WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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◈ How an A-Rank Hunter Lives ◈

Chapter 25: B-Rank Hunter Naito-san - [2]

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Maybe it was because I'd been so shocked, but my heart still wouldn't slow down.

With this many Hunters around, I'd thought we could keep slaughtering Monsters without any trouble. But that wasn't the case. Someone had nearly died already.

If I hadn't deliberately placed Baek Dambi at the most exposed point of the encirclement, a Hunter would've died right from the start, blood gushing from their neck. I already knew Hunter work was dangerous, but it really drove that fact home.

I couldn't just stand around acting as a radar anymore. Not for those fragile non-awakened people, and not for my own peace of mind.

“Alright, all the bodies are loaded onto the trucks, right? Then let's move again!”

After moving together and locating another group of Monsters, the Hunters formed another encirclement around a villa.

This time, I didn't just watch from behind.

I took up position on the roof of a building across the street and watched the situation.

“Throw it!”

Smoke rose from inside the building again. Just like before, Deathclaws burst out from unpredictable places and tried to pounce on the Hunters.

There was one here with exceptional jumping ability too. It burst through a third-floor wall, then leaped at a Hunter. Even for me, a former fighter, its speed was almost too fast to react to.

If I hadn't spread my mental net out in front of us beforehand, if it hadn't sensed the creature's movement so keenly, there would've been nothing I could do.

“Uh...”

Before its claws could reach the unlucky Hunter's neck, my Hunter Rifle spat fire.

Bang!

The Deathclaw that had been about to pounce on the Hunter broke apart in midair and was hurled far away. As blood and chunks of flesh sprayed through the air, I shot another Deathclaw that emerged and hit it in the head.

Another area had been cleared.

“Wow, I almost died...”

The Hunter who had just escaped death was saying that awfully casually, while Naito-san reacted even more dramatically.

“Wow, did you get that? Did you? Good. Everyone, did you see those two Deathclaws get blown to pieces one after another just now? They were killed by Hunter Rifle autocannon rounds! In other words, Kim Geuk shot them!

“Can you see Hunter Kim Geuk up there on the roof of that four-story villa? He was originally supposed to stay in the rear as part of the reserve force, but he's absolutely brimming with enthusiasm. He took up position to provide supporting fire, and he's already showing us what he can do!

“During that large-scale Gate incident in Incheon last time, nearly a hundred Deathclaws poured out. Did you all know Kim Geuk killed almost seventy percent of them by himself? More than three hundred Hunters had gathered there, so it was an unbelievable number, but seeing his skills now, I understand exactly how he did it!”

That bastard sure could swallow their pride. I'd yelled at Naito to get lost earlier, yet Naito kept broadcasting nothing but good things about me.

The extermination operation continued like that. After hunting down one more group of Deathclaws, we were moving to the next area when it happened.

「Hunter Kim Geuk? Where are you right now? It doesn't seem like there are any Monsters nearby, right? Then please stop there for a moment...」

At the sudden call from a civil servant, all the Hunters stopped. I waited too, unsure what was going on, when two vans drove over and stopped nearby.

Civil servants stepped out of the vehicles. They carried something out, and the Hunters gasped when they saw it.

“Chicken and pizza!”

Five years ago, those had been foods you could eat as much as you wanted if you felt like it. These days, you could barely get them unless there was some major celebration. Pizza places barely existed anymore, so I hadn't even known you could still get pizza in Incheon.

You could tell how valuable it was from the intense reaction of the Hunters, who were considered high-income earners. Everyone loudly asked whether it was really for us and whether they could eat it now.

“I heard lunch was at one. It's only twelve, so why'd they bring food already?”

When I asked, one of the civil servants explained.

“There was a separate meal prepared for you, but this is from the local residents.”

“The local residents?”

“While the meals were being prepared, a representative from the neighborhood came by and said they'd prepared this for the Hunters carrying out the operation. Everyone can gather for photos, then eat!”

The project had already been promoted in various ways, so it seemed the nearby residents had been eagerly waiting for this operation. Many had been looking forward to it, and once they heard it was going smoothly, they got excited and hurriedly prepared these gifts.

Everyone let out impressed sounds and started devouring the food. The civil servants smiled as they took pictures.

“Alright, Hunter Kim Geuk gets a drumstick! Please hold up the best-looking drumstick for the photo...”

“Alright, alright. But it obviously cost a lot, so I should stop them from doing this starting tomorrow. If we're not careful, it'll turn into a bad custom where residents have to provide meals whenever Hunters carry out an important operation nearby.”

I muttered smugly, then slowly closed and opened my eyes.

My heart itched like crazy. Good lord, what kind of surprise attack was this?

Contrary to what I'd expected, I couldn't slaughter all the Monsters alone. There were also those ugly foreign non-awakened scraps mixed in, so I hadn't been feeling great about things. I never expected an event like this.

We were all doing this to make money, but in situations like this, I couldn't help feeling a sense of mission. It was touching. This feeling of something filling me up inside was almost unbearable.

Really, long live Incheon.

* * *

The operation resumed after the meal.

Even I, displaying flawless marksmanship from the safest spot, couldn't let my guard down. The thought that if I missed, someone would be killed by a Monster dominated my mind.

I could understand why the academy instructor had repeatedly stressed not to spend time trying to line up a shot. I understood why they taught us to fire as quickly as possible the moment we spotted an enemy, whether we aimed properly or fired from the hip.

I'd never personally hunted bears or deer, but I couldn't treat killing Monsters like hunting animals like that.

If I let a Monster get closer thinking, I'll hit it better once it's closer, I'd die. They could cross the distance before a human could blink, then immediately slice through someone's neck or abdomen with those long hook claws.

“Still, aren't the ones we saw today way too athletic? It's not like I've only seen one or two Deathclaws, but the ones we hunted today seemed especially insane. They're all too fast, and they jump way too far.”

“That's because they've already eaten several people and grown stronger. If this were an RPG, it'd be like they've leveled up a lot.”

“Do we get paid more for killing ones like that?”

“Who knows? It's not like only these ones are unusual. You know all the Monsters have steadily gotten stronger since the Gates opened, right? The Monsters from a year ago and the ones these days are on a completely different level...”

While the Hunters discussed it, Jang Byeonggon, who was a veteran in his own right, claimed that several of the ones we hunted today seemed to have awakened force-field exoskeleton abilities.

Their force fields were only weak enough to be pierced by rifles, so they weren't strong enough to be classified separately as Force-Field Creatures. Still, there had been several individuals with noticeably superior athletic ability and jumping power. It seemed almost all the ones I'd sensed were dangerous and shot dead had been like that.

“Anyway, we're indebted to you. Have some Pocari...”

“Thanks.”

As I politely accepted the drink he handed me, Jang Byeonggon waved his hands.

“Oh, don't thank me. If I don't do at least this much, I'll be too embarrassed to live.”

“Too embarrassed?”

“Kim Geuk, do you know what Huntweb calls non-awakened Hunters who follow awakened people around?”

“I don't know...”

“Porters. Self-proclaimed awakened people sometimes call all non-awakened Hunters porters, but especially the Hunters who follow awakened people around like lackeys are all called porters. They say we don't do anything except carry luggage. What we're doing today is exactly at that level.”

“So you feel bad and start hating yourself?”

“No, it's fucking easy, so I love it. Even when I worked in Seoul, I never knew when I might die. This is so great, and I'm grateful for it. Thank you so much for taking us around, Kim Geuk!”

It seemed all the non-awakened people on our team felt self-conscious too, since they hadn't done anything.

Along with me, Baek Dambi, who had joined the encirclement and done her share today, became the target of praise.

“Dambi, you were seriously amazing today! You stayed so calm even after getting your throat slashed...”

It was strange to see even Seong Munyeong, who had disliked Baek Dambi at first, sucking up to her like that.

I casually chimed in too.

“Mm, you basically saved someone's life by drawing the Deathclaw's attack today.”

At our praise, Baek Dambi slowly nodded with a blank expression. Still, I saw her cheek twitch slightly.

I considered teasing her about it, then decided against it.

Footnotes:

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