A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 42

Translated by: Hanzo

Chapter 42: Quest (2)

Following Mir’s directions, we headed to the location where the gate would open.

But why was it so far away?

After driving for over an hour, we finally arrived at this place.

All that could be seen in this barren field were mountains.

“Where is this exactly...? You’re not planning to sell us off as slaves, right?”

Hye-ri joked with a mischievous expression.

Given our friendship, playful banter came naturally.

After all, we’d been seeing each other daily for half a year, training and learning together, growing very close.

I responded with a joke of my own.

“Even if I sold you guys, I don’t think you’d fetch much.”

At that, Hye-ri tried to refute me, as if that were ridiculous.

“With us, we’d be worth quite a bit! Look at her, she’s got the looks, I’ve got the brains, and then there’s this one... just a pig... Huh?”

She pointed at Seo Ye-rin, herself, and finally Choi Jun-hyuk, in that order, but her last comment was odd.

“What? Why’s he suddenly a pig?”

“It’s just bloating, okay?”

“Look at your belly. What kind of bloating is that? I saw you ordering all sorts of stuff at the café earlier too.”

“It’s just how my body bloats!”

“How much did you eat? Are you constipated?”

Jun-hyuk scratched his head sheepishly.

“I’m not constipated. I checked this morning.”

“Ugh.”

“Gross...”

Their teasing rang in my ears.

Why are we even talking about this?

“I’ve been eating a lot lately, thinking I might not get enough once we go to the guild training...”

What unnecessary worries.

When you go to guild training, most senior hunters take good care of you.

Why?

It was simple.

They’re basically trying to recruit you into their guild.

Having more hunters benefits the guild immensely.

Accidents happen so often, after all.

And besides, you never know how someone might develop, so it’s only natural to be kind to them—unless they’re clearly talentless.

Of course, there are some nasty guilds that do it just to use people as meat shields.

At that moment, Mir spoke up suddenly.

<What? What’s wrong with eating a lot?>

Mir, who was munching on a mana stone beside me, started glaring at Hye-ri for her remark about overeating.

A guilty conscience, perhaps.

“I think its saying not to scold it for eating too much.”

“Its cute, though.”

“Why not Jun-hyuk, too...?”

Feeling sorry for how much Hye-ri was picking on Jun-hyuk, I tried to stick up for him.

But when I looked at Jun-hyuk’s face, the words didn’t come out.

“What? What about me?”

So I explained instead.

“He’s got sharp ears... Even if you whisper, he’ll know you’re badmouthing him.”

“Hey, you badmouthed me again, didn’t you?”

As we laughed and joked, Seo Ye-rin turned to me and asked,

“How’s the mana refinement coming along?”

“Eh, it’s going okay, I guess.”

“Oh, did you hear about the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“They’re saying there’s going to be an early graduation system.”

“Early graduation?”

What’s this now?

There was no such thing as early graduation in my previous life.

“Yeah, but only for those with excellent grades who apply to be public service hunters.”

“First I’ve heard of it.”

“Of course. I only overheard it while my father was on a call. He works in the National Assembly.”

“Ah, I see...”

Early graduation, huh...

It feels like this system was made just for me.

Maybe things will go smoothly after all.

I already have so much to do next year.

I’d been debating whether I’d have to give up because of academy classes...

But if I become a public service hunter and get assigned to a gate-related department, I’ll have free time and easy access to gates...

This is perfect.

Sure, attending school had its perks, but there were so many restrictions.

Most importantly, I was still carrying the label of a “prospective hunter.”

I couldn’t go anywhere during class and had to stay tied down.

The news put me in a good mood.

...But when was the gate going to appear?

It felt like we’d been waiting forever...

The others seemed bored too.

“This is where the gate’s supposed to open? In a place like this, I doubt many hunters would come.”

“Right? Even if monsters appear, there aren’t any buildings to collapse or people to get hurt.”

Growing impatient, I finally asked Mir.

“When exactly is this gate supposed to open?”

<The gate is already open right in front of you.>

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing—!?”

Just in case, I reached out into the air and waved my hand around.

Whirrr.

The space twisted slightly.

“Mir, is this...?”

<Oh? You recognized it?>

“This is real?”

<You seem to know what it is. So why hesitate? Go in already.>

Ha.

I let out a chuckle in disbelief.

What exactly is Mir’s true identity, for him to even be able to track a gate like this?

Glancing back at my friends, I said,

“Follow me.”

My friends looked at me with expressions that said, What’s he talking about?

I mean, I was telling them to follow me into what seemed like empty air.

But their expressions changed with my next action.

When I extended my arms and parted them as if pulling something apart, a new world began to appear faintly beyond the space.

Someone audibly gasped, but I paid no attention and stepped into the gate.

Just then, I heard Seo Ye-rin mutter softly.

“Invisible gate...”

[You have entered the dungeon.]

Then another message appeared.

[The dungeon will be cleared upon completing the quest.]

A quest dungeon.

Before being an invisible gate, it was a dungeon gate.

Dungeon gates can sometimes simply be cave-like gates where you kill all the monsters to finish.

But this one had quest-specific monsters.

You could only clear it by completing a certain objective.

Inside the gate, it was as if an entirely new world unfolded before us.

And the entrance to the gate we came through was nowhere to be seen.

“Ta, Tae-sung?”

 

“What is this?”

 

“There’s no gate entrance?”

 

When Jun-hyuk reached out with his arm as he entered, the outside world came back into view.

 

“Wow… This is seriously amazing.”

 

I opened my mouth to explain to the group.

 

“This type of gate is called an Invisible Gate.”

 

Seo Ye-rin nodded as if she already knew, but Hye-ri and Jun-hyuk looked puzzled.

 

It was natural not to know.

 

After all, Jun-hyuk, who had only recently moved up from Class 10 to Class 9, probably hadn’t learned this theory yet.

 

It was also a process not yet taught in the special class, so knowing about it was actually stranger.

 

In that sense, Seo Ye-rin was… really something.

 

Seeing her from the side, I realized she was an incredibly hard worker.

 

So was Ma Tae-ho.

 

Perhaps the exceptional skills they had in my past life weren’t innate genius but the result of their relentless efforts.

 

'No matter how talented you are, it’s impossible without a foundation of hard work…'

 

Hye-ri asked curiously.

 

“What’s an invisible gate?”

 

“It’s literally a gate whose entrance is invisible. Unlike normal gates, it doesn’t appear often.”

 

“That kind of thing exists?”

 

“Since the energy emitted by the gate is undetectable, it’s rarely discovered…”

 

“This is my first time hearing about it…”

 

To address their curiosity, Seo Ye-rin added more details.

 

“I read in a book that it’s a gate you might encounter once or twice in a lifetime. Some hunters don’t even know it exists. I wasn’t sure if it was real either, but…”

 

“So, is the only difference that the entrance is invisible?”

 

I looked around and replied.

 

“No.”

 

Above all, clearing this type of gate offered a high chance of obtaining artifacts.

 

Artifacts—items of legend said to have been passed down since ancient times.

 

However, no one knew their origins, only that they are very old.

 

“This place is rumored to grant artifacts.”

 

“Artifacts?”

 

“Yeah. But it’s not guaranteed… And it’s not like you can’t get artifacts elsewhere.”

 

Judging by Jun-hyuk’s expression, he didn’t even know what artifacts were.

 

“Artifacts are items imbued with abilities.”

 

“…”

 

“Put simply, items with skills.”

 

“Ah!”

 

It was an explanation tailored to Jun-hyuk’s level of understanding.

 

The kid was essentially getting a lesson ahead of time, live on-site.

 

I should charge for tutoring fees.

 

Ordinary items usually enhanced stats, such as increasing strength or stamina, with the boost depending on their grade.

 

Artifacts, however, came with unique skills.

 

For example, summoning something, destroying something, or even having their own sentience.

 

Honestly, I thought I scored big when I got my pet. Even though it was not an item, it meant there are more opportunities ahead.

 

'I think we hit the jackpot.'

 

<I didn’t even know…>

 

'Oh, now you’re being modest?'

 

<I got lucky.>

'Why does that sound like something I often say?'

 

<Hehehe. Let’s go.>

 

'Are you sure we can clear this with our group?'

 

<Why not?>

 

'Something about this feels fishy…'

 

<Just trust me.>

“So how do we get out of here? There’s no visible exit to the gate. What if we get lost? Should we mark our path?”

 

“Except for the invisible entrance, the basic nature of this gate is the same as a dungeon gate.”

 

Jun-hyuk proudly exclaimed.

 

“Oh! After clearing the dungeon, the core appears at the entrance, right? I know that. I learned it.”

 

Hye-ri thought for a moment before speaking.

 

“Then, since it’s an invisible gate, it’s not going to be super difficult, right?”

 

Seo Ye-rin cautiously answered her question.

 

“No… It’s harder.”

 

“Why?”

 

“The problem with quest-type gates isn’t the monsters.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Seo Ye-rin suddenly pulled a book from her bag and flipped through it.

 

“Quest… quest… quest…”

 

“What are you looking for?”

 

Seo Ye-rin looked at me intently before continuing.

 

“This is your first quest too, right?”

 

“Well, yeah.”

 

It was my first time, after all.

 

Since my regression, at least.

 

Quests had several themes.

 

If the setting was a castle, you might have to rescue someone inside.

 

If it was an underground prison, you might have to help someone escape.

 

Or you could simply clear it by defeating the boss monster.

 

If it was a confined space, you might need to break out.

 

Of course, you also had to deal with any monsters you encounter along the way, and if you accidentally killed someone you were supposed to save, there’d be no reward.

 

It was just a lot of frustrating work.

 

Despite this, many guilds were willing to risk their lives in dungeon gates.

 

While quest-type dungeons were much harder to clear, they offered much greater rewards.

 

“But there’s nothing here except that castle. What are we supposed to do?”

 

I replied nonchalantly.

 

“Probably clear that castle.”

 

“Clear that castle? What do you mean…?”

 

“Just what I said. We’ll likely have to capture or rescue someone in that castle. That’s probably our quest.”

 

Jun-hyuk and Hye-ri groaned nervously at my words.

 

“Uh… Are we even capable of doing that?”

 

“Yeah… It looks like something akin to a demon king’s lair…”

 

It seemed like my friends were a bit scared.

 

Though eerie, the castle itself looked quite beautiful to me.

 

Hye-ri countered Jun-hyuk’s remark with her opinion.

 

“Doesn’t it seem more like a princess lives there than a demon king?”

 

“Princess? Please. It’s the kind of place where kissing the princess would turn her into a monster.”

 

“Honestly, if you kissed her, she’d definitely turn into a monster.”

 

“Hey, are you seriously joking right now? Want to fight?”

 

“Sure, let’s fight!”

 

“Fine. I give up.”

 

Never mind. They didn’t seem scared at all.

 

“Alright, everyone, focus.”

 

Though there were no monsters immediately nearby, we cautiously made our way toward the castle.

 

Seeing Jun-hyuk’s face light up like he was some kind of hero made me laugh.

 

So this is what it feels like to enjoy spending time with friends.

 

I never knew.

 

In school, they were rivals to beat. In society, they were competitors.

 

But now, looking at them with a more relaxed perspective, I felt like these moments would become cherished memories.

 

Maybe creating good memories is all about spending time with the people around you.

 

Before long, we arrived near the castle entrance.

 

From a distance, we could see spear-wielding guards stationed at the gate.

 

Of course, they weren’t ordinary knights.

 

They had blue skin and horns on their foreheads.

 

'This is… a quest I think I know.'

 

<== Previous Chapter Next Chapter ==>

Table of Contents

 

....

I just made a Patreon account, feel free to support me and get access to 5 or 10 chapters in advance: patreon.com/Hanzo123