The Hunters had only just charged into the Gate and begun setting up a temporary supply post.
Then they spotted the log hurtling toward them like an arrow.
SHRIEEEEEK—!
With a sound that tore through the air, The enormous tree from the snowy mountain plunged straight toward the Hunters.
“Block it!!!”
Someone shouted, but it was too late.
Its speed was absurd.
There was no time to dodge or block it.
Is this what an S-rank Gate is like?
Was volunteering a mistake?
Just as something flashed through everyone’s mind like the scenes of their lives before death,
THUD—
The ground sank.
“.......?”
An enormous shield completely blocked the path before the Hunters.
“Hoo....”
Behind the shield,
a lone Hunter stood with his teeth clenched.
It was Seon Woo-jae.
“Guardian Barrier!!”
Guardian Shield, the basic shield skill, was C-grade.
Guardian Barrier, a skill one stage above it, was an A-rank Tanker skill—and it activated.
[Guardian Barrier]
Blocks attacks within a 10-meter radius centered on the Tanker.
Additional Effects: Caster Defense Stat +100%. Shield Durability +200%. Taunt Effect: 1 minute. Allies within 3 meters: Defense +100%.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! HUMM—
The moment Guardian Barrier successfully activated,
CRAAAAAASH!!!!!
The enormous tree Choco had thrown slammed straight into Woo-jae’s planted shield.
A deafening crash rang out, and blood trickled from the corner of Woo-jae’s mouth.
“Urgh... agh...!!!”
Protect them. Protect them!
That’s why I became a Hunter!
Show them the grit of an A-rank Hunter!
“Agh... AAAAAAAH!!!!”
CRACK—
CLAAAAANG!!!
An A-rank Tanker blocked a thrown strike from an S-rank monster.
“Hunter Seon Woo-jae!!! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine! What about everyone else?!”
“We... we survived....”
It had been an attack from nothing less than an S-rank Gate’s boss monster.
Everyone facing it had foreseen their own death.
But an A-rank Tanker had protected them.
WAAAAAAAH—!!
Their morale soared in an instant.
And at the same time,
“A-Another one is coming!!!!”
At someone’s shout, Seon Woo-jae raised his shield and took his stance again.
CRAAAAASH!
The second throw carried even more weight.
But Seon Woo-jae successfully blocked the attack again.
“We can do this!”
“Did you see that, you boss mob?!”
“Get organized, quickly! Find Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon first!”
That was when it happened.
FLASH—
The monster hurled something else from the same direction The enormous tree had come from moments ago.
This time, however, it was not a tree.
“What... is that?”
It was not a tree.
It was something that gleamed silver.
“A pillar...?”
FLASH—
An enormous silver spike.
It looked like a hedgehog spine enlarged to the size of a utility pole.
The weapon, pointed at both ends, shot toward Seon Woo-jae.
CRAAAAASH—!!!!
“Urgh...!”
This was on a different level from the attacks before.
It was both the boss monster’s weapon and a skill.
Seon Woo-jae sensed it instinctively.
“Nghhh...!”
Still, he could hold on. He could still endure....
Ah.
CRACK— CRACK—
Fractures began spreading across the A-grade shield.
Just when he thought this was the end,
a turquoise Sword Aura slashed toward the pillar of spikes.
“Heaven-Shattering First Sword.”
SLICE, CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—!!!!
Baek Kang-hyeon’s Heaven-Shattering First Sword split the pillar of spikes Choco had thrown in two.
“Cough... Gasp...!”
At the same time, Seon Woo-jae vomited blood and fell to one knee.
Gasping for breath, he looked around.
The aftermath of the previous strike had flattened the surrounding area like a field of mugwort. Every Hunter outside the 10-meter radius Woo-jae had protected lay sprawled like rags.
“Ggh...!”
He looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Even so, Seon Woo-jae raised his shield again and stood.
The supervising Hunter hurriedly shouted at him.
“You’ve used too much mana! You won’t withstand the next attack!”
“I’m fine. I can hold on! If I drink just one potion....”
“Do not push yourself.”
Just then, Baek Kang-hyeon patted Seon Woo-jae’s shoulder.
“You have done more than well enough for an A-rank.”
At those words, the tension inside Seon Woo-jae snapped.
“Get some rest.”
At that moment,
the wind fell still.
“He’s right, Woo-jae. Get some rest.”
“Brother Ji-hoon...?”
The voice came from behind him.
Woo-jae knew who it belonged to.
Beside Ji-hoon was a bird with enormous white wings wrapped around its entire body.
The griffin strode forward valiantly.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“This... isn’t my life flashing before my eyes, right...?”
Ji-hoon rapped Woo-jae on the forehead with his knuckles.
“You’re still in the land of the living, you punk! Anyway, get some rest.”
“B-Brother, you’re an F-rank... Why... that monster...?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Ah....”
THUD.
Seon Woo-jae’s body collapsed after exhausting all his mana and stamina.
The supervising Hunter hurriedly called for the medical team.
Leaving them behind,
“...You want me to stop it?”
That monster?
“Yes. That is our contract, is it not?”
“That is true, but....”
Killing it would be difficult enough. Capturing it alive or merely restraining it?
“...Are you truly capable of it?”
“Capable of what?”
“Taming it—no, persuading it.”
Persuasion.
Persuade that maddened youngest one.
No.
Today, he needed a proper lesson in discipline.
“I’m bringing him back even if I have to beat the living daylights out of him.”
[Tsk. Let us leave behind the bastard who keeps saying such weak things and go save Choco by ourselves, Big Brother!]
“...I will trust you, Hunter Ji-hoon.”
Then I must do my part properly as well.
Baek Kang-hyeon murmured under his breath and tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
“Because that is our contract...!”
SHING— CLANG!
FLASH— WHOOSH—!
Baek Kang-hyeon, Ji-hoon, and Poppy streaked through the sky like lightning.
***
WHOOSH—
SWISH—!
FWOOSH-FWOOSH, FWOOSH!
CLANG, CLASH!
Choco repeatedly plucked the spikes protruding from his body and hurled them in their direction.
Baek Kang-hyeon deflected the spikes with his Sword Aura, while Poppy evaded the attacks with acrobatic maneuvers.
[Big Brother, I am going to spread my wings fully. Hide beneath my mane!]
Ji-hoon moved quickly beneath Poppy’s mane.
At the same moment, the griffin’s golden wings expanded their reach in an instant, forming a protective barrier.
“Choco!!”
Ji-hoon shouted, but Choco had still lost all reason.
[Big Brother, this appears dangerous.]
“What does?!”
[Choco is trying to cause an avalanche.]
None of his repeated attacks had worked, and Choco appeared to have grown thoroughly enraged.
Now he was wildly smashing and stomping the snowy mountain into pieces.
“Choco, you crazy bastard!”
RUMBLE—
Just as Poppy had warned, a massive storm of snow was rapidly approaching from the mountain’s summit.
[We must avoid it!]
“Will Choco be all right?”
[That is....]
He might be a boss monster swinging around that enormous body without restraint.
“But it looks like he’s throwing a tantrum because he’s hungry! What if he gets swept away by the snowstorm?!”
“Hunter Lee Ji-hoon! Do not worry! That boss will not die from something like this!”
Poppy backed up Baek Kang-hyeon’s words.
[He is right, Big Brother! That brat Choco may sleep on your belly every day, but he is still a Giant Bear. His toughness is second to none!]
“Ggh... Choco! That’s enough! Snap out of it!”
RUMBLE—
Choco—no, the boss monster, the Giant Bear—stomped hard.
Mana soon spread from his toes throughout his body, and dense, earth-colored mana began blooming from him.
[Crazy bastard! So you insist on putting on a show before your master.]
“...We have to stop him.”
Ji-hoon murmured, thought for a moment, and then patted Poppy’s back.
“Poppy, I’m sorry, but can you get close to Choco?”
[Now? If we get too close, you may suffer serious harm, Big Brother....]
“It’s fine. If it comes to it, I can use a defensive skill with the necklace you gave me.”
Ji-hoon shouted to Baek Kang-hyeon, who was struggling fiercely beside them.
“Branch Director!”
“So heavy... Yes, Hunter Ji-hoon!”
“Buy me some time!”
“Time? What are you planning to do?!”
At the same time,
“Activate Golden Guidepost (S).”
WHOOSH—
[Golden Guidepost (S) visualizes ‘everything of value’ within the current Dungeon in golden light.]
A golden haze bloomed around Choco.
At the same time, Ji-hoon touched the feather from Poppy fastened to his necklace.
“Mana Expansion.”
WHOOOOSH—!
It was a feather imbued with the mana of an S-rank boss monster, the King of Griffins.
Not a reward for clearing a Gate, but a genuine feather itself.
Naturally, the mana stored inside it was on an entirely different level.
“As I thought... this was no ordinary necklace.”
Amid Ji-hoon’s surging mana, Baek Kang-hyeon swung his sword.
CLANG—!
Choco’s claws were stopped by Baek Kang-hyeon’s Heaven-Shattering First Sword and a flurry of Heaven-Shattering Second Strikes.
“Your opponent is me!”
CLANG—! CLASH—!
Turquoise Sword Aura crossed countless times with silver spikes and claws.
CRASH—! CRASH-CRASH—!
An ordinary Hunter might already have died from the aftermath of the battle.
Protected by Poppy, Ji-hoon hurriedly examined the items detected within the haze.
A Low-Grade Mana Crystal.
No.
A High-Grade Medicinal Herb.
Not this either.
Then Ji-hoon’s eyes flashed.
“That’s it!”
[Prepared Monster Meat (B): Half-eaten meat discarded by a monster. Restores a small amount of health and mana.]
Ji-hoon ordered Poppy to fly to where the monster meat lay.
[Big Brother, you are not telling me to eat this and fight, are you? I do not want to hurt Choco, Big Brother!]
“Who said it was for you? Shut up and stay still!”
Ji-hoon placed a hand on the monster meat.
The meat began resonating with the mana pouring from Poppy’s feather.
“Nghhh...!”
WHOOOOSH—
The monster meat slowly began to change.
He needed to compress it as much as possible and fill it with pure mana.
Only then could he make it.
“Choco, please...!”
The baby Giant Bear who always slept on Ji-hoon’s belly in the Hell Farm yard.
At first, Ji-hoon had thought Choco was merely an immature youngest child.
But Choco followed Ji-hoon everywhere each day, sticking to him like chewing gum—the youngest member of Ji-hoon’s farm family, and the most immature and innocent of them all.
And always,
there was the grilled jerky made in Hell’s Magic Furnace.
The furnace worked by compressing mana to transform meat.
“If you don’t have teeth... use your gums!”
WHOOOOSH—
The light began to fade, perhaps because the mana had run out.
“Poppy! Tear off more!”
[Yes, Big Brother!]
Poppy immediately tore the feathers from Ji-hoon’s necklace one after another with his beak.
A storm of mana surged up at the same time.
Drawing up even more mana, Ji-hoon brought both hands together and poured his strength into the meat.
“Let’s go!!!”
FLASH—
WHOOSH—
“What is this light...?!”
[ROOOAR...!]
A brilliant light swept past, so dazzling that even Choco the Giant Bear and the S-rank Hunter Baek Kang-hyeon could barely keep their eyes open.
In Ji-hoon’s hand was a palm-sized piece of Mana Jerky.
“Huff... huff....”
Catching his breath, Ji-hoon looked at the rampaging giant bear.
“Let’s go, Poppy!”
[Hold on tight!]
Carrying Ji-hoon, Poppy flew over Choco’s head.
[Come to your senses already, you foolish little brother!]
SWIPE—!
Poppy’s talons grazed past Choco’s ear.
“CHO! CO! HEY!!!!”
Ji-hoon leaped from Poppy’s body and plummeted with his fist clenched around the jerky.
“If you want this, pull those steel spikes back in!!!!”
SQUELCH—!
The steel spikes covering the body of Choco the Giant Bear.
The same spikes Choco had fired at Seon Woo-jae and wielded as weapons while fighting Baek Kang-hyeon.
Ji-hoon, an F-rank Hunter, plunged straight toward them.
“Hunter Lee Ji-hoon!!!”
Baek Kang-hyeon hurriedly prepared to cut away the spot where Ji-hoon was falling with Heaven-Shattering Third Sword.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH—
The stiff quills that had been pointing straight upward smoothly retracted into Choco’s body.
“Choco! You stupid baby brother! Have you finally come to your senses?!”
At the sound of Ji-hoon’s voice beside his ear, Choco’s enormous body trembled as though convulsing.
[B-Big Brother....]
“Yeah, you punk. If you’ve come to your senses, that’s all that matters.”
[No jerky?]
Should I ask Baek Kang-hyeon to give him a proper beating?
As Ji-hoon seriously considered it, a System message appeared before him.
DING—
[Skill Unlocked]
[Demonic Beast Feed Crafting (S): Enables the creation of feed tailored to each individual Demonic Beast’s preferences. Crafting consumes a considerable amount of mana, so be sure to use a Mana Recovery Potion or Magic Furnace.]