Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 05
Chapter Title: Friend or Foe Identification (1)
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Iowa branch Hunter Association agents hopped on a helicopter and flew in the moment they received the report.
May was visibly tense. It was her first time in real combat.
Three months into her assignment at the Iowa branch, and an incident had finally broken out.
The usual laid-back atmosphere was gone, replaced by solemn gravity.
"May."
"..."
"May."
"..."
Inside the shaking helicopter, May ignored her senior agent's words.
She was so tense she couldn't hear a thing.
"May. Relax."
The senior agent sitting next to her grabbed her shoulder and said.
Only then did May snap back to reality.
She thought it was encouragement.
"Thank y..."
"Shape up, or I'll drop you out the bottom!"
These weren't the seniors she knew.
In real combat situations, they were stricter and more serious than anyone.
She wondered if this was all a dream.
Where had those donut-munching slackers gone?
"Answer me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing the senior's bellow, she realized this was no dream.
The helicopter landed near the company that sent the signal, dropped off the agents, and lifted back into the sky.
It switched on its lights, illuminating the surroundings.
It was a guide of sorts, to help find the missing people and the magical beasts.
The company and truck were overturned.
Windows shattered, body crumpled.
Three claw marks.
Beast-type magical beast.
"Beast-type magical beast."
"Kyle. We giving up on searching for the missing?"
They'd arrived at the scene, but it was already too late.
Team leader Kyle knelt and touched the dirt on the ground.
It wasn't crumbly; it was moist, like it'd been watered.
...Blood.
Human blood. And magical beast blood too.
One or two awakened among the group, maybe.
Kyle issued orders to his agents.
"From now on, we abandon the search for missing persons and prioritize hunting the beasts."
That's when May shot her hand up.
"N-no, we can't!"
May thought the people had fled because there were no bodies here.
"Finding the missing is the rule."
Even rookies could voice opinions.
The Hunter Association agents' top priority was protecting civilians.
The senior agents cracked faint smiles at May's boldness before hiding them.
If she'd just blindly followed orders like an idiot, they'd have sidelined her from this mission and future ones.
It was a rookie test of sorts.
These incidents didn't happen every day, so the tests were strict.
"No missing people means they've already gone into the beasts' bellies."
Kyle said.
"Ah."
It was rare, but she'd heard of it happening a few times.
May couldn't hide her complicated feelings; they showed on her face.
I swore to protect the civilians...
When a dungeon 'breaks,' everyone nearby dies without fail.
Like landslides, hail, or tsunamis, dungeon breaks were classified as disasters.
No one's fault.
Just a calamity.
"The best we can do is kill those bastards right now, so at least the families can hold a funeral."
Best to kill the beasts before the bones digest and retrieve the bodies from their stomachs.
Let them escape, and there'd be more victims.
Boom! Bwoom! Boom!
That's when explosions rang out not far away.
*
He had to fight D-rank magical beasts barehanded.
Only one pickaxe for a weapon.
Non-awakened died and became Privates.
Their bodies were a bit tougher than regular humans.
Probably F-rank by awakening standards.
The soldiers seized the advantage with the Corpse Explosion passive skill's firepower.
The moment an Iron Wolf lunged at Seo Dae-hyun's back.
Bwoom!
One soldier voluntarily dove into the wolf's jaws and self-destructed.
Boom! Bwoom! Boom!
They obeyed his orders above all else, but if he was in danger, they forgot those orders.
Only Corporal-level soldiers or higher could become Squad Leader.
Naturally, Kim Hyun-jun took the role.
Buff for 10 soldiers.
He'd even gained the skill Kim Hyun-jun had been using.
"...Da... hyun..."
Kim Hyun-jun called his name.
Pronunciation was off, but it was definitely Seo Dae-hyun.
"Hyun-jun! You..."
That's when it happened.
The Bear Wolf, enraged at losing kin, charged Seo Dae-hyun with jaws wide, aiming to swallow him whole.
Kim Hyun-jun swung the pickaxe at the Bear Wolf's hindquarters.
Whoosh!
The strike was shallow.
The weapon Kim Hyun-jun used was no item—just a farm tool.
But another soldier was there to protect Seo Dae-hyun.
One-Eyed confronted the Bear Wolf.
Three times the size difference.
One-Eyed fought to the death without hesitation, single-mindedly protecting his master.
The Bear Wolf targeted One-Eyed's nape several times but couldn't bite.
It knew a bite would strip flesh from its mouth, shatter its teeth.
Even if it survived, it wouldn't be living.
The Bear Wolf reared up and slammed its front paw down on One-Eyed's head.
Thud!
Bwoom!
Dead or not, it exploded all the same.
Flames spread across the Bear Wolf's front paw. It frantically rubbed the ground to extinguish them.
Limping, it advanced toward Seo Dae-hyun.
No more soldiers to guard him now.
Leader against leader—
Crack!
The Bear Wolf whipped its head back at the chill on its nape.
One-Eyed's exploded head was intact, moving as if alive.
Its sharp fangs clamped onto the Bear Wolf's nape and hung on.
Seo Dae-hyun reached out toward the Bear Wolf.
"Rise."
It wasn't for the Bear Wolf.
It was a command to the beasts beyond it that had stopped breathing.
While Kim Hyun-jun and One-Eyed fought, the other soldiers mopped up the remaining Iron Wolves.
The dead Iron Wolves rose as Seo Dae-hyun's loyal hounds.
Crack!
The other wolves followed, biting the Bear Wolf's arms, legs, tail.
Smaller bodies, but stronger bite force than before.
The Bear Wolf exuded killing intent.
No effect.
The Bear Wolf lost its reason.
It fought back to the end, but it was futile.
No matter how many times it killed them.
Its soldiers rose again like zombies.
Brown fur around the muzzle charred black from flames.
Roof of mouth burned, teeth broken.
Grrr!
It dragged its battered body in flight.
Seo Dae-hyun mounted One-Eyed and pursued the Bear Wolf.
The other soldiers mounted wolves and gave chase.
Torn flesh and burns slowed it; it couldn't go far.
Even without verbal orders, the soldiers moved as he thought.
Like hunting prey, they slowly encircled the Bear Wolf from front and flanks.
The Bear Wolf spun with agile footwork.
It lunged at Seo Dae-hyun atop One-Eyed.
Seo Dae-hyun's face reflected in the Bear Wolf's blood-red eyes.
It had aimed for this from the start.
Seo Dae-hyun's class was Necromancer.
Weak in close combat, like a Healer.
If he died, all soldiers vanished.
At least, if he were an ordinary hunter.
Swish!
The Bear Wolf dodged the incoming attack from behind.
Pickaxe thrown by Kim Hyun-jun up front.
Injured or not, it had the instincts to evade that.
But Kim Hyun-jun hadn't thrown it to hit the Bear Wolf.
Seo Dae-hyun caught the flying pickaxe and leaped at the Bear Wolf.
Before awakening as Necromancer, he'd been a Healer.
He hadn't just healed comfortably from the rear.
With the will to save comrades, he'd fought in the thick of it against beasts, honing self-defense.
His close combat was better than most combat hunters.
He wanted to avenge his comrades himself.
He charged the Bear Wolf.
[Surprise Slash]
Attack speed +25%. Extra damage +10%.
Thud!
He smashed the pickaxe into the Bear Wolf's crown.
Yelp!
The Bear Wolf's head split with a death cry.
He turned the dead Bear Wolf into his soldier.
Pre-death injuries healed.
Eye wouldn't return, but the rest regenerated.
No name given.
No desire for attachment.
The Bear Wolf was a Corporal.
Kim Hyun-jun was C-rank, Bear Wolf C-rank too.
Accounting for weakening, Corporal represents D-rank?
Private F, Private First Class E, Corporal D made sense.
Seo Dae-hyun still didn't fully grasp his abilities.
He could hardly believe this situation.
Rank C/SSS.
SSS was max growth potential!
"Commander?"
Squad Leader ability, but superior version.
First, he checked if Kim Hyun-jun had his wits.
"Hyun-jun. You with us?!"
"...Uhng."
Hyun-jun's speech was slurred.
Seemed he couldn't talk properly.
"Do you remember what happened? Everything?"
"...Dunno... he said... protect... you."
Communication worked, but not smoothly.
Seo Dae-hyun understood.
Kim Hyun-jun didn't know what was going on either.
Just that a voice in his head said to protect Seo Dae-hyun.
"Nod if I'm right."
Kim Hyun-jun nodded.
Michael, Hayes, the others were like dead bodies, silent.
"Sit. Stand."
They obeyed sit-stand commands.
"Speak. Anything. Say something."
......
They ignored that order.
"Promotion?"
Promotion from Private to Private First Class?
"Promote."
Wolf beasts didn't promote. Kim Hyun-jun didn't either.
Only non-awakened humans did.
Kim Hyun-jun regained sanity twice.
Once when Squad Leader appointment went to Bear Wolf.
Only Corporal-level soldiers could take it, and Bear Wolf was the only option.
"Hyun-jun."
"......"
Unlike before, Kim Hyun-jun showed no reaction.
Losing the position (Squad Leader) keeps his mind from returning?
Not certain yet.
Looking at Kim Hyun-jun, Hayes, and his dead comrades, a thought struck Seo Dae-hyun.
What if he gave the rank above Squad Leader? Could they live normally?
He currently commanded fifteen soldiers.
Locked, but any vet knew.
The position commanding thirty soldiers as Second Lieutenant or Lieutenant was...
"Platoon Leader."
Seo Dae-hyun reassigned Squad Leader to Kim Hyun-jun.
Whup-whup-whup!
Helicopter noise from above.
Bright yellow light shone on Seo Dae-hyun.
The intense light made him wince involuntarily.
Grrr!
The wolf beasts bared teeth, alerting to his discomfort.
But they weren't watching the helicopter.
Straight ahead, as if something was there.
"Hands up!"
Understandably so—hunters armed with special gear emerged from the brush.