Chapter 137 – SSS-Rank Hunter (12)
Thanks to detecting the monster invasion in advance—like a weather forecast—we arrived before the city was attacked.
Immigration screening was skipped.
No one asks the world’s only SSS-rank hunter, “Why are you in my country?”
“We sincerely welcome you!”
“Thank you for coming such a long way!”
“Have you eaten?”
A welcoming crowd had gathered at the airport filled with non-flying aircraft. There were other places, but Rudolph isn’t a VTOL—it needs a runway to decelerate like a supersonic jet.
Gradual deceleration en route?
That’s an option to avoid if you don’t want aerial combat with flying monsters.
“Thank you for the welcome despite the late hour. How much time until the monster invasion?”
“46 minutes left.”
A middle-aged man in military uniform—likely equivalent to a defense minister—answered.
“Tight.”
46 minutes.
Some might think it’s plenty of time, but imagine if your life had only 46 minutes left.
It’s an SS-rank monster, not SSS-rank, so no national extinction, but severe damage is inevitable. And no guarantee I won’t be part of that damage?
In other words, even with time, I need to take it seriously.
“Yes. We plan to intercept it to prevent city damage. We’ll provoke it with surface-to-air missiles and lure it to the desert.”
“Let’s go right away. Natalia.”
To save time after hearing the explanation, I called the S-rank hunter.
“Yes.”
“Memorize the monster’s exact info and movement path. After subjugation, we move straight to the next target.”
“…Understood.”
Natalia—who had nagged for two hours about not underestimating SS-rank monsters—sighed and moved.
Swipe—
She instantly obtained classified military info unavailable mid-flight and boarded the sled again.
“Done?”
“Yes. I’ll explain while we move.”
“Good.”
Vwooom~!
Making the enthusiastic welcome seem pointless, we took off immediately and headed to the desert rendezvous point.
“Amolang-nim. You seem in quite a hurry.”
“Hmm. Because if I don’t work, idle thoughts won’t stop.”
“Idle thoughts meaning…?”
“……”
“Women?”
“Ahem!”
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and avoided her gaze.
How did she know?
The two women in the back seat—who had warmed up considerably during the trip to Australia—joined in.
“Amolang-nim is a man too.”
“You’re at that age~”
Sisters not much older than me acted like life seniors.
“Haha! Envy you.”
“Don’t rush marriage!”
“Ah, youth.”
Even the reindeer brothers pulling the sled joined the conversation.
I thought they were just teasing, but listening closely, they were seriously pondering my love life more than I was.
“An ordinary woman wouldn’t suit Amolang-nim.”
“Right. The wife of an SSS-rank hunter needs both beauty and grace.”
“What about that princess often on TV?”
“Ugh! If an attention-seeker like her became an SSS-rank hunter’s wife, it’d be a disaster.”
…That kind of talk.
It was the result of the friendliness I’d honed flattering the picky manager of my old commercial building warehouse, but I never expected to build relationships caring about my future in just two hours.
Because I’m an SSS-rank hunter?
Right now, I didn’t care.
“As I mentioned earlier, let me explain again. The SS-rank monster heading north toward the Australian continent is called Bat Sniper. It locates targets from long range with ultrasound, then shoots highly toxic blood.”
“…Current location?”
“The ocean.”
Ocean.
Inputting that word in my mind, I continued questioning.
“If we intercept instead of waiting, where will we encounter it?”
“Huh?”
“I want to face it solo.”
“Too dangerous!”
“Natalia. I decide the hunting method. Right?”
“…Yes. Sorry.”
I shifted my gaze from her and gave serious instructions to the lead human reindeer.
“I’ll board its back. Get me as close as possible.”
“We’ll try.”
“No need to overdo it. I’ll give detailed orders improvisationally.”
“Yes. Amolang-nim.”
“Sniper, huh…”
A threat I started paying attention to after nearly dying several times to snipers in Nam Hae-soo’s dream.
I unfastened my seatbelt and focused.
Blink?
“Right. It’s a showdown.”
I’ll test how incredible an SS-rank monster’s ultrasonic detection is.
The time until Bat Sniper’s landing was 46 minutes, but by going out to intercept, we shortened it to less than half.
‘…I lost.’
The monster’s ultrasound won. I could feel it flying straight toward us after detecting us first.
It hadn’t attacked yet, but once we entered the range of its venom, it would fire directly at us.
“Gain altitude! Now!”
“Huh? Yes!”
“Ignore me and keep going straight.”
“Ignore? Gasp?!”
Tap!
I jumped off the sled.
‘As expected.’
The monster that perceives objects via ultrasound didn’t register me at all.
It sharply banked to pursue the sled and climbed vertically!
I came face-to-face with the bat-like monster’s face.
“……”
Poor eyesight? Or dismissing me as small?
Either way, good for me.
“Now!”
Blink!
The eyeball tentacle wrapped around my right hand and transformed into the Super Grand Galaxy General Infinity Blade.
Next…
‘Head? No. If I fail to kill it, things get complicated—go for the easy wings.’
I decided to play humble.
Whoosh—
The starlight gathered on the blade easily severed the monster’s wing.
Could I have aimed for the head?
The bat monster—caught completely off guard—let out a tearing scream.
“Keeaaak~?!”
“Stab!”
Blink!
Understanding me, the tip of the Infinity Blade stretched like taffy.
Then it flew straight—
Stab!
“Keeak?!”
And embedded deeply into the monster’s torso.
An application of the “as many blades as enemies” rule!
It was more tentacle than blade right now, but having seen the one wrapped around my right arm often, I wasn’t surprised.
“Pull!”
Blink!
The blade embedded in the torso shortened, closing the distance.
I was still free-falling, but there was no fear. I wouldn’t really die even if I did. And below was the ocean.
“Keeaaa…!”
The highly toxic blood of Bat Sniper splattered everywhere.
“Ptoo! Ptoo!”
Naturally, I got covered in it too, but the deadly poison created by this hunter world’s settings did no harm to me.
Sizzle…
My combat suit couldn’t withstand it and melted, but my underwear was safe, so it’s fine.
The Infinite Blade?
Blink~
Utterly unfazed.
‘Hmm. Should’ve gotten a parachute in advance?’
As long as I don’t die, it’s okay.
“Keeaaaa~?!”
Flap, flap!
The monster desperately flapped its remaining wing to survive.
The blue ocean waves became detailed enough to see clearly—
“Hup!”
I inhaled deeply.
Splash…!
Even with the monster’s massive body as a cushion, an enormous impact assaulted me.
“Kee~ Grrrh?!”
The SS-rank monster floundered like a drowned rat.
I thought it would sink straight to the seabed like a beer bottle, but it floated like a ship, mildly surprising me.
“…Still not dead.”
They say monsters don’t die easily until their core—supplying nutrients—is destroyed. Cockroach-like vitality.
However,
“Kee, keeaa…”
The Infinity Blade rummaging through the monster’s insides finally found and shattered the core.
“……”
The monster stopped moving completely, like an appliance with the power cut.
“Electrifying, huh?”
I lay comfortably atop the drifting SS-rank monster corpse on the sea.
Blink, blink~
Transformed back into an eyeball tentacle, the Infinity Blade wrapped around my right arm and wriggled pleasantly.
(Amolang-nim?)
Natalia’s extremely cautious voice came through the earpiece-like radio.
“I’m safe.”
(Ah! What about the monster?)
“It’s dead. Though the sea got polluted with its blood.”
It’ll be fine, right?
(I’ll be right there!)
“Yes.”
I rested, mentally simulating my fight with the monster elephant.
Since Rudolph couldn’t transport a fighter-jet-sized bat monster, we decided to take just photos and its fangs.
“Smile!”
“Taking the picture!”
“Three, two, one…!”
Click!
Though I handled the actual combat alone, we took a commemorative photo including “Rudolph” and Natalia—who had come this far with me.
Everyone was soaked to the bone in seawater—including clothes—but no one frowned or complained.
And off we went!
Having discarded the venom-contaminated combat suit and changed into new clothes, I entrusted my body to the plush sled seat.
“Amolang-nim. Are you tired?”
“No. I’m calming my excitement.”
If I’m honest about my feelings?
It’s fun.
100 times more fun than competing in the Olympics as a national athlete!
I think I understand why the convenience store owner I worked for was obsessed with the VR game Molang Fantasy.
It’s an intense stimulation you can never feel in reality.
‘Dangerous.’
I fully understood why the senior warned me to be careful.
“You’re truly strong.”
“It’s not me—this eyeball is strong.”
Blink, blink~
I’m just carrying the Infinity Blade.
“That’s not true. Amolang-nim is the first hunter to bathe in Bat Sniper’s deadly venom and remain unfazed.”
“The first?”
“Other nullification ability users die even to F-rank monster venom.”
“Hmm.”
The difference comes because my nullification isn’t an ability. It’s closer to outright ignoring?
That’s why I can’t use convenient abilities like spatial leap.
“Landing!”
Rudolph landed not at the airport but in the middle of the desert where hunters gathered to face the SS-rank monster.
Rrrr—
The sled touched down softly on the gravel-and-sand-covered ground.
“…I’ll lower the barrier.”
Sliiide…
The barrier that had taken the dust and impact for us slowly vanished.
I’m reporting it manually now, but once we sync up, we’ll skip it soon.
‘Too bad.’
By the time we start syncing, I’ll be leaving this world.
My stomach twisted at the anticipated sense of loss.
“It’s Santa!”
“The 12th SSS-rank hunter…”
“That man?”
“The owner of the Super Grand Galaxy General Infinity Blade…”
Rumors had already spread?
Hunters and officials gathered for the Bat Sniper subjugation whispered, calling me “Santa.”
Santa Amolang!
…I was glad I hadn’t used my real name.
“Santa Amolang. Is it true you subjugated Bat Sniper?”
“Yes.”
“…But it hasn’t even been 30 minutes since you left the airport.”
“It wasn’t a difficult opponent. Infinity Blade is SSS-rank, Bat Sniper is SS-rank. Natural result.”
“……”
Why? It’s true, isn’t it?
The people quietly listening to our conversation looked at me incredulously, as if unable to relate.
“Amolang-nim…”
Natalia called me in a tone that said she had something important to say.
“Was I wrong?”
“SSS-rank isn’t about combat power. Though used similarly, it originally means ‘supreme.’”
“Hm? Ah…!”
I understood belatedly.
“The combat power of SSS-rank hunters and SSS-rank monsters isn’t the same. Monsters are overwhelmingly stronger.”
“…How strong are SSS-rank hunters?”
“Scale varies, but starting from S-rank monsters, coordinated attacks are standard.”
“……”
“Think carefully. Stopping time doesn’t kill a monster, right?”
“Right.”
“Let’s take the Bat Sniper you hunted today as an example. You need multiple hunters: one to disrupt flight, one to detect sniping, one to neutralize venom, one to attack directly, one to rescue the injured, one to treat the injured, one to defend against sniping, one to jam ultrasound, etc.”
“……”
“Do you understand now?”
“…Does that include Park Hyo-man-ssi, called the strongest hunter?”
“Of course it includes him. He has a record of solo-subjugating an S-rank monster, though.”
“……”
Strange.
“Because of Amolang-nim, we’ll either have to readjust all hunter ranks or create an SSSS-rank.”
“Haha…”
It was such an ideal “strange situation” that I doubted whether I was dreaming.
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TL Note:
The novel is fully completed (231 chapters)
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