Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“To think even Hunter Yun Gaho would doubt me. I’m truly disappointed!”

“It was a sudden situation. I was just startled, that’s all.”

“You know, I may not look it, but I’m the ace of our guild.”

Lee Kang-to’s basket was already brimming with black beads.

Whether he was truly the ace of White Night Guild or not, I couldn’t say, but I was beginning to understand why Gyeon Ji-woon had chosen to send Lee Kang-to specifically.

Lee Kang-to was a rare awakened one who truly knew how to use his body. This meant he was several steps ahead of hunters of the same rank.

‘I guess you really shouldn’t judge people hastily.’

I recalled the recent dire—or what I thought was dire—situation.

◆◇◆◇◆

“So much for undead being rare these days!”

I shouted irritably, shaking my ankle to dislodge the corpse’s arm that clung to it. The arm flew off, rolling across the ground. The monkey yokai controlling the corpse from atop a tree chittered with laughter.

“Let’s fight fair, one-on-one, shall we?”

As if to say “don’t be ridiculous,” the monkey yokai stuck out its tongue and wiggled its fingers. One corpse for each of its arms, a total of four, lunged at me. I leaped high into the air, drawing my bowstring.

“Overlap: Scatter. Release!”

A torrent of arrows rained down, severing the invisible threads connecting the monkey’s fingertips to the corpses. The bodies, manipulated even after death by the yokai, collapsed limply to the ground.

I unconsciously bit my lip. This kind of thing really didn’t sit well with me. Perhaps if it were in the past, before I had bonded with NPCs, it might have been different.

The yokai, sensing my weakness, narrowed its eyes with a sneer.

“Mr. Kim, don’t feed them unnecessarily! They grow on negative emotions, remember?”

“Right, I’ll correct that.”

Thanks to the goblin shouting from my shoulder, I snapped back to my senses.

This time, the yokai seemed intent on attacking directly, baring its claws. I drew my bowstring, aiming at it. My Explorer’s Eye, sensing my will, indicated the yokai’s weak point.

“Bow Assistant activated. Anchor.”

With the system’s help, I targeted the glowing red solar plexus. The yokai charged straight at me, as if confident it could dodge such a slow arrow at any time. Little did it know that its arrogance would be its downfall.

I released the arrow lightly, and it cut through the murky air.

When the arrow was just within reach, the yokai smugly tilted its upper body slightly, evading it. Its lips twisted into a grotesque smirk, as if mocking me for such a feeble attempt. Then, it dashed towards me, swinging its arm threateningly.

But I didn’t dodge.

“The match is already over.”

Just before the claws, harder than steel, could slash my face, the yokai’s body jerked violently. It blinked in confusion, reaching behind its back before collapsing on the spot.

The arrowhead, which had pierced through its thick hide at the solar plexus, glinted faintly.

[Bow Assistant (C)

– The arrows of a marksman never miss. (Range limit: 150m)]

Arrows fired using this skill never miss unless physically obstructed. The yokai, charging in recklessly without realizing the arrow could curve around behind it, never stood a chance.

“Well done, Mr. Kim!”

“How’s Hunter Lee Kang-to doing?”

“I don’t know. Don’t care.”

The goblin answered half-heartedly, noting that it had been quiet for a while.

Lee Kang-to and quiet were the most incompatible words in the world. Surely he hadn’t been taken out already? Worried, I turned towards where Lee Kang-to had been.

Kyakakak!

“Mr. Kim! Behind you!”

“Damn it…!”

I didn’t need to turn around to know. That yokai, it was playing dead and waiting for an opening! A sharp, honed killing intent pricked at the back of my neck. It seemed too late to completely avoid the attack.

‘If I roll to the right, I might get away with just losing a leg.’

Just as I was about to make this desperate move—

“…!”

The monkey yokai was suddenly embedded right next to me. It had been thrown with such force that the ground around it was cratered. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust, making me cough for a while.

“You told me to stay alert, but weren’t you the one who let your guard down, Hunter Yun Gaho?”

A tail made of bones and unidentifiable parts swayed before my eyes. The teal ribbon tied daintily at the end of the tail looked horrifically out of place.

Such a bizarre tail was one of a kind in this world.

“…Weren’t you overwhelmed by the yokai?”

Lee Kang-to, who had somehow appeared beside me and was picking up the bead that used to be the monkey yokai, shouted indignantly.

“That remark! You realize how incredibly rude that is, right?”

“What’s this? Mr. Kim, you negative Nancy! When did you finish them all?”

“Just a moment ago. If I hadn’t hesitated because they all looked so beautifully unholy, I would’ve finished even faster!”

Lee Kang-to boastfully rolled the beads in his hands.

‘There were clearly three yokai on him earlier.’

Regardless of how strong those yokai were, his speed was impressive. Sensing my look of admiration, Lee Kang-to grinned, baring his teeth.

“It’s all thanks to the power of the tail!”

◆◇◆◇◆

Fighting alongside Lee Kang-to in the battles that followed, I came to realize that he was indeed a formidable hunter, even among A-ranks. Unlike his usual frivolous behavior, there was not a single wasted movement in his actions.

Our strategy was simple but effective: I, being relatively weaker and thus better at drawing aggro, would lure the yokai, and Lee Kang-to would swiftly dispatch them. Our momentum seemed unstoppable.

‘He’d probably be even stronger if he wasn’t so fixated on that tail.’

From the bits of conversation I caught, it seems this tail was given to him by Gyeon Ji-woon in exchange for participating in the hidden quest. Perhaps he hadn’t fully adapted to it yet, as Lee Kang-to occasionally lost control of his tail, making ridiculous mistakes. The tail didn’t seem particularly practical either, as if it were merely decorative.

Case in point, look at him now.

“Ugh, help me! Hunter Yun Gaho!”

Lee Kang-to cried out, his tail tangled in a tree covered in thorns. The more he clumsily struggled with his tail, the deeper the thorns dug in. Needless to say, the yokai didn’t miss this opportunity to land a few hits on him.

“The heavier the rice stalk, the lower it bows. Look at you now, Mr. Show-off!”

“Sigh, stand back, Sori.”

“If it’s the dark Mr. Kim’s words, I’ll obey.”

As soon as the goblin retreated, I fired an arrow with stacked transformation and chain effects.

Mid-flight, the arrow transformed into a bladed boomerang, cutting through various branches. In the process, Lee Kang-to was hit a couple of times by the boomerang, but neither of us paid it any mind.

‘My attack, two ranks lower, wouldn’t hurt him anyway.’

As soon as his tail was free, Lee Kang-to started thrashing about like a fish in water. In an instant, ten more black beads were added to his basket.

As he was slinging the basket over his shoulder, Lee Kang-to glanced at me nervously.

Why is he acting like this when I didn’t even lift a finger this time? Trying to guess Lee Kang-to’s thought process was a waste of time, so I asked him directly without hesitation.

“What is it?”

“Um, could you keep that unseemly display just now a secret?”

“Who would I even tell this to?”

We’re the only people here. According to the administrator, twelve teams had crossed the city wall before us, but I couldn’t sense any human presence nearby.

“Oh, what about those people?”

Lee Kang-to pointed towards the horizon with his characteristically listless voice. Squinting my eyes, I could indeed make out some vaguely human-shaped figures in the distance.

“Mr. Kim, those Mr. Kims seem to be heading our way?”

“W-what should we do?”

“It won’t do us any good if our paths cross. Let’s change course. Well, if we still end up meeting them, so be it.”

For the first time since crossing Seora Fortress, we changed direction from our straight path. Since it didn’t matter much where we went as long as there were yokai, we chose a valley that would serve as a good reference point for our temporary destination.

However, despite our efforts to avoid them, we soon encountered other hunters.

As we were nearing the valley, Lee Kang-to grumbled while picking up a bead that had rolled onto the ground.

“Ah, geez, the basket’s too small, so the beads keep spilling out.”

“If they’re spilling over like that, why don’t you hand some over to us?”

“Huh?”

Lee Kang-to looked around, searching for the owner of the gruff voice that had suddenly joined the conversation. In contrast, I had frozen stiff, unable to move a finger.

‘No way, it can’t be. Why would those people be here…’

The voice was too familiar to deny. Gritting my teeth, I raised my head, and sure enough, a one-eyed crow was looking down at us.

“You little brats, looking all confused. I’m over here, over here!”

“Oh, the crow is talking!”

“Are you blind? Where the hell did you learn to stare like that, you little shit?”

While Lee Kang-to fumbled, having been cursed at so vehemently, the goblin expressed his doubt.

“I don’t sense any spirit beast energy. What is it?”

“…Because it’s not a spirit beast.”

“Mr. Kim, do you know what that is?”

“It’s a familiar.”

No sooner had I answered than the crow flew right in front of my face. It tilted its head side to side, scrutinizing my features.

It was clearly wondering how I knew about familiars. I was about to wring its neck without hesitation, figuring it wasn’t a real animal anyway, when the crow made a sharp sound with its beak.

“Well, if it isn’t you! Mangtang, right? You’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognize you!”

“Mangtang? Is Mr. Kim Mangtang?”

“They’re nearby, so wait there, Yun Gaho. That’s an ord—”

You think I still follow your orders?

Before the crow could finish its sentence, I thrust out the dagger I was carrying. The crow frowned with its single eye as if it had witnessed a very unpleasant act, but soon melted into a dark liquid and evaporated.

I knew better than anyone that this wasn’t the end.

However.

“You can’t treat me like you did back then.”

I clenched my fist as I watched the figures approaching us.