A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 44
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 44: Think Long, Act Fast (1)
As the door creaked open, light streamed in, illuminating my vision. Having been in darkness for quite some time, it took a moment for my eyesight to adjust.
Before long, the interior of the castle came into view.
“Oh, it doesn’t look like the Demon King would live here.”
“If the Demon King were living here, we’d all have to run.”
Jun-hyuk spoke with an expectant look in his eyes.
“Then, is a princess living here?”
“He’s been going on about a princess since earlier.”
“Ah, how beautiful must the princess living inside the gate be?”
“The princess doesn’t come out anyway.”
You could think of it as a kind of NPC concept.
Not that there’s no way to bring her out, but it’s best if she stays inside.
“It definitely… has the atmosphere of a place where a princess might have lived… but we won’t know until we check.”
Just in case, I stayed alert and began exploring the inside of the castle.
“But how is it that not even a single ant is in sight?”
There was no furniture, only a single painting hanging on the otherwise empty castle walls.
Naturally, our attention was drawn to the painting.
'This is obviously a mechanism, isn’t it?'
The painting depicted a middle-aged man seated in an ornate chair, wearing a benevolent smile.
Somehow, he looked familiar...
“Oh, is this the lord of the castle?”
“But how did this castle end up surrounded by monsters?”
“No idea… So, is rescuing the castle lord the objective of our quest?”
“We need to explore more inside the castle first.”
The interior of the castle was much larger than expected.
I already knew exactly where we needed to go, but instead of heading there directly, I chose to explore with my friends.
Windows were carved into the castle walls, and when I stuck my head out, I saw armored knights standing in pairs, keeping watch.
I called my friends in a low voice.
“Guys, come here.”
As I whispered, my friends tiptoed over and peered down below the window, each sharing their thoughts.
“Oh…? What the? Knights? The inside of the castle walls is being guarded by knights.”
“Then what about the monsters outside the walls?”
“Are they keeping the monsters from getting in?”
“Aren’t all beings inside the gate supposed to be monsters?”
“In quest-type dungeons, mindlessly killing everything isn’t always the best approach. Completing the quest is what’s important. Our goal is to earn the reward, after all.”
Finding no more clues on the first floor, we moved up to the second floor.
“How is there not a single person inside the castle?”
“Yeah, considering that the knights are stationed outside, it really seems like they’re guarding something—or someone. Plus, there are monsters outside the walls too.”
Ye-rin, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“They could also be keeping someone from coming in.”
“Huh? That’s another way to look at it.”
'Come to think of it, Ye-rin has a really diverse perspective. Just like before in the MT…'
<You should learn from her.>
'I already have a broad perspective.'
<Sure you do.>
On the fourth floor, we found a tightly locked door.
“There’s a padlock on it.”
Looking closely at the lock, Seo Ye-rin pointed something out.
“There’s no keyhole.”
“Then are we supposed to break it down?”
“I doubt that’s the intended method. The quest might fail if we do. Not that we could break it anyway.”
Jun-hyuk tried forcing it open, but as expected, it didn’t budge an inch.
“There’s probably magic on it.”
“If it’s magic, we won’t be able to open it without a spell.”
“Then why not just smash the door itself?”
“If it were that easy…”
Bang!
“Yep. No luck.”
“Is anyone in there!?”
There was no response.
“Could a sleeping princess be inside?”
“Maybe the castle lord is the one asleep.”
We had now explored most of the castle.
“I think we’ve looked everywhere…?” I murmured casually.
“Then that means there must be another way in.”
“Do we have to do something with the knights outside?”
“Could there be a hidden door somewhere?”
“Oh? You think so?”
“Let’s go back downstairs and check again. Maybe we missed something.”
I stood in front of the painting from earlier.
In places like this, hidden doors were common.
Statues or paintings often act as the ‘handle’ for those doors.
As I fiddled with the painting, I quickly got a sense of it.
Ten years as a hunter didn’t go to waste.
My friends might not have had encountered things like this before, but I had seen them so often that I was used to it.
“In places like this…”
When I tilted the painting slightly, a section of the wall next to it silently slid open.
“What the!? A basement?”
“This is amazing. Tae-sung, you’re incredible.”
“It just felt weird that there was only this painting hanging here, so I touched it, and… it opened?”
It wasn’t that impressive, but being praised made me feel a little embarrassed.
“Let’s hurry down.”
“What if a monster is down there? I’m scared…”
“You’re scarier than any monster.”
Hye-ri and Jun-hyuk kept joking around, and there was a reason for that.
They were both extremely nervous.
I could tell just from the way their sweat-soaked shirts clung to their backs.
They were cracking jokes to ease their nerves.
They had been in many dungeon fights that felt like real battles—fights even more intense than real ones. But this was their first actual life-or-death situation.
Ye-rin, on the other hand, remained calm.
Did she not feel nervous at all?
This was why guild training existed—to help people adjust.
But some people were just naturally suited for the stage.
Knowing what they were going through, I didn’t comment on their jokes.
As we descended into the basement, a musty smell filled the air.
The place seemed to have been used as a prison.
A space made up of countless iron bars.
In the farthest corner, someone sat inside a cell.
As we slowly approached, the figure lifted their head slightly.
Looking at the face, I recognized them as the man from the painting.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Jung Tae-sung.”
As I spoke to the castle lord, I heard Jun-hyuk and Hye-ri whispering behind me.
“Whoa, this is the first time we’ve seen a monster that can talk to us!”
“He doesn’t look like a monster, though…?”
The castle lord looked at me with a pleading expression.
“Jung Tae-sung…? That is not a name I know… Could you perhaps help me?”
“What do you need help with?”
“My daughter is trapped at the top of this castle. If you safely get both of us out of here, I will give you an heirloom that has been passed down in my family.”
An heirloom…?
I grew curious about the reward.
Looking at the padlock, I noticed the keyhole was blocked.
“How do we unlock this?”
“There should be knights guarding the castle entrance. One of them has the key.”
“The keyhole is blocked. How is the key supposed to fit in?”
“The key is enchanted. If you bring it close to the lock, the keyhole will appear. It’s a magical lock that physical force won’t work on.”
A lock just like the one on the fourth floor...
“Do you remember what the knight looked like?”
“That, I do not know.”
“Alright. Please wait for us.”
We left the underground prison.
Jun-hyuk, excited, spoke up.
“Did you hear? He said he’d give us something precious to him.”
“But isn’t that strange? What could someone in prison possibly have?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, that is weird.”
Seo Ye-rin was sharp, as expected, but this quest was simple: rescue the lord and his daughter.
Originally, the quest required dealing with all the monsters and knights outside the castle, then finding the secret underground chamber and rescuing them in time.
However, because of the sheer number of monsters, it was considered a difficult quest.
But it wasn’t that difficult.
There was no need to overthink it.
“How are we dealing with the knights?”
Now that we were about to start an actual fight, Jun-hyuk and Hye-ri had gone completely silent.
“Don’t worry. They’re not that strong. They’re just castle guards.”
“What? They’re… humans? So we have to kill people?”
“Huh?”
Is this where the conversation was going again...?
Maybe they weren’t ready to kill yet.
“Then... let’s just knock them out.”
“Isn’t killing them easier?”
Seo Ye-rin, who was already checking the edge of her drawn sword, spoke in a dull tone.
No mercy at all, huh?
“What is a guard’s main duty?”
“To protect?”
“Right. Their job is to guard and patrol the area to prevent enemy ambushes. See how they’re moving in pairs? We don’t have to fight all of them at once.”
“Then…?”
“Jun-hyuk and Hye-ri, you two stay here by the window and distract them. When their attention is elsewhere, Ye-rin and I will take them out. Once we signal you, move on to the next pair over there, and then the third. Sounds easy, right?”
I took three coins out of my pocket.
“Use these. Throw them near the knights to draw their attention. Hye-ri, be ready to use magic just in case.”
“Okay, got it.”
“Don’t be too nervous. You’ll do fine.”
“Ah, okay.”
Maybe because our opponents were too easy, the plan went smoothly.
Of course, it took a little longer since I had to create a new stun skill to knock them out efficiently.
Normally, stun skills don’t last longer than 30 seconds, but the one I made kept them unconscious for a solid 10 minutes.
After securing the key, we locked the unconscious guards in the underground prison.
Then, as I brought the key close to the lock, a blue light glowed, and the keyhole appeared.
Just a moment ago, the lord had looked like he was on the brink of death, but now he was practically glowing with energy.
“Oh, I knew you’d succeed.”
We left the underground prison with him.
Now, all that was left was to rescue his daughter.
As we made our way to the fourth floor, Seo Ye-rin asked him,
“If you don’t mind, may I ask you a few questions?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why is there no furniture in this castle?”
“Oh, well… the witch burned it all.”
Hmm…? Burned?
But the building itself was in pristine condition.
Did she take all the furniture outside and burn it there?
“The castle is beautiful, so I was hoping to see the furniture too. That’s a shame. By the way, what is the name of this castle?”
“The name? Hmm… It’s Castle Rheinfurt.”
Rheinfurt…
That sounds familiar.
Before I knew it, we had arrived on the fourth floor.
Clutching the key, I abruptly asked him,
“Then, what is your name?”
“My name is Rheinfurt.”
Wait…
Rheinfurt?
Isn’t that the name of a demon?
No wonder it sounded familiar...
Why is he appearing in this quest now?
If I remember correctly, he was supposed to show up years later at another dungeon gate.
When the quest failed and turned into a field gate, he emerged into the real world.
At that time, his power was ranked well above S-class.
Dozens of hunters died fighting him.
If that many hunters died, the casualties among ordinary people must have been even worse.
A disaster-level catastrophe.
I didn’t recognize him at first because he looked different, but as soon as I heard his name, the memories came flooding back.
<So, he hasn’t awakened yet.>
'Huh?'
<If what you’re saying is true, then that means someone completed this quest in the past.>
'Which means… they rescued his daughter?'
<Most likely.>
'But then, how did he end up becoming a demon?'
<That, I do not know. I can’t see the future.>
So this quest wasn’t a one-time thing.
It must be part of a continuous quest chain...
A continuing quest...
Wait.
I suddenly recalled something about Rheinfurt.
***
I was hungry, so I made some ramen. But I couldn’t find a trivet, so I grabbed the latest issue of Hunter of the Month and used it as a makeshift placemat.
While eating, my eyes caught a headline.
"The Demon’s Calamity! Unraveling the Story of Rheinfurt."
Why dig up an old story?
Still, I kept reading, pushing my ramen aside as it started to get cold.
Rheinfurt.
A tragic lord.
A castle captured by an evil witch.
His wife sacrificed her life to save their family, but the witch wasn’t satisfied and set her sights on his daughter.
That was when a hunter first completed Rheinfurt’s quest.
In doing so, they accidentally broke the witch’s seal.
The underground prisoner who begged for help to save his daughter? He was actually one of the witch’s minions, disguised as the castle lord.
Someone had once realized the witch’s scheme and sealed her within the castle, but the monsters loyal to her had stationed themselves outside to protect her.
In the end, the hunter completed the quest… and freed the witch.
The real Rheinfurt tried to flee with his surviving daughter, but the witch found them and took his daughter away.
Having lost everything, Rheinfurt made a soul-binding pact with a demon for revenge.
In the process, he himself became a demon.
Thus, Reinfrut was reborn as a new demon.
This article was based on accounts from hunters who had completed or failed the quest in the past, with some creative embellishments by the journalist.
"What the hell? So it was just a story? I got way too into it. And now my ramen’s all soggy!"
***
But what if that wasn’t just a story?
What if this quest was actually opening Pandora’s Box?
Maybe… the real goal of this quest…
Was to kill the fake lord, the witch’s minion standing before me.
And then slay the sealed witch at the top of the castle.
"Uh, Lord Rheinfurt?"
"Yes?"
"There are monsters swarming outside the castle. Are you aware of that?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then… once we rescue your daughter, where do you plan to go?"
"Well, of course… I’ll open the castle gates and—"
In an instant, I drew my sword from my inventory and slashed at his throat.
....
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