Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Thrilling Combat Support
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“Here… this should let me gather mana stones pretty safely.”
The gate I’d come to was located 5km from my rooftop room.
The area around the gate was sealed off with an opaque screen door-like barrier. It was a precaution against any monsters that might escape.
“Hmm…”
[C-Rank Gate: Jinhyeon - Owned and Managed by: Hwayeon]
It was a bit off-putting that this gate was managed by the infamous Hwayeon Guild among hunters… but I didn’t have many other options.
For one thing, it was the closest to my place. Close enough to walk.
With my entire fortune at just 20,000 won, even a cheap bus fare felt murderously expensive.
Fortunately, walking 5km in this girl’s body wasn’t a big deal.
Of course, it was a little uncomfortable having all those stares pouring my way.
‘People in this world just can’t get enough of cute things.’
I was well aware of how cute this body was.
Sure, the looks played a part, but the backpack slung over my shoulders probably helped too.
The backpack had a subtly boxy shape. From a distance, it almost looked like a randoseru?
It was only when I caught my reflection in a shop window that I realized how it doubled the cuteness factor when paired with my appearance.
For the record, Molrang was inside the backpack.
I’d felt bad leaving it alone in the rooftop room—it might get lonely.
Plus, I figured Molrang might prefer fresher mana stones.
Molrang?
“Hey…! I told you to stay still!”
Instead, I had to put up with my whole body shaking every time Molrang got playful.
The backpack was surprisingly bulky, making it hard to keep my balance.
Beep!
After scolding Molrang, I held my hunter license up to the entrance, and the door slid open.
Ding!
[JH Hunter Love Check (4213) Han*byeok 4/12 10:01 20,000 won charged - Hwayeon Co., Ltd. (Gate Entry Fee)]
At the same time, basically my entire fortune drained from my account.
I could already feel Hwayeon’s notorious reputation firsthand.
Not content with skimming commissions off gate profits, they were the only ones charging entry fees too.
Anyway, no backing out now.
If I couldn’t make money here, death was my only option.
I steeled myself and headed toward the gate.
A elegant green glow emanated from the rift, and quite a few people were gathered around it.
Most of them were probably here to scrape by, just like old me.
Of course, rice-grubbing like that was impossible for me now.
Mana stones were inherently valuable and small enough that people rarely left them behind.
‘In the end, I’ll have to hunt monsters myself.’
The problem was whether this body had any combat ability…
I couldn’t imagine it.
The idea of these soft hands unleashing superhuman strength to smash monsters.
So, my only remaining option was to form a party.
“Alright…”
I headed toward where people were clustered together.
Some hunters operated in fixed parties, but there were plenty who formed one-offs on the day.
But… would anyone take me in?
Cuteness alone wouldn’t cut it—hunting wasn’t that easy a job.
Molrang!
At that moment, Molrang jumped around inside the backpack again, like it was demanding attention.
“…Ah!”
Thanks to that, I suddenly remembered something from last night’s hunter community forums.
[Title: Guys, what’s special about Pudding Slimes?][Writer: WannaRaiseADragon]
I heard they’re rare or something? Curious about any unique traits~
-What’s this, no aggro for once? A normal post?
ㄴ(Writer): Huh? It’s always been normal?
ㄴ Fair enough.
-It can eat anything regardless of size.
ㄴDon’t all slimes do that?
ㄴNah, other slimes burst if it’s bigger than them.
ㄴTrue lololol
ㄴ(Writer): So, could you use it like inventory?
ㄴYeah, if it can spit stuff back out, try it lol. Digests super fast too lol.
ㄴNo wonder it’s rare but cheap. There’s a reason~
‘Eats anything regardless of size.’
I’d glossed over it since it couldn’t spit things back out, but maybe Molrang was different.
Molrang obeyed my commands, after all. That meant it had decent intelligence.
Molrang!
I took Molrang out of the backpack and set it down.
Hunters’ eyes turned to me, but the attention faded quickly.
Taming monsters to raid gates was a common sight.
About 3 out of every 100 hunters were the [Monster Tamer] class, frequency-wise.
“Alright.”
I handed Molrang a plastic water bottle.
……
Molrang hesitated like it didn’t want to eat it, then realized it wasn’t food and chomped down, swallowing the bottle whole. It vanished in an instant, just like yesterday’s mana stone.
I waited about 10 minutes like that.
‘No way it digested it, right?’
I was anxious, but what could I do?
If I didn’t trust Molrang, who would?
A true merchant had to have pride in their wares.
“Ahem. Ready?”
After waiting long enough, I held out my hand to Molrang.
Molrang immediately opened its mouth wide and spat something out.
“Whoa…!”
The plastic water bottle dropped right into my hand. The amount of water inside was unchanged.
Maybe it was just luck? I tested it several times. For the final verification, I even fed it my hunter license.
“It works…!”
The results were consistent, of course.
I couldn’t stop my lips from curling up toward the heavens.
I could see it. See myself rolling in money thanks to Molrang.
Hunters usually preferred to make bank in one big haul per gate.
Hunting monsters was tedious and dangerous, after all.
But the ‘Inventory’ skill that made it possible was insanely rare.
That’s why [Porters] were so beloved.
But what if Molrangs could be mass-produced?
Or if tools mimicking inventory could be made from Molrang materials?
“Heh heh…”
Thrilling! So exciting!
Just imagining it sent tingles through my body! Shivers! I could barely contain the excitement.
I plopped Molrang on my head and slipped into the crowd.
The attention-grabbing worked—soon, a woman approached me.
“Looking for a party by any chance?”
“Yeah. Kinda hard to go alone… I was hoping to find some people to go with.”
“Wanna join us then?”
She looked to be in her early 20s, with striking blue hair. She introduced herself as Lee Ha-yeon.
The rest of her party were women too—childhood friends, from what I gathered.
Waking up together with people you know. That’d make hunting fun.
“So, Saebyeok…”
“Ah, just call me casually.”
A real man doesn’t fuss over titles.
Though, counting my past life age, I was probably older.
“Got it, I’ll call you casually then. What’s your ability, Saebyeok? Class is Monster Tamer, right?”
Lee Ha-yeon pointed at Molrang as she asked.
“Yeah, that’s right. Ability is… combat support.”
I fudged it a bit.
No point admitting I was a Monster Summoner.
“Combat support? You fight together with that slime?”
There was a hint of skepticism in their eyes.
Regular slimes were firmly at the bottom of the monster pecking order.
Weed-like existences that propped up the ecosystem’s base. Hard to imagine them helping in combat.
“No, not like that…”
I handed Molrang my hunter license. It swallowed it without hesitation.
“…Huh?”
When I held out my hand again, Molrang spat it back out. Plop.
“Like this.”
I shrugged with my lips proudly upturned.
“…It’s a regular slime, right? First time seeing this…”
“Did slimes even have intelligence like that?”
“Looking at it again, it’s less cute and more kinda scary…”
Despite Molrang’s impressive ability, they hemmed and hawed, so I went for my trump card.
God, I really didn’t want to use this one.
“Does… that mean I can’t join…?”
I fully ditched any masculinity and widened my eyes into big, pleading orbs.
…Pretty embarrassing.
“No! You’re more than good enough! Come with us, Saebyeok.”
Fortunately, it worked like a charm.
And so, I entered the gate with the three of them.
**
“Ria! Need some ranged support!”
“Got it.”
At Ha-yeon’s request, Ria—the flame sorceress—launched a fireball.
Boom!
As the fireball exploded and drew the twin-horned wolf’s attention, Ha-yeon slashed its thick neck with her sword.
Whumm.
Soon, a gentle light from Hye-eun, the healer, enveloped Ha-yeon and mended her wounds.
“Phew… One more down.”
In this fashion, Ha-yeon’s party sped through the gate.
They already had plenty of firepower. A near-perfect trinity of mage, warrior, and healer. The three of them could handle B-Rank gates without issue.
The problem was their limit on gathering materials.
Monster parts were heavy to begin with, so they usually just took mana stones and key bits.
Even that could hinder combat if there was too much. Even a little extra weight jacked up the difficulty in B-Rank gates, forcing Ha-yeon’s party to stick to C-Rank ones.
Lower rank meant lower profits, but today was different.
“Molrang. If you would.”
It was thanks to Han Saebyeok, the cute girl who’d joined temporarily.
Molrang!
At Saebyeok’s request, the blue slime wobbled and opened its mouth.
The wolf—far bigger than a wild bear—disappeared completely down its gullet in under 5 seconds.
Yet the slime stayed the same size.
Ha-yeon asked again, still amazed no matter how many times she saw it.
“Saebyeok… what did you say your hunter rank was again?”
“Me? I’m D-Rank.”
Unbelievable. Why was someone like that only D-Rank?
The slime Saebyeok had tamed was incredibly smart.
Beyond storing materials, it even cushioned party members when they tripped.
Maybe her gate experience was low, keeping her rank down? But she followed along like a pro.
Regardless, her ability alone warranted at least B-Rank.
‘Lucky us.’
Ha-yeon smiled inwardly.
If Saebyeok’s ability got out, this might be the last time they partied together.
“Saebyeok, how’s it looking? Think we can take more materials?”
“Um… a bit further should be fine.”
“Then we can push a little more?”
Selfish, maybe, but they had to milk it for all it was worth.
“Of course. A little more should be okay.”
Fortunately, Saebyeok nodded with a bright smile.
**
[Title: Monster Tamers <<< Aren’t Actually OP Classes?][Writer: SeekingPorterSlavery]
Saw some kid with a slime raiding a gate today.
Used the slime like inventory?
Isn’t this straight-up broken?
-Yeah, bullshit.
ㄴ(Writer): No for real?
-I’m a monster tamer and this is total crap. Monsters are legit braindead, all they do is fight.
ㄴ(Writer): Maybe you’re just a shit tamer?
ㄴYou wanna die? Where you at?
-Slime inventory from some multiverse?
ㄴEven high slimes are dumb as rocks fr.
-Evidence or gtfo?
ㄴ(Writer): Ugh it’s real… and the kid was super cute too.
ㄴLolololololol
-Which gate?
ㄴ(Writer): Jinhyeon.
ㄴC-Rank noob… I’m the idiot for believing a C-Rank hanger-on.
ㄴHey asshole. Field’s C but apologize to the 2 mil C-Rank hunters nationwide.
ㄴWhy 2 mil? That many hunters?
ㄴI’m Chinese lol.
ㄴLololololololol insane bastard.
**
“Pretty profitable.”
That was my take after successfully clearing the gate.
We took down about 15 monsters.
I kept all the mana stones, handing the rest of the materials to Ha-yeon’s side.
A 5:5 split by value.
But was it really okay for me to take this much? Another looks bonus?
No reason to turn down what they offered, though.
“Here!”
I tossed Molrang a decent-sized mana stone.
Molrang!
It gulped it down and eyed me for more, but…
Sorry, no can do.
Handing out as many as yesterday would bankrupt me quick.
With 29 mana stones now, selling half and feeding half as treats seemed perfect.
Honestly, we could’ve made more.
But I claimed Molrang had hit its limit.
Showing off too much would just invite trouble.
Truth was, I had zero desire to hunt full-time.
Fame was nice, but only anonymously.
If things got tight… I could always go public. Not yet, though.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
I stuffed Molrang into the backpack to return to the rooftop room.
Heh, my steps felt light despite the hefty mana stones.
Well then.
Time to seriously figure out inventory using Molrang?