Chapter 304: Surprise chest forcast

Nam Su-won was an S-rank hunter.

Since childhood she had been familiar with water. After falling into a cold bath because of a friend’s prank, she awakened her water-magic talent for the first time.

There were many prestigious academies now, but when Su-won was young there had been none. It was difficult to get along with other students, so she had decided to become a pro hunter.

She was now in her tenth year of her career.

"Don’t overdo it." In line with the belief that "I earn a lot when I can earn,"

She calmly proceeded to explore the danger zone while collecting loot and dealing with miners.

’...After this, nine more.’

It was the first time she had ever hunted a member of the cosmic family.

It had been good to see them all together for the first time. After that it became easy because she had watched the enemy’s movements carefully.

A space monster that shot beams might be a huge presence for civilians, but not for hunters.

Even if it shot a beam, was the power of that beam absolute? How long was the delay before firing? ...

The difficulty of hunting was bound to change due to various factors.

The more flexible the hunting became, the more confident Su-won felt.

’I can earn quite a bit with this.’

Just thinking about what to eat after work made her a little excited.

Meanwhile...

It was the students who came to mind when she first arrived here.

Hilaria, Ren, Yuna, Elle, Cybele...

All of them were full of confidence, and their faces seemed to glow.

’Compared to them, I am...’

Her hair seemed the same as it had been when she was a student.

She had gotten old.

After repeating the daily life of earning, all that remained was a body that ached here and there.

How could she earn enough money and get out of this life?

Just thinking about that, she wandered around the danger zone.

「Some independent hunters」

In the face-to-face position, Hunter was both a reserved job and a preferred job.

Wasn’t it funny?

Top prospects and famous squads sponsored by corporations sometimes appeared on TV as they won.

For an independent hunter like Su-won, it was enough even if the income was only a bit decent.

She never knew when she would die.

Even a decent woman avoided her, saying she didn’t want to have a child without a father.

In fact, it was another side effect of Korea, where the number of single-parent families had increased enormously.

"Huh! Water Blast!"

Wooooo!!

She took out another Galactic Miner and caught her breath.

"How many of these guys do I have to catch before I can buy a house?"

One, ten, a hundred, a thousand...

A thousand of them.

"Do you think it’s worth trying?"

If she caught ten a day...

While doing such calculations, Su-won discovered another type of miner.

’What?’

It wasn’t the long limbs that stretched out.

It looked like a praying mantis.

It was a huge monster with countless eyeballs clustered in the center of its body.

Creepy...!!

’Once I check...’

Whirik!

She waved her hand and sprayed water beads. The marbles moved gradually through the air at a constant speed.

They were orbs that exploded when they overlapped with another magic wave. With this she could see the enemy’s movements in detail, but...

’Uh?’

The marble passed straight through the mantis’ body.

When she came to her senses, it had already appeared behind her. She was shot in the stomach with a scythe that had a thick hook and flew away.

She reflexively used water magic to reduce the impact, but Su-won’s side was still much more fatal.

"Cheuk!!"

Su-won fell onto the sidewalk and trembled.

’Is this how I die?’

If she lived another hundred days she would buy a house.

"Ku-heuk!"

Su-won coughed up blood and realized that strength was gradually draining from her body.

’Sorry, Mom...’

At that moment—

"Uh! Mister, what are you doing there? Wake up!"

A red-haired schoolgirl with a greatsword stood guard in front of her.

It was Hilaria, the up-and-comer with the corporate sponsorship that Su-won had been so envious of.

"Cybele! Are there any other guys around?"

"No! It’s just that object!"

"Mister. What are its characteristics?"

"It’s big... it’s black..."

Had her lungs been punctured? It was so hard to make a sound.

Su-won struggled so much that her body trembled.

Shit.

Wasn’t it ugly for an S-class hunter to be protected by academy students?

Anything would help!

"Eye..."

"Eye?"

"Don’t look into its eyes!"

Shhh!

The Galactic Mantis swung its scythe, and Hilaria dodged with a light leap.

That light sergeant jump easily crossed nearly five meters.

"How can you not look when it has so many eyes? Damn it!"

"What about the eyes?"

"Don’t look at it, Cybele!"

Hilaria landed again.

The moment she saw those countless eyes, Hilaria stood blankly.

Seeing that, Su-won recalled the situation while spitting blood.

’The ability to interfere with the mind!’

It was 『Fear Injection』!!

Recognizing the enemy’s ability, Su-won grabbed Hilaria by the ankles and forced her to fall.

Hey profit!

The scythe passed right where Hilaria had been standing.

"Huh? Huh?"

Hilaria, who came to her senses a second later, flinched at the attack that had just passed over her.

"Mister. What is it?"

"...Don’t look into the eyes. Consciousness... flies..."

"Was it like that?"

"Was it like that?"

Totally crazy in a good way. This student!

Su-won shuddered.

’You deserve to succeed. Isn’t that scary?’

The opponent was a monster from a realm of space, a realm unknown to them.

The Galactic Mantis attacked Hilaria. Hilaria opened her eyes and dug in close, avoiding the continuous scythe swings.

And then—

She wielded her sword.

Wooooo!!!

Hilaria’s heavy sword swinging against the floor made the ground vibrate.

"Almost... this guy’s distortion rate... it looks like a castle wall!"

"It’s not our level to deal with. We have to run away!"

Cybele immediately jumped out and helped Su-won.

"Hilaria. Buy time! I’ll take this person!"

"Okay!"

Hilaria spurred the ground as she jumped right across from the mantis.

"This way! Stupid worm!"

Shuuk!

The mantis moved quickly and appeared in front of Hilaria again.

"Huh..."

Hilaria was also impressed by the speed of its movement.

It was impossible to escape!

Even in her desperate situation, Hilaria evaded the attack with one light step and clung to the wall.

"Do you know why I am called Hanging Hilaria?"

Wow!

All the walls Hilaria was hanging on were destroyed, and the commercial building collapsed.

She dodged by flying into the building on the other side, but she was horrified by the enemy’s destructive ability.

"This... should I leave a will?"

On the other hand, Su-won trembled while holding onto her stomach.

"Go get your comrades... don’t mind me."

"You can’t move by yourself! I’m taking you to the temporary hospital bed at the base camp."

"Kuh... huh..."

"Even if you look like that, you’re a tough kid. You’ll be fine!"

"..."

Su-won couldn’t even refute it. All she could do was hold on to her consciousness.

As Hilaria struggled against the Galactic Mantid and found herself on the verge of death, she was reminded of a figure she had seen for quite some time.

Daughter of the Sword Saint, Quintia.

’Compared to that guy’s swordsmanship...’

Her eyeballs were about to turn.

It was proof that the exchange war had definitely left something behind for Hilaria.

In a one-on-one confrontation with the sword master, Hilaria had opened up her limits, but she hadn’t been able to confirm it until now because she had no proper opponent.

When it became difficult to win through pure close combat, the mantis opened its black eyes and Hilaria was stunned again.

’Husband...!’

With Hilaria’s waist as the pivot, the scythe that had been cutting down buildings as well exploded outward.

Woowook...!!

Coo!!

"Ha...!! It’s too soon to die. I!"

Hilaria, with her spirit returned, smiled confidently as she grabbed the giant scythe as if performing a kick catch.

"Got it, you mantis bastard!"

"Kiririk?"

The monster’s eyeballs turned.

An impossible situation. A situation that shouldn’t exist.

Hilaria caught the praying mantis’s attack with her waist by "hanging on the ground" with the power of her toes so that she wouldn’t be sent flying.

"Huh!!"

Hilaria threw the giant mantis — larger than a bear — in the opposite direction.

And then she cut with her greatsword!

Cooong!

Even the magic wall of castle-wall level developed cracks.

"Keep knocking and it will open."

Hang on.

Attack.

That was the source of Hilaria’s strength. Everything had been destroyed with a greatsword, and it didn’t suit Hilaria to procrastinate in a situation like this.

Battle beyond the limit!

The mantis, as if determined not to leave until it had cut off Hilaria’s throat, planted its legs firmly and swung its scythe again.

"There!"

It was then that the broadcast vehicle appeared.

A group of people taking pictures of Hilaria came into view.

"This is Danger Zone Mist Depth Level 2. As you can see, a new entity is fighting the Hunter."

Meteorological caster Lim So-hyun drew her sword and held it tight.

"I’ll catch it myself."

The mantis was not pushed back at all, even in a two-on-one engagement.

Meteorological caster Lim So-hyun and Hilaria each took a leg and attacked with their swords, looking for gaps.

"Students, come! I’ll do it."

"What are you talking about when you’re too heavy?"

"It’s because I can’t show my full strength when there are students!"

"Don’t look at it!"

Despite Hilaria’s warning, weathercaster Lim So-hyun fainted after being injected with fear.

Hilaria pushed So-hyun with her shoulder, making her fall, and blocked the attack instead.

"Ugh!?"

"Because when I look into this guy’s eyes, my consciousness is blown away from time to time!"

"I won’t get hurt anymore!"

"Do the weather forecast later and focus! Big-breasted, quirky unnie!"

"Bird, it’s a live broadcast, so you can’t use that title!"

Hilaria climbed the wall and slashed the mantis with her greatsword.

Coo!!

In the meantime So-hyun caught the timing right away, cut its lower body, and passed by.

Both showed great sword skills at the same time and smoothly peeled off the mantis’ mana wave.

"You’re doing well, So-hyun!"

There was a cheering sound among the staff.

"The new entity of depth level 2... huhu... is strong enough to make even an S-rank hunter have a hard time! As you can see!"

Chew!

In the surprise attack of the praying mantis, Lim So-hyun’s underwear was revealed during the briefing.

"What’s wrong!?"

The titles of the articles that would be posted on the internet today flashed through So-hyun’s mind.

「Embarrassing mistake of a gravitational-wave broadcaster」

「Today you are in the danger zone, you udder.」

「Let’s get to know Lim So-hyun’s breasts.」

No!

"Ughhhhh!! Poem, viewers... for a moment, I’ll check my outfit."

"What if I suddenly go?"

Hilaria jumped behind her, shouting, defending herself from the mantis that suddenly pushed forward.

"Kuk!! If you’re going to do this, don’t you help me?"

"But the underwear!"

"Is it time to care like a girl? You can show your underwear while fighting!"

"What do you know, student?!"

"I know. There are people with talent like you in our grade. Isolde...!"

"..."

So-hyun gritted her teeth.

"Now, grab this first!"

"Oh really! Got it! Since this happened, finish it quickly!"

"I’ve almost taken off the shield! But...!"

Shhhhh.

The praying mantis curled its body into a circle, almost completely refilling its magic and shields.

Hilaria and Lim So-hyun, who noticed this, opened their mouths.

"Lim So-hyun! Comment!"

"Ah... yes, viewers... right now, we’re fighting a new entity."

So-hyun wiped off her sweat while exposing her pink full-cup bra.

"...Very... hard...!"