Infinite Evolution Hunter [NOVEL] - Chapter 8

Instructor Jung Yo-han drew the sword at his waist like lightning and separated the heads of two charging goblins.

While the last goblin was still trying to grasp the situation, the instructor cut off its retreat.

In front of it stood the powerhouse who had killed two of its kind in an instant. Behind it were six humans. Neither side looked easy to the goblin.

“Who wants to go first?”

the instructor asked us.

“I’ll go first.”

I stepped forward.

If we isolate them like this one by one, each student fights a 1-on-1 and gets evaluated.

Most modern people have never taken a life. And even if it is a monster, a goblin is humanoid. Normally, people are afraid to swing a weapon.

This test is to prove the minimum you need as a Hunter—whether you can kill a monster or not.

As I approached with my knuckles on, the goblin tensed up, gripped its rusty dagger tight, and lowered its stance.

As the distance kept shrinking, it made up its mind. It skimmed low over the ground and slashed with the dagger.

If I had come right after awakening, maybe it would be different, but I’d raised my skills and stats somewhat at the Academy. The goblin’s movements looked far too slow.

I knocked the slashing dagger aside with the back of my left hand’s knuckle, and with the right knuckle I struck the goblin’s head. Its skull cracked and it slammed into the cave wall.

“Oooh…”

My teammates murmured in admiration behind me.

“Trainee Lee Jiseok, no hesitation—well done. You learned the magic-stone location in Introduction to Monsters, right? Extract it.”

“Yes, sir.”

I slit the goblin’s chest with the magic-stone knife at my belt and pulled the stone without hesitation. I showed the instructor a small red stone, smaller than the last joint of a finger.

“Good. Seol Yeong-hyeon, Oh Chang-sik, extract the other two stones.”

He pointed to the other two students.

Under the professor’s guidance we had extracted cores from beast-type monsters, but this was the first time harvesting a humanoid goblin’s heart-stone, so the students were nervous.

Seol Yeong-hyeon was tense but did it as taught, while Oh Chang-sik couldn’t hold back his gagging and ended up vomiting as he spoke.

“Throwing up won’t extract the stone. Once you’re done puking, get back to it.”

At the instructor’s words, Oh Chang-sik finished retching and somehow managed to extract the stone. I remembered suppressing my own nausea to pull out cores in my past life.

“Keep moving.”

In the 1-on-1s that Instructor Jung Yo-han set up for us, the other three hunted goblins without any trouble. Only Oh Chang-sik failed to kill his opponent and even got injured, so the instructor dispatched the goblin instead.

In the end, Oh Chang-sik gave up on the graduation test and only followed behind us.

He looked on the verge of tears, and he didn’t dare attempt another try. In a way, that’s normal. It would be stranger to say Hunters—who casually kill lifeforms so much like humans—are normal.

It seems that once you awaken, your resistance to killing monsters gets dulled.

Except for Oh Chang-sik, the others were tense at first but gradually got used to the hunt. They grew confident in their actions and even began to enjoy killing goblins under the instructor’s direction.

We continued exploring the Gate—hunting, extracting cores, and resting as we advanced.

“This is odd…”

“Instructor, what’s wrong?”

Seol Yeong-hyeon, calmly extracting a core, asked when the instructor muttered to himself.

“Too few. The goblins.”

We had progressed quite a bit, but there were clearly not many. In such cases, a large number of goblins are likely gathered together.

“Looks like they’re pack-up somewhere. We’ll tighten our vigilance and move slowly.”

The instructor reached the same conclusion I had. The trainees swallowed and tightened their grip on their weapons.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly nervous. With Hardened Body, I wasn’t going to die to goblins. And the instructor was a B-rank Hunter. Even a hundred goblins, he could handle alone.

As we pushed on, Oh Chang-sik’s complexion worsened—too much stress and tension for too long.

We couldn’t stop our advance just for him.

“Relax. We’ve got a B-rank instructor. What are you so tense about?”

“Y-yes… yes…”

I tried to steady him with words, but he didn’t seem to hear.

The instructor raised a fist and we halted. A goblin group was ahead.

“Hide over there. In a melee, it’s harder to protect you. If any goblins approach, block them per the healer’s instructions.”

Everyone nodded.

The instructor quietly moved to the far side and started attacking the goblins.

Screeches—dozens of goblins shrieking—and the clash of weapons rang out. Oh Chang-sik clutched his head.

“Eeeek…”

He was in total panic.

At that moment, a few goblins headed our way.

“Aaaah!”

Seeing them, Oh Chang-sik screamed and sprinted in the opposite direction, and the goblins, hearing him, spotted us.

“You little—!”

Even from here, I felt the instructor’s deep rage. If he came to defend our side now, he might drag all the goblins with him, so he couldn’t.

Thankfully, only three or four were coming our way, and the trainees and healer engaged. Honestly, if you stay calm, this much is nothing.

“I’ll bring him back.”

If we left Oh Chang-sik and he ran into another group and died, we’d have to carry his corpse out. I broke off to go after him.

“If it gets dicey, pull out alone. Don’t risk your life for him!”

Since I was the best hunter among the five, the instructor and healer weren’t worried about me.

With his panicked, ragged breathing, I caught up quickly.

“Hey! Stop!”

I yelled from behind. No answer. I grabbed his scruff and slammed him to the ground.

“Are you trying to get us all killed?!”

“Run… we have to run!”

He was completely gone. Even in a Goblin Gate, panic this bad is rare.

If he panicked further, it’d be worse, so I choked him out from behind until he went limp.

I slung him over my back and headed for the others—when a goblin with a short sword appeared. I set Oh Chang-sik down, propped him against the wall, and faced the goblin.

It was only one. I figured I’d finish fast and go back, so I advanced—then an arrow flew out of the darkness. So it wasn’t alone.

If I dodged, the arrow might hit Oh Chang-sik behind me against the wall, so I held my ground. The arrow lodged in my thigh. My light, mobility-focused armor had gaps, and it found one.

Still, thanks to Hardened Body, the crude goblin arrow didn’t penetrate deeply. I left it in, crushed the short-sword goblin’s head, then yanked the arrow out and tossed it.

I glanced around, but the archer had fled.

I had to carry Oh Chang-sik back, so I gave up the chase. I turned to head for the team—then the wound grew hot and the world tilted.

Poison.

Goblins use poison, but usually it’s crude, nothing to worry about. This one was better than I expected.

“Hff…”

I dropped to a knee to catch my breath. Paralysis crept through me; I could barely move.

When cells die or slough off, Regeneration immediately repairs—but with this kind of poisoning, nothing is physically destroyed, so recovery actually takes longer.

“Kik.”

Damn it. Through the haze, I saw a goblin with a bow approaching from behind. The one who shot me, waiting for me to collapse.

If I held out until the poison cleared, I’d be fine. I covered Oh Chang-sik with my body and wrapped a hand over the back of my neck.

Cautious, it shot again from a distance. The arrow hit my flank. The poison spread further.

It slung its bow, came closer, drew a dagger, and stabbed down at my back.

Goblin strength is low, and the dagger was crude. It didn’t sink deep, but the bastard kept stabbing my back nonstop.

When it didn’t bite well, it gave up on the back and shifted to my neck, stabbing between my shielding fingers.

The moment the blade pushed through and touched my throat—

[Skill acquired: Poison Resistance (F).]

With a cheerful chime, the paralysis began to fade.

I used to think skill gains were luck, but now I know why they come at these moments. The Regeneration skill accelerates evolution the closer the user is to death. The stress of “I die if the poison isn’t purged now” granted Poison Resistance.

As soon as it yanked the blade free to stab again, I twisted and seized its throat.

Startled, it hacked at my face, but I caught the dagger easily. Then I squeezed, snapping its neck.

With the goblin down, my legs buckled—too much Vitality burned regenerating poisoned cells and stab wounds.

Clinging to consciousness, I saw the instructor and the others running from behind.

I figured I was safe now, and let myself drop.

“In recognition of your courage and self-sacrifice in throwing yourself in harm’s way to save a teammate, we present this commendation.”

“Thank you.”

At the graduation ceremony, I received a certificate from the principal on stage.

All thanks to protecting Oh Chang-sik, who had dropped out of the field test.

I’d been in the very back row at entrance, but at graduation I was beyond the front row and up on the stage.

I hadn’t meant to stand out, but it felt good to realize how different a path I was walking from my past life.

Even though I hadn’t gotten especially close to anyone, my peers came to offer congratulations.

“Mr. Lee Jiseok, will you join a guild?”

Instructor Jung Yo-han reached out to shake my hand. The instructors who’d been like demons were now addressing new Hunters with honorifics.

“No, I plan to operate solo for a while.”

“Danger… I’m sure you’ve learned more than enough about it by now, so I’ll spare you the obvious lecture. If you need help later, contact me. Maybe not the top-10 guilds, but for smaller ones my recommendation will be useful.”

He handed me a card. He was probably concerned that my only visible skill was regeneration.

“If I need help, I’ll reach out. Thank you.”

Though I likely won’t.

At a distance, Chu Kang-min—his face scarred and many teeth missing even after healing—and Instructor Heo O-seong wore sour looks.

I’ll never see them again anyway. I ignored them and looked down at my commendation and official Hunter license.

With this, I could enter Gates. Now it truly begins.

The moment I left the Academy, I opened the Hunter app to enter a Gate.

Maybe I was rushing, but since the Academy had cost me time, I wanted to move faster.