Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Must Become a Hunter
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“Ugh, I’m burning up. Damn it, can I really recover from this?”
[The wound is healing bit by bit. It should be fully recovered in about five hours.]
“For real? A wound like this heals in just five hours?”
It was amazing. This was the kind of injury that might not even heal properly after stitching it up, disinfecting it for over a week, and resting.
What the hell? I’m not a lizard or anything—how is the recovery speed this insane? Is this normal for Awakeners?
[Fortunately, the blade missed the artery. You got lucky. If it had hit the artery, self-healing would have been difficult.]
“That much blood lost, and you call it lucky? Damn it, I really almost died! That fucking hobgoblin. Wait, so can I use that guy as a minion now?”
[I’m sorry, but you cannot summon monsters with a higher level than the Master.]
“What? How much higher can it be?”
[The hobgoblin you just defeated was level 10.]
“……Just a tiny bit higher than me. No wonder the bastard was so damn tough.”
I grumbled as I plopped down on the cold stone floor.
Sure, it was grandly called the throne room, but there was nothing here. Aside from the Dungeon Crystal in one corner, it was no different from a regular cave.
I scanned the empty space and recalled the fight with the hobgoblin.
‘That thing was a total monster. Even with its knee shattered, it counterattacked. And that sword—it was insanely sharp.’
It suddenly hit me how nice it would be to have a proper weapon like the machete that guy was using.
‘If I’d had one, I could’ve landed a more solid hit.’
To be precise, I hadn’t even taken a direct hit from the machete. It had glanced off the fire extinguisher, yet it still did this much damage.
Honestly, up until I got slashed, I hadn’t really grasped how important a good weapon was. But after taking a proper cut from the blade, my thinking changed.
‘Yeah, a good weapon would definitely make hunting easier. Just a graze from that machete exposed bone.’
I secretly coveted the machete the hobgoblin had been holding, but disappointingly, the bastard hadn’t let go of it even as it fell.
‘What, is it some legendary swordsman? Is dropping your weapon a disgrace to swordsmanship or something? Why hold onto it until death? Useless bastard.’
At least it gave a ton of EXP, which was some consolation. As I waited for my wound to heal, taking a short rest, Goblin A entered the throne room.
“Kr, krrk.”
Wondering why it had taken so long, I saw it was holding a handful of finely crushed grass. The goblin prostrated itself before me and offered the grass with both hands.
“Hm? What’s this?”
“Kr, krk!”
“Hoo. It’s Madecasia grass. It aids wound healing and has antibiotic effects.”
“Really? How do I use it? Just slap it on the wound?”
The grass was finely crushed and sticky from the plant’s mucus, making it perfect for applying to injuries.
Saaah—
Surprisingly, as soon as I applied it, a cool sensation spread over the wound, drastically reducing the pain and bleeding.
“That’s incredible. Where’d you find this?”
“Krk! Krrk!”
“It says it saw a goblin shaman using it as a remedy and remembered. It chewed it carefully with its mouth, enduring the bitter taste, so it should be extra effective.”
“What? Chewed it?”
Looking closely, I could see bits of the Madecasia grass stuck to the goblin’s teeth every time it grinned. So this grass had been in its mouth and come out...
‘Urk!’
A shiver ran through my entire body, and I nearly dry-heaved. I wanted to wipe off the grass mush right then and smack the goblin across the face.
Yet the goblin was grinning away, all ‘Kiheheh!’ like it was thrilled.
“It says seeing the Master’s satisfied face makes it happy. Feels like it got a reward.”
“Don’t explain that crap! And I’m not satisfied!”
Damn it, this made it no different from when those girls gave me industry awards.
I suddenly understood how they must’ve felt, plunging me into self-loathing.
‘I was goblin-tier! Subhuman! Ugh!’
“Krk! Krrk!”
“It says your complexion is already looking better.”
“Stop... Haa. Let’s not talk. Anyway, you... do you brush your teeth?”
“Krk?”
The goblin tilted its head. Its teeth were yellow—no, black with rot. Brush its teeth? Hell no. It probably didn’t even gargle.
“If I get even one rash on my arm, you’re dead.”
“Kki, kkiik—!”
* * *
The effect of the Madecasia grass was insane!!
‘The wound healed completely in two hours? Is this really thanks to the grass?’
In the end, my arm healed perfectly without a trace. Feeling oddly disappointed, I shot the goblin a side-eye.
The goblin noticed my gaze and bowed its head, looking confused as to why it was getting scolded after bringing medicine.
‘Sigh. That reaction pisses me off even more. Makes me feel like the bad guy for no reason.’
Anyway, the quick recovery was good news. If I got back too late, Dad would worry. I needed to return looking perfectly fine as soon as possible.
‘Before that, I could summon a couple more minions? I’ve got 3 mana left. Hmm. Two more goblins?’
I should leave at least 1 mana as a buffer. You never know when something might happen, and I needed some to lure intruders.
I immediately summoned two more goblins. A strong light burst from the Dungeon Crystal, and two goblins appeared.
One with a white facial tattoo, the other with yellow. Oh, and for reference, the one that gave me the grass had a red facial tattoo.
“Perfect. Three goblins for physical attacks, plus Moemoe-chan for mental magic support... The trinity is complete.”
As I grinned in satisfaction, the grass-giving goblin hesitated and approached me.
What’s this punk up to now? I eyed it suspiciously, and Moemoe-chan sighed and whispered the reason.
“It wants a name.”
“Huh? What’s that mean?”
“We talked a bit while you were gone. I bragged about how the Master gave me a name, and it’s been envious ever since. Probably brought the Madecasia grass for that reason too.”
“So it chewed that grass just to get a name?”
“Yes. Getting a name from the Master is a great honor.”
“What’s with the ‘great honor’...”
Anyway, it went through all that just to impress me.
Hmm. It was nagging at me. Might as well name them? It could bring something even weirder trying to suck up next time.
Yeah, naming them could prevent future mishaps.
I looked at the three goblins lined up and spoke.
“Alright. From now on, the one with the red tattoo is Gobling, white tattoo is Marbling. Yellow... Ppurirng Ppurirng.”
“Gob?”
“Mab?”
“Ppu?”
“Yeah. That’s your names. Like ’em?”
“Gob! Gob!”
“Mab! Mab!”
“Ppu! Ppu!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m happy too. Ugh, suddenly craving chicken bad.”
I’d moved around a ton and gotten injured, so I was starving. Time to head home and tear into a drumstick.
‘Alright. Time to go back.’
Picturing my room opened the door, landing me in my familiar house. Still an amazing trick no matter how many times.
Heading to the living room, I saw Dad anxiously watching TV. Huh? Why was he home so early?
“Dad?”
“In-hyeok! You punk, where were you? No answer to my calls.”
“Uh... my phone broke in the Gate.”
“Then you should’ve come straight home. I was worried.”
“S... Sorry.”
The moment he hugged me, the constant tension snapped. At the same time, deep fatigue swallowed me whole. Maybe from all the blood loss—I was incredibly sleepy.
‘Damn, I need to eat that chicken...’
* * *
Three days after the incident, I visited the figure shop near my house.
This place stocked all sorts of comic characters and was a frequent haunt for me and ‘that guy.’
I could meet him here without making an appointment.
“You’re late. I figured you’d come the next day.”
Sure enough, he showed up soon after. The man Cha In-hyeok acknowledged, the living legend of otakudom: O Deok-hun.
Still fixated on the figures, I replied.
“It wasn’t a normal incident. Even I needed time to recover mentally.”
“Hmph. Still green. Should’ve binged more gore like me.”
“Shut up. It’s just a difference in thresholds.”
We chatted while standing apart, each focused on our own figures.
Nothing major—just school closing temporarily due to the Gate, new releases coming out, that sort of thing.
As the casual catch-up wrapped up, Deok-hun said offhandedly,
“Was worried. Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“You went missing for a bit. Knew you were alive since you weren’t on the casualty list, but I worried you got in danger because of me.”
“Gives me chills, so drop it. Anyway, that mess got sorted somehow. Kim Cheol-min’s done for, school’s on break... No more money talk, probably.”
“But I won’t forget the loyalty you showed. If you need anything, hit me up. I’ll get it somehow. You know I go to Akihabara every quarter.”
“Let’s go together next time. I need to do my holy pilgrimage soon too.”
“Heh heh. Deal!”
O Deok-hun laughed heartily, then noticed my stiff expression and adjusted his glasses.
“Something up with you?”
“......That obvious?”
“Duh. Normal you would’ve launched into yesterday’s binge the second we met. But today you’re all quiet.”
“As expected of the shut-in Conan. Sharp as ever.”
“What’s going on? You look troubled.”
Troubled... Yeah. I had a problem. After the fierce battle with the hobgoblin, one big worry had cropped up.
It started as a simple desire for a proper weapon, but now it was about how to live going forward.
In other words, career troubles.
I had to keep defending the dungeon from now on. Sooner or later, I’d run into another monster stronger than me, like that hobgoblin.
‘Can I even survive next time? I don’t know how to fight properly, and my gear’s crap.’
Honestly, beating the hobgoblin was half luck.
The spot was the rooftop, luckily. I had Illusion and Stealth skills. The ambush gave me the edge.
If even one of those had gone wrong, I’d be the one dead.
‘This won’t cut it. Patching things together like this, I’ll end up with worse injuries or dying miserably alone in the dungeon.’
I needed to learn how to fight monsters. Better weapons and armor. Potions and consumables were essential too.
Not desperate life-or-death battles—proper hunts.
I had to become a Hunter.