As expected, I’m far more suited to taking than to protecting.
‘It’s so comfortable not having anything to worry about. I love this.’
Having handed over all my mana stones and chips to Yeon-ha-neul, I had nothing left to lose.
On the other hand, the examinees still holding onto their mana stones and chips had to tread carefully.
That difference alone…
“Roar. Found a little lion cub here.”
“Guhh!”
“Urgh…”
…was more than enough for me to dominate the battlefield.
Even when the examinees banded together to hunt down the Ghost Rabbit Boss, none of them could truly stand against me.
Six of them were already down.
The rest weren’t much of a threat either.
Whoosh!
Crackle!
At that moment, my instinct to dodge flared.
Trusting my body’s reflex, I twisted to the side and swatted away the flying dagger.
Then, I launched myself off the ground.
Lion’s Onslaught
A full-force charge in a straight line.
In an instant, I closed in on the bastard who’d thrown the dagger and slashed upward with my blade.
Crackle!
Lightning surged along my sword.
My strike shattered his weapon, and the arc of my lightning cleaved diagonally across his body.
I’d adjusted the voltage just right — enough to knock him out, not kill him.
Crackle!
Pivoting with my heel, I scanned the surroundings.
Other examinees were still around.
I intended to take them all down with Lion’s Onslaught — a six-hit combo.
“Thanks. I’ll be taking these.”
And with that, I downed the rest.
Once I confirmed the area was clear, I sheathed my Azure Blade.
Meanwhile, Go-eun-bi was already rifling through the unconscious examinees’ belongings.
“How’s the haul, Eun-bi?”
“Tada! Four chips and a bunch of mana stones!”
Not a bad haul at all.
“Good job. Let’s keep the chips and show the mana stones to Ha-neul.”
“But we don’t have enough bundles to send them in. What do we do?”
“No need to worry about bundles.”
“Huh?”
“There’s plenty right here.”
I pointed to the fallen examinees, trying to make my point.
But she didn’t get it right away, tilting her head in confusion.
“We can just take their clothes off. Wrap the stones in that.”
“Wait… did I hear you wrong? Gyeon-woo, what did you just say?”
“Let’s strip them.”
“I didn’t hear you wrong… How about we think of another way?”
“Why bother? Their clothes are right here.”
“….”
“I get where you’re coming from. A few years ago, even I couldn’t have imagined saying something like this.”
“What the hell happened a few years ago that made you like this?”
“Survival. That’s what happened. It’s tragic, really.”
“Weren’t you from the Divine Sword Clan? Was your family so broke you had to steal people’s clothes?”
“What? No. My family’s loaded.”
“Oh… Right. I was just joking. I’m just too flustered right now. Go on.”
“I realized something back then.”
“Yeah?”
“In a world where the strong eat the weak, you have to devour before you’re devoured. Especially in the Hunter world.”
“And?”
“If those guys were in our position, don’t you think they’d be trying to strip us?”
“…Gyeon-woo?”
“What?”
“You don’t think you’re being a little paranoid?”
“They tried to take our mana stones. You think they’d hesitate to take our clothes?”
“I mean… when you put it that way, it’s not totally wrong…”
“And they lost to me.”
“True.”
“So they should lose everything.”
“Are you sure you’re here to become a Hunter? Not a villain? Did you enroll in the wrong academy?”
“In the animal kingdom, the victor always takes all.”
“We’re not animals. We’re people. With reason and laws. Not beasts…”
“Which is why you can’t afford to lose. One loss, and it’s all over.”
“Wow. That sounded profound but was actually total nonsense.”
“Roar.”
“Was that supposed to be a lion?”
Go-eun-bi stared at me, dumbfounded.
I shrugged and walked toward the downed examinees.
“Wait, you’re actually going to strip them?”
“Ever heard that saying?”
“What now?”
‘When a man dies, he leaves behind his name…’
‘…and a tiger leaves behind its pelt?’
“Nope.”
“Then what?”
“A monster leaves behind its mana stone.”
“They’re still people, you know…”
“Anything that tries to hurt me is either a beast or a monster.”
“…You still think I’m a person, right?”
“For now.”
“Don’t say creepy stuff like that! Why ‘for now’!?”
“When a hunting dog finishes the rabbit chase…”
“So you were planning to ditch me… Ugh, that’s cold. I’m not a dog…”
“You do kinda look like a Welsh Corgi, though.”
“Wait, is that a compliment?”
“Depends how you take it.”
“Are you calling me short!? I’m telling Ha-neul!”
“Enough jokes. Help me strip them.”
“Ugh! Fine!”
Even I had a conscience.
We only took their jackets, using them to wrap up the mana stones and chips.
We didn’t have time to strip everyone.
Just the ones nearby.
“You know where Ha-neul is, right?”
“Just checked.”
“Then send it to her.”
“Got it!”
Go-eun-bi fired an arrow into the sky.
Yeon-ha-neul, who should be somewhere nearby, would catch it.
With that done, we turned our attention back to finding the Ghost Rabbit Boss.
Didn’t take long.
KUAHHHHH!
“There it is.”
Whenever one of those things appeared, it let out a massive roar.
As long as you listened carefully, tracking it down wasn’t difficult.
I began moving toward the source of the sound.
Other examinees surely heard it too and were heading there.
It was now a race against time.
And so—
“KYAA! What the hell are you doing!?”
“Hold still. You’ll fall.”
I hoisted Go-eun-bi up and slung her over my shoulder.
She kicked and flailed in protest.
“Did you have to carry me like this!?”
“If I slow down to match your pace, we’ll lose time. Just bear with it.”
“Couldn’t you piggyback me instead?”
“Makes it harder to swing my sword.”
“I’m heavy…”
“I used to carry Ha-neul while running. You’re fine.”
“That makes it sound like Ha-neul’s heavier than me… Are you Inuyasha now? Running with someone on your back?”
“What are you even saying?”
“Gyeon-woo, sit!”
“No time for games. We’re moving.”
I activated my mana and kicked off the ground, sprinting toward the source of the roar.
Soon enough, I spotted the monster.
KUAAANG!
“Gah!”
It was already battling a group of examinees.
I set Go-eun-bi down beside me.
“I think I’m gonna puke…”
“Quit exaggerating. I’ll take the lead. You catch up when you can.”
“Okay…”
She staggered a bit.
But I didn’t think her stamina was actually spent.
The status screen told me everything I needed to know.
[Personal Info]
Name: Go-eun-bi (Female, 17)
Alias: Self-proclaimed Loner
Affiliation: Doan Middle School
[Owned Gifts]
(Unlock Condition: Mana 60 or above)
[Physical Stats]
Stamina: 47
Strength: 45
Endurance: 36
Agility: 43
Mana: 38
Luck: 44
Remaining Points: 0
Not quite on par with me or Ha-neul, but decent numbers nonetheless.
There’s no way she’s exhausted already.
I left her to cover the rear and charged straight into the battlefield.
“Damn it, who are you!?”
“Back off! We’ve got this!”
“Don’t steal our kill!”
The examinees already fighting the Ghost Rabbit Boss shouted furiously.
I ignored them.
‘Steal? Please.’
The first to bring it down gets the prize.
I zipped past the ones too afraid to approach due to the boss’s wild punches.
And headed straight for the monster.
[Monster Encountered]
Ghost Rabbit Boss (Rank. 02, Field Boss) x1
Ghost Rabbits (Rank. 01) x6
Blue Ghost Rabbits (Rank. 01) x2
[……]
The moment our eyes met, the beast recognized me.
Its face twisted grotesquely, and it let out a feral howl meant to break my spirit.
KUAHHHHH!
It was more than a roar — it was a force of pure presence.
The pressure it emitted scraped against my nerves, trying to drag me under.
But it was useless.
[You have been exposed to Pressure.]
[All stats temporarily decreased by 3%.]
[Skill ‘Courage Lv. 5’ has been activated.]
[13% of lost stats restored due to skill effect.]
[Stat penalties recovered.]
[Focus and evasion increased by 13% from ‘Courage Lv. 5’.]
The effects of the Courage skill kicked in instantly.
I could face this creature without suffering any loss to my capabilities.
And that wasn’t the only advantage I had.
[Title ‘Boss Baby’ has been activated.]
[You are now the primary aggro target of the boss monster.]
[All physical stats increased by 10% when fighting boss monsters.]
A title specialized for boss encounters — Boss Baby.
I had switched to this title in advance, just for this hunt. And now, I was reaping the rewards.
My physical stats surged.
[Physical Stats]
Stamina: 65(62+3) → 71.2(68.2+3)
Strength: 59 → 64.9
Endurance: 55 → 60.5
Agility: 71(68+3) → 77.8(74.8+3)
Mana: 48 → 52.8
Luck: 32 → 35.2
Remaining Points: 1 [+Details]
My major stats had all broken into the next tier.
Not just decimals, but whole digits had shifted — a meaningful leap.
There’s a huge difference between a stat of 59 and 60. A wall, even.
And now, even if only temporarily, I had leapt over that wall.
‘I even broke past 70 in stamina…’
I could feel the strength coursing through me.
All fatigue melted away.
My breaths came deeper and longer.
My muscles could now hold more energy for longer periods than before.
KUAHHHHH!
A massive punch flew toward me.
It was fast.
But that was it.
Not so fast I couldn’t see it, and not so sudden I couldn’t react.
My eyes tracked the punch effortlessly, never losing focus.
And then—
Crackle!
My evasion instinct activated.
A weak current passed through my body.
Not threatening. Just a precaution.
To be honest, I didn’t even need that instinct. I could dodge the attack just fine on my own.
I closed the distance instantly.
Lion’s Returning Strike
I drove the Azure Blade into the sternum, right between the beast’s pectorals.
A spinning thrust, empowered by torque, pierced through just as the beast tried to raise its natural camouflage.
SHLKT!
One blow.
That single strike was enough to kill it.
I reached into the wound and pulled out the mana stone with my bare hand.
“Why? You planning to steal my kill or something?”
“…”
The Ghost Rabbit Boss vanished into motes of light.
Turning from the corpse, I glanced back at the stunned examinees behind me.
They silently shook their heads.
No intention of fighting.
Good. Then there was no need for me to fight either.
I tossed the mana stone to Go-eun-bi.
“Eun-bi, take care of this.”
“Got it! Ha-neul, catch this too! With all my love!”
She launched the stone using an arrow.
The Ghost Rabbit Boss’s mana stone soared into the air and flew toward Yeon-ha-neul’s direction.
“Why are you always sending her your love?”
“Because I want to be friends with her!”
“Why?”
“Because Ha-neul is pretty.”
“…Yeah. I’ll give you that one.”
“Right?”
“Anyway, we should get moving.”
“Huh? Already? Can’t we rest a bit…”
“Someone else might come and steal the next one. Come on, hurry.”
“…You’re going to carry me again, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Slinging you over my shoulder.”
“Treating me like a sack of loot… You’re surprisingly rough, huh?”
Just like before, I hoisted her over my shoulder.
Then, I took off into the woods, hunting the next Ghost Rabbit Boss.
Before long—
POP!
“Oh! That’s the signal! I’m sure it’s the flare I gave Ha-neul!”
Blue smoke rose in the distance.
It was the prearranged signal between the three of us.
We’d gathered enough mana stones and chips. Time to regroup.
“Finally. Ugh, my shoulder’s killing me.”
“…Wait. Are you saying I’m heavy?”
“You tell me.”
“Take this! Erase-that-from-your-memory punch!”
Go-eun-bi tapped my back with her fists, all bark and no bite.
I let her.
Anyway, with that…
We had gathered all the chips we needed.
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