I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 46. Promotion Exam (3)
〚Dungeon Quest: Village of Green Vegetation Faith
Grade: Common
Rank: B-
Type: Extermination
Description: Deep within a forest renowned for its beauty, lush with verdant hues, dwells a race hidden from all eyes. They worship their god and sustain themselves by slaying those who venture into their woods, consuming them as sustenance. Annihilate these wretched creatures who revere such a vile deity.
Objective: Exterminate all goblins of the faith-worshipping race (0/127)
Success: Rewards distributed according to performance
Failure: Death〛
As we entered the dungeon, the world inverted, and a forest brimming with the fragrance of nature revealed itself before our eyes.
This dungeon was an extermination type—one of the most common varieties. The objective was simple: slay every monster within.
It was neither particularly difficult nor easy, a straightforward dungeon format. The moment we entered, we immediately formed our battle formation.
As we had decided before entering, Ma Dong-won and I took the vanguard, Kim Woo-rim the center, and Lee Ji-ah and Seok Woon the rear guard.
A 2-1-2 formation. Classical and orthodox, certainly.
But it was ill-suited for this dungeon. While such a formation excelled against powerful single targets like in raid-type dungeons, it imposed penalties when facing countless enemies.
“An extermination type, I see. We should adjust our formation. Ma Dong-won and Shin Ju-ha will maintain the vanguard, Lee Ji-ah will take the center, and Kim Woo-rim and I will cover the rear. Vanguard and rear, please also attend to both flanks as you see fit.”
Truth be told, I knew little about formations. How could I understand such things when I’d never devised one in my life? How many times had I actually fought as part of a team, when I’d spent my entire existence hunting goblins alone in the Tutorial?
So without hesitation, I followed the instructions of Seok Woon, who could be called the foremost expert among us.
There’s a saying that whenever five people gather, one is inevitably a troll, but fortunately, our group showed no such troublemaker.
‘I’m lucky.’
Each member’s abilities were clearly far from weak.
Lee Ji-ah, as a buffer, easily pulled her weight, and though Kim Woo-rim lacked social grace, the palpable madness in his eyes suggested he was no pushover.
Ma Dong-won inspired confidence merely by his presence, and Seok Woon, like a seasoned civil servant who had cleared countless dungeons, was a veteran through and through.
As for me, I was already E-rank or higher, so there was nothing to worry about.
With a premonition that this would be an easy exam, we began our advance.
The forest was eerily silent. Not even the chirping of birds or the rustling of wind could be heard, and that silence only heightened our tension.
With enemies liable to emerge at any moment from anywhere, everyone grew alert, and after roughly ten minutes of movement—
Rustle.
Finally, enemies appeared.
“Left flank. At least five or more.”
Seok Woon, the archer, quickly identified the sound and finished his preparations. Within seconds, the grass rustled violently, and six goblins emerged.
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 17: A Fanatic Goblin Driven Mad by Corrupted Faith has appeared!〛
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 14: A Fanatic Goblin Driven Mad by Faith has appeared!〛
.
.
.
〚Common-Rank [C] LV 15: A Fanatic Goblin Driven Mad by Faith has appeared!〛
“Everyone, attack!”
I dashed forward immediately. Drawing Man-byeon, which had already transformed into a blade, I slashed at the enemy.
Though the flame sword had unfortunately shattered when facing the Giant Ants, my ownership had reached 14%, allowing me to project items up to Advanced-B rank onto Man-byeon, so there was no problem.
I had projected a sword even better than the Flame Blade, so I no longer felt any regret about losing it.
Ma Dong-won and I pushed off from our positions and rushed forward to block the goblins, and as Lee Ji-ah’s murmuring voice echoed from behind, buffs were applied to us.
〚Skill: Ceremony of Courage grants all physical stats a +3 increase!〛
〚Unique Ability: Altruistic Devotion [Rare-A-] increases the effectiveness of all buffs by 1.5 times!〛
That amounted to roughly a 4.5 stat increase. Compared to the buffs Min Cho-rong used as a Saint candidate, it was barely a drop in the ocean, but I knew that even this level of buff was considerable for novice Hunters.
Usually, raising a single stat by around 5 was considered generous. But this affected all physical stats, making it at minimum a Rare-grade buff skill.
The modest increase was simply due to her still-low level.
‘Lee Ji-ah, it seems you’re getting quite a bit of support?’
I’d suspected something was different since she challenged the 3-star promotion, but I never imagined she’d possess a buff skill of this caliber.
You’d need to be a promising prospect at a fairly well-known Guild to receive support for a skill like this.
In any case, I moved forward with the buff reinforcing my back. Goblins—monsters I’d killed ad nauseam before my regression.
Of course, the goblins here differed vastly in rank and level from those in the Tutorial, but the fact that they were the same species was undeniable.
“Come at me!!!”
As Ma Dong-won’s provocation-type skill activated, all six goblins’ eyes turned crimson as they charged toward him.
It was a skill that applied both area-wide aggro and a debuff.
‘A tank with such a good skill?’
What was this? Were these all elites?
Most novice Hunters didn’t possess proper skills outside of their unique abilities.
It made sense. Even the lowest-grade skill books were expensive, and skills acquired through repetitive actions were mostly low-grade.
Most F-grade tanks could only provoke a single target, knowing only basic provocation skills. So… did we actually assemble a competent party?
“Great! Shin Ju-ha, let’s finish this!”
Kim Woo-rim, who was covering the rear, rushed forward with his spear. His eyes gleamed with intense excitement and joy.
“Leave the rear guard to me! There don’t seem to be any other goblins!”
Seok Woon instantly unleashed a skill, firing three arrows tinged with faint lightning, killing the goblin charging at Ma Dong-won from the front as he shouted.
I rushed forward in admiration. Now that Kim Woo-rim had shown his skill, everyone possessed at least one advanced-grade or higher skill.
Sure enough, Kim Woo-rim’s spear flowed as smoothly as water, piercing straight through the goblin’s head in a single strike.
A martial arts-type skill!
‘What is this?’
At this point, I felt more unsettled than pleased. Novice Hunters—most of them without even Guild backing—all possessed considerable skills?
Of course, calling those skills high-grade was debatable.
At best, they were Rare-grade skills. But even Rare-grade skills cost at least several hundred million.
It meant these F-grade Hunters, who barely earned enough to survive a single day, were acquiring skills far beyond their reach.
‘They got lucky and obtained skill books.’
That possibility certainly couldn’t be ruled out.
As the goblin approached, I set aside my unease and began killing them.
I didn’t use The Sun’s mana. By now, physical ability alone was sufficient to handle goblins like these.
The moment the goblin’s dagger flew toward my neck, my Flowing Water skill activated, my blade deflecting the dagger’s trajectory before I cleanly severed the creature’s throat.
It died without even a scream, and when I killed the next one, all six goblins were eliminated.
Kim Woo-rim killed 2, Seok Woon killed 2, and I killed 2. The dealers fairly split 2 kills each.
“Phew~ That was great. The dealers exceeded expectations. Especially your spear technique, Kim Woo-rim~ it’s an art form. That’s a martial arts skill, right? Kyaa~ we’re totally riding this wave! Hahaha!”
Kim Woo-rim seized the moment to showcase his skill, launching into his explanation as if he’d been waiting for this exact opportunity.
“As expected, you have a keen eye! This is the Hydro Spear Method—a rare-grade skill that earned a C-rank evaluation! You have no idea how much trouble I went through to acquire it. Anyway, since it’s called the water-transforming spear method, it emphasizes fluidity and softness in its technique!”
I observed Kim Woo-rim and his teammates quietly. They marveled at his boasting, their genuine amazement and congratulations flowing naturally.
There was no discord among them. They all expressed wonder as if witnessing such a skill for the first time, their admiration unfeigned.
‘Have I become oversensitive from encountering too much misfortune lately?’
Despite the lingering unease that refused to dissipate, I tilted my head curiously. As I came to understand the true capabilities of these teammates, my tension naturally eased, and when Kim Woo-rim’s skill explanation sparked a wave of excitement where each member began showcasing their own abilities, my spirits soared.
Each of them boasted about their respective skills, and finally, all eyes turned toward me.
“Hmm… it seems Shin Ju-ha doesn’t have any skills.”
“Yeah, I haven’t really seen you use any skills.”
“Oh! But your swordwork is incredible. Could that be a skill? The way you deflect enemy attacks!”
“Ah! I think I saw that too. How you blocked the dagger with your sword!”
I nodded quietly. Flowing Water was something I could easily reveal. I hadn’t expected them to recognize it anyway.
Once again, they marveled as if it were their own skill, chattering away endlessly until Seok Woon finally regained his senses and attempted to refocus the group.
“Alright! Let’s wrap this up quickly—how about we grab some food and drinks? I know this amazing place for grilled pork belly and soju! After we finish here, we hit that spot, grab some meat, and—whew! It’s incredible.”
“Oh! That’s a great idea!”
“I’m in. We’re all basically guaranteed E-rank promotion anyway, so let’s use this chance to bond over dinner! We’re going to be Hunters together after all!”
“Alright, alright. Celebrating is fine, and chatting is fine, but let’s focus now.”
Naturally, the warm atmosphere didn’t fade. Conversely, the tension plummeted through the floor.
And so we moved forward once more, ready to continue our conquest.
***
All team members had entered the Dungeon. The only personnel remaining were three safety officers, ostensibly stationed to handle any unforeseen emergencies.
Meanwhile, two of the safety officers who already knew each other used the restroom as an excuse to shirk their duties, and the lone remaining officer lifted his bowed head.
“Hehehehe.”
With a laugh dripping malice, he turned his body and gazed at the Dungeon before him.
The Dungeon where Shin Ju-ha had entered. Moon Kang-un, the man watching the darkly shimmering entrance, smiled wickedly and withdrew something from his pocket.
“This damned bastard.”
He ground his teeth while conjuring the image of Shin Ju-ha’s face. That man who had destroyed and brought down all the power, strength, and connections he had painstakingly built throughout his life.
He wouldn’t mind tearing the limbs from that wretch with his own hands, but unfortunately, as a non-Awakened, entering the Dungeon directly would be too dangerous.
So he had prepared an alternative. Using Changsung’s influence, he had manipulated the examination to ensure Shin Ju-ha and Seo Mi-na wouldn’t be placed in the same team.
He had no intention of repeating the mistake he’d made once before.
Next, he had bribed a temporary safety officer with money, donned a fake face modeled after the man’s appearance, and assumed his identity while waiting for the perfect opportunity.
And now came the final piece to crown his revenge.
Moon Kang-un’s eyes gleamed as he gazed at the pitch-black stone in his hand.
Item: Runestone of Frenzy [Rare-SS]: An illegal item whose ability was to randomly elevate a Dungeon’s rank and grade when used inside it.
Naturally, it was an item difficult for a fallen man like him to obtain or purchase, but through support from the young master of Changsung and the few remaining connections he possessed, he had managed to acquire it.
With this, his carefully laid plan reached its crescendo.
Without hesitation, Moon Kang-un hurled the Runestone of Frenzy into the Dungeon where Shin Ju-ha had entered.
Kwaaaaaang!!
The Dungeon convulsed wildly, beginning to rampage unstably, and with that, he slipped away from the Association.

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