A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 30
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 30: Insurance (2)
Honestly, I didn’t think Ma Jung-seok would actually come.
I thought there was a chance he might just send a subordinate or maybe just deliver the phone to the school instead.
It was more of a "just in case" hope.
After all, he was showing interest in me.
Since I was more talented than his son, it was only natural that he’d want to recruit me into his guild.
So, calculating that there was a good chance he’d come in person turned out to be spot on.
The ride in the S-class taxi was incredibly smooth and comfortable.
***
Ma Jung-seok's very presence completely shifted the atmosphere.
So, this is what middle-aged charisma looks like.
Kwagagagaga—!
When Ma Jung-seok, clad in a pristine suit, reversed his grip on his sword and plunged it into the marble floor, the ground cracked apart, causing the wolves to lose their footing.
"Not even elemental magic—just pure mana manipulation to cause this level of destruction..."
The sound was as if an earthquake had struck. Hunters nearby were startled, but strangely enough, nothing happened to the spots where they stood.
"And such precise control, on top of that."
I had never seen Ma Jung-seok fight in person before. Seeing his martial prowess right in front of my eyes, I couldn’t help but be in awe.
With every swing of his sword, wolves groaned in agony and rolled across the ground.
Amidst the chaos, a wolf’s corpse, sliced clean in two, fell before us, causing Jun-hyuk to scream in shock.
"Uaaagh!"
His scream startled the friend next to him even more.
"Why are you screaming?! You scared me!"
"Look! It’s still breathing—aaahhh!"
Jun-hyuk, still screaming, stabbed at the wolf’s corpse with his spear.
I ignored them as best I could and spoke to Snake.
‘Snake! It’s mealtime!’
<You’ve brought an excellent chef, I see.>
Snake, who was coiled around my arm, slithered down to the ground and crawled toward the wolf corpses.
<So, I just enjoy this buffet?>
‘Yeah, don’t be picky and eat plenty.’
This was such a sweet deal.
I could feed A-rank mana stones to it without lifting a finger.
I glanced at Ma Jung-seok out of the corner of my eye.
His slicked-back hair had become slightly disheveled, with a single strand falling forward and swaying lightly.
"Everyone, step back."
With a single command, he drew a half-circle in the air with his sword, letting out a short yell.
At the same time, blue mana surged from his blade.
Sword Aura...!
The legendary skill only usable by S-rank hunters—the sword aura—shot out toward the pack of wolves.
There was no need to explain the outcome. The wolves caught in its path were ripped apart without a chance to evade.
Several of the wolves, intimidated by the sight, tucked their tails between their legs.
As the wolves’ formation crumbled, we gained some room to maneuver.
I addressed the hunters nearby.
"Those creatures are Red Jewel Wolfs. Soon, they’ll transform into werewolves. Once that happens, I can’t guarantee your lives."
Hearing my words, their faces turned pale.
They’d already seen enough with their own eyes to understand.
These monsters were beyond what they could handle.
Some hunters had already turned tail and fled.
I turned to Jun-hyuk and his friends and spoke.
"You guys should probably run, too."
"What about you?"
"I’ll finish feeding my friend here and catch up. I’ll be fine, so hurry up and go."
"Ah, okay."
A few wolves noticed their retreat.
But I moved faster, securing their escape route.
I blocked the path so the wolves couldn’t chase the fleeing hunters.
As lightning began crackling around my sword, the wolves hesitated, maintaining their distance.
‘Alright. Now I just need Mr. Ma Jung-seok to wrap this up quickly.’
At least 30 wolves were already dead...
And yet, more than half of them remained.
Well, taking on 100 A-rank monsters solo would be tough for anyone.
Even for an S-rank, they couldn’t just spam sword aura endlessly.
And judging by the faint color of Ma Jung-seok’s sword aura...
It didn’t seem like he was at the upper echelon of S-rank hunters.
Thinking back now, it all seemed to be related to the mana pathways.
I was staying behind with a B-rank healer hunter to guard Ma Jung-seok’s back.
Jun-hyuk’s group and the other hunters had already fled after realizing the wolves’ true nature.
No matter how tempting the items or mana stones might have been, their lives took priority.
At the very least, I could prevent the wolves from getting close with the lightning aura surrounding my sword.
The sparks alone were enough to keep them at bay.
Though my overall skill level was B-rank, my elemental skill gave me enough of an edge to take down A-rank enemies.
The hunter next to me, who had been casting attack spells at the wolves, seemed impressed by my stance. He took a moment during a lull in the fighting to speak.
"Why haven’t you run off yet...?"
"I can manage."
"You’re quite something for a young student. Now that I think of it, you look familiar..."
I turned toward him and swung my sword.
"W-what are you doing...!?"
He stared at me in shock.
"Behind you!"
Only then did he seem to realize that a wolf had crept up behind him.
I lunged past him and slashed at the wolf.
Ssskuk!
The sensation through my fingertips confirmed the hit.
However, since it was a monster capable of utilizing mana, it didn’t die immediately.
The wolf, now with a wound on its face, glared at me with sharp eyes.
Grrr...
"What are you looking at?"
I spun my sword once and provoked it.
As if daring it to attack, I gestured with my hand, but it didn’t charge at me. It simply continued to glare.
The reason these wolves were classified as A-rank was because they were evolutionary monsters capable of transforming into werewolves.
According to monster researchers, it was hypothesized that they mastered mana control in their werewolf form, which allowed them to manipulate mana even in their wolf form.
This made them stronger and faster, but ultimately, they were still just wolves.
At least they weren’t capable of randomly firing off magic.
***
Whenever Ma Jung-seok swung his sword, wolves were flung in all directions, slamming into walls and obstacles.
It looked like at least four pieces of playground equipment had already been destroyed…
What does it mean to wield mana?
It’s like the difference between an ordinary person and an awakened one, or the difference between an ordinary wolf and a werewolf.
It meant their physical reinforcement was on an entirely different level.
This was the biggest distinction between Red Jewel Wolf monsters and regular wolves.
So when those wolf beasts collided with walls… there was no way the walls could survive intact.
Oof!
A deep howl erupted from one of the larger wolves in the back.
Hearing that sound, the other wolves began maintaining a formation, as if they were falling into ranks.
It seemed like that one was their leader...
While catching his breath for a moment, Ma J-ng-seok turned around and called out to me.
“Jung Tae-sung.”
“Yes?”
“Can you buy me a little time?”
“Me?”
“I need to gather mana and finish this in one blow.”
Oh-ho.
“How much time?”
“Three minutes.”
The time left before those Red Jewel Wolves transformed into werewolves was about five minutes.
It sounded like he intended to finish them off before that happened.
Ma Jung-seok was undoubtedly well aware of the transformation timer.
But he must have felt that at this pace, there was no way he could kill them all within that time frame.
From the distance, I could see helicopters approaching—other hunters would probably arrive soon enough.
But dealing with werewolves was a hassle, even for an S-rank.
“Can you do it?”
Three minutes...
“I’ll give it a try.”
The reason I accepted Ma Jung-seok’s proposal was simple.
It was so I could rightfully claim my share.
In the past, at my age, I’d never had the chance to fight monsters of this caliber, so I wasn’t sure about the exact market value back then.
But these A-rank monsters alone, with their mana stones and items, were easily worth tens of billions of won.
Maybe over 100 billion?
To demand my share, I needed to contribute enough.
Honestly, Ma Jung-seok was doing most of the work, so if he decided to take all the loot, I’d have no grounds to object.
That’s why I’d been messing with the wolves from the start, trying to rack up contribution points.
If you do well on an exam, you get points; in real combat, you have to perform well to earn your share.
Each guild has its own method for determining contributions, but field gates are usually distributed based on performance.
If Ma Jung-seok hadn’t shown up, I would’ve just run around buying time and relied on the arriving hunters for support.
But if the wolves turned into werewolves, the hunt would’ve become much tougher, and my share would’ve been reduced.
Finishing everything before others arrived was the best way to maximize my share.
To be honest, Snake had already eaten enough mana stones to surpass what I deserved, but...
Since the stage had already been set, why not be a little greedy?
It’s not every day you get an opportunity like this.
“Let’s get started!”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
At my signal, Ma Jung-seok drew a circle on the ground with his sword.
Clutching his sword with both hands, he began activating his mana, and I could feel a massive flow of energy forming around him.
He was gathering the mana in the atmosphere.
It was clear that he intended to cut down every wolf in one blow.
Right, letting them turn into werewolves would only complicate things.
It’s not like better items would drop from them, anyway.
I used Wind Sprint to position myself in front of Ma Jung-seok, blocking the wolves from attacking him.
As lightning crackled along my sword and sparks flew, I could see the wolves hesitate, barking warily.
“If you get any closer, I’ll turn you into roasted meat.”
I said it as a warning to keep them away, but for some reason, three of them charged at the same time.
“I didn’t mean it literally!”
Combining Lightning Slash with a Triple Slash...
Chwajwajwajak!
In an instant, my sword pierced the throats of the three wolves that had leapt into the air.
It seemed they had noticed the swirling mana around Ma Jung-seok and were becoming desperate.
Their frenzied attacks weren’t ordinary.
Either that, or they thought I looked like the weaker target compared to Ma Jung-seok.
As much as I hated to admit it, they weren’t wrong.
Still, I didn’t have time to dwell on my bruised pride.
Another wolf lunged at me, and I deflected it with an upward slash.
Blood spurted from the wolf’s neck where my sword had sliced it.
But then another wolf rushed in from my left, and yet another was charging in from below on my right.
‘Are these things... coordinating their attacks?’
I had a skill called Continuous Slash, but at this range and in such a short time frame, using it was nearly impossible.
The attacks were coming from almost directly above and far below, at my legs.
If my mana refinement was at A-rank, I might have managed, but at B-rank, I couldn’t keep up with their speed.
‘In that case...’
I used my Shadow Bind skill on the wolf charging from below, temporarily immobilizing it. Then I immediately turned to the one leaping at me from above and slashed at it.
Following that, I swung downward, cutting both wolves in a single stroke.
So far, so good.
But had I overexerted myself by using too much mana for a single strike?
Or was it because I used two skills almost simultaneously?
Or maybe it was because I had maintained the Lightning Aura for too long...?
Suddenly, my strength drained, and the sparks around my sword vanished.
At the same time, the wolves began rushing in, wasting no time in exploiting the small gap.
‘Kuh.’
As one of the massive wolves closed in, it seemed even larger up close.
I’d seen monsters bigger, more disgusting, uglier, and smellier than these, but this was the first time I’d felt such a raw sense of fear.
Was it because I was out of strength?
Ah...
It felt as if time had slowed down.
So this is what a wolf’s teeth look like up close...
Pretty sharp.
Seeing them this close, it felt almost new in a strange way.
But this wasn’t the time to be standing around gawking.
If I stayed still, I’d end up with my neck bitten.
“Khrrrrrrrrah!!”
I mustered all my strength, raised my sword, and twisted my body.
In that split second, the wolf’s belly, which was about to rip through where my neck had been, was slashed open by my sword.
That much went fine.
But how was I supposed to deal with the others now?
Three minutes seemed like plenty of time, but...
Was I being arrogant?
How much time was even left?
Was it still far from three minutes?
I saw more wolves rushing toward me.
And then, I saw Snake charging toward me like a bullet—or should I say, flying toward me?
Not that it mattered at this point.
What did matter was the absurd thing Snake said:
<Graaaaagh! You bastards! Don’t mess with my meal ticket!>
This damn snake... Who does it think it's saving?
....
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