Returned With Horns

○

"Well, everyone. There was a bit of a commotion. We're safe."

[Phew]
[Are you really okay?]
[Is noona alright?]
[I almost reported it]
[For real]
[So scary]
[People are scarier than monsters]
[So what happened to those people?]

"Well, we managed to resolve it somehow after talking it out."

Gwangsu, who had lied for now, secretly glanced at Seohyun. She was just hurrying her steps as if she had no thoughts, but Gwangsu, with his characteristic perceptiveness, noticed that Seohyun had no intention of revealing her strength.

After all, she was the one who made headlines in the news even without her face or name being known. Unless she was an attention seeker, she wouldn't reveal her strength.

In fact, if she had been an attention seeker, she would have announced that she was that EX-rank ability user as soon as she made headlines, so she probably wasn't what people commonly call an attention seeker.

[The atmosphere was intense]
[Is that true?]
[Then why did you turn off the broadcast, damn it]
[For real]
[Gwangsu, I get that you're okay, so turn the camera to noona]
[Otherworlders are scary]

"Well, we're not exactly weak, are we? They ran away with their tails between their legs after a few punches."

"You use a bow."

"Oh, noona. It's just a figure of speech."

Gwangsu laughed hollowly at the blunt remark and glanced at Seohyun again. She seemed to approve of Gwangsu's handling of the situation and continued moving forward without saying much.

Honestly, it felt more nerve-wracking now than before. Of course, it probably wouldn't happen, but Gwangsu couldn't help it because Seohyun could easily take care of someone like him if she didn't like him.

That chilling feeling from earlier is something that those who haven't experienced it directly wouldn't understand. It felt like facing the Grim Reaper.

They say that even if you know a tiger won't pounce on you, you can't help but be terrified by its growling sound. Gwangsu's feelings were similar to that.

It felt strange to think that such a beast was hidden within that decadent beauty.

"Is that it?"

"Ah, yes. I can see it. Everyone, the forest you see in the distance is our destination for today! The Sefelia Forest. It looks huge, doesn't it?"

"It took quite a while. Because of those troublemakers in between."

It felt a bit odd to hear someone who had cut down those troublemakers in less than 5 minutes say that.

But as Seohyun said, the sun was slowly setting. Of course, since the Sefelia Forest and the territory weren't that far apart, there was enough time to hunt monsters, but that didn't mean they wanted to dawdle.

"The Sefelia Forest at night is scary."

"Why?"

"Amorphous monsters like banshees or ghosts often appear. Of course, it's not bad for broadcast content, but..."

The day and night of the Sefelia Forest were so different in terms of monster types that they could be called different regions.

During the day, beast-type monsters mainly appear, while at night, amorphous monsters appear. These amorphous monsters mainly inflict mental attacks along with hallucinations, making them very annoying apart from being scary.

That's why Gwangsu didn't want to walk through the Sefelia Forest at night, regardless of his own fear.

The chat window was excited about this, though.

[Are we going to hear Gwangsu's girlish screams after a long time?]
[Lololololol]
[Gwangsu's already scared]
[Noona doesn't seem scared though]

"Noona, are you okay with ghosts and such?"

"I don't know? I've never encountered such monsters."

As Seohyun shook her head, Gwangsu was momentarily curious, but he didn't want to face amorphous monsters no matter what, so he gave up for now and opened his mouth.

"Well, let's go for now. If we hunt diligently, we should be able to get out of the Sefelia Forest before night falls."

"Alright. Well, if that's what you want."

Seohyun nodded as if she didn't care either way.

After all, although the roles had been reversed, she was still an employee of the Hunter Association, and Gwangsu himself was the broadcaster, so it was natural. Although he was filming her because she was good for broadcast content, it was ultimately content that he had to lead.

With that renewed determination, Gwangsu took the lead this time and started entering the forest. And Seohyun followed behind him.

○

"The forest is quite wide."

"Isn't it? Well. If we keep going straight like this, we'll reach the territory of the Cotilia Empire."

"Ah, on the opposite side?"

"Yes. That's why we need to walk diligently."

Although the forest is wide, it's not so big that an A-rank hunter can't get through it quickly at their speed. Moreover, Han Gwangsu is a ranger, the most agile class among hunters, so his steps were even faster.

"I'll use some skills too. I probably won't have much to fight anyway."

"Aha. You're going to pass it on to me? Well, viewers. Do you see this? The true face of A-rank hunter Han Gwangsu, passing it on to the guest."

"N-noona! What are you saying!"

[What]
[Free]
[Load]
[Load]
[Free]
[Gwangsu, damn it, is this right?]
[Gwangsu's freeloading today?]
[He's the god of freeloading]
[Free]
[Free]

When I glanced at the chat window, it was in chaos.

It was a bit amusing. Is this why people watch internet broadcasts? I should watch some streams after this assignment is over.

Thinking that, I punched the tiger that appeared in front of me.

"Ugh?! You surprised me. It's a Saber Tiger. It's been a while since I've seen one. Ah, the Saber Tiger is a B-rank beast-type monster. It's characterized by its long fangs. As expected of a beast-type monster, it has agile physique, and those fangs are often used as magic materials."

"This guy is commentating again."

Although I was annoyed by his quick explanation despite being startled for not noticing the monster's presence, I continued throwing punches. I dodge the incoming front paws with a weaving motion in my most familiar boxing stance. I keep planting my fists into the tiger's abdomen.

Thud! Thud! With sounds like a leather drum bursting, the tiger's movements gradually slow down.

Although it's called boxing, it's not ordinary boxing but techniques like Penetration Force derived from Inch Force infused with mana, so while there are no visible wounds on the outside, its internal organs should be bursting.

Kuaek, I lightly avoided the monster spitting blood and delivered the final blow.

Thud! With a sound of a completely different dimension from before, the tiger collapses. I couldn't show it properly when dealing with the Giant Worm earlier because of its tough skin, but this is usually how my fist techniques work.

"...Wow, what is this? There's not a single wound on the outer skin."

"Penetration Force. It's derived from Inch Force. It's a fist technique that destroys the opponent's internal organs with a fist infused with magical power... Honestly, it's not easy to use."

"In what way is it not easy?"

"You need to apply magical power well and make it penetrate the opponent, do you think that's easy?"

It took almost 2 years to develop this technique in the first place. I was so happy when I first succeeded. Because finally, I had a way to utilize my boxing skills.

Of course, it didn't work on the Demon King after that, and I ended up becoming a subject for magic experiments.

[What?]
[Is it difficult?]
[They all did it in novels though]
[For real]
[Are novels and reality the same?]
[Reality was even more than that, though?]
[For real lol]

"Come on, everyone. Don't argue. Can you demonstrate it on this tree?"

"Penetration Force?"

I tilted my head at Han Gwangsu's question. On a tree? It's something I've never done before, but it did seem a bit interesting.

"Yes."

"Well, alright."

Han Gwangsu tapped the nearby tree, proving that it was solid inside. Seeing that, I brought my fist to the tree.

Actually, I can use it without doing this, but isn't this how Inch Force is supposed to look cool?

I gather mana to temporarily concentrate power, and lightly throw a punch. With a thud sound, the tree shook slightly, but that was it. The tree didn't fall, and the part where I punched only had a small fist-shaped mark, with no other traces visible.

"Now, I'll cut it down."

Han Gwangsu started cutting the tree with a saw he had taken out at some point.

By the way, why is he carrying a saw? I didn't understand, but I just quietly watched him cut the tree.

"Uh... Damn."

Whether it was because he was an A-rank hunter or because he was used to cutting trees, Han Gwangsu cut down the tree quite quickly and blankly cursed at the state of the tree. The inside of the tree was a mess. Usually when you cut down trees, their inner flesh is revealed, but the inner flesh of the tree I had hit with Penetration Force was torn apart haphazardly.

"...It's real."

"Of course it's real. Did you doubt it?"

"No way. Would I doubt you? It was the viewers here who doubted."

[Gwangsu, you crazy bastard]
[Noona is scary]
[Why are you selling us out]
[Looking at the state of the tree, it seems difficult... noona]
[Wow, but how does it end up like that;]

"Well, that's enough. Let's get going now. The sun will set if we dawdle."

"Ahh, that can't happen. Let's hurry, noona!"

"...Who was dawdling? Well, alright. Let's go."

I let out a small sigh at Han Gwangsu's back as he ran ahead, and started following him.

By the way, I really don't think we'll get out before the sun sets. I thought that as I looked at the sky. The sun was almost setting.