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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: First Gate Hunting (3)
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As soon as he activated the [Weight Proportion] skill, Kim Ho-myeong's body hardened and grew heavier in proportion to the target he was blocking.
At the same moment, the boss monster hurled its entire body toward Kim Ho-myeong's shield.
Thud!
Kek?!
His legs sank up to his ankles into the damp, soggy ground, but the shield-wielding Kim Ho-myeong didn't budge an inch against the massive boss monster.
On the contrary, the boss monster that had crashed into the shield flailed its legs wildly, spinning its wheels like a frustrated vehicle trying desperately to push him back.
The boss monster, never expecting a single human to block it, let out a roar mixed with fury and bewilderment, grunting in frustration.
While the two were locked in a contest of strength, Lee Yu-rim slipped into the boss's blind spot and leaped high into the air.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Kueee-!
The moment she landed on its back, she began slashing away relentlessly.
Despite its enormous size and rugged hide, her daggers pierced through the leather and dug into the muscles at the nape of its neck.
As the boss spewed blood and screamed in agony, Bae Deok-ho's arrow found another opening and struck true, embedding itself in the monster's eye.
"All bulk, no bite!"
Bae Deok-ho confirmed the arrow's perfect hit and grinned.
Watching Kang Sa-hu fight had made his body itch with anticipation, but now that they were battling the boss themselves, excitement surged through him naturally.
"Take this-!"
Arrows rained endlessly into the boss monster's body, while daggers tore through its thick hide and ripped into muscle.
On top of that, the boss's frantic, powerful swings were all blocked by the shield that refused to yield to its immense weight and strength, landing not a single effective blow.
The attacking hunters, bolstered by Kang Ji-ye's support, showed no signs of fatigue despite their intense movements.
No one said it outright, but having witnessed Kang Sa-hu—a fellow Awakener—mow through enemies solo had fired up their bodies and minds, allowing them to immerse themselves fully in the fight.
"...Hm."
It was the picture of perfect offense and defense.
Kang Sa-hu, who had stepped back to observe the scene, felt a quiet satisfaction inwardly.
According to the briefing before entering the Gate, even an F-rank Gate didn't mean its boss monster was F-rank.
The F-rank designation was based solely on the majority of monsters inside the Gate.
In other words, the boss could potentially rank higher than the Gate itself.
And the boss they were facing now, while from an F-rank Gate, was actually E-rank in its own right.
Factoring in the current environment, it could easily be D-rank, maybe even C-rank.
Thick hide, claws suited for climbing trees.
And this tropical rainforest Gate was practically a lizard monster's home turf.
Yet that very boss was unable to land a proper attack, getting unilaterally hunted by these small humans.
From this display, Kang Sa-hu could roughly gauge the Gate's difficulty level, which he hadn't quite grasped yet.
Keeyak!
As Bae Deok-ho unleashed a barrage of arrows without respite and Lee Yu-rim, now mounted on its back, stabbed away with her dagger, the fatigued boss monster began to flee.
It whipped its tail against the ground as if to say "stay back," and the hunters stumbled and tangled in the attack, halting their assault for a moment.
Without so much as a glance back, the boss monster climbed a tree.
"I-It's running away!"
"Can't you hit it with an arrow?"
"Look at that speed! How am I supposed to hit that?! And I'm almost out of arrows!"
In response to Kim Ho-myeong's words, Bae Deok-ho showed him the mere seven arrows left.
"You should've brought more arrows if you were coming to hunt!"
"Do you know how expensive arrows are?! These are all the ones the government issues to Hunters, plus what I bought out of pocket!"
Bae Deok-ho pointed accusingly at the boss monster, his voice full of grievance.
Its head was so bristling with arrows—exaggeration aside—that you could mistake it for a porcupine instead of a lizard.
"...What kind of F-rank Gate boss is this tough?"
Unable to argue further with Bae Deok-ho, Kim Ho-myeong muttered to himself when Lee Yu-rim stepped forward.
"I'll climb the tree and finish it off."
"No, hold on! Didn't you see that monster's attacks earlier? I barely held it off with my class skill. You could get seriously hurt, so be careful!"
"Oh! Right! Skills! Uncle Deok-ho, why aren't you using your skill?"
Kang Ji-ye suddenly realized and asked.
At her question, Kang Sa-hu also fixed his gaze steadily on Bae Deok-ho.
Bae Deok-ho hesitated for a moment before grimacing deeply and shouting in anguish.
"I haven't gotten a skill yet!"
"...Ah."
Kang Ji-ye covered her mouth with her hand, looking at him with pity.
"W-What's with that look?!"
"N-No, sorry. I didn't know you hadn't gotten one."
"You're mocking me, aren't you?!"
Ignoring Bae Deok-ho and Kang Ji-ye, Kim Ho-myeong and Lee Yu-rim turned to Kang Sa-hu.
Kang Sa-hu hadn't joined the direct fight against the boss, staying back the whole time, but no one complained about it.
They all knew that without him, they would've had to slog through the humid, sweltering jungle and take down 99 Forest Lizards to reach this point.
And even now, with the boss fleeing, their casual joking stemmed from their trust and expectations in his abilities.
"Mr. Kang Sa-hu, what now?"
At Kim Ho-myeong's question, Kang Sa-hu scanned their surroundings.
Bae Deok-ho, nearly out of arrows.
Kim Ho-myeong, holding a shield cracked in several places that wouldn't last much longer.
And Lee Yu-rim, gripping a dagger that was half-broken, one of her two already shattered.
"May I finish it off?"
"...I can still fight."
Lee Yu-rim sounded a bit disappointed, but the others voiced their opposition.
"Yes, we were underprepared this time, and our gear couldn't hold up. We'd like to ask you to handle it."
No vote or prior agreement was needed; everyone present already acknowledged him as the party leader.
Besides, even if he'd borrowed the power of his summons, he'd essentially soloed every monster in this place, so no one doubted he could do it.
No way a single boss was stronger than 99 regular monsters in the Gate.
Kim Ho-myeong spoke with a serious expression, and Lee Yu-rim, Bae Deok-ho, and Kang Ji-ye behind him all looked to Kang Sa-hu.
Kang Ji-ye especially nodded with a smile, agreeing with Kim Ho-myeong.
As his sister.
And as adults and Hunters, they vaguely sensed why Kang Sa-hu hadn't joined the fray.
"We've confirmed what a Gate is like and how effective our power is here. Pushing further would just be a waste of time."
"I see."
At Kim Ho-myeong's words, Kang Sa-hu raised his hand, aiming at the boss monster lurking in the distance, eyeing the hunters.
They'd already prepared powerful magic in case anything happened while they hunted the boss, so no incantation was needed.
Azure and emerald light gleamed from Kang Sa-hu's eyes.
Crackle.
Kek! Kiiieee!
As he slowly clenched his outstretched hand, the sound of the distant boss monster's bones snapping echoed from within its body.
It was the same magic he'd used to kill the Giant Hound earlier—forcing bones to grow unnaturally and twist them apart.
The boss monster's body began crumpling under the pressure of its own bones.
Crack, crunch.
Kiheak!
The hunters shuddered at the sight, as if he were truly crushing a small lizard in his palm.
But it still wouldn't fall, so Kang Sa-hu frowned.
Necromancy wasn't originally developed for beasts like this, so he still needed to get a feel for how much mana to use.
'How about this, then.'
Mana requirements scaled with power, distance, and the target's magic resistance, so Kang Sa-hu channeled significantly more mana this time and cast the spell.
And this magic was a Necromancer's killing spell, nearly impossible to resist for anything with blood flowing through its veins.
[Reverse Blood].
The spell controlled the flow of blood, forcing it to back up, and the blood surging toward the boss's brain swelled violently, bursting every vessel.
Kki, kkii!
Blood overflowed from ruptured vessels in its brain, saturated tissue triggering a stroke.
The boss monster convulsed rigidly, roaring deafeningly before tumbling from the tree.
Thud-
Its massive body hit the ground.
A moment later, a hologram window appeared before everyone's eyes.
You have cleared the F-rank Gate.
You have obtained 100 points.
"Phew, it's over-"
Bae Deok-ho slumped to the ground upon seeing the hologram window that appeared after clearing the Gate, just as he'd heard.
But the other three tilted their heads with oddly puzzled expressions.
"...Well, at least we know what a Gate is like now."
The others nodded at Kim Ho-myeong's words.
Confirming the battle truly ended, they looked around at the tropical rainforest slowly vanishing.
What had been an endless jungle upon entry was shrinking away, the empty space filling with pure white.
Finally, only about 30 pyeong of space remained, and the rainforest's disappearance halted.
Bae Deok-ho, who'd tensed fearing even their footing might vanish, let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, I thought we were goners there for a sec... Wait, what are you doing?"
Bae Deok-ho and the others stared in surprise at Kang Sa-hu silently summoning a Giant Hound.
The summoned Giant Hound dashed to where the boss had died, digging at the ground as if searching for something.
Then it bounded toward the white-painted space, cautiously extending a paw.
But like stretched space, its leg reached out endlessly without touching.
The moment Kang Sa-hu confirmed the Giant Hound couldn't advance, he recalled it.
"...You're quite curious, aren't you."
Lee Yu-rim felt no interest in the white space herself.
So Kang Sa-hu's meticulous check of even such an overlookable detail left her both puzzled and impressed.
"If we're going to keep hunting as Hunters, we need to scout potential dangers ahead of time."
Beyond that reason, he was unscathed since he hadn't exerted himself much, but he didn't bother explaining the finer details.
No need to plant inferiority complexes in comrades who'd worked hard to clear the Gate together.
"...Yeah, fair enough."
"True that."
Everyone quietly agreed with Kang Sa-hu's response.
"Anyone'd think the leader's the oldest here. I'm the senior, obviously."
"...?"
Just as Kang Sa-hu was about to ask why he was calling himself leader again, a Gate—the same one they'd seen upon entry—appeared a short distance from their group.
"Looks like we're done. Time to head out."
"Great job, everyone-! Let's go home!"
"Let's go, Ji-ye."
"Yeah, sis!"
"...".
Kang Sa-hu watched in bemusement as the hunters naturally filed out of the Gate one by one.
Kang Ji-ye, half-through the Gate, giggled at his reaction and beckoned him to hurry.
"Good work out there."
Lieutenant Han Si-yeon greeted them as they emerged.
"That was... incredibly fast Gate clear."
She checked her watch, astonished.
"Time varies by Gate rank, party size, and Awakener ranks, but this is the fastest record in the country so far."
Hearing they'd cleared far quicker than expected, Kang Ji-ye and Bae Deok-ho beamed.
"Rewards will be paid tomorrow. Plus, you'll get 10% bonus on resources obtained inside the Gate."
"Ooh! Bonus rewards!"
Their grins widened at the mention of bonuses.
Lieutenant Han Si-yeon turned away, swallowing a near-burst of laughter at the newly chummy pair.
"Ahem. Good work, everyone. No injuries, so feel free to head home."
Her real duties began post-hunt, so she bid farewell and left promptly.
"Good work, everyone."
Kang Sa-hu bowed to those he'd hunted with.
A mix of reluctance and hesitation flickered in their eyes at his greeting.
Unlike the others, Bae Deok-ho approached first, sucking in a regretful breath.
"Heading out just like that? How about drinks somewhere?"
"You don't know how much fatigue's built up in your bodies. Better rest at home tonight."
"Uh, erm. Right..."
Rejected outright, Bae Deok-ho retreated awkwardly, and as Lee Yu-rim stepped up to speak, Kang Sa-hu pulled out his phone.
"If you plan to keep hunting and enjoyed today's run, I'd like to exchange numbers. No pressure."
"...!"
Their faces lit up at his casual proposal.
"Hell yeah!"
"I'm in."
"...Me too."
"Me!"
"Not you."
Kang Sa-hu flicked Kang Ji-ye's forehead as she reached for his phone, then passed it around for the others' numbers.
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