Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: The Girl Does Not Despair (2)
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4.
“Me!”
No one else raised their hand, even belatedly. Dokgo Young-jae said in astonishment.
“Really?”
“Yes, sir!”
“So brave girl! I like that! Men, today you all turn in your balls. Brave girl, step forward.”
Do Ye-jin stood face-to-face with the human gecko.
The human gecko tilted its head, letting out a sleazy chuckle.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared.
Deep down, she didn’t want to do it.
But…… Do Ye-jin needed to get stronger, fast. That was the only way to live in this world with her sister.
“Draw your sword.”
A training longsword slid free, emitting a heavy metallic ring.
“Get ready for the next battle. Five seconds.”
Her hand gripping the hilt trembled.
“Four.”
I can do this. Let’s go. I have to.
“Three.”
Up close, she could tell right away it was a fake lifeform.
“Two.”
This human gecko had no color. No shading. Just black and white.
“Heh, heh heh, heh heh heh.”
“One. Fight!”
In an instant.
The moment the human gecko kicked off the ground with its countless limbs and leaped upward.
Do Ye-jin pulled her sword back over her head, then brought it slashing down.
A heavy weight slammed into her forearm.
The next moment, acrid ink drenched her from face to toe.
One clean bisect.
The human gecko charged, only to split in two and tumble across the ground, ultimately dissolving into ink.
That was Do Ye-jin’s first kill.
“What the fuck……?”
Dokgo Young-jae spat out a random curse in a daze. That’s how shocked he was.
‘A total newbie bisected it with a longsword, not even a serrated blade?’
Truth be told, the first volunteer was meant to be a sacrificial lamb for intimidation……
‘Ah. Could this one be……?’
“Instructor!”
“Wh-what?”
“I’m soaked in ink all over, so can I go wash up?!”
Do Ye-jin flashed a heh smile. Dokgo Young-jae barely managed a nod.
“Y-yeah. Wash gently.”
“Yes, sir!”
Do Ye-jin puts on her mask.
But there are times she takes it off. When she lies down on her bunk to sleep.
“Daddy, good night.”
Do Ye-jin placed her wristwatch by her pillow and smiled brightly.
“They called me the brave girl. Did I do good?”
Of course, no answer came. It never would, forever.
In her dream, she saw the human gecko’s face. Its laughter echoed in her ears. She recalled the impact transmitted through her hands when she struck that face.
Cold sweat drenched her body in seconds.
Do Ye-jin clutched her wristwatch, searching for her now-gone father amid her tears.
“……Daddy.”
Do Ye-jin without her mask.
Was just a 16-year-old girl surviving in a ruined world.
5.
There’s no rest in the second half of training.
Morning and afternoon classes involve combat drills against 22 types of fake heteromorphs.
“Combat training aims to build mental fortitude through experience accumulation, but.”
The instructor said from the podium.
Like this, after dinner, they even had theory classes.
“To become Nightmare Hunters, you need not just combat skills, but knowledge too. Today, we’ll cover communication methods in the Nightmare Zone.”
“Boring.”
Do Ye-jin sprawled over her desk, grumbling. In her hand was a silver bell.
“What’s so great about this thing.”
Ding…… ding…… ding……
She shook it limply, and it rang out clear and bright. Park Ji-won snorted.
“One ring for OK signal. Two for subordinate appearance or rescue request. Three for operation start.”
Park Ji-won, who’d summed up the lesson in three lines, wore a smug top-student smirk.
“‘In the Nightmare Zone, you need fast communication for emergencies.’ What’d you even hear in class?”
“I heard it all, shorty.”
“Who’re you calling shorty!”
Park Ji-won yelled once, then shook his head like he was fed up.
“Don’t you get how amazing this is?”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah! This is free intel our seniors bled for on the front lines.”
“Free my ass.”
A tone dripping with provocation.
The culprit was, predictably, Heo Cheon-gyeom.
“They’re raising us as cannon fodder, so they gotta invest that much. World where you can sell info for cash? Nah.”
Park Ji-won narrowed his eyes.
“What else you wanna spew?”
“Watch your mouth with your elders, punk. Just be real, man.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom strode threateningly toward Park Ji-won’s desk.
“We’re just here to avoid being suckers. Matches the Association’s demand for cannon fodder perfectly.”
Park Ji-won let out an obvious sigh.
“Why act all highbrow when it doesn’t suit you?”
“Soulstones! Soulstone distribution, dumbass.”
The Association distributes soulstones equally among combat personnel in raids.
“At this pace, hunts’ll end quick. Hunters’ era’s coming soon. To live upper-class in the new world, level up now, idiot. Skipping raids is for morons.”
“Idiot? They say idiots only see idiots…… How do you know it’ll end quick?”
Two years apart, Heo Cheon-gyeom and Park Ji-won were infamous for bad blood. The former realistic, the latter idealistic.
“The dummy and the dimwit are fighting again.”
But when Do Ye-jin teased them, they united in response.
“Fuck, who’re you calling what!”
Hm. That was pretty fun.
6.
After second-half training came live combat drills.
They had to enter the Nightmare Zone directly, so recruits get weapons issued here.
“You’ve heard normal steel weapons are useless in the Nightmare Zone, right?”
Thus, recruits stopped by the Association’s logistics workshop, the Forge.
“They can damage it, but it regenerates instantly—that’s the problem.”
This boy in Association uniform was, surprisingly, no Hunter.
Lee Seon-hyo.
Chief Armorer of the Forge.
Association Logistics Division, Seat 3.
Lead Hunter Kim Baek-jun, drawing on his police special forces experience, divided Association Hunters into five specialized branches.
Main combat: “Hunt.”
Tracking and scouting: “Recon.”
Operations planning and overall command: “Command.”
Vanguard for subordinate hunts, elite branch: “Subjugation.”
Weapon development and supply: “Logistics.”
Logistics included civilians, distinguished by white uniform coats.
“S-so…… does that mean Nightmare Zone heteromorphs are invincible?”
Ryu Hyun-ji asked cautiously.
「You idiot. Think a bit.」
While White scolded Ryu Hyun-ji, Lee Seon-hyo shook his head.
“Not invincible. Meteorite iron weapons slice through heteromorph armor and leave effective internal damage.”
With that, he pulled away the large cloth covering the workbench.
“All Nightmare Hunter gear is made of meteorite iron. These too.”
A dozen heavy, gleaming weapons.
“What’re those? Never seen weapons like that.”
Park Ji-won muttered in surprise.
“Normal. These are the Forge’s proprietary combinable weapons.”
Combinable weapons?
“Combinable? Like what?”
“The Nightmare Zone is land of variables. Hunters must adapt to any. So the Logistics Chief applied the concept of combination to weapons.”
Each branch has a branch chief.
For example, Subjugation’s is Kim Baek-jun. Lee Seon-hyo picked up the first weapon.
“First, three melee weapons. This is the Combinshield Sword.”
The Combinshield Sword was a sword and shield pair.
Oddly, the shield’s top edge had a groove. Wide enough for a blade.
“Normally used as serrated sword and shield. But fit the blade into the shield groove and twist.”
A solid metallic click as it locked.
The Combinshield Sword had instantly combined into a brutal bludgeon.
“Used as a large blunt weapon. Choose based on enemy and battlefield.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom seemed entranced by the Combinshield Sword.
“Whoa, badass.”
“This is the Axe Spear.”
Now he showed a hand axe and short spear set.
“Both serrated. Use hand axe and short spear as needed……”
He fitted the short spear’s haft into the hand axe’s, twisted to lock.
“Can use like a two-handed axe.”
Do Ye-jin was impressed inwardly.
She didn’t know much about hunting yet, but these inventions were clearly from mad geniuses.
“Finally, the Tri-blade.”
The Tri-blade was relatively simple.
A three-section staff concept applied to a short sword. Designed for ranged Hunters annoyed by melee parries.
“Normally short dagger length, mid-extension small sword, full three-section long sword. Choose per variable.”
Explanations for five firearms followed, but Do Ye-jin couldn’t hear. Someone had called her aside.
“Ye-jin! Doing well?”
“Huh……?”
Do Ye-jin recalled after a moment.
“Uh…… S-Seo…… Hwa-yun unnie!”
“Yeah! It’s unnie! Unnie!”
Seo Hwa-yun.
Strategic Tech Squad Leader.
Head of the Association’s official armory, the Forge.
Seo Hwa-yun, who strode about in a flapping lab coat like a researcher, was an unusual woman.
181cm tall.
Towering like a grown man, with a refreshingly roguish demeanor.
And one of the Nightmare Hunters genuinely kind to Do Ye-jin.
“You’d look super cute in uniform! Total opposite of Kim Baek-jun vibe.”
“That old guy doesn’t wear uniform?”
“Well, yeah. Uniform’s modeled after Kim Baek-jun’s hunting gear.”
Seo Hwa-yun pushed up her silver-framed glasses, then led Do Ye-jin deep into the Forge.
“Unnie made something special. For you, Ye-jin.”
“A gift?”
“Yep. Gift!”
Seo Hwa-yun’s gift was profoundly bizarre.
A massive barrel.
A hefty axe blade at its end.
Axe or cannon? No such weapon existed before.
“Cannonaxe.”
“Cannonaxe?”
“Cannon plus axe. Swing the axe blade down, barrel opens. It’s heavy, so careful…… What, you’re lifting it easy?!”
Do Ye-jin swung the Cannonaxe around lightly, making Seo Hwa-yun laugh.
“How do you use it?”
“Not hard. Use like axe, or load shells and fire. But.”
Seo Hwa-yun pulled out a powder pouch, loaded the Cannonaxe’s chamber, pulled the trigger.
“Its true value is this.”
Amazingly…… the axe blade spun sharply like a chainsaw for an instant!
“Powder explosion spins the blade momentarily. Like a chainsaw.”
“Wow! Can I try?”
“Obviously. It’s yours now. Scabbard for back-carrying included.”
Do Ye-jin strapped the Cannonaxe to her back with the scabbard, paused at the door. Seo Hwa-yun tilted her head.
“Why?”
“Thanks!”
Do Ye-jin bowed at the waist.
Daddy said to thank those who show kindness with sincerity.
“How are you so cute and sweet.”
Seo Hwa-yun hugged Do Ye-jin tight, rubbing her cheek on her head, then whispered seriously, oddly.
“Your power…… Idiots call it cursed, but…… someday, it’ll save this world. Unnie’s certain.”
Do Ye-jin flinched for a second.
What just…… She looked up at Seo Hwa-yun, but only the usual playful smile was there, no seriousness.
“Weapon selection and issuance complete. Line up outside.”
The instructor’s voice rang out then.
Seo Hwa-yun patted Do Ye-jin’s shoulder.
“Time to go?”
“Ah, yeah…… Bye, unnie!”
Do Ye-jin waved cutely as she left.
About 10 seconds later. A giant emerged from the shadows in the corner.
Ferocious bucket helmet.
Uniform straining against massive muscles.
Golden cross embroidered on the right upper arm branch mark.
“Aren’t you getting too attached?”
The Association’s strongest Hunter.
Taesan, Im Yong-gon.
“Even though you might have to kill her someday.”
Seo Hwa-yun glanced at Im Yong-gon, sighed, slurped her coffee.
“By whose say-so.”
“By Nightmare’s will.”
“Yeah? Then leave me out when it happens.”
Im Yong-gon didn’t reply.
“Won’t join even if you don’t, so tell Choi Uk that.”