Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 30: Hunting (2)
The first target.
I stood face-to-face with the big guy.
In his twisted wrist, he still held the spearhead that had threatened Yoon Sola's neck.
— Swish!
The sword I raised came slicing down.
The right arm of the man in front of me was cleanly severed.
And then.
Tick!
"…P-please… h-help me! H-huh?"
"Why are we even here…"
The severed arm fell to the ground with a thud!
— Splurt!
Blood gushed out from the now-empty shoulder joint.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"
He screamed, collapsing to the ground as his severed arm rolled by his feet.
"Chuljung! Are you okay?!"
"You… you bastard! Do you even know what you've done?!"
The other two, wide-eyed and trembling, yelled in shock, taking fearful steps backward.
"Shiiiiiit! It hurts! It HURTS!"
The big guy shrieked in pain, flailing his legs wildly, his face a picture of desperation.
"Guess it does hurt, huh?"
"You think?! You psycho bastard!!"
"But stabbing the necks of innocent people is fine?"
"……!"
He froze.
"Why? Isn’t this what you call hunting?"
His pupils trembled.
It seemed he was finally realizing—
The hunter could just as easily become the hunted.
Too late.
Step.
"Don’t come closer! Stay away!!"
"Because you're weak, you're being preyed upon."
These were the types who would crush anyone weaker than themselves without hesitation.
The ones who willingly embraced this damned restructuring process, gleefully taking the lives of others.
【‘The Raven of the Administration Bureau’ nods, agreeing this description is fitting.】
【Many observers want the first prey utterly trampled underfoot.】
‘You're no different from the ones sitting up there.’
Step.
A bitter rage simmered within me as I approached.
The big guy, bleeding profusely from his arm, scuttled backward on his rear, trying to retreat.
Despite the pain, he still mustered the energy to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Kill that bastard! Kill him now!!"
But no one listened.
"If you want to live, get on your knees and beg them for forgiveness."
If, by some miracle, he sought Yoon Sola’s forgiveness, he might be healed.
Though he didn’t know it, the girl he thought was prey was his only lifeline now.
But.
"Screw you! Just kill him already!!"
That lifeline—this fool had no intention of grabbing it.
To make matters worse.
"W-wait a minute! We didn’t do anything wrong!"
"Yeah! It was all his idea! We’re victims too!"
Unlike the enraged big guy barking orders, the other two were clearly trying to distance themselves.
Each of them scrambling to save themselves.
Pathetic.
"Victims, my ass! You’ve been leeching off the scraps this whole time, and now what?!"
A relationship built on fists, no doubt.
A bond that would shatter the moment a stronger fist appeared.
"Scraps? You didn’t even share anything good with us!"
"Yeah! You hogged all the benefits for yourself!"
"Dammit, we followed you around playing lackeys, and all we got was grunt work… pfft!"
The spit from one of his former friends landed near the big guy’s face, lying sprawled on the ground.
A look of disbelief, fury, and humiliation contorted his expression.
And then.
"You son of a bitch!!"
"!!"
"W-wait, why are you doing this? Stop, don’t come near me!"
The furious big guy, blinded by rage, lunged forward, swinging his one remaining arm.
The moment his lackey opened his mouth in horror—
"Summon!"
A steel sword materialized in his hand.
— Thunk!
The sword plunged deep into the body of his charging comrade.
"Gghhk…!"
"S-Sweet Jesus! I didn’t mean for this to happen…!"
"You, you bastard..."
Thud!
The brute raised his bloodied hand and grabbed the throat of the friend who had just stabbed him.
His eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing without a sound.
"Well, that’s what happens when you charge at me..."
"Da-damn it..."
Thump!
The man collapsed.
Blood gushed relentlessly from his empty shoulder and punctured abdomen, draining the life from him in an instant.
And shortly after—
[You have eliminated the target, 'Park Chuljung.']
[You have earned 750 Welfare Points!]
The bonus rolled in.
Half the amount of a man worth 1,500 points.
"..."
The man, now covered in his friend’s blood, heard the alert as well.
His eyes darted around nervously before meeting mine.
Suddenly, he spoke in a hurry.
Was he about to blame me and attack?
"You—you got the bonus, right? Let’s call it even with that!"
"What?"
"There’s no point in fighting anymore! We’re not worth much anyway!"
"Y-yeah! You’ve already hit your daily quota even without us!"
...Unnecessary worries.
They didn’t even think to retrieve their friend’s corpse or the sword embedded in it.
All they could do was flee in a panic.
Tap-tap!
Terrified that I might come after them, they stumbled backward down the forest path, fear etched on their faces.
And then...
"Are you sure you want to run that way?"
"Y-yeah! Just let us live! You’ll never see us again!"
From deep within the forest path ahead, black energy began to seep outward.
Sssssssss...
【The Ferryman of the Administration Bureau shakes his head at the doomed targets.】
"That doesn’t seem like a good idea."
"Screw you! So what, you’re saying we should just die by your hands?! Forget it, just let us go!"
The black energy spread across the ground, and as soon as the fleeing men stepped into it—
‘They’re gone?’
The ominous mist disappeared as if it had never existed.
—Growwwwwl...!
[A ‘Starving Fire Bear’ has appeared! Eliminate the target.]
In its place, a massive bear, as big as a house, emerged—an uncanny likeness to the man who had just met his end by my hand.
Drawn by the scent of blood like a shark to prey, the beast lumbered forward, wasting no time before swiping its massive paw.
"Aaaaaaahhh!"
Smash! Smash!
In an instant, two heads exploded like watermelons.
[You have eliminated the target, 'Kim Ildong.']
[You have earned 775 Welfare Points!]
[You have eliminated the target, 'Park Joonpyo.']
[You have earned 400 Welfare Points!]
And there it was—a horrifying display that made it clear why the word “Starving” preceded “Fire Bear.”
Crunch! Chomp!
"Aaaaahhh!"
"...Urgh!"
I quickly shielded Sora’s and Yeojin’s eyes from the grisly scene.
It wasn’t soon enough, but it would have to do.
"Hmph..."
The children trembled in terror, their faces pale.
Jieun and Jaehyuk, unable to bear the sight, shut their eyes tightly.
"Pull yourselves together, everyone."
Not even an hour had passed since the project began, yet the densely packed dots on the map had already thinned considerably.
It wasn’t just because of the safe zones...
'The survivors’ bonuses have increased significantly.'
Many had died, and someone else had claimed their points.
"This is just the beginning."
A hunt where it’s kill or be killed.
In this situation, the only thing we could do was—
"You two, take care of that bear."
I grabbed Jieun and Jaehyuk by the shoulders.
I’d already hit my daily quota, but they hadn’t.
The monster had devoured two people and racked up over a thousand points.
Splitting the kill between them would be a great help.
"Y-yes...!"
"Understood, hyung..."
Their faces, pale as ghosts, nodded in reluctant agreement.
And.
"And Sora, Yeojin, grab those guys’ weapons."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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"What?"
"What do you mean... grab?"
"Those."
The iron sword stuck in the hulking corpse, and the worn-out spear dropped by those fleeing from the monsters.
Yeojin, clearly uneasy, tugged at the hem of Sola's jacket and asked.
"Why... those?"
"Because more of them are going to keep showing up. So..."
"To not be underestimated, right?"
Sola, who had been biting her lower lip nervously, opened her tightly shut eyes and spoke.
She held her friend’s hand, the same friend who clung to her jacket.
"Yeah. We need to show them we're not easy prey."
Yeojin glanced between Sola and me, swallowing nervously.
"Make it so they don’t even think about attacking us in the first place."
Their gaze turned to the hulking corpse and the iron sword lodged in it.
A cruel world for high school girls who once dreamed of saving lives as healthcare professionals.
Jieun, ever soft-hearted, stepped forward.
"Sola, I can do it for you..."
"It's okay."
Srring-
Sola stepped up and drew the sword first.
She crouched down in front of the corpse, biting her lower lip so hard it bled.
"Min Yeojin, come here."
"I... I can't..."
"Don't whine. I don't want to lose you too."
At just 19 years old, she seemed to have realized the harsh truth.
To protect those dear to her, she had to be ready to harm someone else.
* * *
9:50 AM
Eight hours left until the end of my shift.
We finally arrived at Namsan Tower.
"The red zone!"
"Crazy, it's over 7,000 points?!"
"Shit, 7,000 points could kill you in one hit..."
Hunters wielding various weapons loitered everywhere.
"The vibe here is intense, noona!"
"Right? Feels like everyone’s staring at us."
And then...
"Teacher!"
"Uncle!"
Familiar, welcoming faces awaited us.
"Yura! Were you good while we were gone?"
"Yes!"
A little lady dashed over with tiny steps, her round eyes folding into crescent moons as she smiled—a sight too adorable for words.
But...
Shhh!
Though I wanted to play with her for a moment, there wasn’t time.
"I’ll give you a hug later."
"Huh? Why?"
I lifted Yura into her father’s arms.
I didn’t have the luxury to linger.
‘Nine? Ten?’
The prickling stares I had felt earlier.
Now a group surrounded us, busy signaling to each other while gripping their weapons.
"Teacher, I’m so glad you’re safe..."
"Save the pleasantries for later. Could you cover Yura’s eyes for me?"
"What? Why—"
Hanul tilted his head but complied, shielding Yura’s eyes just in time.
Clatter!
"!!"
A dozen swords pointed at me and my group.
A man, seemingly their leader, shouted as if giving a signal,
"Haah!"
He charged at me, Jieun, and Jaehyuk, followed by the others.
And then—
"You're ours! Seven thousand—"
"Acceleration."
I drew the sword I had already summoned and slashed at waist height.
Tat-tat!
A quick spin, carving a circle among them.
Jeans, sweatpants, hiking gear, more jeans...
Srrrk!
Belts, buckles, and fastenings gave way, and pants sagged to the ground.
Tick!
"Whaaaaaat... the hell?!"
"Shit! How did that happen in an instant?!"
Panicking, they fumbled to grab their falling trousers.
Some tripped over their pants and tumbled to the ground.
"Kyaaaah! Pull up your underwear!"
"What the hell are you maniacs doing?!"
...And for some, even their underwear was exposed.
This was my mistake.
I thought I had adjusted it, but I must have gone too deep.
"Shit! How did this happen?!"
"I don't know! I couldn’t even see it!"
Distressed screams echoed from all directions.
Thwack!
Taking advantage of the chaos, I thrust my sword at the throat of the man who had been shouting earlier.
"Who are you after?"
"T-that's..."
I need to subdue him as overwhelmingly as possible.
They must realize they might become the hunted instead.
"There's no one here who could win against me with that level of skill."
"Ugh..."
I'm holding back because I don’t want to play into the system’s intentions.
But if I show too much leniency, they’ll keep coming back—again and again, gathering more people to try again.
So...
"Be careful."
"Ah, I get it, please..."
"Next time, I'll cut through whatever’s inside as well."
"!!"
【'The Raven of the Administration Bureau' claps their hands, saying, "Just cut them down now."】
【'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' frowns, insisting he never wants to see this.】
The man trembled at my words.
Whether it was the blade sword at his throat or the breeze on his bare lower half, I couldn't tell.
"Get lost."
Tap-tap!
Before I could even withdraw the sword fully, the man twisted away and fled.
'That should deter any stray dogs or fools from trying again.'
Being defeated in such a humiliating way would serve as an excellent deterrent.
Indeed, everyone else scattered, panicked, each looking to save themselves.
"Wow... Teacher, you’ve improved even more!"
"Hey, mister, you’re a magician, right? I told you there’d be a magician!"
...Except for my overly enthusiastic companions, of course.
Shortly after, a broadcast announcement rang out.
[The next safe zone will be created at 3 o'clock sharp.]
[Hunt your targets diligently and ensure you make it back alive!]
10:00 AM.
Five hours of free time lay before us.
"Um... Eunho!"
As I was pondering how to make the most efficient use of this time, Jieun cautiously approached me.
"What do you think about heading somewhere without people? We’ve already met up with Yura’s group."
Her worried eyes hinted at her reasoning.
"Safe zones are more likely to appear near people. We still haven’t figured out much about the walls surrounding Namsan."
"But... I’m worried someone else might attack you again."
She seemed afraid of a repeat of what had just happened.
However.
"Why do you think those guys tried to hurt us?"
"Excuse me?"
Caught off guard by my sudden question, Jieun faltered.
'Because they’re evil.'
...That’s one possible answer.
"It’s probably because humans are easier targets to reach their quotas than monsters."
"That... makes sense. Monsters don’t give many points, and they’re hard to kill."
"And there aren’t that many of them either, right?"
A moralistic answer about good and evil wouldn’t solve anything.
You can’t magically make bad people turn good.
In that case, the only option is...
"We need to offer an alternative."
"An alternative?"
A way for them to survive without resorting to killing.
It still needs more research, but...
"Jieun, will you help me?"
This must be stopped.
Because I have a way.
Before this place turns into an even deeper hell.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!w
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