Chapter 440: Trainer Is Good at Tanking (3)

Inside the gate.

The scarlet sunset faded, and the sky gradually darkened.

Monsters began appearing between the bushes.

“They’re Silverfangs.”

Large wolves boasting silver fur.

Monsters classified as D-rank by the Hunter Association.

However, because they were accustomed to moving in packs, they were also considered among the stronger D-rank monsters.

This time was no different.

The Silverfang pack that discovered the hunters did not charge at them immediately.

They formed a wide circular formation beyond the bushes.

In the midst of that, the Silverfang that appeared to be the leader let out a howl.

Awoooooooo~!

At that, a hunter pushed up his glasses and spoke.

“It’s calling its companions! If we drag this out, more will gather!”

Choi Kanghyuk stepped forward and shouted.

“I’ll clear them out from the front! Hold out while maintaining the formation as much as possible!”

After giving his instructions, Choi Kanghyuk kicked off the ground.

Bang!

The dirt caught in the Mountain-Shattering Divine Steps exploded.

Choi Kanghyuk’s figure tore through the bushes as he advanced toward the leader wolf.

Perhaps startled by his tremendous speed, the leader Silverfang hurriedly threw itself aside.

However, Choi Kanghyuk charged faster than the wolf could evade.

“Haaah!!”

A straight punch carrying the full speed of the Mountain-Shattering Divine Steps shot forward.

The leader wolf swung its foreleg as though making one final struggle.

Clang!

Even if it was the leader, a D-rank was still a D-rank. The wolf’s claws failed to pierce Choi Kanghyuk’s skin.

Crunch!!

Choi Kanghyuk’s iron fist turned the Silverfang’s head into pulp.

Awoooooooo~!

Meanwhile, several wolves hurriedly charged toward the hunters.

“I’ll support you with a defensive skill!”

“Just hold out a little longer!!”

The Silverfang pack was attacking from every direction, but the situation could hardly be called a crisis.

It might have become dangerous if Silverfangs continued to gather.

Crunch!

Crunch!!

But before that happened, Choi Kanghyuk looked ready to finish off every Silverfang himself.

Once roughly half the Silverfangs had fallen, one of them hurriedly howled.

Awoooooooo!!

The Silverfangs that had been fiercely attacking the hunters began to flee.

“We can’t let them escape!”

“They’ll join another pack and come back!!”

Choi Kanghyuk and the hunters had no choice but to run around chasing the fleeing wolves.

“Phew. We didn’t catch all of them, but we cleared out most of them.”

Perhaps because they had chased them so intensely, the sunset had disappeared before they knew it.

It was a strange sight.

Even though the sun had vanished entirely, complete darkness had not fallen.

“Wow....... The moon is red enough to make me uncomfortable.”

“It’s even a full moon.”

While everyone stared at the full moon as though entranced, the hunter with glasses spoke again.

“Let’s move for now. Since the leader wolf howled earlier, another pack might come if we stay here.”

They pushed through the bushes for a while before encountering another Silverfang pack.

Awoooooooo!!

The battle unfolded in much the same way.

Once roughly half of them had fallen, the Silverfang pack once again chose to flee.

After chasing down and eliminating some of the fleeing wolves, they took a brief rest.

“Phew. If things keep going like this, clearing the gate shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

“But Silverfangs really are annoying. We have to keep moving so they don’t gather.”

“Hahahaha. It is troublesome. Still, thanks to Hunter Choi Kanghyuk, I don’t think we’ll face any real danger.”

As the hunters’ gazes gathered on him, Choi Kanghyuk scratched his forehead and spoke.

“Have none of you noticed anything strange?”

“Huh? Strange in what way?”

“Natural energy. Or magic power, as you call it. It has been growing denser ever since we first entered.”

At first, Choi Kanghyuk himself had been uncertain.

However, the concentration continued to increase as time passed, and it was no longer something he could dismiss as his imagination.

Choi Kanghyuk raised his head and looked at the red moon.

“Ever since that red moon rose, the magic power has gradually been growing denser.”

The hunters wore puzzled expressions.

Perhaps because they lacked skill, they could not sense the change in the concentration of magic power.

Even so, they did not ignore Choi Kanghyuk’s words.

After two battles, they had come to trust him.

Once again, it was the hunter with glasses who stepped forward.

“Actually, I recently saw a post like that on a foreign community.”

He mentioned abnormal gates.

“Recently, gates completely different from those that have appeared until now have begun emerging one by one around the world.”

“Then are you saying this might be one of those abnormal gates?”

“If what Hunter Choi Kanghyuk said is true.”

Naturally, not everyone believed him.

“Come on, surely not. It’s probably just some urban legend.”

“Right. There are countless urban legends related to gates.”

However, because their lives were at stake, more of them chose to remain cautious.

“Still, just in case, shouldn’t we try leaving the gate first?”

“Yes. It won’t matter if clearing it takes a little longer.”

In the end, the opinions split three to two, and they headed back toward the gate entrance.

After traveling for dozens of minutes, they returned to the entrance through which they had first entered.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong with this?”

However, they could not leave through the entrance.

Their confusion lasted only briefly.

The words the hunter with glasses had spoken earlier came back to them.

The abnormal gate phenomenon.

“A-are we trapped in here?”

“Come on. I-it’ll be fine. Silverfangs aren’t that frightening, anyway.”

Perhaps they had heard the commotion.

Awoooooooo.

Another Silverfang pack approached through the bushes.

However, something was slightly different from before.

Instead of forming a wide circle around the hunters and observing them, the wolves charged straight at them.

Awoooooooo!

As though they had gone mad.

No, their eyes truly had gone mad.

Perhaps reflecting the moonlight, every Silverfang’s eyes were bloodshot red.

And it was not merely their gazes that had changed.

“Be careful!”

“Ghk. Fuck!!”

“Support us faster!!”

“These things are faster than before!”

Their movements were far quicker than those of the Silverfang packs they had previously fought, and the power behind their forelegs and jaws had also increased.

“Damn it!!”

Park Taeseok, the hunter who had been fighting while furiously swinging his sword, clenched his teeth.

Clang!!

The moment he barely deflected one wolf’s claws.

Another Silverfang thrust its jaws toward his side.

‘This is how I die?’

Everything in the world seemed to slow down.

Just as the drooling wolf’s jaws were about to clamp down on his side.

Something flew in at tremendous speed.

Crunch!!

“Phew. Sorry I’m late.”

Park Taeseok squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

A broad, muscular back stood before him.

It was Choi Kanghyuk’s back.

Park Taeseok subtly shifted his body and looked beyond it.

Five or six wolves were sprawled across the ground.

They were undoubtedly the work of the Barbarian.

No, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk.

“Th-thank you.”

Even at Park Taeseok’s gratitude, Choi Kanghyuk did not turn around.

He remained standing as though protecting the hunters while staring somewhere ahead.

“Tsk. Now you’re trying all sorts of things.”

His senses had not missed it.

The leader of the Silverfang pack.

The moon’s magic power was gathering around it.

The Silverfang leader howled once more.

Awooooooooo!!

Sounds like breaking bones repeatedly rang out from all across the leader’s body.

Crack, crack, crack.

Choi Kanghyuk launched himself forward without hesitation.

‘I don’t know what kind of dogshit it’s trying to pull, but there’s no reason to stand around watching!’

It was an unspoken rule not to interfere during a transformation, but that only applied when it was an ally.

Perhaps they had read Choi Kanghyuk’s intentions.

The remaining Silverfangs all threw themselves forward to protect their leader.

The Silverfangs’ teeth and claws struck toward Choi Kanghyuk.

Clang! Clang!

However, they could not pierce his skin.

Ignoring the Silverfangs, Choi Kanghyuk advanced toward the leader in the middle of doing something strange.

There was, however, one minor problem.

Before he knew it, six or seven Silverfangs had latched onto Choi Kanghyuk’s entire body.

Their weight made it extremely difficult to move forward.

‘Damn it. I should’ve lifted more iron! Once I get back, I’m increasing the weight of every set by ten kilograms!’

It was a truly regrettable moment in which he realized his muscles were insufficient.

“Get these things off me!”

At Choi Kanghyuk’s shout, the hunters answered.

“B-but if we attack them, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk will also.......”

“I won’t be hurt! Just attack!!”

Only then did the hunters come to their senses and hurriedly help Choi Kanghyuk.

“Fireball!!”

Flames flew toward the Silverfangs, and Park Taeseok’s sword slashed across one of their backs.

During the process, the flames and sword also struck Choi Kanghyuk’s skin.

Boom!

Clang!!

But his skin was not something attacks from D-rank hunters could pierce.

After shaking off the Silverfangs, Choi Kanghyuk saw a bizarre sight.

‘It got bigger?’

The Silverfang’s body had grown far larger than before.

As though that were not enough, the wolf that had been running on four legs was trying to rise onto two.

At that moment, the hunter with glasses spoke with a deathly pale face.

“L-Lycanthrope. It’s a Lycanthrope!! That’s a B-rank monster!”

Countless questions swirled through the hunters’ minds.

But now was not the time to think about questions.

Bang!!

Choi Kanghyuk swung his fist with all his strength.

Straight toward the face of the Lycanthrope that was only just attempting to walk upright.

Thud!!

After taking the satisfying blow directly, the Lycanthrope was sent flying backward.

However, Choi Kanghyuk’s expression was not particularly good.

‘Tsk. I suppose a B-rank really is a B-rank.’

He had not felt the sensation of bones breaking.

The Lycanthrope showed no particular injury and tried to rise by planting its arms against the ground.

Naturally, Choi Kanghyuk had no intention of simply letting it.

He quickly approached and swung his leg this time.

The Lycanthrope swung its left arm in response.

Choi Kanghyuk felt an inexplicable chill.

The sharpness coming from the Lycanthrope’s claws was no ordinary thing.

Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly pulled back the leg he had been swinging.

Slice!

A chilling cutting sound rang out.

Blood flowed down his withdrawn right leg.

Fortunately, neither the muscle nor bone had been damaged.

Only the outer layer of skin had been lightly torn.

One thing was certain.

‘I’ll have to fight while avoiding its claws and teeth.’

After organizing his thoughts, Choi Kanghyuk approached the Lycanthrope again.

Close combat continued between the barehanded human and the monster.

Awooooooooo!!

The Lycanthrope violently swung both arms while howling.

Whenever Choi Kanghyuk came close, it also thrust its jaws toward his face.

Choi Kanghyuk hurriedly twisted his upper body to protect his precious hair.

A thick stench of blood came from the monster’s jaws as they passed by him.

“Your breath reeks like something died in there!”

Watching Choi Kanghyuk’s close-quarters struggle with the Lycanthrope, the hunters could not hide their astonishment.

“Wow.......”

“Why in the world is that man a D-rank hunter?”

“Even if the Association initially assigns lower ranks.......”

At that moment, an unexpected sight unfolded before them.

The Lycanthrope swung its arm once again.

Choi Kanghyuk lowered his upper body and seized the back of the Lycanthrope’s knees.

A perfect tackle without a single wasted movement.

Choi Kanghyuk went tumbling across the ground together with the Lycanthrope.

After the two became entangled for a moment, Choi Kanghyuk clung to the Lycanthrope and shouted.

“I’ll hold it down, so aim for its mouth!!”

It was the conclusion he had reached after exchanging several moves.

It would be difficult to kill it alone.

Its skin was simply too tough.

Fortunately, all of its companions had already been dealt with, while Choi Kanghyuk had companions of his own.

Moreover, this creature only possessed exceptional strength and speed.

It did not seem to possess anything resembling reason.

He judged that he could restrain it to some extent with martial arts techniques.

At Choi Kanghyuk’s shout, the hunters hurriedly approached.

They hesitated for only a brief moment.

Choi Kanghyuk and the Lycanthrope were entangled as though they were a single body.

If they attacked incorrectly, they might injure Choi Kanghyuk.

However, that concern did not last long.

They had already seen it earlier.

Their attacks could not pierce Choi Kanghyuk’s skin.

“I’m sorry, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk!”

“Please hold out a little longer!!”

The hunters repeatedly unleashed their abilities and swung their weapons toward the Lycanthrope’s mouth.

Naturally, the Lycanthrope’s resistance grew even more violent, and Choi Kanghyuk desperately clung to it.

“I’ve been lifting iron for years!! You think I’m going to lose to a juicer!!”

The Silverfang had suddenly been pumped full of magic power and transformed into a bipedal monster.

In Choi Kanghyuk’s eyes, it was nothing more than a shameless drug user.

Thus, after a desperate struggle with the pride of a natural lifter on the line.

Park Taeseok’s sword finally pierced past its jaws and through the Lycanthrope’s throat.

Crunch!

The Lycanthrope let out a muffled scream and stopped moving.

A moment later, the hunters erupted in cheers.

“Waaaaaaaah!!”

“W-we killed a Lycanthrope!!”

Then, belatedly, they bowed their heads toward Choi Kanghyuk one by one.

“Th-thank you, Hunter Choi Kanghyuk.”

“If Hunter Choi Kanghyuk hadn’t been here, we would all have died.”

As he received their gratitude, Choi Kanghyuk rose to his feet.

Perhaps because he had been tangled up with the Lycanthrope, blood was trickling from scratches across his body.

Fortunately, none of his vital points had been pierced.

He spoke to the hunters thanking him.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is the time to celebrate yet.”

Beyond the bushes.

The howls of wolves could be heard from all around them.

Awooooooooo!

“It seems that Lycanthrope won’t be the only one.”

Shadows fell across the faces of the celebrating hunters.

“S-still, we m-managed to kill one, so shouldn’t we be able to do something?”

When someone began desperately searching for hope, the hunter with glasses shattered it.

“....... We only managed it because we attacked while it was transforming. And we had already eliminated all of its underlings beforehand. Next time will be different.”

“.......”

A heavy silence descended.

At that moment, Choi Kanghyuk broke the silence.

“If it means returning alive, are you willing to do anything?”

The hunters’ gazes turned toward Choi Kanghyuk.

Choi Kanghyuk added.

“If everyone agrees, there is one method left that we can try.”