HACKED 83

Instead of watching his mouth, the S-rank Hunter flared up even more.

“Do I look like I’m in a position to speak kindly right now? Some disposable extra is telling me he can’t trust the protagonist!”

“Our unit members are all excellent hunters. They are experts in the wicked tricks used by monsters. Not one of those people noticed anything strange. Nor did I.”

<The Hunter Hunted by Divine Punishment>, <The Origin of the Amazons>, and even the other three unit members. All of them are Incarnations who descended with the inherent ‘Hunter’ trait. Even after descending, they have accumulated experience through countless battles.

Among the enemies they had faced, many possessed skills that disrupted the senses. They were mainly those with demon, yokai, or ghost traits.

If it had been such a skill, they would have noticed immediately. But this time was different. They hadn’t felt that characteristic ominous and eerie energy that comes when dealing with such beings.

“Something strange?”

However, at the young man’s words, the S-rank Hunter recalled the moment he felt a strange sense of dissonance as soon as he entered the 5th floor.

“Now that I think about it, there was a strange feeling earlier. Everyone changed suddenly right after that feeling hit.”

That dissonance had brushed his mind for a very brief moment and disappeared immediately. Since there was nothing particularly wrong after that, he thought it was just an illusion.

But what if it wasn’t an illusion?

“It’s a skill! The enemy definitely cast some kind of skill. I repelled it, but you guys couldn’t. Because you’re inferior and idiotic leftovers. That’s why I told you to listen to me!”

The S-rank Hunter asserted confidently. He expected that the other person would soon realize his own incompetence and offer words of apology. However, the young man’s reaction was completely different from his expectations.

“Well, that could be the case. But I’d rather trust my intuition and the experience of my comrades more.”

The young man spoke firmly, hardening his lips. The ‘comrades’ he trusted did not include the S-rank Hunter. Heat rushed to the S-rank Hunter’s head.

“This bastard, have you lost your mind? I’m telling you, you’re under a skill too! I’m the only sane one here. What kind of stupid nonsense are you talking about?”

“For now, I will follow your words. Since there is nothing good for either me or you to be antagonistic in a situation where only the two of us are left. But that is only until we find the comrades and join them. Once I meet the comrades again and hear their explanation, I will follow the path I believe is right at that time.”

The S-rank Hunter grumbled with an expression full of disillusionment.

“To think I have to play in a party with things like this… Phew. Let’s stop talking. I’ll have to formally complain to the Master when I get back.”

Yes, this was just a brief ‘sweet potato’ phase. Soon, when the enemy’s full-scale attack began, everyone would realize that he was right.

At that time, they could try crying and begging too late. He would absolutely not save these pieces of trash. After using his ‘Protagonist’s Privilege’ skill to suck up all the experience points and items even for their shares, he could just report back that unfortunately, everyone except himself died a heroic death.

‘Damn nuisances, I hope they die and disappear quickly.’

The S-rank Hunter moved his feet, suppressed his surging anger.

˙✧˖°🎮 ⋆｡˚

The Library District was generally dark. There was lighting, but all the lights were turned off. He didn’t know if it was because there wasn’t enough power to turn on the lights in this entire massive space, or if the enemy Compiler had strategically chosen to turn off the lights.

But hunters were those accustomed to darkness and silence. To them, this level of darkness was not a great obstacle. The S-rank Hunter and <The Hunter Hunted by Divine Punishment> advanced bit by bit while guarding all directions.

Fft!

A small sound was heard then. It was a very small sound that would have been buried by footsteps if the entire library hadn’t been covered with plush carpet. However, the hunter’s senses, honed to the extreme, did not miss even that small sound.

“Mr. Hunter!”

The young man pulled the S-rank Hunter hard.

Thud.

An arrow struck the spot where the S-rank Hunter had been standing. The arrow was silent even at the moment it pierced the carpet and embedded itself in the floor. Only the feathers at the end of the shaft trembled.

“There is an enemy. It’s sniping.”

“Have they finally appeared?”

Even though an arrow had suddenly flown in, they were not surprised. From the moment they set foot in enemy territory, they had naturally expected things like ambushes or traps. Rather, they had been wondering why there was no sign of an attack until they reached the 5th floor.

The S-rank Hunter carefully examined the arrow stuck at his feet. Soon, he snorted and kicked the arrow away.

“What, it’s just an ordinary arrow with no skill loaded and no special abilities. It’s enough to just deflect something of this level. I have plenty of defense, so if push comes to shove, I can just take it with my body.”

“No, you can’t! Please don’t ever do that.”

“Why not?”

“You haven’t forgotten our unit’s formation bonus, have you?”

Formation Bonus: ‘Hunter’s Pride’

: The fastest step will be caught in the trap first, and the loudest roar will be silenced first.

Triggered when all unit members possess the ‘Hunter’ trait. When facing enemies with demon/yokai/ghost/monster/beast traits, a weight is applied to all stats, and an additional weight is granted when ambushing the enemy for a preemptive strike.

“If we get hit by this arrow or deflect it, the condition of ‘ambushing the enemy for a preemptive strike’ will not be established. It will become a form where the enemy makes a preemptive strike and we defend or counterattack. If that happens, we can’t get the additional weight.”

There was nothing wrong in the young man’s words. The S-rank Hunter had to admit the fact that he almost made a basic mistake. This made him even more annoyed.

“This sucks, really.”

“Since I’m capable of long-range sniping, let’s try to secure the first strike first.”

The young man notched an arrow to his large bow. And he aimed into the darkness.

The arrow had flown from above. Even taking into account that an arrow is a weapon that flies in a curved parabola, the position of the person who shot this arrow was higher than them.

Since this library has a mezzanine structure, the shooter is probably up on those stairs. Of course, the possibility of them crawling on top of the bookshelves and lying in wait must also be considered.

Without even blinking, he looked in the direction where the enemy was presumed to be. Creeeeak. The bowstring was pulled taut.

‘I am a disciple of Chiron, the sage of the centaurs, a descendant of Cadmus, the hero who founded Thebes, and a renowned hunter. I have many medals of adventure. I will never miss an enemy hiding in the darkness, cowardly sniping.’

As he repeated that, his heart gradually settled into a calm.

Finally, he released the string. The arrow cut through the air at a high speed.

Swish!

The sound of the arrow flying was heard, but the sound of it hitting a target was not heard. It must be because the distance was so far.

Did it hit the enemy or not? The young man did not lower his guard and cautiously watched the opposite side.

But the enemy did not reveal themselves. They did not counterattack with an arrow again either. Instead, what greeted the S-rank Hunter and the young man was… the low and magnificent sound of a drum.

Boom.

“…Huh?”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The drum sound did not stop at once. Huge vibrations rang out in succession, breaking the silence that had settled everywhere.

There was a strange dignity in the drum sound. Every time it rang, his whole body tingled. Listening to this sound, the young man even felt as if he had become a prisoner whose hands and feet were tied tight and dragged before the gates of an enemy country.

‘No, no. It’s all an illusion. It’s just an ordinary drum sound.’

He shook his head with effort, shaking off the strange fear encroaching on his whole body. It was not the time to be possessed by idle thoughts.

It was a darkness where he couldn’t see an inch ahead, but since they had exchanged an arrow, it was as good as their positions being exposed to each other. They had to move.

“It’s dangerous to stay here. Let’s advance.”

The young man moved with the S-rank Hunter. No, he tried to move.

“Who dares trample the national territory with muddy feet?”

In the darkness, a clear voice rang out. It was a child’s voice whose gender could not be determined.

Clang!

The S-rank Hunter drew his weapon. It was a magic sword whose entire blade was wrapped in a blazing aura. Regardless of the owner’s character, the appearance of the weapon alone was extremely beautiful.

It was before the young man could even react. A blade rushed in without warning.

Screeeech… Tang!

The S-rank Hunter raised his sword and blocked that attack. The moment blade met blade, it cut through the darkness and sparks flew. The young man’s mind raced quickly.

‘I give up on the additional weight from an ambush. Since we blocked the attack for now, the turn has passed to our side. Now if the two of us surround the enemy…’

But the enemy’s attack did not stop at once.

“Who dares cut off the spirit of the nation?”

A blade of perfectly the same length and perfectly the same appearance as before lunged in from the opposite direction this time.