Chapter 439: Trainer Is Good at Tanking (2)

One week later.

Near a D-rank gate that had opened on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

A D-rank hunter who arrived ten minutes before departure greeted the hunters who had come earlier.

“Hello!”

Then, by chance, he spotted a familiar face.

“Hello, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk!”

It was the hunter who had cleared the kobold mine with him the previous week.

His performance had stood out so much that it was impossible to forget him even if one tried.

At his greeting, the other hunters who had arrived earlier showed their curiosity.

“Do you know that hunter?”

“Yes. We cleared a D-rank gate together last week.”

“Does he normally not wear a leather suit?”

“Yes. Ah! You don’t need to worry. His tanking is definitely reliable.”

He swallowed the words that Choi Kanghyuk was a pervert who liked getting hit.

It felt a little awkward to say that openly in front of him.

Instead, he asked something else.

“Um, but Hunter Choi Kanghyuk. Will your clothes be all right?”

Choi Kanghyuk was once again dressed in a tracksuit, just like last time.

He looked as though he were heading to a neighborhood gym rather than a gate.

Choi Kanghyuk gave him a refreshing smile as if telling him not to worry.

“Hahaha. Thank you for your concern. I have something in mind, so you don’t need to worry.”

A short while later. After finishing their introductions and organizing their positions, the hunters headed toward the gate.

Vrrrrrrr.

Immediately after passing through the spatial rift and entering the gate, the hunters screamed.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

It was not because of the countless monsters waiting at the entrance.

Not at all.

“W-what in the world are you doing!?”

Because the moment they entered the gate, Choi Kanghyuk stripped off his clothes.

At the hunters’ criticism, Choi Kanghyuk answered proudly.

“My clothes always get torn apart while fighting monsters.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to fight in your underwear!?”

“If you hate having your clothes torn, then just buy a leather suit and wear it!”

Hearing their criticism, Choi Kanghyuk realized that they had made a major misunderstanding.

“Ah! These aren’t underwear. They’re swimming trunks.”

“That’s the same thing!”

“Come now. They’re clearly different.”

In truth, he had considered wearing something other than swimming trunks.

The bodybuilding competitions that fitness enthusiasts occasionally entered.

He had thought about using the posing trunks worn during those competitions.

In fact, Choi Kanghyuk had participated in such contests from time to time, so he had no particular aversion to exposing his muscles.

‘Of course. It’s fine as long as I don’t dress like this normally!’

Were there not people like that in gyms as well?

People who exercised completely shirtless, or those who wore loose tank tops that exposed their entire chests.

Choi Kanghyuk believed that he knew how to distinguish the proper time and place.

That was why he never wore such clothing in his daily life.

But the current situation was different.

He had come to a gate to eliminate monsters.

In other words, this was not an ordinary situation.

Still, because he retained at least a minimum amount of reason, Choi Kanghyuk had chosen swimming trunks instead of those tiny posing trunks.

“And as I said outside earlier, I can’t use a leather suit because it only interferes with my ability.”

The reason he had thought of such a bold choice was none other than the Iron Shirt.

He had to maximize the area of exposed skin in order to train the Iron Shirt efficiently.

Of course, the other hunters, whose eyes had been assaulted, thought differently.

“Just put your clothes back on already!”

“Do you think a gate is some kind of joke!?”

At their shouts, Choi Kanghyuk let out a sigh.

“Exactly. A gate isn’t a joke, so why do you keep shouting?”

He pointed ahead with his hand.

“The monsters came over because of you.”

“Huh?”

While the hunters stared blankly.

Bang!

The ground burst apart as Choi Kanghyuk charged toward the monsters at tremendous speed.

Using the Mountain-Shattering Divine Steps, Choi Kanghyuk rushed forward and thrust out a fist containing the strength of his entire body.

Crunch!!

With that single blow, the head of a toad-like monster was crushed.

Another toad-shaped monster thrust a trident at him in return.

Clang!!

But it failed to pierce Choi Kanghyuk’s skin.

“Hahaha! Try stabbing harder!!”

Laughing heartily, Choi Kanghyuk began smashing the monsters’ skulls.

Completely ignoring the tridents they thrust at him.

Crunch!

Clang! Clang!

Only the sounds of things bursting and metal ringing filled the area.

At that moment, the hunter who had initially defended Choi Kanghyuk spoke.

“He’s a little unusual, but his tanking is definitely reliable.”

“I...... suppose so?”

***

Choi Kanghyuk’s overwhelming performance continued.

The monsters fell like leaves in the autumn wind beneath his punches and kicks.

It was quite a spectacular sight, but not a particularly pleasant one to watch.

Because he was fighting in his underwear.

No, in swimming trunks.

“Ugh. I don’t know where to look.”

“Is his body really made of iron? He doesn’t dodge any attacks.”

“Come on. If you watch carefully, he does dodge sometimes.”

That was true.

Choi Kanghyuk occasionally dodged.

Specifically, whenever a monster’s trident aimed for an important male vital point.

“You cowardly bastard!!”

And.

“Not the head, you bastards!!”

Whenever they aimed for his hair.

“He means his hair, not his head, right?”

“Yes.......”

“Wow. So that and his hair are equally important.”

It was a grave misunderstanding.

The reason Choi Kanghyuk avoided attacks to his vital point was not because he wanted to protect it.

That area was also covered in skin.

It could be trained through the Iron Shirt as well.

There was only one reason he protected it.

‘If my swimming trunks get torn, I’ll have to fight naked!’

In his own way, Choi Kanghyuk was being considerate of the others.

***

Hunter Gallery.

An online hunter community in South Korea.

The application created by the Hunter Association also had a community function, but hunters used this place more often.

The Association app was useful for obtaining information related to gates and monsters, but in the end, it was a place managed by the Association.

It was not a good community for casual chatter or sharing behind-the-scenes stories.

And recently, a minor topic had begun circulating in Hunter Gallery.

- Has anyone here ever met the D-rank gate Barbarian?

A person commonly known among D-rank hunters as the Barbarian.

- I went to a gate today and met the Barbarian!!

└ Does he really fight wearing nothing but underwear?

└ Yeah, but he’s seriously damn good at fighting. He smashed all the monsters’ skulls.

└ I met him before, and he said they weren’t underwear but swimming trunks?

As that nickname kept appearing, people who were not D-rank hunters also began showing interest one by one.

- Who is the Barbarian?

- Why is he called the Barbarian, anyway?

└ Because he fights in nothing but underwear without a weapon, so he’s a barbarian.

└ He’s even a tanker, so he fights while letting the monsters beat the crap out of him.

└ Why the hell does he fight wearing only underwear?

└ Dunno? He said he can’t wear a leather suit because of his ability.

└ Hahahaha, I seriously freaked out the first time I saw him. He arrived in a tracksuit, then suddenly started taking off his pants the moment we entered the gate.

└ Crazy hahahahaha. Then isn’t he a flasher, not a barbarian?

Whenever someone received attention, cynical reactions were bound to appear.

- He’s probably just an attention seeker showing off in D-rank gates.

└ Why are there always so many attention seekers in D-rank?

└ Hahahaha, he probably lacks skill, so he wants attention however he can get it.

└ I heard that Barbarian only became a hunter recently?

└ Judging by how he massacres D-rank gates, he’ll probably rise to C-rank soon.

└ Hahaha, the C-rank hunters are going to freak out when they meet the Barbarian.

An old man who had been silently watching the community’s reactions.

The Chairman of the Hunter Association closed the internet window and removed his glasses.

“Hmm.”

He regularly checked online communities during working hours.

Ever since he had heard that hunters did not share such behind-the-scenes stories on the Association app.

As the Association Chairman, he wanted to understand the hunters’ genuine difficulties.

And while doing so, he occasionally encountered unexpected stories like this one.

“Entering and leaving gates in nothing but underwear. Good grief. I cannot understand what young people these days are thinking.”

The Association Chairman clicked his tongue while reminiscing about his own generation.

Along with the minor concern, ‘Should I establish a dress code?’

It was not merely the thinking of a stubborn old man.

As the Association Chairman, he prioritized the safety of hunters above all else.

If someone entered gates in nothing but underwear just to attract attention and ended up in an accident, who would take responsibility?

Just as the Association Chairman was thinking about this, a knock came from the door.

“Come in.”

The moment the Association Chairman gave permission, his secretary entered.

“Chairman. We have received news from the United States. An abnormal gate has appeared in the New Jersey area.”

Abnormal gate.

It was a general term for gates that displayed slightly different characteristics from the gates that had appeared in the same patterns over the past five years.

Recently, reports of these abnormal gate phenomena had begun emerging one by one around the world.

“Unlike existing two-way gates, the entrance to this abnormal gate closed the moment the hunters entered.”

“Any progress on a method to identify abnormal gates in advance?”

“It appears no country has researched that far yet.”

At the secretary’s report, the Association Chairman let out a deep sigh.

“Haa....... For now, organize a dedicated emergency gate response team.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

After the secretary left the Association Chairman’s office, the Chairman rose and approached the window.

Looking at the clear blue sky, the Association Chairman muttered.

“We can only hope that no abnormal gate appears in Korea.......”

Because even if they organized a dedicated team, it would be meaningless to act only after hunters had already been caught inside an abnormal gate.

***

A little over a month had passed since Choi Kanghyuk received his hunter license.

During that time, Choi Kanghyuk had consistently cleared D-rank gates on every day he had no PT sessions.

Thanks to that, he had recently received a message from the Association.

- We have confirmed that Hunter Choi Kanghyuk has met the requirements for promotion.

Apparently, after clearing just one more D-rank gate, he would be eligible for promotion to C-rank.

Of course, not every D-rank hunter could be promoted to C-rank simply by clearing a few gates.

From the very beginning, when Choi Kanghyuk had first received his hunter license, his ability itself had been evaluated as C-rank.

The message meant that since he had shown no major problems in actual combat, he should advance to C-rank in accordance with his ability.

It was good news for Choi Kanghyuk in many ways.

Starting from C-rank, a full-time hunter could earn a considerable amount of money simply by hunting inside gates.

In addition to that, a minor problem had recently arisen with his Iron Shirt training.

“This actually worked out well. Getting hit by D-rank monsters doesn’t train my Iron Shirt anymore.”

Choi Kanghyuk needed stronger stimulation.

Because he wanted to raise his attainment in the Iron Shirt even further.

Thus, Choi Kanghyuk applied for one final D-rank gate-clearing operation.

“Hello!”

The hunters who met him greeted him warmly.

“Hello!”

“We meet again!!”

Then they whispered among themselves.

“Oh. It’s the Barbarian.”

“Ah. Is that the flasher famous on the community?”

Before he knew it, Choi Kanghyuk had become a celebrity, but he remained unaware of that fact.

After briefly exchanging greetings, the hunters stepped toward the spatial rift.

Choi Kanghyuk looked around the interior and muttered.

“As expected, gates really are fascinating. The inside and outside can be completely different like this.”

It had clearly been bright daylight outside, yet here, the sunset was fading as the moon slowly rose.

While looking around with a fascinated expression, Choi Kanghyuk was, as usual, stripping off his clothes.

The other hunters also wore fascinated expressions.

Not because the environment had suddenly turned to night, but because of Choi Kanghyuk.

“He really is a flasher.”

“Wow. I can’t believe I’m seeing this with my own eyes.”

Ignoring them, Choi Kanghyuk, now dressed for battle, spoke to the hunters.

“I’m ready. Let’s go!”

And so, about an hour after the hunters entered the gate.

Outside the gate. At the entrance through which the hunters had entered.

Vrrrrrrrrr.

The spatial rift produced an ominous noise and began rippling violently.

Another hour passed after that.

Several vehicles hurriedly converged around the gate.

The Hunter Association’s Abnormal Gate Response Team.

They brought a magic power measuring device to the gate entrance, which had suddenly changed, and their expressions crumpled.

“Estimated gate scale. B-rank.”

The expression of the team leader, an A-rank hunter, twisted sharply.

“B-rank? Wasn’t this originally D-rank?”

“Yes. But it appears to have changed into a B-rank gate.”

“What about the people inside?”

“Well, it was reported that five D-rank hunters entered two hours ago.”

“.......”

The hunters of the Abnormal Gate Response Team looked toward the gate entrance.

Their expressions filled with worry, sympathy, and regret.