A Hunter on Borrowed Time Keeps Surviving - Chapter 14

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 14.
【Level-up Point 2 or Dragon’s Egg】
Two options floated side by side within the quest window.
Si-ul let out a soft exclamation upon seeing this new multiple-choice system, so different from the first bonus reward.
‘So this is what they meant by rewards improving at each stage?’
Being able to choose the reward he wanted was clearly an advantage.
But when both rewards tempted him equally, it was easy to get paralyzed by indecision.
‘Just reading the names makes me salivate over both…’
Level-up Point 2.
No explanation needed—it was an excellent reward.
The higher your rank climbed, the harder the quests became.
Just thinking back to his fight with the Minotaur, the difference of a single rank was worlds apart from what he’d faced before.
And once you pushed beyond A-rank, even finding a Gate with a danger level of 10 became a chore.
From that perspective, two Level-up Points would prove far more valuable down the line.
‘Logically, points make sense… but my eyes keep drifting to that one.’
【Dragon’s Egg】
The name alone was almost cheating.
Who could see a name like that and not feel curiosity stir?
Thud-thud-thud!
“…?”
Suddenly, the sound of frantic hoofbeats thundered through the Boss Room.
Si-ul turned to see the Minotaurs shrieking and stampeding toward the maze passages.
With their boss dead, their morale had shattered.
Si-ul watched the spectacle unfold, then let out a dry chuckle.
“At least it’s quiet now.”
He turned his gaze back to the quest window.
‘A dragon’s egg… what could it really be?’
Whether it was a literal dragon egg or an item with a dragon’s power sealed within, there was no description to clarify. It was impossible to tell.
“Can’t you give me any information about the Dragon’s Egg?”
He asked on the off chance, but the only answer that came back was silence.
“Hmm.”
Si-ul crossed his arms and mulled it over.
Then a smile tugged at his lips, and he laughed quietly.
‘I’ve really changed a lot, haven’t I?’
Si-ul had always been someone who sought stability.
In the old days, he wouldn’t have hesitated—he’d have picked the Level-up Points without a second thought.
But his nature had shifted considerably.
‘I might die in a few months anyway, so why not just follow what calls to me?’
A terminal condition had a way of chasing experiences rather than security.
When death was waiting, what good was stability? None whatsoever.
‘Whatever it is, it has to be worth at least two Level-up Points, right?’
He trusted that the system wouldn’t offer him a losing bet, and Si-ul made his choice.
“I’ll take the Dragon’s Egg.”
The moment those words left his lips, the quest window responded.
【You have been granted ‘Dragon’s Egg’ as your bonus reward.】
Bang!
A small explosion erupted at Si-ul’s feet, and smoke billowed up.
Si-ul flinched and instinctively stepped back.
As the smoke cleared, an egg the size of a basketball sat in its place.
Its surface was etched with intricate teal patterns—a strange and wondrous form.
“…It really was an actual egg?”
Si-ul, who’d had his doubts, smiled with genuine fascination and bent at the knee.
Then he reached out slowly, handling it with the care one might show delicate glass.
Shimmer!
The moment his hand touched the egg, a small holographic message appeared above his palm.
【Maintain warmth and give it affection, and it will hatch.】
“……?”
Si-ul fell silent for a long moment.
Affection? What kind of absurd thing was that?
“How am I supposed to give it that anyway… I’ve never even received affection myself.”
Si-ul came from an orphanage, a man who’d kept romance at arm’s length his entire life.
Affection was a word distant from his world.
“No explanation again…. Fine. I’ll figure out how to hatch it myself.”
In any case, he’d learned that something would be born from inside the egg.
Whether it would be some terrifying creature like the Judge’s Dragon, or a small, cute pet matching the egg’s size, he’d only find out after hatching it.
* * *
Bang!!
The corridor outside the Rising Guild director’s office was unusually tumultuous.
Before the door even opened, hurried footsteps came rushing from inside, and Park Jung-ki practically bounded out of the office.
“Si-ul, come in quickly!”
Park Jung-ki’s face was flushed with barely contained excitement.
Despite being dressed formally, he’d rushed out in his socks, though such details seemed to matter little to him.
“It took longer than expected. Tackling the Dungeon solo slowed things down considerably.”
At Si-ul’s words, Park Jung-ki waved his hand dismissively.
“No, no! Clearing an A-rank Dungeon through Solo Raid is already impressive, but they tell me you harvested Magic Stones besides. Where else could you find such outstanding raid results!”
He seized Si-ul’s hand, laughing with genuine delight.
“The situation was dire enough that preventing fracturing would’ve been a victory, but thanks to you, we’ve secured everything the Dungeon had to offer!”
Park Jung-ki’s voice trembled with excitement.
And no wonder—from a business owner’s perspective, expenditure mattered as much as revenue.
Net profit was the true measure of performance.
This contract represented the guild’s most lucrative haul since its founding.
A bargain-priced A-rank Gate acquired at auction.
The cost of clearing that Dungeon amounted to nothing but Si-ul’s salary alone.
Of course, Si-ul would be paid at triple the standard rate, but even that was far less than the anticipated operational expenses.
‘This is a windfall!’
Park Jung-ki felt like cheering inwardly as he guided Si-ul to the seat of honor on the office sofa.
“Si-ul.”
He settled himself and spoke carefully.
“I hope we can continue working together. To be honest… the Rising Guild doesn’t want to lose someone like you.”
Park Jung-ki’s voice was light, but his words were measured.
“If ever you decide to leave this special Hunter work, I’d be grateful if you’d contact me first. I personally guarantee you an executive position.”
It was an extraordinary offer.
Even for a mid-sized guild, an executive post was far from trivial.
It showed how attractive Park Jung-ki found Si-ul as a Hunter.
‘Anyone who can solo an A-rank Dungeon must be an S-rank Hunter. The fact that he came straight to the office after exiting the Gate without a single wound on him—that’s proof positive he’s S-rank!’
The Rising Guild had no Hunters ranked A or above except its director, Park Jung-ki.
If someone who appeared to be S-rank like Si-ul would join them, Park Jung-ki was prepared to hand over his own director’s position in time.
‘The man’s gotten completely carried away….’
But Si-ul, predictably, had no interest in an executive post.
Facing life or death in mere months, how could an executive position hold any appeal?
“I’m too busy with my own work. But thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
Si-ul brushed it off with a light laugh.
Park Jung-ki looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, when his gaze suddenly fell on Si-ul’s shoulder.
“What’s that bundle you’re carrying?”
Si-ul’s expression froze.
Across his shoulder hung a package tied up tightly in a wrapped t-shirt.
“This, this one?”
Beads of sweat formed on Si-ul’s brow.
“It’s just… I took off my outer layer because it’s hot. The weather’s been warming up lately.”
“Is that so? But there seems to be something inside it….”
Right. There was. And it was a Dragon’s Egg….
‘Since it’s not an item or weapon, it won’t fit in my Inventory. What do I do….’
Desperately, Si-ul hid the Dragon’s Egg beneath his clothes.
“It’s, it’s a basketball!”
“A basketball?”
“I like basketball. Ha ha….”
The lie fell out awkwardly, painfully transparent even to his own ears.
Fortunately, Park Jung-ki believed him easily enough.
“I love basketball too! I shoot some hoops with Do-hyun on weekends. How about we play one-on-one sometime if you’re free?”
It was a response Si-ul hadn’t anticipated at all.
Si-ul nodded blankly.
“Ah, yes. That sounds good….”
* * *
After his meeting with Park Jung-ki ended, Si-ul rushed through his front door the moment he shut it, kicking off his shoes as he went.
“Ugh, I’m dying of heat!”
He tossed the Dragon’s Egg onto his bed without ceremony, and the first thing he did was—
Whirrrr.
—switch the air conditioner to maximum cooling mode.
“Ahhhh….”
Si-ul pressed his face directly into the stream of cold air pouring from the unit.
“I’ll live….”
Late June. In weather like this, anywhere without air conditioning was as bad as a Dungeon.
Si-ul drew in a long breath of cool air, eyes half-closed.
Then his gaze drifted to the Dragon’s Egg he’d left on the bed.
“Oh.”
【It will hatch if you maintain a warm temperature and show it affection.】
Beep—.
Si-ul shut off the air conditioner immediately.
He sighed, then padded over to the bed and carefully wrapped the Dragon’s Egg in his blanket.
Next, he pulled out a fan, positioned it on the opposite side of the bed, and angled it toward himself alone.
“There. This way I stay alive and you stay warm, right?”
Si-ul glanced down at the egg nestled in the blanket and scratched his chin.
‘The problem is what comes next….’
The egg needed affection to hatch, supposedly.
‘But what is affection, anyway?’
Si-ul sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at the egg.
It didn’t move. There was nothing particularly striking about it at all.
Maybe the egg wasn’t hatching because it wasn’t receiving the requisite affection.
‘Maybe I should say something nice? People who care about someone usually praise them, right?’
Si-ul ventured gingerly into speech.
“Well, my little egg. Aren’t your patterns just beautiful? They’re the spitting image of your father’s scales—the one I created with a terminal condition.”
Silence. The egg remained perfectly still.
“…That was sincere praise, too.”
Words alone clearly weren’t going to work. He tried a different approach.
‘Physical contact? Yeah, affection means physical contact.’
Si-ul spread his arms wide and pulled the Dragon’s Egg close.
He was trying to give it an affectionate embrace.
But Si-ul, who had never held anyone with genuine affection before….
“Grrgh! How’s that?! Can you feel my love?!”
To any observer, it looked like a headlock.
If the egg had had arms, it would’ve tapped out long ago.
“Phew! That’s exhausting!”
Si-ul released his grip.
He realized it felt more like a chokehold than affection, so he stopped.
The egg still showed no reaction whatsoever.
“Really, what am I supposed to do here….”
In surrender, Si-ul flopped down beside the egg on the bed.
The fan’s breeze swept across his bare feet.
“Affection… affection, huh….”
As Si-ul stared blankly at the ceiling, something came to him.
The neighbor’s dog.
A small Shih Tzu, about the size of the Dragon’s Egg.
He could vividly see the owner’s smiling face, the way she doted on that little dog.
They were a couple who embodied the very word “affection.”
‘Yeah, those two were definitely overflowing with love for each other.’
Si-ul sat up and moved back in front of the Dragon’s Egg.
He pictured the neighbor and her Shih Tzu in his mind and tried to mimic their behavior exactly.
Gentle strokes—pat, pat.
He opened his palm and caressed the egg’s surface with the softest touch he could manage.
‘I think the dog’s owner said something while doing this….’
Let me search my memory a bit more. Yes, it came back to me.
Si-ul spoke the words that the owner had once told Shitsu, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Don’t be afraid.”
That single, brief phrase had resonated strangely within Si-ul at the time.
He had uttered it now with careful deliberation, carrying that old memory with him.
‘Maybe it won’t work after all.’
Crack-crack…
“…?”
Si-ul’s hand, stroking the egg, froze.
Crack-crack— splinter-pop—!
“Ah, ah…!”
A heavy sound echoed from within the blanket.
Fine fractures began to form across the egg’s surface.
Light seeped through the gaps between the teal-colored patterns as the egg slowly, but unmistakably, began to split open.
“Wait, hold on…!”
Si-ul was startled, unsure what to do.
The egg, which had not stirred at all moments before, was now shaking violently—so much so that fear gripped him.
And then, shortly after.
Crack—!!
The Dragon’s Egg shattered completely.
Terminal Condition Hunter Continues to Survive
Author |
Kutsumattsu
Publisher |
(주) Samyang C&C
Editorial Director |
Editorial Team
Published by |
(주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
Address |
7F, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsaro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260731071
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of (주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————