Chapter 7: Goblin Gate (3)

I shift my center of gravity forward and curl the rapier inward.

The moment I kick off the ground, my body shoots forward instantly.

As the prey approached on its own, the goblin grinned and opened its mouth wide.

A delicious meal is coming.

Stab!

That was the goblin’s last thought.

The goblin fell, smiling, not even knowing it was dead.

I retrieve the rapier stuck in the goblin’s heart.

At the same time, I stabbed the rapier into the eye of the goblin that was running right next to me.

“Kieeeeeeek!”

I twisted the rapier and pulled it out.

Splatter!

The goblin’s blood, spurting out in a rotation, splattered everywhere.

It was a short death cry.

I grabbed the dead goblin’s corpse and pushed it forward.

“Kreek, Kieek?!”

A goblin following behind the second dead goblin fell backward like a domino.

The moment I stabbed the rapier into the heart of the defenselessly fallen creature.

“Kiek! Kieeeeeeek!”

The fourth goblin held the knife in a reverse grip and swung it diagonally from above Han Suhyeon’s head.

I turned my head to avoid it, and the goblin, who swung the knife with all its might, lost its balance and fell.

I stepped on the butt (the end of the handle) of the knife held by the goblin, and the blade stuck in the ground.

Looking down at the goblin struggling to pull out the knife with both hands, I stabbed the heart of the last goblin.

When I swung the rapier diagonally, the goblin’s blood that fell on the floor drew a crescent shape.

The battle was over.

Just 20 seconds.

It was after only 20 seconds had passed since Han Suhyeon faced the goblins.
Han Suhyeon smiled, looking at his party.

“My skills are definitely a bit rusty since I haven’t used them in a while.”

“Kieeeeeeek!”

A monster with the physique of a middle or high school student, a hunched back, a twisted face, and green skin.

A goblin.

If it’s one, a man may get hurt, but he can somehow deal with it.

But if they form a group and even hold poisoned blades, the story is different.

Not just ordinary men, but even several strong adult women would struggle.

Even if he’s a hunter, he’s actually an F-rank who hasn’t even awakened on his first time.

Park Hyena, who thought of Han Suhyeon as someone who had trained a little more than an ordinary man, tried to stop Han Suhyeon, who was running out with a rapier drawn.

But that thought stopped immediately.

‘…Huh?’

Fast.

In the moment I briefly lost sight of Han Suhyeon’s movements, the goblin’s desperate scream echoed through the cave.

He had already dealt with the second goblin.

‘Huh? Huhhhh?’

While Park Hyena was briefly flustered, Han Suhyeon had already taken the life of the fourth goblin.

Fast. And very precise.

Park Hyena could only admire that.

Just one stab.

That’s all, but the goblin fell to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

‘Is it even possible to move that fast and accurately stab the heart between the ribs?’

Is that even a possible technique?

‘I can catch up with the speed to some extent, but I can’t do that kind of technique…’

Park Hyena, who was confident that she was a D-rank hunter who had awakened a physical skill, thought that she could never imitate that kind of technique.

“Mr. Suhyeon. Are you really sure you haven’t awakened? How can a person who hasn’t awakened make such movements?”
“If I had awakened, I would have applied for E-rank promotion and wouldn’t be here.”

It was a natural statement. The benefits of an E-rank hunter were much more diverse than those of an F-rank hunter.

People who have awakened the unknown power called skills were collectively called awakened ones.

In an era where awakened ones were precious resources, strategic weapons, and human resources that protect the country.

They could defeat unknown monsters that could not be defeated even by modern weapons through the special power called skills.

F-rank was a hunter, but E-rank hunters were guaranteed definite treatment.

Starting with a pension worth 500,000 won, and the right to be considered for mitigation of minor violations of the law.

That’s just E-rank.

The approximately 100 A-rank hunters in the country receive treatment equivalent to that of members of the National Assembly.

And from the S-rank, of which there are only three in Korea, the country grabbed their pants and begged, ‘Please don’t leave for another country,’ making a drama of regret and obsession.

“Then did you learn swordsmanship professionally from someone?”
“Hmm… If I had to say. Yes?”
“Really! T-Then… Could I possibly receive teachings from the master who taught you that swordsmanship?!”

Park Hyena grabbed Han Suhyeon’s shoulder and earnestly asked.

Movements that were unbelievable that he hadn’t awakened, and overwhelming technique.

If it’s that level of skill, it must have been the teaching of a recluse expert somewhere, a retired A-rank, or maybe even an S-rank hunter.

Han Suhyeon’s face hardened for a moment.

And he smiled with a bitter expression.

“…I’m sorry. But I don’t think that will be possible.”
“Ah…”

Park Hyena could vaguely tell that Han Suhyeon had some kind of circumstance by looking at his expression.

“Um, ah. I-I’m sorry…”
“No. It’s… It’s okay now.”

The atmosphere was like a funeral home.

‘Stupid b*tch! Why did you say that!’

Park Hyena, who was blaming herself, searched for a breakthrough to overcome the situation.

“Ah! Hyeonchan! Did you film that scene just now? The scene where Mr. Suhyeon took down the goblins!”
“Oh, yeah. I filmed it… but I couldn’t capture it all on camera. The ones I managed to get were also partially cut off.”

Jo Hyeonchan rubbed his arm without realizing it. There were goosebumps on his arm.

Because the battle just now was that shocking.

If he was an ordinary person who wasn’t a hunter until yesterday.

It was impossible to rush at a deformed monster with a blade without hesitation without ordinary courage.

Even Jo Hyeonchan, who had been mentally trained while filming gate raid videos with Park Hyena, did not have the courage to face the goblins alone.

‘Ah. He said he worked as a porter for 5 years, right?’

Could it be that he was mentally and physically trained by working as a porter for a long time?

Han Suhyeon rushed at the goblins without hesitation and killed the monsters.

And the battle ended in an instant.

Seeing Park Hyena’s surprised reaction, it seemed that the technique he used to kill the monsters was also extraordinary.

Amazing.

As a fellow man, I come to respect him.

‘No, is he really a fellow man?’

No man in this world could even imitate those movements.

‘…Could those people do it?’

The five most famous A-rank male hunters in Korea.

‘There are only about 100 A-rank hunters in Korea. Among them, Kim Dohyeon is maintaining a single-digit A-rank, and the other four are in the middle ranks.’

Some communities called them alpha males, saying that they were men who proved that even with a man’s body, they could reach the A-rank.

Jo Hyeonchan thought that Han Suhyeon could one day stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

‘I lost in every aspect of a male.’

Appearance and ability, and even age.

Appearance goes without saying, and didn’t he just prove his ability?

Even Jo Hyeonchan, who has filmed videos of countless hunters, has never seen an F-rank hunter who hasn’t even awakened show such prowess.

And he is 19 years old. There is plenty of room for growth, and his appearance will also become more mature.

“Then we’ll be going! You did a great job today!”
“No. I’m grateful that you listened to my unreasonable request to let me clear the gate alone.”

After the first encounter with the goblins, I got a rough idea of the situation, so I asked Park Hyena and Jo Hyeonchan for their understanding and received their help so that I could clear the gate alone.

They rather liked it and asked me to let them film the scene where I cleared the gate and make it into a video.

‘Is there a demand for filming me?’

I’m an F-rank hunter right now.

From E-rank hunters, where awakening is a prerequisite, the number was so small that it was expressed as being chosen by God, but F-rank hunters were quite common.

Anyone could apply, and it was essentially manual labor that paid more for the value of life.

‘I guess all those people are women in a gender-reversed world.’

The question was quickly put aside.

‘Well, they’re professionals, so they’ll take care of it.’

They also said they would give me a share of the profits if the video does well.

There was no reason to refuse.

“No! I’m more grateful because we got a really amazing video thanks to you! I think this video will be a huge hit! Please watch it later when it’s uploaded to iTube! Ah, right. I’ll dispose of the goblin corpses and mana cores and deposit the money into your account!”
“Yes. Thank you for taking care of the aftermath. See you again someday.”

The gate raid ended much more easily than I thought.

A total of 20 goblins, coming in waves of 4.

I killed the boss monster, Goblin Mage, helped Park Hyena and her party move the goblin corpses, and it was over.

‘I didn’t even circulate the core, let alone use mana.’

I didn’t use any techniques that use mana inside the gate, such as body strengthening, core, or sword aura.

It was to find out what my current physical level was.

‘As expected of a body directly created by the goddess.’

Although my height, eye level, etc. were different from my previous body.

My basic physical specs were unbelievably excellent.

I cleared the F-rank gate with just my body and a blunt rapier.

At this level, I think I can clear up to D-rank gates using only body strengthening.

I returned the rapier to the Association staff.

And on the way back, I looked back.

The Association staff was writing something, and the rapier was lying among the pile of weapons.

I used the inventory to steal it.

Even though it was quite a distance away, it went right into the inventory.

The Association staff didn’t even notice.

I don’t have to worry about weapons for now.

‘Now the problem is how to become an E-rank hunter.’

To go to a higher-rank gate, I had to raise my hunter rank.

The condition to be promoted to an E-rank hunter was to prove that you are an awakened one.

In other words, I had to show off the skill I obtained while awakening.

‘…Should I just roughly strengthen my body with mana and say I got a physical skill…’

I sighed.

That’s because I went to that world, but I couldn’t awaken.

I took out Dr. Pepper from the inventory to clear my head.

‘…Huh?’

I stared at Dr. Pepper as if possessed.

Inventory.

A gift from the goddess and a power close to authority.

‘Wouldn’t this level of ability be enough to deceive them into thinking it’s a skill?’

With a brilliant idea, I headed to the Hunter Association.