Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 13

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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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13
As evening fell and I headed out for the hunt, I found clusters of people gathered before the scoreboard.
“Hyung, are you heading out now?”
Yang Sang-heon spotted me first and approached with a greeting.
“Yeah. You just got back? How was it?”
“Yes. Hunting on the mountain was harder than I expected, but I think I’m getting the hang of it now.”
“Ten kills? Well done.”
Glancing at the scoreboard, I saw Yang Sang-heon’s name ranked 12th among thirty-four awakeners, with the number 10 displayed beside it. I was ranked 34th.
“Hellhounds are faster than I thought. I couldn’t have caught ten alone. With my party members, we herded them and blocked their escape routes, and that’s how we managed to catch them. Hyung, would you like to join us? With your skills, you’d be very welcome.”
Yang Sang-heon asked with a worried expression after seeing my score. He had been looking after me ever since I saved him during the Choi Mi-ran incident.
“No thanks. I prefer working alone.”
“Just let me know if you change your mind.”
Even as I conversed with Yang Sang-heon, the murmuring from those around us persisted.
“Alright then, get some good rest. I’ll see you again tomorrow morning.”
Worried that the negative attention might extend to Yang Sang-heon, I hastily excused myself and headed toward the mountain.
I walked slowly at first, but once people were out of sight, I accelerated into a sprint. While other awakeners could drive to a certain point, I ran to expend stamina. This subjugation required me to raise not only my keen sense skill but also my endurance and agility stats.
Breathing heavily, I bounded up the mountain with the elasticity of a wild beast. Tonight the clouds obscured the moonlight, making it far darker than yesterday, but thanks to my newly acquired keen sense skill, I could perceive my surroundings far better than before.
I could have climbed quietly, but I deliberately snapped branches and stomped heavily as I passed. Given hellhounds’ nature, they would pounce on isolated prey.
I felt a sharp sensation from behind and stopped abruptly, turning to see a hellhound in an attacking stance. It froze mid-lunge, apparently not expecting me to turn around.
I lunged at the creature as it stood rigid and wary, and the hellhound immediately bolted backward in retreat.
I drove power through my thighs and accelerated. Just as I closed to within a few meters, another hellhound burst from the side, aiming for my throat. It seemed they’d planned to lure me in and strike from the flank, but I’d already pinpointed its location with my keen sense before it even charged.
I drove my fist into the incoming hellhound’s skull. Its head caved in and it crashed to the ground, which I confirmed with a sidelong glance before continuing my pursuit.
As I nearly caught up, it planted its feet and leaped backward, opening its maw full of razor teeth toward me. Rather than dodge, I thrust my arm into its jaws and slammed it to the ground. My arm bore bite marks and shallow wounds, but nothing that penetrated the muscle. I kept the pressure on and crushed it.
After disposing of two, I surveyed the area and found roughly ten hellhounds surrounding me on all sides.
A standoff ensued with the hellhounds maintaining their distance and encircling me.
Whenever I moved to grab one, it would flee while the others closed in.
Tonight was darker than yesterday, so I had to rely heavily on senses beyond sight, while hellhounds could see as clearly at night as in daylight. I’d thought that with my new skill and raised stats, things would be easier than yesterday, but ultimately it wasn’t much different.
There was no rush. I was only on day two of seven.
* * *
I spent another night grappling with hellhounds. To make matters worse, rain began falling, and I managed to catch only five throughout the night.
Catching them was one problem, but transporting them was another. I’d ventured farther than yesterday, and five hellhounds took up considerable space, making it inconvenient to haul them back to the resort. So I continued hunting on the mountain until the checkpoint opened in the morning.
By dawn, I’d caught two more, bringing my total to seven, which I turned in at the nearest checkpoint.
“Are you alright? The Healer hasn’t arrived yet. What should we do?”
The Gate Management Official who’d come to open the checkpoint and the hunter assigned to checkpoint guard duty looked startled, apparently not expecting a blood-soaked hunter to appear so early, and asked nervously.
“It’s not my blood.”
I scraped away the dried blood caked on my arm and showed the unblemished skin beneath. It was blood from my wounds that had dried, but showing them this way was easier than explaining my skill.
After turning in the corpses, I returned to the resort in the checkpoint’s transport vehicle.
* * *
After washing up and heading down for breakfast, I loaded my table with food as usual. Concentrating through the night had consumed considerable energy.
The murmuring among the other hunters had grown even louder than yesterday.
“Why isn’t that guy joining a party? Did he come here just to sightsee?”
“Subjugation quests have a minimum payout, right? He’s here to collect that and eat for free.”
Somehow, the rumor had already solidified into accepted fact.
“Because of people like that, all Hunters get lumped together and criticized for taking taxpayer money.”
Even without trying to listen, my heightened senses picked up every word with perfect clarity.
The content wasn’t something I particularly wanted to hear, but it didn’t bother me much either. I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about what others said.
I ignored the hostile glances, finished my meal, and returned to my room to rest.
* * *
After another day of hunting, when the third day ended, my score remained at the bottom of the rankings.
“Are you here just to sightsee?”
While I was eating dinner, someone approached me. I looked up to see a sharp-eyed man standing in front of my table with an irritated expression.
“No, I’m not.”
“Because of people like you, even Hunters who work hard like us get criticized. Pack your things and leave while I’m being nice about it.”
“Are you a Gate Management Official?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Are you a Gate Management Official?”
He didn’t answer, just glared at me.
“You’re not, right? So why are you starting trouble? It’s not your money anyway.”
“My taxes go to you! And because of guys like you, other Hunters who risk their lives get criticized!”
His face flushed red with anger as he slammed the table. The edge of the table shattered, and food scattered across the floor.
“I’m not sure who’s being more inconsiderate here.”
I spoke while looking at the table and the spilled food.
But when I glanced around, the hostile stares from the watching Hunters weren’t directed at the man who’d shouted and knocked over the food—they were fixed on me, sitting quietly.
“Come outside.”
He ground his teeth as he spoke.
“Fine.”
“You two! If you cause a disturbance, I will file a report!”
As I stood up, a Gate Management Official rushed over after hearing the commotion and separated us. Though not a Hunter himself, he didn’t hesitate to position himself between us to stop the fight.
This was possible because Hunters knew that if a report reached the Awakener Management Bureau, they could face significant penalties, so they didn’t dare treat Gate Management Officials disrespectfully.
“We’re not fighting. We’re just going to talk a bit.”
I raised both hands to the Gate Management Official, signaling that I wouldn’t fight.
“I’ll be watching.”
The Gate Management Official warned us and then withdrew.
Cold sweat dripped from his face, likely because he’d almost gotten caught between two Hunters fighting. Most people usually comply, but Hunters causing trouble is nothing new. If things go wrong, they might even attack Management Bureau personnel.
“Hey, want to make a bet?”
I spoke to the man who’d come to pick a fight.
“What?”
“How about we bet 100 million won on who catches more during this subjugation?”
“You think you’re in any position to compete when you’re at the bottom of the rankings?”
He scoffed, his expression suggesting the idea was ridiculous.
“If you’re scared, just back out.”
I ignored his scoff and tossed the words out casually.
Enraged, he drafted a contract through the Hunter App and sent it to me. The Hunter App allowed various contracts like party formations, and through a loophole, even wagers like this could be made binding. The contract bore the name Choi Chul-min. I reviewed the terms and accepted.
“Get the money ready. Don’t even think about running.”
Choi Chul-min growled the words, then turned and left.
“Brother, are you okay? What are you planning to do?”
Yang Sang-heon arrived at the Cafeteria late after hearing the commotion, listened to what had happened from the party members, and sat across from me.
“What else? Just hunt more.”
“That guy is Choi Chul-min, right? He’s famous among E-rank Awakeners. He’s currently ranked 2nd in Hellhound subjugation. He’s exploring and devastating Hellhound caves with the 1st-ranked hunter in the same party.”
Since Yang Sang-heon hunted with his party members, he certainly had more information than I did.
“Don’t worry. I was planning to get serious soon anyway.”
I flashed a confident smile at the worried Yang Sang-heon.
Until now, I’d focused on raising my keen senses skill and stats rather than increasing my score.
But now that I’d made this wager, I had no intention of losing.
After finishing my meal, I sought out the Gate Management Official.
“I’d like to hunt at night too. Could you give me a Checkpoint key?”
From now on, I’d need to hunt large numbers, and it would be a waste of time to keep returning to the Resort.
“That’s not possible.”
“Excuse me?”
“Only Gate Management Officials can have those.”
I hadn’t considered that. In my previous life, I remembered subjugating this way, but apparently the rules had changed later.
“Just give it to him. It’s an empty container anyway.”
I was troubled by the unexpected response when another official approached.
“Yes.”
The seated official wordlessly handed me the electronic key.
“If you damage or lose it, we’ll charge you, so be careful.”
The official wearing a name tag that read Kwon Jong-il said this. He didn’t seem to be low-ranking.
“Thank you.”
I pocketed the electronic key and began climbing the Mountain at full speed. After exploring the area for several days and mapping the terrain, I had a good sense of where they might be.
After running for about an hour, I found one of their Caves. In a Basin surrounded by mountains, more than twenty Hellhounds rested in front of the Cave. Most were small or wounded specimens, as if the larger ones had gone out hunting.
Hellhounds had the characteristic of rarely leaving their territory, but when their numbers increased, they would descend the Mountain in search of food and frequently reached human settlements, making periodic subjugation necessary. If packs of this size existed in multiple locations throughout the Gangwon Mountain Range, it was only a matter of time before they descended to human settlements in organized groups.
I charged down the slope toward the resting creatures.
They began barking loudly. They were waking their resting companions and calling to those who had gone hunting.
I sidestepped a Hellhound lunging at me, grabbed its neck, and slammed it to the ground. As it bounced and flew up, I kicked it toward the others.
After that, as the pack of Hellhounds swarmed toward me, more and more of them sank their fangs into my body. Since it was difficult to strike the rapidly moving creatures accurately with my fists, I formed my fingers into claws and swung them. With both strength and agility high, even a graze from my fingers carved grooves into their flesh.
I dealt with each creature that attacked in succession.
[Level increased.]
[Stamina increased by 1.]
As I pushed my body to its limits in the fierce battle, my level rose.

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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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