LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 31: Rookie Hunter (2)
Every now and then, there are those kinds of people.
Hunters who give up facing dangerous and wild beasts and turn their gaze toward easier prey.
In the industry slang, they were called ‘frogs.’
It’s quite a sight to see them gobbling up fellow kindred, just because they’re smaller than them…
“Shall we go with that gate? No CCTV at the entrance, after all.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“I’ll lure Kim Gi-ryeo.”
Isn’t that a fitting nickname for them? Frogs.
“I was hoping there’d be more to loot besides the bracelet, but with that ragged look, I’m not expecting much.”
These frogs mainly targeted low-ranking awakened ones to commit crimes.
Rookie hunters, not yet used to the gates, tend to over-invest in protective gear to keep their lives safe.
Even if they scraped together loans to buy equipment, they were still just fledgling hunters.
Before veterans, that gear is often rendered useless.
“Well, it’s fine. Just selling that bracelet will let you live off that for a while.”
Moreover, the more vicious part is that they don’t limit themselves to merely extorting money.
“Anyway, it’s been three weeks since we had work, so let’s prepare properly.”
Those who decided to hunt fellow humans couldn’t be of sound minds.
Fellow predators in the hunter world often have a high percentage of pleasure murderers.
Kim Gi-ryeo just happened to catch these hunters’ eyes.
“Let’s see. If the bracelet’s ability activates, that’d be a disaster, so we need a fainting item first…”
Jae-hyeon was already excitedly mumbling as he made plans.
Seeing this Jae-hyeon, the team leader suddenly felt curious.
“Hey, Jae-hyeon, you said you teamed up with that hunter before, right?”
“Yeah? Yeah.”
“What kind of guy was he? Any other points to watch out for?”
Hearing the question, the man couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Watch out?
“Pfft! Don’t get me started. That guy ran away with his tail between his legs last year at an F-Class Gate! Out of all the hunters I know, he’s the weakest!”
*
The next day.
‘Looking at Jae-hyeon feels like something will come to my mind.’
Ding!
Amid a complicated mood, a text message arrival tone echoed.
I unlocked my mobile phone and replied to the message.
“Wow! You’re here so early?”
Before long, familiar faces arrived.
It was the hunter team I met yesterday.
“Are you really going to pay me the same as yesterday?”
“Of course! I brought freshly minted bills. Haha.”
Well then, everyone’s gathered, so let’s start working.
Following their lead, I arrived at a gate.
Between the buildings.
An F-Class Blue Gate formed in a narrow alley. This was today’s workplace.
‘Heard there are two bosses here?’
Typically, gates disappear when you defeat the boss.
However, there was a small rule to this phenomenon. If there are people living inside, the gate doesn’t collapse.
‘Once the time allows, I want to investigate the gate properly too.’
I curiously gazed at the earthly wonders and then snapped back to reality.
Curiosity could wait; I needed to focus on work first.
‘If I can make this much just by being a porter, there’s no need to rip off the kind-hearted Ahn Yoon-seung.’
With a happy heart, I adjusted my backpack and headed into the gate.
Unlike cowardly Kim Gi-ryeo, I followed the sturdy hunters in front of me.
Forward, and then forward again.
“Is it just me? Doesn’t this path look like the one we just came from?”
In a daze as we moved, we ended up reaching a dead end.
It seems we’re lost in the maze-like cave structure.
“Look. The monster carcasses we caught before are still here, too. We definitely took a wrong turn.”
“…”
“Anyone here have a tracking skill?”
I threw out a quick question and looked around.
The cave interior was winding and tinted in red, feeling like being inside the esophagus of a living beast.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, we don’t need that. We’re on the right path.”
“Huh?”
But at that moment, the D-Class hunter leading suddenly stopped and turned to smile at me.
“What do you mean we’re on the right path at a dead end?”
The next instant, I heard a sound of something breaking.
And then a strong vinegar smell hit me.
“Ugh!”
Crash! Immediately, a glass bottle thrown by someone smashed against my head, exploding uselessly.
Thanks to that, I ended up drenched in some strange potion without understanding a thing.
Cough, cough!
“Don’t worry too much. Just sleep well, and it’ll all be over by morning.”
I couldn’t understand.
We’re fellow hunters. Why are they attacking me?
Do earthlings have some kind of kindred assault fetish?
“Wow, brother. That guy’s holding up pretty well.”
“Yeah, but a knock from this fainting drug will take down an F-Class in under 5 seconds.”
However, these guys seemed to be mistaken about something.
I was just annoyed by the foul smell of the potion, not writhing to endure drowsiness or fainting.
“…I think it’s been 5 seconds?”
“Huh?”
A few seconds later, as they started realizing something was off, their expressions began to harden one by one.
‘Where did they get this inferior magic tool from?’
I basically had perfect resistance against fainting spells.
I quickly regained my senses. The first thing I did was this.
“Damn it!”
“Hey, hey! He’s running! Grab him!”
“He can’t run away!”
When I sensed something was off, fleeing was the best option.
I gritted my teeth and dashed with all my strength.
I had long since thrown away the heavy backpack I had been carrying. Yet despite my efforts, I found my ankle getting trapped…
“Ugh!”
Whoosh! A blue vine sprang out of nowhere, fiercely grabbing my leg. If it was a plant user, it must be him.
“Kim Jae-hyeon, what the hell are you doing?!”
In an instant, my vision flipped upside down.
I was hanging in mid-air due to Jae-hyeon’s skill.
“Wait, until last year, you were limping around. How did you get better?”
“What does that matter right now? Why are you doing this to me?!”
“Ah, crap. What do we do?”
Seeing his audacious expression, it looked like something went wrong in their plan.
“Why isn’t he fainting?!”
“I don’t know. Even shaking him, all I see are the bracelet and nothing else.”
“Hey, let’s just let him down. You never know.”
Now, adding to our problems was the D-Class hunter.
The team leader, who I thought was reliable, gave a cold command with a frozen expression.
“You, F-Class punk. You better listen to me from now on. If you try to run again, I’ll pluck out your teeth one by one.”
Sure, I knew the saying ‘a trusted axe can hurt your foot,’ but I never thought I’d get directly threatened with an axe like this.
“L-Let’s talk. Let’s talk about this.”
I peeked at the axe blade resting near my throat, raising my hands up high.
Damn it.
‘What? The moment I raise my hands, the earthlings’ gazes follow too. What are they looking at?!’
And at that moment, the overall situation started to make sense.
‘Wait…’
Their suspicious gazes had been fixed on my wrist from the beginning.
“Is this because of the bracelet?”
As expected. When I said that, they flinched as if struck hard.
That’s right. I was currently being robbed.
‘So they were trying to put me to sleep. They didn’t want to waste the usage of this item…!’
But now that I reveal it, the bracelet’s ability isn’t that great.
Defends 2 damage. It’s a pretty common effect.
“It’s an item that can block any attack without limits. What’s it gonna take for you to rethink?!”
Just that, but it’s a problem that this magic tool could potentially block even S-Class monster attacks.
‘These crazy people.’
The self-defense gear I carried was bringing danger instead. What kind of situation is this!
‘Is this level of low-ranking magic tool targeted for robbery in the Earth…?’
Honestly, handing over the bracelet wouldn’t be hard at all.
I had just gotten lucky to find it, so I had no big attachment to it.
If giving away the equipment would solve things, I’d have gladly done so.
‘Ugh.’
But looking at the situation, it seemed too late for negotiations.
‘These bastards never planned to let me go from the start.’
Why would they lure a victim so deep into the gate in the first place?
They plan to kill me and close the gate, causing the dungeon to disappear and my body to naturally erase the evidence.
“Hey! Kim Gi-ryeo, take that bracelet off and hand it over!”
“Do you think I’m crazy? Don’t move! I’ll throw away the two uses I have!”
Feeling the threat to my life, I shouted loudly as a whale, causing those thugs to freeze in fear. Of course, they wouldn’t dare move a finger.
‘Any slight touch may trigger an attack judgment!’
This magic tool can only be used twice.
Once it’s all used up, it becomes a simple accessory.
My gaze briefly swept over the blue magic stone decoration showing the remaining usage of the bracelet and then returned to the front.
“Hey, Kim Jae-hyeon. If it goes on like this, neither of us will get anything. Can’t you at least let me go?”
“What?”
“If you let me live, I’ll keep today a secret. After all, I’m not really hurt that badly. What would I report you for?”
As a stalemate continued, I started persuading to get out of this situation.
But it didn’t seem to have much effect.
“Bullcrap. Who do you think will let that slide as soon as we’re out?”
‘Did I give it away?’
Ignoring the angry team leader, I quietly thought of my next move. Initially, I intended to sneak away when they weren’t looking.
But then…
“Ugh, it’s all a mess. Just because one fainting spell didn’t work, this happened. Hey, Jae-hyeon.”
“What?”
“I think we should give up this time.”
The D-Class hunter suddenly withdrew the axe blade that had been pointed at my neck, letting out a deep sigh, making me wonder if I was finally getting freed from this situation.
Until he punched me, that is.
“Using an item while being F-Class and trying to play it cool is just bullshit, honestly!”
Thud!
The deafening sound of a fist colliding with my bone ricocheted through the cave.
The D-Class hunter, having run out of patience, ultimately attacked me. He huffed and spoke again.
“Come on, use it. Use it, you bastard. The moment the item’s usages run out is your funeral!”
What followed was an unrelenting beating.
The D-Class flailed his fists against my shoulders and abdomen, breaking bones one by one with each strike.
“Ugh!”
At this rate, I might get killed.
“Wait! I-I’ll give it to you! Okay? I’ll hand over the item, so just stop for now!”
With no options left, I shouted desperately. The D-Class hunter halted and caught his breath.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier!”
“Wow, indeed, the iron fist can be the best medicine.”
Is this the reality of being F-Class?
Bow down to violence, be mocked, and overall, just feeling pathetic due to a lack of power.
“Haa…”
Seems my skin broke when I got hit earlier, and I tried to ignore the blood trickling down my forehead as I gingerly felt the bracelet.
If I give this, everything will end.
‘Maybe my life too…!’
It was then.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps scurrying beyond the cave echoed.
“Running sounds?”
Jae-hyeon and the team members all turned their heads simultaneously.
“Who just barged in here?”
There shouldn’t be anyone invading an F-Class gate that’s not worth the money.
But what appeared next was truly someone no one expected.
“What’s that?”
“Ahn Yoon-seung? Is that really him?”
A-Class Hunter Ahn Yoon-seung.
How did he end up here?
“G-Gi-ryeo hyung? What’s going on right now…?”
Running over, Yoon-seung stared at us with a shocked face. The moment I locked eyes with him, I shouted.
“Help me!”
Now that I think about it, I almost forgot.
[Text Messages]
[Yoon Seung-ah, remember today’s appointment? The F-Class Gate won’t take long, so just wait up front.]
[Yes!]
[I’ll check out the skill once we’re done.]
[Thank you so much, hyung!]
I had two schedules today.