Chapter 10

Chapter 2: Wing Snake (2)

Genius.

The wizard who brought him from the forest to the independent guild known as the Mage Tower called him that, and the wizards he met while working as a messenger for the Mage Tower called him that. Even at the academy he entered at the Mage Tower's recommendation, he was called a genius.

But two years after entering the academy.

"Ugh, what a pity. You have talent, but your body can't keep up."

Talent?

He has it.

Mana affinity?

It was better than others.

But his body couldn't keep up with his talent.

The problem was the mana core.

It was smaller than that of an ordinary person who hadn't learned magic, or rather, who hadn't learned mana breathing techniques.

The mana pathways were also a problem.

They were narrower and thinner than those of ordinary people, to the point where they would tear if a large amount of mana was channeled through them.

Everyone assumed it was because he was still in his growth period, but that wasn't the case.

'A 2nd Circle Mage who can't use 2nd Circle magic...'

2nd Circle Mage.

The issue was that his mana capacity was that of a 1st Circle Mage, and when using 2nd Circle magic, his narrow and thin mana pathways couldn't handle the mana, causing severe pain.

So, when he was about to give up everything and turn to teaching aspiring mages, a miracle in the form of dimensional trading, and a benefactor named Han Yul, appeared.

'3rd Circle...'

Rest slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

The herbs and elixirs from his own dimension were ineffective, but those from Han Yul's dimension solved his physical problems.

Perhaps it was due to the attack, or perhaps it was the passage of time. No one was peeking at the carriage...

"Sir Han Yul."

"No, I'll teach you one more spell."

"It's fine. I'm offering this trade suddenly, but since you accepted it right away, I'm giving it to you as a token of gratitude."

"Ha. Yes, that's right. It's a service."

***

Near Jigidong Station, the Ginkgo Tree Park.

"Hmm, hoo."

After taking a deep breath upon finding the gate, Han Yul started walking.

There were few hunters, perhaps because the Wing Snake was one of the most dangerous E-grade monsters.

At the gate entrance.

Han Yul paused, checked the sign, and approached the man sitting at a desk who was touching his phone screen.

"..."

"..."

The man didn't look up even after some time.

Han Yul leaned forward slightly to peek at the phone.

He didn't know what game it was, but he could tell one thing.

The player was in a raid with a party.

"..."

"..."

It seemed to be a popular game, as just watching was entertaining.

Han Yul cleared his throat to break the man's concentration but ended up watching the game.

"Good, good. We're almost there, just a bit more effort."

"..."

Agreed. Almost there.

The HP bar above the giant dragon's head was half depleted.

"Phase change."

The red dragon opened its mouth wide.

Breath attack?

Is it a breath attack!

"Scatter."

Characters in elaborate gear scattered in all directions, and then a stream of fire breath rained down on the area where they had been gathered.

The characters charged again.

"Good, good."

"..."

A tense raid.

Han Yul swallowed hard as he watched the raid.

The red dragon's HP bar gradually decreased. After about three minutes,

"Great!"

"Congratulations!"

The man jumped up from his seat, and Han Yul extended his hands with a bright smile.

Clap!

"Thank you!"

"Wow! That was a nerve-wracking raid!"

"Hahaha. The Red Dragon is in the top ten for raid difficulty. Hahaha!"

"Of course, I thought so. Hahaha!"

"..."

"..."

"Who are you?"

"I'm a hunter."

"..."

"..."

***

"Let's see. Let's see."

As soon as he entered the gate, Han Yul used a detection spell to locate the Wing Snake and began modifying his spell.

"Remove the explosion effect."

Considering that the monster's corpse could also be sold, removing the explosion effect was more profitable.

If he killed the Wing Snake before it could self-destruct, he could obtain many valuable byproducts, such as snake skin, venom sacs, and uncorroded mana stones.

"Increase the penetration effect slightly."

On the way to the gate, he learned from Rest how to remove the explosion effect and increase penetration. Of course, it required quite a few 500-won coins for the skill trade.

Thud, thud.

How long had he walked?

Han Yul slowed his pace and shivered.

The Wing Snake can be thought of as an anaconda with wings and venom.

A giant snake that could swallow a child whole.

'Is it because it's a snake?'

It was creepy.

"Magic Missile!"

Magic requires concentration, not a battle cry.

Despite the soft incantation, a perfect mana arrow formed above Han Yul's shoulder.

He could launch it immediately.

But he also had to consider the possibility of a failed attack.

Click.

Whoosh!

Pulling the trigger, he shot an arrow from the crossbow, which woke the sleeping Wing Snake.

Thud!

The arrow embedded in the ground.

The Wing Snake, which had opened its eyes and started moving, looked at Han Yul after confirming the arrow and began to crawl quickly.

Sssss!

The Wing Snake let out a strange cry as it approached.

Han Yul took a step back, loaded another arrow into the crossbow, and before he could pull the trigger, he saw the Wing Snake open its mouth and used a spell.

"Shield."

Puff!

Crack!

Instead of biting Han Yul's head, the Wing Snake bit the blue shield.

A spell that remains active as long as mana is continuously injected.

Han Yul immediately leaped backward and controlled the Magic Missile he had prepared.

Thud!

The Magic Missile flew in a curve, piercing the Wing Snake's jaw and exiting through its head.

"Great!"

He provoked the Wing Snake with an arrow, sealed its mouth with a Shield spell, and pierced its head with a Magic Missile.

Han Yul clenched his fist as things went as expected, but then frowned at what happened next.

Pop!

A green liquid spurted from the Wing Snake's mouth, like a balloon bursting.

"Hmm. It doesn't die immediately even if its head is pierced."

The Wing Snake, spewing venom, fell to the ground.

"In that case."

It was definitely dead.

Han Yul walked over and used the next spell.

"Cure."

The detoxification spell, Cure.

A blue light enveloped the Wing Snake's body, and after a moment, the light disappeared. Han Yul used the appraisal system while on guard.

"Appraisal."

Name: Wing Snake Corpse (10).

Description: The corpse of a Wing Snake.

Simple. The name and description were both simple.

Han Yul smiled, collected the corpse, and moved on to find another Wing Snake.

"Appraisal."

He provoked the Wing Snake with an arrow, blocked it with a Shield spell, and hunted it with a Magic Missile. This part was the same.

But this time, he used the appraisal system before using the Cure spell.

Name: Wing Snake Corpse (8).

Description: The corpse of a Wing Snake. Absorbed venom.

"..."

"Cure!"

He immediately dispelled the hologram and used the Cure spell.

Name: Wing Snake Corpse (10).

Description: The corpse of a Wing Snake.

"Great!"

The Cure spell was indeed effective.

Han Yul thought that if he used the Cure spell on the Wing Snake, he could obtain a clean corpse even after it self-destructed.

Since this was reality and not a game, magic doesn't distinguish between friend and foe.

"Definitely 500,000 won per one."

The Wing Snake, which carries venom and self-destructs when in danger, is the most expensive among D-grade monsters.

"..."

"Detection."

Whoosh!

Using the detection spell, he found fifteen Wing Snakes within a 100-meter radius.

"Fifteen times fifty is..."

7,500,000 won.

Unlike ordinary hunters who work in teams of 7-8, he could operate alone and keep all the profits.

"Hehe..."

Unlike ordinary hunters who need to use detoxification potions to get clean corpses, he didn't need them as a 'mage'.

"Hehehe..."

Investment cost: 0 won. Profit: 7,500,000 won.

"Haha, hahaha. Hahaha!"

Thinking of the saying that hard work pays off, Han Yul set out to hunt.

***

Thud, thud.

Hearing the footsteps, the man pressed the auto-hunt button and looked up.

"Good job..."

"Good job."

"Wing Snake corpses?"

"Because I have a detoxification skill."

Dozens of them, tied together.

The man, who had been staring blankly at the dozens of Wing Snake corpses, looked back at the aggrieved soldier.

His camouflage uniform was very dirty, as if he had rolled on the ground, but that was all. There were no injuries, and his crossbow, which seemed to be a weapon, was clean.

"Will you handle the Wing Snake corpses here?"

Here, the guild of the association.

Han Yul shook his head in response to the man's question.

"No, I have a separate buyer."

"I see. Then, sign here."

Hunters sign once when entering the gate and once when leaving to confirm their status.

Han Yul signed the document the man handed him and said goodbye with a smile.

"See you tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. See you tomorrow."

The man, who had bowed slightly, watched the aggrieved soldier walk away.

"Wasn't he a defensive skill user?"

Thinking he was unique, the man checked the suppression broadcast featuring the aggrieved soldier on Nertube as soon as he entered the gate.

He clearly made a police shield to protect his allies and himself and fired a gun...

"Hmm?"

The aggrieved soldier entered a convenience store with Wing Snake corpses slung over his shoulder.

"Ah!"

A woman's scream.

"..."

Jingle.

The aggrieved soldier bowed deeply and left the convenience store. The difference from when he entered was that he was carrying a regular garbage bag instead of the corpses.

"Ha ha."

The man, who burst out laughing, picked up his phone.

The Leon Guild had asked him to report if he found a promising hunter.

Instead of clicking the call icon, the man returned to the game and turned off the auto-hunt.

The Hunter Association, like the Leon Guild, had requested, or rather, announced, that they should refrain from matchmaking between the aggrieved soldier and guilds.

He didn't understand why. He only knew the aggrieved soldier as a defensive skill user.

But now he understood.

"If he's a multi-skill user, that makes sense."

The aggrieved soldier wasn't just a shield skill user but a multi-skill user, currently using two skills.