Chapter 5

The cool sensation of metal lingered at his fingertips.

Unlike the lightweight BB Gun, the pistol loaded with live ammunition was proportionally heavier.

‘Is it the aiming correction? Aiming at enemies has become far easier.’

Siyoon was surprised by the energy radiating from the pistol.

The trembling of the hand gripping the pistol.

The body’s movement in rhythm with his breathing.

This was beyond simply saying ‘aiming’ had become easier.

His physical responses and overall performance had been elevated.

‘Just how much stronger have I become?’

It was essentially the inaugural test of a newly purchased gun.

Siyoon fired with anticipation.

Taang!

Sparks flew as he pulled the trigger.

A flash of light intense enough to momentarily annihilate the surrounding shadows.

The bullet, launched alongside a blinding white flash, literally tore through the air.

-Bbyik?

A Garteung, belatedly sensing something amiss, raised its head.

But the bullet had already pierced through its torso, tracing a trajectory as it flew past.

That alone would have been firepower beyond expectations.

Yet the pistol’s power did not end there.

Kwajik!

The bullet, producing a sound akin to a lightning strike, left a scar across the ground.

It was powerful enough to shatter the trees along its trajectory.

“Hmm.”

Siyoon surveyed the devastating scene that had unfolded in an instant.

“Isn’t this a bit too strong?”

Even though it was a real pistol.

One manufactured for hunters, no less.

To think a single Enhancement would increase its power this dramatically.

“That’s good, right?”

Of course, he wasn’t complaining.

Being stronger was far better than being weaker.

“Hmm… I won’t be able to sell the hide, though.”

It wasn’t all advantages.

The Garteung’s hide, unable to withstand the pistol’s excessive firepower, had been charred black.

Well, it didn’t matter.

He hadn’t come to the beginner hunting grounds to make money.

His goal was to become as accustomed to combat as possible.

“I need to enter dungeons to make real money anyway.”

Objectively speaking, party play was not an option for Siyoon.

He was an F-Rank hunter who had Awakened not long ago.

Demonstrating this level of power made him, quite literally, an Irregular.

He would inevitably stand out.

For Siyoon, who trusted no one, traveling solo was the only answer.

To hunt alone, he would need proficiency.

Siyoon intended to build that proficiency in the beginner hunting grounds.

The ammunition he was expending now was, in a sense, an investment.

“Shall I look around a bit more?”

Sabak.

Siyoon calmly stepped deeper into the forest.

* * *

Taang, Taaang!

Thunderous gunshots echoed throughout the entire forest.

“What’s that sound?”

“Huh? What is it?”

The noise was loud enough to make other F-Rank hunters question what was happening.

A report that no conventional firearm would produce.

Kugung.

Moreover, the sound of trees crashing down accompanied every gunshot.

Were it not for the gunfire, one might have mistaken it for a construction site.

Had this phenomenon lasted only a single day, it would have been of no concern.

But the gunfire had been repeating for two days straight now.

This caused quite a number of problems.

“Wait, what’s wrong with the ground here?”

Scorched marks, as though someone had torn through the earth, scarred various spots across the hunting grounds.

The surrounding trees and foliage had been unnaturally ripped away as well.

As this pattern repeated, even the ecology of the magic beasts began to shift.

“That’s not the issue. There are no Garteungs anywhere.”

“Huh? Now that you mention it… There are usually plenty of them. Why are they gone?”

“It’s probably those gunshots. Look—the Garteungs are all dead.”

Garteung carcasses lay scattered at the scene.

Each one pierced through the body, burned to death by overwhelming firepower.

“Who on earth is doing this?”

“No idea. Sigh, I was hoping to sell some hides and upgrade my weapon. This is completely ruined.”

Garteungs were a precious source of pocket money for F-Rank hunters.

Yet.

The magic beasts that were like timely rain for beginner hunters had, quite literally, dried up.

Taang!

All because of one unidentified hunter frantically firing off whatever gun they had.

“With this kind of firepower, they’re probably not an F-Rank like us…”

“A Sheep Hunter?”

“Could be.”

Sheep Hunter.

It referred to high-ranking hunters who descended upon low-level hunting grounds to sweep them clean of magic beasts.

It wasn’t a common occurrence.

However, a few twisted hunters would occasionally do it for stress relief.

“There’s no point staying here if we can’t hunt anything. Let’s head back.”

“Yeah. We can report it to the Association on the way back. They should do something about it.”

The two hunters, finding common ground, left the hunting grounds.

And the next day.

The report filed by the two hunters made the news.

This was how Siyoon’s activities became public knowledge.

* * *

…Siyoon let out a sigh after watching the broadcast.

“Going to the beginner hunting grounds anymore is going to be difficult.”

The broadcast had already shone a spotlight on the beginner hunting grounds.

He couldn’t hunt as before under the public’s watchful eyes.

Doing so would likely expose his abilities in no time.

“Drawing this kind of attention isn’t good.”

It was unfortunate.

It had been an excellent place to accumulate shooting experience.

With this incident, he had no choice but to change his hunting grounds.

“The problem is where to go from here.”

Kkiek.

He pondered, leaning back in his chair.

After three days of hunting Garteungs in the beginner hunting grounds.

Siyoon’s combat prowess was superior to that of hunters at his level.

No—it was nothing short of overwhelming.

‘I honestly had no idea F-Rank hunters had such a hard time catching Garteungs.’

Siyoon had, quite by chance, witnessed another hunter’s hunting party in action.

It was a party of three.

They each took their positions and surrounded a Garteung.

While it bared its teeth and claws at the close-range hunter.

The tank blocked the attack with a shield.

Then the hunter beside it struck.

When an opening appeared, the ranged dealer finished it off.

It was, in a way, a textbook formation.

Though it took a full ten minutes.

By comparison, Siyoon’s hunting was simplicity itself.

Aim the pistol, pull the trigger, and it was done.

“Dungeons…”

Siyoon’s musings converged on a single answer.

A new hunting ground—one where he wouldn’t have to worry about others’ eyes.

Dungeons.

“I should look into which dungeons I can enter.”

Siyoon sprang up from his reclined position.

And began scrolling through the hunter community forums he had been reading for a while.

* * *

There were many theories about dungeons.

Caves inhabited by all manner of monsters, for instance.

Places designed for quests and rewards, like in games.

Or perhaps traps connected to subspace.

But in the hunter world, the definition of a dungeon was quite simple.

‘A rift where magic beasts spawn repeatedly.’

That was what a dungeon was.

Ordinarily, a rift would disappear once all the magic beasts within were killed.

But a ‘dungeon’ did not vanish.

Even if every beast was slain, the next time one entered, the magic beasts would have respawned.

-But why do magic beasts keep respawning inside dungeons?

-How should we know; even rift scholars haven’t figured it out;;

-Isn’t that weird though? Logically, it makes no sense.

-Do Rifts and magic beasts make any logical sense to begin with?

“…Hmm.”

He skimmed through the community but found little of substance.

Still, he managed to glean some useful information.

“Krakto’s Domain. This looks promising.”

Krakto. A lowest-rank magic beast—and a flying type at that.

And most hunters did not care for flying-type magic beasts.

They were more troublesome to deal with than ground-based ones.

The options for countering them were limited.

To engage them, one needed a hunter capable of ranged attacks.

A ‘mage’ or ‘archer,’ a ‘Gunner’—those sorts.

But for lower-ranked hunters, this was nearly impossible.

F-Rank hunters already lacked both hunting experience and skill levels.

Catching a flying-type magic beast like Krakto?

“That’s absurd.”

Most would struggle to even land a hit, let alone hunt them.

That was why ‘Krakto’s Domain’ was a dungeon people avoided.

It wasn’t just one or two troublesome Kraktos—they appeared throughout the entire dungeon.

But were the byproducts at least valuable?

They were not.

How expensive could the byproducts of a lowest-rank magic beast possibly be?

Granted, Krakto eyeballs were an unusual byproduct with a ‘purification’ effect.

But their low-rank meant the effect was hardly dramatic.

In other words, for an F-Rank hunter, there was no reason to visit this dungeon.

But Siyoon’s case was different.

‘Krakto’s dungeon is, for me, the optimal dungeon.’

He wouldn’t have to worry about people watching him.

And his pistol’s firepower was more than enough to kill a Krakto in a single shot.

From what he could gather, Krakto’s defense was not significantly superior to the magic beasts he had faced so far.

Garteungs and Aluns.

“Alright.”

His information search was complete.

The plan was already set.

It was truly time to leave the beginner hunting grounds behind.

* * *

Siyoon planned to stop by a weapon shop before heading to the dungeon.

As a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.

‘Dungeons are dangerous. I can’t let my guard down.’

No matter how much people dismissed F-Rank dungeons.

F-Rank dungeons actually accounted for the highest number of casualties.

Why?

Because they were where beginner hunters, having grown confident from fighting in beginner hunting grounds, would stride in full of bravado.

That was exactly what F-Rank dungeons were.

Dungeons were not to be taken lightly.

If anything, one should prepare even more thoroughly.

And Siyoon, in particular, paid even greater attention to this kind of ‘preparation.’

‘My skill may be Singular-Rank, but it’s clearly not combat-oriented. That’s all the more reason to be careful.’

Siyoon’s skill was ‘Enhancement.’

Its offensive and defensive power were undeniable, but it lacked versatility.

He had to rely entirely on enhanced equipment for both offense and defense.

If his equipment was destroyed or compromised, it would directly threaten his life.

“Let me try enhancing a few other things first.”

Siyoon broadened the scope of his Enhancement.

Until now, he had focused on ‘weapons’ and ‘armor.’

The BB Gun, for instance.

Or the leather jacket and book shield.

He had enhanced these items to boost his combat power.

Weapons were necessary to attack.

And armor was needed to block attacks.

But now, things were different.

With a dungeon expedition decided, he needed more items.

[ Using ‘Skill: Enhancement’ to enhance ‘Backpack.’ ]

[ ‘Backpack’ is enhanced to ‘Backpack +1.’ ]

The first item he enhanced was his backpack.

As the essential item for carrying supplies, it was crucial.

+

【 Backpack +1 】

Rank: Normal

▶ Reduces the weight of items stored inside.

+

“Oh?”

Siyoon marveled.

A quite—no, considerably—excellent option had been attached.

What held you back during marches or travel was the weight of your belongings.

The heavier they were, the faster your stamina drained and the more fatigued your body became.

The backpack’s option was sufficient to solve these problems.

Seuk.

Siyoon, as a test, placed a stray dumbbell into the backpack.

An ill-fated dumbbell he had purchased to exercise at home, only to bury it in a corner.

“Is the dumbbell actually in there?”

Each dumbbell weighed 10 kilograms.

He had put in two, making it 20 kilograms total, yet it felt far lighter than expected.

It felt like it weighed around 4 kilograms.

After several experiments, it appeared the backpack reduced the weight of objects to one-quarter.

“This is incredible.”

To produce an item with this kind of performance right from the start.

“I guess a Singular-Rank skill really is something else, huh?”

He was immensely satisfied.

A deep smile lingered at the corners of Siyoon’s mouth.

“Let me enhance the rest as well.”

There were still many items lined up as candidates.

Siyoon intended to enhance them all today and finish his preparations.