Hunting in Hongcheon Field
Choi Hyun-seong and Choi Hyun-ji, having entered Hongcheon Field, rode the field-use Jeep they'd rented for a small fortune toward the area where monsters primarily appeared.
Though it was called a field, monsters didn't swarm in droves like you could trip over them. They were more like clusters hunkered down in certain zones, akin to dungeons. Of course, their numbers were far greater than in any dungeon.
Even at their current spot, that much was clear.
"A kobold village."
Kobolds, with their dog-like faces and a modicum of intelligence, were monsters that originally appeared in D-rank dungeons. In dungeons, you'd treat the special kobold warrior specimen as the boss and take it down to clear the place. But out here? No such luck.
"Need a hand?"
"Nah, I got this."
Hyun-ji exuded confidence. Hyun-seong had offered partly because there looked to be at least fifty of the buggers in the village, but now he felt a bit awkward for suggesting it.
"If it looks dicey, I'll jump in."
"'Kay."
With that, Hyun-ji slowly approached the village. The kobolds hadn't batted an eye at the approaching Jeep, but the moment she stepped into the village, they started barking like dogs.
Kyung! Kyung!
As if that were some kind alarm system, the kobolds began gathering slowly at the village entrance.
Before they could assemble into a real hassle, Hyun-ji charged in fast, picking them off one by one.
Slash!
Every swing of Hyun-ji's sword felled a kobold. Dealing with them was straightforward. Sure, they were nimble, had some smarts for coordinated attacks, but in the end, they were beasts. Slash the vitals, stab 'em, and they dropped just like any other.
Stab!
As Hyun-ji swiftly withdrew her blade, blood erupted like a fountain. The kobolds hesitated to rush in. To them, she must've looked like the grim reaper incarnate.
Watching it all, Hyun-seong couldn't help but voice his impressions.
"No idea who trained you, but damn, you're good."
From there, she steadily whittled down their numbers until a kobold noticeably larger than the rest emerged.
"That the kobold warrior?"
In dungeons, it was treated as the boss specimen. Hyun-ji spotted it too and tightened her grip on her sword.
A regular kobold stood about 150cm tall upright, or the size of a large dog when crouched. This warrior, though? It was nearly as big as the 170cm Hyun-ji, towering over the others even in its hunched stance. Its ferocity was on another level—eyes wild with madness, movements blurring past mere agility.
Thud!
Crouched low, it kicked off the ground and leaped straight at her in one explosive bound. Hyun-ji thrust her shield forward to brace for the impact.
Bang!
The kobold warrior chomped down on the shield, dragging them into a contest of raw strength. In that moment, the other kobolds saw their opening.
Hyun-ji, locked in the grapple with the warrior, kept the rest in her peripheral vision, warding them off.
Kyung!
Thanks to that, she spotted one lunging from her blind spot and cleaved it effortlessly.
Slash!
But the more she did, the less attention she could spare from the shield. The warrior wouldn't let go.
"Ease up, you crazy mutt!"
Thoroughly annoyed by the kobold warrior's vise-like bite, Hyun-ji lashed out with a furious kick.
Thwack!
During that exchange, Hyun-seong noted something he'd taught her that she was executing perfectly: the mana infusion in her leg, just like her foot.
'She's adapting it well.'
It was the mana control technique he'd shown her for ghost hunting, shifted from fist to foot. The reinforced kick sent the kobold warrior's jaw spinning. Her flexible leg had smashed right into its face.
A beast whimpering in pain was no longer a match for Hyun-ji.
Shwick!
Hyun-ji activated Bash to finish off the kobold warrior, then mopped up the rest, terror-stricken as they were.
"Haa... I'm beat."
"Drink some water and rest."
Hyun-seong approached and handed her a bottle. Now it was his turn.
"Just need the mana stones, teeth, and hides, I guess."
Byproducts from beast-type monsters were pretty standard. With Hunter and Appraiser as sub-classes already slotted, Hyun-seong pulled out a disassembly dagger and got to harvesting.
One by one, as he processed the kobolds Hyun-ji had taken down, he realized the bags they'd brought weren't going to cut it.
"That's a haul."
Once disassembly wrapped up, even Hyun-ji stared blankly at the pile of byproducts littering the ground.
"Let's load it into the Jeep quick. This oughta cover the rental fee."
"Yeah."
And so they began hauling the loot to the vehicle.
"Leveled up twice today."
"B-rank's just around the corner, huh?"
For most, it'd take months, but Hyun-ji was hogging all the EXP, so she progressed way faster. Typical B-rank challengers hit level 40, so two levels a day meant theoretically ten days—but higher levels demanded exponentially more EXP, so it'd take longer.
"Seriously, after tangling with monsters from C-rank dungeons, I can tell the gear you made me is top-tier."
Today's kills were mostly from E- or D-rank dungeons. They only ran into one C-rank monster, deep in the ruined Hongcheon county seat.
'Orcs had set up shop there.'
Orcs were intelligent, tough monsters—practically a separate race. Every few centuries, a special specimen would spark a nation. History books recorded it all, and Hyun-seong knew from his exhaustive studies across worlds and loops.
Even so, he'd worried the orcs might overwhelm Hyun-ji.
But her true prowess shone against humanoid foes. She dispatched them with textbook fundamentals: block, counter, repeat.
Of course, she chalked it up to the gear Hyun-seong crafted, downplaying her own growth.
"I didn't have to step in once, so yeah, you killed it."
"You think? Hehe."
Beaming like an idiot at the rare praise, Hyun-ji kept driving.
"At this rate, 3 billion won's a breeze."
With the orc byproducts added, the Jeep was stuffed to the gills with today's massive haul—nearly ten times what they'd scraped from prior dungeons. One day like this, and a safe, nice house in Seoul felt within reach.
"3 billion? Actually, there's an easier way to make bank than selling byproducts."
"What? If it's 'join a guild,' forget it. Not much upside for us."
Hyun-seong had floated the guild idea once before, hence her quick shutdown.
"Nah, something only you can do."
"Only I can do?"
"Make gear from these byproducts? We'd be rolling in it—way more than 3 billion."
Hyun-ji had gotten a feel for her gear's value from community chatter. It jogged a memory.
The reactions had been explosive—comments, replies, the works. Consensus? Unobtainium. If real, you'd need a blank check. Even Americans would bite. It drove home just how insane her gear was.
"Sell custom gear?"
"Yeah. All this stuff's made from E-rank dungeon byproducts, right?"
Hyun-ji gestured to her leather armor, plus the shield and sword in the back.
"True enough."
But Hyun-seong's response was lukewarm.
Why? Because...
"Too much hassle..."
Gear crafting was creative work without blueprints. Creation's torment couldn't be bought off. Plus, his artisan pride wouldn't let him half-ass it.
Of course, she wasn't letting that slide.
"If it's such a pain, go lie back in the hospital bed. I was nice enough to bring it up..."
"Watch that attitude. When did I say no?"
"Ahem, you serious?"
"The sofa's getting unbearable anyway."
The old thing even wheezed now. For the moment, discomfort trumped laziness.
"Gonna check today's haul and whip something up."
Hyun-seong wasn't clueless. His gear hitting the market would cause waves.
Because...
'Not all uniques are created equal.'
His pieces pushed unique-grade limits into epic or legendary territory, unbound by material constraints. Compared to other uniques, their effects were absurd. Rich folks would swarm like sharks.
That was the real hassle for Hyun-seong.
'If word gets out it's me...'
He'd keep it buried deep.
In the past, a major incident rocked the B-rank dungeon Corridor of Spirits. A mid-tier guild entered to clear it but got wiped out, save one survivor: raid leader and guild master Han Min-hyuk, an A-rank hunter. He reported to the Association that it was beyond them.
Clinging to death's door, he emerged with severe trauma and quit hunting.
Everyone bought it—until one relentless soul didn't.
'Min Seol-hee...'
For some reason, she despised rogues and dug into related cases. She zeroed in on this one, tracked Han Min-hyuk to his hideout, and confronted him.
The words hit, and Han Min-hyuk bolted using his ability. Or tried to.
Shrouded in black shadow, masking his presence for a stealthy escape—but...
She didn't even draw her sword—just scattered her mana, flash-freezing the whole area.
Crack!
His skill, Shadow Walker, always carved an exit before. Not this time. The disparity was too immense.
Shhhk.
Agony like his body was incinerating broke his stealth. He nearly died by her hand then—until someone intervened.
A mysterious voice echoed, and Han Min-hyuk fled. Min Seol-hee, for whatever reason, didn't pursue.
Four years passed. The Hunter Association branded him an A-rank rogue: Shadow Walker.
"Already been holing up in the field that long, huh."
Clad head to toe in black cloth, he'd recently taken a mission: surveil a target. Choi Hyun-seong and Choi Hyun-ji, fresh from hunting in Hongcheon Field.
Confirming their exit, he returned to base. His reaction was predictable.
"Spare these nobodies and let 'em live? What the hell are they waiting for?"
No clue on the bigger picture—just following orders.
Then—
Bang bang bang!
"Mister! We're out of supplies!"
He wasn't alone, of course. The shrill female voice pounding the steel door grated, but low stocks were serious, so he opened up.
Rattle!
The door screeched open, and she stepped back, startled. In her hand, a well-loved teddy bear. Twintails: one half blue, the other red.
Her eccentric style gave Min-hyuk a headache, but he asked anyway.
"What're we out of?"
"My makeup..."
Without a word, he slammed the door. She was one of the problem children gathered by the enigmatic man who'd saved him long ago.