The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 3.6

“There is a student field trip scheduled for today. The lowest floor available for immediate entry is the 3rd floor.”

“Then to the 3rd floor.”

“Really? You won’t be able to gain anything even if you go in.”

The employee, who had been consistently polite, had his eyes go wide. Floors below the 10th were places that no one, except for those who had just awakened as hunters, would even glance at.

The number one ranker, Baek Yoogeom, was going to a place like that? It was obvious it would be a waste of time.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just going to run a test.”

At his next words, the employee’s gaze shifted behind Yoogeom. His expression brightened considerably upon spotting the head of chestnut-brown hair.

“Ah, I see it’s training for the new person. Approval granted. You can enter through Gate 1.”

The employee, having returned to his polite demeanor, pointed to Gate 1. Following his elegant fingertips, a sign with the number 1 written on it lit up. The others were dark, so it seemed they only activated upon receiving approval here.

“Is this your first time using a gate?”

As Harang was about to follow Yoogeom who was walking off on his own, the employee struck up a conversation. Harang stopped awkwardly and nodded.

“The place Gate 1 is currently connected to is the 3rd floor of the Tower. The environment is a grassland. Have you ever used a portal before?”

The employee, who was continuing his explanation as per the manual, added a question just in case, seeing his dazed appearance. Harang, though bewildered, moved his head up and down. Weren’t portals the things Baek Yoogeom rode around like taxis?

“That’s a relief, then. It feels similar to a portal. The higher the floor, the greater the strain on the body….”

The employee, trailing off, quickly scanned Harang from head to toe. He looked a bit clueless, but seeing as the deputy guild master brought him personally, he wondered if this person was the rumored team member. He looked very weak on the outside, but one wasn’t supposed to judge a hunter by their appearance.

However, seeing him standing there without a clue, he seemed like someone who had been dragged along without even receiving a proper explanation. The employee, having finished his near-correct deduction, concluded his explanation about the gate.

“This time it’s the 3rd floor, so you’ll just feel a little nauseous and that’s it. If the nausea persists for more than 5 minutes, it’s best to come out right away. You know you can use an escape kit on already cleared floors, right?”

“What’s that?”

Harang, who had been listening intently, asked desperately. An escape kit was a consumable item that allowed one to exit the Tower with the press of a single button. There were plenty of escape kits just in the basement of Saenara alone. The novice hunter truly seemed to have no idea. If he could, he wanted to hand one over, but as a civilian, he had no power whatsoever.

“From next time, please get one from the guild’s exclusive warehouse or the Raid Team 1 warehouse. Well then, I wish you good luck.”

The employee, judging that it wasn’t his place to interfere, offered a crisp farewell. Harang received the employee’s send-off with a wistful gaze.

When he slowly walked in the direction the employee had pointed, Yoogeom was, for once, waiting patiently. Beyond his long legs, the door to Gate Room 1 was wide open.

“Hunter Baek. Do you know what an escape kit is?”

“Why would you need something like that.”

You might not need it, but I do. Harang couldn’t even raise his voice and stepped into Gate Room 1. If he couldn’t avoid it, it seemed better to stick close to Yoogeom.

[You have stepped into the Tower for the first time. Linking raid progress. The current floor is the 3rd floor.]

Was it because he had used a portal a few times by now? Harang didn’t even realize he had entered the Tower until the status window popped up.

The status window, which had only shown fortunes since his awakening, was sparkling. He had been thinking this since before, but he could feel an excitement from it, to the point he wondered if it might have a consciousness.

The inside of the Tower wasn’t some other world unfolding before him. The reason Harang hadn’t noticed was because it was similar to Earth.

There wasn’t a single tall building, just a wide expanse of nature, but in any case, there was a considerable disconnect from the Tower Harang had imagined.

“Careful.”

Yoogeom lightly pushed the shoulder of Harang, who had been looking around unguardedly. Despite the weak force, Harang was sent flying like a paper doll and only glared. He wanted to get angry but couldn’t, because white steam was rising from the spot where he had been standing just moments before.

“Wh-what is that?”

“A magical beast.”

“That mushroom?”

“It may look like that, but it has poison. With Min Harang’s current stats….”

Yoogeom trailed off after looking Harang up and down as if appraising him. Where his gaze was directed, a round mushroom was walking around. Like a monster he had seen in an internet game before, it even had eyes and a mouth.

“It’d be best not to touch it.”

Below its round body, small legs were visible. They were short and plump compared to its body, so it looked like they would make a squish, squish sound every time it walked.

“Unless you want some part of you to melt.”

As if noticing he had thought it was cute, Yoogeom said with a serious face. He was newly made aware of the danger. Just as Yoogeom said, all sorts of grass were melting away wherever the mushroom went.

“Ugh.”

Harang instinctively hid behind Yoogeom. When he peeked his head out at the sound of a chuckle, he saw the mushroom beasts falling over. Yoogeom had used a skill in the meantime.

“Don’t dodge, try to attack.”

“I don’t have any attack skills.”

“How do you know if you haven’t even tried. You have to land the last hit for your experience points to go up.”

‘I really don’t have any.’

Last hit or whatever, all Harang had was the ability to see fortunes. He would use it since he was told to, but wouldn’t it just scatter pollen while declaring it would tell its fate?

“What do I c-care!”

He was too embarrassed to say the entire skill name, so he shouted it, shortened to two words. At that, he could feel Yoogeom looking at him as if he were a strange person. Heat rushed to his cheeks.

It wasn’t that Harang wanted to be like this. But what was he supposed to do when he had to at least pretend to say something for the skill to activate?

[Using the skill ‘Where I Go Is My Path, And What Do I Care About Your Heart?’.]

[The target has been identified as a magical beast. Switching to attack mode.]

Whoosh.

A message he had never seen before appeared and disappeared, and flames shot out from the card Harang was holding. It went in a straight line and its firepower was so weak that it didn’t seem like it could even take down the lowest-grade magical beast.

However, the round magical beasts had already been beaten by Yoogeom to the perfect state for a last hit. The toddling mushrooms collapsed helplessly even at the small flame.

Ding!

As the mushroom beast fell, a clear sound rang out. What is that sound? Harang looked around at the out-of-place notification sound.

“Focus. We’re inside the Tower.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Another one is coming over there.”

‘I really did hear a strange sound.’

It was unfair, but the magical beast came first. Harang ignited a flame in the direction Yoogeom pointed. The mushroom beast that had been toddling over disappeared in an instant. At the same time, Harang also collapsed onto the ground.

Perhaps because his MP was only 10, the world spun after using the skill just twice. It was mana depletion.

“I’m dizzy. Let’s just, just rest a little.”

“Don’t tell me you’re out of mana?”

“Yes.”

After entering the 3rd floor, all Harang had done was follow Yoogeom or draw a strange card. Yoogeom was at a loss for words at the sight he was seeing for the first time in his life. Even the support hunter Yoo Jaei had gone around dominating magical beasts by himself as soon as he started his climb.

“…”

On top of that, the mushroom beast was hardly what you would even call a magical beast. He had heard that recently, people with peculiar tastes had been caught raising them as pets.

“It’s true. Do you want to see this?”

Sometimes, meaning can be conveyed without having to say it out loud. Harang, who noticed the dumbfounded look in his eyes, brought up his status window. He was about to materialize it so others could see, but the changed numbers caught his eye first.

Min Harang lv.6

Class: Tarot Master

Title: None Rank: F-

HP: 32 MP: 13

Stamina: 3 Agility: 1 Strength: 2

Intelligence: 16 Intuition: 160(-50)

Just this morning when he used the skill, his level was definitely stuck at 5. Then could it be that the sound he heard just now was announcing a level up?

“What is it?”

As he just stared blankly into the air, Yoogeom closed the distance and approached him.

“I think I leveled up.”

Yoogeom, who had been subtly tense, relaxed at the obvious statement. Harang didn’t know, but the mushroom beasts Yoogeom had beaten to a pulp were not just two. Since he had placed them before Harang right on the verge of death, it wasn’t strange that he had leveled up.

The one thing that was different from his expectations was Min Harang’s expression. Wanting to become stronger was like a hunter’s instinct. That was why he had brought him here, but Harang only let out a hollow laugh. He didn’t seem happy.

“A Tarot Master, you say….”

Harang, who had been looking at his status window for a while, muttered grimly. The hardships of his past flashed through his mind.

Not all hunters leveled up through hunting. For instance, Raid Team 1’s Yoo Jaei raised his abilities as a buffer by casting buffs on others.

Harang, whose very class was Tarot Master, thought it would be the same for him. That was why he had been secretly reading fortunes for people while living in hiding.

‘But what? My level goes up because I killed a few mushrooms?’

If the one who made him awaken as a hunter were in front of him, he would want to grab them by the collar.

While Harang was fuming for a good while, Yoogeom revised the plan he had initially made. By the book, he should defeat the newly appeared boss, but even without looking at Min Harang’s status window, he could tell he was experiencing mana depletion. That was because Yoogeom had secretly formed a party with Harang.

Every time Harang, who was cursing under his breath, moved, two bars that came into Yoogeom’s vision flickered. The one that was full and red would be health, and the one that was empty and gray would be mana.

In any case, he had come in today to test his basic skills. Running out of mana after two skills was unexpected, but he had no intention of forcing him.

“Stay here for a bit.”

“By myself?”

As Yoogeom, having made up his mind, flicked his wrist, Harang hastily asked back. It was a complete change from how docile he had been while he was clearing the area. Then again, the 3rd floor, fitting for the entrance of the Tower, had an environment similar to Earth, but for someone entering for the first time today, it was understandable to be cautious.

Moreover, Min Harang was a huge coward. He seemed to think he hid it well, but not only Yoogeom but the other team members had already noticed.

“Just don’t go outside this circle. I’ll be back soon.”

Instead of clicking his tongue, Yoogeom took out a disposable shield item. When a faint golden dome formed, Harang looked around with a fascinated expression.

“What is this?”

Harang, who would normally just let it go, asked what it was. What Yoogeom had just used was a top-grade shield that could block even an S-rank hunter’s attack three times. It was just as difficult to obtain, so he had wasted time since morning to get it, but there was no way Min Harang would know.

“A protective shield. No one can get in unless you go out first.”

“Then I’ll stick right here.”

Harang, seemingly having grasped the situation, said this with his hands clenched tightly. Baek Hyemin had that exact same expression when he heard he had good compatibility with equipment. Yoogeom gave a faint smile and began to scan the surroundings.

As he gradually expanded his senses, he could feel the mushroom beasts gathered together in a cluster. However, what Yoogeom was looking for wasn’t such a trivial magical beast.

He expanded his senses even wider. The farther away from the skill caster, the lower the accuracy usually was, but this did not apply to the number one ranker, Baek Yoogeom. Just around the time Harang was thinking, ‘Just when is that man coming back,’ the being Yoogeom was searching for was caught.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

Harang didn’t know why he bothered to say anything before leaving, but since he said goodbye, Harang saw him off in return. Just as he was about to give a light wave, Yoogeom disappeared without a trace.

Left alone, Harang checked his changed status window. It would be nice if he could raise his stats as he pleased, but only his intuition had risen by a useless 10 points. Next to it, he could also see the value that had dropped due to the penalty.

‘I wonder if there are about 6 days left.’

As he was counting the remaining penalty time, the status window suddenly shot up.

[You have successfully cleared the 3rd floor.]

[Clear time 20 minutes 18 seconds]

[Maximum contributor: Hunter Baek Yoogeom]

[Other contributors: Hunter Min Harang]

It was a pop-up he had only seen when a new floor was successfully climbed. It was strange to see his own name listed as a contributor, even if it was in the ‘other’ category.

[Rewards will be distributed differentially based on contribution. Your reward grade will be increased by ‘Beginner’s Luck’.]

At the blue windows that appeared one after another, Harang cheered inwardly. Even though the 3rd floor was just the beginning stage, the Tower was generous.

[Please select a reward.]

[1. Second Skill: The skill you would obtain at level 20 will blossom immediately.]

[2. Experience Points: You can raise your level instantly.]

Harang’s eyes narrowed after checking even the detailed explanations. The balance was skewed too far to one side. It was obvious anyone would choose number 1, but because the value was so different, it made him hesitate for no reason.

“Let’s go.”

I should ask him when he gets back. Harang, who had been contemplating, fidgeted his whole body. He was about to ask if the choice could be postponed or if there was a separate time limit. But Baek Yoogeom had returned as suddenly as he had disappeared.

[You have selected Second Skill.]

Because of that, the option in the status window was selected on its own. He urgently shouted that it wasn’t right, but the reward calculation was already beginning.

[Reward calculation complete. Second skill ‘To Reach You…’ blossoms.]

Harang’s pupils shook like crazy. Since his class was Tarot Master, he had figured the first skill might be a bit strange. But the name of the second skill was not ordinary either.