Not Much Durability. Are You a DPS?
Cha Eun-seong’s muttered words left a lasting impression on the aspiring hunters in the cafeteria.
“He’s insane.”
“I shouldn’t have messed with him. Ugh.”
“That guy’s definitely a psychopath. I’m never making eye contact again.”
Most of the aspiring hunters who had secretly harbored competitive feelings toward him had now completely given up. They never expected him to brutally crush Park Gi-baek, who had been gaining fame on SNS and short-form platforms. Meanwhile, Cha Eun-seong’s calm demeanor—dumping the ladle without a word of anger and casually filling his tray—only chilled their hearts further. An ordinary person couldn’t commit such violence and then act like nothing had happened.
Ra Si-hyun was also shocked by Park Gi-baek’s destruction. She had already witnessed bloodshed a few hours earlier when Oh Tae-kwon’s spirit sword was shattered and his neck nearly severed by an axe, but this case was different. Oh Tae-kwon’s incident had at least looked like a proper fistfight; this one hadn’t even reached that stage. Cha Eun-seong had been like a machine. He beat a person, yet showed less hesitation than someone stepping on an insect. Beyond mere coldness or cruelty, it seemed he didn’t even regard his opponent as another human being. Ra Si-hyun realized that to Cha Eun-seong, enemies were nothing more than obstacles to be removed. The thought sent another shiver down her spine. If he had shown even a single spoonful of emotion, it wouldn’t have been this terrifying—but he was now calmly trying to eat lunch.
Even Instructor Kim Sang-eung looked somewhat surprised as he glanced at Cha Eun-seong.
“Why did I do that? Ha.”
Ra Si-hyun bitterly regretted what she had done that morning. She had openly ignored such a terrifying person and even glared at him several times; now she had no idea how she would handle the consequences. Moreover, Cha Eun-seong was a promising talent the Defense Strategy Department valued even more than her, a mage. She recalled an article she had looked up late where the Minister had referred to Cha Eun-seong as “the friend he had the highest expectations for,” and a chill ran through her body. She had ended up on bad terms with someone the Minister prioritized over even a mage—every second felt like sitting on needles.
“I need to get close to him. At the very least, I have to make sure he doesn’t dislike me.”
Ra Si-hyun roughly piled food onto her tray and headed toward the table where Cha Eun-seong was sitting. It took a bit of courage, but she had her own reasonable confidence.
“If I approach first and act friendly, he’ll definitely welcome me. I’m a mage, after all.”
Thud. Ra Si-hyun set her tray down across from Cha Eun-seong.
“……?”
Cha Eun-seong looked up at her quietly.
“Let’s…… eat together.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ra Si-hyun’s voice rose ever so slightly.
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Is it because I was rude this morning?”
“No.”
Cha Eun-seong’s gaze shifted to the food on her tray.
“Hmm. How is the sushi even good? Buffet sushi shouldn’t taste like this.”
“……”
Ra Si-hyun’s hands trembled with humiliation. She had come to make friends, only to be evaluated on the taste of her meal instead.
“You’re acting like this because I was rude this morning, right?”
“I already said no.”
“Then what is it?”
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. It’s a reason you’d never get even if you died and came back to life.”
A strange smile appeared on Cha Eun-seong’s lips.
“What on earth do you mean by that?”
“Just accept it. Sometimes people dislike someone without any reason at all.”
“Honestly, it’s because of what happened this morning.”
“If thinking that makes you feel better, then go ahead.”
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? I’m getting stressed……”
Just as Ra Si-hyun was about to argue, Jeong Ho-bin and his teammates approached the table.
“Uh…… We’ll go eat somewhere else. Haha.”
Jeong Ho-bin glanced around cautiously and spoke.
“Sit down.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing’s going on, so sit there.”
Cha Eun-seong gestured toward the table with his chin.
“Ah, then……”
Jeong Ho-bin and his teammates hesitantly took their seats.
“What about me?”
“Why are you asking me? Sit wherever you want. Just don’t sit in front of me.”
Cha Eun-seong spoke curtly and turned his attention back to his tray. Ra Si-hyun trembled violently but didn’t dare open her mouth toward him. She had no desire to end up like the people who had picked a fight with Cha Eun-seong.
After lunch, they headed to the outdoor shooting range for firearms training. It was instruction on how to use weapons humanity had traditionally employed—rifles, shotguns, pistols, grenades, smoke grenades, Claymores, and so on.
“Once you reach 5-star rank, you won’t need these weapons anymore. But as you all know, becoming a hunter above 5-star is extremely difficult. There aren’t even two or three per class. So it’s best to learn.”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung swept his gaze over the weapons laid out in front of him as he spoke. Conventional human weapons were useless against monsters above 5-star. Only ether could inflict damage on them. The same applied to hunters—5-star hunters could casually deflect bullets and withstand barrages of artillery fire. By 7-star, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that only other hunters or monsters could kill them. But as Instructor Kim Sang-eung said, becoming a hunter above 5-star was incredibly difficult, so learning conventional weapons was very important. Even I, who had once been a 10-star hunter, had enjoyed using guns right after regressing.
“This training will be conducted strictly on an evaluation basis. Ah, is there anyone among the trainees who doesn’t need this training?”
At Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s question, I quickly raised my hand.
“Trainee Cha Eun-seong, you don’t need training?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
The moment Instructor Kim Sang-eung finished speaking, I disassembled and reassembled a rifle, loaded three rounds into the magazine, and pulled the trigger toward a 25-meter target. Beep! When Instructor Kim Sang-eung pressed the button, the target came back. Dead center of the chest. Three bullet holes were visible inside a circle the size of a 500-won coin.
“Your marksmanship is excellent.”
“Not really.”
I meant it. I was decent at shooting, but I couldn’t compare to Instructor Kim Sang-eung or my father, who had handled guns their entire lives.
“Continue, Trainee Cha Eun-seong.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
I skillfully demonstrated various firearms in turn—shotgun, pistol, anti-tank weapon, grenades, and so on.
“You really don’t need training. Hahaha……”
“You knew how to do all of them?”
“When did you learn all that?”
“Cha Eun-seong oppa is really amazing.”
My teammates were impressed by my demonstration. Meanwhile, I noticed Ra Si-hyun biting her lower lip hard, but I didn’t bother looking at her.
“Well observed. A skilled assistant instructor’s demonstration. Now, applause.”
Clap clap clap clap clap!
“Good work, Trainee Cha Eun-seong. You won’t need training.”
“You flatter me. Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Where do you think you’re going, Trainee Cha Eun-seong?”
“Didn’t you ask if there was anyone who didn’t need training?”
“I asked if there was anyone who didn’t need training. I never said they could leave.”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung grinned.
“I got played.”
I realized it too late. I had been careless. I forgot the eternal truth that you have to listen to Korean sentences all the way to the end.
“Then, Trainee Cha Eun-seong, you can help your teammates as a skilled assistant instructor.”
“Haha……”
“Now, let’s begin the training.”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung gave me a victorious smile and began explaining each weapon to the team members. In the end, once practice started, I had no choice but to help teach the rookies alongside Instructor Kim Sang-eung. Ah, my fate……
Still, teaching was better than receiving completely unnecessary training.
Bang bang! Bang bang bang!
Jeong Ho-bin, fitting for a ranged dealer, was quite good with guns, so there wasn’t much to teach him. Oh Tae-kwon was terrible with rifles and pistols but showed aptitude for heavy weapons like shotguns, machine guns, and anti-tank weapons. The guy who seemed to be an assassin-type was named Park Seok-ho; he was good at precise single shots but had terrible accuracy when shooting while moving.
“As expected—ranged dealer, warrior, assassin.”
What was interesting about hunters was that their personalities and talents generally matched their role types perfectly. Not always, of course……
“I-I can’t hit a single shot.”
Kim Seung-hye, as expected from someone who looked like a support-type, was bad at shooting. She flinched at the mere act of pulling the trigger, so of course she couldn’t hit anything.
“You won’t hit if you shoot like that. Calm down. Rest the stock like this, just enough, and hold the gun like you’re hugging it. If the recoil is too much, you can lean forward a bit.”
“L-Like this?”
“Yes, that’s right. Now hold your breath in that position and slowly pull the trigger without thinking about whether it’s pulling or not…… Don’t be conscious of it.”
Bang!
The bullet pierced the center of the target’s chest.
“Huh? I hit it!”
“Well done. Just remember that feeling and keep practicing.”
“Yes! I’ll remember!”
“Ah, and even as a supporter, you can handle monsters below 5-star just fine, so don’t neglect your shooting training. While supporting your allies, you can also add firepower, and depending on the situation…… Anyway, train hard.”
I hurriedly wrapped it up, worried I was talking too much. As a former 10-star supporter teaching another supporter, I had gotten a little excited.
“Why aren’t you teaching me?”
Ra Si-hyun approached and questioned me.
“Did I get assigned to you?”
“Huh?”
“I asked if I was assigned to teach you.”
“You’re the assistant instructor, oppa. So shouldn’t you teach me too?”
“Learn from the instructor.”
“I don’t want to. I want to learn from you, oppa.”
“I don’t want to either.”
I cut her off firmly. Why would I raise a tiger cub? I had already killed her once, and I might kill her again.
“Besides, you’re good at shooting anyway.”
“What do you mean I’m good at shooting?”
“Don’t pretend you’re not. I know you can shoot well.”
It wasn’t just empty words—Ra Si-hyun, despite being a mage, was one of the best marksmen. I had seen her pull out a gun and shoot naturally more than once or twice when her ether was depleted and she couldn’t use magic. Even I acknowledged Ra Si-hyun’s shooting skills……
“Um, but……”
Kim Seung-hye cautiously interrupted.
“I’m not a support……”
“What? You’re not a support?”
“I’m a guardian……”
What was she talking about…… So she meant a tanker?
“Seung-hye, you’re a tanker?”
“Yes.”
“No way.”
“I-It’s true!”
Kim Seung-hye spoke in frustration, then suddenly picked up a pistol and aimed it at the side of her own head.
“I’ll show you.”
Bang!
Before anyone could stop her, Kim Seung-hye pulled the trigger toward her own head.