Chapter 11
The next day.
After absorbing ten E-rank Agility Runes, Hyeon-jun left home.
He traveled for more than an hour by public transportation before arriving near his destination.
“This place is seriously far.”
The Gate leading into the hunting ground was located on the rooftop of a building.
Hyeon-jun took the elevator up.
[F-rank Hunting Ground: Mountain Region – Daraksan]
The hunting ground where they had agreed to meet was a Mountain Field, a type Hyeon-jun had already experienced once before.
However, it wasn’t exactly the same.
The additional name Daraksan indicated that this particular field had unusual terrain.
Wasn’t the mountain shaped like terraced rice fields?
Because of its strange terrain, it wasn’t especially popular.
Its accessibility by public transportation or car was also poor.
Unless a Hunter lived nearby, there was little reason to come all the way here.
HunterNet said it ranked near the bottom in usage.
Why had they chosen a place like this?
Meeting inside the Gate was also extremely strange.
Why would a party meet inside when they’re going hunting together?
Moving individually was dangerous.
And hunting grounds were usually large enough that finding each other could be troublesome.
Meeting outside and entering together is obviously easier.
The message claimed they wanted to warm up with the other party members beforehand.
But was that really true?
At this point, it’s practically certain.
This person calling himself HunterSaplingA was a Rune Killer.
Otherwise, there was no reasonable explanation for all this suspicious behavior.
And judging from the mention of other party members, he probably isn’t alone.
At least two people.
Hyeon-jun was confident he could handle two.
Still, I can’t just attack them the moment we meet.
First, he needed evidence that they were Rune Killers.
Soul Traces, for example.
If they possessed Soul Traces whose origins they couldn’t properly explain, they could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
The important thing is getting them to reveal their true colors.
He absolutely couldn’t look strong.
If he looked weak, they would threaten him openly.
Hyeon-jun closed his eyes and muttered to himself.
“I’m a pathetic melee dealer with 142 Runes. I’m a pathetic melee dealer with 142 Runes. I’m a pathetic melee dealer with 142 Runes...”
After finishing his self-hypnosis, Hyeon-jun opened his eyes sharply.
Then he walked confidently past the management post and entered the Gate.
...
...
The air was chilly, unlike the Grassland Field.
The Mountain Region felt more like autumn.
Hyeon-jun zipped his worn jacket up higher and looked around.
Trees packed the landscape so densely that he couldn’t see the end.
Tall conifers and broadleaf trees mixed together, rising high enough to block much of the sky.
Four paths stretched between them, all forming gentle slopes upward.
“It’s not that steep.”
There were no cliffs or rugged rocky slopes steep enough to leave him gasping for breath.
But it wasn’t exactly a comfortable flat walking trail either.
“Let’s go.”
Holding both tension and anticipation in his chest, Hyeon-jun took the eastern uphill path among the four.
That was the direction they had told him to come from.
Before long, the slope ended in flat ground.
A fairly wide grassy area without any trees.
There were no monsters in sight.
Another uphill path stood on the opposite side.
Hyeon-jun crossed the clearing and climbed again.
Another flat area soon appeared.
Again, there were no monsters.
Apparently, whoever had gone ahead had already killed them.
“So that’s why it’s called Daraksan.”
It was strange terrain.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary mountain path.
Then suddenly the trees would disappear, revealing flat ground.
From below, it had looked like nothing but a massive forest.
“I need to be careful.”
The slopes were gentle enough to walk comfortably.
But because forest and flatland appeared unpredictably, judging distance was difficult.
It was the perfect environment for an ambush.
Not that he thought he would lose even if he were ambushed.
-Hey! Over here!
At that moment, a voice came from farther up.
A bald, dark-skinned man was running down the gentle slope.
Hyeon-jun immediately recognized him as HunterSaplingA.
He looked exactly as described.
He looks more ordinary than I expected.
“You’re HyeonjunIsTheBest, right?”
“Hello.”
As Hyeon-jun greeted him, he checked the man’s equipment.
The leather armor looked almost new.
The dagger hanging at his waist also seemed to be of fairly high quality.
“I’m Kim Seok-dae.”
“I’m Go Hyeon-jun.”
“I won’t ask your age. Our party agreed to use polite speech with each other.”
“That sounds good.”
“Let’s head this way. Everyone’s waiting.”
“I almost thought I came to the wrong place because I couldn’t see anyone.”
“Haha. Sorry about that.”
Hyeon-jun moved with Kim Seok-dae.
“Everyone other than you has already hunted together for a few days.”
“Ah, I see. How many people are in the party?”
“Four. That’s about right, isn’t it?”
For a Mountain Region, four people was a reasonable number.
Even though it was still an F-rank field, the monsters here were generally stronger than those in places like the Grassland.
“There they are.”
“This is HyeonjunIsTheBest?”
Before long, they met the party members who had been waiting.
Hyeon-jun bowed politely.
“Hello. I’m Go Hyeon-jun.”
They introduced themselves once.
Names.
Classes.
Number of Runes.
Everyone greeted him warmly.
So it wasn’t two. There are three of them.
These three had apparently hunted together for several days.
They were almost certainly accomplices.
One was an archer.
The other was a warrior holding a buckler in one hand and a short sword in the other.
If a fight breaks out, I should deal with the woman holding the bow first.
Ranged attacks were annoying.
“We’re not a beginner party with almost no Runes, so we’ll first get used to fighting together. If things go well, we’ll try hunting some stronger monsters. Any objections?”
Nobody raised a hand.
“Then I’ll assign positions. Warrior, stay in front like before. Hyeon-jun, you’re a melee dealer like me, so stay right behind him. Archer, if there’s a group at range, draw aggro from one at a time.”
After the short briefing, the party climbed the slope and entered another flat area.
Several types of monsters were scattered across the wide grassland.
“Let’s start right away!”
The hunt began.
The monsters were the same kinds Hyeon-jun had seen in the Mountain Field yesterday.
Horn Rabbits with long, pointed horns.
