Chapter 4

It looked like it would be difficult for Taebyeong to avoid the next attack as he lay on the floor.

As the hornet approached him with its stinger whirling about, I got closer to it using Spatial Interference and plunged the kitchen knife into its stinger. Strong as its stinger was, it was also the place where its nerve bundles were concentrated.

Because it had been attacked in a sensitive spot, the monster trembled in shock for a few more seconds. I plunged the kitchen knife in deeper.

It finally collapsed onto the floor on top of Taebyeong, who frantically got up from the spot. He was panting heavily.

“You worked hard,” I said to him.

“T-thank you. I’m alive thanks to you.”

He looked like he was about to cry. He was in a messy state as he was covered in the hornet’s body fluids.

After Taebyeong cleaned off the fluids and found clothes lying around in the mart, we set off again. As it was immediately after the hornet had been killed, there weren’t any monsters yet.

After we had hurriedly put some distance between us and the area we had been in, we could finally catch our breath.

“Phew...”

“Should we spend the night around here?”

“I think that would be good.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Everyone answered Seongmin’s question exhaustedly. Other than canned foods, the supplies included perishable items, so dinner was prepared using those. Minjoon and I did recon in that vicinity and determined that there were no monsters around.

“Hey.” Dajeong got my share of food and handed it over to me.

I nodded at the unexpected gesture.

“It’s hard, right?” Her tone was kind.

Ah, right. Because Seongmin treated me like the leader, I had momentarily forgotten the fact that I was currently young. I understood why Dajeong would be worried about my mental state.

“Since this suddenly happened, I feel totally confused, but... Miss Seoha seems so calm. I think it’s amazing.” She then started grumbling all of a sudden.

I took my food and stuffed what looked like boiled porridge into my mouth. Even though the cooking situation wasn’t that great, the food was still pretty edible. This kind of food would only be available when we had fresh ingredients, so it was a good idea to eat a lot.

“I, uh... brought this with me when we escaped. I’ll give it to you.”

Dajeong slipped a jackknife into my hand. Although it was shorter than the kitchen knife, it was sturdy and sharp.

[Verifying item.]

<Sharp Jackknife>

Grade: F

Attack Power: 10~20

Description: A sharp-edged jackknife. A deep stab can cause a fatal injury.

Even though it was F-grade, the compensation was that it contained a fatal blow. While the probability of setting off a critical hit was low, just having that option was meaningful. It was a better weapon than a Skill.

“Are you sure? Then you won’t have a weapon. In this kind of situation, I’m sure you know that a weapon is like an extra life.”

“That kitchen knife is going to break soon, right?”

I stared at Dajeong in surprise. How did she know? As I had used my kitchen knife on two monsters already, its durability was wearing off. While it may not visibly look like it, if you read its item description, the following came up:

[Verifying item.]

<Worn Down Kitchen Knife>

Grade: F

Attack Power: 9

Description: A kitchen knife with a dull, nicked blade. It will probably break soon.

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious if you look at it closely. I used to work as a kitchen assistant, so I looked at the condition of kitchen knives a lot.”

As I saw her smiling as she said this, I had a sudden thought.

If she’s trained well, wouldn’t she be able to acquire the Unique Skill “Blacksmith’s Touch”?

The fact that she could accurately determine the state of a kitchen knife that was being used as a weapon meant that she had talent in this area.

“It’d be pointless for me to wield it anyway. While my Strength is high, my Agility is quite low.”

“For now, thank you for this. But please hold onto this kitchen knife. If you find yourself in danger, you’ll at least be able to block one blow.”

I exchanged my kitchen knife for the jackknife. Even though it was a more profitable trade for me, Dayeong seemed quite satisfied too.

“There you are!”

“We were looking for you.”

Chansong and Taebyeong joined us.

As I hid the jackknife close to my chest, I asked, “You were looking for me?”

“Yes! We were looking for you!” Taebyeong was making a big fuss, so I wondered what had happened.

“I suddenly got a notification that said my stats went up, and both my Defense and Endurance went up by one. Is this even possible?”

Both his Defense and Endurance? That was a pretty big gain. Was this what you gained when you risked your life to fight a monster?

“Yes. Depending on how you physically contributed to killing a monster or provided direction to do so, your stats can go up.”

“But isn’t stat compensation only possible through items? Or through mana or strengthening crystals?”

“While it’s not very efficient and you have to risk your life, there are times when you can increase your stats while fighting.”

Since it was dangerous and stats only increased by one or two points, people rarely utilized this method. But in a Gate where one was always teetering between life and death, there was a reason why the Hunters who survived had such high stats. While items and mana crystals played a part, it’s also because they increased their stats during battle.

“But I’ve never even heard about that kind of method.”

“I’m not surprised. If ordinary people were to follow it, they’d just get killed.”

It would be more correct to say that this method was hidden intentionally. After taking the Hunter Aptitude Test, there wasn’t really anybody who blindly rushed into the Gate to become a Hunter anymore. If it became known that one could raise their stats through the Gate, there would be a rush of several people again.

“Then... how did you know about it, Miss Seoha?” Taebyeong asked me in a shaky voice.

It was as if he was touching on something taboo. Next to him, Chansong and Dajeong also looked at me expectantly. I didn’t know what they were thinking. I was not a Hunter or an aspiring Hunter who was hiding her true identity. I also wasn’t the only daughter of a high-ranking government official.

“I told you. I have a lot of interest in Gates.”

“But to pass it off like that, you seem way too experienced.”

Chansong was trying to pick apart my words.

“You knew the land general’s weak spot. And while I don’t know what it is, you freely use a Unique Skill. It seems like you know a lot about monsters. You’re also too calm to be just an ordinary person.”

When he listed it all out like that, it wasn’t surprising that I looked suspicious.

“Who are you, really?”

“Is that even important?” I don’t think they would believe me if I said I was just an ordinary student, so I just had to keep being coy. “Isn’t staying alive the more urgent matter?”

“That’s true, but... it’s a pretty big burden to follow someone who’s hiding their true identity.”

“If you have qualms about it, fend for yourself.”

Chansong looked taken aback at my blunt words. Using his charm and charisma, he tried to lighten the mood. “C’mon, you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Hey. If you have time to chitchat, why don’t you help set up the tents?” a sharp voice interrupted. Minjoon approached us while adjusting his round glasses.

After doing recon, somebody ate, washed the dishes, and set up tents while others played hooky in front of him?

“Oops. Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“My apologies! I’ll help out now.”

The group dispersed immediately. I gathered my used tableware and got up. I stole a quick glance at Minjoon as he passed by me while pushing up his glasses. While his face didn’t reveal anything, I wondered if he had helped me just now. But as he was calmly setting up a tent, I didn’t say anything to him.

***

As we were all taking extra caution as we walked, we couldn’t cover a lot of ground in a day. There were several monsters that passed by us, and we could barely breathe as we got away from them. I don’t know if it was because of the land general’s corpse, but the monsters were moving fast.

As it wasn’t that far to begin with, we quickly made it to the bridge.

“That...”

“Was the water always that color?”

The natural environment in the Gate was constantly changing. On our way here, we could see the desertification of the region. This wasn’t just caused by the construction of asphalt roads, so the change in the river went without saying. It was in pretty bad shape.

“A cloud-patterned oil whale must live here.”

Everyone looked at me as if questioning how I knew that.

“A characteristic of its habitat is the formation of oil slicks on the surface of the water.”

“You’re talking about a whale? In this river?” Taebyeong asked me in disbelief.

It was understandable. When people usually refer to a whale, they mean the creature that has a huge body and swims in the ocean. But that was an animal whale.

While a monster whale looked similar, they were completely different.

“Yes, as it’s not a typical whale. So be careful. That oil has a paralyzing effect, so if you fall into the water, you won’t be able to move.”

Everyone tensed up and nodded at that. As always, Minjoon took the lead. He held his old glasses in one hand and looked off into the distance.

Minjoon’s Skill of Reconnaissance was one I didn’t have, but I had often seen Ranger or Assassin-type Hunters use it. It was similar to the start of Spatial Interference. After cramming all the information into one’s mind, the task was to then filter out the meaningful things. Depending on how proficient one was during that process, the usefulness of Reconnaissance varied greatly.

I shouldn’t expect too much from a newbie like Minjoon.

Just figuring out if there weren’t any traps or if there were any weak spots on the bridge’s surface would be beneficial. The worst-case scenario would be if the bridge collapsed and, without being able to do anything, we fell into the water to become food for the monsters.

“There’s nothing that poses a major risk.”

As soon as he said that, I took the lead and walked ahead. While some spots looked dangerous due to damage, if the Reconnaissance Skill determined that it was fine, it was fine. There’s no reason for Minjoon to betray me now.

Everyone followed me while holding their breath. There was a strong fishy smell mixed with another foul odor.

As I walked, I took thorough note of the bridge’s condition. The only variable was the other side of the bridge, which couldn’t be checked earlier as it was covered in mist. While moving slowly and as quietly as possible, I was finally able to see beyond the mist.

I immediately clenched my fist and raised it up.

The footsteps that had been following me immediately stopped and tensions rose. There was no doubt as to what I had seen.

The cloud-patterned oil whale was outside of the river.

I knew that the oil whale sometimes came out of the water, but...

Wasn’t it human nature to hope that it wouldn’t happen now of all times? While I was taken aback, I quickly regained my composure. Things not going to plan was something that could happen anytime. I couldn’t let something like this shake me. The most important thing right now was to figure out how to solve this immediate problem.

Oil whales had regenerative eyes. While they had a heightened sense of movement, they had nearly no sense of sight or hearing. As it seemed like the oil whale hadn’t detected us, we could turn back if we moved quietly...

But just like this side has an oil whale, who knows what kind of monster is waiting for us on the opposite side?

So a hasty retreat was out of the question. The fortunate thing was that the oil whale was alone.

“Mr. Kim.”

“Y-yes?” Taebyeong answered.

“What did you say your Defense stat was?”

“Sixteen.”

Sixteen.

The cloud-patterned oil whale wasn’t actually as strong as it looked. Besides the oil slicks that were released into its habitat and the paralyzing mucus that covered its body, the oil whale’s attack power was at an ordinary level. The destructive power of a land general was actually stronger.

Still, the reason it’s a F-grade monster and not unranked is because of its paralyzing poison.

“Who has the highest Agility stat?”

“I do.”

Minjoon stepped forward. So he’s specialized in Recon and Agility? If he’s trained well, he’ll become a good Ranger or Assassin.

“What about your Strength?”

“Eight.”

He was a little lower than average, so it’d be tough for him to carry me or Taebyeong while running. Since several situations overlapped, there was only one clear solution.

“Are you scared of fire?”

“What?”