A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 31
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 31: Insurance (3)
I never knew snakes could move so fast.
Not only was it astonishing that it floated through the air without wings, but it was also able to communicate its will directly to me.
However, what just happened was even more surprising.
No, it was beyond astonishing—it was miraculous.
Behind me, where I was supporting myself on one knee with my sword.
More precisely, along my spine, something had latched onto me.
It was Snake.
And in that instant, I felt an overwhelming surge of mana.
<What are you doing, my breadwinner!?>
The sensation that all the mana in my body had been drained disappeared in an instant.
It was as if I had never felt such immense power inside me before.
<Attack. Hurry!>
‘Lightning... Slash...’
Pazzzzzzz!
All that mana suddenly surged into my sword. Before I could even use the Lightning Slash skill, electric currents began shooting upward into the sky.
Krrraaaang!
It felt as if lightning was descending from the heavens.
No, it would be more accurate to say that the lightning surged up from my sword into the sky.
Sparks flew at the approaching wolves.
As the electric current spread, their fur caught fire, turning into blackened charcoal in seconds.
“...!?”
I wasn’t the only one stunned by what happened.
I could only stand dumbfounded as what unfolded next left me speechless.
‘Is that... Thunder Storm!?’
Ma Jung-seok had been gathering mana with an intensity that seemed to pull in the mana of the entire world. He was preparing to intervene when he noticed that Jung Tae-sung’s mana activation had suddenly been cut off.
If he moved now, all the mana he had gathered would scatter, but Ma Jung-seok couldn’t bring himself to let such a talent die.
However, just then, a small, white, lizard-like creature with legs, which had been clinging to Jung Tae-sung’s arm, suddenly flew up. The next moment, lightning burst from Jung Tae-sung’s sword and shot straight into the sky.
Krrraang!
And then...
A cascade of lightning bolts rained down to the ground.
Pazzzzt!
Striking the wolves’ most vulnerable spots—their backs.
They didn’t even see the lightning coming, much less attempt to dodge it.
Even if they managed to avoid it, the instant they collided with a nearby wolf that was struck, they would be electrocuted immediately.
And that electrocution meant instant death.
With a single skill, the entire horde of monsters was annihilated.
‘Wh-what is this...?’
Ma Jung-seok loosened his focus, allowing the mana he had been gathering to dissipate awkwardly.
‘Jung Tae-sung...’
To his knowledge, Thunder Storm was a skill ranked at the S-grade, one of the highest rated skills in the lightning element.
Obtaining a skill card for it was like reaching for the stars, and even if one could manipulate electricity through mana, how could anyone produce such power without a skill card?
Even assuming he had somehow acquired and mastered the Thunder Storm skill...
If one didn’t have affinity to the lightning element, such devastating damage would be impossible.
And the range was utterly massive...
On top of all that, he should’ve run out of mana by now...
Ma Jung-seok’s mind was filled with questions.
‘But how... how did lightning shoot out from his sword?’
He once had a teammate who could manipulate lightning and had used Thunder Storm, so he had seen it before.
This, however, was definitely different.
The form of the skill undoubtedly resembled Thunder Storm, but it wasn’t exactly the same...
‘Then what on earth is it...?’
Watching Jung Tae-sung, who had just taken out 60% of the monsters, Ma Jung-seok couldn’t help but smack his lips in frustration.
Click...
The reason Ma Jung-seok clicked his tongue was, as expected, money.
It was rare for someone to monopolize an A-rank Field Gate alone.
On top of that, there were about 100 monsters in this instance.
Even if mana stones didn’t drop from every single monster, if half of them dropped stones, how much would that be?
The price of an A-rank monster’s mana stone was roughly 1 billion won each.
The exact price varied depending on the refined mana content, but the minimum was that much—essentially a jackpot.
Ma Jung-seok’s original plan went like this:
While heading back to his office after dropping Jung Tae-sung off, he noticed that Jung Tae-sung had left his phone in the seat where he’d been sitting.
He considered just sending someone to return it, but decided to turn the car around, thinking he’d like to see the young man’s face one more time.
After all, they say familiarity breeds fondness.
He calculated that someone of his stature personally delivering the phone would make a stronger impression.
But before long, he felt something unusual.
‘This feeling...’
It was unmistakably a Gate.
And not just any Gate—a fairly powerful one.
“Driver Kim. Speed up.”
By the time he arrived, monsters had already appeared.
As Ma Jung-seok began hunting the monsters, a thought crossed his mind.
‘Are all these mine?’
The hunters behind him were all low-ranked, far below his level.
Since he was there from the moment the Gate opened, protected the citizens, and ensured their safety, even if the others didn’t contribute much to the hunt, at least 90% of the profit would naturally belong to him.
In fact, even if he took 99%, no one would have room to complain.
Considering his guild’s recent drop in income, this was a godsend.
Jung Tae-sung felt like a lucky charm.
Of course, this was all under the assumption that they could deal with all the monsters before other hunters arrived.
But as expected...
It was overwhelming.
Although he put his full effort into hunting the wolves, paying no heed to the collateral damage to nearby structures...
‘Is it because I only recently reached S-rank?’
At first, he hadn’t paid much attention to Jung Tae-sung, whom he had assumed to be B-rank. But watching him pick off wolves one by one with his lightning element attacks, he started to think:
‘Maybe... he can hold out.’
Either way, once more hunters arrived, the share would shrink even further.
It would be better to end things now if possible.
After all, dealing with werewolves would only complicate matters.
He even thought it might be worth giving Jung Tae-sung about 25% of the cut as compensation for this mission.
‘No, let’s make it 30% for Tae-sung and 1% for the healer in the back.’
He aimed for a personal take of 69%.
This kind of profit was rare—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But then, that lizard-like creature appeared out of nowhere, and everything changed.
***
‘What the hell just happened...?’
<I couldn’t use my powers directly since my strength hasn’t fully recovered yet. So I transferred my mana to you.>
‘So you’re saying you were the one who used that?’
<Didn’t I tell you I’m an Imugi? Don’t you know that dragons are naturally masters of the heavens?>
‘But you’re not a dragon though.’
<So, I wielded lightning with the power of mana.>
‘You’re more impressive than I thought...’
<And yet you had the audacity to name me after a worm, then a snake. How could I not be furious?>
‘...’
<On top of that, you possess distorted mana pathways, and yet you recklessly overuse mana like that. What were you thinking?>
‘So I was overexerting myself, huh...’
I wanted to keep talking with the snake, but the conversation was cut short as Ma Jung-seok approached.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. Are you okay, sir?”
“I’m fine. But you...”
“I think I’m fine as well...”
“No, just what was that skill you used earlier? It looks similar to one I’ve seen before, but...”
He seemed genuinely curious.
“Lightning.”
“...What?”
He gave me a look as if asking, Do you think I’m an idiot?
“I just shot lightning into the sky, and it came crashing down. Even I’m not entirely sure what happened.”
“Are you saying you didn’t use it directly?”
“I did use it, but... it kind of happened accidentally.”
There was no need to disclose all of my abilities.
The way I was being vague carried the implication that he shouldn’t ask further.
I could have been honest...
But I didn’t see the need to mention that my pet had done it.
Besides, saying I hadn’t used it myself didn’t feel quite right either.
If I’d had such a skill all along, I should have used it earlier—it only made sense.
I quickly changed the topic.
“By the way, what brought you back here?”
“Ah, right. You left your phone in my car.”
“Thank you for going out of your way to return it.”
It seemed like this insurance payout would be a jackpot.
“So... my share will be around 60%, right?”
“Uh, y-yeah, that’s right...”
I quickly gathered mana stones with the snake’s help.
I made sure to thoroughly check if any items had dropped.
Sometimes, items could be hidden beneath a monster’s corpse and easily overlooked.
I found a Wolf’s Fang and a Red Jewel.
“What should we do about the items?”
Ma Jung-seok glanced at the items briefly before waving his hand dismissively.
“They’re all yours.”
Oh, yes.
These items were currently nothing more than trophies, but later on, they could be used to craft weapons or armor.
Unaware of this fact, Ma Jung-seok simply handed them over to me.
As for the healer hunter, they had no right to claim items.
If they got even one mana stone, they’d have to bow and thank us profusely.
One had to gather these items carefully.
Financial management isn’t some grand strategy—it’s little things like this.
Although it’s not possible yet, soon enough, there will be specialized ability users who can craft items.
These individuals will use the byproducts and trophies from monsters to craft weapons and armor.
And most importantly, the items crafted by these ability users can be stored in inventories.
This raised the price of materials significantly.
A fang of this size could easily make three daggers.
And as for this red ewel, if you were to embed it in a weapon, it might grant additional effects like enhanced power at night, similar to the werewolf transformation effect.
In every way, this was a golden opportunity.
“This is Go Young-min reporting live from the scene, where an extraordinary awakener has emerged after 25 years.”
[Footage plays.]
“As you can see, they’re refining a fang using mana.
Combining this with items that are often referred to as ‘junk loot’ from monsters creates unimaginable equipment.
Let’s now speak with Hunter Lee Jung-hyeok, who possesses crafting abilities.”
“When did you discover this ability?”
“Hello, I’m Lee Jung-hyeok. I awakened about five years ago. However, I had no interest in becoming a hunter, so I just lived my life as usual.”
“Then how did you come to realize you had crafting abilities?”
“One day, a hunter I knew brought a fang, and I thought it would make a good sword. I tried crafting it, and it worked.”
“And I’ve heard that the items you craft can even be stored in inventories. Is that true?”
“Yes. Strangely enough, they share the same properties as the items dropped by monsters.”
“So... most hunters become stronger through mana refinement, flashy skills from skill cards, and rigorous combat training to improve themselves, right?”
“Yes.”
“How do crafting-type awakeners grow stronger?”
“By grinding.”
“Grinding?”
“The more you craft, the faster and more precise you become. Your chances of creating higher-grade items also increase.”
“We look forward to your contributions, Hunter Lee Jung-hyeok.”
“I’m looking forward to how much money I’ll make.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is it wrong to say that? I’m crafting to make money.”
“...”
The interview ended with what felt like a broadcasting mishap.
Jung Tae-sung watched the news and muttered to himself.
“That guy’s a piece of work...”
***
Oh, come to think of it, that guy...
His abilities were already revealed back then, but it became known much later, didn’t it?
I should track him down soon.
How could he live as an unregistered awakener despite his abilities?
If I find him early...
I might be able to monopolize his crafted items.
I’ll keep hunting anyway, the snake will gather items,
He’ll craft them,
And I’ll reap the benefits.
It’s a perfect plan, no matter how you look at it.
By the time other hunters arrived, they could only sigh in disappointment.
One of them, who seemed to know Ma Jung-seok well, greeted him.
“I didn’t expect to see you here, Hunter Ma Jung-seok.”
“I didn’t expect to find myself here either.”
“As expected of you, taking down so many monsters at once and burning them to ashes... Hm? Have you learned a new skill?”
The Ma Jung-seok he knew had a destructive combat style.
Rip them apart, smash them, blow them up.
But the charred corpses scattered around were clearly different.
“This wasn’t my doing.”
“Pardon? Then who...?”
“That young man over there.”
Ma Jung-seok turned to look at me as he spoke.
Naturally, the hunter’s gaze followed his.
***
At this point, I give up.
There’s no avoiding fame now.
But where the hell am I supposed to find Lee Jung-hyeok...?
That night.
“Only 30% for me?!”
Ma Jung-seok lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.
His wife, lying next to him, snapped at him.
“If you’re going to toss and turn like that, go sleep outside!”
“...”
‘Is it because my training is insufficient?’
‘How did Jung Tae-sung pull off a skill like that? He’s only supposed to be B-rank...’
‘Did he learn some kind of special skill? Even then, he should’ve run out of mana—how did he...?’
‘Could it be that he’s been hiding his power all along?!’
In the end, Ma Jung-seok didn’t sleep a wink that night.
For some reason, he felt like he resembled Ma Tae-ho on the day after exams... but that must’ve been his imagination.
....
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