Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

Sung Seonjae drew his sword. The metal shone brightly, reflecting his face like a mirror. He looked at his own eyes in the blade and steadied himself.

“The first time I hunted an Abomination, it was a nightmare. I didn’t know how to kill it. But now, after many successful hunts around the world, we've learned what we need. It is dangerous, yes, but not impossible.”

When Abominations first appeared in North America, no one knew how to defeat them. People called for S-rank Hunters, but the timing was bad. All the S-ranks were busy fighting at a Red Gate, so they couldn’t join the Abomination hunt. With no other option, only the best of the remaining Hunters were chosen. After many failed raids, they finally succeeded on the ninth attempt.

However, victory came at a high cost. Many lives were lost, and this led to calls for better prevention in the future. As a result, a new rule called the ‘Double S 11’ was created. This law required that at least one S-rank Hunter to always stay on standby in North America. Before this, the Hunter Law had rules about S-rank Hunters from Articles 11 to 21, which were known as the ‘Regular 11.’ But the new, stricter law became known as the ‘Super S 11.’

Due to this rule, S-rank guilds in North America had to ensure at least one S-rank Hunter on standby when others went on Gate raids or overseas missions. This made it important for them to coordinate their schedules. Thus, the ‘Super S’ coalition was formed. At first, it only managed S-rank schedules, but over time, Super S became a powerful organization and a key player in the global Hunter industry.

'Korea has also entered the S-rank era now, starting with Ju Se-ah. I’m not sure if I'll become an S-rank, but if I do, and if more S-rank Hunters emerge after me…'

A Korean version of Super S could be possible. Unlike in China and Japan, where S-rank Hunters often fought each other, Korea might be able to unite its strength. Even if they were late to join, they could still build a solid foundation and compete with the other two nations.

'Damn it, this is not the time to think about that. My habits from the strategy team keep acting up. I should worry about that later. For now, I need to focus on taking down the Abomination.'

Just thinking about the Abomination made many strategies and plans rush through his mind. But Sung Seonjae pushed those thoughts away and pointed his sword forward.

“Roar!”

A loud roar sounded from the Abomination, directly towards the location where Sung Seonjae’s sword was aimed. He turned to Go Wonmae and issued a command.

“Wonmae! Start!”

Go Wonmae nodded and switched the arrow on his bow. This arrow had a distinctive red shaft, but what stood out was that it had no arrowhead. Instead, there was a sharp, narrow tube at the front, which helped with balance.

This was a Blood Bamboo Arrow. It was made from ‘Blood Bamboo,’ a plant that only grew in Red Gates. There were rumors that anything hit by this arrow would be drained of all its bodily fluids. The arrow was a consumable item, but it was considered a unique weapon and a strategic asset. The Slayer Guild only had 72 of these arrows. The raw materials were rare, and making them was difficult, so they carefully collected and reused any parts that were still intact after each use.

The arrows were shorter than usual, similar to those used during the Joseon era. Because of their shorter length, a special tube similar to a half cut barrel was attached to the bowstring to shoot them properly.

Go Wonmae attached the half sliced barrel to his bow and carefully nocked a short Blood Bamboo Arrow.

[Piercing Shot]

The arrow was infused with a skill that allowed it to pierce through monster flesh. When it hit the Abomination, it didn’t pass all the way through. Instead, the 5cm tube lodged itself in the thick hide. But this was not a failure. It was exactly what they had planned.

Green fluid started to drip from the tail end of the arrow stuck in the Abomination’s body.

"Perfect." 

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Go Wonmae clenched his fist in satisfaction. At that moment, the Abomination’s head snapped toward Go Wonmae. Its dark, threatening eyes gleamed as it charged at him, crossing several dozen meters in an instant.

"Save the victory poses until after we’ve won… Ugh!" 

Slayer expedition leader So Sangyeob stepped in front of Go Wonmae, holding his shield against the Abomination's charge. The impact was strong, making the shield bend slightly and sending vibrations through So Sangyeob's entire body. He was pushed back, while Go Wonmae braced himself against So Sangyeob’s shoulder. Still sliding back, So Sangyeob activated a skill to steady himself, planting his feet firmly. He then raised his spear over the shield, aiming for the monster's eye. The Abomination blocked the spear with its forehead and shoved both So Sangyeob and Go Wonmae aside with great force.

As they lost their balance, the Abomination lunged forward, trying to grab So Sangyeob’s head. Ha Hyesung saw his superior in danger and intervened. He brought down his greatsword on the Abomination's arm, forcing its hand to slam into the ground instead. The Abomination then turned its attention to Ha Hyesung, but he wisely stepped back to avoid further attacks.

Right after that, Gye Myungsik, the royal guard of Green Wings, caught the Abomination’s attention. He used a powerful skill that burst against its back, but the Abomination’s aggressive swipe shattered the edge of Gye Myungsik’s shield. Gye Myungsik quickly dropped the shield to avoid injuring his arm. The Abomination targeted him, but gladiator Jeon Yesung intercepted it, using a grappling hook to entangle its arm.

'Damn, this stubborn thing… It’s even dragging this along,' Jeon Yesung muttered. 

Watching the chaotic battle, Sung Seonjae nodded with approval. 

'Creating a team solely made of tanks was a smart move.'

They had formed two specialized teams made up of Korea’s top 0.1% tank-class Hunters to face the Abomination. They also placed spare weapons and shields around the area, ready to switch out whenever their equipment got damaged. During the first raid in North America, the team had underestimated the Abomination's strength, which led to lost gear and a retreat. Kang Mu-hyuk, learning from this, made sure there was plenty of disposable gear. Although these items were of high-quality against regular monsters, they were essentially single-use when fighting the Abomination.

“Man, if this wasn’t funded by the government, there’s no way we could afford this extravagance. These weapons are expensive, but the blades are bending like twigs. I’m scared my main weapon might snap if I use it.” 

Gam Wooyoung whistled as he returned from an attack, picking up a fresh sword from the ground. His custom Blue-Red Divine Twin Swords remained sheathed on his back, while the weapon he had just used was broken. The broken blade was still lodged in the Abomination's side, only piercing the skin without hitting its vital organs.

“Go Wonmae, aim for the weak spots!” 

Sung Seonjae ordered, as the previous three arrows had missed their mark. Go Wonmae shouted back in frustration.

"That thing is targeting me every time I shoot! Aggro means nothing against it!"

“You have five tanks assigned to protect you, and a unique item in your hands. If you can’t handle that, you might as well quit the expedition."

“This plan was Kang Mu-hyuk's idea, wasn’t it? Damn, I should’ve known better than to fall for his smooth talk.”

Go Wonmae recalled Kang Mu-hyuk’s flattering words, which had painted him as the key player in the raid.

‘Hunter Go Wonmae, you're the best long-range attacker in Slayer, no, in all of Korea. No one else could take on this role. This entire strategy depends on your skills, Hunter Go Wonmae. I have complete faith that you’ll make this a success.’ 

Go Wonmae realized that the sweet words were a disguised death sentence. If he had paid more attention, he might have seen that the core of this plan was a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the Abomination. He had followed along with the plan to get acknowledged by Sung Seonjae for his competence, only to find himself in a perilous raid. Still, there was one thing he didn't know.

‘I should keep quiet about the fact that I agreed to this plan.’

That Sung Seonjae had given the final okay to this plan for the Abomination raid.

***

Thirteen hours into the raid, more than forty Blood Bamboo Arrows were embedded in the Abomination’s body. Despite its immense physical strength, it had tried to escape several times, but Go Eul-ji, with her incredible speed, quickly caught up and kept it in check. Whenever the situation became critical, Jang Deukgoo stepped in. As a master of all weapons, he turned the battlefield, which was littered with various weapons, into his personal playground. While other Hunters had their favorite weapons, Jang Deukgoo could deal maximum damage with anything he picked up.

Even the once-dominant Abomination began to weaken as the Blood Bamboo Arrows drained its blood. Its skill ‘Bulk Up,’ which it used to regain the upper hand, was made useless by Yeom Soohyung’s timely intervention. However, Yeom Soohyung was seriously injured and had to leave the raid. Although his rank was lower than the others, his Giant traits allowed him to hold his own. Still, against a Named monster, there were limits to what he could do.

"Hunter Yeom Soohyung has already done a whole lot by neutralizing a skill that can only be used once a day," Sung Seonjae said. 

The end of the battle was finally in sight. The Abomination had no more tricks left. All it had was its physical stamina, but it still managed to last another seven hours, stretching the fight to a full twenty-hour ordeal.

As Sung Seonjae bit down on a stick of ‘Goblin Moss Powder,’ an emergency ration for Hunters, he shook his head in disbelief.

 "Even with all our resources and a solid plan, it still took us a whole day to bring it down. Now I understand why they call it the Hunter Killer." 

Its incredible physical defense, immunity to poison and magic, and unmatched stamina and regeneration made it a nightmare to deal with.

"It's like Ju Se-ah," he thought aloud.

"Se-ah noona? That’s harsh. I mean, no matter how ogre-like she is, she’s still much better-looking than this thing," Gam Wooyoung joked despite his exhaustion.

Sung Seonjae sighed. 

"I’m talking about its defenses and resistance."

"Oh, that? Yeah, I knew that. Just messing around. I guess you could call it the Ju Se-ah of the monster world. Hmm… If I think about it, there’s a resemblance."

"Busted! I’m totally telling our leader you said she looks like an Abomination," Go Eul-ji teased, glaring playfully at Gam Wooyoung.

Gam Wooyoung turned pale and clasped his hands together, pleading, "Come on, we’re comrades! Pretend you didn’t hear that. If she hears that, I’m dead."

"Hide that for free?" 

"What’s with you, kid? Why are you so calculating?"

"See you at the funeral, then. I’ll bring a condolence gift."

"Of course. Hunters should be calculative. You’re on your way to becoming a top-notch Hunter. So, what do you want?"

"An advance payment."

"..."

As Sung Seonjae listened to their banter, he snapped back into command mode, "The raid isn’t over yet! Can’t you both stay focused till the end?"

"Yes, sir," they replied, slightly subdued. Despite their lighthearted exchange, the other Hunters could also feel the raid drawing to a close.

At that moment, it wasn’t just those two who were paying attention. Someone else had been listening closely to Sung Seonjae’s words.

***

'Resembles Ju Se-ah? I see. This whole raid could be a test run for a strategy to take down Ju Se-ah," thought Eum Youngjin, who was participating as a support dealer. 

Kang Mu-hyuk hadn’t given the White Tiger Guild any major responsibilities, but Eum Youngjin didn’t mind. After all, the raid wasn’t his main objective anyway.

Eum Youngjin was carefully watching the movements of the integrated strike force while also keeping a close eye on Kang Mu-hyuk’s actions. The information he gathered ended up in the hands of Gwanhoon from the Chinese Yellow Dragon Guild. In short, he was acting as a spy.

'I was planning to disrupt the raid whenever I found an opening, but... Without knowing where Ju Se-ah might be hiding, I can't act recklessly.'

The possibility that she was lying in wait somewhere kept him from making any careless moves. Disliking her was one thing, but everyone knew that there were very few Hunters in Korea who stood a chance against her. Park Beomil, who was a brawler, had confidently said he could take her down. However, in Eum Youngjin’s eyes, even someone from his guild would probably struggle against her.

With that in mind, this Abomination raid could be seen as a sort of practice run against a possible Ju Se-ah. 

'Of course, she’d have a wider range of tactics, but we got some valuable hints on how to deal with an opponent with strong defense and resistance.'

Eum Youngjin decided he would use the data he collected today to draft a specialized formation just to counter Ju Se-ah. That alone made this raid a success.

***

'Sung Seonjae needs to drop that bit of info at just the right moment.'

Kang Mu-hyuk thought. This raid wasn’t only aimed at defeating the Abomination; the White Tiger Guild was also a target. The plan had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, inspired by how Ju Se-ah’s traits resembled those of the Abomination.

“I’d love for them to believe they have a shot at taking down Guild Master Ju Se-ah.” 

That kind of false hope wouldn’t be useful right away, but it could lead them to make a risky move at a critical time. He was counting on that gamble to trap them, making escape impossible.

Kang Mu-hyuk was carefully setting up a trap involving the Yellow Dragon and White Tiger Guilds. Recently, Japan’s guild association alliance had also joined in. This meant the trap couldn’t be simple. The strength of the opposition was too great to rely on just one or two strategies. Instead, a series of interconnected traps was needed to catch the enemy, one after another.

The trap's snares grew tighter and more secure as the raid continued. Just as Kang Mu-hyuk was about to add more layers to the plan, he received a brief report over the communications line. The Abomination had been taken down.

A chorus of cheers erupted from the operators. 

“Yes! Finally...!” they shouted. The operators had been awake almost all night and were just as exhausted as the Hunters.

Kang Mu-hyuk, however, did not join in the celebration. Instead, he focused on gaining a clear picture of the situation. 

“What’s the casualty count?” he asked.

Instead, he focused on gaining a clear picture of the situation

The response came: No deaths. Seven were injured, with two in serious condition, but none were life-threatening. They had been given potions, and would be sent to a hospital for further treatment. The operators also promised to send coordinates for a helicopter pickup.

“I’ll have a transport helicopter on its way. Good job, everyone.”