Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 29

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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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29
As time passed, Bae Na-young’s control over her Corruption skill grew steadily sharper. The surrounding plants no longer withered in her presence.
Previously, trails of death had scarred the ground, but now I could only sense through keen perception a dark aura emanating from Bae Na-young, flowing in a direct line toward the Walking Tree before dissipating it.
The Walking Tree was neutralized before reaching Bae Na-young and collapsed before it could even touch her.
Compared to monsters of equal rank, the Walking Tree was dim-witted and sluggish, which made this possible. Had it been a monster employing strategy—speed, evasion, or hit-and-run tactics—it wouldn’t have been so simple. Still, her progress was remarkable.
“My level went up!”
“Congratulations. Did your skill level increase too? Did your Corruption skill reach S-rank?”
For a skill to advance in just one day was extraordinary.
“No! All of them.”
“What?”
What did she mean?
“My Awakened rank increased, and all my skill levels went up. Blind, Nightmare, and Corruption—they’re all S-rank now.”
I’d considered my Regeneration skill a cheat, yet the world was filled with monsters besides me.
Watching Bae Na-young’s growth rate, I recalled the terror she’d once inspired in countless hunters in my previous life, and a chill ran down my spine.
If I hadn’t met her first and built this good relationship, I would have been annihilated in an instant when I encountered the villainous version of her in the future.
“Bae Na-young.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s stay close like this going forward.”
“Yes, of course.”
Bae Na-young looked at me with an expression asking what I was talking about.
Naturally, our hunting pace accelerated. With a single monster, I’d carry Bae Na-young and dash forward to crush it with a side kick. When there were multiple, she’d handle one while I dispatched the rest.
Bae Na-young’s skill levels and proficiency rose. My own skills showed no numerical change, but gaining resistance to Corruption alone made it a highly rewarding day.
“The sun’s starting to set soon. Let’s head back.”
“Yes.”
Bae Na-young answered with a pallid face. She’d followed my relentless pace without complaint. Quiet in appearance, yet possessed of true grit.
On the way back carrying Bae Na-young, I spotted employees from the Hwagok Recovery Service.
“Come on! Hurry up! Hey! Don’t carry it all at once—separate and transport it! How many days have you been working?”
Kim Deputy Manager—no, now promoted to Manager Kim Sun-ho of the Hwagok Recovery Service—was shouting at the new recruits.
“Would you like some help?”
I set Bae Na-young down and approached Manager Kim to ask.
“Oh no, please don’t. You’ve worked hard enough—go rest.”
I’d never really thrown my weight around, yet both the boss and Manager Kim seemed quite wary of me.
“Let me help and we’ll finish faster. Hunting’s done for today anyway.”
“I love you, hyung!”
Yang Sang-heon came running over, but I deftly dodged him.
“Bae Na-young, you go ahead to Base Camp in the truck.”
“No. I’ll help too.”
“That’s not necessary….”
“Hyung… if you’re doing it, I can leave with peace of mind, right? When the boss eats jjajangmyeon, the subordinates eat jjajangmyeon too—that’s how you navigate workplace life.”
Yang Sang-heon chimed in from the side. At his words, Bae Na-young simply smiled softly without a word and began working.
“Sang-heon, not everyone is like you.”
Sang-heon’s face fell.
“Come on, let’s finish up quickly and head back for some grilled meat. My treat.”
I spoke loudly enough for all the staff to hear.
“Did you hear that?! Move it, move it! Leave the heavy stuff to those three and handle the smaller tasks!”
Kim Deputy Manager stopped hesitating the moment he heard “early dismissal” and “grilled meat,” issuing orders instead. That worked out better for me too.
With my strength, I could handle tasks that normally required equipment using just one hand, naturally speeding up the work.
I hoisted the heavy materials onto my shoulders and loaded them into the company truck parked on the nearby road. The staff handled the stone and byproduct disassembly and cleanup.
As I moved faster, everyone else caught the momentum, and the work pace accelerated steadily.
“Huff… huff… Is this helping… or are you grinding us into dust….”
I caught one of the staff members grumbling.
“Take it easy, everyone.”
I said this in passing to the employee.
“Huh?! N-no! I’m sorry!”
Startled that I’d overheard him, he apologized profusely and rushed back to work.
I felt a bit bad for putting pressure on him, but without my help, they’d be working well into the night. I knew from my own experience as a porter—it’s easier on the body to push hard now and rest later than to drag things out.
Besides, even though they’d cleared out the nearby Walking Trees, once darkness fell, the staff could be in danger no matter how capable Sang-heon was.
Thanks to Bae Na-young and me joining in, we finished just before sunset and headed back to Base Camp.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Upon arriving at Base Camp, I exchanged greetings with the staff. Everyone was in good spirits from finishing early.
“Lee Ji-seok, your delivery has arrived!”
The company I’d called ahead pulled up with meat, grills, food, and alcohol. The supplies tumbled out of the truck like a mountain. Perfect timing.
The Resort’s food was originally prepared for hunters, so porters and recovery workers had to eat separately. Dissatisfied with that arrangement, I’d ordered plenty of meat and alcohol when I called the Hwagok Recovery Service.
“Thank you all for your hard work. Please enjoy plenty of food and drink, and I’m counting on you again tomorrow.”
“To Lee Ji-seok the Hunter!”
As I spoke to everyone, Kim Deputy Manager shouted. The rest followed with “To the hunter!” raising their glasses.
It felt a bit embarrassing being praised so much, but as long as everyone was having fun, that was fine.
* * *
“Suppression… officer? Didn’t you revoke his license?”
Veins bulged across Lim Sung-jun’s forehead as he received the report. The photographs Tak Dong-yeon had brought showed Lee Ji-seok grilling meat with Bae Na-young, conversing intimately.
“That’s… he apparently has connections at the Management Bureau. A Suppression Division Manager took him along, claiming personal responsibility. He’s stubborn, so even when we pressured him, he wouldn’t budge, and he won’t accept bribes, so there’s nothing we can do.”
Tak Dong-yeon spoke with his head bowed.
“Can’t you charge him with assault for what he did to your ear?”
Though the wound from Lee Ji-seok had healed with a potion, the lost tissue never regenerated, leaving his ear shriveled to the size of a bean.
“If I come forward directly, it could bring up the contract issue, which would be more harmful than beneficial.”
“Why did you go there yourself and cause a scene?! Are you an idiot?!”
Lim Sung-jun hurled a book from his desk.
“I apologize.”
Tak Dong-yeon straightened his head after being struck by the book, speaking quietly.
“What about that bastard’s parents?”
“One of the Detective Agencies we hired intimidated Lee Ji-seok’s mother. But the next day, she quit her job and moved into Lee Ji-seok’s House. And since Lee Ji-seok’s House has thorough security, we couldn’t approach it again.”
“So you’re saying Bae Na-young will be staying there for a week?”
“Yes….”
“Damn it…. I can’t stand that sight. You know that guy you contacted before? Call him again.”
“Who are you referring to?”
“You know, the one who handles these kinds of things.”
“Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m joking with you? Kill that bastard, and bring Bae Na-young to me.”
“Maybe it’s time to give up on Bae Na-young….”
“Shut your damn mouth! Do what I tell you when I pay you! Should I kill you too?! Huh?!”
Lim Sung-jun lost his composure and hurled objects, causing Tak Dong-yeon to stumble. Still seething with rage, Lim Sung-jun approached and stomped on him repeatedly.
“Gasp…. Gasp…. Do as I say! Or I’ll kill you first!”
* * *
As Bae Na-young and I synchronized our breathing, our hunting pace accelerated steadily. Unlike my previous solo subjugation, the Hwagok Recovery Company handled the collection, so I could dash freely through the Mountain hunting Walking Trees without worry.
Naturally, I dominated the leaderboard overwhelmingly. Eventually, I felt guilty monopolizing all the kills, so I deliberately sought out areas difficult for other hunters to reach. The terrain didn’t affect me much anyway.
The Hwagok Recovery Service staff worked harder as a result, but since I fed them well every evening, no major complaints arose.
Spotting a Walking Tree ahead, I set Bae Na-young down.
“Bae Na-young, from now on, use Corruption in area-of-effect mode rather than targeting individual enemies. I need to train as well.”
“Understood.”
Bae Na-young nodded and cast Corruption. Previously, the trees and grass would merely wilt, but now the surrounding vegetation blackened instantly as if death itself had touched them. It resembled the desolate landscape where the undead roamed.
“W-wait a moment. The collateral damage is too severe. Did the skill’s power increase as your level rose?”
“It seems so. What should we do?”
“Hmm…. It’s not strictly necessary, so there’s no need to devastate the entire Forest. Please go back to targeting individual Walking Trees.”
“Understood.”
We unleashed our attacks and effortlessly shredded the Walking Tree. The cursed one crumbled more easily, like dried wood.
However, this arrangement diminished the value of hunting together with Bae Na-young considerably. I was essentially just giving her a ride? Previously, I’d accommodated her gains generously while raising my curse resistance—a win-win. Now it felt disappointing.
“Starting tomorrow, Yang Sang-heon will join us too. Since things have come to this, let’s level up both of them substantially.”
Raising their levels would make it easier to take them with me wherever I went.
“Thank you.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon hunting Walking Trees.
“Hmm?”
While traversing the Mountain with Bae Na-young in my arms, I spotted a massive swarm of Walking Trees ahead. At a glance, there appeared to be dozens of them.
“A herd? If we clear all of them, we might level up. This time…. Please use Corruption in full area-of-effect. There will be some environmental impact, but the gains outweigh the damage.”
“Yes!”
As I set Bae Na-young down, the Walking Trees detected us and approached.
But when Bae Na-young’s Corruption spread and touched them, they writhed in agony, their approach speed noticeably diminishing.
Then a chilling killing intent washed over me, and I spun my body around.
Crash!
A tremendous impact struck my head, and I tumbled backward, collapsing.
My body wouldn’t move.
A bullet? To pierce my skull and deliver an impact of this magnitude—this was no ordinary modern firearm. This was unmistakably a mana bullet fired by a hunter. There were hunters capable of imbuing bullets with mana, but I never imagined such a projectile would come flying at me today.
Moreover, I had maintained a certain level of vigilance during the battle, yet I sensed no killing intent until the moment of discharge. This hunter was undoubtedly of considerable rank.
“Ji-seok!”
Bae Na-young rushed toward me in alarm.
Thud!
A bullet that followed struck Bae Na-young’s chest.
For a moment, I thought she was dead and my eyes widened in horror, but the projectile that struck her chest was a tranquilizer round.
A pack of Walking Trees approached us as we lay collapsed.
I had not yet recovered; my body would not respond. Taking a direct hit to the head had its dangers.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
A man with his head concealed beneath a black hood descended the hillside at tremendous speed, unleashing rifle fire upon the Walking Trees as he approached Bae Na-young.
The power of those bullets, the velocity with which he descended the slope—this was no ordinary hunter.
“Damn it all, do you have any idea how much I’ve had to run across this mountain because of you bastards?!”
Crack-crack-bang!
Upon reaching Bae Na-young, the gunman fired several more rounds at my motionless form, and the bullets pierced my skin, embedding themselves in my body. Just as I was beginning to recover, blood erupted anew, soaking the ground beneath me.
The gunman, showing no interest in the Walking Trees, laid down suppressive fire while hoisting Bae Na-young onto his shoulder and departing the scene.
As my body remained immobilized, the Walking Trees surrounded me and drove their branches into my flesh. When they could not pierce my skin, they burrowed their branches into the wounds the gunman had created.

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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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