A Public Servant Hunter Who Exploits Skill Combinations – Chapter 37
Translated by: Hanzo
Chapter 37: Late (2)
"Introduce yourself. This is the rookie joining us for the first time today."
Jung Tae-sung. Back when he was the youngest member of the guild.
A hunter named Kim Sung-min, with a long scar across his face, put an arm around Tae-sung's shoulder, pretending to be friendly.
"You're the new rookie, huh?"
"Yes! Nice to meet you! My name is Jung Tae-sung."
"How many times have you been to a dungeon gate?"
"A few times in the academy..."
"Wow, a total newbie. Cute. Adorable."
"Please take care of me."
He was one of the seniors who had both skill and a good personality.
"Sure thing. I'll take care of you. Stick close and be careful."
As they entered the dungeon gate, a chilly atmosphere mixed with the strong scent of the sea surrounded them.
"What the? Is this the ocean? Ugh, I hate water-attribute monsters. They stink."
"We don’t even have a porter today, so the rookie’s going to have to gather the mana stones. By the way, my rhymes are on fire today!"
The team joked back and forth to ease the tension as they delved deeper into the dungeon.
Past the coastline, a cave-type dungeon appeared.
"Oh! A cave-type today! This might be profitable!"
"Just a little more money, and I could replace my car..."
"Why do you switch cars every year?"
"Guys like me keep the economy running, you know?"
"Because of guys like you, hunters are accused of making too much money and not paying taxes properly. Our taxes just keep going up."
"How is that my fault? It’s because of those rogue hunters."
However, once they started hunting inside the dungeon, there were fewer monsters than expected.
"Ugh, this is a total bust today. Is this all we’re getting?"
"Right? Something feels off, though."
The cave was full of moisture, but with so few monsters, the hunters grumbled about their meager earnings. Then, one hunter kicked a stone on the ground.
Thud!
The stone flew forward, hit a wall, and made the wall shift.
It wasn’t a wall—it was a monster.
"What the? What is that?"
To be precise, it was a rock hermit crab monster clinging to the wall. Its shell was made of the same material as the wall, making it look like part of the surface.
The hermit crab, hit by the stone, slowly revealed its head, exposing itself.
"Wait, that’s a monster?"
The problem was, it wasn’t just one or two.
The entire wall was covered in rock hermit crabs.
"They're stuck there, not moving an inch."
"Rookie, watch and learn."
Hunter Kim Sung-min infused his sword with mana, creating a vibration wave that caused the hermit crabs to fall to the ground.
"Wow! How did you do that?"
"This? You just create a vibration with the mana and release it. When it hits the wall, it creates a wave."
Kim Sung-min demonstrated by mimicking the motion of waves with his fingers, adding to the explanation.
"The ones clinging to the wall feel a strange sensation, so they fall off. It’s not exactly an attack skill, but it’s handy in situations like this. If you develop it further, you can turn it into an attack skill, but I’m not there yet."
Jung Tae-sung, still inexperienced, didn’t fully grasp the concept.
"How do you add vibration to mana?"
"Even if I explain, some people just can’t do it. I’ll teach you later."
He recalled that time when the team enthusiastically hunted the monsters, thrilled at the unexpected windfall.
Of course, Jung Tae-sung vomited several times from extracting all those mana stones.
***
Now, just thinking about it made me feel queasy again.
Still, a smile lingered on my lips.
The monsters they thought they had nearly wiped out weren’t the end of it.
Neither the team members nor Ma Tae-ho, Mun Jung-ho, and Seo Ye-rin would ever guess that the things stuck to the walls were monsters.
Rock hermit crabs were monsters that naturally clung to walls.
Without prior knowledge, they were easy to mistake for part of the wall.
And since they were stuck to the ceiling, even if someone knew, spotting them wouldn’t be easy. It wasn’t strange that others hadn’t noticed them.
The shell of the rock hermit crab made it impossible to sense the monster’s mana.
Characteristics of rock hermit crabs:
They burrow into stone to create hiding places and conceal their power to protect themselves.
That’s why even my Mana Perception couldn’t detect them.
‘If I can take them all out in one go... this might work.’
Before the others could get them, I approached Kim Sung-woo, the teammate I could communicate with best.
"Sung-woo."
"Huh?"
Sung-woo specialized in dual-wielding and had flashy swordsmanship.
Having learned swordsmanship since childhood, his moves were elegant, but his insufficient mana refinement meant he lacked power.
Still, he had good combat instincts, making him somewhat reliable.
"You see that water in the middle?"
"That little puddle?"
"Yeah. I’m going to lure the monsters there."
Sung-woo didn’t immediately understand my plan.
"But everyone’s already pulling aggro…? And there are no monsters in there..."
Seeing Sung-woo’s puzzled expression, I added,
"I’m not going after the ones already being attacked."
"Huh?"
"Just make sure no one gets into the water. Especially focus on Ma Tae-ho."
"Oh, got it."
Sung-woo nodded firmly.
"Tell the others, too."
"Yeah. Don’t worry."
Using Snake’s power to unleash a wide-area lightning strike would have been easy, but it apparently had used too much energy teleporting and was now dormant.
Moreover, the ceiling here prevented Snake from summoning clouds.
That meant I had to come up with another solution.
Even without the snake’s help.
‘I still have other ways.’
***
Not long ago, Ma Tae-ho had been scolded by his father and spent his weekends honing his mana refinement instead of going home.
At the gym, he practiced swordsmanship and faster skill chaining, determined to secure first place in the upcoming finals.
On the day of the test, having prepared thoroughly, Ma Tae-ho was puzzled by Jung Tae-sung’s absence.
He asked Kim Chan-seong next to him,
"Why isn’t Tae-sung from Group A here?"
"He’s not here yet, I heard."
"What? Why hasn’t he shown up yet?"
"Who knows? Maybe he overslept."
Tae-ho thought his chance had finally come.
He figured Tae-sung might just be in the bathroom and returned to his position.
The artificial dungeon was enormous, and each group started from a different location.
While they all gathered at the same spot initially, each group remained in their designated area to start.
It never occurred to Tae-ho that Tae-sung might not have arrived yet.
When Group B reached the cave after clearing the maze first, Tae-ho thought,
‘No way…?’
Then, when Mun Jung-ho and Seo Ye-rin entered the cave one after another, he realized,
‘Could he still not be here?’
For a brief moment, he felt joy and elation.
‘Is this kind of victory truly satisfying?’
Time kept passing, yet Tae-sung’s group didn’t show up.
A sense of doubt crept in.
He wanted to win fairly and face his father proudly.
After the finals, he’d planned to go home, have dinner with his family, and enjoy a pleasant conversation.
Then, one side of the cave wall collapsed, and Jung Tae-sung appeared.
‘So, he’s here.’
However, the tide had already turned.
Most of the monsters in the puddle had already emerged. Even if Team A, which Jung Tae-sung belonged to, managed to defeat all the visible monsters at the moment, it was clear that their score would still be dismal.
‘Well, lateness is his own doing. This means I win this exam.’
At that moment, Jung Tae-sung, who had been hunting monsters, suddenly paused and began walking toward the center of the puddle.
‘No matter how much you use your lightning skills, you won’t be able to catch that many.’
But then, he twirled his sword once and raised it high into the air.
From Jung Tae-sung’s sword, something blue began to emanate.
‘Is that... Sword Aura?’
No, it wasn’t. Sword Aura didn’t have such a rounded shape.
When the mysterious force shot out of the sword and reached the ceiling, it became the epicenter of a massive wave that started to spread outward.
As the wave traveled, rocks began to fall one by one.
‘Huh? Rocks...?’
Wasn’t that supposed to be the ceiling?
What is that...!?
‘Why are there giant stone hermit crab monsters!? And what is that technique?!’
Not only Ma Tae-ho, but everyone’s eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
Thunk, thunk, thud-thud-thunk.
Suddenly, the stone hermit crab monsters began falling like rain.
‘T-this many...!?’
The stone hermit crabs that fell to the ground emerged from their shells and immediately charged at Jung Tae-sung.
‘What’s going on? Aggro?’
Though it was known he had lightning-element skills, wasn’t that technique unrelated to lightning?
That light and that wave.
What kind of person is he, to pull off something like this?
‘Is that really just a skill using mana...?’
Despite all his studies, Ma Tae-ho knew of no skill card like this.
Unless it hadn’t been released yet.
Which meant that Jung Tae-sung was using it on his own, after figuring it out himself.
Countless monsters converged on Jung Tae-sung.
He stood in the center of a small puddle.
Though it was referred to as a lake for convenience, the water wasn’t deep—just enough for monsters to be submerged.
If a person entered, the deepest part would only reach their waist.
‘Why there...?’
Only then did Ma Tae-ho realize that Jung Tae-sung intended to use his lightning skill.
He aimed to use the skill in the water to catch them all at once.
‘Ha! Does he think I wouldn’t know? I have to stop him!’
Ma Tae-ho resolved to target the monsters headed for Jung Tae-sung rather than the ones in front of him.
After all, someone else’s success always seemed greater.
“Stop Jung Tae-sung from killing those monsters!!”
Ma Tae-ho even abandoned the monster he was hunting.
He couldn’t let Jung Tae-sung take all the monsters that had fallen from the ceiling.
‘With Jung Tae-sung’s ability, he could catch all those monsters in one go...! The environment is too advantageous for him!’
If he lost those monsters, their score would be unpredictable.
As Ma Tae-ho rushed to hinder Jung Tae-sung, someone blocked his path.
Team A. Kim Sung-woo.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“G-get out of the way!”
As Ma Tae-ho tried to dodge to the left, Team A’s Choi Yu-ri joined in.
“No way.”
She spread her arms wide, completely stopping Ma Tae-ho.
With the clock ticking, even a brief standoff felt like an eternity.
That brief moment was enough time for the hermit crab monsters to reach Jung Tae-sung.
And for Jung Tae-sung’s skill to reach the hermit crab monsters.
“No...!”
Sparks began to flare on Jung Tae-sung’s sword.
Did it just seem sharper and clearer than before?
“N-no!!!”
Zzzzzzzzzap!!!
One hermit crab monster in the water was instantly electrocuted.
The current spread to all the nearby hermit crabs, taking them down one by one.
While Ma Tae-ho stood in stunned silence, one of Team A’s members moved toward the monster Ma Tae-ho had been fighting.
Kim Chan-seong called out as he noticed.
“Ma Tae-ho!”
But Ma Tae-ho remained motionless, standing there blankly.
“...”
The system’s notification sound echoed.
Beep—
[All monsters have been defeated.]
The exam was over.
At the same time, everyone’s eyes turned to the scoreboard.
----
Real-time total scores.
==> Team A: 321 points.
==> Team B: 320 points.
==> Team C: 303 points.
==> Team D: 301 points.
----
An earthquake shook.
In Ma Tae-ho’s pupils...
***
The evening after the final exam.
Since the following week marked the start of guild training, the dormitory stay was over.
As a result, Ma Tae-ho had no choice but to return home.
With heavy steps, Ma Tae-ho finally arrived at his house.
“I’m home...”
“My Tae-ho’s back? You didn’t come home over the weekend—do you know how much I missed you? I was just about to eat dinner. Go wash up and join us.”
“Yes...”
Even though his mother always showered him with love, the guilt of not coming in first kept him from smiling.
As Ma Tae-ho went to wash up.
Before long, Ma Jung-seok came home.
“I’m back.”
“Perfect timing. Tae-ho’s home too, and he’s washing up. Go wash and eat.”
Clatter, clatter.
Normally, this would be the moment his father asked about the exam results, but he didn’t. That made Ma Tae-ho even more nervous.
“Why’s the mood so glum when it’s family dinner? Let’s turn on the TV.”
She turned on the TV with the remote.
The channel was already set to a hunter channel, as was typical for a hunter family.
Just then, news about a gate came on.
—This morning, an A-rank gate opened at a steel factory in Pohang.
The mention of an A-rank gate drew everyone’s attention.
—Looking at the CCTV footage, we see a lone hunter fighting the monsters.
As monsters wreaked havoc, overturning a blast furnace, molten steel began spilling out.
The lone hunter struggled.
For a moment, the screen was obscured by rising steam, concealing the battle.
Although a major disaster seemed inevitable, when the steam cleared, the molten steel had solidified, and the monsters were subdued.
Several hunters gathered around the defeated monsters.
Thanks to the hunter’s efforts, the gate was closed without casualties or significant damage.
This hunter was revealed to be none other than Jung Tae-sung, a cadet at the Gyeonggi Hunter Academy, drawing considerable attention.
He’s a rising star, excelling academically and gaining recognition in the hunter community...
Ma Tae-ho nearly dropped his spoon.
—Now, for our next story.
Both Ma Jung-seok and Ma Tae-ho had different thoughts.
‘He defeated an A-rank gate alone!?’
‘What did he ride to get to the exam after hunting monsters at that time? What was it...?’
“Are you two going to eat or not? Hurry up so I can clean up!”
‘He must have been hiding his strength all along.’
‘Why did he even go there? And how did he get back so fast? By helicopter?’
“Excuse me?”
‘Why did the molten steel freeze so suddenly? Was it just a coincidence?’
‘And today’s technique...’
Seeing the father and son playing with their food, she finally shouted.
“If you’re not going to eat, both of you get out!”
And so, the Ma father and son skipped dinner, unable to sleep easily.
That night felt unusually long.
....
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