I Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Slaughter Star Trait. - Chapter 56
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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 56
Episode 56
It’s a very simple change of perspective.
Instead of the monster,
just blow up the arrow, right?
It doesn’t need to be a special Tower-exclusive item.
The arrow’s role isn’t to attack,
but simply to serve as a ‘marker’.
“How about it?”
“….”
I handed the bow to Baek Ha-rim.
Perhaps my words sounded quite convincing to him too,
Baek Ha-rim’s expression wasn’t bad.
No, it was rather strangely refreshing.
Like he had finally found a clue to solve
a homework assignment he’d been holding onto for a long time.
“I’ll give it a try.”
Baek Ha-rim looks at me with determination.
“I’ll support you, so don’t worry and give it your all.”
“…Thank you.”
He bows his head,
then shoulders the quiver and grips the bow.
“Whew….”
Perhaps because it’s been quite a while since he held a bow.
An emotion that could be nervousness or anticipation flickers across Baek Ha-rim’s face.
“Then….”
-Swoosh.
Baek Ha-rim aims an arrow at the Skeleton visible in the distance.
-Whiiiing!
The bowstring is drawn taut.
Composure itself.
National representative Baek Ha-rim,
though he’s now become an ordinary man in his 40s.
-Whooooooosh!!!!
His arrow knows no fear,
and flies through the air, tearing it apart.
-Boooooom!!!!!
The arrowhead explodes upon impact.
The Skeleton’s head flies off cleanly.
-…!
Shattered to pieces.
No, nothing remained at all.
-Thud!
The Skeleton’s body collapses after losing its head.
That’s right.
Baek Ha-rim’s arrow hit the Skeleton’s head precisely,
and Baek Ha-rim’s explosion magic destroyed exactly only the Skeleton’s head.
-Whiiiing!
Without even giving time for admiration,
Baek Ha-rim draws the bowstring again.
“Whew….”
A deep breath.
Another arrow shoots out.
Sharply!
-Whooooooosh!!!!
Another hit.
-Boooom!!!!
And explosion!
-Thud!
Baek Ha-rim didn’t stop.
-Whooooosh!!!
-Boooom!!!
-Thud!
-Whooooosh!!!
-Boooom!!!
-Thud!
-Whooooosh!!!
-Boooom!!!
-Thud!
Skulls with no trace left to find,
and Skeleton torsos beginning to pile up.
“They’re blocking my view.”
-Whooooosh!!
Baek Ha-rim shoots an arrow at the pile of Skeleton bone graves.
-Bobooboboom!!!!
With a tremendous sound,
the bones scatter as dust.
-Clap clap clap clap!
I couldn’t hold back and applauded.
Amazing.
This is amazing.
I just mentioned it on a whim,
but this was the right answer!
And an A+ grade answer at that!!!
“Haha….”
Baek Ha-rim scratches the back of his head sheepishly.
Seeing him smile, it seems his tension has finally eased.
“Your skills are still intact!”
10 years ago,
his skills are comparable to Baek Ha-rim in his prime.
No,
maybe they’ve even improved?
Competition targets don’t move,
but monsters are constantly moving.
-Whooosh!!
-Boooom!!
-Whooooosh!!!
-Bobooboboom!!!
Baek Ha-rim shot arrows without rest,
and not a single arrow
missed its target.
Baek Ha-rim finally catches his breath only after all the arrows are spent.
If he hadn’t run out of arrows,
he would have swept through the entire 30th Floor alone.
“I’ll handle what’s left.”
“Huff…”
“Please rest.”
I left Baek Ha-rim behind,
-Swish!
and swept away the remaining skeleton army
-Clatter!!!
in an instant.
“…You’re truly amazing.”
Baek Ha-rim says in admiration.
“Ah, it’s nothing special, just swinging a sword.”
I scratched the back of my head and smiled awkwardly.
After watching me for a moment,
“…Thank you.”
Baek Ha-rim suddenly bows 90 degrees.
“Hey, don’t do that.”
“If it weren’t for you, Hunter…”
“Ah, please get up!”
I quickly grabbed Baek Ha-rim’s arm and helped him up.
When he raised his head,
“…”
Baek Ha-rim’s eyes were moist with tears.
Oh, no. Was it really that significant?
“Actually, I was thinking about retiring.”
“Pardon?”
What’s this about now?
“While working as a Hunter, I felt a lot of doubt…”
Ah.
His guild was like a black company too.
And he said there were problems with human relationships as well.
“So I was planning to work at the Management Bureau for just one year and then quit.”
“…Really?”
A Hunter who can tackle the 30th Floor.
It’s not like he lacks talent, so why would he think that way…
Was it really that difficult for him?
“…Yes.”
Perhaps,
it was even harder because he was an athlete who always had to aim for the top.
“That feeling when the target disappears.”
“…”
“I couldn’t bear it…”
“Still,”
“I heard a lot of people calling me useless.”
“…”
“Because I miss at crucial moments.”
I recall the explosion spells that used to miss their mark.
The bursting sounds that echoed through the air.
“When you miss, you lose many things.”
Baek Ha-rim’s voice sounds bitter.
“Targets, arrows…”
“…”
“Time, people…”
Baek Ha-rim wipes his eyes and looks at me with a smile.
“But now, I feel like I can see the target again.”
Baek Ha-rim grips my hand tightly.
“It’s thanks to you, Hunter.”
Actually.
I didn’t really do anything that amazing.
To be honest,
telling someone to shoot arrows is advice anyone could give.
However,
I could understand.
All this time…
There was no one who looked at Baek Ha-rim with interest,
no one who could give him advice.
There was no such person by Baek Ha-rim’s side.
Something you could notice just by watching for a single day,
there was no one to tell him about it.
“It’s only natural.”
“Natural…”
“Hunter Baek is our team member now.”
I spoke as calmly as possible.
In front of Baek Ha-rim who was genuinely grateful,
I didn’t want to show off or act conceited.
“I don’t know how I could ever repay this debt…”
“Ah, what debt are you talking about?”
“Still…”
I firmly grasped Baek Ha-rim’s hand in return.
“Then, may I ask for just one favor?”
“Anything.”
“…May I call you hyung?”
As if he never expected this,
Baek Ha-rim’s eyes widen.
“Hyung…?”
“Yes.”
“Really, that’s…?”
“I told you, didn’t I? That I was a fan.”
“I thought you were just being polite.”
“I’m not good at empty words.”
When I grinned, Baek Ha-rim inadvertently nods.
Yes!
“Please treat me comfortably like a younger brother too.”
“Yes…”
“And speak casually to your younger brother!”
“Yes… No, uh, right.”
It’s awkward now,
but we’ll get used to it as we spend time together.
We’re teammates who’ll be working together, so of course it’s better to be comfortable.
“Well then, let’s open the boxes and return.”
Gold boxes appeared in front of Baek Ha-rim and me.
“…This is my first gold box.”
Baek Ha-rim’s voice sounds somewhat moved.
I replied nonchalantly.
“You’ll be seeing them often from now on.”
“Wow…”
“Gold boxes are standard for our team.”
-Click.
“What did you get?”
“Oh, this is…”
What came out of Baek Ha-rim’s gold box was,
Oh.
Not bad.
This would be good for dealing with troublesome enemies all at once.
-Click.
When I opened my gold box too,
Something useful came out.
An item that can replicate and reuse attacks.
The efficiency of this would vary greatly depending on how it’s used.
“Shall we go now?”
* * *
After returning, I had a light drink with Baek Ha-rim.
Stir-fried garlic chicken gizzards with soju.
“Isn’t this great?”
“…Your cooking skills are really amazing.”
Of course, the side dishes were Do Sang-jin’s handiwork.
Perhaps thanks to the delicious food and alcohol.
Even the quite taciturn Baek Ha-rim gradually began to open up.
About what life as a Hunter was like
after his athletic career ended.
And,
“Hyung, but what exactly happened at GR Guild?”
“Phew…”
At my question, Baek Ha-rim lets out a deep sigh.
“I joined GR Guild through a friend’s introduction.”
“A friend?”
“I don’t know if you’d know him, but he was a fellow athlete.”
“Who?”
“Han Myeong-jin.”
Han Myeong-jin?
A name that sounds familiar…
Wait!
-H-he told me to give this to you…!
[GR Guild – Team Leader Han Myeong-jin]
That name written on the business card Kim Je-sik handed me?!
“…Do you know him?”
“Yes. Actually, I recently received something like an unofficial scouting offer…”
“An unofficial scouting offer?”
“Well, it wasn’t anything grand, just receiving a business card.”
Baek Ha-rim’s expression instantly darkens.
“That bastard Myeong-jin…”
What on earth happened
to make a former archery athlete, for whom composure is most important, make such an expression.
“You’re not thinking of joining GR, are you?”
Baek Ha-rim asks anxiously.
“Not at all. I have no intention of leaving the Management Bureau for the time being.”
“That’s a relief, but…”
Baek Ha-rim refills his soju glass.
“…You might change your mind after hearing the amount GR offers.”
GR Group was one of South Korea’s leading companies even before Babel Tower appeared.
After the Tower’s appearance, they quickly jumped into the Tower byproduct business and instantly rose to first place in the business world.
Thanks to sweeping up Hunters with money, GR Guild also secured second place domestically.
Recently, as the Hunters they initially swept up finished their contracts and left en masse, their ranking dropped to 9th place.
With various corruption and contract fraud issues erupting, public opinion is also turning negative.
It seems they’re looking for new Hunters to break through this situation,
and I must have caught their attention.
“Money doesn’t matter to me.”
This wasn’t bragging but sincere.
Now I can earn as much money as I want if I choose to.
However, now,
I’m simply quite interested in conquering Babel Tower itself rather than money.
“…That’s a relief then.”
Baek Ha-rim lets out a bitter laugh and downs his drink.
“If only I had been able to see far ahead like you…”
His voice carries regret.
“Back then, I thought my future would be uncertain if my athletic career ended like that.”
“…”
“So, after hearing what Myeong-jin, who joined GR Guild first, had to say, I also…”
So that’s how it was.
The chaos and anxiety when Babel Tower first appeared
was beyond imagination.
Baek Ha-rim’s decision to become a Hunter
was an understandable choice.
“Don’t worry, hyung.”
I said while refilling Baek Ha-rim’s empty glass.
“I’ll never move to GR.”
“Haha…”
“Unless I buy GR myself.”
At my words, Baek Ha-rim’s eyes widen again.
Hehehe.
Well, well, was that too cool a statement?
“Heh….”
I wiped under my nose and smiled.
“How about it, shall I get some revenge for you, hyung?”
Then,
“Hahaha!”
Baek Ha-rim burst into loud laughter.
“Tae-pyeong, you seem like the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”
What?!
I wasn’t joking though.
Does it really sound that absurd?
“Hyung, I’m really…!”
“Hey, you’re pretty drunk.”
“No, really!”
“Let’s stop drinking now.”
Baek Ha-rim chuckled and got up from his seat.
No, this is hurting my pride!
“I really can do it!!”
Why won’t he believe 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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