Murder Association President Kim Yeo-ul (1)
After regrouping with the others, I stopped in my tracks on the way to the goblin den.
“Both of you, get next to me. Quietly.”
The pair who obeyed my order spotted five goblins. Every time a spear thrust forward, blood sprayed, and Kim Yeo-ul nearly let out a gasp. I clamped a hand over his mouth, having expected exactly this.
“It’s a deer, not a person, so calm down. More importantly, look at what’s hanging from the antlers.”
A token labeled Pass dangled from the horn.
“We were probably supposed to track down and kill that deer. But it doesn’t matter. We’ll take the goblins and grab the pass token too.”
“If you just give me the buff, hyung-nim, I can handle them alone.”
It was a buff that could slice through high-density steel like tofu. Goblins made of nothing but bone and flesh would die from the slightest graze.
“You can’t do it alone. Kim Yeo-ul, you fight too.”
“Pardon? Before we left, you said we could get the token without fighting.”
“I said there’s a method like that. I never said we wouldn’t fight at all. Oh, right—I forgot to mention this earlier. During combat we drop honorifics for faster communication. No exceptions, not even for the Hunter Association president.”
At that moment Kim Ji-woo lost his patience and charged the goblins.
“I don’t need help! Just cast the buffs!”
Kim Yeo-ul stood up on reflex but immediately faltered, so I gave him a firm shove from behind.
I’ll give you the physical attack power buff you wanted.
A supporter’s class skill, Buff, has six basic types in total.
Physical Attack Power
Magic Attack Power
Physical Defense
Magic Defense
Movement Speed
Attack Speed
If this had been real combat, I would have layered all six buffs on Kim Ji-woo. Even granting just three hundred points each would have multiplied his combat strength more than fivefold in an instant. However—
Since I only applied the attack power buff this time, he’s basically just a hunter with absurdly high strength and nothing else.
Naturally, the physical attack power I raised wasn’t eight hundred either. I spent a single point of mana to grant ninety-nine. That was more than enough to kill goblins.
Look at them. Thanks to the scent-erasing effect, the goblins only noticed Kim Ji-woo when he was already right in their faces.
“Kiek!”
The startled goblins froze, unsure whether to fight or flee—
“Chaht!”
Kim Ji-woo swung his sword with a powerful shout. His stance was far from perfect, but the speed and momentum were decent. The real issue was distance judgment. He had swung thinking it would reach, slicing at a goblin’s chest, but the blade was too short and the wound shallow.
“Eh?!”
He had never fought goblins before, nor done any simulation sparring, so it was only natural. Flustered, Kim Ji-woo tried to reset his posture for another swing, but he seemed to have forgotten there were four goblins total. Enemies don’t attack one at a time like in movies. Goblins especially are masters of pack hunting. Two of them thrust spears at his thigh and chest while the other two prepared poison needles.
“These runts?!”
He knocked the incoming spears aside with his sword. The blades snapped like twigs from the mere parry. The goblins realized their opponent’s attack power was overwhelmingly high. The ones who learned their lesson backed off, and Kim Ji-woo charged after them.
In that instant—
Whoosh!
A small poison needle flew. The bulky spears could be seen and deflected, but a needle that tiny was nearly impossible to parry.
“Ack!”
Even a poison needle wouldn’t show effects immediately. Enraged, Kim Ji-woo raised his sword high overhead.
“Mountain Splitting Strike!”
Hunters didn’t actually need to shout skill names, but they did it anyway. It served as a warning to other hunters: I’m about to use a skill, so don’t come near and get caught in it. Or I just used this skill, so take note. Monsters couldn’t understand human speech, so there was no real downside.
Crunch!
Kim Ji-woo, now moving at a speed incomparable to before, sliced one goblin clean in two. The power was so overwhelming that the sword drove straight through the goblin and deep into the ground. That was far from ideal.
Suddenly I wondered.
What is Kim Yeo-ul doing?
Three full minutes had passed since the fight began. Astonishingly, Kim Yeo-ul was still in the middle of casting.
Kim Yeo-ul could not save Kim Ji-woo. Having reached that conclusion, I shook my head.
I’ve seen enough of your abilities.
I had already circled behind the goblins. I tossed a stone to draw their attention.
The battle that had been pushed into a corner ended so easily it was almost ridiculous.
Had Kim Yeo-ul finally finished casting and launched his magic? Or had Kim Ji-woo pulled himself together and shown his true worth? Neither.
I had joined the fight and slaughtered all four goblins in the blink of an eye. The other two could only stand there and watch.
I was soaked in blood. Of course none of it was mine—it was all goblin.
“H-hyung-nim… did you come from a special forces unit? How are you killing goblins with your bare hands…?”
I had simply beaten every goblin to death with stones. Up close I smashed their foreheads; for those who tried to run I struck the back of their skulls and knocked them down. The same pattern on repeat.
The goblins had fought back, naturally. They threw stones and shot poison needles, but I caught every stone mid-air and dodged the needles as if I could see exactly where they would come from.
“Don’t make such a fuss. Anyone can do this much if they’ve watched the endless goblin strategy videos on NewTube.”
“But you’re a supporter, hyung-nim. Why were you watching strategy videos?”
“Because I’m a supporter, I have to. If you’re weak, you need to put in the effort at least, don’t you?”
It was the complete opposite mindset from what Kim Ji-woo—or anyone else—thought supporters should have. I had no particular desire for others to recognize that.
“And Yeo-ul.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Your casting took far too long. Why?”
“Ah, that’s… I wasn’t confident… I was afraid it might miss, or that I might hit allies… so I kept recalculating over and over…”
Kim Yeo-ul squeezed his eyes shut. He had heard the same thing at the mage training center and given the same excuse. Every time the response had been a sigh and cold, realistic advice.
“Mr. Kim Yeo-ul. If you’re that timid, how do you expect to survive as a hunter? You should just return your hunter license and live as an ordinary person.”
The manager would say the same thing… But that’s my fault, so there’s nothing I can do about it. The moment that thought crossed my mind—
“That’s a good attitude.”
“Sorry… Pardon?”
“Out of all professions, mages cause the most team kills. Just as you said, magic is powerful and has a wide area of effect. Unlike monsters, even a small injury can weaken a person. Treatment isn’t easy, either. That’s why you must be even more cautious when using magic. Your mindset is absolutely not wrong.”
Kim Yeo-ul stared at me in a daze. The first thought that flashed through his head was suspicion—maybe I was just saying nice things so he wouldn’t feel discouraged. But my eyes were steady and unashamed. It was clearly not a lie told for his sake. And even if it had been a lie, the mere fact that I would lie for his benefit made Kim Yeo-ul’s chest tighten with emotion.
“Th-that… hic…”
“Lift your head.”
“I’ve… I’ve never heard anything like that before… I’m sorry.”
“No, that’s not the issue. We don’t have time for tears. The goblins we killed were a scouting party. If they don’t return, the main force will come looking soon.”
“Ah… I see.”
The news that more goblins were coming made Kim Yeo-ul’s tears vanish instantly.
“Once combat ends, check injuries and equipment first. If everything’s fine, start looting.”
Even so, Kim Yeo-ul kept hesitating and couldn’t bring himself to approach the corpses. I wasn’t about to let that slide.
“We don’t know when the goblins will show up. Hesitating like that is no different from wanting to die. Hurry up and finish, then hide. You too, Kim Ji-woo.”
“Ugh, hyung-nim… my leg really hurts from the poison needle…”
“Stop whining. Want me to leave you behind?”
After a rough round of looting, the three of us hid.
“…Hyung-nim. It’s already been ten minutes. Are the goblins really coming?”
Kim Yeo-ul might be timid, but he felt the same way. Doing nothing and staying perfectly still was harder than expected and only made one feel restless for no reason.
“If you have a problem with my judgment, go act alone. I won’t stop you.”
The blunt threat worked better than persuasion; both of them shut their mouths.
Ten more minutes passed like that.
“I need to pee a little…”
The instant Kim Ji-woo tried to stand, I grabbed his hair and yanked him back down.
“Kartlu?!”
A group of goblins had appeared. Their equipment level was far superior to the previous ones. They carried crude crossbows and shields, wore wooden armor unlike the naked goblins before, and there were ten of them—double the earlier number. Kim Ji-woo and Kim Yeo-ul instinctively held their breath.
They had nearly died against five. Although I had killed four, that was only because those goblins had been poorly armed. The ones that just appeared were properly equipped, and one in particular was noticeably larger.
“That’s a goblin warrior. Level twenty.”
I warned them with the level, but the two noticed something else. The goblin warrior wore a necklace of teeth that looked unmistakably human.
Gulp.
The sound of both of them swallowing was crystal clear in my ears.
“We won’t get discovered, right? If we just stay still like this…”
“I-it looked over here. Hic.”
I pressed down hard on the heads of the two frightened, rustling idiots.
“Pop quiz. Can you two defeat that goblin group?”
“Absolutely impossible.”
“N-no way.”
“Correct. The two of you cannot win. But if you follow my instructions exactly, you can.”
I told them what they needed to do. The explanation was short. It wasn’t some profound tactic, nor was it difficult to understand. That was precisely why they couldn’t believe it.
“We can really win if we just do that?”
“I-I’m scared…”
Doubt and fear. A perfectly natural reaction for people. Novices would try to persuade at this point—explain why they had to fight, what benefits it would bring. Instead of persuading, I stood up abruptly and shouted.
“Tender and delicious humans right here! Come now and get one free with every purchase!”
The goblins turned their heads. Kim Yeo-ul, who met their eyes directly, let out a hiccup.