I Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Slaughter Star Trait. - Chapter 14

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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 14

Episode 14

“Lee Tae-pyeong, you are!”

The Combat Instructor’s finger points directly at me.

“Truly an outstanding Hunter.”

“Huh? I’m only level 10…”

The Combat Instructor smiled knowingly, as if he already knew everything.

“You’re much more impressive than that.”

Is, is that so?

“I’ve heard the rumors too.”

“…”

“But I’m not just talking about that.”

“Huh? Then…”

“Do you know how many people I’ve seen while doing this job?”

“Oh…”

“I may not be a Hunter, but I have an accurate eye for people.”

“Ah…”

“The meticulousness and sincerity to attend even these basic lectures that everyone thinks are trivial!”

Is, is that so?

I only came because I had spare time…

“Just from that alone, I can tell what kind of person Lee Tae-pyeong is.”

Should I thank him for seeing me in such a good light?

While I was hesitating, the Combat Instructor spoke again.

“But what’s most important for a Hunter above all else is safety.”

Safety…

That’s also true.

Everything only has meaning if you’re alive.

“Climbing the Tower safely together with other Hunters…”

Together…

“Making more money too.”

Money.

“Dating too.”

Dating?

“Starting a family.”

A family?!

“Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“…”

Hmm.

He’s right.

Not a single thing wrong with what he said.

Though these things feel too distant to me, things I’ve never seriously considered.

“…Well, maybe that could happen.”

“Being alone is fine, but together you’ll be able to gain that much more.”

“…”

“Please think about what I’ve said.”

With that, the class ended.

On the way back to the dormitory.

‘Dating…’

To date, huh…

To make money, huh…

Family…

A family…

These are things I’ve never really thought about.

I’ve been too busy just trying to survive on my own until now.

Family was something I could never have.

I never even thought about dating.

Money?

I earned it somehow to take care of myself.

I earned it to survive.

Making money for a happy life.

I’ve never thought about that.

It’s natural.

Because I’m an orphan.

I’ve only lived struggling with survivalism.

After graduating high school, I didn’t have anyone I could really call a friend.

Someone like me joining a party?

“…”

I have to enter the Tower anyway.

Thanks to Thousand Kills, I might be able to manage easily for a while.

But.

How long will that really apply?

The higher you climb the Tower.

The higher level you become.

A ‘party’ becomes essential.

The successful Hunters right now?

None of them climb alone.

They all form fixed parties to climb.

What does that mean?

It means…

You can’t survive alone.

Of course, I have the power of Thousand Kills.

But I still don’t know everything about that power perfectly.

That means.

It’s the same as saying I’m not perfect.

In that case?

There’s no reason to avoid parties either.

As for Thousand Kills, I can just explain it well.

Even if it looks crazy, it’s not madness or chaos, so don’t worry.

Hmm.

Well, won’t the Officials help me with things I can’t handle?

The Officials are the ones who match parties when you apply in the first place.

Is there anything more to worry about?

In a situation where there’s no loss whatever I do.

“Alright.”

Party play.

I’ll give that a try, why not.

This is all experience too, isn’t it?

-Ding!

The elevator stops.

Hmm.

In the past, I would have agonized over this for an entire day.

But I’ve already reached a conclusion just during this elevator ride.

Is my personality changing because of the trait?

Well.

It’s nice being more decisive.

“Ah, going out again is such a hassle.”

I won’t go to the dining hall today, I’ll just order chicken and pizza.

And play some games too!

After getting some good rest, maybe I’ll try applying for a party.

* * *

“…A party application has come in!”

Wooooh!!

The officials stop what they’re doing and rush over.

An application form prominently displayed in the center of the screen.

The Management Bureau’s current person of greatest interest.

It’s rookie Lee Tae-pyeong’s party application.

“Thank goodness. I was worried he’d keep applying solo forever.”

“Exactly. He doesn’t seem to be the lone wolf type after all.”

You never know. If he doesn’t like the party, he might go back to solo runs only.”

“That’s exactly why we need to match him well!”

“That’s no problem. We already have candidates picked out.”

That’s right.

Lee Tae-pyeong had never submitted a party application before.

But party members for Lee Tae-pyeong were already prepared.

Matching in skill.

Matching in compatibility.

Even matching in personality.

Honestly, this is excessive treatment for a hunter who just reached level 10.

However.

Lee Tae-pyeong wasn’t an ordinary level 10 hunter.

If raised properly.

A super rookie who could be matched with even top-tier hunters.

He even possessed the [Thousand Kills] trait.

“Then let’s contact the candidates and arrange a meeting for tomorrow.”

The Management Bureau begins moving busily.

All thanks to ‘Lee Tae-pyeong’ who’s about to have his first party play.

* * *

Contact came early in the morning.

Saying a party had been matched.

Usually, it takes at least two days to coordinate schedules and such.

But this quickly?

“Yaaawn…”

I got up from my seat and headed to the bathroom.

Still, it’s a meeting with people.

I should at least shower before going.

When I arrived at the designated location, four people including an official were waiting for me.

“Hello. I’m Lee Tae-pyeong!”

First impressions are important with people.

What’s most important for first impressions?

Greetings.

“Hello.”

“…Hello.”

“Good morning.”

Two women.

One man.

The official gave brief introductions of each other.

“I’m Cha Ye-rin. Please take care of me.”

A woman with a somewhat stern impression. 24 years old. A tanker.

Her younger sister has an incurable disease, so she became a hunter to buy medicine from the dungeon shop.

Her current level is 16.

She has quite a bit of dungeon experience too.

Meaning she’s not a hunter who would climb the Tower once or twice then bail.

“You have a good impression. I’m Yu In-seok.”

A man with an ordinary appearance wearing glasses. 26 years old. A healer.

He was an ordinary office worker but lost everything in failed cryptocurrency investments, so he became a hunter to make money.

Like me, he became a hunter aiming for debt forgiveness.

Of course, his case was crypto, mine was rental fraud, so the situations are different.

Anyway, he seems to be working hard making money after luckily obtaining a healer trait.

His current level is 14.

Not as much as the tanker, but he also has quite a bit of dungeon experience.

“I’m Kang Da-gyeong. You can just call me noona.”

A woman who looks a bit older than me. 34 years old. A supporter.

As the instructor mentioned, a hunter with the ‘Pack Mule’ trait.

What’s unusual is that she’s missing her left arm.

Whether she was born without it or lost it in the Tower.

Either way, she’s doing hunter work to restore her lost arm.

Her current level is 12. The lowest level among the three, but she has the most dungeon experience.

If there’s one thing these seemingly very different people have in common.

It would be ‘desperation.’

Everyone has their own complicated circumstances.

Ah, including me of course!

“I’m Lee Tae-pyeong.”

Now it’s my turn.

“I started hunter work because of rental fraud.”

“Rental fraud?”

“Wow…”

“Those bastards should die.”

All hunters have their various circumstances.

Since people who start because they want to are really a tiny minority.

Everyone seems sympathetic.

“I just reached level 10. I still don’t know much, so I hope you’ll all help me a lot.”

Bow.

When I don’t know how to end something, I just start with a greeting.

-Clap clap clap.

They applaud as if a new employee had joined the company.

How embarrassing.

After finishing what could be called a brief self-introduction.

And listening to explanations about the party.

Since it happened to be lunch time.

We all ate together.

“Tae-pyeong, do you know anything about cryptocurrency?”

“Ah, I don’t know much about it. Things like crypto or stocks.”

“Really? That’s a shame. These days there are some decent ones…”

Yu In-seok rattled on about cryptocurrency, but I only half-listened.

I don’t know much about it anyway.

And I have no intention of getting into it either.

“What cryptocurrency? Just properly clearing the Tower makes money.”

Kang Da-gyeong.

When ‘noona’ spoke up, Yu In-seok scratched the back of his head.

“We can’t just keep clearing the Tower forever though.”

“Just grind for 1 or 2 years and you can live comfortably for life. As long as you don’t mess with that crypto stuff.”

“Ah, but still…”

“Hey. Would you rather lose an arm like me, or lose a leg?”

“There you go with that story again?”

“You’ve got all your limbs intact. You should earn money honestly, buy a house, prepare for marriage.”

“Why do you keep telling me to get married? I have no intention of marrying.”

“Is that why you’re doing crypto?”

“Ah, noona!”

Yu In-seok and Kang Da-gyeong seem quite close, probably from working together several times.

“Tae-pyeong, don’t believe what noona says. Grinding for 1 or 2 years won’t let you live without working for life. If you consider the inflation rate…”

“Would Tae-pyeong believe the words of someone who lost his entire fortune to crypto, or would he believe me?”

“No, that was a strategy! I got scammed!”

Bicker bicker.

Still, they don’t seem to have a bad relationship.

I just smiled and ate my food.

And in front of me, there was one more person just eating like me.

Cha Ye-rin.

She doesn’t say much.

A somewhat gloomy expression.

Crypto crashes, disabilities.

Everyone has their own stories, but Cha Ye-rin’s story is particularly heavy.

Money can literally be earned by grinding.

A lost arm could probably be restored someday with Tower items.

But a family member suffering from an incurable disease is a different story.

Of course.

Panacea-like potions can be obtained easily enough.

They can be obtained as Tower rewards.

Or purchased from the shop.

‘Someday,’ that is.

The problem is time.

Getting it as a Tower reward has too low a probability.

All given rewards are completely random.

The floors where panaceas are guaranteed drops are in the upper levels, so it’s unrealistic for Cha Ye-rin at level 16 to attempt them.

Then the answer is the shop.

But purchasing from the shop isn’t easy either.

You have to pay a considerable amount of points.

To gather enough points to purchase a panacea.

No matter how intensively you climb the Tower…

It would take at least 5 years, wouldn’t it.

As I said, the problem is time.

The question is whether her younger sister with the incurable disease can endure those 5 years.

Of course, since Cha Ye-rin is climbing the Tower for the nation.

The country would probably take quite good care of her, but…

They wouldn’t just hand over a panacea for a mere level 16 tank.

Panaceas are items for high-level Hunters.

In situations like this.

You shouldn’t carelessly offer comfort.

That could actually cause more hurt.

Especially since I.

Don’t have family…

I can’t understand that pain even more.

So let’s just eat.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

It’s the official I saw during the meeting.

We followed the official’s guidance into the Entry Hall.

It’s a different space from when climbing solo.

There are a total of 4 massage chair-like things used for entry.

“How about lightly clearing some lower floors to get a feel for working together?”

Lower floor clearing.

When entering as a party, maps are assigned based on the party’s average level.

Cha Ye-rin, Yu In-seok, Kang Da-gyeong.

The three of them are in the mid-10s level range.

But I just reached level 10.

So roughly a map suitable for level 13 would be assigned.

It’s slightly high for me.

But I’m not particularly worried.

Since Cha Ye-rin is as high as level 16.

Yu In-seok is level 14, Kang Da-gyeong is level 12.

It’s manageable.

That’s what this party was formed for anyway.

“Sounds good.”

Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

We met to clear floors anyway.

The sooner we enter the Tower, the better for me!

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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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