Chapter 16

“Then, I’ll come back stronger!”

That afternoon, I shouted energetically from inside the carriage.

I’ll come back stronger and beat you to death! Clean your neck and wait!

Of course, I swallowed those last words.

And just like that, I left on a carriage without even the family crest, meeting Hunter So Yeri in the market before heading to her villa.

Now, the only ones who knew my location were me, Hunter So Yeri, Shin Jae-heon, and Joo Yian—four people in total.

The steadily rising system windows felt so refreshing.

Training with Hunter So Yeri was thrilling, as expected.

Since we had partied up and entered the RP dungeon together with her hunter team from the start, I was getting experience points from the monsters she hunted just by being nearby.

Of course, God’s Shop Coins were piling up too.

This was incomparable to the trickle from quests so far.

If I’d known I could farm like this, I would’ve come ages ago!

“You’re not getting tired as fast as I thought, Hunter Shin Yuri?”

At Hunter So Yeri’s words, I held up the necklace. It was the one from Shin Jae-heon.

With her Appraisal skill, she could clearly see the stats of a C-rank item.

“Whoa, stamina +3? There’s a C-rank item like this?”

Of course, she also saw the line below describing it as Shin Jae-heon’s treasured possession.

“A treasured possession on a C-rank item???”

Naturally, Hunter So Yeri flipped out upon seeing that part.

“You slap a treasured possession label—meant to keep even L-rank items from shattering—on a C-rank one?”

Once something becomes a treasured possession, it never breaks, no matter what.

Hunter So Yeri stared at the necklace in disbelief.

“It’d be stronger to bash monsters with this necklace than the sword you’re holding.”

An unbreakable item meant that if the user was strong enough, it could become the ultimate weapon.

“Anyway, thanks to this, keeping up with you isn’t hard, Hunter So Yeri.”

I quickly tucked the necklace back under my clothes. I couldn’t help thinking of Shin Jae-heon again.

I’d called him crazy back then—no, he still seemed crazy now.

…But who wouldn’t feel proud seeing their gift treasured like this?

My nose tingled for no reason.

“Experience is stacking up crazy fast, though.”

“Right? I told you.”

Hunter So Yeri crossed her arms and tilted her head back slightly.

I checked the God’s Shop coin status.

Already over 9,000. At this rate, shopping in the God’s Shop wasn’t a pipe dream anymore.

“I figured we’d take down maybe a few dozen beasts at most.”

That was a number Hunter So Yeri could wipe out with a single swing.

So I hadn’t expected much, but this Karea Forest where she was staying was teeming with monsters popping up everywhere.

“I’m grateful for the monster density, but isn’t it weird how many there are?”

Each one gave 1-4 coins, so roughly speaking, we’d taken down thousands by now.

“Yeah. It’s only been like this recently, apparently. That’s why I’m investigating.”

Recently?

I looked around the forest anew.

Not just the bugs you’d expect deep inside, but birds, squirrels, rabbits—all sorts of small wildlife had turned into beasts blocking our path.

“It feels just like a forest dungeon gate.”

The gates we’d frequented back in Korea spawned monsters tailored to their surroundings.

That’s why the one at Yongsan Electronics Market had all mechanical monsters.

“Does this area normally spawn like this? Like a gate?”

“No. Normally, only fixed types appear here. Goblins and gargoyles have their own villages.”

With just the two of us, Hunter So Yeri spoke casually. But the content wasn’t light.

“Related to the main quest?”

This world didn’t do things halfway; anomalies like this screamed quest-related.

But soon, I gripped my sword tighter.

“We’ll figure it out as we clear them.”

Dealers don’t overthink!

I swung my slightly lighter sword. It was the B-rank one from Shin Jae-heon.

Thanks to it, my stamina had ballooned to 45,000, making me feel like an F-rank tank at least.

In other words, my strength was still puny compared to my stamina.

—Clack!

A pinecone monster on the path even caught my sword.

“Argh!”

Of course, damage wasn’t just from slashing.

I swung my sword hard, flinging off the pinecone pest clinging to it.

—Kyuuuuw!

Where the hell does a pinecone make a kyuu sound from?

Before I could wonder, the pinecone oxidized into experience.

Nice, coins!

Hunter So Yeri and I refocused on beast extermination.

Drops from drops make mountains sometimes.

This was one of those times.

By the time the coins had piled up decently, Hunter So Yeri and I were midway through the forest.

“Can you use big skills here? Won’t people see?”

I asked as I saw Hunter So Yeri prepping her lightning skill.

She shrugged.

“Everyone fled because it’s a haunted forest.”

“Not a beast-infested one?”

Haunted? At my confusion, Hunter So Yeri reminded me of what I’d forgotten.

“Locals aren’t used to these mutated types.”

“Oh, right.”

Whatever—experience points were experience points now.

As I swung at a massive leaf monster,

“Their traits are clear, though. No monsters spawning from fallen leaves or anything; only ones with definite life sources mutate.”

Oh, Hunter So Yeri’s researcher mode activated.

“According to Hunter Lee Cheong-myeong from Korea University Graduate School’s 2022 paper on mutation theory—”

I wasn’t even in the sciences before gates. Complicated stuff made my head hurt!

I went to plug my ears but absentmindedly glanced behind Hunter So Yeri.

And my jaw dropped.

“—the fuller the life force, the higher the mutation chance. Like, for example, ah!”

Hunter So Yeri pointed to a wild boar charging fiercely, toppling trees behind her.

“Those guys?”

“Now’s not the time for explanations!”

I grabbed Hunter So Yeri’s waist and leaped onto a tree branch.

If I were S-rank, I’d have soared sky-high, but now I could only dangle precariously.

—Ku-ku-ku-kwang!

The mutated wild boar barreled through where we had been.

Its form blurred at full speed—it was leagues above the small fry we’d cleared.

“What’s its rank?”

At least A-rank, right?

As I scanned the boar’s path, Hunter So Yeri blurted out.

“No idea.”

“Huh?”

Missed it? Turning to her, her face was grave, playfulness gone.

“Couldn’t see it.”

“What?”

Hunters could read ranks if known, same-level, or lower.

A monster invisible to an S-rank hunter’s eyes? SS-rank or higher. Emergency.

Of course, those two couldn’t not be busy.

—Ku-ku-ku-kung!

The boar that had overshot us was looping back.

Hunter So Yeri scooped me up and took to the skies.

—Bang!

Luckily, the boar couldn’t fly, merely cratering our former spot.

“Waaah!”

Reading chat, I freaked out.

The boar had leaped right under us—I’d thought it couldn’t fly.

“That bastard’s hind legs are sturdy!”

If Hunter So Yeri hadn’t climbed higher after yelling that, my lower half would’ve been boar chow.

My frantic, cut-off chat must’ve looked urgent, as replies poured in.

“Joking right now—”

I nearly bit my tongue trying to snap at her.

Hunter So Yeri had rocketed higher to dodge the boar’s ferocious approach run.

Our team’s DPS and healer went silent.

They weren’t ghosting us because they were busy, were they?

Hunter So Yeri flew high enough to evade the monster’s sight before returning to the cabin we’d used as a base during hunts.

Fortunately, the boar monster stayed in its territory.

Instead, it respawned the monsters we’d cleared, turning the forest into a beast den.

“Respawns are no biggie; just sweep ’em again…”

Shin Jae-heon was an S-rank DPS with tons of AoE anyway.

He and Hunter So Yeri could handle it.

The real issue was that rankless monster boar invisible even to her eyes.

“They’re here.”

Then Hunter So Yeri flung open the cabin door.

Familiar, welcome faces appeared shortly after.

“Shin Jae-heon! Joo Yian!”

I waved, and they ducked slightly to enter the modest cabin—too small for two 180cm+ giants.

“Any injuries?”

Shin Jae-heon returned my greeting with a blunt question.

Unlike last time, he wore flashy garb with gold embroidery up to the collar.

Why’s this guy dressed so extravagantly?

He’d flown here so fast his clothes and hair were a mess.

“If I’d taken a hit from that thing, I’d be gone already.”

I waved it off, but his scrutinizing gaze didn’t waver.

Behind him, Joo Yian was already using Diagnosis.

The gold chain of his monocle glinted in the dim light.

“I’m fine. No issues.”

Only after Joo Hunter Yian finished did Shin Jae-heon drop his worried look.

This was the first time I’d been so overprotected since gates opened.

It felt strangely nice.