Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Assuming someone was an ordinary person with no particular combat ability, what was the most effective and destructive weapon?

Those of us living in the modern age could answer that question without even thinking.

“Guns are the best. Is there even anything to debate?”

One shot for you, one shot for me.

Guns treated everyone equally.

Even monsters, provided the bullet went through their heads.

Haejin had also completed his military service, so he had no trouble using one.

There was, however, a good reason he hadn’t used such an excellent weapon until now.

‘I guess it really is time to get my Hunter license. If I want a gun, I can’t put it off anymore.’

No matter the reason, purchasing a firearm required presenting an official Hunter license.

Possession of firearms was illegal in South Korea to begin with, so naturally they couldn’t simply sell guns to ordinary civilians.

It had already been almost three months since Haejin began working as a Hunter, but he still hadn’t officially registered.

Technically speaking, he had been hunting illegally this entire time.

It hadn’t caused any major problems because he had quietly sold his kills through connections in the Hunting City, but as the scale grew, he could eventually get caught if he was unlucky.

And now that he planned to hunt the Basilisk, he needed an official license more than ever.

‘I can’t put it off any longer. I’ll just go get one.’

Strike while the iron was hot.

Without delay, Haejin headed to the Hunter Registration Center in the Hunting City.

* * *

Hunters were divided into two categories.

‘Ordinary Hunters, basically regular mercenaries, and Awakened Hunters like me.’

The names meant exactly what they sounded like.

Ordinary Hunters were people who made a living hunting monsters using firearms and various other weapons.

Awakened Hunters referred to people like Haejin who had awakened special abilities.

The process of obtaining a license as an ordinary Hunter was extremely demanding.

They had to pass physical-fitness tests involving running, push-ups, and more.

Then came an advanced shooting exam so difficult that even military veterans commonly needed three attempts, followed by a practical test hunting actual monsters under an instructor’s supervision before a license was finally issued.

‘But Awakened Hunters? We don’t need any of that.’

There was a reason the government treated and managed Awakened Hunters as ‘national assets.’

There was no need for any of those complicated, difficult tests. All they had to do was prove they had awakened, and a license was issued immediately.

That was why Haejin confidently announced himself the moment he entered the Hunter Registration Center.

“I’m here to register as a Hunter. An ‘Awakened’ Hunter, specifically.”

“Ah, yes. You awakened. Congratulations. Please fill out these documents first. And what is your class name?”

The employee at the counter handled everything smoothly.

Haejin was momentarily overwhelmed by the rapid-fire questions, but answered properly.

“God-Tier Landlord.”

“Pardon? I think I misheard you.”

“God-Tier Landlord. As in, a landlord above even God.”

“How can a class possibly be called God-Tier Landlord... Ah, my apologies. Yes, registered as God-Tier Landlord.”

“...”

He had the distinct feeling the employee was desperately holding back laughter.

Probably just his imagination.

The name might sound ridiculous, but the class itself was insanely overpowered.

“Then we’ll measure your mana right away. Could you spread your right hand flat and place it here?”

The employee brought over a machine resembling a scanner.

When Haejin placed his right hand on it, blue light swept back and forth and his palm grew slightly warm.

He could faintly feel mana circulating through his entire body.

‘Hmm, I was curious what rank my mana would be too. My abilities perform this well, so at least C? No. Maybe even B.’

A Hunter’s mana capacity was the most intuitive indicator of their strength.

So Haejin waited for the result with a pounding heart.

“Hunter Lee Haejin? Your mana has been assessed as F-rank.”

“Pardon? I think I misheard you.”

“F-rank. F, one level below E.”

“...”

It felt like the exact same conversation from moments ago had replayed with the speakers reversed.

Damn it.

He had wondered if it might happen, but F-rank?

‘This is ridiculous.’

Still, perhaps there was one thing to be thankful for.

Despite being the lowest F-rank, his Hunter license was issued without any problems.

No matter how low his rank was, he was still an Awakened Hunter, a realm ordinary Hunters couldn’t reach.

‘Yeah, this is enough. Who cares about rank? I’ve already made over a hundred million won, and I’ve leveled up this quickly too.’

Those stupid letters were merely the standards imposed by this unfair, petty world.

Once he thought of it that way, his gloomy mood instantly improved.

‘Wait. Isn’t this actually better? If I got a high rank, the government would start following me around and telling me what to do. This is a win. This is better!’

Self-justification so extreme even God would concede defeat!

Perhaps only someone like this could impress the will of the universe enough to awaken.

Haejin accepted his license with a bright smile and left the Registration Center.

The association official who had politely seen him off thought to himself.

‘He’s a nobody. An absolute S-rank nobody. Well, at least he seems happy.’

It hadn’t been intentional.

But somehow, the Hunter registration he had delayed for so long ended up going exactly the way Haejin wanted.

* * *

He went straight from the Registration Center to a gun shop and picked up a solid weapon.

And the very next day.

Haejin opened the door of the makeshift house he had built on the front line near the border and stepped through.

“Let’s do this.”

The day of the long-awaited operation had arrived.

Today, no matter what happened, he would successfully hunt the Basilisk.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would immediately rush into battle.

‘Step by step. Step by step.’

Haejin was extremely greedy, but he was absolutely not the type to lose his head and ruin everything through impatience.

If anything, his extreme obsession with safety and self-preservation meant he preferred to test even a stone bridge before crossing it.

So today, too, he started with preparations.

From the large mansion he had recently moved into to the makeshift house.

After connecting their doors, he diligently carried over the materials he had ordered in advance.

Far more wooden planks and nails than before piled up around him.

He planned to use them to expand the makeshift house.

‘The wider the house, the larger the area I can fight in. Strengthening the base comes first. If I get unlucky and the Basilisk collapses this thing with a headbutt...’

The instant the house came crashing down.

The Basilisk would undoubtedly crush Haejin’s head between its jaws like it had always wanted.

He would rather die than become that damn lizard’s meal.

Bang bang bang-!

He had gotten somewhat used to woodworking by now.

Perhaps humans really were creatures of progress.

Joining boards, hammering nails, firing a staple gun.

He completed the planned construction much more easily than before.

“Whew... This looks pretty good!”

He slowly looked over the finished structure.

Since expansion had been his main goal, the makeshift house had grown from roughly six-and-a-half square meters to around sixteen square meters.

What he had paid special attention to was the size of the entrance.

He made it enormous, large enough for a truck to drive through.

‘At this point, it’s practically a prefab house instead of a shack. Kyaa!’

That should do it.

Now it was finally time to begin the hunt.

Whoosh-!

Sssssizzle!

He lit the grill and began cooking meat.

This time, he had specially brought pork slaughtered that very dawn, without even draining the blood.

A raw, bloody stench far stronger than before spread everywhere.

‘Let’s see you resist this smell.’

Sure enough.

“Bark bark! Grrrr... Bark bark bark!!”

“It’s here!”

Less than five minutes after lighting the grill, Pasu began barking fiercely.

The bushes rustled.

By now, Haejin knew instinctively.

That bastard had appeared.

-Screeeeeeeeech!

The Basilisk emerged as though it had been waiting for this moment.

Now it even openly glared at Haejin while licking its lips.

Boom- Boom-!

Its idiotic headbutting finally resumed.

Perhaps furious at the invincible barrier it could never break, the creature seemed even more violent than before.

Fortunately, thanks to Haejin’s careful construction, the house shook far less this time.

At this level, he no longer had to worry about it collapsing.

“What? You think I’m going to stab you with a spear again? Not a chance, asshole.”

Clack!

He loaded the gun he had quietly hidden behind him.

A black hunk of steel, pride of Korea, that he had fired countless times during military service.

“Have a taste of the K2.”

He shoved the muzzle toward the mouth of the Basilisk as it thrashed and slammed itself against the barrier.

Semi-auto? Not a chance.

He had stocked up on plenty of ammunition, so he switched the selector to full auto and unloaded wildly.

-Screeeeeech!

-Gwegh, gweeeeegh!!

“Definitely better!”

The reaction was completely different from back when he had been poking it with a spear like a caveman.

He could feel through the recoil that he was dealing proper damage.

‘Still not enough, huh.’

By luck, several scales around its head were blown off by the bullets.

He had also pumped dozens of rounds into its mouth, but the Basilisk merely staggered while spilling blood.

The K2 alone didn’t seem powerful enough to deliver the finishing blow.

‘Doesn’t matter. I knew this might happen, so I came prepared.’

Fine.

This was exactly what he wanted.

Haejin dragged over the enormous hunk of metal he had mounted behind him.

An ‘NTW-20’ anti-materiel rifle.

A monster of a weapon designed to tear through enemy armored vehicles.

The used rifle plus three rounds had cost a staggering twenty million won.

It was an enormous investment, but if it could kill the Basilisk, he would still come out far ahead.

Especially now that the creature’s price had skyrocketed.

‘As long as I kill it.’

Surely this much investment was justified.

He loaded the huge 20mm armor-piercing round, closed one eye, and held his breath.

The Basilisk seemed somewhat exhausted, but it continued its desperate assault while panting heavily.

‘Whew.’

He aligned the sights with its head.

Steadied the tremor in his body, put his finger on the trigger.

And waited for the exact moment the suffering Basilisk opened its mouth.

‘Now!’

Fire.

BAAAANG--!