EP.36
“Uaaah!”
I couldn’t help but scream in surprise.
I was already in mid-jump, and the super giant stone golem was staring at me with its eyes wide open from the back of its head.
“F*ck. I didn’t expect this.”
The stone golem immediately swung its arm toward me.
Fortunately, due to the weather effect, its movements were sluggish.
Thud, thud, thud.
As soon as I touched the stone golem, I leapt away in a hurry.
It was a bit slippery from the rain.
“If it weren’t for the weather effect, I would have taken a huge hit.”
It was evident from the speed of the golem’s arm swings.
If I had jumped without any defense while airborne, I would have been hit hard.
That would have left me with at least a serious injury.
“What’s with those multiple eyes? Or does it just have one on the back of its head?”
Thud, thud, thud.
With various thoughts racing through my mind, I began to run.
Staying still was far too dangerous at this point.
The golem had spotted me and was now attacking furiously.
Bang!!
Bang!!
While its strikes were slow and inaccurate, its power was immense.
The entire training ground shook.
“Is this really how advanced the simulation is?”
I couldn’t help but be astonished by the performance of the simulation.
“Given the situation, I have no choice but to attack from the side.”
I quickly realized that while the stone golem moved quickly forward and backward, it struggled to throw punches from the side due to its structure.
Tap, tap, tap.
I closed in on the side of the stone golem.
Then, I prepared to execute my earlier plan.
It seemed like it was trying to twist its body upon spotting me, but it was futile.
Given the structure of the stone golem and the weather effects, it was clearly impaired.
Thud, thud, thud.
I began to climb up the arm of the stone golem.
It was an intimidating and dangerous weapon, but right now, it was the shortcut to its head.
“Hah. Wave Riding.”
As I used the skill, the water accumulated from the weather effect started to swell and wave dramatically.
It caused the stone golem to stumble even more.
I almost slipped off as well.
“And now, Water Bending.”
From the rolling waves, several thick tentacles emerged.
They began to weave their way in between the joints of the stone golem at my command.
“Hah. This is it.”
I clenched my fists tightly.
With that, the tentacles began to disassemble the golem’s joints one by one.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Slap. Slap.
The rocks that broke off from the stone golem fell helplessly to the ground, creating a loud noise.
Jump.
As I confirmed that everything was in order, I sat down on the ground.
Then, I looked towards the control room.
“Is it done now?”
*
“Now, let’s get started~~~”
Manager Cha pressed the Go button for the simulation with a beaming smile.
“Ah, Manager. This is really dangerous, you know?”
“What if you get hurt?”
“No. I’ll finish the simulation before I get injured—so it’s fine.”
“That’s too harsh, isn’t it? How can you give a C-rank to someone who’s still E-rank?”
The female hunters fidgeted nervously, as if they were watching over a child.
In contrast, Manager Cha seemed eager to push them to their limits.
“Huh? Manager, isn’t that a super giant golem? Doesn’t that look like a minimum B-rank?”
“Hmm? Oh dear. I accidentally set it to B-rank.”
“AH!!! Manager!!!!”
“See, I knew Baek Jihoon would do well~”
They began observing Baek Jihoon’s movements with careful attention, despite their earlier concerns about him getting hurt or dying.
“Eh? Weather effects? How does an E-rank have this?”
“Oh? Really? What is going on? A skill-rich person?”
In the hunter community, there’s a term for someone called a “skill-rich person.”
This refers to someone who doesn’t upgrade their specs or skill levels but presses one skill at a time, like a child tasting different foods.
While it may appear glamorous on the outside, it lacks substance.
It’s about quantity over quality.
“Hmm. Is that so? I don’t think so.”
They momentarily stopped their dispute and refocused on Baek Jihoon’s actions.
Previously worried about his safety, their thoughts seemed to shift slightly upon witnessing his demeanor and skills.
“See? I told you he’d do well. He’s been doing great right from the start! Totally textbook, right?”
“Well, that’s true…”
“Hmm.”
Manager Cha wore a wide grin.
He seemed pleased that his expectations were being met.
“Hehe. Keep watching~ Our Baek Jihoon will do just fine.”
They continued watching the scene unfold.
“Oh. But Baek Jihoon is moving to the back?”
“Does he not know that the super giant stone golem has eyes in the back?”
“It’s fine up to the giant stone golem; maybe he mistook it for a giant rock.”
Again, they started to worry.
“Manager, I think we should stop now. We’ve seen enough of his skill. This is the limit.”
EP.37
“Gyaaaaah!”
I screamed as I watched Baek Jihoon rush toward the golem.
Fortunately, the golem’s punch missed its target.
“Ah, Manager! If you don’t stop it, I’ll have to step in myself!”
“Just look at him! Baek Jihoon is really doing well.”
The female hunters, who had been anxiously pacing, focused back on the screen.
Baek Jihoon was now moving to the side, climbing up the golem’s arm.
“Huh? What’s going on? How does he know what to do so well?”
“Manager, did you give him a hint beforehand? Some textbook strategy?”
“No~ absolutely not! I promise.”
Manager Cha continued to wear a proud smile.
“Oh? It’s over!”
As it completely finished, the female hunters looked exhausted, as if a great weight had been lifted off their shoulders.
They probably thought they had narrowly avoided witnessing something dreadful.
If Baek Jihoon had been hurt, they would certainly share in the blame.
“Alright, let’s go see Baek Jihoon~~”
*
The lights began to flicker on.
As the simulation powered down, the environment slowly transformed.
“Ugh. So damp.”
My clothes were completely soaked from the rain I had conjured up.
It felt a bit uncomfortable.
But my heart was racing with excitement.
“So this is what it’s like to be a Hunter.”
Of course, I had done similar things with Chae Suhyeon before, but this was on a whole different level.
When I was with Chae Suhyeon, we had dealt with minor monsters quickly, but I had never had to focus on a much stronger foe.
“Oh, Oppa. To deal with stronger monsters, you have to invest in yourself, right? But that’s just too slow. You should just stick to grinding the weaker ones. We just need to run dungeons for 14 hours a day~ without rest. Just outpace the others. It’s fine~ Then we can go home and relax afterward.”
I vividly recalled the glint in Chae Suhyeon’s eyes when she said that.
Typically, dungeon raids would last only about 3 or 4 hours.
Even for highly skilled Hunters, anything more than that can lead to exhaustion.
The energy consumption is incredibly high.
Even a soccer player becomes completely fatigued after running for an hour and a half.
It’s the same for Hunters.
Of course, I had managed to run dungeons for 14 hours a day somehow.
Chae Suhyeon must have had some trick up her sleeve.
Clap, clap, clap.
As the lights in the training ground fully lit up, the sound of applause echoed.
It was Manager Cha and the assistants.
They looked both pleased and astonished.
“Wait, Baek Jihoon? Wow! How did you do that? That’s truly impressive!”
“Manager, but is this really a C-rank? It seems far too large.”
A thing the size of an apartment had come rushing toward me.
If this was C-rank, what the hell was S-rank?
“Uhh… That’s B-rank. I accidentally pressed the button wrong.”
“F*ck.”
Looking at his expression, it seemed like no mistake at all. He had a rather mischievous look on his face.
“Oh my. Baek Jihoon, that’s incredible. You’ve broken through to B-rank with an E-rank body? When did you even acquire those skills?”
They looked at me with slight suspicion in their eyes.
“Oh, I leveled up a while back because of a friend. I was just lucky.”
I made a vague excuse.
“Oh dear. That’s just fantastic.”
“Wow. Hunter Baek Jihoon, we were really holding our breath there! We were so worried! How did you evade so well? Did you perhaps know the strategy beforehand?”
“No, I saw this kind of golem for the first time today.”
The assistants looked shocked at my response.
“Phew. It seems I managed to pull it off.”
“Alright, let’s call it a day for now~ We’ll tackle higher levels later! Jihoon, you’re too exhausted as it is~”
Manager Cha hummed a tune as he spoke.
“Why do something higher? Let’s take it step by step. You can’t just push someone and expect results.”
“Oh, you guys worry too much! Didn’t you just see? Baek Jihoon is gonna reach S-rank!”
His frustration was visible in his tone.
“Hey, he’s still E-rank! All of a sudden, talking about S-rank? Even if that’s the case, there’s no need to rush everything at once.”
“Well, you know~ men naturally want to test their limits!”
As they grumbled, they exited the training ground.
“Phew. That was quite an exhilarating day.”
I glanced at my unreleased hands, still trembling from adrenaline.
Up until now, dungeon raids had merely felt like a grueling chore to me.
With Chae Suhyeon pushing me, I had been grinding away for 14 hours a day without a break.
But that super giant B-rank stone golem had changed something in me.
“I feel like I’m truly alive.”
“So this is why everyone goes all out grinding dungeons like crazy.”
Until now, I hadn’t understood it.
What’s the deal with the enthusiasm they have over what isn’t even a game?
Of course, no one dislikes making money.
But who joyfully rushes to earn money?
Today, I truly understood.
“Alright! I’ll quickly raise my Hunter rank.”
I clenched my fists tightly.
“Three days… Well, I don’t have much to prepare for since I’m just stepping up to D-rank.”
To be continued…
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