Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter - Chapter 9

Re-entry

“Oh, this time you caught a Long-tailed Cat, huh?”

Ren exclaimed in surprise as Gaon took out the rest of the items he had stored in his pouch and placed them on the table.

“Three of them?”

Ren widened his eyes in astonishment.

“Yep.”

“The Long-tailed Cats are known to have clearly defined territories. It’s impossible to catch them all at once… huh.”

Ren muttered, then suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

The fact that Gaon had caught three creatures from different territories meant he had been roaming through the contaminated zone for quite some time.

“Impressive.”

Typically, monster hunters spend one to two months, or even more, in the contaminated zone, hunting around three to five monsters before returning.

So, it wasn’t particularly unusual for Gaon to have caught three monsters.

However, if Ren knew when Gaon had gone hunting, it would be a completely different matter.

‘He left the inn the day before yesterday, in the early morning, right?’

He had left in the early morning the day before yesterday.

And he had returned early this morning.

In just two days.

In that short time, he had completed a hunt that would normally take a month or more, even with a group of four or five hunters working together.

“…How long has it been since you settled here?” Ren asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Three months.”

“Ah, right. Three months. It’s just… unrealistic.”

“Not really.”

“Heh, you don’t know what the first three months of a rookie monster hunter are like, do you?”

Ren shook his head lightly.

“When they first join a group and go out to the contaminated zone, they’ll probably spend a couple of months clumsily trying to survive. As long as they don’t die in the contaminated zone, that’s a huge blessing.”

Ren took a breath and continued.

“Small and large wounds are bound to happen. Then, when they return to the city?”

Ren wasn’t expecting a response, so he kept talking.

“They’ll end up spending all the money they earned on treating their wounds. At that point, they either leave the field, considering it a valuable experience, or they stick around, hoping there’s something left.”

“…”

“Those who remain, having felt the threat to their lives, will naturally invest everything they have into better equipment. But with the remaining money, they’ll still be able to afford only basic gear.”

Ren glanced at Gaon’s equipment and, with a slightly shocked expression, said,

“Well, in your case, the reason is different, but your gear is still nothing impressive.”

Up until that point, Gaon had only carried around a dagger, a knife left behind by a monster.

But Gaon showed no reaction.

Ren, seemingly defeated, shook his head and raised both hands lightly.

“I’ve seen plenty of monster hunters during my time as a broker, but you’re truly something special.”

“…”

“I remember when you first came here. You were drenched in sweat, dragging a shark-tooth wolf with you. You looked like you’d break at the slightest touch, with nothing left but a stick for a weapon. And now, just three months later…”

Ren looked at Gaon with a nostalgic expression.

It was no wonder—Gaon now was no longer the same person Ren remembered.

With his well-built physique, even with clothes on, Gaon’s silhouette was clearly defined. How could Ren possibly recall the weak, sickly person from before?

“There’s no need to talk about the past.”

Three months.

That time had been more than enough for Gaon to undergo a complete transformation.

“It’s really amazing to see. How could your body change so much?”

“I told you. I can’t tell you.”

“Heh, I know. That’s your secret, right? Every time you come back from a hunt, you lock yourself in your room at the inn. I’m guessing you’re refining your ‘vision’ in there, right?”

As Ren said, Gaon had spent the last three months completely focused on physical transformation.

Eating, exercising.

Eating again, exercising.

After a bit of sleep, he would eat and exercise once more.

In reality, Gaon thought that calling his workout regimen “vision training,” as Ren did, was a bit too grandiose.

Nevertheless, whenever his funds ran out, he would head into the contaminated zone to hunt monsters and earn enough money to cover his living expenses.

Of course, because of how much he ate each day, even though he could make a decent amount of money from selling monster byproducts, the amount of time he could survive in the inn never exceeded a week.

“Well, I guess that’s why you’re able to keep hunting monsters with that equipment, huh?”

In truth, the reason Gaon hadn’t upgraded his gear wasn’t because of some special reason like Ren thought.

It was simply because he had to spend a lot of money on food, so he couldn’t afford to buy new equipment.

‘There’s no need to mention that… right?’

Gaon decided not to reveal the truth. He could already imagine how Ren would look, incredulous, if he did.

“Lately, other monster hunters have been asking me about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, Gaon.”

After a brief silence, Gaon spoke.

“I must’ve done something that’s attracted attention.”

“Exactly.”

Ren answered with a tone full of amazement.

“Heh, sometimes I’m really surprised by your behavior.”

“Tell them I’m not interested.”

“…What?”

“I prefer being alone. I don’t feel the need to form a group just to deal with the inconvenience of hunting low-tier monsters.”

“Can’t stand it, huh?”

Ren shook his head in disbelief at Gaon’s perfect reasoning.

“If all monster hunters were like you, it’d be so easy to just have a conversation.”

“Stop flattering me.”

“Flattering? I’m not flattering you. I really think that way about you, Gaon.”

“…”

“Heh, you really get tongue-tied whenever you receive praise like this.”

Ren chuckled lightly at Gaon’s reaction.

“Anyway, just pay me for the Long-tailed Cats’ tails.”

“Here.”

Ren handed Gaon a pouch filled with coins.

“So, how long are you planning to stay this time? Longer than before?”

“Not really.”

“Why? You caught three monsters, after all.”

“Because my food intake has increased.”

“Oh, I see. Your vision is quite expensive.”

A vision, after all, is a secret that can’t be shared with others so easily. To learn someone else’s vision, one must pay a steep price.

Of course, the “expensive” Ren was referring to wasn’t the literal cost.

“We’ll see each other again next time.”

“Yeah, see you next time.”

Gaon left the shop, leaving Ren’s farewell behind.

“Gaon!”

“Yeah.”

Gaon gave a light wave of his hand in greeting to the employee who welcomed him warmly.

Whether it was because of the appearance of a new face or the employee’s raised tone, the gazes of those sitting in the restaurant all seemed to converge on him at once.

• Gaon? Ah, is that really him?
• Who is he?
• You know, the guy who wanders through the contaminated zone alone.
• Ah, that’s him?
• Looks like it, they called him Gaon.

Since most of the customers using the inn, “The Place Where the Wind Stayed,” were monster hunters, they couldn’t help but react to the name Gaon.

However, not everyone was so interested.

• Who’s that, making such a fuss?
• Don’t mind it.
• I heard he’s been hunting monsters lately, but they’re only first-tier monsters.
• Ah.

Once they heard that he only hunted first-tier monsters, they quickly lost interest.

Two completely opposite reactions.

But Gaon didn’t react with either pride or anger to the attention.

There was no reason to be shaken by others’ evaluations.

Since he worked alone, there was no need to get involved with anyone.

He could just follow his own path.

The only discomfort came from the gazes that were constantly watching him.

‘Next time, I should wear a wider hood and give those guys a warning.’

Gaon thought to himself as he glanced at the employee.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ll eat in my room.”

“Okay, I’ll bring it up once it’s ready.”

Gaon gave the employee a short reply and, after ordering his food, went upstairs to his room.

Gaon began his daily routine.

He ate his meal and then worked out.

Sweat beads formed and fell off in a steady rhythm.

The difference was that it took much longer for him to start sweating after beginning his workout.

“Hmm.”

Gaon let out a deep breath, trying to steady his labored breathing.

It was the result of a workout he wasn’t satisfied with.

‘The growth rate has slowed down.’

Every time he trained, his muscles would grow explosively, but now it felt like he had reached his limit.

‘Of course, it’s not that growth has completely stopped, but compared to before, it seems less efficient.’

He felt the need for a breakthrough.

Of course, even without it, his talent would continue to yield steady growth, but Gaon wasn’t planning on settling for that.

There were so many things that needed attention right now.

Besides, why had he started home training in the first place?

The goal had been to upgrade his low-spec hardware, which couldn’t fully utilize his talented software.

‘It’s great to strengthen my body with exercise, but I shouldn’t get too caught up in just working out. After all, my real goal is hunting monsters, and you can’t hunt monsters with just exercise.’

So the next step wasn’t to increase the weights he lifted but to learn a combat style that would help him hunt monsters more efficiently.

He was considering going to a dojo to learn combat techniques.

Just like modern dojos teach martial arts like Taekwondo or Judo, there were places in this world that taught how to wield weapons, including swords.

Of course, this would require money.

So the conclusion was:

“I need to earn more money.”

Gaon clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

He had thought he was making more money than most people, but now he realized that was just a misconception.

“At this rate, the numbers aren’t going to add up.”

Of course, there was the saying, “Small things add up to big things,” so he could also steadily save money over time and build up a lump sum for his needs.

Once he had enough, he could move on to the next stage.

‘No, that’s not it.’

Gaon shook his head.

He had concluded that the only result of wasting time would be the destruction of his own talent.

He hadn’t reached a standstill in his growth, so there was no reason to waste time unnecessarily.

‘I need to use my time wisely.’

The reason for this sense of urgency was clear.

It was because he had sacrificed his talent for other abilities, such as aura or divine power.

Even though he had just started, he could clearly feel how extraordinary his physical talent was.

So, he couldn’t help but think about the trade-off.

As he grew, the lack of these abilities would become more and more apparent.

Therefore, the most important thing was to fully develop his physical talent before he reached his limits, as that would be the key to his future progress.

‘I’ll use the time I gain to overcome the penalty.’

He aimed to rapidly grow his physical abilities and, through that, build momentum to tackle the later stages.

‘I mustn’t forget the plan I made when I created my character for Another World.’

Gaon recalled his initial plan.

Of course, back then it was just a game, and now it was reality, but the core of the plan didn’t need to change.

Gaon stretched by pulling his clasped hands over his head.

“Anyway, I have to go back to the contaminated zone.”

Having barely returned, Gaon decided he would re-enter the contaminated zone again, not to hunt first-tier monsters as before, but to hunt second-tier monsters.

The Dark Fantasy’s Genius Monster Hunter.