Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Spearman
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If the man in the black helmet hadn’t grabbed the cart, she would’ve undoubtedly taken a nasty spill and skinned her knees.
No, actually, skinned knees would’ve been the least of her worries—if a potion shattered in the process, that would’ve been a real disaster.
“Th-thank you.”
“Step back further. The shockwave spreads up to ten meters.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
As Ryu Soo-young pulled the cart backward, the Hongcheon branch chief was rolling across the ground, barely dodging Minos’s attack.
“Damn it all, these gate aftereffects...!”
The gate aftereffects that lingered for a while after entering a gate.
Because his stats were lower than usual, the Hongcheon branch chief had to roll desperately just to evade attacks he could normally dodge with ease.
‘Making a fool of myself in front of these kids. And what’s that guy doing just standing back and watching?’
The Hongcheon branch chief forgot he’d told them to fall back and bellowed.
“Hey! What’re you doing? Once they’re evacuated, you’re supposed to come help!”
“Do you need help?”
“Of course! That’s why I brought you along!”
“Fine. I’ll help. My spear can save a hundred lives.”
The man in the black helmet raised his spear as he spoke.
‘Spear? Isn’t that a spear?’
Ryu Soo-young tilted her head. She was grateful he’d kept her from falling, but the guy seemed a little off in how he talked.
But after seeing the spectacle created by his casual thrust, she couldn’t close her gaping mouth.
Thwack!
One strike. Just one strike. The man’s thrust punched a hole the size of a fist straight through Minos’s head.
“H-how...”
Both Ryu Soo-young and the Hongcheon branch chief were speechless.
And understandably so—Minos was a 3-star monster. To kill one in a single blow required top-tier 4-star hunter skill.
“No way. He’s on the same level as Branch Chief Han Se-young? Impossible.”
The Hongcheon branch chief shook his head vigorously and clapped his hands.
“Right! He must’ve landed a big skill while I was drawing aggro. That’s how he one-shot it. Yeah?”
“...Think whatever you want.”
The man in the black helmet turned away as if even responding was too much trouble, then approached Ryu Soo-young.
“You okay?”
“Y-yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Potion.”
“Huh?”
“Gimme a potion.”
“Oh, right! Are you hurt?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The man took the potion and pretended to drink it before slipping it into his pocket.
‘What the? He wasn’t hurt—he just wanted the potion?’
She suddenly felt stupid for worrying. And she wasn’t the only one feeling foolish.
‘He swoops in for the kill steal on a monster I basically finished off? That sneaky bastard!’
The Hongcheon branch chief fell into confirmation bias, blindly believing his own conclusion.
In his mind, the man in the black helmet had already transformed into an arrogant punk who stole his easy prey.
“No good. Next time, you fight first. I’ll prepare a big skill in the meantime.”
“Mm. Suit yourself.”
“Hey, you’ve been awfully curt lately. Your voice sounds way younger than me...”
“Our age difference isn’t that big. Let’s drop the formalities. Too annoying to bother during combat.”
“Y-you little... Insolent!”
That was when the Hongcheon branch chief gripped his spear. Perfect timing—a Minos appeared.
“You got lucky, punk. If it weren’t for that thing...”
Boom!!
The Hongcheon branch chief couldn’t finish his sentence. Minos’s head burst like a balloon.
“Hm? What was that?”
The man in the black helmet, who’d felled Minos in one strike again, turned to the branch chief.
The eyes visible through his helmet’s slit gleamed with some inexplicable anticipation, as if daring him to pick a fight.
“G-go ahead and speak casually. I like keeping things informal and relaxed. Heh heh heh.”
“...Sure.”
“Straight shooter, too. I like that.”
Thoroughly cowed, the Hongcheon branch chief gave up trying to chat with Ryu Soo-young and meekly watched the man’s mood.
‘What’s with this guy?’
Ryu Soo-young tilted her head as she watched him dominate the Black Bears executive in an instant.
‘How has someone with this level of skill stayed unknown until now? And that gear—it’s all completely unfamiliar.’
The horn-like spear, the black helmet and armor. All made from materials she’d never seen before.
‘Huh? Come to think of it, doesn’t that spear look a bit like Minos’s horn?’
The spear resembled Minos’s horn, and the helmet and armor its hide. No, they were practically identical.
‘No way... Nah, couldn’t be. But definitely...’
She could tell because she’d examined Minos’s corpse closely while dismantling it. All the man’s gear was crafted from Minos body parts.
‘Whoa! Just who the hell is this guy? A full Minos gear set?’
Ryu Soo-young found herself drawn to this mysterious master.
He was strong, seemed wealthy, and above all, he’d saved her in a pinch.
High-rank hunters like him rarely bothered personally rescuing low-rankers.
‘Looks like at least 4-star, and he’s got a good heart, too.’
As she dismantled the Minos corpse, Ryu Soo-young kept stealing glances at the man. Her cheeks flushed red.
But if she could’ve peeked into his mind, her admiration might’ve cooled a bit.
‘Whew. So damn charismatic. Why am I this cool?’
The man, Cha In-hyeok, was feeling pretty damn pleased with himself right now.
* * *
Whoosh—thwack!!
‘Amazing. One-shot again.’
Swish—thud thud!!
‘Whoa! What kind of skill is that? How does he one-shot Minos like...’
Ryu Soo-young kept marveling at the man in the black helmet.
His movements seemed so simple, almost trivial, but they were instant kills on contact.
‘Some kinda Spearman?’
Swish—
‘But lately...’
Whoosh—thwack!!
‘Why’s he keep making whoosh sounds with his mouth?’
Ryu Soo-young frowned at the man’s incredible skill contrasted with his childish sound effects.
She didn’t know why, but his constant whooshing ruined the cool impression he’d built.
‘They say all high-rank hunters have some quirk, and yeah, this guy’s no exception.’
Still, compared to the creepy middle-aged perv who kept ogling her, it was nothing.
‘Sigh. Whatever. So he makes sound effects. At least he’s not a creep.’
Whoosh—
In the meantime, another Minos lost its life amid the weird effects. As usual, the man approached with his hand out.
“Potion.”
“Oh, you hurt?”
“Potion.”
“...Here.”
The man tucked the potion away again. His pocket seemed like a bottomless black hole.
‘What a cheapskate. Someone his rank must rake in the cash.’
Ryu Soo-young couldn’t imagine the man was a total newbie who’d just graduated the academy.
That was around the time when Cha In-hyeok, the man in the black helmet, had one-shot about ten Minos.
The Hongcheon branch chief, who’d been quiet as a mouse, started regaining his usual personality.
“Hey. Let’s talk.”
“What?”
“You can’t hog all the monsters like that. I’ve been twiddling my thumbs because of you.”
“So... you wanna hunt now?”
“Y-yeah.”
“The passage widens soon anyway, and Minos’ll come in pairs. Grab one then?”
“Y-you...!”
‘You crazy bastard. You know I can’t handle it solo! I need to level up before I solo Minos!’
The Hongcheon branch chief swallowed his urge to yell. Whining would just expose weakness.
In situations like this, you had to bluff like you were top dog, even if it killed you. Luckily, he had the Black Bears halo.
“Strictly speaking, this is Black Bears territory. Why’re you monopolizing everything? And honestly, we should team up. Hunting only gets harder. You can’t solo forever. I need to level too.”
Surprisingly, it made sense. Even Cha In-hyeok, who’d normally ignore a sleazy middle-ager, had no retort.
‘Annoying. Can’t do shit solo but full of demands.’
But like it or not, they’d fight together going forward. Plus, owing a Black Bears exec could be useful.
“Fine. I’ll help once. What do I do?”
“Heh heh heh. Just buy me a little time.”
* * *
“Moooo!!”
Minos bellowed loudly. I casually deflected its attack and glanced back.
“Still?”
“Just a bit more. Hold on.”
Behind me, the Hongcheon branch chief trembled, gathering flames around his spear tip. He’d probably squeezed every drop of mana from his body.
“Just let me handle it. Faster that way...”
“No! I’ll do it. I need at least one kill! Almost there. Hang on!”
“Sigh.”
I couldn’t help sighing.
“Done!”
“Took three minutes for that...”
I sighed again, but the branch chief beamed with embarrassing pride.
“Take this!”
He hurled the fireball without warning me to dodge—as if he didn’t care if I got caught. No, on closer look, it was veering toward me.
‘Is this guy insane?’
Maybe an accident. His mana control looked downright sloppy. But...
‘If I were weaker, I’d be toast.’
Maybe that’s just the hunter life. Weak get wrecked, clueless get wrecked. Par for the course.
‘But what balls to swing at me? When he’s so much weaker...’
I tail-bit the fireball to dodge. It grazed past me and slammed into Minos.
The fireball erupted in a blaze. Minos followed, roasting like well-done steak with a savory aroma.
The heat was intense—even I felt it on my face. If it’d hit me, I wouldn’t die, but it’d hurt bad.
-Kill him?
The thought flashed. Then burning pain surged over my left hand’s back.
-Kill him.
It was the left. It was whispering to me.