LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2
Parang’s house is right by the dock. Not just any dock either, but built to the maximum limits of building regulations, snugly against the beach.
So, if jumping into the sea counts as commuting, her daily commute takes a whopping one minute. Talk about a dream job!
The same goes for after work.
Just as the rippling sea bubbles up, splash! Parang’s face pops out.
Hoisting a bag that’s twice her size, she ascends the dock ladder, huffing and puffing—definitely not her first rodeo.
Once she stands tall on the pier, Parang fixes her gaze on a distant figure casting their fishing line and immediately races over, waving her hands.
“Ah! Elder!!”
What a cheerful greeting from Parang. She’s so friendly that on the day she moved in, every elder in town said they wanted to make her their daughter-in-law.
But since she’s got a male inside her, she politely declined.
Now, though, she’s practically the sweetheart of the entire village. I mean, she’s the only young person around!
The next youngest person around is the town’s youth leader, who just turned 46. With the only granddaughter in the village being both charming and sociable, it’s no wonder the whole town turned into Parang’s fan club.
“I’m not old enough to be called Elder yet, you know…”
A middle-aged man sitting in a chair grumbled, casually resting his fishing rod beside him while giving a light wave to Parang.
“I thought you went in this morning and were dead or something since you took ages to come out!”
Parang had been beneath the waves for eight hours today. That’s about an hour longer than average.
Ever since moving to the beach, she spends no less than five hours a day under the water. So, it’s evident to both Parang and the Elder—and even the Bellua she just caught—that she’s not going to drown.
“Hehe… just happened that way…”
So Parang chuckles sheepishly as if it’s an everyday pleasantry. Even though his tone is a bit gruff, he’s a real softy for her.
“Considering the size of that bag, it seems you caught something big. Go on, get some rest.”
“Just delivering! Since the association is closed for the weekend starting tomorrow, I have to get it done today.”
After a few more light exchanges with the Elder, Parang set off for home.
Ah, she can’t exactly wear her bodysuit to the association. She has to ride the subway to get there.
Once she quickly showered and changed, Parang hurriedly grabbed a waterproof tarp from the storage and stuffed Bellua’s byproducts into it.
When she slung it over her back, it still felt like it was twice her size.
With a heart as generous as her hefty sack, Parang stepped out of her house with a spring in her step.
Ding-dong-♬♪
“This stop is the Hunter Association. Hunter Association station. The doors on your right… This stop is…”
Parang’s steps remain as light as ever.
Riding the subway, the bag jiggles along like a loyal pet dancing to its owner’s rhythm.
Passersby fix their gazes on her bag once, on her unique hair color twice, and on her dazzling beauty three times.
Every appearance she makes like this makes her a bit of a local celebrity. Online communities are already buzzing with memes dubbing her “The Bag Lady of Pohang.”
Anyway, with her cheerful springy steps, she finally entered the Pohang branch of the Hunter Association.
It was almost time to wrap up work, so the employees watched her enter with slightly irritated expressions.
But what could they do? They know very well how much goods are in that bag. If they didn’t accept it, they’d hear about it from above.
Especially the expressions on the faces of the buyer and the receptionist, who will have to handle it personally—now that’s a spectacle.
“Hmm~ hmm~”
Regardless of that, Parang hummed a tune as she made her way straight to the buying and selling counter.
Having been here enough times, she immediately pulled out her Hunter certification and plopped it onto the verification device.
It might seem rude at first glance, but it’s actually a smart way to save time. Although saying this now is pointless, Parang is aware of the atmosphere.
The employees seemed to get it as they remained mostly silent.
“Certified B-level Hunter, Yu Parang. Confirmation complete.”
Ding-dong♪♬
Parang hates that electronic sound. The reason? It’s too cheesy.
In fact, she despises it so much that years ago, she even contacted the Hunter Association’s headquarters about it.
After a lot of back and forth, it got shot down.
Tap-tap-tap—
Parang started pulling out the items from her sack and placed them on the counter.
Two one-meter-long fangs, three that are about 50 centimeters, one magic stone the size of a soccer ball, and a shattered shell.
It’s a pity she couldn’t recover the shell, which is usually worth a ton after she accidentally burst it, but considering the size of the individual and the ample amount of fangs dropped, she wasn’t feeling too sour about it.
“Five fangs and one shell confirmed.”
The employee, staring wide-eyed at what was laid out, suddenly cast a pleading look towards Parang.
“By any chance… what’s the name of your monster…?”
“Mari and Bellua.”
The employee’s eyes widened in desperate amazement.
“And, what’s the classification…?”
“Monster Fish. It’s a Serpent type.”
Then all the employees at the buying counter went as pale as ghosts.
It’s not because Bellua is some useless creature.
In fact, Bellua stands on par with the Wyvern in terms of hunting difficulty and quality of byproducts.
Catching a Wyvern would definitely cause quite the stir around the counter when submitted for examination.
However, the reason for the employees’ shock wasn’t because Bellua was simply a monster. It’s primarily because Bellua is a Monster Fish—a top-tier, rare species among the rarities.
The underwater hunters, like Parang, are extremely scarce. There are only twenty in the entirety of South Korea, surrounded by water on all sides.
Here, it’s not about having twenty S-rank hunters; it’s a count of all ranks from F to S. Not even one S-rank exists, and only two A-ranks.
Given that the total hunter population in South Korea is around two million and that the number of S-rank hunters is approximately one hundred, the ratio is utterly ridiculous.
Thus, underwater combat skills aren’t even considered for A-rank advancement tests.
As a result, on land, Parang, who merely possesses strength and can craft spears in the air, finds A-rank exams a challenging barrier.
Even if she were to become S-rank, there would still be an issue.
The absolute majority of income within a hunter’s earnings derives from requests—meaning civilian requests for subjugating monsters or providing protection for payment.
Naturally, the vast majority of those will be subjugation requests.
But, of course, subjugation requests simply aren’t made for underwater hunters like Parang.
I mean, who would ever place requests to capture a monster residing 700 meters underwater when orc troops are camped right outside an apartment complex?
Even without orcs, such requests are simply not made.
The highest civilian dive record is 314 meters, while recommended scuba diving depths lie between 50 to 100 meters.
700 meters underwater is essentially the realm of submarines. But for Parang, it’s unfortunate that those submarines opt to just cruise around at a depth of 500 meters instead of issuing requests for subjugation.
As a result, underwater hunters across South Korea and the world are either fishing or like Parang, earning their living by hunting Monster Fish.
Of course, they don’t undervalue Monster Fish either. Just from the items Parang delivered moments ago, her earnings would far surpass that of an A-rank hunter for six months. It’s an extreme, yet fleeting kind of business.
However, Parang catches a Monster Fish once a week simply because she can. Her income places her in the top 1% of South Korea.
It’s just that her regular expenses are quite hefty. For instance, the diving suit she wore today cost her five years’ worth of savings.
Though lengthy as it sounds, the conclusion is simple: Hunter grades are meaningless to underwater hunters.
Still, Parang has no complaints about her current lifestyle.
In fact, she finds her life extremely pleasing right now. Being able to stay underwater for 24 hours if she wishes feels like a dream come true.
She is utterly devoted to the sea. The boundless love for the ocean has driven her to antics that are nothing short of wild.
The first was when she realized she reincarnated into the world of a novel, she didn’t hesitate to start preparing to become an underwater hunter.
“Is this the world of the novel? Are there hunters working in the sea?”
The second was when she switched her S-rank skill option, which she received as a reincarnation bonus, to the most powerful underwater skill without a second thought.
“I’ll choose the trait, [Kraken’s Daughter].”
By the way, true to its name, [Kraken's Daughter] automatically transformed her body into that of a female the moment she obtained it.
[Warning: You do not meet the physical conditions for acquiring this skill. If you obtain the skill in its current state, forced physical adjustments and alterations to reality may follow.
And Parang had no hesitation about this.
“Being able to stay underwater for 24 hours, does my gender really matter?”
After becoming a woman, Parang filled her bathtub and truly verified if she could endure being underwater for a full 24 hours.
Then, she sold all her possessions and moved into the house she currently resides in.
Even now, Parang considers this series of events “the best decision of her life.”
“This stop is Wolpo. Wolpo station. The doors for getting off are…”
Stepping out of the subway, Parang finished her thoughts. Wolpo is not her home; rather, it’s quite a distance away when considering just the streets. Yet she always gets off at Wolpo before heading home.
Wolpo station is very close to the sea.
Splash—
That’s right. Parang gets off at Wolpo station and swims home.
While it’s impossible to stroll through the city in wet clothes, she approaches the station in normal attire but doesn’t bother when heading home.
Parang arrives home in less than ten minutes.
“Neahh!!”
With a strange sound, she collapses onto the couch.
Then, she switches on the news and pops open a beer.
Despite her total lack of interest in anything other than the sea, today she decided to watch the news.
Why? Because today, June 11th, 2024, marks the date when the world she reincarnated into, [SSS-rank Infinite Growth Hunter Destroys Everything], reaches its conclusion.