Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: To Catch a Hunter, Go to the Hunter Guild (3)
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Originally, since this was a fight against three at once, I'd expected at least a grueling thirty-minute battle at the start.
But unexpectedly, the clash between me and the group of goblinas ended in a disappointingly anticlimactic fashion with my first strike. All the tension I'd built up had nowhere to go and naturally fizzled out.
"...Something feels off."
Of course, it was strange enough that I'd gotten this strong just from raising my Swordsmanship to level 3. But what was even stranger was that all three goblinas had gone down in one go.
The attack I'd initially planned was aimed solely at the lead goblina, so the timing was calibrated only for her. Normally, my blade shouldn't have even grazed the other two.
Yet the result was completely different: all three split in half and dropped dead at once.
Something that shouldn't have happened had happened in reality, leaving me more than a little flustered.
In a situation like this, the most plausible explanation that came to mind was probably...
"No way...?"
To verify the possibility that flashed in my head, I immediately examined the fallen goblinas' bodies. I compared the lead one—the biggest—with the two that my blade hadn't touched.
Sure enough, seeing the differently shaped wounds on the lead goblina and the other two confirmed that my theory was spot on.
"Vacuum Slash..."
A technique where the air sliced along with the sword swing hurtles forward, delivering lethality even at a short range. Also known as sword aura, it was one type of advanced swordsmanship skill.
Looking at the cleanly bisected lead and the messier cuts on the other two corpses, I could roughly gauge what kind of technique I'd unconsciously unleashed.
...The problem was that, for a typical swordsman, Vacuum Slash was something you couldn't pull off until at least B-Rank Hunter level.
And I'd acquired it just from investing the points I got from sleeping with Kang Hye-eun once?
No matter how desperately I'd wished for awakening, this growth rate was objectively a bit suspicious.
It felt weird, like I was getting stronger without any real effort.
...But thinking it over again, saying I hadn't put in real effort was wrong from the start. The years I'd spent chasing awakening weren't short by any means.
Three years at Hunter Training Middle School, three more at Hunter Training High School, and two years after graduation.
Considering the time and effort I'd poured into awakening, honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if I already had A-Rank Hunter power.
If I thought of this as getting back all my unpaid efforts at once, it wasn't something to feel guilty about.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ More than eighty percent of becoming a strong hunter came down to luck, not effort anyway.
Your bloodline, your environment for focusing on awakening, the quality of your awakened ability, how early you awakened to hone it.
Those were the real dividers between strong and weak hunters—which was why Ariel Foundation hunters, with their superior awakening conditions, were generally stronger on average.
In my case, I'd awakened far later than most. It was a precious power that had taken far longer just to sprout.
Even if my Hunter Lust Manager ability was a bit better than others', I had no reason to feel any guilt.
'Besides, it's not confirmed I can use Vacuum Slash yet.'
The cross-sections on the corpses suggested it strongly, but I hadn't closely watched the sword during the swing, so it could easily have been some other unconscious technique.
I was still just an apprentice hunter who'd only taken down three goblinas—no need to make a fuss over this.
I extracted the monster cores from the goblin and goblina corpses and pocketed them.
At ten thousand won each, they weren't cheap; collecting them would make for decent living expenses.
Above all, to advance from apprentice to full hunter, the fastest way was frequent guild transactions to build achievements—which was why I'd harvested the most valuable part from the goblinas.
For typical D-Rank monsters like these, nothing else had much value besides the cores.
-Rustle, rustle.
"Hm?"
After pulling the cores and dumping the bodies, as I moved to change spots, I heard rustling from the bushes again. It didn't take long to figure out what it was.
'Kieeeek!'
'Kerruk! Kieek!'
'Keeeeek!!'
The moment I heard goblinas screeching from all directions, I snapped my sword up and assumed position.
'About ten of them...'
Compared to the first group, this was over three times the number—but against them now, I didn't feel like I'd lose at all.
For Hunter Kim Sung-cheol—no, Hunter Sung Tae-kyung—this was a pretty decent debut stage.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "42... 43... 44...."
By the time I finished the battle with the endless waves of goblinas, their hacked and stabbed corpses were piled around me like a fence. In the center, I counted the monster cores I'd earned.
"48... 49... 50."
Exactly fifty.
First three goblinas down, cores collected—then another group appeared while collecting.
Take them out, collect cores—another group shows up during collection.
Repeating that a few times yielded fifty cores from D-Rank goblinas.
"Not bad for a debut hunt."
Even after entry fees and material sales commissions, it'd be over four hundred thousand won—a solid haul for half a day.
And what I'd gained wasn't just pocket money; it included knowing my current strength level.
Vacuum Slash. Heavy Slash. Double Slash.
All confirmed during the frenzy of slashing and stabbing fifty goblinas.
I'd even picked up Bayonet Guard, wrapping thin aura around my greatsword for defense. ...The name felt off since it wasn't a bayonet-equipped gun, but I hadn't named it myself.
Through it all, I vaguely inferred my skills put me around C- to B-Rank Hunter level.
Kang Hye-eun, my age peer, was already A-Rank, so B-Rank might not sound impressive—but with zero male B-Rank hunters, it was absurd.
Plus, I was certain this wasn't my limit.
『Swordsmanship lv. 3: 0/300』 Opening the Hunter Lust Manager app briefly to check the skill list confirmed it again.
At just level 3 Swordsmanship, I was already this strong—what would levels 4 or 5 bring?
Did this ability even have a limit?
Moreover, the skills honed via Hunter Lust Manager weren't limited to Swordsmanship—Flame Magic and Healing were definite future additions, with endless others possible.
Forgetting titles like world's only male awakened hunter or strongest male hunter, becoming the absolute strongest hunter might not be a pipe dream.
...Of course, that'd require my dick to work a bit harder.
I stopped collecting gobline cores at fifty; my harvest bag was full.
Stepping onto the white platform for Hunter Autonomous Guild returns, I hit the guild recall button.
Time to execute the second reason I'd come to the Hunter Guild today.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Warping back from the dungeon via gate, I headed straight to counter eleven and dumped all the gobline cores I'd collected.
The buyer started processing the fifty cores routinely at first, but upon taking my apprentice hunter ID, she checked my face.
"You're Kim Sung-cheol, right?"
"Yes."
"The apprentice who registered today?"
"Yes, that's me."
"...You're definitely not a woman, right?"
"One hundred percent male."
A male apprentice hunter registering today, selling fifty gobline cores on day one.
Not impossible, but slim odds objectively... assuming I wasn't an awakened hunter.
"Did someone else bring these achievements for you?"
"No, I hunted them all myself."
"As a male hunter?"
"...Is that sexist?"
"Ah, no! Sorry if I offended you!"
In this world, nothing shut down nosy questions like a sexism accusation.
After that, processing went smoothly: I got 450,000 won after 10% commission on base price, plus my ID stamped with achievement records.
'That clears achievements and skill tests.'
Instead of heading home, I sat in the guild lobby, scanning faces of passing female hunters.
More precisely, the numbers on the hearts floating beside them.
'20, 15, 25, 10, 35...'
Checking expected points on women milling about, nothing like Kang Hye-eun's level showed up.
The highest decent was 35; most hovered in the 10s-20s.
There was one at 40, but her looks made goblin as preferable—I ignored her.
I learned high points didn't guarantee viability.
Blindly chasing points and grabbing any woman could backfire if my dick wouldn't cooperate during sex. I had no interest in emotionless flings anyway.
Finding a decent-looking hunter with solid points was trickier than expected.
The upside: Hunter work built great bodies across the board.
Still, not every face was "standable"—excluding the physiologically impossible, candidates narrowed to about 60%.
Good looks often meant boyfriends, and those showed low points: 5-15 range.
I didn't want to meddle in others' relationships, so those felt awkward too.
Kang Hye-eun really was an unbelievable jackpot: sky-high points, no boyfriend, and a virgin to boot.
As I debated compromising on a middling face and points, the Hunter Autonomous Guild doors slid open with a buzz.
-Vrrr.
"......"
Wide-brim hat and floor-length cloak screamed magic awakener.
Couldn't see her face under the hat, but the curves under the cloak were visible even from afar.
Of course, the real draw was the expected points floating by her face.
'50 points...?'
Muttering the heart's number, I shot up from my long stakeout. Jackpot vibes hit hard.
Even if the face was iffy, that body and 50 points? Manageable. Worst case, hat hides it.
Couldn't camp the lobby all day—time to lock in today's target and go for it.
She beelined to counter six without pause, telling the attendant curtly:
"Ancient Tree Graveyard, Sector A."
Confirming her pay the maintenance fund and step onto the platform, I followed to counter six.
"I'd like to enter Ancient Tree Graveyard Sector A."
Paid the fund, got directions, then stood on the same platform as her, waiting for the warp spell.
A prime catch after so long—I had to hunt her properly.