Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Given the current situation, it was not easy to arrange a casual meeting with Kang Yoon-soo and Cha Jae-joon. 

At least until I properly understood Kang Yoon-soo’s thoughts. 

Well, it’s Cha Jae-joon’s business, so I don’t necessarily need to mediate in the middle, but…

‘… The Ego Sword of the Blue Dragon will probably become my possession.’

And Kang Yoon-soo is unaware of this fact. Only Ellie Kim, Cha Jae-joon, and I know about it. So, if Kang Yoon-soo is targeting the Ego Sword, there is a possibility that I could be in danger.

Of course, there’s also a chance that he won’t take the Ego Sword, as he is trying to recruit me in ‘Janwol.’

‘Nevertheless, let’s hide it for now.’

When living the life of a hunter, the most important thing is not to completely reveal my abilities. You never know where you might become a target.

…Hah, I need to get stronger quickly to avoid such concerns.

‘I should hurry up and finish upgrading my house….’

Just thinking about it these days gives me a headache. The tasks assigned by the system are more demanding than most other jobs.

Ugh. Even though a sigh naturally came out, I couldn’t let it slip in front of Kang Yoon-soo. He’s quick-witted and clever, so who knows what he might figure out with just a sigh.

Anyway.

‘… First, let’s say that the communication stone can’t be used.’

After that, I have to cooperate with Kang Yoon-soo to fight against this gate. Fortunately, I have a weapon that needs to be leveled up, so it works out.

The only problem is that the background of this dungeon is the sea. Since I don’t have any skills related to water, it’s going to be a tough fight.

‘…Or not?’

<Save Water and Electricity!> is somewhat related to water after all.

…Assuming there is an influence that can create a safe zone in this dungeon.

Darn it.

Even with inadequate items and abilities, this skill seemed useless. What’s the point of raising stats when the starting point is too low.…

While rambling like this, it seemed endless, so I decided to focus on creating a smokescreen to deceive Kang Yoon-soo for now.

I took out the communication stone that Cha Jae-joon gave me from the inventory and infused it with mana. Then, I furrowed my brow seriously as if it didn’t activate.

“…Hm.”

“Is the communication stone not working?”

“…Seems like that. Even when I keep calling Mr. Jae-joon, there’s no response.”

“It looks that way. Well… I guess there’s no choice. I and Ms. Yeon-oh will clear this gate by ourselves.”

“…Is that possible?”

Kang Yoon-soo, who had raised one corner of his mouth regretfully, burst into laughter. It was a hearty laugh, accompanied by a momentarily apologetic act of lowering his shoulders.

“I’m also S-level, Ms. Yeon-oh. My main ability doesn’t quite fit combat, so I don’t often enter gates, but I trained Tae-il and Seung-hoo. Don’t you trust me?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that… I was just worried about, um, me, not you.”

“Isn’t that more damaging to my pride…? Do you think I would harm Ms. Yeon-oh?”

Seriously, this is too much. Despite speaking playfully, he seemed quite upset and clenched his fist with a displeased expression.

An aura reminiscent of the legendary retired veteran seemed to emanate from Kang Yoon-soo. I quickly shook my head.

“Oh, absolutely not. I’m just a bit worried because it’s my first time in such a high-level dungeon. I completely trust you, Mr. Yoon-soo, the best!”

“It’s already too late, Ms. Yeon-oh.”

“…Watch me.”

“I don’t want to. I have to keep worrying about this.”

…Exaggerated.

Pretending to be concerned about unexpected situations and not calling for reinforcements seemed to have backfired.

Still, since Kang Yoon-soo believed the lie about the communication stone not working….

It’s a gain, it’s fine.

I comforted myself and grinned at Kang Yoon-soo. It was a smile of trust, saying, ‘I completely trust you.’

Thanks to that, Kang Yoon-soo burst into laughter. He even wiped away imaginary tears while pretending to loosen his fist.

“Oh, I really can’t play pranks on Ms. Yeon-oh.”

“That’s my charm.”

“Even shameless?”

“…It’s unavoidable when you live in society.”

As I let out a sigh containing the frustration of a working person, Kang Yoon-soo clapped.

“We can’t afford to miss out on a talent like you. Seriously, come to Janwol. I’ll give you anything, money, goods, whatever you want.”

“Um, Mr. Yoon-soo? Excessive favoritism is not charming.”

“Oh well.”

Okay, I get it, I’ll stop now.

Kang Yoon-soo, who neatly admitted that his business was excessive, quickly changed the atmosphere. In his hand, there was a wand with a transparent gem embedded in it, and I couldn’t tell when he took the weapon out of the inventory.

“Hmm… do you have a usable weapon, Ms. Yeon-oh? Should I give you one?”

“Oh, no. I have a separate weapon.”

“Really?”

Ignoring Kang Yoon-soo’s curious eyes, I took out the vacuum that I had put in the inventory.

Upon seeing it, Kang Yoon-soo, who usually didn’t seem easily shaken, appeared surprised.

“…Is that… a weapon?”

“I acquired it recently. It may not look like it, but it’s… powerful.”

“Oh.”

The infused mana power seems quite extraordinary.

Well, the mana power invested here should be equivalent to that of one or two people, haha.

I proudly showed off the powerful vacuum created with the combined mana power of three individuals, then promptly put it back into the inventory.

The reason was simple.

‘…It’s heavy.’

No matter how much my stats and strength increased, why is the vacuum cleaner so heavy? Seriously. Thinking that I might develop impressive biceps if I kept carrying it, I quickly put it back. It wasn’t even the time for monsters to appear when I set the flag.

“<Sturdy Shield>!”

Kang Yoon-soo urgently threw a bead and shouted the skill. Instantly, a massive shield covered him and me.

And right away.

Swoosh!

Black liquid attacked us.

“…!”

Before I could calm my surprised heart, my instincts had me holding the vacuum again.

“What’s this?”

“…Looks like the ink of a giant squid.”

“…You can tell just by looking at it?”

Is this why he can’t ignore his instincts?

Admiringly looking at Kang Yoon-soo, he casually shook his head as if it was nothing.

“I can sense the form of the mana emitted by the monster. Um… that giant squid seems to be A-level.”

“…Ah.”

“Is this your first time facing an A-level monster directly?”

“…Of course.”

I haven’t even reached the stats of an A-level hunter right now.…

I tightly gripped the vacuum cleaner, covered in ink with nothing visible beyond the shield. ‘Survival Instinct’ didn’t activate.

That meant the giant squid had a stealth skill.

But wait…

Understandably, I couldn’t sense the monster’s presence.

But Kang Yoon-soo didn’t know about this?

He, who was sensitive to mana to the extent that he could find the location where the gate opened first in South Korea…?

“…Mr. Yoon-soo, you knew, didn’t you?”

“Haha. Caught, huh? I felt its presence far away as soon as the gate opened.”

“…But why did you hide it?”

“Well… I didn’t think it would come this way.”

“…What?”

Giving a vague answer, he swept away the shield and ink at once.

In the visible sight… a giant wounded giant squid (A) with ten legs appeared, glaring at us.

But there was something strange.

“That squid… is injured, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. If we had caught it quickly, it wouldn’t have come this way.”

Kang Yoon-soo muttered coldly as he swung his wand.

“<Mana Bullet>.”

The skill he activated was well-known to me. However, its appearance was completely different.

‘…Is that a bullet? Shouldn’t it be called Mana Meteor?’

Several mana bullets, about two in number, were created by him. They were similar in size to a car.

Without hesitation, Kang Yoon-soo threw the <Mana Bullet> toward the Giant Squid (A). It was an attempt to capture the massive magical lump attacking us with its legs.

However, the moment the large bullet touched the squid’s leg, a loud explosion occurred, and the suction cup attached to the leg was crushed.

In great pain, the Giant Squid (A) spewed ink towards us again.

I instinctively activated the vacuum. Then, I quickly triggered the <Wind Manipulation (SS)>.

Whiiiiir!

The vacuum made a loud noise as it rapidly absorbed my mana power. At the same time, air rushed in so fast that it was difficult to stand on both legs.

Even though the vacuum had consumed all the ink, it seemed unsatisfied. It pulled the closest leg of the Giant Squid (A) towards itself.

The leg stuck directly to the vacuum cleaner’s entrance.

Although the vacuum was small compared to the giant body, its suction power couldn’t be ignored.

Perhaps because of this, the mana power of the Giant Squid (A) began to flow into me in reverse.

In an instant, as the overflowing mana power started to flood in, I instinctively realized that I had to quickly consume this mana power.

My body still couldn’t handle such a large amount of mana power.

Unlike using <What’s Yours is Mine! What’s Mine is Yours!> to merge my mana power with others, this was raw, unprocessed mana power flowing directly into my body.

Even if it was an inefficient and brute-force method, I had to use this mana power quickly.

With this thought in mind, I lifted the entrance of the vacuum, which was still sucking in the leg of the Giant Squid (A), toward the location where the squid’s eyes were.

And then,

“<Mana Bullet>!!”

Let’s see if it can survive this hit…!