I Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Slaughter Star Trait. - Chapter 101

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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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Episode 101

Episode 101

Meeting room.

To obtain more detailed information about the Kappa,

relevant personnel including hunters had gathered.

-Pop!

Cold light poured out from the beam projector, filling the screen.

-Crackle….

The first scene was the Tsushima coast.

Standing on the shoreline,

“….”

What appeared to be ordinary ‘humans’ enjoying water activities.

A group that looked like an ordinary family out for a beach outing.

However,

“This is northern Tsushima, requesting response…!”

The captain’s voice trembled.

The screen also shook like the captain’s voice.

-Whirr.

The blurry screen zoomed in for a close-up.

Looking closely,

The people who appeared to be playing in the water.

Were moving while surrounding one person in the center.

-Whirr.

Another close-up.

“…Gasp!”

Then, the sound of someone gasping was heard.

Not from the person in the video,

But from one of the Japanese hunters in the meeting room.

-Thud!

-Smack!

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

The surrounding people were beating the head of the person in the center.

-Crack!

Until the skull with peeled skin caved in.

Blood splattered with each punch.

And then.

-Trickle….

A mercury-like liquid poured over the caved-in skull.

-Kiyaaaaaaak!!!!

Then, letting out a bone-chilling scream.

-Splash!

The person collapsed just like that.

-Gurgle….

The remaining people watched as bubbles rose up.

After a moment.

-Swoosh!

A person rising from within the waves.

No,

A ‘Kappa’.

The person who had collapsed, no, the ‘Kappa’.

Had shimmering water contained in the center of its skull where the scalp had been peeled away.

Two eyes that had turned bright red with visible blood vessels,

And webbing that had formed under the armpits and between fingers.

Sharp claws.

Before examining it more closely, the video cut off.

“That is the early stage of Kappa transformation.”

A Management Bureau agent said, pushing up his glasses.

“In the early stages, they’re closer to humans, but even in this state, transmission is effective, making them dangerous.”

-….

“When it progresses to the middle stage, their posture becomes more hunched, and their mouth protrudes like a beak. Of course, this is just an external change, and what’s important is that they develop Kappa abilities.”

-….

“Perhaps because they become accustomed to their claws, they become very skilled at swimming. So much so that it’s difficult to follow them with the naked eye. Also, their stamina increases to several times that of an ordinary human.”

-….

“In the terminal stage, it becomes difficult to find any human features. Something similar to a turtle shell grows on their back, where they store stamina. We’ve confirmed cases of specimens discarding their shells in emergencies to recover stamina and escape.”

-….

“Furthermore, they tend to become stronger Kappa the more they repeat cannibalism. The Kappa currently existing on Tsushima have not only infected Tsushima’s citizens but have also repeated cannibalism and….”

-….

“Are in a significantly strengthened state.”

-….

“Through both infection and reproduction, their numbers have also increased tremendously.”

-….

“Most of the Japanese hunters deployed to Tsushima so far have fallen victim to Kappa transformation.”

-….

“The moment they fail to kill one, even awakened individuals become Kappa just the same.”

-….

“In some ways, you could say it’s more dangerous than death.”

-….

“Therefore, we require stronger caution than ever before.”

The meeting room was filled with silence.

The Japanese officials could only bow their heads with somber expressions.

The Korean officials also couldn’t hide their tension.

Except for one person.

“So, does that mean it’s okay to kill people who have undergone Kappa transformation?”

Except for Lee Tae-pyeong.

* * *

People who have undergone Kappa transformation are no longer ‘people’.

They’re just Kappa.

The Japanese government also promised they wouldn’t hold us accountable for anything.

After hearing that confirmation, my mind felt much lighter.

No matter how much I possess the [Thousand-Year Vitality] trait,

As someone who grew up receiving proper education in South Korea,

Killing ‘people’ was still something I found distasteful.

And there might be other complications later.

However.

The Japanese government barely managed to capture one living Kappa and tried various methods,

But purification, items, magic, new drugs, and so on—nothing worked at all.

Just like how zombies cannot be turned back into humans.

That’s what made it even more troublesome.

What’s the most troublesome thing among demonizations?

Powerful monsters like wyverns or minotaurs?

No.

Zombies.

Zombies, which could be considered one of the weaker monsters, were actually the most troublesome ones.

Why?

Because of their infectiousness.

Even if you killed all the zombies and stopped the demonization,

the aftermath would be an even bigger problem.

Because the zombie virus would remain.

If it spreads, and spreads, and spreads again.

The entire human race could become zombified in an instant.

Just like in zombie movies.

There was once a time when zombies appeared due to demonization in Texas.

Unlike this Tsushima Island incident, hunters were deployed quickly,

and Texas was cleaned up rapidly,

but the problem was the people who had been ‘infected’.

Even after the demonization ended, zombies kept appearing everywhere, giving the United States Government quite a headache,

and ironically,

zombies were specially classified as more dangerous monsters than wyverns or minotaurs.

What’s happening on Tsushima Island now is similar to that.

‘I heard there was controversy in Japan until the very end about whether to deploy Nakamura Ryohei or not…’

If it had been other monsters, Japan would have deployed Nakamura Ryohei long ago to sweep through Tsushima Island.

However, as the danger of ‘kappa-ization’ became apparent,

Japan began to hesitate.

What if they lost Nakamura Ryohei on Tsushima Island?

To put it bluntly.

Japan would lose everything.

In a situation where there were no notable next-generation hunters besides Nakamura Ryohei,

losing their top hunter who ranked within the world’s top 10.

It was unthinkable.

That’s why things dragged on sluggishly until it reached this point.

If they had formed a special team with Nakamura Ryohei from the beginning to tackle Tsushima Island’s demonization,

things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

“Tsk tsk…”

It was self-inflicted.

As for me, well, should I be grateful since I’ll be able to level up big time thanks to this?

Experience points gained at demonization sites are a whopping 1.5 times more.

The higher the danger, the easier it is to grow.

Just like with China’s Special Floor,

this was a kind of opportunity for me.

‘I am nervous though…’

Still, I had something to rely on.

That was my nighttime automatic training.

‘He’d probably hate it if he knew I called it that…’

Alteion’s ghost(?) had been giving me various training while I was asleep.

The fact that I easily beat Nakamura Ryohei was largely thanks to that.

Therefore,

-Plop!

On my last night in Busan too,

unlike the other hunters who were training,

I lay down on my bed without worry.

“Ah, I want to eat home-cooked food…”

Busan food is delicious too,

but what I really want is Do Sang-jin’s home cooking.

I’ll finish this quickly and go back,

and this time I’ll ask him to make egg rolls and pork rice bowls.

While having such leisurely thoughts,

-Snore…

I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

-Orders have come down.

-…

-After everything is over.

-…

-Kill the tiger cub.

-…Yes.

* * *

-Swoooosh-.

-Swoooooosh-.

A Japanese warship approaches Tsushima Island.

The coastline, already affected by demonization, disables all electronic devices.

Not only simple communication equipment, but even drones for reconnaissance.

“The ship will stand by at a safe distance.”

At the Japanese agent’s words, Nakamura Ryohei nods.

“…”

Cold sweat was seeping from Nakamura Ryohei’s palms.

No matter how much he was Japan’s top hunter,

being deployed to a situation where an entire island had been demonized was bound to be nerve-wracking.

“Whew…”

Ironically,

what eased Nakamura Ryohei’s anxiety was none other than Lee Tae-pyeong.

Even though he had been completely destroyed at the Training Grounds,

that very fact proved Lee Tae-pyeong’s ‘strength’.

Therefore, deep down, he couldn’t help but rely on Lee Tae-pyeong’s presence.

“What about South Korea?”

“…Tsushima Island is Japanese territory. After Japanese hunters are initially deployed, Korean Hunters will approach Mount Yatate through airspace.”

“I see…”

So he wouldn’t be going with Lee Tae-pyeong.

‘I’m anxious.’

…The moment he thought that, Nakamura Ryohei was startled.

Japan’s strongest hunter was relying on someone else.

And a Korean hunter at that, one who wasn’t even ranked?!

It was absurd.

‘Get it together!’

To think he’d become the strongest hunter only to be relying on a foreign hunter!

How ashamed the Japanese people would be if they knew!

-Grind.

Nakamura Ryohei clenched his jaw so hard his teeth made grinding sounds.

‘…After this is over, I’ll train even harder.’

If Lee Tae-pyeong grows even more than this,

he might get pushed down in the rankings by Korean hunters again.

Choi Mu-ryeong wasn’t enough,

now getting pushed down by another Korean?

This time Japan would truly be in chaos.

‘It’s fine, it’s fine…’

Leveling up is 1.5 times faster in Makyeongwha Zones.

Of course, Nakamura Ryohei, already at a high level, would need quite a lot of experience to reach the next level.

But anyway, after conquering Tsushima’s demonization, he’d be able to get stronger.

Right.

Lee Tae-pyeong is just a mere level 30-something rookie anyway!

Once Nakamura Ryohei reaches the dream level 60s soon,

‘A level 30-something rookie like that…!’

Nakamura Ryohei clenched his fist tight.

Perhaps they saw this as his fighting spirit to resolve Tsushima’s demonization.

“…Please protect Japan!”

-Clap clap clap clap!

-Clap clap clap clap!

Completely unaware that Nakamura Ryohei was only thinking about his personal glory.

Japanese agents and the ship’s crew began applauding.

“Japan’s strongest! Just trust in Nakamura Ryohei!”

Nakamura Ryohei skillfully smiled and waved his hand.

-Clap clap clap clap!

-Clap clap clap clap!

The applause grew even louder.

And the Japanese Public Broadcaster’s camera filming this entire scene.

Nakamura Ryohei winked at the camera.

As if it was nothing.

-Whoooosh…

-Swoooosh…

The wave-swept sea.

Here and there, unidentifiable body parts were floating around.

Probably remnants of humans eaten by the Gat-pa.

With that scene as the backdrop,

“Well then, let’s set out now!”

Nakamura Ryohei confidently drew his [Momotaro’s Wooden Sword].

The other hunters also finished their preparations,

and boarded the pre-prepared boats.

Since the ship couldn’t dock at the demonized Tsushima,

they had to take boats to get inside the Makyeongwha Zone.

Fortunately, the coastline they’d scouted earlier was quiet with no Gat-pa in sight.

The Japanese hunters boarding the boats,

and the camera filming their actions.

-Whirrrr.

The Japanese hunters divided into Team 1 and Team 2 boarded the boats.

-Vroooom.

The moment the two boats that quickly departed crossed into the Makyeongwha Zone.

-Swoosh!!!!!

With a sharp sound,

-Crash!!!!

Team 2’s boat was smashed to pieces.

—————
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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