7 chapter - Lee Yuna (1)

Two days after forming a party with Lee Yuna, we received authorization to clear a Gate.

The location happened to be in Ilsan, so I stopped by Yuna’s apartment to pick her up.

"Good morning, oppa!"

She had followed my instructions and was fully prepared with a backpack and a headlamp.

I asked,

"Did you wear your leather armor underneath?"

"Yep."

"And your dagger? You packed it, right?"

"Of course!"

After spending some time together, I had gotten comfortable speaking casually with her.

"Get in the car. Let’s go."

"Okay~!"

The Gate was only about a ten-minute drive away.

As I drove, Yuna chattered nonstop from the passenger seat.

She had definitely become a lot more talkative since our first meeting.

"Hunter gear is way more expensive than I expected."

"Obviously. Didn’t I tell you before? You need to be infused with mana to pass through a Gate."

"Oh? I thought that only applied to people."

Yuna looked at her gear with fascination before asking,

"So even this armor and equipment contain mana?"

"Yeah. They’re all made by grinding down mana stones."

"Well, no wonder they’re so expensive… Good thing they have rental services now."

Nowadays, renting Hunter equipment was common, but three years ago, such services didn’t exist.

Back then, you had to buy everything yourself.

Which meant that I had started my Hunter career in debt.

"Yeah, the world’s gotten a lot better."

[You have arrived at your destination. Navigation has ended.]

We parked near the Gate and made our way toward it.

It was in a park, cordoned off with yellow tape marked “Danger: Restricted Area”.

At the center of the restricted zone was a swirling blue sphere—the Gate.

A single government official stood guard in front of the entrance, which was just large enough for an adult man to step through.

I casually pushed aside the yellow tape and stepped inside.

"Good work out here. I’m Hunter Choi Changshik, assigned to this Gate."

"Please present your Hunter ID."

"Here."

The official snapped a photo of my ID with his phone and nodded.

"D-Class Hunter Choi Changshik. Confirmed. And this is F-Class Hunter Lee Yuna?"

"Yes!"

"Please show me your Hunter ID."

"Oh, here you go."

After confirming our identities, the official gave a brief overview of the Gate.

"This is a standard cave-type Gate. We haven’t been able to observe the monsters since none are near the entrance. Good luck in there."

I gave him a small nod before stepping through the Gate.

The moment I switched on my headlamp, the darkness peeled away, revealing the cave’s interior.

Yuna followed close behind, her voice slightly trembling.

"Wow… It’s really dark in here."

"Scared?"

"W-What? No way."

"Just stay behind me. As long as you do that, you won’t be in any danger."

"…Okay, oppa."

"Turn on your headlamp."

"Got it."

With two beams of light now illuminating the cave, we could make out its general shape.

"Stay alert and follow closely. If you notice anything, speak up immediately."

"…Yes!"

Yuna nodded dramatically and practically glued herself to my back.

"…Can you back off a little?"

"Ah! Sorry!"

"Shh. Keep your voice down."

"Oh!"

Startled, Yuna slapped both hands over her mouth.

I let out a small sigh, and she whispered an apology.

"Sorry… It’s my first time, so…"

Her first Gate.

Considering how high the mortality rate was for Hunters, it was normal to be afraid.

I had been just as terrified three years ago. Maybe even more.

At times like this, what she needed most was confidence.

"Don’t worry too much. It’s nothing. Just trust me."

"…Okay."

I kept the pace slow to ease Yuna’s nerves.

"This isn’t a goblin den."

Goblin dens were usually spread out across an entire cave.

And they always reeked of that distinctive, foul goblin stench.

This place was far too clean.

It was odd.

Even other F-Class monsters like vampire bats or red-eyed hounds left behind their own unique smells.

"For a cave to have no scent like this… There are only two possibilities."

Clatter.

At that moment, a noise echoed from around the bend in the cave’s passageway.

"Well, that answers that."

"Huh?"

"This is a skeleton den."

Right on cue, a skeleton wielding a rusted sword stepped into view.

Yuna's voice shook as she asked,

"And… why is that good news?"

Undead monsters.

Among F-Class creatures, skeletons were my absolute favorite.

For one simple reason—

"No gore."

Unlike goblins, skeletons didn’t bleed.

Which also meant their mana stones were incredibly easy to extract.

And, most importantly—

"They’re weak."

Instead of drawing my sword, I glanced around.

A decent-sized rock caught my eye.

Picking it up, I hurled it at the skeleton’s skull with all my strength.

Crack!

With a crisp snap, the skull shattered, and the entire skeleton crumbled into a pile of bones.

Instant kill.

"See that? All you have to do is break the skull. You can take one down just by throwing a rock at it."

Yuna blinked in disbelief.

"Monsters are… a lot weaker than I thought."

"Skeletons are among the weakest F-Class monsters."

Even so, their mana stones contained more energy than goblins’, making them more valuable.

In other words, low risk, high reward.

As Yuna examined the pile of bones, she hesitantly asked,

"Do you think I could kill one?"

"If you aim well, sure."

Of course, throwing a heavy, uneven rock wasn’t as easy as tossing a baseball.

"Wanna try on the next one?"

"I… I can?"

"Of course. But first, let’s grab the mana stone. Skeleton stones are inside the skull."

After making sure she successfully extracted the mana stone and stored it in her backpack, we resumed moving forward.

It wasn’t long before another skeleton appeared.

"Ready?"

Yuna gripped a rock she had picked out earlier and nodded stiffly.

Then, she hurled it at the skeleton with all her might.

"Hup!"

With an impressive battle cry, Yuna threw the rock.

It didn’t even come close to hitting the skeleton.

It just dropped to the ground.

She didn’t have enough strength.

"You picked a good rock—heavy enough to break the skull. But I think you overestimated your strength."

Given her abilities, she should have waited for the skeleton to get closer before throwing it.

"You rushed it."

"…Sorry."

"No need to apologize."

This was experience, after all.

Crack!

I effortlessly crushed the skeleton’s skull, then frowned.

"Of all things, skeletons."

Obviously, my Trait wasn’t activating.

Choi Changshik’s Trait required blood.

I had to pour a monster’s blood into my right eye for it to be converted into experience points.

Skeletons didn’t have blood.

Meaning they were useless to me.

"Alright, I’ll go extract the mana stone."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead."

I should have been happy—skeletons were great for money.

But since they didn’t help me grow stronger, I couldn’t be entirely thrilled.

"Guess I understand why Choi Changshik used to throw tantrums whenever it wasn’t goblins."

For low-tier Hunters, growth mattered more than money.

"But what about zombies? Would rotten blood even work? That sounds disgusting."

While I was lost in thought—

"Kyaaaah!"

Yuna’s scream echoed through the cave.

I swung my headlamp toward her.

A skeleton was attacking.

"Shit. One was waiting in ambush?"

When dealing with skeletons, ambushes were the only real threat.

Since they made no noise, they were nearly impossible to detect until they moved.

And in a dark cave, that made them even more dangerous.

I rushed forward and threw myself in front of Yuna.

WHAM!

"Tch."

The skeleton’s weapon was a mace.

It smashed straight into my left shoulder.

Pain flared, but thankfully, the bone didn’t break—just a deep bruise.

That was thanks to Choi Changshik’s Trait, which enhanced physical durability.

I had taken the hit.

Now it was my turn.

I pulled my sword from its sheath and slammed the hilt into the skeleton’s jaw.

CRACK!

The skeleton dropped its mace and staggered back.

I picked up the fallen weapon and smashed its skull.

SMASH!

After confirming that there were no more threats nearby, I turned ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) to Yuna.

"Are you okay? You’re not hurt?"

Yuna, still dazed, nodded before speaking.

"I’m fine. But…"

"What? Did you get hit?"

"No… I think… I just found it."

"…Huh? Found what?"

"My Trait."

Silence.

It happens sometimes.

Some Hunters awaken their Trait during their first raid.

It was especially common for those with Predator-Type Traits.

"Did getting attacked count as participation in the hunt?"

For them, killing monsters triggered their Trait activation.

That gave them an enormous advantage.

They got a head start over everyone else.

"I’m jealous."

If I had a Predator-Type Trait, I wouldn’t have suffered for three years.

Instead, my Trait only activated when I died.

And I had to keep living in someone else’s body.

The conditions were insanely restrictive, and it wasn’t even a great Trait.

"If only I had taken over an S-Class Hunter instead of Choi Changshik."

Bitter.

"Congratulations. You’re officially a D-Class Hunter now."

Unlike the promotion exam required for C-Class, D-Class Hunters only needed to awaken a Trait.

She just had to report it to the Bureau, and she’d be recognized as D-Class.

"Um… Oppa?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a favor to ask."

"W-What is it?"

At this point, she could only be asking for one of two things.

The first—renegotiating the contract.

Now that she was D-Class, she probably didn’t want to keep working for just 250,000 won per raid.

"You want to change the contract? Sorry, but we’re finishing this raid under the original terms. Once we’re done, we can—"

"No! That’s not it!"

"Huh?"

"I still have so much to learn… Even as a D-Class, I’d like to keep receiving only 250,000 won for now."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah… I want to learn a lot from you, Oppa. Consider it my payment for your guidance."

I was shocked.

This was an insane win for me.

Originally, I was prepared to offer a 50-50 split just to keep her in the party.

Choi Changshik’s reputation was so terrible that finding teammates was almost impossible.

And yet, here she was, willingly accepting the lower pay.

"Ah, I see. So you want to start hunting, right? Since you have a Predator-Type Trait, you need to kill monsters to grow."

But Yuna shook her head.

"No. That’s not it. My request is…"

…Not that either?

Then what the hell was it?

"Go ahead. Just say it."

I was in a great mood.

If she hadn’t agreed to the contract as it was, I would’ve been screwed trying to find another party member.

This was perfect.

I grinned.

"I’ll grant you just about any favor."

Yuna hesitated for a long time, then finally spoke—

"P-Please be my knight!"

"…What?"

I stared at her, struggling to process what she had just said.

What the hell was this cringeworthy, secondhand embarrassment-inducing request?

Why would she say something like that?

Oh.

Maybe she just wanted me to keep picking her up in the car like today?

I asked,

"You mean, like… a chauffeur?"