Dark mode for a better experience
Many believe that being a hunter is an easy way to make money, even at E-rank.
They’re both right and wrong.
From an outsider’s perspective, the income may seem decent. However, turning that income into savings is a different story.
For most hunters, injuries are commonplace, and they typically spend more than half of their earnings on treatment and equipment.
One misstep and their hard-earned savings disappeared in an instant.
Like Evie now, standing in front of the hospital payment window, in denial of reality.
She stood frozen, blinking her eyes. About $40,000 had just vanished from her account.
Unable to believe her eyes, Evie counted the numbers on the square screen again.
Slowly, one by one.
No matter how many times she checked, the black numbers remained.
Evie James
Account balance: $2,000 approx.
Three months of working like a dog were gone in a flash.
“Have a good day.”
“……”
Evie barely nodded at the kind teller as she stumbled away from the window.
Her mind struggled to think positively about $40,000 vanishing into thin air.
‘Get a grip, Evie. That was cheap for a life. You could have lost an arm or leg. For the price of a life…Fuck.’
Evie slumped onto a bench near the hospital entrance, burying her face in her hands. She hunched over, resting her elbows on her knees, and stayed like that for a while.
She knew.
She knew she shouldn’t complain. Treatment from a B-rank healer…the cost was more than reasonable. But her anger couldn’t subside…
“Sons of bitches. I’ll rip their heads off if I ever see them again.”
It was because of the party [1] members she had raided the dungeon with a few hours ago.
They were such assholes, it went beyond simple bad luck!
They had entered the dungeon, cleared out the regular monsters, and things had been going smoothly—at least, until about halfway through.
Two E-ranks and four F-ranks. Not a bad mix for an F-rank dungeon.
However, the problem started after encountering the boss monster.
“Aaaaahh!”
One of the party members screamed at the top of his lungs as the boss’s acidic venom splashed onto his leg, drawing the boss’s aggro [2] .
The E-rank
tanker
[3]
, still somewhat composed, yelled and stomped his feet to try and draw the aggro back to himself, but it was no use.
The spider-type boss monster had already ran past the tanker toward the panicking party member.
“Gaarghh…!”
Collapsed on the floor, he didn’t even think about grabbing his weapon, only clutching his leg. Then the tanker spoke to Evie.
“Could you draw the aggro for a moment?”
“Excuse me? Me?”
Evie asked, her finger pointing back at herself in disbelief.
Did I hear that right?
Asking Evie James, a low-ranking
supporter
[4]
with pitiful stats devoid of any attack skills, to draw the boss’s aggro?
This tank bastard had officially lost his marbles.
“Just a very short moment.”
“I don’t care if it’s a nanosecond. Why me…?”
Evie was bewildered. Why was he asking the weakest member of the party when their designated
damage dealers
[5]
were right there?
Glancing around the boss room, she saw the so-called F-rank damage dealers were living up to their rank.
They running around like headless chickens, more concerned with screaming their lungs out than doing their damn jobs. It was pure chaos.
“…I can’t do it for more than 10 seconds.”
“That’ll be enough.”
Reluctantly, Evie rummaged through her inventory. She soon found an item perfect for luring aggro.
Ugly Cuckoo Clock – A clock with a shrieking cuckoo. You can’t help but turn around when you hear its horrifying call.
⏳ 10 seconds
⚠️ Destroy it within 5 seconds may cause the target’s rage to be directed at the item’s owner.
Evie pulled the small [Ugly Cuckoo Clock] from her inventory and threw it toward the boss monster’s back.
The clock bounced off its hard shell and fell to the ground, then in the next instant, it sprang upright. Spinning in a circle around the monster, it unleashed a barrage of earsplitting noise.
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”
A cuckoo with strange eyes popped out from the clock, screaming. The boss monster immediately turned its head.
Several of its eyes glowed red. Its sharp, spidery legs slammed down on the small clock that buzzed around it.
As the clock burst into splinters, the giant spider turned its enraged gaze upon Evie, as if it wanted to tear her limb from limb.
“Kkieeeeeeee!”
Holy shit… it’s only been 3 seconds…!
There was no time for thought. Evie ran with all her might.
She wanted to slap her past self, who had confidently said she could hold out for 10 seconds. Still, Evie trusted the party’s tank and thought the 4 damage dealers would attack the boss soon.
“Ahhh!”
Evie screamed involuntarily and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
The very spot she’d just run past mere seconds ago was now a smoldering crater.
“Kreeeee!”
Startled by the roar of the boss monster, Evie glanced back as she scrambled away.
10 seconds felt like an eternity, but there was still no sign of the tank bastard.
Rolling on the ground a few more times to avoid the spider legs, Evie finally grasped the situation.
She was completely alone, facing the enraged boss monster. Her supposed party members were nowhere to be found.
Those crazy bastards… they set me up!
Some monsters dropped better loot depending on the rank of the hunter who delivered the final blow.
And some detection-type skills allowed hunters to check the monster’s information. Now that she thought about it, one of the damage dealers had given her a strange look when they’d first entered the boss room; he must have been using a detection skill!
Evie bit her lip, rummaging through her inventory.
The mana [6] potions she brought, at their constant requests, had run out long ago. Emergency potions and the small amount of mana she’d restored using buff skills moments earlier were almost depleted.
At that moment, the boss monster spewed strong acid from behind. Preoccupied with her inventory, Evie couldn’t avoid the attack and had to sacrifice an arm and a leg.
“Arghh…! Hngh, uugh….”
Her skin melted away, bringing excruciating pain. Her vision blurred due to tears.
Even as her skin was scraped from falling onto the floor studded with sharp rocks, Evie rummaged through her inventory with one hand and pulled something out.
The moment the boss monster raised its poison-coated leg to crush Evie, she aimed and fired.
Jena’s Crossbow – A crossbow favored by Archer Jena. The arrowheads are coated with Jena’s handmade poison. Though worn, it seems usable for once.
Can be used once (5 arrows loaded) in dungeons of E-rank or lower.
▫️ Jenna Hates Disgusting Insects
20% Additional Damage to Insect-type monsters.
▫️ Jenna Hates Spiders The Most!
30% chance of a Critical Hit against Spider-type monsters.
▫️ Jena’s Hates Getting Stabbed in the Back!
Allows users to spread Jena’s special poison into the air.
(Betrayers are everywhere. I’ve had enough of them! Are you abandoned too? Spread my poison if those bastards are still around you. It can kill them all within a minute…Still, I hope you can survive. Don’t die with those scum – Jenna)
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
Due to her trembling hands, the arrow aimed at the boss’s head hit its eye instead. As the suffering boss staggered, Evie fired two more arrows consecutively.
With arrows piercing its head and stomach, writhed and collapsed to the floor.
The giant spider twitched and soon stopped moving.
Looks like she beat the 30% chance and inflicted a critical hit.
Defeated Queen Tarantula
Spider Nest (F) Cleared
Distribute items based on contribution
Check your inventory
Gate open
You can now freely enter and exit the dungeon
“Hah, hah…”
Though her hands trembled, Evie didn’t put down the crossbow. She could hear the sound of her party members approaching from beyond the boss monster.
Evie quickly checked her inventory. After defeating a boss, the person with the greatest contribution always received a Return Scroll.
Found it.
One hand clutched the Return Scroll, the other kept the crossbow steady, and Evie aimed towards the sound.
The party members approached Evie, strolling past the spider’s corpse. Even the drama queen who’d been clutching his leg was miraculously walking fine now.
“What the hell? You had that thing the whole time?”
“Are you kidding me? You ruined the plan!”
“If you had just played along, we could’ve gotten our hands on a mid-level magic stone.”
“Whatever. Just stay here and–”
Evie fired two poison arrows at the closest one and the one next to him and immediately used the Return Scroll.
She didn’t have to tear it up, just mentally activated it. Fortunately, when using a Return Scroll obtained by defeating a boss monster, interference from others was impossible.
Evie gave them the middle finger as she watched the grimacing bastards swing their swords and throw daggers.
After exiting the dungeon, she had to use the emergency transportation service at the entrance, even though she knew it was a rip-off.
She couldn’t crawl to the Awakened Specialized Hospital with her melted arms and legs.
While being transported to the hospital, Evie reported the party members to the government.
As expected, they were Junk Irregulars.
The so-called scum who committed all sorts of atrocities inside dungeons.
They used to be called Black Hunters, but some brilliant minds had decided those parasites didn’t deserve such a cool-sounding name. It was then that “Junk Irregulars” was born.
Honestly, “human garbage” would’ve been more fitting.
They’re a disgrace to hunters. Why the hell were they ever called Black Hunters in the first place?
‘It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so careless, if I had just checked the latest Junk Irregulars list published by the Guild and the government, this never would have happened.’
Evie leaned back on the bench and sighed, running a hand over her face.
She gritted her teeth.
‘I’ll really kill them if I see them again. That is, if they’re still alive.’
Evie had released the poison into the air immediately after using the Return Scroll.
Since they seemed quite close, they would probably try to heal injured ones and get poisoned in the process.
Even if E-ranks and F-rank tried to crawl or fly, it would take about 3 minutes to get to the gate.
Maybe even faster, given their desperation. But with that poison coursing through their veins…
Yeah, no. They were dead. All five of them.
She had killed them, albeit indirectly, but she didn’t feel the least bit guilty.
They’d tried to hurt her first. And Junk Irregulars? They deserved whatever they got.
I shudder to think how many other hunters they’ve killed with that same trick.
Evie shook her head to dispel the unpleasant thoughts.
‘Let’s check the items. Inventory.’
A screen appeared before Evie’s eyes. She pressed each reward one by one from the square box.
Low-Grade Pure Magic Stone
A stone containing a small amount of pure magic power
Queen Tarantula’s Thread
The thread used by Queen Tarantula to create hunting webs. Very tough and durable.
Queen Tarantula’s Venom Gland
The venom gland of Queen Tarantula. Extremely lethal, even in small doses.
Skill Acquisition Scroll x2
Scrolls that grant you random skills.
Obtainable Skill Rank: F~S
Untradeable
“Huh…!”
Evie’s eyes widened, her hands clasped together.
‘Thank you, thank you!’
Passersby gave Evie weird looks as she shook her hands in the air, but she paid them no mind.
Queen Tarantula’s Thread and Venom Gland.
They weren’t rare items, but selling them could fetch a decent profit.
While the Thread could fetch a few hundred dollars at best, the Venom Gland could even reach up to $6,000 depending on the market demand.
If processed correctly, it could even be used to make antidotes.
And on top of that, a Pure Magic Stone.
Even if they were both low-grade, a Pure Magic Stone and a regular magic stone had different qualities, starting with their appearance.
Evie took the magic stone out of her inventory and held it with both hands.
It was about half the size of her palm.
As the sunlight shone down on the blue, transparent magic stone, it sparkled dazzlingly.
Evie kissed the cute and pretty stone, rubbed her cheek against it, and stroked it like a pet rock.
‘I can get $15,000 for this.’
Evie choked up as she remembered her struggles in the spider’s nest. If she didn’t desperately need money, she wouldn’t have joined such a suspicious party.
She should have known from the way they enthusiastically welcomed an E-rank Hunter with no attack skills like her.
Putting the precious stone back into her inventory, Evie picked up her phone and accessed the Hunter Market.
There was a reason Evie urgently needed money.
Mikewood’s Bracelet (sold out) – An early work of the alchemist Mikewood. Crude in appearance, but its abilities are quite useful.
▫️ +5 Mana when equipped
▫️ Self-repair of minor damage
▫️ Can be memorized (once)
“Ah…all sold out.”
Mikewood’s Bracelet.
A $20,000 item.
It might be a trivial item in the eyes of high-ranking Hunters, but it was absolutely necessary for Evie.
She always suffered from mana shortage, and for low-ranking Hunters, every single stat point was precious.
For an item that increased the precious mana stat by 5, $20,000 was quite reasonable.
The money spent on mana potions every time she entered the dungeon was quite a burden.
Even if she invested $20,000 in a bracelet, it would pay off within six months and generate profit afterward.
If she had a bit more in my account, she would have purchased it immediately.
Always keep at least $40,000 in the bank.
If nothing else, Evie was determined to stick to this rule.
Until today.
-
1.
Party
A group with each member having distinct abilities, roles, or classes that complement each other to overcome challenges and achieve shared objectives. -
2.
Aggro (short for aggression)
Enemies’ attention and hostility towards a specific character. -
3.
Tanker/Tank
Possess high health, defense, and abilities to generate a lot of aggro. Tanks initiate combat, absorb damage, and maintain enemies’ attention. -
4.
Buff/Supporter
Assist teammates through abilities that heal, shield, or temporarily enhance teammates’ offensive and defensive capabilities. -
5.
Attacker/Dealer/Damage Dealer
Inflict damage on enemies through weapons and abilities. Possess high offensive capabilities. Vulnerable with low defense and health. -
6.
Mana
A character’s magical energy reserves. Characters spend mana to cast spells and abilities. Regenerates through resting, mana potions, or certain abilities.
If you like the novel, how about checking my other works? The list is on Kofi (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Related Series
Comments (2)
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This is better than I expected. Can’t wait to get to the smut part!
Oh dear, our MC is an unintentional murderer, she desperately needed money for a relic that cost half thank heredical fees, and nearly got melted by a spider.
I like it!