an essential for any hunter. Inside a gate the law did not apply; it was a lawless zone, and there were no CCTVs. In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, crimes inside gates had been rampant. That was why mana-stone-powered body cams had become mandatory.
“I-I understand.”
“I won’t write a contract. Both of you send the money by tomorrow.”
If they failed to pay, something entertaining would happen. I snickered at the afterthought; both newbies’ faces went white.
“And make sure you properly treat the man who got hurt because of you.”
While I watched the Hwarang newbies support the hunter who had lost his leg, Sir Isra casually sent a thought.
【How was your first real battle?】
“It was satisfying.”
Needless to say. The zombies had moved like extensions of my own limbs—like I had crawled on the ground for five years and then suddenly stood up and started running. Until now I had built over-spec zombies from corpses one rank higher and simply crushed monsters through brute force. A temporary patch for my lacking control.
“I don’t need to do that anymore.”
Zombies made on the spot with no extra materials had overwhelmed the original subterraneans—something that shattered the common sense of necromancy. The preparatory work was still a hassle, but once created they required no additional mana to maintain.
The moment I brought down the variant subterranean in that dark cave, certainty settled in me.
“I can get stronger.”
【Sir is still lacking in many ways, but with me here you will be able to climb higher.】
“Don’t people usually say the opposite?”
【A knight cannot speak falsehoods.】
Ugh. You’re so great. Really, truly great. With no retort left, I shut my mouth tight.
【What will you do with the monster corpses?】
“I have to take them.”
【It seems a bit difficult to carry them.】
“Just hire people.”
Near fixed gates plenty of companies handled byproduct disposal. In the past I would have stuffed everything into a carrier or bag. Today I decided to spend a little and leave it to the professionals.
“Let’s see. 120 kg to Amsa-dong… 220,000 won.”
“Boss. I know the regular price. Aren’t you overcharging a bit?”
“Overcharging? Check next door. They all charge this much.”
“100.”
“Young man, you’re really going for the kill?”
“Ah. Then I’ll just go next door.”
“150.”
“Including packaging, right?”
“Then we have no profit left.”
“Forget it. I’ll just rent a delivery truck.”
“Eing. Tsk. 150 including packaging.”
“Deal.”
We settled on a reasonable price. I loaded the variant subterranean’s corpse onto the truck.