F-Rank Secretly Becomes Stronger - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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8

“Doesn’t seem too bad, does it?”

The Supporter Guild Member asked Yena.

Was it really the right investment to chase after an unpopular Gate for an F-rank Hunter, not even an E-rank Hunter?

When they departed at the crack of dawn, everyone except Yena felt doubtful.

A rookie Hunter they wouldn’t have even glanced at if it weren’t for her pushing forward, insisting it was worth investing a day.

“Honestly, I thought you’d be wrong this time.”

“Oh my~ You still don’t trust me?”

That stance changed not long after entering the Gate.

“Beating the Angel Guild leader’s son doesn’t seem like luck, just look at how he holds his sword.”

A clean stance with no flaws to pick at.

Though her main weapon is a bow, she also possesses all the basic knowledge as a scout.

“It’s not like he won with a single Counter either, he blocked every attack throughout and then one-sidedly beat him down in overtime, so there’s no way it was luck.”

She still remembers.

Im Hyeongju, the brilliant third-year Salutatorian and son of Angel Guild.

She had watched that match out of curiosity about how amazing the A-rank Hunter Guild leader’s son’s skills were.

But an incredible twist erupted from an unexpected place.

“I heard about it since everyone’s been talking about it everywhere… but isn’t that too exaggerated?”

“It’s not an exaggeration. He won perfectly without allowing a single Effective Hit.”

“….”

The Supporter looked at Juhyeok for a moment, then frowned slightly.

He made an expression of incomprehension before asking again.

“Actually, I don’t really know what happened at the Academy… but seeing him today, something’s a bit suspicious.”

Whether 200th place beat the Salutatorian or whatever, it didn’t particularly register in his ears.

Of course it was impressive, and when he first heard it, he thought it was absurd gossip…

But that far-fetched story wasn’t as unrealistic as the behavior Juhyeok was showing right now.

“Is this guy really entering a Gate for the first time today?”

Despite entering a Gate for the first time, he showed no signs of panic whatsoever.

The composure emanating from his unwavering gaze made him seem like an elite Hunter to anyone watching.

No matter how weak they are, any Hunter shows signs of panic when first encountering a monster with killing intent toward them.

But Juhyeok casually stomped on the creature’s foot as if it were a practice spar.

Before the goblin could even scream in pain, he circled behind and pierced its back with his sword.

“How does that look like a rookie F-rank Hunter to you?”

“….”

Yena couldn’t answer easily.

She honestly agreed with what the Supporter Guild Member just said.

His composure when facing the monster she had deliberately let slip through to test his practical skills.

Rather, the scene of him piercing its back with a Finishing Blow as if he’d been waiting for this moment left quite an impression in her mind.

“Well… I’m not sure either.”

Behavior too calm for a rookie Hunter.

Execution so clean it made her wonder if he had forged his identity.

If he weren’t an Academy graduate, she might have suspected something was hidden behind it.

But based on what she heard from the Instructor she was acquainted with and other Academy Classmates she asked, the probability of identity forgery was close to zero.

Thus came the vague conclusion.

“Maybe he has a talent for killing monsters.”

It seemed too half-hearted, but there was no other explanation.

Yena glanced at Juhyeok, who was sitting in front staring intently at her, and asked.

“What do you think?”

“…Do you normally have these conversations so openly in front of the person involved?”

If they had whispered among themselves behind his back, he could have at least ignored it.

A conversation that started like gossip during their brief rest break.

Because of the Guild Members shamelessly discussing his story, he momentarily thought he had become invisible.

When Juhyeok asked back in disbelief, she smiled nonchalantly as usual and said.

“A scheme to make a good impression on a talented rookie hunter?”

“….”

A harmless and friendly smile.

Even before entering the Gate, he had felt it, but she was a scout who had a knack for melting people’s wariness with that kind of attitude.

Whether this was a mask or genuine, he had no intention of easily falling for it.

Juhyeok tore open the jerky while answering the question he had just thrown out.

“I’m a person far from talent. I just practiced countless times in my head.”

Based on the information he learned at school, he trained and repeatedly imagined in his head until exhaustion.

All currently confirmed monsters from F-rank to A-rank.

He remembered every single one without exception.

Theoretical study was just as important as training, so it was a field he never neglected.

Knowing his own shortcomings, he studied even harder and memorized monster characteristics by heart.

“Goblins have physical conditions similar to humans, so they have similar weaknesses. I just moved based on that.”

“The amazing part is that you moved without hesitation based on that knowledge.”

Yena slightly raised the corners of her mouth and continued.

“It may sound easy in words, but not many people can immediately put it into action in real combat.”

“I just told you. I practiced countless times in my head.”

Even before entering this Gate, his mind had been filled with all sorts of fantasies.

From helping Mother open the shop in the morning to lying in bed before falling asleep.

He constantly ran simulations on how to deal with monsters if he encountered them.

“If you’re thoroughly prepared, there’s no need to worry.”

Being prepared prevents trouble.

Through thorough preparation, he had mastered even the minor variables that occur in real combat, so there was no need to panic and fumble around.

That was the reason Juhyeok could move with the composure of a veteran hunter.

The guild members briefly exchanged glances among themselves at his confident demeanor.

“He’s like a complete old soul.”

“A twenty-year-old talking like our grandfather….”

The aura of diligence emanating from his way of speaking.

They already knew from information gathered here and there that he was someone who only went between the Training Ground, dormitory, and school, but seeing him actually say such textbook-like things made it feel even more real.

“Anyway, if I had the talent you mentioned, I wouldn’t have worked this hard.”

“Hmm~”

An exaggerated response with a nodding head.

She returned to her cheerful expression, smoothing out the playfully frowning face.

“Then I’ll have to catch you even more.”

Conviction that had formed in her voice.

She seemed somewhat lighthearted as before, but there was a hidden seriousness that could be felt.

“If you’re a talent who solves everything through effort alone without a shred of natural ability, then of course I have to catch you.”

“….”

It didn’t feel bad.

Having someone acknowledge his efforts was naturally a joyful thing.

“I have no intention of joining.”

Of course, separate from that, he had absolutely no intention of joining a guild.

She didn’t seem like a bad person, but it wasn’t a matter of that dimension.

“There’s no guild as good as Mir… Well, I’ll make more appeals after we get out, and since it’s time, shall we slowly start moving again?”

Yena getting up from her seat.

Even when she seemed somewhat overly persistent, she didn’t cross the line that would make people uncomfortable.

It would have been troublesome if she had pushed forcefully, but fortunately she didn’t seem to be that type of scout.

“Would you like to have dinner together after we exit the Gate?”

“I’m fasting.”

“…Didn’t you just tear open the jerky I gave you earlier?”

“I just started from now.”

Of course, that didn’t mean the recruitment attempts had stopped.

Carefully making contact points, bouncing off the impenetrable iron wall.

As such banter-like conversations repeated several times while conquering the Gate.

The Supporter spoke from behind so everyone could hear.

“If we walk for about 10 more minutes, the Exit Gate will appear.”

“Understood.”

Moving with the vanguard, the end of his first raid was approaching.

Compared to the distance they had walked according to the strategy information, fewer monsters had appeared.

‘There’s a reason why unpopular Gates exist.’

The Magic Stones collected today were F-rank, only 7 of them.

Thanks to the promise that he could take them all, it wasn’t a loss, but if they had split them among the four, it would have been truly meager income.

‘Should I look for somewhere a bit better than here?’

An unpopular Gate he had come to in order to avoid other Hunters’ attention.

Actually, since it was his first Gate, there was also the reason of choosing the weakest dungeon to physically experience what level of difficulty it would be, but now that he was here, it was easy enough that he could have cleared it even without forming a party.

‘Anyway, I ended up getting caught by a Guild even here, so let’s switch to somewhere with more people.’

Walking through the forest while making this resolution in his mind.

Just as his tension relaxed for a moment with the thought that the end was near, and he was having idle thoughts.

Thump!

A massive ground tremor snapped him back to attention.

The party briefly stopped walking and made eye contact with each other.

“…What is that?”

“Large monsters don’t appear in this Gate though?”

Juhyeok knew this too.

This Gate was natural-type with a forest shape, and only small to medium-sized monsters like goblins and slimes appeared at most.

Since it was a Gate that had appeared over 10 years ago, there was no way the information could be wrong.

Thump!

Yet the vibrations flowing through the ground didn’t stop.

His hair stood on end and his mouth went dry.

The sense of discord made people freeze like stone.

“Where is it.”

“…I can’t sense anything at close range.”

A monster that couldn’t be detected even by the Supporter Guild Member’s Detection Magic.

If it was a monster within a 200-meter radius, it should definitely be detectable, but despite the sound of something pounding the ground, there was nothing detected nearby—

Bang!

“Southwest.”

The direction the Supporter pointed to with his finger, along with a sound much louder than before.

Leader Yena was about to give orders immediately.

Kuwooooooo!

But before that, a roar that shook the earth echoed out.

When everyone covered their ears with both hands at the lion’s roar that rang loud enough to burst eardrums.

Juhyeok’s eyes clearly saw it.

An Orc glaring at them, holding not a club but a greatsword.

Yes, it was an Orc.

A creature five times the size of a human.

The Orc jumped into the air with a shriek, giving no time to assess the situation.

“Dodge!”

Everyone was stunned since they never expected to encounter a weapon-wielding Orc in an F-rank Gate.

Calculations rapidly ran through Juhyeok’s mind.

‘I can’t save everyone.’

He was also in a frantic state.

Juhyeok grabbed the leader, Yena, who was right next to him and jumped backward.

At that moment, he made eye contact with the Warrior Guild Member who had been guarding the vanguard together, and he quickly drew his sword and said.

“Good judgment.”

Bang!

With those words, the two were crushed by the Orc.

Dust clouds rise thickly, obscuring the view.

“Jaehwan, Sua!”

Yena, who barely escaped the attack after being grabbed, comes to her senses and calls out to the two.

However, there is no answer.

The dust cloud gradually disperses and the previously obscured view becomes clear.

Kurururu…

An Orc holding a sword.

Bloodstains smeared on that sword.

The two people she had desperately called out to were lying covered in blood beside a tree.

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