Jongwon and Hyunseok decided to form a temporary guild.
One of the things Jongwon tirelessly emphasized when explaining the advantages of being a Slayer was exactly this: freedom. Even while belonging to I'UET, aside from his fixed work hours and quotas, he often created temporary guilds to go out Slaying.
At Hyunseok's request, they went out together on weekends. Most often, they hunted Stag Monsters that appeared around Mount Bukhan, and as expected, Hyunseok displayed his overwhelming, monstrous strength, living up to the title "One Shot, One Kill" again and again.
Time passed, and it was now winter.
Minseo, just as promised, ranked within the top ten of her school. As a result, she was allowed to accompany them during vacation to experience Slaying firsthand.
Minseo's face was full of excitement, while Hyunseok's expression showed clear displeasure as they formed a temporary guild and headed for Mount Bukhan, where Jongwon had already mapped the terrain and monster spawn points.
Because this was I'UET's Ha Jongwon calling for a temporary guild, members filled up quickly.
The combat Slayers were Ha Jongwon himself and Lee Chaerim, a female Slayer who wielded a thin rapier-like sword. Instead of landing powerful single blows, her role was to perform fast attacks that distracted monsters and scattered their focus. However, Chaerim had taken an instant dislike to Hyunseok. To her, he looked like nothing more than a parent fussing around his child under the pretense of "protecting his sister," despite not even being a Slayer himself.
There was a brief quarrel at first, but Hyunseok smoothed it over with the excuse that he was familiar with the terrain.
The healing Slayer was Kang Burum, and the support Slayer was Go Beomsu, both ordinary men. Together, they managed to successfully slay about three Stag Monsters, one of which dropped a Whitestone, making everyone delighted.
For Minseo, it was her first time participating in a Slaying, and she was thrilled. She was especially overjoyed at the sense of accomplishment of having taken down three in just one day.
"Don't smile so wide. You're relaxed because you've got someone like Ha Jongwon here. Normally, even a Stag Monster is extremely dangerous."
Perhaps feeling provoked by Hyunseok's words, Chaerim shot back sharply:
"And how would you know, when you're not even a Slayer?"
Hyunseok only laughed it off. After all, he wasn't planning on living as a Slayer, nor did he intend to join in unless it was absolutely necessary. There was no need to go around advertising, "I'm a Slayer."
If Hyunseok actually registered as a combat Slayer, that would make three combat Slayers. Stag Monsters, while durable, had weak attack power. Three combatants were unnecessary, especially since one of them was Ha Jongwon. Normally, parties even left out healers when hunting Stag Monsters.
Adding Hyunseok to the roster would just make the party inefficient. Too inefficient, in fact. Rewards were usually split evenly, and with more members, everyone's share shrank.
It was then that Chaerim noticed something unusual.
"What's that over there?"
Jongwon frowned.
"Not sure. I've never seen one before. Looks really strange. Doesn't even seem like a beast-type monster…"
Chaerim's face hardened. The shape looked familiar. It resembled the orcs from the movie The Lord of the Rings.
"What do we do?"
Jongwon chuckled.
"What do you mean? We run."
"Huh?"
"Look at it. Doesn't seem that fast. If we run, it won't catch us."
The monster was bipedal, its entire body pitch black, wielding a club in its right hand. Its face was that of a smashed pig's head. Jongwon had never seen such a creature before. And when that happened, there was no need to charge in recklessly.
Report it to HQ, regroup, and come back prepared.
Thankfully, monsters usually didn't stray too far from where they spawned. The stronger the monster, the wider the range it could roam, but this wasn't fully proven.
"Run."
The famous I'UET combat Slayer Ha Jongwon prepared to bolt. But before he could, Minseo noticed something.
"Oppa, look! Someone's trying to fight it."
"What?"
Jongwon turned. A completely new type of monster stood there, something straight out of a fantasy novel. No one knew its strength without facing it directly. It could be strong, or weak. But one thing was certain, charging in blindly was insane.
"Those lunatics…"
And yet, the Slayers charging at it looked like complete rookies.
Jongwon quickly pulled out his phone and made a call. He had intended to report later, but things had escalated. He hadn't expected such reckless fools to still be alive and running around.
"It's idiots like that who keep the death toll from going down."
They looked like newbies who had only just grown cocky after surviving a few fights. To Jongwon, they were still nothing more than rookies.
"Yes, I've got my GPS on. This is the location. Please hurry if possible. I don't know what it is, completely new type. And some brainless idiots are charging it. They'll be dead soon at this rate. Got it. I'll keep watching."
Meanwhile, Minseo stomped her feet nervously.
"Oppa, are those people going to be okay?"
To her, an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl raised normally, it was natural to want to help people in danger.
"They'll be fine. Otherwise they wouldn't have jumped in," Hyunseok replied flatly.
But the situation was anything but fine.
❋ ❋ ❋
Slayers were becoming a very popular profession. For one, not everyone could awaken as one. And the income wasn't bad, either. Officially, the average monthly income was about 2 million won, but most agreed that statistic was misleading. Many awakened Slayers didn't even participate in Slaying, dragging the average down to zero for them.
For example, Jongwon himself made about 7 million won a month, close to 100 million a year at only twenty-nine years old. That was considered high income. Still, compared to elites in other professional fields, it wasn't that outrageous.
But income aside, Slayers were admired for another reason: romance. The thrill of battle, the glory of hunting monsters, it was the dream job for many boys.
For three middle school seniors, Park Suhyeong, Shim Hyeongjae, and Oh Junhwan, that dream had already become reality. Childhood friends, they'd grown up together, ruling their neighborhood like kings of the back alleys. They were known as good fighters even in school, brimming with confidence. And now, all three had awakened as Slayers at the same time, a rare case.
They considered themselves competent, no longer rookies.
"Holy shit, look at that! A new monster!"
"Bet it drops amazing loot."
"Looks like a freaking orc."
"Should we kill it?"
"Isn't that risky?"
"What, you scared, you pussy?"
"Fuck off."
They were confident. Usually, Stag Monsters required five or six combat Slayers, but they could take them down with just three. It wasn't that they were exceptionally strong, others just preferred safety in numbers.
Still, they believed they were the strongest Slayers in the area. And above all, they weren't afraid.
"Worst case, we die, right?"
And so, the three charged the new monster. They didn't use weapons, relying instead on fists and kicks, confident in their stats.
"Take this!"
Suhyeong's punch landed squarely on the monster's face.
Yes! A clean hit!
But right after smiling in triumph,
"ARGHHH!"
His scream tore out. The monster's shield had reflected the impact back, shattering his fist bones.
In such a situation, the only correct move was retreat. But they didn't.
"Bastard! You hurt Suhyeong!"
Junhwan followed with a low kick to the monster's thick calf.
CRACK!
And then a scream of agony as pain shot through his ankle.
The monster snarled, snorting hot air, then swung its massive club. Thankfully, the attack targeted Suhyeong, whose legs were still intact. Had it been Junhwan, he might already be dead.
BOOM!
The club slammed into the ground, leaving a crater despite the frozen winter earth.
The monster raised its weapon again, this time eyeing the limping Junhwan.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Though not fast, it was still quicker than the injured boy.
At the last second,
WHOOSH!
CLANG!
Jongwon's massive hammer intercepted the blow, smashing the orc's club upward. Pain shot up his wrist.
This thing's no joke.
The monster staggered back, arms raised. Its furious gaze fixed on Jongwon. The aggro shifted.
Damn. If only I had another real combat Slayer to follow up…
But the rookies hesitated, unable to press in.
"Get lost! You're useless here!" Jongwon roared.
They flinched, cowed by his fury.
"You idiots are just getting in the way! RUN!"
"But…"
"BUT WHAT, urk!"
The monster didn't wait. It brought its club crashing down. Jongwon braced with his hammer, pain jolting from shoulder to knees.
"DAMN IT! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME? RUN!"
Overwhelmed by his shout, the three finally fled.
At least its attack pattern is simple. If it had any tricks, I'd be done for.
He gritted his teeth, timing his dodges carefully.
But suddenly the monster lurched forward, looming over him with its stinking, grotesque face.
"Ugh, shit!"
Before it could crush him completely,
The orc vanished, leaving behind a green Monster Stone and an Orc Hide.
"What… just happened?"
Behind the fallen monster, Hyunseok stood with an awkward grin, as if even he hadn't expected it himself.
(End of Chapter 8)
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