Chapter 438: Trainer Is Good at Tanking (1)

Choi Kanghyuk looked at the card resting in his hand.

It was shaped similarly to a driver’s license or resident registration card.

The so-called hunter license.

“D-rank.”

He did not feel particularly bad about it.

‘No matter how outstanding your ability may be, actual combat is dangerous. For safety reasons, we initially issue licenses at a lower rank than the awakened person’s actual capabilities.’

He had already heard that explanation, and in any case, it was only a matter of time.

He simply had to keep entering and leaving the gate in the gym office while building up his strength.

“Ah, right. They told me to install the app.”

Choi Kanghyuk took out his phone and searched for the application.

It was an Association-certified application for hunters.

Information related to gates and monsters was posted there, and hunters could also apply for gate-clearing operations or recruit party members.

Anyone could install it, but hunter license verification was required to create an account.

Choi Kanghyuk photographed his hunter license with his phone and completed the verification.

He had ended up registering as a hunter almost by accident, but his daily life did not change significantly.

Sessions with his PT members. Diet management.

And during his remaining free time, he continued lifting iron and training in martial arts inside the gate.

Several days passed as he continued living much the same as usual.

Around lunchtime, Choi Kanghyuk locked the front door and left the gym.

Surprisingly, he had done nothing today.

Neither lifting iron nor Iron Shirt training.

At most, he had cultivated the Prajna Divine Art that morning.

Because he would soon be exercising anyway.

Choi Kanghyuk walked while checking the hunter app on his phone.

“Bukhansan.”

That morning, Choi Kanghyuk had applied to participate in a gate-clearing operation.

Naturally, his target was a D-rank gate.

He planned to enter a gate about once a week, both to raise his hunter rank and to gain experience inside different gates.

***

At the foot of Bukhansan, a short distance away from the hiking trail.

A small spatial rift had opened.

Four people dressed in leather suits had gathered around it and were talking.

“Hello.”

“Hahaha. We meet again.”

“Now we only need one more person.”

Just then, a rustling sound came from the direction of the hiking trail.

Someone was approaching them.

A burly, muscular man dressed in a tracksuit.

The hunters’ gazes fixed on the man.

Not a single one of them thought that the final hunter they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

“There’s a gate over here.”

“You can’t come this way.”

“Please return to the hiking trail.”

It was because of the man’s clothing.

‘What kind of lunatic comes to a gate dressed in a tracksuit?’

‘Even if it’s only a D-rank gate, that outfit is ridiculous. Seriously.’

At the hunters’ shouts, the man tilted his head.

“Are you hunters?”

“Yes.”

“This place is dangerous, so please turn back.”

At their repeated warnings, the man searched through his pocket.

A moment later, he pulled out a card.

A hunter license.

“My name is Choi Kanghyuk. I applied for today’s D-rank gate-clearing operation at Bukhansan.”

“You’re a hunter......?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you dressed like that......?”

Choi Kanghyuk spoke with a puzzled expression.

“I deliberately wore clothes that would be easy to fight in.”

“Don’t you have a leather suit?”

Suits made by processing the hides of monsters that emerged from gates.

Their quality varied enormously depending on the type of monster hide used.

There were extremely expensive leather suits used by high-ranking hunters, but there were also relatively affordable ones.

‘Surely he didn’t refuse to buy one because he thought it was a waste of money?’

‘It’s not like he’s desperate to die.’

There were even low-ranking hunters who purchased extremely expensive leather suits.

After all, they were safety equipment that could save one’s life.

Most people who tried to save money on such things were not sane.

Naturally, Choi Kanghyuk also knew about leather suits.

However, after thinking it over, he had decided not to buy one.

It was not because he thought the money would be wasted.

“I considered it, but it interferes with my ability.”

The Iron Shirt was an external cultivation art strengthened through external impact.

The harder one was struck, the tougher the skin and muscles became.

Therefore, wearing a leather suit would prevent him from properly training the Iron Shirt.

Of course, he could have trained the Iron Shirt inside the office gate and worn a leather suit during D-rank gate-clearing operations.

But Choi Kanghyuk had not done that.

‘It’s not like I can do two workouts in one day. That would be a waste of time.’

Because he was a true fitness fanatic who valued efficiency.

More than anything else, his experience with the lizardmen had played a major role.

‘They said lizardmen were C-rank monsters, didn’t they?’

His skin had not been pierced even by C-rank monsters.

The chance of it being pierced inside a D-rank gate was extremely low.

Of course, that was only Choi Kanghyuk’s opinion.

One hunter spoke with a reluctant expression.

“Ahem. Perhaps this is actually for the best. Since you’ve told us about your ability, let’s organize our positions now.”

They would reveal their individual abilities and divide their roles.

They had already registered their desired positions through the hunter app, but it was still necessary to review them once before entering.

Choi Kanghyuk spoke with a calm expression.

“My ability is the Iron Shirt, which hardens my skin and muscles. Judging by the positions listed in the app, I believe I’m a tanker.”

The hunters’ expressions crumpled once again.

‘He’s not even a dealer, but a tanker, and he didn’t wear armor?’

‘Is he trying to get us all killed?’

At that moment, the hunter who had first suggested organizing their positions cleared his throat and spoke.

“For now, let’s enter together and try hunting once. If it seems dangerous, we’ll come back out and ask the Association to reorganize the party.”

“W-won’t it become dangerous from the very first fight?”

“I’m still a C-rank hunter, so unless an enormous number of monsters are gathered right at the entrance, it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

Everyone let out a deep sigh of relief at the man’s words.

‘At least clearing the gate shouldn’t be a problem.’

‘If that strange man causes trouble, we can leave the gate and report him to the Association.’

Once the atmosphere had more or less settled, the hunters headed toward the spatial rift.

Vrrrrrrr.

Inside the gate, a completely different landscape from the forest outside unfolded before them.

Choi Kanghyuk looked around and thought.

‘Wow. This reminds me of when I entered the Thief God’s Hidden Cave long ago.’

The inside of the gate was a cavern.

While Choi Kanghyuk briefly recalled old memories, the man who had introduced himself as a C-rank hunter spoke.

“There don’t seem to be any monsters near the entrance. Let’s move forward carefully.”

Following his command, the five hunters cautiously began moving.

As they walked through the cavern, old memories naturally came to Choi Kanghyuk’s mind.

‘Finding the way would have been much easier if Muyul and Lingling were here.’

Thanks to their animal-like senses of smell, they had not gotten lost even inside the maze-like Thief God’s Hidden Cave.

Well, Lingling had actually been an animal.

After advancing deeper into the cavern for about five minutes while recalling those memories, Choi Kanghyuk raised his hand.

“I think there are monsters ahead.”

The hunters looked puzzled.

They could not see anything.

Because the cavern was dark, Choi Kanghyuk could not see anything either.

However, he could sense a faint presence ahead.

“We need to move as quietly as possible.”

After saying that, Choi Kanghyuk took the lead.

Like a proper tanker.

After advancing a little farther, they reached a section where the passage bent to the side.

Beyond it stood three monsters.

They were D-rank monsters designated as kobolds by the hunter industry.

‘There really are monsters there?’

‘There was no way he could have seen them because of the structure. How did he know?’

While the hunters wondered about that, the monsters also noticed them.

“Kieeeeeek!!”

The three kobolds charged while shrieking.

Choi Kanghyuk immediately ran toward them.

The moment the distance narrowed, the kobold at the front swung a pickaxe.

Choi Kanghyuk also infused internal energy into his right fist and thrust it forward.

A moment later, a noise erupted that was difficult to believe had come from a fist colliding with a lump of metal.

Clang!!

The pickaxe, overwhelmed by Choi Kanghyuk’s strength, was knocked backward.

The kobold’s arms were thrown high into the air after losing the contest of strength.

Choi Kanghyuk drove his left fist toward the completely exposed kobold’s face.

However, there were three kobolds.

Another pickaxe flew toward Choi Kanghyuk’s side as he threw his punch.

And Choi Kanghyuk gladly ignored that pickaxe.

After striking the previous pickaxe with his fist, he had become certain.

‘They’re much weaker than lizardmen!’

Back then, he had fought while avoiding the spearheads.

He could ignore their kicks and tails, but there had still been a risk of being pierced by a spearhead.

This time was different.

Soon, the pickaxe struck Choi Kanghyuk’s side.

Clang!!!

Immediately after a sound like two pieces of metal colliding rang out.

Choi Kanghyuk’s left fist smashed into the kobold’s face.

Crunch!!

The refreshing sound of bones breaking.

‘It really is different from the lizardmen.’

Now certain, Choi Kanghyuk began beating the three kobolds to death with his bare hands.

Clang!

Crunch!

Thud!

The hunters stared blankly at Choi Kanghyuk as he single-handedly dominated the fight.

“.......”

“Didn’t that pickaxe just hit him?”

“Who exactly is that man?”

A tanker.

Probably.

***

After Choi Kanghyuk eliminated the three kobolds in an instant, they continued exploring the gate.

As they moved farther inside, the number of kobolds appearing increased.

This time, there were as many as six.

Once again, Choi Kanghyuk took the very front.

“Look at me!!”

While shouting things like that.

Since he had come all the way into a gate, he planned to enjoy a refreshing full-body massage.

No, a full-body Iron Shirt training session before leaving.

The other hunters were not simply standing around either.

While Choi Kanghyuk fought a bloody battle with the kobolds at the front, the other hunters also attacked the monsters or supported him.

“Wind!!”

At one hunter’s shout, a curtain of wind formed around Choi Kanghyuk.

It was a kind of protective barrier.

The pickaxe swung by a kobold was blocked by the curtain.

Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly shouted.

“You don’t need to block them for me! No! Don’t block them! I like getting hit!”

The hunter who had tried to help Choi Kanghyuk did not look pleased.

‘He likes getting hit? Is he a pervert?’

Choi Kanghyuk turned his suspicion into certainty.

“It’s still not enough! More! Hit me harder with everything you have!”

Just then, one hunter watching the scene muttered to himself.

“Why does he keep shouting things like that?”

“Uh, well....... Since he’s the tanker, maybe he’s trying to draw the monsters’ aggro?”

“Th-that must be it, right?”

“Hehehehe! More! I said hit me harder!!!!”

The hunters who had been whispering quietly fell silent.

Was he really doing that for the sake of tanking?

It was difficult to believe.

However, one thing was certain.

“Still, his tanking is definitely reliable.”

The kobolds’ pickaxes could not pierce Choi Kanghyuk.

Clang!!

“Uwahahahahaha!!”

No matter how many kobolds there were, they could not overcome the wall that was the tanker Choi Kanghyuk.

***

After a journey lasting three hours, the hunters managed to completely clear the kobold mine.

After leaving the gate, the hunters exchanged farewells.

“Good work!”

“Everyone did well. I hope we meet again!”

Choi Kanghyuk was also smiling with a refreshed expression.

Each individual kobold had not been very strong.

Still, after being struck continuously for three hours, his achievement in the Iron Shirt had advanced by another stage.

The pickaxe blows of the kobold chieftain they had hunted at the end had been particularly effective.

‘That one was fairly useful. Hehehe. His strikes had a satisfying feel.’

Choi Kanghyuk smiled brightly as he reviewed the moment when the kobold chieftain had beaten him.

Seeing that smile, one hunter cautiously spoke.

“Um, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk?”

“Yes.”

“Are you all right?”

“Hahaha. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“That’s not what I meant. Your clothes.......”

The hunters’ gazes turned toward Choi Kanghyuk.

As a result of enduring the kobolds’ barrage of pickaxes with his bare body, Choi Kanghyuk’s clothes had once again been reduced to rags.

With all his clothes torn apart, they could see them even more clearly.

Choi Kanghyuk’s enormous muscles, swollen as though they might burst.

‘Whoa.’

‘What kind of human body is that?’

Only after noticing their gazes did Choi Kanghyuk finally come to his senses.

“Ah.......”

Choi Kanghyuk scratched his head while examining his clothes.

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

It was the moment a minor concern arose.

‘If my clothes end up like this every time I fight, the cost of buying new ones won’t be insignificant.’

Should he buy a leather suit?

But that would only interfere with his Iron Shirt training.......

He did not ponder for long before Choi Kanghyuk came up with an excellent idea.