Chapter Index

    *

    The S-rank hunter Nam Suwon clicked his tongue as he watched the situation unfold.

    ‘Do those kids have any idea what they’re charging into?’

    Not everyone had a high-grade insight skill like Kim Sang-hyeok that allowed them to see through an opponent’s rank. Still, with magical beasts, you could generally gauge their strength by identifying which kin they belonged to.

    And this opponent was one of the rare and powerful Cosmic Kin.

    There was a reason the high-ranking hunters were just watching from the sidelines.

    At the same time, his blood boiled.

    ‘I suppose I had my moments like that, too.’

    The kids, relatively speaking, saw an angle that the more seasoned pro hunters missed. It was born of ignorance, but because of that, Hilaria’s Squad and the Onahole Squad had gained the opportunity to claim the reward before anyone else.

    ‘Shall we see what they’ve got?’

    Suwon quietly began preparing a spell, gathering his water-attribute mana.

    Meanwhile, Yuuna slid in with light footwork, aiming for the Galactic Miner’s back.

    “I’ll help!”

    “Be careful, Yuuna-seonbaenim!”

    “Ah!”

    A tentacle from the Galactic Miner lashed out, aiming for Yuuna!

    She broke out in a cold sweat, barely dodging the tentacle with a sideways roll.

    ‘It’s way faster than it looked from a distance!’

    How had he been fighting while dodging all of this?

    Realizing from that one attack that getting any closer was dangerous, Yuuna was looking for an opening when Hilaria’s greatsword slashed across the Galactic Miner’s body.

    Its barrier blocked the attack, but a moment later, a storm of support fire rained down!

    “Tanks, move in!”

    It was the standard strategy for dealing with an unidentified high-rank magical beast.

    Send in the tanks and see how the enemy reacts to support fire.

    It was a textbook tactic, straight out of the hunter’s manual. The pro hunters assigned to tanking duty pushed the Galactic Miner into a corner, their shields reinforced with magical beast steel held high.

    Then came the barrage of support fire from magic and guns.

    The problem was, it wasn’t even scratching the barrier.

    “This bastard! It’s strong as hell!” the shield-wielding man at the front yelled, grunting with effort.

    Just then.

    Bang! Bang, bang!

    The bullets from Kim Sang-hyeok’s enhanced Glock struck the Galactic Miner’s mana barrier, making it waver.

    The instant a crack appeared, Hilaria charged in, not missing the opportunity.

    “Hmph!”

    Hilaria audaciously planted her foot on the back of the shield-wielding man and launched herself into the air, then slammed her greatsword into the miner’s body.

    The barrier shattered to pieces, and the miner spewed blood!

    Yuuna seized the opening, swiftly slashing at its legs as she passed.

    Sang-hyeok’s shots from his enhanced Glock dealt exceptional damage, continuing to shake the Galactic Miner’s barrier. It wasn’t strong enough to land a finishing blow, but it consistently applied enough pressure to weaken the enemy’s defenses.

    This wasn’t just because the gun was packed with magical beast steel.

    Kim Sang-hyeok’s 「Tactical Shooting」 skill and the high correction from his Dexterity stat were all contributing to its power.

    ‘It’s working better than I thought.’

    “Hena. Can you attack?”

    Hena, who had been focusing mana into her staff, shook her head.

    “There are too many people around. I can’t.”

    “Fall back!”

    At that moment, Suwon called out that he was firing his spell. The tanks retreated, and magic poured down on the miner’s head.

    It was the mages’ turn to attack.

    As if she’d been waiting, Hena also cast 「Void Shotgun」. It seemed as though the miner’s body would be blown to smithereens.

    But the creature staggered and began to flee, the magic only grazing its tough body. Then, it started to vomit up its young from its mouth.

    “Ugh! Gross!”

    The female hunters reacted with fervent disgust.

    The younglings immediately rushed the nearby tanks, and as if that wasn’t enough, they broke through the defensive line and began to spread out.

    “Hena, get back!”

    “O-Okay!”

    *

    I punched away the giant octopuses the miner spat out, one by one.

    They felt harder than I expected, but they were definitely weaker than the main body.

    Hilaria and Yuuna had already taken care of four or five each and were running to finish off the main creature.

    Just then, a beam of light shot out from the Galactic Miner’s eyes with a pew.

    「Insight – Red」 activated.

    [Mining Beam]
    [A+ Rank Attack Skill]
    [A beam used for mining asteroids floating in space.]

    ‘A mining beam…?’

    Isn’t that a ridiculously lame name for such an impactful attack?

    The thought was fleeting. The sound of a laser sizzling as it threatened to melt Hilaria’s greatsword snapped me back to my senses.

    “Kuh!”

    “I’ll take its eyes, Hilaria!”

    Kibelle took off her glasses.

    Exposed to Kibelle’s gaze, the Galactic Miner’s body froze solid!

    ‘Now.’

    It’s now or never!

    I pulled out the Benelli and fired instantly!

    『Personality Excretion Slug Round』!

    Kiiiiing…!!

    It was blocked by the mana barrier?!

    “That’s not how you do it,” someone muttered nearby. “You have to break the enemy’s mana distortion first and land damage on its bare flesh. Get ready!”

    “Uh, yes!”

    At a glance, he was an ordinary-looking man who could pass for an office worker. But the spell he cast summoned an immense amount of water into the air, and that water was something more than a mere torrent. It slammed into the enemy’s body like a gale-force wind.

    ‘Incredible control.’

    Not a single person nearby was hurt. The waves missed us, targeting only the enemy with pinpoint accuracy.

    Hena had recently become capable of wielding magic of astonishing power, but she hadn’t yet acquired that level of control.

    ‘This man is strong.’

    “Kiiik!”

    The Galactic Miner thrashed about, letting out a hideous, goblin-like screech.

    Its mana barrier wavered under the torrent and then shattered with a crash!

    “Now! Take your shot!”

    Another slug round!

    I loaded a slug into the empty chamber, flipped off the safety, and fired.

    BOOM!!

    The miner, as if in a final act of defiance, fired its mining beam wildly, splitting my bullet in two and attacking everyone in the vicinity.

    Having read the attack’s range with 「Insight」, I quickly moved to protect Hena.

    The laser pierced my arm!

    ‘Krrgh.’

    Hot. I thought my arm had been blown through.

    But it’s fine.

    Was it thanks to my high Stamina stat? The floor beneath me was melting into a puddle, but my arm only suffered a burn.

    “Sang-hyeok! Because of me… No!”

    Hena’s face went pale.

    “Don’t worry. It just stings a little.”

    “Your skin is bright red… What do we do…!”

    “Calm down.”

    This is nothing.

    I could tell just by the fact that En hadn’t shown up. It meant this was something I could overcome on my own. That goddess might seem like a whining child in front of me, but a goddess is a goddess.

    I have to handle this level of challenge myself. Because…

    [Saintess Erin heals your wound!]

    The burn was restored.

    ‘I already have so many abilities.’

    Hena, who had been on the verge of tears, was shocked to see the wound heal.

    “See? It’s nothing, right?”

    “Y-Yeah…! You can use… healing magic…?”

    “Something like that. Now…”

    The creature had restored its ‘mana barrier’ again.

    Was this the might of an A+ rank magical beast? Its defense was truly on another level. On top of that, it had taken a blow from Hilaria’s greatsword that would have killed a bear instantly, yet it didn’t look like it was about to die.

    With its skinny arms and legs and a potbelly… its body, much like that of an overworked office worker, was surprisingly resilient.

    While I was assessing the situation, numerous casualties had appeared. The man who used the water magic had protected himself with a barrier and was preparing another spell.

    Just then, the mining beam fired again.

    Pew…!!

    “Kuh!”

    The man shielded all the hunters in the line of fire with a water barrier, blocking the beam.

    “Th-Thank you!”

    “We’re saved…”

    “We have to run. This isn’t an opponent we can fight at our rank!”

    I thought this was the moment we should be pressing our attack.

    But instead of everyone joining forces, they started to retreat.

    ‘I see.’

    It’s not like we all gathered here to survive together.

    What should the remaining people do?

    It was psychologically difficult to hold your ground against a monster while people were trickling away.

    But was I the only one who had looked away?

    Yuuna was still fighting, not paying any attention to the others.

    Seeing her back, I steeled my resolve.

    ‘The moment Yuuna creates an opening, I’ll fire!’

    “Yuuna-seonbaenim, I’m going again. The petrification will last for three seconds!”

    “Got it!”

    Kibelle and Yuuna coordinated their attack.

    Kibelle stopped the Galactic Miner from firing any more beams, and with Hilaria injured and unable to move, Yuuna leaped in with her dual swords.

    “I’ll tear it open myself!”

    The mana barrier blocked her once more.

    Yuuna thrust her Ebony Blade into the barrier and ripped it wide open.

    “Sang-hyeok!”

    I loaded the third bullet.

    『Personality Excretion, Moonlight Slug Round』

    This was the decisive shot.

    The lead slug, imbued with immense power, flew across the ground, and this time, it overpowered the mining beam and struck the creature squarely in the torso.

    I didn’t miss the moment the Galactic Miner was heavily staggered.

    “Personality Excretion!”

    Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!!!

    “Kyuieeeeeek!!!”

    The Galactic Miner tumbled pathetically, spewing out jelly in every direction.

    …Ah, yes.

    This is what they call Personality Excretion.

    Try and endure it if you can!

    [Level Up!]

    [Galactic Jelly]

    “We got it!” Yuuna shouted joyfully, and a murmur went through the crowd.

    “Did they get it?”

    “The Onahole Man got it.”

    “It’s not moving anymore… Thank god.”

    I hurried over to Hilaria with Hena.

    “Hilaria. Are you okay?”

    “I’m fine. This is nothing.”

    You have a burn on your arm, though.

    …It seemed to be a pretty bad hit, taken at close range. She was pretending to be fine, but Hilaria was sweating profusely.

    “Let’s call an ambulance.”

    “What ambulance? It’s fine. This will heal if I just leave it.”

    I don’t think it will…

    We had won, but we had no idea why something like that had suddenly appeared.

    Just then.

    “Oh my! Sang-hyeok, you’re here?”

    The student council vice president, Evangeline, appeared.

    There was something like a halo floating above her head… What was that? Is she an angel?

    The arrival of a busty and gentle third-year seonbae.

    She immediately used healing magic, not only on Hilaria but on all the other injured people lying around.

    “Sorry. I was a bit late, I was looking elsewhere.”

    “Evangeline-seonbae. Where’s Isabella?”

    “She’s heading deeper in right now. A haze is spreading, so I came to let you all know.”

    What did she mean, a haze was spreading?

    As I stood there with a puzzled expression, Evangeline chuckled.

    “For now, will those of you who feel you can’t handle this after that last battle please withdraw?”

    She said it with a relaxed smile, as if this were a part-time job.

    “If you can’t even handle this much, you won’t be of any help. Everyone.”

    …….

    We weren’t being tested, were we…?

    To take down such a strong enemy and not get a single word of praise… what a harsh world.

    “What’s wrong, Sang-hyeok?”

    “It’s just… you’re being pretty harsh. More so than when I saw you at the academy.”

    “This is a real battle~. Offering half-hearted comfort is how you get people killed.”

    From the perspective of a healer, she was probably sick and tired of seeing hunters die from overconfidence.

    “The rest of you will follow the Angel One Squad.”

    Beside Evangeline stood her assistants, dressed in white coats over white miniskirts that accentuated their chests. Both had neat, straight bob cuts with bangs that covered their eyes, and their figures were as incredible as Evangeline’s.

    It might be weird to say this, but…

    ‘They look like they’d be good at milking me dry.’

    “Will enemies of this level keep appearing?” Yuuna asked.

    “Hmm… Yes!”

    “What exactly is this haze phenomenon, Evangeline-seonbae?” I asked, curious as well.

    “Normally, we invade through a Gravity Wave and eliminate the enemies, right?”

    “Yes.”

    “When the haze appears, the enemies are invading us. So, in essence, this street is synchronizing with the inside of a Gravity Wave. The level of danger depends on which dungeon it is…”

    “…”

    “The current rank here is S+.”

    This was a slightly different development than I had expected.

    “Weren’t we going to investigate the villain coalition?”

    “That’s what I’m saying. A disaster suddenly started, so we’re in an uproar too. Maybe they pulled something because they thought their hideout was about to be exposed…”

    “I understand. Just a moment…”

    I gathered the Onahole Squad.

    Yuuna had a slightly worried look on her face.

    “You’re not saying ‘what a sweet deal’ like you usually do.”

    “Wh-When have I ever called a situation like this a sweet deal?”

    “What do you think, Yuuna?”

    “Hmm… This is a tough one.”

    This place was quite dangerous.

    But the rewards would likely be just as great.

    “The student council president is here too… so you want to go, don’t you, Sang-hyeok?”

    “I feel like I’d regret it if we gave up here.”

    “Then let’s go. If the three of us stick together, we can do it.”

    “Yeah. And I still have a trump card.”

    I hadn’t used everything I had.

    “If that thing shows up again, let’s all shake its barrier and then hit it with Personality Excretion.”

    “Sounds good!”

    Hena nodded as well.

    “Are you okay with this, Hena?”

    “Yeah. I can do it.”

    Good.

    I went back to Evangeline-seonbae.

    Evangeline smiled brightly, as if expecting my answer.

    “So? Have you made up your mind?”

    “Let’s go, Seonbae.”

    “I knew you’d say that. You’re a good boy, so I’ll give you a reward when this is over.”

    …Should I ask for a lactation handjob? From Mommy Evangeline…

    “You’ll give me something better than that meat, right?”

    “Of course~. Tell this big sis anything you want.”

    Hmm.

    A big-breasted older sister offering to grant a wish… I can’t resist that…

    “We’ll follow you.”

    We followed Evangeline and entered the street where the haze was spreading.

    But before that…

    “Become an onahole.”

    I went over to the Galactic Jelly.

    [Acquired Galactic Miner Onahole!]

    [Galactic Miner Onahole (New)]
    [An onahole made from the personality jelly of a Cosmic Kin, the Galactic Miner. It is of high quality and has a mysterious tightness.]
    [Rarity: A] [Personality Undamaged (100%)]
    [Mysterious Tightness: S | Durability: A | Warmth: A | Responsiveness: A]

    It’s an A-rank onahole… this thing.

    What’s ‘Mysterious Tightness’?

    I’m curious, but I don’t really feel like testing it out.

    The demon merchant is going to drool over this.

    [Collection Effect Achieved: 【Mysterious Cosmic Onahole】]
    [Dexterity + 25]

    Wow.

    The collection effect is amazing.

    As I thought, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

    Strength: 214 (Codex Bonus +58)
    Agility: 132 (Codex Bonus +58)
    Stamina: 131 (Codex Bonus +85)
    Dexterity: 195 (Codex Bonus +100)

    My Dexterity stat was now 295.

    My stats were becoming solid enough to be considered a respectable mid-tier A-rank hunter.


    Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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