Chapter 18

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The one who had approached Eunha was the BJ hunter who wore a red hoodie.
His cell phone was still pinned to the end of a selfie stick.

Eunha glanced at his cell phone.
The chat window displayed on the screen was being updated at a frightening speed.

[oh my god, look at the good things our baby is doing ㅠㅠ]

[in the meantime, you’re even doing beginner hunter care… king god, you are… ]

[are you hurt anywhere???]

[‘King God’s Wife’ sponsored 1004 moon balloons! ‘you are my light.
please live with me!!!’]

[ ▸‘Wondaedong Fire Fist’ has become the 27,302th fan club member! ◂ ]

e/n: wondae-dong is a city in daegu

“Ahaha.
‘King God’s Wife’, thank you for the moon balloons.
Thank you for joining the fan club, ‘Wondaedong Fire Fist’.”

King God didn’t comfort Eunha, but instead turned his head toward the camera.
He didn’t forget to wave his hand with a fresh smile.

Ding.

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ asks who the hell that guy was talking to like that?]

‘… I agree.’

Eunha carefully observed King God.
Hunters these days seem to make money and work in this way.

She could feel through her skin that the world had changed.
To Eunha, who was a first-generation hunter, he had a very strange appearance.

“What… As those of you who have watched my broadcasts know, there are a few beginner hunters who are discouraged when they’re put into practice.
In that case, seniors with a little more experience should help.
Shouldn’t they?”

After communicating with his viewers for a long time, King God finally turned his head back to Eunha.

“I wasn’t like this from the beginning either.
Everyone has difficult times.
If it’s okay with you, can I give you some tips?”

“No.
I’m fine.”

“Hey, don’t be like that.”

He glanced at the camera.
It seemed to be some kind of signal saying that the viewers were watching.

“Now, listen.
The monsters will come soon.
Beginners with no experience will think that the smallest one is the weakest, but that’s not actually true.
The smaller it is, the faster it is.”

“Not necessarily.”

“No, you don’t know yet, but it’s true.
You should keep that in mind.”

“…”

Eunha stared at King God with a dry look.
Perhaps he took it as a signal that she was listening, and so King God continued to share his unnecessary advice with a slightly excited voice.

“If you are not confident in your accuracy, it is more advantageous to aim for the bigger ones.
Big guys usually move slowly.”

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“Is that so?”

“Yes.
In this gate, the guys here are salamanders, so their speed isn’t that fast.
That’s fortunate for a beginner like you.”

King God whispered softly in Eunha’s ear.

“It’s expedient, but if you only aim for bigger guys, you will be able to easily get experience points as well.
Got it?” He smiled, showing his canines.

The chat window was moving at a terrifying speed.
Most of the content was something like ‘Kyaaaa!’ or ‘ㅠㅠ’.

Next to Eunha, who was looking at the chat window that updated like lightning with blurred eyes, King God continued to babble.

“Oh, staying true to your concept is a great thing, but you’d better leave that accessory behind.” 

“Accessory?”

He tapped the ‘Elegant Parasol’ with his index finger.

“It looks pretty expensive, but if you lose it, you won’t be able to find it.
There’s no such thing as a lost and found inside a gate.”

“This isn’t an accessory—”

At that moment.

Rumble…

The ground began to tremble.

An earthquake? No, it was a signal that a horde of monsters was approaching.

“Come on, everyone! Get into your ranks.
The next monster wave came faster than I thought, but it only shortens the time needed before we get back home.
Don’t be frightened.”

King God calmed the people around him like a leader.
He led the gatherers to a safe corner and returned to Eunha again.

“Don’t forget what I said earlier.
The big guys.
If you hit one and retreat, you’ll still get experience points.”

Leave it up to me to finish.
King God gently tapped Eunha on the shoulder as if reassuring her.

He then disappeared with several support hunters.

[The divine beast ‘Cat wandering in Darkness’ clicks its tongue, saying it’s seen everything now.]

‘Yeah.’

Eunha empathized with the cat’s words and looked around with dry eyes.

[Lv.13 ‘Cunning Salamander’ uses its poisoned tongue.]

[Lv.16 ‘Cunning Salamander’ uses a skill.
▸ Sharpened Claws]

The level of the monsters was higher than before.
But like before, they still weren’t very threatening.

“Are you scared?”

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The large hunter from before approached.

[The divine beast ‘Cat Wandering in Darkness’ asks why he keeps on trying to pick a fight and wonders if he wants to have a hole in his face.]

She imagined a figure of a cat with its fur on end in front of her.
It was so cute that Eunha burst into laughter.
Perhaps the man misunderstood that smile, so his face hardened strangely.

“… If you’re going to stand there like that, why don’t you join the gatherers?”

He flicked his finger, pointing to the corner.
It was a place with a group of gatherers.

And after that—

‘There’s something there.’

Eunha’s gaze was fixed on a huge shadow cast on the inner wall.

“What? Do you not like that? What’s wrong with it? You’re also an F-Class.”

“… Be quiet.”

It was difficult to gauge the distance due to his loud voice.

“What?”

Whoosh!

Leaving the man behind, who had pursed his lips like an idiot, Eunha took a quick leap.

A huge shadow was approaching from behind the gatherers.

[Lv.20 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ appears!]

Screeech!

A strange cry resounded throughout the gate.
The gatherers’ bags began to jump like living creatures.

“It’s Lv.
20! That guy is the boss!”

“What? So suddenly?”

“What are the gatherers doing? Hurry up and fall back!”

The surrounding hunters began to move urgently.
However, for some reason, the gatherers did not run away and stayed in their places.

“Ugh, what is this?!”

“Hey, the bags…!”

Some of the terrified gatherers threw their bags to the ground.
Through the open flaps, the salamanders’ severed tails danced frantically.

As if attracted by a magnet, they all started moving in one direction at once.

‘As expected.’

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Eunha, who had fought in gates for a long time, learned one thing.

Monsters had something called ‘comradeship’.
Not all monsters were like that, but it was the case in some instances.

When monsters who mourned the deaths or injuries of their comrades became ‘angry’, their ATK or DEF would greatly increase, just like now.

tl/n: ATK = attack, DEF = defense

[Lv.20 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ is grieving! Skill ▸ Mother’s Tears]

[In a state of rage, the monster’s attack power is greatly increased.]

The monster wailed.
As if reacting to the sound, the gatherers’ bags, to be more precise, the tails inside, flailed crazily.

The gatherers were holding their bags with both hands and trying their best to hold on, but it was unclear how long they could hold out.
At this rate, the gatherers would be thrown into the mouth of the monster with their bags on.

“Everyone throw your bags away.”

“Um, what…”

“Throw them quickly!”

As Eunha shouted, the startled gatherers threw their bags.

Tails that protruded like living snakes through the flaps of the open bags returned to their mother as if they had their own wills.

[Lv.20 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ swallows a tail.
Level UP.]

[Lv.21 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ swallows a tail.
Level UP.]

[Lv.22 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ swallows a tail.
Level UP.]

… 

The boss monster that ate the tails as if they were sausages was getting bigger and bigger.

[Lv.29 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ checks its surroundings in search of the last tail!]

Thud—

“Twi, something’s wrong.
It’s Lv.29…”

e/n: ‘twi’ short for “twitch” since the guy is a streamer and everything

Someone collapsed on the spot.
One of the hunters by her side grabbed Eunha by the neck.

“Are you crazy?! After it swallowed all those tails, it leveled up! How are you going to take responsibility?”

Flick.

Eunha brushed off the hand that had grabbed her collar in one move.

“Then? If the gatherers had continued to hold their bags, they would have been eaten instead.”

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At the sound of the two people arguing, the eerie eyes of the ‘Queen of the Swamp’ turned to the pair.

“Ugh, damn it!”

The hunter who had been shouting at Eunha slowly retreated back.
Eunha looked up at the monster and straightened her parasol.

At that moment, someone’s urgent voice was heard.

“Hey, you! I told you to attack the big ones, but that one’s too big!”

“Back off quickly! What are you doing!” BJ King God called out urgently.

But Eunha turned her head back to the monster, pretending she didn’t hear anything.
And at the same time,

Whoosh—!

She kicked off the ground and sprung up.

‘It’s no use.’

King God covered his mouth.
It was too dark here.
Even he didn’t have the confidence to quickly catch the movements of the monster in this darkness.

Moreover, the parasol was too small to deal damage to monsters.

In other words, in his view, neither destructive power nor accuracy could be expected.
However,

[Passive ▸ ‘Night Vision’ activated.]

As Eunha leapt into the air and reached the ceiling, a hint of gold flashed across her dark pupils.

Her target was the giant monster in front of her.
In the hand that tightly held the parasol, Eunha’s knuckles cracked slightly.

Screeech!

[Lv.30 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ has detected danger!]

[Lv.30 ‘Queen of the Swamp’ uses a skill.
▸ Skin Hardening]

When the distance from the target was closed,

Fwoosh!

Black flames bloomed along the shape of the parasol.

“Hey, come on, wait… !”

The moment King God took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

Thud—!

The monster fell to the ground with a dull sound.

In a single blow.