"Hey, Glass Cannon. It's time to earn your keep."
"…Understood."
Glass Cannon. It was a term consisting of only four syllables, but it was also a perfect description of me.
"It's just so convenient. For a mere 500,000 won, we get a mercenary who can one-shot the mid-boss and the final boss." "I'm saying. I mean, even if it's just a C-Rank Gate, a boss is still a boss."
I possess a skill capable of killing a C-Rank Gate boss in a single blow, but unfortunately, I am an F-Rank Hunter.
"Magic Missile!" —Shuwoong! Kwang!
[You have defeated a monster.] [Experience for Innate Ability: ??? Lv.1 increases by 0.2%.] [Experience for Magic Missile (D) Lv.1 has reached its limit; experience will now be banked.]
"It's handled." "Okay. Now stay back. You've got two shots left, right?" "Yes. That is… correct."
The employers moved on without even listening to the end of my sentence, and I followed behind them with a small sigh.
'Status Window.'
== Name: Han Seo-jun Overall: F-Rank Physical: 3 ??????: 10/15 Innate Ability
??? - Lv.1 [99.8%] Owned Skills
Magic Missile (D) - Lv.1 [99.99%] - Growth Limit Reached ==
It was a status window one might mistake for a novice Hunter's, but it was strictly the status window of a Hunter who had awakened three years ago. Normally, after three years, it is said that one can clear C to D-Rank Gates alone, yet I have remained the same for three years. At the very least, my stat that appeared to be mana-like energy had increased by 5, but it wasn't a stat raised through training or skill growth.
'Considering the power of your skill, Mr. Han Seo-jun, you could even become an A-Rank Hunter with sufficient support! The level of the skill isn't what's important!'
Along with those words, I had received a mountain of support and briefly basked in the media spotlight. The Association had even advertised me as a person who displayed thirty times the mana efficiency of others.
'But I was discarded because of my damn recovery rate and a mana pool that refused to grow.'
The problems were a recovery speed that was only 10% compared to other Hunters, and the fact that my mana only rose by 5 even after consuming four elixirs that were supposed to increase it by at least 30 to 40 each.
'If there is one hope left, it's the experience of the innate ability… which has reached 99.98%. If even that gets blocked by a growth limit….'
I was already preparing to give up the Hunter life and study for the civil service exam if that happened. Today was the day I would see the fruits of three years spent running forward, looking only at the growth of my innate ability.
"Take a break!" "Rest!" "Hey, Glass Cannon! Bring some drinks!" "Yes. Understood."
For now, as a mercenary, I suppose I have to attend to my employers' needs.
**
At the end of the path we traversed after a short rest, there was a massive hollow submerged in pitch-black darkness.
"I don't know why cave-type Gates always have boss rooms like this." "You can say that again. Hey! Glass Cannon!" "Yes! Coming now!"
I was already running forward before my employer even called. Part of the reason was that in the early days, I had received refund demands simply for being slow to move after being called.
'If I use the skill this time, my innate ability level will rise.'
The anticipation of a brilliant future that might arrive once the level of my innate ability rose was greater.
"The boss is… humanoid. Aim for the head." "Yes. Understood. Magic Missile!" —Shuwoong! Kwang!
"Great. That's it! Glass Cannon, fall back. Don't go eyeing the items." "Yes. Under…stood."
My reply was delayed, but the employers didn't pay me any mind. It was likely because they were too busy anticipating what items the boss might have dropped.
[Experience for Innate Ability: ??? Lv.1 increases by 0.2%.] [Innate Ability: ??? has reached Lv.2.] [Growth limit for Magic Missile (D) Lv.1 has been removed; skill increases to Lv.2.]
'Finally!'
The long-awaited level-up of my innate skill. I was about to check my status window immediately when I suddenly heard the urgent voices of my employers.
"…Gah! What are you doing?! Shoot it, hurry!" "Pardon?"
Looking toward the source of the voices, I saw the headless boss monster attacking the employers. It seemed they had been blindsided; the employer in the damage-dealer position was bleeding and running away.
"Ma-Magic Missile!" —Shuwoong! Kwang!
[You have defeated a monster.] [Experience for Innate Ability: ??? Lv.2 increases by 0.2%.] [Experience for Magic Missile (D) Lv.2 increases by 4.2%.]
Seeing the messages pop up again, I realized that when I hit the head earlier, the message 'You have defeated a monster' had not appeared.
'Was it an Irregular monster, or perhaps a Parasitic type?'
Irregular monsters sometimes have more than one weak point, while Parasitic monsters require the main body to be killed.
"Hey! You son of a bitch! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" "You take the money, and then you just space out?!" "I am sorry."
I had a reason for my momentary distraction, but I didn't think they would understand.
"A sorry isn't going to fix—!" "Ah, forget it. Hey, Glass Cannon." "Yes, Employer." "Refund half of your pay for today."
For a second, I felt my blood boil, but I forced myself to endure and replied that I would.
'At least for now, they are the "Alpha" and I am the "Beta."'
If I were to defy them now, I could be killed without anyone ever knowing.
'From now on… I must verify whether the defeat message appears.'
It was an error in perception caused by always handling monsters in a single shot. A mistake made once is an error, but twice is negligence. I decided to think of the refund as the price paid for learning why one must never be negligent.
"As soon as we're out of the Gate, send the money. Got it?!" "Understood." "Let's go!" "Talk about bad luck… ugh. See if I ever hire that guy again." "Hey, forget it. Once word gets out about today, who's going to use him?"
Listening to the employers' conversation, I moved with an indifferent expression. Since we might encounter monsters on the way back, I deliberately postponed checking my status window.
"Exit confirmed. 4 entered. 4 exited. One casualty?" "Yes. The boss monster was humanoid, but it seems the core was in the heart." "A humanoid boss? Humanoids are rare in C-Rank… was it undead?" "Don't know. That guy blew its head off, but it just got back up."
The Hunter Association employee looked at me with a cold gaze, nodded, and wrote something down. The employers were continuously badmouthing me, but I took no interest in their dialogue.
[Transfer of 250,000 won to Kim Kyung-sik completed.] [Balance: 417,390 won]
If the effect of the leveled-up innate ability wasn't good, I was planning to leave the Hunter industry anyway. I immediately refunded the half as the employer had demanded and showed him the transfer completion screen.
"This brat, he's fast. Don't know if there'll be a next time, but see you around if the chance comes? Glass Cannon." "…Yes."
Even though the former employer openly called me 'Glass Cannon,' the Association employee simply watched the Gate close with an indifferent expression.
'…Let's go home.'
Fortunately, this job had appeared in a location less than five minutes from my residence, so I was able to get home immediately. I wanted to check the status window, but because of what happened earlier, my desire to leave the Hunter industry had grown stronger.
'…Since it might be the last time, let's open a beer and check while drinking.'
I took a shower, changed my clothes, and even started the washing machine before I finally opened the status window.
== Name: Han Seo-jun Overall: E-Rank Physical: 5 ??? Power: 38/45 Innate Ability
??? - Lv.2 [0.2%] Owned Skills
Magic Missile (D) - Lv.2 [73.3%] ==
I saw that the experience for the Magic Missile skill had surged, but it wasn't strange since the system had mentioned that experience was being banked.
'The important thing is the innate ability, but the name still isn't showing up.'
I stared at the status window for a moment, then took a sip of beer while checking the details of the innate ability.
[??? - ?] [??? ??? ???] [Lv.1 - Complete possession of 1 random skill] [Lv.2 - Skill resource consumption can be adjusted from 10% to 200%] [Lv.3 - Locked] ...
"…What? Resource consumption can be adjusted?"
I stared at the ability information in a daze for a moment. Thinking 'no way,' I checked the information for Magic Missile. Aside from the mana consumption rising to 7, there were no other notable changes.
'Damn it. If only I had mana left to test…?'
I closed the skill information with regret, but then the stat portion of the status window caught my eye.
"45?!"
Since I had used one more shot at the Gate, it had decreased by 7, but my mana pool was clearly pointing to 45.
"…Then, Magic… Missile?" —Tsu-tsut!
[Target not set. If a target is not set, the skill will be canceled in 30 seconds.] [29… 28….]
While focusing on the status window, I used the skill, but for some reason, Magic Missile appeared with 7 mana being used—without even asking me to select the mana consumption amount.
'Come to think of it… I used the skill at the Gate without any special settings either.'
I pondered for a moment and then realized that the system operates quite intuitively.
"Magic Missile 10%." —Tsu-tsut!
[Target not set. If a target is not set, the skill will be canceled in 30 seconds.] [29… 28….]
Ignoring the system message, I checked the mana amount in the status window.
…30.3/45
I saw that exactly 0.7 mana had been used. Normally, anyone else would have cheered, but I took a deep breath and decided to think calmly.
"…The problem is how much power it has."
When using 100% mana, it had 30 times the power based on the same mana consumption. Expecting 3 times the power just because it was reduced to 10% might be greedy, but what if it just produced the power appropriate for a D-Rank skill?
"At the very least, soloing up to E-Rank Gates becomes possible."