Chapter 258: Somehow, a Driven Hunt (1)
KWOOM!
With a loud crash, the last SS-rank monster collapsed over the ruins of a building. Property damage was inevitable, but there were no casualties. While Lanchea’s guards distracted the monsters, Han Yuhyun and Moon Hyunah quickly took them down one by one.
By using the Terrifying Chick Class Teacher skill and coordinating their attacks, even an SS-rank monster couldn’t hold out for long. The moment Han Yuhyun and Iryn immobilized the monster’s legs, Moon Hyunah’s Great Spear surged forward as if it had been waiting for that moment, finishing the job.
“Your brother’s skill is really something.”
Moon Hyunah remarked as she jumped off the monster’s corpse.
“Normally, it’s tough for combat types to coordinate like this. Usually, I’d have to brace myself for burns, and Young Master would have a hard time dodging at the right moment.”
She had a point—Han Yuhyun and Moon Hyunah weren’t exactly an ideal match for teamwork. Especially since fire had such a wide damage range. Even if Moon Hyunah focused her attacks on a single point, her sheer power meant it was easy to get caught up in the blast.
“Instead of spending all your points on cookies, why not just buy a skill? Seems like it’d be more convenient.”
“I don’t have any related traits, so the point cost is ridiculously high. The price of skills varies based on the buyer’s stats.”
Han Yuhyun had realized this after comparing his own point shop. Equipment and consumables had a fixed cost, but skills were different. For fire-attribute skills, the points required for Han Yujin and Han Yuhyun differed by nearly a hundredfold.
“Really? No wonder some skills seem oddly cheap. Still, if you have time, you should butter up Little Moon and save up points. If you hunt together, you get to keep all the points, right? And even double them. Sure, there’s a grace period, but it’s hard to use Little Moon in his original size during a raid.”
Moon Hyunah laughed, saying that getting caught in the crossfire and going missing would be a hassle. That probably wouldn’t happen, but with the double-point skill, sharing resistance skills would become easier too.
“Buying a skill is too much, so I’ll just stock up on cookies. They’re offering a 20% discount on a 10-piece set, and a whopping 55% off for a 100-piece set.”
A 100-piece box cost a hefty 5 million points, but an S-rank miniaturization skill with the same effect as the cookies was over 100 million points… Unfortunately, S-rank exchange vouchers didn’t cover skills. Plus, there was a point limit. Besides, it was better for the kids to use the vouchers anyway.
“We’re heading straight to Medsang, right?”
Han Yuhyun asked, pulling me out of his pocket.
“Of course. What about you, Hyunah?”
At my question, she roughly scratched her red hair. She hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted, but quickly shook it off.
“Even if I mean it, I still have to make the distinction. Hey, everyone!”
Moon Hyunah spun around, facing the Lanchea guards.
“I’ll be leaving to investigate the mana anomaly at the Achates mana hall. So, while I’m gone, I’m entrusting the city to you all. Switch to emergency mode and hold out with minimal damage. I hope I’ll see you all again, but don’t wait too long. If you spot a promising SS-rank Awakened, grab them by the ankle and break them in—whatever it takes. Got it?”
At her last remark, a few guards chuckled. Even though their leader was going to be away for a long time, the atmosphere wasn’t grim. Some concern was visible on their faces, but their trust in Lambda and Moon Hyunah seemed even stronger.
“Don’t worry and go ahead!”
“We’ll keep waiting, but if we see an SS-rank Awakened, we’ll trip them up.”
“Right, having one more would be good. Lambda-nim will have it easier too.”
“If we find a strong enough SS-rank guard, you might end up leaving the city every other day.”
As lighthearted jokes were exchanged, some guards ran off, saying they needed to gather supplies. Others playfully argued over who would serve as her escort, saying she couldn’t go alone.
Lambda must have been a well-loved leader, but Moon Hyunah had done an incredible job carrying on that trust. While there might have been some system-driven effects that made people recognize her as Lambda, that alone couldn’t have created this level of loyalty.
“The Medsang ship has responded. It’s approaching via the Lanchea-Farus road.”
A guard from Lanchea’s Defense Bureau reported after receiving a radio message. Since an SSS-rank monster was trailing behind the ship, they planned to rendezvous at a point over 20 kilometers away from the city. Soon, a military vehicle, a truck carrying Moon Hyunah’s bike and luggage, and three A~B-rank Lanchea guards acting as drivers were prepared for departure.
With the people seeing them off, the vehicles set out. Moon Hyunah gazed at them—the darkened city—with a hint of regret.
“It’d be nice if I could rest for at least a day before leaving. Lanchea’s a great city. I didn’t even get to eat Bolunyas, a traditional southern dish. It’s in season right now, so it would’ve been amazing.”
You’ve really settled in here, huh?
“There’s no time to relax, and leaving just the two of them behind bothers me too. I’d rather get back to the ship as soon as possible.”
“You have a point. Little Moon and Noah aren’t a great match, are they? Our poor Little Moon, who can’t even use offensive skills, might be getting bullied.”
Could Noah really go that far? …Well, he did try to abandon him.
Soon, a protective barrier appeared, and they passed through a massive gate onto a rough road. In the meantime, the cookie’s effect had worn off, and Han Yujin took a seat next to Han Yuhyun. The moonlight seemed particularly thick that night.
“Noah confirmed that the No. 5 disc installation site corresponds to the Medsang plaza, but there is no matching location for the No. 1 disc in Drosia.”
The No. 1 disc installation site was listed as the central lake of the Rivenoir Forest. However, there was no Rivenoir Forest in Drosia. The already cold northern lands had become even more frozen over time as water and ice spirits gathered, turning what had once been forests into snowfields. That meant the location might have been one of the lost forests outside the city, so they had promised to search the records.
“They’re here.”
Han Yuhyun spoke first, and Moon Hyunah followed his gaze to the sky. Even Han Yujin could faintly sense the movement of mana.
After engraving the sigil, his senses had changed so abruptly that he had trouble adjusting. To compensate, he had equipped an item that dampened mana perception, since leaving it unchecked would exhaust both his mind and body. Right now, his mana perception was roughly at a D-rank level.
WOOOONG.
The air trembled, and a massive ship materialized in the sky. Wrapped in various auxiliary skills, it approached them at near-teleportation speeds. The backlash sent a fierce wind whipping against their faces, as if a storm had struck.
A section at the bottom of the ship opened, and a large lift descended, capable of holding several vehicles. Once aboard, Noah was there to greet them.
“We will head directly to Medsang City. The SSS-rank monster is still following without any erratic behavior. While most monsters are hostile toward humans and attack cities, this level of persistence is unprecedented. It must be targeting that person.”
Normally, if a monster strayed too far from its initial location, it wouldn’t pursue so aggressively. Additionally, the Achates mana hall had also quieted down. It seemed that Sigma had indeed been the cause of the anomaly.
“Furthermore, SS-rank and lower creatures have joined in, forming a group of approximately a hundred monsters.”
“A group?”
“Yes. They occasionally prey on one another, causing their numbers to drop, but more keep joining at an even higher rate.”
“…S-ranks aside, how many SS-rank ones are there?”
“We have confirmed at least five.”
For a moment, Han Yujin was at a loss for words.
The plan was simple. After installing the remaining discs in Medsang, they would lead the SSS-rank monster straight to Drosia. According to Seong Hyunjae, the strongest guard in this world—Park Yerim—would be there to help handle it. But would it really be okay? What if even more SSS-rank monsters appeared?
“What about Little Moon?”
Since Sigma had been officially declared dead, they had decided to use a temporary alias when referring to him in front of the people of this world. Sigma himself didn’t seem thrilled about it. Han Yuhyun and Noah called him things like ‘that guy,’ ‘that person,’ or ‘that bastard,’ while only Han Yujin and Moon Hyunah addressed him as ‘Little Little Moon.’
It suited him, didn’t it?
“He’s asleep. It’s nighttime, after all.”
Noah replied with a smile.
Wait a second, the guards in this world mostly operated at night. He must have forced him to sleep. Well, that was better than letting him start fights.
Han Yuhyun gave Noah a look of approval, as if he had done a good job. Sigma probably wouldn’t be happy about it, but at least Han Yuhyun and Noah seemed to be getting along better because of him. Ideally, all three of them would get along… but maybe that was asking for too much.
“It will take about a day to reach Medsang City. Please rest in the meantime.”
Noah should be the one resting. Not only was he constantly supplying mana to the ship’s guards, but he was also using auxiliary skills on top of that. When Han Yujin expressed concern, Noah simply smiled, saying he was fine. He explained that with his SS-rank stats and healing-type skills, his natural recovery was exceptional.
Watching him issue commands to the guards while preparing for departure, he looked especially mature and reliable. Liette should have seen him like this.
As they made their way to the cabins, Han Yujin removed the mana suppression item. A slight dizziness hit him immediately.
“Don’t overdo it, hyung.”
“It’s fine as long as there’s no one using skills nearby. You must have been sensitive to mana from the start, Yuhyun. Wasn’t it tough for you?”
“I could faintly sense it even before Awakened people started appearing. Mana wasn’t completely absent before then. Right after I awakened, I had trouble controlling it, but once you reach S-rank, adaptation is quick.”
“There was mana even before all this?”
That was news to him.
“It was so weak that it had no effect on ordinary people. Even for me, all it did was make me slightly stronger physically. It wasn’t a huge difference.”
Han Yuhyun had been fairly healthy since childhood. He had always done well in physical activities.
“You used to place first or second in sports events. I remember in the relay race, the gap was huge, but you still caught up—though you barely lost in the end.”
“That was on purpose. If I did too well, it would’ve been a hassle. I never intended to go into sports.”
“In middle school, you were talking about going into medicine, right?”
“I figured it would be advantageous in many ways.”
“Being a doctor is a good job and all, but… was there anything you actually wanted to do?”
“If you mean as a profession, no.”
Han Yuhyun answered as he opened the door to his cabin.
“Back then, I just wanted to make sure you could live comfortably, hyung. Move to a better house, not have to do any hard work. That was all. Is that weird?”
“No, not at all. That’s pretty normal. Sure, doing something so great that it goes down in history is cool, but most people just want to live comfortably. Not having to worry about money, having a harmonious family, good friends who understand you. If you add good health on top of that, what more could you really ask for?”
Having big dreams is great. But living a simple, happy life is just as meaningful. And it’s not like that’s easy, either.
“Besides, for us, we have to save the world just to be able to live peacefully. That’s not exactly a small dream. If you think about it, even the people who dedicate themselves to the world are ultimately trying to create an environment where others can live comfortably and happily. If every ordinary person becomes happy, then that’s world peace, isn’t it? So maybe taking care of yourself is the foundation of world peace?”
I wasn’t sure if that actually made sense, but whatever. I just wanted Han Yuhyun and everyone who cared about me to be happy. As for the people who didn’t like me, well, I didn’t really care about them.
“There’s not much to do until we reach Medsang. Want to help me adjust to my mana perception?”
“I can help, but my skills are too dangerous to use on you, hyung. You’d be better off asking Hunter Noah. He’s got healing and support skills.”
“Experiencing a skill firsthand is useful, sure, but the fastest way to adjust is to use my own. And when it comes to controlling mana, resistance skills are the best. I was thinking of using Fear Resistance for practice.”
Poison or curses were too risky, and since Fear Resistance had dropped to S-rank, it was perfect.
“Go on, intimidate me.”
I looked up at Han Yuhyun from my seat. He hesitated for a moment before drawing his sword. The sharp tip pointed at my throat, the cold edge grazing my skin, almost touching my Adam’s apple.
“…Maybe it’s because I know it’s staged, but I don’t really feel anything.”
— Even an A-rank Awakened would have been scared and run away!
Iryn cut in. But I really didn’t feel anything. I never had much of a fear response to Yuhyun in the first place, and now, even less so.
“Then how about this?”
Yuhyun twirled the sword, spinning it around in the opposite direction. I watched the metallic arc it drew in the air—then suddenly jumped up.
“Han Yuhyun!”
The blade had nicked the back of my neck. It was just a shallow cut, barely enough to draw a bead of blood, but my whole body heated up in response.
Fear Resistance activated, and for the first time, I could clearly feel the flow of mana spreading through me. Since it was an S-rank skill far above my own stats, it felt like a prickly chill spreading across my skin. My limbs went weak, but I forced myself to endure it and stepped toward Han Yuhyun.
“Hey! You seriously cut me?! Even if it’s not real, still!”
I smacked him on the back.
Iryn chirped, “Hyung, that probably hurt more than the cut!”
Since my stats were currently at C-rank, he must have actually felt it.
“I know a small cut like this is nothing to you, but still, you can’t do that!”
“Okay.”
“Don’t smile!”
“Okay.”
I didn’t want to bother Noah, who was already busy, so I’d just ask for a support-class guard with lower-ranked skills instead.
By the time Sigma woke up the next morning, instead of attacking Noah, he stood in front of him and declared, with great dignity, that he was to fulfill his duty as my guardian.
“Take it up with Myu, C-rank. You’re my guardian, aren’t you?”
He said this while hiding behind me—not that he actually fit behind me, but he was pretending to. Han Yuhyun and Noah’s expressions twisted in exasperation, while Moon Hyunah was practically dying of laughter.
“Our dear Little Moon, well done! Do it again! It’s even funnier because it’s in Seong Hyunjae’s face! When’s that Sesung Guild Leader getting here?”
“I have been most patient, yet you continue to ignore me despite our contract.”
“Hey, hold on. Weren’t you the one who started the fight?”
“…Yujin, if you leave him to me, I’ll make sure he stays asleep until everything is over.”
“Yeah, hyung, just hand him over to Hunter Noah.”
“So now you’re trying to starve me all day as well. Surely you won’t stand for this, C-rank.”
Wow, our dear Little Moon was getting even more shameless. At this rate, he wouldn’t even need a hundred years—give him another 30 or 40, and he’d be just like Seong Hyunjae.
Still, I should at least make sure he got food.
As we bickered over small things, the ship drew closer to Medsang City. Meanwhile, the number of monsters in the horde had surpassed 300.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt