Chapter 42
Chapter 42
42.Discharge-type Gate (5)
Han Hye sprinted with all her might down the deserted city street, the road wide open thanks to cars pulled over onto the shoulder.
Four Grendels doggedly pursued her.
“It’s, it’s dangerous!”
Kim Jeong-do, watching the scene from the helicopter, clenched his fist. Han Hye ran hard, but the Grendels were too fast.
Watching from above, he could see the distance closing rapidly.
The sight of those 2.5-meter behemoths charging was intimidating enough to make his heart pound even from afar.
Eventually, the Grendels caught up to Han Hye. Sharp claws aimed for her back.
“No…!”
Kim Jeong-do gasped in shock, but then Han Hye vanished from sight. She had used Leap.
The Grendels, having lost their prey, howled mournfully.
-Woo-ooo!
Kim Jeong-do, higher in the air than the Grendels, spotted Han Hye’s location first and shouted.
“Space Warp! Another Space Warp! She’s escaped to the rooftop of a building!”
The Grendels didn’t stay still either. They quickly located Han Hye and leaped up the wall.
Their agility and thick claws allowed them to stab into the building’s exterior as they climbed, making the scene seem surreal.
Han Hye, using her Spatial Sense, felt the Grendels and continued running across the rooftop. She leaped over the rooftop railing and used Leap when the heights didn’t match.
However, she couldn’t maintain this situation for long, as the distance closed again after the Grendels reached the rooftop.
-Pat!
Han Hye once again used Leap to descend to the ground, successfully evading the Grendels.
Thud- Thud-. The Grendels, jumping off the building’s rooftop, landed with heavy thuds.
The chase resumed.
Han Hye ran a bit more and then Leaped to another rooftop. Seeing this, Kim Jeong-do shouted with elation.
“She’s creating distance again! A clever strategy using Space Warp! That’s right! When the Grendels come down! She just goes back up!”
After repeating this about twice, the Grendels weren’t just mindlessly falling for it anymore.
Two remained on the ground, while the other two pursued her along the rooftops of buildings on either side of the road.
There were buildings with mismatched rooftop heights, but the Grendels were so fast that the distance didn’t increase any further.
While running like that, one of the Grendels running on the rooftop leaped towards Han Hye.
“Han Hye Hunter’s speed has decreased slightly. Is she tired? Oh no! The Grendel is….”
Kim Jeong-do sighed, clearly seeing the attack coming from a blind spot. From the helicopter, it looked like she was about to be hit.
But Han Hye had Spatial Sense.
As soon as she detected the Grendel rushing at her from above, she stopped. Lowering her center of gravity, she placed her right palm on the ground.
She slid a bit due to the momentum, but she managed to evade the Grendel’s attack.
“How?”
Kim Jeong-do, forgetting he was broadcasting, gaped at her seemingly having eyes in the back of her head.
However, the problem was the two Grendels charging from behind. Han Hye turned and extended her hand.
Wooong-.
The opened Subspace blocked the following Grendel’s attack. Thwack-! With a heavy thud, the Grendel let out a pained scream.
Subspace was physically immune. It was like punching an asphalt wall with your fist.
Tudook-. As a result, the Grendel’s claws, which could pierce even building exteriors, broke and fell to the ground.
Kim Jeong-do was once again astonished.
“She blocked it! The Grendel’s claws can tear through asphalt, so is Subspace physically immune? There’s no other explanation!”
The internet was in an uproar as well, watching the live broadcast.
-Wow, crazy;;
-Isn’t she a D-rank?
-Yeah, she is
-How did she block a Grendel attack?
-Her Skill is S+ rank, though
-Space Warp and Subspace is physically immune? WTF, there was a reason she caught the Ogre
Han Hye used Leap again to create distance from the Grendels. But this time, she didn’t run.
She opened a Subspace in the middle of the four-lane road.
“Han Hye Hunter has opened a Subspace. What is she planning to do?”
Han Hye opened the Subspace for one reason: she had reached her physical limit.
She had been running at full speed since the chase with the Grendels began.
No matter how high her Stamina Stats were, she couldn’t maintain a full sprint for long.
Her Mana was also depleted thanks to the constant use of Leap.
‘You guys stay there. I’m going to rest.’
But Han Hye had Subspace. Stamina and Mana were lacking?
She could just rest and come back.
The enraged Grendels came to the entrance of the Subspace and howled, but they couldn’t harm Han Hye.
Even Dragons couldn’t break through Subspace.
“The Grendels can’t break through the Subspace! Oh? Wait a minute! The Subspace is closing….”
Han Hye closed the Subspace and rested for about four hours. She wiped off some sweat and washed her face because she felt uncomfortable.
She even slept. Only after her Stamina and Mana were fully recovered did she reopen the door to Subspace.
“It’s opening again!”
But from the outside, it just looked like it had closed and reopened.
“It definitely seemed safe, but I don’t know why she reopened it. Does Subspace have a limit? However, the entrance to the Subspace is smaller than before!”
Therefore, those watching the situation found it difficult to understand.
Then, Han Hye threw something out of the Subspace. It was a Magic Bomb she had received during the Night of Despair Gate.
Kwaaaang-!
She had timed the explosion and thrown it out. The four Grendels nearby were caught in the blast.
However, it didn’t kill them. The Magic Bomb was made for a level 16-20 Gate.
It wasn’t enough to destroy an Ogre-level Monster.
But the effect was clear. The Grendels that had been blown away were bleeding quite a bit.
Han Hye, having made the Subspace door larger again, swung her Elegant Sword from inside. Sharp winds were fired at the pushed-back Grendels, but unfortunately, they didn’t do much damage.
From the start, Han Hye didn’t intend to inflict damage.
She had only used Wind Split on all four of them to firmly grab their aggro.
Just in case the Grendels were dazed by the shock of the explosion.
“She’s coming out again!”
And the chase resumed.
Kim Jeong-do thought for a moment. Physically immune Subspace, and he had seen her enter it.
In fact, she had just thrown a bomb and attacked unilaterally.
Han Hye could have hidden in the Subspace to avoid the Grendels and stayed safe.
“I understand! Han Hye Hunter is trying to maintain the Grendels’ aggro! She’s risking her own safety because if she hides, the citizens could be harmed!”
Only after hearing those words did the people watching understand Han Hye’s intentions.
“Han Hye Hunter! The chase continues. Her Stamina is unbelievable. Even with an S+ rank Skill, she’s currently a D-rank Hunter. The chase with the Grendels must be exhausting.”
Kim Jeong-do, overwhelmed with emotion, continued to speak as if possessed.
“But! She’s not tired! No, she must be tired! But she keeps running! She’s showing unbelievable dedication for the safety of the citizens. That’s what a Hunter is!”
Of course, Han Hye had rested in the Subspace, but from the outside, it could only be seen that way.
The internet’s reaction was also heated.
-Public servant Hye ㅜㅜ
-WTF, someone on Hunter Net said Spatialists are rude, who was it? How is that rude?
-Wow, unbelievable. Isn’t that Grendel a monster that even a level 30 rogue can’t escape from?
-Yeah, you can assume that any B-rank rogue or lower will be chased down
-I thought giving an inventory user several hundred million was too much, but it’s worth it
-T_T I’m touched
"Ugh, damn it.”
A curse involuntarily escaped her lips. It wasn’t a Stamina issue. She had been resting in the Subspace.
It was because those guys were so stubbornly chasing her.
Of course, she had to keep their aggro, but she cursed because of their cunning.
At first, they had been chasing her mindlessly, but they were starting to learn about her. They had recognized the range of her Leap.
Only one of them was directly chasing her. The other three were maintaining a distance of about 35 meters around her.
“Hoo!”
She was blocking or evading with Leap and Subspace, but it was becoming physically exhausting.
Their attacks were also becoming more threatening, which was unsettling. She needed to enter the Subspace more often.
She also had a slight regret. She had wondered if Lee Shin-hee’s so-called bodyguard from the Association would appear if she led the Grendels around.
But there was no such thing.
Well, if they were going to appear, they would have appeared already. Large and medium-sized Gates had been appearing one after another.
They must have gone to stop those.
‘Ubermensh wouldn’t be able to predict Discharge-type Gates either.’
She detected the Grendel’s movement in the upper right. She immediately used Leap. To an ambiguous distance of about 15 meters above the ground.
She had also learned this from the Grendels’ pursuit. She was briefly defenseless, but it was also difficult for them to catch her.
It was a technique where she could use Leap to escape while falling from the air to the ground.
She wouldn’t have even thought of it normally, but she had come up with it while resting in the Subspace.
‘Well, it wasn’t all suffering.’
[Skill, Leap (A-rank) has increased in level.]
She had used Leap so much that the Skill level had reached 3. She could use it a little faster now.
It was a slight difference, but she was satisfied in the current situation. That slight difference could lead to danger.
“Huh?”
At that moment, she felt a wave of Mana from behind. It was coming from the Grendel.
Chunbae warned.
-It’s dangerous! Awakening!
Her heart skipped a beat.
‘Awakening?’
Strictly speaking, it should be called ‘Second Awakening.’ Monsters above the Troll level all had Magical Fields and were Awakened beings.
This also happened to Hunters from time to time. Second Awakening didn’t mean having two jobs.
Just as Awakening occurred in extreme crisis situations, it meant learning Skills or abilities that were appropriate for the situation.
In fact, the speed of the Grendel charging from behind had become incomparably faster than before.
‘Leap….’
It was a slightly comfortable distance, so she wasn’t ready yet. She urgently calculated the Space.
However, it was a little faster.
“……?”
What?
In an extremely short moment, she felt a sense of incongruity.
With her Spatial Sense, she felt something passing by at a very high speed. The Grendel that was charging at her faltered in the air for a moment.
But there was no time to think deeply. The Grendel’s body had faltered, but its claws were still within striking distance.
Crack-!
The Necklace of Protection was activated by the attack that seemed to graze her body. It was an artifact she had obtained from Labyrinth's Dead End.
It had reacted even to an attack that had brushed against her collar. In the meantime, she barely managed to Leap.
“Damn it.”
She didn’t know what had happened, but the safety device that had protected her life once was broken. It would take a day to recharge, so she couldn’t use it anymore.
From now on, she had to avoid danger in a state of extreme tension.
‘Who helped me?’
She hadn’t been hit this time because someone had helped her.
A stream of blood was flowing from the body of the guy who had attacked her. She didn’t know what it was, but it was clear that he had been attacked by something.
‘Could it be the bodyguard Lee Shin-hee was talking about?’
There was no time to think deeply. She had to focus on the immediate situation rather than hoping for luck.
The Awakened Grendel was chasing her at a high speed, even while bleeding.
Pat-!
She used Leap again to evade. Wooong-. Was it because its speed had increased? The tearing sound of its claws ripping through the air was eerie.
Hoo. She took a short breath and quickly racked her brain.
‘It’s hard to hold out in this state.’
Looking at her Stats alone, she was over level 35, but her individual Stats weren’t.
It was because she had distributed them evenly, unlike other Hunters who put Stats into their respective jobs.
If it weren’t for Leap, she wouldn’t have even thought of running away with the Grendel in the first place.
First, she had to get into the Subspace.
‘I need to raise my Agility a bit.’
There was an Elixir that had come from the farm. Crimson Vine. Chunbae had definitely said that it would help with Agility.
She had to eat that and put the spare Stats she had saved for times like this into Agility.
-Woo-ooo!
While she was racking her brain, the Grendel charged. It was a speed that was difficult to react to even with her 30-meter Spatial Sense.
She urgently threw herself and used Leap. After Space Warping, she slid across the asphalt due to inertia.
Wooong-.
She was about to quickly open the Subspace and evacuate.
“Huh?”
Like before, something passed by at an incredible speed with her Spatial Sense. The Grendel’s body, which had been charging from behind, burst with blood and then collapsed powerlessly.
And…….
Ta-ang!
A gunshot rang out belatedly. What? She was bewildered. Could that have been what stopped the Grendel earlier?
She didn’t know. There hadn’t been a gunshot then.
The Grendels that had been following behind faltered and looked around cautiously due to the sudden situation.
Tudududu-.
She had been aware of the helicopter following from above, but another helicopter sound was added from the distance.
And something flew from the helicopter. It was a spear.
Despite the considerable distance, the flying spear pierced through the Grendel’s torso.
Another Grendel collapsed.
Ta-ang! Ta-ang!
Two more gunshots followed.
All the Grendels slumped down.
[Level has increased.]
The level-up notification appeared, probably because the time she had spent dragging them around had been added to the battle.
She would have leveled up 2 or 3 levels if she had caught them directly, but it was only 1 since she hadn’t.
Thud-.
And someone jumped out of the helicopter that had stopped above her. She could tell who it was right away by looking at his face.
The highest-level Hunter in the country and an S-rank Hunter.
It was Shin Chang.
“…….”
Shin Chang, having retrieved his spear, approached her without a word and extended his hand.